#especially if the focus of the show itself puts men in a more positive light and mire focused on their characterization

[ashes-in-a-jar]

.

[alexalbonbon]

Drive to Survive is less documentary and more Keeping Up With The Formula 1 Drivers. And that needs to change

When Netflix first announced Drive To Survive in March 2018, the show was promoted as an “attempt to immerse the audience inside the cockpits, the paddock, and the lives of the key players in Formula 1 racing. The series will have exclusive access to the world’s fastest drivers, team principals and owners, as well as Formula 1’s own management team.”

The announcement was a clear statement from new owners Liberty Media: attract new fans to Formula 1. And what better way to do this than by collaborating with the biggest streaming platform in the world? Drive To Survive was supposed to become a 10-episode documentary series for both new and established Formula 1 fans and would cover the 2018 season.

The show did a decent job in its first season, it did give a fresh look behind the scenes of the sport, with some drivers also allowing the camera crews in their personal lives. It introduced us to (most of) the teams, drivers, and team principals and gave an insight into the traveling, multi million dollar circus that is Formula 1.

But how are you going to cover a racing championship if you’re not allowed access to the two major teams fighting for that championship? You can’t, and the producers decided to take a page out of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians manual and thought it would be fun to give a show that was supposed to be a documentary show about the pinnacle of motorsport a reality series makeover in post production instead.

While we did see some of Daniel Ricciardo’s family and life off-track, this was completely overshadowed by the producers’ excessive need to dramatize his inter-team rivalry with then-teammate Max Verstappen. Any person who followed Formula 1 and especially Red Bull at the time knew that, although Daniel indeed was struggling with his position within the team, the two were not the enemies the show makes them out to be and are actually good friends. And rather than learn from the first season and the feedback given by both fans and drivers, the producers decided to up the drama even more for the next two seasons. Meanwhile, all of us are sitting here wondering why. If you spend some time following the sport, there’s plenty of drama already.

Going forward with seasons two and three, it was apparently decided that the show needed more of a Hollywood feeling and plenty of episodes were given the hero versus villain treatment. This reached its peak in the Red Bull focused episodes in both seasons two and three. Take the difficult (to say the least) work environment of the “big” team, mix it with some weird crap said by Christian Horner and top it off with the commentary by Will Buxton literally nobody asked for and you have yourself a Pierre Gasly versus Alex Albon rivalry. Where in season two Gasly was portrayed as the person keeping Red Bull back in the World Championship and Albon came in to save the day, season three decided to reverse Uno that narrative and made Albon (one of the only three people of color on the grid) the one in this role, while Gasly thrives at AlphaTauri. Albon is made look weak, stupid and slow. All things people who have looked beyond his Red Bull stint know are not true. Not once is it suggested that Albon was put under immense pressure by being moved to the “big team” in what was only his first season of Formula 1. Nor would Horner ever take responsibility for the clear favouritism shown to Verstappen.

And then there is what might be the biggest crime in the entire show: the lack of presence of record race winner, seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton in season three. There are no good words for whoever was in charge of production and decided that this man, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Formula 1 drivers of all time, was not worthy of an entire episode dedicated to his story, his racecraft, and his activism. The only black driver on the grid, Drive To Survive gave him five minutes at the end of the very last episode to touch on the Black Lives Matter movement Hamilton has been a vocal supporter of for years. His record equalling 91st win at the Eifel Grand Prix was briefly touched upon, but his record equalling seventh World Championship in Turkey was apparently too much of an effort to include. It only enhances the fact that the We Race As One campaign Formula One Management ran last year was nothing more than a PR stunt. It is time to take Lewis Hamilton seriously, he has a platform and he wants to use it and Netflix not giving him that opportunity is shameful. Yes, a big part of the demographic of Formula 1 consists of straight, white men who absolutely refuse to look at the world outside of their bubble. But Netflix promotes inclusivity, so why should this show be any different? It is a Netflix original show, which gives them no way to point at anyone else being the final part of production responsible. By showing the (graphic) clip of George Floyd’s death and letting Hamilton say three sentences about the BLM movement, you’re not promoting the inclusivity the streaming service wants to stand for. Formula 1, Netflix, and Box To Box Productions all need to do better, and they need to start doing better now.

So how does the show move forward? Let’s start by throwing out the terrible “scripts”, including those terrible one-liners Lance Stroll throws out in the first couple of season three episodes (I like Lance, but this made me cringe so hard, my eye is still twitching). Several drivers, including Max Verstappen, and more recently George Russell have spoken out against the framing the show chooses. This should be a clear sign that things need to change, especially if one of the drivers above called the show “cringey” in front of the Netflix cameras. Is there absolutely nobody in the producing team who has any real knowledge of the sport and the regulations itself? We need less Christian Horner, less Will Buxton and less forced drama and rivalry. If you put twenty men who get paid hundreds of thousands of euros in a paddock and drive around the fastest cars in the world for a living, the drama will write itself. 

Formula 1 loves reminding people that it’s the “pinnacle of motorsport”, so why not show that? Why not show that the world of Formula 1 has some of the brightest minds out there that came together in the fight against COVID-19 in Project Pitlane? Or how they were one of the first major sports that returned to their competition, setting up a huge logistical challenge and managing to create a calendar with seventeen races in twelve different countries, while keeping COVID infections to a relative low? But they also should focus on the parts the teams may not always want to show. Why does Red Bull seem to have a curse on that second seat? Why does Haas have to take on a driver who didn’t manage to finish in the top 3 of the Formula 2 championship, while the vice-champion was left without a seat? Why did we have to say goodbye to the Williams family and why weren’t they given a proper sendoff in the show? Especially with Williams having the only female team principal in the paddock. And why aren’t we shining a light on what’s important: a black man standing alone in his fight for equality.

Drive to Survive should give us what it promised: an exclusive behind the scenes look of one of the most exciting sports out there. The drama will write itself, we just want the good, the bad, and the ugly. And these are things the Netflix crew can achieve, even with the current COVID restrictions still in place in the paddock.

[c0smicheaux]

Eleventh House in the signs

Aries-

When the eleventh house begins in Aries, things are never peaceful in this person’s social life. There are always new acquaintances waiting down the road, and this can make their approach a bit superficial because of the certainty life will always bring someone new our way. It will be easy to make friends but a little hard to hold on to them for very long. Boundaries need to be set and respected, as well as the dedication that flows both ways in order for their relationships to last. As if their God spoke through energy of Aries, these individuals often see life as a battlefield or a game that needs to be won. Once they open up to the Universal thought, they will realize where their energy lies and how to use it, show initiative, and move forwards just as they wish to.

Taurus-

The eleventh house in Taurus speaks of the importance of social life for a person’s material satisfaction. This doesn’t mean their relationships with friends have anything to do with money, although they easily could, but rather that the satisfactions of the Earth are recognized through them. They will learn about their senses through social contacts and often have many stable, loving and tender relationships that last a lifetime. This is a typical position for individuals who truly know how to nurture people they love, without unrealistic expectations, holding on to practical values and morals. There are no false pretenses here, for they wouldn’t last, and natural approach is the one that is easiest to incorporate into their life. Their deep desire for love, peace and emotional stability is so strong that it often doesn’t allow them to change in a proper time or the right way. If they remain flexible, this is a promise of joy and financial security at old age.

Gemini-

With the eleventh house in Gemini, we see someone who wishes to communicate has something to express and always finds several persons to listen. Friendships are fast, exciting and adventurous. There is always a lot to discuss and think about, while brainstorming is the most satisfying activity in their social encounters. On the downside, they can become too superficial out of their need to remain free of solid bonds, and while they would want to have enlightening encounters, they become less satisfying as they shut off their emotional side. The important thing to remember with this position is the importance of self-expression and our brothers and sisters, no matter if we have any from the same parents, or we have cosmic ones in our surroundings. For as long as ambition doesn’t make these individuals too static and committed to work, they should find the time to enjoy the benefits of this airy eleventh house.

Cancer-

If the eleventh house begins in Cancer, everyone in this person’s family will feel like friends. This is a strange position as the eleventh house should be there to free us from our emotional ties, but this is not the case here. These individuals have strong feelings for those they socialize with, have heightened senses around other people and treat others with empathy. However rational they might seem to be, there is something warm in their approach. The desire of the eleventh house in Cancer is in emotional awareness, acceptance and peace. In order to find it, they will have to embrace their emotional depths, however flawed they might seem. The truth is they deserve a calm, serene place in their hearts and minds, but their genetic inheritance stands in the way too often. If they haven’t been told they are beautiful, smart and special often enough when they were children, they should make self-affirmation a regular part of their daily routine.

Leo-

With the eleventh house in Leo, the image of friendships easily becomes more important than actual friends. On one hand, this is obviously a very important issue in a person’s life, and on the other, they tend to socialize only with people who make them look good. Self-recognition comes through other people and it can be difficult to steer clear of control and people who impose their will and show disrespect. The key to creating healthy relationships with this position is to put everyone’s individuality to focus. This doesn’t mean one should neglect their own inner being, but rather that each relationship formed should have a deep personal understanding and respect. Once they realize how each of their friends or siblings is special, without becoming envious or strangely tied to them as if they should become someone else, they will start to surround themselves by honest people with warm hearts. Desired respect can be hard to reach if they don’t have enough respect for themselves.

Virgo-

When the eleventh house is set in the sign of Virgo, there is often something wrong with friends this person finds. While in the best possible light this could show friends who are healers, truly intelligent and incredibly dedicated to their cause, in most cases it also speaks of betrayal of some kind and people who aren’t adequate to fulfill a person’s needs. There is always a question of what is truly deserved here, and it is typical for them to consider themselves unworthy of honest social contacts who as similar to them as they should be. Usually, a lot of time will pass before they realize who they need to be around with, and this comes with age and experience if they don’t close their heart entirely because of several bad wounds. The greatest wish for those born with their eleventh house in Virgo is to be grounded, practical and caring. Lucky for them, this can be reached through inspiring relationships, healthy routine and everyday simplicities of life.

Libra-

The eleventh house likes to be in Libra for its communication issues are focused on important relationships making it easy to form social contacts. However, the sign of Libra itself doesn’t exactly enjoy this position leading to too many changes in their emotional life, as well as breakups or divorce if they haven’t chose a partner who is both their friend and their lover combined. The search for balance these people need becomes clear in their relationships, emotional, social or professional. It is never easy to find it though, and they will jump from one serious social bond into another, in long time periods, as if they had no intention to settle for a friendship that isn’t perfect. The problem is - there is no such thing as a perfect person in this world, unless if you observe the entire humanity as a manifest of perfection. While these individuals reflect in their friends, they will never be happy this way if they don’t accept the imperfections in human nature.

Scorpio-

While many would think that the eleventh house in Scorpio is quite difficult and bonding, we shouldn’t forget that the sign of Scorpio is the sign of the exaltation of Uranus and speaks of the best friends we could find. Friendships in Scorpio represents our deep bonds for life, and they will be hard to achieve, build up, but extremely satisfying every step of the way. The depth these relationships are approached in is extreme and not always easy to comprehend. The preconditions for any true bond here are brutal honesty and the ability to turn to dark humor in the time of need. Individuals born with this position wish to reach emotional depth they don’t recognize within, and they are often not fully aware of this need. Their road in life will be based on reasonable choices and things they can cold-heartedly achieve, but their real goals will never be easy or at the palm of their hand if they don’t deal with family issues and emotional blockages they made along the way.

Sagittarius-

If the eleventh house is in the sign of Sagittarius, people who surround this person are benefactors, teachers, travelers, and open-minded friends who don’t mind differences in opinions, education or race. This is an inviting position as it speaks of all good men and women who have a lot to give, teach, and learn at the same time. Their friends can overdo the favors and the problem that appears in these souls will come from the inability to achieve anything alone. Once this person starts relying on others for help, they will wonder too far from their own character and burden those who wanted to show good faith. This is a wonderful position for all those special souls who came to this planet to reconnect with the Universe. God will speak to them as they breathe together with planet Earth, and find incredible joy in meditation and new techniques that will help them shape their future.

Capricorn-

When the eleventh house begins in Capricorn, friendships last, filled with patience and the sense of obligation. Without a strong basis, there is little that can be done to improve social life, and they need to be surrounded with those who come highly “recommended” by those they already trust. This is a closed circle of friends, as a loop that may last forever. Still, Capricorn doesn’t bring much joy into any house, and especially not in the eleventh. One will have to reach structure, have an organized schedule, and dedicate their life to finding the right balance that will keep them healthy and situated. Karmic friendships are typical here, and those a person is bound to form a strong bond with will feel familiar. Close friends met this person in the past, with their lives intertwined in a loop of karmic debt or reward.

