#and since this is a time travel show. it’s very easy to re-order things to make more emotional sense | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

getyourblisson · 2 years

Text

A Look At August 2022

August is a month that naturally favors success where we are willing to stand in confidence and work with others as a team. It is a time where we see strong results from where we see each person as equally valuable; and with different skills and assets to share with others. We are all learning from others; and helping to teach others and this is what leads to real accomplishments being made. However, it is a time that we want to also focus more on the process and what we are getting out of the process, and working with Divine Qualities; instead of just on creating a specific or successful result. It is important that arrogance is kept in check.

This year we see that August is going to show us about where we are being lied to, deceived, and manipulated. That means that truth is going to surface; and it is important that we consider how to handle this with grace, wisdom, and integrity. We are likely to see all kinds of responses as things come to light. The key is to stay out of the drama and division that is also likely to rise during this time; and to stay focused on how to bring things into integrity. If we waste time fighting, we not only have no power to resolve things; but are actually supporting the corruption instead of resolving it. We must come together as a team if we are to bring real success.

From August 1st – August 23rd we will need to draw on our creativity in order to meet our responsibilities and obligations. The key is to stay focused and conscious of what you are doing. This is going to be a great time for getting things done; and will be wonderful for tackling the really big projects that you need to do. It is important that whatever you do, that you stay true to yourself; and don’t allow others to manipulate you into something that doesn’t feel right for you.

As you are considering which projects to work on, it may be best to stick to things that don’t require heavy equipment or power tools. It is too easy for accidents to happen during this time. We are in a strong transformational time and that always makes us more susceptible to strange accidents and happenings; since energy is very active, and we can be in vulnerable spaces, due to having to make important decisions and shifting from one chapter of life to another. It is best to avoid travel is possible; and use extra caution with everything.

We will be better favored for focusing on doing what needs to get done, in order to make major shifts and transformations. So, this could possibly be a good time for a move; depending on what that move involves. It is a good time to make transitions; and to complete things or close them out. It is an important time for seeing things through to completion. If you had things that you were wanting to have happen, and they collapse at this time; then consider re-birthing them into new energy, or shifting the way that they come forward into the world.

Those things that were based on what we were leaving behind need to be let go of. Those things that we want to carry forward with us need to be transformed so that they will work with who we are becoming; and not what was important to us in the past. This can be a great time to reflect on all of the transformation that is happening; and to consider how it applies to your past, and what you are moving into. It is a time to consider if the choices you are making, are rooted in something of real value and qualities; or if they are rooted in material things. Consider if they are going to be able to support you as you grow and shift and change, instead of only offer immediate gratification. Learn from your past; it can help you greatly at this time.

Our mind is not clear; and that shows that this is also not the best time for making decisions. It is important to trust your intuition as that is likely to be strong right now. While you may feel like being a bit lazy and just drifting the days away; it is important that you handle things immediately as they come up. That includes everything from paying a bill to dealing with challenges. Procrastinating on things will bring greater challenges, or could put you in much harder and unpleasant situations. Daydreaming is good, when you are in a safe place to do so; and have gotten other things done first.

People are really wanting to get out and do things, and experience life during this time. This energy will best be used for increasing your ability to take care of yourself, and to be more self-sufficient. It could be a good time to look at how to minimize responsibilities and obligations. Choices have a much bigger impact than normal at this time; and the more freedom and ability to care for yourself that you can create, the more fulfilling and successful things can be for you. Remember to choose what is simple and authentic. Consider what is practical and truly supports you, and not just what is some fad. Your choices are impacting all of your existences during this time; so, it is worth brainstorming on things and making certain that they are passing both the logical and intuitive sides of yourself.

From August 24th through the end of the month continue to consider how to create greater freedom and to simplify things in your life. During this time, it is really about you, and what will be best for you. It is important for you to consider that when you do what is best for you; that you will also be in a stronger space to help others and will be a positive influence on the collective. It is about honoring what allows you to live in your authentic self; and to explore what that is. In this last week of the month, it will be a great time to travel, explore, and be adventurous.

Things may feel a bit stagnant during this time; and that is likely to be connected to trying to get you to find out what you are truly committed to and what you are inspired to do, even if you are not being paid to do it. This is all about connecting with your sense of purpose or mission in the world; and what you are driven to do from the Soul Self. You may find that this comes to you as a result of lies, manipulation, and deception or other corruption. In essence, as these things become visible and made known to you; they may also be a source to inspire you into action.

This is a time where we will do best if we can create peaceful and calm surroundings. It is a time that is about facing what needs to get done with love and compassion. Others may not be reliable in this time; and it can be either because they are being lazy, lying to you about not being able to contribute or help, or because they have other things that they have to focus on. No matter what the reason, allow yourself to be kind to them; and then get busy on things. This may be even better, since you will have fewer distractions; and can move forward with what works best for you, as long as you don’t allow others to influence you in the process.

This will be an important time to see how your past, present, and future are all interacting with each other. Take time to look at the experiences you have been through in life, and the ones that you are currently going through. Which ones are valuable to you as you are trying to move forward; and have you really learned the lessons that they were trying to teach you? If you have not mastered these lessons, then this is a time to work on cultivating those aspects of your own self that you need to master. This is a time for considering the bigger, life-long plans; and not just something that will carry you over for a little while.

In Summary, stand in confidence and work with others as a team. Handle what comes to light with grace, wisdom, and integrity. Stay focused and conscious of what you are doing. Focus on what needs to get done, in order to make major shifts and transformations. Let go of what needs to be left behind, so that you can move forward. Don’t make major decisions or sign contracts. Choose what is simple and authentic.

Do what is best for you; and realize that puts you in a stronger space to help others and be a positive influence on the collective. Find out what you are truly committed to, even if you are not being paid to do it. Be in and create peaceful and calm settings. Consider if you have truly learned the lessons of the past and mastered them; and if not work on cultivating those aspects of yourself.

I welcome you to consider how to handle the truth of things with grace, wisdom, and integrity. What if this helps you to stay out of the drama and division that comes from things being made visible?

I welcome you to stay true to yourself while working on what needs to get done. What if what you are really working on is transforming yourself, and not just a project?

I welcome you to see things through to completion, and close them out. What if this is part of providing yourself with a strong and open foundation to bring in new things that are in stronger alignment with your Soul Self?

I welcome you to consider if the choices you are making are rooted in qualities or things. What if qualities can support you as you grown and change; but things can only offer immediate gratification?

I welcome you to do things that increase your ability to take care of yourself and to be self-sufficient. What if focusing on what is simple and authentic allows for that to happen?

I welcome you to consider how when you do what is best for you; that you will be in a stronger position to help others and be a positive influence on the collective. What if this comes by knowing what allows you to live authentically?

I welcome you to know and find out what you are truly committed to; and what inspires you to do it, even if you are not being paid to do it. What if this is what connects you with your sense of passion and purpose?

I welcome you to create and be in peaceful and calm settings. What if this helps you to do things with love and compassion?

I welcome you to consider if you have really learned and mastered the lessons from past experiences. What if cultivating mastery of your lessons is needed as you move forward?

What To Focus Our Actions On

From August 1st – August 20th we are really called to consider being aware of the influence that we have on others; and how we are using our power in the world. It is a time where we can see conflict between those in positions of power. However, the real piece at this time, is that we need to honestly answer if we are using our power and influence to help others take command of their life and to be a positive influence in the world; or are we using it to have control over others and to experience personal gain.

It is likely to become clear who is doing what; for this is a time where what has been hidden is brought to the surface. We will be able to see who is and who is not in integrity. It is important to use this exposure of lies as an opportunity to see what work really needs to be done in life; and to transform things that have become corrupt. This will most likely require people to completely bring an end to existing structures, and to have to rebirth into something completely new. It is important to stay out of power struggles, since they are likely to become deadly at this time; and those that are in positions of corruption are not wanting to let go of the power that they have.

It is important that we allow ourselves to learn what is happening, and how it became this way. It is a time which the experiences that we are having are creating incredible learning opportunities; and helping us to see what will create true success. However, to do this, we must be willing to learn the truth of things. It is through this, that we can move forward in wisdom; both with our own plans, and as a collective.

From August 21st through the end of the month we will want to focus on how to transform the lies and deception that have surfaced. It will be important to consider how we can use this to create positive and favorable relationships and partnerships. We need to be thinking about how we can come together and work together; even where we have differences of opinion. It is a time to join forces and start standing against true corruption.

It is during this time, that we are called to find ways to handle things through being rooted in Divine Laws. We need to listen to the Soul Self; and proceed through things in a way that is not only in integrity, but also Divine Alignment. We want to also realize that we cannot procrastinate or put off dealing with things any longer; for to do so would put us in a danger that we might not be able to come out of, or that would be worse than what we are already challenged by.

It is important to do what you can to take care of your own self; and to consider how you can “purify” your own self and your own life. As we do this for ourselves, we also help to purify the collective. When we remove lies and manipulation from our own life; we also reduce its presence from the collective. Choices are very important right now; and they will affect more than just our own personal life. They will impact all existences. The easiest way to make choices during this time, is to consider how simple and authentic they are; and to see if they are rooted in truth.

Communications and thinking are not clear during this part of the month; and so, it is best to put off signing contracts and making major decisions for another time wherever possible. Instead, we can focus on brainstorming and considering what a favorable outcome would look like. Misunderstandings can happen with others during this time, so make certain you follow up on things for clarity; and be forgiving when mishaps come up.

I welcome you to be aware of the influence you have on others. What if this helps you to understand how you are using your power in the world; and where you may need to make adjustments?

I welcome you to let the exposure of lies show you what really needs to be done in life; and to transform what has been corrupt. What if this means allowing some things to come to a complete end; and to allow things to be reborn into something completely new?

I welcome you to learn what is happening and how it became this way. What if the experiences that you are having, are creating incredible learning opportunities?

I welcome you to create favorable relationships and partnerships to handle the lies and deception that have surfaced. What if this is about working together to stand against true corruption?

I welcome you to find ways to handle things with solutions that are rooted in Divine Laws. What if you are being called to handle things from Divine Alignment?

I welcome you to consider how you can “purify” your own life. What if purifying yourself, will also purify the collective?

I welcome you to focus on what a favorable outcome looks like. What if we must first know what something looks like before we can create it?

What To Focus Our Thoughts On

From August 1st – August 4th it is important to consider how our thoughts are connected to how we are using our power and influence in the world. When we have thoughts of jealousy, hate, and anger; we are minimizing our successes and creating unfavorable and harsh outcomes for ourselves. When we have thoughts that are rooted in compassion, living unrestricted, and creating positive experiences; then we are maximizing the benefits that we can receive for ourselves and others. This is a time where intuitive hunches can pay off well for us; and if you are working from integrity and blending wisdom with intuition, then you could see some very positive results happening. Remember, it is often your mind which sets things in motion and is guiding you in your actions.

From August 5th – August 26th we see that it is a great time for us to be learning and expanding our knowledge and wisdom. This is especially true where we are dealing with true mentors and leaders. These people will not interfere with your own processes, and they will not require you to take sides. They will simply help you to identify your assets, and support you in finding ways to succeed with your own ideas and plans. There is no desire for you to be a copy of who they are; but to only embrace the qualities and values that will help you offer your own gifts and skills to the world.

It is likely that we will find peace and support to move forward with our own plans; and this can greatly help us to move past any challenges, and to enter into a space of greater calm. Take note of who is there for you with unconditional love; because the power of such a connection holds some of the greatest energy that we can work with. Recognize the partners and people that are holding this space for you.

This is also a time where people from your past may resurface; and be seeking a second chance with you. It is a time where old loves may be looking to reconnect. You will have to check in with your own self and wisdom; and consider if this is a door to open or not. You will want to see if things are rooted in unconditional love, or just a desire to try again. New love can also enter during this time; and you will need to consider if this is something that can work for you or support you in the future. As long as they are coming from the Soul Self; then there is the potential for things to be lasting.

From August 27th through the end of the month, we are called to take time for ourselves; and to disconnect as much as possible from others, technology, and the material world. It can be a great time to get off grid, and to spend time in nature where we can restore our senses. This is likely to be a time of major personal transformation; at least within our thoughts and how we are living our life. This is a time to allow the Soul Self to be a guide and teacher for the human self.

It is important to take extra care with yourself, and to use this as a time to cleanse the body. The mind can feel a bit overloaded with things; and we want to stay focused on seeing things through to completion and making breakthroughs, instead of breaking down. During this time, we want to keep things simple, inexpensive or stick to what is free. Our mind needs to be able to focus on our own processes; and it is important to allow as few distractions as possible, so that you can learn as much as possible.

I welcome you to consider how your thoughts are connected to how you are using your power in the world. What if your mind and thoughts set things in motion; for better or worse?

I welcome you to expand your own knowledge and wisdom. What if by identifying your own assets, you can find ways to succeed with your own plans and ideas?

I welcome you to take note of who supports you in moving forward with your plans with unconditional love. What if this type of connection holds some of the greatest power to work with?

I welcome you to make certain to carefully consider those that are seeking second chances with you. What if it requires them coming from their Soul Self in order for things to work?

I welcome you to take time for yourself and your own processes. What if this is especially important wherever you are going through major transformation?

Connecting To Our Soul Self

From August 1st – August 11th shows that we want to stick to practical and responsible choices. It is important to focus on what needs to get done during this time; and it can be a great time to tackle those larger projects; or to wrap up the loose ends and get things completed. Things are likely to flow easier and smoother than normal; so, it really is just simply an aspect of getting started on things.

We are naturally moving through cycles during this time; and so there will be endings, transitions, and new beginnings coming forth. It is very important that you bring things to full completion and don’t leave any loose ends. If things are not working out the way you had hoped; consider that is because you are shifting and changing, and your plans also need adjustments so that they can support you as you move forward. This is especially true where those plans were started or based on the aspects of yourself that you are stepping out of.

Success is possible as long as you stay focused on doing things on your own and in integrity. Others will try to pull you off course, or get you to compete with them. Do not go down this road; because it will pull you out of your Soul Self, and inhibits your success instead of nourishing it. This is a time to stand in your own true abundance. You are working hard; so, embrace the acknowledgement and recognition that comes from putting forth quality work. Take time to also help others that are in need; but consider helping those that are helping themselves. Again, you don’t want to foster or nourish competition; and instead want to encourage strengthening skills and assets.

From August 12th through the end of the month, is a time to focus more on yourself and your own processes. It is a time for realizing that what you do for yourself will also influence others; and therefore, it is important to be aware of what kind of example you are setting for others, and what types of patterns you are living in. Use your power and influence to help others take command of their own life and to live through the Soul Self, instead of being absorbed by material things and status.

It is likely that there will be some stress surface where you are in the process of making victories over long-standing tests and initiations. All initiations will be passed if we are staying in integrity and inviting in Divine Presence. In essence, stand with God and you will see success and victory in things. It is important to pay extra attention to what you are eating; since health is already in a fragile space during this time, and stress will not help. Make certain you are honoring nutrient dense foods, rest, and time in nature to allow your body to properly reset itself.

Our Soul Self is encouraging us to learn how to be more creative and to honor being true to who we really are. It is important that you are expressing yourself as who you are and not someone else. People are looking to hear what you have to say, and to learn about what makes you the person you are; and not looking for you to repeat what others are already doing. Embrace being creative, and enjoying things that connect you to creative energy.

I welcome you to stick with practical and responsible choices. What if tackling big projects that need to get done, and wrapping up loose ends is a part of that?

I welcome you to bring things to a full completion, and don’t leave any loose ends. What if this is an important part of honoring the life cycles that you are going through right now?

I welcome you to say no to competitions and don’t let others pull you off course. What if success is the result of standing in your Soul Self, and strengthening your own skills instead of trying to beat out others?

I welcome you to realize that what you do for yourself, will also influence others. What if you can use your power and influence to help others live through their Soul Self, instead of being absorbed by material things and status?

I welcome you to realize that any initiation or test can be passed when you stand in integrity and invite in Divine Presence. What if it is being aligned with God that brings success and victory?

I welcome you to honor being who you truly are. What if that is who people are interested in; and not some image that you try to portray?

The Code Journey 2022 Edition

0 notes

ao3komorii · 3 years

Text

Tangling with the Lifeguard (Pool Party Sett/Reader)

The Pool Party Sett story is done! I’ve gone with a beach!AU sort of setting where league races exist in a modern-day beach sort of place. Also sorry to any MF or Syndra mains, they don’t really come out the best in this xD Hope you enjoy, and as always, there is a smut warning for the end!

---

The sun was shining high in the sky, crystalline waters lapping against the shore as beachgoers took advantage of the perfect summer day. Taking in the scene from your place in the shade of a tree on the border between the beach and parking lot, you let a smile grace your lips as you mused on just how much this place seemed to not change, even after so many years.

The last time you had set foot on this beach, you had been twelve years old, full of excitement and unaware of the harsh realities of the adult world. Your parents had brought you here for that summer, now thirteen years ago, the beautiful beach an unforgettable experience. You had left after that summer with treasured memories, and a new friend, that same friend the very reason why you had returned to Port Navori beach after so long.

Taliyah had been the same age as you, with fairly lax parents who let her roam the beach by herself, even as the small twelve-year-old she had been. You had bonded instantly, spending almost every day together, and keeping in touch through letters, and later emails and text messages.

You had long said that you had wanted to come back and visit the lively beach town, but the timing hadn’t been right, not until this year.

You were done all your schooling, and had quit your high-stress, low-pay job, and as Taliyah had said on your last phone call, you had no reason not to visit. Her parents had been travelling the world since they retired, so you would have her house all to yourselves.

In your absence, Taliyah had become a fairly accomplished surfer in the local scene, working at an ice cream shop on the beach to support her expensive pursuits. She had been so insistent that you couldn’t find yourself able to refuse her offer; work in the ice cream shop with her in the day, and then spend the rest of your time catching up with each other. You had missed your friend dearly, and had accepted the offer without a second thought.

And now here you were, waiting at the beach’s edge for Taliyah to show up. She had told you to dress for the beach, sounding casual as was her usual, so you had worn a swimsuit with a short, flowy shoulderless dress on overtop. Unwilling to look like a lobster by day’s end, you had carefully layered yourself with sunscreen, and now all you needed was for your friend to get here already. Just when you were about to get out your phone to text her, an excited call of your name had you re-stowing the phone in your bag and looking back to see your friend bounding across the parking lot towards you.

Taliyah, dressed in a two-piece water suit and carrying a tropical-flower-print surfboard, came to a stop before you, leaning her surfboard against a tree to free her arms to tackle you in a hug.

“You’re finally here!” she grinned, surprising you with the strength of her hug. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“So what’s first?” you asked as you pulled back from the hug.

Taliyah hummed. “I guess I’ll show you the shop.”

You followed her onto the beach, recognizing the small bright blue building from the pictures she had sent you before. Taliyah took you around the back, fishing a key out of her pocket before unlocking the door and leading you into the small room.

There were large tubs of ice cream in the middle of the room, the walls lined with containers of various toppings and machines. On the back wall from you were two windows, glossy menus pasted to the doors that would display out when they were opened. Upon walking closer to the menu signs, you noticed something.

“Hey, it says we open at nine, but it’s ten-thirty…”

“It’s fine,” Taliyah replied with a shrug. “The owners are pretty chill. If anyone complains, I’ll just tell them I had to train the new employee.”

You playfully rolled your eyes. Sometimes you really envied Taliyah’s ability to be so carefree. Her calm energy was a big help for you, having got advice from her on numerous occasions over the years.

Taliyah came over to where you were, eyes flitting boredly to the menu boards before turning her attention back to you. “So I’m thinking we get you taking orders while I make them.”

“Works for me,” you agreed. It certainly sounded easier than figuring out what a poro float was supposed to be. You never knew ice cream stands had such fancy options now, used to the simple menus of ice cream cones and bars back at the shops in your hometown.

You were about to open the order windows when you were stopped by a rustling noise from the back of the store. You turned to see Taliyah digging in a cardboard box in the back corner, pulling out some folded-up fabric that was the same sky blue as the stand.

“Didn’t think you’d get away without an embarrassing uniform, did you?” Taliyah teased, tossing some of her fabric pile your way.

You caught the bundle, unfolding it to find an apron with Poro Palace Frozen Treats in pink bubble letters, little white fuzzy animals dotting the apron. There was an accompanying blue visor hat that looked like something out of a kid’s store. You reluctantly slipped both items of clothing on, looking back to find that Taliyah had done the same.

“Stylish, huh?” she smirked, striking a modelesque pose.

“We look like we work at an amusement park, Tali,” you laughed.

“Feels like it sometimes with all the annoying kids that come by,” she replied. “Okay, you can open it up now.”

Taliyah settled herself down in a chair in front of the section of ice cream tubs, and you reluctantly turned to unlatch and open the windows, unsure of exactly what you were getting yourself into.

The small room lit up with the outside sunlight streaming in from your window to outside, the immediate glare of the sun making you wish you had worn sunglasses.

Almost immediately, the masses were upon you. You noticed a woman with several children in tow who perked up as she laid eyes on you, striding over to you with her children right behind her, pushing each other as they scrambled to be the first one to get over to you.

You heard Taliyah groan behind you. “Get the pen ready. They always have the most annoying orders.”

You rose an eyebrow, but picked up the pen and notepad that sat beside the cash register as the woman came to a stop before you.

“You know, I’ve been waiting for an hour already. You young girls don’t know how hard it is for mothers,” the woman complained, not letting you get a word in edgewise. “Alright, tell her what you want.”

“I want a brownie sundae!” a small boy with blue hair who clearly intended to make full use of his outdoor voice shouted. “But with cotton candy ice cream and pop rocks and I want only blue candies!”

“Uh…” The kid was talking too fast for you to write, but luckily Taliyah had your back, a got it ringing out from behind you.

You weren’t sure how you had managed to get their orders out before they melted, messing up their total several times before Taliyah had to come and help you out. With a last snide look and a fistful of blue napkins, the mother and her little terrors left the stand at last.

“She’s the worst,” Taliyah said, bringing your weary gaze her way as she cleaned off an ice cream scoop. “I accidentally put one red candy in that kid’s sundae once and he screamed until I remade the whole thing!”

You winced. “Feels like we got off easy today.”

“Yeah,” Taliyah agreed. “Helps that they order the same thing every time, so I’ve got some practice.”

“Are they all this bad?” you asked, turning away from the window after seeing no potential customers nearby.

“Not all of them,” she replied with a strained smile. “I swear the heat just brings the jerk out in some of the people here.”

Speaking of jerks… your conversation was interrupted by an impatient-sounding throat clearing noise from behind you. You whirled around to see a redheaded woman with heart-shaped sunglasses and a revealing swimsuit leaning against your counter. She was staring at you like you were gum she had stepped in, flipping some hair over her shoulder when she knew she had your attention.

“Five cherry snowballs,” she said, dropping a few coins on your counter, some of which bounced and hit the floor. “To the red umbrella, thanks ice cream girl.”

Without any further interaction, she turned on her heel and strutted away, hips swinging as she went, leaving you wondering what had just happened.

You slowly turned back to face Taliyah again. “Um, do we usually deliver?”

“Nope,” she answered. “Not to people like that anyways.”

“But…” you protested weakly. You knew Taliyah got away with a lot here, but you didn’t want her to lose her job because some rude girl complained to her bosses. “I’ll just take them over and next time I’ll just say we don’t deliver.”

“Still tempted to put rocks in their snowballs,” Taliyah joked as she set about piling the scoops of red ice.

Soon you had a tray with five cherry syrup-coated piles of shaved ice in little plastic bowls with accompanying little plastic spoons stuck in the side of the dishes.

“I’ll be right back,” you said, heading past Taliyah to the back door, opening it to find yourself back out in the mid-morning heat.

The sand still felt uncomfortably hot underfoot, even with your flip flops on. With how hot it was out, these would have to be delivered as soon as possible to not be a puddle by the time they were eaten. Your only problem was that you had no idea where to go.

The redhead had said that she would be at the red umbrella, but of course nothing at this ice cream stand would be that easy. Standing just outside the hut, you were treated to a veritable rainbow of colored beach umbrellas. You counted at least ten red ones scattered across the beach, none particularly standing out to you. You didn’t have many options, and were forced to go with the most tedious one; checking every red umbrella until you found the girl and her group.

The first umbrella had been a bust, as had the next five. The sixth had led to a sweaty old man who told you that you were just in time to help him sunscreen his back. By the time you had hurriedly fled from that creep, it had been about five minutes of searching, the snowballs on your tray looking considerably droopier than they had been when you had left the shop.

You stared down at the tray of melting treats, unsure of what to do now. Should you go back and have Taliyah remake the snowballs? Try a few more umbrellas and hope you got lucky? You really hadn’t been anticipating this much stress when you had agreed to work here with Taliyah for the summer.

You frowned at the now-more-water-than-ice treats, your decision made. You couldn’t serve these, not as melted as they were. You would go back and help remake them and see if Taliyah had any insight as to which red umbrella was the right one. You turned around to head back to the stand, only to trip on your overheating flip flops and fall forward with a cry.

You had closed your eyes with a flinch as you fell, but opened them with a start as you heard a grunt from right in front of you. Looking up from your position in the burning sand, you felt like your heart was going to stop in your chest.

Standing before you was the most attractive guy you had ever laid eyes on, with fire red hair and a pair of black animal ears that looked soft to the touch. He was dressed in a tight pair of swim shorts, a lightweight red jacket tied around his waist. He had a flower lei around his neck, but that was the only thing that he wore on his top half, his insanely-well-built torso on full display, a torso you realized with horror was currently splattered with red syrup and shaved ice.

You looked from the hot guy to the ground, the sand around you speckled with plastic cups, spoons and napkins, your tray turned upside down in the sand. You slowly risked a gaze back up, only to see the guy staring down at you from behind his pink-tinted sunglasses as a clump of ice fell from his stomach to the sand just in front of your hands.

Embarrassment forced you to spring up, grabbing some stray napkins from the ground and dabbing them against the mess of syrup and ice on the man’s abdomen.

“I’m so sorry, I–” You looked up from your apologizing to see the man silently staring at you, your hand freezing in place as you realized that you were basically feeling this guy up through the napkins, the realization making your cheeks burn with shame and embarrassment.

“I’m really sorry!” you cried out, pulling your hands back. He still hadn’t said anything, and you realized that you couldn’t just stand here like an idiot, your flight instinct kicking in as you reached down to grab your tray before moving around the man and fleeing in the direction of the ice cream stand.

“Hey, wait!”

The man tried to grab your arm as you passed, but you were faster in your embarrassment-fueled retreat, and soon the hot stranger was far behind you. You didn’t stop running until you were back at the shop, the empty sand-logged tray clutched tightly to your chest, your heartbeat pounding in your ears as you shut the door, making eye contact with a confused Taliyah.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, getting up to approach you when you didn’t respond. “Talk to me. What happened? If that snob said anything to you–”

“No, no, she didn’t,” you replied weakly, sinking to the floor with your back against the door. “I didn’t even get to her.”

“Then what happened?” she pressed, bringing you a glass of water and prying the tray from your hands at last.

She ushered you to your feet and down into her chair, taking a seat on one of the counters. You took a deep breath, taking a sip of the water before recounting the events of the past ten minutes to Taliyah, who listened silently.

“…I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran,” you finished, setting your water down to bury your face in your hands.

“It’s no big deal,” Taliyah replied gently. “Everyone has embarrassed themselves in front of someone. Remember that time I tripped over my board in front of that group of tourists?”

“I covered him in cherry syrup, Tali,” you groaned. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

“It’s your first day,” she stressed. “You’re bound to mess some things up.”

She stood up, returning to the shaved ice machine. “Now how about we remake those snowballs and then I’ll–”

Taliyah had frozen in place, a plastic cup in her hand as she stared straight ahead.

“Tali?” you questioned, standing up. “Are you–”

“That guy you dumped the snowballs on,” she quickly interrupted. “Did he have majorly cut abs and animal ears?”

“Uh, why?” You felt a jolt of fear shoot up your spine as you followed her gaze to see the man from earlier currently approaching the shop, well-defined abdomen now minus the sticky mess you had spilt all over him. “Oh god, it’s him!”

You and Taliyah exchange wide-eyed glances before you dove down out of sight, hiding behind the tubs of ice cream like they were a fortress.

“Please get rid of him!” you begged. “I’ll do whatever you want, I just can’t face him!”

You heard Taliyah sigh. “Fine, but this means you’re coming stone hunting with me tonight.”

You agreed immediately, even if the prospect wasn’t overwhelmingly appealing. Taliyah was always eager to add to her collection of shiny stones, but was so picky that it often took hours to find just one stone that met her standards. But right now you were so desperate that you would have promised her anything just to make the angry hot guy go away.

From your position behind the ice cream tubs, you could only hear Taliyah’s voice clearly, the general noise of the beach preventing you from hearing what the furry-eared man was saying. You wanted to peek out from your hiding spot, but found yourself chickening out. You really didn’t need him catching sight of you and making Taliyah’s job even harder.

You had gotten so in your own head with panic that you had completely tuned out of your surroundings until a hand waved in front of your face and you realized Taliyah was crouching in front of you, calling your name.

“You okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Is he gone?” you replied quietly.

“Yeah, he’s gone,” she confirmed, standing up and grabbing your forearms to pull you up with her. “Now help me remake those snowballs and then I’ll fill you in.”

You bit your lip as you scooped shaved ice into a row of plastic cups as Taliyah readied the cherry syrup. Soon you had five pristine-looking snowballs on your slightly-sandy tray, the sight of them bringing you back to your moment of collision with the cute guy.

The tray was snatched from your field of vision by Taliyah, who headed over to the rear door. “Be back in a few. Try not to freak out too much while I’m gone.”

And then the door was closed and you were left alone. Looking over at the order window, you decided that you were probably safer to just resume your position behind the ice cream tubs, unwilling to risk being out in the open in case the guy decided to come back.

While she was gone, you couldn’t help but fret over exactly what had been said between your best friend and the mysterious hot guy. She didn’t seem to be upset, so clearly their conversation hadn’t been that intense. Or maybe it had; Taliyah was a fairly relaxed person, so it would be difficult for a random angry customer to really get to her. But that didn’t quite make sense either; if he had yelled at her, you would have heard it over the noise of the beachgoers. All you were doing was overthinking yourself to death, exactly what Taliyah had told you not to do.

And it was there you remained until Taliyah returned, closing the door behind her and placing the serving tray in the sink before she turned her attention to you at last.

“Calm down, it’s fine… I think,” she said.

“You think?”

“Well he didn’t seem mad,” she explained. “He asked if a girl that looked like you worked here and I said you went home sick. Said he’d come back another time.”

“Another–” Oh god. Was he really so angry that he was willing to come back just for the chance to yell at you?

“I can see you freaking out,” Taliyah scolded. “Don’t. You’re fine. Musclehead or not, he’s not going to kill you just because you spilled shaved ice on him.”

She was probably right; hot shirtless guys on the beach likely had more important things to do than yelling at clumsy ice cream shop workers. By tomorrow, he would probably forget you ever existed, and you could go back to enjoying your time working alongside your best friend.

The rock collecting that night had been long and boring, at least for you. Taliyah hadn’t found any rocks she liked enough to take home, only ending the search after she had found some sea glass that she had deemed acceptable to add to her collection. You could only hope that you wouldn’t owe her any more favors any time soon, unsure if you could survive another late night rock hunt.

The next morning, you entered the shop alongside Taliyah, who put her bag down and began to set up the day’s supplies. Considering it was ten minutes past opening time and Taliyah had insisted that she didn’t need help setting up, you decided that you might as well just open the order window for the day, hoping that mom and her group of demon kids wouldn’t be waiting out there, only to unlatch the widows and see something arguably worse.

The window had only been open a peek, but it was enough for you to see the large figure of the man from yesterday standing ten feet or so from your shop, his back facing you as he stared out at the beach. In your brief glimpse, you also noticed that the jacket wrapped around his waist had a white plus sign in a circle as well as the word lifeguard in white blocky letters above it. Oh god, of course you had gone and pissed off a lifeguard on your first day here.

You shut the barely-open windows with a too-loud slam that made you wince before you quickly locked them again and rushed over to Taliyah.

“Tali, he’s here again!” you hissed.

“Huh?” she replied, pausing her task of refilling a container of sprinkles. “Muscle guy?”

You nodded frantically and Taliyah frowned, putting the sprinkles down and approaching the order window herself. You watched as she opened the window ever so slightly, peering out for a few seconds before closing it back up.

“Well… can’t say I was expecting him to actually come back,” she said evenly.

“What do I even do?” you asked, staring at the order windows like they would burst open at any second and reveal you to the clearly-determined lifeguard. “He’s a lifeguard, Tali! What if he bans me from the beach?”

She rolled her eyes in response. “He can’t just ban you from the beach. Lifeguards don’t have that much power. If they did, I would’ve been banned a long time ago for all the times I’ve surfed after hours.”

“Then what does he want with me?” you asked, looking away from the window.

Taliyah shrugged. “You’d have to ask him that.”

“But what if I… don’t?” you replied weakly. “He’ll give up eventually, right?”

“I mean, maybe?” she said. “But it might be easier to deal with him now and get it over with.”

You saw her point, but it wasn’t her that was being pursued by a tall, muscly lifeguard with a vengeance!

Taliyah clearly caught the reluctance on your face and sighed. “Fine, I’ll switch with you for today. Now let’s go over how to make the basic stuff before we open.”

True to her word, Taliyah had allowed you to hide in the back making orders, telling the lifeguard guy that you were off today. You watched him walk away from behind the shaved ice machine, hoping that your ordeal was finally over, but your hopes were quickly dashed the next day as you went to open the store again, only to see the same broad back facing you from just outside the shop.

Taliyah had reluctantly agreed to switch again that day, and the day after. But by day four, even the promise of helping her scavenge for rocks again wouldn’t get her to agree to switch.

You closed the window again, turning to Taliyah with pleading eyes, but she was having none of it.

“It’s been four days,” she said, arms crossed. “Clearly he’s not giving up. You should just see what he wants.”

“But…” The thought still terrified you. You knew you deserved to be yelled at for what you had done, but it was made that much worse by the fact that the subject of your plight was just about the hottest guy you had ever seen.

Taliyah shook her head at you. “Okay, but I’m not doing orders again today, so if you want to keep hiding from him, we’ll have to move onto plan B.”

Plan B, as it turned out, was a mascot suit of sorts; three fluffy poros stacked on top of each other like a snowman. A poro each made up your upper and lower body, the last poro being the head of the costume. You looked incredibly awkward, the arms and legs of the costume hairy and tipped with little brown claws. You were momentarily stunned by the sheer lengths you were going to just to avoid this guy, but you were already in the costume, so you reasoned that you might as well follow through with it now.

Taliyah put the costume’s head on you and your world was plunged largely into darkness, minus the mesh one-way view out of the top poro’s eyes. You were helped to the back door, some fliers for the store shoved into your hands.

Taliyah helped you walk out front, and you were pretty quickly swarmed by kids. You couldn’t see the lifeguard guy, but the relief that coursed through you was short-lived, swallowed by the immediate explosion of business brought on by your costume.

One thing you hadn’t considered in your haste was the heat. You weren’t sure if it was the costume or if today was hotter than usual, but very quickly you found yourself becoming a sweaty mess under the weight of the dense, furry costume.

The longer you were in the costume, the worse you felt, but you were determined to stick this out. So you handed out fliers and posed for photos with children while Taliyah ran the stand.

You wished that you could wipe the sweat from your face, but you weren’t sure if you could even reach up to remove the costume’s head yourself due to the awkward shape of the costume. So you endured the ever-increasing heat, only feeling wearier as the time ticked by.

You waved goodbye to a group of kids as they left with their ice cream cones, the sweltering heat really bearing down on you. As you went to turn and head back to the stand to ask Taliyah to help get the head off, a wave of dizziness crashed over you. You took one step towards the stand, and then another, and then it all went dark as you felt yourself falling forward, too weak to stop your descent to the ground.

You woke up with a heavy head, feeling foggy with confusion. The last thing you remembered, you had been heading back to the stand…

Immediately, you realized that you weren’t at the ice cream stand, and you weren’t wearing the poro suit, or even your beach dress. Sitting up in the cot you laid in, you found that you were wearing only your swimsuit.

As you sat up, a blue ice pack that you hadn’t realized was there fell from your forehead and into your lap. Picking it up, the pack only feeling slightly cold, you turned to look around the room, still unsure what exactly was going on.

You were in a room of some sort, guessing it was afternoon by the minute amount of light filtering into the room, even through the closed curtains. There was a fan gently whirring above your head, but otherwise the room was silent.

There was another cot beside yours, and a table nearby with a few red first aid kits stacked on it, some bandages messily spilling out of one of them. There was a sign pulled over the door, the side facing you reading come on in, we’re open.

You got up from the bed, shuddering with disgust when you noticed just how sweaty your whole body was. The bed squeaked as you got up from it, your knees hitting a bedside table between the cots that you hadn’t noticed had been there. On the small table was a glass of water, as well as a white fan that was emblazoned with what looked to be a group of cats waterskiing.

You picked up the fan, letting out a small laugh at the silly-looking cartoon cats on the fan. It looked like something you could win at a carnival booth.

“If you can laugh, then I guess you’re feelin’ alright.”

A deep voice from behind you made you jump, fingers fumbling the fan, which fell onto the floor with a clatter that was only made louder in the quiet room. You turned to look behind you, only to fall off the cot in shock when you saw the very lifeguard you had been trying so hard to avoid standing in the doorway of a small office you hadn’t noticed was there.

“Hey, careful!” He quickly crossed the room to squat down in front of you, taking your elbow and helping you back up onto the cot. You were too stunned to resist and found yourself falling into his chest as a wave of dizziness hit you.

“You okay?” he asked, and you tried to nod, but your head was spinning too much to focus. “Hey, hold still.”

He placed his hands on your shoulders, keeping you steady against him until you were able to regain your focus. When he was satisfied with your condition, he pulled back, releasing your shoulders and instead reaching out for the glass of water on the table next to you.

“Drink,” he instructed, handing you the cup before standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

He stared at you for a moment before finally turning back and heading into the office at the back of the room.

You watched him go, feeling on edge, but complied, bringing the glass up to your lips and taking a long drink. The last thing you wanted to do was give this guy more reason to be upset with you. You were surprised at just how refreshing the water felt, and you had soon downed the entire glass, placing it back on the table when you were done.

“Alright, lay back down,” the lifeguard instructed as he returned.

“What?” you replied. What was he going to do to you? How had you even got here? Where was Taliyah?

He stopped before you, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked down at your shaky, terrified form. “Are you–”

“I’m sorry!” you exclaimed, bowing your head. “I didn’t mean to spill the snowballs on you! If you need to yell at me, go ahead. I’m sorry I didn’t just come out sooner and–”

It had occurred to you mid-ramble that he had yet to say anything, and you cut off your babbling, slowly looking up to find him staring at you with what you could only describe as a bewildered look on his face.

He blinked. “Is that why–”

“I’m so sorry!” you interrupted, bowing your head again. “If you want to ban me from the beach, I get it!”

“Ban ya from the beach?” he replied with a bark of laughter. “The only thing I wanted to do was get your number.”

“My… what?” You had to be hallucinating. There was no way he had just said that.

“Lay down first,” he spoke sternly, and you complied, still feeling stunned by his words.

Once you were laid down, he picked something up from the bed, which you recognized as another ice pack. He placed it on your forehead, the cool pack immediately flooding you with a feeling of relief. Closing your eyes, you let out a tired sigh, suddenly feeling fatigued.

“Get some rest, princess. We’ll talk when you’re up again.”

You took his advice, the cooling from the ice pack lulling you back to sleep, your eyelids too heavy to keep open.

When you woke up again, you felt infinitely better, your head clearer and body feeling less overheated. The ice pack on your forehead was room temperature, and it was now dark outside. There was a light illuminating your left side as you sat up in bed, turning to see the office in the back with its light on.

The cot squeaked under you, which was responded to by the squeak of a chair from inside the office, the red-haired lifeguard emerging from the office and approaching your bedside.

“Feelin’ any better?” he asked, and you nodded, biting your lip nervously. “Got you some more water.”

You looked over to the bedside table to see the water cup refilled and took hold of it, grateful to have something to focus on other than the intimidatingly muscular man before you.

You drank the entire glass before you forced yourself to finally address the situation before you. “Um… why am I here?”

“You passed out,” he replied bluntly, taking a seat on the cot next to yours. “Overheated yourself in that rat costume.”

“They’re not rats, they’re poros,” you replied, unsure of what to say.

He let out a huff of laughter. “Poros that important to you that you’re willin’ to fry yourself for ‘em?”

“No, that was…” you trailed off. Well, you might as well just admit it. If he had gone out of his way to care for you after you had passed out like an idiot, then he deserved the truth. “I was avoiding you. I was scared you were going to yell at me. My friend didn’t want to keep covering for me at the window so I decided to wear that stupid poro costume.”

“So that’s what that was about,” he replied. “And here I thought you were avoidin’ me ‘cuz you weren’t interested. Gave up on gettin’ your number and then got news that someone passed out from heat stroke.”

You were still having a hard time comprehending the asking for your number part, so you instead chose to focus on the other half. “Heat stroke?”

“Not sure what you expected, wearin’ that costume in this heat,” he said. “Can’t say nobody’s ever been afraid of me before, but giving themself heat stroke just to avoid me is a new one.”

He sounded somewhat self-deprecating, and you immediately felt bad. You had clearly misjudged him, and realized that he hadn’t even mentioned the snowball incident himself.

You forced yourself to meet his eyes, even with as awkward as you were currently felt. “I’m sorry for giving you so much trouble, and for spilling snowballs all over you. I’m just really sorry.”

He laughed. “Ain’t nothin’ for you to apologize for. I’ve had worse get on me since I started workin’ here, and usually it ain’t from a cute girl.”

You tensed in your seat, tearing your gaze from his to look down at your feet, your cheeks feeling warm.

“Hey, don’t go overheatin’ yourself again,” he scolded, standing up from the bed. “If you’re not interested, that’s fine, but I think it’s best if I take ya home. Don’t need your friend yellin’ at me again if you pass out on the way back.”

