#but meeting up with other locals who have lived here for awhile and observed all the same things as you have it's like.

[peemil]

STOP MOVING TO LA

[pffbts]

↬genre: slice of life; fluff ; crack; hint of a love triangle ; loads of tension.

↬characters: jealous!wen junhui x reader | support: kim mingyu (plays a big role)

↬w.c: 4K

↬author`s note: sorry for the delay but this is basically junhui making your knees weak or you just want to beat his ass. this fic can go two ways―it`s yours to decide. also this is a re-write because the last attempt wasn`t reaching my heart. so i`m writing this again :) hope you enjoy this read! (btw i would strongly suggest you to read mingyu`s version before you jump onto this)

↬synopsis: there are 13 boys who lives in your town where each of them have each of their own colours. some you know in person & some from afar so one day you sat down deciding to describe each of their colours absorbing all of their goodness and all of their flaws. you wondered what if someone in some other town ever thought of questioning when they looked at these boys, that―what if we lived in the same town?

☍ seungcheol | jeonghan | joshua | junhui | soonyoung | wonwoo | jihoon | seokmin | mingyu | minghao | seungkwan | vernon | chan

[03:37 PM] [meet him at the dawn & he`ll take you to places you`ve never seen]

―standing opposite of the road, that day you saw him getting out of the newly opened chinese restaurant of the town. he was wearing a white shirt with two of the top buttons undone, the edges carelessly tucked in a freshly washed denim jeans to wind up with it. dashing as always, junhui had spared a listless glance at you and with his shoulders wide, he tucked his palms into both of his jean`s pockets.

you, on the other hand, didn`t smile at him but rather let your eyes widen a bit unconsciously. in split second, when you realized what had happened, you retreated back from keeping any kind of eye contact with him.

from the corner of your eyes, you could somehow make out that he was clearly smirking on his own. his little smirk was so palpable that it traverse through the air stirring up something in you along with the sudden heat splashing across your cheeks & neck. that feeling didn`t leave your body and waited a long time to fade until you finally reached back home.

you didn`t know much about junhui, as a matter of fact. surely you`ve seen him once in a while but that was it. you didn`t know what kind of person he was exactly apart from the fact that he was extremely beautiful. he was, if you weren`t mistaken, quite a silent heartthrob of the town.

he also, isn`t the type to talk much. that is to say, you have never seen him talk whenever you`ve spotted him on the street or anywhere in the local market. he didn`t study at your school and his place too, was far from your own so spotting him at your street wasn`t a regular thing until one fine day it happened out of nowhere.

you were out to go rent some dvd because the dvd player had been sitting under dust for a long time at your place. it was one of those day when iconic black and white movies which both you and your mother were equally fond of clenches you two in its tight hold so she gave you a little push to go grab some mutual favourites from the dvd rent shop down the street.

wearing a soft pink shorts and a white shirt typically bigger for your built, you walked out of your place to the dvd rent shop. swinging both of your arms on your side, you did a few little skips while walking. it was quite evident that you were in good spirit and why shouldn`t you be? a movie night and your mother was making your favourite dish tonight being the combo treat is not something of a regular thing in this household.

long after walking, you stood in front of the shop. keeping your eyes on the open sign, you push the door inside and soon you heard a peal of laughter already filling up the shop to the brim of it.

the laughter was as if it welcomed you to the shop but for some reason, you could recognize a single voice among the two.

you stop for a second, slowing down the motion of you closing the door and kept on listening to the laughters. in the slip of a quick second, you recognized it to be mingyu`s but you couldn`t see him right away.

whipping your head around, you tried detecting the direction from which it came until you heard a cough from the part-timer and the growing string of your attention rips right then.

bowing a bit to the part-timer who worked at the cash counter, you slowly walked through the shelves filled with all kind of dvds. your ears were perked up at the sound of giggles and laughter now a little bit on a lower note.

the part-timer probably sent the owner of those laughters a warning glance to maintain the silence.

you, on the other hand, still couldn`t find the movie you were looking for. walking listlessly, your eyes staring up and down the rows of shelves soon your back makes a sudden contact with something hard and warm.

for a moment you thought it would be mingyu and a lift at the corner of your mouth surfaces.

turning your neck around, you had to crane it up a bit to look at whom you stumbled upon considering in your head you thought it would be mingyu probably playing around with you and with his gigantic height your actions were sort of a reflex.

but as soon as you realized whom you stumbled onto, you quickly turned around and jumped three feet away from him.

“oh?”, with wide eyes junhui watches you jump back and then as he leans a bit by putting up one of his palm, he finally greets you, “hi.” the wide of his eyes cease within seconds replacing them into soft creases around the corners.

his voice carried an essence of mirth and from the looks of it, he clearly recognized you considering he has seen you quite a few times ― sometimes even when you`re not aware of his presence.

you bow a bit and give him a crooked smile although your eyes were so nervous, it couldn`t keep a single second of contact with his own until your eyes fixated on something familiar―it was the head peaking from behind junhui―of mingyu`s.

a wave of relief ran through your system as you, instead of returning junhui`s wave, put up your own palm and greeted mingyu. your friend`s eyes turn into crescents as he comes from behind the boy you just met and places his own palm against yours. you smiled up at him and he returns it as always.

seeing how junhui was left behind, mingyu turned around and stood next to you while placing his arm around your shoulder. a very familiar act. nothing you should be surprised of at this point.

“jun, meet_____, she lives across my street.”

you bow at junhui again. but in your head, you were wondering how did mingyu know him. at school, you`ve not really seen him around your friend and you, yourself haven`t really seen him that much. but without any further wait, mingyu answers the said question in your head.

“_____ meet wen junhui. he got transferred to our school few weeks ago and has newly joined the basketball team last week! have you seen him?”

“ah no―i think?” you answer back very unsure of your fading memory.

“mingyu said that you are quite a regular at the bleachers cheering for this buddy right here,” junhui speaks up for a first time after all this while. he pointed at mingyu while he utters those last words.

you flushed a bit at the mention of you being at the bleachers while you watch mingyu play. but it`s just, you are always there to support your friend. you don`t really make any sound while you`re at it though. most days, you just sit back and watch mingyu play. it`s not a secret that you very much adore his basketball skills.

“it`s nothing really..,” you squeeze out a carefree laughter although it ended up sounding like a nervous one, “i just…watch and,” with a shrug you continue, “maybe clap sometimes.”

junhui only chuckles as you finish. it looked like as if he caught you in your act. it really wasn`t looking nice for you now but at least you had mingyu`s arm around you so you stopped feeling a bit out of place, plus junhui was clearly a stranger. why must you care so much for what he thought?

“but even that bit is enough. after all, ______ & me, we`ve been friends since childhood. our mothers are best friends too! we even get to have weekly get-togethers every sundays.”

as new information for junhui`s ear comes to surface, you quickly looked over at him who now wore an indifferent expression as if somewhat a spark of jealousy lay across his chest. but when he saw you looking at him, he caught your gaze with his warm ones with that very recognizable smirk climbing onto his mouth making you think that he is clearly skilled at hiding his sudden change of emotions.

you stare at him for a good few seconds, feeling yourself getting braver as you have already caught him slip his cool awhile ago. clearly, in junhui`s head, he really didn`t want mingyu to continue so he spoke up.

“that`s good to know. but the question is will i get an invite someday?” he was asking mingyu the question but his eyes were all on you and at the same time he was observing how mingyu`s attention never faltered from upon your face.

you finally looked up to meet with your friend`s eyes on you and with one of his brows perked up, mingyu asked you as you did so, “that sounds good, doesn`t it? we should talk to our mothers for a permission though?”

you nod and add, “sure, that doesn`t sound bad. the more the merrier.”

absolutely not, you think back in your head, you definitely don`t like lots of people around you. no offense to junhui but you`re not exactly good with strangers or people in general.

“and what about cheering for me sometimes at the bleachers sometimes?” junhui leans against the shelf lightly and breaks the on-going conversation between you and mingyu with a sudden heated question.

“ayyyy that she will do of course. every friend of mine is _____`s friend so of course she`ll cheer for you, jun. although i`m a little special so i`ll get more cheers, right?” mingyu bent down and moved his face infront of you with the silliest smile on his face.

this boy, you thought, you`re really enjoying this, aren’t you?

you wanted mingyu to read your eyes but you were unsure if he was just putting up an act or simply being oblivious.

you close your eyes a bit and put up a pressed smile on your face as you thought about how mingyu clearly didn`t understand what junhui was trying to do here and on top of all that, he didn`t even let you speak before jumping onto answering the question for you.

you thought, maybe that`s what friends do. clearly, you were wrong in this.

“hahaha, sure, i mean why not―although i don`t know how much me cheering will help. i don`t even cheer, i just, like i said,” you huffed and leaned a bit to your side after turning your attention from mingyu`s child-like expression to junhui`s attentive ones, “i only sit and watch.”

junhui mirrors your act of leaning and replies.

“that`s very much enough.”

the line that forms on his lips gives his cheeks a lift. his eyes looks pure and yet with that built, you couldn`t really pinpoint what you should be feeling.

you didn`t know if you wanted to laugh or cry right at that moment. he was clearly copying mingyu right there but he added a little bit of his own spice in it.

you only nodded and smiled through the dilemma and made sure there`s nothing on your face that would give you how hot and bothered you were with just the presence of junhui infront of you.

“anyway,” gently pushing mingyu by his shoulders who was previously bending down to look at you face to face, “i need to get some dvds. so can i….look for them now?” raising your brows, you trail off looking at both of the boys as they nod and give you the space to choose.

but mingyu`s arm remained on your shoulder as you walked towards the shelf and junhui―he only moved away from his previous spot a bit. so now that you were standing in front of the shelf of dvds, you were stuck in-between two clearly much taller for their age boys.

sighing microscopically, you reached out your arm and pulled out a dvd of a sleeper-hit movie from decades ago―one of yours and your mother`s favorite.

“_____ you like this movie too?” junhui asks suddenly. his voice sounded slightly different this time. also, the sudden slip of your name from his mouth caught you by surprise for a moment. this was actually the first time he called you by your name if you could recall every interaction with him.

eventually, this particular moment resurfaces once in a while when junhui crosses your head sometimes.

“hmm, i do! you….” you reply.

“same, i do like it too―actually, it`s my mother`s favourite and―”

“mine too! it`s my mother`s favourite too!” you cut him off, declaring right away with an excitement in your tone with a sudden sense of familiarity very loud in the air between both of you.

junhui only blinks. his eyes a little bit wide and the smile which was now less smirk-like climbs on his mouth.

“ohhh junhui, both you & _____ have some similar taste, huh?” mingyu and his annoying self chirped in, which you obviously didn`t pay any heed to. you only replied with a “is that something very interesting to you?” but only in your head.

as if mingyu was about to reply, you turned around to look up at jun and let him continue clearly ignoring mingyu and his big mouth.

seeing how now your attention is all on him, junhui skipped the previous act of smile and giggled and if you could clearly remember it`s been a long time you`ve heard such a sweet giggle in a while.

“ah well i`ve watched it once with her when it was on television one day. i love the story of the leads and how even though they had to face all those hurdles, they didn`t falter in their discipline and way of life. it was…uplifting to me, i guess? staying grounded. loved that.”

“i understand. the feelings are mutual.”

this time the smile was genuine. you were glad that this time you weren`t nervous, that you could smile without stuttering through your thoughts although everything about junhui was distracting you. from his handsome built, his face to now having been discovered his soft giggle (it kept on replaying on your head for some unknown reason) and him, being this close to you right now wasn`t helping at all.

“that sounds very deep.” mingyu states. this time both you and junhui hum at the same time at him, not ignoring him.

“so did your mother tell you to rent it or….?” junhui asks.

“no, well, actually yes―both me and my mother thought of having a movie night. the dvd player at home is gathering only dust so we thought to have some good use of it.”

“oh so auntie must be making some good foods too, right?” this time mingyu joins in.

“ah yes, she `s making my favourite dish,” you spare him a glance before replying back.

“ah then what should i pick up…now that _____ has already picked up one from my bucket list today.”

junhui gifted you a look from the corner of his eyes while the well-known smirk adorned the corner of his mouth and he strolls across the makeshift corridor in-between the two large shelves softly drumming his fingertips on each of the spines of dvds placed in order.

“ah i`m sorry if you want you can keep it,” you brush off mingyu`s arm around your shoulder and walk a little bit towards junhui, “i can take some others, it`s not like this is the only one i needed anyway.”

the boy whom you just got to know spun on his heels with his arms now behind him crossed and he leans in to come closer to your face. a little bit closer and you could feel his breathe over you.

“same goes for me but _____what if we make a deal?”

“a deal?” you question him, curiosity hitting you from behind.

junhui hums.

“tell me about it.”

“what if you give me the dvd after you & auntie,” junhui looks at mingyu for a second, his eyes mischievous as he uses your friend`s addressing term for your mother and continues after placing his gaze upon you once again, “finish watching the movie and i pay for both of our rentals.” his focus on you remained until the end, or maybe a little bit after that. his eyes burned into you and you felt like you couldn`t run away from them, yet.

you were not going to lie but this proposal came like a shock. the giving of  the said dvd in question to junhui after you`ll be done with it wasn`t the main shocker at all―it was the fact that he was offering to pay for both his and yours rental for this dvd.

suddenly, you heard mingyu`s footsteps from behind you. junhui straightens his back and watches your friend coming close to you. he only shrugs when he looks down at you. you didn`t know what kind of expression mingyu wore but you wish it was nothing major.

“oi jun―” you close your eyes right then and exhale before turning around your body to face your friend but mingyu cut you off, although you don`t know if it was intentional or just simple coincidence, “are you hitting on ______? dude you just met her.”

there you go. that`s it. just what you were fearing.

clearly, his voice had a certain strain at the back of his throat but he covered it up with his playful voice. a voice which carried a laughter which could be both mockery or sound as fake as possible. you didn`t know if junhui noticed it but being grown up with mingyu since toddler days, you could make it out very well.

you put your palms on top the denim clad chest of your friend, calming down whatever you wanted to calm down.

at the same time, you only heard junhui chuckle behind you. you couldn`t make out if it was an evil one or a natural one but the smug on his face was evident in his voice.

“hey it`s fine.” you say, your voice wasn`t reaching the octave you intended.

“looks like big boy`s a little jealous that me & ____ are hitting it off as good friends already?”

“it`s not about being good friends….hitting on someone and being good friends is different.”

“i was just trying to put on a good impression on her, gyu.” junhui, this guy , he was clearly enjoying this. but if his intentions were good then you didn`t see any problem with it.

“i don`t mind that at all but just so you know, _____ isn`t someone who`ll sway that easily. she`s a tough nut to crack.”

you almost laughed at mingyu`s words―it looked as if he was speaking from experience but you just shook your head and turned around. both of your arms now raised up in the air stopping both boys from having a fight here solely because of you for some stupid reason.

“it`s okay, it`s all fine.”

you looked up at junhui and continued in a calm voice “thank you for the offer, junhui, but i`ll pay for my own rent or else my mother will question about it and i`m really not in a mood to explain such stuff to her and about giving the dvd to you―” you give him a soft smile and said further, “i`ll send it to you through mingyu considering you hang out with him these days, okay?”

you nod up at mingyu who was previously looking at junhui. but when he saw you were looking at him, he switched from his squinting eyes combined with a sour pout to a completely different expression, the kind he gives you as if it`s only reserved for you―typically a warm one.

mingyu closes his eyes for a second and nods.

“i hope we`re clear now?”

“i was just playing around, _____, don`t worry,” junhui raised both of his arms up as if surrendering and continued “there`s no bad intentions here.”

in junhui`s head he was obviously being a good person and so was mingyu. junhui walked over to mingyu and playfully circled his arms around your friend and puts his other hand on top of his chest rubbing it playfully.

you let out a small laugh and saw mingyu lowering his eyes to stare up at junhui through his lashes and rolled his eyes before elbowing his new buddy in his sternum. junhui only yelps letting out a wheeze.

and, with that the dvd rental shop got filled up to laughters yet again until the sudden intentional cough from the part-timer made both of these playful boys shush down with each of their forefingers on top of their individual lips.

rolling your eyes and shaking your head, you walked across the shelves and picked another two old classics and went to the counter to pay for the rents.

mingyu picked up a newly released movie he was looking forward to last spring and junhui picked out two recent but a little older movies.

after you were done with the payment and all, you were about to walk out of the shop and waved a goodbye to the boys who were still paying. mingyu ran a bit to the door to hold it for you.

but before the door would completely close on you, your eyes moved over at junhui who was still standing at the counter―he was waiting for the changes but his face was turned towards you and he was looking at you with a now unknown gaze. you couldn`t really make out what it was but for some reason it made you a little bit sad.

but before he could witness the curve of your mouth for him, he closed his eyes for a second and smiled at you. your eyes widen at this and instantly without knowing you smiled back at him fully.

and that was it.

that was the last time you met junhui at that close proximity. you had seen him at the basketball court, you had seen him at random street. some day or night your eyes have met with each other and sometimes they didn`t, but his smile had burned through the surface of mind. some time, at some random time, you`ll suddenly get a flash back of his smirk or that fleeting smile he gave you before you closed the door on both of your first meet.

also you knew that mingyu probably made sure junhui never gets to have any closure with you. there`s been couple of times when you`ve found jun across the corridors of the school, simply hanging around and before anything can happen mingyu had circled his arm around junhui dragging his focus away from you who`d just be passing by to deliver some copies of homework to the teacher`s rooms.

you didn`t question this.

afterall, mingyu himself was in a dilemma of sorting out his feelings for you. he would probably do anything until you accept him in your life as something more than just childhood friends but even junhui never made sure to take any attempt, other than casual glances.

well, that`s what you know. it not like you know everything that the future holds. maybe one day you`ll meet him again when mingyu`s not around and you both will have conversations that never happened or waited for the right moment to have anything grow out of the seeds sown in this new friendship.

but for now, it`s okay. maybe someone from another town will catch feelings for him better, it`s not like you`ve him bounded by some string of fate.

it`s okay wherever you stand now when it comes to your relationship with junhui.

fin. 

[free-pancakes]

A Fire in the Shadows

LeviHan - Avatar the Last Airbender AU fic

Characters: Levi, Hange, Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit, Kenny, Zeke, Sasha, Jean, Armin, Kuchel, Porco, Pieck, Pyxis

Summary: Levi, the nephew of a fire nation captain, stumbles upon a ragtag group of 5 known as the Scouts, formidably known for foiling the plans of local fire nation control, living in the forests a few miles north of Ba Sing Se.

Chapter 7/?

Chapter 7: The Lotus Tile Chapter 6: The Panda Lily Chapter 5: Interconnected Chapter 4: The Fire from the Shadows Chapter 3: Bonds Chapter 2: Trust Chapter 1: The Scouts

(crossposted to ao3)

Notes:

Sorry for a horribly late update, but here's a long chapter to make up for it! Also this is quite self-indulgent and features a Nanaba POV bc I love the idea of Levi and Nanaba being best buds :)

CHAPTER 7: THE LOTUS TILE

“Nanaba, please.”

Mike placed a hand on Nanaba’s shoulder.

“We’ve known Levi for almost a whole year now, don’t you even want to give him a real chance?”

Nanaba grit her teeth and she shoved him away, storming out of the hut. She grabbed a rope, slid down to the forest floor, and walked out to separate herself from Erwin and Mike, to get some air.

“How could they just… trust him like that?” She yelled out, her voice feeling small as it immediately disappeared in front of her, absorbed by the thick, forest foliage surrounding her.

Nanaba was frustrated, and absolutely appalled at Erwin and Mike. Each of them had gone on a mission alone with Levi and Hange, and suddenly they just… trusted the guy? Acting like long-time buddies? Like one trip with him was somehow transformative, turning how they viewed him a whole 180?

Sure, objectively, Levi seemed… alright. He’s worked well with them as a group overall, and hasn’t pulled anything fishy so far. But for whatever reason, Nanaba felt that something was off. Her gut told her that there was something Levi was still keeping from them all—and that worried her immensely because, well, her gut was rarely ever wrong. Hange was one of her closest friends—she’d snap the little man in two before he could even lay a finger on Hange.

Nanaba suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder—eliciting yet another burst of rage within her.

“Mike, can you please just—“

She turned to find Hange staring at her, the lamp in her hand lighting up her face, highlighting the deep concern in her eyes.

“Oh, sorry Hange.”

“Mike getting on your nerves again?” Hange teased, elbowing Nanaba as she wriggled her eyebrows.

Nanaba’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and took a pause.

“Doesn’t he always?” She retorted, and the two of them fell into a fit of laughter. As their giggling gradually died down, Hange took Nanaba’s hand.

“Please come with us tomorrow?” Hange said softly, giving Nanaba her best pout and puppy-dog eyes. She really wanted Nanaba to get along with Levi—she thought they’d make great friends if she just gave him a chance.

“…Fine,” Nanaba said as she rolled her eyes. “But can’t promise to be nice to him.”

Hange raised her fist in the air in triumph. “Sounds like a plan!”

—————————

As the sun began to rise, breaking dawn’s purple hue, the three arrived at the entrance to a small, bustling town. Hange stretched her arms back and let out a huge yawn.

“Wanna do that any louder and wake up the whole damn town?” Levi muttered as he reached to press up on Hange’s chin to stifle her yawn. Levi wanted to smile as Hange laughed, but he couldn’t help but hold it in, as he felt uneasy sensing Nanaba’s glare staring him down from the side.

“Let’s plan on meeting back here in an hour? Grab supplies, food anything else we might need?” Hange asked, which elicited a nod of agreement from the other two. As they all split ways, Nanaba hung back for a bit, watching Levi’s back as he promptly walked down one of the streets with stalls setting up shop for their early morning shift. As she looked over to see Hange heading in the opposite direction, she realized that she had rarely observed Levi alone, and even more specifically, seen him separate from Hange—so she decided this would be her chance to check up on him, to see anything that may confirm her suspicions and distrust towards him.

She trailed behind Levi, just far enough that he likely wouldn’t notice. And… all was pretty normal. He simply stopped for a new water canteen and various other things. Though just before Nanaba could let her guard down, she noticed Levi linger and stare at a tapestry on the wall outside the town’s tea shop.

She watched his eyes linger on the Fire Nation emblem stitched into the cloth. She couldn’t read him, and was unsure of what kind of emotions lay in his gaze. But, she found herself narrowing her eyes—he had been staring for a bit too long for her liking. She didn’t know what to make of it, so she quietly followed Levi into the tea shop. Nanaba watched him sit at the small bar up front, so she found a table just within earshot, and lifted her hood to keep him from recognizing her.

After sometime, Nanaba took her remaining bites of food and sips of tea. Before she could stand, she heard Levi shift from his chair to leave. And suddenly, she heard the small clatter of wood hit the tile floor. She turned her head slightly to steal a peek, and watched Levi bend down to pick up what looked like… a small Pai Sho tile?

“Sir, I think you dropped this,” Levi said quietly, reaching his hand out towards the man who had just left his seat next to Levi a second ago. The bald man turn around towards Levi.

“Oh, clumsy me, huh?” The man exclaimed with a chuckle. He reached his hands towards Levi, closing Levi’s fingers over the tile, and pushed it back towards him.

“What’s your name, son?”

Levi’s gaze remained steady, his eyes blank.

“Levi, sir.”

“Levi…?

“Just… Levi.”

“Alright, ‘Just Levi’! The name’s Pyxis,” he said with a smile—something in his eyes made Levi feel slightly uneasy, though. As if Pyxis knew something about him.

“Tell you what, I’d say it’s your lucky day. Keep that. It might protect you someday.”

Pyxis turned around to leave.

“Wait!” Levi called out to him, following him outside the shop. Nanaba quickly threw some money down on the table, hurried after to listen right by the door to the shop.

“What do you mean, it’ll protect me?”

“If you’re ever backed into a corner, let’s just say, there may be a time when it comes in handy for you someday—someone may recognize it, and I assure you, that would save you from whatever mess you were in. Or… of course, if you choose to give it to someone you love, they’d be protected,” Pyxis explained. He brought his fist up to Levi’s chest and tapped over his heart, and winked at him before walking away, sipping on a flask he pulled randomly from his pocket.

“Someone… I love—“ Levi whispered, standing quietly as the cool breeze gently blew strands of hair away from his face.

Levi stared at Pyxis, and back down at the small Pai Sho tile in his hands, engraved with a lotus symbol. He flipped it around in his fingers for some time, his eyes lost in thought before he slipped it into his pocket.

Nanaba’s eyes narrowed as she wondered if Levi would tell her, or any of their friends about it.

She sighed and waited for the coast to be clear before she made her way out. She turned to stare at the fire emblem outside that Levi had fixated upon earlier.

Nanaba wondered if just maybe... Levi might...

She shook her head.

“No way,” she said firmly, and hurried back to meet up with Hange and Levi.

—————————

“Got it!” Nanaba yelled as she took off with a sprint, Hange and Levi not following too far behind. A blast of fire raged right past her face, and the three ran even faster through the trees.

Suddenly, a Fire Nation soldier slipped out of nowhere, startling Nanaba and causing her to trip. Before she knew it, she found herself almost fallen off the edge of the rocks on the side of the mountain, Levi’s hand in hers the only thing holding her from falling to her death.

Levi hoisted her back up, and they fell into a pile of leaves, the sounds of Hange fighting the soldier happening just behind them.

“Are you okay, Nana?” Levi asked between exhausted breaths.

“Yeah, thanks… Levi,” she answered. She quickly stood up and pulled Levi up with her, and the two looked at each other, nodding. They ran back towards Hange, but before they could reach her, another soldier ran past, fire bending through the tree trunks. Multiple giant trees began to fall, causing Levi and Nanaba to run back and away—and now Hange was left alone with 2 giant soldiers, at best. They started running around the fallen trees and debris, but it seemed it would take them awhile to find their way through. As they ran, flames shot upwards from the fight—there had to be at least 3 Fire Nation soldiers out there with Hange. But out from the sounds of combat, a scream echoed through the air, shortly followed by a deafening silence.

“Hange!” Levi yelled.

Nanaba looked at Levi, and almost froze on the spot. In the past year, she had never seen much change in expression when it came to Levi—he guarded his intentions and thoughts behind an expressionless glare at all times. But this time, she watched as tears streamed down Levi’s face, his eyes filled with genuine worry and pure panic, utterly lost as he stared at the debris, desperately trying to think of a way around it faster.

“Levi, spring me upwards? Like how Mike does it!” Nanaba yelled. Levi wasn’t as strong as Mike, but it would have to do. Levi nodded, and Nanaba ran towards him, and as she jumped up, Levi pushed up on her feet, propelling her overhead. She landed haphazardly near the top, and climbed upwards. Hastily, she pulled a rope from her backpack, tied it around her waist, and threw the other end down at Levi. With all her strength, she pulled and moved backwards, hoisting Levi up with her.

As they reoriented and looked down, the scene made each of their hearts stop.

“…H-Hange?” Nanaba heard Levi whisper, exasperated.

Nanaba watched the soldiers sprinting off far into the distance, and Hange, like a shadow, unmoving on the ground. Her backpack’s contents strewn about carelessly, her arm twisted in a way that made both Levi and Nanaba want to vomit. At that moment, rain began to drizzle over them, water stained with red on the ground around Hange.

Nanaba stammered— “They realized she didn’t have the documents we stole, and just… she didn’t even have them so why did they go so far…”

Levi jumped down and Nanaba hurried after him.

“Levi! It’s not worth it—it might storm, and we have to look after Hange and get all of us to a safe place!”

Levi froze, Nanaba staring at his back as he began trembling—trembling with an undying rage. She laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“Come on.”

