#but because 18+ staff are rare only two of them were taken and there was only one person in each

[destinygoldenstar]

A Fanganronpa Concept

Sara Fumihito is an 18 year old high school graduate in Clovis California who became popular in her teenage years for her YA Books. She’s willingly closed off from the rest of the world due to her anxieties and introverted nature and only found happiness in writing stories where real world rules didn’t apply.

In her lowest point in mental health, she wrote a book called ‘Despair’, a murder mystery horror fantasy about a villain protagonist convincing the privileged and talented to kill each other to save humanity from tragedy. This book was accidentally leaked to the world and it became a quick best seller, making everyone know Sara Fumihito’s name and many more of her works and always treating her like some celebrity who could factory produce fiction.

And Sara hated all of it and it made her even more closed off with people outside of her loved ones. She never wanted to become anyone noteworthy, she just wanted to be in her own little corner and live life her own way. But instead her own corner became a spotlight with people not knowing her loving her and hating her when knowing her more because of her fame.

So, you know, if there’s no say you have why try? Why fight? Why tell anyone no? Just do what people want, take what you get, and move on.

Life wasn’t awful though, as she too was decently privileged with a cozy home, a loving family who supported her status, and a romantic partner, Katie Sharma, who despite not having the same talents as Sara, knew the real her and became a person of comfort and acceptance.

With that support and hope, Sara thought she could go back to her corner and be her indie novelist self who could do what she wants, until she got an acceptance letter to Hopes Peak College as ‘The Ultimate Young Adult Writer’.

An opportunity like that was super rare and only went to the most talented high school graduates all over the world. It was a campus in Japan that helped found so many careers of privileged talent to shape the works. And when the acceptance presented itself, Sara’s parents were proud and honored to send her there to have her be set for life.

Sara did not want to do. It was not what she wanted. But she had no courage to tell her parents no. This decision was the best one for herself, right?

Katie was able to convince Sara that wherever she went, things would open up to her in ways a small corner couldn’t do. The two young women would promise to contact whenever they could and see each other again.

But in the transport there, Sara gets kidnapped.

She wakes up in a classroom with covered windows. Quickly upon awaking, she’s found by a robot plushie called Momobunny, one of the ‘staff’ of Hopes Peak. She finds Sara on the list of ‘new students’, and takes her to her class.

The class consists of fourteen other college students from all over the world with varying talents:

Jo Minamino, The Ultimate Musical Sensation, Miki Peridot, The Ultimate Scientist, Kiyoshi Aiko, The Ultimate Poetry Writer, Rose Nicholas, The Ultimate Good Cop, Rain Nicholas, The Ultimate Bad Cop, Riyuko Kurai, The Ultimate Vigilante, Mox Gammale, The Ultimate Video Game Modifier, Pierre Meiya, The Ultimate Archer, Akira Takahashi, The Ultimate Environmentalist, Hibiki Hino, The Ultimate Arsonist, Lyric Lancaster, The Ultimate Violinist, Dante Fabbri, The Ultimate Renaissance Student, Eireen Alarie, The Ultimate Dance Streamer, And Senri Endo, The Ultimate Assistant Teacher, who… more on this one later.

As it turns out, these students were taken here to live on campus for the rest of their lives without traditional escape, ruled by a staff of robotic bunny plushies, the principal being Monobunny.

They are to attend a schedule of classes on this campus to learn valuable subjects to prepare them for life, such as detective training, how weapons work, and methods of committing murder. And every weekend has a prize of a ‘motive’.

This is because the only way a student will be allowed to leave is if they kill another student and get away with the murder by winning a class trial. Losing the trial means punishment.

Everyone is devastated by the revelation of this situation with seemingly nothing they can do about it. But Sara is the first to have a mental breakdown, storm out to hide, and cry. She had no skill to kill and was physically and mentally weak, so in her mind, not only was she never going to see her loved ones ever again like she promised Katie, but she was for sure going to be the first victim of murder.

Or would she?

Senri Endo, with bunnies, including MomoBunny, comes in Sara’s room to check on her, assuring her he’s going to help her out. And then decides to force their meeting to be classified information she can’t tell anyone about (otherwise death penalty), to tell her that he is the Mastermind running the killing game and the school.

He’s a descendant of a member of the Ultimate Despair cult, and after the cult lost, he had been born and raised within walls away from the world rebuilding itself and its talents.

Because his experience of the real world is little to none, he found ‘Despair’, Sara’s book, when it became a best seller, and became heavily inspired by it. He took the books story and applied its theming to real life, and had himself and his many Monobunny creations take over Hopes Peak to model this story. ‘The privileged people, especially the talented ones, are all narcissistic and the world would be better and free of tragedies if the privileged died and/or were taken down a peg.’

And this whole killing game is his dream come true, especially since the books author is one of the students, a person who he’s had platonic feelings for. If anyone would be his first ever BFF in his whole entire life, let alone a friend, it would be her.

So that’s why he’s chosen Sara to be his ‘traitor’.

Work for him as a spy, and help come up with the motives to carry this killing game out. In exchange, she would be given safety by the monobunnies, and she, along with him, would be the two survivors the game allowed.

Senri promised that if she took this offer, not only would she be guaranteed safety, but absolutely zero harm or form of death would come to her family or that girlfriend of hers.

The only condition was that no matter what, she could not let anyone find out about this meeting, about Senris role, or about her status.

Otherwise, she could say no. He couldn’t help her though.

Sara decides to accept this deal and become The Privileged Traitor.

While Senri is enthusiastic about gaining his new BFF and Killing Game buddy, Sara has absolutely no idea what she’s gotten herself into and the many consequences that are going to come as a result of her decision.

Sure, she’s saving herself and her loved ones, but she’s also helping a sociopath kill other people who too have lives to obtain that. How moral is that choice, really?

But she’s on the leash now, and she can’t say no. Take it and play your part and move on.

While she’s oblivious to how murders play out unlike Senri and has to solve those cases for the sake of herself and those people, the biggest mystery is one she already has the answer to. But she can’t let any of the other students solve that mystery, as it would mean certain doom for her if she is found out as a traitor.

What she doesn’t know is that Katie, suspicious of the broken promise, is determined to find out what happened from the outside, figure out how to get in, and save Sara. Not knowing it’s already too late.

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Laundry? Done. Dishes? Done. Emissions test? Put off until a later date. Packing? Will probably be finished at about 1am because I always put it off until the last minute. Housing? Changed so that I'm not living with tiny people (eighteen year olds). Food? Eaten. Me? Exhausted but with a slightly better outlook on life.

[zephyrspace]

what’s up, doc?

medic!gn!reader

summary : coming from a long line of proficient healing magic-users, a letter requesting for your presence as nrc’s nurse is sent to your household, rather than the ebony carriage.

or ; headcanons and scenarios on what it’s like being nrc’s only medical staff surrounded by idiots who only know how to get hurt.

a/n : reader is implied to be the same age as the current third-years (18) and entered the school the same time as said third years.

‘labridae’ - is a fish that is well known for their role in the removal of parasites from larger carnivorous fishes. The larger fishes recognize the cleaner fish and will not devour it.

you were a fool to think that nrc was as prestigious as the rumours implied. your first day consisted of a meeting with the school’s seemingly incompetent principal and excited first years who though it was okay to roughhouse.

“with all due respect, headmaster, how am i supposed to be an apprentice if there is no one for me to learn from?” crossing your arms expectedly, you raise a questioning eyebrow at the old crow in front of you.

“your family are known to be quite knowledgeable in the art of healing, so i took it upon myself to be a gracious and thoughtful principal and saw this as a learning experience for their next heir! it’s quite convenient since the last nurse up and left, and perhaps i could even gain some connections…” sticking his nose in the air, he huffs proudly.

“what was that last part? i couldn’t hear you.”

“well, i am a very busy person, mx. medic, so i best be off!”

“wait-”

your specialised uniform consists of the classic blue scrubs underneath the standard lab coat of an nrc student, although, the only difference being that it doesn’t come with gloves and has a white armband engraved with a bold red plus symbol where a dorm insignia would be presented.

during your first year at nrc, you learn quickly that students don’t take too well with people who stick out too much, finding yourself often cornered by a group of people who think they’re tough and want to establish some sort of dominant image. but after just a few incidents, the students learn not to bother you too much.

“you think you’re so much better than the rest of us just because you were personally requested by the principal to attend, don’t’cha?” a student grips onto the collar of your shirt and lifts you to reach their face, the tips of your shoes being your only contact with the ground.

“i may be younger than you lot, but i am part of the faculty of this school, therefore, i am authorised to perform actions of discipline when and how i see fit. so, i highly suggest that you let me go or else you won’t have anyone to patch you up after i’m finished with you.”

the infirmary is located in a very secluded hallway from the rest of the school, so few students have taken upon themselves to use it as a safe area, away from the bustle and hustle of energetic and hectic students. and of course, who were you to say no?

“idia, i know i said that i’ll welcome you with open arms when you feel that your social battery is low and want someplace to hide, but for the third year in a row, that doesn’t mean i’m allowing you to modify the corner bed as your personal ‘recharge zone’, what happens if i need to treat someone?”

opening a packet of a candy mix, you tip them into a large, transparent jar. you laugh quietly when you hear the rapid pressing of his game console and sound effects of his game lower in volume by just a little. idia may seem uninterested in conversation most of the time, but you noticed that he gains a bit more confidence when talking with you.

“of course npcs like you wouldn’t understand, fuhehe. the ultra-rare, once in a lifetime healing stats you put in this place is out of this world.” without looking away from the game, he reaches out and makes grabbing motions at you. letting out a silent sigh, you begrudgingly drop two bits of hard candy into the palm of his hand. not wasting any time he throws them into his mouth and bites down into them.

“the internet connection is decent considering this place is in the middle of nowhere; the corner bed has five sockets along the wall rather than just two like the other beds; you bring me actual meals if i stay long enough and you also fill the sweets jar with the top quality stuff you only find in the easter egg shops the game devs add in limited edition events. it’s basically an easy win lol.”

if the botanical garden is for some reason not available then leona also takes refuge in your work space.

“instead of actively skipping classes, why don’t you try passing this year first, leona?”

“haah?? who do you think you are? i’ll crush you, small fry.”

you started to give your patients sweets after patching them up because you know lots of people find receiving medical treatment very uncomfortable. but now it kind of backfired since now everyone expects a little treat after being such a ‘big boy.’

“i can’t give you double the sweets just because you didn’t complain about me not having fish shaped plasters this time, floyd.” you hand him the usual: two green-apple gummy snakes.

“but labridae-senpai, i’ve been extra good today!” he pouts and whines while gripping the sweets in his hands, seemingly choking the snakes. your eye twitches slightly.

“i’ll give you just one more but that’s it.”

“yay!”

vil definitely asks for your input when trying new products for his skin or diets. he values your opinion because of your knowledge in nutrition. vil knows that you’ll be truthful and won’t reply with answers he’d only like to hear.

“vil, i know you want to reduce your fat intake for an upcoming photoshoot but i highly suggest you don’t cut out oily fish from your diet by this much, it’ll affect your academic performance.” you squint at the words on the sheet of paper containing vil’s suggested diet for the next few weeks, thinking of alternatives.

“hmm, yes, i was thinking the same thing but i was wondering if you could recommend some omega-3 vitamins, just temporarily so that it doesn’t hinder my performance that much,” the dorm leader proposes.

a light switches on in your head, grabbing a scrap piece of paper, you scribble a message onto it, “mhm, go to any pharmacy and request for ‘maritime drops,’ show them this paper and you should get the capsule for free. they can get a bit pricey depending on how fresh the batch was.”

you once heard the rumours of vil’s glowing skin during the opening ceremony and immediately knew the culprits of such a result. said culprits take up quite the percentage of causes of injury amongst the students on campus. could be because someone broke a deal or someone disagreed with the result of a deal. in your head, you thank the octatrio for keeping you busy with the people they slightly harm- but that’s besides the point. you doubt vil nor azul has any easy access to ingredients found only on the seabed seeing as you need special permission from the principal to exit school grounds, so that only leaves you with one other rather unfortunate theory.

you can only imagine what kind of odd payment a certain sneaky octopus has asked for in return…

“azul, please don’t tell me you wrung dry one of your mer-dorm members.” you note how azul’s office lacks one of the leech twins and you can only pray for floyd’s recovery (and for your candy stash because you just know he’ll be demanding them the next time he steps into your office).

“don’t worry, medic-san. floyd is making steady progress in rehabilitation,” azul smiles at you with no real feeling behind it.

you deadpan while sighing in exasperation, “here, give him this.” fishing through your deep pockets, you place down a small bottle filled with a fluorescent purple liquid on azul’s desk. looking towards jade’s direction you inform him, “tell floyd to bathe with three droplets of this stuff once a day and he should be able to walk again… eventually.”

the adeuce duo are lowkey kind of scared of you, especially after the dwarf mines incident during the first day.

“i get that you guys were gonna get expelled and all but couldn’t this wait until it was morning? as you said, none of you got hit in the head or found to be bleeding that much,” sending a small glare at the kneeling boys who you patched up first before demanding an explanation why they woke you up at the ass crack of dawn to have a check up.

“medic-senpai, isn’t it kind of your job to look after us no matter what?” yuu, the magicless now-student pipes up from a nearby chair, defending the duo, with a large rat-cat-thing dangling in their arms, snoring. it looks kind of gross.

“wanna say that again?” you ask expectedly. it was too early in the morning to argue too much.

“n-nothing…”

pinching the bridge of your nose, you throw them each a lollipop, “run along now, inform your housewarden that you’ve got an excusal from me.”

your family owns a few hospitals so you already had extensive knowledge on medicines and the such but what you lacked most of all was experience. so while you don’t regret attending nrc, you sometimes get tired of the same routine: students enter with scratches and bruises, you patch them up, give them sweets, send them off. you wished something more interesting would happen.

fine, if crowley wasn’t going to offer you proper education or enjoyment then you may as well do it yourself.

because of your seemingly lackadaisical attitude and nonchalance, people often mischaracterise you as somewhat friendly and forgiving just because you’re the medic.

when in reality, you’re just as bad, maybe even slightly worse than most of nrc’s students. hidden behind reassuring expressions and pretty words, you’re quite the cunning and sneaky one.

unbeknownst to the students and staff (besides crewel, he actually encourages it-), you experiment with them, testing out new concoctions or herbal treatments you’ve made constantly. how else are you supposed to earn the title of your family’s next heir if you couldn’t perform such a feat? the students all assume that it’s under the pretense that it has already been tested and sold to the public.

“don’t worry, this medication doesn’t have long lasting side effects. …probably.” smiling eerily at your unsuspecting patient, you scoop a portion of a bubbling green mixture and bring the spoon to their mouth, “cmon, say aah~”

nrc can only stand and watch in fear as you have a field day with all the recent overblots, riddle unfortunately being the very first victim to your questionable praise.

“now look to the left… mhm, no blot in your eyes either.” pocketing your retinoscope, you nod towards riddle, “you’re all good, no signs of leftover blot in your system but i would like for you to come to the infirmary for a regular check up before and after school for a week.”

“thank you, medic. i deeply apologise for the trouble i have caused for you.”

“no need to apologise, actually!” you wave him off.

riddle and a few other heartslabyul members within earshot look at you as if you’d grown a third head.

“look at all the damage you’ve caused, riddle. i really couldn’t thank you enough! here, have a lollipop, it’s strawberry and vanilla flavoured- oh, i can not wait for my clinic to flood in with students. things were getting ever so quiet! so many test subjects, so little time- i wouldn’t even know where to start~♡” with your eyes swirling with hidden craze, you swoon at the mass destruction that was once the heartslabyul garden, you can only imagine the number of scratched up students waiting in line at your door.

“psst- why is doc acting like that?”

“when they get like this, it’s best to just not say anything, ace…”

head empty, no thoughts. only caring for the twst boys-

just imagining being able to take proper care for the boys makes me brainrot so much 😭

[anotherredwoodoriginal]

Tonight (It's Only You and Me)

request: happy wants to ask your hand in marriage, based on the song Here Without You by 3 Doors Down | happy x fem!reader | 1253 words | smut, 18+ | part 1 2 3

Happy feels like this run will never end. Everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong and they’re a week behind schedule. That’s one more week without you that Happy doesn’t need. The two of you have been almost inseparable since Tara introduced you to Jax, who introduced you to the club, which inevitably led you to meeting Happy.

He still remembers the night you met. He’d just finished up a crow tattoo for Juice’s new Old Lady and was packing up his equipment, ready to grab a beer and a crow eater and call it a night, when he looked up and there you were. Your wide-eyed innocence as you looked around the clubhouse made him smile, and that was rare these days. Then you turned that doe-eyed gaze onto him and the smile you shot him took his breath away.

They’re staying at another charter’s clubhouse for the night and the night is still early. A couple of the guys are playing pool, drinking away the day’s misfortunes and getting ready for a hell of a fight tomorrow. Happy knows it’s probably rude, but he tells them he’s turning in early and heads to the room he’ll be sharing with Kozik whenever he decides to call it a night, but he was looking pretty busy with a blonde crow eater so Happy thinks he’s got some time to himself. He pulls out his phone and shoots you a quick message.

miss u

He’s barely shut the door behind him when his phone pings with a notification.

I miss you too, Hap. How much longer now?

Something tugs at his heart when he reads the message. He hates knowing that you’re back home, waiting for him. Happy knows you worry. You’ve patched him up enough times to know there’s reason to worry, too.

not sure yet. could be another couple days still.

He takes off his kutte quickly but carefully, thinking of all the hours you’ve put into sewing his patches and scrubbing blood and dirt and gunpowder from the leather.

): You were only supposed to be gone a few days. The bed gets cold without you.

Warmth pools in the pit of his stomach as he thinks of the last night he spent with you. You wore those purple panties that he liked. “Something to think of when you miss me,” you had called it. Well, he’s missing you now, and his pants are growing tighter at the memory.

i know babygirl, i’m sorry. i’ll be home takin care of u soon.

Happy slips out of his jeans down to his briefs and settles in bed atop his sheets. The air is thick and dry and thinking of you is getting him hot enough already.

You better be. I don’t get the job done quite like you do.

His dick twitches at that message, but before he can offer to teach you and ask what you’re wearing, another message comes in.

I have to go. I’m about to scrub in.

Happy groans and lets his head fall back. He presses a palm to his groin, trying to calm his excitement or at least get some sort of relief.

u can’t leave me like this baby, cmon.

Karma ;)

He groans again, then gets another four messages in rapid succession.

But Because I love you and take pity on you [attachment: 1 image] Sweet dreams, Happy x

He glances at the door to make sure he’s closed it properly before he opens the attachment. His mouth goes dry the moment the image loads. You’ve clearly taken it just then, because he can see the STAFF ROOM sign in the background.

Your face is out of frame, but he sees it clearly whenever he closes his eyes. As he takes in the photo, he shoves his briefs down his hips and wraps a hand around himself, squeezing slightly so he doesn’t cum right away.

In the picture, you’ve got your hospital scrubs pulled up under your chin and your simple, cotton bra has been pulled down, exposing your round chest and perky nipples. Happy strokes himself slowly as his eyes rake down your stomach to your hips. Your hand is grasped around the waistband of your drawstring pants, you've got them tugged down past your ass and Happy can almost see all of you, but not quite. Some of it is saved for his imagination, so he drinks in as much of you as he can from this one image, then he closes his eyes and imagines you taking off those pants all the way.

His dick throbs in his hand and he jerks himself quickly so not to get caught. He thinks of all the things he's going to do to you when he gets home, all the places he's going to bend you over and have his way with you.

He thinks he'll start in the kitchen, surprise you when you're making dinner. Come in quietly, kiss the side of your neck and press you over the marble countertop. He won't let you get a word in before he pulls down those little pyjama shorts you're always wearing, just to tease him, he's sure. He thinks of the way you'll cry out when he slides into your wet heat. God, you're always so tight for him, always crying out how well he fills you up, how big he is, how much you love it when he fills you up.

Happy bucks into his hand and drops his phone onto the bed beside him so he can still see you while he cups his balls with his other hand.

He wonders what you were doing before you took the picture. He wonders if you're missing him like he's missing you. He wonders if you were touching yourself like he is, if you had your hand up your top, pinching and flicking your sensitive nipples. He thinks of how wet you get when he touches your tits, thinks of the way you moan so loud and grind down on him. He wishes he could take them into his mouth right now, tease you lightly with his teeth while he plays with the other and makes you cum just from that.

Thats the thought that pushes him over the edge. He bites back a moan and lets out a low growl instead as he spills into his hand. his phone is still on the bed, the picture of you almost daring him to go all over again, but he knows it's getting late and he won't be alone for long, so he closes the image and gets up to wash himself off.

goodnight babygirl. i love u x

He knows you'll be too busy to see it for at least a few more hours, but he sends it anyway because he loves you and he wants you to know that, and because there hasn't been a night where he hasn't said goodnight to you since you met.

As he closes his eyes and drifts into a sleep filled with dreams of you, he thinks of the little velvet box he has hidden back at the clubhouse in Charming. He thinks of the diamond ring he bought a few months ago and hasn't touched since, because the moment hasn't been perfect. He thinks about you, and how you're perfect, and how that's enough for him.

He thinks about coming home to you so he can finally make you not just his Old Lady, but his wife.

[gyubby99]

JELSA FELLOWS HERE'S A ONESHOT BECAUSE I LOVE JELSA

@disneyanddisneyships your fanfic was my inspo 😚

Something had been bugging Elsa, and Jack knows that. He knew her more than he knew himself. For someone who had been shutting everyone out her whole life, to him she was an open book. An open book he read every page carefully, and he loved every word.

Ever since that night after the great thaw, he'd often find her solemnly staring out at a window with nothing to do but share her grief with the air in secrecy, the moonshine shone above her.

Sometimes he'd ses a tear trickle down her cheek, and she let it flow free until it dropped to the floor. His lover was an open book that he hadn't finished reading yet, that he'd realized. There was only one more page or two left, and he hoped he'd get to understand every word written.

Now there was she again, in the middle of the night, moping on balconies with nothing to turn to but the thin air, and the moon whose dim light matched the darkness of the what so little pain in her heart.

Jack's brows furrowed. He set his staff to the side causing it to lean against the wall for support. He couldn't handle being stuck on the same page anymore. He doesn't want those tears to dry by itself. He wants to kiss them away. And that's precisely what he's going to do.

Trying not to make any noise, he crept up behind her, and to her surprise, her boyfriend's arms wrapped around her in a tight, but warm embrace. Elsa was taken aback, and managed to laugh through the silent tears.

"Jack!" Elsa giggled, holding his arms wrapped around her. There were desperate attempts for him to not see her in tears, but he knew her all too well.

"Els." Jack whispered against her skin. The feeling of his lips tickled her shoulder a bit, and his light peck on it felt so good, her mind relaxed a bit.

"What are you doing up so late?" Elsa asked, swaying her body along with Jack.

"I don't really need sleep. Spirit. Remember?" Jack reminded.

Elsa smiled at him. Ofcourse she knew. But sometimes he'd sleep in with her if he wanted to. But it was not that much of a necessity.

"How about you? What are you doing up so late?" Jack asks, resting his chin at the top of her head.

Elsa looked down, thinking of a reason.

"I'm just, I want to.." Elsa started stumbling over her words.

If Elsa was a test, he'd pass with ease. He knew that if she was starting to think of a lie, she'd stumble over what she says. She rarely does it, and he'd noticed it when she always comes up with excuses.

"Hm?" He hummed. "You can tell me.."

Elsa sighed. "Just- it's just a friend of mine.."

There we go.

"Your friend?" Jack repeated like an echo.

"Yes. He was me and Anna's childhood bestfriend. His name was Jackson Overland." Elsa found herself lost in her words. It felt like she was speaking her mind. "He.."

Jack waited patiently, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"He's gone.. all because of me.." Elsa choked out.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Remember the accident with Anna?" Elsa asks.

Jack nodded.

"Jackson and I never saw each other after that. And then years after, when I turned 18, well, both of us did. We saw each other again. I explained to him what happened all those years ago, and he listened. He understood. And he.."

She had to stop herself.

"He trusted me enough to make me take my gloves off and dance with him. And then we went ice skating down the lake. I was on thin ice. Jackson was there the whole time, in front of me, trying to calm me down. And then he said we'd play some hopscotch.."

"And so.. we were having.. fun. And Jackson instead threw me to the other side with a stick. He replaced me on thin ice.. I.. and that's when I.." Elsa stopped.

"You..?" Jack asks with a hint of confusion.

"I.. I froze his heart, Jack." She whimpered, her voice merely a whisper that only the both of them could hear.

"And the ice broke. It.. he fell."

The dam broke, and Elsa turned around to cry in his chest.

For moments, they stood still there, at the balcony. With only the nightlight and wind breeze accompanying them.

"Elsa." Jack whispered. Elsa looked up to him, tear stained eyes.

Jack's hands found their way to hold hers, and their fingers interlocked as if it was by instinct. Like they were attracted to one another.

"Keep holding my hand." He breathed onto her forehead.

Elsa smiled, and nodded.

How he loved reading every word onto the open book in his hands.