Aquarius-

The eleventh house in Aquarius speaks of liberation a person needs. Slaves to our unhealthy routines, choices, habits and relationships, these people will have a clear wish to be free and expressed as exactly themselves in their society. While humane and righteous in their approach, they will rarely be brave enough to endure in their chases, unless if the Sun is extremely well set in a personal chart. This is a position that gives as many friends as we need, to be there for us, wake us up, and help us find our connection to the Universal thought. If the positioning is extremely difficult, they become aware of the direct link they have to the skies above and wish to go there before their time. In most cases, however, this is a position that allows individual growth through the group and gives the opportunity to truly become enlightened and free.

Pisces-

When the eleventh house is in the sign of Pisces, friendships are hazy and unclear. This is a person who has a task to find faith in others and it will always come with challenges and difficulties in their way. If they believe enough to spread love without many expectations, they could find those several soulmates that were deserved through previous lifetimes. Purity is the key to solid relationships, and with Pisces everything is prone to change and endings. Many friendships will begin only to end, pushing this person in the right direction. Others will be kept at a certain distance and lack intimacy. What these people need to do is sink in, and give in to every relationship that feels good without fear of betrayal or loss. If their friends are supposed to end up at sea, on another continent, or in their dreamland, this is fine for as long as they share an emotional bond wherever they are.

Source; astrology-zodiac-signs dotcom

[multifandomfanfiction]

Till Death

TITLE: ​ Till Death PAIRING: Oberyn/OC (Platonic) RATING: T CHAPTER: One-shot SUMMARY: Oberyn saves a girl from being attacked, so she returns the favor.

[A/N - I’m actually pretty proud of this one-shot. Especially the end.]

Oberyn was walking through the streets of Kings Landing when he heard a woman scream. He pulled out his dagger and rounded the corner.

Three men stood in front of a small blonde.

“C’mon honey. You know you need the money.” One of the men pawed at her skirts.

“Take your hands off of me!”

“I believe the lady asked you to leave her alone,” Oberyn said.

The men scoffed. “She’s no lady.”

“Be that as it may, taking someone against their own will is considered distasteful in most parts of the Seven Kingdoms. Someone giving you their body is a gift.”

“And who exactly are you?”

“I am Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne.”

“Well, you’re not my prince.”

“Have it your way then.”

The men charged at Oberyn and he fought them off elegantly.

Elinore had heard stories of the Red Viper. Everyone had.

He was agile, despite his age, but that didn’t make him any less beautiful to watch.

The three men soon lay prone on the cobblestones.

Oberyn sheathed his dagger and walked over to the girl.

“Thank you, Prince Oberyn,” she said.

“Please, just Oberyn.” Oberyn took her hand in his and kissed the back softly. “When a man sees a beautiful woman in trouble, it is his duty to help.”

She blushed. “All the same, thank you. I’m Elinore.”

“Elinore.”

Elinore wrapped her arm around Oberyn’s as they walked back to the Red Keep. “What brings you to Kings Landing?”

“Revenge.”

Elinore’s steps faltered. “Revenge?”

“For my sister and her children.”

“Oh?”

Oberyn looked at her. “How old are you?”

“Nine and ten, my lord.”

“My sister was Princess Elia Martell. Mother to Rhaegar Targaryen’s two children. My niece and nephew.”

Elinore gasped. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry, Oberyn.”

Oberyn patted her hand. “It’s quite alright, little dove. You were quite young when it happened. I imagine you do not remember much of that time.”

“I am not from here, my lord. I am from the North. I was part of Lord Stark’s household, before…”

“What happened to him was a disgrace and now his murderer sits atop the throne.”

“I have enjoyed our little chat, my lord. But I must return to my duties.”

Oberyn stepped back from her, kissing her hand once again. “Farewell then, little dove.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next week was chaotic.

King Joffrey was murdered, Lord Tyrion had been arrested, and Oberyn volunteered to be Tyrion’s champion in trial by combat against the Mountain.

She’d done more digging and found out that supposedly the Mountain had been the one to kill Elia and her children. Being a maid, she was able to get into the Mountain’s chambers and she found evidence supporting the claim. She could take the letter to Oberyn, but she knew he would want to fight anyway.

He was deadest on his revenge. Oberyn didn’t stand a chance against the Mountain, so he would need some help.

Elinore watched the courtyard from the tower. She could see Oberyn and his paramour Ellaria Sand standing in one of the tents.

Lord Tyrion was brought out and then the Mountain entered the fighting arena and Elinore put an arrow in her bow.

They blew the starting horn and Elinore let out a long breath. If Oberyn could get him in a vulnerable position or if he could get the Mountain’s helmet off, she could strike the killing blow.

Or at least help Oberyn gain the advantage.

Oberyn took his spear and started showing off.

“Focus, my prince!” Elinore hissed, although he couldn’t hear her. The fight began and Elinore watched each move carefully.

Oberyn hit the Mountain in the back of the head and his helmet fell off.

Here was her chance! Elinore lined up her shot.

For Elia Martell. For her innocent children. For Ned Stark. For her first love Robb Stark and his sweet mother Catelyn. For everyone who had ever been wronged by the Lannisters.

She let go of the arrow.

It struck the Mountain in the head and he went down.

Silence fell over the crowd in the arena.

Oberyn himself was shocked.

“Find out where that arrow came from!” Cersei demanded, “You’ve obviously had help, my lord.”

“Oberyn would not cheat in a fight,” Ellaria insisted.

Oberyn approached the dead man and found something attached to the arrow.

It was rolled up piece of parchment.

He pulled it off and found a letter written by the Mountain himself bragging about the murder of his sister.

A second arrow buried itself in the man’s skull. This one had a ribbon attached to it.

Oberyn untied the ribbon and found a note embroidered on it. Consider my debt to you paid. Long live the Prince of Dorne.

Oberyn turned to the Lannisters. “Justice has been paid to my family,” Oberyn announced, “Although I played no part in it.”

When the guards arrived in the tower, Elinore was nowhere to be found.

There was only a note.

Death to all Lannisters.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Oberyn and the members of his retinue would return to Dorne the next morning, a stowaway in their midst.

Oberyn found her on their first day at sea. Long after the sun had set, he found her perched on top of one of the masts holding up the sail. “Elinore.”

She looked down at him.

He was dressed in a light tunic and trousers, no shoes on his feet.

She made her way down onto the deck.

“I must thank you for what you did,” he told her.

“If I had not done what I did, you would be dead, my prince. No one beats the Mountain. I couldn’t just let you die.”

“Be that as it may, thank you.”

Elinore blushed and ducked her head.

Oberyn gently tilted her head up. “I am forever in your debt, little dove.”

“Oberyn…”

“Whatever you want, you shall have it. I will make sure of it.”

“The greatest joy you could ever give me is by being my friend, Oberyn.”

Oberyn kissed her hand. “Then you shall have it, little dove.”

Upon arriving in Dorne, the highest honor was bestowed upon Elinore. She was made Oberyn’s personal guard and given the title of his confidant. And even though Oberyn begged and pleaded, she would never become one of his lovers.

She never left Oberyn’s side.

Not even when Doran had purposed a rather advantageous marriage.

She had refused stating, “Nothing but death shall remove me from the prince.” And by his side she remained until Oberyn’s death (by natural causes of course).

The next day, Arianne found her dead next to Oberyn’s grave. She simply sighed and said, “Not even death could part them.”

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Invisible String

Happy holidays, everyone!! It’s been a while but I thought I would post this as a gift to everyone! I hope you all are staying safe and finding ways to stay positive. You all always brighten my day and I hope this little drabble manages to brighten yours a little more. I hope you all enjoy! 💙💚

Word Count: 4574

———————————————————————

Anne sat on her bed gazing out her window, lost in her thoughts. Her eyes were fixed on the full moon that was rising in the sky, watching it curiously as her mind ran through different scenarios in her head of the moment she would meet her soulmate.

Anne was acutely aware that staying up late and thinking about her soulmate would not make their first meeting come any quicker but it still became a nightly tradition for Anne to stare at the moon and wonder if her soulmate was doing the same thing. 

For a brief moment, Anne broke her staring contest with the moon to look down at her hands. She noticed that she was twirling the red string that was tied to her right pinky around her left index finger, a habit that Anne had formed over the years when she was thinking deeply about something.

Anne tilted her head to the side and smiled happily as she wrapped her physical connection to her soulmate around her finger once more. She thought about the person that was tied to the other end, the only other person that could see the invisible thread besides Anne. Who were they? What hobbies did they have? When was their birthday? Where did they live? Did they think about Anne late at night too?

Anne sighed to herself before checking her clock for the time. Noticing how late it had gotten, Anne reluctantly pulled her blanket over her and laid her head down on her pillow. Unfortunately, she had to be up early the next morning for work which meant she had to grind her daydreaming to halt and catch some sleep. Those thoughts of her soulmate would have to wait until the morning.

~~~

Anne groaned as she rolled over in her bed and tried to muffle the sound of her alarm with her pillow. It worked temporarily until the blaring from her phone grew too loud to ignore. Angrily, Anne threw the covers off of her and reached out to turn off her alarm. 

From there, she slowly got ready for the day, putting a simple outfit together and applying some makeup before getting ready to head to the library. Anne loved working at the library, much to the dismay of her friends who never thought she would enjoy a second of quiet given her generally loud nature. Cleves often joked about how Anne would one day get fired for upsetting her boss by disrupting the peaceful atmosphere with her chaotic tendencies. Anne was determined to prove Cleves wrong. 

Anne actually found the quietness of the library relaxing, especially when taking in the wealth of knowledge lining the shelves. The only downside to working at the library was her grumpy boss that always seemed to be looking for a reason to punish Anne and assign her menial tasks. The last time she had upset her boss, she had been assigned to customer service for the week to deal with the many complaints that were brought to her.  

Anne shook her head and stared at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, appraising her appearance before grabbing her phone and keys. She looked to her clock and silently cursed when she saw that she was roughly ten minutes behind schedule. Not wanting to be late, Anne rushed out of her apartment and onto the street.

As Anne sped walked to the library, she couldn’t help but smile when she noticed her red string leading in the same direction that she was walking. She followed the thread’s path, thinking to herself about how amazing it would be if she finally met the person on the other end of the string. Anne contemplated briefly just following the string until she found her soulmate but quickly shook that thought out of her mind. Her boss would not only fire her if she did that but also probably hire a hitman to take her out silently.

Anne shuddered at the thought as she rounded the corner, finally seeing the entrance to the library loom before her. When she got closer, Anne did a double take as she peered more intently at the doors, not believing her eyes when she noticed a little red string leading into the library.

Anne let out a shocked gasp when she realized her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her and were actually seeing her soulmate thread leading up the steps to the library. Anne all but stumbled up the stairs in excitement, unable to control herself at the thought of finally meeting her soulmate. 

She burst through the doors and smiled widely when she saw the invisible string trail over to the classics section of the library. Anne was about to follow her thread of fate when she regrettably heard her name get called by her extra grumpy-looking boss.

“Anne Boleyn!” her boss shouted, disrupting the peaceful quiet of the library. “Come here now!”

“This could not be worse timing,” Anne spat under her breath as she approached her boss, glancingly longingly to the classics where her red string led.

“Do you want to explain why you are fifteen minutes late?” her boss questioned accusingly while crossing his arms.

“Listen, I’m sorry. I was running behind schedule and didn’t have the chance to catch a cab,” Anne reasoned shooting a glance back at the direction of the classics.

“That’s no excuse,” her boss deadpanned. “You’re lucky I haven’t fired you yet for being such a pathetic excuse of an employee. You’ve earned yourself cataloguing duties today for your unexcused tardiness.”

“Yes, sir,” Anne managed to mumble out through gritted teeth. Her eyes dropped to the red string tied to her pinky. Maybe she could just take a few minutes and find her soulmate without her boss noticing.

“Now, Boleyn. The cataloguing is not going to do itself.” Her boss shut down those hopes in an instant. Anne knew that his focus would be solely on her for the rest of her shift, waiting for her to mess up so he would finally have a reason to fire her.

“Yes, sir,” Anne mumbled and walked in the direction of the cataloguing equipment. Of all the passive-aggressive punishments Anne received, cataloguing was by far her least favorite. On top of being boring, she was secluded from the rest of the library and confined to a small desk in one of the out-of-the-way corners. At least with customer service, Anne had people to interact with, even if they were usually angry moms. Cataloguing was just downright depressing.

As she walked towards the cataloguing desk, Anne shot one last glance towards the classics section. When she realized that the string was no longer leading that way, she stopped and looked around for where her soulmate had gone. Her heart dropped when she saw the string leading out the entrance of the library. Anne had come so close to meeting her soulmate only for her dreams to be crushed in a swift turn of events.

For the rest of her shift, Anne sulked in her desk chair, thinking of what might have been if she had just arrived to work fifteen minutes earlier. Anne didn’t twirl her red thread of fate and think about her soulmate like she usually did during her shifts. Instead she cursed herself for an endless list of reasons that had prevented her from finding her soulmate, possibly forever.