Nanaba hurried over to Hange—she was knocked out cold, her left arm obviously broken, burns and cuts strewn over her face and arms. She was injured badly, but luckily other than the arm, nothing too serious. Levi walked gingerly towards them, and stared at Hange. His eyes lingered over the cracks in the left lens of her glasses, spiderwebbing outwards from the center. He bent down to carry her, Nanaba helping by keeping her broken arm steady as Levi shifted her into a comfortable position in his arms, her head falling forward against his chest. Levi nodded, and they began walking to descend down the small mountain.

Nanaba bared her bow and arrow in case anymore enemies approached—but the weather might just keep them safe for now. The rain began to fall a little harder, and Nanaba stole a glance back towards Levi and Hange. It may have blended in with the rain, but she could tell that Levi was crying, his eyes tinged red, filled with sorrow. Nanaba turned back to focus on what was in front of her, feeling her hand clutch at her chest, caught utterly surprised at how much it pained her to see Levi so upset.

——————

Light flickered against the rocky wall. Flames of their small fire licked the edges of the tinder pile, and the small crackles of burning wood echoed quietly throughout the small cave they found for cover, halfway down the small mountain. Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed right outside. They would just have to wait the storm out overnight.

Luckily, Levi had learned a lot from all the time he’s spent with Hange, so he worked on tending to her injuries, Nanaba standing by when needed. Levi did his best to stitch up her lacerations, and they set her arm the best they could, a makeshift splint made from what they could find and the bandages from Hange’s bag. Levi finished it off with a sling made from the red cloth headband he always wore on his forehead, and they simply hoped it would be good enough for now—they’d have to meet with Moblit the next morning at their rendezvous point and make sure that it was done well enough to heal properly.

After their hard work, exhaustion fell over them. The two sat in silence, quietly eating their small food rations as they both stared into the fire. Peeking up at Levi for a second, Nanaba saw it—the rage hadn’t died down, flickering in his gaze. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what exactly to say—the words “It’s not your fault,” lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she knew that it would fall on deaf ears.

Levi was clearly blaming himself entirely for Hange’s injuries.

Before she could clumsily utter a word, Levi tossed her a small sleeping mat, and she listened to the sleepiness in her eyes.

She drifted off for a minute or two, but responsibility woke her up—she figured she’d fetch some water to refill their canteens before sleeping for the night. As she drowsily opened her eyes, she paused.

In front of her she saw Levi writing something on a piece of paper, and reach into his pocket. He pulled lotus tile from that morning, holding it in front him, and stared at Hange, laying asleep in front of him.

The old man’s words came to Nanaba’s mind, echoing in her head— “if you choose to give it to someone you love, they’d be protected…”

Nanaba’s jaw nearly dropped—Levi was trading that potential safety away, and giving that tile to Hange meant…

He really did love her.

Levi placed the note and the tile into the front pocket of Hange’s bag, where she’d likely find it immediately when they’d return home. Levi sat directly above Hange’s head, and lowered his head, eyes closed. Their foreheads touched as he cradled her cheeks in his hands, his fingers lost in her messy hair as she slept soundly, probably in a deep sleep after all the pain meds they had to give her earlier. After a few moments in that position, Levi lifted his head, and ran his fingers through her hair, trying to gently wake her. Her eyes opened eventually, drowsy and laden with sleep, probably very unaware of anything that was going on. But Levi persisted, sitting her up slightly. He grabbed the new canteen he had bought for her that morning, and poured some water into her mouth, making sure she’d stay hydrated for the night, and laid her back down, Hange immediately falling back into a deep sleep.

Levi looked up, startled to see Nanaba standing right above him.

“I can refill,” Nanaba whispered, reaching her hand out towards him. Levi nodded handing her their two canteens.

“Thanks, Nana.”

“Yeah,” Nanaba whispered as she walked away. At the entrance of the cave, she looked back to see Levi staring down at Hange, continuing to run his fingers gently through her hair.

The storm continued to roll through, and Nanaba quickly got them some water from the nearby stream. Thoughts raced, but she was too tired to make much sense of them. But she felt it.

“Goddammit,” she muttered, as she felt herself feel much softer towards Levi, a lot more trusting in less than 24 hours. She hated admitting when Mike and Erwin were right. She wondered though, if her gut was still right, that maybe Levi might be trustworthy, but that he might still be hiding something...

Nanaba returned to see Levi still doing the same. She dried off from the rain and laid back down, all the muscles in her body tired and achy. She’d simply worry more about it tomorrow, she thought. And before she knew it, she nodded off into a deep sleep.

—————————

Thunder cracked, it’s boom so loud that it shook the cave. Nanaba shot up now wide awake, her heart racing. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked outside. It was still the dead of night. As she sighed in relief, she turned back to Hange who was still asleep. But…

Where was Levi?

Nanaba looked around, and he was nowhere to be found. She called out his name—

No answer.

The storm continued on outside, and Nanaba felt her heart drop in her chest. She should have said something to him—there was too much residual rage left in him, and she felt quite responsible for not trying to calm it. Worry fell upon her, as the worst case scenario popped into her mind: Levi must have went back to fight those soldiers, and there was no way he could take them all alone.

She sprung to her feet, grabbing her weapons and backpack. She took a look at Hange—she was sure she’d be safe here. She threw another blanket over her, and plunged out into the rain.

She sprinted up the mountain, her speed significantly shot from the muddy ground slowing her down. The sound of yells began to grow louder, and Nanaba pressed on towards it. But as soon as Nanaba arrived to the site, she found herself standing still, her bright eyes widened—Levi… seemed to be just fine on his own, but…

The scene was absolutely surreal.

Three Fire Nation soldiers were strewn about, writhing on the floor. All of them had cuts and burns all over, with their left arms bent unnaturally—quite identical to Hange’s injuries. Fire from the fight glowed, making each of their outlines quite striking to the eye. Nanaba stared, her eyes scanning all of this, trying to make sense of it all.

But as her eyes finally wandered upwards, there, Levi stood before her. His face glowed orange from the light of the scattered flames, in contrast from the dark blue hue of night—and his eyes were blinded with a fiery rage, his teeth bared almost like a wild animal, and…

Fire burned at his fingertips.

Nanaba’s felt her chest squeeze— she was right! She had been right! Levi had been hiding a secret from them all—he was a firebender. This whole time.

But the strangest thing was… Nanaba felt no pride at all. She wasn’t happy she was right, which was strange.

Instead, she felt nothing but hurt in her heart, seeing Levi like this. Nearly a slave to his guilt, clearly pained that Hange had gotten hurt while he was around. It was interesting actually—she realized that Hange actually hadn’t gotten any severe injuries like this since Levi had joined them…

Levi stood, unmoving. It was like he was frozen, not there.

“Levi?” Nanaba called out, but Levi didn’t answer.

She walked up cautiously towards him, but he didn’t move. And it wasn’t until she was just a few feet in front of him and called his name once more, that the flames in his hand extinguished. It was as though he returned back to the present, his eyes locking with Nanaba’s, now filled with hurt—the rage had finally dissipated. He realized now, that his secret was out in the open for her.

“Nanaba, I can explain—“

But his words were interrupted. Nanaba had taken her hand to cradle the back of his head, pushing him towards her so that his forehead could rest on her shoulder. And it was like all of Levi’s worries flowed out from him. Tears fell down his cheeks, and he sobbed as Nanaba held him.

She couldn’t believe she was saying this, and she hoped with all her might that she wouldn’t regret it in the future. But she felt something once again, a gut feeling that this was the right thing to do. For whatever reason, of all times, she remembered something her mother used to tell her as a kid—that sometimes, friendships could transcend lifetimes. And Nanaba wondered, if that had anything to do with the new friendship she was forming at this very moment.

“Don’t worry, Levi, your secret’s safe with me,” she whispered, and Levi hugged her tighter.

—————————

“Yes!” Sasha exclaimed as Armin finally cut through the wooden bars of the Fire Nation base holding cell.

“Kicking this down will probably alert the guards right outside of here, so are all of you ready for that?” Jean asked.

Moblit, Armin, and Sasha nodded with determination in their eyes.

“Alright, our plan should get us at least through the first guards, and we’re just going to have to wing it for a bit after,” Jean announced. He took a deep breath, and kicked down the wooden cell bars. The crash echoed, and they heard footsteps immediately mobilize just outside. Sasha threw open the door, and Armin poured out the remaining water he collected.

“Now!”

With a flick of his wrists, the water turned to ice, causing the guards to slip down the corridor. Moblit jumped out, sliding on the ice past the guards, and the other three followed suit. The ice was thinner than ideal, and the guards began to chase after them, stumbling, throwing flames out at them. They sprinted quickly, only to run into more guards, so they turned the other corridor.

“A dead end!” Moblit yelled. The four felt panic bubble inside their chests, desperately thinking of a way out of this mess.

Suddenly, the sounds of a struggle began around the corner, and the temperature seemed to increase significantly.

“More fire?” Armin asked.

“Maybe it’s Hange!” Moblit exclaimed.

They all cautiously moved forwards after the sounds of guards yelling and being shoved into utility closets ended. And as they turned the corner…

“Levi!” Moblit yelled, seeing him with flames at the end of his fingertips. Moblit, relieved to see him, ran up to give him a hug.

Levi smiled, ruffling Moblit’s hair.

“We came just in time, huh?” Nanaba asked, eliciting a huge smile from Moblit, who turned to also tackle her with a hug as well.

“I knew you’d come!” Moblit said, and continued to bury himself in the hug. After the smiles of reunion began to fade, Nanaba locked eyes with Levi. The two looked at the kids.

“Where’s Hange?” They asked. The four looked at each other, a serious look falling upon their faces, causing Levi’s heart to drop.

Moblit began to tear up again, and Jean quickly explained the situation.

Nanaba could feel Levi’s anxiety from where she stood, so she grabbed Levi by the shoulders to ground him.

“It’s going to be okay, Levi,” she said, knowing full well that he was twirling the lotus tile in his hand. It worried her greatly that Hange would give that back to Levi.

They knew what that meant if she was returning it to Levi: Hange knew there was a high possibility she wouldn’t be making it out of here alive.

“Levi, I’ll take the kids, and I’m sure we’ll come up with a plan. Hopefully Erwin and Mike found Hange, but it’s better we cover more ground.”

She patted his shoulders.

“Go Levi, we’ll back you up once we find Erwin and Mike, you can count on us.”

Levi nodded and began to run.

“Wait!” Levi spun around, to find Nanaba chasing behind him. Like that horrible night that their friendship began, she placed her hand on the back of his head and pushed his head onto her shoulder.

“We’ll find her, I know it,” she whispered. And Levi hugged her tighter.

—————————

Levi sprinted through the corridors of the Fire Nation base, yelling Hange’s name. He ran and ran desperately kicking open doors only to find empty rooms. Still holding the lotus tile in his hand, he sprinted, determined to find her.

He felt stupid for thinking about this now, but he couldn’t get it out of his head that he didn’t just tell her he loved her in Ba Sing Se.

“Stupid,” he muttered as he kicked down a door to yet another empty room. Light strewn from the end of this hallway, and he ran towards it. He was suddenly bathed in the late afternoon light, out into the open training grounds of the base. And there in front of him, was the person he least wanted to see.

“Hi Nephew, how’s it going?”

Kenny stood facing Levi, and Levi felt a fiery rage burn inside him.

“Where’s Hange, Kenny?” Levi demanded, knowing he was pressed for time. “Ohhh, your girlfriend?” He asked, chuckling to himself at the desperation spilling from his nephew.

He raised a hand in the air, holding a pair of glasses, with the left lens missing.

The glasses frames he knew all too well.

[janeykath318]

The Gardener Next Door

Darcy felt like she’d finally made it: finished her PhD and found a great job that allowed her to upgrade from her tiny apartment to her very own house in the suburbs. It needed a little work, but it had charm and personality and Darcy took several months making it her own. The neighborhood she lives in was mostly elderly people or young newlywed couples and the people were generally very friendly. Sweet Mrs. Messer brought her over baked goods regularly and shared the local gossip while Old Mrs. Richards brought her puppy over for regular visits. Before she’d lived there six months, she knew almost everyone on the block except for her next door neighbor on the left, who didn’t appear to be the sociable type.

Even Mrs. Messer hadn’t been able to find out much information, other than his name was something Grant and he liked to garden and preferred to be left alone.

“He must be one of those grumpy old hermit types,” Mrs. Messer sighed. “Never answered the door when I went to bring him a welcome to the neighborhood pie. I wonder what happened to the poor man to make him so wary of people.”

“I don’t know, but maybe you could try leaving some on his front porch with a friendly note. Once he’s discovered the glory of your chocolate chip cookies, he might just loosen up a little.” Darcy suggested.

This cheered up Mrs. Messer and she scurried off to start baking.

Mysterious Neighbor Dude clearly preferred a motorcycle as his form of transportation, but he always pulled right into the garage, so she was never able to get a glimpse of him without his helmet.

As spring went on, Darcy started spending more time outside in her cozy lounge chair, from which she started noticing her neighbor working outdoors. Even from the distance she could see by the way he moved, he was still in the prime of life and he appeared to be a workout fiend, judging by the size of his shoulders and arms.

He wore a big floppy straw hat that kept the sun off, which was probably a good thing because he was working in his garden almost nonstop on sunny days. It was kind of fascinating watching the progression from bare dirt to tiny plants. So far, their only interaction was a friendly wave when he caught her staring and Darcy was dying for more, but he’d never approached her and she didn’t want to invade his privacy.

But then she came home one day to find a big basket of lettuce and radishes on her front porch.

There was a note with them:

“Sharing some lettuce with you. It makes delicious salads. Have a nice day!”

The note was not signed and Darcy squinted at it for quite awhile like it would suddenly start talking and reveal its author, but alas, no such luck.

The lettuce did make excellent salads and she thought about her hunky neighbor with every bite.

Mrs. Messer came over very excitedly to report that the cookies had been taken and she too had been given a basket of lettuce.

“Looks like you were right, Darcy. The man just needed a little kindness. I wonder if he likes lemon bars…..”

As the weeks went by, the gifts of veggies continued, varying as different things came into season. Peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and green beans all arrived steadily and were either quickly eaten or given to Darcy’s vegetarian co-worker.

Darcy started replying to his notes on the fifth basket and soon they had a funny banter going back and forth, filled with vegetable puns.

“Lettuce be friends?” She wrote on the note left in the empty basket which had previously held plump red tomatoes and would be supplying her with BLTs for a long time.

“Yes, peas!” he’d replied on the next basket, which did contain the mentioned vegetable.

“Why are you so cute and unreachable?” Darcy murmured to herself, stashing the note away with a smile.

She laid out sunbathing in her favorite bathing suit the next day and since there was no fence between their backyards, the hot neighbor dude got a nice view. This time it was Darcy who caught him staring and waved happily, pretty sure he was blushing. Ugh. He was just too adorable. She wanted to March over there and plant one on him, pun slightly intended. He briefly took off his hat to wipe sweat off of his face and she caught a glimpse of dark hair and beard. Dang it, that was a GOOD look!!

The notes and vegetable puns continued, but now they were accompanied by cute sketches of cartoon vegetables representing the various neighbors. Darcy absolutely loved it and it proved her suspicions that the so-called hermit was much more observant than he seemed.

“So you’re an artist as well as a champion gardener? Is there anything you can’t do?” She wrote on the next note.

“Plenty,” he replied back. “I sure can’t bake and I can’t seem to be able to remember how to speak when my pretty neighbor is around.”

Darcy was floored, but thrilled, and wrote and rewrote seven replies before she finally figured out how to word her response.

“Here I was thinking you didn’t want to talk to me. Guess we’re both disasters at communicating.”

The response to this rang Darcy’s doorbell the very next evening and she opened it to see her neighbor, up close and personal, looking all kinds of shy and adorable and holding out a bouquet of gorgeous flowers that she knew came from his yard.

“Aww, how sweet!” She exclaimed, accepting the flowers eagerly. “They’re beautiful. Nice to finally meet you……….”

Her voice trailed off as she recognized the gorgeous and famous face in front of her.

“Steve,” he finished quietly, almost apologetically. “I’m sorry for the secrecy. I’ve been hiding out living the retired life and trying my hand at new hobbies.”

He looked even more nervous now, probably thinking she was going to either throw him out or go yelling to the neighbors.

“Please, come in,” she told him, heart pounding. “I’m Darcy Lewis, astrophysicist and former Avengers wrangler. I did NOT recognize you from across the yard with the dye job. It’s a good look, though. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks,” Steve sighed, relaxing a touch. “I think I remember seeing you yelling at Tony a few times. It was pretty neat, the way you made him cower.”

“I learned early on, Tony needed a firm hand or he would never eat or sleep and bad things happened,” Darcy recalled, with a pang of sadness. “You guys saved the world,” she added. “I think you’ve more than earned your privacy and a peaceful retirement.”

Steve cracked a crooked smile. “That’s very gracious of you. Some days, it’s a pretty big struggle for me to believe that, thinking about everyone we lost. Gardening’s been keeping me sane.”

“And you’re doing a fabulous job with it. I’ve never had such perfect tomatoes,” Darcy told him with a smile.

“I was pretty proud of them,” Steve admitted, then he grew serious again and looked at her very earnestly with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“Darcy, do you still want to…”

“Yes,” Darcy interrupted. “Heck yes. I like you, Steve. I didn’t really know you apart from Captain America before and I’m finding regular Steve to be more irresistible than Mrs. Messer’s lemon bars.”

Steve chuckled and started to turn pink, which was even cuter seen close up.

“Given how amazing those are, that’s high praise,” he remarked, with a twinkle in his eye. “Looks like I’ve got a lot of missed opportunities to make up for.”

They shared another long look and Steve moved into her personal space with intent-to-kiss written all over his face.

Darcy was very much down for that and nodded eagerly, wrapping her arms around him. The pent up feelings resulted in a pretty intense kiss, which left her weak in the knees and practically hanging onto Steve for dear life.

“Well that was worth it,” she whispered, when she’d caught her breath. “I’m so glad you didn’t actually go to the moon. There’s been rumors.”

Steve full on laughed at that, a joyous sight which she’d never witnessed before, but was very glad to finally see. His eyes crinkled, his face lit up and he looked so adorably cute, her heart turned into a puddle of goo.

“Don’t know where they came up with that one,” he remarked, shaking his head in amusement. “But I have no intentions of going to the moon. I’d rather stay here with you.”

“Good, because I need some more of those green beans, ASAP,” Darcy replied mischievously, barely refraining from making an eggplant joke. She didn’t want to be TOO forward.

“How about you come over and I can give you the grand tour?” Steve suggested.

“Yes, peas.” She responded, making him laugh again.

Before long, the neighbors were gossiping again, this time over the shocking sight of “Mr. Grant” making out with Dr. Lewis right in his backyard.

“I knew it!” Old Mrs. Richards chuckled, petting her dog gleefully.

“I’ll volunteer to make their wedding cake!” Exclaimed Mrs. Messer.

[haxorus-imp]

Human Perspective - Reader LBP fic

Gender neutral Reader - No romance - Little Big Planet - No dialogue 

A human is lost in the imagisphere and is struggling to cope with their new surroundings. AO3 for those that prefer to read it there - > https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741977

You really don’t remember how you arrived here in this strange place. One moment you were resting peacefully, the next thing you know, you were being woken up by a small little humanoid fabric creature.

Once your eyes focused, you had gotten startled upright from the presence of the being, which was obviously understandable. In a hurry, you scoot away from the being and frantically look around. Despite just waking up, it took mere moments for you to realize that something was completely off about the land you were in...let alone how you got there. You were left completely dumbfounded. The small little humanoid seemed a bit worried about you, despite just meeting you.

Flustered, your confusion only grew when you tried to ask the little creature where you were and it simply spoke in sign language. Which you didn’t understand. Seeing your expression of complete loss, the little being thought for a moment before it decided to wave at you in a ‘follow me’ motion as they turned and waddled away. Still lost and confused, you really didn’t have a choice.

You picked yourself up and followed the little being through some garden-like areas before the landscape began to change and buildings made out of wood and cardboard slowly appeared. While on the walk over to who-knows-where, you decided to slightly distract yourself with looking around at your surroundings.

It was strange, as it almost felt like you were back home on Earth. However, this was far from the case. An example of your strange predicament lies in the horizon and around yourself. It was all made of fabric...just like the ground was...with an exception of other things. Like the cardboard buildings and creatures that dwelled nearby, as well as the fabric clouds that floated on by. The only thing that could be deemed ‘normal’ around here, at least to you, was the water that flowed in the rivers under the bridges you two passed by. Everything was strangely made to look like projects of arts and crafts.

Not even the locals were exempted from this rule. As the little creature that was leading you somewhere was made entirely of knitted wool. I just left you puzzled and completely stumped at where you even were.

But hopefully this little biped would be able to provide some answers. Your first set of strange contacts was with a small group that the little sack...thing...person...was leading you towards. Your approach didn’t go unnoticed. Once you and the little creature arrived, the three figures were giving you wary glances. But the little sackperson stepped forward and began to sign to them. It was quite a surprise to learn that these larger beings seemed to be British...despite this place not looking like Earth. A bit of back and forth later and you finally managed to introduce yourself and explain your situation to the three larger beings. In which, they introduced themselves to you as well.

There was Larry Da Vinci, an elderly individual with a paper beard and cardboard 3D glasses, who seemed to be rather forgetful, as it took him a moment to remember his own name before the bun-having blonde next to him spoke up.

Her name was Victoria, who had doll-like features and a steampunk-inspired body. She also seemed to be very polite too. Despite being an older female, her and Da Vinci even seemed to be a thing. If the sweet-based names he kept calling her had anything to say for it.

Then there was a rather depressed-looking individual named Clive, who was a man with an eraser for a body and a cyan desk calendar for a head, which was just to name a few things that caught your eye about him. It was just so strange to see paperclips merely sticking to a body without an anchor. But he was still polite none-the-less, even if he wasn’t as enthusiastic as Larry or Victoria.

As for yourself? Well, you were a human. Made of flesh and blood, unlike the natives of this realm you happened to get lost in. It wasn’t hard to take notice of how the others would look at you strangely from time to time.

Not only just because you showed up out of nowhere, but because your appearance just seemed...as that Ginger-Haired prideful loudmouth ‘Avalon’ would put it - “Highly suspicious-looking”. You didn’t think you looked that bad...or creepy. So, you just played down their doubts by just explaining that you're from very far away and that you were lost. It took a bit of convincing from Sackthing to see if Larry had any leads on what to do.

Many of them acted like they had never seen a human before and it wasn’t hard to see why. I mean, they even thought you looked ill and took you to an apple-headed nurse, who was strangely in a birdcage of all things, named Eve to have a look at you. She apparently tried to find your ‘stitching’, which took you awhile to explain that you weren’t born with ‘stitching’. She seemed completely lost with your explanation on a normal human body and she did some typical tests. Took your temperature, tested your reflexes, and gave you a few psychological tests. All came back okay, showing that you were in fact a perfectly normal human being. Even if she seemed slightly disappointed. The rest of the time was spent visiting the other creators once word got around that a unique stranger was visiting Craftworld from ‘very far away’. Despite meeting a fair chunk of them within the first few hours.

It was most likely Avalon who let the cat out of the bag, the dude probably can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. If your first encounter with him had anything to say about it. Dude even had the nerve to call you a ‘rubbery-looking tall weirdo’.

Thankfully, Larry chewed him out for his rudeness before you could. So one by one, you met the creator curators and visited their homelands with Larry as your guide, since sackthing had other duties to attend to at the time.

It was quite an exhausting trip. Thankfully most of the realms could be accessed by rocketships that were provided by Larry Da Vinci. Yes, rocketships. Made out of cardboard...with a jet attached to them.

You didn’t understand how they worked, so you pretty much just went with it and didn’t ask any questions. Each encounter was as unique as they came as you headed off to the other parts of Craftworld with Larry. Your first encounter was with the lovely baker you met before, Victoria. She was very interesting to say the least, having a lab and bakery hybrid that she called home. She explored the possibilities of pastries and science. A strange combination. She even tried to offer you some of her baked goods, which you sadly discovered you couldn’t eat. At all . You just couldn’t force yourself to eat a literal SPONGE cake, so you had to turn her down gently but gratefully thanked her for the offer anyway. After that was Clive, the same depressed individual from earlier. You eventually discover that  he has lived in a factory for most of his life and just knows the day in and day out of being at work constantly. No wonder the poor sap was so blue. He obviously needed a long vacation. After a typical meet and greet, you toured the factory he called home and had a lot of fun watching how things operated while Clive rambled on and on about work and various activities he would perform around the factory. You even got to meet the cute little sackbots while you were there. Which was a pleasant experience in itself! After that was Eve’s Asylum where she and Professor Higginbottom were located. You met Higginbottom at the Asylum. Which was probably the strangest thing you have ever experienced...aside from being lost in this fabric dimension. He seemed like someone who got into the bong and never came out. Though, listening to him talk was quite entertaining. Even if you didn’t understand anything that came from his mouth. Eve was present there as well. Despite the underwhelming encounter from earlier, Eve was still elated to observe you and see how you were coping.  She apparently ran the asylum that was filled with beautiful flora, magical trees, and crazy people. Which wasn’t a surprise, but you were just happy that they were under the care of someone as loving as Eve. Even if she got a bit frustrated that she couldn’t make heads or tails about your ‘strange biology predicament’. Even with an unnecessary ‘second analysis’. Then finally, there was Avalon. The dude was about as loud and as arrogant as they came.

However, he pushed it to a point where he made it endearing rather than annoying, but your traveling companion could beg to differ. It seemed that Larry and Avalon had a lot of disagreements on who was the leader of “The Alliance”. Whatever that was. Both of them mixed like oil and vinegar, like broccoli and pizza, like boomers and millennials...it was honestly kinda funny to watch them bicker. However, you haven’t forgotten that rude comment he made about you. So you were still on the fence with him. Still, Avalonia was a wonderful place to visit. Looking at all of the strange gadgets that were made, the types of vehicles, and the sheer ethereal aura that the place radiated...Avalon really did have a strong reason to flex after all.

But as fun as it was to visit these Curators, you still needed to find your way home. Plus, you had to keep moving if you were going to be able to find anything to eat.

I mean, you have been offered food on numerous occasions while on your trip, however it wasn’t anything you could actually eat. ‘Sponge’ cakes, icing that was too sweet, jam that was too sticky, crackers that were made of cardboard, cookies made out of paper, fruit made out of fabric or plastic… It was all fake...and you were starting to starve.

Your lack of eating also seemed to worry Larry, but you feigned being fine. Despite the fact that you hadn’t really eaten in days. It was wearing down on you pretty bad at this point. Despite your lie, Larry seemed to still be lost on what to do with you. You honestly couldn’t blame him though. You were quite an enigma. Then, Larry was reminded of something and had explained that he was going to go to a place called Bunkum to attend a session in a place called Popit Academy and graciously offered if you wanted to visit while he was participating. At that time, you really didn’t know that you could explore other planets...but this was a strange new universe with strange new ways. So what could possibly go wrong?

So, from one planet made of patches to one with strange gadgets on it, you arrive at a place called “Needlepoint Peaks”.

Which was filled with crisp mountain air and little floating objects that harassed you at every angle. It was quite frustrating, as they would cling to you and you would have to constantly shake them loose. It seemed to amuse Larry to the point of chuckling as you both headed down the mountain together. While on the way, you even decided to take a bite out of the crackers that were sticking out of the ground. Which turned out to be a big mistake.

The ‘treat’ was about as stale as they come. It was hard to chew and it had the lingering scent of cardboard and dust. You promptly spat it out and coughed violently while Larry looked at you like you had lost your marbles.