[copajay]

grape garden

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

masterlist

it took me so long to choose a godly parent for yeonjun and i still don’t know if i’m satisfied w dionysus but i hope y’all enjoy this </3

summary: choi yeonjun, son of dionysus, is the most likable, popular, and outgoing camper at camp halfblood. y/n, child of hades, on the other hand, is feared throughout the camp. adamant on being their friend, yeonjun will stop at nothing until he gets y/n to warm up to him, and he plans to do so before the new year. (gender neutral/not proofread)

date: 02/18/21

series: txt demigod series (located in masterlist)

scenario theme: fluff, angst sorta but not really

idol: choi yeonjun or yeonjun of txt

concept: childhood acquaintances(?) to lovers, percy jackson!au

warnings: swearing, drinking, light nudity

word count: 4.8k

friendship. one of the most important values instilled in yeonjun for as long as he can remember. being friends with someone was more than an occasional “hey” if you happened to run into them. it was trusting that person, cherishing them, and most importantly, drinking with them.

you can only imagine the son of dionysus has taken quite the liking to alcohol, specifically wine. yeonjun was known for being the life of the party, whether it was because of his easygoing personality, or his never-ending tolerance and supply of alcohol.

there was never a camper yeonjun couldn’t befriend, hell, there wasn’t even a staff member he wasn’t able to become close to. usually, making friends came easy to him, he never had to try to make himself seem likable, because he already was. in some very rare cases, yeonjun would have to go to drastic lengths to persuade someone to befriend him; in these cases, he used a foolproof 7-day plan.

the plan, in short, was to meet a person through a mutual friend (there’s always a mutual friend); find out their interests, likes, and dislikes; practically transform his entire personality to cater to that one specific person; converse with them often; invite them to one of his parties; and bond with them at said party.

yes it seemed extremely artificial, but he didn’t care. you’ve got to do whatever you can to get by. though, at times, it can be a bit draining. yeonjun is only really ever himself around his closest friends, which surprisingly only contains a small circle of 4 other boys.

there was only one person in the entire camp that he just couldn’t force his way into a mutual friendship with. y/n l/n. their father being hades and all, they weren’t too popular. whether it was because of intimidation or just an inexplicable dislike, no one dared approach them... except yeonjun.

yeonjun has been trying to get y/n to warm up to him since they were children. helping them out in class, offering them his lunch, even introducing them to all his friends. he’s tried everything, but nothing seems to work. he knows y/n doesn’t hate him, because if they did, they would’ve simply shut him out like they did with anyone else that bothered them.

that alone encouraged yeonjun, and has been his main source of motivation for the past 10 years. of course along the way, he’s realized it may be much harder to get closer to you than he originally thought; you were introverted, hated parties, didn’t drink, and had pretty much no friends besides your brother nico.

yeonjun knew that you were probably lonely, i mean who wouldn’t be if they had virtually no friends? and so he never stopped, took breaks? sure. but he’d always come back. however this time it was different. it was about to be december, and so the 10 year anniversary of him first pestering you to be his friend was coming up.

that's right, it’s been 10 years. the two of you met at a new years party held by the camp, it’s not very often the camp holds events outside of summer but they do so occasionally. he still remembers his small, chubby fingers handing you a juice-box which 9 year old you dismissed immediately. frowning, he tried to offer you a cookie this time, to which you replied, “my daddy said if strangers give you food, they’re trying to poison you.” cracking a smile, stubborn little yeonjun persisted, insisting he wasn’t trying to poison you and was just trying to be friends. your relationship has been pretty much the exact same ever since then.

yeonjun has never had to chase someone this long, usually they were in the palm of his hand after 7 days, but you were just as rigid as him. he couldn't understand why you wouldn’t just open up to him, do you enjoy this little charade? do you genuinely not like him? why?

well it doesn't matter. yeonjun will get you to acknowledge your friendship one way or another by new years. and he was prepared to spend all month doing it.

——

“hello there, gorgeous,” you heard a familiar voice coo, oh god, not him. “what do you want, yeonjun?” you muttered, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. “i’m having a party tomorrow night.” he stated.

“congrats.” you deadpanned, turning around to walk the other way. you felt a strong grip on your forearm, turning you back around, “you’re not coming?” he pouted, feigning sorrow. actually rolling your eyes this time, you let out a quick and harsh, “no.”

“i’ll do your homework.” he begged. laughing, you waved him off, “i can do my own.”

“please?” he whined, “just once. you never come to any, besides, nico is coming as well.” letting out a heavy sigh, you looked him in the eyes, “yeonjun, every time you’ve asked i said no, what makes you so sure i’ll say yes this time?” he looked at the ground for a couple of seconds, before looking back up at you with a big smirk. “because...” he started, “how else would you get this back?” he giggled, holding up your small black book. panicking, you felt a sudden surge of anger wash over you, “how the hell did you get that?” you seethed.

“you dropped it on your way out of the forest.” he chuckled. glowering, you decided you’d let him have this one, only because you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if he was to read what was in the book. it was basically a diary for you, it contained everything about you from your favorite color to your deepest darkest secrets.

“fine. i’ll go to your stupid party. but ONLY to get my book back, and don’t you even think about reading it.” you threatened, pointing your finger at him. he mockingly put both his hands up in the air, one holding your precious book.

“great, i’ll see you then,” he cheered, walking past you to meet up with his good friend from zeus cabin, choi soobin.

“don’t you think blackmailing them is a bit much?” soobin asked, picking at the ambrosia he was eating earlier. “it’s not blackmailing... think of it as ransom.” the pink-haired boy shrugged. “that doesn't sound any better.” soobin laughed.

“y’know jun, i never understood why you cared so much about them, i mean, isn’t it exhausting chasing after one person for years? especially a person you don’t even like romantically?” sighing, yeonjun sat up, “i guess... i don’t know. i feel like they’re the only person i can be myself around...”

soobin raised an eyebrow causing yeonjun to quickly correct himself, “i mean- besides you and the guys.” he said, sheepishly. soobin chuckled, patting yeonjun on the shoulder, “whatever you say, man. just don't overstep any boundaries.”

“yeah, yeah, i know.” yeonjun retorted. the truth is, no matter how carefree yeonjun appears, he actually takes things like these very seriously. from a young age, he’s always had the dying need to be liked by everyone and anyone, which resulted in him often changing around his personality, and even developing personas just to please other people.

surprisingly, yeonjun doesn’t even really like parties. he prefers to spend time in a garden, specifically a grape garden that his father, the camp instructor and greek god, has kept a secret from all the campers besides yeonjun. nothing makes him more relaxed than sitting in the garden and drinking his worries away.

even more surprisingly, the majority of campers are die-hard party-goers, and the ones that aren’t are still somehow roped into going to any and every party held in camp halfblood. if throwing these beloved parties is the only way he’ll get people to like him, even if it’s draining, he’ll do it.

it was one of those days, a tiring day; the day before a party. gods know how badly yeonjun needs to recharge his energy, so as usual, he made his way to the grape garden. wine in one hand, and your book in another, he decided a little peek couldn’t hurt. after simply sitting down, surrounded by nothing but silence and nature, he already felt more energized.

flipping through your book, he saw a certain page that caught his attention, mainly because it had the name “hades” written in all caps and red ink, contrasting with the dull, black writing on all the other pages. it seemed to have clippings of other pages in it, a specific clipping containing a letter:

“often times i curse my brothers for the fact that i’m trapped in charge of the underworld for eternity, but at least i’m trapped with the memory of you and your siblings. i wish it wasn’t under these circumstances, i wish you loved me as much as i love you. i wish you could see how much i love you, my darling y/n. - H”

damn. is all yeonjun could think. do they have a boyfriend or something?

see, as socially intelligent as yeonjun was, he lacked a lot of common sense. but as comfortable yeonjun was in his garden, he couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort knowing there was a possibility that you liked someone... someone that wasn’t him. 

surprising himself, he wondered if maybe he really did like you, well as more than friends (if you were even considered friends). he quickly dismissed the thought as he was sure he’s just jealous someone else managed to befriend you before he did. deciding that he’s spent enough time snooping through your personal life, he closed the book and decided to head back to the camp.

the second he got out of the garden, he was greeted by multiple campers. it was like a mandatory practice, to wave and shout “hi yeonjun!” anytime someone was to see him. of course, as always, yeonjun gave a polite greeting back, and went about his day.

----

your alarm echoed loudly throughout your cabin, thanking the gods nico wasn’t here to scold you, you picked up your phone and pressed the “stop” option. unfortunately, your heavenly midday nap had to be cut short because of a certain someone.

sighing, you got up and decided to freshen up a little before heading out. it’s not like you even wanted to go to this party, so why look good?

after doing the usual quick face-wash and changing your clothes, you left your cabin, checking your phone to see the time: 5:53

you may have not been early but at least you weren't late. by the time you made your way to the dionysus cabin, took a deep breath and braced yourself, knocked on the door, and were forced into a hug with the devil himself, it was around 6 pm.

you assumed since it was early, not much would be going on, but you were very wrong. campers in one corner were drinking like there was no tomorrow, some knocking over anything and everything in an attempt to dance to the loud music blaring from the speakers, and a good amount of campers were practically eating each other’s faces in another corner.

awkwardly, you made your way past the several drunk teenagers, grabbing onto yeonjun’s shirt. “i came. so can i get my book back?” you practically begged. smirking, he replied, “nope. once you get your book back, you’ll leave, and i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to convince you to come to another one of these again,” he paused, taking a swig of the seemingly expensive bottle of alcohol in his hands, “besides, why don't you try having some fun for once?” he teased, swinging his arm around you.

pushing his arm off with a scoff, you glared at him before responding, “drinking and blacking out isn’t exactly my idea of fun.”

“just as i thought,” he started, “you’re way too much of a pussy to drink.” he challenged. pretending to walk away, he gave you one last look and shrugged, “no wonder all the gods say hades is the least fun. guess you took after your old man.”

you were way too smart to fall prey to peer pressure... but your pride was also way too big to deal with yeonjun’s antics. snatching the bottle out of his hands, you drank a good amount, wincing right after. you had never drunk alcohol before, and you never thought you would. if it tastes bad and it’s not good for you, then what’s the point?

“wow.” yeonjun applauded, “look at you, little y/n, all grown up.” he chortled while pinching your cheeks. slapping his hand away, you drank even more. honestly, you didn’t even know what you were trying to prove, but seeing yeonjun look down on you filled you with an unhealthy amount of rage.

“alright, alright, i get it. slow down.” he mumbled, carefully taking the bottle out of your hands and setting it down on a nearby nightstand. it was either extremely obvious this was your first time drinking or the drink was really strong because within a matter of minutes, you couldn't even walk straight.

the rest of the night was pretty much a blur. yeonjun was panicking, following you around like a chaperone trying to keep you from taking off your clothes or making out with the nearest stranger. he didn't expect you to drink that much but damn were you a hassle to deal with when you were drunk.

once the party died down, he knew he couldn’t just let you leave alone. dragging you to his bed while shushing you as you were either singing some 90s hit or yelling about how you didn’t want to go to bed, he was finally able to get you to sleep. sighing to himself as he definitely didn’t think this would be how his night ended, he couldn’t help but admire how peaceful you looked when you were sleeping, and before he knew it, he was knocked out right next to you.

----

as the morning light hit the windows, pouring into the cabin, your eyes fluttered open. you were greeted with the sight of messy pink hair and one arm draped around your waist while another was next to your head. one of your arms were wrapped around the stranger’s neck, while the other was next to his head. your legs were tangled together and you felt the unfamiliar sensation of someone else’s bare skin against your own.

that’s when the realization hit you, you were in yeonjun’s bed, practically cuddling with him, and the both of you were half naked. jumping up suddenly, you woke up the boy laying next to you. “YEONJUN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” you screamed, to which he responded by rubbing his eyes and muttering “5 more minutes,”

“NO. NOT FIVE MORE MINUTES, WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?” you demanded. wincing, he shushed you before saying something along the lines of, “will you please calm down? i’ll explain, just give me a minute.”

frowning, you pinched his side causing his eyes to widen and a yelp to leave his lips. “okay, okay!” he whimpered, rubbing the spot you pinched. “you got crazy drunk last night so i had to drag you to bed.” he yawned.

“but why are we both practically naked?” you questioned. suddenly, a thought crossed your mind, “oh my god.” you gasped, “oh my god!” you repeated, “did we? did we- did we do it?” you screamed. amused, yeonjun couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

smacking his chest, you gave him an irritated look to which he replied, “of course we didn’t. you were trying to take off your own clothes almost the entire night,” you winced, unable to imagine yourself like that. “and i personally, have a hard time sleeping clothed.” he continued. still glaring, he quickly followed up with “but i swear we weren't touching each other when i got into bed!”

heat rushed to your cheeks, feeling a strange mixture of embarrassment and exhilaration. you felt brand new. not only did you go to a party, you drank, and slept in the same bed as a half-naked boy all in one night. and as much as you hated to admit it, yeonjun wasn't all that bad-looking. wait.. what? no no no, get it together y/n. this is choi yeonjun. you don’t like him... right?

snapping you out of your thoughts, you hear a quiet “oh shit.” leave yeonjun’s lips, you look up to see he’s already out of bed and shuffling around the room. “what’s wrong?” you ask, still sitting on the corner of his bed. “y/n, have i ever told you how nice you look when you’re not mad?” he said sweetly. “yeonjun. what did you do?” you replied, already getting angry, “relax, i’m sure it’s around here somewhere...” he muttered.

“what is- oh my god yeonjun.” you seethed. “i’ll find it! i swear!” he promised, throwing a shirt on before wandering off to the rest of the cabin in hopes of finding your book.

massaging your forehead, your headache started to become more and more apparent. looking to your side, you saw a small bottle of water and two pills on a napkin. assuming yeonjun had left it there knowing you’d probably have a hangover, you couldn’t help but smile.

“alright, so i definitely know where it is...” yeonjun began, appearing out of nowhere. “it’s just... not here.” he said awkwardly, playing with his hands. “then where is it?” you argued. “a secret place.” he announced.

scoffing, you interrogated him once more, “what are you, 5? i’m not gonna fall for your cheap tricks yeonjun. either tell me where this “secret place” is or i’ll find it myself.”

annoyed, yeonjun rolled his eyes before throwing a shirt at you, “get dressed and follow me.”, obliging, you got up and put the shirt on along with your jeans from last night that were thrown on the floor, still in disbelief you would ever take off your jeans in the first place.

as you were about to make your way out of the cabin, you were pulled back by yeonjun, “listen, no other camper has ever seen this place before... and to be honest i don’t really want any other campers seeing it, so please, just grab your book and forget this all happened, alright?” he whispered.

“yeah, yeah, i know. trust me, i’ll be quick, the last thing i want is to spend more time with you.” you mocked. the truth was, he was starting to grow on you, but you wouldn’t admit it if your life depended on it.

still holding onto your arm, he dragged you outside and ran towards the back of the camp, still holding onto you. you were tripping over your own legs and struggling to keep up but that didn’t stop him. he continued running, and you continued struggling, until you reached a locked door. it was a normal-looking wood door, it seemed a bit worn out though, with some scratches, and vines growing on the sides. he pulled a key out of his pocket, and speedily opened it, pulling you inside.

once he let go of your arm you could finally see the garden up close, it wasn’t too big, but it wasn't small either. different shades of green and purple were everywhere, huge leaves and even bigger vines were all along the trees. on each vine stemmed huge bundles of grapes, some a rich, dark violet and others somewhat maroon in color. there was a small bench covered in vines and small leaves in the center and a fountain spewing out a thick, dark red liquid.

yeonjun strolled up to the bench, crouched down, and picked up a small object from the ground. jogging back to you, he handed you your book. “thanks.” you managed, “no problem... now get out.” he quipped with a smile. rolling your eyes, you turned and exited out the door, wondering how important this place is to yeonjun.

he didn’t follow you out, but did yell at you to close the door. as you were about to, you heard a sudden “wait!”, glancing back into the garden, you saw yeonjun tending to one of the many grape vines, “are we friends yet?” he beckoned. sighing, you sent a harsh “no.” his way before shutting the door. you could still hear a faint chuckle behind the door before rushing back to your cabin.

----

that was all a little over a week ago, it was now the last week of december, and almost time for the new years party. in the past week, you’ve found yourself in yeonjun’s company more than you’d like to admit. neither of you can deny that you’ve gotten much closer since the last party, but you were still too stubborn to acknowledge him as a friend.

at first, it was out of genuine dislike, but as yeonjun started to grow on you, so did your liking towards the little game the two of you had going on. however, as much as you wouldn’t mind being yeonjun’s friend, part of you is a bit scared. scared that he’ll leave you, that he’ll finally be satisfied and stop making an effort to talk to you.

but you also had an even bigger concern: that once you did accept defeat, you’d get even closer, and you’d develop feelings for him. at this point, there’s no denying you sort of like yeonjun, but you were determined to get rid of all those feelings before it was too late, and you were left chasing after a guy who wanted nothing to do with you. after all, it was clear that all he wanted was attention.

well... at least that’s how it started.

see, yeonjun was facing a similar dilemma, he was also starting to like you, but was worried it would drive you away. he’s already made so much progress, and he can’t risk everything because of his dumb feelings. as he made his way past the entrance, getting ready to run some errands for his father, he ran into you.

“woah, someone’s in a rush.” he teased, holding you back. not even bothering to look up, you scoffed, recognizing his voice, “haha. now let me through,” you muttered as you attempted to push past him.

“not so fast... what's the magic word?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow at him, you sighed before guessing, “please?”. “nope.” he giggled, “yeonjun i swear to god if you don’t let me through i’ll tell your dad all about your parties-”

“okay! i get it, you can go.” he backed away jokingly. smirking, you strolled past him, hearing him mumble “snitch” under his breath. but before you turned around to confront him, he was already gone. annoyed, you kept moving, but still couldn’t get yeonjun out of your head.

all you could think about was him. his hair, his voice, his lips-

you felt an abrupt pain on the side of your head and a shriek. waking up from your daze, you realized you had just bumped into kang taehyun. he was from the artemis cabin, and was also said to be really intimidating. you never thought much of it, as you always had people say that about you too, solely because your father was hades, but the second you made eye contact with him, you realized that the rumors were actually pretty accurate.

you saw a wave of anger wash over him, followed by a quick change in expression once he got a good look at you, “hey! you’re y/n! from hades cabin right?” he asked, head tilted. “yeah... you’re taehyun, right?” you replied awkwardly. “yeah, yeonjun has told me so much about you.” he laughed. your eyes widened, oh no. whatever yeonjun has to say about you probably isn’t good.

however, it was quite the opposite. taehyun was a friend yeonjun could rely on, he went to him for all his concerns, big or small. despite taehyun being younger, he was definitely much more mature, and always knew what to say to yeonjun. one of their most recent conversations were actually about you, and how yeonjun was torn about his feelings for you. while you opted for writing away your thoughts in your book, yeonjun confided in taehyun. 

“don't worry, it’s all good things,” the younger boy dismissed. you were still pretty skeptical, but nodded and smiled anyways, “that's good to hear... well i’ll be going now,” you said with a wave. he waved back politely and left.

you still couldn't stop thinking about yeonjun, but now you were more curious about what he could've possibly said to his friend about you.

----

it was the night of the new years party, you were honestly pretty anxious. social gatherings were really not your thing... but at least this one had adult supervision and no alcohol. as you were getting ready, your half-brother nico walked in, elated that you were finally going out of your way to attend a party. if only he knew what had happened at the last party you went to.

nico decided it would be best if the two of you went together, agreeing, the both of you had left the cabin together, only for him to get distracted by his friends the second he got there, leaving you alone without anyone to talk to. typical nico. you sighed, shaking your head. 

wondering if yeonjun was here, you decided to look around, noticing the majority of his friend group were: choi beomgyu, who seemed to be getting pretty intimate with some camper from hephaestus cabin, choi soobin, and taehyun. you couldn't find his much younger friend from hermes cabin, but that was the least of your concerns at the moment.

suddenly, a figure closely resembling his made it's way out of the hall, seemingly upset, with taehyun following closely behind. you were worried, but ultimately decided it was none of your business. you sat next to the punch table, fidgeting with your clothes for a good 10 minutes until a desperate taehyun approached you, begging you to help him look for yeonjun.

worried, you asked about what had happened to him, to which the boy responded, “he seemed to be in a bad mood, but he wouldn’t tell me why. he made a big scene and left, but i can't find him.” you could see how frustrated taehyun was, running his hand through his hair and adjusting his clothes every couple of seconds. “i think i know where he is,” you began, to which he nodded in response to, “just give me a minute.” you added. 

leaving the hall through the back, you made sure no one was following you before retracing your steps from the time he took you to retrieve your book. eventually, you found yourself at the door. debating whether or not to knock, you realized the door was open. peeking inside, you saw him sitting at the bench, his head in his hands, and a glass of what you assumed was wine next to him.

“yeonjun?” you called softly, it was quiet, but enough to grab his attention. “y/n? is that you?” he answered. “yeah,” you stated while walking in cautiously. “what are you doing here?” he muttered. “oh, um, taehyun told me you were upset and left and i assumed you would be here.” you confessed. the air was getting thick, and you were starting to think this was all a big mistake until he called your name, patting the spot next to him, signaling you to sit.

quietly closing the door all the way, you made your way past the vines to sit beside him. “i like you.” he stated, still looking at the ground. taken aback, you were left speechless for a good minute, causing an awkward silence. fixing your composure, you responded, “i like you too, yeonjun.”

he finally looked up, and looked straight into your eyes, smiling. moving his hand, he placed it on top of yours, giving your hand a squeeze. this side of yeonjun was very unexpected, he was much more calm, quiet, and sincere. you couldn’t help but smile back at him.

all of a sudden, a large group of voices started chanting “10, 9, 8-″ and your quiet was interrupted. gasping, you realized that it was about to be new years. “have you ever had a new year’s kiss?” yeonjun solicited. “nope.” you replied with a small smile, “well, do you want one?” he asked. “nope.” you repeated, starting to break into a grin. he rolled his eyes as the chant hit 3, and once you heard “2″, you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.

the fireworks that were set off perfectly reflected how both of you felt in that moment. pulling away, neither of you were able to stop smiling. it was perfect. going back in for another kiss, yeonjun couldn’t help but keep smiling. all feelings of anger and negativity were replaced with your warm embrace, and at last, he wasn't alone in his beloved grape garden anymore.

[corvus--rex]

I very nearly used this one for the Prince prompt for Julance, and then came up with something different (not that I've posted it to ao3 yet, the magical au kinda got away from me and I've been trying to wrap it up). It's deeply sleeping and almost into semi-abandoned mostly because I'm just stuck (I personally suck at scene transitions). This one is a Human!Galtean Omegaverse with Omega Lance and Alpha Keith.

~*~*~*~

Keith hated these parties, even if it was in his honor. He always had. But being able to see Lance light up when they walked into the ballroom and then offering him his hand as an invitation to dance made it worth it. Especially when the offer was so excitedly accepted. When the familiar 3/4 time signature began, and the pair swept around the room wrapped up in the waltz and in each other, Keith was able to forget the reason for the party. He let himself get lost in Lance’s soft expressions and the love he held for the boy in his arms. Well, not boys anymore. No, they were both grown adults by then and not lovesick teenagers, but their feelings for each other had never lessened. And Keith was still in awe of the fact that Lance, his best friend since they were small children, despite their secondary sexes, not only loved him in return, but had accepted Keith’s proposal.

Accepted may have been an understatement. The night Keith proposed, in the heart of Lance’s favorite garden on the castle’s grounds, the Marmoran prince found himself tackled to the soft grass. His entire field of vision was taken up by an emotionally overwhelmed Lance, blocking out the stars that Keith felt paled in comparison to the Altean royal he was intensely proud to call his.

Lance, for his part, knew how much Keith hated these formal parties. But this one was all theirs. This was the party that formally announced to the kingdoms of Marmora and Altea and the rest of the world that the two royal families were to be joined through the marriage and mating of Alpha Crown Prince Keith of Marmora and Omega Prince Lance of Altea. Lance, and Keith as well, had been stunned to learn that their betrothal had been formalized when they were infants. Their parents were close friends, and the boys had grown up together, even attending the same boarding schools. And then, when the boys began dating on their own in their teens, their parents decided not to tell them, knowing that it really no longer mattered.

Both Lance and Keith were familiar with the music, and Keith slowed their pace with a twirl of his fiancé at the beginning of the closed cadence that marked the end of the dance. They came to a stop as the music died, sneaking a kiss when they knew no one was really paying attention. But of course, that night, everyone was paying attention to the recently engaged couple. There was no getting away from it. Lance’s older sister Allura had even commented on it, saying that it would finally take some attention away from her own engagement to Princess Romelle of Arus. But of course, as Crown Princess and Lance’s sister, Allura was there at the engagement party, Romelle right beside her.

That night, Lance proudly wore the last courting gift Keith had given him on the night he proposed. It was a simple band, inlaid with a brilliantly rich violet sapphire that graced the middle finger of his left hand. The stone itself, a marquise cut laid horizontally in the metal, was stunning, but the band was made of starlight silver, an alloy composed of white gold and luxite, a metal unique to Marmora. Truth be told, he rarely took it off, wearing it as a constant reminder of the Alpha who loved him.

Lance had already moved into Marmora’s royal residence and his own suite of rooms for the months leading up to his formal mating to Keith, but it was a well-known secret inside the castle that he hardly ever used the apartment, having instead already moved into Keith’s suite. Breakfast at the castle was almost always an informal affair, and house staff usually walked into the princes snuggled in bed together. Everyone also knew that Queen Krolia knew about her son and soon-to-be son-in-law’s sleeping arrangement and said nothing against it. That night, they had plans to slip away from the party when it was late enough and watch the fireworks from their private balcony. Their closest friends wanted to celebrate the engagement away from the crowded rooms of the party and had agreed to leave quietly one at a time to meet the princes upstairs.

But it wasn’t quite time for that yet. The party was still in full swing and the formal announcement had yet to be made. Keith knew his mother would be looking for them soon, and wanted to keep Lance to himself for as long as possible, even if he knew it was a lost cause. Case in point, the over-dressed figure of an Altean noble making her way toward them now that they had stepped away from the floor. Keith saw the exact moment when Lance died a little on seeing Lady Henrietta Remington-Blakely bustling her way over, her daughter Delphine following her mother with purpose.

Lady Remington-Blakely had always – and loudly – bemoaned the fact that Allura had been publicly off the market for years and that Lance wasn’t a “suitable match” as an Omega for her Beta daughter. Delphine, on the other hand, tried to distance herself from her mother’s whining as much as possible, and in doing so, had actually ingratiated herself with the royal family, winning a place at court over her mother. Delphine, therefore, had naturally been invited to the engagement party, her mother having the invitation extended out of courtesy. Delphine’s father, Baronet Simeon Remington-Blakely, had been invited as well, but the beleaguered noble was nowhere to be seen.

Delphine rushed the last several yards ahead of her mother, picking up her nearly floor-length skirt in a rather un-ladylike fashion. “I am so sorry, I couldn’t stop her,” she said to Lance as she approached.

Lance sighed. “It’s ok, Lady Delphine. It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but she’s been worse lately now that your engagement is being made publicly official tonight.”

Keith nodded to a spot over Delphine’s shoulder. “And here she comes.”