~~~

“Anne, you’ll find your soulmate again!” Kat encouraged Anne from her spot next to her on the couch. “If they checked out a book, they’ll have to return it eventually.”

“But it probably won’t be during my shift,” Anne complained, slumping further into the cushions as she grabbed another cookie from the table in front of her. “And even if it was, my boss will find another way to ruin my life. Again.” Anne took a bite of the cookie angrily.

“Have you tried bringing your boss coffee in the mornings?” Kat asked with a hopeful look on her face. “That sometimes works! In movies, at least.” Kat mumbled the last part under her breath before flashing Anne one of her signature smiles.

“Kitty, I love you for trying to fix my relationship with my evil boss but I could literally fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with coffee for him and he would still hate me with every fiber of his body,” Anne lamented dramatically.

“Why don’t you just quit if you hate him so much?” Kat asked, clearly confused by Anne’s stubbornness in continuing to work at the library if she was so miserable.

Anne sighed. “Because I really like working at the library. Sure, my boss sucks and makes me do the worst jobs but being surrounded by books from so many perspectives and eras is inspiring. On the same book shelf, there can be a novel written in 1899 by a white woman empowering the independence of women from men and an autobiography by a Muslim woman recounting her activism for female education under the Pakistani Taliban. That’s incredible! And every time I check out a book that someone is reading, I have hope that the knowledge hidden within those pages will be passed on from author to reader.” Anne finished her speech with a huff. As much as she loved working at the library, it still didn’t change the fact that she had missed her only chance at meeting her soulmate.

“Well, I’m sure your soulmate would agree with that. You said they were looking in the classics section, right? That means they’re probably super smart,” Kat said in a light tone, hoping to finally break Anne out of her spell of sadness.

“And I’ll probably never see them again,” Anne replied despondently before looking to Kat with a small smile. “At least I have you. We can just move in together and forget about finding soulmates. Who needs them anyway?”

Kat smiled nervously. “Actually… about that…”

“Don’t tell me that you found your soulmate,” Anne whined and threw her head back in despair. “I’m destined to be alone forever!” 

“No, you’ll find your soulmate eventually!” Kat exclaimed, preventing Anne from getting lost in her depressing thoughts. “I’m sure they’ll show up when you’re not even looking.”

Anne smiled weakly. “Thanks, Kat. I don’t believe you but your faith in me is comforting.”

“Anytime, Anne,” Kat responded, thankful for any victory in cheering Anne up no matter how small. “How about we watch a movie together! I’ll make us some popcorn!”

Anne smiled as she watched Kat run off to put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. She was thankful to have such a kind-hearted person as her cousin. Kat was always there for her when she needed her and comforted her when she was feeling down. Who needed a soulmate when there was someone like Kat in the world?

Kat stayed with Anne for the rest of the day, making sure that she was alright before Anne finally convinced her to go home. After Kat left, Anne started to get ready for bed, determined to get a full night of rest so she didn’t arrive late to work again. She changed into her pajamas and flopped onto her bed, pulling her covers over her. 

Though before Anne closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she looked out of her window to the moon that was casting its soft light into her room. Anne wondered for a moment how different her life would’ve turned out if she had met her soulmate that morning in the library. She heaved a sigh at the thought and looked down to her red string, twirling it once around her finger before letting it drop. Maybe Kat was right. Maybe her soulmate would show up when she least expected it.