Despite everything looking tasty, it was all dried and stale, nothing more than deceptive decorations for your ever growing hunger that gnawed away at you from your insides. You could only sigh helplessly as you passed the deceptive goodies and just focused on following Larry to the next destination. Once down from the mountain, both of you arrived at a place called ‘Stitchem Manor’, which seemed to be occupied by two lightbulbs and a monster. The family greeted Larry and seemed to notice you, despite you attempting to hide your taller figure behind the Elder Curator. The smaller lightbulb seemed to be very eager to meet you, as he strode up and waved and said a rather friendly hello. You timidly come out of hiding and meet up with him too. Returning the greeting politely. The lightbulb seems to happily chitter about as you stare at him. He then graciously introduces you to his father, a clear idol in his eyes, and his mother. Who wasn’t a monster. She just looked scary as hell.

You politely greet them in return and Larry explains your situation to the family. It seemed that Larry had decided to see if you could visit with the Pud family, which was a rather strange name, until he was through with his lessons at the popit academy. Seeing if one of them was available to show you around Bunkum until he came back later. You almost rolled your eyes at the thought of needing a guide or babysitter, but you didn’t know this place. So you really should stick with someone until you understand the ropes. The younger-looking lightbulb, who was named Newton, proudly volunteers to show you around Bunkum. A desire to give his ‘new strange-looking chum the best tour of Bunkum they have ever experienced’. So he says. Apparently, his parents were both worried about his proposal. Not because of you, but apparently Newton had caused a heap of trouble for the natives of Bunkum and was still in too-hot water because of it. Despite making peace with most of the locals and trying to clear his name from the titan incident...whatever that was. It sounds bad just by the name alone.

However, after enough begging, his parents gave in and decided to allow him to show you around Bunkum. Satisfied with the ordeal, Larry had headed off and Newton’s parents headed back inside the large manor.

Once alone, Newton had grabbed your hand before suddenly letting go in surprise. When questioned, he just stared and made a comment about how your ‘knitting’ felt strange against his hands. You just merely shrugged and walked ahead, Newton quickly taking the lead again as he rambled on and on about stuff to do while you were visiting.

The first stop was Manglewood. Which could only be reached by boat. Which just made the ride over much more boring than usual, except when Newton would talk about it and mention all the things to do there. It helped to pass the time until the island in question came into view. By appearance alone, you would’ve thought you both were lost in some bayou in the heart of Louisiana, but that wasn’t far enough from the truth. There were film reels, movie cameras, and set pieces all strewn about the landscape. Making it look like a set that was covered in moss and willows. However, you also took notice of a strange figure sitting at the edge of the landmass. Simply sitting there and watching the boat. Once close enough, you seemed to make out that it appeared to be...dog-like? Like a sock puppet type of dog? It was just waiting there and once you both touched down on land, it sped over to investigate. In which, it happily jumped aboard and sniffed around.

Once it glanced at Newton, it’s face changed to a certain type of disinterest but once it scanned over to you, it began to wag its’...butt...and bark happily. You confusedly look at the animal before waving and greeting the...dog-thing. Having it jump up on you and lick you with a fabric tongue, thankfully it didn’t seem to leave any slobber behind.

Newton explained that it was a creature called Oddsock and it seemed to be protecting Manglewood. He almost seemed a tad bit jealous that Oddsock had taken a liking to you so quickly, even if he didn’t show it openly.

He led you off of the boat and further into Manglewood, the dog sticking close to your side.

There, you both found a man who introduced himself as Marlon Random.

He was quite a character. Looking like a spool of film with a strange hairstyle to go with it, the dancing, the personality, the references to movies and such...he was probably the most enjoyable to be around. He didn’t even seem to mind Newton. Greeting him as if it was any other day, in which Newton had replied half-heartedly and explained your situation. Once Marlon heard of your plight, he stopped and looked at you closer. Taking notice of your strange appearance as well, he nods and laughs lightly. Eager to show Manglewood to you, despite Newtons’ protests. You had decided to visit the space area and discovered that floating in space was incredibly fun. The zero gravity, peaceful music playing in the background, and just the weightlessness of it all...it was truly an experience. After that, he took you over to the old-style diner. You jammed out to some old-style tunes, which strangely came from Earth of all places, and you even tried to take a few bites out of the food laying around. Getting the same result as the one from Needlepoint Peaks. You even tried the milkshakes. Which were SO SWEET. Too sweet even!

It was like everything around here was made out of two dumptruck loads of sugar. Plus, you couldn’t really force past it, as it was strong enough to hurt your teeth anyway. One secret spit out later and you lot had decided to settle in for a bite.

With the exemption of you. So while Newton, Marlon, and even Oddsock enjoyed the food...you found yourself without a meal yet again. Your aching belly rumbling in disdain as you sigh quietly. You just had to endure for a bit longer...you would get home soon...hopefully. Thankfully there was water to drink. So you had that instead. Still, you had a kick watching Newton shove fries and pieces of food into that hole in his neck. Which made sense, as he simply couldn’t shove it past the glass that covered his head. It just made you wish you could enjoy it with them...wait...why were they looking at you...why were they laughing --? A tickling sensation pretty much crawled around you as those bothersome floating objects began to stick to you again, resulting in you crying out in agitation and shaking about in the seat to dislodge them. Your companions seemed to find the situation hilarious as you pluck them off and flick them away from yourself. Huffing a bit at your group as they laugh at your grumpiness. But once it was all said and done, the last places being too ‘dangerous’ for you to explore, you both decided it would be time to head out to the Ziggurat. You would’ve headed to a place called ‘Zom Zom’s’ however Newton explained that he only took a special type of currency called ‘collectabells’, which got a chuckle out of you. Sadly, you didn’t really have any currency at all. So you skipped on going there. He probably wouldn’t have anything in your size anyway. So, both of you cross the bridge and ride the gondola into the distance while Marlon and Oddsock waved you both off. In no time at all, the temperature began to drop and snow began to fall from the sky. The wind from the gondola didn’t help the situation either, your clothes could barely keep out the chill. Newton didn’t seem bothered by it, which wasn’t a surprise to you. That fluffy coat he was wearing looked comfortable.

You would ask to wear it, but it was just too small for you. Plus, Lightbulbs radiate heat, so he was probably all warm and toasty underneath that fabric. Talk about being lucky.

Finally, the gondola came to a hill and along that hill seemed to be a towering figure. It almost looked like a burlap sack...like something you would shove potatoes in. Once closer though, it seemed similar to the last creature you encountered.

If logical reasoning could be fathomed here, that must be this land’s protector as well. Seeing by how they grew alert to the approaching elevator. Once it stopped and you and Newton stepped off, the large figure approached curiously. Similar to before, the creature met Newton with a poker face about as blank as the snow, but he gave you a rather silly smile once he looked in your general direction. What you didn’t expect was a large friendly hug to accompany that smile. You were pretty much scooped up and pressed against the taught cloth-chest of the large figure, gasping for air as it cuddled you. Newton began by explaining that this was the Ziggurat, which also happened to be Toggles’ home. Which was the name of the creature hugging you. He told you about the grand library and the ballets that would be held here every day and that hopefully you would enjoy the shows while you both were here. With a few desperate taps on Toggle, you were released and were finally able to get a full breath of air. You almost felt bad for Toggle’s worried face, but a reassured pat on their arm seemed to make them satisfied that you were okay. You walk along, following Newton as he gives you a brief tour of the entrance. Toggle following close behind you both as you walk towards a large and towering brass-like structure that was the centerpiece of this frozen wasteland.

Then, you met Papal Mache in the temple sanctum. Who gave Newton a rather skeptical glance after your arrival before staring at you for a brief moment. Once again, another remark on your appearance was made.

It almost made you wanna put a bag over your head and hide away from the world.

And what is with everyone asking where your ‘stitching’ was? You’re not made of fabric!

You just let out another sigh as Newton repeated the spill from earlier encounters while you busied yourself by looking at the temple architecture. From the looks of it, it seemed to be the insides of a large pipe organ, with stained glass windows of ballerinas and russian-esque soldiers. Which made sense, as Russia was known for its musical culture and revered classics in the modern world. While you admired the art and such, Papal Mache seemed to understand and decided to escort you both down to the library. Which was being looked after by...a dog...woman...thing.

You simply just shake your head and decide to listen in on her history lessons that were offered to you, which were indubitably interesting and selectively inspiring.

Especially once you began to read some of the pamphlets that Toggle helped save from a flood. Toggle even stayed and sat down to listen to his heroic deeds for a bit. Out of curiosity, you pick up one of the pamphlets. No wonder the lady-dog would’ve been so upset to lose some of this history, it was pretty interesting! However, it was short-lived once Newton grew bored and pulled you away from the library with a rushed goodbye to the friendly dog lady. Nearly leaving Toggle behind. Only then did you realize how cold you were getting from the temperature after sitting still on a cold floor. You begin to shudder as the cold wind brushes against you and you slow down as the cold bites at your flesh.

Curiously, Newton had questioned what was wrong as you trembled helplessly in the frigid gales. Once you explained that humans can get something called hypothermia from excessive cold and die, Newton practically flipped his lid.

A quick grasp of your hand and he took off with you in tow.

He quickly rushed past Papal Mache and through the temple to get you to a large furnace on the other side.

Once close enough, you could feel the warmth of the furnace melting away the freezing ice that had wrapped itself around your body. Replacing it with warmth and comfort. Once at the entrance, you graciously sit down on the warmed metal and let out a blissful sigh of relief. You were pretty much scolded by Newton for not telling him earlier and a worried Papal Mache arrived on scene not much later. A brief questioning later and Papal figured it might be best if you don’t stay here too long. Not that he didn’t enjoy new visitors, but because you just weren’t equipped for such freezing temperatures. Which were even worse when night fell.

You nodded in understanding and let out a sigh of brief disappointment, but the snow was hard to endure at this point. Once you thawed out, you both would be heading to your final destination, Bunkum Lagoon.

The sound of small rapid footsteps grace your ears as a smaller version of the big guy came scuttling onto the scene. A brief slide later and suddenly it was the big guy again! Only then did you realize what ‘Toggle’ meant. It made you almost wanna laugh. Papal Mache decided to speak up to the large silent hero about your incident and Toggle seemed to become saddened by the news, but nodded in understanding anyway. You felt bad for such a rapid departure, but what else could be done? It was best to finish touring Bunkum so you could get back to Stitchem Manor so you could wait for Larry. Once you got warm enough, you stood up from the ground and Newton rejoined you as both of you walked back into the temple and towards the back where a large elevator awaited. Both of you got on and Papal Mache and Toggle waved their farewells as the elevator began to move and drop down. You had no idea how this would get you to a lagoon, but if you weren’t at the risk of getting hypothermia, you may like it a bit more… Newton seemed to be more apprehensive about this place, unlike the last two places you both visited. He began to talk about a wicked queen who probably boils her disrespectful subjects in hot oil and how she would probably tear him limb from limb if she as much as smelled him. You probably broke a sweat listening to his anxious worries about the next destination. Didn’t seem to be as peaceful as the last two places, just from what he was saying alone. You gulped as the air began to become more humid as the elevator slowed to a stop.

Once outside, the first thing your eyes caught was the sunset that was glistening over the very large lake that resided in a city filled with towering spires and buildings. You couldn’t hide a gasp of awe as you stepped out into the residential areas and admired the masquerade theme that the city had going for it. Plus, there were airships and clouds as far as your eyes could see. It was truly breathtaking. Newton slowly slinked out after you, scanning around as if to keep an eye out for danger. You had thrown caution to the wind as you walked out further into the Lagoon, Newton squeaking and following behind you for a change. You pretty much just happily stroll through the town, looking at all of the cardboard, stickers, and crafted creatures fluttering about. A stark contrast to a human like yourself.

Suddenly, a sudden shout came from above. The noise made Newton cry out in fear as he hid behind yourself as a hovering platform came into your view. On top of it was a marionette looking female as she called down to the both of you. From the tone of her voice, you already knew you weren’t gonna like her. Her tone was bratty and easily portrayed the type that she was. That type being a heavily spoilt princess that expected everyone to obey and respect them, despite them not deserving any. She was also being followed by another sack creature, this one resembling a bird. She immediately began to chew out Newton for one reason or another, you weren’t exactly paying attention as she hissed at your companion. It was almost like she was demanding an explanation as to why he was in ‘her’ kingdom. Newton had managed to pluck up enough courage to creep out from behind yourself as he explained your situation once more. About how you were from ‘very far away’ and a friend had asked if someone was willing to show Bunkum to the newcomer. Despite the fact that he tried to pass it off as him trying to make amends by doing this ‘tour’ with you. Despite the fact that he selflessly volunteered for it, no pressuring from his father or anything. Still, you said nothing as the ‘Queen of Bunkum’ introduced herself to you and you to Swoop, who had landed and was staring at you after giving Newton another neutral passing glance. It even almost seemed to flutter happily for a bit. It made you wonder why all of these sack creatures seemed to be happy to see you, but that can be pondered later. Right now, you just wanted to go and explore this last location before the night began to fall.

With courtesy, you bowed a bit and greeted Pinky. Being sure to call her ‘queen’ in a respectful manner. She looked like the type that was prone to suck-ups.

In which you assumed correctly. Almost seemingly flustered with your polite behavior, she cackles a bit before welcoming you to the Lagoon and ‘knowing fully well that you WILL enjoy your stay ’. However she does give you a warning to keep ‘that yellow ninny’ out of trouble, to which you assured her that she had nothing to be concerned for. Satisfied, she calls swoop back to her side and the levitating platform hovers off into the distance. A thankfully short encounter. Newton lets out a relieved sigh as you continue on. A desire to explore in your veins as the sun continues to set. It was kinda sad that you couldn’t hang out with the bird like you could the other two, but it probably has a job protecting the queen. Still, you continued on. Your lightbulb co-conspirator follows you from close behind. Just waiting to see what you decide to do with the rest of your day. And It was a rather eventful rest of the day.

Both you and Newton had attended various events. Such as an air joust festival, a puppet show, and you two even climbed the tallest tower in the district and listened to the bells of the tower ring. You even got to see the ‘legendary creative heart’, which was strangely disturbing. Despite it being just a giant valentine heart with large bird wings, it still pulsed like an actual heart. You honestly didn’t know how the locals could stand being next to it for so long. Even from this distance it was loud enough for you to hear. You just brush it off and try to ignore all of the bothersome floaty things that came from it. Hopefully none of them would stick to you. At the end of your trip, you both stopped on a pier to watch the sunset over the lagoon. The purple and pink clouds just brought out a tranquility in the atmosphere that almost made you forget about your troubles and your lingering sleepless exhaustion. Despite being here for about a few days, you were starving and getting any sleep was rather rare. Mostly since weird things would occur while you were dozing.

You fell asleep in the rocketship once and a large flower garden had grown up around you while you had slept and you only took notice when you woke up. It was hard to explain it to Larry. You even crashed in Clive’s factory and when you awakened, some new robots were by your side. Seemingly not made in the factory at all, as they didn’t even have the same body shape as the Sackbots. Clive was about as stumped as you were when you showed him. It was just...when you fell asleep, weird stuff would happen to you and the things that surrounded where you were sleeping. So now, you just try to stay awake as much as possible. Even if your eyelids felt like cinder blocks and tiredness nipped at your aching muscles. The thing that bothered you the most as your empty stomach.

If you couldn’t sleep nor eat, how would you even make it out of here?

There was no sustenance to keep you going. You’re pretty much running on emergency energy right now. Burning stored calories and trying to stay alive while you were at it. The constant insomnia was also wearing down on you. You just felt like you could fall asleep right here on the pier. But Newton jostles you awake by reminding you that you both had to head back to Stitchem Manor before night fell on Bunkum. You nod slowly in understanding and finally muster the strength to stand up with a long stretch. From there, Newton led the way back to his home. Leading back the way you came. Back up the mountain, back through the Ziggurat, back down the mountain, through the swamp again, and back to the boat. Once you both set sail, you watch the sinking sun with a lazy gaze.

It was quite a trip...but you really wish you were home. It wasn’t like you were miserable here. These strangers were so nice and open to you, despite your off-putting appearance. You just wished you had something to eat right now...and maybe a nap. Or a thousand year sleep, which would be far better. Still, Stitchem Manor came into view at the cliffside and you both began to dock the boat. By the time you both arrived home, the sky had turned to twilight as you slowly walked after Newton.

Who seemed to be rather jovial after todays ‘adventure’. Both Nana Pud and Captain Pud were there to greet you both at the gates of the manor, Larry Da Vinci was there as well. Seemingly having an idle chit chat while you both arrived. Once you two were noticed, you sluggishly came to a stand still next to Larry while Newton griped about being pampered by his doting mother. You and Larry couldn’t help but chuckle as you all said your goodnights and you and Larry headed away from the manor. You manage to look over your shoulder as the younger lightbulb seems to be happily waving to you while he and his parents go inside the manor. You returned the favor, albeit a bit more slowly as exhaustion slowly caught up to you. Once you were out of sight of the manor, Larry had asked how your day went. You pretty much told him everything. About the fun you had in Manglewood, the freezing experience in the Ziggurat, and the jousting shows in Bunkum Lagoon. You spoke of all the people you met and how Newton was informative and made sure to look after you. It seemed to earn Larrys’ approval as he nods as the pod comes into sight. Once you both were aboard and a course was set for Craftworld, you decided to settle in on the pillows on the far side of the pod. Where it was a bit quieter than the control room. Larry decided that he would drive you both back to Craftworld while you took a nap. You didn’t mind and happily accepted the offer. Though, he probably could tell that you weren’t getting enough sleep. You could practically see the darkness lining your eyes.

Now you were wrapped up in soft materials and laying in a nest made from pillows and such. Your mind was so tired and strained from being awake for so long that all you could think about was how many people you met in the last few days. How many potential friends you could make...but it was still a mystery as to how you arrived on Craftworld in the first place. Let alone how to get out of this dimension and safely back to Earth. If you wanted to go back...that is. I mean, you were still hungry. Even more so now. You could only sigh as the feelings of hunger went away some time ago after you tried to not focus on anything. You were still lost. Even if you met some friendly faces along the way. Still... how did you get here? And how do you get back? You merely blink as these questions run through your mind and you just let out a deep exhale and close your eyes tightly. You just needed some sleep for now. Maybe this is all just one big fever dream and you’ll wake up back in your normal bed with normal humans around you. No fabric, no cardboard, so sponges...just flesh and bones. Organic stuff... REAL stuff.

Or...at least the things you HOPE were REAL things. Oh, but it was just another problem to solve for tomorrow.

You let out another final long sigh as your heavy eyes finally close and you drifted off to sleep in record time.

Blissfully unaware of the images and energy seeping from your head while you slept peacefully throughout the whole trip back to Craftworld.

[johannstutt413]

TOURNAMENT ARC 2: PHANTOM VS PROJEKT RED

“Alright, let’s see...Looks like we’ve got a fight tomorrow, Jessie!” The Doctor unfurled a piece of paper from the machine. “First round for Specialists, it looks like; Phantom vs Red. It’s been awhile since Phantom stopped by the office, hasn’t it?”

“...Phantom?” The Feline shrugged; she’d seen records of that Operator before, but never actually encountered them herself.

He sighed. “Right, stealth specialist with mnemonic Arts. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see what happens, especially since Red- actually, I haven’t seen her recently either. She hasn’t been on a mission, has she?”

“I don’t think so?” Jessica flipped open a tab and scrolled through some of her notes. “No, but she has been on leave for awhile.”

“Really? What kind of leave was it, again? I think you approved that one.”

At that exact moment, Projekt Red walked into the office with a baby in her arms. “Maternity leave.” [not exactly the same universe but hush it’s fine]

“Awww!” The two immediately approached. “What’s their name?”

“Scarlet SilverAsh. I don’t think I can be in the tournament for a while, Doctor; we haven’t moved her to formula yet.” Scarlet fussed a little, which the Lupo solved by licking her forehead.

The Doctor nodded. “That’s alright, Red; I think I know the person to take your spot. Let us know when you’re ready to fight and we’ll put you in the rotation.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll be watching today’s match from home. You can both come over, if you want; Encio’s making burgers.” She watched both of them blink several times. “What?” 

“He can cook?” Jessica asked.

She nodded. “There’s nothing he can’t do. I need to feed her soon. Let us know if you want to come over.”

“Will do!” Once she’d left, the Feline smiled to herself. “I’m looking forward to that someday.”

“Having a kid with me?”

Jessie set her head on his shoulder. “Yeah...We should call Waai Fu now, before too much press goes out.”

“Good plan.”

TOURNAMENT ARC 2: PHANTOM VS PROJEKT RED WAAI FU

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Operators, Staff, and Esteemed Guests! Welcome one and all to the Top Operator Tourney!!! *crowd cheers*

“Thanks, Hung! Hiiiii everyone! It’s your lovable idol and Penguin Logistics delivery girl Sora here, filling in for Click on account of some rather inflammatory commentary she gave during the last one. Joining me in the booth, filling in for FEater after she punched the person who told them that, is Croissant!”

“That’s right, Sora, and I ain’t goin’ any’re! Now earlya Baws ‘nounced we had a lil’ bituva skejul shift, but looks like we still ‘ave a real good’un on our ‘ands. On the north side, wi’ 14 years of fightin’ ‘sperience, she’s student by day and brawla’ by nite, WAAAAAAAI FUUUUUUUU!” *cheers* “Ye, dat’s wut I wanna hear! Annnnd on the south side- hey, where’d they go?” *confused crowd noises* “Uh...Now I ain’t gonna lie, I never did meet dis Phantom guy? We sure he works ‘ere?”

“I mean, Medical had enough data to evaluate with, so I guess he does? Aaaanyway, looking at the numbers, it looks like Waai Fu has more combat experience and raw strength, but Phantom’s faster and trickier to deal with, so hopefully he shows up long enough for us to watch him work!”

“Ye, let’s ‘ope so! Baws itn’t at the podium today, but Amiya’s down there doin’ the hands, so let’s ‘ear it! 3! 2! 1! LET’S RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLLLLLLLLLEEEEEE!!!”

--------

Down on the ground, as the commentators blathered away, psyching the crowd up, Phantom watched his target from the shadows, blades ready but simply observing. His opponent, an orange Feline he’d never seen before, likewise watched, patient. This wasn’t his usual style...but if it was a show they wanted, then he’d give them a show.

“So you are my opponent.” He took a step forward. “Shall we dance our dance for the masses?”

“The Phantom, in the flesh...I expected to face you later in the bracket, but this works, too.”

His eyes narrowed. “You recognize me?”

“I’ve spent my life clearing the street of scum like you, who skulk in the shadows and take others’ lives for your sick games.” She took a defensive stance. “Your ring of thieves deserved its fate-”

“Do not speak ill of the dead, lest you join them sooner than you expect.” A step backward, and he’d vanished.

Two Phantoms emerged from her shadow, blades drawn to strike as they flanked her, only to find she was ready for both attacks; Waai Fu evaded their swords as knocked both Phantom and his mirror image to the ground. “Repent while you still have time.”

And then everything was a blur.

-------

“It’s like it started out of nowhere! They stared each other down forever, and then BAM! Also, why are there two of him?!”

“I ‘unno, darlin’, but I ‘ope Junior ain’t watch’n this! They’re go’n at it ‘arder ‘n an’thin rite now! I can’t even count ‘ow many blows they’re tradin’, but not a single drop of blood on the ground yet!”

“You can tell Waai Fu’s struggling, though - two on one isn’t a fair fight for anyone, but she’s holding her ground someh- OH, what?!”

“Oh! Oh! That’s the Seven-Styles Kick!! ‘Oly shit, I ain’t ever seen it in person bef’r, but damn that was some’n! And one of ‘em’s gone now!”

“Things have slowed down, and she is absolutely whaling into him! Punch, punch, kick, kick; he’s doing his best to evade them, but I don’t think he can keep up like this for long! Especially since he can’t- never mind, he managed to slash her once, at least, but that just left him open for a solid haymaker! He’s not getting back u/p! 1! 2!! 3!!! SHE’S DONE IT!!!”

“Wowza...Not as bloody as last ‘un, ey darlin’?”

“Waai Fu’s getting medical attention, as is Phantom from the looks...Hey, wait a minute, honey, did you see that?”

“See what?”

--------

Aak was there at Waai Fu’s side, local anesthetic applied and staple gun going to work. “A bit of medi-gel will get this patched up in no time...Hey, who was that guy, anyway? Never seen him around before.”

“The Phantom Behind the Curtain, Treasurer of the Night. He was the leading man for a theatre troupe known for less-than-savory wetwork who traveled the world as a closely-knit ring of assassins, although many didn’t realize their actual business until the day it collapsed.” The Feline sighed. “That one killed a crowded theatre with his voice alone. He didn’t want me dead, not enough to speak to me with his true voice.”

“Truer words, vigilante, have yet to be spoken” a spectral figure whispered in her ear, disappearing before she could identify them.

The other Feline next to her cocked her head. “See something? Mighta gotten some hallucinogens in the anesthetic again.”

“No, it’s...nothing.” She shook her head. “It’ll pass, whatever it was.”

“You’d best win the tournament now, child...For your father’s sake.” From the other ear this time, as if standing in Aak’s place.

On the ground, as Warfarin ensured Gaspard began his recovery, a black cat stepped out of the shadows and, once the Sarkaz was done with the greater part of patching him up, sat on his chest, gently pawing at his face. A slight smile came to his face as he and his Christine were taken to Medical for full evaluation; he might have been defeated in this battle, but the war for himself was far from lost.

[shions-songbirds]

Shintodo Rambles

Okay, here’s the other ship post I promised! If anyone has any other ships they wanna see me do, please tell me! I’d be happy to! Rarepairs, major pairings, if you wanna see it, just ask. This includes polyships. I mean, the fic I’ve put the most time and effort into is todokiribaku. Honestly, so long as I have some idea of what to do with it I’ll take it.

Okay, anyway! Some rambles

These two have no strong feelings either way toward each other at first

Todoroki is a bit awkward, but so is Shinsou, so the two of them just... don’t have much of anything to do with each other 

Honestly, with the way the two of them are they don’t really have anything against each other but they don’t really have anything going for each other either

And sure, they have mutual friends, but Todoroki is just growing out of his “I don’t need (I’m not allowed to have) friends” phase and Shinsou is at the start of his own so really, it makes more sense to just... not talk to each other. Ever

They have similar interests but they just... neither of them really want to engage with the other. 

Now, something important that must be established: Shinsou is a cryptid

Sure, after the sports festival everyone more or less knows he exists but they don’t really know that it’s him that they’re constantly seeing around. He’s someone you see out of the corner of your eye, someone you don’t really know for sure is there, but can’t shake the feeling that he is. 

And of course, this leads to rumors, to dumb ideas circulating around UA. Rumors and ideas that make it to Todoroki. 

Most don’t know it’s Shinsou who’s the local cryptid, mind you. Most people just know there’s a student on the UA campus that no one can ever seem to pin down, or at least they assume the mentioned person is a student. One glance and he’ll be there, one more and he’s gone. Who is he? Does he really exist? All real and regular questions

(More under the cut)

So, local conspiracy theorist, definitely into cryptids even though he won’t admit it, Todoroki Shouto, is of course interested. Extremely.

He simply must know more about the UA cryptid. But how would he find out more

He has no names to work off of, he doesn’t know the quirks of anyone really outside of his own class and, to a point, 1-B’s, he has nothing to work off of. 