Lance seamlessly slipped into his public face. “Lady Remington-Blakely, thank you so much for coming all the way to Marmora to celebrate with us. How was the trip? Not too strenuous, I hope?”

Keith and Delphine caught each other’s eye and tried desperately not to laugh. Lance’s seemingly genuine greeting and following question caught Lady Henrietta off guard, causing the woman to deflate from whatever she had planned on verbally accosting him with. Neither of them missed the subtle wink he threw in their direction or the small sly curl to his fake smile.

“Oh, well, of course, your Highness,” Lady Henrietta stumbled, caught off guard by Lance preempting her, “No, the trip over was fine. We accompanied Count Fitzsimmons on his private jet.”

“And how is the dear Count? Still as…active as ever?”

Count Alistair “Allie” Fitzsimmons was a well-known party boy, and it actually surprised Lance that Lady Henrietta would be seen in public with him.

“Oh, yes, I suppose so. He was quite charming on our flight over.”

“Naturally. I would expect nothing less. And of course, the announcement of my forthcoming marriage and mating is so important to us and our beloved Altea. Altea and Marmora have been close friends and allies for quite some time now, and my marriage will further strengthen that bond. It certainly doesn’t hurt that I’ve been madly in love with her Crown Prince for years.”

Lance had been so invested in preventing whatever it was that Lady Henrietta had in mind that he hadn’t noticed Delphine slip away to retrieve her father until she returned with him.

“My apologies, Prince Lance,” Sir Simeon said as he approached, slightly out of breath.

“Oh, not at all. I was just telling your lovely wife Lady Henrietta how wonderful it is that you could be here in Marmora with us.”

“Of course, it’s our pleasure to be here for such an important event.” Sir Simeon had far more in common with his daughter than his wife. Lance had wondered on meeting them the first time how someone so genuine and caring could have ended up with such a self-important woman like Henrietta.

Delphine and Sir Simeon directed Lady Henrietta away from the royals, leaving them in momentary peace.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19*

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Rebirth

Chapter 1: Flowers In The Window

Summary: Steven Grant Rogers, the dumb kid who was always too stubborn to run away from a fight, was never gonna allow a bunch of no-good low-lives to hassle a dame in the street, even if it was going to lead to him getting his ass kicked. For once, however, the ass kicking has an upside as the dame in question seemed particularly grateful, a fact she displays a few days later at the Stark Expo.

But it wasn’t the only encounter that fateful night that seemed set to change his life when Dr Erskine throws him a bone, meaning Steve can finally do the one thing he’s been desperate to do for years.

Join the army.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Nothing much… Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N:  So here it is…my take on what would have gone down so to speak should Katie have been part of the CA: TFA timeline and my contribution of sorts to the CATF 10 Year Anniversary Challenge. I’ll be trying to keep this fic as accurate to the time period and the movie as possible, just like with the other SS fics.  I really hope you enjoy this, there will be some creative license because, let’s face it, what is Fan Fic other than self-indulgence?

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

SSR Masterlist // Main Masterlist

June 1943

It started just the same as any normal Friday morning for Steven Grant Rogers. He unlocked the back of the Grocery Store on the corner of Berry Street in Brooklyn, using the entrance down the alley way reserved for staff. Once inside, he grabbed his beige coloured linen apron off the hook and smiled at the items he had to work with today. Fridays were always a treat as they took the rare delivery of freshly cut flowers ready to be sold for the weekend. This week there were boxes of bright white gardenias with their waxy petals and shiny, leathery dark green leaves, bunches of bright purple heliotrope which always reminded him of one of his mother’s scarves, and plenty of white, blue and purple asters. Steve bent down to take in the strong, vibrant fragrance of the gardenias, closing his eyes. It was easy to imagine he was in some garden somewhere, or even the middle of central park…not some little shop in Williamsberg.

“Don’t be inhaling enough of that to set your asthma off!” Mr Tromley, a kindly faced, portly man in his fifties greeted, and Steve turned to look at him, smiling a little shyly.

“I won’t Mr T,” he assured him, “they’re just so darn pretty…”

“Well set yourself a few aside.” Mr Tromley smiled, “you can take them home and sketch them.”

“Oh, I couldn’t.” Steve protested, the way he always did when Mr Tromley tried to slip him something for free be it scraps of meat he couldn’t sell from the counter that would be given to dogs, bread that wasn’t as soft as it had been in the morning and would be fed to the birds, milk that was going to turn, cheese that was slightly past its best. Mr Tromley ignored all his protests though, usually threatening to sack Steve if he didn’t take it. The man knew what it was like to come from a hard background, which was part of the reason he’d taken a shine to that sickly, twenty-two year old orphan with a degree in fine arts that had come begging for a job some three years ago. He couldn’t pay him much but he could do other things to make sure he got by.

“Well if you don’t take ‘em Steve they’ll just end up withering and a-dyin’, so reckon you’d be doin’ em a kindness.” Mr Tromley shrugged “Now, my Ada has some coffee going, you want a cup before we open the doors?”

Steve glanced at the clock above the counter, more out of habit than anything as he knew full well that he arrived with an hour to go.

“Mr T that’d be swell.” He smiled.

“Okay, you get started and I’ll fetch it down.”

Steve began in the usual way, pulling some simple bouquets together, varying in size and price, ready for the busy men to pick up on their way home from work, a nice present for their dame’s for the weekend. Once the stalks and lower foliage were trimmed and stripped, he fastened and tied them in simple brown waxy paper using plain brown string. Steve always insisted on using plain wrapping as anything else would detract from the beauty of the flowers. He placed the finished bouquets into one of the green buckets of water Mr Tromley fetched from the back, before he then carefully and delicately trimmed down the remaining flowers before placing them loose in their own buckets according to type, ready for the ladies, and occasional gentleman, who had the time and desire to create their own bunches.

Impeccably organised, as ever, Steve finished his work fifteen minutes before the store was due to open. He then set about helping Mr Tromley as they arranged the buckets outside the shop window on the sidewalk, before they set up the other stalls of seasonal vegetables. There wasn’t much fruit to go by at the moment, but that was a sign of the times really. But what they did have, namely a selection of apples and oranges, they set those out ready too. Once that was done, Mr Tromley handed Steve a thick wedge of fresh bread which had been delivered that morning from the local bakery, along with some of his wife’s home-made jam which was sold from their shop. Steve took his breakfast with a mumbled thanks, averse to taking the daily handouts as ever, and Mr Tromley sighed.

“Steve, when are you going to realise that a piece of bread and jam for breakfast ain’t gonna bankrupt me?”

“I just don’t want to appear to take advantage, that’s all.” “Ah quit it.” Tromley waved his hand, shaking his head “If I didn’t want you to take advantage of it, I wouldn’t offer it would I? Now, eat that and get behind the counter.”

The morning passed much the same as they always did. A flurry of activity at opening, a steady stream of locals and regulars through to the usual peak of activity just before lunch. Like clockwork, Mr Tromley closed the doors bang on midday for an hour and Steve gathered his sketchbook along with the brown paper bag which contained his cheese and bread, and headed outside into the sun. At Mr Tromley’s instruction he selected an apple from the display and crossed the road avoiding the yellow cabs and cyclists and trams, taking up seat on the bench which sat directly opposite the shop front.  He chewed his lunch, washed it down with the tin bottle of lemonade that Mrs Tromley had filled for him earlier, and then once he had finished his apple he tossed the core over to a pigeon who instantly began pecking at it. He then untucked the pencil that was behind his ear, opened his sketchbook and resumed the detailed landscapes he was doing of the buildings surrounding the shop front. Drawing was his escape, something he did any chance he got. He dreamed one day of travelling the world, drawing all the different sights he could, but that was out of the question. Well, until he finally got into the army. With four failed attempts under his belt already, most men would have given up but not Steven Rogers. Stubborn, tenacious and plucky to a fault, he was already planning his next attempt at enlisting, this time he was going to hail from New Jersey. Well, as good a place as any.  

Steve glanced up, checking the detail of the window to the cobblers next door, and that was when he saw her, just walking down the sidewalk. She wore a red high-collared, cap sleeved tea-dress which flared out slightly from her hips and finished just below her knee. It was cinched in at the waist with a black belt, and was detailed round the hem and sleeve edges with pretty white lace. On her feet she wore a pair of simple, elegant black block heel courts with a T-bar buckle. Her hair was a silky, shiny chestnut which hung around her face in bouncy waves and she had a soft, gentle profile with high cheekbones, slightly flushed cheeks and ruby lips. She stopped outside the shop, examining the flowers with a smile, and then she looked up at the shop door and saw the CLOSED sign in the window. She can’t be from around here, Steve thought to himself, everyone in the neighbourhood knew when Tromley closed his doors and opened them, you could set your watch by it. Still, she hung around, softly picking up a gardenia and holding it to her nose, smiling to herself as she inhaled.

Steve found the innocent act breath-taking. He felt a little, well, shameful in a way, to be watching her so, intruding on what was clearly a private moment but he couldn’t help it. She was beautiful, grace personified, and he felt a little sad as she replaced the flower, gave the buckets one last look, before she continued on her way. Steve sighed, wishing to God that the shop had been open, it would have given him an excuse to maybe see her a little more closely. Perhaps talk to her. Or not as the case maybe, Bucky was always telling him how useless he was when it came to striking up conversations with ladies. But, for now, he had to settle for watching her walk away. Only he wasn’t the only one.

“Hey pretty thing…” Steve heard a voice and turned to his left where a group of men, most likely in their late teens or early twenties, had spotted her. As Steve watched he saw one of them push himself off the lamppost he’d been leaning on and cross the street towards her. The lady stopped, looking at him with her eyebrow raised. He spoke to her again, Steve couldn’t hear the conversation but a smile tugged at his lips as the lady looked the boy up and down, disdain etched all over her pretty face before she shook her head and laughed. She made to move past the kid but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

And Steve just couldn’t help himself.

“Hey!” He called, jumping up and hurrying across the street. “Let the lady go.”

“Back off, this has nothing to do with you.” The man rounded on him, looking at him before he snorted at Steve’s stature. “Besides, what you gonna do about it anyway? Runt.”

Steve took a deep breath, he was used to people looking down their noses at him, both figuratively and literally. That was part and parcel of being only five foot four inches tall. He also knew that at hundred pound give or take, he didn’t cut a formidable figure either, but he was damned if he was going to let this bully manhandle a dame in the middle of the street.

The woman wrenched her arm away from the man’s grip and glared at him, furious green eyes bored into his as she snorted and looked the guy up and down. “He’s clearly twice the gentleman you’ll ever be. Didn’t your mother ever teach you basic, good manners jack ass?”

“What did you just say?” a sudden darkness crossed the man’s face as he looked down at the woman who stood, un-yielding, clutching her purse as it hung around her shoulder.

“You heard me, well unless you’re deaf as well as ugly.” She shrugged slightly. At that Steve really couldn’t hold his face straight anymore and he felt the side of his lips curl up into a smirk. He was sure the pretty dame’s eyes flickered to his but he must have imagined it as when he stole a glance back at her she was staring straight back at the man who’d been giving her the trouble.

“Mouthy little broad you ain’t ya?” He snarled.

“Show some damned respect.” Steve shot out, and this time the man rounded on him. Steve stood stock still, his mother’s words echoing clearly in his head- you start running, they’ll never let you stop and he was aware in his peripheral that the other 2 men who’d been observing until now were starting to circle like sharks who had just had their first taste of blood.

He braced himself, ready for the inevitable fight, legs slightly apart, hands balling into fists by his side. But it was no use. He was never going to be fast enough or strong enough for one of these guys, let alone three, and as the fist connected with his face he heard a scream and a yell as he fell backwards into the display of oranges and apples which he had lovingly helped Mr T prepare before.

Steve staggered to his feet, readying himself for another hit but it didn’t come. Instead one of the guys was sent sprawling to the ground besides him, shortly followed by the other. He wheeled round to see Bucky had the one that was left standing pinned up by the collar against the brick wall to the side of the shop and Mrs T was on the door step brandishing a broom handle, a string of Italian expletives leaving her mouth.

“Get outta here!” Bucky shoved the one that he was holding harshly into the road where he narrowly avoided colliding with the side of a yellow cab. Then turns to Steve and pulls him up.

“Seriously?” Bucky groaned and Steve shook his head, dusting himself down “You pick a fight with three at once?”

“He didn’t pick a fight with any of them.” A soft voice spoke and both Steve and Bucky turned to look at the dame in the red dress who was dusting herself down as her eyes flitted from Bucky, to Steve, then back again. “He came to help me when one of those bozos was getting a little too familiar.”

“That’s Stevie, a regular Knight in shining armour.” Bucky ruffled Steve’s hair as he gave an exasperated sigh, pushing himself away from his best friend. “Especially when there’s a beautiful dame involved.”

 The lady looked at Bucky, arching an eyebrow before she looked back at Steve and he gulped slightly as for the first time he took her in properly. There was nothing else to say other than she was drop dead gorgeous. Deep green eyes that sparkled like emeralds looked back at him from a heart shaped face, nose speckled with freckles which twitched a little as she smiled revealing a row of perfectly straight, white teeth

"I guess I should thank you Stevie." She spoke, and Steve felt the heat rise in his cheeks.

"It was nothing...I just.." he stopped dead as she reached out and straightened his tie, long eyelashes blinking against his cheeks as she smoothed over his shoulders and dropped a kiss to his cheek.

"My hero"

Steve swallowed and looked at the woman as she stepped back, smiling at him.

“I err, it was…my pleasure.” Steve stuttered and the lady arched an eyebrow, a grin on her face.

“Interesting choice of words.”

“I mean, not pleasure, obviously. No one likes seeing a beautiful dame getting hassled, I mean woman, not that…” he shook his head, as Bucky nudged him. He was rambling, as per usual. “I err, I should…”he gestured to the shop as Mr and Mrs Tromley were now looking at the mess of fruit all over the floor.

“I’m sorry about that.” She turned to the shopkeepers who looked at her, Mrs Tromley waving her away.

“Not your fault, dear.”

“Can I at least buy some of the flowers?”  She asked, a little shyly. “That is what I actually wanted to do after all.”

“Of course, Steven, can you…” Mr T nodded to Steve and then his eyes fell on Bucky “James Buchanan Barnes, what are you doing here?”

“Got a week or so’s furlough, Mr T and Ma sent me for some stuff, I gotta list.” he nodded, fishing it out of his pocket.

Tromley took it from him, scanned it and then turned to walk into the shop, beckoning for Bucky to follow him. Steve’s eyes followed his friend’s broad back as Bucky paused in the doorway and stopped, turning back to the woman. Steve groaned inwardly, he knew that face, Bucky was about to turn on the charm and she was no doubt going to fall in a pool at his feet, just like most of the other girls in the neighbourhood.

“You’re not from round here, right?” Bucky asked.

“What makes you say that?” She countered with a question of her own, looking Bucky up and down as she spoke.

“Never seen you before.”

“Know all the girls in Brooklyn, do you James Buchanan Barnes?” She asked, and Bucky gave a chuckle as she repeated his name to him and winked.

“Only the pretty ones.” “Well I suppose with most men joining the army the moment, even the pretty ones can’t be choosers.”

At that Steve let out a snort of laughter as Bucky blinked in surprise. “Ouch.” He gave a little scoff and shake of his head before he turned to walk into the shop.

“He always like that?” The lady looked at Steve who took a deep breath and smiled a little.

“Yes Ma’am. And to be honest it normally works.” Steve glanced at Bucky before he looked back at the woman who was looking at him, her eyes twinkling. “Most girls just can’t seem’ta say no!”

“Well, I’ll let you into a secret.” She grinned and leaned closer to Steve. “I’m not like most girls.”

Steve swallowed again, nervously brushing a hand through his hair as she straightened up and smiled at him. “I’m Katie by the way, seems only fair you know my name seeing as I know yours.”

“I err, that’s a pretty name.” Steve smiled and then inwardly cursed himself again.

Pretty name? Really? That’s the best you can do?

“Thank you.” She giggled, and then she turned to the buckets “So errr, do you wanna make me a bouquet Steve? Something pretty for my room.”

Glad of the distraction, Steve nodded and turned to the various bunches of flowers. “I err, I noticed you were admiring the gardenias, so…” “You were watching me?” she spoke and Steve looked at her, ready to start protesting that wasn’t what he’d been doing when he spotted the glint in her eyes and he shook his head giving a sigh. She grinned “I love gardenias, lilies are my favourite but gardenias are pretty too.”

“Yeah we don’t have any lilies, unfortunately.” Steve shrugged “They were my Ma’s favourite too.”

Steve set about gathering a generous bunch of flowers as she instructed him to make it a large bouquet and then she followed him into the shop where he wrapped them in brown paper and string as Bucky was leaning against the counter, chatting to the Tromleys, Mrs Tromley laughing loudly at something he’d said.

“You are a cad, Bucky Barnes!” She looked at him, shaking her head “Isn’t it bad enough you joined the army? You’ll give your ma a heart attack one of these days.”

Bucky shrugged “It wasn’t so bad, he never caught me. Even on a bum ankle I was faster.”

“You been caught in places you shouldn’t be again Buck?” Steve looked at him and he shrugged, grinning.

“You know me, Stevie!”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Steve rolled his eyes before he tied off the bouquet with the string and then handed it to Katie. She smiled.

“You have talented hands.” She spoke gently and Steve flushed once more, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, he’s good with them.” Bucky spoke and Steve glared at him. Katie turned to look at Bucky again, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Makes a change, in my experience most men don’t know the first thing about how to use them.”

Mrs Tromley choked a little on her coffee as she looked at the younger woman, flashing her a wink. Katie bit her lip, her mouth curling up into a small smile as she rummaged in her purse, pulling out a small leather wallet.

“How much do I owe you?”

“No charge.” Mr Tromley spoke suddenly but Katie shook her head.

“I insist, I was responsible for your display getting trashed, least I can do is pay for these.”

“Oh trust me,” Mr Tromley smiled, “seeing you put that toe-rag into them was worth it.”

“Yeah, you had some pretty vicious moves for a dame.” Bucky looked at her and she shrugged as Steve frowned.

“Wait, you…” “Don’t look so surprised.” Katie smiled “A girl should always know how to defend herself. But if I’m honest, it’s always nice to have a man do it for you.”

At that she smiled and slapped some money down on the counter, stepping back. “Keep the change in insist.”

Mr Tromley looked at her, then at the note, his mouth falling open a little.

“Thank you again Steve.” She picked up the bouquet. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“I hope so, I mean…yeah…come back soon.”

She smiled and with a final look in his direction she left, the bell ringing as the door opened and shut behind her. There was a pause until Bucky turned to Steve.

“Come back soon?” he looked at him “Really? That’s the best you could do?”

Steve groaned. “Piss off Bucky.” He shot, giving a yelp as Mrs T swatted at his head.

“Language, Steven!” She scalded, as Mr T chuckled and slid the money she’d left to Steve across the counter. Steve blinked and looked at it, before he shook his head. Mr Tromley glared at him.

“You don’t take that you’re fired.”

With a groan Steve folded the $5 note up and slid it into the pocket of his slacks. Mrs Tromley muttered something about going to check on her scones which were in the oven upstairs and Mr Tromley headed into the back, leaving Steve and Bucky alone.

“You know, that dame was practically begging for you to ask her out on a date.” Bucky picked up the paper bag containing the groceries he had come for and Steve looked at him, snorting.

“You’re joking right?” the smaller man shook his head “Dame’s like that don’t want a guy like me.” “Clueless.” Bucky shook his head “Absolutely fucking clueless.” Steve watched him head to the door, before he stopped and turned back. “Oh that reminds me. Ma’s expecting you about 6 for dinner. She’s making meatloaf and told me that if you refuse she’s gonna, and I quote.” Bucky cleared his throat and spoke in a light, airey impression of his Ma, “march round to his house and drag him outta that apartment by his ear.”

Steve rolled his eyes well naturedly. He hadn’t been to the Barnes’ for dinner for a week so he wasn’t surprised Winnie had sent Bucky with an invitation that was more of an instruction than anything. “Okay, thanks Buck.”

Bucky gave him a salute before he headed out of the store, whistling to himself. Steve took a deep breath, shook his head and turned back to his work, pushing all thoughts of the stunning young woman in the red dress out of his mind.

*****

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you?” She taunting voice of his opponent rang in Steve’s ears as he staggered to his feet. This wasn’t how he’d planned his trip to the movie theatre going, not one iota. But when the loudmouthed asshole had done nothing but show total disrespect to those fighting overseas as the infomercial was showing, his temper had gotten the better of him and once more had led to him getting into a fight. As far as Monday’s went, this one was pretty crappy.

Which of course he could never walk away from.

“I can do this all day.” Steve huffed, swinging his fist at the guy again. The jerk easily blocked Steve’s feeble punch with his arm, delivering a huge jab with his left which sent Steve sprawling straight into the side of the trashcan from which he’d picked up the lid before. As Steve lay dazed, he heard a familiar voice breaking through the fog.

“Hey! Pick on someone your own size.” Bucky yanked the guy backwards by his jacket, shoving him a little down the alleyway. The guy swung at Bucky who dodged it almost lazily, before delivering a punch of his own, placing a firm boot up the guys ass as he retreated hurriedly. Watching as he scooted away, Bucky turned to Steve who was stood with his hands on his knees, steadying himself.

“Sometimes, I think you like getting punched.”

“I had him on the ropes.” Steve replied, pressing the heel of his palm to the cut above his eyebrow, wincing a little from the various blows he’d taken.

Bucky said nothing, instead he bent down to pick up the enlistment form that had fallen from Steve’s pocket and with a sigh he glanced at it.

“How many times is this?” His eyes scanned the information and he arched an eyebrow “Oh, you’re from Paramus now? You know it’s illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?”

Steve ignored him, and then for the first time looked up at his friend to see him stood tall in his full army uniform. Which could only mean one thing. “You get your orders?” he frowned a little.

“The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow.”

Steve sighed, great. Just what he needed to hear. “I should be going.” He shook his head dejectedly.

Bucky looked at him sympathetically before he smiled, and looked an arm round his shoulder, pulling him closer in a friendly gesture as they both began to head back down the alley towards the main road.

“Come on, man, it’s my last night! Gotta get you cleaned up.”

“Why? Where are we going?”

“The future.” Bucky handed Steve the newspaper he was holding. Steve opened it to see the ad for the World Exposition Of Tomorrow.

“Buck…” he began to protest but Bucky stopped him.

“Seriously? My last night before I ship off to bust Nazi’s and you’re already tryin’a bail?”

“No, I just…” “Stevie!” Bucky whined. “Since I got my draft last September, I’ve hardly seen you other than when I’ve been home…”

“I know, but…” “No buts, man! I mean who knows when I’m gonna see you again now I’m actually being sent into combat and not just back to Camp McCoy. You know, London is a little further afield than Wisconsin “

“I’m well aware of that.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“So come on! Let’s go, have some fun. Cut loose a little. It’ll do you good.”

Steve looked up to see Bucky’s eyes shining with mischief, his handsome face grinning at him and he rolled his eyes “Fine, but you’re buying the hotdogs.”

“What else is new?” Bucky grinned, grabbing Steve in a headlock and ruffling his hair a little.

“Jerk.” Steve said furiously, pushing him away.

*****

A couple of hours later the two of them entered the Expo, Steve taking in the sights around him. It was crazy busy, a buzz of excitement around the air and it was hardly surprising. Howard Stark, the guy at the centre of it all was somewhat of a celebrity. He’d founded his company some four years ago at the age of twenty-two, and it had grown from strength to strength, with numerous pioneering technological advances to his name. Steve would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little excited to see the latest and no doubt flamboyant invention the guy had come up with, but his mind was still on his failed Army application, the feeling of inadequacy exacerbated even more by the fact Bucky was going to be leaving him behind to serve his country, something that Steve felt he should be doing right along with his best pal.

Sensing his brooding nature, Bucky nudged him and opened his mouth no doubt to make some wise crack, but Steve shook his head.

“Buck, just don’t”

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Bucky shook his head as they wandered down the steps towards the main pavilion area “You’re about to be the last eligible man in New York.” Bucky grinned, and Steve sighed heavily. Yup, there it was. “You know, there’s three and a half million women here.”

“Well, I’d settle for just one.” Steve muttered and Bucky grinned, Steve allowing a little smile to spread across his face at his own joke.

“Good thing I took care of that.” Bucky grinned and waved to two girls, a blonde and a brunette, who stood a few feet away and Steve stopped dead as one of the girls waved back, calling out to Bucky.

Great, here we go again.

“What did you tell her about me?” Steve groaned. “Only the good stuff.” Bucky smirked as they walked towards the girls, Steve brushing his hand through his hair, making sure it was as tidy as he could.

Bucky introduced the girls as Connie and Bonnie. It was obvious from the start that Connie was the one Bucky was trying his luck with, although to be fair Bonnie might as well have been with Bucky too for all the attention she paid to Steve. As they wandered into the Pavilion, Steve stopped to purchase a bag of sweets before he followed on behind the other 3, glancing around at the various exhibits.

“Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the World of Tomorrow.” The expo announcer spoke “A greater world. A better world.”

There was a little bit of murmuring from people in front of them as they stopped, glancing at the large stage in front of them which was currently dark, but then there was movement, music struck up and Connie grabbed Bucky’s arm in excitement.

“Oh, my God! It’s starting!” She squealed and yanked on Bucky’s hand, pulling him closer. As Steve stood behind them he saw the stage light up to reveal a row of women all dressed in black and white striped waistcoats, short jackets and top hats. One of them walked across the front of the stage, smiling as she spoke into a microphone

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!”

Smooth and cool as a cucumber, Howard Stark strode onto the stage, taking off his top hat, whilst he smiled, handing it to the announcer before kissing her as the crowd cheered. Howard smirked a little, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket which he used to dab at his mouth before he addressed his audience.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” at that point Steve held the small paper bag over towards Bonnie who looked at it, then him, almost scathingly as Howard continued his speech. “What if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?”

“You know…” A vaguely familiar voice spoke and Steve looked up from where he had been examining his bag of bonbons, wondering what was wrong with them, to see the woman from the shop a few days ago, Katie stood to the side of Bonnie. She was dressed in a simple grey dress which sported a pencil style skirt, with a light blue cardigan covering her shoulders. “When a gentleman offers you a sweet and you don’t want one, there’s really no need to be such a rude bitch about it.”