As much as you wanted to deny his assertion of you being not interested, you couldn’t muster up the courage, so you instead quietly accepted his offer of help. You would have to ask Taliyah what he had meant when you got back.

It was surprisingly cold on the beach at night, the icy breeze sending shivers along your skin. You stared out at the dark ocean waves, entranced by the water crashing against the sand, when your focus was broken by some soft fabric being laid over your shoulders.

You turned to look over your shoulder to see Sett just behind you on the steps of the lifeguard office, the jacket that was usually around his waist now laying on your shoulders.

He caught your curious look and raised an eyebrow. “You nearly cooked yourself to death today, I ain’t about to let you freeze yourself to death now.”

“Thanks,” you replied quietly, reaching a hand up to keep the jacket around your shoulders.

Your feet met the soft sand as you followed Sett towards the parking lot. The beach was totally empty, an odd contrast to how things were in the daytime. It felt weird to actually see the shape of the landscape unobscured by giant beach umbrellas and a sea of bodies. You only looked away from the empty scene when you realized that you had left the sand, and Sett was staring expectantly at you.

“…what?” you asked, getting the feeling that he had said something that you had missed.

“Which way?” he repeated with a quick glance at the street ahead of you.

“Oh right,” you replied. “My friend lives on Sandstone Way.”

Sett’s ears perked up. “By that tacky souvenir shop?”

“Yeah,” you laughed. “Right by there.”

You giggled at Sett’s assessment; you had noticed the eye-hurtingly brightly painted store when Taliyah had walked you to her house from the train station. She had rolled her eyes at the store as you surveyed the display of t-shirts with embarrassing designs on them, stating that sometimes they got some good rocks in, but it wasn’t worth the amount of tourists always asking for directions when she was walking around the neighborhood.

Looking over at Sett out of the corner of your eye, you were struggling to think of anything to say. He was dressed in just his sandals and shorts, his sunglasses forgone and giving you a clear look at his golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.

“So this your first summer here?” Sett asked, breaking the brief silence as you walked side by side. “I know I’d remember you if I’d seen ya before.”

“I was here for a summer when I was a kid,” you answered. “But everything looks so different now. Maybe I just saw this place differently when I was a kid.”

“Nah,” he dismissed. “It never used to be this busy here. Tourists bring money to this place, but it means it’s always loud around here.”

The conversation was slowly helping you feel more comfortable with the intimidatingly handsome lifeguard. You felt dumb for putting so much energy into avoiding him.

“So have you always lived here?” you asked.

“Born and raised,” he answered with a grin that you couldn’t help but feel looked a little sad. “Ma used to work at the boating shop… and the laundromat… and the candy store.”

“All at the same time?” you asked incredulously.

Sett shrugged. “Didn’t have much of a choice. Pa ran off on us when I was a kid, and it wasn’t like anyone would hire a fatherless runt to work for them.”

“Sounds like it was hard,” you replied. “Did you ever find out where he went?”

“For his sake, I’d better not,” Sett sneered. “I heard ma cry missin’ that scumbag more times than I can count. There ain’t a family here for that bastard to come back to.”

“How is your mom doing?” you asked as you turned onto Sandstone Way, passing by the tacky tourist shop, the flashy paint on the walls too bright even at night.

“She’s doin’ good,” he answered, finally looking happy with a satisfied smile. “Got her to quit her jobs when I started workin’ enough to pay the bills.”

“You’re a good son,” you complimented him. “She’s lucky to have you.”

You smiled at him, coming to a stop before Taliyah’s house. “Well, this is me. Thanks for walking me back.”

“Take care of yourself,” he said. “I don’t wanna see you passin’ out again.”

“I’ll try not to,” you replied. “No more poro costumes for me.”

“On that topic,” he purred, leaning closer to you. “You never gave me an answer.”

“An answer?” you squeaked, flustered by his sudden closeness.

“I’ve been tryin’ to get your number for days now,” he replied, and you did your best to supress a shiver from running up your spine. Was this real life?

You wet your lips with your tongue nervously, unable to miss how Sett’s sharp eyes watched the movement.

“I, um, I don’t have my phone on me,” you said, immediately realizing how dumb you sounded. You didn’t need your phone on you to tell him your number! You hastily made to amend your statement. “…but if you come by the stand tomorrow, I’ll give it to you!”

“Oh?” Sett’s grin was wide, gold eyes flashing dangerously. “I s’pose I could find some time to stop by. See you then, sweetheart.”

Sett turned to walk away, but you stopped him with a call of his name. “Wait, your jacket–”

“Keep it for the night,” Sett replied. “I’ll get it from you tomorrow.”

You reluctantly agreed, stunned silent by his bold flirting, his jacket sitting warm on your shoulders as you watched him walk away. You stared at his broad back until he was out of sight, only then turning to head inside, knowing Taliyah would be waiting.

The next morning she was still on you as you spent some extra time getting ready.

“I still can’t believe he gave you his jacket,” she teased with a grin. “I mean, I figured he was probably into you, but–”

“You what?” you replied as you paused styling your hair.

“I kept telling you to talk to him,” she replied. “No guy like that is going to wait outside your work for days in a row just to yell at you for spilling ice on him. But I didn’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

“I just feel so stupid giving myself heat stroke just go avoid him,” you lamented.

“Yeah,” Taliyah frowned. “If I had realized it was that hot out, I never would’ve let you go out in that thing.”

“It’s my own fault for being so dumb,” you insisted.

“But hey, it all worked out, didn’t it?” Taliyah grinned as she slipped on her water shoes. “You’ve got a hot lifeguard coming to visit you at work today.”

“Don’t remind me. I’m still super nervous,” you said, adjusting your beach dress over your most flattering swimsuit.

“You’ll be fine,” Taliyah replied. “He’s clearly super into you. You should’ve seen him when you passed out yesterday.”

“What?” You had been so tired last night that you had only told her the basics before crashing for the night, completely forgetting to ask her what had happened yesterday.

“Someone got him when you collapsed,” she told you. “You should’ve seen his face when he pulled off the poro head and saw it was you inside the costume! I tried to come with, but he told me he’d handle it. I maaay have threatened his life if anything happened to you, but just a little.”

You laughed. So that’s what Sett had been referring to.

Taliyah came up from behind you as you stared at your appearance in the mirror, resting her chin on your shoulder and meeting your eyes in the mirror. “Relax, you look great. Fuzzy ear boy isn’t gonna know what hit him!”

“Fuzzy ear–” you sputtered, laughing at Taliyah’s choice of words. “I guess his ears do look pretty fuzzy.”

“Well if he lets you pet them, tell me how soft they are!” she teased, pulling back from you to grab her bag. “Now let’s go. You’ve got a boy to meet!”

You somehow felt even more nervous today than you had the few days you had spent avoiding Sett. You were still having a hard time wrapping your head around the fact that a guy that looked like he had walked straight out of a fireman’s calendar was coming to your little beachfront ice cream stand for the sole purpose of getting your phone number. And his jacket, which was folded neatly on the countertop beside you.

You weren’t exactly sure when he was going to come. Usually, he would be there waiting outside in the morning before you opened, but all you had opened up to today was a sparsely-populated beachfront, no handsome lifeguards to be seen. By two in the afternoon, your anxiety had begun to get the better of you.

“Stop pacing,” Taliyah scolded you. “He’ll be here.”

“But what if he decided not to?” you said, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. “What if this was just a joke?”

“Then I’ll go kick his butt,” she responded plainly. “He’ll come. Relax.”

You were about to reply, when a ding of the service bell at the order window had you spinning around, ready to take an order, only for the words to die on your lips when you laid eyes on the well-muscled lifeguard with the fuzzy black ears just outside the order window, sending a grin your way.

“Here to pick up my order,” he said, leaning an arm against the window.

“Your… order?” you replied, too entranced by his appearance to properly make use of your brain.

“A pretty girl promised me her number if I came by,” he replied, looking down at you through his sunglasses.

“I… right… I…” You turned back quickly to see Taliyah staring expectantly at you, mouthing the word number at you. Right.

With slightly shaky hands, you reached for the small notepad at the front counter, taking that and a pen in hand and trying not to focus on the fact that Sett was watching you as you began to write.

Double-checking that the number was right, you handed the paper to him, your fingers touching as he took it from you. Remembering about your other promise, you reached over to grab the lifeguard jacket from the counter beside you. You went to hand him his jacket, surprised when he didn’t take it from you.

“What time do you get off?” he asked, and you answered a quiet six. “Give it back to me then.”

With a short wave and a grin, Sett made a show of stowing the phone number in his pocket before sauntering off and leaving you standing there slack-jawed.

“See? Was that so hard?” Taliyah called from her seat at the ice machine. “Now you just have to keep it together for your date.”

“I don’t know if I can,” you said, leaning back against the counter.

“You did last night, didn’t you?” she countered. “He’s just a guy. A really hot guy, but still. Don’t freak yourself out. You deserve a nice guy. It’s just a bonus that he has more abs than spiders have legs!”

You let out an amused huff. Taliyah was right, as she always was. You needed to get over yourself and let yourself have a good time tonight.”

But for now, you had customers to deal with. You and Taliyah let out a shared groan as you saw the nightmare mom and her army of brats heading towards you. You both returned to your posts, hoping their overly-complicated orders would be right on the first try this time.

Taliyah let out a yawn, stretching her arms high above her head before beginning the process of cleaning up for the day. After the last customer left, you hastily closed the order window, not wanting to give anyone the chance to come and beg about how it was only five minutes past closing and they’ve been wanting a banana split all day. You had learned your lesson from that mistake on day two.

Once the order windows were closed and locked, you joined Taliyah at the side counter, helping to return all the different containers of toppings to their rightful places. You found your hands moving slower, your nerves slowing you down in order to prolong the inevitable.

Taliyah eventually got tired of your pitiful attempt at stalling for time and gently removed the container of blue sprinkles from your grasp. “Just go, I’ll finish up here.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, and Taliyah sent you an unimpressed look. “Okay, fine, I’m going, I’m going.”

“I hope you know I expect all the details later!” she grinned as you made your way to the door, hesitating with your hand on the door handle for only a moment before opening the door.

It was mercifully less warm outside today than it had been yesterday, not to mention that you were also minus a heavy mascot costume. Yesterday hadn’t ended too badly for you, but you would still prefer to not end today in a hospital if you exacerbated your current heat-sensitive state.

You weren’t sure if you preferred if Sett was already there, or if you got there first to wait for him; neither option seemed to abate your nerves. But of course, the lifeguard was prompt as always, leaning against one of the beams that held up the awning above the order window.

You didn’t think you had been making much noise walking along the sand, but he seemed to hear you, turning to face you with a grin as you approached.

“Ready?” he asked as you came to a stop before him, tucking some of your hair behind your ear in an effort to keep your cool.

“Yeah,” you answered, impressed that your voice hadn’t come out squeaky with how nervous you were.

“Good,” he replied, before his grin turned teasing. “Was half expectin’ ya to come on our date in that rat costume.”

“Poro!” you corrected again, trying not to get flustered by his mention of this being a date. You weren’t sure what else it would be, but you couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered in your stomach when he had acknowledged the obvious.

He surprised you by taking your hand, pulling you along with him as you tried desperately not to stumble and fall into the sand.

The beach crowd was beginning to thin out, people heading home or to one of the many beachfront restaurants nearby. Watching as a kid packed up his sand toys, you wondered if one of those restaurants was where you were headed as well. Sett hadn’t told you anything about what the plan was, and you found yourself curious when he led you to the bright white lifeguard office.

At first, you had thought that maybe he had forgotten something, at least until you followed him into the small building to see what looked to be the table that had previously held all the first aid kits, now decked out in a soft-looking purple picnic blanket. On top of the makeshift picnic table was a spread of various tasty-looking finger foods, the scene completed by two chairs pulled up to the table, cushions with a starfish pattern placed on the seats.

You were perhaps too dumbfounded by the sight, as you snapped out of it to Sett calling your name, looking over at him to see him looking surprisingly tense. You should probably say something, you realized.

“It looks great,” you said, meaning every word as you looked over the table. “Are those cabbage rolls?”

“Ma helped me make ‘em,” Sett explained, looking bashful for the first time since you had met him as he raised an arm to scratch at the back of his neck. “Helped me with all of this, actually. Never done anythin’ like this before.”

“You mean a picnic?” you asked curiously.

Sett chuckled. “Picnics. Dates. Not a lotta women ‘round here who wanted anythin’ to do with a fatherless half-breed.”

You had a hard time believing that; you had noticed several mothers checking him out as they packed their family’s stuff to leave the beach. But the hint of something sad in his eyes made you reconsider. You had no memory of seeing someone like him that summer you had spent here, but it wasn’t like that was a surprise to you. You and Taliyah had been in your own little world at that time, only ever spending time with each other.

“Well I’m excited to try your cooking,” you said, figuring a change of subject was for the best.

Sett grinned as he sat down. “Should be decent. Haven’t poisoned anyone since high school.”

Your eyes widened, hand freezing on its path to grab a cabbage roll, startled eyes darting to his.

Sett let out a bark of laughter at your alarmed face. “Relax. Wouldn’t poison ya. Maybe those kids that keep swimmin’ into the boating zone, but not you.”

“Thanks… I think?” you replied, biting your lip as you stared down at the cabbage rolls, weighing your options.

“Wasn’t real poison anyways,” he scoffed, taking some rolls from himself. “Not my fault sugar and salt look the same.”

You laughed, grabbing some food for yourself at last. “I suppose they kinda do.”

“Ma didn’t wanna hurt my feelings, but I knew when I tried some myself,” he explained.

“It was nice of her to try,” you offered.

“Too nice,” he said. “Ma is always too nice. Never said anythin’ bad about my old man, even after what he did. Had to work three jobs for years because of that bastard, but not a word.”

“Well I’m sure she’s glad she has you,” you commented. “Even if you give her food poisoning sometimes.”

“Once,” he corrected, taking a bite. “Learned my lesson the first time.”

You followed his lead, finding the food to be entirely poison-free, and actually the best home-cooked meal you had eaten in a long time. The conversation moved to swapping work stories, and you were unsurprised to find out that the mother and her the demon children had been a thorn in Sett’s side as well.

“They really buried sleeping sunbathers in sand?”

“Five times in a day one time,” Sett grouchily confirmed. “Last time Braum went to handle it. Said I would bury those little assholes under the sand if I had to go yell at them one more time.”

You sympathized with his pain. You felt lucky that you had only experienced the tip of the annoyingness iceberg with that group of little terrors.

“Braum?” you inquired as you both left the lifeguard office, the beach now fully dark.

“Fellow lifeguard,” he answered, nonchalantly taking your hand in his as you made your way off the beach. “Bald, giant moustache, even bigger than me. Better at the whole gentle-but-firm thing than I am.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen him before. He comes by for poro pops sometimes,” you said, mind drawing a picture of the surprisingly friendly man in the small purple swim bottoms with a weakness for poro-shaped ice pops. “So are you the head lifeguard then?”

Sett considered your question. “Guess I am the boss of ‘em. All of the other lifeguards are always comin’ at me with problems to solve. The extra pay doesn’t hurt either if I wanna keep momma from feelin’ like she has to work.”

“Say thank you to her from me for the dinner. It was really good,” you said as you passed by the familiar tacky souvenir shop.

“She’ll be happy to hear it,” he replied with a soft smile that made your heart thump in your chest. “I know she wishes she had more to cook for than just me.”

You both came to a stop before Taliyah’s house, and you sneakily glanced over just to make sure Taliyah wasn’t peeking out from a window, which she wasn’t. You turned your focus back to Sett, only to find him closer than he had just been. How was he so good at sneaking up on you?

A large hand came up to cup your jaw, thumb brushing against your cheek, and your face was tilted up towards Sett’s. You were glad it was dark out, because otherwise you knew your reddening cheeks would be obvious.

“Still afraid of me?” he asked, voice low, lips so close to yours that you could make out a small scar that crossed over his bottom lip.

“No,” you answered, making no move to pull away as you stared up into his eyes. “Not unless I was about to taste your high school cooking.”

“Smart,” he replied with a smirk. “But I’m talkin’ about right now, because if you don’t turn and run into that house, I’m gonna kiss you.”

Your bag almost tumbled from your grasp, but you held fast as you stared at Sett, whose own had already become half-lidded. You had no words to describe how much you didn’t want to run right now, so you didn’t use any, instead angling your face further upwards, trying to make your willingness abundantly clear.

With a grin, he leaned down and kissed you.

Pulling back slightly, he dove back in, his other hand coming to your waist to pull you against him. You happily leant into him, your hands on his firm chest.

When he pulled back again, you opened your eyes at last, feeling almost as dizzy as right before you had passed out from heat stroke.

Sett looked content, and you were only hoping you looked half as composed as he did right now. He leaned back in to give you one more peck before pulling back from you entirely, the cold from the air outside immediately apparent as soon as you were minus his warm hands against your skin.

“Think I’ll stop by tomorrow,” he said. “Been cravin’ a cherry snowball for some reason lately.”

Sett was a man of his word, you learned, though you were less happy to see him the next day when he asked if he could order a cherry snowball served like last time, and then laughed as you had proceeded to sputter like a broken machine.

His visits became daily, sometimes bringing Braum with him, who continued to surprise you with the sheer amount of poro pops he was able to consume in one sitting. Quite a few nights a week, you had found yourself all around Port Navori with the half-Vastayan lifeguard. You were surprised at how supportive Taliyah was being, considering you had originally come here to spend time with her.

“Gives me more time to surf,” she answered with a shrug when you had asked her. “And maybe that boyfriend of yours can convince you to stay here after the summer is over.”

“Boyfriend?” you yelped, and Taliyah raised an eyebrow.

“You aren’t? I thought he would have made it official by now. It’s been over two weeks… have you guys even done it?”

“Taliyah!” you scolded her, switching back to professional mode as a group of people approached the stand.

As you helped prepare their orders, you couldn’t help but think about what she had said. You and Sett had kissed quite a lot actually, but he had yet to do more than that. But it was far too embarrassing a subject for you to have the confidence to broach, so you had resolved yourself to just be content with things as they were.

It was just your luck that right then was when Sett had decided to make his daily visit to the stand, approaching the counter as the other group left.

Taliyah apparently wasn’t done pestering you for the day as she sped to meet him at the counter before you could get there yourself.

“Hey!” she greeted Sett with a sly smile as you stood frozen behind her, nervous about her motivations. “You’re on your break, right?”

Sett raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”

“Well,” she said, in the voice you knew meant that she wanted something. “There’s a surfing contest I entered, and it’s almost my turn and it won’t even take that long and–”

“Tali!” you interrupted, rushing over to the counter.

“All I need is an hour,” Taliyah insisted, before pulling you beside her at the counter. “And she needs some help while I’m gone since lunchtime is when most of the people come by.”

“I’m fine, I–”

“I’m in,” Sett cut in, eyeing you with almost palpable smugness.

“Awesome!” Taliyah replied, immediately shucking her apron and hat onto the floor in her haste to get out the door. “Have fun, see you after I win!”

“Taliyah!”

Your call of her name fell on deaf ears as she already had her board and was out the door, leaving you standing at the counter with Sett still leaning against the counter.

Sett reached up to pull his sunglasses off, tucking them into his packet, his golden eyes fully uncovered and sparkling with mischief, the sight alone making you feel weary.

“Well? You gonna invite me in?” he asked. “Not sure I’d fit through the window.”

You scrambled to meet him at the back door, not wanting him to try and get into the shop through the order window that was less wide than he was. It was a strange feeling to open the back door of the shop to a guy that was almost too tall for the doorway, and another thing entirely to try and corral him into behaving as you tried to keep the ice cream stand functioning while Taliyah was gone.

“Aren’t lifeguards supposed to set a good example for others?” you huffed, wiping ice from your apron. At least he hadn’t made things truly equal and put cherry syrup on the ball of shaved ice he had pressed against your neck.

“Not when I’m off the clock,” he answered. “Besides, it’s my once in a lifetime chance to see what workin’ one of these is like.”

It would definitely be only one time if you had anything to say about it. If the almost-hour with him here had taught you anything, it was that Sett was not cut out to work in an ice cream shop.

The scoops of ice cream he doled out were easily twice the size of the ones Taliyah did, which made for happy customers, but a less happy bottom line if he was here for more than an hour. He was also lacking Taliyah’s patience, and you were forced to sideline him when an especially picky middle-aged woman came by who insisted you remake her smoothie four times until it had an acceptable pH level. The woman’s complaints had miraculously stopped the moment Sett had approached the window himself, becoming so invested in flirting with the handsome lifeguard that she had snatched her next smoothie attempt from you without complaint, not even glancing your way as she batted her eyes at him, only leaving when he excused himself with an excuse of needing to make more orders.

You approached Sett to check on him and found yourself pulled down into his lap as he leaned back in the chair.

Huffing, he pulled you against him, nuzzling against your neck. “Don’t know how you deal with that. Couldn’t pay me to make her damn smoothie one more time.”

“You get used to it,” you replied. “Don’t you deal with worse as a lifeguard?”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “But nothin’ sayin’ I gotta be nice when I deal with ‘em.”

“That’s true,” you laughed.

“If anyone complains, they can go somewhere else. Ain’t another beach within a hundred miles as well-run as this one,” he bragged, kissing at your neck.

As much as you were enjoying his sudden affection, you knew time was running low until Taliyah would return. You made to pull back to tell Sett that, but were instead pulled into a kiss that took you a few breathless moments to find the strength to escape.

“This Friday,” he murmured, face inches from yours. “There’s a party at the pool. You should come with me.”

You had heard about the exclusive pool parties on this beach from Taliyah, but hadn’t expected to ever get an invite. The pool, which was at the far end of the beach from the ice cream stand, was as exclusive as it got. Gated with walls so high that you couldn’t see in, it was the membership-only place to be for all of the elite in the beach town of Port Navori.

“Is that… okay?” you asked hesitantly.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he countered, and you didn’t really have an answer. “It’ll be fine. Come. Have some people I wanna introduce ya to.”

The door burst open at the same time as you nodded your agreement, revealing Taliyah clutching both her dripping board as well as a shiny blue ribbon.

“You won?” you asked, trying to disentangle yourself from Sett, who reluctantly let you up.

“Easily!” Taliyah gloated. “Nobody else stood a chance. So how were things here?”

“The money ain’t worth the drama of this place,” Sett griped.

Taliyah laughed. “Smoothie lady come back with a vengeance?”

“I’ll take kids buryin’ sunbathers up to their ears over this any day,” he replied with a grimace, standing up and stretching.

At his mention of ears, Taliyah had brought both hands up to her own head about where Sett’s were on his head, and you quickly waved at her to cut it out before he saw. Thankfully she did, but you could tell that you were going to get asked if you had pet his ears yet as soon as his fuzzy ears were out of earshot.

“I’ll text ya the time when I know it,” Sett said, giving you a quick kiss on the head and a two-fingered salute to Taliyah before heading out the back door.

“So?” Taliyah asked, pulling the chair up to the ice cream station after she had stashed her prize ribbon in her bag. “Are they as soft as they look?”

“I didn’t pet them,” you answered.

“It’s been over two weeks!” she complained. “Has he at least asked you to be his girlfriend yet?”

You shook your head. “He did invite me to a pool party with him on Friday at that fancy pool.”

“Really?” Taliyah responded, eyes wide. “You have to tell me what it’s like! I mean, I’ve seen satellite photos, but it’s not the same…”

“I’ll probably be too nervous to remember any of it,” you grumbled.

“This is your chance!” Taliyah encouraged. “By Friday it’ll be three weeks. You need to ask him if he sees you as his girlfriend or not.”

You reeled back, waves of anticipatory anxiety rolling over you. “I don’t want to scare him off. What if this is just casual to him and I’m too dumb to see it?”

“Then you’ll know,” she replied. “I know you. It’ll eat you up if you put this much energy into a guy without knowing how he feels about you. So ask. If he says no, then at least you’ll have an entire store’s worth of ice cream to drown yourself in after!”

Taliyah was right. She was always right. You knew that you couldn’t keep whatever this was up without knowing where you stood with him. The more time you spent with Sett, the more you wanted, and if he intended to keep things casual, you would rather know sooner so you could make an informed decision.

So that would be the plan then. Go to the party, have a good time (and get some photos of the pool for Taliyah) and then ask Sett about the state of your relationship. Sounded easy in theory. You could only hope you could muster up the courage to go through with the plan when the time came.

After hearing that the party was to start at four, Taliyah had gone all out, closing the stand at two so she could help you get ready to impress the snobs. You hadn’t put up too much of a fight, happy to have her help and her company, as your nerves only climbed higher the closer it got to four o’clock.

“You’ll be fine,” Taliyah said as she styled your hair. “You’ll only feel worse if you don’t get an answer from him. And with how good you’ll look at the party, he won’t be able to say no!”

“Thanks, Tali,” you replied gratefully. “I promise I’ll get you a bunch of photos of the pool. And whatever else you want.”

“What I want is for you to stay here for good,” she said. “So really I’m just doing myself a favor by helping you. This place has been a hundred times more bearable since you’ve been here, and I want it to stay that way.”

“Still,” you persisted. “I feel bad that you’re going to so much trouble. If you want anything, just let me know.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Taliyah dismissed with a wave of her hand. “You should get going, don’t wanna be late to the fancy pool party.”

She practically shoved you out the door, and then you were alone, walking down the mostly-empty sidewalk. As you walked along the street, you couldn’t help but dwell on the possibilities. What would happen at the party? What would Sett say?

If he told you that he wasn’t looking for anything serious, what would you do? It was hard to have an answer for until you were in the moment, since a lot of it would depend on what Sett’s answer would be.

You walked through the parking lot, and then onto the beach, passing by kids building sandcastles and games of beach volleyball as you walked towards the end of the beach where the pool was. As you made your way to the fancier end of the beach, you began to notice the differences that marked the split between here and the side of the beach that you were usually on.

The shops on this side of the beach were much fancier, the sand littered with designer beach chairs and umbrellas. It was crazy just how different two ends of one beach could be.

The pool was noticeable from a great distance, or at least the wall white walls that surrounded it were. At least you weren’t going to get lost and miss the party entirely.

You approached the pristine white stairs that led from the beach up to the pool entrance, equal parts excited and apprehensive. The entrance was an open doorway, covered by a deep blue curtain and guarded by a muscled bouncer in white. The sight alone was intimidating; why hadn’t you just asked Sett to meet you beforehand?

You plastered a reluctant smile on your face before approaching the man. “Hi, I–”

“Name,” he interrupted, not looking up from his clipboard, sunglasses too dark for you to see his eyes.

Well it wasn’t like you hadn’t expected some level of standoffishness from the elite side of the beach. Keeping your smile up, you told him your name, waiting the prerequisite few moments for him to leaf through the list.

He seemed to have found what he was looking for, as his hand with the clipboard went to his side and he moved over to the curtain, pulling it to one side to allow you to enter. He had said nothing further, but seemed to be staring in your direction, so you took that as your cue and walked towards the now-open entryway and into the pool.

The entryway led into a hallway with pristine white walls, soft lighting hanging overhead. You could begin to hear chatter as you got closer to the end of the hallway, exiting into an explosion of sight and sound.

The pool was huge, and there seemed to be an intricate gold pattern on the tiles at the bottom. The pool was surrounded by lounge chairs and umbrellas, tropical foliage bordering the inner walls around the pool.

There were people all over, in and out of the pool. There was also a bar in the center which seemed to be very popular, as many people were carrying around intricate-looking cocktails.

More than the scenery or the people, your eyes were scanning the area for Sett. You checked your phone again to make sure, finding that it was the time he had told you to be here for. Maybe he was just running late or…

Your rising concern was broken up by the tap of designer wedges on the granite heading your way. You looked up from your phone to see two girls heading towards you, one of which you realized you had seen before.

The stuck-up redhead that had been the reason you had been out on the beach to spill the snowball on Sett in the first place was striding towards you, not a hair out of place underneath her likely-expensive sun hat. At her side was a lilac-haired woman in a swimsuit with a plunging neckline that was color blocked with various shades of purple. Together they made quite a striking pair, but your previous encounter with the redhead had you wishing that Sett would get here soon to save you from the impending conversation.

“Look, Sarah,” the purple-haired one sneered as they came to a stop before you. “So eager to pretend she’s one of us that she rushed right over.”

You took a step back, but that only seemed to embolden them.

Sarah lowered her sunglasses, staring at you like you were in her way. “Sad when they don’t know their place, Syndra.”

“Sett invited me here,” you replied defensively.

The women exchanged a pointed look before Sarah raised an eyebrow at you, a hand on her hip. “You ever think about why that was?”

“What?” you replied, unsure of what she was getting at.

“She doesn’t get it,” Syndra said with a cruel undertone in her voice that unnerved you.

“Look around,” Sarah said sharply. “Really look. Do half the people here look like they belong?”

You looked around, not sure what you were supposed to be seeing. A man with a hook-nose sat at the pool bar, flanked by women in skimpy bikinis. A humanoid form that seemed to be made of water conversed poolside with a large purple man in a ratty straw hat who was holding a ukulele. What were you supposed to be noticing?

“Sett is too nice to break it to you, so the job falls to me,” Sarah said with a smirk. “This is our annual loser fest. Charity case race. Bring-a-freak-to-work-day.”

“Pig party,” Syndra supplied.

“Yeah, pig party,” Sarah repeated, noticing your confused look. “Don’t know what that is? Poor thing.”

“I don’t–”

“It’s pretty simple,” Sarah interrupted. “We take half the summer to find the biggest freak we can, and then we bring them all together and crown a winner, and by the looks of you, Sett is really going for the top prize.”

You gasped, eyes wide, suddenly feeling like you were going to be sick.

“Aw, you really thought he liked you, huh?” Syndra mocked with fake sweetness.

“He didn’t… he never…” you stammered, clutching your bag to your chest.

“Well duh,” Sarah replied haughtily. “He wanted to win. Do you tell a pig when it’s about to become bacon?”

“What is meaning of this?” Braum accused, storming up to your group. “I have not heard of such a thing!”

“Need-to-know, Braum,” Syndra dismissed.

“And you didn’t need to know,” Sarah added.

You felt numb. This whole time… is that why Sett wouldn’t ask you to be his girlfriend? Why he never did more than kiss you? All this time, he had just seen you as a prize pig for an ugly date contest? It all made sense now, why he had been so desperate to get your number. He had never liked you… it had all been one sick joke. You should’ve known; nobody as attractive as Sett would ever see you as anything but a freak. And was too cowardly to come and tell you the truth to your face.

“Look, she’s crying,” Syndra taunted. “Don’t cry! Soon you’ll be queen pig!”

You couldn’t do this. You couldn’t stay here with all these people who saw you as less than human as your heart was breaking into pieces. You were so, so stupid, now wanting nothing more than to cry in peace. So you did, turning and running as fast as your legs would take you out of this awful place.

“Bye, piggy! We’ll ship you the ribbon!”

You heard Braum shout your name, as well as the cruel laughter of the women, but you didn’t stop running. Not when you got to the beach, nor the parking lot or the tacky souvenir shop, the sayings on the gaudy shirts too blurry to read through your tears. Your feet didn’t stop until you were at the doorstep to Taliyah’s home, out of breath, tears running down your cheeks.

The door opened, Taliyah’s face appearing in the doorway. “Hey, did you forget– wait, what happened?”

“Settrigh, stay still!”

Sett frowned, but did as his momma requested, allowing her to tie the ends of his hair after she had finished arranging it. He loved his ma dearly, but he really didn’t have time for her to redo his hair ten times right now.

It was getting way too close to the start time he had given you, and with how nervous of a person you were, he had intended to be on time, but that was before his mother had discovered the reason why he was cutting their visit short today.

Ma was aware that he had been seeing someone, had been ever since Sett had needed help making food for their first date.

“You do intend to let me meet her, Settrigh?” she asked, stepping back once she had fixed his hair to her satisfaction.

“Yes, ma,” he answered, standing up from the chair.

He wasn’t exactly surprised by his momma’s eagerness, considering this was the first girl he had ever dated, let alone considered introducing to her. This world was shallow; he had learned that early in life, which may be why he found himself so drawn to a girl who had put her all into having nothing to do with him. You broke up the monotony in this busy beach town and gave him something to look forward to other than seeing his ma for the first time in a long time.

Sett knew he was working on a time limit. You had mentioned that you had planned on only visiting Port Navori for the summer, and the summer was half over already, which meant his chances to convince you to stay were also halved, which is where tonight came in.

He had been taking things slow, not wanting to come on too strong and scare you off like he had watched happen to many a beachfront pick-up artist. He had been unwilling to rush things and lose you, but the slip of the calendar into August had forced his hand.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit apprehensive as to how today would end. How would you take him asking you to be girlfriend? He could only hope that he hadn’t misread you entirely.

He didn’t go to the pool parties often, but it seemed like a good way for him to introduce you to his friends, as they didn’t often all gather outside of those parties. He knew you would likely feel out of place, but Braum would be there, and he intended to stick by your side the entire time. And then after the party, if things went well, then maybe he would end the night with you as his girlfriend, but the party would be the first step.

As he left his ma’s house, he found his mind turning to the party. If you were wearing that red swimsuit you had worn last week, then it was going to be a difficult night for his self-control. His desire to take things slow had really taken a hit then, his only saving grace being ma’s lecture on being a gentleman pounding in his head as he tried not to look at how your chest was half-busting out of your top as you leaned over to pick a thread off of his glove. You were really too hot for your own good, which made him all the more eager to see you.

He knew he was running late, the party having started at least ten minutes earlier. It wasn’t his style to be late, but he was also pretty helpless to defy his ma. He only hoped that you hadn’t given up on him and left.

He took the shortest route possible, which included a short trek through some bushes that left him more leafy than he would’ve liked, but it was all forgotten when he spotted the stairs that led up to the pool entrance.

He was able to bypass the doorman who was only half as big as he was and seemed to be wary of interacting with him, stepping out of the way as Sett approached. He pushed past the curtain, hurried steps heading down the hallway. You hadn’t been waiting outside, so clearly you had been able to get in. He tried to fight back the excited grin that wanted to take over his face, but it was a losing battle as he entered the pool area, eyes immediately scanning the area for you.

“Your cruelty is unimaginable!” Braum’s booming voice carried easily through the air. “That girl has done nothing to be deserving of such treatment!”

What had Braum so worked up? Generally he was an easy guy to get along with, easily Sett’s most tolerable co-lifeguard. Not much phased him, which was a little concerning. But Sett had other priorities, the most important being locating you.

You weren’t in the pool, and didn’t seem to be sitting in any of the chairs. Maybe you had gone to the bathroom and would be right back–

“Well how else was she supposed to know Sett is too good for her? She clearly wasn’t going to see reality without a little help.”

Sett’s ears perked up, his attention snagged by the mention of his name, but especially by the latter half of the sentence. He turned around to see Sarah Fortune with Syndra at her side, who had her arms crossed and looked bored. In front of them was Braum, looking more irate than Sett had ever seen him.

“What’s this about?” Sett asked in a warning tone as he approached, the fur of his ears standing on end, leaving him feeling like he wasn’t going to like where this was headed.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Sarah dismissed, flipping her hair behind her shoulder with a flick of her head. “We just showed a daydreaming little clout chaser the way out.”

Sett’s eyebrow rose. “A what?”

“Your ice cream girl,” Braum cut in. “These two have told her that this is a party for pigs. They have told her that you intend to bring her here to win ugly contest, and then she had run off.”

“What?” Sett growled dangerously, but the two women remained nonplussed.

“We did you a favor,” Syndra stressed. “If we get a reputation of letting just anyone in, then we’ll lose all status as members of the ruling class of the food chain. So we decided to throw this little pig party to make you come back to your senses.”

“You’re one of us, Sett,” Sarah added. “This pool doesn’t have room for little nobodies who don’t know their place.”

“Rather be a nobody than whatever the hell this is,” Sett snarled angrily, the full knowledge of the truth turning his bad feeling to a mix of simmering fury at the two women, and worry for you. He hated himself for being late and allowing this to happen to you. “Save your concern and don’t talk to me again.”

“But we were–” Syndra started, but Sett wasn’t in the mood.

“If you even look at her again, you’ll have me to deal with. And unlike that girl you just bullied outta here, I ain’t so nice.”

With that, Sett turned on his heel and stormed towards the exit to go do his best to fix this mess.

Braum quickly followed behind him. “My friend, I am sorry I could not stop them in time.”

“Ain’t your fault,” Sett replied. “Wish I’d have known. Gotta go see if she’ll even talk to me at this point.”

“I wish you luck,” Braum said as exited the hallway and emerged out into the sunny late afternoon.

Sett parted from Braum, taking the stairs two at a time as he surveyed the area, trying to see if he could catch sight of you. He quickly crossed the sand, making a beeline for the ice cream stand, even if it seemed like a longshot. He passed by a group of kids throwing sand on an older man sleeping on a towel, but ignored it and kept going. If anything was on fire, Braum could put it out. Sett’s sole focus right now was finding you and hoping you’d let him explain himself.

His chest felt heavy with anger and regret. How could he have let this happen? He hadn’t realized how cruel those women could be, and it had led to them making you believe he thought you were some freak he was using for convenience, which could not be farther from the truth.

Seeing those two talk about you like you were a pariah had brought him right back to when he was younger, to what he had endured at the hands of people just like Syndra and Sarah. People who had ostracized him, did their best to make him feel like he didn’t have a place here. Sett-the-beast-boy-bastard; the words had haunted him for a long time.

He had grown tough in response to the years of bullying, but you hadn’t. This was your first exposure to how awful this place could be. He and ma had dealt with it for years after pa ran off; he had nearly gotten expelled from school after a particularly bad fight with a kid that had made one too many nasty comments about his ma to his face.

Sett stopped, letting out a frustrated sigh as he saw the large closed sign on the front windows of the ice cream shop. So that was a bust. Without giving the store a second look, he continued on towards the rocks and then up to the parking lot.

There was only one other place to try. Chest tight, Sett followed the same path he had the night of your first date, the same path he took every time he walked you home. The walk there was one long blur, his feet unable to stop moving until the familiar house was in sight. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sett approached the front door, rapping his knuckles against the wood. When no answer came, he tried again, and after a few moments, the door opened to reveal Taliyah, who glared once she caught sight of him.

“What do you want?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Is she here? I need to talk to her,” Sett said, urgency bleeding into his voice.

Taliyah sighed, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. “You’re lucky I’m even talking to you after this. You don’t deserve to talk to her if that’s how you let your friends treat her.”

“They ain’t my friends,” Sett argued. “If I’d have known they were gonna pull that shit–”

A sly smile lifted the corner of Taliyah’s lips. “Good answer. If you had said anything else, then I’d be slamming the door in your face right about now.”

“Then can I–”

“Talk to her?” Taliyah interrupted. “Nope. Not a good idea.”

Sett’s face must have taken on a darker quality, because Taliyah retreated back a step, raising her hands in the air in mock surrender. “Relax, tough guy. I didn’t mean it like that. But she’s a little too upset to talk to you right now.”

The information only made Sett feel worse. He wanted so badly to talk to you, to do what he had wanted to do before this mess had happened and make you his girlfriend. You had never felt farther away than you did right now.

“Give me some time to calm her down. I can get her to be at the pier at seven, then the rest is up to you,” she said, levelling him with a stern look. “I know this wasn’t your fault. That’s the only reason I’m giving you a chance. She really likes you, so try not to make her feel any worse than she already does. Bye.”

And then Taliyah was gone, retreating back into the house and leaving Sett standing on the doorstep.

“Brought you some water,” Taliyah announced as she entered the room, glass in hand.

“Who was at the door?” you asked.

She shrugged. “Someone looking for my dad. Told them he’s not here.”

You nodded. It was probably too much to hope that it would be Sett. You winced as you thought his name. You hated how much you wanted to see him, someone who had used you to win some popular kid ugly date contest.

So it had all been a lie then? All the things he had told you about his life, his family? Every time he had kissed you, was he picturing kissing one of those girls instead? Is this really what popular people did for fun? You felt stupid for falling for it, for falling for him. You were so stupid.

With some prompting from Taliyah, you took a sip of the water. After she had made sure you had drank the whole glass, she sat down next to you, taking the glass from you and setting it down on the bedside table.

“I should have known,” you croaked.

“Known that popular girls are bitchy? Maybe,” she responded.

“That it was too good to be true,” you corrected.

“You’re acting like you’re eighty,” she scolded. “There are other guys out there. Ones who don’t have shitty friends.”

“Yeah, I know,” you replied. “But I really liked him. And I didn’t even get to pet his stupid fuzzy ears.”

“Well if you’re joking, then you must be doing okay,” she said. “How about we go do something to take your mind off of things?”

You frowned, and she rolled her eyes. “Not right this second. I’ll give you until six-thirty to get yourself ready to go.”

Taliyah got up off the bed and headed towards the door. “I’m not gonna let your night be ruined because of a couple of snobs.”

She closed the door, leaving you alone with your thoughts again. You laid back on the bed, intent on taking some time before you got ready to just veg out. As much as the notion of going out didn’t excite you right now, it was probably better than being a mopey mess all night. There would be other guys; it was just a shame that you had liked this one so much.

Two hours later, you were walking down the street with Taliyah. Your getting ready to go had consisted of washing your face of all the smeared makeup from your crying, brushing your hair into a semi-decent state and then watching dumb cat videos on your phone until you felt like you didn’t want to crawl in a hole and die.

Taliyah had assured you that you didn’t look bad, which you might have believed if you hadn’t seen yourself in the mirror as you were leaving, but at this point you were beyond caring about how you looked right now.

Taliyah had refused to tell you where she was taking you, and so you were forced to follow her down the familiar path towards the beach, unsure of where it was you were being led. Part of you was worried that you might run into Sett, but then the more rational side of you took over; he was likely back at that pool, partying it up with those girls and lamenting that you had run off before he could win his ugly date prize. It was crazy to realize just how flawed your judgment had been.

You had expected to be walking onto the beach, as it was where you two usually spent most of your time, but Taliyah didn’t go to the parking lot, instead heading towards the rockier section of the beach. You hadn’t been over here before, only vaguely aware of the area as a prime fishing location, bait shops and the like lining the street across from this part of the beachfront.