But he is nothing if not dedicated

He keeps track of every “UA cryptid” sighting, strings together all sorts of ideas about it, about what might be happening, all sorts of convoluted theories that overestimate the amount of free time Shinsou has in a given day

He’s by far the most dedicated “hunter” 

Largely in part to him needing a distraction when his friends aren’t around

Blocking out nightmares and awful memories takes a lot of work, and if he’s distracted by a thousand different thoughts and loops of logic it’s harder for him to be hurt

So he spends much of his time making sure he’s up to date on every little thing

This is a fact Shinsou happens to learn by chance

He knows of his reputation, of course he does, but he never really expected to see anyone get this into it

and what can he say, he’s curious to see what the class A pretty boy thinks of his antics

He and Midoriya are already friends, there’s no harm in using that friendship to see what exactly is going on in Todoroki’s little head

and one lunch, when Todoroki’s investigations happen to come up while he’s around, he sees his in

He asks to hear more

Todoroki has never had someone actually want to hear about his theories, never had someone express genuine interest, so he’s thrilled 

However, they have classes to attend, and he has too many thoughts to get into it right then, so they agree to meet outside once the day is done 

Todoroki is eager to launch into all of his thoughts and ideas, he’s so excited. His thoughts and theories are exceptionally convoluted and entirely improbable, although some things Shinsou has to concede would be pretty damn cool if he actually did

With how much passion Todoroki has for it, their after school chats become a more regular thing, and they expand out of just talking about theories

They talk about their lives, how classes are going, and even, eventually, their own sordid childhoods. Shinsou also teaches Todoroki slang, common phrases, the occasional meme. 

They tell each other dark jokes, and talk about cats quite a bit 

Especially since cats seem to be drawn to Todoroki, somehow getting onto campus so they can nuzzle right up against his warm side

All in all, the two get incredibly close

And as time goes on, Shinsou realizes that he finds Todoroki’s convoluted rambles to be adorable, realizes every time he hears him talk there’s a fond smile on his face 

He realizes pretty quick that he’s caught feelings

Because never before in his life has he cherished vulnerable moments so much, has he paid this much attention to every little word someone said, to know that he’s one of the only people who can the Todoroki Shouto to gleefully ramble

Because the other boy is like an excited puppy when they talk, practically bouncing on his heels like yes yes hear me out on this oh my god I’m so happy someone is hearing me out on this I love you you’re an amazing friend

There’s a trust there that he holds dear

So he doesn’t think much of it when he reveals that he’s the so called UA cryptid

He realizes pretty quick that was quite the mistake

Todoroki shuts down, stops talking, and just stares at him in disbelief, and, more pointedly, hurt

The excitement that had been coursing through him just moments ago was gone

After a moment, Todoroki stopped looking at him entirely

He sounded sad when he finally spoke up again, plucking at the grass by his feet. 

“So that’s why you listened. That’s why you wanted to be around. Listen to the stupid little conspiracy theorist to laugh about it later” and maybe he was overreacting but being listened to like that... no one did that for him. There was no way the guy he rambled about the most actually enjoyed hearing his trains of thought, enjoyed hearing his thought processes. Get a laugh in about the things no one ever wanted to hear him talk about. Of course.

Before Shinsou can say anything to stop him, he gets up and walks away, head hung low

It takes quite awhile for Shinsou to be able to actually get the opportunity to talk to him

Todoroki stopped coming to their spot, and refused to talk to him during lunches, instead focusing on Midoriya, or one of the other members of the dekusquad

Shinsou’s been iced out, it seems

Eventually, though, within a few days, really, though Todoroki is obviously still hurt, they do talk

Shinsou explains that while it did start as him being curious to see what the other thought of him, he never did it with intent to laugh at him, and that he found Todoroki’s rambles cute

And Todoroki concedes he may have overreacted to hearing about it, but no one’s ever wanted to hear him ramble like that before, and learning that the person he talked about the most was listening to all of it, he assumed the worst

They stay as friends for awhile after that before either of them confesses

And despite realizing his feelings much later, Todoroki is the first to come clean, with a little help from Midoriya. 

The dates these two go on are often cutesy, fun things, like visiting cat cafes, or going to an arcade, however Todoroki quite enjoys taking him out for fancy dinners and laughing at the all the rich people who look uncomfortable to have what looks like two random kids in their midst. 

These two also go people watching a lot, stringing together elaborate life stories for the people and groups they happen to observe

and they often come to each other to have little bitching sessions, where they air out their issues with certain people, or things, without someone who will poke fun at their troubles with them 

They’re good cat boyfriends

Shinsou sits on tables sometimes Todoroki sits on the backs of couches

and things are just... nice, cozy, happy, between the two of them

They love each other a lot and once they’re older, they provide each other endless support in their careers

When Shinsou gets into rough territory in his underground work, the thought of coming how to Todoroki keeps him going

And when Todoroki fails to save someone, when he reacts too slowly, when he fails, when a villain is too rough to deal with, he knows that he’s not alone

That when he gets home he can fall into Shinsou’s arms and be vulnerable 

Knows he can cuddle with him on the couch, their cat Pringles in his lap, and be at ease

[the-lack-of-errors-in-star-trek]

MIDNIGHT FLIGHTS - 0.1

Chapter 1

In a library, a young teacher, and a young FBI agent were browsing the same aisle of books on adolescent psychology, making efforts to stand a safe distance away. The first thing that Natasha noticed was a tall man with odd posture and interesting quirks for selecting a book, almost as if he were browsing psychological literature for fun. The first thing that Spencer noticed was that a relatively short woman was searching for two specific titles listed on a wrinkled sticky note, more than likely for the purposes of bettering her career. Both persons considered the other interesting for choosing to be in a library on a Friday afternoon when colleges, schools, and most workplaces were observing a winter break a week from Christmas.

Natasha is the first to leave the section with her two required readings, Spencer loitering around selecting three titles to occupy his afternoon in the library. While Natasha is checking out her books, she receives an incoming call, checking the number quickly before answering, expecting her mother on the line.

"Privyet, mama, what's going on?"

A familiar voice enters her ear, "Oh come on Nastya, I've been waiting on you for an hour now. Your mother is trying to get me to eat another bowl of borscht, please save me." The voice of her best friend, Anna, brings a light chuckle to Natasha.

"I'm almost done at the library, I promise, I'll be there in less than a half hour." She answers, handing her library card to be scanned by the sitting clerk.

"Da, please just hurry." Anna repeats her plea and hangs up, leaving Natasha to collect her items and hurry out of the lobby of the library, headed directly to the metro.

As promised, Natasha enters the small apartment above her family's store with 25 minutes to spare from Anna's disappointment. "Ya doma!" She calls out, a small "yay" can be heard from the kitchen as she sets her bag down by the door. Walking into the sitting room connected to the kitchen, she spots the clock as being 19:36.

"You need to eat dinner, Lisichka" her mother calls out to her, wiping down the counter and sipping on a coffee, lit cigarette in hand.

"And right after, we need to change, hurry." Anna demands of her, walking from the small kitchen to the living room couch, eyeing the news playing in the background.

Natasha's adult life was very much consistent, after a long week of teaching and grading middle schoolers, Anna would be right there to take her to the newest clubs in the D.C. area. Natasha took a moment to analyse her friendship while eating her borscht and bread. They had met in the local Eastern Orthodox church in D.C. Nowadays, both only practice in the name of tradition instead of the belief they held as children, but that bond was set when they spoke for the first time during a church meal, and most of the Eastern European community probably only went to church for that same reason, tradition. Nastya and Anna were practically sisters, and had felt loss in the same way. When Anna was 16, she lost her brother in a car accident, and finally understood why Nastya carried an air of grief around her. Losing family was losing a part of your soul, and that was an unshakable moment between the two teens, leading them to live in similar ways. For Nastya, she put her heart and soul into teaching, making the world better for young scholars one English class period at a time, and for Anna, working as an intern in a law firm while working towards the bar exam meant giving her family name a better reputation than just "some Russians" living in D.C.

Later that night, the metro ride to the heart of downtown was largely uneventful, both women dressed for a fun time in the city, Anna wearing her blonde hair up in a twist, exposing a black sweater and gold necklace, slacks and heeled boots to go with. Nastya was dressed in a similar fashion, a red sweater from light fabric and dark jeans going with her worn black heeled boots, both women holding their purses close while holding the same rail. Leaving the metro meant walking fast from the station to the club, as the cold December air placed a chill over their bones. Neon lights could be seen all over the city, entering a small queue where a bouncer was checking IDs for entry into a new and definitely not prestigious club.

With a side eye from the bouncer, most likely from the last names on their Virginian licenses, both Anna and Nastya enter the club with no further event. The lights were strobing different colors, the music was loud and pumping, and both women sought a beeline for the bar, hoping to clock in a few shots prior to dancing. The bartender is a kind woman who obliges in pouring the four shots, taking payment from Natasha immediately.

"I'll cover the next four," Anna states, washing the second shot down with a sip of coke.

"You better!" Natasha laughs, lightly tapping Anna's shoulder, and turning to look at the crowd. Both were thankful for the fact the club had a coat room, ensuring the only thing needed to carry was their phones and some cash. "Dance?" She asks her friend, looking to the floor.

"Definitely!" Anna shouts over the music, dragging Nastya by the wrist to the floor, alcohol keeping their chests warm as they begin to dance by themselves and next to each other. A few men pass by briefly, none getting too close, but a quite muscular man saunters over, seeming to try and seduce Anna. Nastya takes this as a cue to find something stronger from the bar, leaning over to Anna's ear.

"Have fun, don't leave without me." She commands, receiving a thumbs up from her friend before closing the gap and dancing up on the bald man who approached them. Nastya can overhear their introductions as she walks away and towards the bar. She orders a gin and tonic from the lady behind the counter, and sips on it while walking the perimeter of the floor, attempting to spot her friend. Assuming they went towards the middle of the floor, she hangs back, taking the next ten minutes to slam through her drink, leaving it on the bar counter before finally spotting Anna's figure at a table of people, the man she was dancing with not even 15 minutes before standing next to her. Nastya walks over, tapping Anna on the shoulder.

"I thought I told you not to stray far," Nastya starts in Russian, "I couldn't find you for a solid ten." She finishes in English.

Anna shushes her, "Dude it's fine, look these guys are awesome! They work here! In the D.C.!" Liquor had always taken Anna faster than Nastya, she was just hoping she could keep tabs on her. She shakes her head at her friend before looking at the table, spotting an oddly familiar face across from her.

"Are you two Russian?" A skinny brunette asks the both of them in broken Russian, alcohol makes anyone a polyglot with the right vocabulary. Both women nod, answering with a curt "Da" waiting for more conversation to enter the table.

"Well we love meeting new people, your friend already told me her name, I'm Derek, what's yours?" The tall buff man asks Natasha.

"Natasha, nice to meet you Derek, don't move too fast on her, she gets tipsy faster than I do." Natasha cracks a friendly comment, getting a laugh and a light slap on the shoulder from Anna.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Emily." The brunette introduces herself to both young women on the spot, moving to point to the two people sitting next to her. "This is Penelope," she says, pointing to a slightly chubby and eccentric woman with cat eye glasses and an outfit to match, plenty of colour in comparison to the rest of their group. A short and sweet "nice to meet you" leaves Penelope's lips, moving to chew on her small bar straw in her red cocktail.

"And this is Spencer, our workplace genius." Emily finishes, the familiar man waving but finally looking up to face both women.

"Wait, I saw you in the library earlier today," he starts, shock coming to most of the table's faces. "Adolescent psychology, what was that for?"

"I'm a teacher." Natasha answers shortly, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Just light reading material." Spencer answers in the same matter of fact manner, the interaction leaving an odd air around the group.

Emily moves over slightly, "Please sit, the more the merrier, we can keep drinks going." Anna is the first to oblige, her boots new and not nearly as easy on the feet as Nastya's.

"Come on, Nastya, don't be a stranger, you need more friends than just me." Anna slaps the spot next to her, Nastya giving into the demands of her friend, as Derek excuses himself to grab shots for the table.

"So you know our professions," Nastya starts, "what brings you four together?"

"We work in the same office," Emily answers, her tone always warm and welcoming, definitely appealing to Natasha in opening up. "Federal agents, gotta cut loose every once and awhile."

Anna and Nastya nod, Anna piping up first. "What is that even like?"

"A lot of paperwork most of the time, but keeps us on our toes." Emily and Penelope seem to be the most talkative, the blonde answering the question this time around.

"Really?" Derek asks, coming back to the table and conversation with plenty of shots for everyone. "You're the one in the cave, Garcia, these girls were asking about our action packed adventures."

Everyone except Spencer takes a shot after making a cheer, catching Nastya's attention. "What is it, Mr. Spencer? Vodka not for you?"

"Actually it's Doctor Reid," he answers, taking Natasha aback, "and I've just never been crazy about drinking in general."

"Jesus, how old are you?" She asks, genuinely curious how a man looking so young could be that smart with a PhD.

"I'm 26 years old, a bit of a high IQ and fast reading will take you pretty far." He answers.

"Seriously? We're like the same age and you already have a doctorate?"

"Three of them, actually." This answer causes Anna to choke on her drink, an amused look from Spencer's work friends.

"Fucking impossible!" Anna calls out, "There's no way, you're too young!"

Derek laughs, "Anything is possible when this dude graduated high school at the ripe age of 12." Derek and Anna look at each other and nod, an unspoken agreement that both were bored and wanted to dance. Nastya moves to let Anna out onto Derek's shoulder, and takes her place at the table.

"So when did you leave Russia?" Emily asks, alcohol keeping the conversation on getting to know everyone.

"I mean, I was born here, by my parents left right at the start of the Glasnost and Perestroika," Natasha answers, no harm in answering the question no matter how odd it was to be talking to the FBI off duty. "Anna's family was a bit more lucky, her grandparents snuck out of the eastern bloc, making her second generation."

Penelope is the next to engage in conversation, "I can't imagine, have you ever travelled there since the wall fell?" She asks and it's a harmless question out of curiosity, but it places Natasha on edge. She shakes her head as a response. It was her time to ask questions.

"What even do you guys do?" She asks, not meaning to come off in a mean tone, but luckily Spencer sees through it and answers.

"We work behavioural analysis, most people assume that to mean we work to catch serial killers, but it's not just that, there's also arsonists, kidnappers, and rapists, and any crime in which behaviour can be studied."

"What a mouthful," Natasha responds, Penelope and Emily chuckling in response to the interaction.

"He's always quiet until he has something he can info-dump on you" Emily assures Natasha, keeping the same warm smile. It was certainly a nice group, but after an extra hour of small talk, and a few more rounds of shots, in which Natasha snags the numbers of all three at the table, it becomes evident that Anna had a very high chance of going home with Derek instead of back to Natasha's family apartment.

"You lost her?" Spencer asks, towering over her as they pack up to leave the club.

"Seems like it, metro should be loads of fun." Natasha eyes how Anna is practically climbing all over Derek.

Spencer looks between the two, and comes to a conclusion. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm driving for Emily and Penelope, I can drive you too. The crime rates at this hour skyrocket, especially if you're taking the metro by yourself."

Natasha decides to take up the group on their offer, making sure Anna left with Derek safely first. When stepping onto the street at a bright one in the morning, Natasha can't help but notice how far the temperature has dropped in just the past few hours. The group of four head to Spencer's car, and pile in.

The ride is largely uneventful, address after address meant that Spencer was left to drive Natasha home after Emily and Penelope, both remaining silent on the drive to the outskirts of D.C.

"It's this store right here, thank you." Natasha responds when Spencer pulls up.

"You live in a store?"

"Above it."

"Oh, yeah that makes sense..." He trails off, pulling into the side of the road. "It was nice to meet you, have a good night."

"Thanks again," Natasha answers, exiting the car with her purse, both of the adults creating an awkward silence between each other. "Good night." Spencer drives off right when she backs onto the sidewalk, getting into the store apartment with no alert to her mother.

As Natasha fell asleep that night, she wondered what kind of story Anna would have for her the next morning, as well as how the fuck the FBI got a lanky kid to hunt down serial killers, but couldn't teach him how to hold a conversation.

Taglist: @iwannabemorethanme​

[atinytokki]

The Windy Road

ix. The Ghost Friend 

The fish were thinning.

Some accident must have befallen them on their northern migration for the summer — pollution or overfishing due to the new military activity near the archipelago perhaps— and it was to the loss of the Song business.

The dry summer followed a dreary spring, which followed a dreary winter, which followed a dreary autumn.

Mingi had often seen Dahye and Bosung out in town on their way to and from school and various other outings.

He couldn’t tell whether Dahye truly had feelings for Bosung or not, but the backstabbing neighbour seemed to think she did and followed her around like a lost puppy.

It was sickening to watch.

When they both finished their courses of study, Mingi had some reprieve, but it was only until the day he woke up to see Dahye packing her trunks into a carriage and setting out for the capital. Her parents were sending her to start work there and as much as Mingi wanted to follow— to run away together and have a wild adventure in the city— his own family needed him. Badly.

With his mother’s occupation exposed, there had been a period where hardly anyone would buy from the Song fish stall at all.

In time it passed, and Mingi was thankful for the work but it was the type of work that felt like digging their own graves as they tried to save themselves from falling on hard times.

His father needed help with the business and his mother needed protection from slanderers. And Minseok was never coming back, so that meant Mingi was for all intents and purposes, the eldest. The responsible son. The adult.

A fire had been started and Mingi was fighting to keep up with it.

“I asked around at the market and there are hardly any in the usual places,” Father told him over the dinner table while the pair sat with the map in front of them.

“Bluefish, tuna, monkfish… I don’t know why, but they haven’t appeared and they’re long overdue.”

Mingi nodded and continued picking at the small scratch in the wood surface. “What did the other fishers find?”

“There were plenty of shellfish and carp,” Father sighed, and they both knew that wouldn’t last them the season unless they jacked up the price.

Mingi was tired of shellfish.

“You want to try eel?” He suggested, and Father looked affronted so he went on to explain. “Look inland for it, freshwater rivers and such. You’ll be able to sell at a higher price without question because it’s a delicacy.”

Father sat back and watched him for a moment, considering it.

“Alright, I’ll go to Ineo and see if I can find any at the end of the week, but it may be a long trip. I don’t want to end up wasting my time.”

Mingi nodded with something akin to excitement inside. It was fulfilling to be heard every once in awhile. He’d be eighteen next month, so it was about time he was treated as an adult.

The sound of the first few raindrops drumming on the wooden roof crescendoed into a torrential downpour while they looked out the window at the ocean.

Finally some miserable weather to match his mood.

It was the time of year when it could be deadly out there and Mingi was at least relieved Father would be safe inland and far away from the typhoons that plagued Panhang.

A fog began to cover the sea with the growing intensity of the warm rain meeting cool ocean water, and it created a spooky atmosphere that made Mingi remember an old story from his childhood.

“Hongjoong said it happened once with the gourami,” Mingi whispered as he lit a fire in the lantern on the table. “They just disappeared one season and came back like nothing happened the next. No one knew why, but some of the locals blamed it on a sea monster.”

Father turned to observe his reaction to mentioning Hongjoong when he stumbled over the name. It still hurt to think about him sometimes, dead at the bottom of the sea after being caught up in a pirate’s affairs. Mingi had been checking over his shoulder every day since for his ghost, haunting him as punishment for his idiotic behaviour.

They were his childhood— Hongjoong, Dahye, and Bosung. Without them, Mingi felt like he’d lost part of his own identity.

“You are more than your circumstances,” another voice shook him out of it, and there was Mother to encourage him. “That’s a truth I know well.”

“You’ll take care of your mother while I’m gone?” Father instructed, more of a command than a question, standing to wrap her in his arms before she ventured out into the night.

“Of course,” Mingi answered, joining the hug and relishing it while he could.

Everything else may have changed, but the three of them were still together.

It was difficult to say goodbye when Father set out with his smaller nets stuffed into the bag on his back, hiking southwest to meet the Chigu river. Mother refused to let Mingi walk her to town each night when she went to work, knowing her employer would be angry with her for doing so, but it made him feel useless to sit by the window and watch her walk away, keeping her head down and away from those who would mock her. Usually the angry townspeople dispersed after she left the house, but the whole affair made him uneasy every evening.

The rains continued into the next week, and Mingi began to understand how it might’ve been that night that Hongjoong’s parents died.

He wanted to cover as much area as possible but gave the rocks a wide berth while he could see them, adjusting the sails quickly to reach his traps and collect them before he lost the sunlight.

Rain poured into his eyes and the nagging voice in the back of his head berated him for not bringing a hat.

“I’ll have to buy one in town when I sell these,” he muttered to himself, hauling the last crate over the side and setting it down with the others.

He was cold, sore, and soaked to the bones but nevertheless took his time returning to shore, peering through the grey sheets of rain to make sure the rocks were still a good distance from him.

Father would be perturbed that he went out on the ocean alone, but they couldn’t afford to miss a day’s catch— even a poor one. They still had Minseok’s debts to pay.

While he stood at the stall, accompanied only by fish buried in ice, doing an adequate job selling his wares by emulating his father’s booming merchant voice, he wished more than ever that Hongjoong was still there.

They could have had the entire load done in half the time and maybe even gone searching for places where the sea was rich with catches with the extra hours.

Instead Mingi was left to pack his things and trudge home when the market closed to sit, shivering, by the fire with a book in his lap that he was only half paying attention to.

For a summer evening, the wind carried a strange chill and somewhere the sea goddess must have heard him, because a miracle came that night.

A knock at the door startled Mingi out of his reading. It was well past midnight, and highly unlikely either of his parents had returned, so he approached with caution, peering through the window.

Whoever had knocked was now slumped on the doorstep, having slipped in the rain. It looked like someone who needed help, not someone who wanted to kill him.

Mingi threw the door open and knelt by the huddled form, placing a hand on the bony shoulder gently.

A head shot up and even through the rain streaking down his cheeks, Mingi knew who it was.

He recognised all the angles of his face, the way he carried himself, even that nervous look in his eyes.

“Hongjoong?”

Slowly Hongjoong got to his feet, still staring at him with hesitation, like he wasn’t sure whether he would be accepted or not.

“Hongjoong—” Mingi’s voice broke and suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore.

He grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, clinging on and crying like he was afraid to lose him again. Tears mixed with rain dripped down his face, and his sobs were muffled in the cloak Hongjoong was wearing.

“It’s me,” Hongjoong whispered, rocking gently from side to side and reaching up to stroke the back of his head. “I’m here.”

A shiver from Hongjoong broke the spell, and Mingi pulled him inside, closing the door behind him. “I’m so sorry, where are my manners, you must be freezing...”

He ran to the linen closet to pull out some towels while Hongjoong attempted to explain what he was doing here all of a sudden.

“I tried docking all along the archipelago and even further south, but there was too much navy presence at every other port and I didn’t know where I...” he said, accepting the towel and wrapping it around himself. “I didn’t want to intrude but I needed shelter.”

“You could never intrude,” Mingi rushed you reassure him. “We... I thought you were dead.”

Hongjoong froze and stared at him for a moment before blinking it away and wandering into the living room.

As he looked around, a strange expression came over his face. It suddenly occurred to Mingi that he hadn’t been in here since the Song family moved in, years ago.

But the weight of that fact was buried under a lot more unspoken pain Mingi didn’t know about.

Once they were settled in chairs and Hongjoong was adequately dried off, Mingi played host.

“Father’s on a trip and Mother’s out... working. Minseok’s bed is always free. So you can stay the night if you need to.”

Hongjoong sighed and smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

“Or you can stay here as long as you like,” Mingi shrugged with a withering smile, still too embarrassed to ask him to stay forever outright. “I take it you aren’t returning to Jangwon.”

Hongjoong stiffened and nodded quickly.

After a moment more of sitting around awkwardly, Mingi just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Hongjoong, where have you been? What happened?”

His appearance now was a third outcome Mingi hadn’t considered, and it was eating him up inside the more he wondered what had taken place.

There was a tense silence that followed the question before Hongjoong met his gaze.

Tears swam in his eyes but they didn’t fall. He was shaking his head slightly as if he wasn’t even sure where to begin. He pursed his lips and it occurred to Mingi that he probably didn’t even want to.

“Well, that’s alright,” Mingi coughed uncomfortably, heading towards the stairs and listening to the quiet sound of Hongjoong following. “You can tell me tomorrow. You look like you need the sleep.”

This Hongjoong had been to hell and back. He was a ghost, a shadow of Hongjoong.

Not until he was asleep did the darkness lift for awhile.

Mingi watched him from his own bed, trying not to stare at the scars decorating his bare collarbone, or the way his ribcage jutted out from beneath flimsy fabric. Whatever he had been eating, it wasn’t enough. If he wasn’t swimming in his clothes, Mingi would offer his own. From how small he looked lying there it was obvious Mingi towered over him even more now.

When drowsiness came over him, a small voice in the back of his head allowed itself to celebrate.

After an agonising year of merely surviving in this stale town while his life slipped out of his control, Hongjoong came back to him. He was really back.

Perhaps Mingi wouldn’t feel so alone anymore.

On waking to an otherwise empty room the next morning, Mingi wondered in a panic if he’d simply dreamed the encounter.

But there Hongjoong was, downstairs in the kitchen, cooking him a humble breakfast and clutching a cup of tea like a lifeline.

“You’re already up?” Mingi questioned softly, concern seeping into his voice. “You seemed exhausted last night...”

“I’m not really able to sleep much more than a couple hours at a time,” Hongjoong confessed, laying a plate on the table in front of his host. He continued to explain, seeing the clear curiosity in Mingi’s eyes. “Sailing solo against the currents and amongst all the trade route traffic will do that to you.”

“Let me get this straight,” Mingi pressed, swallowing a gulp of his own tea and pulling Hongjoong into the chair across from him. “You survived the naval ambush reported in all the papers and bulletins a year ago, and sailed here all by yourself without sleeping properly on what ship, exactly?”

Hongjoong bit his lip like he was having second thoughts before sighing and getting to his feet, motioning Mingi to follow him.

“I left her at our old spot on the beach,” he told him, following the familiar path down the cliffside. “She’s not much, but I think I’ve grown attached.”

By the time they reached the water, Mingi was bursting with curiosity. Hongjoong let him take a good look at the little boat sitting there, tied to the dock just north of them before he said anything.

It wasn’t the most impressive vessel Mingi had ever seen, a bit smaller than the Song fishing boat and composed of mismatched wood and sheets, but as Hongjoong went on, its appearance began to make sense.

“The bulletins were correct about the Stardust going down,” he told him through a strained throat. “This is all that is left of her.”

“You built this,” Mingi breathed, astounded. “Out of what, the wreckage? You must not have been on the open ocean when it was sunk, then. Unless you’ve gained the ability to dive hundreds of feet while carrying soaked lumber…”

Hongjoong snorted and shook his head, loving eyes on the little bobbing boat he had made. That thing was probably as close a companion as Mingi had been once, and it prompted him to ask what he’d been meaning to since yesterday.

“I guess the only question I have left is... where were you in the meantime?” He kept his voice low, afraid to startle Hongjoong out of his daze while he continued to stare at the boat. “I mean, a whole year has passed since word of the sinking of the Stardust. I always assumed you had-had, you know... drowned.”

There was a restrained silence for a few moments, and Mingi had quietly decided to try again later when his guest had been given more time to recover from the experience, but to his great surprise he suddenly received his answer.

“I don’t know what happened to Eden but his body wasn’t with the shipwreck when I returned to it. We were separated and I drifted ashore,” Hongjoong nearly whispered, digging his bare foot into the sand absently. It was probably too soon to be talking about it but Mingi couldn’t help himself. “I survived on an uninhabited island day by day through...” he trailed off again like he wasn’t sure he wanted to go into detail. “Through so many scrapes with death that I needed to find a way off. No one was coming to get me and I’d been there 292 days.”

Mingi followed his gaze past the boat and out to the ocean. It was cruel and unpredictable, even from his pleasant view here on the shore. He couldn’t imagine traversing it on his own, dead to the world and surviving a nightmare.