Her eyes were narrowed as she gave Bonnie a scathing look. Bonnie floundered a little as Katie reached out, dipping her red nailed, manicured hand into the paper bag and taking a bonbon. In doing so, she jostled Bonnie forward a little with her elbow, and turned to the stage, popping the bonbon in her mouth, giving Steve a little wink. Steve felt his cheeks flush as Bucky turned, his attention drawn to the slight scuffle behind him. He saw Katie stood next to Steve and he grinned.

“Hey Dollface!” Katie turned her head and looked at Bucky as Steve rolled his eyes. However, just like at the shop, she payed Bucky no attention other than a flick of her eyebrow, before her eyes moved back to the stage, Steve doing the same to see that Stark was now stood by some sort of podium.

“With Stark robotic reversion technology, you’ll be able to do just that.” Howard spoke, and with that he turned to fiddle with a few switches on the podium and the car started to hover ever so slightly off the ground. Steve felt his mouth drop open in awe as in front of him Bucky let out an astonished mumble.

“Holy cow!”

But he spoke too soon, as the jets making the car hover suddenly malfunctioned and the car fell back onto the stage with a loud crash, sparks flying out round it.

Bucky turned to look at Steve, smiling as Steve’s eyebrows raised, and besides him, Katie gave a snort.

“I did say a few years, didn’t I?” Howard laughed, leaning on the bonnet of the car.

“Few years my ass.” Katie mumbled and Steve looked at her.

“What?”

“Nothing, doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “Listen, I gotta go-”

“Oh, ok.” Steve tried not to sound disappointed but Katie smiled at him softly, cutting him off.

“Meet me at the Cider cart in an hour.”

“I err…” Steve stuttered, before he frowned. “You sure, you wanna meet me?”

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t have said so.” Katie grinned. “One hour, don’t you dare be late.”

“Yeah, an hour, got it.”

Not quite able to believe his luck, Steve watched her go, smiling to himself before he glanced around and his eyes stopped on the familiar Uncle Sam poster pointing at him, with an arrow directing him to a recruitment centre. What the hell, he had nothing to lose…and an hour was plenty of time. Decision made, he followed the signs and jogged up the steps into the building, pausing to take a look around as people were milling in the carpeted hallway.

“Come on soldier!” a woman giggled at her male company, pulling him away from a mirror making him look like a soldier. Once he was gone Steve stepped in front of the mirror but he was too short to fill out the face. His shoulders slumped and then suddenly, a strong hand gripped his right and Bucky chuckled.

“You’re kind of missing the point of a double date.” He said, shaking his head as Steve stepped away, turning to face him “We’re taking the girls dancing.”

“You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you.” Steve replied, hands dropping into his pockets.

“What, you had a better offer? From Dollface?”

“Her name is Katie.”

“Oh my God I’m right!” Bucky laughed. “Good for you, Punk!”

Steve rolled his eyes and then watched as a man strode past him in an Army Uniform and when Steve looked back at Bucky, his friend’s face now sported an exasperated expression as he’d clearly realised what Steve was planning. “You’re really gonna do this again?”

“Well, it’s a fair. I’m gonna try my luck.” Steve answered with a little shrug.

“As who? Steve from Ohio? They’ll catch you. Or worse, they’ll actually take you.” Bucky’s voice was frustrated and Steve gave a little smile.

“Look, I know you don’t think I can do this, but I’m more-“

“This isn’t a back alley, Steve. It’s war!” Bucky cut him off.

“I know it’s a war. You don’t have to tell me that-“ “Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs.” “What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal-“

“Yes!”

“-in my little red wagon?”

“Why not?”

“I’m not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky.” Steve argued, shaking his head.

“I don’t…” Bucky protested once more and Steve cut him off.

“Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me.”

“Right. Cause you got nothing to prove.” Bucky said gently and Steve took a deep breath. But before Bucky could say anything else Connie called out to him.

“Hey, Sarge! Are we going dancing?”

Bucky turned back to the girls, his arms held out to the side. “Yes, we are.” With that he turned back to Steve, shaking his head a little, his shoulders slumped in resignation. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” He instructed as he started to walk away.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Steve shot back and Bucky shook his head, giving a snort.

“You’re a punk.” He walked back towards Steve and hugged him goodbye.

“Jerk” Steve said gently slapping Bucky’s back. “Be careful.”

With a pang of sadness, Steve watched his best friend walking away, not quite sure when they’d see each other again, if indeed ever. He licked his lips and then called out to Bucky once more. “Don’t win the war till I get there!”

Bucky stopped and saluted him before he strode down the steps, “Come on girls. They’re playing our song.”

With a deep breath, Steve headed into the recruitment centre, past an older gentlemen in a brown suit. He was given the usual forms to fill out, this time going with Ohio as his place of birth-thanks for that one, Buck- and he was shown to the medical examination room. After the short physical was over, he was just fastening the sleeves of his long shirt up again when a nurse walked into the room and whispered something inaudible to the doctor.

“Wait here.” The Doctor turned to him, moving to the curtain.

“Is there a problem?” Steve asked, frowning a little.

“Just wait here.” The doctor repeated his instruction before he walked out.

Steve paused for a second, glancing over his right shoulder at a sign warning against lying on enlistment forms before he glanced at the curtain, cold dread filling him. Shit, Bucky was right, they’d caught up with him. Jumping down off the bed he sat heavily in a chair and began to pull on his shoes when someone entered the cubicle. He glanced up and saw a Military Police officer looking at him and he swallowed a little nervously. But before he could say anything another man entered, the man Steve had walked past about forty minutes or so previously in the foyer, and he was clutching a file in his hands.

“Thank you.” The man spoke to the Police Officer who left, pulling the curtains closed behind him. Steve watched as the man turned to face him, his hands behind his back. “So, you want to go overseas.” The man pulled the file from behind him, opening it “Kill some Nazis.”

“Excuse me?”

“Dr. Abraham Erskine.” The man closed the folder and walked over as Steve stood up, shaking his hand “I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve.”

“Steve Rogers” Steve nodded, noting the man’s accent as he placed the file on the medical bed and started to look through it. “Where are you from?”

“Queens. 73rd Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany.” He adjusted his glasses as he glanced at Steve “This troubles you?”

“No.” Steve replied honestly, shaking his head.

“Where are you from, Mr. Rogers?” Erskine asked, resting both his hands on the bench “Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities.”

“That might not be the right file.” Steve began to try and get out of whatever trouble he was in but Erskine was quick to cut him off.

“No, it’s not the exams I’m interested in. It’s the five tries.” Erskine closed the file, picking it up “But you didn’t answer my question.” He strode over and stopped in front of Steve “Do you want to kill Nazis?”

Steve glanced to the side before he looked at Erskine “Is this a test?”

“Yes.” The man replied bluntly and Steve took a deep breath, before he answered as honestly as he could.

“I don’t wanna kill anyone.” He shook his head, raising his eyes to meet Erskine’s “I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

“Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh?” Erskine smiled before he turned to leave “I can offer you a chance” he said, whipping the curtains open “Only a chance.”

Steve couldn’t believe his ears. Was this Doctor guy actually telling him he’d done it, that he’d finally made it into the army? He had no idea what the Strategic Science Reserve was, or why Erskine had questioned him so, but right now he didn’t care.

“I’ll take it.” He said, hastily grabbing his belongings and following Erskine out.

“Good.” Erskine placed the file down on the desk and picked up a stamp, before replacing it and reaching for another “So where is the little guy from, actually?”

Steve smiled “Brooklyn.”

Erskine smiled back, stamped the form before closing the file and handing it to Steve. “Congratulations, soldier.”

Steve hastily opened it up and did a double take as he saw the stamp was a 1A this time, not 4f. He let out a deep breath and glanced up to thank the man, but he’d already left.

“You’ll be sent your papers and instructions shortly” Another man spoke to him, taking the file off him and handing him back the recruitment slip. Steve nodded. “Be ready, the SSR are on a schedule.”

Steve nodded, before he was shown out of the room. Still in a daze he clutched the piece of paper in his hand and wandered back to the area where he’d left Bucky before. And then he remembered Katie.

Shit.

He hastily made his way outside the building and headed back to the pavilion, weaving his way through the crowds. He found the cider cart and saw her waiting, chatting to the man behind the counter, her brown hair hanging round her shoulders, rouged lips which curled up into a smile as she spotted him approaching.

“You’re late.” Katie looked at him and Steve flushed. “I was beginning to thing you’d stood me up.”

“I wouldn’t do that, my ma taught me better.” He gave her a small smile “I was just...” he waved his enlistment paper at her and she frowned a little

“You enlisted?”

He nodded “Yup.” “Wow.” Katie blinked, “Erm, congratulations, I guess. Is that the right word?”

“It is when you’ve tried and been rejected several times already.” Steve shrugged before he snorted “Story of my life.”

“That girl before was fuckin’ rude.” Katie’s eyes narrowed and Steve blinked at the profanity coming from her mouth before she rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact I swore means I’m gonna go to hell.” She snorted “If it does, then I got that particular ticket a long time ago.”

“Sorry, I was…” he took a deep breath. “For such a pretty woman you certainly…er…”

“Have a filthy mouth?” She asked and Steve snorted, shrugging as he looked away, his lips curling up into a crooked smile as he raised his eyebrows. She leaned closer to him, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered “You have no idea.”

Steve swallowed at the blatant innuendo causing her to laugh at him even more before she nudged him with her elbow “Come on soldier, what do you want to drink?”

Soldier…that was the second time in ten minutes he’d been called that, and Steve liked it much more coming from her. He watched her for a second before he realised he was staring and she jerked her head towards the stall.

“Cat got your tongue, Stevie?” She grinned and he took a deep breath. “What do you want?”

“Erm, an ale…please…hang on.” He began fishing in his pocket but Katie gently wrapped a hand around his wrist.

“No need.” She smiled, as the man behind the counter held out the ale for Steve along with a cup of cider for her. She took it with a thanks and smiled, taking a sip. “Put it on the tab, will you?”

The stall attendant snorted and nodded “Whatever you say, Katie.”

She turned away and started walking slowly over to an exhibit, Steve falling into step besides her.

“How does he know ya?” Steve asked. Katie looked at him as she swallowed a sip of her cider

“Because I work here,well, I do at the moment.” She smiled as Steve looked at her blankly “I helped organise this.” She waved her hand around.

“You work for Howard Stark?”

“In a fashion.” Katie shrugged. “Now come on, I’m not working now and I wanna see how everything looks.”

They walked around the expo grounds, taking in the sights and various attractions. Steve was surprised to find his awkwardness ebbing away with each minute he spent in Katie’s company. She was down to Earth, easy to talk to and made him feel comfortable about himself…although his good spirits might have also been due to the fact he’d finally made it into the army. His meeting with Dr Erskine had baffled him a little, all truth be told, but he’d liked the man. There was something about him that told Steve he could trust him, and Steve was normally a pretty good judge of character.

By the time they’d done pretty much a lap of the main area of the Pavillion, stopping to examine The Synthetic Man in great detail, Steve was surprised to find that he’d spent over an hour with a woman who hadn’t been seeking to lose him at the first opportunity, quite the opposite in fact. On more than one occasion he noticed men looking in her direction, then to his with puzzled expressions on their face, and he had to admit was it the other way round he’d also probably be slightly surprised to see them together. She was a good two inches taller than him, but he was used to that, she was pretty, vivacious…well out of his league all things considered. But she was good company, and he was thoroughly disappointed when they seemed to be heading back towards the place they’d started, signalling their time together was likely coming to an end.

“So, do you need to find Barnes or…” she looked at him and Steve chuckled.

“Er no, no. He’ll be busy.” Steve shrugged

“What, he just ditched you for those girls?” Katie frowned.

“No, not entirely. I ditched him, well, I went to join the army. He doesn’t approve.” Steve finished, explaining slightly.

“Approve of what?”

“Me signin’ up.

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t think I can cope.” Steve shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly a healthy kid so…”

“Well they let you in so you can’t be that bad.”

Steve wrinkled his nose and shook his head slightly. “Some doctor in there offered me a chance, what can I say? Said that there were so many big guys fighting, maybe they needed a little one.”

At that Katie stopped walking and looked at him. “Wait, it was a doctor that accepted you?”

“Yeah,” Steve frowned

“You mean one of the Medical Recruitment Officers?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Steve’s frown deepened “He was with some Scientific Division.” He looked at Katie, who was looking right back at him, her eyes wide “Wait, is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing, just surprised me a little, that’s all.” She looked around, as if she was searching for someone and Steve watched her, a little confused as she chewed her lip with an air of contemplation before she looked back at him, her green eyes locking onto his with a softness in them that made him go weak at the knees, well, weaker than normal. “Thank you for keeping me company tonight Steve, I had fun.”

“Me too.” He said earnestly. “Hey, if you want, I mean only if you want, we could maybe meet up again, you know, before I get my posting?” At that Katie’s face fell and Steve sighed, he’d blown it. She’d only asked him to accompany her round he expo out of politeness, duty even as a thank you for his intervention on the street a few weeks back, and now he’d put her on the spot. “It’s okay.” He started to back track. “I get that you’re probably busy and get asked that all the time…”

“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head “I’d love to go out with you Steve, but I leave town tomorrow. I’m needed back at, well, my other job.”

“Oh, okay.” Steve popped a shoulder up, trying to hide his disappointment. “Well, I err…good luck. With whatever that job is.”

Katie laughed. “It’s me who should be wishing you good luck, trust me.” She cocked her head before she took a deep breath. “Just remember Steve, the world needs men like you, be a shame if we lost you all in the war.”

At her compliment he felt himself once more flush, and the heat in his neck rose even more as she leaned down and pressed her lips softly to his cheek. She pulled back a little, locking her eyes onto his and he swallowed, the lump in his throat now only rivalled by the one he was starting to feel in his slacks. And then, he had no idea how it happened but her lips were suddenly pressed to his. He froze momentarily, but then he went with his instinct and mirrored her movements, his eyes fluttering closed. Her hands gently curled over his shoulder, his automatically falling to her hips, shaking a little against the fabric of her dress as the kiss deepened slightly, the warm edge of her tongue flicking at his lips. He parted his mouth a little, allowing her to curl her tongue against his, a movement that made him shudder and he was beyond disappointed when she pulled away. She smiled against his mouth, her nose bumping his slightly as his cheeks felt hotter than the sun. He knew he was blushing, furiously, having just had his first proper kiss in the middle of a huge exhibition, but Katie seemed completely nonplussed as she smiled at him.

“For luck.” She whispered, stepping back slightly, before she turned and headed away, casting a glance back over her shoulder at him, flashing him another cheeky little wink. “See you around.”

Steve floundered a little, mouth gaping as he watched her disappear into the crowd, and with a final shake of his head and a deep, steadying breath he headed for the exit.

*****

 As it turned out Steve didn’t have long to wait for his posting at all. The following day he received his papers assigning him to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey as part of his recruitment to the SSR’s “Operation Rebirth” programme, whatever that was. He assumed he’d receive more details upon arrival. It wasn’t that which surprised him the most however, it was the date upon which he was ordered to report. Wednesday. As in, tomorrow. Whilst it didn’t give him much time to prepare, it didn’t bother him too much. He had meagre belongings anyways and anything he didn’t want to take with him he packed up into smaller boxes with the help of Bucky’s teenage sister Rebecca, Buck’s dad promising to keep it safe for him until he got back.

Winnie was beside herself when Steve broke the news that he too was enlisting, but she wished him well and made him promise to write. As did the Tromleys, who both took the news even worse than Bucky’s family had. Ada having first burst into tears then hugged him so hard he thought she was going to crush him half to death, whilst Mr Tromley had shook his hand and warned him that if he didn’t come back alive, with all 4 limbs, he’d kill Steve himself.

The morning rolled round ridiculously fast and both the Tromleys and Mr and Mrs Barnes insisted on seeing him off.  Once more Ada and Winnie hugged him tightly before Mr Tromley and Mr Barnes shook his hand, the latter promising Steve he would sort out everything with his landlord, taking the key to his small apartment in the tenement building where Steve had lived in all his life. Steve felt a little pang of emotion at that point, this was the last physical tie he really had to his mother but he took a deep breath letting it go slowly. She’d been dead now for seven years and anything that remained of hers in the building was all safely stored.

No, Steve had absolutely no doubts about what he was doing. This was all he had ever wanted, to follow in his father’s footsteps and so, at six am on the 16th June 1943 Steve Rogers boarded the Army bus that arrived at the bus station to take him and a number of other recruits to New Jersey, leaving the place he’d called home for his entire life behind.

**** Chapter 2

[deewithani]

Raindrops in the Wind - Chapter 2

Chapter Rating: T

Work Rating: Explicit (18+)

Pairing: Jango Fett x F!Reader

Word count: Approx. 2.1k

Warnings: Justice system abuse, light blood and gore, medical procedures performed by someone not medically qualified, discussion of potentially gross food.

A/N: Again, canon gets blown out of the water, borrowing from here and there to weave the narrative. OC's abound. No Jango in this chapter (he'll be back soon, I promise), we're learning about the reader. I know almost nothing about healthcare, so take that as you will and don't do what the reader does. Milvayne and the underworld are canon, but I took some liberties on my descriptions of the underworld (since I know next to nothing about it outside of this article: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Milvayne)

Chapters will list their individual ratings, work is rated Explicit (18+) for eventual explicit content.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Word had spread quickly through the underworld on Milvayne, passing from mouth to filth covered ear, each resident hearing the words a multitude of times: from the mouths of bandits, scavengers, old men dying in the gutter, children picking the pockets of newcomers who hadn't yet discovered they came to a foul place even the light of the maker refused to touch.

“Aleda Vole has work.”

The nature of that work was never spoken aloud, and endless throngs of people came and went from Vole's pawn shop, with no end in sight. To you it looked like Aleda was working night and day, the colorful 'Open' sign lit up no matter the time you passed by on your way to another house call.

You had been sentenced to exile here barely a year prior, punishment for your part in a bacta heist that went wrong. It had became increasingly difficult for the clinic you worked for to obtain basic medical supplies, so you and several of your coworkers took it upon yourselves to steal the supplies from a medical supply transport that was scheduled to arrive in Milvayne City. The heist should have went off without a hitch. The proper palms were greased, heads were turned the other way, but if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

The theft itself was easy. You and your teammates were able to load up everything you needed and leave the dock without a single pursuer following in your footsteps. A not insignificant amount of credits had successfully bought an easy getaway.

What it failed to buy was silence. Someone was a rat.

Several weeks went by, enough that you felt you had been in the clear, when Milvayne Authority officers kicked down the front door of the clinic, arresting anyone unlucky enough to be in the building. A slew of trials commenced the same day and people were found guilty en masse. Every man, woman, and child that faced trial that day was convicted without so much as a second thought, and people were forced over the ledge into the underworld by the hundreds that day.

Since then, you had used your meager medical skills to barter for food, shelter, and literally anything else that was offered to you. It didn't matter if you were paid in half a yard of soiled fabric, it could be turned into something you could use, it could be traded for something else that you may need, or the new item you traded it for could be bartered yet again. It was a shame you had no real medical experience, though. Being able to heal was worth it's weight in gold, but you had been educated in the upkeep and maintenance of technical systems. Unfortunately there wasn't much need in someone repairing holoprojectors or hover-stretchers here. Those things rarely ever came over the ledge, and when they did they were grabbed up by people with a lot more power than yourself.

What enabled your survival is the fact that your job in the clinic had a lot of down time. If it wasn't time for the scheduled maintenance of the equipment, or something wasn't broke, you made yourself busy straightening up exam rooms, stocking, and chatting with the nurses and doctors at the clinic. You watched them perform basic medical procedures and listened in when they explained to their patients the various illnesses and injuries they were experiencing. Because of the continual lack of supplies you saw cuts being stitched by hand, home-made poultices being applied, and injuries being cleaned and dressed. You were even asked to stand in and assist a handful of times, whenever the need of the patients outpaced the staff that was available.

But now here you were, trudging along a muddy path, checking on your next “patient”, an old woman who cut her hand on some scrap metal she had been trying to pull from a pile near her shack. A friend of hers had found you and asked that you hurry to help, as she was bleeding heavily and she heard that you had some antibiotics. It was true, but the vial had been hard to come by, and you hoped that it would be a secret until you absolutely had to use them.

But this is the underworld of Milvayne. The only time secrets are held is when it is beneficial to hold them, and that is a rarity.

The path kept winding, twists and turns bracketed by piles of junk that looked as if they would fall over with a gust of wind, if such a pleasant thing as wind blew down here. The air was stale and all things smelled of rot, as if the odor had wormed its way into the being of every creature that made this place its home. You got used to it, after a time, but occasionally you would be woken from a pleasant dream as a whiff of death passed by your nose.

You finally made it to the door of your “patient”, a shack that was little more than a lean to with a front wall and overhang. Makeshift metal chimes hung from eaves, but unless they were moved by the hand of a passerby they would play no song without the wind to blow through them. They were an odd thing to see here as well. It wasn't safe to leave anything of value outside your dwelling. The common rule was that if it was outside, it was scrap, and anyone could take scrap. Crudely made and as useless as they were, they had value as trinkets. There was little good and enjoyable here, but people loved things they could play, at least as tools to take their minds off the reality of their circumstances.

This peculiar shack stood alone among the debris, short and squat, but solid, it's back crammed against another tall pile of scrap. You raised your fist to knock on the door, but it opened swiftly before your knuckles reached the wood. Before you stood an old woman, petite, back bowed and leaning on a makeshift cane. You stared for a moment, she had a rough, worn face creased by the passage of time, and a strong nose that looked too long for her thin face. Her hair was pure white, and was pulled back in a tight pony tail. You tried to see her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy and swollen. She looked as if she may have been retaining fluids.

The woman before you lifted her cane and let the end drop to the floor, letting out a bang that pulled you back to the present. “Well, honey. You the healer? Don't just stand there”, she said, before turning and moving back in the shack. You followed behind quietly, entering her darkened home. Inside was much more inviting than out. It was only one room, and there were a few piles of scrap in the small space, but the rest was cozy. A small cot was placed against the back wall, covered with a clean blanket and a fluffy pillow, and on the front wall was a stove, cooking what smelled like a very delicious stew you had been served before by other residents of the underworld. Two chairs and a small table sat in the middle of the room, finishing out the rest of the space.

“Your friend said you cut your hand on some scrap, ma'am.” you told her. “I ain't no ma'am, honey, call me Zola”, the old woman replied as she gestured for you to take a seat. You sat down and took her hand, noticing the small bit of cloth she had wrapped around it. It was stained red with blood at the palm, but unusually clean around the top. Her hands were suspiciously clean as well, considering she was digging for scrap in one of the dirtiest places in the galaxy.

You opened your makeshift medical bag and found your small pack of needles and the thread you had made from the remnants of an old blanket you had found peaking out of the mud the first day you had arrived. It was filthy and too small to be usable as much more than a cleaning cloth, but you had painstakingly washed and scrubbed the fibers until they were clean and you could separate them one by one. It had taken you the better part of the week to get enough usable thread, but it had been worth it in the end. Another medic traded you a couple of bent needles for a handful of your thread, and you were able to start the business of survival.

You carefully removed the bandage from her hand, taking care not to pull where it had began to stick to the blood. “This is a deep cut, Zola. I'll have to sew it up. You'll need some antibiotics too, and I've only got a little bit.” The cut wasn't very dirty, but there was very little fresh water to be had here, and you had none on you. You were going to have to sew her palm up as is, and you hoped a shot of antibiotics would keep her from getting an infection.

Carefully you threaded one of your needles and went to work. Zola was quiet while you worked, but you could see her scrunch her face and hold her breath whenever you would push the needle through her skin. The wound continued bleeding as you worked, so you used the wrapping she had bandaged herself with to clean up as you went along. By the time you were through you had placed 7 stitches in the palm of the old woman's hand, and the bleeding had finally stopped.

“There, good as new Zola. I need you to stand up and pull down the top of your pants for me so I can give you the antibiotics.” You filled your needle with the antibiotics and injected them into the top of her buttocks, a place that was least likely to cause her too much pain.

You were worried about the old woman, here alone at the end of the winding path. Afraid that she would meet her end here from whatever was causing the excess fluid. “Zola, you need to see a real doctor about the fluid you're holding. I'm worried that you've got a bigger problem than a cut on your hand. I'll ask around to see if there is someone who can help, but I don't know if I can find anyone. Have your friend ask around. Please.”

“Don't worry honey. I will. I'll be alright until I can find someone. Don't worry about me.”

“Alright, now that I'm finished, what are you going to pay with?” Zola looked up at you and cocked her head to the side. “Well, honey, I don't know what you charge. I don't have any money, and I don't have anything of value I can give you.” You thought for a moment. You hadn't survived here for a year without being flexible with how your clients paid you. Your kind heart wouldn't allow you to not help someone, even if they didn't have any way to settle up with you. You had been left in dire straits from time to time by your personal policy, but your kindness had also won you friends who looked out for you as well.

“I don't do credit, but if you give me a bowl of that stew I'll consider you paid in full. Does it have any meat?”

If the stew did have meat, it was best not to ask what kind. There were very few animals down here, anything not sentient was quickly grabbed and put into the closest stew pot for dinner. The meat in this pot could be anything from a scrap rat to grubs and worms. It didn't matter, though. That bowl was a matter of survival. Jabba the Hutt could be cooking in that pot and it wouldn't make any difference.

“Honey, you may have saved my life today. The least I can do is have you here for supper. Sit down for a while and let's talk. I think I have some information you can use.”

You sat in silence and ate your stew as Zola spoke of her years in the underworld. How she came to find herself in this place. How she found love. How she raised a fine, strong daughter. How they survived. The stew was delicious, and it was a rare treat to hear stories that held more than pain and sorrow.

As you finished your meal Zola rose and walked over to you. She placed her hand on your shoulder and leaned over to whisper in your ear.

“Aleda Vole has work. You should go see her.”