She took you past the fishing spots, down to near the end of the beach, where there was a small pier that went about thirty feet out into the sea. Like most of the beach at this time on a weekday, the pier was empty, most of the fishermen also having headed out with their day’s catches.

Taliyah led you down the pier to the small bench at the end of it, pushing you to sit down. When she didn’t do the same, you looked up at her, confused.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m gonna go grab something to help cheer you up. You just enjoy the view for a bit.”

You decided to follow her advice, staring out at the water. There wasn’t much to see other than some boats in the far distance and some buoys bobbing in the water that marked the swimming section from the boating section.

It was kind of nice in a way, the calm waters helping you to relax as you watched the waves roll in and out. You stayed like that for a while as you allowed yourself to zone out until you began to wonder how much time had passed. Pulling out your phone, you saw that it had been almost twenty minutes, and yet there was no sign of Taliyah as you looked around.

You had assumed that she went to get you two some food, which likely was still the case. Some of the places here tended to have rather large dinnertime crowds, so a twenty minute plus wait wasn’t exactly unusual. You had no idea where she had gone, so all you could do was wait. If she wasn’t back by seven, you would just text her and ask what was up.

You let yourself be taken in again by the rolling waves as you continued to wait, trying to recall what kinds of restaurants there were on the beachfront. It couldn’t be that fish and chips place; Taliyah had spent a full half hour last week complaining about how stale their food was. Or the taco place, since it had been closed for renovations for the past week. You had been trying to think of a third option when your concentration was broken by someone taking a seat next to you on the bench.

You looked over, expecting to see Taliyah back with some food, but instead nearly jolted off of the bench when next to you was the very man you were out here trying to forget.

Just seeing him when you were feeling so pathetic sent a jolt of you weren’t sure what up your spine, your flight instincts screaming at you as you made to stand up, only to be stopped by a firm grip on your wrist.

“I know you don’t wanna see my face right now,” Sett said. “But I can explain.”

“Explain what?” you replied meekly. “Those girls explained enough.”

“I haven’t,” he insisted. “Just listen for a minute. Then you can leave, or punch me, whatever you want.”

You took a look around, still not seeing Taliyah anywhere. You weren’t sure what he could have to say that would make much of a difference, but you sat back down, and he let go of your wrist.

You turned reluctantly to face Sett, waiting for him to talk first.

“Never told ‘em to do somethin’ like that,” he said gruffly. “Didn’t even know about it ‘til I got there and you weren’t there.”

“But they said…” you started, taking a breath to keep yourself calm as you prepared to recount the hurtful words. “They said you were only spending time with me so you could win their whole ugly date contest.”

Sett’s eyes narrowed, the skin of his knuckles tightening on his curling fists. “First I’ve heard of it. Ain’t no way you’d ever place in an ugly contest anyways.”

His words threw you. “Wait, so you don’t think I’m ugly?”

He snorted, a grin playing at his lips. “Well I was plannin’ on askin’ you to be my girlfriend after the party, so nah, I don’t think you’re ugly.”

“You–” you gasped, pulse skyrocketing. This was not how you expected this conversation to go. You were half convinced you were experiencing auditory hallucinations until Sett reached over, pulling you into his side.

“This is my fault,” he spoke lowly. “If I hadn’t been late, I’d have been there to stop that from happening.”

“What happened when you got there?” you asked quietly.

“Braum told me what happened, then those two tried tellin’ me they did it for my sake,” he growled. “I thought I was used to seein’ through bullies from how I grew up. Doesn’t matter now, they won’t be botherin’ you anymore unless they wanna find out why momma says I got her temper.”

“Why were you late anyways?” you asked.

He groaned, leaning his head back against the bench. Even with the sun mostly set, you could clearly see a pink tone to his cheeks.

“What is it?” you pressed, curious about why the intimidating lifeguard was suddenly being so shy.

He let out a long sigh, finally meeting your eyes. “Ma was doin’ my hair.”

You looked him over, realizing that his hair did seem to be tied differently today. The only thing that looked the same was his ears, just as fluffy as they always looked. You could almost hear Taliyah’s voice screaming in your head to pet them. Speaking of Taliyah…

“Taliyah!” you gasped, trying to extract yourself from Sett’s grip, but failing. If Taliyah was to come and see you here with the guy she had taken you out to forget about… “My friend, she’ll be back any second and–”

Sett laughed, and you were immediately left with the feeling that you were missing something.

“She ain’t comin’ back,” he said amusedly. “I’ve got you all to myself for the night… if that’s what you want.”

“Taliyah set me up?” you breathed, not having suspected a thing.

“I asked her to,” Sett explained. “Wasn’t about to let you go ‘cuz of some shallow assholes.”

Taliyah was much sneakier than you had given her credit for, you realized, but you couldn’t bring yourself to mind right now. Though that didn’t mean you weren’t hungry, your previous stress melting away and removing the only distraction from your empty stomach.

“So,” you hummed. “Are you still going to ask me to be your girlfriend?”

You still had no idea what would happen by the end of the summer, but you really wanted this. You wanted him.

“Yeah, was plannin’ on it.”

You had thought about it all the way back to Sett’s house. Was it really for the best to go back to your city when the summer was over? Back to your parents’ house to find an equally demanding and unfulfilling job?

The more you thought about it, the more you wanted to stay. Taliyah was here, Sett was here, and other than your brief nasty encounter at the pool earlier, this summer had been the best one you’d had in a long time.

Sett seemed intent on giving you more reasons to stay as he was on you pretty much as soon as you entered his house. You had been standing in the entryway, looking at a picture of what must have been Sett and his mother when he caught you off guard, picking you up from behind.

You yelped, turning your head back to face him just in time for him to dart forward to snatch a kiss.

“You’ll have time to look around later,” he said as he walked down the hall, nudging a door open with his shoulder and then taking you into what looked to be his bedroom.

Once again, you were scarcely granted a look around before Sett had overtaken your attention yet again. You were swiftly carried over and deposited on the bed, Sett eagerly caging your body down against the sheets with his own.

“I wanted to go slow,” he said against your ear. “Didn’t wanna mess things up. But that’s not what you want, is it?”

“No,” you gasped as he snaked a hand under your dress, and then under your swimsuit bottoms. “I… I want…”

“This?” he inquired, thumb brushing against your clit, causing you to jolt against him with a breathy moan. “Waited a long time to hear that.”

Seeking more room to work, Sett pulled back to reach down and pull down your swimsuit bottoms, tossing them to the side. You watched with reddening cheeks as he returned his attention to you, head disappearing under your dress next.

His first lick against your pussy felt back-archingly good, but you didn’t have a lot of room to move with Sett’s hands holding your lower half in place. His tongue felt slightly rough, bringing pricks of pleasure-pain along its path.

Closing your eyes tight, you tried not to squirm, but it was difficult as Sett’s tongue prodded inside you before moving back to sucking at your clit. It felt good, almost too good, but you found yourself wanting more than his mouth against you.

“Sett,” you moaned. “Please…”

You weren’t sure if he got the message until you reached down to grasp at one of his hands. He pulled back from you, wiping one forearm against the wet lower half of his face as he sat back. His position on his knees on the bed allowed you a good look at the decently-sized bulge in the front of his tight swim shorts.

Sett caught your eyes, reaching one hand down to cup his cock through his shorts. “All you, sweetheart. Still think I think you’re ugly?”

You somehow managed to shake your head, speechless from his ardent display of his body. Sett seemed to bask in just how speechless he had made you, a sexy grin overtaking his face as he stared down at you.

“Couldn’t ask for more than this,” he said. “But if you want more…”

He was such a tease. With a burning face, you relented.

“Could you just put it in me please?” you asked, too shy to make eye contact.

“Can do,” he replied, and you could easily hear the smug satisfaction in his voice.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sett stood up from the bed to pull his shorts off, wincing slightly when he pulled the tight fabric over his painfully-hard cock. Tossing the shorts to the floor, his attention quickly returned to you.

Giving his cock a few slow strokes, he watched you sit up on the bed. Feeling a burst in confidence from his display, you reached down to the hem of your dress’ skirt before pulling it up and off your body, Sett’s hungry gold eyes unable to look away from you as you moved onto your swimsuit top.

Once your top was off, Sett struck, pulling you towards him. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he pulled you onto his lap, reaching around to your front to cup your breasts as his mouth went straight to your neck. His hands were warm against the sensitive skin of your breasts, rolling your nipples under his thumbs as his teeth scraped against a sensitive spot on your neck.

You felt his hard cock under you and shifted yourself against it, Sett letting out a deep groan in response. You could feel how wet you were, but this wasn’t enough. You needed to fuck him, needed this building tension to come to a satisfying end for you both.

You turned in his lap, looping your arms around his neck and leaning down to kiss him. Sett was happy to meet tongues with you, one hand resting on your ass until you pulled back from the kiss.

You met eyes with Sett, who began to help you lift yourself up, lining up his cock with his other hand. When he brought you back down onto him, you both sighed as you were fully seated on his cock at last.

“Nothin’ else would feel as good as you,” Sett groaned as he began to help you move and up and then back down onto him. “Never wanted any girl as bad as I want you.”

You were much less coherent, moaning out his name as your hands grasped against his chest. With a further burst of confidence, you reached a hand up to his ear, running your fingers along the fur and enjoying the resulting groan, the next upward thrust of his hips hitting even better into you. Maybe you would leave this out at Taliyah’s interrogation later.

“There,” you moaned as he shifted you in his lap, his cock hitting even deeper inside you. “Right there, Sett.”

“You’re so tight,” he groaned, pulling you down into a rough kiss as he held you close, thrusting up into you as you eagerly moved along with him, needing to make this gorgeous man under you cum.

Sett came first, stilling for a moment before pulling you slightly back to put a finger to your clit, letting you cling to him as you followed him over the edge.

Once you had both come back down from the clouds, you were set back gently on the bed so Sett could run off to grab a cloth to clean you up with. You watched him leave the room, still having a hard time comprehending just how you had ended up this situation.

You definitely had some phone calls to make tomorrow. Your parents would be surprised, but you would probably focus on the Taliyah part rather than the new boyfriend part of your reasoning. Taliyah would be overjoyed for sure; you’d have to thank her for her meddling when you saw her.

As Sett returned, you realized something.

“Wait, is your mom home?” you asked in horror. You hadn’t made any effort to be quiet during sex, forgetting about his mother until he re-entered the room.

Sett laughed at your mortified face. “I don’t live with ma, so no.”

“Oh god,” you breathed in relief. “I was worried I was too…”

“She ain’t here,” he replied as he joined you on the bed, handing you the cloth he had grabbed. “You can be as loud as you want.”

You dropped the cloth, burying your head in your hands, Sett’s amused laughter ringing in your ears as you tried to content with just what you had signed yourself up for.

#xreader #readerinsert #league of legends #league of legends x reader #lol x reader #league of legends sett #sett #pool party sett #sett x reader #smut #pool party sett x reader

457 notes · View notes

writingwithcolor · 3 years

Note

I'm writing an AU of a movie that takes place in the 1880s USA, where a travelling white character and a Jewish character are waylaid by Native Americans, who they befriend. Probably because it was written by and about PoC (Jews) the scene actually avoids the stuff on your Native American Masterpost, but I'd still like to do better than a movie made in the 1980's, and I feel weird cutting them from the plot entirely. I have a Jewish woman reading it for that, but are there any things you (1/1)

2/2 1880s western movie ask--are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s? I do plan to base them on a real tribe (Ute, probably) and have proper housing/clothes and so forth, but right now I'm just trying to avoid or subvert awful cowboy movie tropes. Any ideas?

White and Jewish Men, Native American interactions in 1880s

I am vaguely concerned with how you only cite one of our posts about Native Americans, that was not written by a Native person, and do not cite any of the posts relating to this time period, or any posts relating to representation in media.

Sidenote: if you want us to give accurate reflections of the media you’re discussing, please tell us the NAME. I cannot go look up this movie based off this description to give you an idea of what my issues are with this scene, and must instead trust that the representation is good based off your judgement. I cannot make my own judgement. This is a problem. Especially since your whole question boils down to “this scene is good but not great and I want it to be great. How can I do that?”

Your baseline for “good” could very well be my baseline for “terrible hack job”. I can’t give you the proper education required for you to be able to accurately evaluate the media you’re watching for racist stereotypes if you don’t tell me what you’re even working with.

When you’re writing fanfic where the media is directly relevant to the question, please tell us the name of the media. We will not judge your tastes. We need this information in order to properly help you.

Moving on.

I bring up my concern for you citing that one—exceptionally old—post because it is lacking in many of the tropes that don’t exist in the media critique field but exist in the real world. This is an issue I have run into countless times on WWC (hence further concern you did not cite any other posts) and have spoken about at length.

People look at the media critique world exclusively, assume it is a complete evaluation of how Native Americans are seen in society, and as a result end up ignoring some really toxic stereotypes and then come to the inbox with “these characters aren’t abc trope, so they’re fine, but I want to rubber stamp them anyway. Anything wrong here?”. The answer is pretty much always yes.

Issue one: “Waylaid” by Native Americans

This wording is extremely loaded for one reason: Native American people are seen as tricksters, liars, and predators. This is the #1 trope that shows up in the real world that does not show up in media critique. It’s also the trope I have talked about the most when it comes to media representation, so you not knowing the trope is a sign you haven’t read the entirety of the Native tag—which is in the FAQ as something we would really prefer you did before coming at us to answer questions. It avoids us having to re-explain ourselves.

Now, hostility is honestly to be expected for the time period the movie is set in. This is in the beginnings (or ramping up) of residential schools in America* and Canada, we have generations upon generations of stolen or killed children, reserves being allocated perhaps hundreds of miles from sacred sites, and various wars with Plains and Southwest peoples are in full force (Wounded Knee would have happened in 1890, in December, and the Dakoa’s mass execution would have been in 1862. Those are just the big-name wars. There absolutely were others).

*America covers up its residential schools abuse extremely thoroughly, so if you try to research them in the American context you will come up empty. Please research Canada’s schools and apply the same abuse to America, as Canada has had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission about residential schools and therefore is more (but not completely) transparent about the abuse that happened. Please note that America’s history with residential schools is longer than Canada’s history. There is an extremely large trigger warning for mass child death when you do this research.

But just because the hostility is expected does not mean that this hostility would be treated well in the movie. Especially when you consider the sheer amount of tension between any Native actors and white actors, for how Sacheen Littlefeather had just been nearly beaten up by white actors at the 1973 Academy Awards for mentioning Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act had only been passed two years prior in 1978.

These Native actors would not have had the ability to truly consent to how they were shown, and this power dynamic has to be in your mind when you watch this scene over. I don’t care that the writers were from a discriminated-against background. This does not always result in being respectful, and I’ve also spoken about this power imbalance at length (primarily in the cowboy tag).

Documentaries and history specials made in the 2010s (with some degree of academic muster) will still fall into wording that harkens Indigenous people to wolves and settlers as frightened prey animals getting picked off by the mean animalistic Natives. This is not neutral, or good. This is perpetuating the myth that the settlers were helpless, just doing their own thing completely unobtrusively, and then the evil territorial Native Americans didn’t want to share.

To paraphrase Batman: if I had a week I couldn’t explain all the reasons that’s wrong.

How were these characters waylaid by the Native population? Because that answer—which I cannot get because you did not name the media—will determine how good the framing is. But based on the time period this movie was made alone, I do not trust it was done respectfully.

Issue 2: “Befriending”

I mentioned this was in an intense period of residential schools and land wars all in that area. The Ute themselves had just been massacred by Mormons in the Grass Valley Massacre in 1865, with ten men and an unknown number of women and children killed thanks to a case of assumed association with a war chief (Antonga Black Hawk) currently at war with Utah. The Paiute had been massacred in 1866. Over 100 Timpanogo men had been killed, with an unknown number of women and children enslaved by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City in 1850, with many of the enslaved people dying in captivity (those numbers were not tracked, but I would assume at least two hundred were enslaved— that’s simply assuming one woman/wife and one child for every man, and the numbers could have very well been higher if any war-widows and their children were in the group, not to mention families with multiple children). This is after an unknown group of Indigenous people had been killed by Governor Brigham Young the year prior, to “permanently stop cattle theft” from settlers.

The number of Native Americans killed in Utah in the 1800s—just the number of dead counted (since women and children weren’t counted)—in massacres not tied to war (because there was at least one war) is over 130. The actual number of random murders is much higher; between the uncounted deaths and how the Governor had issued orders to “deal with” the problem of cattle theft permanently. I doubt you would have been tried or convicted if you murdered Indigenous peoples on “your” land. This is why it’s called state sanctioned genocide.

This is not counting the Black Hawk War in Utah (1865-1872), which the Ute were absolutely a part of (the wiki articles I read were contradictory if Antonga Black Hawk was Ute or Timpanogo, but the Ute were part of it). The first official massacre tied to the war—the Bear River Massacre, ordered by the US Military—places the death count of just that singular massacre at over five hundred Shoshone, including elders, women, and children. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the number of Indigenous people killed in Utah from 1850, onward, is over a thousand, perhaps two or three.

Pardon me for not reading beyond that point to list more massacres and simply ballparking a number; the source will be linked for you to get an accurate number of dead.

So how did they befriend the Native population? Let alone see them as fully human considering the racism of the time period? Natives were absolutely not seen as fully human so long as they were tied to their culture, and assimilation equalling some sliver of respect was already a stick being waved around as a threat. This lack of humanity continues to the present day.

I’m not saying friendship is impossible. I am saying the sheer levels of mistrust that would exist between random wandering groups of white/pale men and Indigenous communities wouldn’t exactly make that friendship easy. Having the scene end be a genuine friendship feels ignorant and hollow and flattening of ongoing genocide, because settlers lied about their intentions and then lined you up for slauther (that’s how the Timpanogo were killed and enslaved).

Utah had already done most of its mass killing by this point. The era of trusting them was over. There was an active open hunting season, and the acceptable targets were the Indigenous populations of Utah.

(sources for the numbers:

List of Indian Massacres in North America Black Hawk War (1865-1872))

Issue 3: “Proper housing/clothes and so forth”

Do you mean Western style settlements and jeans? If yes, congratulations you have written a reservation which means the land-ripped-away wounds are going to be fresh, painful, and sore.

You do not codify what you mean by “proper”, and proper is another one of those deeply loaded colonial words that can mean “like a white man” or “appropriate for their tribe.” For the time period, it would be the former. Without specifying which direction you’re going for, I have no idea what you’re imagining. And without the name of the media, I don’t know what the basis of this is.

The reservation history of this time period seems to maybe have some wiggle room; there were two reservations allocated for the Ute at this time, one made in 1861 and another made in 1882 (they were combined into the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in 1886). This is all at the surface level of a google and wikipedia search, so I have no idea how many lived in the bush and how many lived on the reserve.

There were certainly land defenders trying to tell Utah the land did not belong to them, so holdouts that avoided getting rounded up were certainly possible. But these holdouts would be far, far more hostile to anyone non-Native.

The Ute seemed to be some degree of lucky in that the reserve is on some of their ancestral territory, but any loss of land that large is going to leave huge scars.

It should be noted that reserves would mean the traditional clothing and housing would likely be forbidden, because assimilation logic was in full force and absolutely vicious at this time.

It’s a large reserve, so the possibility exists they could have accidentally ended up within the borders of it. I’m not sure how hostile the state government was for rounding up all the Ute, so I don’t know if there would have been pockets of them hiding out. In present day, half of the Ute tribe lives on the reserve, but this wasn’t necessarily true historically—it could have been a much higher percentage in either direction.

It’s up to you if you want to make them be reservation-bound or not. Regardless, the above mentioned genocide would have been pretty fresh, the land theft in negotiations or already having happened, and generally, the Ute would be well on their way to every assimilation attempt made from either residential schools, missionaries, and/or the forced settlement and pre-fab homes.

To Answer Your Question

I don’t want another flattened, sanitized portrayal of genocide.

Look at the number of dead above, the amount of land lost above, the amount of executive orders above. And try to tell me that these people would be anything less than completely and totally devastated. Beyond traumatized. Beyond broken hearted. Absolutely grief stricken with almost no soul left.

Their religion would have been illegal. Their children would have been stolen. Their land was taken away. A saying about post-apocalyptic fiction is how settler-based it is, because Indigenous people have already lived through their own apocalypse.

It would have all just happened at the time period this story is set in. All of the grief you feel now at the environment changing so drastically that you aren’t sure how you’ll survive? Take that, magnify it by an exponential amount because it happened, and you have the mindset of these Native characters.

This is not a topic to tread lightly. This is not a topic to read one masterpost and treat it as a golden rule when there is too much history buried in unmarked, overfull graves of school grounds and cities and battlefields. I doubt the movie you’re using is good representation if it doesn’t even hint at the amount of trauma these Native characters would have been through in thirty years.

A single generation, and the life that they had spent millennia living was gone. Despite massive losses of life trying to fight to preserve their culture and land.

Learn some history. That’s all I can tell you. Learn it, process it, and look outside of checklists. Look outside of media.

And let us have our grief.

~ Mod Lesya

On Question Framing

Please allow me the opportunity to comment on “are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s?” That strikes me as the same type of question as asking what color food I’d like for lunch. I don’t see how the cultural backgrounds of characters I have literally no other information about is supposed to make me want anything in particular about them. I don’t know anything about their personalities or if they have anything in common.

Compare the following questions:

“Are there things you’d like to see in a movie where two American women, one from a Nordic background and one Jewish, are interacting?” I struggle to see how our backgrounds are going to yield any further inspiration. It certainly doesn’t tell you that we’re both queer and cling to each other’s support in a scary world; it doesn’t tell you that we uplift each other through mental illness; it doesn’t go into our 30 years of endless bizarre inside jokes related to everything from mustelids to bad subtitles.

Because: “white”, “Jewish”, and “Native American” aren’t personality words. You can ask me what kind of interaction I’d like to see from a high-strung overachieving woman and a happy-go-lucky Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and I’ll tell you I’d want fluffy f/f romance. Someone else might want conflict ultimately resolving in friendship. A third person might want them slowly getting on each other’s nerves more and more until one becomes a supervillain and the other must thwart her. But the same question about a cultural demographic? That told me nothing about the people involved.

Also, the first time I meet a new person from a very different culture, it might take weeks before discussion of our specific cultural differences comes up. As a consequence, my first deep conversations with a Costa Rican American gentile friend were not about Costa Rica or my Jewishness but about things we had in common: classical music and coping with breakups--which are obviously conversations I could have had if we were both Jewish, both Costa Rican gentiles, or both something else. So in other words, I’m having trouble seeing how knowing so little about these characters is supposed to give me something to want to see on the page.

Thank you for understanding.

(And yes, I agree with Lesya, what’s with this trend of people trying to explain their fandom in a roundabout way instead of mentioning it by name? It makes it harder to give meaningful help….)

--Shira

#platypan #genocide #native american #North America #america #history #american history #media #representation #asks

290 notes · View notes

oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years

Text

The Stand In Chapter One

Masterlist

Being an assistant on the witcher set is a dream come true for you, helping bring to life the books and games you were brought up with. But when the project is threatened to be cancelled completely your called in to save the day! But can you really fill in for an actress?

Warnings: swearing

A/N: hello! So this was wrote on a whim sort of. I don't know if Keira is in the books honestly and I have no idea if she will be in season two but I wanted to write somthing different. Got a few ideas of where I can go with this but like I said just wanted to write something a little different. Hone you enjoy xxx

Taglist: @two-unbeatable-beaters @thatgirly81 @angelofthorr @iloveyouyen

logo divider is by @writeyourmindaway other one is by me xx

You moved through the hustle and bustle of the set your trusty clipboard what was you doing? Well the people needed feeding so you were taking orders, some people onset would eat at the food tent some would want to order in today it was your turn to take the orders and deliver them to the chefs. You grunted looking at your watch you needed to move quicker they'd be filming soon and expect the food to be ready by the time they finished...sounded easy but the guys were cooking meals for nearly one hundred people and that took time... especially out here... You jogged up to the tent with an apologetic smile"Sorry guys had to round em up you know how it is!" You got a few chuckles. Yes they did know how it was having to take turns doing it themselves. You were just a regular onset dogs body, you help in any way shape or form and that’s that.

You smiled at them hanging the clip board on the hook for them to see clearly then They began barking orders to one another down the line getting to work. You left them to it weaving in and out of everyone to get back to set incase someone needed anything again. Once you reached half way across the site your name was called turning you saw Mathew one of the other assistants.

"Hey y/n your needed in the directors tent chop chop!"

"What? why?" He shrugged then through his hands out wide walking backwards away from you he seemed in a hurry.

"Don't know was just told that you had to be there asap" You sighed and quickly turned on your heal towards the tent...If this was another coffee run you were gonna scream! It took forty five minutes to drive down this god forsaken mountain and you didn't really want to be bitched at by camera crew about delivering a cold fucking coffee again.

Henry and Joey panicked looking to each other Cancelled? They could be cancelled after all the fans and money the show had pulled in? They stood in the tent with Tomasz,Lauren and Talitha or 'Tee' as she prefers.

"So she just decided not to do it? A week before she was meant to be here? She had all the time over lock down to tell you and she left it till now?" Tomasz nodded stiffly to Henry who spoke, Henry and Joey were angry. Hell they all was, but them more so because they were actors and this was something you just didn't do. No integrity or respect. Lauren piped up.

"To be fair its a huge blockbuster role she was offered its no surprize she dumped us in favor of it... But now everything is up in the air she was a big role in this season and we can't start casting for it now, the two other back ups can't come and fill in either, one is recovering from covid and the other has a contract for another role." Joey placed his hands on his hips

"Well what about her contract? She sighed one didn't she? Surely she should honor that?" Lauren and Tomasz shared a look.

"Yes but two things one imagine forcing her to play a role she no longer wants...Could be very awkward and two the contract had dates...We couldn't stick to the them so she managed to wriggle out of it." They each huffed Henry spoke up

"Can't we put it on hold for a few weeks rush through the casti-" he trailed off at Tomasz' severe look and shake of his head.

"No we aren't being given an extension we have to find someone...Preferably here on set so we don't have to navigate the covid travel restrictions, we can't afford two weeks quarantine for whoever it is we bring in" Tee looked up to her bosses.

"So?...You need someone on set to take the role? I suppose they can't be a major part of the crew?" Lauren nodded to her and smiled

"You up for it?" Tee shook her head

"Fuck no but there is someone that could do it...Y/n shes a general assistant, the one you like! the one that picked up the wardrobe the other day when the truck couldn't get up the hill" Lauren's face lit up as she put a face to the name

"Oh! lilac bob? Green eyes?" Tee smiled nodding

"Yeah! Her she isn't to busy really just runs errands, shes an extra pair of hands" Tomasz tilted his head it sounded viable, it would be a god send he crossed his arms.

"But she would have what a week? To read up on the character, learn lines and go through costume...It would be a hectic rush would she agree to it?" Tee smiled knowingly

"Yes..She hasn't done acting before...well not properly she had a part in bugsy malone play at primary school but that was about it...But I have no doubt that she would do it she loves the witcher. As for reading up on the character you don't have to worry I dread to think how many times shes re-read those books and played the games...She even based her gcse textiles project on the witcher making a screen print tapestry! Trust me she will know Keira metz' personality so half of the job is already done!" Tomasz nodded secretly getting excited over the prospect of having another fan in the mix, yet he covered it well not wanting to get anyone’s hopes to high."Okay call her in get her to read some lines...Lets not tell her what its for first see if theres some chemistry between the three of you first then go from there" they all nodded it was the best way to go about it.

When you got to the tent you instantly knew something was up. First person you noticed was your best friends Tee it was her who'd got you the job here. She had been working on the first season and was one of the directing assistants she was always around the producers and directors making sure everything was running smoothly and when they top dogs changed things it was her who made those changes get through the grape vine to everyone who needed to know. Then you noticed Henry and Joey were here ,how you didn't see them first is a mystery as they were both fully kitted out in the characters costumes.

Holy shit! He was so fucking hot! So so fucking yummy you wanted to jump him and run away and hide at the same time 'Okay breath don't fucking squeal bitch be cool that's it calm down don't make it obvious you want to hump his leg!...If he offers though ride tat thigh like a fucking pony!...No! Stop your going red! Calm it! There we go...Nice and calm well done give yourself a pat on the back' and breath.

You took a calming breath after your little pep talk the fan-girl locked up tight inside you relaxed slightly. Could you help it? No Henry is like your celebrity crush and has been since your little virgin eyes saw him fucking on Tudors. You'd seen him around set obviously you can't really ignore the huge man in the silver wig. You’d wanted to get his autograph and a photo but couldn't trust yourself not to do something stupid so you kept your distance. But damn he was much finer up close in person. You gulped just praying to god you did not squeak at him you'd never ever live it down.

Everyone looked on edge even the director Tomasz and producer Lauren? none of them noticed your arrival speaking in hushed tones to one another like they didn't want anyone to overhear what was happening. You cleared your throat placing a hand on one of the metal supports by the entrance of the tent unsure if you should enter with them all looking so serious you didn't want to hear anything you shouldn't.

"Err knock knock? you wanted to see me? If its a bad time I can come back..." they jumped a little obviously caught up in their conversation. You shrunk under everyone's gaze as the sets of heavy eyes rested on you.

Henry's eyes widened a little at you he swallowed dryly peering at you from his spot in the tent. You were beautiful he suddenly found himself hoping you would be the one to take the role. Not only could he then have a reason to be around you without you running off. But there were sex scene between the two characters and as ashamed as he felt he had already spent a considerable amount of time envisioning just that, alone at night in his trailer with nothing but his fist to ease his needs. He couldn't help it he had never spoke to you but he wanted you. So selfish or not he would thoroughly enjoy enacting those particular scenes, the image of you below him was just to much.

Joey prodded him slightly making him snap his gaze away and turn to the 'bard' He raised his brows at him nodding to the lilac haired woman as if to say 'look who it is?' Henry flushed a little and blinked yes Joey knew.

It started when Henry had seen you around set, capturing glimpses of you he had wanted to go and talk to you. Each time he saw you around he would excuse himself from whatever he was doing and turn to make his way over to you. But every time he turned and took a step in your direction you flushed and bolted.

He did like you. He liked very much. He found out you were an assistant someone to run errands and Tee had got you the job he was meant to ask her about you but you both seemed close. What if Tee told you? What would you think if you found out he had been asking about you?. So no instead he bit his tongue and kept trying to catch you out and have a chat. He couldn't put his finger on it you just appealed to him, you looked sweet and sexy all in one.

He wanted so desperately to talk to you but you seemed scared of him for some reason so he in the end he settled for admiring you from afar. He'd never got more than six feet near you and that six feet was close enough to make him swoon. You had been diligently taking coffee orders around the set and was taking a list from the directors tent and he was waiting to speak to Tomasz and Lauren queuing behind you in a sense one person separated you.

You were so caught up in trying to take names and coffee orders you hadn't noticed him hovering behind you. He had leaned to the side taking full advantage enjoying eyeing your behind admiring the taught cheeks hugged by your zebra print workout leggings, you must have been in a thong because they snuck up your ass a little making him groan. He'd give anything to be up there himself! He sighed smoothing his hands over his face trying to push away the teasing thoughts, it was not the time to imagine drilling your perfect little ass, fucking you roughly on all fours until your little body sucked the cum out of his balls and he left you with a fully stretched freshly fuck little pucker.

No it was not the time, not when he had another few scenes to shoot. But they were just there! Teasing him a few quick shuffles of his feet and he could be right behind you, he could accidentally graze your pert full bottom. But no he held himself back he groaned when the wind changed and caught a scent of your hair mango and passion fruit.

He had been on a high all day after that. That’s when Joey was certain Henry was getting a little crush on the lilac haired beauty that had gained the nick name Tink's. To Joey you looked like a real life colorful little fairy and he had named you after Tinkerbell. Henry bit his lip trying to contain his excitement, as you cleared your throat nervously today was going from really really bad to absolutely fucking incredible.

You eyed Henry carefully he was..staring well until Joey prodded him then he snapped out of whatever it was flushing. You didn't have much time to consider it as Lauren moved waving you over smiling like nothing was wrong. Okay? Weird.

"No no! Come in your just the woman we needed to see." You walked in slowly still uneasy but managed to cross the threshold. There was a pause and they looked like they were appraising you? What the fuck? Tomasz cleared his throat and nodded giving Lauren the go ahead for something apparently.

"Y/n I was hopeing you could go over some lines with these two, they haven't got anyone to practice with and we really need to start getting rehearsals in. Flights are running few and far between so the actress who was supposed to be here last week, can't get here until we are actually filming the scenes!" You blinked huh? Read lines? You began going shy and shaking your head

"I don't-" but before you could get anymore words out Tomasz spoke up.

"And with covid setting us back we can't afford delays we could be cancelled" you froze at that...Cancelled? You looked to Henry and Joey who both gave hopeful puppy eyes you sighed a shaky breath.

"O-okay I suppose I could...Help out... It is what I'm here for.." You missed the looks all four shared as Joey handed you a sheet from the script. You skimmed it as quick as you could and your face instantly lit up with a bright smile.

"Holy shit keira? I didn't realize you were doing that-" quickly realizing you may have been fangirling you shut up. Tomasz head lifted smiling

"You know the character?" You chuckled nervously well aware of The witcher still eyeing you from the side. Joey smirked at him and gave a chuckle making Henry freeze and look away flustered. You hesitated whilst talking to Tomasz.

"Hehe well Yeah sort of....I know the book's and the games sooo yeah..Sorry...Got excited there..Can't help it" he grinned shaking his head.

"No no its perfectly fine...I do always love seeing people et excited over our work! But you know her so can help the guys immensely. If you could try and portray the character that would help a lot as well, so we can see how these lines and dynamics will work" you blinked looking at the page going blank. Try to in act the scene to? Okay keira what do you remember shes...Playful catty and a little manipulative.Petty but confident yet can switch to cold bitch on a dime. Your not sure our up to the task.

"So? You want me to try and act properly? but...But bare in mind I'm not an actress...Never done any acting or anything so if I'm shit I apologize."

"Its fine, just try your best...We don't want a carbon copy of the games we want a believable character, just create your own Keira for the time being as I said we just want that feeling for the scene and the relationship that's all. If you could read from half way down..'Seriously I mean this is it?' Okay? don't mind the blank we just haven't settled on the last few bits of dialog just keep going...Go with the flow as it were" you nodded taking a breath really out of your comfort zone but it literally said 'help when needed' in your job description so you didn't have much choice. You took a peek at the lines it the scene was based around the camp at night.

Henry and Joey sat on stools you followed their lead really nervous trying not to steal glances or stare at the witcher before you even if he didn't seem to care himself, his gold eyes not leaving you for a second, he wasn't even blinking.

You pulled at the page slightly forcing back the anxiety but sucked it up when were you ever going to get the chance to do this again. To read lines with your crush on set in full delicious Witcher get up.You decided to throw caution to the wind and give it your all if you looked a tit well atleast you had fun and you'd never have to again!

You gulped you were supposed to start. You took a breath and pulled some confidence out of your ass, she was a fierce woman that was almost childlike. You used a sarcastic un-amused flat tone.

"Seriously....I mean this is it? this is the great adventuring? Wandering the continent aimlessly for contract's that may or may not be actual monsters..." you tilted your head to the side blinking slowly as you looked between Henry and Joey. Both seemed to be caught unaware as you transformed from a frightened quivering ball of nerves to a catty confidant sorceress.

Henry smiled cheekily at you knowing that with that transformation you'd already bagged the role, you were his keira.

"Well you are welcome to return to your healing house" Henry drolled in Geralt's deep voice sounding unimpressed tilting his head at you slightly with a bored expression. Joey hummed.

"Yes I second that witch you don't have to be here you can just go your own way" he waved his hand near you and you leaned in giving him a wicked warning grin making him pull back and lean towards Henry, a typical Jaskier move...Well for the moment he was Jaskier.

"G-go and curse children poison or cattle or whatever it is you do" you scoffed rolling your eyes pulling back a little and tilted your head looking at Henry.

"Geralt your Jester appears to be in a foul mood would you like me to help? I'm sure I have a remedy that can silence him for a while...Permanently if you'd like" you smirked as Joey snpped his head looking between the two worriedly.

"JESTER I-YOU I am a bard! And I have made Geralt here the famed white wolf! Tell her Geralt! " Henry rolled his eyes ignoring Joey's out burst

"The Jester is right you don't have to travel with us you can leave, return home if our adventures aren't exciting enough for you. And I'd warn you keep the potions to yourself" you paused the page was now empty. You too a breath and spoke anyway.

"What? Me leave? and go back to treating the lords son and his frequent bouts of cock rot..." the two men bite back a laugh managing to stay in character...Just. You blinked leaning forward placing your face on your palm

"That’s not as thrilling as one might think loses its charm on the third and forth round...Much like the boy himself" Joey sputtered trying to hide his giggles. But contained himself to make an insulting Jaskier quip.

"Cock rot...begs the question do you cause it or cure it?" he twitched waiting for your reply. You hissed at him then calmed yourself and fluttered your eyes at him and continued in a sultry tone.

"Your welcome to find out for yourself Jester" he stuttered going red

"I-i a no hah thank you for the offer but noooo...Had enough of witches for a life time.. Thank you very much!" he said almost choking on his words you leaned back huffing

"Hmm...Shame you almost look like fun could have livened up the trip...I do always enjoy the loud ones..." Joey chuckled and looked to Henry with a face saying 'help me out here buddy' Henry was finding it very hard to keep himself together, was he jealous of you flirting with joey? Yes did he want to turn the tables? Yes could he think of a way to do it? Fuck no.

He settled for shaking his head, he was certain you had the role already and if not he was definitely going to vouch for you,you were good and portrayed Keira well enough to make Joey's Jaskier fidget which Keira did.

"I'm sure you can find fun where ever you find yourself Keira" Henry piped in wanting to see where the scene can go, wanting for you to give him your sultry voice and flirt with him. But you stuttered a little his gaze was intense hot and hooded.

"Y-yes you'd think that!..But there is no fun to be had at home anymore!...Well that's not strictly true there is this one acquaintance a deaf eunuch " Henry spoke up needing to hear the end of this one, trying to fight off his disappointment that you hadn't given him the same treatment as Joey, didn't you like him? Was Joey more your type? No there must be more to it.

"And this deaf eunuch is fun? How so?" you wiggled your eyebrows at him

"Well Witcher he only had one way to show me his gratitude...Any man who only has his hands to speak develops a very....dexterous set of fingers~" Joey slipped out of character confused as Henry burst out laughing. Despite his sour feelings over your non-flirting he couldn't deny that was a funny and well thought out bit of improv.

"Deaf eunuch? F-fingers?..I don't get it-OOHHH!HOLY SHIT YOU DIDN'T! OHH OH MY FUCK" he then started roaring with laughter with Henry making you go shy blushing.

"Oh my god yes...She is definitely the one we need...Defiantly my Keira!" Henry wheezed through his laughter leaning over slapping his knee.

"huh what?" You looked between everyone what do the mean need? It was Tomasz was nodding smiling and spoke up clarifying what Henry had meant.

"That was....Well...It was an audition and you got the part. You became the character very easily it was natural and flowed nicely and you were nervous once relaxed you will make a perfect Keira!" you blinked at him. An audition? For a part in the show "Are you having a laugh? I can't act for shit...Like that was...It was err" Henry smirked lifting a brow

"Acting? Maybe?" You blushed at him as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. You leaned back sitting upright then pulled a face. He was right technically.

"Okay it was kind of acting....But why are you doing this here now? Surely you already have someone? this don't strike me as normal." Lauren sighed

"No your right its not normal...The actress who was playing Keira has pulled out we have a week to find a replacement or will are probably getting cancelled they won't let us delay again" you sat up pin straight

"Wait what? An actress bailed on us last minuet...That’s a bit of a dick move... That's like a big dick move not in a nice big dick way either... Like a dick dick move" Henry and Joey snorted at your statement and Tee creased up. Tomasz moved over to you

"I'm afraid so...I know its a big ask but were were supposed to start filming her scenes the middle of next week and we need a replacement. Fast. Sooo what would you say to stepping in and saving the day? you fit the bill and your here now and from what I've just seen you can do it...You gave her a cheeky, petty vibe which in all honesty was missing from who we selected...We can get you ready I'm sure Henry and Joey can help you, teach you the tricks of the trade so to speak" he lifted his head to the both of them. They nodded Henry speaking up

"I can even mentor you if you want, to get you more comfortable... Me and Joey will look after you I promise" you gulped then looked back to Lauren and Tomasz. You'd never even thought of acting or anything and it was daunting prospect.

"Look...We have run into a problem that could potentially bring production and filming to a halt...Something that could cancel season two completely....But you can help us. We can continue as planned but we understand its a big thing to spring on someone .We can afford to give you a few days to think it over if you need to..." you took a breath it sounded incredible, like one of those talent scout tales...Could you do it? You didn't want to see the show go down the pan you loved the first season as a viewer and was over the moon when Tee got you the job onset. You loved the witcher as a whole...Maybe helping bring it to life could be fun? A lot of work and you didn't know shit but you could give it a go. But then you’d be working close with Henry who pretty much turned you into a fucking trembling mass of girly hormones "...But I'm not an actress...I doubt I'd be any good.." Tee snorted

"Fuck off 'not an actress', acting is a big expensive game of pretend! And no offense but you've been pretending to be an adult since we left school! You've got this besides everyone will know your situation so if things go pear-shaped or you get confused we can all help sort you out, we wont scream at you over it..." she moved standing between Joey and Henry squishing their faces

"Come on loooook! Look at there poor little faces! Don’t let Jaskier and Geralt die! If we get cancelled that’s what will happen! These charters will die! I will take them out back and shoot them myself! Never to be seen again!" You giggled at her antic as both men in her grasp tried their hardest to pout up at you with there scrunched up faces. You sighed you were gonna regret this.

"Okay okay fine I will try... But don't say I didn't warn you.." everyone took a deep breath relived. Henry and Joey shared a grin now super excited to carry on with the show. Henry more so then Joey he was ecstatic! He can't wait to start getting close to you.

Lauren moved over to you with some long ass looking scripts.