And to think it was his own loose lips that had caused all this...

“I’m so sorry,” Mingi choked, lowering his head. “About Eden and- and everything that happened to you. And being abandoned in the wild for that long? I can’t even imagine it. I probably wouldn’t have lasted a day,” he brushed Hongjoong in the shoulder lightly with a teary smile to lift the mood.

“You’re more resourceful than you think,” Hongjoong reminded him as he took his hand and squeezed it. “I was.”

Together they climbed the hill back to the house and watched the sunrise through the windows. The skies promised sunshine for once, and it was a welcome guest.

Mingi watched Hongjoong clean up the dishes then root around for more to fill his empty stomach with and considered how they’d both come full circle.

His first friend, the one he should have stuck with through everything, back to being a ghost boy and floating through this shell of a house as if he was haunting it.

Now hopefully he’d lead a quiet life, recovering from everything that had clearly already traumatised him, settling down with a trade he liked, maybe a family of his own.

And Mingi would be right there to support him. He’d never make the mistake of leaving his side again.

Although, he would have to explain things to his mother when she came home.

Speaking of Mother…

Mingi busied himself by hurrying around the cottage, cleaning up after Hongjoong. He’d tracked wet sand all over the place with his bare feet, there was a spot of dirt on the sofa where he’d been sitting, and the sheets on Minseok’s bed probably needed changing.

Generally, Mingi didn’t take much notice of the state of cleanliness the house was in, but as resident caretaker of it and an almost-adult, he felt the need to make the place presentable and also take good care of his guest.

“Hyung, do you happen to have a change of clothes?” Mingi called from the sitting room, glancing over to see Hongjoong turn sharply from where he was stuffing his face with toast and blink in surprise a few times.

“Everything I own is at Jangwon or the bottom of the sea,” he informed him, speaking with his mouth still full. “So, no.”

Mingi muffled his laugh at Hongjoong’s loss of manners and went to draw water for him to bathe in. He’d been alone in the wild for so long that it was hardly surprising to have banished all thought and memory of high society, but the fact that he also had untreated wounds and tattered rags hanging off him was a little more urgent in Mingi’s eyes.

“Let’s wash off some of that dirt first,” Mingi instructed, leading Hongjoong from the kitchen and into the bathroom, not prepared to have to drag him away and throw him in the tub, but unrelenting when that was the case.

It was a good thing he spent so much time hauling the squirming catches in his fishnets around, considering Hongjoong was as untamed as the ocean and of no mind to be scrubbed like a child, though that was what Mingi decided to do anyway.

“You’re shaking,” he frowned when Hongjoong finally stilled, fingers clutching the lip of the tub until he had a chance to grab the cleaning rag from him and scrub himself. “Is the water cold?”

Hongjoong shook his head, refusing to look at him, and snatched up the towel when Mingi offered it with a successful smile.

Now he was all clean and smooth again.

Eventually the new roughness around the edges would weather away too.

“Though we should most definitely get you something... else... to wear,” Mingi laughed when Hongjoong discovered a new hole in the shirt he’d been forcibly removed from.

“I don’t want to inconvenience you,” he started to say, but Mingi cut him off by handing him an outfit of his own for the meantime.

“No, I meant to take a trip to the market this morning anyway. Let’s just be sure to return before Mother does.”

For Hongjoong’s sake, Mingi decided he could miss a day’s fishing after all.

The first stop was the clothing booth, where they’d bought fabrics on Hongjoong’s birthday almost three years ago. It felt like much longer when a burning wave of nostalgia washed over him, but Mingi busied himself by looking for a hat like he’d meant to yesterday and didn’t dwell on it. He had a lot of regrets about that year.

Hongjoong wasn’t exactly shopping, mostly just standing around and watching the goings-on with a shrewd eye.

“Stop staring at people, you don’t want to end up back at Jangwon,” Mingi admonished nervously before steering him to another section of the booth. “Here, get yourself some shoes.”

It took over an hour to get him into a pair of boots he wouldn’t complain about and Mingi threw in a shirt, jacket, and pair of breeches for good measure when he went to buy them along with his hat.

“I know you like jewellery,” Mingi suggested as they returned to the main road, steering Hongjoong out of the way of some rowdy women in the middle of the road. “Let me introduce you to the latest styles in fashion.”

“I’m not a child,” Hongjoong groaned, brushing his hands off and striding ahead a few paces in rebellion.

“I know you aren’t,” Mingi explained, taking a couple steps to keep up with him. “I’m just… trying to make up for not spending more time with you when we were children.”

Hongjoong didn’t reply but slowed down and glanced up at his host with a nod that told him he was forgiven. “Yes, I do like jewellery.”

He fumbled with the chain of a necklace he already wore, a crystal swinging from it that Mingi didn’t recognise, and made a turn onto the street where the store was.

Deciding not to press Hongjoong about anything else, Mingi settled for following him around and paying for the items he chose. It was the least he could do.

They ended up eating lunch in the corner of a pub, and Mingi struggled to keep up with Hongjoong’s drinking pace but was glad to get him talking again with some alcoholic lubrication.

“So where is this island?”

Hongjoong frowned in thought before pulling a wanted sign off the wall and sketching on it with a quill from the nearby table.

“Here,” he finally passed him a map with the coastline, archipelago, and colonies plotted on it, as well as some smaller islands to the south that Mingi hadn’t known about. “This one is where I was, to the best of my knowledge. Admiral Kim’s fire ships ambushed us here, and this was where the Stardust went down.”

Mingi scoffed and finally looked back up at him. “You memorised all that well enough to recreate it?”

“Well, it’s more or less accurate to a couple of coordinates—”

“Kim Hongjoong, I’m amazed at you,” Mingi laughed and sat back, taking a swig of his drink. He was suddenly very glad he had suggested the pub and not one of the tea houses.

“I’m happy to see you smile again,” Hongjoong told him warmly as he folded up the paper and pushed it to the side, suddenly deep in thought.

“All I wanted on that island was not to be alone anymore. Somehow despite that, being in the marketplace is too suffocating. It’s much better in here tucked into a corner with just the two of us.”

Another reason Mingi was glad to have chosen the pub. Everything was in the open and capable of being scrutinised at the tea house. It would have been total disaster if anyone from Jangwon was there.

“You know, I thought about you a lot while I was gone,” Hongjoong suddenly said and Mingi tilted his head in disbelief.

“Truly?”

“Yes, I agree with what you said earlier about regretting not spending more time together,” Hongjoong explained with a shallow sigh. “There were things I couldn’t have told you, but I feel I ought to have done better, and those words I said that night when I ran away…”

“I deserved them. I should have done better, too,” Mingi confessed softly. “And I will. This is a second chance, hyung. We can live our lives side-by-side from now on.”

They clinked their glasses together and downed them to seal the deal, and as they stood to leave Mingi noticed Hongjoong barefoot again and sat him down to lace up his boots.

“But not if you won’t keep your shoes on, for heaven’s sake…”

He laughed it off with Hongjoong as they walked back into the street, but behind closed doors, he knew what it was. Between the way he ate that oyster soup like it was his last meal, how easily disquieted he was, and his aversion to being touched without warning, Hongjoong was struggling to turn off his survival instincts. If it was as bad as Mingi thought, he might not be able to return to society. Not in any meaningful way.

For a while longer, they wandered the stalls and Mingi tried not to let it bother him. It was one of those days where the sun transitioned between blazing hot and being hidden behind the moving clouds, and a headache was growing behind his eyes as a result.

“What do you think of this one?” Hongjoong had to ask twice when Mingi couldn’t keep his eyes open and pay attention.

He was standing in between two anchors of different sizes and materials and Mingi couldn’t help but snort as he imagined Hongjoong trying to figure out how to move them down to the waterfront.

“An anchor? Why would you need an anchor?”

He was becoming irritable and Hongjoong knew it.

“You head back, I’ll look around for some other things to buy for the ATEEZ,” Hongjoong finally suggested instead of explaining himself.

“ATEEZ?” Mingi mumbled, putting up a hand to shade his eyes as the sun came out again.

“That’s what I’ve decided to call her,” came the response and Mingi gave an approving nod, dropped his money bag into Hongjoong’s hands, and trudged home to get in a nap.

Mother was there mending some clothes in the sitting room and Mingi provided her with a short explanation before escaping to his bed and evading all the following questions.

Sleep came over him gradually and wasn’t the most peaceful, not with the worry that Hongjoong was alone in the market gnawing at the back of his mind. He might get into a fight or steal something from a shop owner for all he knew, and as host Mingi would feel responsible for whatever harm might come to the stranger.

Perhaps he was treating Hongjoong too much like a child.

Thankfully, Mingi woke to the smell of dinner wafting through the house and the sight of his mother and guest sitting and eating peacefully. Hongjoong had brought back a canola flower bunch to decorate the table and upon seeing it, Mingi remembered the way he gave Dahye flowers once and became overly excited. It was as if the old Hongjoong was back.

The feeling didn’t last as supper went on when conversation fizzled out and Hongjoong, already finished with his meagre fish, would stare at nothing, reliving a horror he didn’t share.

He did an excellent job of hiding his fragile state when a dark memory overtook him, but Mingi was better at seeing it than Hongjoong was at pretending.

Mingi had noticed it before in the old sailors who fought in wars once. Hongjoong carried a type of pain with him that never faded, it only changed form.

“What do you intend to do with the ATEEZ?” Mingi asked to break the silence when the two of them sat outside under the stars, watching Mingi’s mother head to town for work.

“I’m not sure where I’ll go yet, but I want to sail,” Hongjoong answered, fiddling with his hands. “I have a feeling Eden is still out there…”

He trailed off quietly and neither of them spoke for a long time. If there was something he wanted to add, he was having trouble expressing it, so Mingi let the silence stretch on and considered whether Eden could be alive.

Hongjoong had survived, and Eden was much more experienced a pirate to begin with which certainly put it in the realm of possibilities.

But to hunt him down and join him would make Hongjoong a true pirate as well, and Mingi knew if he went down that road it would mean being pursued by enemies across the ocean for the rest of his days.

Not the quiet seaside life they’d envisioned earlier.

When the moon came out, the pair retired to bed. Questions of the future could wait at least a day longer, and the exhaustion of their outing had finally caught up with them.

Mingi should have anticipated the night terrors.

Muttering from the other bed awoke him sometime in the night and at first he ignored it, rolling over and pressing a pillow over his ears, but the sound of Hongjoong suddenly yelling had him sit up and rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Now he was breathing heavily and his thrashing grew in force until Mingi was genuinely worried and decided to wake him up.

“It’s just a dream, hyung, open your—”

Before he could finish, Hongjoong’s eyes flashed open and a hand shot out to switch their positions, choking Mingi fiercely before he realised who he was.

When had he gotten so strong?

“It’s me,” Mingi tried to say, mouth working with only a breathless grunt coming out of his sore throat, but it seemed to do the trick.

Hongjoong released him with a gasp and slowly moved away, shrinking into a ball and struggling to regain control of himself while Mingi recovered his breath.

“Are you alright?” He whispered, as if being quiet now could atone for the violent episode he’d just had.

Mingi expected him to be crying, releasing that tumultuous emotion somehow, but he simply stared at nothing again, knuckles white as he curled his fingers tightly in the blanket and waited for a reply.

No, I’m terrified, Mingi wanted to say. I could’ve died just now, you could have killed me…

“Just startled is all, it wasn’t your fault.” The rasp in his voice made him pause to swallow carefully. “Are… are you?”

“We don’t… keep secrets from each other,” he answered so quietly that Mingi could barely hear, but he knew what Hongjoong was admitting.

He wasn’t alright. He wouldn’t be for a long time, maybe not ever.

This wasn’t the same Hongjoong who left Mingi alone in the cold, weather-beaten town that had turned against the both of them. This was someone else, someone who was part wild beast himself now.

Mingi didn’t know how to help him, and it made him feel useless.

“You’re soaked,” he mentioned absently as he laid a careful hand on his shoulder and noticed the shirt he wore was doused in sweat. “Let’s get this off…”

He should have known what a mistake that was before pulling the cloth off for him and being greeted with a frightening collection of jagged scars running down Hongjoong’s back, but instead he opened his mouth to ask, stunned, “What happened?”

Mingi hadn’t noticed the marks during the bath, probably because of the way his guest had been pressed against the tub, hiding it from him.

Hongjoong scooted as far away as possible with the speed of a cornered animal and pulled the blankets up to his chin. “Please,” he insisted through his teeth, and he didn’t need to finish the sentence. Mingi knew what he was asking.

Don’t make me lie to you.

He looked like he’d nearly been clawed to death by something, but apparently it wasn’t worth telling Mingi, who may not have experienced anything remotely similar but was doing everything in his power to aid his recovery from it.

He couldn’t help the annoyance from seeping into his voice. “I’m just trying to help—”

“You should go back to bed,” Hongjoong cut him off, voice hoarse and eyes shining with something akin to regret. “You need to sleep.”

Instead Mingi tossed the shirt to the floor and marched outside, upset.

He knew it was his frustration at more than Hongjoong coming through, but despite his friend’s return, life still felt unfair.

He was alive, but in a strange state of limbo, where for long periods of time he might as well not be. He was with Mingi but deep down wanted to go somewhere else, wherever Eden was.

Mingi swallowed his tears before they presented themselves and tried to formulate a plan.

Hongjoong’s suffering wasn’t his alone. It might take time but if he could let Mingi in, they’d both be better equipped to handle it.

Mingi just needed to be patient.

He started by going back inside and crawling into bed. Hongjoong was either asleep or pretending to be, facing the opposite wall to avoid another confrontation.

The two didn’t argue until the following morning, when Mingi found his guest outside again, watching the ATEEZ bob up and down on the water below.

“Why do you expect me to be the same as I was before I left?” Hongjoong asked tiredly without looking at him. Mingi wasn’t sure how he even knew he had approached. “Haven’t you noticed that you changed as well?”

Mingi furrowed his brows and tried to understand. “Me? What on earth are you referring to?”

Hongjoong faced him with his jaw set and a cold look in his eyes. “You’re always trailing behind like you can’t let me out of your sight. I told you before, I’m not a child… or a mangy dog for that matter.”

Mingi bristled but kept his clenched fist by his side.

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t be as aloof and insensitive as your pirate friends,” he scoffed bitterly, and regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

Hongjoong got to his feet slowly and let his eyes rake over the little cottage he’d loved so dearly once.

“I think it’s best that I stay somewhere else.”

There was no emotion in his voice and it terrified Mingi.

“No, please, hyung! Don’t do this to me, don’t leave me again. I’ll do anything—”

Hongjoong sighed and raised a hand to stop him from going on. There was concern in his eyes that didn’t reach his voice as he explained, “Mingi, I could have killed you last night. I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

Mingi was partially relieved this suggestion had nothing to do with his sarcastic comment, but still got to his feet and blocked Hongjoong’s route to the sea.

“What does it matter if you do? I deserve it!”

“Don’t say that,” Hongjoong snapped immediately. “You didn’t do this. I know you want to help but—”

“Nothing can be done?” Mingi finished for him. “Are you completely certain of that fact? Let me at least try. Give me another chance, hyung, I’m begging you.”

Hongjoong pursed his lips and glanced away. For a moment he said nothing and simply let the wind ruffle his hair, deciding whether to part on such terms or relent and let Mingi redeem himself.

“I’ll make you a deal— and you know I’m not the gambling type,” Mingi broke the silence breathlessly, for once in his life taking the first step himself. “Work on your ship all you want, but do it here. I won’t interfere, and if you ultimately decide to leave on it, I won’t stop you. But please just try for me. Wear your boots and join society if you can. Promise you’ll do your best… because I can’t bear the thought of being separated from you again.”

Hongjoong’s eyes swam before meeting his and he let out a wet chuckle before scratching the back of his head. “You really want me here?”

“We won’t even make you help with the fishing,” Mingi promised with a growing smile. He knew he’d managed to convince him by the way Hongjoong let out that little amused snort and offered his hand to be shaken.

“Alright,” he sighed, resigned, before setting his eyes on the town. “I have other means of earning my keep.”

Mingi overlooked the dark undertone of that statement, relieved he’d managed to win back Hongjoong’s company.

“I’ll return for supper,” Hongjoong bade him farewell as he slung a bag over his shoulder. “The ATEEZ needs some work.”

He had his word, and that held good for Mingi. His heart was lighter as he returned to the kitchen and looked around for something to cook breakfast with.

Not fish this time, Hongjoong was probably sick of them.

Mingi looked out the window that pointed toward the road inland, with still no sign of Father. When he returned with his eels, it was likely he would try to enlist Hongjoong’s help in finding the elusive catches, and that would be a breach of the verbal contract Mingi had just made.

But even then, no fish for breakfast. If it was the only food available on a remote tropical island, Mingi could do better.

There weren’t many new fish in Panhang in the first place.

...

A/N: With only a few chapters left, we’ve reached a turning point both in the story and Mingi’s character! Let me know if you managed to connect past and present by leaving a comment, and have a great week <3

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[chrollostan232323]

Candlelit Night - 18+ Fic

//timeskip KuroKen, three-way, slight degradation

note: this is my first smut so like, I'm sorry if it sucks <3

WC: 4037

“Miss, would you like another glass of champagne?” The young waiter smiled down at you, bottle and towel in hand. “No, I’m good- thank you!” you smiled up at him. Your eyes flashed towards the man sitting across from you. He proceeded to cross his arms and lean back in his seat. You glanced at your suit-clad partner as the waiter walked away.

Sparkly earrings, black silk slip dress. Tall heels that gave you an elegant cadence to your step. You were appropriately dressed for this candlelit dinner at one of the fanciest steak restaurants in Tokyo. A smooth jazz band quietly played on a small stage. You and Kenma were far away from the action, however- just as he liked it. Tucked away towards the back, seated next to a large window which showcased the sprawling metropolis. A fireplace behind you grew and shrunk in size; warmth emanated from it and swallowed you up in a comforting glow. The two glasses of bubbly had helped this warmth to spread to your face, making you feel very relaxed and cozy.

Kozume Kenma wasn’t one to go out very much; he preferred the quiet company of you and his games, back in that nice apartment you both now shared. However, every once in a while, he liked toting you around, showing you off to the other citygoers. When he was in this sort of mood, he’d set up the outfit he wanted you to wear on the bed you two shared, with a note for you that told you the time you had to be ready by. Kenma preferred simple yet well-made pieces that showed off your neckline, with beautiful accessories to boot. For someone who exclusively wore big hoodies every day, Kenma had a sharp eye for what looked good on your frame.

Sitting there in comfortable silence, you started to reflect on how you met your quiet boyfriend. He had just graduated from college, and was the CEO of his own corporation. Of course, you didn’t know all of this when you approached him at a local coffee shop that fateful winter morning before your classes. He had been stoic, uninterested even. But your smile and warmth eventually ignited something deep from within him, and you two became inseparable. You were, undoubtedly, his rock- his comfort and joy to return to after a hectic day of meetings and streamings. He cherished you greatly, even though he wasn’t always good at showing it.

After the waiter dropped off the check, you sighed, leaning forward to rest your chin on your palm. Kenma gazed into your eyes, cat-like expression and with an ever-so-slight smile playing on his lips. “I hope you enjoyed this…” he quietly spoke, hinging on a whisper. “You look so beautiful tonight.” You smiled, playing with your earring and cocking your head to one side.

“Thank you,” you started,  “for everything. This was so much fun.”

“You know, I really like the dress I picked out for you. But what I like even more is what I had picked out for you to wear underneath it…” Sentence trailing off, Kenma let his gaze wander down towards your cleavage.

Kenma was, for lack of better words, an interesting man. His persona on his gaming streams was snippy. His default mood was quiet, uninterested, and aloof. However, you knew a side to him that was completely private to you and him. When it came to your sexual life with Kenma, he was a bit unorthodox.

Beyond that cat-like face, Kenma Kozume was a sadistic bastard. You started to realize this fact when you two had been dating for a few months. Gentle, sweet lovemaking sessions with plenty of peppered kisses and whispered praises slowly started to develop into something a bit sinister.

“Can we try something new tonight?” Kenma’s expression became darker as he spoke. This was a phrase you had heard many times before: it started with a pair of handcuffs, then a blindfold, toys… He called this sort of thing ‘playing,’ and when Kenma was in the mood to play, you knew you were in for a rough night.

You folded your arms over your chest, pressing your breasts together as you leaned over the table slightly. “Would you mind telling me what you have in store for me?” You whispered, smiling. You normally liked to wait until the moment of to find out what Kenma had planned, but the way he had started to shift in his seat made you way too curious to wait.

“I think we had talked about this before… and this might be a little weird, so stop me if it’s too much…” You noticed a blush forming on Kenma’s cheeks as he looked for the right way to phrase his sentence. Whatever he had in store must have been questionable, even for him. Your heart swelled as you wondered what it could possibly be, and you could feel a slight warmness emanating from your panties.

“You remember my friend… Kuroo, right?” His eyes started to dart around, then settled on the glass of wine in front of him. “You know, the guy with that messy black hair who always used to come over. I went to his place last weekend, as you know… and we got to talking about you.”

Kenma nervously brushed his hair behind his ear as he continued. You had never seen him like this before. Sure, he was nervous to talk to other people freely, but when it came to the bedroom, he always had exuded a straightforward attitude.

“So, he thinks you’re really pretty… and well, I started thinking about how nice it might be for… him to play with us tonight…”

Your eyes widened. Tetsurō Kuroo, one of Kenma’s only friends. That man had always piqued your curiosity. He was tall, way taller than Kenma, and handsome as hell. You couldn’t help but be drawn to his witty humor and his confident exterior. You had shared a few… weird moments with him: once, you were preparing another drink for yourself at the bar in your apartment. Kuroo had come to grab some more soda to add to his beverage. Instead of alerting you that he was there, he just reached from behind you, enveloping you in a way that if you were to turn around, you’d be face first in his chest. Then, when he was done, he momentarily placed his hand on your waist before stalking away. You knew he was a touchy man, flirtatious even, but now that you were racking your brain, maybe he had been coming onto you…?

“Do you not want to?” Kenma’s question snapped you out of your current train of thought. You shook your head, saying, “No, no, I think it would be fun… it’s just, would that make things weird between you two?”

“Hmmm.” Kenma played with his fingers, face looking deep in thought. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve actually wanted to do this sort of thing for awhile now.”

Well, shit. The thought of you being with Kenma and his tall, brooding friend made your head spin. Two bodies on top of your own, licking, kissing, nibbling, giving you double the pleasure as you’re used to. Sure, it might make things weird, but you’d be damned if you said that doing this wouldn’t be super hot. You smiled at Kenma, eyes twinkling. He immediately seemed to relax, expression changing into his normal unemotive face. You knew this look all too well. Cold, analytical. Kenma loved observing your every move and expression when you two were ‘playing.’ He knew exactly what buttons to press in order to have you a squirting, sniveling mess by the end of the night. You just knew from his face that tonight would be no different.

__________________________________________________________________________

You were on the bed, knees drawn up to your chest. A beautiful, intricate lace lingerie set that Kenma had picked out hugged your breasts and ass. You had poured yourself a glass of red wine the second you and your boyfriend arrived home from dinner, to ease your nerves a bit. Now, your head was spinning and you were nervous as hell. As you sat on the bed, candle flames sitting around you licking the air, you could hear soft rain pelting the window. You sighed heavily, trying to think about how this was going to go down. Your heart dropped when you heard a ring coming from the front door. You heard Kenma pad to the entrance, opening your door to what could only be your second partner for the night. Some low chatter started to emerge from your living room, and suddenly, Kuroo’s loud, boisterous laugh erupted through the walls. God, just how long were you going to have to sit here like this?! Kenma had mentioned that he wanted to share a drink with his friend before coming in, to ease the tension and hopefully make things go smoother. So there you waited, desperately trying to understand what was being said on the other side of the wall. After what seemed like forever, you heard two pairs of footsteps approaching the door. You froze, eyes widening. Shit, shit, what the hell am I DOING?! You thought as someone quietly knocked on the door. “Babe?” You heard Kenma whisper from the other side.

“Yeah, come in.” You said before even thinking about it. Crap.

The door opened. Kuroo stood behind Kenma, smiling slyly as he took the view in. There you were, sitting right in the middle of the bed, blush creeping all over your cheeks.

“Hey, y/n” Kuroo smiled as he and Kenma sauntered in. “How are you doing?”

Why does this sound like a normal conversation?! This is so awkward. “Oh, uh, I’m good,” You stammered, clearly nervous. Kuroo gently set down the drink he had in his hand. Kenma eyed you up and down, obviously liking the set he had picked out for you. He padded over to the bed and leaned in, tucking his dark hair behind his ear. He whispered into your ear, ”Be a good little slut for us, okay?” The tone in which he said that had you thinking about the consequences if you were to act out of line. Kenma stared into your eyes for a few moments before standing back up and walking away.  “Babe, why don’t you stand up and show Kuroo your body. No need to be shy.”

You did as he said, scooting towards the end of the bed and slowly getting up. You had to look up to meet Kuroo’s gaze, with him now standing directly in front of you. The flirty look in his eyes faded as he started to blush. It was at that moment that you realized he was probably just as nervous as you were. That thought helped you ease up a bit as Kuroo moved to cup your cheek with his hand. Kenma sauntered over to the armchair in the corner of the room and sat down in it, legs crossed. Quizzically, he looked at the two of you.

After what seemed like a while, you boyfriend stifled a breathy laugh. You had almost forgotten he was there, since you had been taking in Kuroo’s expressions. “What are you two doing? Kiss her, idiot.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.” Kuroo brushed some hair aside from your face and lifted your chin with his other hand. There’s a gentle pressure against your lips as your eyes flutter shut. Kuroo was being loving and kind. No tongue, no biting, just a pure and romantic kiss. You knew this wouldn’t satisfy your boyfriend. As if on cue, Kenma clicked his tongue. “Jesus, Kuroo. Is this your first kiss or something? Do it like we talked about...”

Something came over Kuroo as he pulled you by the back of your head, fingers raking through your hair. His kisses were more desperate and sloppy this time. You felt your lips part as his tongue made its way in between them. He started to bite your lower lip roughly, harder than Kenma ever had. Moaning into his kiss, you felt his hands start to touch and feel around your body. Kuroo had big, calloused hands.  His touch was less gentle and less calculating than your boyfriend’s, and you found yourself intoxicated by this new feeling. Kuroo started to suck on your neck, your head rolling back. He was biting, hard. It hurt, but you wanted more. While Kuroo was kissing and working his way down to your collarbone, you glanced over to Kenma, who was still perched on the large armchair, now rubbing himself over his pants. He had a dark look on his face - was it jealousy? You weren’t sure - you’d never seen him look at you like that.

“What are you looking at?” Kenma snapped, “Now why don’t you be a good girl and help Kuroo take your little outfit off.”

You hadn’t even noticed Kuroo tugging at the straps of your lingerie. He grabbed you and pulled you tight, your head against his chest. He reached behind you and started to undo the hooks from the back. You couldn’t even move to help him. Before you knew it, your lacy bodice had fluttered to the ground and you were now topless. Kuroo wasted no time, getting on his knees so that he was eye-level with your chest. Then, using both of his hands and that sultry tongue, he started to worship your breasts like no one had ever done before. Squeezing them, biting them - it was like he had never gotten to play with a girl’s chest. The licking and sucking sounds were so dirty, you couldn’t help but to squirm a bit. You felt a warm pool of wetness form in your panties, and you had to bite your lip to stifle a moan. At this point, Kuroo was sucking on one nipple, using his right hand to pinch and play with the other. You felt so weird, having another man touch you like this, yet glancing over to Kenma and seeing him enjoy himself gave you the reassurance you needed. Your boyfriend’s pants were on the ground now, and he was gripping his hard cock with his hand, stroking up and down slowly.