__________

Taglist: @latenightsthoughtsnstuff @gummywurme @bobabitch88 @the-empress-strikes-back @tacticalsparkles @rebelpitstop

If anyone wants added to my taglist, let me know ☺️

[a-detraque-barista]

Unfixable

Cat Izuku x Reader

Genre: fluff and angst, gender neutral reader

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: Hello honey buns! Here is Cat Izuku for the fourth day of Izumonth. Announcement post here. @birds-have-teeth​

“Y/n please...I’m sorry!” tears poured out of his eyes like waterfalls. “I’m sorry okay?! I shouldn’t have left you! Just let me explain ple-”

You kept looking forward trying to ignore his apologizes but a few tears still escaped. Traitorous bastards. This was the last thing you wanted to do right now. You’ve been trying to move on from him for months after he left you for Ochako. 

“Look! It’s just like you said! You left me! You can’t fix this Midoriya,” you stopped speed walking to turn to him. You have never called him by his surname since the two of you first met and you knew how much it hurt him to hear you say it.

Knowing exactly what happened will help to understand the situation.

⇉      ⇉      ⇉

You were standing outside of the only hybrid adoption center in your area. You’ve been wanting to adopt a hybrid for years now. You wanted to give them a good home and all the things they could ever ask for. You’ve heard how they’ve been mistreated and it makes you sick to your stomach. How can anyone be so cruel to hybrids? They’re people too, not only pets for humans to use to fill the hole in their hearts.

Reassuring yourself, you walked into the clean and refurbished shelter to be greeted by the smiling lady at the front desk. 

“Hello, how can I help you today?”

“Hi, I’m looking to adopt a hybrid today,” you shyly came closer to the counter and quietly explained your purpose here.

“Oh! Well, I’ll call someone down to walk you through.”

You thanked her and waited for one of the staff members to walk you through the shelter. You’re pretty sure he said his name was Todoroki. It seemed he was a hybrid himself. Maybe he was a calico? Either way, it must mean he was over 18 years old because hybrids can only get jobs and live by themselves after their eighteenth birthday. 

Once he noticed you leaving glances at some of the hybrids in particular he would tell you their names and their backstories of how they ended up at the center.  

They all seemed sad but none of them stood out. Until you passed a mop of green hair sitting in the corner. You stopped. His one wall was covered in posters and photos of someone you didn’t recognize. His blonde bangs were sticking almost straight up but his eyes were like caves. The man’s arms were concerningly muscular and he was wearing a blue, red, yellow, and white costume. On some of the posters, it read in big yellow letters All Might. It must be from a show, you thought.

Todoroki had finally noticed that you were no longer following him so he turned around to see who you were staring at. He got nervous as to why you were staring at him. The particular hybrid had an unfair and tragic past, he knew the criticizing looks and glances the hybrid has received. 

“His tail was taken off by his previous owner,” Todoroki said solemnly.

What?

You hadn’t even noticed until he said something. Poor thing. Why would someone do that to him?

“What’s his name?” your question caught Todoroki off guard. You must’ve been the first person to ever ask his name after knowing about his tail.

“Izuku Midoriya. Cat type is a tabby, he’s going to turn 18 in a few months,” Todoroki seemed excited to tell you the details about the cute cat hybrid. You couldn’t tell if it was because Todoroki himself was a cat hybrid or if he cared for the one behind the glass. 

“Izuku, huh.” you smiled a bit, now knowing which hybrid you were going to take home. “I know who I’m want to take home.”

The half red half white-haired cat smiled and led you back to the front counter to have you start signing paperwork. While you were filling out the documents he went back to let Izuku know that he was being adopted and to pack his things. 

It warmed your heart to see the smile on his face when he came from around the corner. Todoroki helped you put his bags in the trunk of your car before waving you and Izuku off.

Your new cat companion was very shy and quiet at first, you almost thought his face was naturally flushed until he fell asleep on your lap one day. His freckles were no longer masked by the dark red hue that normally covered his cheeks. He snored softly, tired from binge-watching your guys’ new favorite anime. His head ended up in your lap because he began to doze off and you offered the space of your thighs as a pillow.

Now it’s been three months and you’re planning for Izuku’s birthday next week. The poor baby never had a celebration for his birthday before. So you wanted to do the best you could for him.

You even had plans to meet with Todoroki to ask if he knew what Izuku liked and if he would like to come as well. Knowing Todoroki had been talking to Izuku ever since you bought your green-haired friend a phone, had you thinking maybe he could help with the party plans.

Izuku had just woken up while you were getting ready to leave, "Y/n-san, where are you going?" His voice was rough and thick with sleep as he poked his head up from under the covers.

"Just going to talk to Todoroki about something. Need anything while I'm out?" you were halfway out of the bedroom door when you turned around to face him.

He was silent for a few long seconds before replying, "No." And quickly ducking his messy head of hair back underneath the blankets.

You were slightly worried as to why he was acting strangely. Maybe he was still out of it since he just woke up. So you brushed it off and headed out to talk to your other feline friend.

“He could be jealous,” Todoroki explained as he took a bite of his ice cream.

“Jealous? What for?”

“Midoriya might not like the idea of his favorite person in the world going out with another hybrid, and a cat one at that. Which must mean that he’s already pretty attached to you even only after a few months.”

You never thought of it that way. You still weren’t completely aware of some of the attributes that hybrids had. You supposed it did make sense how Izuku could get jealous. But you wanted him to tell you when he was upset and not just pretend like he wasn’t. Your eyes were downcasted onto your hands that were wrapped around the beverage you decided to get from the cafe’s menu.

“So you wanted to talk about Midoriya’s party right?” Todoroki could feel your mood so he decided to change the subject.

"Oh yeah. Is there anything you can remember that Izuku specifically likes that I can include in the party?"

"Hm," he took a second to think of what the tabby could want at his party. "Definitely something that has to do with All Might. It's his favorite hero from an anime he loves to watch. I can never remember the name of it, however. So most likely anything that has to do with heroes will suffice."

Typing all of this into the notes on your phone, you smile. Thank god you had Todoroki to help you with this because you were at a total loss. You knew Izuku loved All Might but you weren't sure if you should've headed in that direction. You set your phone down to smile at him before taking a sip of your drink.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Also, I wanted to mention that an acquaintance of Midoriya’s would like to know if she can come to the party. She's been coming to the shelter non-stop after she heard Midoriya got adopted. She would come by about once every couple of months to see Midoriya so she wouldn't be so lonely. Though, she never thought of adopting him," Todoroki had just finished his ice cream while he explained who wanted to come to the party.

It almost felt like he was warning you, or at least hinting at something. If she visited him so rarely then why does she suddenly want to be involved with him? Todoroki was trying to study your emotions but you weren’t really showing much.

“If Izuku wants her to come then I’ll invite her,” you sighed. You didn’t like the thought of someone like that around Izuku but it wasn’t your place to say who he can and can’t be friends with.

Todoroki stayed silent as he respected your decision.

⇉      ⇉      ⇉

Today was Izuku’s birthday. He was finally turning 18 which meant he could get a job and help pay for things like groceries and such so you wouldn’t have to spend so much money. He felt happy knowing that his first birthday in his new home was going to be with you. You made him so filled with he felt like his heart melts whenever you’re near. 

The only thing he wasn’t looking forward to was the fact that Ochako was now coming to his party. Yes, he said he wanted her to be there but he was still jealous and upset when you had asked him. So thinking it would make you jealous he lied and said he would love for her to come. 

But that wasn’t going to stop him from having fun with you, Todoroki, and his new friend, Iida. He met him through you because Iida was the hybrid of your best friend’s. Iida was a bird hybrid, though, he couldn’t remember what kind. 

You had woken Izuku up with breakfast in bed and smothering his face in kisses. Before the party, he opened up his present from you to see you had gotten him a bed set, pajamas, and posters, all with the theme of All Might. You also got him the whole anime on DVD so he could watch it anytime.

Izuku had even begun to cry when he was finished with unwrapping them all. This led him to tackle you into a hug and look up at you with tears in his eyes. He must’ve thanked you a thousand times before letting go and putting on his new pajamas. 

The party was going smoothly. Games were played, both party and video versions. Snacks were displayed on the kitchen tables, the All Might cake turned out wonderfully, and everyone was having fun.

Until Ochako decided to have a moment alone with Izuku while everyone was leaving and you were cleaning up. 

"Are you happy here, Midoriya-chan?" Ochako looked him directly in the eyes and asked.

"W-well yeah," his voice shook but that was caused by the fact that this was the first conversation he's ever had with a girl besides you.

"Hm," she hummed as she raised a brow. "Come live with me."

"Wha-What?!"

"Live with me. You're 18 now and neither of you are happy living together. So it would only make sense."

"What do you mean neither?" his voice was no longer shaking but it dropped two octaves.

"Well, you're not happy cause she doesn't give you everything you could ever want. I mean look at this house. It is so below your requirements." She took his hands and held them. "And she's not happy because you're deformed."

Deformed. The word left a bad taste in Izuku’s mouth as he's been called that countless times. Did you really think he was deformed? 

"But...but Y/n-san never brought my tail before…" tears flooded his vision as he stared intensely at the ground.

"Just because someone doesn't say it, doesn't mean they're not thinking it." Ochako sighed. "Haven't you seen how much she hangs around Todoroki? It's quite obvious who they like more," this cause Izuku to become both enraged and heartbroken.

How could he be so blind?

"So...what do you say?"

⇉      ⇉      ⇉

Izuku was quiet for the rest of the night. He didn't even say good night and he went to sleep in the guest bedroom. You wondered if it had to do with when he spoke to Ochako. But Izuku wouldn't give you the chance to ask because once you entered the same room he was in, he left immediately. He stopped replying to the texts you sent to check up on him. Hopefully, he would open up to you soon

"Maybe I should go live with Ochako-san," this came out of the blue as you had just gotten home from work to see him by the door with a bag by his side

"Is that what you want?"

There was a pause before he slowly nodded. Your eyes began to burn with tears while you looked to the ceiling to stop them from falling.

"I," you sniffed before reluctantly focusing your sight on your beloved Izuku. "I understand."

With that, he was up and out of your life. He blocked you on his phone and so did Ochako. Izuku would only briefly speak with Todoroki if at all. 

So why he was here now asking for forgiveness was beyond you.

"I think you should run back to Ochako. She might need you."

[bitterlikesweets]

Love Bites Ch 20

This is the twentieth chapter of a modern/vampire AU ereri fanfic. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Next

A crack rings out in Levi’s living room, and Eren grits his teeth, his hand stinging but otherwise alright. The wooden knife is still firmly grasped in his hand, despite the firm impact from Levi’s own blade. Levi is fast, but Eren can see his arms clearly shifting, trying to stab at Eren’s exposed side before he can get his arm ready to block in time. Eren slides his right foot backward, turning his entire body sideways so that Levi’s blade will meet empty air instead of Eren’s stomach—

And a shin slams against the center of his back, knocking Eren onto his hands and knees on the ground.

“Fuck!” Eren snaps, slamming his fist on the ground.

“Out?” Levi asks.

“No!”

Eren rolls out of the way of the foot he knows is coming to slam down on his back and scrambles to his feet, his eyes darting across Levi’s form for some kind of opening, any opening—

Levi’s rushing at him. If he can sidestep, get behind him—maybe an elbow against his back, anything to get this slippery asshole down. Then, a slash at his sides—no, his neck—fuck it, Eren can just stab him straight through to the heart from behind. If he can just do that, Eren will finally win for once.

Except when Eren tries to activate that sidestep, he feels the way he lurches, the way all his muscles buzz and the world temporarily blurs—he’s using his powers.

Eren trips over his own limbs as he attempts to slow himself down, and all Levi has to do is follow him down, pressing a knee against Eren’s sternum, the wooden knife aimed at his chest.

Levi raises an eyebrow. Eren sighs, dropping his own knife on the ground and raising his hands near his head, palms out in surrender.

“Out,” Eren says, and Levi slides off of Eren to give the vampire a chance to sit up.

“You’re getting better,” Levi says.

“What, because it takes me five minutes to get taken down instead of one?”

It’s been a month since the day Eren discovered the Feral King was his older brother, and he and Levi have been in full training mode since then. They meet every other day, for the most part, in order to give Eren more time to practice. (There are exceptions. Sometimes the restaurant gets busy or Eren’s school and work pick up a bit. Plus, he’s still incredibly drunk and incoherent the one day a week Levi gives him blood.)

Eren’s been in a rush ever since he found out that incidents like what happened to his mother and himself aren’t rare accidents. The idea of some feral cult just lurking out there somewhere, waiting to create more victims, to kill more people, get more people addicted, and start the cycle all over again—

It drives Eren crazy. He wants to do something about it as soon as possible. But he can’t do anything until he can fight without being a burden to Levi. The last thing he wants is to fuck up in the middle of a fight and get both of them killed.

“You’re more capable than you think you are,” Levi says. “It just doesn’t feel that way because you’re fighting against me.”

Eren glowers at him, and Levi rolls his eyes, reaching out to ruffle Eren’s hair.

“It wasn’t a brag, and you know that,” Levi says. “I’ve been killing vampires since I was twelve. You haven’t.”

Eren sighs again, rubbing his face with his hands.

“I know, I just—” Eren shakes his head. “It’s frustrating. How am I ever going to catch up? There’s too big of an experience gap.”

“You don’t need to catch up with me,” Levi says. “The King’s vampires don’t have so many victims because they’re great fighters—even if they were, it wouldn’t matter while they’re feral, since their minds are too far gone for that kind of focus. They kill so many people because they go for the weak. People who have never fought a day in their life.”

Eren’s expression goes dark, his hands clenching into fists.

“Like suburban moms who’ve never done a fucking thing wrong,” Eren snaps. “Those fucking scumbags.”

Levi just layers his hand over Eren’s and Eren takes a deep breath, trying to cool down. But he just sees red eyes behind his closed eyelids, and his chest burns—

“Levi,” Eren says, “I need—”

Levi’s hand immediately moves away from Eren’s hand to his head, tugging him down until Eren’s face is pressed into the crook of Levi’s neck. An aching pressure eases in Eren’s forehead—he must have been furrowing his eyebrows into a deep glare—and the fire in his chest settles. Eren takes a deep breath, his nose brushing against the spot of skin where he can feel Levi’s pulse as he curls his fingers into Levi’s shirt.

“Better?” Levi asks, running his fingers through Eren’s hair.

“Yeah,” Eren mumbles, rubbing his cheek against Levi’s shoulder, “sorry.”

“No need for that.”

“Mm.” Eren huddles himself a little closer to Levi. “Thanks, then.”

Eren confided in Levi about the weird phenomenon that happens when his face is near Levi’s neck. He couldn’t avoid talking about it. Eren was always dropping his head there any time he got stressed or annoyed. It was far too obvious for Levi to not catch on. Now it’s become a habit for them to use that to calm Eren down. Luckily, Levi never seems to mind.

Eren asked Levi what he thought it all meant—especially the confusing itchiness that always seemed to kick in too—but Levi just said that he’d explain it later.

It’s been a while since Eren asked, but he trusts Levi enough to keep believing that “later” will eventually come.

“Why don’t we try out a different sparring partner for you?” Levi asks, his fingers still combing through Eren’s hair. “I could ask Furlan.”

Eren frowns. Furlan has been helping Levi out since they were fourteen. Eren really can’t imagine how he’d do much better against Furlan.

“Is he as good as you?” Eren asks.

“Not with knives and stakes,” Levi replies. “He was my backup; I always had him use the crossbow and stay out of any close combat fights. Besides, he should be rusty.”

When Eren’s frown doesn’t fade, Levi chuckles at him, moving to brush a kiss against Eren’s temple.

“Trust me,” Levi says. “You’ll be fine.”

~ ~ ~

“Why is your entire fucking staff here?” Eren asks, dropping his backpack onto the floor beside the front door.

“Not just the staff,” Hanji says, waving their hand. “Hello, Eren! Long time no see.”

Eren turns his tired gaze on Levi, who just sighs and shakes his head.

Everyone who works at Kuchel’s Kitchen is gathered on the limited seating in Levi’s living room, including people Eren has only heard about but never met, like Gunther, Eld, and Oluo—Levi’s daytime employees (Eren only recognizes them because Petra pointed out their faces on the pictures hanging in the restaurant). With the addition of Hanji and Erwin, the house feels incredibly crowded, especially because Eren is used to it being just the two of them.

“They’re literal children,” Levi says. “Threw a fucking tantrum because I only invited Furlan.”

“I wouldn’t call it a tantrum,” Petra says.

“Oh really?” Levi asks. “Then, what do you call all of you collectively threatening to quit if I didn’t let you come?”

“We had to be a united front!” Isabel exclaims.

“Well, it was pretty childish,” Oluo says.

“Says the guy who threatened to quit with the rest of us,” Gunther says with a laugh, smacking his hand against Oluo’s back.

“I’m here because I heard about all the fun from Petra,” Hanji says, “and I decided to bring Erwin along too.”

Eren notices the way Petra’s expression darkens at just the sound of Erwin’s name. Actually, she’s seated on the couch as far away from Erwin’s standing position in the corner of the room as possible.

...Strange.

Eren clears his throat.

“So… Are all of you guys going to beat me up, or…?”

“All of us except Hanji and Petra,” Furlan says with a grin. “They’re going to make sure you don’t die if we’re a little too rough with you.”

Eren’s eyes widen, and he whips his head to look at Levi, but Levi looks completely unbothered. In fact, he even looks a little smug, his chest puffed up slightly. He even meets Eren’s gaze and smiles briefly.

Okay… so his boyfriend is happy to see him get beat up. Great.

Eren sighs and pulls a hair tie off of his wrist to put his hair up in a bun.

“Who’s first?” Eren asks.

“I’ll go,” Oluo says, standing up and dusting off his pants. “I want to see what all the fuss over this little vampire is really about.”

Eren’s eyebrow twitches. Little? They’re nearly the same height. In fact, as Oluo gets closer, Eren can see that the brown-haired man is actually shorter than he is.

Levi’s smug smile is a little more obvious as he hands out the two wooden knives. Asshole.

“Any rules?” Oluo asks.

“Eren can’t use any vampire abilities,” Levi says. “Say ‘out’ when you accept defeat.”

“That’s it?” Oluo asks.

Levi steps out of the way as Eren’s grip on his knife grows tight.

“That’s it.”

Oluo stretches his arms out in front of himself, smirking.

“Alright, kiddo, why don’t I let you get a headstart? Go whenever you’d like—”

Eren rushes forward and swings his knife into Oluo’s as hard as he can from the side, sending the wooden weapon across the room—thankfully in the opposite direction of where everyone is sitting. Oluo’s expression hardens, and he raises his hands to protect his chest and face. A moment later and he’s reaching for Eren’s arms, probably trying to take away Eren’s knife and use it against him. Eren’s knife arm lowers, trying to get the other man in the gut where he’s not blocking—

“Ha!” Oluo says, swinging his body sideways and out of the way as Eren stabs forward, very similarly to how Eren did earlier that week. “Too predictable—”

Eren swings his leg up and around, slamming his shin into the center of Oluo’s back and sending him falling onto the floor. Once he's down, Eren brings his foot down on Oluo’s back just a little harder than necessary, and Oluo lets out a choked sound, collapsing flat on the ground, unable to get up.

“Ah!” Oluo exclaims, his voice a little garbled.

Eren keeps one foot firmly on Oluo’s back as he kneels down on the floor beside him. He presses his wooden knife against Oluo’s throat, though he startles a bit when the man turns his head and reveals blood in his mouth.

“Ah! Ah!” Oluo says. “I bi’ ma’ ton.’”

Eren frowns.

“You bit your tongue?”

Oluo nods, and Eren pulls his foot and knife away.

“Were you trying to say ‘out?’”

Oluo nods again.

“Sorry,” Eren says, annoyance quickly cooling. “I didn’t mean to make you bleed. I guess I… didn’t know my own strength.”

Did he use any vampire abilities? Eren doesn't think so. He can normally feel when those kick in…

The room is painfully silent as Oluo gradually pushes himself to a sitting position, his injured tongue lolling awkwardly out of his mouth. For a moment, they’re just sitting there on the floor, with their spectators watching them in silence. But soon a voice cuts through the silence, sounding mildly amused.

“Well, well,” Erwin says. “This will be interesting.”

And soon the whole room erupts into noise.

“Holy fuck—” “Shit, I’m going to get my ass beat!” “Oh my God—”

Eren turns to look at Levi across the room as Petra hurries to help with Oluo’s bleeding tongue. The man’s smile is no longer quite as obvious, but he’s looking over at Eren with his eyes positively gleaming, his chest and chin still raised slightly.

And Eren realizes that those little smiles and smug looks Levi sent his way weren’t at Eren’s expense. No, it was just the beginnings of the expression that’s shining on Levi’s face right now: pride.

The knowledge makes Eren’s own chest fill with light-hearted, giddy joy, like he’s a balloon being poured full of helium. He grins widely at Levi, and Levi nods at Eren before moving to pick up the other knife that had flown across the room.

“Who’s next?” Levi asks, holding the wooden blade out towards the noisy crowd by the couch.

They immediately fall silent, at least a dozen pairs of eyes focused on the weapon. Nobody seems to want to volunteer.

This is going to be fun.

~ ~ ~

No one else goes down quite as fast as Oluo does, but that’s because no one else is generous enough to try and give Eren a head start. They make Levi count down from ten, and with the people on the couch shouting cheers and playful insults, the whole thing starts to feel more like a game to Eren than a serious sparring match. Isabel spends half her turn darting around Eren’s arms and trying to kick him in the back—“Levi used to do that all the time! I wanna try!”—and Furlan shouts “Out!” in panic when he sees Eren aiming the knife directly at his throat. Eld and Gunther are a bit more serious about it, but Eren scrapes by with wins by tiring them out and surprising them with a few other moves that he’s copied from Levi over the past couple of weeks.

“So,” Erwin says, getting to his feet. “Is it just Eren who must fight without special abilities, or is that a rule for all vampires?”

Levi shakes his head.

“Just Eren.”

Erwin nods, coming to stand in front of Eren, though he frowns slightly and turns to look at Levi again.

“You may want to call ‘out’ for him, Levi.”

Eren frowns, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t mean to offend,” Erwin says, raising a placating hand. “You’re clearly capable. It’s just that I recalled when we first met you. I thought it might be… jarring to face a vampire in a fight again.”

Eren’s stomach drops, his grip on his knife getting tight. That’s right… When he first met Erwin and Hanji, just the sight of their fangs made him uneasy. He was hesitant to be touched by Hanji, even when they were just trying to help him. Having a vampire rushing at him, trying to fight him, just like that day—That might—

That might send Eren spiraling again.

“I…” Eren swallows down the lump quickly forming in his throat. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Why would you bring that up?” Petra snaps, her amber eyes narrowed into a glare as she looks up at Erwin from her spot on the couch.

“I simply thought it would be better to prepare ahead of time. We don’t have to do this—”

“I’ll be fine,” Eren says. “Let’s do it.”

He needs to. If he can't even handle practice right now, he's just going to get himself killed during the real thing. It's better to start here, in a controlled environment, with a vampire who already knows that he might fall apart.

Eren looks at Levi, who meets his gaze for a long moment. When Eren nods at him, Levi takes a deep breath and starts counting down.

“Ten.”

Eren has to remember that Erwin’s a vampire. He’s going to be faster, stronger, more alert.

“Nine.”

Anticipate. That’s what Levi always tells him. If the enemy is faster than him, Eren needs to anticipate what they’re going to do before they do it.

“Eight.”

Erwin’s going to be much faster than him. But he also already feels bad for Eren. He’s already worrying about Eren’s mindset.

“Seven.”

He’ll probably try to make this quick.

“Six.”

What would be the fastest?

“Five.”

Erwin has a tight grip on the knife. He’s going to use it instead of his fangs. Probably because he doesn’t want to scare Eren more than he already thinks he will.

“Four.”

Erwin will probably charge forward, right at him, using the knife for a straight shot at Eren’s chest.

“Three.”

All Eren has to do is dodge to either side the second Levi stops counting.

“Two.”

Fuck. In a real fight, Eren’s going to have to figure all this out in a split second, won’t he?

“One.”

Eren steps to the side, but when he sees Erwin lunging at him, the world flashes in front of Eren’s eyes. Blue eyes look like vivid, bloody red. The room is so dark. It’s empty. It’s just Eren, alone, with the monster charging at him. His mom—where’s his mom? He can hear her screaming, echoing over and over again in his ears. It’s like fucking tinnitus but it’s her voice, her shout of pain—

“Eren.”

It’s a voice, low and soft in his ear. Eren feels cool skin against his cheek, strong arms around him, and long fingers in his hair. It’s still so dark—no, his eyes are closed.

“Eren.”

It’s Levi.

Eren opens his eyes again, sucking a breath into his trembling lungs. He gets an eyeful of pale skin and pulls away slightly, his hands gripping Levi’s biceps as he tries to regain his bearings.

“S-sorry,” Eren says.

“None of that,” Levi says, his voice still quiet but a little firmer now. “It’s okay.”

Eren raises his head a little more, looking around. The staff of Kuchel’s Kitchen is gathered around the two of them, though Hanji is stopping them from coming too close. The heat of shame burns at Eren’s cheeks knowing they all saw him fall apart, even if it was only for a moment. He tries to duck his head against Levi’s shoulder, wanting to hide away from all the concerned stares—

“You asshole.”

Eren raises his head again, surprised to hear Petra’s normally cheerful, sweet voice raised in anger. He finds her with her fist pressed against Erwin’s chest, a fierce glare aimed up at the big blond vampire with his back against the wall.

To Eren’s surprise, he hears Levi sigh. Like this is something he’s used to, something he’s tired of witnessing.

“I warned him ahead of time—” Erwin starts.

“You made him think about it!” Petra exclaims. “We all saw it! He was fine! You reminded him. You put his head there. You started it. You always—You always start everything!”

Blue eyes narrow slightly, and Erwin tilts his head at her.

“This isn’t about Eren,” he says.

“What are you talking about?”

“Petra,” Erwin says slowly, “I understand that you’re unhappy with me about other things. But some things must be done.”

“No!” Petra snaps, her expression warping even more. “No, no. Things happen because you want them to happen—because you’re a sadistic asshole who can’t just let people live in peace!”

“Petra—”

“No.” Petra pulls back her fist like she’s going to hit Erwin, but it only takes a second for her hand to fall to her side, for her voice to falter. “No…”

Eren looks around the room, thinking that one of these people is going to comfort her, going to help calm her down. But these people who Eren has otherwise seen as one big family are averting their gazes, biting back frowns.

Why?