Anne finally let her head drop onto her pillow and closed her eyes, waiting for her dreams to take over. She hoped that they would be pleasant dreams of unicorns and rainbows rather than nightmares of losing her soulmate before she had even found them.

~~~

Anne awoke to the sound of her alarm and immediately threw her covers off of her and slid out of bed. She swiftly turned off her alarm and got ready for the day. After adding a few final touches to her makeup, Anne deemed herself ready to leave with a final glance in the mirror. 

Without missing a beat, Anne scooped up her keys and phone and left her apartment. She was greeted by the warm sunshine as she stepped outside, which brought a small smile to her face. The morning sun always made her walk to the library much more pleasant, putting her in a good mood as she ascended the stairs to the library’s entrance.

However, her good mood immediately evaporated when she saw her boss lingering by the entrance, a scowl appearing on his face as he noticed Anne approaching him.

“Boleyn, you’re early today,” her boss commented as he placed the books he was holding in the return bin next to him.

“Yes, sir. I learned my lesson yesterday,” Anne responded, forcing a smile onto her lips albeit painfully.

“Wonderful,” her boss muttered sarcastically. “You’re shelving books today. And just because you came in early doesn’t mean you get to slack off. You’d better start shelving right away.”

“Yes, sir,” Anne replied, holding back a sigh of relief that she was shelving books instead of cataloguing. Shelving books was actually one of her favorite jobs to do, since she got to see what books had been checked out recently. It was interesting to find out which books were more popular than others and which were diamonds in the rough. Anne had actually found a few lesser known books she had thoroughly enjoyed through this task.

After a few trips around the library placing books back on shelves, Anne came across her first book that belonged in the classics section. It was a compilation of Emily Dickinson poems, a book that Anne was immediately interested in. Anne had always been a huge poetry nerd, loving the aspects of both reading and writing such eloquent poems.

Anne shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up from the book, searching the bin for a few more books belonging to the classics section of the library before making her way to return them to their spots on the shelves.

As she walked down the aisle to the classics, Anne felt her heart sag in her chest as she remembered how her red string had trailed to this area of the library the day before. Her soulmate had been standing just a few paces away from where Anne was walking now. Anne longed to turn back time to the day before and make this same trip, following her thread of fate to finally see her soulmate for the first time. But instead, Anne was doomed to the reality that she had blown her chance and her wishful thinking changed nothing about how the events had actually unfolded.

Anne sighed to herself, shoulders slumping down as she entered the first aisle to deposit a few books in their place. As Anne bounced bath and forth putting away the classics she was holding, she noticed one person arrive and begin looking around at the selection on the shelves. Anne watched the woman momentarily before sliding another book onto the shelf in front of her.

She was absolutely breathtaking, with her curly brown hair framing the sides of her face and those intelligent-looking eyes intently reading over the titles of the books in front of her. Her lips were pursed tightly together, clearly focused on finding a specific book from the shelf. Her fingers trailed along the spines of the books as she read their names, gingerly touching each one before passing onto the next.

Anne stared at the woman in awe, completely captivated by her every movement. Not only was she jaw-droppingly gorgeous, she was also in the poetry classics section which was a huge win in Anne’s book. After a few moments of admiring her, Anne’s gaze dropped to the final book in her hands, scared that the girl would catch her staring and think she was some creep.

Anne smiled when she noticed that the last book was the collection of Emily Dickinson. She also realized that the location of the book was right around where the pretty woman was scouring the shelves. Anne shot a shy glance in the girl’s direction and noticed something she hadn’t seen the first time she looked at her.

Anne did a quick doubletake and did her best to restrain a loud gasp when she finally realized that the red string tied to the woman’s hand was not a figment of her imagination but actually quite real. And Anne could see it! Anne’s soulmate was standing right in front of her. Anne’s soulmate came back.

Without a second to lose, Anne crossed the distance between them, lingering a couple steps away before clearing her throat. “Excuse me,” Anne whispered out shyly, suddenly becoming very nervous to introduce herself to her soulmate.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the girl apologized without looking at Anne, shuffling to the side so that Anne could get a better view of the shelf.

“Um, I was actually wanting to… talk to you,” Anne answered as she looked down and shuffled with the book in her hands.

The woman finally looked away from the shelf and turned to Anne with a curious expression on her face. However, the curiosity melted away and was replaced with a look of recognition as the woman’s jaw dropped in shock. “It’s you.”

“It’s… me?” Anne tilted her head in confusion. Anne was certain this was the first time they had met. But then, why did her soulmate recognize her.

“You’re my soulmate,” the girl whispered softly. She lightly twirled the red string that tied them together around her finger and slowly trailed it toward Anne’s end. She stopped about halfway between them before dropping the string and looking back to Anne with a small smile.

“Yeah,” Anne breathed out as she slowly looked up from their red thread of fate. “But, what? How…?” Anne was at a loss for words.

“I saw you yesterday,” her soulmate admitted. “You were talking with your boss. I wanted to say something but I was too nervous to talk to you. And plus your boss didn’t seem that… friendly.”

Anne chuckled. “Yeah, he’s not my biggest fan. I’m just lucky he’s having me shelve books today instead of cataloguing for the rest of eternity.” Anne held up the sole book in her hands so that her soulmate could see it.

The girl laughed as her eyes trailed to the book Anne was holding. Her eyes lit up when she saw the cover. “Hey! That’s the book I was looking for!” She reached out to take the book from Anne and she obliged with a smile. “It wasn’t here yesterday but I wanted to check again today.”

“I’m hoping that wasn’t the only reason you came back,” Anne said with a shy smile, hope glistening in her eyes.

Anne’s soulmate returned her smile with one of her own. “Well, there’s also this really cute librarian that works here. She has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life and a gorgeous smile that lights up the room. She’s been on my mind since I saw her yesterday, getting yelled at by her boss. Maybe you know her?”

Anne blushed profusely at her soulmate’s words but managed to recover just in time to reply with a quip of her own. “I know her quite well actually. Her name’s Anne Boleyn and she loves reading all sorts of books, which is why she decided to work at a library. I also know that she’s been waiting her entire life to meet her soulmate and she’s happier than she’s ever been in her life right now.”

It was her soulmate’s turn to blush this time. “That’s really sweet, Anne.”

Anne smiled victoriously as she saw her soulmate’s cheeks heat up. “So, can I get your name, love?”

The girl’s eyes widened as her blush deepened, realizing she hadn’t introduced herself yet. “Yes! Sorry! I’m Catherine Parr, but most people call me Cathy.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cathy,” Anne said, savoring the feeling of her soulmate’s name rolling off her tongue. She could definitely get used to saying it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too-” Cathy began but was cut off by another voice.

“Anne Boleyn! Stop slacking off and get back shelving books! You’ll be lucky if I don’t fire you after this shift for your misbehavior.” Anne’s boss suddenly appeared in the aisle behind Anne, who turned to see the man standing with his arms crossed and a condescending look on her face.

Before she could apologize, Cathy cut in with her own response. “Oh, I’m sorry, sir! She was just helping me find a book. I didn’t mean to distract her from her job.” Cathy turned her attention back to Anne. “What was that book you were telling me about?”

Anne’s eyes flashed with relief before replying, “It’s a collection of poems from the Harlem Renaissance. It’s one of my favorites.” Anne turned to her boss and ducked her head in apology. “I’ll get right back to shelving books after I find this woman the book I was recommending, sir.”

Her boss grumbled to himself before nodding curtly and walking away. Anne let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding until he left. She looked back to Cathy with a huge smile. “Thank you for that. You probably saved me from a month’s worth of customer service duty.”

Cathy giggled at Anne’s way of thanking her. “You’re welcome! Now, do you want to show me that book on the Harlem Renaissance?”

Anne nodded and quickly led Cathy to the right aisle and pulled out the book. She handed it to Cathy with a grin. “My shift ends in an hour and a half if you want to go somewhere after.” Anne bit her lip nervously, hoping that Cathy wouldn’t reject her.

Much to her relief, Cathy smiled warmly and nodded. “I would love to.”

“Awesome! That’s great!” Anne replied excitedly, staring back at Cathy for a few seconds as they both took in the other as their moment of silence stretched longer.

“You should probably get back to shelving books before your boss yells at you again,” Cathy remarked, breaking the comfortable silence. “I’ll be in the reading section when your shift is over.”

“Yeah! Okay!” Anne stuttered out. “I’ll see you later.” Before Anne could think about what she was doing, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Cathy’s cheek, leaving both girls blushing as Anne pulled away. “Bye!”

Cathy bit her lip before breathing out a small “bye” as she watched Anne walk off to continue shelving books.

Anne spent the rest of her shift running back and forth, depositing books back in their places on the shelves. Though, a few times Anne took the long way to her destination just so she could walk by the reading section and take a few moments to watch Cathy read. Anne’s heart fluttered when she noticed that Cathy was now wearing reading glasses. She didn’t know it was even possible but Cathy’s frames made her even cuter to Anne as she read one of Langston Hughes’ poems from the book Anne had picked out for her. 

The final 90 minutes of Anne’s shift passed incredibly slowly, which only made Anne even more excited when it finally ended. She signed out of her shift mere seconds after it ended and sped directly to the table where Cathy was intently reading another poem from the Harlem Renaissance collection. In fact, she was so focused on the page in front of her that she didn’t even notice Anne slide into the seat in front of her.

Anne picked up on this and took a few moments to admire her soulmate. Her heart started beating a little quicker and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when it finally sunk in that Cathy was really her soulmate. Anne silently declared herself the luckiest person in the world to have someone like Cathy as a soulmate.

“You are so much more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined,” Anne blurted out before her eyes widened as she realized she had said that thought out loud. 

Cathy looked up from her book with a little smile. “I could say the same thing.”

Anne ducked her head to hide the color creeping into her cheeks and cleared her throat. “Um, do you like the book so far?” Anne gestured to the poem collection in Cathy’s hands.

“Yeah! It’s amazing!” Cathy responded ecstatically. “You have really good taste in poetry.”

“So do you!” Anne pointed out and glanced at the Emily Dickinson collection lying on the table. “I love Emily Dickinson!”

An annoyed shush caused the couple to jump in their seats. They ducked their heads sheepishly when they realized how loud and disruptive they were being.

“Maybe we should get going now,” Anne suggested.

“Maybe we should,” Cathy agreed.

The two queens got up from the table and made their way hand-in-hand out of the library. Anne shot a quick glance at their intertwined fingers and smiled when she saw the red string hanging below their hands, swinging back and forth as they walked. Anne had spent so many years twirling that red thread by herself, longing to do what Anne was doing in that moment. Longing to hold hands with her soulmate. Longing to smile and laugh with her soulmate. Longing to kiss her soulmate. Longing to build a future with her soulmate.

A rush of emotions overtook Anne for a moment as all of her midnight daydreams came back to mind, suddenly much more vivid and only an arms-reach away. She stopped walking and squeezed Cathy’s hand to get her attention. Cathy turned back to her with concern in her eyes, noticing the near-desperate look on Anne’s face.

“Is everything okay-” Cathy was cut off by a pair of lips being pressed desperately to hers. Cathy smiled into the kiss before melting into the slow rhythm and movement of their lips. Anne tenderly brought her free hand to Cathy’s cheek, slowly caressing it as she pulled away.

“Sorry, I just-” Anne started but was cut off by Cathy.

“Don’t apologize!” Cathy pressed her forehead to Anne’s gently. “I’ve been waiting my whole life to do that.”

Anne blinked slowly as she took a second to treasure the special moment that she had just shared with Cathy. They had just shared their first kiss, the first of many Anne hoped. 

Anne sighed happily and pulled away from Cathy, bringing their intertwined hands up to her lips and pressing a light kiss to the back of Cathy’s. Anne’s eyes darted momentarily to their red thread of fate which was no longer red anymore. A glistening gold had mysteriously replaced the crimson red it was before. 

Anne’s eyes trailed up from the string to meet Cathy’s soft gaze. They both let a grin take over their features before Anne finally broke the silence between them.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”   

[dreamersleeps]

Hawks and the Biblical Archangel Michael

(Another look at BNHA Vol. 27’s Cover)

This is my first attempt at writing an analysis/interpretation piece for BNHA and in general so please feel free to comment or add on to what I have written below. I hope I didn’t miss explaining something properly.

This post was inspired and influenced after reading through @/cutiesableye ‘s interesting analysis and interpretation of the cover of Vol. 27 which is linked here and looking at @/codenamesazanka ‘s post comparing the cover art to a painting called “The Fall of the Rebel Angels” by Baroque painter Luca Giordano which depicts the Saint/Archangel Michael defeating a group of demons (the original post is linked here).  If we are comparing Vol. 27’s cover art to these paintings, then Hawks is in the position of the Archangel Michael while Jin is in the position of the demons.

By now, I’m sure that a lot of people are aware of the references of the Greek mythological character of Icarus in Hawks’ characterization. However I want to draw attention towards the possible allusions Hawks may convey with another winged figure: the Biblical Archangel Michael.

Despite the fact that Horikoshi is a Japanese author and that the story largely relies on contextualization that is based on Japanese culture, that does not mean that he can’t be inspired by Western ideas and faiths from outside Japan. When it comes to other Christian references, I think you can look towards All For One/Shigaraki and Ibara Shiozaki from Class 1B who have more explicit references to Jesus Christ and other Biblical references. If Horikoshi wasn’t inspired by this Biblcial figure, this piece or similar art pieces then please take this post as an interesting take on the cover. However I think this take on the cover adds to the narrative. There are some interesting similarities between Hawks and the Archangel.

After a quick search on Google, I realized that quite a few pieces of art of the Archangel from the 1500s - 1700s (not quite sure about the time frame) depict him triumphantly standing atop a pile of the enemy/demons/sinners, wings spread out wide, dressed in a red or blue robe and with his right arm wielding a sword lifted in the air, sometimes with the sun or a bright light shining down on him from behind his head. 

Here are a few examples: 

“Archangel Michael punishing sinners” by unknown Austrian artist (1700s)

“Saint Michael Archangel” by unknown artist (1490s) 

So who is the Archangel Michael? 

First of all in the hierarchy of angels, Archangels are those who are at the very top. The title comes from the Greek words “arche” which means prince, and “angelos” which means messenger and they fulfill a number of important purposes. I think which angels are considered an archangel is debated based on holy scriptures between the Abrahambic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) however because the paintings above were produced by those who were of Christian and Catholic faith, I will focus on looking at the Bible. In the Bible, Micheal is the only angel who is explicitly labelled as an Archangel. He is an angel of supreme power and the leader of God’s army. 

Based on the information I found online and from my own knowledge, the Archangel Micheal had four main responsibilities based on what is found in the Bible and in Christian tradition: 

Combat Satan.

Escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death.

Be a champion of all Christians, and the Church itself.

Call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgement.

For this next portion, I’m going to try my best to show how they connect back to Hawks. 

First, the Archangel Michael is the enemy of Satan. 

In the Biblical “end times” which is depicted in the book of Revelations, it is written that Archangel Micheal will lead God’s army into a final battle against Satan and his fallen angels and be victorious. 

A hero’s enemy is a villain and the villain’s enemy is a hero. This current war between the heroes and the Paranormal Liberation Front is happening largely due to Hawks’ role in infiltrating the PLF and the information he gathered. It’s a great clash between the two major forces BNHA society deems as “good” and “evil.” Although Hawks may have not led the heroes into battle but he played a major role in starting it. We have yet to reach the outcome of the war. 

Second, he comes at the hour of death and presents a last chance at salvation.

During a period of time before someone dies, the Archangel Michael descends to those who haven’t yet connected to God and gives them a last chance at salvation before their time to decide runs out. He gives them one more chance to essentially redeem themself before passing. After the individual dies, Micheal and other angels escort those who are saved to heaven. 

In chapter 264, Hawks says that he believes that Twice/Jin is a good person and offers him a chance to leave quietly and have the opportunity to have a fresh start in life, telling him that he’d even help him. Very simply put, from Hawks’ point of view, this is a ticket out, a chance to be “saved.” Twice chooses to fight for his friends and the LoV instead and dies by Hawks’ hand shortly after Dabi comes to intervene. 