"Here...These are for you! Start reading through these today...Do one episode at a time for now you'd have more chance learning the lines and you need to go to costume. Tee could you tell them whats happened and get her over there today? let them measure her up luckily it's mostly lace up so shouldn't have to change much" Henry stood up quickly making you jump.

"I will take her and introduce her to everyone...I’m finished for the day so I’m going there anyway" he explained a little sheepish realizing he may have seemed eager. Joey chuckled at him Standing beside him patting the mans back Tomasz shook his head

"Thank you for the offer Henry but we still need you were going to re shoot one of the scenes again, we think there is a better angle we could get" Henry pouted chest deflating a little and nodded to the director

"Right so Tee you escort her , oh where are you staying by the way? In the hotel in town? Well we will need to move you into Keira’s trailer so you'd be onset. Tee could you show her the trailer first then wardrobe and then finally I will pop over with a contract for you this afternoon..." you froze. Contract?. What the fuck? You don't know anything about contracts! Henry caught on to your panic and lit up like Christmas finding another way he could spend time with you.

"Hey its okay...Just a bit of paper saying you've got the job and a bit of legal jargon...I can look over it with you and have my agent look over it if you want? just to be sure everything's good okay? don't worry we will take good care of you I promised didn't I?" You smiled shyly and nodded. 'Holy shit he's looking at you, speak girl stop fucking staring! SPEAK! BREATH!' You took a breath avoiding his gaze a little trying to forget who he was wanting to act cool when you did finally speak it was in a quiet voice.

"I-I Suppose so...I mean yes I'd appreciate someone sorting that out..I get the feeling there are a lot of big words involved" Joey laughed you liked Henry, he could see it and something told him you would both become very close. Well close he estimated you'd be fucking within two weeks. He noted the fact you had both gone quiet Henry's eyes boring into you again as you fiddled with script in your hand. He rolled his eyes you were blushing squirming under the witchers staring gold orbs and he didn't seem to care he was just quite happy to gawk at you. Joey finally decided to cut you so e slack.

"Your not kidding...But like Henry said nothing to bad just a you got the job! And how your being paid really" you chuckled rubbing your neck.

"Fuck! haha you know I didn't even think of that" Tomasz chuckled and nodded. Breaking his silence, he to had noticed the tension between the two of you but would say nothing it wont be a problem after all there was a sexual atmosphere between Geralt and Keira so it would do well on screen.

"Well your an actress now, so of course you'll be paid as an actress, it will be in the paper work, I suggest you go and start reading the scripts Keira is heavily involved in this season she is travelling with Geralt and Jaskier for a while... And a word of advice I'm going to have to take your name to a few higher ups with the video of your audition and names on official websites for the cast will be changed, probably in a day or two...You may want to go and clean up any social media ect that you might have...It could blow up a little bit its...What we are doing is pretty much unheard of" you frowned at him

"You...You filmed that? What? who?" Tee waved her phone up at you gaining your attention.

"Its fine y/n just need it for the records and for a few others to see..." she turned to Lauren

"Might be an idea to put this up somewhere to just to introduce her as the character..." Lauren shook her head

"Not yet get her in costume then a few photos we can film a short teaser scene with them...That can be her debut" Tee nodded and began making a list of things to do then snapped her head up looking at you.

"Seriously change your face book to friends only...And get a fucking twitter on that thought get a bloody snapchat and Instagram to! Okay? life will be easier trust me on this" Henry frowned at you stumped.

"You don't have twitter, Snapchat or Instagram?....No what? How have you? What do you do all day on your phone?" You shrugged and smiled impishly at him.

"I read...Write...Scroll tumblr for hours on end and play games...Never bothered with that social media crap don't know how to use it...Was on tumblr for years before I ever got the courage to post something" Joey smiled taking a step forward and patted your back

"Well at least you have Tumblr which I will want by the way! But never mind about the others I will show you cos your gonna need it!" You smiled at him giggling maybe this wont be so bad? You nodded at him feeling more at ease, it sounded like they were going to help you with all this shit, the only thing you had to do was keep the inner Cavill fangirl at bay, which was gonna be a hell of a job now that you weren't going to be able to avoid him but it was that or watch this show be cancelled and that was not going to happen!. You looked over to Lauren who was still giving Tee a list of jobs and people to contact.

"Okay...So where do I start?" She smiled and quickly stood in front of you as you stood between Joey and Henry both pointing out on the scripts certain things explaining what things meant and how things would work when filming. You nodded trying to take it all in. You took a breath looks like you were doing this.

#henry cavill fic #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x ofc #witcher geralt #geralt x reader #geralt of rivia #geralt x y/n #geralt x you

684 notes · View notes

vaire-gwir · 3 years

Text

I’ve run out of my words

Post-mountain incident, Jaskier is a heart broken mess. The last thing he needs is an unexpected visit from Geralt.

I have accepted that it’s never going to be the same amount of words as I Find you all Unwoven, cause I re-wrote this three times and it just doesn’t happen.

Again, I was sad, that’s my excuse. English is not my first language, hope it doesn’t terribly suck!

***

It hurt a great deal when Jaskier sold his lute. He was attached to it for more than just sentimental reasons. Sometimes he felt like his life truly started the day he got that lute.

He was used to pain by now though, pain was just another thing creeping under the surface, it came and went in waves like the ocean, sometimes threatening to overwhelm him with memories and sometimes resting among the broken pieces of his heart, hissing like a snake waiting to strike.

It was always there, he just perceived it in different ways: some days it was like being on the edge of an empty abyss of nothingness, about to fall but never really tipping over, just going through the motion. Other times, there were the long nights when sleep refused to visit him and he'd get this urge under his skin, to move, to do something, anything to not feel trapped in his own flesh, caged by his own mind.

He tried to fight insomnia with the ink, but he proved a terrible fighter. He couldn't write anything anymore. When he tried to play, his fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, and he'd get even the simplest of melody wrong, resulting in endless frustration that kept him up until dawn.

As much as he tried to outrun his ghost, he always ended up running right into it, and if he managed to keep his waking hours relatively Geralt-free, the dreams were always there. His journals paid the price of waking up for the hundredth time, after a nightmare that leaves him choking and incapable to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks.

He thought he'd feel relieved after watching it crackle and burn to ashes, as if destroying the evidence of his time with the Witcher could also destroy the heartache that came with it, but it doesn't work like that. Nothing he ever does stops him from being hollow.

Jaskier walks around the Academy like a shadow, trying to keep himself busy between lessons or at least trying to keep Geralt out of his thoughts. This simple task proved to be more complicated than he anticipated. He doesn't want to be here, he's not made for teaching and his students get on his nerves all the time. To be fair, most things get on his nerves since the mountain incident, but he doesn't have many options.

Sure, he could go home to his family, beg their forgiveness and implore his father to allow him back into court. That sounded as promising as jumping off a bridge.

Compared to that, even the room Madame M. offered him at the brothel looked like a golden palace. At least he had some talent for sex, he managed to convince even a Witcher to sleep with him, that hadn't been easy.

Jaskier stirs his mind in a safer direction, cause thinking about those nights will not do him any good. He still blames and curses himself for coming up with that stupid arrangement, cause why not Geralt, I'm here all the time, and I'm obviously very willing, besides you don't have to pay me, looks like a win-win situation to me. Looks like you're a special kind of idiot, Jaskier, that's what you are. Why did Geralt even accept anyway?

Jaskier blinks the memories away and focuses on trying to have lunch, cause that's what sane, normal people do. He's still struggling with normal though.

His plan flew out of the window when someone started to sing. Jaskier froze in his spot when he recognized the song. He wrote that. He should be pleased to hear it, but it's not pride he feels when he glances in the direction of the curly-haired boy in green velvet.

He will never play or sing another song again, and people will forget him sooner than Geralt did. The folks in this tavern don't know him, they don't know he wrote those lyrics to distract himself the first night Geralt didn't come back from a hunt and he feared for him every second of that dreadful night.

He spent hours cursing the Gods for making him so useless and prayed to them in the same breath, begging for their mercy. He felt stupid later, when Geralt showed up at dawn saying it took him longer than expected to break a curse. Jaskier told the Witcher how scared he had been and Geralt dismissed him as the fool he was.

He's scared of being forgotten, of being meaningless and unimportant. No one is going to remember Jaskier, the bard that traveled the continent with the White Wolf and shared his adventures.

He left Jaskier on top of that mountain, he's just Julian now, just a teacher, just another idiot that got his heart broken. Geralt left him like everyone else. That's what people do, they just leave and move on with their lives. So why couldn't he move on too?

There's a small shift in the air, and while he tries to regain control of his thoughts, for some unknown reason, destiny, the universe, life or the Gods, make him turn his head toward the entrance.

There is no mistaking the white hair he sees, or the dark armour. Jaskier knows he has to leave before Geralt sees him. The sole idea of Geralt being here is enough to leave him shaking.

What are the chances of meeting the Witcher outside Oxenfurt? There were no contracts in town, why was fate trying his best to mess with his life today, was the song not enough? He feels like his head is swimming and he knows he doesn't have time to panic cause his heart beats so loudly he fears Geralt will spot it in a second.

He puts some coins in the maid's hand and stumbles out of the place.

He can't face him. Not today. Probably not ever, cause he can't imagine he'll ever be ready to face the one that broke his heart without holding any anger or resentment towards him. Why must he feel like this, Geralt never cared for him, so why is he still drowning in his feelings for the idiot?

Jaskier is a poet, he should know a thing or two about heartache. He should also know that he's out of luck today.

"Why did you follow me, Witcher?" Jaskier feels his presence a few paces behind him, still so painfully familiar to him even after all these months.

"How did you know..." There's a puzzled expression on Geralt's face. Jaskier knows he's not prepared for this.

It takes him a second to realize that no matter how angry he is at the Witcher, how deep his sorrow runs and how broken his heart is, a small part of him is almost glad to see him. It's the same small part that decided to talk to a stranger and follow him on a dangerous journey, the one that figured out first that what he was feeling was more than a crush, and that accepted every scrap of affection Geralt showed him like he was being handed the world on a silver plate.

Geralt is exactly how he remembers him, and his betrayer heart jumps in his chest when their eyes meet.

"I saw you at the tavern. I spent so long searching for your face in every crowd I started to think I was seeing things, but apparently I was right this time." I love you, I'd recognize your steps everywhere, the cracking of the leather in your gloves and the click of the metal of that buckle in your armor you always forget to fix after a hunt, I know them as if they were my own. I love you, and you broke my heart. That's what he wants to say, but the words get stuck in his throat, they're no use now.

"I... You were not singing." Jaskier knows it's not surprise he sees on Geralt's face when he answers "I don't do that anymore." but he can't figure out what it is.

It hurt when he realized he couldn't bring himself to sing or play anymore, it left him feeling even emptier than before, cause he always thought he'd have his music to console him, to defend him from the things life was throwing at him, to build a wall around himself and protect whatever was left of him. How wrong he was.

"Why not?" Jaskier wishes he could explain that when they parted on top of the mountain, when he forced himself to say "See you around Geralt" knowing he'll never see him again, when he tried to process those heavy words that rolled off the Witcher's tongue, his love for music, for poetry, for life, rolled off too and hid somewhere he couldn't reach anymore. But Geralt never cared for his music.

"Don't act like you care. I'm not the same person I was ten months ago. Besides, you hate my singing, you can barely stand my voice, what difference does it make to you?" Keeping his tone even and preventing his voice from breaking is hard, harder than any performance he ever had to do. Ten months ago feel like a lifetime away now, it doesn't even seem real. The ache in his chest is always there to remind him that it is.

"That's not true." Jaskier sees how he clenches his hands as if those words meant a great effort for him. The Gods know how many times he looked into Geralt's eyes after singing, desperately seeking his approval and finding only a mild annoyance, like this was just another thing he had to endure.

"It's like ordering a pie and finding it has no filling. There's a word for that, in case you didn't know, and it's called disappointment. Now, why did you follow me out here? I don't think it was to tell me you suddenly like my voice cause we both know you don't and honestly, bit late for that, don't you think?" Jaskier wants to be annoyed, he should be furious for what Geralt did to him, for leaving him like he meant nothing, but these days being mad is a lot of effort. He doesn't have it in him anymore, it's easier to let go of the anger. It doesn't make him feel less empty or less broken anyway.

"I just thought...we could maybe....talk?" Jaskier laughs bitterly.

"Really Geralt? That's rich coming from you. Now you want to talk? You know what, no. No, you don't get to come here and tell me you want to talk after I spent ten gods forsaken months trying to forget you. Don't you fucking dare. Not like this. Now if there's something I can help you with, do say so. If not, spare us both this conversation, I'm not sure I'm in the mood to have my heart broken again." Jaskier is not even sure there is something left to break.

He'll never admit it but deep down he knows there's no forgetting Geralt. And he curses that small part of him that wants to listen to him, to let him talk and explain, cause he knows that he'd go back to traveling with the Witcher right this second if he so much as says he'd take him back. Stupid, stupid Jaskier. A Witcher apologizing, as if.

"I'll leave you to your things then. Goodbye, Jaskier." Saying goodbye, even knowing that it's for the best, doesn't make it any less painful.

"You were right." Geralt looks at him in a way he has never seen before, for a second he thinks it's hurt that he sees flickering in those golden eyes, but it lasts a second. He should know Geralt doesn't care about him enough to be hurt by something he says or does.

"You spent so much time trying to convince me to leave you alone and stop following you around and I never fucking listened. I realized you were right. Cause you, you got what you wanted, life, destiny, whatever, you had your sorceress and I'm finally off your hands. But what about me? That is why I wish...I wish I would have listened to you. Left. Before it was too late. Before having my heart broken."

His voice breaks at the end, he feels the tears stinging his eyes and he turns to walk away before Geralt notices it. Pain comes in waves, and today he's drowning.

#the witcher #geraskier #geraskier fanfiction #geraskier fic #the witcher fanfiction #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #the witcher fandom #the witcher fic #geralt/jaskier #sad jaskier #heartbroken jaskier #fanfiction #quarantine writing

70 notes · View notes

crushing-on-nico-di-angelo · 3 years

Text

Seven Nights in Cabin Thirteen

I’m inspired by another post I saw here that I didn’t wish to hijack lol, and OP deactivated or else I’d link their account here. credits to @the-ghost-king for the idea of a demigod therapy/Will being a past drug addict on this post. Yes this is a bad fic. It’s also my first fic ever. Please criticize if you see anything

Will never thought that he would ever appreciate his first monster attack. He was seven years old, and in hindsight his teacher probably only worked there to prey on young demigods (at least, that’s why he suspects the attack happened so early in his life compared to other demigods). But when Lee Fletcher sat him down 4 years later and told him that he was trans and would now be known as Lee instead of his birth name, Will knew that everything happened for a reason.

After many conversations with Lee about how he knew (gods bless that man’s patience) and with an older Athena camper who’s special interest dealt in psychology, Will realized the reason that he always felt disconnected from his mom and sisters in Austin was because he was like Lee. He was a boy.

Telling people wasn’t easy. Of course his older brother had to know; he was the one who introduced Will to this concept. Telling the rest of camp was as easy as telling Chiron, who told Dionysus, who always threatened to turn anyone into a dolphin if they talked shit about any trans kid. Telling his mom... that had to be the hardest part. How was he supposed to tell them? The only similarities they all had were that they were all musically inclined and that they were all girls.

Apparently, Will forgot that Naomi Solace was a musician. The music industry has more queers than an all girl’s school GSA. Her only questions were “Alright, what’s your name then, kiddo?” and “When do you want to set up an appointment with a therapist?” As for his siblings, well, let’s just say the oldest, Frankie, always knew. And it didn’t take long for seven-year-old Mickey to cut her doll-that-somehow-looked-exactly-like-Will’s hair and change his notes from high to low when she accompanied his singing on violin, as part of voice training.

Four years has passed since then and Will can hardly believe it. He’s stealth back at Austin because it’s just easier that way, but since a quarter of the camp knew him since he was seven, he figured there was no point; it isn’t like anyone treated him as though he wasn’t a man-- er, boy-- at camp anyways. So, life went on. He got his period for the first time during the Battle of Manhattan, that was no fun, but luckily Thalia was cool about it and made sure not to tell anyone. He started binding shortly afterwards, got a couple bruises hear and there. Kayla yelled at him for a week for that one, he remembers fondly. Discovered why it’s better to take off your contacts in the shower... that day isn’t such a fond memory. That was the first and last time he ever made himself bleed. Although, he will say that’s what sparked his interest in medicine and what made him the best doctor Camp Half Blood had seen in decades at the mere age of 15 years old. Life at camp was good, if a bit dull. He got used to the routine and the constant influx of damaged campers, the siblings and friends, and the always-perfect Texas Barbecue and Coke.

That is, until the War Between the Camps happened. Lou Ellen woke Will up before sundown that day and told him their plan. They were to hide in the tall grasses and wait for Camp Jupiter to show their ugly faces. Cecil had the genius idea to paint their faces and arms black so they’d blend into the night better, and Will supposes in the hubub of everything they forgot that his hair nearly (”nearly”) glows, even at night. Until Mr. Nico “I’m so smart, I nearly killed myself shadow travelling” di Angelo pointed it out. Whatever, it made sense at the time. They won the war against Gaea, not without sacrifice, and they finally, finally got past all the wars and destruction and health issues that they were able to just hang out and get to know each other as friends.

And boy, was their friendship amazing. Nico had the best taste in music from Will’s eyes, and that’s saying something because Will is a music snob. Nico could be a little stubborn at times, but that’s alright because so was Will (”Gods damn it, Nico, if you don’t take your medication right this second I will-” “You’ll what? Hm? You’ll force it down my throat? Last I checked that was abuse.”). They fit together so perfectly and became fast friends.

It wasn’t always sunshine and lollipops, though. What is, for a demigod? Will relapsed once and passed out right in front of Nico’s cabin. He was crashing from an exciting high that he hadn’t experienced in so long, and he felt so tired and ashamed of himself. Methamphetamine was a goddamned bitch, so while he was coming out of withdrawals, he made Nico promise not to let him leave the cabin for a week were simmering down. He had to make sure something like this never happened again. They Iris Messaged Chiron and explained the situation, and he understood. He made sure to contact the older son of Dionysus who had been Will’s therapist in the past and said what had happened and they agreed on a session for soon after Will got mostly over his cravings.

So now they had a week of downtime together. Awesome.

“Solace, do you need anything? Are you okay?” Nico asked towards the end of the first full day that withdrawals were over.

“I’m-- fuck. I’m fine. I swear.” He responded unconvincingly.

“That’s not what you said last night... no offense, but I’m not fully inclined to believe you when you look like shit.”

“It- It... it’s not something I’d like to talk about, if that’s alright. And... don’t tell Clarisse, please.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone, don’t worry. But I would like to know if this is going to be a common occ--” Before he could even finish asking, Will was already shaking his head and responding.

“One-time thing only, I promise. Gods, I’m sorry I showed up here at all.”

“Woah, buddy. That’s not what I was saying at all. You’re my best friend, I’m glad you came here.” Will almost couldn’t believe what Nico was saying. Then again, did Nico have very many friends? Nico himself certainly didn’t seem to think so. “In any case, you don’t have to explain what happened, or what led up to this, or anything like that. I don't need to know. What I do need you to do, however, is take a shower. I’m sorry to say so, but you smell like ass.”

“Yeah well, I’m…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. How do you explain to someone that he still wanted his drugs, and he didn’t want to leave the cabin because he knew he would leave to go find some before he would even think about going to his own cabin at this point.

“You don’t have to leave,” Nico said, perhaps sensing his agitation. “I have a shower in the cabin.”

“What the fuck do you mean you have a shower in the cabin?” The shock of this knowledge get him out of his stuck mind. “How did you get plumbing in here? How did Chiron allow this?”

“I helped design my cabin, and while I may not have all the experience in architecture that Annabeth does, I do know a thing or two. I did meet with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, you know.”

“I did not know. You- Who is Isambard Kingdom Brunel?” Will asked

“Oh, some civil engineer who is like a million years old.” Will scoffed at that.

“You’re one to talk,” he teased. He was never going to let go of the fact that Nico was technically like 80 years old.

“Oh hush, William.” William… never Will, like most people. William… like he was something special, something that deserved three syllables. “Anyways, like I was saying: take a shower. You look like you were up mowing all of camp with a flashlight.”

Knowing Will’s reaction to drugs, that wasn’t unlikely. He stood up. “Lead the way? I’ve never been around your cabin before.”

Nico’s cabin was unlike any others. Using some sort of Doctor Who-like technology, there was a living room, a kitchen, and one room. Surprisingly, the walls were all light or pastel, a stark contrast from Nico’s general (and unintentional) punk-rock appearance. However, the furniture was all a deep black. Nico led him to his room, a minimalistic one with a bed, a desk, and a lamp. Will wondered where all the personalization was, but made no comment.

“Here’s the shower,” Nico pointed to yet another room in this somehow huge cabin. “If you see something amiss or odd… ignore it.” Will didn’t want to think of the implications of that sentence.

He stepped in the shower and oh my gods, watching the dirt and grime wash off him after his 8 hour high-- which he did not want to think about (and not just because the author doesn’t want to taint his search history), it was too embarrassing-- was a wonderful feeling. He was still tired. He didn’t know why, it didn’t used to be this hard. However, he was pretty sure that he tried to clean the entire outside of the hypnos cabin before going over to the Hades cabin to do the same. This was the first and last time Will would ever thank the gods for Nico’s poor sleeping patterns, he had heard him outside and came to get him before he tired himself out more.

He nearly passed out in the shower again but managed to make it out. He looked around the well-stocked bathroom and realized something that he probably should have bothered to notice before: he didn’t have any clothes with him. Fuck. He wrapped a (black) towel around his chest because he didn’t think his body could take anymore binding and prayed to Dionysus that Nico didn’t notice that his chest wasn’t exactly male.

Luckily, the first thing Nico did say was “Is that a tattoo?”

Will looked down at his sun. “Yeah, it is,” he smiled. He remembered the night he did it, it was kind of hard. He ordered a tattoo gun off amazon and had Frankie do it for him shortly after the Battle of Manhattan. Some people might think it’s in honor of his dad, which is fine. It was really for Lee Fletcher, though. His mom totally freaked, for a really long time, but after his C-PTSD diagnoses she realized that whatever works for him works as long as it isn’t drugs or self harm. He knows she wants a future for him that doesn’t involve music, and that’s why she freaked. She thought it would ruin his chances. But it’s right on his shoulder, only visible in tank tops or no shirt.

"It… its to honor the man who taught me I could be myself." Will said after a small pause.

"That's a very lovely sentiment. If he made that much of an impact on you, he must be a very cool person."

"He was." Will knew that Nico heard the was by the way that Nico nodded solemnly. "I uh… I don't wish to be more of a bother, but do you mind if I go to bed now? That shower really helped."

"Yeah, of course. I can take the couch, you know where my bed is-"

"No, absolutely not." Nico sighed softly, as though he expected this. "I can sleep on the couch, in Austin I actually prefer it to my bed."

"That's-- no offense William, but that's weird."

"It feels less lonely to me," Will protested, then let out a huge yawn.

"Alright cowboy-" Will smiled at Nico's nickname for him "-get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Nighty night, Neeks. Love you." he didn't miss the small smile on Nico's face before he walked away. Will has always been very loose with his 'I love you's like that. He figured it's better to say it too much than not enough.

He had found his old stash the night before, the one that Clovis had helped him forget about. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about last nights events. At the time,he told himself that he shouldn't do anything with it, and put it out of his mind for about a week, but eventually his urge to smoke overcame his self-control. He went on a rampage of cleaning and was absolutely certain he looked like a madman. The worst part is, he didn't even know why he did it. It was as though his rehabilitation hadn't even happened, as though this was something that was as natural as getting a cup of coffee in the morning. He was so mad at himself, so embarrassed.

These thoughts occupied his mind until he fell asleep about an hour after his last words to Nico. He slept with no dreams, for the first time in about a month.

word count: 2,245

66 notes · View notes

nervousmendes · 3 years

Text

Unsent Part 1 - Shawn Mendes

shawn x reader

a/n : so I'm finally back afer a really long break and I've been so excited to edit and post this one. I should also mention that is my first time writing angst so please be kind. any feedback would be much appreciated!

warnings : none, just 1.5k words of amateur angst and heartbreak

find more of my work : masterlist

It was a pleasant Saturday, the sun was long gone and the moonlight that spilled through the window was just enough to relax you while you worked on your research paper. Doing a PhD was never easy, and now that classes were going on in full swing, you were almost convinced that it was impossible. Your days mostly just consisted of you going to classes, working on essays, trips to the library and maybe watch a little Netflix before you hit the sack. It was a routine now, and you were always used to this life. You found your calm in the chaos whenever you could talk to your boyfriend who was touring somewhere in some city across the ocean. With your time zones never matching and him constantly traveling it was impossible to keep up with his schedule but you both did your best to stay as connected as possible.

When tour first kicked off, you missed Shawn so much. You hated the distance and you spent hours on end talking to him on facetime, blowing kisses and whining about wanting "virtual cuddles". It was a nightly ritual for the two of you to facetime immediately after his show, and since he was still in America at the time, it was easier to find a way to talk when you were both free. Even when you'd be too busy looking into your laptop screen while he was performing for thousands of excited teenagers every other night, there was some kind of warmth, some affirmation, that at the end of the day it was always going to be the two of you together until forever. Even though the physical distance made you sad, your relationship with him never seemed to burn out. Your love for each other was always so strong that the thought of being apart from each other never threatened your relationship.

But things shifted with time and the routine facetime calls went from after every show to every alternate show and then to every few days. You'd only text each other once or twice a day and it always felt like it was just for the sake of it. Sometimes you would go about your entire day and only realize before going to bed that you hadn't thought of him or spoken to him once throughout. You now knew more about him through his Instagram stories than you did from what he told you about tour. The quick ‘I love you’s exchanged before hanging up felt more mechanical than natural. Of course it hurt you, it made you feel guilty and made your heart ache at the same time, but you knew deep down that he was feeling that way too. It's not like he remembered to text you every single day either. It now turned into a subconscious competition of who would start the conversation first. Every text was thought out, typed, backspaced and rephrased. It felt like you didn't know each other as well as you once did. You would overthink not knowing whether a read receipt would do or a reply would be more reassuring. Everything seemed different, and not at all in a good way. As much as you hated to even think of it, a part of you felt that maybe you didn't love him anymore but your heart would never let you admit that.

You often went to bed not feeling sleepy at all, replaying all the memories from the initial stages of your relationship. The giddy first date, the awkward first kiss, the butterflies, the cheesy gifts and all the sneaking around. It felt like you were both different people back then. And maybe you just grew up or grew out of it, but does real love ever fade away? Does it suddenly empty itself and leave a void in your heart? How does it just make everything go away? You always thought, no you knew that he was the one. You still remember eighteen months ago at the fair, when he went down on one knee holding a huge stick of cotton candy in his hand, asking you to be "his honorable girlfriend until the end of time" and promised to never break your heart, you kissed him with everything in you right outside the Ferris wheel knowing in your heart that you already kind of wanted this forever. He had always been the one.

You both appreciated the little things, it was kind of what built your relationship with him. The reassuring glances from across a crowded room that made you uncomfortable, the hand around your waist when a distant friend would be “too nice” to you or the way his fingers played with your hair after a long, disheartening day were some of the many things you loved about your relationship with him. You always felt the need to be physically connected to him and it was almost common knowledge that Shawn's love language too was touch. You desperately missed the way his hand would automatically lace with yours while you walked together and the warmth it spread in you when his hands would go to the back of your neck to leave a tender kiss to your lips. And when one of you had a rough day, the other would kiss the stray tears away and you would both hold each other so tight until your ragged breaths would slow down and your hearts would beat to the rhythm of each other's pulse. All of that now felt like a distant memory, it was like you had him and lost him at the same time. Everything you once had with each other slipped right through your fingers. You would kill to go back in time and figure out anything you could've done differently to give this all a miss because the thought of even having to talk about the collected weight on both of your chests physically pained you. What if this was over? And even if it's not, what if there's nothing left to give? How were you going to go on knowing he's not yours anymore? While you learnt to live a life without him, you never once forgot that he would come right back to you. And now maybe he won’t and there’s nothing you could do about it. So many questions and so many thoughts ran through your head as you were still staring at the text you received about five minutes ago.

Hey I landed sometime back. On my way to Pickering. See u tomorrow? - Shawn

No “babe”. No “honey”. Nothing about the movies he watched on the flight, or the occasional "Omg we're SO watching it together". It was a plain text just to keep you informed. Mechanical. You thought back to the last time he came home from tour, when he first showed up at your door and pushed for you to come spend the weekend with him and his family in Pickering. Gone were those days when he'd ring you up as soon as he had service on his phone again to tell you how tiring the flight was or how much he hated the food, and on hearing that you would order his favourite pizza before he got home. You read and re-read the insipid words on your screen and after a lot of thinking, with a doubtful mind, you typed out a simple response.

Yes. Hope your flight was okay, get some rest tonight!

After humming and hawing for long enough, you hit send and patiently waited for the thumbs up he left under your text as an instant response. His lack of interest in continuing the conversation did sting, but you quickly pushed it away considering the fact that you were going to meet him the very next day and he’d clearly already had a tiring flight back to Toronto. You shifted around, pulling your blanket closer up to your face and just as you turned away and closed your eyes, the screen of your phone lit up again.

We need to talk, don't we... - Shawn

Shawn sat in his car parked outside his childhood home, right leg bouncing unconsciously and staring intently at the text he had just sent. He patiently waited for it to go from 'delivered' to 'read'. But it didn't. His bouncing leg was now shivering and the words he regretted typing out were staring right back at him. His fingers trembled over the screen, and with a shaky breath he unsent the message without giving it another thought. He took his bags and walked up to Karen and Manny at the door smiling widely as he silently thanked technology for saving him. But little did he know that your eyes were on the screen of your phone as you read those nauseating words under his contact name, and then watched the pop up disappear a minute after.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

I'm already working on part 2 and I can't wait to post it soon!! hope you liked this <3

dm me or reply to get added/removed from my taglist.

taglist : @theregoesmyherojd @shawnmendez @mendesficsxbombay @madatmendes @samaratheweirdo @mendesassemble @vinylmendes @ghostofjuls @shawnsreputation @amateurwriter27 @shawnblrficawards @shawnsprincesse

#shawn mendes #shawn imagine #shawn mendes fanfic #Shawn Mendes Imagine #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes angst #shawn angst #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes oneshot #mendes army #shawn fanfic #shawn mendes smut #shawn mendes blurb #shawn blurbs

57 notes · View notes

hopelesshawks · 3 years

Text

Physical Fatality Part 16- Epilogue

18+ Hawks x fem, pro hero!reader

Summary: You’re a rising star in All Might’s agency. Hawks is the darling of Endeavor’s. By virtue of your job descriptions, the two of you are supposed to hate each other, or at the very least be cautiously neutral. For a long time that’s exactly what the two of you did. You stayed out of each other’s way and formed little opinion of the other. One fateful night at an HPSC gala changes all that. Based on the album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey.

If you don’t want to see Physical Fatality content blacklist #hopelesspf

This story will have multiple NSFW parts so it is 18+ ONLY minors dni

Warnings for su*cide mention, alcoholism mention, oral (receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, dirty talk

Masterlist Kofi

*********************************************

Remembering the Lost Lovers

Today marks the anniversary of the day that shook Japanese hero society to its core.

Three years ago pro heroes Artemis and Hawks went missing after the two went after a dangerous terrorist cell on their own. Although their bodies were never recovered, the two have been presumed dead after the structure was almost completely leveled in the fight. The two have been credited for subduing all but one of the villains, who was apprehended shortly after by pro heroes Deku and Tsukuyomi.

As to the reason why the two lovers took on such a dangerous feat on their own?

According to pro-heroes Dynamight and Shoto, the decades long feud between All Might and Endeavor is to blame. Rumor has it Artemis was set to lose her job over her and Hawks’ involvement and the supposed drama it brought. Desperate to prove that their love wasn’t a hindrance to their work, the two boldly took on a mission too big for just two people to take on without back up. In the wake of their tragic deaths, both All Might and Endeavor received backlash for their role in pushing Hawks and Artemis too far and the clear damage their rivalry had caused. Both agreed to end the feud in order to avoid such tragedy again and, as a show of good faith, stepped down as the heads of their respective agencies. Shoto and Deku have been running things ever since.

On this day let us remember the Lost Lovers of Japan and their bold sacrifice, not just to keep us safe but for each other and their love.

***********************************************

“Pancakes or waffles?”

“Pancakes.”

“Got it.”

Keigo walks into the kitchen where you’re making breakfast, your back to him as you stand over the stove, flipping the bacon in one pan as you begin heating up another. He moves up right behind you, wrapping his arms around your middle and dropping a kiss to your shoulder.

“Good morning Love, happy anniversary,” Keigo coos in your ear. “Happy anniversary,” you grin as you turn to press a kiss to his lips. “You see the article Sho sent us?” he asks. “Not yet. What’s it about?” you reply. “Us. Apparently they’re calling us the Lost Lovers of Japan.” “Sounds romantic.” “It is. Apparently we took on the entire terrorist organization together to prove our love wasn’t a hindrance to our work.” You can’t help but roll your eyes. “Damn even in death they won’t give me full credit,” you joke. “I’m a little offended to be honest. If both of us had gone together from the start? Would’ve had ‘em easy,” Keigo scoffs. “Really now?” “Absolutely. Power of love and all that.” “You’re an idiot.” “But I’m your idiot.” “That you are.”

You turn back to the stove to pour the pancake batter into the now hot pan but Keigo has other plans. He presses tighter against you, dropping another kiss to your shoulder before moving up to your neck. At first you pay him no mind, even though you can feel his growing erection starting to press insistently against you. Then he starts sucking and nipping at your neck more earnestly. You feel your panties dampen immediately but still try to shy away from his touch. “Don’t Kei, the breakfast,” you whine good-naturedly causing him to chuckle even as he tightens his hold around you to make sure you can’t escape. “Fuck breakfast, come back to bed with me,” he insists, grinding his erection into you for emphasis as his hands slip under your shirt and wander to your breasts. “You’re incorrigible,” you groan but the wide grin stretching your face belies any rebuke in the sentence. “Well?” He asks. “Ok just let me take everything off the stove at least.” “No need,” he replies as he literally drags you away from the stove and then using a few feathers to help him hefts you over his shoulder and starts carrying you to the bedroom. Your laughter echoes through your modest apartment as he sends a few more feathers to move things off the stove.

It’s insane to think it’s already been three years since that fateful day you and Hawks decided to give up everything.

You still remember Bakugo blasting in and finding the two of you holding each other close as Shoto created several ice columns to support the roof. He’d been pissed at first but something in the resigned and hopeless look you and Hawks must have had on your faces had made Bakugo pull up short. You and Hawks running away had been his idea, in fact. He and Shoto agreed to tell everyone they never found you and so you and Hawks had stolen away. Since then you’ve bounced from country to country, continent to continent, traveling and performing occasional vigilante work until about a year ago when the two of you finally settled down in one place. Your vigilante work has made the two of you urban legends around town but the city is large enough that no one has managed to identify you both as the vigilantes, nor has anyone recognized the two of you from your previous lives. Initially only Todoroki and Bakugo knew of your true location but the guilt of watching your other friends mourn had soon convinced them to tell Midoriya, Tokoyami, Mina, and Denki. All of you had agreed that visiting was too risky but you and Hawks made sure to call frequently and send postcards from your travels.

Things weren’t always pancakes and sunshine, especially in the beginning. The power of love didn’t magically cure your alcoholism and the two of you had had to contend with the fact you’d literally almost killed yourselves. It had taken time and a lot of healing, but without the pressures of the press and your bosses and work, the two of you had been able to work through it together. Through your vigilantism you’d even developed a healthier relationship with heroics and re-learned precisely what it was that made you want to be a hero in the first place.

It’s not perfect, both of you contend with your occasional bouts of homesickness, but it’s so much better than where you were when the two of you left and for that you are endlessly grateful.

Keigo drops you onto the bed, taking a moment to appreciate your bright laugh as his feathers return to him. It doesn’t take long for him to climb on top of you, pressing kisses all the way up to further encourage those giddy giggles that keep bubbling their way out of your chest. When he finally gets to your lips both of you are almost smiling too much to kiss properly, but then he grinds his hips down in just the right way to draw a moan out of both of you. The kiss turns hungry as Keigo slips his tongue in your mouth. You slide your hands beneath his old tshirt to drag your fingers along his torso before lifting his shirt off and over his head. He returns the favor, making quick work of your shirt before kissing down your torso to the waistband of your pajama pants. He carefully slides them and your panties down at the same time, drinking in every newly revealed inch of bare skin with a reverence you’ll never get used to. Once he’s finally removed the garments he presses kisses to your inner thighs, ever the tease, before finally licking a stripe up your waiting sex. You shiver under his attentive touch as he slowly begins to lave your folds with his tongue before slipping it inside you. He savors the taste of you on his tongue, knowing exactly where to apply pressure and how to lick to have you keening above him and moaning his praises. One of your hands finds its way to his hair to tangle there. At first you just idly play with the locks as you close your eyes and let yourself enjoy the feeling of his tongue inside you, but then his nose brushes along your sensitive clit and you can’t help but tighten your hand into a fist, tugging his hair in the process. He takes that as his cue to replace his tongue with his fingers and move his mouth to instead lavish attention on your clit. He licks and sucks at it as if his life depends on it, finger fucking you at a steady pace until you’re crying out your ecstasy, orgasm sending what feels like electricity crackling down your spine and through your fingertips.

Keigo draws back once your orgasm has passed but he isn’t done with you. He presses a gentle kiss to each and every scar he finds on your body, some of which are even from that fateful night three years ago, before he kisses your lips again. You can taste yourself on his tongue and it sends shivers down your spine. “Ready for another round already baby?” Keigo asks as one of his fingers finds its way to your pussy. “I’m always ready for you,” you respond as one of your hands goes to tangle in his wings. His reaction is immediate, eyes fluttering shut as he groans. He uses his feathers to roughly shuck off his sweatpants, his hands otherwise occupied as one supports his weight and the other collects the wetness gathering along your folds again already. “You’re so wet for me baby. You weren’t kidding when you said you were ready,” he teases as he massages your clit briefly before slipping two fingers in you almost immediately. “I want you. Want you inside me,” you tell him, tugging on his feathers to emphasize your point. He hisses, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on not spewing his load over your beautiful body immediately. “Patience baby,” he replies instead, adding another finger inside, but how can you be patient when he looks so beautiful above you? You wrap one hand around his achingly hard cock, gathering the precum already welling at the tip and use it as lube as you begin to stroke along his shaft. You have to resist the urge to smirk when his fingers stutter in their rhythm.

He abruptly removes his fingers and you whine at the sudden emptiness, although you can’t complain too much when you notice him use it to hold his balance as he curses and squeezes his eyes shut again. His hips move of their own volition, canting into your hand as he almost instinctively chases the pleasure you’re bringing him. “I’m not gonna last if you keep that up sweetheart,” he pants. “Maybe that’s the idea,” you tease but he shakes his head before gently grasping hold of your wrist to stop your hand’s movement. “I want to fill you up baby. Can’t do that if I’m painting that beautiful body of yours instead,” he tells you and it makes something melt inside of you. “What are you waiting for then?” you ask fondly. “So sassy today Love,” he chuckles as he lines himself up. You’re plenty prepared for him, taking each and every inch of his considerable girth with ease as if you were made for him and his dick. “You always take me so well,” he pants out. “You always prep me so well,” you counter. “I’m gonna start moving.” “Ok baby, do it.”

You will never get used to how perfect it feels to have Keigo thrusting into you. He starts out slow and languid, easing you into things before he starts to pick up the pace. Each tug on his feathers and every moan of his name just spurs him on more as he fucks into you. “Fuck baby I love you so much,” he moans. “I love you too. I love you so much Keigo,” you reply without hesitation. He continues to fuck into you harder and harder until finally he hits that perfect spot inside you and you cry out as you fly into your second orgasm of the night. Your walls clench and flutter around him, as he chases his own pleasure now. His rhythm starts to get sloppy as he gets closer and closer, your fingers and quirk playing through his wings to help get him there faster. With one final thrust he moans out your name and topples into his own orgasm, his cum filling you up in the most sinful way as he presses his face into the crook of your neck. After a moment he’s finally spent so he slips out and collapses onto the bed next to you. He’s quick to pull you in to cuddle against him, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

The two of you just stay like that, basking in the afterglow of your orgasms and the companionable silence. After awhile, as he rubs your back soothingly and you listen to his heartbeat through his chest, he finally speaks up. “I think it’s about time we head back to Japan,” he admits. You perk up at that, raising your head to look up at your boyfriend properly. “You think so?” you ask and he nods almost immediately. “I know you’ve been getting just as homesick as I have and I think we’re ready.” “It won’t be easy. Three years is a long time to be away with everyone thinking we’re dead.” “I know, but as long as you’re with me I think we’ll be ok. What do you think?” “I think you’re right,” you smile up at him. “Good, because the others would kill me if I tried to marry you when they couldn’t come,” he replies nonchalantly. “What did you just say?” you ask, bolting more upright in bed. “I said-“ “No, no I heard what you said. What do you mean?” you ask cutting him off. He chuckles at the bewildered look on your face as he sits up in the bed too. He leans over to open the bedside drawer, rummaging around for a minute before producing a small box. He turns back to face you fully and opens the box to reveal a simple diamond ring inside. Your hands instinctively fly up to cover your mouth in shock. “(Y/n) (y/l/n),” he begins and you can already feel tears welling in your eyes, “I have loved you since the first night we met. I know it took a lot for us to get here but I would do it all again and again and again so long as it meant I got to stay by your side. Will you make me the luckiest idiot in this whole stupid world and marry me?” “Yes! Absolutely yes,” you gasp around happy tears as you launch yourself into Keigo’s arms. He laughs and it’s the most pure and idyllic sound you’ve ever heard. He pulls back just enough to take the ring from its box and slip it onto the ring finger of your left hand. You stare at it in wonder for a moment before turning back to your boyfriend- no- fiancé and kissing him with all of the overflowing love you feel for him in that moment. “I can’t wait to start a family with you,” Keigo confesses and it makes your heart swell up even more. “Me neither. Let’s hurry up and get back home. I’ve got a wedding to plan,” you smile. “Sounds perfect,” Keigo grins back.