Eren looks at Levi, but Levi just lets out another sigh and shakes his head.

Why?

If no one else is going to help her, Eren will.

Eren pulls himself out of Levi’s arms. Levi doesn’t stop him, and Eren rushes to Petra, grabbing hold of her arm. Petra flinches and hangs her head.

“I’m sorry—” she starts, but Eren just tugs on her arm, trying to lead her towards the front door.

“Let’s go,” he says.

They step outside without another word. Eren closes the door quietly behind him, and Petra heaves a sigh, burying her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry, Eren.”

“It’s okay,” Eren says, sitting down on Levi’s doorstep. “But what… what was that about?”

Petra sniffles, dropping down to sit beside Eren.

“Has… Has Levi told you about how the Feral King led to his retirement?” Petra asks.

Eren's mind flickers back to that day, to invisible blood on pale hands. He bites his lip.

“He has.”

“He’s only ever given Furlan all the details,” Petra says. “All the rest of us really know is that Levi and Uncle Kenny left, and only Levi came home. But I… I’m the one who’s always been patching Levi up. Even if he only tells Furlan, I’ve seen. That night, Levi—”

Petra’s shoulders hunch, pressing her hands more firmly against her face.

“That night, Levi had one of Kenny’s crossbow bolts stuck between one of his ribs. I was—I was so used to scratches, to bruises—but even though he had broken the shaft off the hide the injury, I recognized the tip as I pulled it out. Because Kenny always used to brag about the gold-coated bolts.”

Eren’s stomach twists at the image, and he places a hand on Petra’s shoulder. Eren can’t imagine how he would feel, seeing Levi come home to him battered and bruised—seeing evidence that he had fought with his last blood relative. Knowing all the while that one of them didn’t come home.

That maybe it could have been Levi who didn’t come back.

Levi was nineteen then. Eren wonders how old Petra was.

“I was so happy,” Petra continues, “when he retired. I was so happy to see him pursuing other things, having his own dreams… but then Erwin—”

Petra’s hands drop from her face and slam into her knees, her amber eyes narrowed in anger as she falls silent. Eren bites his lip, thinking back to how Levi originally explained everything to him.

“Erwin… Told Levi about the Feral King,” Eren says after a moment.

“Levi, was out, Eren!” Petra exclaims. “He wasn’t going off and risking his life every day! And I know, I know that we can’t just let the King keep doing what he’s doing, but I—but I just—why did it have to be Levi?”

Eren’s grip tightens on Petra’s shoulder.

So, this was why. Why she was always so angry, and why no one bothered to try and make her feel better.

… Because Levi’s not going to change his mind. They’ve probably all known that for years. And Eren came to Petra’s side, thinking he could help her, thinking he could ease her somehow—

But Eren’s not going to change Levi’s mind either. Changing Levi’s mind never even crossed Eren’s own.

“Sorry, Petra. I…”

Petra shakes her head, heaving a sigh.

“It’s okay,” she says quietly. “I know… Levi’s doing the right thing. So is everyone else. I just… I can’t forgive Erwin. Levi was out, and he was the one that brought Levi back in. I can’t—I can’t just let that go.”

For a second, they just sit there in silence. Eren’s hand falls away from her shoulder, and he stares at his lap. He’s not going to change Levi’s mind. He can’t. But is there… something he can do, to ease Petra’s mind a little? Something he can say? Maybe it’s silly for him to think so.

“Do you fight, Petra?” Eren asks.

“I know how,” she says. “But I haven’t since we got the restaurant. None of us really have, but I don’t even practice. Sort my own little protest.”

Eren nods, staring down at his own hands in his lap.

“I’m… not good enough at it yet,” Eren says. “But I… I’m trying to get better at it so that when the time comes, I can be there for Levi. So that when he’s in danger, I can keep him safe.”

Eren turns to look at Petra, showing her a small smile.

“So, I’ll do my best so that when we go out to fight the King, he’ll come back to you with not even a bruise for you to have to patch up.”

Petra’s amber eyes grow wide for a moment, getting a glossy sheen as she manages a wobbly grin.

“If you can,” she says, “that would be amazing.”

Eren grins at Petra as she wipes her eyes with the back of her hands.

“Just be prepared to patch me up instead, okay? I’ll probably be fucked up.”

“Eren!” Petra exclaims with a gasp, though she’s starting to laugh. “No! That’s not the point!”

“It’ll be fine,” Eren says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’ll just be all bloody, and beat up, but Levi? Totally fine. Trust me.”

“No, Eren!” Petra says, slapping him on the arm, and now Eren’s laughing too. “You’d better be joking, or Levi’s going to kill me.”

“Yeah,” Eren says. “Obviously.”

...Well, mostly, anyway. It’s a joke in the sense that he’s not planning on doing anything too self-sacrificial. But if Levi were about to get hurt in front of him… Well, Eren’s not sure he’d be able to just stand there and watch.

But that’s just why Eren has to get good at fighting before then! So that everything will turn out fine, for both of them.

“Good,” Petra says, squeezing his arm. “But really, I’m glad that Levi has you. You’re a good guy. He’s lucky to have you.”

“Yeah, I am.”

Petra and Eren both jump at the sound of a voice behind them, and Eren turns to see Levi standing in the doorway, his hand still on the doorknob. Eren’s mind whirls—he was that unaware of his surroundings while talking with Petra? Eren’s sensitive ears should definitely have caught the sound of the door opening—

Eren loses his train of thought when he looks up at Levi and sees the man’s gray eyes clouded, his eyebrows and lips pulled down into a conflicted frown.

“Everything okay?” Eren asks.

Levi’s gaze flickers from Eren to Petra before flattening back into indifference. Eren bites his lip—if there is something wrong, it’s bad enough that he doesn’t want Petra to hear. Eren will just have to ask him again when they’re alone.

“I’m fine,” Levi says. “Just thought Petra might like to know that Isabel and Hanji convinced Erwin to let her use him as a temporary punching bag as a way to make up.”

Petra perks up immediately.

“I’m not sure about ‘making up,’ but I will beat him up,” Petra says brightly, squeezing Levi’s arm as she bounces up to head inside. “Thanks for letting me know.”

When Petra’s gone and it’s just the two of them, Eren sends a questioning frown Levi’s way as he gets to his feet.

Levi meets his gaze and manages a slight smile.

“Later,” Levi says, brushing his hand across Eren’s cheek briefly. “Let your brain rest for a while.”

“The last time you said you were going to talk to me about something later,” Eren says, “later never came.”

Levi rolls his eyes.

“Then I’ll explain both things la—soon. Alright?”

“You promise?”

“I do.”

Eren hums, leaning down slightly.

“I think you might need to do more to convince me.”

Levi scoffs, grabbing Eren by the chin and bringing him even lower.

“You’re such a little shit.”

“Your little shit.”

Levi laughs just after their lips meet because of Eren’s words, so the kiss is a little shorter than Eren would like. But Eren loves Levi’s smile and Levi’s laugh, so he lets it slide.

“Alright,” Eren says, “I’ll wait. But tell me soon, okay?”

Levi shakes his head before reaching for Eren once more, letting their lips meet again before answering.

“I will.”

“Ugh,” Isabel groans loudly from inside the house. “How long are you two going to be disgustingly in love out there? Erwin is literally letting us take turns punching him! Your sweet nothings can wait until later! Come back in here and have some real fun!”

Levi flips her off without even looking back, but Eren grins at her over Levi’s shoulder, the lack of malice in his voice contrasting with Levi's immensely annoyed scowl.

“We're coming!" Eren exclaims, grabbing Levi by the shoulders and spinning him around to face the inside of the house.

"I'm surrounded by children and idiots," Levi says.

"Even me?" Eren asks, and Levi snorts.

"You don't want me to answer that question."

Eren punches Levi in the back, though not hard enough to hurt.

Eren’s eyes wander to the crowd gathered in the center of Levi's living room (Erwin is standing in the center and looks utterly unphased, even as Petra throws a punch at his chest that looks like it should really hurt) and Eren's smile grows even bigger. This is Levi's family. Petra and everyone else care so deeply about him, and even though Levi is always pretending to be annoyed—and sometimes not even pretending—Eren knows that Levi cares a lot about them too.

This is… the kind of family Eren always wished he could have. A big, loving family that sticks around even despite any issues that crop up between them.

Eren wants to get stronger. For himself, for Levi, and for this. This family that Levi has built around himself.

And even though he failed spectacularly during his match with Erwin, there is hope bubbling up in Eren's chest. Hope that he really can.

Eren's going to keep them safe. He swears that to himself.

And maybe, when he's strong enough, he'll make that promise out loud to them too.

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #18- Rung Psychologically Tortures a Man with Poor Snack Management

So, Swerve’s having a less than stellar day, and for once it isn’t linked to his deep-rooted sense of self-loathing.

Good thing he already emptied those stills, otherwise this would be just the hugest mess.

Thanks to some off-panel Whirl shenanigans that took place prior to this storyline, Swerve had Brainstorm put in a few security measures. Of course, Brainstorm being Brainstorm, never does weaponry in any half-measures.

Still, it isn’t quite enough. Looks like Swerve’s going to have to break out the big guns for this guy.

There’s a lot going on here, so let’s break it down.

On the character side of things, it would appear that Swerve is a merciful god of robot booze, as he’s not yet banned anyone from his small business, even when he probably ought to- Fort Max I get, and Whirl has the whole “is also an Autobot” thing going on, but Cyclonus has actively attempted to murder Swerve in the past, and also is the closest thing to a Decepticon they’ve got on the ship at any given time.

On the weaponry side of things, it would seem that Swerve having blown his face clean off his skull back in issue #12 got back to Brainstorm, who- because he’s married to his career and loves a project- immediately got to work on a gun that Swerve could actually handle with his funky little cartoon-man hands. Of course, that doesn’t mean Swerve’s going to get away with his dignity intact, oh heavens no! This thing has a literal smiley face slapped on the front of it. Well, you know what they say: it’s Nerf or Nothing.

Swerve blasts a hole in the Legislator with his silly, silly gun, and the bar is saved from further destruction.

I like to imagine that Brainstorm recorded that victory line himself, because he wants to support his friends, in his own, bizarre way.

Things are looking rough for the rest of the Lost Light, as the Legislators have completely flooded the ship with their forces, as the crew do their best to fight them off. Blaster’s had his titty compartment blasted open. Huffer is screaming. The medics have taken to violence. Skids has broken out the brass knuckles and is making god-awful math puns. The Legislators are still coming, without any end in sight. It’s a real shitshow.

Over on Luna 1, it would appear that Ratchet immediately passed out after seeing Pharma, which is a fair response to seeing someone who’s supposed to be very much dead, I think. Pharma calls Lockdown, they have a bit of banter, and then the scene moves on to whatever Cyclonus and Whirl are doing.

Because these two are the only ones on the away team who can actually fly, they’ve broken off from the rest. Whirl’s getting antsy, and decides he’s gonna fight something. Cyclonus, though he does mention that Rodimus told them not to do exactly what Whirl is suggesting, seems to agree with this line of thought.

Speaking of Rodimus, him and the rest of the gang are zipping around on those M.A.R.B.s, though it appears as if some of the passengers have switched drivers. Rung’s over with Chromedome now, holding on to him for dear life. Maybe they’re having an impromptu grief counseling session as they run from danger. Tailgate’s with Rodimus, and he’s just pointed out that Ratchet got left behind. Rodimus can’t deal with that right now, though, and decides that they need to get away from all these gotdang Decepticons and then figure out their next step.

Then he’s distracted by the literal lineup of dead Titans just hanging out on the moon.

Luna 1’s kinda fucked up.

Cutting back to our framing device- nope, still haven’t gotten caught up with the present yet- Ambus asks what Rodimus did next. Well, a lot happened. A lot. Chromedome jumped out of his therapy session with Rung and transforms into his alt, which I want to say is the only time he’ll do it in MTMTE. Whirl and Cyclonus are faffing about in the sky, more or less toying with the Decepticons following them. Rodimus wants to pull another Fantastic Voyage, much to Tailgate’s horror.

Rodimus zooms into the first crack he sees, but doesn’t manage to lose his attackers. Tailgate provides commentary, as Rodimus wraps the little guy around his neck like a cape, leaps from the M.A.R.B., and does some super sick gymnastics, hanging from a pipe jutting out of the ceiling as the guys who were chasing them run into… well, I assume each other, but it’s not terribly clear.

Crisis avoided, Rodimus drops down, transforming as he does. Tailgate goes with him, because gravity is still a thing on the moon, and we get a reminder that he’s only got a couple days left to live. Unfortunately, it would appear he’ll be spending his final days rotting in a prison cell, as Lockdown shows up with everyone else in handcuffs, forcing Rodimus to come quietly. Everyone seems very put out by this whole situation, especially Brainstorm. He’s downright furious, probably because he got captured by the guy with a fish butt on his head.

Oh, the indignity of it all!

Then again, maybe he’s just focused on working up the cajones to ask just what the hell is going on on this super weird moon. Lockdown obviously isn’t a bad enough dude to be running this operation- we saw what happened the last time he went against someone who actually had the time to plan something out- so our away team has deduced that there’s someone higher up on the food chain here. Also, there’s the whole issue of money clearly being a major factor in all this.

That sort of tech doesn’t just fall out of the sky.

As they’re being walked down this corridor of tension building, Chromedome spies Ultra Magnus in an adjoining hallway. He calls to him, but is very solidly ignored. But there’s no time to worry about Magnus being a rude shit, because it’s time for character reveals!

There’s an interesting little detail about Tyrest’s character, which is a little hard to see given the layout of the art for this page, but here it is, on the end of his staff:

Now, I know that the Autobot badge was appropriated from a symbol meant to represent Primus, but that was millions of years ago. So much for being a neutral party, huh Tyrest?

Rodimus is real peeved about being chased, shot at, arrested, and held against his will, and fully intends to give Tyrest a piece of his mind. Tyrest isn’t interested, however, telling him to shove a sock in it, or be “held in contempt.” While this is happening, Perceptor and Brainstorm have noticed the positively humongous and positively ancient space bridge that Tyrest just has lying around in this room.

Oh no, this is about the baby field from last issue, isn’t it? Brainstorm’s going to jail for infant arson.

Rodimus greatly dislikes this whole situation, and expresses himself through the art of verbal abuse. Smash cut to them back in the cell, Ambus not seeming terribly impressed with how Rodimus handled himself with Tyrest.

The tale is finished, we know where we were. Now how to move forward?

Chromedome asks for a bit more information on our new friend, because the whole “Ambus” thing is throwing him off, and with good reason: how do you tell your late husband’s ex that you had to blow up your mutual partner to keep him from being eaten by a lippy bastard? But this isn’t the illustrious Dominus Ambus- this is MINIMUS Ambus, the lesser known brother. Chromedome/Dominus isn’t completely taken off the table, however, as Minimus uses some awkward phrases that seems to tell me Dominus isn’t confirmed dead.

Rung wants to know what Minimus’ whole deal is, seeing as he’s also in prison with the lot of them. Minimus explains that he’d been moving a shipment of energon derivatives, when Tyrest had arrested him for having traces of space cocaine in his goods.

Was taking his eye really necessary, Tyrest?

Minimus was placed into custody years ago, and has been awaiting trial this whole time. Not exactly sure why, seeing as this moon isn’t exactly off the chain populated. Maybe Tyrest’s just been busy doing things that are absolutely NOT nefarious in any form or fashion whatsoever.

Minimus mentions that he’s lost his Autobot badge, and Rung offers to let him borrow his own- which we’ve never seen him wear because it’s apparently too big for him- but Minimus would rather he wear it himself.

Tailgate doesn’t take to this bit of information about the appeals system very well, seeing as he’s not got years to wait around. He’s beginning to panic, not trusting Cyclonus and Whirl to break them out, and starts needling the others to do something. Brainstorm reveals that his briefcase, which he’s had this entire time, as he always does, has an attention deflector built into it, making it effectively invisible to Tyrest and his goons. Rung feels a certain kinship with the briefcase in that moment.

Imagine walking up to a widower and saying “Hey there, honeybunches, how about submitting to that crippling addiction your late spouse begged you to quit so we can bust out of prison?”

Of course, Tailgate’s only told Cyclonus about his condition, so no one’s exactly raring to go busting out, since they’ve assumed everyone present is effectively immortal.

Over on another part of the moon, Ratchet’s finally waking up from his stress-induced nap to find Pharma channeling his inner Jigsaw. Ratchet gives him some constructive criticism on his new hands, but Pharma’s kind of over listening to whatever Ratchet thinks.

Oh, I hope it’s one of those gag gifts where you open it and get hit in the face with a pie. Those are always a laugh.

Back on the Lost Light, Swerve is looking for his very best friend in the whole wide world. I really hope the feeling is mutual, because there’s no way Swerve would survive that sort of rejection.

The doors to the oil reservoir open, looking like the elevator scene from The Shining, and we see what’s become of our dear, dear Skidsy.

Skids is pretty sure all this Legislator nonsense is because of him, and he’s not about to let people die for his sorry butt today, no siree. He’s gonna save the day.

Then again, this is about where Star Saber pops into existence behind him and stabs him through the spine, so maybe not.

Behold, a bastard!

Star Saber in the IDW run is well-known as being a witch-hunting zealot who can and will commit acts of violence over any perceived slight against Primus he identifies in any given living creature. This is a stark removal from his original character, who is so pure-hearted, kind, and generous, he literally adopted an orphan to raise as his own son. So, what exactly happened here?

TMUK happened.

Back in the days before Roberts was a professional scriptwriter, back before IDW had the license for Transformers, the members of the TMUK fan group decided that Victory’s Star Saber was going to be evil. Why isn’t exactly clear, only that it was a decision that was made not by Roberts on his lonesome, but more as a collaborative effort. Of course, this Star Saber isn’t a one-to-one copy of the TMUK Star Saber- that guy was much more conniving and, uh, Hitler-y, than what we have here.

Getting back to the story, Swerve tries to save/avenge Skids, firing with his custom gun, only to miss every single shot.

Looks like there’s going to need to be a rework on the My First Blaster.

Swerve gets beaned over the head with the butt of Star Saber’s sword for his troubles, his visor shattering in the process. Damn, sure hope he’s got a reading prescription, and not anything he’ll actually need to see.

Back over on the moon, Ratchet’s pretty uninterested in playing Pharma’s little game. It’s just as well though, because, as it turns out, Pharma’s an impatient guy. Must be an absolute nightmare during the holiday season and birthdays. He throws open the box, revealing what’s inside.

THAT IS NOT PIE.

But we saw Ratchet’s face over on the other side of the room. How can he be in two places at once? Well, here’s the thing about Transformers…

They’re pretty darn hard to kill.

Back in the cell, Rung’s doing his part as a member of the away team by passing out snacks. Tailgate reveals his awful garbage disposal mouth. We get the down-low on Tyrest.

Once upon a time, Tyrest was an engineer. Then the war happened, shit got crazy, and suddenly he was organizing exoduses and peace talks with genocidal maniacs, and got appointed Chief Justice by the space pope himself.

Rodimus comes over to get in on the little snack party Rung and Tailgate are having, mentioning the Aequitas Trials- the very ones that were recorded onto Ironfist’s brain back in Last Stand of the Wreckers. Minimus comes over, warning Rodimus to keep hush-hush about those, since they’re top secret and all. Kind of a weird thing for you to do, Minimus. Hell, why do YOU know about these super secret trials, Mr. Nobody Trader Guy? Those were after Dominus disappeared, so it’s not like you had an in through your cool older brother.

Rodimus gives everyone the skinny on the trials, despite Minimus being weird about the whole thing.

Perceptor knows all this already, but I suppose it’s possible Rodimus is the only son of a gun who isn’t subscribed to Wreckers: Declassified and isn’t aware of Perceptor’s whole deal.

Minimus moves the topic over to the crew of the Lost Light, latching on to Skids specifically the moment he’s mentioned. Rung does his due diligence and offers Minimus a ride on the snack train. Minimus declines, Rung insists, and the box of space pocky is dropped on the floor.

Minimus goes to help Rung pick up the snacks, as Rung actively hinders the clean up effort.

Minimus is two seconds from snapping Rung’s scrawny little wrist like a toothpick if he doesn’t quit it. Luckily Rodimus is there to break up this positively bizarre situation. And then things get really weird.

Rung’s been watching Minimus since they got here, noticing things that were very familiar- speech patterns, mannerisms, tone, inflection, OCD behaviors, things like that. Once he developed enough of a hunch, Rung started intentionally antagonizing him by making a mess and putting his Autobot badge on in a way that isn’t up to standards. Why would he do this? Why would he want to cause an outburst in someone he just met?

Well, the thing is, he hasn’t just met Minimus Ambus. He’s actually been serving under him for the last year.

That’s a rather dark use of your doctorate, Rung, forcing a man to reveal his true identity by poking at his mental health until he was about to snap your neck over some candy. You did it so well, too.

Maybe you were on Kimia for more than just psych evals. What was your career officially called again? Psyops specialist is what they have listed on the Wiki. Truth be told, I don’t even know what that entails. Let’s look it up, shall we?

...I guess therapy is his side gig?

So either Roberts meant something else entirely, or Rung is actually super fucking scary.

[twistedintern]

(Credit to @VILSWIFE on Twitter for the questionnaire, and special thanks to @appleflowerwritings​ for bringing this to my attention!) Time to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do that than by expanding upon yume ship lore? Hopefully this doesn’t come off as weird...

(Although... I am loath to admit that I’d do better to wait until the next NRC Unified Exams before taking the plunge like this. I suppose I can always revise my responses to reflect official lore later on.)

“Person A” is Kyuu. “Person B” is Trein.

Question (1) - As mentioned in Kyuu’s personal chronicle, the two met in passing when Kyuu first awoke in a empty coffin in Night Raven’s Mirror Chamber. Their encounter was so brief that it almost didn’t register in Kyuu’s mind (she was too busy being terrified by Crowley’s appearance in the dark to focus on much else). It would only be about a week later when she was assigned to work with him that she would realize that Crowley was not alone when he discovered her; on that occasion he was accompanied by a stately man and a cat. The two formally became acquainted that day over tea and snacks.

Question (2) - Crowley described the sort of person Trein was to Kyuu before she had the chance to meet him. As the headmaster is the type who’s always on the receiving end of a lecture from the professor, he exaggerated the latter’s rigidity and inability to get along with others. Kyuu had terrible first experiences with his colleagues, so she took the headmaster’s words as gospel and came to dread meeting him one-on-one.

...But when they did meet, Trein was firm in explaining to her why others perceive him as they do. Kyuu realized she misjudged him and felt horrible about it for some time afterwards. Her current impression of him is founded not on fear, but deep respect. For her, he represents propriety and discipline--a constant in a chaotic new world.

Question (3) - Trein himself did not think much of Kyuu when Lucius came across her that night she appeared in Twisted Wonderland. He initially suspected she was a runaway who stole away to the school grounds--the sort of person who would prove to be a problem for the staff of Night Raven in the short-term. But once Crowley relayed her peculiar state of affairs during a general meeting--and that she would be taken on as an “intern”--he was a bit surprised (and irritated by the headmaster’s rash executive decision). But Lucius had taken to her, and his dear companion was nothing if not a superb judge of character.

He figured her to be bumbling or inattentive or immature; younger folk are always difficult in some way or another. She proved him wrong the first time they sat down to chat. She was very much a breath of fresh air, she was respectful, humble, and took an active interest in his work despite being half his own age. He appreciates her company and values her as an individual.

(Questions (4) & (5) have been omitted because I’ve not yet thought about this.)

Question (6) - Kyuu’s feelings for Trein gradually grew so intense as to occupy her every waking thought: he was her first love; she’d never before felt like this towards another. A confession wasn’t a question of “if”, but a matter of “when”--something Kyuu intended to stay for as long as possible. Fate had other plans, naturally... Kyuu made the mistake of working late with Trein at the latter’s residence one particularly stormy night. When she became cognizant of the hour and made to leave, Trein urged her to stay the night. She conceded: any attempt to brave the storm would end in disaster. Their proximity was enough to break Kyuu’s resolve, especially when it occurred to her that he couldn’t reject her... or, that he wouldn’t leave her at the mercy of winds and rain.

Trein did not reject her... but he did not express that he reciprocated her feelings, either. He didn’t give her a response; the only indication that he heard her was that he remained still while she spoke.

A number of days would pass, with Kyuu taking pains to avoid Trein at any and all costs. Trein would be the one to approach her; all the while, he behaved as though the incident never happened in the first place. Weeks later, when the two were working at his residence, Kyuu recognized a familiar warmth: contentment. A feeling of peace; an acceptance of herself and the incident.

Then Trein broached the topic once more.

His voice was calm; he sounded neither resentful nor accusatory. Every nerve in Kyuu’s body urged her to run away--she couldn’t bear shameful weight of her foolhardy sentiments. He was about to reject her... but she stood her ground. It was her just desserts, in a way, for allowing misguided feelings to dictate her behavior.

Then he quietly took her hand and gave her a gentle, small smile:

“I hope you can accept my sincerest apologies. The fact of the matter is, I could not answer you at the time. I had a poor grasp of my own feelings when you had the courage and resolve to speak your heart. Know I’ve passed countless hours since in self-reflection. Romance, intimacy... love--these are not things to be taken lightly, after all....

“I’ve grown quite fond of you. If you’ll have me, I should like to give this--the two of us--a try.”

Question (7) - Kyuu loves Trein’s olden manner, strict sense of discipline, and passion for his work. Trein finds Kyuu’s diligence, honesty to a fault, and humility to be endearing.

Question (8) - Both enjoy looking after cats (though this extends to other animals for Kyuu), reading, and playing chess (which they rarely do together because Kyuu’s a mediocre player at best). They share love for history as well.

Question (9) - Both Kyuu and Trein look down upon truant and delinquent behavior. They believe rules exist to be followed.

Questions (10) & (11) - Between the two, Kyuu is much more likely to seek affection and company. She’s not pushy or demanding about it--in fact, she’s generally unwilling to put her desires into words, especially in public. (She finds couples who engage in gratuitous PDAs rude.) Her gestures lack the grace of Trein’s rare but deliberate actions. Trein will express his love with measured care; never failing to demonstrate the utmost formality and poise when doing so. Still, he only takes the initiative when he’s certain Kyuu requires reassurance, though both are quite confident in their bond. Oftentimes, they’re just content to be around one another.