Third, he is the Guardian of the Church.

His name, Michael, means “one who is like God.” Throughout early Church history, he has been called the “chief of Israel” and the “Prince of all angels.” One of his major responsibilities is to protect the People of God. To protect the Church, Michael leads angel armies into battle against its enemy, Satan and his fallen angels. 

This one might be kind of a stretch but I think you can connect Hawks’ position as the Hero Public Safety Commission’s tool to this role. He is one of the Commission’s valuable weapons, and they will utilize him in order to achieve a certain outcome. Hawks views himself as someone who has the responsibility of protecting others. In this case, his infiltration mission forced him to bear the weight of the safety of Japan’s population on his shoulders. As a hero he had a duty to protect and save.

Fourth, he weighs people’s merits on Judgement Day. 

(I could not find the title, artist or year for this painting.)

In the Christian religion, the Day of Judgement, is the day in the future when all people who are living or who have ever lived will be judged by God. In the Bible, the Archangel Michael helps measure people’s good and bad deeds on Judgement Day. In art, he is also often depicted holding scales and people often describe them as the “scales of justice.” Going back to the war during the “End of Times” that the Book of Revelations talks about, the weapon that Michael uses to defeat the enemy is often described throughout Christian history and tradition as “the sword of justice.” 

The subject of Twice’s death is a touchy subject and I don’t have the ability to carefully word what I want to convey but harshly written, based on the situation that Hawks was put in and after assessing the possible impact/outcomes of Twice’s role in future events, he makes the decision to kill Twice. He acknowledges Twice to be a “good person” but in that moment he judges him based on where his loyalties might lie and on his past/history. Hawks kills Twice using one of his blade-like feathers that he fights with like a sword. Another interesting thing to note is that the sub-heading of Vol. 27 is “One’s Justice.” 

In Conclusion 

The event portrayed in these paintings depicts a major clash between God and Satan, and ultimately what is good and evil. In the Bible, there is no gray area, only black and white. So if we take this into consideration, is Horikoshi saying that Hawks is the righteous, holy hero and that Twice is the evil, morally upside down villain? No. 

If Horikoshi indeed was influenced by these paintings of the Archangel Michael and his enemies, I do not think he’s portraying the black and white themes the good triumphs evil message it boldly gives off. 

In their post, cutiesableye points out that “In comics, a hero at the bottom and a villain at the top mean the hero is losing and conversely, a hero at the top and a villain at the bottom means the hero wins.” On the cover, Hawks is depicted at the top and Twice is depicted at the bottom. Then they ask an interesting question: “But who is the hero here?" I’d think that someone with no context of the story would find the cover to be somewhat ambiguous. Cutiesableye has a lot more great analysis and interpretation about the cover and especially on Hawks’ and Twice’s facial expressions and body language so I highly encourage you to go read their post if you haven’t done so already.

Anyways, back to the question: “But who is the hero here?” 

Well on this manga page, Hawks looks more like the villain than Twice does. I think that grayness is what Horikoshi was going for. Both Hawks and Twice are gray characters. That is why so many people have their own strong opinions and interpretation about what happened between Hawks and Twice. Neither of them can be labelled comfortably as “good” or “evil” or in general, “hero” or villain,” and I think that is the point. I’m not going to go in depth about their character and morals but simply stated, Hawks is a hero who now has blood on his hands because he believed that the decision he made would save more lives and Twice was someone who was further categorized as a villain because he found community and family with the League of Villains and later died trying to defend them. However this grayness does not excuse any crimes that were committed on either side. It just makes the conversation more complex.

Another way you can portray this is that Hawks is not an angel and Twice is not Satan or a demon. Like you and me, Hawks and Twice are both human. BNHA is a story about humans and we are not perfect. Although we can show the best and worst in humanity, we can be very gray characters as well. On the surface level, you can say that the heroes represent the “good” side and the villains represent the “evil” side, however if you take a closer look that is not the case. It’s more complicated than that. Through the current (Paranormal Liberation War) arc, Horikoshi is really exposing the gray areas that lie between the black and white. 

[jenovahh]

The Honey Pot - Ch. 28 - Sting Operation

The universe must hate you.

To make you see the monstrous form of Varis bear down upon his equally monstrous son, eyes wide as they turn to you in shock. To make you feel the vibrations of the monster's roars as his facility burns and falls around him. To have you hear the sound of Elidibus whisking you away from your love, of dark magic engulfing you, rendering you unable to leap from his arms to let you be buried with him.

Even as you feel Elidibus’ form real and whole and warm against you, you have never felt so cold.

Wondering if there was anything you could have done differently.

Wondering where it all went wrong…

Your heart beats malms a minute in your chest. There was no calming it down it seemed, drumming away furiously to its own beat as you watched Hien’s mercenaries shuffle around Cid’s compound as if they’ve been here before. Armed to the teeth, they were obviously top of the line, trained in the Doman art of the ninja, not one bit of skin exposed saved for openings in their helms to see through.

In truth, you couldn’t help but feel a little out of place. Watching everyone suit up definitely gave you feelings of nostalgia, of being in the academy each morning, baby faced and ready to take on the world. Even though there were a handful of them given that this was to be a small and hopefully quiet operation, you were no less impressed by the obvious skill that rolled off them in waves.

You couldn’t help but wonder at why you weren’t getting suited up with them, granted you had never needed any special armor. Maybe they thought you didn’t really need to, given that you proved nearly invincible against the average man.

Dressed from head to toe in black, you've forgone your usual pantsuit for something a bit more ergonomic. Black leggings engineered by Ironworks, the material has metal fibers woven within, making it hard to rip or tear. Your long sleeved shirt is made of a similar material, rounding out your entirely practical look. Deciding to pack light, your toolbelt only has a small handgun sitting in its holster.

Weaving through the busy space, you step into the connecting room where Cid sits before a wall of screens, several birds eye shots of the Aetherochemical Research Facility lined up as his hands type furiously at the keyboard. Merlwyb stands at his back with her arm resting upon the back of his chair, looking at the monitors with great interest. “We’re positive that Varis is holed up in there, right now?” She asks, fist clenching and unclenching in a show of nerves.

“For the last time, Merlwyb, yes.” Cid sounds as if he barely restrained himself from groaning, still typing at keys. “I have confirmed that he has not left the facility since exactly 21:08 this evening and shows no signs of leaving any time soon. Though I must warn you, Ilberd arrived at about 21:30. I assume they are meeting for whatever reason as the election nears.” he grumbles, dropping his focus for a moment. Swiveling in his chair, he faces the two of you, clearly worried, but ready for the fight to come.

“I will be supporting you with as much intel as possible.” Looking to Merlwyb, he continues, “As we already discussed, I’ve already got it set up to record anything your body suit sees to store back here at the base for us to compile for evidence later. This goes for all of Yugiri’s men as well.” Looking to you, he cannot hide his concern. “Honey…”

“Cid, don’t even think of trying to dissuade me.” You warn, trying your hardest to not give into his distressed expression.

“I know, it’s just,” he growls in frustration, “Are you sure you want to do this? You’re pregnant for Nymeia’s sake--”

“I will avoid combat, as promised. I’m only there to start the shut down sequence, and get out. It should be an easy job now that you’ve figured out where the base is right?” You urge, trying to change the subject.

He sees right through you, but takes your bait anyway. “Yes. With Zenos pinpointing the exact location, it took some overnight crunching, but I was able to work past Varis’ walls and get a rough map of the place using my own seismic sensors. It’s downloaded onto your phone.” Running a hand through his hair, you watch as he stands to his feet and yanks you into a fierce hug, his biceps flexing with the force of how he crushes himself to you.

“Please come back.” he whispers, just for you. In it you can hear the fear of losing another loved one.

You hold him just as tight.

“You know I will.”

Giving one last squeeze, he briskly wipes at tears in the corners of his eyes before sitting back down in his chair. “Best to get started. We don’t want him to get away from us.”

Nodding, you and Merlwyb leave Cid to begin overseeing the logistics of the operation, heading back into the room where all of the ninja are seemingly ready to go. A small auri woman leads them, Yugiri you remember, giving a slight bow to Merlwyb as the two of you come to a stop before her. “We are ready to leave when you are, Chief Merlwyb.”

“Lord Hien is in hiding?” Merlwyb asks, reaching for her pistol, Annihilator, and putting it in her holster.

“Indeed he is. Already we have noticed that what spies Varis uses to keep monitor our lord have begun to realize they cannot find him. No doubt they will let Varis know he has disappeared.” Yugiri continues as she brings her own mask over her face. Nodding, Merlwyb gives one last look around the room, taking a steadying breath.

“Then we move.”

The night only gets darker, and to your luck it is also cloudy. It’s a little uncomfortable due to how muggy it feels outside, summer in full swing and not helping with the humidity at all.

The cars you had taken had been left a great distance away from the facility, the rest of the trip spent trekking on foot, doing your best to not draw any unnecessary attention to yourselves. With Cid’s technology, you remained as cloaked as the facility itself once did.

The ninja didn’t make a single sound as they moved through the forest. Not a single twig breaking, or accidentally having a branch snagged on their clothes. You felt like an amateur in their presence, especially when you finally reached the outside of the compound.

Yugiri uses a series of symbols to dispatch her men, all of them seeming to fade into mist as they disappeared into the shadows. You had heard of Doman legends of the art of the ninja, thinking them only myth and fairy tales, but had no idea it was an art that was still passed down. Granted, after being a literal descendant of ancient beings, you supposed there was nothing that was impossible.

The sounds of the ninjas taking out the guards is silent as they come, not even hearing the guards’ bodies collapse to the ground. Just faintly do you make out the ninja carrying them deeper into the forest surrounding the facility, Yugiri able to communicate orders with nothing more than her hands. You couldn’t deny that you felt in awe at seeing them work, even as Yugiri seemed to materialize beside you.

“The guards around the outer perimeter have been disposed of.” She informs you and Merlwyb, who nods sharply before turning her gaze to the front gate where the remaining security check stands.

“So far, so good.” Merlwyb breathes, losing some of her tension. “Are your men prepared?” She asks, reaching for the gun in her holster.

“More than ready, Chief Bloefhiswyn.” Yugiri responds, vanishing into shadow.

“And you, rookie. Are you ready?” she asks, giving you one last look, almost as if she is hoping you’ll be ready to back out.

“I was born ready, Chief.” you nod, anticipation coursing through your veins. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

With that the ninja quickly take out the security at the main gate, doing away with the guards and taking them to be hidden with the others. As you run toward the entrance, you hear Cid’s voice crackle in your ear piece that he’s got control of the cameras, and to any security inside, nothing looks out of place.

The gate rolls open along the rocky gravel, allowing you and Merlwyb to make a run for it as you are joined by Yugiri and her ninja. Reaching inside your shirt, you begin to pull out the card Zenos had given you, praying that Varis was a little too caught up in his campaign mess to remember to deactivate it. You had no clue if Zenos had tried to speak to his father at all since he had rescued you, or how Varis took his son’s betrayal for that matter. Whispering a silent prayer, you nearly slam the card against the security device against the door, your heart beat stilling in the split second it takes for the device to scan.

A small chirp sounds along with the clicking of the lock. It works.

Breathing an audible sigh of relief, you wrench the door open, once again thankful that Varis really believed a little too much in his own hype. Varis most likely bet on his son not having the gall to try and take him down, and perhaps thought you would want to keep yourself off the front lines.

But there was no way you would not take that asshole down yourself.

The ninja quickly silence the guards at the booth, undoing the lock that opens the door that leads into the facility. You all shuffle inside, whipping out your phone to take a look at your maps. “Cid, we’re inside.”

“Good, good. I’ve got eyes on you all still. They still haven’t noticed you all yet.” comes his voice through your earpiece. “If you can get to the control room, I can get a more detailed map to get a look at every room in the facility. I only have scans from underground sensors I used, but getting access to the mainframe will allow me more detail.” Even through the earpiece you can hear him typing away at the keyboard. “I’ll take control of each camera as you pass by as not to arouse suspicion. From my scans, my guess is the control room for these vats might be nearly two floors down from the main entrance.”

“Thanks, Cid. We’ll keep you posted.” Looking to the rest of the team, you make sure they heard the same thing as you and begin your journey to find the control room. On the surface, the facility does seem to only be two floors deep, and from your one trip here that was all you got to see. As you snuck along the perimeter you could sure enough see cameras blink on and off as you dove past them, Cid keeping you out of sight just long enough to try and make your way to the control room. There were thankfully few guards or even employees around, most likely having gone home for the day leaving only the overnight crew.

Reaching a pair of double doors against the far wall, you press your keycard up to the security device, happy as it still seems to work and allows you all inside. Yugiri quickly silences the two employees working within, two quick chops to the neck knocking them unconscious. Heading over to the array of buttons you pull out a small disc-like object from your pocket, slamming it onto the control board, watching as small, robotic legs sprout from its sides, embedding itself into the board. The Ironworks logo flashes on its top, and you can hear Cid’s laugh in your ear. “Excellent work, Honey. I’m in.”

The relief in the room is palpable, even as Yugiri is shoving the two guards into a broom closet. “Give me a few minutes to find you guys the fastest route to where you need to go.”

“Thanks Cid, just keep us posted,”

Yugiri’s eyes widen as she turns toward the door. “Someone comes this way!”

Just then the doors fly open, the sound of guns cocking freezing you in place. “One traitor helping another...why should I be surprised?”

Turning around, the small high is broken as you turn to the door, finding Livia and Rhitahtyn blocking the way. Dressed in their usual suits, they look upon you scornfully as they point their guns directly at you. “I knew I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.” Livia hisses, her flaming red hair neatly pulled into a bun.

Scoffing, you can’t help but laugh. “Kill me? Wasn’t it Zenos who told you that you didn’t have hopes of beating me, even on your best day?”

Livia’s face twists angrily as she hisses. “I wouldn’t have had to do it honorably. I could’ve easily stabbed you in your sleep.”

Your own face shifts into an angry snarl while you try not to make any sudden moves as you turn to face her fully. “Not surprised a Garlean bitch couldn’t beat me in a fair fight.” You spit back, flexing your knuckles. You were hoping things didn’t have to get dirty. You promised you’d avoid conflict if at all possible. “Listen. I don’t know what you came here hoping to do. I’m guessing you saw us sneak our way in here when we weren’t looking. I know you two have got your heads pretty far up Varis’ ass, but surely even you can see that murdering innocent civilians to help his campaign trail is going too far.”

Both of their faces pinch in confusion, causing you to look back at them in shock. Stupefied, you can’t help but ask them, “...he didn’t tell you?”

“What on earth are you talking about you little liar?” Livia hisses, cocking her gun. “Lord Varis would not murder civilians! It was a failed assassination attempt on Lord Hien by another gang! He couldn’t uphold security at his own rally and got the chief of police killed for it!”

Your guard lowers at the sheer absurdity of the situation. “Are you really going to believe such a fucking, blatant lie?” You nearly shriek, glancing at both of them in disbelief. “Varis slaughtered innocent civilians! Blew up part of a district just so he could smear Lord Hien’s name! There were women and children there!”

“My lord would do no such thing!” Rhitahtyn bellows, reaching for his own gun. “We have no reason to listen to the lies of a traitor, the one who turned even my lord’s own son against him.”

“I didn’t do anything to Zenos. As you can see, he’s not even here!” You genuinely couldn’t believe what you were hearing. At this point if Varis somehow revealed to you that he had secretly hypnotized half of his closest staff, you’d believe him. There was no way that two of his favorite bodyguards were this ignorant of his wrong doings.

Or was Varis worried that even he couldn’t manipulate their moral compass?

You think back to the look on Gaius’ face when he had burst in when Varis was about to force himself on you. From what you knew of Gaius, no one believed in Varis more than he. He genuinely believed that everything Varis was doing was for the better of Kugane.

But even you could see the disbelief on his face when he saw your tear stained face, body pinned beneath Varis. You knew he had heard your screams from down the hall. You could remember the hesitation, the doubt on his face as he saw the true side of his lord, even as he barked orders at him to take you away.