For a long time you thought you were destined for just a good enough ending with a man you didn’t really love. Now you’re staring into the eyes of the love of your life, standing on the cusp of your very own happily ever after.

You’ve never been so glad to be wrong in your life.

Author’s Note: I said a happy ending and I meant it! It made me very happy to write this chapter because Hawks and (y/n), but especially (y/n), have been through so much, it’s great to write them finally happy. This fic was a bit of a monster of an endeavor because of the music element and the themes it was going to have to cover and it’s such a different vibe than Official Accounts that I didn’t know how well it would do on my blog. I am so so happy that it’s received so much love and I’m grateful for all of you that stuck with it. Hopefully I’ll see you on my next fic ❤️

Taglist [closed]: @akkaso @cathy8taffy @eeppff @iikillerkitteh @pixelwisp @pokesosa @lildockel @bread0nhead @lavender-moon13

#hopelesspf #hawks #wing hero hawks #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n

47 notes · View notes

cal-puddies · 4 years

Text

a million little times // ashton irwin

big shout out to @kindahoping4forever for letting me work this out and coming in with the last minute help for re-ordering. i hope she was surprised because i started this so she would be. (old convo a while ago, i didn’t forget!)

word count: 2169

warnings: angsty, mentions of cheating/infidelity, mentions of sex

Masterlist // Ko-Fi

Let me know what you think!

Ash falls onto his bed. Your smell surrounds him, from the last time you were there; a tawdry 2 weeks of nakedness and sex, kissing and talking and showing you everything he could be for you.

But you still left when Logan came back.

Him and the band were in rehearsal for tour and he knew it’d be months before he could see you again. He wouldn’t get to see you until he was home or if Logan left and you could get away.

He catches the green toothbrush, next to his pink one out of the corner of his eye; you’d immediately gone for the green when presented with the choices and Ash happily took the pink because he was with you. He kept all of your travel stuff since he was single and if it wasn’t around at home it couldn’t raise any questions. Again, Ash was happy to, because it meant he was with you.

He remembers the way the sheets wrapped around your body and it gave and gave and gave, and he couldn’t imagine any man not giving you absolutely everything.

He thinks about you just in his shirt, so undone and pretty, the hours and hours of talking. Spilling all your secrets to each other, you told him about what you’d wanted in life and he told you how he wanted a family.

Even though he subconsciously knew you were someone else’s, you always made him feel like you were his, like Logan didn’t exist, unless he brought him up first.

*****

Logan places his cufflinks while he watches you finish your makeup, “we could have paid someone.” He mentions, checking his tie.

“Why? it’s just a party.” You shrug.

“You never let me spoil you.” He groans.

“You only want it because I’m the girl on your arm.” You roll your eyes, the air was tense, like it always is anymore. “And I don’t need to be spoiled.”

“Fine.” He huffs.

He watches you reach for perfume, he grabs the one he got you most recently, but you reach for the one you bought for Ashton, without even thinking.

“When did you even get that?” Logan asks, seeming to really notice it for the first time.

“I’m not sure, a couple years ago?” You reach for Ashton’s earrings and walk out to get yourself dressed.

When you get to the party, Ashton is the first person you look for, he’s in the middle of the room, surrounded by his friends, he smiles softly when you make eye contact.

“Should we get drinks?” Logan asks.

You nod, leading him toward the middle of the room before heading to the bar. When you pass Ash you tuck your hair behind your ear, so he sees the earrings and gets a whiff of you. He knows that means to find you later.

You excuse yourself to fix your makeup, Ash locks the door behind him a few minutes later, pressing himself against your back. “What do you want?” He whispers.

“You, just you.” You murmur, turning into him, kissing him.

It’s instantly needy, he can’t keep you in here long and you both know that. You immediately start undoing his belt, and he lifts you onto the counter, pulling your skirt up over your waist and pushing your panties to the side.

Logan spots you when you walk back in from outside. You glance at Ashton, back with his friends like 10 minutes ago you weren’t wrapped around him. His cheeks were a little pink, but you were downright still flushed.

Logan’s arm scoops around your back, “there you are.” Is tightly whispered in your ear.

“It’s just a little warm, stepped out for some air.”

“Well are you ok? You still look flushed.”

*****

Ash can’t wait, you can sense it the second you open the door to his car, leaving yours in the office lot again.

You were heading to the Beverly Wilshire, where you spent most of your multi day sessions with him. Especially back when it was New, 5 years ago.

His hand slides up your thigh and you glance at him. He smiles and his eyes soften, the look he gave you when you first met; Before he knew you were married, or what you did, before putting all the moves on you. It inevitably worked. You could say for certain.

Which is why you were here now.

You wrap your hand around the back of his neck and he puts the car in drive.

“I hate the rules.” He murmurs, while you’re laying in bed together.

“I know. They aren’t my favorite either.” You admit, looking up at him. “But, they keep us from overstepping.”

“You mean they keep me from asking you to leave him again.”

“Ashton.” You move away, pushing yourself off the bed. You grab his button down and pull it on. “We can’t do this again. You know all the reasons why…”

Ash gets on his knees and crawls across the bed, grabbing you by the waist, “Yes, I know all the reasons why we shouldn’t have this conversation, but I have one why we should.” He presses his lips to yours. You make a “hmmm” noise, “because I love you, and you love me. And we’re great together. And you told me 3 years ago that you weren’t in love with him anymore.”

“Yes and we almost went through with that plan and someone got cold feet.” You remind him, tapping his chest before pulling away, heading for the bathroom.

“Does he make you cum like I do?” He calls after you.

“You know he doesn’t.” You say, closing the door.

Ash collapses face first on the bed, sighing.

*****

There was barely enough space for Ash in the backseat of the SUV, and it was only now that you were twisting his curls between your fingers, head on your chest, draped over your body like a blanket that you really took notice.

“That dress looked incredible.” He murmurs.

“Oh, did you even see it?” You breathe out a laugh, “before we got cum all over it?” You tease.

“I’m sorry, it’s been too long.” He smiles at you.

“I know, that’s why I agreed to a parking lot meetup… didn’t know I needed a change of clothes though.” You smirk.

“You can come back to mine?” Ash offers, knowing you’d likely say no and you should say no.

“Bubba.” You murmur. “I think I’d love that. But that doesn’t solve the ‘what will I wear home?’ Situation.” You point out.

“Couldn’t you stay? Say you went out with the girls or stayed downtown because you worked late?”

“I’d be pushing it.” You sigh.

“Let me have you for the night, please?” He's so close to begging, sitting up to unleash the full power of his pout and green eyes.

“Ash…” you reach up, resting your palm on his cheek, “you know I want that too.”

“You’ll have to shower anyway, I’m all over you. You have stuff at my place.” He reminds you.

“We agreed not at your place anymore… too personal, too many emotions in that bed, too easy for your friends to just pop by.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just hard you know? I want you around.”

“I know.” You nod.

“What do you say? Just come shower.” He tries again.

“Ok,” You agree, sitting up and reaching for your panties. You know going to his place means you’ll give in and stay the night. It’s why it became off limits in the first place.

Ash pulls on his undershirt and pants, handing over his button down for you to put on instead of the cum covered dress.

He gets you to stay, coaxing you to the bed so he can hold you before you shower.

“Can I see you again this week?” He asks.

You look over his face, he looks so unsure, lacking the confidence he normally has. “Maybe, I think Logan might be out of town this weekend. I’ll let you know.” You promise. You peck him on the lips, breathing in deep and trying to remember every bit of this night.

You text Logan that you’d be staying downtown due to working late.

*****

Ashton knew it was wrong, the second you gave him a second glance though, he was gone. You flicked your hair off your shoulder and he saw the wedding ring, but it didn’t stop him from approaching you at the bar.

He brushes his fingertips over your bare shoulder. “Doesn’t a pretty little thing like you have someone to fetch her drinks?”

He can feel your eyes roll. “Yeah, sure. But did it cross your mind that I needed to get away?” You smirk.

“Ashton.” He holds out his hand and you turn to shake it, he’s immediately breathless, staring in your eyes. You introduce yourself and occupy your time talking to him, maybe another 20 minutes.

You lose yourself, not noticing the other people around trying to get drinks, but you notice when he puts himself in between you and a glass of wine you’d knocked with your elbow, catching the spill himself. Your eyes go wide, “I’m so so sorry!” You say, grabbing for napkins being handed to you by the bartender.

“It’s ok… for you? I’d ruin myself a million little times.” He hushes you, giving you a sweet smile.

He asks for your number as you get ready to move on, “Bold, since I saw you looking at my wedding ring.” You tease.

“Just wanna talk to you again.” He shrugs, handing over his phone so you can punch in the number.

*****

I can’t meet at the hotel. I have to meet L for dinner.

We need to talk.

He didn’t respond, but Ashton was waiting in your parking lot, from the early days. It sat near the beach, and you were very familiar with the traffic patterns of it.

You see he’s not in his car so you head out to the beach and see him there, alone.

“Hey baby.” You say quietly, standing just behind him.

“This is it, isn’t it?” He asks.

“I’m not sure. Logan’s job wants him to move… to the UK.”

“You know we go there sometimes.” He points out. “What about your job?”

“We haven’t talked about what it means for us yet. That’s why I had to cancel our night.” You admit.

“So, what… you wanted to come here and break my heart, kid?” He snarks back, looking back over his shoulder at you.

“Don’t be an asshole, Ash. You’ve known this thing had a time limit.”

He sighs and stands in front of you, “I’ll always wish we’d met before you met him. Because I do think you’d be with me.”

“Ash…” you say softly. “We can’t…”

“Yeah… I know. Call me or don’t at this point.” He shrugs, squeezing your shoulder as he walks off.

*****

Ash looks at himself in the mirror, it was a typically rainy day in London and he had the night off, so he was heading out to meet you at a hotel you’d picked.

He hadn’t seen you six months, since your move to London. He knew you were miserable and hated it, you’d emailed him a bunch and he’d send the bare minimum in replies. Having the distance and the beach moment gave him clarity.

He sighs, slipping on a jacket and then taking the elevator to slide into a car.

He spots you immediately, and he can almost smell your perfume at the door.

“Hi.” He mentions, standing next to you at the bar.

“Hey,” you smile softly, moving to hug him and he looks around and shakes his head so you stop and course correct. “I’ve missed you.” You offer.

“Yeah? My life’s been different without you.” He agrees. And then he’s quiet. He lets you talk at him a bit, but doesn’t offer anything up.

“What’s going on?” You ask.

He’s silent for a while longer and then swirls the glass in his hand, “You know how sometimes the world stops? And it’s like… big life changing moments? I’ve had a few of them. But 3 have been with you, and only one has been truly positive, and I don’t know if it’s meeting you, or leaving you.” He tips the glass of whiskey back against his lips.

He slips off the stool and throws a few bills on the bar to pay for all the drinks.

“Wait… Ashton?” You ask, confused. He can see the tears in your eyes and any other time, that’d stop him.

“Go home to Logan…” he murmurs, “you’ll never be mine and I’m not ok with second best any more.”

“You were never second best.” You whisper, biting your lip, holding back tears.

“I was never gonna be the one you chose.” He shrugs. “And I’ve accepted that.” He turns on his heel to walk away.

“I came here to choose you.” You whisper to his back.

If you would like to be tagged when I post, make sure you get added to the new tag list!

@jazzyangel242 @kindahoping4forever @iamcalumswhore @aquarius-hood1996 @justhereforcalum @suchalonelysunflower @kathybinx @notinthesameguey @babylonashton @letmeadoreyoucalumx @begluketostay @mymindwide @uh-huhh-honey

#a million little times #yes it is named from a taylor swift song #we have a legacy here #she's angsty #cass #cass+crystal #ashton irwin #5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos fic #5 seconds of summer fic #ashton irwin fic

143 notes · View notes

the-starless-sky · 4 years

Text

The Resurrection Puppet

Second chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen’s first light novel, featuring Nanami and Gojou.

The Resurrection Puppet

Nanami doesn’t hate going on business trips.

It’s not like you couldn’t call it going traveling on a budget, and it could also become a reason to go somewhere you normally wouldn’t.

Much less, somewhere like Hokkaido.

And above all else, even though one’s a sorcerer, for a working adult a chance to to be apart from your coworkers is an irreplaceable moment to cool down. In other words, it’s a ventilation for the soul.

If there are no change of airs, one will feel down.

Whether or not you can take enough time for a breather is the secret of being able to continue working for a long time.

For someone who thought so like Nanami, having a senior sorcerer following him on his business trip isn’t amusing at all――and if that senior’s Gojou Satoru, it’s even giving him a headache.

“Nanami, let’s do a Hokkaido quiz!”

“Please do it by yourself.”

“Okay, here’s the first question. Which famous sweet ‘Sanpouroku’[1] is my number one favorite Hokkaido sweets?”

“Please come back after looking up the definition of ‘quiz’ at least ten times.”

“Well then, let’s play the jaga-butter[2] game. The rules are easy. The one who likes jaga-butter the most wins. Okay, that’s my win―since I’m the guy who loves jaga-butter second in the whole country.”

“Who’s the first?”

“Matsuyama Chiharu.”[3]

“You lie more than you breathe, don’t you?”

“Reduces the carbon-dioxide, don’tcha think?”

“It becomes even with the carbon-dioxide produced by my sighs, is it not? Why do I even have to go somewhere as far as Hokkaido with a man, another sorcerer?”

“Isn’t it fine? It’s like a reality show.”

“Where in the world does this kind of a boring reality show exists?”

Nanami and Gojou walked through the lively main road with expressions polar opposite of each other.

Sapporo’s townscape is identical to Kyoto’s: like the intersections on a Go[4] board.

If you’d just walk as you look at the signs, you wouldn’t get lost.

It’s a bit of a pain to grasp the one-way roads, but it’s very easy to sight-see on foot in the central district. It is also very easy to compare it with a map.

“Well, it’s not as if everything’s on a grid, but it’s easy to set routes to tour around spots, huh.”

Gojou said, as he pulled out a pamphlet folded into two.

When opened, it was a simplified map of the central district, with some red circles written on it.

“What’s with that map?”

“Oi, oi, oi, Nanamiii. Oi, oi, oi, oi!”

“That’s irritating in a crude way.”

“Get a grip! There’s only one map I’d pull out in a place like this, right? What else is it if not the Gojou Satoru Sweets Map?”

“That’s why I told you, please go by yourself.”

“It’s really not worth it trying to be senior-like around you, isn’t it?”

“Since long ago, you are also a senior not worth idolizing, you know?”

Nanami sighed so many times he felt as if his lungs are flattened.

The things Gojou talk about in private is 90% of the time, nothing serious.

He fundamentally only talks in his own pace, so if you respond to him properly you’d just feel tired, but even if you gloss over him, you’d still feel irritated.

One wouldn’t be able to understand the stress of having such a person as your superior, senior, and someone absolutely above you in terms of abilities if one doesn’t deal with Gojou Satoru directly. Though, perhaps, Ijichi has it harder than him.

“...... But rather, seriously, why are you even following me? It’s not a case that requires two sorcerers. Much less――”

“Much less the strongest, super handsome sorcerer Gojou Satoru, right?”

He decided to ignore the remark out of exhaustion. Even so, Gojou continued to speak.

“Of course, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Even though it’s a one-man investigation, if it’s you, you’ll definitely be able to finish it without fail.”

“So, why did you come?”

“To turn a case that’s probably nothing to worry about, into a case that’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Even though you alone is sufficient, it’s a case that required a first grade sorcerer going, right? And I’d even heard it has something to do with an evil curse user or those ‘pseudo-users’.”

“...... So you’re saying that the enemy might be a first grade or a special grade curse user?”

“It’s only a hypothetical, though.”

“You’re not the kind of person who’d go out just because of such vague possibility, are you not?”

“The sympathizer act’s going to seep to your core, you know. Well, isn’t it fine to just leave it like that for now? Unexpectedly, it might be that I’m just tired of my busy days and want to go on a vacation in the North.”

“So you’re saying that that isn’t your actual reason?”

“Ah, Nanami. Look, look at that!”

“Please listen what other people are saying. It’s useless telling you that, though.”

On the other end of Gojou’s pointed hand was a small food stall.

On the bright yellow signboard, the words ‘jaga-butter’ was written with a huge, red font - anyone’s self-assertion has never been this strong.

“If you think about it, a jaga-butter stall’s kind of bold, isn’t it? It’s just roasted potato topped with butter they’re selling. They’re not hard to make at home.”

“They’re similar to stone-baked sweet potatoes[5], are they not?”

“Now that you said that, that’s kinda true. As expected of you, Nanami. Your focus’ deep in those sunglasses.” [6]

“That’s just the location of my eyes.”

“By the way, Nanami, what’s the jaga in jaga-imo?” [7]

“There’s a theory that said jaga-imo is imported to Japan from the Jakarta Harbor.”

“How could you answer instantly!? Scary.”

“Conversely, how could you not know? You’re the man who loves jaga-butter second in the whole nation, aren’t you?”

“After all, number two will always be number two. If you’re going to do something then you have to aim for number one, huh... that’s that, so Cap’n, I’ll have one jaga-butter!”

In the middle of the conversation, in a very natural way, Gojou had moved closer to the stall, so Nanami’s reaction was a bit slow.

“You’re going to eat?”

“Of course. After all, I’m the number two jaga-butter lover in the nation.”

“Even though we’re actually here for a job.”

“Then you don’t have to eat, I’ll just savour the taste of Hokkaido by myself.”

“I’m eating.”

“See, you’re eating too.”

Two men sat on the bench at the main street park. One wore casual, all-black clothes, and the other a neat suit. Both wore sunglasses. They sit side by side, eating jaga-butter.

Sapporo is a metropolis city in which you’d just pass off performers and cosplayers with ‘guess people like that exists’, but even taking that into account, the two still attracts attention.

“Uwah, delicious! It’s soft and flaky, y’know, fresh from the oven!”

“It wont turn out like this if you roast them at home.”

“Yeah, you’re seriously right. I underestimated jaga-butter... guess it is stall-worthy.”

“This makes me want to drink some beer. As I thought, it would’ve been better to have this at the end of the job.”

“Beer, huh? I don’t really understand the thought of eating something delicious by itself with sake. ...... Eh? Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t your jaga-butter looks kinda different to mine?”

“It’s because I put shio-kara[8] on it. It’s delicious - but I’m not going to share.”

“Nah, don’t need it. It looks kinda like the cursed spirit I exorcised the other day.”

“............”

If everything goes well, Hokkaido was supposed to be the place Nanami could have a change of pace in.

Stress were piled up inside of Nanami just a little bit.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

Because they are proper adults, after they enjoyed the soft and flaky jaga-butter, they tidied up neatly and headed to the east of the main street park, towards the television tower.

The main street park ended there, and near the bus center a large road crossed from the north to south.

It was a large road - a very important traffic route for the city, yet unexpectedly there were not that much people walking on it.

This has something to do with Sapporo’s city structure.

“So, what kind of cruel curse user are we going to investigate, again? Though, whether or not it involves a curse user is still vague.”

“Did you follow me despite your uncertainties?”

“You’re the one who’s going to deal with it, so.”

“I want to say ‘then please don’t come’, but... Rather, how could you eat soft cream after you ate something so filling?”

“Aren’t you also eating!?”

As he licked the cheese and milk twin soft cream skillfully as to not let it spill, Gojou naturally walked in front of Nanami.

Nobody knows where he’s heading to, still he moved in a way only someone who knew the details of the case would be able to do.

According to Gojou, he couldn’t believe Nanami’s choice of neither milk nor chocolate soft cream but cookies and cream soft cream despite being in Hokkaido, and that he doesn’t want to even see it[9]. Nanami wondered what he’s on about even though he’s wearing sunglasses.

Nanami wanted to tell Gojou to not walk around as he pleased, yet he thought that explaining the situation would be a faster choice.

Because if it were the usual Gojou, he wouldn’t even have to ask Nanami for the details.

So, the fact that he actually asked Nanami shows that Gojou didn’t have any information at all. In sum, Gojou knew that the case wasn’t one that needed his intervention.

Yet, Gojou still followed Nanami.

Nanami knew that Gojou wasn’t that free a man he could go to the northern part of the country just to kill time. Nanami wanted to know what Gojou’s true aim is.

In any case, in order to make Gojou talk about his true intention, Nanami had no choice but to to quickly explain about the ‘puppet uproar’.

Nanami thought about efficiency and decided to explain the case concisely.

“It seems that everything started with a website called ‘Yomotsu Hirasaka’.” [10]

“What an amazing naming sense.”

“It seems like it’s a website established with an independent server so no one could find it through search engines... Ijichi managed to find the website through some information.”

“He’s an excellent guy.”

Gojou remarked plainly, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing that, Nanami inferred, “Ah, this guy must’ve forced Ijichi to spill out my destination.”

It was not as if Ijichi Kiyotaka was a super hacker.

Even so, if he’d only know what to look for, the man called Ijichi would be able to find out ‘the ways to search’ for it.

In this information-saturated society, the ability to search was, most of the time, more useful than technical knowledge.

In that sense, Ijichi is valued highly.

Well, even though he’s valued highly, whether one would reward kindly someone who had leaked out information is another thing altogether. Nanami decided to scold Ijichi later.

“So, that bad taste of a website... what’s it for? Don’t tell me you use it to watch amusing videos?”

“The website was a simple and plain one. Makes you feel nostalgic, even.”

“The ones with an access counter where you have to report back if you hit the kiriban?” [11]

“It does have that kind of feel to it.”

“I hate myself for feeling nostalgic.”

“That’s because we are already at that age, too.”

As his soft cream flattened, Nanami munched at the cone, paused a breathe, and continued.

“In the end, it was found that that website’s a teller window for contacting a curse user.”

“Teller window?”

“There’s a simple form, and if you write your request in the form and send it, the website will show you a registered mail to send your money to. You’ll be able to buy their products that way.”

“Ain’t that a mail order service with mailing payment? The analog one.”

“The address leads to a certain building in Hokkaido owned by a small real estate agent. It’s a two tatami, one ken wide share house.” [12]

“What are you even going to share?”

“It has twenty mailboxes. It seems that a shady lot is using the place as a simple post office box.”

“The modus operandi’s a yakuza front, huh. It’s not something a curse user would think of.”

“For good or worse, sorcerers from historical families wouldn’t even think of establishing such routes, would they.”

“...... So, in the end, what are they selling? If it’s a stray curse user, they’re probably selling some ripoff cursed object to repel cursed spirits the size of a fly head or just trying to make small earnings by cursing other people, but... Nanami wouldn’t get called out just to handle small fries like them, right?”

“What great comprehension you have.”

“Think well about who you’re talking to before you say that. Even though you got called out, I wasn’t told anything at all, so it must be something those higher-up old men wanted to hide from me, right?”

“If so, don’t you think there’s a possibility that I am ‘forbidden to talk about the details’ by them?”

“That’s unrelated. If I feel like it, I’d be able to make anyone talk, after all. The only thing they could do is to at least make it so that ‘the mission itself isn’t known’. So my being here is already their failure.”

“I always think about this, but if your head works that well then could you please look up the case yourself without having me to explain it?”

“Even if it’s not impossible for me to do it by myself, letting my juniors handle bothersome things is the fastest way.”

“... Sigh...”

Nanami’s sigh was a long one.

It wasn’t as if Nanami’s hesitating whether or not to talk about the details, it’s just that he wanted to sigh at the tyrannical senior sorcerer.

After he inhaled, Nanami finally touched upon the heart of the matter.

“――the resurrection of the dead.”

“...... Come again?”

Gojou, quite unusually, doubted his hearing.

That was how absurd Nanami’s words were. Nanami himself also realized this, which was why his tone was full of exhaustion.

“The thing that website is selling is a ‘new vessel’ to call back the soul of the dead... they are calling it the ‘Resurrection Puppet’[13], it seems.”

“... Another senseless joke, huh?”

“In all probability it’s bogus, is it not. However...”

“Nah, I understood already.”

Gojou waved his hand.

In the short exchange they had, he understood the situation so well he got fed up.

“In all probability, it’s 99% confirmed that it’s a bogus business... yet, if there’s even a one in a million chance it’s true, they can’t ignore it. Am I right?”

In this world, there are some truths that one doesn’t have to think to understand.

For example, things like after dawn breaks, morning will come. That ice is cold. That apples would fall off the tree.

Because there are laughably simple, yet definite rules, the world holds up.

Conversely, if these truths are overturned, the world will collapse.

If 1 + 1 isn’t 2, then every calculation will crumble. If the dawn breaks and morning doesn’t come, just because of that this planet will perish.

We wouldn’t be able to laugh if things that are laughably simple don’t stay the way they are.

The irreversible nature of time is one of those truths.

Spilt water wont go back to its tray. Regret don’t come first. Time wont go back to the past.

The most symbolic, easiest to understand example of this has to be the phenomenon of ‘death’.

“Of course they wouldn’t want me to know. As the lot who wanted to certainly erase Sukuna’s host.”

“It seems you understood.”

“They’re really looking down on me, aren’t they? Do they think I’d count on something like that?”

“Fearing even only 1% of chance, and destroying it. That’s the reason why people in power keep reigning in power, is it not?”

“It’s certainly 100% bogus, though.”

“Surely. If one could do something like that――”

“If one could do something like that, this world would’ve ended a long time ago.”

The dead will never come back. Because they don’t come back, people can give up on their past. Because they don’t come back, people could at least pursue the right death.

If bringing people back from the dead is possible, it is likely a curse too big for this world.

Truly, an absolute curse deserving of the name ‘King of the Curses’.

“Although the subject of this suspicious business seem to be limited to ‘resurrecting babies’... the chance of it being real is still zero.”

“Babies? What’s with that?”

“I’m not sure. The target customers are limited to those. To investigate everything including that fact is my job.”

“Even though resurrecting the dead itself is totally fake.”

“Even so, the investigation still has to be done. That’s what working is.”

Gojou lifted his head as he munched on the soft cream cone.

After he licked the cream dripping off his thumb, Gojou put on a very exhausted face, and he looked at Nanami from the depths of his sunglasses.

“Y’know, Nanami. Is being a salaryman shittier than being a sorcerer?”

“If you don’t put into account an individual’s suitability, then I’d say it’s fifty-fifty.”

“This society’s re~ally cursed, huh.”

“There’s no helping that expression, isn’t it.”

“So, Nanami. The guy who’s selling those puppets... let’s just call him the ‘Puppet Maker’. You’d at least already know his location, right? Where should we go?”

“We’ve walked past it, because a certain someone decided to move around as he pleased.”

“Eh, it’s my fault?”

“Please don’t make me think that being a salaryman is better because you’re not around.”

Nanami, just a little bit, looked back on his resignation.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

A city is not something that only expands vertically.

A city that has passed the limits of density above ground would mostly expand their space horizontally.

In other words, they either pile their building upwards, or expand their space underground.

“I see, an underground shopping center, huh?”

“It’s still alright because there are a lot of entrance to the underground in the above ground, but we did make quite a detour.”

The existence of underground space reflects the liveliness of the railroad network, thus it could be said that it is one of the indicators if a town is a metropolis or not.

Now then, the underground walking space in front of the Sapporo Station is a relatively new and vast road, and from there you can access almost every major establishments between the station and Susukino[14].

That’s the reason why, despite there being a large road above ground, the amount of walkers are not overly dense. One can truly call this vast underground space where traffic lights and the weather don’t matter the other city piled below the city.

“How fashionable. There are sky lights even though it’s underground.”

“There’s even convenience stores, book shops, terraces, library teller windows, and even beauticians as well as fortune-tellers. If all of those exist here, I guess it wouldn’t be a long shot for a ‘Puppet Maker’ to be here.”

“Anyways, why didn’t we just come down here in the first place?”

“That was my plan in the first place. It’s just that there’s someone who wouldn’t listen and started eating jaga-butter instead.”

“Seriously? I’ll make sure to scold them when I see ‘em.”

“If it’s a mirror you’re looking for, there’s one in the toilet.”

“But for real..... this place’s really fashionable. There’s an exhibition space with an event currently on going, and even performers. It’s like all the liveliness gathered here rather than the above ground. Though... that’s also bad in itself.”

There was a good reason behind Gojou’s frown.

Sapporo is a peculiar city.

Humans are all unique. There are as many personalities as there are humans.

If it were Tokyo, each area like Shibuya, Asakusa, Shinjuku, Akihabara, etcetera have their own characteristics - and people too, gather at those places depending on their personality. Perhaps it’s easier to understand with terms like Shibuya-type and Akiba-type.

On the contrary, Sapporo is chaotic.

In the shopping district where young people gather, there are also anime goods store for maniacs, old, longstanding shopping street, and red light district where the desires of adults jumble together.

All of these exists on the same street, intermingling in an extra close proximity.

Naturally, the ‘energy’ gathering there is also intermixed.

Resentment, jealousy, anger, partiality, attachment, envy, disgust, selfishness.

Negative energy should, by nature, disperse depending on the city’s disposition - yet, this city doesn’t differentiate between dispositions.

Furthermore, it’s an underground walking space.

A long and wide road, as well as a vast underground city.

The cylindrical structure passing through most of the city’s major establishment, calculated to have the maximum convenience, brought the diverse people riding on the train into the same space, complete with their negative energy.

From a sorcerer’s perspective, the underground city that looked brilliant and lively at a glance is truly people’s melting pot of energy.

“Though ‘cause of that, it’s easier to pick up on the fishy direction.”

“Yes. Because you can feel unpleasant feeling at a glance.”

The stagnant air is bad already in this underground city where a lot of people come and go.

However, even in the middle of that, there’s certainly a presence of gloom worth mentioning.

For a sorcerer capable of chasing cursed spirits through the remnants of curse techniques, one could say that it’s even easier than tracing the source of a gas leak.

As they weave their way through the crowd of people, Nanami and Gojo pursued the presence, walking south of the underground city.

As they walked for some tens of minutes, the smartly organized new area ended, and they stepped into the old area with rather different tastes.

Compared to the new area, there were a lot of places where the structure is complicated, like the side ways and the road to the subway.

Though that’s not to say that the amount of people there decreased, so as a result it becomes an even crowded place.

In the middle of the people coming and going.

In the middle of the stream of people, as if an overflowing river, there it was...... the ‘stagnation’.

“Nanami.”

“Yes――that must be a lead.”

On the other end of the two sorcerer’s line of sight was a pair of parent and child.

A mother holding a baby in her arms, and a boy around five, six years old.

Gojou and Nanami pricked up their ears as they carefully closed in on them.

“――Geez, Akito. Why won’t you understand?”

“No!! Mommy, don’t bring something like that with you!! I don’t wanna, don’t wanna!!”

“You’re the big brother, don’t say something strange so egoistically. Look...... Natsuki’s crying again.”

“No!! No!! I’m not a big brother!!”

The mother corrected her hold on the baby called Natsuki, her expression troubled.

Of course, the child called Akito was also important for her.

Yet, parents are just no match for young children. The swaying expression of the mother holding the small body in her arms held an almost maddening amount of love.

At a loss with her crying child as she comforted her baby, the everyday figure of a mother.

If normal people were to look at it, it must’ve been a usual, pleasant scene.

A small child getting irritated because he felt his mother being taken away by the younger child. If it was an adult, they would’ve concluded that it’s a normal thing and go on.

However, the state of the boy, Akito, looked too desperate to call it mere irritation.

It was certain that what he felt are feelings of not wanting his parents to be taken away.

Yet, that hostility was too sharp for something you’d point at your blood-related brother.

The mother most probably realized it also, as her expression - at first a just a bitter laugh, gradually turned into that of discomfort, into exhaustion, and finally anger.

“Why do you say that!?”

“’Cause, ‘cause...!”

“He’s your little brother, you know? Don’t you feel bad for him?”

“That thing’s not my little brother!”

“Akito!”

The enraged mother followed her emotions and raised her hand.

However, even though she’d swung down her hand, there wasn’t a painful sound of it hitting her child’s cheek.

All because Nanami had held her wrist.

“Wha... wh-what’s with you!?”

Of course, the mother was flustered.

From her point of view, Nanami and Gojou were suspicious people who broke into her family’s everyday.

Even though she knew violence was something to reproach, she has to scold her child who’d made harsh remarks towards her baby. A stranger’s intervention was something she couldn’t accept.

However, there was a reason for Nanami and Gojou’s reproach of her.

As a sorcerer before an adult.

“Please let me go! This is a problem between parent and child!”

“I cannot do that. Do you understand what it is you’re holding in your arms?”

“What do you mean ‘what’...?”

“I see, so this is what they meant by puppet.”

“Ahh!”

Gojou closed his head in from the opposite side of Nanami, looking into the baby in the mother’s arms.

“Just as I wondered what’s going to come... so it’s something like that. To sell something like this and call it resurrection, what a huge scam.”

“P-please stop! Don’t touch Natsuki!”

“Hee... ‘that thing’s’ that important to you? Even more than the child crying and screaming at your feet?”

“Of course! I also gave birth to this child――”

“You bought it, didn’t you?”

Hearing Nanami’s words, the mother froze.

It was as if a hand was shoved into one’s guts, as if one’s spine was gripped tightly, that kind of despair-causing chill.

It was clearly words one couldn’t utter unless they know of the situation.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

“――Cursed corpse?”

The mother repeated after Nanami’s words, as if ruminating it.

Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar word, the mother’s intonation was a bit awkward.

“Yes. To explain it simply...... Ah. Perhaps calling it a cursed doll would be easier to understand.”

One could feel Nanami’s consideration towards non-sorcerers through his explanation.

If you’ve experienced being a working adult, you’d be reliable in this kinds of things - Gojou quietly acknowledged.

“Doll, you said... but... this child is so...”

“It’s very well made to the point of surprise. If a normal person were to look at it, they wouldn’t be able to differentiate it with real babies.”

“...... This child is, my real...”

“You, as the one who made the transaction, knows best that it’s not, right?”

“......”

“Usually, there aren’t many sorcerers that could make such a human-like cursed corpse. ...This is just my guess, but in order for it to be made, they asked you of something other than money, didn’t they?”

“Uh...”

The baby in her arms was truly well made.

Swaying its arms and legs as if grasping for the sky, the cherry blossom colored cheeks itched. It was a textbook way to appeal to a woman’s motherly instincts.

Even so, that was only about the looks.

From a sorcerer’s perspective, there was only repulsiveness.

It was a matter of course. After all――

“Perhaps it was――”

“You were asked to give them your baby’s remains, weren’t you?”

“......Gojou-san.”

“Of course they’d limit their service to just a babies. ‘Cause there’s no way to drag an adult’s dead body around.”

Nanami, who had tried to get information out of the mother with ambiguous words dropped his shoulders at Gojou’s frank remarks.

From the mother’s discomposure, it seems that Gojou’s words hit the nail on the head.

Using a dead body as material to make a cursed corpse that moves as if it’s alive.

If one has an understanding of curse techniques, one would know how twisted, blasphemous, and depraving this technique is.

However, that was enough to show ordinary people the sweet nightmare of having “resurrected the death”.

Indeed, the cold, harsh truth uttered by Gojou was needed to wake her up from the nightmare. It sounds good if one were to say he purposefully took the role, yet it nobody’s sure if Gojou actually did that while thinking of Nanami’s position.

Whatever his true intention is, Gojou’s words continue.

“It looks alive, but actually it’s no different than a programmed pet robot, y’know? That thing.”

“That’s a lie! After all, I heard about it! ......I heard that Natsuki will come back, so I paid money...”

“If one’s a parent, shouldn’t one know? Of their children’s smallest habits, how they express their feelings...... and the fact that no presence of a living soul could be felt from that baby.”

“............”

“Further more――”

For a moment, Nanami moved his gaze under the sunglasses towards Akito.

The boy, looking about five years in age, clung on to his mother’s legs and looked up at her with a worried, yet determined expression on his face.

“――It seems that that child understands. That his mother’s heart is about to be snatched away by something unknown.”

“That’s......”

“The shape of truth is different for each person. If the truth that you chose was the one in which ‘you have not lost any children’, then I have no right to say anything, but......”

He pushed his sunglasses up with his middle finger, and breathed once before continuing.

There are times when children prepared themselves much more determined and firmer than adults thought they could.

The boy named Akito surely knows that ‘he has to hold on to his mother no matter what’. It’s commendable, yet the cruel reality that forced such a small boy to take on that role felt more painful.

That’s why, Nanami put in quiet prayers into his next remark.

“It is also true that you are turning your eyes away from ‘the present in which your living child is worrying about you’.”

“......I......”

That mother too, deep down in her heart understood.

That Nanami’s words are right, that what she’s done is nothing but escapism.

Even so, Nanami also understood that it wasn’t something one could easily reply ‘yes, I understand’ to.

To regain the person once lost, only to lose them again.

Nanami understood the cruelty, yet he has to keep pressing for her to choose, no matter what.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

“It’s really harder to cut down people’s attachment than to exorcise curses, huh?”

What made Gojou mutter such a thing was that so much tears and weeping were involved until they finally managed to collect the cursed corpse.

From underground one wouldn’t know, but outside the sun has already set considerably. If they were to use force to retrieve the cursed corpse, then the wound in the mother’s heart wont ever heal. They had to wait until the mother let it go by herself.

You didn’t work at all, so you could at least carry the luggage, he was told, and though he was unwilling and declined at least three times, in the end he was made to carry Nanami’s bag.

Inside was the cursed corpse they retrieved from the mother.

“Nanami, this is a bit too heavy to be put inside a hand bag!”

“We can’t just throw it away, can we? Moreover, it’s an important lead. If we compare the curse power inside the puppet, we could pursue the creator through even the smallest remnants.”

“Yea, I guess. The ‘Puppet Maker’ who sold it looks like he had the intention to hide the traces of his curse power, but... as expected, the guy’s unqualified. There’s a limit to being sloppy.”

“Yes, indeed.”

In the end, they managed to find the ringleader’s stronghold very easily, a little bit too fast.

It was an especially old area even in the underground city.

Branching off of the wide area, a road connecting to a certain building’s underground floor. On the back of the stairs leading to the floors above, a complicated zig-zagging road.

Perhaps it was formerly rented by an izakaya[15].

Judging from how nasty the place look like, it certainly doesn’t fit to be a place for respectable businesses. Yet, it is a perfect location to run fishy businesses in.

Using a technique of the same principle as a ‘curtain’, at the very least the place was hidden from the people.

Even so, for a concealment it was nothing but crude.

For Nanami and Gojou who are following the remnants of the curse technique, it was as if there were footsteps continuing non-stop towards the place.

“Makes you really feel the fact that we’re short of sorcerers. To let a third-rate like this boldly create a base like this...”

“Strong curses are concentrated in the metropolitan areas. It is proportionate to the sorcerers’ activities as well. No matter what we do, our guard tend to be duller on other regions.”

“Though, usually it would’ve been fine to just let this level of evil curse user do as they please.”

It wasn’t only one of them.

However, it wasn’t as if they gave each other signals, yet the two of them stepped one leg forward,

“Now that they have made such a damage,”

“As expected, we have to crush them, huh?”

At practically the same time, the two sorcerers kicked down the door.

The sound of wood and latch creaking echoed flashily, as dust danced in the air. The two sorcerers appeared in a boorish way as if they’re from a yakuza movie, it made the owner of the room――the ‘Puppet Maker’ to reflexively rise on his feet.

“......Wh-what the fuck are you bastards...?”

“If you think we look like customers, then have your eyes checked in the hospital, you small fry.”

“We’re sorcerers, you see. Proper ones.”

“Different from you.”

Especially strong contempt filled Gojou’s voice.

The inside of the room they forced into could only be described as shabby.

The look of the interior was inconsistent, it wasn’t clear if the owner wanted it to look Japanese, Chinese, or Korean, as if they only cared about the ambiance.

From a lion decoration to a synthetic-looking mummy. A pit viper in formalin. A mask covered in paint, one you’d see being sold in souvenir shops.

And to complete the look, the master of the room, ‘Puppet Maker’s’ clothes.

The fabric of his clothes - that’s even unclear if it is an onmyouji’s[16] or a Shinto priest’s - look cheap as if it was borrowed from a rental shop.

And on top of that, he had talismans - that barely works as as a good luck charm - all over his body, tied around it as if bandages.

From the eyes of a sorcerer, it looks like nothing but a costume.

Even if the other party’s an ordinary person, it’s impertinent to think they’d get deceived by such looks.

No - in reality, there are people who are deceived and damages have emerged, so it’s really hopeless.

One could say that from head to toe, this person is nothing but an insult to sorcerers.

“Sorcerers...? I-I-I, I-I see, so you guys, y-you guys are also sorcerers...!”

“What the hell’s with that ‘also’? Don’t tell me you count yourself as a sorcerer?”

“Please, don’t put up unskillful resistance against us. It’s exhausting having to hold back.”

The feelings Nanami held are most likely the same.

The creases between his eyebrows behind the sunglasses he wore was deep.

In there, Nanami’s instinctive disgust towards the existence of the ‘Puppet Maker’ as well as his inhumane acts showed.

Right now he wields no weapon, but he’s in a stance where he could go into his battle mode in a moment’s notice.

Even though the Puppet Maker was a sham sorcerer, the strong, intimidating air the first grade sorcerer, Nanami let out could even be felt by an ordinary person’s senses.

Conversely, if one could still be relaxed in this situation, they are either an idiot... or they’ve lost their consciousness already.

“Ah, a-a-aaaah... wha-what are you, here for?”

“If you still don’t understand what we’re here for even now, just don’t talk, wont you? Stupidity stops being lovable when it’s too much.”

“I, I-I, I have no time left, no time!!”

“That’s our line. Soon it’d be four. Even if it’s on a business trip, I don’t want to work on off-hours.”

Nanami and Gojou, whilst keeping their side-by-side position, stepped towards the Puppet Maker.

In this small room, if the two of them were to block the way in, there’d be nowhere to escape.

It was a checkmate.

Now that it had turned this way, the action the Puppet Maker could take is limited.