“Good. Kuroo, I think she likes you. Why don’t you see what she tastes like.”

With a low grunt, Kuroo stood up again and then roughly pushed you onto the bed. He started to slip your panties down before pausing to read your face. You gave him a small smile and a quick nod. He pulled them down your legs and then pushed them apart, looking at your now very wet, glistening pussy. You cringed a bit, embarrassed to have another man looking at you like this. But Kuroo didn’t even bat an eyelash before shoving his face between your legs, licking and sucking at your pussy. His tongue was rough, but precise as it toyed with your swollen clit. You gasped and threw your head back, lost in pleasure as he devoured you.

“Flip her over.”

Kuroo wordlessly did as he was told, grabbing your waist and flipping you to be on your knees, your ass in the air. You could feel his hot breath on your entrance as he peppered kisses on your ass. Suddenly, his large hand came down on your left cheek, causing you to moan. Both his hands palmed your ass, and then spread open your cheeks. You arched your back as he suddenly attacked with his tongue. Now from behind, it felt even better as you couldn’t see what was going on. He lapped his tongue up your slit, then teased your asshole. “God, you taste just as good as I thought you would,” He said, and the vibrations those words caused sent you over the edge. You were a mess now, moaning and bunching up the sheets in your hands.

“Kuroo. Shut her up.” You heard Kenma snap from the corner. You glanced over, and he was now stroking his cock faster, toes starting to curl. Suddenly, Kuroo’s hand came down on your ass again, stinging even harder this time. He then reached around to cover your mouth with his hand, pulling back until your head was thrown back. You wanted to scream, to yell out as he roughly shoved two fingers through your slit. But nothing came out of your throat, and you were helpless as your boyfriend’s best friend started to pump his finger in and out. You felt completely vulnerable to the orchestrations of your sadistic boyfriend and his friend, and it was almost too much to handle.

“I want you to fuck her until she starts crying.” You heard Kenma breathe almost quietly from the corner, ending his demand with a small groan. He must’ve been close, and you wanted him more than anything. Kuroo’s fingers left you, leaving you feeling empty. You hadn’t even realized until they pulled out that you had been extremely close to cumming all over Kuroo’s digits. Your pussy started to ache at the lack of touch. Kuroo flipped you over yet again, and you met his gaze. He was blushing, hard; his eyes glazed over and dark. “God, I’ve wanted to do this to you for a long time, y/n.” He growled, slipping down his underwear to expose his huge, throbbing cock, “Aren’t I a lucky man, to have a best friend who lets me fuck his slutty girlfriend like this.” You squealed as he bent over to force his hand around your throat. And without any warning, you felt his cock stretching open your pussy, making its way inside. He slowly sank it in, groaning as he bottomed out. “Fuck, you’re so fucking tight, damnit…” Kuroo sighed as he slowly pulled his hips back, then snapped them forward. It was too much: Kenma was gifted with a nice, long cock, but you hadn’t felt anything like this before. Tears started to form at the corners of your eyes as you took him in. The sting of his entry eventually melted into pure pleasure and fullness as he plowed into you mercilessly, swinging your legs over his shoulders. “You like that, kitten? Yeah? Fuck, you’re taking my cock so well.” His voice lowered as he towered over you, “I want to come inside you, make you mine, hah. Kenma would kill me though…”

“I would do what?”

Kenma suddenly appeared right next to Kuroo, dark expression and jealousy written all over his face. Kuroo looked like his soul left his body for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and resumed slamming his cock into you, biting his lip and closing his eyes. Kenma walked around to the side of the bed and caressed your face. “You look so fucked out, doll. My pretty girl can’t handle Kuroo’s cock, so I guess she doesn’t deserve mine.”

Kuroo’s hand left your throat completely, though he hadn’t been putting much pressure on it since Kenma appeared out of thin air. You sputtered, tears still prickling the corners of your eyes. “Kenma, no, please, I want you, no, I need you. Please, god…” You were messy, moaning loudly and cheeks bright pink. And you were needy. You wanted, no, needed more than anything for Kenma to help you reach your climax before his friend did. But no such thing happened; a sharp sound cracked as Kenma slapped you swiftly across the cheek. “What did I tell you to call me when we were playing? Try again.”

“Fuck--” Your tears were rolling down your cheeks now. Kuroo was roughly slamming right into your g-spot over and over again now, causing a warm, tingly sensation to build up in your core. “Please… please, I need you, sir…”

Kenma smirked a little, and you glanced down at his cock, which was now throbbing and dripping with precum. He placed his hand on your cheek, gently this time, letting his thumb wander into your mouth. You sucked on it and licked it, desperate to replace his thumb with his cock. “I’ll take good care of you now,” he whispered.

Kuroo got the hint and he pulled out of you, cock now slick with your juices. One more time, he effortlessly flipped you over to be back on your knees before walking over to the other side of the bed. Kenma replaced his friend behind you, watching your hole as it twitched and clenched around nothing. You grew embarrassed and impatient, whimpering softly as you waited for something to happen. Kuroo climbed onto the bed and kneeled in front of you, cock swinging right by your face. He grabbed it with his hand and slapped your cheek with it a couple of times, chuckling devilishly. “I love seeing you like this,” he grinned before looking behind you at your boyfriend. He gave a slight nod.

It happened so quickly you didn’t have any time to react. As Kuroo slid his cock between your lips, Kenma was doing the same to your entrance. In one swift motion, you went from feeling empty to having both your mouth and your pussy stuffed. You gagged at the sudden intrusion, mascara now running down your face. “Fuck…” Kuroo groaned, head thrown back.

Now, Kenma wasn’t as big as Kuroo was. But your boyfriend easily managed to throw you over the edge by using intricate thrusts timed with his thumb rubbing circles over your clit. It was enough to make the coil from within you snap, and you moaned deeply, sending vibrations up and down Kuroo’s cock. Your fluids came rushing out all over Kenma’s cock as your hole twitched and clamped around him. Your eyes were now rolling into the back of your head, and you were helpless as Kuroo continued to thrust into your mouth, fingers grappling your hair and pushing your head deeper. Kenma soon followed after you, grabbing your ass so hard it left a mark as he shot cum deep inside you, letting out one long, drawn-out moan. 

The slapping sounds of Kenma’s cock against your ass stopped as he pulled out, but your gagging noises and Kuroo’s groans now filled the room. He was mercilessly shoving his cock as far back as it could go, slamming it against the back of your throat, over and over again. Just as you were about to throw in the towel and push Kuroo off of you, you could feel his cock stiffen as hot liquid shot down into your throat. “Fuck, fuck, oh…” Kuroo froze as he rode out his high, eyes fluttering shut. He pulled out in one swift motion, leaving you coughing and sputtering. You rolled over on the bed and laid there on your back. 

Kenma coolly went to go put on his pants and then draw a bath, acting as if nothing had happened. Aftercare wasn’t really his strong suit, so you were shocked to feel two large arms scoop you up as Kuroo started to carry you towards the bathroom. “Let’s get you all cleaned up, princess,” he smirked, gently setting you down in the bathtub. Kenma sauntered in, leaning down to pepper your forehead with kisses. “You did so well, babe. I’m so proud of you.” You looked up at the two men standing by the tub. Smiling, you said, “So, does someone want to put on a movie or something?”

“Oh, fuck yeah.” Kuroo laughed as he paced out of the room to have first dibs on picking out the movie for the night. Kenma once again kneeled down beside the tub, expression warm and filled with contentment. “I love you so much, y/n. Thank you for doing this.” Reaching out of the tub to grab his hand and lace it into your own, you said, “Of course, of course. Let’s do this again sometime.”

Rain continued to pelt the window outside as the three of you curled up to watch a scary movie. You fell asleep in Kenma’s arms, and in that moment, everyone in the room was reminded that no matter what, you were his, and he was yours.

[the-dragon-club]

Like father, like daughter

The world seemed still to Valery, that one dark evening, she was still up reading, though the rest her family had went to bed by now, she refused to. Like every night, she was up reading the Book of Dragons. The one that her father and his friends had made when they were younger, when they still rode on the backs of dragons. Dragons were still part of Berk, but not in the way they once were. One time, years ago, dragons were everywhere. Practically everyone had one, even wild dragons were at home here, dragons were a way of life, they were everywhere you looked. Now, in the current time, it felt empty when she remembered the stories her father told her. Some of the wild dragons that remained on the surface would stop by, kids would be in awe, and then they’d leave. There’s one dragon that lives there, Thundercracker. Thundercracker had been here for seven years, and he was their local dragon, like a big brother to his rider. The memories of dragons remained in books and buildings... That was it though. That was all that you would hear of the dragons anymore. It’s why Valery would lay awake in bed, reading and re-reading the big book that detailed every dragon they’d encountered. Everything from a Terrible Terror to the might Bewilderbeast. Valery knew them all, this book became everything to her, there happened to be one dragon that stood at the top in her mind. The Night fury. The dragon that her own father used to ride, the only living dragon of his kind, to their knowledge at least. The dragon that risked tooth and nail to save her father, that fought a Bewilderbeast to protect her father, and through that event, became the King of Dragons. She could feel the energy when her father would retell the stories of how he would fly with that dragon. How he described it left chills in her body, they operated as one, rider and dragon, an unstoppable force. She sat up, holding the book in hand, tracing the drawings of the fury with her fingers. Everything about this beast amazed her, it’s speed, it’s pure power, a creature that harnessed lightning to disappear. Valery had met the mighty Night fury a few times, when she was a baby, and once when she was a toddler, and those memories were everlasting despite how young she was when they happened. The memory of his piercing wild eyes that switched to warm and friendly in a moment’s notice, the alpha that cooed at first contact with her tiny hands. Now all she could think about were the stories, so she closed the book, slid it under her bed, and went to do something else. Not sleeping, walking. Walking in the woods to clear her head, and remember her favorite story. The story of how her father met the dragon that he called Toothless. The feeling of wood against her hand felt instantly freeing, as she entered the woods, grabbing onto a tree before she went any further, she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t intruding on a passing Monstrous Nightmare that might be in these woods. Not in the mood to bump into a wild dragon with a temper...that can also set itself on fire....it’s too late to have to deal that. Once a few silent minutes passed, she let out a small sigh of relief, though still keeping her hand on the hilt of her dagger as she proceeded, just in case.  Not to kill a dragon, of course, she’d never do that, but she needed some way to defend herself if it was an irrational creature, and not one that could be tamed with a simple show of trust. Being secure within the trees, she could finally feel alone, but in a way that was less terrifying and more...relaxing. Where she could draw or read or do whatever with guaranteed peace, in a place where she didn’t feel confined. A place where she could openly recite the story her father told. “I was just a boy, only three years older than you. Sixteen, and the weakest boy in the village.”, She mumbled, whenever she would do this, if a year had passed, she’d change the number. Tonight was the night of her birthday, so now she would change the four to three. ��Way back then, Berk was at war with dragons. Killing dragons was everything, so thank Thor I was bad at it.”, She never understood that part, old Berk was rather odd to her when she’d think about it. Why would you enjoy killing a dragon? “I wanted to prove myself, you see, and so I tried to capture the one dragon that nobody had ever killed. The offspring of lightning and death itself, or, at least that’s what the book calls him.”, Valery paused, and looked up at the evening sky through the small breaks in the leaves, completely clear, however, she couldn’t help but to hear the crackling of thunder that would accompany a lightning bolt.  “I made my own weapon, a machine to throw a net, and I shot it at the first sight of the creature that could only been seen as he passed over the stars, and I hit him. The pained roar and the shadow falling far onto another side of the island told me that.”, She whispered that part, trying to keep the edge and mystery that her father had when he told the story. When she finished that sentence, a roar that she’d never heard broke her moment of storytelling. In that moment, Valery was dead still, completely quiet,  “Heyyyy mysterious dragon....you okay?”, She shakily murmured, the roar was eerily like the one described in the story, and it made her back up, her mind jumping to one of those memories of meeting Toothless....it sounded so similar...yet younger...and more afraid. No, it’s nothing, probably some kind of dragon with a weird roar. So, with every kind of reason she could make up, she continued the walk, and the story. “The next day, I followed the trail, I worked to try and find him. I did. There he was, wrapped up in the net, unable to move, groaning and still. He was alive. So, I approached with my dagger in my hand...”, Valery pulled out her own dagger, it was one almost exactly like his old one, but one detail set it apart. It had a Night fury and a Deadly Nadder carved into it’s hilt. The dragons that her parents rode together. Holding it really immersed her in the memory that she had not been there for, she could feel every second of it has she made eye contact with her reflection on the blade. “I held it up high, ready to stab it into the heart of this dragon....but I just couldn’t. His eyes, the pleading fear, the way he let his head fall against the dirt with his eyes closed....like he was accepting his death. I felt too pitiful....so I set him free.”, She could feel her own breathing falter, as she uttered the words that seemed to get to her every time. “I’m glad I didn’t leave it there, everything that happened, your life, wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t befriended Toothless. We changed the world, and I wouldn’t change a thing about our story.”, as she uttered the last few words, she let out a sigh, she meant to keep going, to remember the silly stories that came from him and his dragon’s first days of bonding.  Then she heard that roar again. It was more quiet, and more pained...now she really had to check it out. So she did. The walk took a awhile, she was listening, it was silent then, so she just kept going, hoping that the now faded roar could still lead her to the dragon....her hopes proved to be right... She could hear heavy breathing, the sounds of a struggle, what had happened to the poor thing? It had to be injured, that much was obvious. Though, like when she had first walked into the woods, she kept her dagger close, this time in hand as she peered from behind a tree. She really couldn’t believe her eyes, right there just a few feet in front of her, crashed into a clearing, forcing a few trees down onto the ground, was indeed a dragon, entangled in a net, trying to wiggle free, though it’s movement was limited. This felt familiar to her. Just like her father’s story, except she was clueless as to what brought this oddly colorful creature down. This dragon seemed to glow, blue and purple and a few other colors all mixed together on this striking dragon. It seemed like she knew the species, but she’s never seen this kind of dragon before...right? Only one way to find out, cautiously approaching, trying not to scare the dragon, she hid the dagger behind her back. The closer she crept, with each step, holding her breath and trying to observe every bit of her, she stopped in her tracks, not completely able to comprehend what she was seeing...the paws...the long ears...the tail with two fins on it’s end...this...this was a dragon species she had indeed seen before, yet this individual had been completely unknown to her. A Night fury...just like her father once had. This time, a colorful one, that was indeed much younger than the alpha. A female? That was her only guess, something about the way this animal was built. Just like a Night fury, but there were some miniscule details that made it apparent that this was indeed a female dragon. Maybe it was her size. She had seen drawings of Toothless when he was younger, comparing sizes to humans...this young Night fury was bigger than he was at that age, but she was indeed a few years younger than he had been when the sizes were written down. This she could tell when the beast had tilted it’s head upward as it writhed in the net, her grandmother had taught her how to tell a fury’s age by looking underneath it’s face. “Hey there girl...” Valery whispered, observation time can wait, she should be setting this fury free, not taking notes on her features. The dragon stopped moving, switching to starring at the human girl who had knelt beside her. “Don’t worry...i’m not here to hurt you...i’m here to help.” her voice softened even more so, she reach a hand out, putting the dagger down on the ground. The Night fury glanced at her from the resting position that she had fallen into, a quiet coo emerged from her throat when Valery stroked the scales that weren’t blocked by the ropes of the net.  “Easy there, easy, stay still. I don’t want to cut you.” She mumbled, slowly gripping the dagger, and making a point to be careful, holding one rope out and sawing away at it. One rope down, a few more to go, then it’s freedom for what could very well be the only other Night fury in existence. She worked as quick as she could, soon, it was a matter of the creature shaking off the remained ropes. Then, before her, stood the fury in her full glory. She really was glowing, seeing her stand and work her wings, registering the fact that she was free, it came to be an experience different from her father described his first encounter. He was afraid, and thought he would die, Toothless had been aggressive and flew away.  Valery was mystified, she was smiling and had to control herself from flapping her hands in pure joy, the fury did not turn away. In fact, the fury came closer, a small sniff.......then one huge lick that covered the young viking girl in dragon slobber. Valery burst into laughter, trying to wipe it away. “You’re welcome, ya’ big goober!” She giggled, no longer controlling the urge to keep herself  from stimming when she smiled at the dragon. The fury tilted her head, then started to laugh too, in her own language. She beamed an odd smile right back at Valery, and nuzzled against her, warbling all kinds of things as her tail swished back and forth.  Valery started to pet the top of the fury’s head, grinning as the fury kept rubbing her and making noises.  “Heh....guess you really like me huh?” Valery beamed, moving to stand more properly in front of the beast. The dragon roared in response, bumping into her, and causing her to fall onto the ground. “Okay okay! I get it!” she squealed, having to hold the sides of the dragon’s face so that she wouldn’t be bombarded with more dragon kisses. “Well, if we’re gonna be pals, I gotta give you a name...let’s see....hm...what about Pandora? It’s a real unique name, and you’re a real unique dragon.” she suggested, attempting to sit up. Being slung onto the creature’s back was a clear sign of a yes, Pandora, the young Night fury liked that name. She liked her new friend too. Things were certainly looking up now.

[heartwoodventures]

It’s Probably Pirates

The letter arrived on Heartwood’s doorstep and almost immediately set off a flurry of speculation among the tight-knit group. It appeared that one of their own was in the gaol. 

Hi! Wow, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I hope everything’s been running smoothly. How’s the garden doing? Has it been sunny?

<What follows is several lines of text that’s been scribbled out to the point of resembling a black blob. Following many smudges and water damage, it continues...>

So, to get to the point. I’m writing from Aleport’s jail. Weird, huh? Pretty wild. And unjust! I probably should’ve written that first but jailers only gave me this pen, so I can’t erase and I’m running out of space. Oh, anyway, I was just visiting La Noscea to check on my farm, one thing leads to another, and I get tossed into jail! I’ve told them countless times they have the wrong person, but they won’t listen. They’ve got me mixed up with some pirate and think I’m feigning ignorance. Maybe you guys could tell them otherwise? I don’t know how much more...questioning...I can take.

-Aiswyda

Certain that this was all a misunderstanding, Heartwood hurriedly sent a small team out to Aleport to set things straight and secure the Seawolf’s release. While the port itself was a drunkard-filled hub of commerce, it was also home to one of the Maelstrom’s jails. Built of stone stained white from salt, the gaol was tucked away in one of the settlement’s darker corners guarded by Yellow Jackets posted at the entrance. 

Near the jail’s door was a wooden bulletin board, covered in layers of leaflets old and new. This was where the party agreed to meet. It was cold. The wind was salty. The Yellow Jackets didn’t even bother looking up as the team gathered. 

For his part, Nazyl had been on his way to inform N’yami of the newest development regarding other business. Of course, Heartwood seemed to get up to strange things while he was gone. So now he was...apparently breaking an ally out of jail. He really couldn't get on the Maelstrom's bad side, else it would adversely affect the aforementioned business. Nevertheless, he joined with the rest on the way, grumbling.

Crific meandered through the gate, a scowl on his face as he cast his gaze across those gathered. He'd come as soon as he'd heard the news. Fifteen minutes late, with coffee he’d gotten to go.

To the point as ever, Rolanda arrived and merely looked around at the dreary scene before her, before taking matters into her own hands. "You there! Guard! We're looking for Aiswyda, is she inside?"

The guard’s eyes were glued to his paperback. He wet a finger and turned the page. “What d’ya want.”

Rolanda walked up to the guard. "Our comrade has written us from jail, claiming that she was wrongly imprisoned. We are here to help set matters straight, and to help our friend, who is surely innocent."

Khora joined the Au Ra in her take-charge approach.  "Roegadyn. Named Aiswyda?  Probably wearing a straw hat."

Haila glanced up from the tome she had been reading as others began to gather, all thankfully familiar faces. As she tucked on the tome by her side, the viera took a deep breath before speaking up. "I'd ask despite having tried to look into matters myself, but no one has an inkling of what happened with Miss Wyda right?"

Crific glanced at Haila, shaking his head. "Just her letter." He shifted his gaze to the Rolanda and the guard.

"I'm unsure of what's going on." G’lewra replied, humming in thought for a moment. After hearing what happened she had decided to join the investigation. Right before leaving, however, she had a very long conversation with her daughter about how her loud mouth would've had her end up in jail as well. She just phrased it....in a more motherly way.

"Hard ta b'lieve she'd be considahd a pirate, she's rathah pleasant companeh." Nazyl added. But then again, so were Claws for a time, "Might we...know why she's bein' accused of bein' a pirate?"

The guard now looked up from his paperback, the cover of which featured a petite au ra, swooning in the arms of a very beefy roegadyn. 

“Tch...persistent buggers. Aye, I know that straw hat wearing pirate.” he snorted at Rolanda and Khora. “Set matters straight? Oh, just let me get out me keys and unlock her cell, an’ we can all part ways smellin’ of biscuits and gravy!” The guard rolled his eyes.

Unimpressed, Khora arched a brow at the guard's sarcasm.  "And for what is she even being imprisoned?  A pirate you say?  And how did you come to such a conclusion?"

Haila frowned at the remark, her research into Aiswyda's case had turned up no results at all... But if such an accusation was true, well, she was both hesitant and reluctant to connect the dots in that case.

For the moment, Crific remained silent. There were enough voices, though his scowl was growing deeper by the minute.

After some grumbling, the guard hobbled to the bulletin board, and directed the party there. “Just comb through those papers. She’s part of a pirate crew. Red Argos. Bleedin’ ‘ells, it’s me break. Can’t get a wink of rest ‘round here.”

Crific brushed forward to peer at the bulletin board, though he left enough room for others to search as well. "Red Argos," he repeated, muttering to himself. He found several papers detailing a mysterious cult of zombie worshippers. Interesting, but useful? Nope.

"Red Argos huh..." Nazyl added. There were so many names it was difficult to keep track of every crew in the sea. Given the height of the board, he'd need someone else to read it, and he wasn't about to start being antagonistic now.

Rolanda walked over to join Crific at the board. "What have we here..."

She found several advertisements for the Arcanist’s guild in Limsa Lominsa. A picture of what appears to be a carbuncle being ridden into battle! Neat!

There were so many papers. Bounties. Advertisements. It may take some digging to find what they were looking for.

Crific exhaled, and started digging deeper. Could be the charges against Aiswyda and her purported crew were old. "When were these bounties placed?" He directed the question to the guard, though he didn't look up.

The guard waved a hand in the air. “Eugh. Maybe like, two weeks old.”

Crific glanced at the dates on the current flyers, and started flipping through, looking for dates a sennight earlier and found something. Labeled ‘page 2’, a paper that detailed Red Argos’s exploits. They’re known to attack ships that are part of the Eorzean alliance. Not just that, but...generally speaking, there were no survivors. The ships might be seen again later, but the goods? The sailors? Gone. Outside of that, the pirates were known to even target local settlements for coin, supplies, and people. Kidnapping.

Crific tugs a flyer down, frowning as he noted the page number. "Have the second page of something, here. Concerns the crew, at least. Nasty business." He runs his finger down a list, "Attacking alliance ships, leaving no survivors--or at least none aboard. Local settlements, too--pillaging, kidnapping.""

Khora found something that looked promising. A bundle of marks, all detailing the last known actions of a group of pirates known as ‘Red Argos.’ Page 1 described the physical appearance of the gang. All Sea Wolves, donning a red ribbon earring. Approach with caution! They are well equipped, and attack on sight. Unfortunately, the other pages are scattered elsewhere.

The Seeker rubbed his chin, squinting as he read over leaflets and pamphlets sprawled across the bulletin board.  "Hrrmm..."  Thoughtful hum echoing in the back of his throat as his eyes wandered across the page.  "I mean Sea Wolf yes but...  Does she even wear a red ribbon earring?  Gods I cannot recall..."

Unable to peruse the board, Nazyl approached the cells instead, glancing through them. The system of 'law' they used certainly could use improvement, but it was better than nothing. Had he been born anywhere else, he likely wouldn't have considered living in Vylbrand. He glanced back at the guard, still hesitant to say anything.

Rolanda, meanwhile, found page 3 of Red Argos’s report. It was a list of scattered observations. Unlike bandits, or other pirate groups, these pirates seemingly strike at random. No discernable pattern in their attacks, or the locations at which they strike. There’s even been alleged sightings of the pirates in Coerthas! Rumors, or facts? It’s unclear. She shared the information with the rest of the group. 

"Perhaps we could look for clues in Coerthas, if we find nothing else useful here. There are certainly more pages to this report that may hold some useful information.” she suggested. 

"Pirates...in Coerthas?" Nazyl raised a brow, "Uh, that's...an odd place fer seafarin' bandits ta be. Water's all but frozen there."

With so many flyers torn from the bounty board, the last page of the Red Argos reports could be seen by all. It contained sketches of known members. One perfectly resembles Aiswyda, albeit in a different outfit. There were notes under each sketch which indicate that each was likely to be a leader of some sort. However, the captain of the crew had yet to be determined.

Crific did a doubletake as he noticed the board. 

"Now that is troublesome..." Haila muttered upon seeing the sketch resembling Aiswyda. 

G'lewra pressed a finger to her chin for a moment as she thought it over. "I believe since our company is under the orders of the Adder's I do believe we would need Captain Alarone to come collect our fellow member." Her ears flicked. "But if these pirates are stationed in Coerthas then we'll also have to worry about the Ishgardian Knights collecting her as well."

"The uncertainty of who may have to collect her could give us time to look deeper into this case. Because as it stands right now, a striking resemblance won't help us getting her out soon." Haila said. 

Crific frowned slightly. "We'd need to provide the actual pirate to prove Wyda's innocence, if I had to make a wager."

The guard snorted and wiped his nose roughly with the corner of his arm. “Hah! Let ‘er out. Yer jokin’, right?” He gave them all a smug smile. “Maelstrom’s got plans to hold on to this one, ‘til the rest of the bloody crew can be brought in.”

Nazyl nodded to Crific, then turned to the guard, "....There's othahs that ain't been caught yet?"

The guard nodded. “No dice. Damned pirates be actin’ weird, poppin’ up in all sorts of places. Unpredictable. An’ we can’t be spreadin’ our forces so thin. So this lass here be our best clue to findin’ the rest.” He shook his head slowly. “Now if we could just get a clue out of that bleedin’ straw hat. Some idea of where the scoundrels might strike next.”

Khora arched a brow.  Silver eyes settled on the guard for but a moment before shifting to the rest of his party.  "Did someone say..."  Excitement grew in his expression, a smile running wide as suddenly Khora drew his sword and raised it to the air.  "PIRATE HUNT?!"

Haila startled briefly, unsure of whether it had been Khora’s excitement at such a thing, or the fact that the miqo'te had just waved a sword in front of the guards like that. She sighed rather audibly, shaking her head in disapproval as she kept silent, praying that the small outburst didn't bring trouble in and of itself.

G'lewra reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small bag that was filled with biscuits. "Here darling, have a biscuit." She said while holding the bag out to Khora, hopefully to calm Khora down and to make sure the guard doesn't think the group was filled with idiots.

Khora's excitement settled as his attention was drawn to G'lewra, with ears falling flat over his head.  "What is...?"  The Seeker peered at Lewra as he sheathed his blade back into its scabbard.

She then strolled forward to speak with the guard, a calm smile curving her features to show she wasn't about to rip him a new one. "My dear, if possible, our company is under the order of the Twin Adders and we have a captain that keeps an eye on us. If it would be alright with your captain might it be alright for us to take this prisoner to help us hunt the rest down? That way your forces aren't spread so thin and our company can have one less worry when we do our trade."