Varis had not gotten away with things as long as he had solely because he was smart.

He was a master manipulator.

And when you refused to be manipulated by his schemes, he forced his will upon you.

“He’s using you.” You laugh bitterly. “He’s using you two. Can’t you see that? Do you really think this is all so he can make Kugane better? Do you really think he’s got any special plans for you? That you’re not disposable to him just like the rest?”

Hesitation shines in their eyes for just a moment, the two of them looking to each other momentarily. Facing you once again, you watch as Livia slowly lowers her gun, letting you release a breath you hadn’t known you were holding.

You think she’s ready to listen until she reaches for her phone, yelling into its speaker. “Intruders! Intruders! Lock down the facility! Alert Lord Varis!”

The fluorescent lights turn a deathly red as alarms blare throughout the whole facility. You can hear doors slamming shut from outside of the control room, the shuffling of feet as surely more security guards are being summoned. Merlwyb curses under her breath behind you, and you fix Livia with a piercing glare. “You idiot.” you seethe, raising your fists to fight.

Just as Livia raises her gun ready to fire, two of Yugiri’s ninjas pounce on her and Rhitahtyn, the two of them barely able to fend them off as they burst through the doors back onto the factory floor. Panic ensues as the lights continue to flash, biting down harshly on your lip as you follow everyone back out the control room.

“Whole place is going on lock down, Honey--” Cid’s voice crackles in your ear, “We’re gonna have to pray that Zenos’ card still works even in lockdown. It’ll take me some time to begin decrypting the code to get access to the facility again.”

“We’ll find a way, Cid.” Merlwyb pipes up, loading her gun as she grabs you by the hand. More security guards burst through the doors, guns raised. Yugiri is on them in a heartbeat, knives drawn as she takes them out one by one while her own ninja deal with Livia and Rhitahtyn. The entire scene is chaotic as Merlwyb fires with the accuracy that landed gave her gun its name.

Disoriented, you barely get to get both feet on the ground long enough as Merlwyb forcibly drags you along. “Chief,”

“No confrontation out of you, remember?” She growls, pushing through an opening through the fighting to a door that leads to the lower levels of the facility. “You made a promise and I’m making sure you’re keeping it. You understand me?” Tugging on the card roughly even though it’s still looped on the chain around your neck, she gets you close enough to unlock the door and shove you through, making sure it slams shut behind you.

“But Yugiri,”

“Is a trained killer, if you haven’t noticed. She understands her role and we have ours to play.” She urges, tugging you along. “Cid, we’re in trouble.”

“I can see that.”

“Got any quick routes down to the bottom of this dump?!” You both duck as you hear gunshots whizz past your heads, breaking into a run as you run down the hall a little faster.

“I’m trying, I’m trying--” his voice sounds as panicked as you feel. “Make a left. You’ll need the keycard again, but there should be a spiral stairwell. It goes down nearly fifteen floors, but if you’ve got some decent balance, you may be able to gain some ground if you slide down the rails.”

“Roger.”

Following his instructions, you make an immediate left, your keycard ready this time as you quickly press it to the device and Merlwyb uses her weight to push the door open, releasing your hand as she once again puts her gun away. “I’m not fond of heights but we need to gain some ground.” She grumbles, swinging one long leg over the rail. “How on earth did they see us? Shouldn’t they have been guarding Varis?”

“No...I’m so stupid.” you mumble, following suit as you swing one leg over the rail, lying on your front and clutching the rail with both hands. “Cid had said Ilberd had arrived at the facility, and Varis trusts Ilberd enough to protect him. They were probably in another part of the upper levels.”

“Pretty sloppy of us,” Merlwyb sighs, but says nothing else.You watch as she finally lets gravity take hold, controlling her descent as best as possible right as the door you had come through bursts open. Wasting no more time you loosen your grip and begin to slide down the rail, wincing as more bullets fly haphazardly past you. Reaching for your own gun, you fire a few rounds back at the guards to help deter them from following you down the stairwell.

“Honey, watch out!”

Before you can turn to Merlwyb, she’s already tossed a live grenade back up the stairwell, the Ironworks logo shining brightly as it clinks upon landing above you. Loosening your grip more, you hasten your descent just as it detonates, cutting off the pursuit of the guards if only for a little while.

Your hands burn from how fast you’re moving, but you’re putting distance between you and your assailants just as you hoped. While outwardly you seem as calm as can be, your heart is thumping in your chest as if it’s trying to free itself from its cage. As usual, thinking on your feet has never been your strong suit and with so much at stake, you can’t help but feel like the walls are closing in on you bit by bit.

“You should slow down, you’ll reach a safe floor soon.” Cid calls in your ear, so you start to slow your descent as the facility grows noticeably cooler now that you’re deeper underground. You have no idea how you’re going to get out of here when you’re several malms below sea level, but even if you’re buried alive, it’ll have been from doing the right thing.

Hands stinging, you and Merlwyb dismount from your makeshift elevator, stepping quietly to the door. She peeks through the single window carefully, checking the hallway to see if the coast is clear. “You’ve still got about two more floors to go down before you reach the main reactor. That’s what Zenos must’ve been talking about. It’s powering the whole facility off aether itself.” Cid speaks again, not sounding any less clearer despite how far underground you are. “If you can turn them off, look at them long enough for me to get some pictures, you guys can get out of there. It seems like the guards haven’t pegged your location yet. There’s a hidden elevator that will take you straight back to the top. Get in, and get out of there.”

Nodding to one another, Merlwyb quietly pushes the door open, gun drawn as she checks both sides of the hallway for any would-be guards. Seeing no one, she motions for you to follow and you stick close behind her, heels clacking against the metal floors as you run past several doors. The halls are cold and unfeeling, and you idly wonder if this was the same place where Zenos was experimented on. If this is where you were held before he came to rescue you.

All the doors are bolted shut, but you have no time to peek inside anyway. Zenos’ words of the horrors of his father’s experiments haunt you, stilling your hand from thinking to unlock one of them for fear of what you might find inside.

“Look, another stairwell.” Merlwyb calls, pressing up against the wall as she checks the corners, once again motioning for you to follow her lead. “We’re almost there, Honey. We’re about to have the bust of the century.”

Racing down the stairs, energy seems to hit you square in the chest, the feel of something otherworldly setting your hairs on edge as the stairwell begins to open wide. Merlwyb seems otherwise unaffected, but you know you’re not crazy.

At the bottom lies a single closed door, bright light cutting through the otherwise dark and dank facility. The air goes from cool to warm in seconds, and the sound of many machines whirring and spinning reach your ears. Swallowing, you hold up the card to the door, relieved as it chirps once more, granting you entrance to the next room.

The energy in the air feels as if it smacks you in the chest, surrounding your very being. A giant reactor that looks as if it were out of a Sci-Fi movie shines brightly with glowing, blue aether, spinning and churning with enough force to be a heat source unto itself. Another walkway surrounds the perimeter, with stairs leading to the floor of the reactor. It all looks so very surreal, that you and Merlwyb can do nothing but stare in awe for a few moments.

“Are you seeing this, Cid?” Merlwyb finally asks, beginning to take steps around the walkway.

“Crystal fucking clear.” He chimes in, resent coating his voice. “My father’s research, powering this hellhole. What I would give to see it burn to the ground.”

You silently examine the swirling aether, something deep within you calling to the mass of energy you see before you. Something about the sight fills you with a deep sadness, of a loss you know you have yet to experience, but feel all the same. Almost against your will, you begin to make your way to the closest staircase, feet carrying you to the mass of energy. Your very soul feels drawn to it, disturbed by how you feel a turbulence within, matching the chaotic flow of aether within the reactor.

Free us…

Gasping, you clap a hand over your mouth as tears spring to your eyes.

“Honey! Get down!”

Turning around, you just barely miss a bullet meant for you, spotting a familiar face by the doorway you had come in. Your eyes narrow into slits as they land on Ilberd, smirking as if he’s got you right where he wants you. “Honey...strange seein’ ya here.” he laughs with a sleazy grin, cocking the gun to load another shot. “Thought to save Lord Varis the trouble of findin’ ya, eh? Awfully considerate of ya.”

“You wouldn’t mind telling me where the old bastard is, would you? I’ve got a bone to pick wit’ him.” You taunt back, turning to slowly face him.

“He’s occupied with other business at the moment,” Ilberd growls, aiming the gun directly for your heart. “Told me to come get you under control so he and you could have a nice chat later.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see Merlwyb move the slightest bit. “I’m afraid I can’t stay too long.” you huff, making sure to hold his attention. Flipping your hair, you cross your arms across your chest you can see him become visibly angrier at how you’re not intimidated by him at all, which is all the distraction you need.

Quick as a whip, Merlwyb fires a round at Ilberd, managing to hit him square in the shoulder. His gun misfires near your feet and you spring into action, quickly climbing back up to the main level of the walkway and catching up with Merlwyb.

“The elevator is just around the bend of the walkway on the wall. Hurry!” Cid yells, in your ear, your legs carrying you as fast as possible along the path. You duck as another shot barely misses you and Merlwyb, Ilberd growling far behind you as the two of you round the bend. Drawing your own gun you fire a few rounds back at him to try and slow him down. You can see the doors housing the elevator straight ahead, yanking the card from your neck ready to throw it at the security device ahead of time if it means the doors will open sooner.

“Get back here!” Ilberd roars behind you, firing another shot.

“Honey, hurry!” Merlwyb yells as you skid to a stop, slamming the card against the security device. The elevator slides open and Merlwyb rushes inside.

Free us…

Before you can enter, you find yourself looking back to that reactor of swirling energy, unable to resist the pull of the aether before you. Of whatever is in there crying out to you for salvation.

Turning to Merlwyb, you purse your lips and step from the elevator.

“Honey?”

Reaching inside, you quickly hit the button that will send her to the top floor.

“Honey!” Giving her one good shove to throw her off balance, you keep her from dragging you back in with her, giving her a grim smile as the doors close.

“See you top side, Chief.” you wave, listening for the elevator to begin its ascent back toward the surface. You take your earpiece out before her or Cid can begin to scream in your ear. Dropping it to the floor, you crush it beneath your heel, turning to face Ilberd as he finally catches up with you, gun still raised.

“Goin’ the noble route, eh? Or have ya changed yer mind about seein’ Lord Varis?” Ilberd questions, gun still in hand.

“I’m staying behind to burn this place to the ground.” Gesturing to the reactor, you let your rage fill you. “As soon as I walked in here, I felt such sorrow. I felt so incredibly disturbed. I could hear people crying out to me,” you nearly choke up, but press forward. “I can feel them. The souls of all those experimented on...of the ancient that gave birth to Zenos. Their souls are not at peace, and neither will mine be if I don’t set this place on fire!”

“Hearin’ voices?” Ilberd balks, edging into a chuckle. “Goin’ mad, huh? I swear you descendants--” he’s not even given the chance to finish the sentence as you deck him in the face, sending him skidding across the walkway. You throw yourself atop him, wrenching his gun from his hand and tossing it elsewhere to where he won’t find it any time soon. “Get off me you bitch!”

“Not until you pay for killing Raubahn!” You snap, socking him in the jaw one more time before he manages to throw you off him, your back slamming into the rails of the walkway. Your own gun flies from your hand from the force of your fall, slipping out of sight. Grunting, you quickly get your feet to dodge his kick for your head, bringing your fists up to guard as he begins to fight.

Ilberd was clearly trained, giving you very few openings to land another hit. With the walkway being narrow, it left you little room to try and get a different angle on him, adding to your mounting frustration. While he was not as big as Zenos, he was still bulky, but made up for it by being insanely quick.

“I don’t have time to do this forever, little girl.” He seethes, throwing another punch toward your head but you block him easily enough. “Shoulda killed you when I had the chance. You still owe me quite a few men.”

Brows furrowed in confusion, you find yourself too curious to ignore his bait. “What are you talking about?”

“You tellin’ me you don’t remember years ago, how you murdered a ton of men in cold blood?” He asks incredulously. “We got wind of a lil’ ancient girl hiding out in some shitty apartment. Lord Varis gave me the clear to try and sniff her out.” Throwing a hard punch, you nearly miss the chance to block it, skidding back on your feet from the force. “Sent some of my best men to ensure they nabbed ya. Only to find that little blonde girl went and hid you somewhere my men couldn’t find.”

“One of ‘em was smart enough to try and not leave empty handed, and took the blonde girl as consolation for Lord Varis. But then you…” he growls, giving you a nasty kick to your stomach, sending you rolling to the floor. “You leapt out your hiding spot and murdered all my men, screaming like a banshee. Every police report said you killed every single one of those men without mercy.”

You dodge his foot as he tries to stomp on your head, rolling under the railing and dropping to the floor below, tucking into a roll so you don’t break your legs. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for men who came with the intent to kidnap me and hand me to their crazy ass boss?! “I was doing the world a favor by killing those men.” You roar as you watch him leap down to the same level as you, his sclera going black, irises going red.

The Resonant.

“You’re gonna regret sayin’ that.” He whispers.

Just like Zenos, he’s insanely fast, too fast for normal eyes to keep up with. However, he’s still slower, lacking Zenos’ incredible speed. For what he lacks in speed, he makes up for in sheer power, blocking one punch of his making you cry out in pain. Backing away from him you clutch your hand, praying that none of the bones within are broken. I’m in trouble, you think. So much for no confrontation.

“You better hope there’s something of you left for me to even give Lord Varis.” Ilberd threatens, cracking his knuckles with a smirk.

“Bullshit,” you scoff, shaking the pain from your hand. You can still feel everything. That’s a good sign at least. “Much as he hates my guts he wouldn’t suffer to lose such good research material...not when I have his lovely grandson growing inside me right now.” You can’t help but taunt. It’s a huge gamble, but you’re hoping he buys it.

“Still holdin’ on to the bastard, are ya?” Ilberd grins, cracking the joints in his neck. “An easy fix. One good punch and it’s good as dead. Then Varis can give Zenos a little brother--”

Snagging him by the hair, you bring his face to your knee, uncaring of the bloody mess of his nose breaking on your shin. Your tattoo glows brightly on the back of your neck as you slam Ilberd into the floor, hard enough to feel the vibrations in your feet. You move to crush his head beneath your foot but he rolls out the way, brushing blood from his face, eyes redder than before.

“I’d rather die than let that monster put his hands on me again.” You snarl, feeling the power of the Echo rush through your veins as you pursue Ilberd, putting yourself on even ground with him at last. You’re both blurs to anyone who would watch with normal eyes, chest heaving as you fight to live, fight for both of you to live.

Even with the Echo’s help, Ilberd is not going down easy. Whatever the Resonant has done to him has made him not just stronger and faster, but somehow extremely resilient. It feels like hitting stone, hurting your hands and wearing you down much faster than intended. Ilberd seems to notice your frustration, grinning as he manages to slam you into the ground. “Thought your lil’ ‘gift’ was gonna give you the upper hand, huh?” He cackles, kicking you roughly in the ribs.

You can feel something crack, whimpering in pain as you try to will the strength in your limbs to stand. “Bet you only fought Zenos’ Resonant, huh?” Ilberd continues, taking measured steps toward you. “Betcha didn’t think Lord Varis could improve on it, didya? That he could make someone stronger, faster, and tougher.” Crouching down, he snags you by the hair, ignoring your cry of pain as he drags you up to his face. “Why, I feel invincible.” He laughs, spitting in your face for good measure.

Dropping you again, he moves to kick your stomach, but you quickly flip to your side, arms protecting your abdomen. You cry out in agony, praying that he won’t follow through on that threat he made earlier. “Makes you wonder, huh? I sure as hell wasn’t a descendant from an ancient, yet through pure science Varis made me stronger than his own son.” he boasts, pausing his abuse of you to run a hand through his hair. “Doesn’t mean we can’t experiment on ya anyway. We learned so much from Zenos’ mother, no reason we can’t do the same to you.”

You don’t dare mask the absolute loathing you feel in this very moment, this complete disregard for life that this monster before you spews. “You’re sick.” you spit, groaning with the effort to even speak.

“Says who?” He laughs, giving you a nudge with his boot.

Fight.

“Says me.” you cough out, eyes falling closed. Would this really be how it ended?

Fight.

“You’re lucky Lord Varis needs ya alive, bitch.” Ilberd growls, shoving you roughly with his boot to roll you onto your stomach. “Let me take care of business, and we’ll get ya on back to the lab.”

Why do you not fight?!

You would not let it end here.

You did not come this far to let pain stop you. Not when so many people were depending on you.

You would fight.

Strength renewed, your tattoo pulses brightly as the pain becomes an afterthought, Echo induced adrenaline coursing through your body as you leap to your feet and deliver a spinning kick to Ilberd, throwing him off balance. Catching him by the collar before he can fall, you hit him with an uppercut, feeling his teeth clack together from the force of your blow, finishing him off a solid right hook.