To prepare himself to be rash and thrust through Nanami and Gojou to run away, or try to put up an unsightly fight by waving around a blunt weapon or something of the sort. Another one is to resign to his fate.

――in the end.

The action that the Puppet Maker took was neither.

“H-h-he, he――help mee!!”

“Huh?”

“I-I-I, I’m g-gla-glad. I was going to look for you guys! Real sorcerers! He-help me, if it’s money you want I have it! That’s why, that’s why...”

The Puppet Maker clung on to Nanami’s legs――and begged the latter to save him.

In that moment, both Nanami and Gojou felt a sense of wrongness.

Indeed, this man - this Puppet Maker couldn’t even be called a sorcerer.

It doesn’t have to be Nanami - even the high school’s first years would be able to control the situation. That was how weak this Puppet Maker is as a sorcerer and curse user.

However――he’s too weak.

The curse power inside the cursed corpse certainly wasn’t strong at all.

The technique used was also a simple one - to mechanically respond to a human’s calls, nothing but deceit.

Even so, he was too weak.

The person clinging on to Nanami’s legs was too weak, so weak he couldn’t have possibly used even that level of curse technique.

However, certainly the same curse power leaked out from the man.

In other words, they’ve finally reached the one truth.

“――Nanami.”

“Yes. We thought he’s cursing people just for fun――it seems that he’s the cursed one.”

As if the short exchange was a signal, the mutation started.

Ripping off the talismans binding the Puppet Maker’s clothes――countless ‘arms’ flew out from under the clothes, just like a whip.

“Tch,”

Nanami tried to dodge with the littlest possible movement, yet changed his judgment in a moment’s notice.

It was because on the tips of the ‘arms’ swinging around, jumped out some insect-like creatures. As he dodged the arms’ direct hit, Nanami took off his suit’s outer garment and brushed off the insect-like creatures.

The Puppet Maker’s body has truly become that of a puppet’s.

Human flesh and puppet colluded in a warped way to form a disarrayed contour. His neck and left arm still barely holds their flesh and blood, but there was nothing more tragic than his left chest below.

The puppet head distorted in hatred bit at his heart.

Sharp, wooden skeleton akin to a bamboo spear penetrated through his flesh, joining with his body. That body was already over 70% turned into a puppet, drawing a spider-like silhouette.

“Ah, aaaaaaaaaaaahh, help, he-help! Money, I-I have money, I’ll pay, so please exorcise this!! This thing, this thing this thing this thing this thing, get it away from me, away away away away AWAY AWAY!!!”

The Puppet Maker struggling from pain and fear waved about his countless arms as if whips.

That power by itself was just like a storm - if you were to take a hit with your body, your bones will definitely get crushed into pieces, yet that wasn’t its real threat.

The most repulsive thing is the countless small insects that came out of the puppet’s stomach, squirming over its skin.

No...... if you were to look closer, you’d realize that it was actually a swarm of small cursed corpses.

They were eating the Puppet Maker’s body, as well as the ‘babies’ corpses’ hidden below his clothes, as they propagate and grow.

“......A cursed corpse that’s also a production factory that propagates itself, is it.”

Knitting flesh and hair, even now some cursed corpses are being produced in a slow pace.

The man’s body had been too corroded that there’s no longer any need to tell of it.

And then, the last question was finally answered.

“I’ve been thinking... ‘If the baby’s skin is used in the creation of the cursed corpse given to the parents, then what did the culprit do to the rest of the flesh?’, but... I see, so he’s supplying the flesh for it to eat.”

“Even though he’d used dead bodies, I was still unsure how this kind of man could create such an elaborate cursed corpse, but...”

“It wasn’t something a modern day sorcerer could just make. If not a shadow of an old sorcerer family member’s former self, then it’s a cursed tool dug out from the depths of a warehouse... or rather, a cursed object on a rampage, ain’t it?”

“Considering how he’d prepared such a complicated transaction route, at first it must have been simply a way to make money. It is certain that there are evil intentions. There is no room for taking extenuating circumstances into consideration in the first place, but...”

Nanami sighed, completely exhausted.

“It’s something that devours not only dead bodies but also living things. We can’t take it slowly, can we.”

Gojou dropped his shoulders listlessly.

A puppet that eats human flesh and gives birth to other puppets.

Even though he’d collected flesh to provide meals for it, the Puppet Maker couldn’t feed it on time, and he’s now possessed by the puppet itself.

Whichever one of them shouldn’t exist in this world.

Nanami and Gojou has the same kind of expression on their faces.

The feelings held was resignation.

The face of a human who has accepted the situation.

And the Puppet Maker, who’d sought their help doesn’t take to it kindly.

“Eh, ah, aAh, aren’t you guys, go-going to he-help-heElp me......?”

“Naw, that’s impossible. You understood yourself, don’t you?”

“Although if it hadn’t progressed to this stage, perhaps Ieiri-san could have cut it off.”

Nanami reached his arm to his back.

On his back, he has a large blade befitting to be described as a nata[17].

Nanami carries it.

As someone who had quit being a salaryman and chose to become a sorcerer instead. He carries the blade that he must swing down.

Nanami thrusted the sword towards the Puppet Maker.

“Wa, wait, what is thAt?”

“7:3.”

Nanami swung his blade to cut the air.

“My technique allows me to cut my target into 7:3 segments... and by doing so, will forcefully create a weak point in them. It doesn’t matter if the target is an living being or an inanimate object. Even someone like you, who are a fusion of both, will be counted as one being.”

“......whA, whAt are you talking about......”

Disclosing your technique.

The amplification of the effects of a technique by means of binding. Under the condition of explaining your technique - a demerit - you could increase your attack power.

In other words, for Nanami it was like a a declaration of intention to absolutely annihilate the enemy.

“It’s not as if I don’t pity you because of your appearance, but it’s clear that in the first place, you’re the one that started it all by making money with a dangerous curse technique.”

“...O, oO, oI? You’re joking, right? I-I-I, I’m a human, you know? What’s a sorcerer like you try-trying to do to a-A-a a human with that blade?”

“It’s already too late for that body.”

“No, no, nonononono, ah, what’s with thAt treatment!? I, I, I resurrected the dead! And I saved them! The people’s hearts! I saved them! Yet, I’m the onLy one who su-su-suffers...! S-suffer... th-the he-hearts... hearts! Hearts!! He-he...”

“Your words and your consciousness is already unsteady. More importantly――”

Nanami skillfully swung his sword in the narrow space.

It was clear even to the Puppet Maker that Nanami’s movement was filled with a certain intent to kill. When you are cornered into an absolute predicament, there are only so little actions you can take.

Fear and impatience controlled the Puppet Maker.

And then...... the one who broke the tension was Nanami.

“――You who had scattered curses to other people are already a curse yourself.”

“I’ll KILL yOUuUuuuuUuuuuUUuuU!!!”

Thus, the Puppet Maker jumped towards Nanami.

Nanami did not move.

He only used his body’s recoil, and slashed the wind with his brandished blade.

“If you are an adult, then bear your responsibilities.”

A single stroke.

“――――Ah,”

The Puppet Maker couldn’t even let out a sound of agony in his death.

The technique power-upped by disclosure of information accurately cut the Puppet Maker’s body to a 7:3 ratio.

The body was cut diagonally from the shoulders, cleanly dividing the puppet part and the flesh and blood, and it fell to the ground.

The separated puppet body that had probably used the Puppet Master’s soul as nutrient to move made robotic clattering sounds before it finally stopped moving.

And then.

“......Ah..... Ah...... A, ah... Ah...... Aah......”

The Puppet Master muttered feebly in a voice that didn’t even form words, and finally stopped moving as if a puppet whose strings were cut. A few moments after, as if a child whose umbilical cords are cut down, the cursed corpses that looked like small insects also stopped moving one after another.

Ironically, even though only for a moment before his death, the flesh and blood of the Puppet Master that had been cut off from the puppet died as a human.

Even if that truth couldn’t clear one’s heart..... it was also true that Nanami’s single stroke was able to turn him back to a human.

“Good work there, Nanami.”

After Gojou patted his shoulder, Nanami swung his arms in a circular motion to ease its stiffness.

“It would’ve been way easier if you were the one to do it, though.”

“Even though he’s this kinda guy, if we still want to bury him as a human, then your technique is better suited than mine, y’know.”

“I really don’t want to be suited to this kind of job.”

“In any case, let’s take down just the curtain and let the others deal with the rest. As expected, disposing dead bodies are beyond my capacity.”

“This time you didn’t do anything at all, though, did you?”

With Nanami’s deep, long sigh as the last thing uttered by the two of them, the room turned silent.

The lion decoration, the synthetic-looking mummy, the pit viper in formalin was, as ever, enshrined in the room that has lost its master.

Was the owner of the room a human? Or a puppet?

At the point in time during which the two sorcerers arrived, the answer’s already vague.

However, the traces of blood spread out on the floor looked fresh and vibrant, as if proving his humanity.

Before long, those traces too, got wiped clean as if it was never there.

In the end, only silence remained in the depths of the underground.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

“There’s a saying that goes like, ‘heal thyself’, right?”

Gojou suddenly muttered, as he swayed his glass on the bar counter.

Gojou started the conversation without any preface, so it took Nanami a moment to realize that he’s being talked to.

“......Are you talking about the Puppet Maker?”

“About the entirety of sorcerers. To deal with a curse ultimately means to deal with people’s negative energy. Jobs that make you feel bad will increase.”

“So you’re talking about the dangers of accumulating curses within yourself.”

“Even if you’re used to it, it doesn’t really feel good, right? Makes you want to get drunk.”

“The drink you ordered was ‘Florida’, wasn’t it? That’s non-alcoholic.”

“I didn’t do anything, so I don’t have to get drunk.”

“Please don’t say that so confidently.”

As he looked at Nanami, who’s currently gulping down ‘Gimlet’, Gojou laughed.

“Nanami’s actually a compassionate person, right?”

“What’s up with you, suddenly?”

“You could divide your feelings, but it’s not like you’re okay. An adult more or less have a way to handle the frictions born from such a situation, right? That’s exactly why sake is a wonder drug for the heart.”

“That’s quite an uninteresting talk, but are you going to continue?”

“I’m really not teasing you at all,”

Nanami had a suspicious eye behind his sunglasses, yet when he made sure that Gojou doesn’t have his usual frivolous smile on, Nanami quietly returned to a listening stance.

Realizing that, Gojou continued.

“Seeing that the ones giving birth to curses are humans, then the students I’m in charge of, too, will one day have to face the evil intentions of shitty humans.”

“......That’s because they’re sorcerers.”

The world is full of irrational things.

People’s evil intentions, and the curses it gave birth to.

Not only sorcerers, every person has to bite into such bitterness, know what it means to give up, and pile up despairs to become an adult.

Nanami knows that.

And Gojou knew that Nanami became an adult by going through all of it.

That’s why, he made this speech to him.

“People like us knows how to release out such poisons that runs through the heart. However, youngsters that are on their sensitive period are different. There are cases where one poison could destroy their hearts.”

“To deal with the poison left inside children is the role of an adult. Shouldn’t someone in a teaching profession like you know that better than I do?”

“I know. That’s why I came to talk to you.”

Gojou gulped down the contents of his glass and ordered to the bartender.

“‘Cinderella’ for two, ‘kay?”

“You must be joking.”

Nanami narrowed his eyes at the fact that a cocktail even sweeter than the one Gojou ordered before was prepared for him, too.

Of course it was non-alcoholic. It’s a type of mixed juice.

Gojou ignored Nanami who seemed to want to complain as he turned his gaze towards the shelf behind the back bar and continued his words.

“There’s a child I want to try to leave in your care for once.”

“It’s not Fushiguro-kun, is it?”

“Itadori Yuuji. You know him, don’t you?”

“.........I heard he died.”

“He’s keeping the King of Curses inside of him. He’s on a different level than the bogus ‘puppet that could resurrect the dead’.”

The bartender slowly put down two glasses on top of the counter.

Golden colored liquid that looked like the setting sun.

Considering its name, perhaps it was the color of full moon. Or, possibly, the hair color of the young man whose name was mentioned in the conversation.

That cocktail was sweet, as if a happily-ever-after fairy tale overflowing with romanticism.

As he held up his glass and swayed it, Gojou continued.

“I’m also really busy, so a chance to talk to you without anyone bothering is somewhat valuable, y’know?”

“I understand that you hate the current sorcery world, but even so I am a person of regulation. I don’t know what kind of expectations you hold for Sukuna’s vessel , but......”

“Not Sukuna’s vessel. This is, to the bitter end, a talk about an individual by the name of Itadori Yuuji.”

“Surely he’s not in such a light situation that one is permitted to talk whilst separating the two?”

“You know, Yuuji is a really honest child.”

Gojou’s fingertips caressed the rim of the glass.

The sound that seem like the high note of a stringed instrument quietly rang.

“He has resolution and courage, as well as the decisiveness needed in battle. Even so, there are parts of him that are just too straightforward. It’s really worrying when a child like that gets his heart broken even once.”

“What do you want me to do now that you’ve said that to me?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m really busy. I can’t say I could get around to caring for his mental growth too. It’d help me a lot if there was a chance to leave him in your care even once.”

“You think I’m going to listen to your favor?”

“That’s why I’m making a request to you. Whether he’s a sorcerer or Sukuna’s vessel...... as an adult who wishes for one young man’s healthy growth.”

It was usual for Gojou to speak frivolously, irresponsibly, to line up words that you couldn’t ascertain whether he’s serious or joking. That’s why, you’d know when he’s talking earnestly.

“Because I want to leave him in the care of an adult who understands other people’s pain. Someone like you.”

“...You came here just to say such sugary-sweet[18] words?”

“You know that I have a sweet-tooth, don’t you?”

As he laughed, Gojou passed the other glass to Nanami.

A sweet yet sour golden cocktail.

For a short while, Nanami quietly stared at the cocktail that look almost as if it’s filled with youth’s awkwardness.

“I’m not good with sweets, though.”

Without particularly signaling each other, the two of them gulped down the contents of the glass at the same time.

“Sweet,”

“Delicious, isn’t it?”

In the quiet bar, two contrasting voices echoed.

The two sorcerer’s night wears on,

As it embraced the multitude of whirling hardships and the sweetness that remains in their tongues.

Notes

[1] 三方六 (Sanpouroku) is the name of a Hokkaido local sweet (kind of like baumkuchen). So yeah, it's not... really a question.

[2] じゃがバター (jagabata―)Literally potatoes with butter on top. I heard they're really tasty.

[3] Matsuyama Chiharu is a Japanese folk singer and songwriter. He was born in Hokkaido.

[4] Go is a Japanese board game.

[5] 石焼き芋 (ishiyaki imo). Some people make it at home.

[6] 目の付け所がサングラスの奥 - this phrase is usually not about sunglasses, but rather how one notices things that other people dont (目の付け所が違う） - because he changed the last word, it just became him pointing out where Nanami's eyes are.

[7] じゃが芋 (jaga-imo) means potato - though you'd probably be able to infer that anyways, lol.

[8] 塩辛 (shio-kara) is salted fish entrails.

[9] Hokkaido is very popular for its dairy farms, so it's strange for Nanami not to try the local delicacy, but cookies and cream flavor instead. Also, Nanami's questioning why Gojou cared that much, after all he wears sunglasses so he most probably couldn't tell the difference just by looking at the color.

[10] 黄泉比良坂 (yomotsu hirasaka), according to Japanese mythology, is a hill that's also the border between the world of the living and the dead.

[11] Old Japanese websites usually have access counters. When you hit the kiriban (good numbers like 10.000, 15.000, etc.), you report back to the owner and sometimes they'll give you presents.

[12] Two tatami, one ken is approximately 3,65 x 1,80m. Super small, so Gojou asked what's there to share (since it's a share house).

[13] 反魂人形 (hankon ningyou), literally Anti-Soul Puppet, I think.

[14] Susukino is a shopping district located in the center of Sapporo.

[15] 居酒屋 (izakaya) means a bar, pub or tavern. You usually drink alcohol while eating snacks.

[16] 陰陽師 (onmyouji) is a kind of exorcist.

[17] 鉈 (nata) is like a hatchet? It's a traditional tool that has a wide blade and short handle, exactly like Nanami's.

[18] 甘ったるい (amattarui) also means sentimental.

I am super happy and excited that I managed to finish translating this chapter! The hardest part was definitely the fight with the bad guy...! Can’t wait for the second light novel to come out!! This one only has two stories left, the one with the curse group and the one about Ijichi. I reaaaaaaaaaaally want to read Nobara and Toge’s story TT.

#translation #light novel translation #jujutsu kaisen #gojou satoru #nanami kento

1K notes · View notes

alderoo · 3 years

Text

Captain’s Orders

Fiiiiiiiinallllllllllllllllly it’s only been years since I’ve written this fic (jk i just re-edited it five seconds ago) but here’s to me posting something at the relatively same time I posted something on A03!

Description: 8 times that Warriors helped the Links and 1 time they helped him in return. Time is first!

A03 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908288/chapters/70922934

Not a day went by on his new and strange adventure that Warriors didn’t appreciate Wild’s cooking. From breakfast to dinner, the meals that they ate were all guaranteed to be luxury. Whether it was the uncommonly sweet desserts that he made or the spicy risottos that he somehow managed to season, whenever Wild had access to a cooking pot, the meals the heroes ate were always cooked to perfection.

“By Hylia, sometimes you act as if Wild’s starved you,” Legend poked fun from his spot across the inn table. Warriors had scarfed down his meal, savouring every bite of the pumpkin stew that Wild had whipped up for them. Warriors simply finished his bite and grinned at the veteran hero, who raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Not everyone had access to food like this every day, Legend. Sometimes I’d find myself living off of rations for weeks during the war,” The captain answered nonchalantly, ignoring the shudders from the heroes that still sat at the table. Warriors, Twilight and Legend had come for dinner later than usual, the three previously engrossed in a game of cards. “Not that you’ve never had to do that, but every once in awhile I’ve got to remember how much of a luxury this is,”

“Luxury, eh? Don’t you eat like this back at your castle? I’m sure the princess would love to cater to a pretty boy such as yourself,” Twilight remarked from where he sat.

“Golden Goddesses, Twi, do you have a rock for a brain? I didn’t suddenly finish my job as a captain after the war was over. I simply got back to work and started undoing the damage that was done,” Warriors said. He finished his stew with a clink as he set his wooden spoon back into the now-empty bowl, pointing a finger at Wild, who had entered the room as the heroes at the table sat in an uncomfortable silence. “That, Wild, was another amazing meal as always,”

“Thanks captain,” Wild said back with a smile, gratefully retrieving Warriors’ empty bowl from his now empty seat. The captain stood, his knees cracking as he stretched, and excused himself from the table. The champion sat down next to his mentor before continuing. “I actually came in to ask if you can ask the Old Man for his bowl back. He, Hyrule and Wind brought their meals to their rooms and I still haven’t seen Time since,”

Warriors nodded and saluted him lazily, bidding goodnight to the three heroes that remained in the dining room. The rest of the inn was silent except for the clicks his boots made against the floor, suspiciously quiet from the room where Sky was sleeping. Warriors grinned to himself, wondering what prank Hyrule and Wind were probably scheming to use against the poor chosen hero when he woke up. Four was nowhere to be found, as per usual for the small smithy, who had politely excused himself after dinner to do Hylia-knows-what. At the end of the back hallway, Warriors knocked twice on the door that led to the room he shared with Time. After the second knock, he opened the door to see Time asleep on the bed, an open book loosely grasped in his hand.

“Hey Old Man?” He said again, but was only answered by Time’s light snoring that confirmed the older hero was still asleep. Warriors wondered for a second if Malon would like a picture of that moment, before dismissing the thought, turning his attention to searching for the champion’s bowl. He found it quickly, for it was sitting on the bedside table, still half full of now-cold pumpkin stew. “Damn, Time, did you eat any of this?” He muttered to himself. The old man rarely showed any weakness, but for a moment Warriors felt his heart flutter in concern for the eldest hero.

The captain grabbed the bowl, and empty its remains into the trash and before setting it back down on the table that it had originally laid on. Warriors quietly slipped the book from Time’s hands, folded the corner of the page and gently placed it down on the bedside table. Time’s ear flicked, and Warriors froze as he waited for any sign of the old man waking up. After he was satisfied, the captain pulled the covers over his friend, before grabbing the bowl once again. With concern eating at his mind, he decided to check on Time in the morning.

It wasn’t that he doubted Time’s ability to take care of himself, but merely the fact that the old man was still one of them, a Link. Warriors himself knew the great lengths that one of them would go to hide their injuries or illness, and the last thing he wanted was a painful reminder that Time still fell under that category as well. With too many thoughts on his mind, Warriors left the room of the inn to return the bowl to Wild.

**********

When Warriors woke that morning, he laid for a moment, before sitting up and stretching his arms high up in the air. He sighed in relief when his back cracked in a particularly satisfying way and stood from the bed silently to prepare himself for the trek that the group of heroes would make that day. The sun had barely risen, a sliver of golden light just barely visible on the top of the trees.

The captain hero turned to the other bed in the room, only to find that Time was still out cold, his chest rising and falling in the same rhythm that it had the night before. Worry blossomed in his chest, as the old man was never one to sleep in, but he pushed down the thought once again to simply let the elder hero sleep in a little longer while the captain readied himself.

He started by cleaning himself up, gladly taking extra time to perfect his hair. As vain as the veteran called him, it was always a boost of confidence for the captain when he knew that he looked in tip-top shape. After changing into his usual armor and tunic, Warriors took a moment to scrub the mud from the previous day’s truck off of his boots before he left the bathroom and entered the inn bedroom again.

With a particularly loud clack of his boots, Time started to stir. The old man huffed and pulled himself up onto his elbows, taking in his surroundings in a half-asleep state.

“Morning, Old Man,” Warriors said with a smile. Time nodded, before pulling himself out from under the covers. He shivered, pulling a blanket from the edge of the bed and wrapping it around his shoulders. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I’m just having a bit of trouble waking up this morning, is all,” Time insisted, stifling a yawn. Warriors frowned, the concern he felt earlier bubbling back up in full swing. The captain played it off, however, and made his way over to the old man. He stood there for a moment, taking in the elder hero’s appearance before asking his question once more.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You should tell us if you’re sick,” Warriors pressed. Time’s face held an unnatural pallor to it, and dark circles stained the skin underneath his eyes. “You don’t look too good,”

“As I said, I’m fine,” Time said, standing up. Warriors instinctively lifted his hands, and they hovered in the air as the captain worried himself.

“Hey, take it easy,” He caught himself whispering. Time looked down at him with a frown before moving to grab his bag. It was only by luck that the captain caught the slight shake to the old man’s hands as he picked up his supplies.

“You’re shivering,” He said, not in an accusatory tone nor one of surprise, but just a statement of a fact. He grabbed Time’s hands and motioned for him to head back to bed. “You’re pale and shaking and you’re starting to worry me, please sit down,”

Time looked at Warriors expectantly before sighing and letting the captain drag him back over to one of the two beds in the bedroom. The old man wore an impatient expression while Warriors looked him over with observant eyes. It was only until the captain placed the back of his hand on Time’s forehead that he realized what was wrong.

“You’re burning up, how long have you been feeling this bad? Be honest with me,” Warriors wondered. The nearly unshakable old man seemed to wither under his gaze, and the sight made the captain’s face contort with concern.

“I’ve had a headache since yesterday morning,”

“And?”

“And believe me when I tell you that I didn’t feel bad yesterday,” Time’s attention suddenly turned to the sun rising over the trees before he continued. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? We should’ve all been ready by now,”

Warriors frowned at the comment. He scoffed and grabbed one of the blankets from the edge of the bed to wrap around Time’s shoulders. The old man, who didn’t protest, looked at him in confusion.

“What are you talking about? You can’t travel like this. We’ll stay here for the day and then talk about why the hell you think that you should torture yourself so we can keep walking an a random direction until we find some sort of new information,” He mused, ignoring the way that Time’s eyes widened in surprise. Warriors instead started taking his armor off, not very keen on keeping it on when there was no need for it. When he turned back around, Time was looking up at him with one exhausted eye, trembling slightly under the blanket that he clutched tightly.

“What about the others?” The old man asked, steeling himself and straightening his posture now that the captain was looking at him.

“The others will be fine with a day off. If anything, I’m sure that Sky is still asleep,” Warriors told him, hoping to reassure his leader. “If it’s the others you’re worried about, Twilight is perfectly capable of making sure that none of them do anything too stupid,”

Time averted his eye back to the window, giving Warriors the impression that that wasn’t what the older hero was really thinking about.

“What’s really going on then? You wouldn’t go as far as to try and hide how you were feeling for no reason,” He pressed, crossing his arms now that he was finished un-readying himself. Time attempted to level him with a glare, but Warriors had thrown caution to the wind the minute that the old man said he was going to travel in the state he was in. “Does it have something to do with us?”

“I-“ TIme faltered, and Warriors realized that he had hit the mark. “I don’t like being weak in front of you all,”

“So that’s it,” The captain said, taking a seat next to Time on the bed.

“I’m sure you know how it is. When there’s people that you have to care for, you’ve got to stay strong for them,” The old man explained, running a hand through his hair. That seemed to be a mistake, however, since once the blanket slipped from his shoulders a shiver shook his body, and now that his neck was uncovered Warriors could see the beads of sweat that were forming on the Time’s neck.

“Yeah, I do know more than most. But we’re not just your subordinates, we care for you. The others won’t look down on you if we need to stay here for a day because you’re not feeling like yourself,” Warriors insisted, placing a hand on Time’s shoulder in support. The old man’s lips quirked up into a smile as the captain continued. “And, if you want to think about it in a more practical sense, if you work yourself to the point of exhaustion then we’ll be stationary far longer than we would be for you being sick for a day,”

“I understand the logic of it, Malon made sure of that years ago,” Time paused and shifted his position to lean against the headboard, now facing Warriors head on. “I find it hard to accept that I have people looking to be for leadership. I’ve messed up so many things by just existing…”

The room fell silent as Warriors considered his next few words. Time pulled his knees up to his chest, and Warriors’ heart warmed at the pang of nostalgia that hit him.

“You’re talking to the man who accidentally started a war by simply existing. I had trouble with the same thoughts that you have. Hell, there was even a kid that fought with us, and sometimes I put up a facade for him. An illusion of strength and bravery even when I didn’t feel very strong or very brave. It was until I broke down that he finally made me understand that I didn’t have to pretend to be strong for him,” The captain explained. The sun was now fully risen, the blinding sphere fully visible from the window of the inn. “And you know, they call you Old Man for a reason. You make them feel wanted and understood, like a father to them. After meeting everyone, I can safely say that none of us would have it any other way,”

Time smiled, genuinely, which seemed to be a rare sight for the elder hero. Now that he had finally relaxed, Warriors could see that Time was slumped against the headboard, that he clutched the blanket around his shoulders. There was exhaustion in his one blue eye that made his entire form just seem a little bit weaker.

“Why don’t you stay put while I get you some water and tell the others what’s happening? I’ll make sure that none of them come and bother you so you can get some rest then, too,” Warriors told him before standing and walking to the door of the bedroom. “Oh, and by the way, if you move even an inch I’ll sic Twilight on you later,”

With a satisfied feeling at the small laugh that Time let out, Warriors traveled the short hallway that wrapped around the back of the inn. When he turned the corner he saw the seven other heroes gathered around one of the dining tables with varying levels of concern.

Twilight was the first to notice his arrival, and nearly jumped out of his seat, startling everyone into attention.

“What took you so long? Where’s the old man?” He asked, his voice betraying the somewhat-schooled expression on his face. Legend looked at him expectantly as well, eyeing the way that he was only dressed in his simple shirt and trousers.

“I’m going to preface this by saying that everything is perfectly fine-“ In the middle of his sentence, Warriors received a very pointed glare from Twilight, “-and Time isn’t feeling great this morning,”

“Oh, is he okay?” Hyrule wondered, standing from the chair that he occupied. Warriors nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels.

“He’s fine, just a fever. He needs to rest, that’s all,” The captain, hoping to reassure his comrades. “If you do head in there, though, be sure that you don’t mention it. I get the feeling that he doesn’t like being sick all that much,”

The table seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before resuming a causal chatter as the heroes began to plan what they wanted to do with their day off. Twilight approached Warriors silently as the captain approached the kitchen.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Warriors interrupted the rancher. Twilight huffed, rolling his eyes, but the fur-clad hero didn’t deny the statement. The captain turned to face the rancher after filling the cups. “I promise that he’s fine. He just needs to let himself rest,”

Twilight sighed and nodded, the captain putting a reassuring hand on the rancher’s shoulder before starting to walk back to the bedroom.

“You might want to get going, though,” The captain called back, catching the rancher’s attention as he had started to head to find his protege. “I think I hear Wild talking about exploring,”

Twilight’s ears perked up in concern before he quickly excused himself from the conversation to make sure that the champion wouldn’t get himself into too much trouble.

Back at the room at the end of the hallway, Warriors knocked twice again before opening the door. This time, however, Time appeared to be asleep against the head of the bed, his chin resting on his knees that had been pulled up to his chest.

“Are you actually asleep?” Warriors asked, and Time’s eye cracked open, a small smile gracing his face.

“I’m just resting my eye,” He insisted. The captain handed him a glass of water, letting him take a sip before placing it on the bedside table.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” He commented as he sat back down on Time’s bed. “But, I’ve told the others that we’re staying here for the day, and everything’s fine. I’d imagine that Hyrule will be in here at some point, but other than that, you have the day to yourself, old man,”

“They’re all alright with it?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” The captain said innocently. Instead of responding, TIme stifled a yawn, rubbing at his scarred eye. “You really should consider resting, though,”

Time nodded lazily, before pulling himself under the covers and ending up with his back facing the captain, who was suddenly reminded of all the times during the war when he would reach over and grab the blankets to tuck a certain little hero into bed. Despite the smaller Hero of Time’s adventures, Warriors never imagined that the kid would outgrow him. Yet here he was, older and wiser than he was before. Even though Time was older now and didn’t seem to remember him, Warriors saw nothing but the little boy that he had fought with during the war.

Nostalgia struck him when he remembered the cold nights in the military tents, and all the times that the young hero would be awake, trying to do anything but sleep. Old habits die hard, Warriors decided as he gingerly removed his scarf from his shoulders and placed it around Time, who startled slightly.

“Might as well be comfortable,” Warriors reasoned in a mix of wanting to take care of the elder hero but not wanting to treat him like a child. “Now go to sleep. Captain’s order, old man,”

“Did you just pull rank on me?” Time asked, muffled from beneath the blankets. Warriors didn’t grace the question with a response, merely shrugging it off as he settled against the head of the bed once more.

The captain ended up staying by Time’s side until the older hero’s breaths fell into an even rhythm. Hyrule would want to make sure he was alright at some point, but the old man looked so peaceful in sleep that Warriors didn’t know if he’d have the heart to wake him. Time’s ear flicked in his sleep, and Warriors huffed in gentle amusement. Oh well, he supposed, he’d made sure to wake Time up before dinner.

#linked universe #lu warriors #linkeduniverse #linked universe fic #my writing

29 notes · View notes

secret-engima · 4 years

Text

Drabble for Time Travel Twins verse

(because I have no impulse control and SOMEONE *eyes @rayearthdudette* reminded me about Titus and then my muses ran away with me. Enjoy!)

...

-They are 12 when Titus first comes to the Citadel. Romulus is more than ready to stab him, because he remembers Libertus telling him what happened, that the man became a traitor, and any threats to Regis are threats that need to be removed, but Remus is … conflicted. One on hand, yes, Titus is a danger. But when? Surely the man hadn’t always been a traitor. Captain had taught him … so much. Taken care of them before going cold and hard in those final days. Remus is … biased he supposes. Reluctant to arrange an “accident” for the man who meant so much to him at one point, especially when he shows no signs of treason right now.

-So they watch, aloof and quiet (which is not unexpected for them considering their … backstory, so no one really notices), trying to find evidence of treason or loyalty and are both disturbed when they realize that Titus Drautos is … he is loyal. He is angry and hurting, having just lost his home of Cavaugh outside Insomnia and it’s Wall, but he is not angry at Lucis. He is not bitter toward the king, but instead seems to respect Regis in a polite, impersonal sort of way. He treats both twins with respect and manners, not questioning their paranoid looks, the way Romulus keeps picking a fight, or how Remus has nicknamed him Captain with a feral sort of smile even though the man is a Crownsguard rookie with no real rank.

-Sometimes he even steps into situations unprompted on their behalf, and while Romulus is convinced it’s a ploy to gain trust, Remus sees the crease in the man’s forehead when he interjects himself in a situation (a dispute with the other guards, a reckless prank he can see about to go dangerously south rather than just hilariously sideways) and his gut whispers that Titus is sincere. But then, he trusted Captain before and look where that got him.

-They are 16 when Titus Drautos disappears on a mission outside Insomnia. If they hadn’t been keeping a constant eye on him (hadn’t been making up excuses to be around him so as to search for treasonous behavior, hadn’t been getting attached despite the memories screaming that it was a bad idea) then they would never have noticed. Titus was one man amid the entire Crownsguard, and as good at his job as he was, as personal his reason for joining the Guard (saved by Regis when their “father” personally led rescue efforts to Cavaugh in the wake of the destruction), one man is so very easy to miss. Titus was new, he didn’t have that many friends in the guard, and most of them were on other missions and duties themselves. So when Titus was assigned to a milk run outside the Wall with three others and two of them came back with a report of a daemonic ambush, everyone else just shrugged with regret and moved on. Hardly the first time they’d lost a rookie to the Night.

-Except.

-Except Romulus and Remus know that Titus couldn’t be dead. They had not altered the timeline in a way that would have made the man die, surely. If anything, Romulus’s constant sparring challenges would have made the man more capable and besides all that, somewhere deep inside Remus still clings to the image of his Captain before the betrayal. The strong, steady, unbreakable presence that kept so many of them from throwing themselves into fights they couldn’t win because they didn’t want to come back to empty houses and shattered Clans.

-Except Romulus and Remus know that at some point Titus Drautos becomes Glauca, the wielder of an experimental regenerating armor, and Romulus has personal experience with Niflheim and their predilection towards immoral science.

-They are smart enough to leave a note at least. One telling Regis that they’re going looking for Drautos and will be back in a few weeks. Hopefully. Then they run, putting as much distance as they can between themselves and Insomnia before Cor can catch up to them and drag them home.

-It takes them longer than expected. Romulus remembered a lot of things and a lot of missions, but Niflheim holds a lot of territory and they can only hit so many bases before they risk capture and discovery from either side.

-But they do have some ways to narrow it down, and the twins lost their qualms against “aggressive negotiations” to gain information a very long time ago.

….

-Titus doesn’t know how long he’s been there. Only that it’s been too long. Far too long.

-Long enough to know that no one is coming. He is alone. Forgotten. Abandoned.

-Just like his home when Mors pulled back the Wall, not even sparing a thought for the region of small towns and simple villages right on his doorstep that were no match for Niflheim’s military.

-Long enough that he’s stopped trying to fight it when they come into his cell and unshackle him from the wall to drag him off to the lab for another session. Another agony filled day of them pumping black sludge and liquid metal into his veins and watching him writhe on the table as it forces itself into shape around his skin and then slides back underneath when the scientists press certain buttons.

-He hates them. He h a t e s them.

-He’s starting to hate the Lucis Caelums more. For leaving him. Just like they left his family to burn, just like they left all of Lucis to burn.

-(And in the back of his mind he knows that’s not fair, that he should hate the people doing this to him not those who live safe and far away, but he is helpless against these scientists who keep him drugged and shackled, and it is so much easier to hate the things that he doesn’t have to be terrified of, so much easier to keep himself alive when his hate has a target he can imagine lashing out at rather than the ones who have long since gotten wise to his escape attempts and tricks and pin him down body and soul).

-Titus has been here too long and as he is dragged to the table and strapped down for the (tenth-hundreth-thousandth) time he knows that no one is coming.

-He doesn’t realize that the shaking of the world is not just another side effect of his mind struggling to cope with whatever the sludge and metal does to him until the scientists stop in the middle of their work and start looking around.

-One of them looks toward the door and orders an MT to go check what was going on. The unit leaves and the pain resumes.

-Until the intermittent shivering of the world turns into one long, prolonged shake. Like reality is a wet dog and the entire lab is a stubborn drop of water that won’t quite leave the fur coat. Somewhere to his right, the head scientist, a weedy man with black hair and a propensity to laugh in childish delight when Titus gets violent, yells something that sounds like “earthquake? Here? Impossible!”

-Titus loses time easily on the table, and he isn’t terribly surprised when he blinks his eyes open without memory of closing them and instinctively looks around to try to reorient himself in regards to time (to whether the session is almost over or if he still has a long way of torment to go)

-Why is his face wet.

-Why does the wetness taste like copper.

-Is he bleeding again? Did the liquid metal come out of his skin too fast and open large gashes again?

-A blink of lost time, a sluggish glance to the right.

-Had … had the weedy scientist man been pinned to the wall by a sword through his chest for long?

-Why were all the scientists screaming? He was the only one who did screaming during the sessions.

-Another blink and the screaming was quiet but the alarms were like nails in his ears, so loud he almost couldn’t hear the words being said to him by the person yanking the restrains off his arms, “-kay, Captain, we’re gonna get you out of here. Just hang on. You hear me, Captain?”

-…Captain?

-Only one person called him Captain.

-He lifted a hand toward the … person? Hallucination? and brushed his knuckles against a slender cheek, metal skittering in and out of his hand, reaching for the person-vision-thing with something like curiosity, “Re … mus?”

-Blue eyes, darker than their usual ice, as dark as the ocean or the King’s magic, filmed with tears. The hand that took his was scarred in familiar patterns, burns that were done by fire but branched jaggedly like lightning, “I’m here, Captain. I’m getting you out.” A glance to Titus’s other side and a tightening of the jaw, “We’re getting you out. Just hang on, okay?”

-Titus had to be dreaming. Or dying. Finally. The royal princes were very openly not fond of him, for all they had chosen to make him their preferred pestering target and training chew toy for the last 4 years. They were only 16 and this was a Niflheim military laboratory. No one was coming for him, especially not the princes.

-Titus did his best to hang on to Remus’s shoulder anyway as the much smaller teen have carried, half dragged him down torn up, smoking hallways. Ahead of him, silver gleamed, not like the liquid metal the scientists kept pumping in his veins (that he was probably dying of right now) but brighter. Purer.

-Romulus’s armiger had always been a thing of deadly beauty, especially when Titus wasn’t on the receiving end of it. It carved through the MT Units that tried to stop them with barely a thought, the dozens of swords the boy had obsessively collected swapping from the air to his hands and back in the space of blinks, defending or destroying by turns.

-Not a single Unit or bullet got anywhere near Titus and Remus.

-Something coiled around him, warm and painful, but a … good kind of painful. Not like the scientists and their tools. More like the burn of a hot shower against sore muscles.

-Not a bad thing to feel while he dreamed up a rescue scenario as he died.

-A blink that lasted too long, because when he opened his eyes again, he was lying on his back, being dragged through the grass on some kind of makeshift shield sled. The sky was above him, so open and vibrant he hadn’t realized he’d started to forget what colors other than black, silver, and white were until just then. He didn’t dare blink away the tears that started, because he didn’t want to miss this. This dream of rescue and freedom in his final moments.

-It was evening. If he craned his head, he could see smoke rising in the distance. The base that had held him nothing more than an empty shell.

-The vision of Remus was still talking from where he and Romulus were dragging Titus’s shield sled, “-a little longer. We’ll patch you up once we get to the Haven, okay? Just a little longer.”

-He blinked. Opened his eyes to pain.

-Pain-pain-pain-painpainPAINMAKEITSTOPPLEASE-

-“What’s wrong with him?”

-“I don’t know! He might- he might be going through withdrawals from whatever drugs the Nifs used?”

-“It’s been hours past that point and it started up just now, withdrawals have more warning than that-!” swearing, loud and by his ear as he writhed in burning white agony, “Is he seizing? Hold him down till I get an elixir!”

-“-not working I don’t know what’s wrong-”

-“-ven! It’s the Haven!”

-“What?”

-“Captain never went on Havens! No one knew why, and he always had a good excuse so no one really questioned it but-.”

-“Daemon blood, it’s got to be, they probably used it as a conduit for the armor. The Haven was trying to purify him-.”

-“He’s off the Haven now, why hasn’t it stopped?”

-“We interrupted the process, the suit isn’t complete and we probably just screwed up whatever counted for stable with it-.”

-PainpainpainpainpleasejustmakeitstopjustenditenditENDIT

-“-dare die, Captain! Don’t you dare die on me!”

-Please.

-Just.

-E n d i t.

-Hand on his chest and on his neck it hurthurthurt-, “You don’t get to leave me behind!”

-Light.

-White hot light, brighter than the sun, brighter and more agonizing than anything in life before or after.

-Kids in front of him. Kids who thought they were adults, thought they were ready for war, thought they were ready for magic to reach inside and change them forever.

-His boys. His girls. His idiots.

-His Glaives.

-Blood and bandages, blades and crisp black uniforms edged in silver. “Appropriate,” laughed the shadow of the jungle and the storm on his heels and where did he know that voice from? Where did he know that shadow?

-Endless battlefields and unchanging training rooms, the flicker of braids in the corner of his eyes, meanings kept secret, meanings absorbed through exposure until the sight of pink made him cringe and the glimpse brown beads made his heart hurt in sympathy. A hundred faces come and gone, a dozen more that stayed-stayed-stayed. Brown eyes green eyes burning burning blue. Lips in a hundred different faces with a hundred different names, all of them looking at him and calling him the same thing in fondness-anger-respect-heartbreak-affection-trust.

-“Captain.”

-“Hey, Captain.”

-“Yo, Cap!”

-“For Hearth and Home, right Captain? As long as there is breath in my body, I follow that order.”

-A name on the tip of his tongue, a knowing that was fond and angry and regretful all at once. The glimpse of beads.

-Lightning branching scars made of purple fire.

-The pain stopped.

-Titus opened his eyes.