Question (12) - Trein, though both are early birds.

Question (13) - Kyuu will talk more if something’s on her mind, but Trein can speak on his profession for hours if given the chance (Kyuu is more than happy to listen to him during those times).

Question (14) - They’re both reserved when it comes to showing affection in public. Kyuu tends to be more affectionate in private, however.

Question (15) - A lovely dinner at a fancy restaurant followed by a quiet evening reading and engaging in hushed discussion about any number of things in the company of Lucius.

Question (16) - A library.

(Questions (17) & (18) have been omitted.)

Question (19) - Trein. Kyuu’s pride keeps her from apologizing for however long she feels like she’s in the right (which isn’t long).

Question (20) - ...Yes. A son and a daughter. Both take after their father in terms of manner and diligence, but they possess their mother’s empathy and willingness to accommodate the needs of others.

Question (21) - When Trein first asks Kyuu to call him by his given name.

Question (22) - Trein a cat, Kyuu a fox.

Question (23) - Kyuu.

Question (24) - Probably Trein, but he doesn’t cook much.

Question (25) - Kyuu enjoys a bevy of different foods; Trein is more reserved in his tastes. While Trein has yet to take to any of Kyuu’s favorite dishes, Kyuu absolutely loves Trein’s favorite dish, vichyssoise: it was a comfort food of her childhood, one that she associates with feelings of security and family.

(Question (26) has been omitted.)

Question (27) - Kyuu would gift Trein books and tea blends, whereas Trein might give her antiques or small trinkets.

Question (28) - They’d just spend the day together doing small, meaningful things--nothing extravagant.

Question (29) - Trein.

Question (30) - Neither one is prone to getting sick. Whomever is well will keep close watch over the ailing partner, doing all manner of things to ensure their speedy recovery such as monitoring their temperature; and preparing foods and serving them meals in bed.

[digitaldreams0801]

Frontiers Unexplored AU: Alitia

The one where I cross over two of my written stories for funsies.

Alitia World Building

Basically, this section catches people up to speed on the basic world building of Alitia in case they haven’t read it. It’s very heavily abridged for the sake of being timely, and better details can be found in Alitia itself on my Archive of Our Own profile.

There are two types of people: mages and leaths. Mages have outward magical abilities that allow them to use magic (duh). Leaths have passive manifestations that give them prodigal strength in a given subject (tactics, swordplay, communication, etc.) and are stronger in that matter than any mage ever could be.

There are two types of magic: Light and Dark. Light is more focused on control and then working up to power while Dark is raw power with less control at first. Mages pick if they want to be Light or Dark when they first start coming into their magical abilities around the age of 16-18. Light has the added ability to heal others while Dark offers access to magic revolving around symbols and glyphs. After becoming particularly strong, Light mages can start using symbols while Dark mages can start healing. It takes a long time to reach this point though. 

Mages and leaths fall into two categories: winged and wingless. Having wings or not changes the way one uses magic both transformed and in civilian form (different regulation of the magical core). Wings are often found in feminine people but gender is fake anybody can have them. This is a choice made at the same time as the Light/Dark decision at roughly age 16-18 and can be both passive and conscious. 

There are exceptions to the binaries of wings and Light or Dark. Shapeshifters lie on the center of the spectrum involving having wings or not since they can change that at will. Shapeshifters are rare and often have a wide range of magical abilities. Light and Dark magic are opposites with Blends (mages with two types of magic rather than one) being between them. Blends are particularly rare (.01% of the population or so) and are known for being inherently powerful from birth.

There are six types of people with these factors taken into account: Mage/Wings/Light: Enchantress Mage/Wings/Dark: Witch Mage/Wingless/Light: Wizard Mage/Wingless/Dark: Cantor Leath/Wings: Heroine Leath/Wingless: Hero

The Millennium Six are schools centered around each of these types of people, and they train the next generation in matters of combat to defend their realms: Alitia: Enchantresses Sacred Heart: Witches Angelwood: Wizards Sierra: Cantors Acadia: Heroines Ridgeview: Heroes

There are two main religions: the Churches of Starlight and Moonlight, named for the creators of the world. The two gods (Starlight and Moonlight) have Keepers that act as modern proxies of their power. Keepers are reincarnated and have the power of their partnered god. Every church is led by a specific archbishop, and the churches take place on the primary planets of the gods (Starlight’s being Amity while Moonlight’s is Enmity). Starlight is essentially light magic while Moonlight is dark magic (same sort of vein as canon Digimon Frontier and Frontiers Unexplored). Keepers can grant Blessings of their power to others. The closest companions of the Keepers earn their places among the Sealed Ones, trusted fighters working for the sake of peace across the universe. Sealed Ones are twelve in number per generation and based on the twelve zodiac signs. They are selected as Sealed Ones when they confirm their resolve to their cause in a moment of immense strife either inwardly or outwardly. Markings of the zodiac signs can be found on the bodies of the Sealed Ones outwardly to show their positions. 

There will be other technical details mentioned below such as planets, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let’s get into the crap that’s specific to Frontiers Unexplored!

History

The previous Keepers and their respective team of Sealed Ones went off to battle against one of the darkest forces known to recent history: Luce. He was once a powerful sage working for both the Churches of Starlight and Moonlight to keep the peace throughout all realms, but he turned away from both of them after gaining too much power and allowing it to go to his head. He came to view living creatures as beneath him, prompting him to turn against the light and start to advocate for nothing short of complete destruction. 

The Keepers and their Sealed Ones marched towards Luce, intent on killing him to save the world. In the end, the team managed to seemingly destroy Luce, but in a final blast at the hands of Luce, the team was wiped out. The Keepers and their Sealed Ones were all killed in one fell swoop, leaving behind no protectors for the universe. The Keepers were reincarnated into a new generation, and Luce was widely presumed to be dead. 

The Keepers and the Sealed Ones are named after the Ancient Warriors of Frontiers Unexplored. The previous Keeper of Starlight was Garuru while the previous Keeper of Moonlight was Sphinx, for example. The final two were Wizard and Silphy of Cosmos and Energy respectively (since those two are original Digimon and only appear in FU). 

Koji Minamoto: Keeper and Wizard of Starlight (Light)

Koji is the Keeper of Starlight and a Wizard originating from the planet of Amity. He’s known to be somewhat detached and bitter when it comes to addressing others. He is looked after by the archbishop of the Church of Starlight, Kousei, though the two have a volatile and difficult relationship at best due to Kousei’s emotional immaturity and focus on increasing Koji’s strength. Koji gets along much better with Satomi, a high-ranking priestess of the Church of Starlight and treats her as his confidant. He struggles to make connections with others because of how isolated he was from the world growing up, a byproduct of Kousei’s obsessive protectiveness. Rumor has it that Kousei once looked after the previous Keeper of Starlight, Garuru, as well, but their connections ended after an angry confrontation that resulted in much anguish on both sides. Garuru died shortly thereafter, hence Kousei’s difficult treatment of Koji. 

Koji fights with swords in battle, something that he learned at Kousei’s instruction. He came to fight in his own style though, often combining it seamlessly with his Starlight magic. High expectations were placed on him from a young age because of his position as the Keeper, and he came to master his element as quickly as possible as a result. Koji lacks an affinity for healing unlike most other Light mages though, prompting him to be primarily involved with combat during battles. 

Koji is the Sealed One of Scorpio among this generation, and his marking can be found on the back of his right hand. He came to attend Angelwood when he was of age, falling under the category of Wizard because his Starlight magic forces him under the discipline of Light. There, he met Takuya since the two were roommates at school, and despite their frequent butting of heads due to stubbornness, they came to get along well over time. 

Koichi Kimura: Keeper and Cantor of Moonlight (Darkness)

Koichi is the Keeper of Moonlight and a Cantor. He grew up on Enmity and is on the quiet side, choosing to keep to himself more often than not. He was raised by Tomoko, a leath woman and the Archbishop of Moonlight. Tomoko did what she could to shield Koichi from the rest of the world and its cruelty, but because of the turmoil that followed the deaths of the previous Keepers, there was only so much that she could do, leading to Koichi becoming emotionally rundown despite his attempts to put up a facade of peace. He’s on the passive side and has a talent for talking out matters with others, making him well-liked among those that he knows, if not a bit quiet. He can be found reading a lot of the time, using fiction as a way of escaping the harsh reality that awaits just beyond the book’s pages. 

Koichi uses a staff as his preferred weapon, though he tends to use magic more often than not due to being much more proficient in it. He has completely mastered his power despite the raw magic that comes with the Dark practice, and many have stated him to be a Moonlight prodigy, much to his chagrin. He is strong with symbols and glyphs with a special talent for healing as well, something unusual among Dark mages. 

Koichi is the Sealed One of Aquarius. His symbol is located on the back of his left hand. He left for Sierra as per tradition of Keepers, and he met the rest of the group there through inter-school activities among the Millennium Six. He and Koji share a birthday and a common thread of appearance because their predecessors were killed on the same day, leading to them fostering a surprisingly close connection among Keepers. 

Takuya Kanbara: Wizard of Fire

Takuya is the first prince of Etruna and a Wizard of Fire. The Kanbara family looks after Etruna, the world of fire and ice, from its palace on the center of the realm’s halfway mark between the two magical types. Takuya is the older of the two princes, the younger being his brother, Shinya. Despite being a prince set to take the throne one day, Takuya is headstrong and passionate regarding the topic of adventure. He loves the idea of finding a quest all his own and tends to be somewhat reckless in his search of something beyond the status quo. Takuya is a natural-born leader, and he’s close with Chihiro. Because of his role in Chihiro’s departure from Igni’s elite, Takuya is notably protective of them and would do anything to keep them safe. He is charismatic and confident, never yielding in the face of danger for better or worse while still remaining human and relatable to others.

Takuya fights with fire magic above all else, and when he does use physical weapons, he tends to rely on claw attachments to a set of small gauntlets. He prefers to get up close and personal during battle, and his recklessness shows with his proficiency in combat. He’s not the best with healing magic unless he brings the constant activity of his mind to a halt and concentrates on something that desperately requires his attention. 

Takuya is the Sealed One of Leo. His mark can be found on the front of his left shoulder. Takuya roomed with Koji when the two went to Angelwood, and while it took a while for their relationship to iron out its issues, they became rather close. Takuya and Chihiro have remained best friends despite attending different schools among the Millennium Six. 

Tomoki Himi: Wizard of Ice

Tomoki is a Wizard of Ice born on Etruna as a commoner. He is the youngest son out of the Himi family with his older brother being Yutaka. Tomoki’s brother saw few restrictions growing up due to his prodigal status as an ice mage, leading to high expectations being heaped onto Tomoki’s shoulders. On top of that, Yutaka took the power he possessed to be a reason to pick on Tomoki for being inferior, leading to an imbalance of power that had Tomoki abused by his brother throughout his youth. This caused Tomoki to grow up as a sensitive and easily-frightened individual as he struggled to escape the bloodied shadow that his older brother left behind for him. Yutaka’s prodigal status gave him the chance to escape all consequences for his wrongdoing, and while Tomoki’s parents were aware of what Yutaka was doing, they were unable to stand up to him either due to not having magic as strong as his, making them likely targets of Yutaka’s ultimately volatile temper. All of this caused Tomoki to be fragile emotionally, easily overwhelmed and introverted. 

Tomoki’s magic is based in ice, and he has an incredible proficiency over it because of how much he’s pushed himself to practice. He uses axes as well, his way of setting himself apart from Yutaka’s strength in lances and swords. Tomoki is a decent healer as well because of his heavy bias towards using magic in battle. 

Tomoki is the Sealed One of Pisces, and his symbol can be found on his lower back. He tends to hide it where possible because he fears the reaction his brother would have. He and Yumiko became fast friends due to their similar sense of distrust for the world. He’s a year below Takuya and Koji, and he came to admire them both from afar within Angelwood. 

Izumi Orimoto: Enchantress of Wind

Izumi is the oldest princess of Hiloft and an Enchantress with dominion over wind magic. She has come to be idealized as a perfect figure by her people and those who surround her, causing her to develop a strong persona through acting. She is kind and caring but seems to lack any depth, often throwing on a mask to keep people from finding out about how insecure and self-loathing she truly is. Izumi’s younger sister, Masae, looks up to her immensely, and Izumi is incredibly protective of her, coming to look after her sister after their mother’s death by assassination. Their father is distant due to his work as the king of the realm, causing Izumi and Masae to be heavily dependent on one another. Despite how close they are, Izumi refuses to yield with her practiced mask even around her sister, wanting to be a good role model no matter how much it hurts her in the process. 

Izumi’s weapons of choice are claws similar to what Takuya uses, though she has a heavy bias for her magic. She is a strong healer, though nowhere near as much so as Yumiko or Hinoka. Izumi is a potent fighter and knows how to defend herself, though she hates battle simply for the sake of battle and does it mostly out of a sense of obligation towards those she cares for. 

Izumi is the Sealed One of Cancer with her mark being on her right forearm. She is a student at Alitia who, much like Yumiko, has the potential to be well-liked and popular, though she keeps to herself instead. She is part of the Keepers’ year. 

Junpei Shibayama: Cantor of Thunder

Junpei is a Cantor with the ability to manipulate electricity. He was born on Millennia and grew up there as well. His parents are well-known mages and teachers at the Millennium Six (with his mother teaching at Sacred Heart while his father is part of the Ridgeview staff). Junpei was often bullied throughout his childhood, particularly at the hands of students at the Millennium Six who looked down on him with scorn for struggling with his developing magic. He started to develop a fiery temper as a result, and his spite towards the rest of the world grew incredible and became part of his mindset. Even after Junpei was able to get help to make sure that this stopped, he retained this mindset for better or worse. He is a very polarizing figure in personality, being both overbearingly positive by putting on a mask of endless optimism and notably pessimistic because of his nihilistic views of the world at large.

Junpei’s fighting style revolves around his use of a pair of gauntlets that he has engineered to be able to shift into a ray gun at a moment’s notice. His magic is the most likely to go out of control as a result of his temper issues, leaving his power somewhat unstable and prone to explosion for better or worse. He is strong with glyphs and symbols contrary to what his uncontrollable magic would suggest, a talent he shares with Saki. 

Junpei is the Sealed One Gemini, and his symbol is on his left bicep. He came to be unlikely friends with Saki since they were enrolled at Sierra at the same time, and he was the first person to figure out their mission before they revealed it to the rest of the group. He’s a year older than the Keepers. 

Chihiro Ayumu: Cantor of Earth

Chihiro is a Cantor who was born on the planet of Igni. They have influence over the element of Earth. Their parents were high-ranking noble mages on Igni, a planet known for its discrimination against leaths. During a meeting with the royalty on another planet, Etruna, Chihiro met Takuya, the oldest prince of Etruna. The two got to know one another, and as soon as the chance came, Chihiro used the trip on Etruna to run from their parents, who treated them poorly as a result of their magic taking an unexpectedly long time to manifest in full. Chihiro returned to the palace after their parents left Etruna, and they have been living as an unofficial third sibling of the Kanbara royal line ever since then, making them notably close with both Takuya and Shinya despite their first appearances of bitter defiance towards any who dare to get close to them emotionally. 

Chihiro is physically strong in many ways, resulting in them finding power with many weapons. They can use hammers, axes, and the like well, though their preferred weapon is the gauntlets. Chihiro’s physical strength is unparalleled, and when combined with the raw force that comes with their earth magic, they are a defensive and offensive terror on the battlefield to match their stubborn nature. 

Chihiro is the Sealed One of Aries, and their marking can be found on the back of their left shoulder. They set out for Sierra at the same time as Takuya, and through him, they were able to become fast friends with Koji. It took a bit longer for Chihiro to fall in with Koichi despite attending the same school as him, but they eventually grew to be notably protective of him and the rest of their team. 

Yumiko Mihara: Enchantress of Wood

Yumiko is an Enchantress with the power over Wood, including plant life of all breeds as well as vague abilities regarding life and death. She was born as the princess of Fortunia, a planet known for its traditionalism. Her parents were often detached from her life because of their royal endeavors, and they paired her off with a noble of the planet for an arranged marriage from a young age. Yumiko defied the wishes of her parents, though this only led to continued harassment from both her fiance and the other nobles who sought her attention and the power found in her family. She came to hold reality at arm’s length, keeping it away from her where possible. Yumiko is said to be pleasant at a first glance, a way of defending herself from the rest of the world. She holds quiet scorn towards those who have hurt her, though she masks this as a way of ensuring that she is not infringed upon again in the future. She came to attend classes at Alitia as a way of escaping the plans that her parents had laid out for her since they were dismissive of her pain at best. She left in search of a new start and hopefully companions who she could rely on to not abuse her.

Yumiko is a notably potent healer. She can patch up just about any injury out there, and her healing powers have earned her the title of a prodigy, though she often denies this in favor of fading into the background. Yumiko manipulates plants in battle, often using a magical bow and arrow to further her abilities in combat.

Yumiko is the Sealed One of Taurus with her marking falling across her chest where her collarbones meet. She is a year below the Keepers in classes, putting her in the same class as Tomoki, Mayumi, and Haroi. She tends to keep to the social circle of the rest of the Sealed Ones out of fear of being hurt by others despite her grace and ability to connect emotionally with others. 

Hinoka Sakatami: Enchantress of Water

Hinoka is an Enchantress of water born on the planet of Rivergold, the realm of water. Her mother was of Loduke while her father was from Rivergold. After a messy split between her parents, leaving her mother emotionally unstable, Hinoka moved to Loduke with her mother. There, she found herself suffering because of her closest companion: a boy named Emon. He was the first to accept Hinoka following her move, reaching out to her despite her sticking out for having the notable traits of Rivergold’s people (patches of scaled skin, for example). Emon’s personality soon shifted towards hatred though, and he came to abuse Hinoka by exerting his power over her that came with being her sole source of companionship. After Hinoka and Emon dealt with a toxic relationship of three years, Hinoka was accepted into Alitia, and she went there in search of a fresh start. However, her history remains clear in her demeanor, as she is fidgety, anxious, and soft-spoken unless she feels safe around the people in her vicinity. 

Hinoka fights almost exclusively with magic, and her sole weapon is a staff with a magical gem mounted to the top of it to boost her influence over water. Hinoka is an amazing healer as well, using her staff to augment her natural affinity for helping others. She has notable curiosity towards glyphs as well even if she cannot use them well with magic. 

Hinoka is the Sealed One for Virgo, and her marking can be found on her left ankle. She generally avoids others under most circumstances with Izumi being her first notable friend. Hinoka is in the same year as Junpei and Saki. 

Saki Fushida: Shapeshifter and Blend of Metal

Saki is a shapeshifter and Blend with specific influence over metal. Their magic is highly focused around matters of telepathy and other types of mind magic as well as influencing metal. They have incredible intuition and have been noted by others to be as shady as it gets. Saki is a master at manipulating situations to their every need, and they use this to their advantage to work under Cherubi, Seraphi, and Ophani in the search for Luce. They operate as a spy within the shadows for the sake of the three mages, ever in search of definitive proof that Luce is still alive somewhere. 

Saki was born on Enmity to Wise, one of the Sealed Ones of the previous generation, and their partner. They lived in the Church of Moonlight since Wise was heavily affiliated with Sphinx and acted as the tactician of the Sealed Ones and their Keepers. Roughly one year after Saki’s birth, Wise was killed alongside the rest of the Sealed Ones in the final battle with Luce. Wise’s partner started to investigate, believing that Luce was still alive, only to be struck down during the search. Saki, left orphaned, was ultimately taken in by Cherubi in the chaos that followed. Cherubi, Seraphi, and Ophani were close friends of the Sealed Ones, and the three of them are also convinced that Luce is still alive. Saki grew up in their custody before deciding to use their unorthodox magic to become a spy in search of the truth behind the past. Later, they enroll at Sierra as a Cantor in search of clues that could lead to Luce, keeping their mission secret from all. 

Saki has a varying fighting style because of the fact that they are a Blend. They shapeshift for the sake of their work but are known to take the form of either a masked vigilante known as Lyra or an unnamed dragon. They tend to use mind magic that comes with their shapeshifting abilities often in tandem with metal magic. They are strong with a rapier as well, and this is their weapon of choice. They tend to hide their shapeshifting unless they have to reveal the truth to others, masking as a regular Cantor (since they would only be outed as a Blend if their shapeshifting magic was known). 

Saki is the Sealed One of Capricorn, and their mark is found within their right eye. They hide the symbol with their mask when in the form of Lyra if they aren’t outright using magic to shield it from sight. They are in the same class as Junpei and Hinoka at the Millennium Six (a year above the Keepers).

Mayumi Reiku: Witch of Energy

Mayumi is a Witch with the ability to manipulate energy. She was born as a commoner of Hiloft, a planet known for its wide variety of magical types. Her mother abandoned her and her father when she was young, something her father considers to be a good thing due to her abusive tendencies. Mayumi lived on Hiloft for many years before her father was offered a chance to research the world of N-Yx, a planet with a particularly powerful connection to Moonlight. Mayumi followed with her father, which is where her family settled down with Haroi and his mother. The four became a happy new family with Mayumi becoming notably close with her new stepbrother. Despite the dreary circumstances behind her birth, Mayumi is upbeat and cheerful, easily able to attract the admiration of others. She can be prone to mood swings at times, but her good intentions cannot be denied no matter what. 

Mayumi’s magic is more volatile than most others’ because of her not having much formal training. Her lack of emotional regulation does not help in the slightest, and her mood swings can randomly drain the energy of herself and others if she is not careful. She fights with retractable claws in combat and struggles with matters of glyphs. 

Mayumi is the Sealed One of Sagittarius, and her mark manifests itself on her right calf. She is close with Haroi even though they attend different schools, and she falls within the same year as him, Tomoki, and Yumiko at the Millennium Six. 

Haroi Tsurumaki: Cantor of Cosmos

Haroi is a Cantor with the ability to influence the cosmos. He was born on N-Yx, a realm with heavy ties to Moonlight as a result of its many temples dedicated to magic. His mother is a priestess at one of these temples, and she raised Haroi within them after his father abandoned them. Haroi is naturally a frail young man, causing him to be somewhat secluded due to his inability to leave for long periods of time. He found admiration and whimsy in Mayumi, his stepsister, because of her endless energy and penchant for adventure. Their blended family means everything to Haroi, filling in the gaps of loneliness and yearning that he used to struggle with when growing up with only his mother and those at the temple by his side. Haroi is an introverted yet empathetic young man, highly in tune with the emotions of others despite his quiet demeanor. He is intelligent as well, loving to learn more about magic and how it manifests itself outwardly and passively in mages and leaths. 

Haroi’s weapon of choice is a staff, though he rarely uses it in battle. Instead, he prefers to use his magic when given the option. Haroi’s influence over his magic is impeccable because of the fact that he was raised in an environment meant to boost such strength. He is incredibly potent with symbols and glyphs and researches them when he can. 

Haroi is the Sealed One of Libra, and his symbol can be found on the back of his neck. Haroi is close friends with Mayumi due to their years of connection as siblings before they came to attend classes at the Millennium Six. He shares a year with her and is a year below the Keepers. 

Boko: Hero of Tactics

Boko is an assistant to Seraphi known for his affinity in tactics due to his manifestation. Since Seraphi is a teacher at Angelwood, Boko acts as the librarian of the school. He greatly looks up to Seraphi, and his curiosity is learned from his mentor. Boko was born and raised within Millennium City on Millennia, and he is vaguely aware of Junpei since they are both connected to teachers of the Millennium Six, though the two can hardly be considered close. Boko often looks after Nee, the other assistant of Seraphi, out of obligation to ensure that his friend stays out of trouble. He lacks the ability to fight since he chose to not train in such matters out of choice, preferring to offer tactics from the back of a group of fighters. 

Nee: Hero of Charisma

Nee is Seraphi’s other assistant and a close friend to Boko. His manifestation allows him to easily attract the attention of others through his words, though this is something that he struggles to channel due to how slow he can be on the uptake at times. Nee is notably emotionally intelligent despite this, and he is able to cover the bases that Boko misses in terms of communicating with others. He looks up to Seraphi just like his friend does, though his admiration is much less profound than Boko’s is. Nee is the one person who seems to know how to catch Saki by surprise, likely because of how strangely his brain seems to work in comparison to the strong majority of Saki’s targets within their line of work. 

Seraphi: Wizard of Sun

Seraphi is a teacher at Angelwood and a Wizard with the ability to manipulate light. He received a Blessing of Starlight many years ago from the previous Keeper of Starlight, augmenting his power and making him a fighter to be feared. He, Ophani, and Cherubi work together to make up the Three Angels, a trio of powerful warriors who once worked as allies of the Sealed Ones. He settled down as a teacher after Luce’s supposed defeat, though he thought that Luce was still alive somewhere. From there, he took in Boko and Nee as his apprentices while carrying out secret research into what had truly happened to Luce in the aftermath of the previous conflict. Seraphi is a kind and caring man who seeks only peace, making him a strong mediator in times of turmoil. 

Ophani: Enchantress of Spirit

Ophani is a teacher at Alitia and an Enchantress with the ability to channel foreign types of magic. Her powers allow her to bring in the spirits of deceased souls to temporarily contribute to her magical strength, and she uses this as a way of defending the peace alongside Seraphi and Cherubi as one of the Three Angels. She also received a Starlight Blessing many years ago from Garuru when he was the Keeper. Ophani is a charismatic woman and the unofficial leader of the Three Angels, easily able to pull in the attention of others and use it to her advantage. Her weapon of choice is a spear to contrast Seraphi’s sword and Cherubi’s bow. Ophani rarely takes nonsense from anyone, knowing how to put others in their place without going too far, and she is a terror on the battlefield. 

Cherubi: Cantor of Shadow

Cherubi is a teacher at Sierra and a Cantor who can freely manipulate shadows. He is the final of the Three Angels alongside Seraphi and Ophani, but unlike the other two, he received a Blessing of Moonlight from Sphinx many years ago. While researching Luce’s fall, he learned of what happened to Saki’s parent who did the same thing, and he offered to take in the young Saki soon afterwards. Saki decided to follow in Cherubi’s footsteps to learn more about Luce as a way of avenging the deaths of both of their parents and following in the path they had left behind. Cherubi is somewhat distant and aloof at first, struggling to speak his mind the way that Serpahi and Ophani do. Deep down, he is a kind soul, if not a bit paranoid and prone to bouts of emotion, especially if he believes his protege may be in danger. 