With a growl he frees himself from your grip and socks you in the jaw, smirking as he does so, fading as he realizes you haven’t even recoiled in pain. Whatever pain receptors you have are blocked off as you give him a sadistic smirk, eyes crazed as you don’t even bother to peel his fist off your face. Using his shock against him, you grab him by the collar again and flip him over your shoulder, taking great satisfaction in the way his body slams into the ground.

You pursue him like a woman possessed, nimbly dodging his punches and fearlessly blocking his kicks, feeling no pain no matter how hard he kicks. Though Ilberd doesn’t give up, he’s clearly unnerved by your reaction to pain, or rather your lack of reaction. His eyes go wide with fear at your manic smile-- when had you started smiling?

“Cat got your tongue, Ilberd?” you giggle even as you throw him into the ground face first, stomping hard on his arm, grinning like a cat as he cries out in pain as you hear the bone break. “I gotta say, you get to have some really fun battles when you can’t feel pain...not that you’d know that.” You stamp down on his leg, hearing that break too, enjoying his cries of pain far more than you should.

“A friend of mine said I should go to therapy, you know. I should’ve listened. Because I’m getting far too much enjoyment out of this than is healthy.” You titter, stepping over his body, picking up an unbroken arm and wrenching it backward. “What do ya say I break a bone in your body for every year you robbed Raubahn of, huh?”

“S-Spare me…” Ilberd begs, even as you twist his arm painfully.

“Why should I?” You hiss, wrenching his arm from its socket. “You took everything from me.”

“On the contrary…”

You don’t turn in time to dodge a dart landing itself in your arm, blue liquid draining into your bloodstream before you can yank it out. Your eyes land on Varis who drops a small dart gun from his hand, a smirk plastered on his ugly face. “I believe I took everything from you.”

You try to fight against it but you collapse to the ground, the destabilizer making quick work of dumping you on the floor.

Once he’s sure you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, Varis begins his descent down the stairs to the main floor where you and Ilberd lay immobile. “I have to say, you had me worried for a moment, Honey. Your little ragtag group of misfits almost undid years worth of planning in one day.” He muses, complete with a slow clap. “Hiding the assistant chief of police, managing to convince Garlond to have some backbone, even swiping an access card off my son to let you roam the facility like the wild animal you are…” he sighs, coming to a stop at the base of the stairs. “Why, it's something right out of a commoner movie.”

“My lord,” Ilberd coughs, sounding relieved, “you’ve come.”

“Yes…” Varis drones, beginning his walk toward the two of you again. You watch as he reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out of a syringe of sickly green fluid, something that makes Ilberd go rigid.

“M-My lord,” he stammers, trying to will strength into his limbs. “P-Please,”

“You had served me well up until this point, Ilberd. And from what I observed, the Resonant has shown significant improvement,” Varis praises, though his expression remains disappointed. “...unfortunately, you also know how I feel about failure.” You watch as Varis kneels slightly and sticks Ilberd with the syringe, injecting him with the unknown fluid. “Believe me when I say it’s not personal, Ilberd.” Varis huffs.

“M-My lord,” Ilberd stutters, but his speech grows slurred. Your eyes widen as you realize just what it was he injected him with. “I can still--”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as his body goes deathly still.

Varis continues to look down his nose at Ilberd’s now lifeless body before finally sliding his gaze to you. Surprisingly, he doesn’t look angry or hateful. In fact, he looks rather pleased. “How does it feel, Honey? To have gone through all this trouble only to land yourself in my hands, yet again.”

“Fuck you.” you spit, trying to find the strength to stand up.

Seeing your struggle, he gives a deep laugh, giving you a nudge with his foot. “I’ve learned my lesson this time, my dear. I made sure to make an extra special strain of destabilizer to keep on my person just in case you decided to pay any traitorous visits.”

Stepping around you, he nudges your body once again. “At least you are mostly intact...once your comrades all expelled from my research facility and put on trial to be killed in my new society, I believe I’ll be returning for you and we can pick up where we left off last time.” he grins darkly, kneeling down to brush hair from your face.

“Get away from me!” You scream, tears streaming down your face. He couldn’t win. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Everything had been going so well--

“It’s too late for that now, Honey.” Varis growls, yanking hard on your hair. “Far too late,”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as he cries out in pain, clutching his shoulder as he staggers back in pain. Blood leaks from the wound, his eyes searching out whoever landed the shot. “Who’s there?!”

“Your son.”

Zenos steps from the shadow, holding the gun Ilberd had been toting earlier. Unlike his father, he lets loose his rage, blue eyes staring his father down. Tossing the gun to the ground, he continues making his way toward you. He’s dressed as if his father had sent him on a hit, sword strapped to his side. “I’d have shot another for good measure, but unfortunately there was only one round left.”

Somehow that statement only makes Varis smirk, backing away as his son advances. “Oh? And you wasted your one round not making a killing shot?” he cackles. “Because you know your place, my son.”

At that, Zenos visibly hesitates.

You’ve never seen this kind of hesitation in Zenos before. Never heard this tone from Varis before. The tone of a parent disappointed with their child. The hesitation of a child who knows they’ve upset their parents.

“Really, my son, I give you the world as you wished it and this is how you repay me?” Varis grunts, barely able to keep himself upright. “You take the side of this savage? When I had given you life, given you a home...anything you asked for, I gave it. And you repay me like this? Do you want to let me down, my beautiful child? Do you want me to hate you?”

Zenos falters a bit more at that, no longer able to meet his father’s gaze, and suddenly it all becomes crystal clear.

“Don’t listen to him, Zenos.” you wheeze, begging silently for him to meet your eyes. “Look at me. Do not listen to him.”

“Silence, wench!” Varis hisses, gaining enough strength to press his foot to your neck.

“Your father is a master manipulator, Zenos,” you continue, staring hard into his blue eyes. “Anytime you told me you never cared for what he did, that you wanted nothing to do with him...you were lying. He had manipulated you into wanting his approval. His love.”

“I said be quiet!” Varis snarls, pressing his foot down harder. You can see the conflict in Zenos’ eyes, looking between you and his father.

“That’s why you let him experiment on you. Why you killed for him. He lied to you didn’t he? He told you that if you did those things for him, he’d love you, didn’t he?” You press on, voice rising with each question.

You whimper as Varis kneels to grab you by the hair, ugly face twisted in a scowl. “Be quiet! Do not listen to her, Zenos!”

“He never loved you!” You roar, ignoring how Varis’ hands wrap around your throat. “You were always just a tool to him! But I love you, Zenos! I’ve always loved you--” You can’t finish as Varis’ grip on your windpipe begins to constrict, unable to even bring your hands up to pry them off. “Zenos...I...love,”

The pressure on your neck is released as Zenos pries his father off you, your lungs dragging in air desperately as Zenos drags you away from Varis. Pulling the dart from your shoulder he tosses it elsewhere, shifting to hold you in his arms. An immediate sense of safety washes over you as he cradles you close, hesitating for one moment longer, but turning his back on his father.

“Zenos. Zenos!” Varis roars at the retreating back of his son. “I will not allow you to disgrace me this way! I am your father!”

“That may be so,” Zenos calls over his shoulder, still moving forward. “But I have someone who actually loves me, now.”

Varis yells in his rage, forcing himself to stand to his feet. “Z-Zenos,” you murmur, watching as Varis reaches into his suit. “Zenos, we need to run,” you try to urge, watching as his father pulls out a shiny, vial full of red liquid. Zenos turns just in time to see Varis jab the vial into his arm, everything going still for a moment until Varis’ eyes bleed black the two of you watching in horror as Varis stands to his feet with renewed strength. Red pupils laser in on the two of you as Varis laughs madly while his sclera grows black.

“I won’t allow you to leave--” he clutches his throat, all in the room confused into stillness at how warped his voice sounds, watching as he tries to clear his throat. Your eyes widen as his hand begins to bulge and become deformed, growing larger and larger until the phenomena begins to travel up the rest of his arm. “What’s happening--”

Whatever is happening seems to cause a chain reaction, Varis’ body bulging all over the place as he transforms into a hideous monster. His skin turns red as he continues to grow in size, black wings sprouting from his back as huge fangs grow from his teeth. His hand transforms into claws large enough to hold your entire body in their grip, his mouth now big enough to swallow you whole as he finishes his transformation.

“Zenos, we need to leave,” you advise quietly as possible, Zenos nodding as he begins to make a break for the exit.

“No!” Varis’ voice booms, shaking the entire room. Before Zenos can even run a few steps, the shadow of Varis’ arm looms over you, Zenos just barely able to stop his momentum before getting crushed by Varis’ fist. “I will not allow you to leave!” his atrocious voice booms, fist curling to try and strike again.

You shriek as Zenos’ eyes glow red as he activates the Resonant, using his enhanced speed to dodge another blow. With you in his arms it’s still hard to maneuver, Zenos clutching you tight as he tries to make it to the exit.

“I’ll kill you!” Varis roars, slamming a fist against the ground, the shockwave jolting the two of you hard enough that Zenos loses his grip on you and you fall from his arms. “I will not allow you to destroy my life’s work!”

It hurts when you land on the metal floor, praying you don’t have a concussion while you’re at it. Everything still feels intact, but gods if you don’t hurt something fierce. You couldn’t move if you wanted and Varis seems to know it, trying to make a dive for you but stopped by his son who’s finally drawn his sword. Zenos slices a deep gash in the monster, your ears ringing as it lets loose a squeal of pain. “You traitor! After I’ve given you everything!”

“You’ve given me nothing!” Zenos snaps back, dodging a swipe of his father’s spiked tail. “You took everything from me! My bodyguards! My mother!” His golden hair flies behind him, whipping wildly with every movement as he lands on the monster’s back, preparing to run him through until he gets shaken off. You cry out as Varis manages to get ahold of Zenos long enough to slam him into the floor, but a quick swipe of his blade at one of the claws crushing him has Varis reeling back again, right into--

“Zenos, watch out!” You scream, but it’s too late to do anything. You can do nothing but watch as Varis’ horrid body slams into the reactor, causing it to become unstable due to his size. The alarms blare louder before as the glass breaks, the aether trapped within bursting out in all directions. You can feel it rush over your skin, sensitive to it as the energy is returned to the life stream. Even as the alarms grow louder and an automated voice warns of impending meltdown, you feel a sense of peace.

“NO!” Varis bellows, picking up shards of his former reactor in his hands. “My life’s work! My dreams!”

Using this window of distraction, Zenos quickly bounds over to you and scoops you up again, though not as easily as before, visibly exhausted. Making a break for the stairs, you shudder as Varis continues to roar in outrage, finally pulling himself out of his mourning long enough to realize you’re on the move. “I will not allow you to escape!” His voice thunders, warped and mangled and no longer his own.

With a single blow, he destroys the stairs, sending the two of you falling back to the ground. Zenos winces as he lands back on the floor, violet eyes still frantically searching for an exit.

“I will see the both of you dead!” Varis booms, swinging his arms wildly throughout the room, tearing at the ceiling and walls. “I will bury you alive and emerge victorious!”

Zenos gives you one last glance before he grits his teeth and puts you down again, drawing his sword as he faces his father. “I’ll get us out of here.” he whispers, even as the world falls down around you. Before you can get a word in edgewise he’s launched himself at Varis, making a clean slice of his blade across Varis’ arm.

Fight!

You cry as you watch Zenos face off against his father, and for once, this is the first time you’ve seen him in a fight where he doesn’t smile.

Fight!

It couldn’t end here.

Why do you not fight?!

“It won’t end here.”

Gasping, a familiar figure in a white robe trimmed in gold appears before you. Fluffy, lavender hair spills over their shoulders, red mask in place with only their lips visible. Turning, Elidibus faces you, quickly picking you up in his arms before turning back to the hellish scene before him. “Young Zenos!” he calls, red eyes flicking to him immediately. “We must leave!”

“Elidibus?” Varis snarls, moving to punch at you but Eldiibus dodges out of the way, brows visibly furrowed even beneath his mask. “You were an Ancient? All along?”

“What I am does not matter to you, vermin.” Elidibus bristles, fluffy hair standing on edge as he dodges another blow. The facility groans and shakes, threatening to fall apart at any second. “Young Zenos,” Elidibus begins again, dodging another of Varis’ punches, “we must hurry--”

“Get Honey out of here.”

You can’t believe what you’re hearing.

“Like hell I’m leaving without you!” you shriek as Elidibus dodges another swipe, Zenos quickly gaining his father’s attention by cutting off a chunk of his tail. Varis’ shrill scream rattles the facility, turning his attention back to trying to kill his son.

“Young Zenos,” Elidibus tries again, avoiding bits of falling debris. You had to leave, now.

“Get out of here, Elidibus,” Zenos calls, after giving Varis another stab with his blade. “I need to hold him off so you can escape.” He grunts, pulling his blade free from the beast. “So that my love can escape.”

No.

No, no, no.

Pursing his lips, you feel Elidibus grip you tight as dark magic begins to encircle you. “Elidibus!” You screech, screaming like a mad woman. “Zenos, don’t do this! I love you, please--”

“I could not think of a better way to die, Honey, other than by your hand,” Zenos breathes, giving you one last smile, “but I suppose fighting to save you will suffice.” Through speaking he launches himself at Varis once more, a genuine smile upon his face.

“You idiot!” You yell, wishing you had any strength left. “I need you! Your child needs you!”

The last you see of him is Zenos’ red eyes turning to you in shock before Elidibus whisks you away. Dark magic enfolds you and pulls you from the facility, sending you back to the surface.

“Elidibus! Elidibus! You have to go back,” you beg as Elidibus arrives at the surface, face pinched in regret even if it's only his jaw you can see. “Put me down and save him. Go back in there,”

“Honey!” you hear Merlwyb call, as the facility burns from the outside. Yugiri and her soldiers begin to run over to see what the fuss is about as Merlwyb continues to yell at you. “Gods woman, you scared me,”

“Put me down Elidibus, go save him,”

Just as Elidibus seems to consider it, you see his violet eyes widen from beneath his mask. Shoving you into Merlwyb’s arms, he quickly turns and faces the research facility, arms upraised as blue magic spreads from his fingers, erecting a barrier. “Everyone get down!”

The facility explodes, a shockwave bursting from below all the way up to the surface, sending debris flying. You can feel the heat of fire nearly hot enough to burn on your skin, hear the sound of groaning metal as the structure collapses in on itself.

Everyone shields their eyes as a wellspring of aether bursts forth out of control, sweeping over everything in the vicinity. Uncovering your eyes, you watch as Elidibus marches forward and calms the flow, teeth gnashed together as he tries to redirect the aether back underground. The earth begins to ward as strange shards of aether begin to form, the ground quaking beneath your feet as cracks begin to form. “Not again,” he grunts, hair whipping wildly about his face as his power calms the spring. “These shards will not pay for our mistakes!” he roars, giving one last push to quiet the stream of aether, restoring peace to the area.

The barrier falls, having protected you from the bulk of the explosion, everyone looking around in a mix of awe and shock at what they had seen. Already you hear sirens in the distance. You’re distantly aware of Merlwyb questioning you, on how you could possibly do some thing so wreckless and so stupid.

But you don’t hear her.

“He’s gone.”

Merlwyb stops her tirade long enough to register just what it was you had said. “He? You mean Varis?”

“Yes,” Elidibus cuts in, moving to take you into his arms, “Varis is slain. But only because young Zenos sacrificed himself to allow us to escape.” he whispers, burying his face into your hair in an attempt to comfort you or perhaps needing comfort himself. “The aether that Varis had consumed had warped his body beyond recognition; his toll for messing with things he did not fully understand. Things that we did not fully understand…”

“He’s gone…” you whimper over and over, staining Elidibus’ robes with your tears. Zenos’ shocked expression is imprinted on your mind, and you keep opening and closing your eyes as if you’ll finally wake up from this nightmare. Each time you do, Elidibus is still there holding you tightly, and Merlwyb is rattling off orders through tears at seeing how broken and defeated you look.

Elidibus carries you in his arms as he changes his appearance back to normal as the emergency services show up, denying all questioning until you are properly seen to. He sticks to your side as a silent protector, regret shining in how tightly he clenches his jaw.

Cid arrives in a rush, practically falling over himself to get to you, having heard the worst, ready to give Elidibus a piece of his mind until Merlwyb cuts in and explains all that had occurred in the final moments of the Aetherochemical Research Facility. News vans arrive in record time, Cid and Merlwyb quickly garnering their attention as Elidibus carries you to the closest ambulance.

Kugane is safe.

Varis zos Galvus is no more.

But what does it matter?

Zenos is gone.

[lady-wallace]

“Pinned Down” (Febuwhump Day 4: “Impaling”)

@febuwhump​ Prompt: Day Four “Impaling”

Fandom: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency

Synopsis: A fight ends with Joseph is a very dire position. Luckily Caesar is there to get him through it.

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Read on Ao3

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(Also check out my Ko-Fi, if you enjoy my stories! I also do fic and art commissions ^_^)