Nazyl bit his lip. He felt it wouldn't be so easy, the Grand Companies rarely work together so well...the Frontlines were invented for settling disputes after all.

The guard pursed his lips. “Huh. Twin Adders?” He looked across the area, suspicious but interested. “I’ll bring this up, but no promises. The ‘igher ups are interested in ‘er, and me hands are tied. I don’t have that authority.”

“If you want though, I could let ye in to visit ‘er. Maybe you can get something outta ‘er now.” The guard shut his book. “It’s almost time for me shift to begin anyway.”

Crific glanced at G’lewra. She was far too optimistic towards the Grand Company's leniency--but at least they could visit. "We'd be much obliged." He nodded at the guard’s offer.

The Seeker’s eyes lit up as the guard offered them to let the group speak to Aiswyda. "If you don't mind, dear, we would appreciate it." Looking over to Khora, the head medic simply smiled at him. "Snacks, I've learned to keep some on me to keep the members going in tough situations."

"Oh I am far from a 'tough situation' there friend."  Khora’s ears rose once more to flicker over his head while a wide grin spread across his lips.  "I'm actually getting excited about this pirate hu-  Wait..."  The Seeker froze up, tension clear in his body as his eyes went wide.  "C-Coerthas...?"

Bloody. Frozen. Coerthas. 

The guard nodded, and got up with a big stretch. “Alright. Stay close now.”

He led the party down a narrow hallway, cells to the left and right of them. It was a cramped walkway that required everyone to walk in single file, and shoulders brush as oncoming jailers went on their patrols.

Some jail cells were occupied, others were not. Thick, iron bars separate the criminals and the law. A few rowdy individuals rushed up to the gates of their cells and reached out towards the party, calloused hands grasping for freedom. Such behavior was quickly halted by the jailers, but that didn’t stop the imprisoned from clapping back with insults and jibes.

After several turns and going through locked doors, the guard stopped. To the left, an empty cell. To the right, Aiswyda sat on a stool, facing away. She was looking out the small, reinforced window that lets in a thin trickle of light.

The guard rapped on the iron bars, and the Sea Wolf quickly turned. On seeing familiar faces, she lit up, and stumbled up to meet them. Her long hair, though matted, was still tied in a messy braid. She donned a cloth bandage around her eye. Bruises and small cuts could be spotted on her body.

"Evenin' sunshine. Prison rags hardleh suit ye." Nazyl greeted. 

Crific seemed unmoved by the state of the prison, bringing up the rear of the party as the guard led them through the winding passages. His scowl grew at the state of her, but he didn’t seem surprised.

“Nazyl! Everyone!” Aiswyda looked excited and relieved. “Aha, yeah. Jail isn’t exactly the place for expressing one’s creativity in fashion though.....”

"Oh dear.....who did this to you, sweetpea?" G'lewra had to stop herself from moving in to try and heal Aiswyda but with the current situation at hand she had to stay put.

“The...guards.” Aiswyda briefly glanced at the Yellow Jacket that was currently monitoring the prisoner visit. “I think.”

"Yer good fer toughin' it out though. We're here ta try n' set things right." Nazyl replied. 

Aiswyda was nearly in tears. She couldn’t seem to express herself at the moment, and so she simply gave Nazyl a hearty thumbs up. When she finally collected herself, she managed to reply, “It’s been rough. Not exactly thriving, but living.”

Crific glanced at G'lewra, biting back on a sigh as Aiswyda answered. He'd thought as much. "Expect it to get worse afore it gets better. There's more pirates in the crew they've mistaken you for a part of, and they want them, one way or another." He tried to keep his tone neutral, but there's a gruff displeasure in his voice.

“Ah yeah. Red Argos, I think?” Aiswyda visibly deflated at Crific’s statement. “ I swear, I don’t know the first thing about them. You all know I’ve spent most of my time with Heartwood, in the Shroud.”

"Oh Wyda.." Haila’s voice trailed off with worry over the roegadyn's state. "Do you think you can hold on just a little longer while we figure this whole mess out?"

Aiswyda was grateful for Haila’s concern. “I think so. But I won’t lie, it’s pretty...wild. In here.”

"Good news is, there seems ta be othahs out there that ain't been caught yet. I reckon if we can find 'em first, we could squeeze info outta 'em regardin' this othah woman who jsut so happens ta look like ye." Nazyl paused for a moment, blinking, "Ye don't happen ta have siblin's, do ye?"

“I don’t.....think so?” Aiswyda crossed her arms, a little sheepish. "You think I have an evil twin?"

"Not rulin' out the possibiliteh. The similaritehs between ye two -are- rathah uncanneh."

Crific raked a hand back through his hair, his stoic expression fracturing slightly as he turned away, silent for a long moment, though he had ears on the conversation.

“That’s what she said too......” Aiswyda scratched her head in thought. “Oh! I mean. There’s been someone who’s been visiting my jail cell often. She’s always asking me stuff like that.”

Nazyl canted his head some, "Someone...? Who? From that response, it sounds like she's seekin' the same as us..."

"Maelstrom officer, if I had to guess." Crific muttered.

"More than likely given how serious the Argos’s crimes are." Haila agreed. 

“Yeah, the Maelstrom and I have had a lot of. Talks.” She pauses. “But also, someone else. A lalafell who goes by the name of Momori. I think she works for someone who had something stolen by the pirates.”

Crific glanced back at Aiswyda. "Do you know where this Momori can be found? She may have more information on the pirates that we'd be able to put to use."

"Aye, she could make it easiah fer us ta hunt down the rest in hidin'." Nazyl added. 

“I don’t know where she is, for obvious reasons.” She motioned to the cell around her. “But given that she’s visited me several times, maybe she’s still in town? She’s a red haired lalafell, about yay tall.” Aiswyda crouched down and placed her hand on the ground, then raised it up somewhat. “Like Nazyl.”

Crific grunted at the description. It wasn't much, but it was probably enough, if she was staying in Aleport.

"Plains, or Dunes? Small detail, but it helps." Nazyl asked. 

“She’s visited about four times. Mostly to ask me about the pirates, or to update me on her own investigation status. She doesn’t...” Aiswyda abruptly stopped. Pursed her lips together, words failing her. “She doesn’t think it’s a coincidence, that I happen to look like one of the pirates. A hunch. I think it’s all baloney, but hey. Anything’s  possible I guess. She’s quite tan. Which, em, I don’t think is specific to either? OH. Her eyes are glassy. Dunesfolk! ....right?”

"That'd be Dunesfolk aye. Alright, that'll make it easeh ta track her." the lalafell nodded. 

The Yellow Jacket piped up. “Dunesfolk? Oh, aye. Right. That ones got ‘eavin pockets...Ye might find ‘er in the alehouses. Seen ‘er there many times.” He shook his head. “Haven’t ever seen a lalafell down so much drink. God forbid.”

"This lalafell sounds like a good lead. Should we head to the tavern and see what we can see?" Rolanda asked, looking to the rest of the group.

"Sounds like the best option for now while we try to figure everything out." Haila agreed. 

Aiswyda nodded. “Good luck. And thanks for visiting!” She tried to sound her usual, bright self, but it sounded a little hollow. The guard, sensing the party’s intent, pushed the group along towards the exit, as Aiswyda watched for as long as she could.

Crific lingered behind, turning to Aiswyda with an unreadable expression; he held up a finger to the guard ushering the others out and motioned that he'd follow in a moment. "Eat whatever they give you, regardless of what it is, you'll need your strength to heal. Keep all your wounds clear as you can, and out of the damp." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll figure this out before long." He turned, then, without giving her a chance to reply, and hurried after the others.

The Aleport tavern was bustling with activity! Seamen, merchants, adventurers, farmers...they all came here to share a table. To play a hand of cards while guzzling ale. As such, it was incredibly loud inside the tavern. Orders were hollered above the noise, above the brawl that had broken out in the corner. All and all, a good time.

Nazyl wrinkled his nose at the smell of a Limsan bar--generally unpleasant, and the sheer amount of alcohol didn't help. He grimaced, scanning the area--a lively lot, but it wasn't hard to spot one out of place.

At one of the tables, a red haired lalafell was playing a game of poker with several others. Her hair was neatly tucked in a bun, and her attire reflected someone of a scholarly nature. She was out of place, surrounded by salty sailors and the like.

They were betting at the moment. The lalafell wordlessly slid in a hefty amount of gil, and as they went around, a few others dropped out. Three, including the lalafell, stay in. Cards were exposed. Sweat beads on a sailor’s forehead. The lalafell is unblinking. It was almost like she was wearing a mask.

The final turn came around, and it was down to two. But the pressure gets to the final player, who folds. The lalafell takes the pot without ever revealing her hand.

Rolanda motioned to the lalafell playing cards. "This looks like the one, eh?"

Nazyl wasted no time and approached the table.

The lalafell already had her eyes on Nazyl. She hopped off her stool and simply stared at the other lalafell. “Hello. What do you want.”

Khora leaned close to G'lewra, nearly hovering over her shoulder as he whispered.  "Think we'll get to see a Lalafell fight?"

"I would hope not, my dear, as I'm the only medic currently here and I'm not too sure these two would give up too easily." She whispered back.

Nazyl had to do a double take. He swore for a moment he was looking at a former employer, but smaller. The surprise was quickly wiped from his face, "Nazyl. I hear ye've been down ta the jails questionin' a good friend of ourse recentleh."

Crific hovered in the back, his shoulders sagging slightly. He seemed more distracted after leaving the gaol, somehow, though his expression was as hard to read as ever.

Momori stared at the group, expressionless. Stoic. There’s a long pause, and then finally. “Nazyl. You all must be from her company. She told me about all of you.” She raised a brow. “Are you here to speak business?"

Khora's hands rose to rest atop his head.  "As much I would like to say leisure...  Business it is."

"Straight ta the point, aye. We also think she was wrongfulleh imprisoned, n' will do what we need ta get her out, lawfulleh mind." Nazyl nodded, "I got the idea of huntin' down the crew o' Red Argos n' seein' if we could squeeze info outta them."

Momori tilted her head. “Our goal is one and the same then. To bring those pirates to justice.”

Nazyl nodded again, "So it is. Thought ye might be able ta help in that regard, ye seem ta have been on this case longah."

“Oh and I’m Momori. Nice to meet you all, the weather is great, have you tried the ale.” she said dryly. “Now that we have that out of the way, yes. I have been to visit your friend. While I don’t think she did it, I also don’t think she’s giving us the full picture. Nothing is quite as it seems.”

Momori snapped open a small, worn journal. “Pirates spotted in Coerthas. Targeting very, very particular ships. An interest in trafficking bodies. I dare say, we may have something fun on our hands.”

Crific grunted quietly at mention of 'fun'. Their definitions probably varied.

"What...ships? There's no large bodehs of water that way lest ye head towards Dravania. Unless..." Nazyl tapped his chin, "Airships?"

Momori drew her lips back slightly. “Before I can tell you more, I’d like to propose a deal. You want your friend freed and I want my client’s treasure recovered. We’re both chasing after the same pirates. Shall we work together?”

"That was the idea. What deal were ye proposin'?"

“I have some ideas of where Red Argos might strike next. What their goal is. But I’m just one lalafell.” She looked to the company. “That’s where you guys come in. To wherever the pirates strike, you can go and capture them. Collect their bounties if you care to. I’m only interested in the stolen artifact.”

Khora's ears flattened over his head with his posture slouching greatly.  "Gods...  Coerthas of all places?  I thought pirates preferred warm and sunny weather, not the freezing cold and snow..."

“I can also tell you a bit about what to expect. These aren’t your ordinary pirates, that’s for sure. Most would pawn off stolen goods as soon as a buyer is found, but these? They’re hanging on to what they get. It’s dangerous.”

Nazyl narrowed his eyes, "They sound like the type ta carreh tainted shite thinkin' they can control it. As if I alreadeh didn't have enough on me plate with Focalor..." He sighed, "Should mention I make me livin' as a Void huntah, so this ain't news ta me. I'm still baffled as ta why they set up shop in Coerthas of all places, but whatevah. It'll be their folleh when they're stripped n' freezin'."

“Of course they can’t control it. They’re pirates, not scholars.” She sighed, taking off her glasses and polishing each lens with her sleeve. “Anyway, we have a deal. Still compiling my research, but I’ll send word as soon as I’m certain where the pirates will strike next. Let’s stay in touch.”

The lalafell seemed very pleased by this outcome, and she gave each member a hearty handshake and a small bow. “I look forward to working with you all.”

"Mm. Ye'll probableh need ta contact one o' them, not me. I've got...business out in the sea." Nazyl replied. 

Crific shook hands reluctantly, looking not at all thrilled by the prospect of mysterious pirates and worse -- artifacts -- but he'd do his part.

It seemed there was nothing else to do except wait for Momori’s investigation to bear fruit.

[harlot-of-oblivion]

A Rose Among the Briars (Part 1)

After a month of quiet encounters with Vergil at the local book cafe, you finally decide to break the ice.

My attempt at writing a meet-cute, featuring you and Vergil. Some of the dialogue popped into head and I had to write a scene around it. So have some fluff, ya’ll. Hope you enjoy! 

Ever since coming back from hell, Vergil has slowly integrated himself into the human world. His relationship with Dante has gotten better, though they still fight a lot from time to time. He and his son, Nero, have made inroads towards a family bond, but it’s still so new to him being a father that he can’t tell if he’s doing it right…and he hates uncertainty, especially within himself. On days like that, where the human world and his adjustment in it becomes too overwhelming, he escapes to a coffee and antique book shop he happen to find while walking off some steam. It was quiet, had good tea, and not very crowded. The perfect refuge while he internally relaxed and recharged away from the prying eyes his brother, his son, and the rest of the crew.

Vergil sat in his usual secluded corner, sipping his favorite black tea, and reading one of the old books that cover the walls of this shop. The day was overcast, rain was expected to fall at any moment, so the shop was desolate. This suited the older Son of Sparda just fine. He was looking forward to a peaceful afternoon alone…that is until he heard the bell chime as the door to the shop opens and you step through.

“Hello again,” you address the barista, smiling brightly as you exchange pleasantries and order your drink. There goes my seclusion, Vergil thought as he secretly watches you. Both of you frequent this little nook of a shop. He took notice of you immediately because you dared to sit in the same secluded section of the shop as he, either unaware or not caring about his presence. He tolerated you invading his privacy since you never spoke. You just sipped your beverage, read, and occasionally observed him out of the corner of your eye. He found himself also observing you in turn over time, wondering why you insist on being this close to him while everything about him instinctively says stay away. After awhile he got used to your quiet company. He sometimes looks forward to seeing you, taking note what book you were reading that day…though he would never admit that in confidence to himself.  

Vergil went back to his book, but he continues to nonchalantly watch you out of his periphery vision as you wait for your order…and inevitably come over and bother his solitude. He took note that this was the first time he saw you wearing a dress. A blue chiffon summer dress with a resplendent floral pattern to be exact. At least she has elegant taste in fashion, he thought as he let his eyes wonder your form, mentally admiring your attractive form.

He quickly shifts his eyes back to his book as the barista calls your name and you retrieve your prepared beverage, thanking the barista as you made your way back to where he knew you would go…the close corner across from him. Vergil takes a deep meditative breath, falling back on his mental techniques he uses while he wields the Yamato to empty his mind of all distraction. He vowed to try his best to blend in while living here. That included playing nice while out among them. Also, he quite liked this coffee shop, and if he had to get used to the occasional stray customer to enjoy it…so be it. 

You arrive at the corner across from him, grab a book, and sit down. Your eyes spare him a glance as you scan the multitude of books on the shelved walls before leaning back in your seat and start to read. Both of you sat there a while, you sip your beverage serenely and Vergil keeps reading, showing remarkable forbearance as he once again reluctantly shared his space. He felt proud of himself in that moment; he’s come a long way if he can endure this long in a stranger’s company. 

Eventually, you finish your drink, rise up from your seat, and walk a few steps to inspect one of the walls of books. Your back is to him, and Vergil couldn’t help to notice your stature. He surmised that if he stood you would have to crane your neck up to meet his eyes. Your delicate fingers brush against the old books until they come to an empty spot. It seems she’s about to take her leave, he thought. His brows furrow in slight puzzlement. You usually stay a lot longer, but perhaps you have a prior engagement to get to and only had a few minutes a visit. Either way, it wasn’t his business, so he went back to his task and prepared for blessed solitude once more.

“You’re surrounded by briars.” 

Your voice rang out around him. After a month of your continued frivolous company you finally speak to him. He expected you to be a simpering woman, foolishly trying to engage him in some droll conversation about the weather or some other such nonsense. Instead, your blunt and cryptic statement quickly proves him wrong. 

Vergil peeks up from his book at you as his brow scrunches up in befuddlement. “I beg your pardon?” 

You look over your shoulder at him as you replace the book in your hands back to its respective place on the shelf. “Briars…you know what briars are, right? The motif on your coat remind me of briars.” 

“Of course I know what briars are,” he sneers and returns to his book, intending to continue his reading. “And they’re vines,” he adds. He may be annoyed, but he wouldn’t let you regard his attire incorrectly. 

“Ah,” you mutter, raising your eyebrows as you nod head and turn back to the shelf. He thought that was the end of this arbitrary conversation until your voice once again rang through the room. “Well, that doesn’t suit you at all.” 

“What are you prattling on about?” he snaps. Vergil didn’t bother to hide his irritation as his silver eyes glare at you, warning you that his patience was growing thin.  

“Well,” you start as you turn your body to fully face him, seemingly unaware of his agitation or just out right ignoring it. You meet his gaze head on. “Vines extend themselves and…not to be rude, but you don’t seem the type that easily reaches out to people.” 

Such insolence! He glowers at you and was about to put you in your place until he notices your modest posture. Your hands were clasped in front of you, arms relaxed, and legs standing straight close together. You show no sign of hostility nor fear. Your eyes, which are level with his since he was sitting down, never left his confrontational gaze. Vergil’s brow eases a bit. He decides to indulge you a bit since its not very often that people last this long under his intense stare…not because you impressed him or anything. 

“Hmph…have you thought perhaps it’s not people I’m reaching for?” 

You tilt your head a little as your lips curl up thoughtfully. “True.” Vergil grins smugly, thinking this one sided game of verbal sparring is over. “But I like the idea of briars for you,” came your swift reply, nodding your head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  

“And why, pray tell, is that?” he queries sternly, raising an incredulous eyebrow at you. He was genuinely curious about your answer, and if he was honest with himself, curious about you. But he refuses to show you any sign of that. Instead, he marks his place in his book and closes it, still maintaining the constant eye contact with you. He awaits what silly notions you have of him so he can decisively end it and be done with you.  

“Briars are prickly. Nature’s way of deterring creatures from treading on them. Most stay away from briars, but if one were patient and slowly step through the shrubbery, prying apart thorns with utmost care…then they may come upon the reason for the thorns. For among briars wild roses may grow…beautiful, delicate, and protected from the unwary passerby. And to those who risk pricks and scratches, yet still move forward…finding such a wonder is a reward in and of itself.” 

Your gaze never wavers from his as your pensive words flow out in to a steady stream of thought. As he listens he can feel the usual permanent scowl that accompanies his face slowly dissipate. All of the rigid coldness that always resides within him leaves his body. For the first time in a while…Vergil was stunned.   

You must have mistaken his quiet surprise as confusion because you hurriedly brushed a loose strand of hair behind ear as you clear your throat. “I guess…what I’m trying to say is…no matter how difficult it may be…you’re worth it, Vergil.” 

A genuine smile lights up your face. Time stood still and his surroundings seem to fade out around him as a soft warmth spread throughout his chest. Right then and there, Vergil didn’t see just another faceless human to be ignored. Before him was a confident and eloquent woman, who somehow managed to make a miniscule crack in his taciturn shell. He wanted to be furious that you blind sided him with this stunt, but…to his surprise, he was impressed and…flattered. 

You finally broke eye contact with him as you retreat to collect your things. “Well, I should go now. Sorry for distracting you from your book. I promise not to disturb you again in the future. I just needed to get that off my chest.” You give him one last glance, eyes gleaming with soft worry as you bid him farewell. As you briskly made your way to the exit, a soft rumble of thunder fills the air. 

His piercing eyes follow your retreating form as he was still comprehending what exactly happened. It’s been a long time since someone paid him a genuine compliment. All this time you didn’t mean to intrude on his personal space…you were just assessing him from afar, waiting until he was comfortable enough around you to finally break the ice and start a conversation. Vergil knew he wasn’t an easy man to converse with…he knew his devilish nature makes most humans steer clear of him, but you just weathered his cold bitterness and- 

Wait a moment...How did she know my name? 

Just as that stray mystery presents itself he registers the light pattering of rain outside. He looks back at your corner and spots something you forgot to grab before your rushed departure. He knew that you walked here…he’s eavesdropped on your chats with the barista on occasion and you once told them that you like to take in the fresh air and the sights of the city. But your walk wouldn’t be pleasant nor dry since right there on the table was your simple black umbrella, not with you to ease the onslaught of summer rain. 

Vergil snaps his book shut and quickly stood up. He put the book back in its proper place on a shelf, gathered his belongings along with your forgotten umbrella, and left the shop. As he steps outside, he opens your umbrella and let it shield him from the warm rain. He sometimes caught sight of you through the shop window and knew you always came and went in the same direction. He follows your path, hoping to come upon you and return your umbrella. He shook his head in disbelief. It’s not like him to rush ahead with no plan, besides returning what’s yours because it’s good manners. He wasn’t even sure if he would find you. It would’ve made more sense to just keep the umbrella and wait to return it to you the next time he ran into you at the shop. Or better yet, he could’ve given it to the barista for safekeeping. But he didn’t do either of those things…instead, he was out here, foolishly searching for you.  

 Vergil marches on for another minute and turns a corner. There she is! He spots you standing at the corner of a street. Your blue chiffon dress was swaying delicately in the breeze as the rain started to sprinkle down steadily. He heads straight for you, and as he got closer he notices that your head was leaning up towards the sky, eyes closed as your face glistens in the rain. You were the image of pure tranquility and Vergil slowed his pace until he halts just a few feet away from you. For the first time, he lets himself take in all of you. As his brazen eyes roam your body, truly realizing your beauty, he softly took a deep breath in through his nose. He thanked his demonic side for blessing him with enhanced senses because your scent was utterly intoxicating. He almost lost himself in it before shutting his eyes, chastising himself for losing his composure and reigning it back in. 

He soundlessly steps up beside you and positions the umbrella to cover both you and him. Your brows furrow as the rain ceases to fall on your face. You open your eyes and they spark in recognition as they take in the underside of the umbrella. Your eyes swivel over to see who’s holding it and they widen in shock. Vergil was staring ahead, letting the moment drag on a bit before he spoke. 

“You’re going to need this if you don’t want to get utterly drenched and inevitably sick,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Your mouth parts in awe as you continue to stare up at him. You blink your eyes a few times before you collect yourself and look away as you reply, “I suppose I do.” You don’t reach for the umbrella though. Vergil observes you from the corner of his eye and sees you biting your lower lip in thought. He waits patiently though, taking the opportunity to study you up close and mentally marveling at your lovely profile. 

“But what about you?” you ask. “It’d be a shame if the rain ruins your nice coat and uh…hair.” You look up at him inquisitively. 

Vergil peers down at you. “Why would you care about that?” 

“Because I’m trying to be decent, Vergil. And perhaps you can take it as an apology for me being super blunt earlier.”

“How do you know my name?” His eyes squint in suspicion.

“The barista told me. They always take down a customer’s name for their drink order. It felt rude to refer to you as the “alluring and intimidating blue gentleman” that sits in my corner.”

“Your corner?” Vergil scoffs, leaning his face down a little towards you.  

You, despite his intimidating height, stood your ground. “Yes…my corner. I came in one day and there you were…sitting in my chair. I didn’t feel like making a big deal about it though. Figured I could share the space since you fascinate me and thought perhaps after a while we could have a friendly chat…until I clearly screwed that up. Sometimes I don’t know when to shut up.” You close your eyes and sigh regretfully. 

Vergil lets your words sink in. The whole reason why they’re in this situation…is because he took your spot? And you were actually trying to spark a friendly conversation…with him? She thought he was fascinating? Vergil would’ve laughed at the sheer absurdity of the whole thing if it weren’t for the sincerity of your words. He clenches his jaw for a moment as he collects this thoughts. As much as you bewilder him…he can’t deny there is a certain draw to you. He didn’t have to think long before he came to a decision. He pushes through the sudden feeling of being self-conscious as he taps into his humanity and attempts to open up to you just a bit.  

“I’m not…the best…at connecting with people,” he admits, his words coming out stilted. “Nor do I express my feelings in a typical manner. But if you…still find me worth it…I’m willing to try.”

Your head snaps up and you meet his gaze. You both stood still under the shared umbrella Vergil held as the rain continued to pour down around you. After a moment your eyes soften and you smile that same smile he witnessed in the coffee shop. And once again he felt warmth form in his chest again. He wasn’t used to these feelings you give rise to…but he found in that moment that he doesn’t dislike it. 

“Of course, Vergil…that’s all I ask: a small step among the briars.”

“And perhaps that small step will lead you in the direction of the wild roses you so desire,” he replies softly and for the first time since he met you…he gave you a small smile. Your eyes sparkle in wonder as a slight tinge of pink graced your cheeks. But you didn’t avert your eyes from his meekly…You held your gaze, just like he knew you would. And oh…what a daring sight to behold.  

Vergil offers to escort you home since you insist that he stay under the safety of the umbrella for as long as possible. On the way, he engages in easy conversation with you about common interests. You both like books, tea, and classical music. You don’t know much about poetry, but listen intently when he recites a favorite of his for you. Afterwards, you claim that you have a new found appreciation for it and thank him for sharing. Vergil nods curtly in satisfaction. He found that you knew a lot about the ancient classics and asked for recommendations. You beam and promise to point out your favorite volumes in the coffee shop. 

You eventually arrive at your home. Vergil takes note that its not to far from the office...which means you’re pretty safe from demon attacks if it should happen close by. When you get to the porch he passes your umbrella to your hand, careful that his body doesn’t invade your space, but surreptitiously lets his fingers brush against your hand. Your skin is silky smooth. You thank him and take it back, a slight hitch in your breath the only sign that you felt his touch, but daring not to pull away. Vergil couldn’t stop the pleased grin that crept on his face. He bids you farewell and begins to leave, preparing to brave the foggy rain head on. But you stop him by raising your umbrella high above his head, which requires you to stand on your tippy toes. 

“Please…you need it more than I do at the moment. Just…return it to me the next time we see each other at the shop,” you state, your eyes entreating him to take it and stay dry. 

Vergil regards you for a moment before giving a single nod. “Very well. See you then…soon.” He grabs the umbrella and, as you turn to go, he feels the lightest caress against his gloveless fingers. He watches you go, leaning out the frame of the front door for a second to say goodbye before heading inside.  

As he makes his way back to his domicile, Vergil contemplates the events of the day. Of all the possibilities and outcomes…he honestly didn’t expect it to end with a new found flirtatious friendship. You amaze him and he can’t deny your loveliness. You said that he was worth it. He wishes you luck pulling apart his tangled briars, because despite wanting to know you, he knew it would be difficult to open up. But…he was willing to try, just to see more of your vibrancy. Perhaps, he ponders as he came to the stairs of Devil May Cry, she’s what I’m searching for within myself. 

Perhaps you are a rose among his briars.  

Read on my Ao3

Read Part 2 here.