Susanoo: Wizard of Heaven

Susanoo is a figure of pure legend with their last noted appearance being years ago during the final battle against Luce. There is no way of confirming their existence beyond the rumors that have stated that they do exist in some form or another. In truth, they are the manifestation of the Sealed Ones pulling their magic together after fostering a close enough connection as a group. They are an amalgamation of all of the Sealed Ones both in personality and physical appearance, and they bear the symbols of the Sealed Ones scattered across their body in the proper places to match those who have combined to forge them. Their magic is stated simply to be ‘heavenly’ due to blending so many different types of magic, though it lacks an official title. 

Luce: Blend of Heaven and Hell

Luce is a Blend with the ability to fuse both light and darkness together. His magic is polarizing as can be, coming from the far ends of the spectrum of power. His strength is difficult to harness and stated to be highly volatile when placed in the wrong hands. He once found himself in a place of influence due to his natural charisma, but he broke free of that when the power got to his head, and he started to want complete control over others. Luce would go on to try and enforce this power through sheer force, though he was stopped by the Keepers and their Sealed Ones roughly sixteen years ago. However, Luce managed to survive the attack after the Keepers died, and he retreated to restore his power until the time was right. He sought revenge against the new Keepers and Sealed Ones for their predecessors defeating him, and he used immense attacks of magic to figure out who they were before striking. 

Age Guide

This is as of the time that the story starts. 

Tomoki, Yumiko, Mayumi, Haroi: 15 Takuya, Koji, Izumi, Koichi, Chihiro: 16 Junpei, Hinoka, Saki: 17

Plot

The group of twelve come to attend classes at the Millennium Six, each going to their respective schools to match their status of discipline and wing status. They meet in passing but do not get close with one another yet. After the Three Angels uncover information to reveal that Luce is truly alive, they prepare for an attack from him. Rather than being met with Luce himself, the Millennium Six are attacked by waves of magical soldiers made by Luce so that he doesn’t have to face them directly. The main cast is brought together by circumstance through these miscellaneous attacks, and they bond in an unlikely friendship based on their shared experiences. Their Sealed status is revealed along the way, allowing them to play right into Luce’s hands without even knowing that this is part of his plan. Through Saki, they meet the Three Angels, Boko, and Nee. The truth about Luce being alive is revealed, and the group begins to prepare to stop him. They train together, becoming Sealed Ones at their own paces throughout the process. Eventually, they find themselves faced with Luce himself, and in a magnificent battle, they are able to fuse their powers together to become Susanoo and defeat Luce once and for all, retaining their companionship all the way through. 

And that’s about all that I’ve got! I don’t know if I’m going to be coming back to this AU at any point in the future, but for now, I absolutely love this AU. If you haven’t already, pleeeeeease read Alitia and Frontiers Unexplored; they’re both on my Archive of Our Own, and I think that they are very good (and other people do too). I’ll see you for my next big rambling post, but until then, farewell, dear readers!

[joochansimp]

Wanted | Chapter 1

> synopsis: a ‘vampire knight’ inspired fic in which the human reader goes to a prestigious university, home to both humans and vampires. she catches the attention of a group of vampires and chaos ensues. > genre: fantasy, angst, fluff, uni, very crack & au. also very indulgent lol > pairing: readerxjuyeon, readerxrowoon, readerxseonghwa, readerxjaehyun (it is complicated... KJSDHFKSJ) (also more pairings/characters might be added later) > warnings: descriptions of blood, mild wounds, memory loss, manipulative behaviour sometimes. > words: 3.5k

You took a deep breath as you entered the building that would be your home for the next seven years of your life. Your stomach was filled with excited jitters, though a part of you was anxious. You didn’t really know what you were in for—everything you knew about Sagong Academy, and many other private academies of the sort, was that it was prestigious and that a lot of freshly graduated highschoolers from all over the world wanted to get in. You also knew that it was dangerous. How could it not be when the school was home to vampires?

You hadn’t met a lot of vampires in your life. Statistically, most vampires got turned between the age of 18 and 30, so you had never gone to school with one. There wasn’t a way of telling whether someone was a vampire or not, since they were able to walk around in the sunlight and physically looked the same as humans if they chose to, so unless they openly showed their nature, they were disguised.

When you stepped into the school building, however, you realised it was going to be very easy to keep the humans and vampires apart.

‘’You must be one of the first years,’’ a cheerful boy beamed at you as he walked over, holding out a folder. You nodded and took it, already taken aback by his demanding presence. He was wearing an all-white uniform: neat dress pants that were cuffed at the bottom, a white dress shirt, a white blazer and white shoes. The only things that weren’t white were his tie and some lined details on his uniform, which were a soft, warm orange. The girl next to him was wearing a uniform that was mostly the dark grey color of the boy’s tie, with a grey skirt, shirt, blazer and shoes, including the lined details that mimicked the boy’s uniform. Her stockings were the only fully white items, each having two orange lines at the top. 

‘’I’m Changmin, second year student representative of the human house. This is Gahyeon, she’s the second year representative of the vampire house. If you have any questions, we’re the ones you can talk to. What is your name?’’ he asked, looking down at a clipboard as he waited for your answer.

‘’Y/N,’’ you told him, quickly getting used to his fast paced and quirky presence.

‘’Ah, right here,’’ he said with a smile as he crossed your name off of the list.

‘’You’ve been paired up with Lee Jeno, table fifteen in the auditorium,’’ he said, pointing his pen to the left.

‘’Thank you,’’ you smiled at him, then made your way to the auditorium. You already knew the school was wealthy, but seeing the grand building in all its glory, both on the outside and inside, made it all the more real. Golden details on the walls and furniture, marble floors, and the three story high ceiling in the auditorium all showed off how exclusive the school was.

Rows and rows of tables were situated in the large room, and you walked around as you looked at the golden rimmed disks with numbers on the tables. At table number fifteen a dark haired boy sat, who was looking around, looking like he was carrying around about the same amount of nerves as you were. You walked over and cleared your throat, and as you caught his attention he got up from his seat.

‘’Hi, I’m Y/N. I’m supposed to sit at this table with you,’’ you introduce yourself, bowing at the boy. He quickly got up and bowed back, a friendly smile on his face.

‘’Nice to meet you, I’m Jeno,’’ he replied, sitting back down, and you sit next to him.

‘’This place sure is big, isn’t it?’’ he said as you both looked around the room.

‘’Definitely,’’ you agreed, your gaze falling on the back of the room, where a low stage was situated. Some people, whom you assumed were teachers, were standing on it, talking to each other as they waited for all the first years to arrive. You weren’t much of a talker and it seemed like Jeno wasn’t either, which suited you just fine. You preferred to get adjusted to a place and new people before completely opening yourself up, so you took this time to take a good look at the people around you. They were all either wealthy, or scholarship students like yourself, you assumed.

At exactly 9:00 the doors to the auditorium closed, and the staff gathered on the stage. You recognised Changmin and Gahyeon among them. A man stepped up to the microphone, which stood in the center of the stage, and the sound of people talking died down.

‘’Welcome to Sagong Academy. On behalf of the staff, we hope that you will find your stay here educational, enlightening and comfortable. If you have any questions after today’s introductory gathering, please do not hesitate to ask our student representatives,’’ the man said, motioning to a group of six students, including Changmin and Gahyeon. ‘’During your first lessons tomorrow, you will be introduced to them on a more personal level.’’

The speech was long, though anything but boring. Classes were divided between day and night. Vampires didn’t really need to stay inside during the day, but their nightly lifestyle was what worked and what was most convenient. The day and night classes would be mixed during breakfast and dinner—as vampires did in fact eat ‘’regular’’ food next to drinking blood—and during leisure time. During lunch however, night class students would be catching sleep, whereas when you went to bed at night, that’s when the night students would have their classes and their respective lunch. More small details about how things went around the academy were told, until the principal started to call out students’ names, and the dorms they would be staying in.

‘’If you would please follow the student representatives to the dorms. Classes start tomorrow morning at 8:00. Once again, welcome to Sagong Academy.’’

Everyone started clapping, then the murmur of excited students took over. You got up at the same time as Jeno did and you made your way to the groups that were forming.

‘’I’ll see you around,’’ Jeno said to you, to which you smiled in reply and nodded.

‘’Yes, seeya.’’

You walked to the girl who was holding a card that said ‘’1C’’ on it, which was the dorm number that the principal had mentioned when he called your name. You joined the group of girls and waited until the student representative started to walk out of the auditorium. Your group followed, the exited murmurs still hovering in the air, as you walked through the building to the west wing. The girls around you were talking way too excitedly to pay any attention to you, which, once again, suited you just fine. 

You arrived at the dorm with the 9 other girls in your group, and gathered around the student representative.

‘’My name is Yoohyeon and I’m a fourth year student of the vampire house,’’ the student representative introduced herself.

‘’You’ll share this dorm room among the ten of you, the main common room out there is used by all human students, though you are allowed to spend your free time anywhere else in the building, except for the vampire dorm rooms. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.’’

She continued talking about practical things, like the school uniforms—which were apparently waiting for you on your bed, and information about classes. Your attention really got caught when she started talking about the feeding procedure.

‘’We have to what now?’’ one of the girls piped up.

‘’Donate your blood,’’ Jayeon repeated without blinking. ‘’Humans donate their blood to the vampire students, no less than once a month, no more than two times a week. Only closely monitored and safe amounts at a time, of course. You can decide how many times you want to do it. If you have medical issues, arrangements can be made, of course. You can speak to the school nurse about that.’’

You had heard about donating blood, though a part of you always thought it was just a rumor. Having it confirmed like this made you even more nervous than you already were. The other girls once again broke into excited whispers, and after Yoohyeon took her leave, you picked a bed and unpacked your luggage. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to not feel too homesick. The next few years sure were going to be interesting.

~

‘’Ah, fresh blood.’’

Juyeon joined Rowoon by the window, both young males now looking down at the groups of first year humans spreading around the courtyard. It was rare to see vampires out and about during the day, simply because most didn’t like to surround themselves with potential triggers. And also because many felt like they were above humans.

‘’Anyone caught your attention yet?’’

‘’Not really. We’ll see, though, once donations start. Think you’ll become a regular this year?’’ Rowoon asked him in return.

‘’Nah, I’m sticking to synthetic for now,’’ Juyeon shook his head. ‘’You know I’m not good at selfcontrol.’’

Rowoon just chuckled softly in return. He remembered all too well how Juyeon had nearly sucked a poor girl dry during one of his first donation sessions. After that the school nurse urged him to switch to synthetic blood for the time being, so he could get used to blood before he learned to control his thirst. Most vampires learned within a few months of transitioning how to resist taking more blood than they needed, but some required a little (or a lot) more time and effort than that.

‘’Well I’m not sticking to synthetic—I can’t wait to try out the newcomers,’’ San smirked as he joined the two older students by the window.

‘’You know it’s going to be at least a few weeks before you get to feed from the vein, right?’’ Rowoon arched an eyebrow at the newborn vampire.

‘’Sure, but it’ll fly by,’’ he said optimistically.

They turned as the door to their common room opened and one of the student representatives entered the room.

‘’Ah, Jaehyun. How was the introduction?’’ Rowoon asked, now walking away from the window.

‘’Interesting. I spotted a few potential recruits, but we’ll have to see,’’ he said with a light shrug.

‘’How about donors? Any with good scents?’’ San pressed, clearly still in the first phase of vampirism, when the hunger was at its peak.

‘’A couple exceptional ones,’’ Jaehyun confirmed with a nod. ‘’I’m sure there will be an argument or two about who gets to request who during donations.’’

Though not usual, it was possible for vampires to request specific humans for blood donations. Since different vampires had different tastes and every human student had to donate blood, there was always plenty of blood for all vampires, but some of the night class students had developed preferences. As some students chose to become vampires after their first year, like San had, some vampires had to make do with the remaining humans and newcomers.

‘’Will your fourth year finally be there year where you drink human blood, too?’’ San asked Jaehyun.

‘’No human blood for me,’’ Jaehyun replied with a shake of his head.

‘’Why not, you were the only one who didn’t struggle when that human girl got a bloody nose in the courtyard last school year,’’ San inquired.

‘’That’s exactly why; I don’t need to satisfy my craving. Synthetic blood works for me and I prefer not to tempt myself when I don’t have to.’’

‘’So mature of you,’’ Seonghwa noted, who had been leaning against one of the many windows in the room, listening to the conversation. Jaehyun chuckled softly at his remark, knowing that the blonde vampire was just teasing him, which was confirmed by the smile on Seonghwa’s lips.

‘’You should try it some time, you might like it.’’

‘’I highly doubt that,’’ Seonghwa said, turning up his nose at the idea of giving up real human blood to the synthetic crap that Jaehyun and Juyeon drank.

‘’Anyway, if you want to get rest before classes tonight, this is the moment,’’ Rowoon announced as he walked to the room of his dorm. Though vampires didn’t really need to sleep, or eat regular food for that matter, both of these things helped with suppressing their ultimate craving for human blood, so most vampires spent a few hours a day resting in bed at least.

‘’I should. See you guys tonight,’’ Juyeon said, following Rowoon to the spiral staircase that led up to the different dorm rooms..

‘’Boring,’’ San sighed, flopping down on the black leather couch in the middle of the sitting area.

‘’Don’t be a baby. Things will soon get interesting around here,’’ Seonghwa said with a wink, before averting his gaze to the courtyard. Very interesting.

~

‘’Welcome to your first class at Sagong Academy. I am your homeroom teacher, as well as your Ethics teacher, Mrs. Byeon. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions, should you have any.’’

‘’When will we start having to give blood donations?’’ someone asked immediately. You could see that Mrs. Byeon was ticked off by the sudden question, even though she just said questions were welcome, from the slight clench of her jaw.

‘’Actually, your first ones will be made today. You’ll be escorted to the donation wing by one of the student representatives assigned to this class shortly.’’

Even though the subject had been touched upon several times now, nobody had explained how the blood donations actually worked. Did you simply have to sit in a chair while a nurse stuck a needle in your arm so a vampire could suck the blood out of you with a straw?

You shook your head, trying to practically shake the image out of your head, as it made your skin crawl.

When Changmin entered the class with his signature smile on his face, Mrs. Byeon dismissed the class. You grabbed your bag and got up, following the second year student with the rest of your classmates. It was nice walking around the building, as it helped you get to know the place better, though you were sure that you would get lost at some point. You noticed that not only did the human students’ uniforms differ from the vampire uniforms, yours being white and theirs grey, but the lined details came in different colors too. 

“They represent what year you’re in. Mine are orange, for second years. Yours are red, which means first years. Third years are yellow, fourth years green, and so forth, all up until the seventh year,” Changmin explained, looking back over his shoulder after you had asked him about it.

‘’Here we are,’’ Changmin said, entering a large room. In the middle of the room stood a large desk, behind which three school nurses were working. Throughout the room were white leather couches with soft looking pillows, some of which were occupied by other human students. Along the left wall of the room were five doors, all of which were closed, and all with a bright red light bulb above them.

‘’Those are the rooms in which the donations take place. If the light bulb is on, it means that the room is being used. The nurses will tell you when it’s time for you to enter a room. You can choose to keep the light on or off inside the room, depending on what makes you the most comfortable. A vampire will bite your neck—don’t worry, their teeth are so sharp you’ll hardly feel anything—and with the use of a blood pressure monitor the school nurse will be able to keep track of your health. Though don’t worry, vampires know exactly when to stop and most choose to do so before it gets unpleasant.’’

You wondered why he would include that last bit of information, as it instantly made you nervous, but you realised that he probably had to mention it as a disclaimer.

‘’The most important thing is to relax. You’ll get used to it, and after a while it’s nothing to be nervous about at all.’’

As you waited, you watched some of the students coming out of the donation rooms. They looked fine, as far as you could tell. They all had a small band aid stuck to their neck, and the nurses handed each of them either a piece of fruit or a cookie, to get their blood sugar level up again.

Seeing the students act so ordinary after giving blood, you felt a little bit calmer. There was nothing to worry about, surely if this was a normal thing here at school, accidents were unusual. Right?

You were about to tap Changmin on the shoulder to ask whether a student had ever died during a donation session, when one of the nurses called your name.

‘’Door number two, please,’’ she smiled, motioning to the second door on the left. You gulped and got up, smoothing out your white skirt, and made your way to the door. You opened it and slowly stepped inside. The room was smaller than you expected, though not any less beautiful that the other areas you had been to so far. There was another door on the wall across from you, the doorframe and knob the same shining gold as everywhere else in the building. In the middle of the square room was a comfortable looking stool with a rich red cushion on it. A small table on the side held a small bottle of water, a few band aids, a wristband of some sort and what seemed to be an instruction card on it. You stepped up to the table and picked up the card.

Please drink at least a small amount of water before donating.

Please place the wristband around your wrist firmly, though not so firm that it cuts off your circulation. The light on the wristband should be green.

When you are ready, please press the red button next to the door frame.

Please take a seat on the stool (facing the door you entered through) and await instructions.

You put the card down and took the bottle of water. You weren’t sure what a few sips of water would do for the blood donating experience, but it helped a little bit to calm your nerves. You took a few gulps, then put the bottle down again and took the wristband. You put it around your wrist, then tightened it so that it sat comfortably against your skin. After a few seconds a small green light on the wristband lit up. So far so good.

You looked at the red button next to the door you entered through, and hesitantly pressed it. You then stepped to the stool and climbed up on it, sitting with your back towards the other door. You took a deep breath and waited for the instructions.

‘’Please choose: lights, on or off,’’ a slightly robotic voice asked you. You hesitated. You weren’t afraid of the dark—you were actually pretty comfortable in it. Though did you really want an unknown vampire feeding from you for the first time in the dark?

‘’Please choose: lights, on or off,’’ the voice asked you again.

What was worse, being fed on by someone while being able to see their face, or not?

‘’Off,’’ you decided, still unsure of your decision. Right now, you’d rather not be confronted with the face of the person who would have your life in their hands for the next few minutes, and having to face them afterwards around school. Especially since you didn’t know whether you would freak out or not. What if it hurt and you screamed? What if they didn’t stop when you started to get dizzy?

The light turned off and you nearly held your breath awaiting what would happen next. A small amount of light entered the room as the door behind you opened and someone entered. The door closed again and you were engulfed in darkness. You expected someone to greet you, or at least say something to indicate that they were there, but it remained quiet. Your body tensed and your heartbeat quickened. They surely wouldn’t just bite you out of the blue, would they? Not only would that be rude, but it would undoubtedly ruin the whole experience for you, scaring you for each and every following time you had to donate—

Your train of thoughts got cut off when you felt someone brush your hair to the side, gently pushing it over your left shoulder, exposing the right side of your neck. You shivered lightly at the sudden touch, even though it was ever so soft. You could feel the person behind you inch closer and… you could have sworn that they sniffed at you.

The tip of their nose brushed lightly against your exposed skin, making you shiver once again. Your heart was beating rapidly and they had hardly even touched you yet.

‘’Hmm…’’ the person hummed softly, the first thing they had said to you at all, if you could even call it ‘saying’ anything.

‘’Nice to meet you, princess.’’

[amaya777]

A Dangerous Life | A Twisted Wonderland OC Oneshot

For this, I’m doing a Mafia AU version of Sander. Yes, I know that I am extremely late to the bandwagon for that, remembering that being a thing when I first created my blog before I even thought of posting my OC. But it’s just a good and fitting AU for Twisted Wonderland, so I decided to finally do it now. I am aging up Sander, Azul and such to be at least 18+ because of the nature of mafias and the type of setting.

------------------------------------

Sander was sitting at a table in the posh establishment, feeling so out of place in many ways right now. He had to be the youngest person here as everyone else drinking seemed to be at least ten years older than him besides maybe the woman in the sparkly dress singing on stage. Dressed in tattered rags and short for his age despite now being an adult, he knew that normally he would have been thrown out already. But the man who he had been running small errands for this past year told him that one of his bosses wanted to meet him, to give him a bigger errand to run that could lead to future work. Sander knew that he had to take it, needing the money and thankful that with being older, he can do jobs that pay more.

Selling newspapers, polishing shoes, little things that he could do over the years barely made a dime really. While it was something and every little bit counted, it wasn’t enough for the orphanage to survive on. That’s why he was thankful that a year ago someone was offering money if he would just deliver envelopes and small bags for them. He never knew what was in them and never asked since he was told never to open them, obeying since a job is a job. It was just simple deliveries, yet they paid him so much that he just kept going with it. That much cash allowed him to really help out more and even afford to buy the other kids some actual clothes and toys too.

So he waited until a very tall man came walking over, dressed in a business suit with his hair slicked back except for the black strand hanging down the left side of his face. His eyes were different colors too, but he seemed to have a smile on his face.

“Ah, so you’re the one who has been doing those errands. Thank you, good help is always hard to find. That’s why when I found out, I wanted to offer you this job to see if you’re capable. Deliver this to our client on the other side of town, in the alley behind the gym there. Don’t open it and do not let yourself get caught, under any circumstances. You will be paid very handsomely once you’ve completed this and come back. You’ll accept it, yes?”

Sander thought about it, hearing that he can’t get caught as he thought of the location. That’s right, that part of town is extremely rough and ruled by the notorious Savanaclaw gang that even he knew of it. Their leader is a beast and they don’t take too kindly to outsiders either. He knew that this could be dangerous, but that money would be really nice and this could lead to more work for him. So Sander nodded back as Jade grinned and handed over a bulky envelope with a lavender wax seal on it.

“Wonderful. My name is Jade. Good luck, Sander.”

Sander was very surprised and confused as to how Jade knew his name, but took the envelope before leaving the place. Jade chuckled, looking back as a man wearing glasses and carrying a cane came walking up along with an identical man to Jade but his hair strand on the opposite side.

“That boy, if he is serious and clever enough, should be able to survive against those ‘beasts’. It would be a shame to lose someone that reliable.”

The two twins nodded, both in agreement with what the one spoke before all of them headed back to the office.

Meanwhile Sander was making his way through town, hiding the envelope on him as he thought of how to do this. As long as he can blend in with the crowds and stay unnoticed, it should be fine. Soon he got to the other side, otherwise known as the slums due to how poor this part of town was. Abandoned and run down buildings with those living here struggling to survive while turning to crime and violence, this is exactly where he doesn’t want the other kids to end up if he can’t support them. So he was careful to keep his head down as he walked through the streets, looking for the gym when a group of guys wearing yellow bands of cloth noticed the envelope.

“Hey, he’s with Octavinelle! After him!” the leader of them yelled as Sander heard, shocked and started running before the guys chased after him. Octavinelle? Was this why he can’t get caught? But he couldn’t think on it long, quickly ducking into an alley to try to lose those guys only to find that he reached a dead end. Crap! The fence was too tall for him to jump and if he doesn’t do something quick, they’ll catch him. He searched all over until he saw the broken window to his left and the trash bins to his right. Sander picked up a rock and threw it through the window as it made noise before rushing behind the bins, hiding perfectly still and silent. He waited, hearing those guys come running down the alley.

“He’s in here!”

One of them screamed as they all went through the window and his plan had worked. Once the coast was clear, Sander ran out of the alley quickly and made his way to the alley he needed to be in. There was a guy dressed like the locals and ready to fight, but relaxed when he saw the envelope Sander held. He mentioned Octavinelle, being the client as Sander handed it to him and the guy thanked him before leaving. Sander was so thankful that he did it, also leaving the area before those guys from before could spot him again. So he went back to that establishment and there was Jade standing there as he walked over.

“Oh, so you made it back. Congrats. I will let my boss know of you for the future. Here is your pay and surely we will meet again.”

Jade handed Sander an envelope with a smile as he took it and nodded back. Sander opened it, completely stunned by how much money there was. This is five times the amount he would get from a normal errand!

“T-Thank you so much!”

Sander bowed his head, so grateful and happy as he left the place. This will really help out the orphanage so much for a good while, thinking that the others could sleep and not worry about a lack of food. He wanted to cheer and celebrate, needing to give this to their caretaker. So he ran for the orphanage up the hill, a large but not well-kept building due to a lack of funds and barely struggling by with the little money he made. Sander went inside, calling out as he went to their caretaker’s room, only to see them with a man wearing glasses and holding a cane. He was dressed impeccably and serious before he took notice of the envelope.

“So you’re the one that’s been keeping this place afloat and who Jade hired. I must say, you’re quite dedicated and trustworthy to do these kinds of jobs for this long. The fact that you are even here after going to Savanaclaw territory shows that you are a smart one too. I am Azul Ashengrotto, owner of that Octavinelle Lounge. Say, how about we strike a deal that will help all of us?”

The caretaker looked nervous, but Sander was smiling because of the praise coming from someone clearly above him and realizing that he is Jade’s boss. He nodded back, curious before Azul gave a little smirk and pulled out a piece of paper with Contract written on it followed by many lines of words with a blank spot at the bottom. Azul stated that he wanted to officially hire him on as one of his staff where aside from running deliveries and errands like that, he would take the boy under his wing, teaching him the ropes of the business. Someone so loyal was rare in this line of work, reminding Azul of his youth as a determined boy really. In exchange, Sander would be well paid and taken care of for life with this orphanage also being taken care of too.

Sander was smiling and already thinking of how wonderful this opportunity was, that the orphanage wouldn’t have to struggle anymore and everyone would be happy. The caretaker questioned if such an agreement is legal, but Azul quickly reminded them that the boy is an adult and can make his own decisions. Sander didn’t hesitate as he signed the paper with Azul’s pen, sealing the deal and the man having a large grin on his face.

“Wonderful! Come along now, if you’re going to work for me, you must have the proper attire after all.”

Azul rolled up the contract and put it away, holding his hand out as Sander eagerly took it. He gave the money to the caretaker, saying his goodbyes to everyone before leaving with the other. After being bought and dressed in tailored clothes by Azul, he formally met Jade and Floyd before living his new life working under the three of them. He didn’t have to worry about himself or the orphanage needing to survive, just working hard at his job and remaining loyal to Azul over the years. It wasn’t easy at all, but it was well worth the hardships to finally know that he and everyone else would have a happy life.