-And looked into burning burning blue, set in a face that was partially cracked open in branching lightning scars that bled purple fire, “Hey … Captain.”

-There was a name on Titus’s lips, and it wasn’t “Remus”, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what that name was. At least not before the world went dark and he passed out from the relief of no longer being in pain.

-He woke up to the crackling of a campfire and a sprawling night sky over his head. For a moment he lay there in utter disbelief, not daring to move just in case he woke up back in the lab. Something shifted off to his right and a moment later a small, calloused hand rests on his forehead, “Awake for real this time, Drautos?”

-Titus stares, “…Prince Romulus?” The words cracked in his throat and when his coughing fit died down, the prince who shouldn’t be there handed him a canteen of water. Titus inhaled carefully several times after drinking, then looked up again. The prince was still there, “…How?”

-Prince Romulus sat back on his heels with a carefully blank expression, “You’re a hard man to find, Drautos. And a hard one to keep alive.”

-“I … what?”

-The Prince looked over his shoulder and Titus jerked internally when he spotted Prince Remus curled up asleep on a bedroll, exhaustion in every line of his teenage body, his branching scars far more vivid than usual.

-Purple fire spilling free of skin and blue, blue eyes and memories he can’t see-hear-touch-.

-“You … you came for me.” Titus whispered, unable to believe it, but also unable to disbelieve it. Why?

-Romulus grunted and evaded the implicit question in Titus’s words, “It took us longer than we thought to find you. Didn’t realize the Nifs had so many labs, let alone in Lucis. Then we got you out to a Haven and whatever they pumped in you decided to send you into some kind of violent fit.”

-Titus could remember that, dimly, and it made him feel sick just thinking of the black sludge and the liquid metal squirming under his skin-.

-Except he couldn’t feel it anymore.

-He pressed his hands over his arms, trying to find the feeling of foreign, painful metal inside him and instead felt … something else. Light. Twin suns of light hiding in his core, one that nipped and grumbled at his senses like a winter-chilled river that looked calm on the surface but raged quick and fast underneath, and another that crackled and sparked eagerly down his bones like lightning and the pounding of rain. Magic. Twin cores of magic, humming under his skin in place of the horrible, burning liquid metal the Nifs had constantly forced into his veins.

-…The princes’ magic?

-Romulus saw his look and turned his face away, “Remus burned the Starscourge and that … metal … out of your body with his magic but something needed to replace it. It had … carved you up inside and leaving those channels empty … would have been fatal.” Romulus glared at the night beyond the Haven, “I’m not explaining that well. But that’s what happened. Then he passed out.”

-Titus couldn’t untangle his emotions properly, they were too jumbled and strong do to more than rasp, “And … you?” Because there were two distinct magics inside him now, he could feel them.

-Romulus shook his head, stood up and prowled a few steps away to the campfire before sitting down again and admitting gruffly, “Remus wasn’t enough. After you were purified, you went into shock. I’d brought along ten phoenix downs just in case something happened…” The prince inhaled slowly, whispered more to the flames than Titus, “I ran out. You were still fading. So I dragged you back.”

-“Why?” Titus’s hands were shaking and he couldn’t get them to stop, couldn’t think about what the prince’s words made him feel because if he did he would break before he could get an answer and he needed to know. Needed to know why the two princes that had never acted particularly fond of him would race into the wilds, would risk their lives to free him, and then would … give him their magic.

-It wasn’t Romulus who answered, but a sluggish Remus, who slurred from his bedroll, “Cause you’re our Captain.” Remus blinked sleepily, yawned and finished, “Hearth and Home. ’S what matters most. Hearth is where you stay, Home’s the people in it. That’s you.” Blue eyes fluttered shut again before Titus could think of a response, but when he looked over at Romulus, the eldest prince was watching him solemnly.

-The prince tilted his chin in agreement with his twin, then added very softly, “We were afraid of you because you’re from Cavaugh. Our father already has to deal with enough bitterness and backlash over Mors’ reign, we didn’t know how you would react, being so close to the royal family that failed your town. But then you disappeared and … a prince takes care of his people. We can’t save everyone, we don’t have that kind of power. No one does. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Then he shook his head, shifting to sit with his back to the fire and his sword on his shoulder, a soldier keeping watch even though there was no need on a Haven, “Go to sleep. You’ve been through a lot. We’ll call for pickup to Insomnia in the morning.”

-Titus lay back down very slowly, head spinning and limbs shaking, his entire world upended and shaky. Except for one thing. One realization, one burning vow, curling tight in his chest.

-These princes were his. They had come for him. When he’d lost all hope that anyone could come, they had. They had come and carried him to freedom, burned out the poison in his veins and given him each a piece of themselves to keep him alive when they had no obligation to do any such thing. No matter what he thought of Mors, or their father, for that …

-For that he would stand beside the throne without hesitation or doubt.

-He woke up the next afternoon to find that Remus had somehow migrated from his bedroll to Titus’s and was sleeping curled up under one arm, his magic tangling around Titus’s soul and keeping the nightmares at bay while Romulus, who had drifted over sometime in the night, dozed fitfully within arm’s reach away. When Titus stirred, Remus clung tighter to the tattered Crownsguard coat they had dressed him in at some point. Remus called him “Captain” the same way King Regis beckoned his Shield, (the same way a child called out to a trusted adult, and what had he ever done to earn that trust from two boys who were known to have been abused so badly by adults before), and Titus relaxed obediently into the teen’s hold.

-And he knew.

-He was theirs. Whatever they needed of him, whatever they wanted him to be to them, that’s what he would be. For them he would burn down the world if they only asked, and in their defense he would give anything.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Melodies and Manuscripts #Time Travel Twins verse #titus drautos #HERE BE ANGST #long post

153 notes · View notes

a-forgotten-spirit · 4 years

Text

Love Isn’t An Illusion (8)

Pairing: Todoroki x Bakugou, Todoroki X Reader x Bakugou, VERY SLOW BUILD

Summary: First day of training camp, chilling with Todoroki and falshing Bakugou

Words: +-6900

Warnings: fear of forgetting something, parents with tone, anxiety, showering, wet hair, sitting with Todoroki, skirts, nervousness, quirk getting taken away, fighting dirt monsters, flashing Bakugou, lack of eating, tiredness, swearing, yelling at Aizawa, angy, bath / hot spring, scars, nudity, Mineta (nothing happens it’s what he did in the show).

Tagged: @kittycatspervertedheart @lemorrite @gwendlynn @marleps @thicctati2 @saitamastamaticsoup @succulent-momma @aurorahoneybuns @imjusttireddudes @misconceptualised @ochabby @katsukisuwus @gayverlinq @star-witchs-blog @icyhotpie @kyrah-williams

A/N: I wrote this for the fans. I do not own My Hero academia or the characters, I don’t own most of the plot for this story, I had watched the show and re-written the dialogue and plot as if the reader was the main character. Everything is centred around the reader. Please comment, makes me happy. Ask if you wish to be tagged.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8

Waking up to the blaring sound of an alarm wasn’t the best but I could have woken up worse. Throwing my arm out of the warm soft covers I turned off the alarm and closed my eyes for a second sighing then throwing myself from the bed. I wasn’t a morning person, I never was and I never will be. I walked to my bathroom letting out another sigh as I removed my clothes placing them in the hamper before moving into the shower. It was warm and my muscles instantly began to relax, a week with my class non-stop. A whole week, this was going to be long but I knew I was going to have a lot of fun.

Washing my body and hair, I left the shower making sure to step on the rug and not the tiled floor having fallen far too many times to not be careful. I placed my hair in a towel cage. Flipping my head down, placing the towel over my head and twirling the fabric before flipping it back over my head. Hair drying and out of my face it’s was a win-win. I stretched and looked over my bag one last time making sure to pack the extra, extra charger for Todoroki.

I knew I had to get dressed but I just didn’t want to, I didn’t want to get dressed or move. I was tired and needed more sleep even though I had gotten more than the recommended amount. Shaking my head and slapping my face lightly I nodded and began to get ready.

I got dressed and was thankful for button shirts as my hair could stay in the towel and dry for a little while longer waiting until I took the towel off to throw on the jumper. I made sure to look at my bag again, I had everything I knew I had everything but the fear of forgetting something was a lot to take. I shook my head. I’m sure someone would let me borrow something if I desperately needed it. I wasn’t worried. I was excited. I moved to take my headphones off charge placing the charger in and then rolling my eyes making my way back into the bathroom and placing all my toiletries in the travel bag than in my bag. Now I was sure I was ready. I was confused about why we had to wear our uniforms but I didn’t question it.

I walked downstairs with my suitcase and then looked to my mum saying I was ready. It took more effort then I would ever admit to putting my suitcase in the car but that was for another time. Finally sitting down we began the drive to school.

“Message me on your way back, hopefully, we will be home but if not you can call Lacy” Lacy who was mums butler per se. I had never asked her for a thing but I might ask for a lift home after the camp. I nodded. “Do you have everything or do I need to stop” there was the tone I had been missing for the past couple days.

“I have everything” I nodded and then the car ride was silent. Driving in the parking lot I could see a bunch of my friends and the other class, I forgot they were coming. Getting out I moved to the boot and grabbed my suitcase. “Bye Mum” I called out from the boot and got a quick reply and then she was off. I walked over to the group and Aizawa began to talk, I made it just in time.

“Now that you are finished up your first semester at UA high. It’s time for summer vacation to finally begin” I was pulling at my hair still slightly damp from the shower I had taken that morning. It wasn’t dripping onto the jumper so I was happy with it. “However, don’t think these will be months of rest for you heroes in the making” why was he always so serious, it made me on edge and scared for whenever he spoke. “This camp will be to push you beyond your limits” I wanted to but in saying he already had with my exam but a swift bite of my lip and I was silenced. “You’re aiming to become plus ultra” then we were waiting to leave.

I sighed and felt my hair again, I hoped it would dry but I knew it was only bothering me because I was thinking about it. I stood with a few other people talking about my suitcase having been put on the bus by someone I had never seen before. I was excited and nervous all at once. I watched as Kaminari and Mina left the conversation to dance with a red-faced Uraraka clapping for camp. They all looked so excited.

“I heard some of class A has to take extra courses. Does that mean they failed the final exams, that would be so embarrassing? Especially because you are meant to be so much better than my class. All of you must be waddling in shame” the blonde boy from 1-B shouted his eyes wide and voice loud. I seriously didn’t like him, he really had a problem but he fell to the ground with one hit upside the head from Kendo and he was out. He didn’t like my class but...there was no but, he was just rude.

She picked him up with ease by his collar “Don’t mind him” he was then dragged towards the bus and I wondered how many hours a day he was knocked out on average I would be quite interested in the outcome.

“Oh the rest of class B” Midoriya smiled and I turned to see some familiar faces looking back at me. I couldn’t see any distaste or anger when I met their eyes so I didn’t look away but I was nervous.

“It’s nice to see you outside the sports festival” her eyes were so wide and she had this smirk on her face but from no one batting an eye I figured that was just her personality "I guess now we’re not technically rivals” I don’t think Monoma got that memo. I saw a few nods and I smiled to the class.

“Time to get on the bus” Kendo called out from the door, I wasn’t sure if she was the class Rep but I knew whatever she said everyone listened too. Like a big sister, though I liked it. The class had someone they trusted and always looked too. Everyone in class B began to board and I looked to my class if we were meant to follow.

Though my thoughts were short-lived “Attention Class A our bus is here” Iidas’ arms were moving frantically his face stern and serious. “Line up in seating order” we all boarded and I moved to where I was meant to be sitting down and then looking out the window.

“I am seated with you, I think” I turned to see Todoroki and then sat down with me next to him. The lords are blessing me once again. He was so graceful as he sat down, not even making a sound.

“I brought the charger” I smiled and he spoke a quick ‘thank you’ as he proceeded to explain he lost track of time with his Mum “Don’t mention it, I stress so I would have had a spare even if you didn’t ask me beforehand” I laughed and he smiled, it was so small but I caught it, or did I imagine it.

We began to drive off, I wondered how long a trip it would be to the destination “Listen up, you’ll be on this bus about an hour before our first stop” it seemed all my questions were having immediate responses today. “Make sure you stay focused” Aizawa was one of the most serious people I had ever met.

“Why aren’t we blasting some music” of course it was Kaminari to say something like that. I was laughing lightly at the comment. I looked behind Todoroki and I and saw Bakugou and Tokoyami then in front was Tsu and Uraraka.

“No one should be standing that is a safety hazard, please remain seated” A definitely standing and angry or more so worried Iida yelled. I don’t think one person cared for what Aizawa had said or they just chose to ignore it. “Do not open that window” I laughed again quietly.

The journey may have only been an hour but it was far too long for my back on the uncomfortable seats. I had filled the time talking to Todoroki, just about anything and everything. Showing him things on my phone and him doing the same. We talked and it felt so natural and easy to talk to him. We talked until we were told to get off where he moved to let me out first, I made sure to thank him. When getting off I held my skirt jumping down off the rather high last step of the bus and sighed out walking forward into the group then moving to stand with Todoroki again.

“Finally, I needed to get off that bus” I agreed with Kaminari, it was an hour but a long hour. I didn’t regret it though, I got to talk to Todoroki for an hour which was by far a bonus in my books. Mineta cried about having to go to the bathroom though from what I could see we were just on the side of the road.

“You didn’t think we stopped here so you could stretch your legs did you” I turned seeing Aizawa, hands in his pockets and leaning back in a lazy stance like he was built to just standstill. Mineta stood in front of him begging to be able to go to the bathroom.

Then the door to the mysterious random car opened “Hey Eraser” so they knew Aizawa and judging by his lack of care, we weren’t in danger. Aizawa bowed and commented that it had been quite a while since he had seen the person still in the car. Then two girls jumped out one wearing pink and the other blue. Dressed in cat costumes. “You’re feline fantasies are here”

“Purfectly cute and cat-like girls” I mean they weren’t wrong they did have the whole look going for them. I was confused, this is why we had stopped for a few girls to just jump around in front of us.

“You can call us the wild, wild pussy cats” they finished their little routine and posed with a smaller boy standing next to them. They sure were confident and loud, I’m sure Mic would get along with them quite well. Though the class stood in silence.

“These are the Pro heroes you’ll be working with for summer training camp” I didn’t doubt they were heroes but they did scare me. I wasn’t a fan of overly loud people… I was a fan of one overly loud person. They, on the other hand, were a bit too much for my liking.

“They are a four-person hero team that specialises in mountain rescues. The pussy cats were founded when we were kids” I saw the two women stumble at his words, they didn’t like their age being mentioned. “Like forever ago” another hit to the ego. “This marks their twelfth year working as-” Midoriya was fanboying again, eyes wide with a matching smile though he was cut off by a hand, paw, to the face.

“I’m pretty sure your mouth must be off” I was right, they were sensitive about their age. It was the blue one who had a problem and I stepped slightly closer to Todoroki being a little scared of the women. “I’m eighteen at heart” of course she was.

We all collectively bowed and said our Hellos as of Aizawa's request. I was confused about why we had stopped if they were going to be our guides for the next week. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t meet them at camp. Though I didn’t voice my questions opting for just standing with Todoroki.

“We own this whole stretch of land, everything you can see” I was impressed, to say the least, it was a lot of land they owned not to mention how dense the forest was. It was the pink one talking, she seemed kind and loving “The camp you're staying at is there, at the base of the mountain” her voice was so calm as she simply pointed out into the area she owned.

It was quite far, I tilted my head in confusion. Why were we here then? “Uh, why did we stop all the way up here instead?” Uraraka asked Tsu to turn to face her friend. She voiced all our thoughts and I was grateful not even wanting to speak with the blue cat still on a rampage.

“I’m afraid we both know the answer to that” was I missing something? Had I not read something or was I not listening? I looked around and saw a few people shaking their heads in disbelief.

“That can’t be right,” Sato said slowly his head shaking, what was I missing. I looked out, we were on the side of a mountain. What were we going to do from here? Like sure it was nice to see where we would be staying but weren’t we just wasting time.

“Ok, back on the bus” Sero whispered his voice shaky and nervous. “Let’s go” wait, no they couldn’t be serious. I was reading this wrong, I had to be. Sero slowly turned to the bus as did a few others as we all agreed.

“The current time is nine-thirty in the morning” why was she mentioning the time. I was losing my mind, this couldn’t be real right? I felt my heart speed, why was time mentioned. “If you’re fast about it, you might make it there by noon” she smiled her tail slowly waving behind her. They weren’t going to make us walk there, were they?

I watched as everyone began to run to the bus in a panic, I just stayed still. If they wanted this to happen, we weren’t getting a choice about it. Sure I was angry but a simple bridge to the camp, we’d be there within the hour. It was easy, annoying but easy nonetheless.

“Kitties that don’t make it there by twelve don’t get any lunch” she called out and I sighed looking to my fellow peers running, or at least making a break for the bus. I walked over a little more so I could see them.

“You should have guessed students” Aizawa began his voice monotone and easy to read, he didn’t care. He was changing his mind. “The training camp” the blue one dropped in front of the group a collective yell being heard. “Has already begun” just before anything happened I felt something clasp to my wrist. “You need to work on not having a quirk” I was confused and then I was being thrown off a mountain.

“I swear I’m going to kill you Aizawa” I screamed my body going flying through the air as I held my skirt down trying to have some form of decency why of course I wasn’t allowed my quirk, why would I? The teachers loved making my life difficult.

We were all falling, dirt coming with us, the blue one. The blue one could control dirt? Or at least something like that. I held down my skirt as I was falling, I couldn’t believe we had been thrown off a cliff. We all landed with a shout and some groans.

“Good news” I looked up at the pink cat, her smile genuine and wide as she leaned over the rails to view us. “This is private land so you can use your quirks as much as you want too” I stood quickly feeling rage boil inside me. “You have three full hours, you should be able to make it to the facility in that time” was she joking, was this some kind of sick joke? “That is if you can get through the beast forest” I walked over.

“What quirk” I yelled and held up my arm showing the bracelet “I don’t get my quirk, what kind of absolute bullshit is this'” I was furious. I didn’t like not having my quirk or at least being equal with my classmates. “Aizawa” I yelled and saw his face lean over, I dangled my arm in the air “Hello” I screamed.

“Your quirk would allow everyone to easily get through without so much as a thought. So I take the quirk you work on your physical abilities and the class gets to learn” he was smiling, I could hear the smirk in his voice as I steamed. Rage and anger boiling in my veins.

“No” I shook my head, “First the exam and now this. This isn’t fair” I yelled out, I knew my class was behind me. I knew they could see me losing my mind. I was so angry, why could I not just be treated like the rest of them.

“Your quirk is unfair” he shrugged...shrugged. He just shrugged it off! My hands were shaking as I had so many thoughts running through my head. I was so mad as I gripped my head in anger.

I didn’t answer turning and watched as Mineta ran into the woods, he needed a bathroom. Though with the sound of a growl I looked up seeing a forest monster of sorts, big root teeth and arms as thick as logs. I heard a few screams but I was running.

I was so angry that my quirk had been taken I jumped high into the air and growled as I came crashing down onto the creatures head my foot landing and splitting the wood and dirt. I landed and looked back up the teachers “Fuck your forest” I screamed and then I was off again walking deeper into the woods with the class following.

“Y/N are you ok” I turned to see Midoriya and I knew everyone was watching me as I continued to walk, my footfalls loud and deep. Anyone could see I was angry, I was so angry.

“Do I look ok” I glared at the green-headed teen and he shook his head “There’s your answer” I grit my teeth and clenched my fists. “I am going to destroy each and every one of these pathetic little monsters and then when I get to camp I am going to lose my shit” I finished. “These monsters are just dirt, the blues quirk” I added.

We walked through the woods and slowly more and more began to appear, the next one was flying. Of course, this was going to be difficult. Why wouldn’t it be? We were working together to kill as many as possible.

“Seven in total, they’re coming” Jiro called out as I jumped from tree to tree. I jumped onto a flying one, digging my hand into the wing and pulling back, breaking it. The beast began to fall as I jumped not being crushed with it. I walked over and slammed my foot down into the creature it didn’t get back up.

Sato and Kirishima beat one while Dark Shadow and Ojiro took down another one. Mineta was running as well but Kaminari had used far too much electricity and his brain short-circuiting due to the intensity. I ran and picked him up before he was hit again. Iida kicked one, how many of these things were there? I was running with Kaminari, he was quite light. Toru was good at luring the monsters to set locations so the others could attack. Mina throwing acid on the legs making them fall. I could have ended this fight so quickly but no I wasn’t allowed my quirk. I placed down Kaminari with Shoji and I was off again trying to pull off the bracelet, it didn’t work.

I was fighting one, my mind clear and body fast as I ran through the legs and jumped on it’s back running up the back “Bakugou” I called out and kicked the creatures head forward making the weak spot on top of the head seeable. A yell and an explosion the creature was pieces. I fell through the air holding my skirt as I landed. “No quirk no fucking pants” I cursed.

Momo had made a canon and was blasting the creature while Tsu and Uraraka were working together by just throwing them in the air with zero gravity and then making them crash into the ground harshly. I watched as Bakugou continued to explode things. He seemed very happy. I continued to run as one followed me. There were more than seven now, there had to be.

“Ojiro, Tokoyami '' I called out and then ducked skidding along with my knees beneath a large branch as the creature got caught and then was destroyed by the two of them. “Thanks,” I called out.

“No problem” I heard in response and I was off again, running and jumping through the tree and ground. Dodging the creatures moved and their domino effect in the forest. I had to not get hurt. My knees were covered in dirt and I was sure my clothes were too.

Todoroki and Bakugou were working together. Ice slid along the ground rising and covering the legs and torsos of the monster then while they were stopped Bakugou came in with devastating blows. Exploding the dirt and smoke being created. They were flawless, I ran past jumping up to land the final blow, a kick to the top of the head as my leg fell all the way through as I landed on the ground crouching. Then Todoroki and Bakugou were running with me.

There were so many of them. She could make them quickly I could at least give her that but by the time we thought we were almost to the camp the sun was setting. Anger was boiling through my body. I was covered in dirt. I was flung into the air with my ass on full display as I went to cover myself I was going to be hit but was caught by none other than Bakugou. Who had given me quite a bit of a tongue lashing with flushed cheeks?

When we saw the ‘clearing’ I was on a march. Half the people could barely stand, we were holding each other up. What kind of bullshit was this, on the first day? We hadn’t even made it to the camp! Todoroki was shivering, Bakugou holding his arm, Iida not even able to use one of his legs, Kaminari was out of power. Everyone was like this, I was tired, exhausted. I hadn’t been able to use my quirk which could have helped my friends.

“I hope you are happy” I called out anger dripping from my lips as I walked out of the treeline my peers following “Do you have any idea how hard that was with no quirk” I threw my hands out in anger. “But no, who cares about Y/N she’s so strong and can do it” I made a digging motion with one hand. “Take this stupid bracelet off me this second” I was in front of Aizawa now.

“You said that would only take like three hours” Sero gasped out. He was right, they had said that. Aizawa moved forward to unlock the bracelet, he was smirking at me. I was so mad.

“I guessed we based it on how long it would take us, sorry” that’s all we got. A weak apology and a smile. We had fought our guts out and all we got was a sorry. I was shaking as Aizawa finally managed to get the bracelet off me.

“You were too strong for this exercise. Your peers need to catch up” I understood why he did it but it was unfair to throw me into a beast infested forest with no quirk and no heads up. I walked away back to the group rubbing my wrist.

“I thought it would take you kids even longer” it was the blue one, her paws over her mouth. It was her quirk we were fighting, a good quirk but I wanted to throw her off a cliff. “But you did a lot better against my dirt monsters then I thought you would” she smiled her voice light and high pitched, she had to be kidding? Was she doing this now, while we were all on the verge of collapsing? “You guys were seriously great, especially the five of you” she pointed to Iida, Mirdoriya, Todoroki, Bakugou and I. “It seems like you’ve had quite a bit of experience and the girl. Even without a quirk you still did some damage” Some? I did quite a bit of damage, I had my quirk back. I could do a lot more. "I call dibs on these kittens. I’ll groom them myself"

She came lunging at us and I simply put her in a box “I’m fine, thank you” I whispered out and raised my hand into the sky as the box began to float. I could feel her trying to get out “Much better” I sighed.

Midoriya pointed out the little boy that had been with the two women all day, I had noticed him but didn’t care for children. I hated children, disgusting little things. “Oh he’s my cousin's son, he just lives with us now. Don’t be shy Kota, say hi to everyone. You’re going to be around them for the next week”

“Y/N let her go” I sighed and dropped her from the sky, her tail spiked and she landed looking back to me with a scowl I glared back uninterested. Midoriya walked over to the small boy who seemed rather angry at the world.

“Hi, my name is Midoriya.” Why was he trying to make friends with the child? I grimaced and a shiver ran through my body at the mere thought of talking to a child. “I’m from the UA highschool hero course, it’s nice to meet you” his hand was outstretched but Midoriya wasn’t met with a light or gentle handshake but a hard and powerful punch to his lower regions. He fell. I think I saw his soul leave him.

Iida was running over within a second “What a low blow” I laughed silently, he wasn’t wrong. The blow was quite low. Iida managed to catch the falling boy in his arms “You fiend of a child” just another thing to add to the list of why I hated children. “A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable” I could imagine.

“The last thing I want is to hang with some wannabe heroes” my face fell, he seemed to be angry. Teeth grit and eyes flared. Something had happened, no one hated with so much passion for no reason.

“I can put him in a box” I swirled my hand mist falling from my skin like ink onto the ground. I had no shame just locking him inside a little endless prison for a few hours, days.

“No” I heard Aizawa and let my quirk fade “We are not doing that” I could hear Iida still yelling as I sighed and looked away shrugged. “He’s just a kid” I didn’t care if he was eighty or eight he was being rude.

“That brats got spunk” Bakugou smiled to the little human as I shook my head. He seems too proud of the little boy, I looked to the fallen Midoriya and realised this little kid was probably his favourite person right now.

“He’s like a mini version of you” I turned to hear Todoroki, he had a point though. The kid did act like Bakugou in a way, a more immature Bakugou. I wondered what the two of them were like as kids. Would we have gotten along? They were the only children I would have been able to handle.

“What are you talking about” Todoroki has made him mad again, Bakugou was storming over to the duel haired hero in training with a bounce in his step, a bounce ready to crush the other's skull. “Shut your mouth before I blast you all the way to hell” he was offended but if he liked the child I didn’t see why he was acting this way, I thought it could have been a compliment.

“Yeah sure” Todoroki had simply stated as I walked over and pushed them away from each other with a shake of my head. It wasn’t worth it, not while we were all so tired. Also, I didn’t care for their little conversation about the kid, he was a rude little shit. I only had room for one in my life and that position was filled.

“Enough playing around, get your stuff off the bus” they hadn’t even done us the courtesy of taking our things in. They had plenty of time to do it. “Once your bags are in your rooms, we will have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you can bathe and sleep” the last two options were looking appealing right now. I would happily skip dinner to bathe now and sleep. “Tomorrow your training starts in earnest, better get a move on”

We all walked towards the bus and I could see everyone struggling. I did love my class and they had helped me out all day. I walked in front of them all bending down to open the hatch. “Thank you for helping me today” I whispered and I made a little illusion for everyone. Getting all their bags “You just have to get the copy to your rooms”

“Thank you” I was engulfed in a hug by Mina who was crying and rubbing her face into my shoulder in thanks. I pet her hand as an illusion walked over and helped her in ‘my’ arms as she cried.

“Y/N you are honestly a goddess” Kirishima bowed and I flushed waving my hand in dismissal. I was just doing something nice, they deserved it after today and these illusions took next to no effort for me. They were easy, I had been making them since I was a young one.

“It’s thanks for dealing with me being in a bad mood all day” I looked up and could see the thankful looks from everyone as a copy followed them holding their things as we walked into the building. I saw the boys sigh in defeat as we got to the crossroads “The illusion will stay, no need to worry” then the sighs of relief.

Placing everyone's things in the room the illusion would bow and then fall into mist as I helped the girls move their things into their rooms and places they wanted them. I was thanked the whole time and waved it off. Making our way to the cafeteria we all sat down and said our thanks and began to eat. It was good, more than good. It was perfect.

I ate slowly not having much of an appetite from the exams, I sat next to Bakugou or more so Bakugou had taken the seat next to me. I smiled that he wanted to sit with me. My other side was then occupied by Todoroki who was more than interested in the food. I saw Kirishima just shovelling rice into his mouth, he wasn’t chewing, I watched more. Not chewing, there was no way.

Bakugou was doing the same and Todoroki was following, slower but just as eager. I ate slowly not eating too much, just enough to fill me. I knew I was getting a few looks but I didn’t care. The beef was nice and had a nice seasoning. I grabbed another piece of a plate and within one bite I moved to pick up the little plate and put it in front of Bakugou who took a piece and then took the plate. It was spicy.

“This is amazing” he nodded and added it into his rice, no one else was eating it so I’m sure he could eat the rest of it with no issues. I turned and saw Todoroki looking for the water with his glass in hand and a jug was placed in front of him the illusion falling from stealing it from another table.

“Thank you” he whispered and drank down his water, sighing out happily in contempt. I had finished eating and offered my leftover rice to the still eating Bakugou who didn’t hesitate to take the bowl and continue eating.

Once everyone was done it was time for the bath, I was more than excited to sit and soak in a nice hot bath. I was walking slowly my head lolling to the side as I walked with the girls. Once in the room I grabbed anything I would or could need and I was off to the bath. I walked in happily my head beginning to clear with all the steam.

Everyone was getting undressed as I looked down, I had never been one to get nude in front of people, sure I had been in changing rooms but never fully naked, I took to the stalls most of the time. I set up an illusion to cover myself as I walked out of the bath. I could see the confused faces but no one said anything. Stepping into the bath, so hot and sending a nice shiver up my body. I dropped into the water, it came up to my waist, I walked forward and let the water slowly rise to my chest. The rest of the girls came in and we all sat around a rock. I lowered myself so only my head was out of the water and let the illusion fade the water full of different healing properties making it not clear.

“This feels amazing” Mina called out her voice happy as she moved to sit on the rock we were all crowded around. I nodded in agreement, the hot spring was lovely and just what my muscles desired after the day I had had.

“You are to stop this at once Mineta. What you are doing is demeaning for both the girls and yourself” we all went silent at the loud voice of our class Rep and the seemingly hurried aquatic steps. What was going on over there? “It’s shameful behaviour” then it registered, Mineta was being a pervert as per usual. Why was he allowed within a hundred metres of any female I wasn’t sure.

I wasn’t sure what Mineta had responded but judging by the loud bangs slowly going up the wall, he was climbing. How in the fuck was he climbing a straight wall? His quirk, I shivered. They were getting closer and none of the girls seemed to be able to move.

“Get down here this instant” Iida once more, so he was climbing. I stood from the bath and sighed. I was tired, putting up my hands slowly I rose a wall around us. Mineta couldn’t look in.

“He needs to find a hobby” I whispered and dropped back into the water as the rest of the girls looked over. I could see a few of them eyeing my shoulder. I froze and then an illusion went over the scar, it was fine. They’d think it was a mistake.

“Before you become a hero, you should learn how to be a good human” I looked up and saw Kota at the top of the wall separating the girls and boys bathing areas. I let the illusion of us fall, as he pushed Mineta off the wall with a slap of his hand.

“I’ll get you for this” Mineta yelled and then there was a scream, I think he landed on someone. I sighed and sunk lower into the pool. This was a lot for my mental capacity to take right now. Why was he in the hero course?

“Mineta is the worst isn’t he” Tsu croaked out in a quick reply. I nodded into the water not wanting to verbally respond like a few other of the girls did. I still wasn’t a fan of the child but I inwardly thanked him for being there.

“Thanks so much, Kota-babe” Mina called out her arms rising to put thumbs up at the kid as she sat on the rock. We were all standing together and I watched as Mina smiled in thanks. “We owe you one” I didn’t owe him anything but I was thankful for him.

He turned and looked at us and within a split second, he was falling off the top of the wall. I sighed, I was sure one of the boys was going to catch him. Perhaps he had a quirk of his own.

“Lookout” I could hear the child being caught, I was right and it was none other than the green-headed Midoriya. See, the child was fine without my help. I just wanted to soak and then go to sleep.

We soaked for a while longer and then it was time to leave and head to bed. As I walked out of the bath I covered myself in mist and made my way into the building to grab my full body towel. Covering myself I sighed out and grabbed my things as I made my way back to the room. I could have gotten dressed there but I wanted to change in the comfort of my room or at least the shared room.

I walked down the hall and then into the room, opening my suitcase to grab my clothes and walked into the bathroom. I dried myself and got dressed, I was running on instinct and willpower at this point. Grabbing I pulled down the jumper over my pants and looked in the mirror. I wished I grabbed Bakugous, his jumper was a lot warmer than this one. I left the bathroom and got my bed ready for the night. The other girls were talking and having fun as I brought out all my chargers moving over to the wall to plug them in and remembered I hadn’t given Todoroki his charger.

“Hey guys” I called out and the conversation stopped as I bent down to retrieve the charger I had packed for him “I’m just going to give Todoroki a charger he asked me to bring for him” I stood my eyes falling and tired “If I’m not back in twenty” I paused and shook my head “Come save me from Mineta”

“You got it” Mina replied and a few others nodded with smiles as I did too. “We will come and find you” she put up her thumbs and bounced on her bed happily.

I bent down and got the PowerPoint I had bought and walked over handing it to the girls “Also I bought a PowerPoint so all of us could charge our phones. I didn’t expect there to be a lot of power points” I could see the love blossom in their eyes as I smiled and then left as I heard a chorus of thanks.

I walked through the building making my way to the boys' rooms. It wasn’t too late but I was on the verge of passing out as I'm sure many of them were too. It was an easy find and I could hear some chatter. I walked up to the door and knocked lightly thrice all conversation stopped.

“I’ll get it” Kirishima, he was always first to volunteer. I loved that we got along and that he was my friend. I heard quickened footfalls as the door was open and his face fell into one of confusion “Oh hey Y/N” he grew awkward “I thought you were Aizawa” I laughed as he moved from the doorway “Come in, how can we help you”

Everyone was looking at me in my large jumper, short shorts and shin-high dinosaur socks I flushed and looked away shaking my hands “Oh no, I’m just here for Todoroki” that sounded weird. I looked over and now all the boys were looking to the duel haired male who was rolling out his bed. “I brought the charger you texted about” I held up the cord and he was walking over.

“Oh, I forgot, thank you” his voice was smooth as I held out the cord “I could have gotten it in the morning” he answered, I shrugged and tilted my head with a light shake my head. “Thank you again Y/N”

“No issues but I’m going to go before I pass out” I heard a few laughs as I turned to leave “Night boys” I called over my shoulder to the room full of my class.

“Goodnight” It was all over the place and different voices chirping in all at once but I closed the door and began the walk back to my room. I loved my class with all my heart, they were so amazing and I couldn't’ ask for anything better.

The walk was short and once I was back in my room I smiled at the jokes the girls were making that I arrived safely. Not too long after were we heading to bed. Lights out and chargers on we all laid down and I was out within seconds.

________________________________________________________________Chapter 9

54 notes · View notes

tiramisiyu · 3 years

Text

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: 【掌中流光】 Xia Yan’s Light in Palms Date Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist

Video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1nX4y1u7XA/

Because the timing of this date story is New Year’s Eve, I aimed to have it finished and posted for today (i.e. our New Year’s Eve). Happy New Year, everyone! Hoping that 2021 will be much better!

PART 1

Xia Yan’s House

Today was the last day on the calendar.

As the first New Year’s Eve after my reunion with Xia Yan, we had originally made a chock-full travel plan - but before we were about to set out, Xia Yan suddenly received a command to return to the capital, and didn’t return until last night. Because I didn’t want Xia Yan to be travel-worn again, I decided on staying at home for a leisurely New Year’s Eve – a day spent playing games! A night spent feasting! Going at zero-o’clock to see the New Year’s Eve fireworks show!

Although, when we put this “Leisurely New Year’s Eve Plan” into action, it wasn’t very leisurely…

Xia Yan: Right side! The enemy went over there!

MC: Where where?! I can’t see it!

In a panic, I manipulated the video game controller to adjust my viewing angle, but I didn’t see anything at all.

Bang bang bang— A barrage of gunshot sounds suddenly started. My blood meter started losing blood crazily, just like a water pipe that had exploded.

MC: Ahhh! My blood meter’s in the red!

Xia Yan: Give it to me!

I immediately stuffed the controller into Xia Yan’s hands, but he hadn’t even received it firmly when my view went grey. My character had fallen in battle.

MC: …

MC: This is too much…

Xia Yan and I attempted to refresh our save points from eight years ago. We were clearly able to co-op smoothly before, with flashing lights announcing our clears, yet we were actually on a losing streak today! Discouraged, I threw aside the controller, then reclined backwards into the beanbag chair.

Xia Yan: Don’t be discouraged – we haven’t played this for several years. It’s natural to be out of practice.

Xia Yan: How about we go through our save points for the casual games?

MC: That’s fine… I need to play some easy, refreshing casual games to restore my spirit.

Xia Yan: Then you can go ahead and pick a game. I’ll go wash some apples – after eating them, we’ll play!

MC: Mhmm!

While Xia Yan washed the apples, I flipped through his box of game hard drives.

MC: Xia Yan – why are there only a little over ten games in your box? What about the others?

Xia Yan: There in the other box, on the shelf on the right side of the computer – feel free to look there.

I searched in the spot that Xia Yan had mentioned. Sure enough, I noticed several boxes - the box in the corner of the lowest shelf looked particularly exquisite. Looking at the dust that had accumulated on the wood box, it had been placed there for at least several months.

MC: This box is so pretty… and it’s fairly heavy!

I carefully took the box and opened the lid – there was a bottle of sealed foreign liquor inside. The transparent glass in a rectangular column shape was filled with an amber liquid and the yellowing wine label on the bottle had English and numbers handwritten on it.

MC: Why is the wine label handwritten? “Whisky”… it’s whiskey, right?

There was also a note beside the wine bottle. The paper had a firm texture, with a tall-stemmed wineglass and a curlicue letter “L” stamped at the top. There was neat, beautiful handwriting on the memo – looking at the writing, it was written by the same writer of the wine label. “Before reaching the end, the possibility of unexpected opportunities will always exist. – Bar L”

MC: (Is there some implication of this specific phrase being written?)

I had sunken into thought while looking at the memo. By then, Xia Yan had already returned, carrying the plate of washed apples. He saw the whiskey in the wooden box and froze somewhat.

MC: Xia Yan, why did you keep a bottle of whiskey? Do you like drinking whiskey?

MC: Is “Bar L” the name of a bar? They even gave you a note in here – are you a frequent customer there?

Xia Yan: To understand a city, the easiest way is to take a seat in the bars of the city.

Xia Yan: Plus, bars are the gathering places of all sorts of information. Of course I’ll go to bars often, to collect some information.

MC: So this bar is the one you go to most often?

Xia Yan: It’s one of them.

Xia Yan looked towards that bottle of whiskey.

Xia Yan: At the beginning of the year, I helped out at Bar L as a bartender because of a commission.

Xia Yan: The bar owner’s a great person and took great care of me. This bottle of whiskey that he brewed himself is a gift he sent me.

MC: So that’s how it is. But why didn’t you bring up before about how you even know how to bartend?

After Xia Yan returned, he’d already told me told me a lot of matters that didn’t involve “secrets”, but I’ve never heard him bring up this bartending matter back then.

Xia Yan: Hm? There’s nothing special about bartending – it’s not worth bringing up.

MC: ???

MC: What about it isn’t special? What about it isn’t worth bringing up?!

I was absolutely speechless. I really wanted to know what Xia Yan was like when he was a bartender and what kind of situations he encountered in the bar, but as far as I could see, Xia Yan still had a confused look all over his face – so I decided to find another way.

MC: Xia Yan, could you take me to hang out at Bar L?

Xia Yan: Ah?

MC: I heard that on the night of New Year’s Eve, there will be really interesting events in bars. I want to go see.

MC: Plus, it’s almost the New Year.

MC: Since the owner of this bar took care of you before, we should also say hi to him and send our respects.

Xia Yan: That’s true. The owner has also recently called me to come hang out when I had time.

Xia Yan: Then let’s go.

Commerce Street

With the hues of evening all around, the commerce street, hung full of holiday lanterns, was neon with multiple colors. On the corner of the street, a heavy oak door was hidden under the shade of a tree. A relief sculpture of a wineglass pattern and a curlicue letter “L” were on the door.

Xia Yan: Here it is – we’ve arrived.

MC: It has a major “hidden in the city” feel to it.

I looked at the oak door in front of me, feeling more and more expectant.

MC: (It’s said that bars are the gathering place of stories…)

MC: (I’ll definitely be able to hear about lots of stories about when Xia Yan was a bartender.)

I wanted to know those people Xia Yan had known and hear them talk about Xia Yan-related things. After all, those people there just might know a lot about those little matters that Xia Yan considered not worth bringing up.

But nothing is not worth bringing up.

I wanted to make up for all the stories about Xia Yan in those lost eight years.

PART 2

Bar L

When Xia Yan and I entered Bar L, they had just started operating for the night – there weren’t any guests. Under the gentle lights, the tables and chairs made from logs seemed to exude the gentleness of a past era. Xia Yan closed the entrance’s oak door, cutting off the moment of hustle and bustle from the street.

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen, I’ve come to bother you.

Uncle Chen: It’s Little Xia! Welcome, welcome.

A bartender standing inside the bar counter nodded and smiled at us. He looked like he was around 40 years old, with a face and voice that were equally gentle. After Xia Yan and I arrived at and sat down in front of the counter, Xia Yan did a simple introduction for us.

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen is the owner and bartender of Bar L. His bartending techniques and wine brewing techniques are incredibly amazing.

Xia Yan: My bottle of whiskey was brewed by Uncle Chen himself.

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen, can we pass the New Year’s Eve at your place here?

Uncle Chen: Haha, of course.

Uncle Chen: The guests for tonight will definitely be very happy to be able to see the “Bartender Detective” again.

MC: “Bartender Detective”?

Xia Yan: It’s what the guests jokingly call me, because in addition to my bartending, sometimes I’ll do some simple detective work for guests.