My Master List if you want more. ❤

[niel-trbl]

Did You Just...?

strangers to friends to what(?)PENOMECO

note: tbh wasn’t expecting anyone to be interested in reading this little thing but it got quite a bit of notes so i decided to post it!! i actually had this written out the day i had the dream so it’s been sitting the drafts for a bit. hope you enjoy reading this one! also, penomeco is the loml pls support him!

Part Two | Part Three

you were on Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook to promote a song that you collaborated with Zico, otherwise known to you as Jiho, who happened to be one of your closest friends

it had always been a dream of yours to be part of the show and now thanks to him, you were able to be there!!

not just that, you were also extremely thankful to Jiho for helping you to get out of the rut you were stuck in for a while and got you to start making music again

so if he ever asks you to do anything, you would always be down for it

“i know you hang out together with fanxychild but i heard from the writers that you have yet to properly meet one of your crew members,” he asked

even before you could reply, Jiho started laughing

“they always join us to eat but the moment this person comes, they disappear,” he teased you and you knew exactly who he was talking about

the crowd suddenly started clapping and cheering loudly

when you turned around, your eyes widened at the sight of the surprise guest who was entering the stage

it was none other than PENOMECO, otherwise known as Jung Dongwook to Jiho

you knew something was up when you heard that it was a special episode with surprise guests but you didn’t expect Jiho to do it to this extent

you’re a really shy person but had no problem meeting the rest of the crew like Hyoseob and Seunghyun, but when it came to Dongwook, you can’t seem to approach him the same way

before you knew of him as Dongwook, you were (still am) a big fan of his music and had admired him for the longest time

the thought of meeting him made you feel anxious, let alone getting acquainted with him

(forreal i honestly feel this way, like what do i even say or do? like last year i saw one of my fav local acts and when my friend decided to talk to them, i just kept quiet)

but from the looks of the situation right now, you can’t run away from it and have to face the music

“why are you hiding behind Zico? Come and sit here with us,” the host called you back

you slowly got to your seat but avoided looking at Dongwook, knowing that just one glance at him and your face will go red

“im really shy right now,” you quickly buried your face in your hands

you understood the intention of the situation but it was just too overwhelming for you

while Jiho and Yu Huiyeol explained to Dongwook how you admired him alot and how it’s hard for you to approach him, you noticed how shy he got

“why don’t you guys shake hands and pose for a screenshot?” Jiho suggested

that sneaky little bastard

but then again, like you said, what Jiho asks, you do it, even if your heart was racing like crazy at the time

right after the recording session, all of you went out for dinner and this time you tried to force yourself not to disappear

and it was not too bad

you learnt that Dongwook too was very shy which was why he couldn’t approached you either

and that he was a fan of your stuff too!!

the rest of the crew and your mutual friends were so happy like FINALLY Y’ALL ARE ACQUAINTED

they’ve been wanting y’all to meet for the longest time because they know you will click with one another

fast forward to some time later, you and Dongwook are probably the closest out of everyone

you hung out together a lot, sometimes you would join each other’s lives just to annoy the other

you even attended his album launch party recently to support and tease him

(can’t believe he sold the perfume and necklace during the launch!!! i wonder what it smells like)

it was new year’s eve that day

everyone was busy with their own plans or was overseas so you decided to countdown to the new year from your studio

you got a little bored after awhile then decided to go on IG live to talk to your fans

while you were talking, you noticed Dongwook’s comment “don’t you have friends?”

“Dongwook aren’t you my friend? i still find it funny that we were so awkward and shy around one another back then,”

“you’re not my friend kekekekeke” he replied

“JUNG DONGWOOK ISTG”

suddenly the front door chimed, signalling that someone was entering

“look who it is! the one who said he isn’t my friend!” you introduced Dongwook on the live

after counting down to the new year, you ended the live, played a movie on netflix and drank a little (or a lot)

both of you were lightweights so the rest of the night/morning ended up being a blur

the moment you opened your eyes, it was already bright

morning or noon? you can no longer tell the difference

you noticed that you had slept on the couch with Dongwook on the other side, with the screen still on, displaying a message would you like to continue watching?

you dragged yourself to the washroom to freshen up, since you remembered you were gonna meet up with Jiho and some friends to grab a quick meal

the moment you looked at the mirror, you screamed

your lipstick from last night was smudged all over and there were hints of what looked like hickeys on your neck

did you and Dongwook... it can’t be right, right?

“hey is everything okay?” you heard him groggily asked

you stepped out of the washroom carefully and only noticing now that his jacket, your hoodie, the blanket and pillows were scattered around the studio

“why did you scream? omg you really look horrible. see i told you this is what happens if you dont remove your makeup before you sleep,”

you quickly shoved your phone’s front camera to his face

“wait what are you- why is... is this your lipstick? why do i- wait, did we?” he started observing the marks on him

“i dont know. did we? i don’t remember anything from last night,”

“neither did i! well we still have our own clothes on and i guess we just-”

“NO don’t say it!”

“don’t say what?” both of you screamed when you heard the third voice

when you turned, you see a confused Jiho, trying to make sense of the situation that he was looking at

“what happened? wait, did you-”

“we can explain!” both of you said at the same time

[fandom-trash-xl]

One-Shot: Light in a Wicked Heart (200 Followers Special)

I've decided to bring out another fanfiction, this time focusing on Frost. I made use of some Universe 6 Saga dialogue about Frost's past and decide to incorporate it into a larger story.

Time Placement: Age 777 (3 years prior to the Tournament of Destroyers)

OCs:

- Lord Shiver: Frost's father, 2nd form Icejin with blue-gray and light gray colorations

- Kossetsu: Young child of the Planet Mayonnai

- Kensa: Young adult of the Planet Mayonnai

- Bruselle: Young female Saiyan of the Sadalan Defense Force, a member of Cabba's squadron

- Carotine: Young male Saiyan of the Sadalan Defense Force, a member of Cabba's squadron

- Rhubar: Young male Saiyan of the Sadalan Defense Force, a member of Cabba's squadron

(AGE 777, GALACTIC DAY 295)

The small overseer ship floated gently in the thin stratosphere of the planet Mayonnai, a planet known for... well, no one was particularly sure. But, two space pirates knew that this planet was sure to bring results.

A young blue two-horned lizard, known by many as an Icejin, or Ice Demon, eagerly peered through the massive observation deck window at the dust-colored planet below. This was Frost, the single son of the once-famed crime lord Shiver. Obviously, Shiver's ways had rubbed off on him, as he spent his days travelling the galaxy with his father and pillaging planets.

"Quite the divine pearl, isn't it, boy?" Shiver spoke from behind him, casting a large shadow. "What did the reports say it was called again?"

"I believe it's called Mayonnai, father. Supposedly, asking prices are up to 40,000 Galactic Zen per acre." Frost replied.

"Rather large price for a planet that seems to have no culture to speak of."

"One shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or more precisely, a planet by its surface." The younger Icejin removed his glance from the window and turned to grab a solid black cape from a small metal rack. He pinned it to the shoulder plates of his dark blue armor. "I suppose you want me to go down there? Assess the situation from up close?"

Shiver laughed, teeth gritted in a smile. "Obviously, I can't. Too many people know my name. Go nuts, kid. Just don't do anything you might regret."

The surface of Mayonnai was as dust-colored as the view from space. It was littered with bustling marketplaces. It didn't seem like an ideal place to live, but the consumerism may have been the reason for high demand in land.

Frost had been indecisive on tactics on how to conquer such a busy place, so he had chosen to stay for awhile to plan his troops' approach. He had helped himself to some of the planet's local wares, particularly some baked confections.

And he could finally understand why people wanted to purchase stock in this planet. It was to die for!

Frost had found himself in the middle of the marketplace square and was preparing to report back to his father when he noticed... him.

He was a rather petite creature that seemed to be made entirely of shadows. He had teeny horns, a spiked tail, and torn-up wings. The only bright part of his body was a pair of glowing yellow eyes. He seemed rather malnourished, but was still at a small working post, shining a much larger gentlemen's boots. The creature seemed to have been keeled over for quite some time. He finished his polishing job with a heavy sigh, only for the man to leave ungrateful and flick him a small silver coin. He caught it eagerly as if his life depended on it.

"Another step forward," The creature looked at his reflection in the coin with the simultaneous feelings of worry and hope. "Soon, I'll have enough to be free of this place..." As he turned to add his silver coin to a bucket of change, a slim tall figure, who seemed to be of the same species as the young child, approached.

"Alright, Kossetsu. Let's see what you made this shift."

"I made enough." Kossetsu held his bucket of change close. "Now, go away,  Kensa!"

Kensa swiped the bucket from Kossetsu despite his refusal. "Don't be difficult!" He began to rifle through the coins. "Ah, you've made quite a lot for a polisher. Now, how shall we divide this up today? For your split, let's say..." He looked down at the young Mayonnai child. "What you've got in your claws should suffice. Rest goes to the boss." Kossetsu looked at the lone coin before he started to snarl and his beady eyes filled with tears.

"That's not fair! I worked my arse off for all that!" He jumped onto Kensa and tried to pull the bucket back. 

The latter struggled against him. "Listen, it's not my job to go against the boss's order-"

"Hey!"

Kensa and Kossetsu both turned to see Frost, who was none too pleased. "Let that kid alone, unless you intend to deal with me."

Kensa dropped the child and spread his wings. "Really? What could a common tourist do to one of the strongest of Planet Mayon-"

A red blast struck Kensa in the shoulder, causing him to tense up in major pain. "Sorry, I wasn't trying that time. Shall I try again, seriously this time?" Frost's tail swished, anticipating a challenge. The pained creature ran away in a panic, coins fluttering out of the bucket. 

Kossetsu stumbled to his feet and started to scrounge for the dropped money. "T-thank you, m-mister..."

"Frost. And it was no trouble." He helped him scrape the coins into a small pile.

"Oh. It's nice to meet you. My name's Kossetsu. That was just my caretaker, Kensa."

"Caretaker, hm? Then why does he try to hurt you?"

"The man in charge of us orphans is a heartless scumbag. Kensa doesn't want to hurt me, but the boss tells him the only important thing is money. If I could actually keep most of mine, I could probably buy my way out of here."

Frost frowned. He was a profit-seeking criminal as well, but... not to such a cruel extent. "Listen here a sec." He pulled a confection out of his back and handed it to Kossetsu. "I don't have much to offer on my person at the moment, but this should tide you over. At least until tomorrow." He muttered under his breath. "I can probably pull a few strings..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just rest well this evening. Let's just say that your tomorrow looks prosperous."

(GALACTIC DAY 296) 

Frost stood in a shaded corner of the Mayonnai marketplace, trying to stay out of sight. His cape blew in the slow wind. His troops had been put into place and it was almost their cue to strike. Three things were on the Ice Demon's mind: combat, profit...

...and the young boy. 

Meanwhile, four Saiyan scouts of the Planet Sadala were scouring the marketplace. As a protectorate of the Saiyan homeworld, Mayonnai had small troops of watchful Saiyan eyes, scanning the perimeter, ready to defend.

The lone female Saiyan of the group, dressed in green, gold, and pink and wearing her spiked hair in a messy bun, sighed heavily. "Cabba, I don't see any threats in sight. Tell me again why we're still scouring?"

"I understand why you're getting antsy over this, Bruselle, but the Captain said there were reports of Lord Shiver's band of space pirates in the stratosphere." Cabba, a young Saiyan teen in blue, replied. He was somewhat anxious of the situation. If the villains were to strike, wouldn't they have done it already? 

As the elite continued along the line of vendors, a sudden and echoing blast came from a small section of houses. 

"They're here..." Cabba jolted at the sound, then turned to his two other teammates, one in orange and the other in burgundy. "Carotine, you take the east. Rhubar, you take west. Bruselle and I will take the square." The Saiyan pressed a button on his temple, activating a full blue visor. 

"Let's show these punks what for!"

The attack was right on schedule. Frost lept in from the shadows, appearing in front of the troops, right in sight of several Mayonnai children working, most likely the mistreated orphans of the plan. "Children! Inside! All of you!" He commanded. The beings did as told and herded into an empty building. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He had to make sure they were all alright. He couldn't have his father's plan ruin his own plan to save Kossetsu. "Now, punks, prepare yourself to face the storm..."

Suddenly, a spiky-haired girl slipped into the group and knocked down some of the grunts with a savage low kick.

"Sh-t, no one told me the Sadalan Saiyan Squadrons would be here." The Ice Demon cursed under his breath. A second Saiyan leaped into battle, performing a barrage of ki blast spin kicks. 

"Tch, out of my way, Saiyans! I can handle this!" Frost tripped a soldier with his tail, then grabbed his neck with his legs, flipping him over in a somersault. He tumbled into a row of remaining troops, creating a domino effect. 

"He's good." Bruselle snarled. "But, we don't take orders from hopeless vigilantes. Right, Cabba?" Cabba was standing stunned in awe. "Cabba?!"

"I-I can't believe it- It's him!" Cabba's knees were shaking. "It's the planetary hero, Frost. From all the magazines!"

"I don't care who it is!" His partner barked. "We can't let this punk steal our thunder. Snap out of it, Cabba!"

Cabba nodded. "Yes. Of course." He rushed back into fight, swiftly bashing in a few villains' heads with a kick. He attempted to recreate Frost's grab, only to stumble and knock over only one. 

"Nice attempt, but I'll show you how a real fighter handles this." Frost propelled himself off of one of the grunts' heads and hooked his feet to loose bricks on the corner of a nearby building. A barrage of red Death Beams came from his outstretched finger. He laughed maniacally as the foes were struck. A beam barely missed Bruselle.

"The hell?! It's like the bastard is trying to kill me!"

"Never mind that, Bruselle! We're all clear in this sector!"

"Yeah, thanks to Mister Showoff here." Bruselle grumbled.

Cabba turned to look over at Frost, who was brushing the dust off his armor and cape. He was much more impressive than the articles had described him as. He was stunning, eye-catching... and pretty darn attractive.

"Bruselle, if you don't mind, I-I think I'm going to talk to him." Cabba stuttered.

"Sure thing, give him a piece of my mind."

The young Saiyan approached the Icejin with hesitancy. "Um, sir, would you happen to be Frost? The famed planetary protector?"

"Ah, I see I'm well known even amongst the Saiyans." Frost laughed a little and extended his hand. "It's a pleasure meeting a fan!"

"Uh, y-yes, a pleasure to meet you too. I-I'm Cabba." Cabba grabbed Frost's hand and felt his face glowing with heat. "I must say, compared to in the magazines, you're a lot more handsome in real life-" He panicked. "I-I mean, more heroic- Just forget I said anything!"

"No problem, good sir." Frost let go. "I must being going anyways. It's been a pleasure, Cabba!" He turned to enter the building containing the young Mayonnai children.

All of the young creatures flocked around the heroic Ice Demon. One in particular with ripped wings came to the front. Kossetsu. 

"Mister Frost, I knew you'd come back!"

"Yes, and I've come for an important reason. I'm here to set you all free."

The children cheered in excitement over being freed from the tyranny. "Now, let's get-"

"Hey! Punk!" 

Frost turned to see another Mayonnai being. He was rather short, but seemed to an adult. He was standing on a chair to gain some height. "What do you think you're doing with my workers?"

"It's called liberation, wise guy. It is my duty to free these innocents from oppression."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. These little workers have made me a fortune, and you can't take them from me!" The older man pulled a taser from his desk. "Leave this planet now or I'll be forced to use this."

"I see you're well armed. But, I am too." A small needle extended from Frost's wrist.

"Heh, you intend to defeat me with a pin? Think again, bud."

"I could tell you the same thing."

The Ice Demon lunged at the boss, who promptly activated the electric taser. Before the sparks could reach him, Frost managed to shoot the thorn from his wrist. It implanted itself in the boss's neck. The weapon flickered off and the villain began to feel faint.

"W-what did you d-do to me? W-why are y-you s-sideways?" Shortly after, the boss fell to the ground. He could have been unconscious, he could have been dead. Frost didn't care which. 

"Now, where were we?" Frost turned to the children. "Oh, that's right. Freedom." All of them cheered. "Now before I depart, I'll give you the best advice I can offer. Whatever happens, never give up. Always get back on your feet. Farewell children of Mayonnai." 

"Thank you for all you help Mister Frost." Kossetsu spoke to the Ice Demon as he prepared to depart through the back door. "I'll never forget you."

Frost paused. Something inside him was telling him he couldn't leave Kossetsu here. "Oh, I just remembered." He turned back. "I have to make an adoption first." He lowered to face the torn-winged creature. "Kossetsu, how would you like to come with me?"

The creature eagerly spread out his wings, small tears forming in his neon yellow eyes. "Yes. Yes, I will."

"Frost, what did you bring back?" Shiver asked with confusion. "Some sort of animal?"

"No, father. It's a person."

"You took a hostage? Impressive, son!"

"No!" He set down Kossetsu. "He's not a hostage, and his name is Kossetsu."

"Oh Champa almighty, you gave it a name?!" Shiver held his head. "You're not supposed to get attached to these creatures. They don't live as long as us. It's going to die one day and you'll regret ever naming it in the first place."

"I don't care that I'll outlive him. I'm keeping him. Now, if you don't mind, Kossetsu needs some food. He's been starving for some time now."

"Son, we do not waste our food on the peasants."

"Well, maybe you don't, but I'm not as heartless as you, father." Frost led Kossetsu into another room. "Come on, kid. Let's go somewhere with less scumbags."

(GALACTIC DAY 303)

It had been a week since Frost had brought in Kossetsu. The Ice Demon had kept a watchful eye on the child and had him accompany him on various conquests.

Today was another one of those conquests and Frost was in search of his small companion. He was a bit panicked. He hoped that he wasn't in danger. He felt responsible for his well-being.

"Father, Kossetsu isn't anywhere in the ship."

"That is correct, son." Shiver replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Frost's eyes narrowed.

"I let that wretched thing free this morning."

"You WHAT?!"

"Set it free. It's gone. You have to let things go eventually. I sent it to the ice moon of Kadaver, into the wild where it belongs."

"He can't survive there!" Frost rushed to grab his cloak. "I'm going after him."

"You can't, Frost." Shiver turned to his son. "You'll freeze to death down there!"

"Better me than him." The younger Icejin put the hood up on his cloak and determinedly open the ship's exit hatch.

The ice moon of Kadaver was a barren wasteland of snow. Thankfully, Kossetsu's dark figure would easily stand out in the blizzard. 

On the down side, Frost realized his father was right. He'd have to find him quickly, or he'd probably be an ice block.

Out of the snow came a small shadowy figure, its wings spread. Kossetsu, no doubt.

"Kossetsu, I'm here! Don't panic!" Frost rushed to the child through the tundra. He was in high pursuit, until...

A much larger creature, almost wolf-like swooped in, grabbing the Mayonnai child in its maw. "No!" 

Kossetsu tried to wriggle out of the wolf being's jaws to no avail. "Help me!"

"Let him go, you beast!"

The creature started to form a more humanoid bipedal shape. "Hmph, this is my prey. What makes you think you can take it from me, tiny?"

Frost snarled. "Because no one hurts Kossetsu and gets away with it!"  He rushed into the wolf beast, feeling his entire body engulfed with an unusual energy. He seemed to change further the closer he got. When he finally made contact, he was entirely different. His armor had broken off, he was much slimmer, and he no longer had horns. It must have been a strong new form, as he had managed to send the creature flying and free Kossetsu from its jaws.

The wolf was crippled from the impact and was coughing blood. Despite its already major injuries, Frost still felt an instinct to continue fighting it. He kicked the beast skyward and swiftly punched it straight through the gut, impaling it. Blood was spread on his arm. So much damage through his fury  had been done, though he felt  as if he hadn't put much effort into his attacks. Was this the might of his new form? It was... 

...terrifying.

He removed his fist from the deceased beast and tried to clean the wolf blood from his body with his tattered cloak.

Kossetsu rushed up to the newly transformed Ice Demon. "M-Mister Frost, are you alright?" His voice was growing weak, probably from the cold. "I-I wanna go home. I'm c-cold..."

"Kossetsu, I was so worried!" He grabbed his tiny friend in a frenzied hug. "I thought I'd lose you! Please tell me you're okay, Kosse-" The creature was silent. He looked at the child. He was paralyzed, his breathing had stopped.

"Kossetsu..." 

His neck had been snapped. 

And it was because of Frost's own uncontrollable strength.

"No...

No...

No....!"

(GALACTIC DAY 304)

Frost woke up within his father's ship, facing the ceiling.  His breathing was being paced by a oxygen mask. Had he passed out?

"Sir, he's awake."

Shiver entered his sight. "Son, are you alright? You were out cold. Quite literally might I add."

Frost pulled the oxygen mask off of his face and began to position himself upright. "I... had the strangest dream..."

"Hm. In said dream, were you in a different form, perhaps?"

The younger Icejin paused. "How did you know the very specific part of my dream?"

"Because it wasn't a dream, son." Shiver passed him a hand mirror. Frost's eyes widened. It was the form... The form of uncontrollable strength. There were even still a few droplets of wolf blood on his face. The mirror snapped in his hand almost immediately. "You unlocked your final form, Frost. I'm proud of you."

However, instead of pride or joy, Frost felt two different emotions. Fury and pain. Tears came from his eyes as he sat in silence. 

"Why aren't you happy about this, kid? Reaching the final form is a pivotal point in every young Icejin's life."

"Because...." Frost snarled. "I don't want to be in this form anymore. Tell me how to transform back."

"Why would you want to go back, son? If it's the whole 'breaking things in your hands' thing, that'll stop soon once your power settles."

"It's not that! This uncontrollable might... it kills. This form is the reason why Kossetsu is dead! Tell me how to transform back, now!"

"Well, that's no big deal. The thing was going to die anyway-"

Shiver was interrupted by his son's hand around his throat.

"F-Frost! What the hell are you doing?!" He managed to croak.

"Now, do you see why I want to go back?! All this form does is hurt people!"

"Frost, you have to give your newfound power a chance!"

"Tell me how to transform back, now!" Frost turned to put his other hand around Shiver's neck until the older Icejin finally kneed him in the stomach, sending him backward. 

"Fine, kid. I'll tell you, once you calm down."

Frost simply stood up and walked off. "Tch." He scoffed, thinking back to the time when there was light in his wicked heart.

[grcndel]

INCREDIBLY BASIC CHRONOLOGY OF GRENDEL’S LIFE PRE-21ST-CENTURY :

YEAR 342   ---   Grendel is born.  for over a century, he lives with Aglaecif  -  his mother  -  entirely isolated from her affections from the moment she discovers he is able to take care of himself.  he becomes more of a parent to her than she ever bothered being to him, spending a majority of his childhood ensuring her survival  +  comfort, with all attempts at communication or maternal love neglected unless it came of some immediate benefit to her.

YEAR 456   ---   Grendel meets humans, observes them awhile, forms his opinions on them in 503 he starts getting aggressive with them after almost 50 years of rejection and attack on their part against him.  the  “12 year war”  between him and the Danes proceeds  -  ‘war,’  in this case, meaning something closer to  ‘continued rivalry,’  grendel against the kingdom of Hart, and Hart against the entirety of surrounding scandinavia.  this is when he falls witness to a majority of human-on-human cruelties and, effectively, comes to the realization that we are not only just as brutal as him, but doubly as evil:  he hunts us to survive, we hunt each other over pointless disputes, and we’re  wasteful  about our murder, too.

YEAR 515   ---   Beowulf and his merry band of Geats arrive to Heorot;  Grendel is maimed and, traumatized  +  freshly disenchanted with life, he decides to take his own life a la launching himself off of a cliff.

YEAR 516   ---   Grendel wakes up in the same spot, and in the same body, he died in.  several days are spent deliriously collecting his scattered limbs / organs.  once able to move again, he’s off in a flurry, searching for Aglaecif  -  but can’t find her.  instead, Grendel finds his home destroyed and goes off his fucking rocker, breaks into what was    ( formerly )    Hrothgar’s mead hall, steals his arm back from its mantle above the hearth, runs away into the European countryside, and lives as a hermit for like. a good fucking 800 years.

OVER THE SPAN OF THAT ~8 CENTURIES   ---   the beast isn’t as Violent as he Was, but he’s a reclusive local legend, a drifter who never stays in one place.  sightings of him vary by the region and decade.  a few times, he’s captured:  stoned, or burned, or just chased away, back into the furthest outskirts of society.  his hatred for humanity festers, but in his solitude?  he’s learning how to process those emotions creatively, taking up basic illustration and re-discovering his love for poetry  +  lyricism.  time, as a concept, is sort of lost to him.  he has been separate from any interaction with or observation of humanity for so long that he cannot even remember how many days are in a week.  he counts years depending on when a season’s climate repeats, and after awhile, he stops bothering to count at all, resigned to his  ‘fated’  existence as an outcast once again.

YEAR ~1300   ---   Grendel catches wind of western territories possessing other beings like him congregating near its eastern ports.  on an impulse, he drops down into the waters of a Nordic trading port, sneaks himself under a ship bound westward, and crawls into the bottom of a cargo ship that’s exiting the bay, packaging himself away between a few waterlogged shelves and spice racks, where he stays for weeks subsisting off of rations and rats.  once he reaches America, he meets witches  -  and a few sparse fables  -  who survived the destruction of their magical barriers and pocket dimensions, or  “Homeland(s)”    ( Grendel has always existed in our human realm;  this genocide took place while he was a recluse in the woods.  he was never part of the major fairytale scene, only chalking up his few battles with stray adversarial beings as chance encounters and territorial disputes, over the years  -   but he still views the whole thing as a tragedy ).   here, he learns about this  “Adversary”  fucker, and why there seems to be such a murmur about magic suddenly rippling through global conversation  -  which is why he heard about this developing community in the first place.  eventually, he gets his arm reattached by the head witch Frau Totenkinder, and Gren hunkers himself down in  ‘Grammarian’s Tavern’,  owned  -  then  -  by Starkard and his men.  he stays there whenever he isn’t working the docks under the guise of his  ‘glamour.’

YEAR 1725   ---   suddenly, the men he’s become begrudgingly familiar with are all being kicked out of the bar, and there’s this lady  -  this heavily pregnant troll-lady, Maple, and her young daughter Holly  -  tearing all their shit off the wall.  he’s the only one who didn’t leave, but he’s quiet, and clearly antisocial, so she leaves him alone until lily’s born  -  to which she asks him, being her best customer, for occasional help watching the kids or entertaining them.  eventually she doesn’t even have to ask him, because he comes in there and hangs up his hat every day with the intention of seeing them, having warmed up to the family:  they become  his  kids, too.  he watched them become women.  he’s the only real father they’ve ever had.

YEAR 1936   ---   Maple’s ship is announced sunken off the side of a British port, without survivors, and when news of it reaches Fabletown, everything just  ...  falls apart.  one daughter leaves, swallowed by the city, and the other becomes Mother in her mother’s place.  Gren and Holly spend a lot of time together, jaded and traumatized by their mutual loss.  

YEAR 1940   ---   as his lack of will to live deepens, Gren enlists himself in the second mundy World War  -  he was in the first one out of draft obligation, but the second war is a willing choice.  he leaves holly alone for half a decade.

YEAR 1945   ---   Grendel returns with worsened / altered symptoms of already-existing PTSD.  during his absence, Lily and Holly have re-united.  they’re both there to welcome him home.  the sisters are different, now  -  they’re all different now.  that happy family is shattered, all sort of clinging to each other, desperately, often unhealthily.  relationships become strained, but unbroken, until Lily fucks off in the 70s again due to tensions with Holly.  the sisters don’t speak much, but Gren keeps in contact with Lily — it’s him who notices Lily is gone in  1986    ( or in  2003,  if we’re going by the verse me and Carling have developed together — all the time shift really changes is the year the events of TWAU take place / how long it’s been since Holly’s spoken to her sister ).