Looking at my responseless look, Uncle Chen helplessly laughed and shook his head.

Uncle Chen: This explanation isn’t exact enough.

Uncle Chen: Providing detective services simultaneously with his bartending isn’t the only reason why Little Xia is known as the “Bartender Detective”.

Uncle Chen: At the very beginning, it was because Little Xia once solved a guest’s problem within the time he spent creating a drink.

Uncle Chen: After, even if they didn’t need a detective, guests still loved to find Little Xia to talk to, having him guess their profession, where they just came from, stuff like that.

Uncle Chen: Slowly, this nickname spread.

MC: So Xia Yan even had this kind of story when he was a bartender!

This “Bartender Detective” matter must have been omitted by Xia Yan as something “not worth bringing up”. Sure enough, I was right to come straight here!

Uncle Chen: I’ve only been focusing on talking and didn’t ask what the young lady would like to drink. My hospitality really is insufficient.

Uncle Chen: Does the young lady want to have a hot drink like last time? Or do you want to try something else?

MC: Last time?

I only knew about this bar from seeing Xia Yan’s whiskey today…

Seeing that I was somewhat at a loss, Uncle Chen smiled.

Uncle Chen: Though today is the first time that Little Yan has brought a friend over, it’s not the first time I’ve seen the young lady.

Uncle Chen: On a rainy day at the beginning of the year, the young lady came in here and ordered a glass of hot drink from me.

All of a sudden, I remembered. At that time, a client made an appointment to see me near this place, but he suddenly had some unexpected matters to deal with before we met and would come a little late. Because it was raining, the nearby shops had already filled up with people, so I walked into this bar to avoid the rain and pass the time.

MC: Your memory is so good, being able to remember so clearly about something that had happened so long ago.

MC: Plus, there were particularly many guests that time because of the rain.

Uncle Chen: About this…

Without waiting for Uncle Chen to speak, Xia Yan immediately took over talking.

Xia Yan: “A qualified bartender does not only need to understand alcohol – they need to understand people even more. They should do all within their ability to remember the habits of each guest and let them feel at home.”

Xia Yan: This is the phrase that Uncle Chen speaks most often, so of course he would remember you.

MC: So that’s how it is. This must be the so-called “craftsman’s mindset”.

MC: (Wait, since I came to this bar at the beginning of the year…)

A doubt suddenly flashed in my head.

MC: Xia Yan, weren’t you also helping here at Uncle Chen’s place at the beginning of the year? Why didn’t I see you when I came that day?

That day, it seemed like Uncle Chen was the only bartender in the bar.

Xia Yan: …!

Xia Yan’s expression got suspiciously panicked.

Xia Yan: I… I must have taken a day off on that day.

Xia Yan: During that time, I had a particularly large amount of detective commissions, so I was a little busy.

Xia Yan quickly placed the drink menu in front of me.

Xia Yan: Right, didn’t Uncle Chen just ask you what you wanted to drink?

Xia Yan: Fruit punch, the Cinderella, and the midsummer fruit drink are all non-alcoholic cocktails, and they taste pretty good. Want to try?

MC: (This forced change in topic – he’s definitely lying.)

MC: (Xia Yan, you’ve even learned to hide from me…)

But for now, I decided to not take apart Xia Yan’s lies in front of Uncle Chen.

I pressed down on my thoughts, lowered my head, and swept a glance over the drink menu.

MC: Today’s a holiday. I want to order something with alcohol.

Looking at Xia Yan and I, Uncle Chen laughed.

Uncle Chen: If the young lady doesn’t have any special preferences, then I would like to recommend my self-brewed whiskey.

As he spoke, Uncle Chen took a bottle of whiskey from the wine shelf. The bottle was identical to the one in Xia Yan’s house.

MC: This bottle of alcohol… it seems like it’s the same as the bottle that you sent to Xia Yan before.

Uncle Chen: That’s right, they’re the same kind of alcohol. I feel like it very much suits Little Xia.

MC: It very much suits Xia Yan? Why?

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen—

Without waiting for Uncle Chen to speak, Xia Yan opened his mouth again. It was very obvious that he wanted to take over in talking…

>Prevent him >Let him

MC: (You thought I’d let you take control of the situation? Too naïve, Xia Yan!)

I quickly grabbed a piece of chocolate from the snack plate and peeled it open.

MC: Xia Yan, you must be hungry from talking so much—

Xia Yan: *mouth full noises*!

I stuffed the chocolate into Xia Yan’s mouth and covered it tightly. Xia Yan’s lips struggled futilely under my hand, and I faced back towards Uncle Chen.

MC: Uncle Chen, is there a story about Xia Yan and this bottle of whiskey?

Uncle Chen looked at me and Xia Yan, who had no way to resist, the smile on his face deep.

>Prevent him >Let him

MC: (Let me see what you’re going to say this time…)

Thus, I put on a gentle smiling expression, looking intently and quietly at Xia Yan. Under my “friendly” gaze, Xia Yan closed his just-opened mouth up again.

Xia Yan: …

For a while, we were both silent. Uncle Chen looked at Xia Yan and I, the smile on his face deep.

Uncle Chen: Has the young lady heard of a phrase like this – “All the stories in a bar are in the wine”?

Uncle Chen: Would you like to try this whiskey?

MC: Yes! I’ll have to request you for it.

Uncle Chen took a glass cup, placed three ice cubes inside, and then used the bartending spoon to stir it quickly. A few minutes later, he filtered out the melted water, poured it into the whiskey, and mixed it again. The spoon slid unceasingly between the ice cubes and the cups, but it didn’t make the slightest bit of noise.

Uncle Chen: Does the young lady know how whiskey is brewed?

MC: I’m not too clear on it… is it similar to wine?

Uncle Chen: For whiskey to become pulp from grain, it needs to undergo germination, saccharification, fermentation, aging, and six procedures of mixing.

Uncle Chen: For it to mature, it will take at least several years, going up to over 10 years.

Uncle Chen: Within this long period of time, no matter how expectant or how anxious the brewer is, or how much they’ve put their entire physical and mental effort into this, they still have no way of absolutely guaranteeing the taste at the end.

MC: Is that so?

MC: (Although, what does this have to do with Xia Yan?)

While I mulled this over, Uncle Chen had already finished adjusting the whiskey. He gently pushed it over.

Uncle Chen: The whiskey – please try it.

I held up the whiskey and took a sip gingerly. The alcohol that had ice added slid smoothly into my mouth, but the aroma didn’t weaken in the slightest bit. The oaky fragrance mixed with the grain’s sweetness.

MC: It tastes great! Uncle Chen, the liquor you’ve brewed really is too amazing!

Uncle Chen: I’m very glad you like it.

Uncle Chen: In fact, when this batch of whiskey was first completely brewed, it didn’t have this taste.

Uncle Chen: It tasted very spicy, its aroma was average – it could be considered a major failure.

Uncle Chen: But after leaving it for a month, it became the taste it has now.

MC: So it was actually like this? Why?

Uncle Chen: Because of light, the surrounding air, and temperature. Sometimes, these things that one must consider when preserving whiskey can instead end up bringing good changes.

Uncle Chen: A failure at one point does not represent one’s life.

Uncle Chen: Before reaching the end, the possibility of unexpected opportunities will always exist.

“Before reaching the end, the possibility of unexpected opportunities will always exist.” This was the same as the sentence written on that note from earlier.

MC: It sounds like you’re talking about wine, yet it also seems like it’s a philosophy that can describe one’s life.

Uncle Chen: The stories in wine naturally also have life to them.

Uncle Chen looked at me, his smile very gentle. I felt that he was implying something in his words - did Xia Yan encounter some sort of issue back then? But why didn’t he come see and talk to me? Instead, he hid from me…

I looked towards the whiskey beside Uncle Chen’s hand. On the glass bottle filled with amber liquor, Xia Yan’s expression was reflected, looking quietly at me. I met his gaze for a moment, and Xia Yan choked, coughing once.

Xia Yan: Ahem…!

Xia Yan: I just wanted to say, drink it slower…

MC: (Xia Yan…)

I was just pondering what to do next, when suddenly, the bar door was opened again. Uncle Chen looked at the person who’d arrived, then stood up very quickly to walk to the bar counter.

Uncle Chen: Excuse me – I must leave for a bit.

After Uncle Chen left, I looked towards Xia Yan again.

MC: Xia Yan, you said before that you came to Uncle Chen’s place to help because of a commission.

MC: Which means, it’s not related to work that needs to be kept secret, right?

Xia Yan: Uh… that’s right.

MC: (Since it’s not related, then it should be fine if I ask a bit.)

MC: Xia Yan, at the beginning of the year, did you encounter some kind of situation? So you…

Xia Yan: Nah, I just happened to not be there that day.

Xia Yan: Alright, we’ve already reunited now, so don’t worry about the thing from that day.

MC: …

This guy’s trying to change the topic again.

>Frontal attack >Guide patiently and systematically >Joke around

MC: (Xia Yan, you’ve forced me to use extraordinary methods.)

I deliberately put on my intimidating court trial expression.

MC: Don’t you know that you’re really bad at lying? Plus, you kept changing the topic in front of Uncle Chen!

MC: You’re not just lying with this – you’re even openly mocking my IQ!

MC: If this can be tolerated, what can’t be?

Xia Yan: I…

MC: Severity to those who confess. Even more severity to those who resist! Hurry and own up!

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Great Lawyer, I’m scared of you…

>Frontal attack >Guide patiently and systematically >Joke around

I shifted towards Xia Yan’s side.

MC: Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: What, what are you doing…

MC: Did you really take a day off that day?

MC: You’re not allowed to lie to me. Look straight at my eyes and talk.

Xia Yan: …

MC: Why did you hide from me? If you met with me at that time, we could have reunited earlier by a few months.

MC: Could – you – tell – me…

Tugging on Xia Yan’s arm, I gently rocked it back and forth with a face full of sincerity.

Xia Yan: You’re using this trick again…

>Frontal attack >Guide patiently and systematically >Joke around

I pushed the whiskey that Uncle Chen had prepared towards Xia Yan’s hand. Then, I leaned over, lifted the wisps of hair beside my ear, feigning an elegant air, and gave him a smile.

MC: Handsome brother, I’ve got wine – do you have a story?

I deliberately used a classic line.

Xia Yan: …

MC: Don’t stay silent – from one glance, you’re clearly someone with a story.

MC: How about we chat?

Xia Yan: Where did you learn this from…

I was just about to continue when Xia Yan suddenly angled his head towards the bar door.

Xia Yan: Ah, Uncle Chen’s returning!

I followed Xia Yan’s gaze. The guest from earlier had already left, and Uncle Chen was walking back, holding a document. Suddenly, a bell sound came from his body. Uncle Chen picked up the phone, and a few seconds later, he started to resentfully reproach the caller.

Uncle Chen: Do not call again!

Right after he said this, Uncle Chen hung up with indignation all over his face.

Xia Yan: …

MC: …

In astonishment, Xia Yan and I looked at each other.

PART 3

Bar L

After Uncle Chen hung up, he returned very quickly to the bar counter. He smiled at Xia Yan and I very apologetically.

Uncle Chen: Harasser calls – don’t worry about it.

MC: …

Did Uncle Chen run into some trouble? But would it be discourteous for me, someone who has just met him, to question him closely… I was just hesitating when Xia Yan asked him extremely directly.

Xia Yan: A harasser call won’t make you lose your composure like this. Did you run into some trouble?

Uncle Chen: Just a little issue.

Xia Yan: The document in your hands looks like a detective’s tracking progress for a report on work-related investigations.

Xia Yan: In the past few days, you didn’t just call me simply to have me come hang out – you had something that you wanted to discuss with me, right?

MC: (In the past few days, Xia Yan returned to the capital because of a command…)

MC: (Did Uncle Chen look for other detectives to help because of this?)

Xia Yan: “No matter what troubles a bartender has, when he’s behind the bar counter, he must have a professional expression. He can’t bring troubles to the guests.”

Xia Yan: I know this is your pride and persistence.

Xia Yan: It’s just that, as a detective, I want to investigate secrets when I notice them.

Xia Yan: So, I’d like to request the owner to take special care of the detective guest that likes to look for trouble that I am!

Xia Yan turned around and gently held up that bottle of whiskey on the table.

Xia Yan: Plus, I haven’t given a return gift for the unusually valuable gift you sent me before.

The past between Xia Yan, Uncle Chen, and this bar must run very deep. Though I still didn’t understand what had happened, I took over from Xia Yan’s words.

MC: As the saying goes, “three ignorant cobblers combined can surpass a genius”. If you need the help of a detective, Xia Yan’s the best of them!

MC: If it’s not a secret that’s hard to talk about, please talk about it with us. We might be able to help.

Uncle Chen looked at us, sinking into silence for a moment, then sighed.

Uncle Chen: It’s actually not something major – just a little upsetting.

Uncle Chen: Before, someone who I was familiar with borrowed some money from me, and signed the promissory note according to stipulated formats.

Uncle Chen: But last month, when I went to find him, he said that he has never borrowed any money from me.

MC: He denied it? But there’s proof.

Uncle Chen: So I sued him, and applied for a handwriting appraisal, but the appraisal results showed that the handwriting on the promissory note wasn’t his.

Xia Yan: Could it have been signed by someone else?

Uncle Chen: At that time, only he and I were in the shop.

Uncle Chen: Although… when it was time to sign, he told me that he wasn’t feeling well and had me help him by pouring a glass of hot water.

Uncle Chen: Now that I think about it, that was just an excuse. He took advantage of the opportunity to sign it with his left hand.

MC: With his left hand?

Uncle Chen: He was left-handed when he was little, and only changed after many years of rectification.

MC: Then did you do a handwriting appraisal with his left hand?

Uncle Chen: I also applied to do a left-hand handwriting appraisal, but the result was the same.

Xia Yan: Do you have the right and left hand handwriting appraisal documents here?

Uncle Chen: It’s here.

Uncle Chen found the right and left hand handwriting appraisal documents. Xia Yan and I carefully compared all the writing marks on it.

Xia Yan: Looking at the handwriting records of the appraisal documents, his left handwriting is, in fact, that of a novice’s.

Xia Yan: His pen marks are inaccurate, the places where he lifts the pen lacks strength, and the marks are crooked and shaky… all signs of lack of practice and inconsistent use of a hand to write.

Xia Yan: I’m afraid that he deliberately wrote this kind of font to trick the appraisal.

MC: He must be very skilled at using his left hand to be able to use it to write faked handwriting.

Xia Yan: That’s right.

Xia Yan: Since he’s thought up of tricks and plans to prove that he is no longer left-handed, then we’ll use his plan, that he used against others, against him.

Xia Yan: We just need to prove that he still can skillfully use his left hand for this appraisal to collapse on itself.

Uncle Chen: But there’s not enough time.

Time? I immediately reacted.

MC: After losing a trial, if one wants to change the verdict results, one must appeal within set time limits.

Uncle Chen: Yes, today is the last day of the time limit.

Uncle Chen: Before, I had other detectives follow him and investigate, but none of them noticed anything.

MC: (Uncle Chen felt that there was already no way out by now, so when we came in earlier, he didn’t bring up a single word about this…)

Uncle Chen: Good thing that the amount he borrowed wasn’t very large – it was within my bearable range.

Uncle Chen: Plus, suffering financial loss to avoid calamities might be a blessing in disguise.

Uncle Chen laughed kindly. He wasn’t comforting himself – instead, he was comforting us.

Uncle Chen: Let’s not bring up these disappointing matters on a holiday.

Uncle Chen: Weren't you two planning to pass New Year’s Eve here? For this year’s New Year’s Eve, I’ve prepared a lot of interesting activities –

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen, to give up now is to fall right into what he wants.

Xia Yan: I’m afraid that he purposefully borrowed an amount that you would be reluctantly willing to bear. He wants you to give up in the end, not wanting to make a big fuss over this.

As Uncle Chen was talking earlier, Xia Yan had already completely flipped through that detective’s tracking investigation report.

Xia Yan: I know that you’re worried that finding evidence within such a short time is too difficult.

Xia Yan: In spite of this, don’t worry.

Xia Yan: I’m the “Bartender Detective” who once solved a problem within the time spent preparing a glass of drink, after all.

Xia Yan: There are still a few hours before zero-o’clock – we’ll have more than enough time.

MC: Uncle Chen, when I heard you talk about the “Bartender Detective” earlier, I was very curious.

MC: Just view it as you giving me the chance to personally see Xia Yan as the “Bartender Detective”!

Uncle Chen: But that guy has already noticed how I had detectives follow him. He called me just now to ridicule me.

Uncle Chen: He’s definitely already prepared thoroughly. If you go now...

Xia Yan: Don’t worry. I actually think that this is exactly something we can use.

Bar Street

Xia Yan and I went towards the most popular bar on the bar street – “HOT&CLUB”. Even several tens of meters from the door, the music surging out from inside was still audible.

MC: According to the previous detective’s investigation, this is the borrower Cui Xu’s most-frequented bar.

MC: As soon as we submit an appeal, Cui Xu will receive a notice from court. He’s bound to be extremely careful – getting evidence will be very difficult.

Xia Yan: So we need to get evidence that he is left-handed before 12-o’clock tonight and then have Uncle Chen file an appeal.

Xia Yan: Cui Xu is a frequent guest of bars, and he’s very skilled at bar games like table tennis and darts.

Xia Yan: We can set up a situation to make contact with him, lead him into competing with me, and then collect materials with that.

MC: Competing?

When we were little, a relative bought a dartboard for Xia Yan and I. Unwittingly, Xia Yan then developed a habit of throwing darts to clear up his mind when thinking.

MC: Your darts technique is pretty good, but competing…

MC: And do you know how to play table tennis?

Xia Yan: Of course. Plus, I’ve never encountered a worthy opponent these past few years!

Looking at my surprised expression, he smiled.

Xia Yan: My work requires me to get in and out of all sorts of situations. If I want to be freely adaptable to changes, I naturally need to know a bit of everything.

Relaxing, I nodded. Since Xia Yan said that there are no problems, there will definitely be no problems. Thus, I changed focus, starting to think about ways to lead on Cui Xu.

MC: For Cui Yuan to be able to forge handwriting, he must have high anti-reconnaissance awareness.

MC: If we’re too deliberate with leading Cui Xu to compete with you, we’d instead arouse his suspicions.

Xia Yan: We have to make it deliberate.

Xia Yan winked.

Xia Yan: Cui Xu just called Uncle Chen to provoke him – he’s quite arrogant.

Xia Yan: What would he be like if he saw a deliberate and third-rate trap?

MC: So you plan to use this detail about him to perform a bout of “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it”?

Xia Yan: That’s right.

MC: Then I feel like this plan can be optimized some more.

Xia Yan: How do you want to optimize it?

MC: I’ll be the “cicada”.

HOT&CLUB

Xia Yan and I walked into HOT&CLUB. The sound of drums was deafening, and the dazzling lights roved over the bodies of the dancing guys and girls. Xia Yan embraced my shoulders, guarding me within the crook of his arm. We walked in the sea of people while looking for Cui Xu.

MC: Found him – he’s over there.

I was just about to head over when Xia Yan suddenly tugged my wrist.

MC: Don’t worry, Great Detective.

MC: I’ve often done this level of acting before when going to get evidence – I won’t expose us.

Xia Yan: I know.

Xia Yan smiled, slowly letting go of my wrist.

Xia Yan: I just wanted to tell you that I’ll always be behind you, where you can see me just by turning around.

MC: Mhmm!

-- I faked an expression like something unexpected had happened and walked towards the bar counter, sitting down on the spot beside Cui Xu. I first looked for the busy bartender on the other side, then, as I flipped through the drinks menu, sneakily looked over the other guests’ cocktails at the bar counter.

Cui Xu: Is this the young lady’s first time at a bar?

MC: Uh… it is. You can tell?

Cui Xu: Of course. Just now, you were looking all over the place, with an expression like you were at a complete loss.

Cui Xu: Are you waiting for a friend?

MC: I was stood up by someone, so I came into the bar to pass some time.

Cui Xu: It’s such a waste for such a pretty face to be spent on anger. Here, I’ll treat you to a drink.

MC: I’m not too great with drinking alcohol – I’m just afraid of getting drunk right after finishing.

MC: I’ve heard that there are a lot of games in bars, and I’d like to try them first.

Without changing my tone or expression, I guided my conversation with Cui Xu, turning the topic to what Xia Yan said earlier – an activity that could expose that he was left-handed.

MC: I’ll probably not bother with dancing… too tired.

MC: Working every day is already so tiring. It’s hard enough to get an opportunity to relax, so I’d prefer a quiet and interesting game.

MC: Table tennis does look pretty cool, but there are too many people over there…

Cui Xu: Then how about darts?

MC: (That’s exactly it!)

I faked an ignorant expression.

MC: Ah, darts… I’ve seen darts competitions on television before, but I don’t really know how to play.

Cui Xu: No worries, I’ll teach you. My dart skills are the real deal.

As Cui Xu said this, he compared his thumbs, then stood up, leading me to the other end of the bar counter – where the dart machine was. I turned back, looking at Xia Yan, and he nodded at me.

PART 4

HOT&CLUB

Cui Xu: Right, you haven’t ordered anything since you came to the bar, yeah?

As Cui Xu spoke, he handed me a glass of “iced red tea”. The orange liquid was embellished with lemon slices, ice cubes, and mint leaves – bright and beautiful.

Cui Xu: I’ll treat you.

Cui Xu: This is a non-alcoholic cocktail, with a taste like iced red tea. It very much suits girls.

MC: Whoa, it looks very pretty. I can’t even bear to drink it.

MC: (As if anyone would believe it really is “iced red tea”…)

I hadn’t even been able to refuse it yet when Xia Yan’s voice sounded behind me.

Xia Yan: Using a Long Island iced tea to trick girls – that’s way too tasteless.

Cui Xu: Tch…

Cui Xu “hmph”-ed coldly, turned around, and slowly looked over Xia Yan.

Cui Xu: What nonsense are you talking about? Wanna start something?

Xia Yan: How could this be considered wanting to start something?

Xia Yan: This is a bar, after all. You’re not the only one who wants to strike up a conversation with a beautiful lady.

Xia Yan: Although, my method of striking up a conversation is – to find an opportunity, and to act handsome.

Smiling, Xia Yan sent a glance over to me, his expression reckless and brash. I, who had just led Cui Xu through the plan skillfully and easily, felt at a loss for a moment.

MC: …!

Xia Yan casually took the darts in my hand. His fingertips brushed over the back of my hand, somewhat rough and slightly warm. The dart spun in his fingertips, looking like a flower, becoming a sharp tip in flight. Xia Yan looked at Cui Xu across from it, his expression very provoking.

Xia Yan: How about we compete in a round?

Cui Xu poked at his eyebrow, then disdainfully sounded out a “heh”.

Cui Yuan: “501”, double entry.

Xia Yan: Sure.

After he finished speaking, Xia Yan no longer bothered with Cui Xu. He turned around to “strike up a conversation” with me.

Xia Yan: Beautiful lady, do you know how points are recorded in dart competitions?

MC: Uh… I’ve seen a few competitions.

MC: The dartboard is split into a total of 20 divisions. Accordingly, the numbers on the dartboard are all different. Each are marked from 1 to 20 points.

MC: The two narrow circles on the dartboard are individually for double and triple points. It’s like this, right?

Xia Yan: You’re pretty knowledgeable about it. What a pity – I’d wanted to give you an explanation.

MC: Hahaha…

MC: (When we were little, I saw you play it so many times and accompanied you in watching so many competitions. How could I not remember…)

MC: Then could I trouble you to explain “501” and “double entry”? I’m not too familiar with these…

Xia Yan: The so-called “double entry” game requires you to hit the double-point area to start recording points, and it requires you to hit the double-point area to win the competition.

Xia Yan: As for “501”, each person’s starting points are 501 points. The accumulated points increase or decrease based on the dart throws.

Xia Yan: Each game has 20 rounds, and you can throw 30 darts in one round. The first person to lower their points to 0 is the winner.

MC: 20 rounds? So won’t you have to throw 60 darts?

Cui Xu: How could we let the beautiful lady wait that long! Nine darts is enough.

MC: Nine darts?

Cui Xu: This is the fastest, and simultaneously the hardest, way to win a dart competition – “Nine dart collection”.

Cui Xu walked behind the throwing line.

Cui Xu: Using nine darts is just three rounds to take the points from the original 20 rounds.

Cui Xu: The world’s first double entry nine dart collection was achieved on October 8, 2011, at the World Darts Championship’s semi-finals.

Cui Xu: Brendan Dolan vs. James Wade.

Cui Xu: Back then, the score count that Brendan Dolan achieved in the first round was –

He threw out a dart –

Cui Xu: D20.

Bam! – The dart stably struck the 20-point double point area.

Cui Xu: And then – T20, twice.

Following Cui Xu’s voice, two darts successively struck the 20-point triple point area. He turned around, raised his chin at Xia Yan, his lips curving upwards in a completely taunting way.

MC: …

Xia Yan met Cui Xu’s gaze indifferently and just laughed. He walked up to the throwing line and held up the dart very casually.

Though Xia Yan had said before that he had never met a worthy opponent until today, the skill Cui Xu just showed…

MC: (No, Xia Yan is definitely even more amazing.)

I silently stayed firm with this belief in my heart. Suddenly, a whistle sounded not far from me.

Xia Yan: Beautiful lady, why are you zoning out?

MC: !!!

Maybe it was because Xia Yan had poked at my focus on my worries, maybe it was this frivolous tone of his, but my heart was suddenly in a panic. I met Xia Yan’s gaze – in his expression, there was a defiance and brashness I had never seen before.

Xia Yan: If you don’t watch me, then no matter how handsome I look when winning, it would be all pointless.

The roving lights in the bar dyed Xia Yan’s figure with a hint of unruliness. In this moment, this figure that I was unmatchably used to… seemed to be somewhat unfamiliar.

Xia Yan’s mouth hooked upwards.

Xia Yan: Just like that. Don’t look away.

MC: …

Xia Yan’s voice seemed to carry a strange magnetic force, sucking my gaze to his body with no way to look away. Only then did he smile and return his gaze to the dartboard.

Xia Yan: If you want to pay respects to the classics, then be more thorough.

Xia Yan: Back then, the positions of Brendan Dolan’s first round of darts were –

Xia Yan: D20, in the middle, leaning left.

Xia Yan: T20, right.

Xia Yan: T20, left.

Three darts consecutively flew from Xia Yan’s hands.

Bam bam bam – the darts plunged stably into the positions he just mentioned. Cui Xu held back the taunting on his face.

Cui Xu: … Kind of interesting.

Cui Xu: Looks like we can play a little high today.

With a flick of his right thumb, the darts were thrown high into the air. Right after, his left hand grabbed in the air, and the darts smoothly slid between his fingers, a cycle of points between his five fingertips.

MC: …!

Here it is – I held on my phone, silently opening the video screen. The second round started, and Cui Xu stood again behind the throwing line. He threw faster and more precisely with his left hand than with his right – the areas that the three darts successively fell stably into were – T20, T20, T20. Right after, the third round – T20, T20, Bullseye. After the three rounds, Xia Yan and his opponent had completely struck off 501 points.

But we already got our evidence.

MC: (Awesome! Next, we need to remind Uncle Chen to submit an appeal.)

Cui Xu: Now, don’t you need to find an excuse to leave and have the old man submit an appeal, beautiful lady?

Cui Xu fiddled with the darts in his hands, looked at us, seeming to smile, but also seeming to not smile.

Cui Xu: It must have been that old man who had you two search for evidence off of me.

Cui Xu: He really knows how to make trouble – even found two detectives.

Cui Xu: Did you two think that I would relax my guard just because today’s the last day of the appeal validity period? Haha.

He took out his phone, waving it in front of Xia Yan’s and my faces – 0:10.

Cui Xu: 10 minutes past midnight. The time to appeal has already passed.

Cui Xu: Your dart throwing was pretty good, but I won.

Just as Cui Xu finished speaking, we heard Xia Yan laugh lightly.

Xia Yan: They didn’t set up a clock in the bar because they wanted to let guests forget about the meaning of time after coming in.

Xia Yan: So if you want to look at the time, you’d rely on your phone.

Xia Yan took out his own phone, tapping at it a few times. Cui Xu’s phone screen suddenly blacked out, and in two seconds, the numbers on it had changed from 0:10 to 23:30.

Xia Yan: But things like phones are way too easy to hack.

Xia Yan: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.

Xia Yan: The people executing a ruse aren’t just you alone.

Cui Xu: You rascal!

Cui Xu’s complexion suddenly paled, and he rushed at Xia Yan.

Bang! Xia Yan raised his arm – I couldn’t see his movements at all, I just saw Cui Xu directly tumbling over in the space between us.

Cui Xu: Ahh!

PART 5

Street

After, Xia Yan immediately contacted Uncle Chen to have him submit an appeal online.

Xia Yan: Alright, smoothly resolved!

Xia Yan: Let’s head back. It’s nearly zero-o’clock, and the New Year’s Eve activities at Uncle Chen’s place –

When he mentioned Bar L, Xia Yan suddenly stopped.

MC: What’s up?

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan carefully looked at me a few times, his expression evasive – just like how he was at Bar L, when I asked him exactly if he had been at the bar on that rainy day. I couldn’t resist laughing.

MC: Are you afraid that I’ll ask you about… if you were at the bar that rainy day?

MC: Alright, I won’t ask anymore.

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan froze for a few seconds.

Xia Yan: Weren’t you really curious before…

MC: I’m still pretty curious now. But…

I looked towards Xia Yan and smiled.

MC: Everyone has matters that they don’t want to tell others.

MC: This is especially so after we grow up.

The closer people are, the harder it is to talk about certain matters, so a lot of people choose to go to bars to talk to strangers. Though in the past, Xia Yan and I were always so familiar that we were like a single person without any secrets between us, we’ve now grown up. After growing up, there will be boundaries. Forcing him to tell me his thoughts and forcing him to accept my help were also a sort of wrong. If I were to question him in the pestering way like when we were little, it would be a severely EQ-lacking action.

MC: …

MC: I’m sorry. Earlier at Bar L, I even questioned you…

MC: I didn’t realize at that time…

Before, Xia Yan urged me to not join NXX, but after I made my determination known, he respected my decision. This time as well – he clearly would have been fine on his own, but he considered my thoughts and let me help out. Xia Yan has always considered me, and has always respected my decisions. I’m all too clear on this mindset of his.

So, even if he had some things that he didn’t want to tell me, what’s the big deal?

Though it was just like before – as long as I kept trying, Xia Yan would not reject me – the more it was like this, the more I had to have a sense of measure. Otherwise, I’d put him in a difficult position.

MC: In the future, for anything that isn’t easy for you to talk about, I –

Xia Yan: It’s not like that!

Xia Yan suddenly grabbed onto my hand, holding it with force, his hands grasping my knuckles.

Xia Yan: There’s nothing that’s inconvenient for you to ask.

Xia Yan: Whether it’s the whiskey matter, or the rainy day matter – you can ask about anything you want to know about.

Xia Yan: None of my matters are inconvenient for you to ask about.

Xia Yan: There is no boundary between us.

MC: Xia Yan…

Suddenly, he seemed to have become aware that he was holding my hand with too much force, and hurriedly released it.

Xia Yan: Sorry, I held your hand with too much force… I probably hurt you.

Xia Yan looked at me, his gaze trembling slightly.

He went silent for several seconds, and finally, slowly opened his mouth.

Xia Yan: I…

Xia Yan: I just… was embarrassed to tell you…

Xia Yan: I didn’t want to let you know… that I once wanted to avoid you.

MC: Avoid me?

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: I was afraid that I would bring… trouble to you.

Xia Yan looked at me, his eyes full of guilt and unease.

MC: Was it because of the NXX issue? At that time, you had already started investigating related events yourself, right?

MC: Were you afraid that meeting me would get me involved in danger?

Xia Yan didn’t respond, like he was agreeing silently.

I tugged on Xia Yan’s arm, having him face me wholly.

MC: What relation do we have between us?

MC: Even if there’s danger, I want to face it with you.

MC: If on some day in the future, you truly encounter a hard problem that I can’t accompany you in facing, then I’ll wait for you to return.

MC: Remember this well – everything about you isn’t trouble to me. It all has extraordinary significance!

Xia Yan: …

As we spoke, snowflakes like little diamonds fell down from the sky, one landing precisely on Xia Yan’s eyelash. His pupil seemed to flicker with a small light.

Xia Yan: Mm, I’ll remember it.

MC: You also have to remember that, compared to trouble, compared to danger, compared to anything else, what I fear more is that you… won’t be here.

MC: Where you are by yourself, if you’re living alright, if there are things upsetting you, if there are people who can share your burdens… I’ll be very worried…

MC: So you must promise me, from now and in the future, you can’t think about escaping from me again.

I looked firmly at Xia Yan, putting on an imposing manner like if I didn’t hear a definite answer, I would swear to not give up. Xia Yan looked at me and laughed lightly.

Xia Yan: I swear, now and in the future, I will never think about escaping from you again.

Xia Yan: I will do all I can to always, always accompany you.

Xia Yan spoke unusually solemnly – even more solemnly than I had expected. His clear eyes reflected the fluttering snowflakes.

MC: …

MC: That’s right!

MC: In the future, even if you want to escape to the ends of the world, I’ll still drag you back!

Xia Yan: Yep, I have no doubts about that!

Bong bong bong –

The bell from the clock striking zero-o’clock sounded. Innumerable brightly-colored fireworks lit up the faraway night sky for a while.

MC: It’s zero-o’clock!

Xia Yan: I’m sorry – blame me for taking up time.

Looking somewhat upset, Xia Yan looked at the fireworks in the faraway night sky.

Xia Yan: What do you want to do now? There should still be some final New Year’s Eve activities going on at Uncle Chen’s place, although it’ll take some time for us to rush there.

Xia Yan: Or we could go to the center plaza to look at the fireworks show? It’ll be closer that way.

MC: Mm… forget it, I don’t want to go to either place now.

MC: I feel like it would be pretty nice if we passed New Year’s Eve here.

Innumerable fireworks in the distance soared up, then fell down. Xia Yan’s and my spot definitely could not be considered a suitable viewing location, but I felt extremely happy. Compared to how you pass New Year’s Eve, what’s more important is who you spend New Year’s Eve with. At this moment, I really just wanted to stay like this with only Xia Yan for a little while longer.

MC: Xia Yan, how about we just slowly walk a bit back to Uncle Chen’s place?

Xia Yan: Sure. Here, give me your hand.

Xia Yan held my hand in his, putting them together into his coat pocket. Just like it had been every winter, his palms have always been so warm – holding his hand was like holding a little sun.

Xia Yan: Alright, Xia Yan-brand hand warmers have turned on!

Xia Yan: Now we can go.

MC: Wait a bit, Xia Yan.

I haven’t said my New Year’s blessings to Xia Yan yet.

> Happy New Year! May you be happy every day. > May everything go your way and you accomplish everything you set your heart to.

MC: Xia Yan! Happy New Year! For this new year, may you be happy every day!

Xia Yan: With your blessings, I’m sure that I’ll be happy every day for this year.

Xia Yan: You too – Happy New Year. May you be happy every day.

MC: With a Xia Yan-brand little sun, is it even possible for me to be unhappy?

Xia Yan: You’re absolutely correct! I’ll definitely ensure that you are completely happy every day!

> Happy New Year! May you be happy every day. > May everything go your way and you accomplish everything you set your heart to.

MC: Xia Yan! For this new year, may everything go your way and you accomplish everything you set your heart to!

Xia Yan: I’ve already accomplished what I’ve set my heart to.

MC: Huh?

Xia Yan: You too - for this new year, may everything go your way and you accomplish everything you set your heart to.

PART 6

Bar L

Xia Yan and I returned to Bar L. Xia Yan said he had to do some cleanup on the video, so he had me wait a bit at the bar counter. Not long after, I heard the sound of familiar footsteps behind me.

MC: You were pretty… fast?

I angled my head around, seeing Xia Yan, now in full bartender attire.

MC: Xia Yan, this is?

Xia Yan: Several months ago, I disappointed a certain very important guest because of my error.

Xia Yan: So I made a request of Uncle Chen just now…

Xia Yan: To let me become that guest’s exclusive bartender tonight to properly make it up to her.

Xia Yan: Alright, young lady, what would you like to drink?

MC: For this, I’ll have to think carefully about it!

I pondered for a moment.

MC: I heard earlier from the owner of this place that you have a liquor that very much suits you.

MC: I’d also like to request this handsome bartender to prepare a cocktail that suits me best!

Xia Yan: It’s a task with some difficulty.

Xia Yan: But as your exclusive bartender, I will definitely satisfy you.

Xia Yan: Please wait a moment.

Xia Yan placed a cocktail glass in front of me, then took a bottle of wine from the wine shelf.

Xia Yan: First, pour the chocolate liqueur into the wineglass.

Xia Yan: Then, gently float a layer of fresh cream on top of the liqueur.

Following the back of the spoon, the fresh cream slowly infused itself in the glass’s contents. Right after, Xia Yan stuck a cocktail pin through a dark red cherry, stacking it on the glass rim.

Xia Yan: Angel’s Kiss – please try it.

MC: What a romantic name – why is it called that? Is it because the cherry is like a pair of lips?

Xia Yan: There’s another important reason.

Xia Yan: Young lady, please take the cocktail pin and soak the cherry into the liqueur, then gently take it out.

Complying with his words, I dipped the cherry into the liqueur, then took it out. The cocktail stirred up, and the fresh cream floated into swirls, like a small pair of lips.

Xia Yan: This is the Angel’s Kiss.

Xia Yan: It’s said that after drinking it, an angel will transfer your thoughts to the person you care about.

Xia Yan: I feel like this is the cocktail that suits you best.

Xia Yan’s voice became unusually gentle.

MC: …

After finishing his work, Xia Yan went into the bar’s inside room to change clothes. Completely concealed behind the door, Uncle Chen faced the girl waiting at beside the bar counter.

Uncle Chen: Angel’s Kiss – just like Cupid’s arrow, shot into the hearts of lovers.

Uncle Chen looked at Xia Yan, smiling meaningfully.

Uncle Chen: On an important day, if you drink a glass of Angel’s Kiss, the god of love will definitely transmit your feelings to the person you yearn for day and night.

Uncle Chen: It really is a drink that’s extremely well suited for her.

Xia Yan: …

Uncle Chen: I’ve been thinking all day about the conditions that she came in for the first time, at the beginning of the year.

[Flashback]

The beginning of the year…

The noisy sounds of rain were shut outside by the heavy oak door. When guests pushed open the door to come in, the clamminess of water vapor blew in.

Uncle Chen: There are quite a lot of guests on rainy days. You’ve really worked hard.

Xia Yan: You’re looking at this as an outsider – I don’t feel like I’ve worked hard at all.

As they spoke, the oak door was opened again.

Xia Yan: There’s another guest coming –

Xia Yan: …!

It was [MC]. Even if they were separated by a room full of guests, even if it was just a back view, he could still recognize that figure easily.

Uncle Chen: What’s wrong, Little Xia? Do you know that girl?

Xia Yan’s mouth lightly trembled, out of his control.

Xia Yan: I’m sorry, Uncle Chen…

Xia Yan: Can I trouble you to serve this guest…

Xia Yan hastily left the bar counter.

Uncle Chen: …

Uncle Chen looked deeply at the girl by the door. She had just closed the door and was turning around, walking to the bar counter.

After closing that day, Xia Yan carried out closing tasks in behind the bar counter. After everything was properly tidied up, he slowly sat down behind the bar counter, looking at that empty seat in front of him.

Xia Yan: …

Hearing footsteps behind him, Xia Yan swiftly stood up.

Xia Yan: Uncle Chen, I’ve completely tidied up this area. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll leave first.

Uncle Chen: Wait a bit, Little Xia.

Uncle Chen called out to Xia Yan and held up the whiskey in his hand.

Uncle Chen: If you don’t have anything to deal with for the next while, how about accompanying me in drinking a glass?

Uncle Chen: I’d like to invite you to help me try this bottle of alcohol.

Uncle Chen poured the whiskey into two glasses, then handed a glass to Xia Yan. Xia Yan took a light sip.

Xia Yan: The taste is very good, and the texture is extremely gentle.

After hearing this, Uncle Chen smiled.

Uncle Chen: Every time I drink it, I’ll think about the taste that this batch of whiskey had right after brewing.

Uncle Chen: It was completely different from now. Its texture was very spicy, its aroma was average – it could be considered a complete failure.

Uncle Chen: I didn’t think that after some time, the taste would become good.

Uncle Chen: So, if a matter hasn’t reached an end, one cannot give up, because the possibility of unexpected opportunities will always exist.

Xia Yan: …

Uncle Chen gave a wooden box to Xia Yan.

Uncle Chen: Wine and life are both like this.

[Flashback end]

Uncle Chen faced the girl at the bar counter, then turned his gaze back to Xia Yan.

Uncle Chen: There’s actually another saying about whiskey.

Xia Yan: You really have a lot of sayings for your alcohol.

Uncle Chen: Even if it’s the same kind of wine, it will have different meanings to different guests.

Uncle Chen: Someone who can deliver drinks to guests that are most suited for them is qualified to be a bartender.

Xia Yan: Then what do you want to say this time?

Uncle Chen: Hemingway once said: “There are two matters that you must absolutely not hesitate about. You must do them immediately.”

Uncle Chen: “Kiss a beautiful girl, or open a bottle of whiskey.”

Xia Yan: … Thank you.

Xia Yan tilted his head towards the person who was waiting for him at the bar counter. She was freely looking over the various kinds of alcohol behind the counter with interest.

Xia Yan: I need to wait a bit longer to open that whiskey bottle.

Xia Yan: I’ll wait until there are no impurities at all. I’ll wait until the day when I truly have no secrets from her.

Xia Yan: At that time, I will open it without hesitation.

-END-

#tot translation #tears of themis #weiding shijian bu #未定事件簿 #xia yan #夏彦 #I know nothing about darts #so there’s a 99.99% chance that the dart terminology is all wrong #anyways #Pls I can’t #I love xia yan so much #happy new year #!!

28 notes · View notes