~~~~~~~

"Jojo, watch your back!"

Caesar's sharp shout had Joseph spinning around, barely dodging as another of the Pillar Men's zombies flew down from the rafters, preparing to take him out from above. He spun the knife he was using, taking a breath and infusing the blade with hamon before slamming it into the zombie's chest, pushing it back with a foot to the midsection.

"I've got it," Joseph replied to Caesar with a grin as the older man rolled his eyes and sent a vicious bubble launcher toward another zombie.

"Just keep your focus, idiota. I'll take the others here. Make sure those two who dashed out of here don't get away."

"On it," Joseph said and bolted away, boots pounding up the stairs. They were currently in an old house that the surrounding people had said began to have strange sounds coming out of it nightly. They thought it was haunted, but Joseph and Caesar had gone to investigate it, and found that it was actually some of the Pillar Men's minions who had been causing havoc in town, responsible for several disappearances.

Thus, the two hamon warriors in training felt duty bound to take out the whole house full of them.

Also, they had been spotted so they didn't really have much of a choice.

Joseph caught sight of the zombies he had gone after up ahead. They were currently prying at a shuttered window in an attempt to get out.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he demanded, brandishing his knife and also pulling out his clackers, beginning to charge them with hamon, working up momentum.

The zombies spun around the lunged at him. Joseph swung his clackers and took one of them out.

Unfortunately, the other was already on him, throwing itself at Joseph. The young Brit lashed out and slashed the zombie across the chest before he hit the floor with a resounding crack…

And kept going.

It took a second for Joseph to realize he was no longer on solid ground, and then he slammed into something below, the air getting knocked from his lungs, and everything going black.

~~~~~~~

He didn't know how long he was out. Maybe just a second, or maybe longer, but when he blinked his eyes open blearily, he realized he was lying on his back, staring up at a jagged hole in the ceiling where light flowed through.

How the hell had that happened? The house was old, but the floor must have been really bad off for him to have simply fallen through like that.

He could still hear the sounds of fighting and knew he had to get back up to help Caesar. He took a deep breath, and sat up.

Except he didn't even get past the first step.

Joseph felt an excruciating pain rip through his chest and abdomen as he tried to fill his lungs and reached down to feel the spot the pain was radiating from, right under his ribs…

His hand hit something hard.

It took Joseph a second to even make sense of what he was feeling. Even when he glanced down, it didn't really register what he was seeing except that it was bad. He touched the object with a shaking hand and even that sent another wave of agony through him, forcing a gasp out of his lungs.

There was a metal rebar coming out of his side. He didn't know how it had gotten there, but there it was, sharp and covered in his blood as it kept him pinned to the ground and the debris from the floor he had fallen through.

Joseph started to panic. His chest tightened, and his breathing stuttered. That only made the rebar shift inside of him, which caused more injury in turn. Joseph felt the sudden need to cough, and did so, whimpering from the pain that shot though him as he tasted blood in the back of his throat. He reached a cautious hand up and wiped his lower lip, finding blood there as well.

"Damn," he whispered, shaking even more.

"Jojo!"

Caesar's voice suddenly shouted from above and Joseph looked up, instantly relieved to see his friend peeking through the hole, eyes wide. "What are you doing down there? Are you all right?"

"Cae-Caesar," Joseph gulped before another cough burst from his chest and he let out a sharp cry, his breathing so erratic he was seeing stars.

Caesar seemed to see that something was wrong, and he jumped down landing lightly, before he stepped over with a cautious frown. "What's wrong, Jojo?"

He stopped, as he finally moved out of the light and it illuminated the rebar that was currently impaling Joseph.

"Dio mio," Caesar breathed as he rushed the last few feet forward, and fell on his knees next to Joseph, grabbing his flailing arm and slipping his other hand under the younger man's head. "What happened?"

"F-fell through th-the f-floor," Joseph gulped, swallowing down more blood. He hiccupped back another cough and watched blood pool around the rebar in his side, feeling woozy and nauseous. Caesar seemed to see he was really struggling and squeezed the back of his neck.

"Easy, you need to calm down, Jojo."

Joseph's wandering hand latched onto Caesar's jacket, tugging. "C-Calm down? That's rich. You don't have a-a rod through your bloody side!" The outburst caused his lungs to spasm again and Joseph choked on more blood, eyes blowing wide as he felt like he was drowning.

"Jojo!" Caesar snapped, squeezing his wrist tightly. "I told you to calm now! It's damaged your lung, which means you won't be able to use your hamon to help free yourself. You need to stay still and let me handle this."

Joseph was still trembling, toes curling from the pain, doing his best to fight against the panic of not being able to breathe. "Wha-what're you gonna do?" Joseph croaked.

Caesar carefully laid him back as flat as possible and leaned over to inspect the rebar. He cautiously slid a hand beneath Joseph's back to feel the spot the metal rod had gone in. Joseph's breath hitched in a bitten off whimper.

"You can still move your legs, right?" Caesar inquired.

Joseph twitched his feet in answer. Caesar bit his lip as he looked around the room.

Joseph started to get annoyed. "Hey! You going to help or—or what?" he demanded shakily.

Caesar narrowed his eyes at the other warrior, but there was none of his usual annoyance. If anything, Joseph thought he looked worried.

"Look, I can get you off of it, Jojo, but it's not going to be pleasant. Maybe…maybe I should go get help. Lisa Lisa might know something—"

"No!" Joseph cut in quickly. He didn't really want to admit it, but the thought of being left alone like this was terrifying. Especially if more of the zombies showed up…

Caesar's face softened and he nodded. "Okay, then what do you want me to do?"

Joseph bit his lip, a breath shuddering in his throat. "D-do it. Get it out of me. I—I trust you."

Caesar sat up straighter, his face pale, but determined. "Okay, Jojo. But I warn you, I am not very practiced with hamon healing. If this goes wrong…"

"I could bleed out by the time you get back anyway," Joseph pointed out. "M-my lung might collapse soon. Just…get it over with, okay? Like ripping off a plaster."

Caesar let out a short huff and nodded. "Fine. And I know this is a lot to ask, but try not to tense up. It will make it worse."

Joseph took a wet, shaky breath and tried to go as limp as possible as Caesar bent over him, hands under his back. One above and below the rod.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath and hamon suddenly appeared around the rod, creating a barrier between the metal and Joseph's flesh in an attempt to make the passage smoother. It tingled, and Joseph's breath fluttered.

"Caesar…" he tried but his friend had already started moving.

Caesar, to his credit, was swift and efficient, heaving Joseph up and off the rebar in one motion. That didn't stop the utter agony that crashed through Joseph.

He screamed, arching his back, feeling like fire was tearing through his middle.

"Jojo!" Caesar shouted, grabbing his flailing arms, trying to keep him from injuring himself further. "Easy!"

Something gripped his lung and squeezed. Joseph gasped for breath, choking as more blood, frothy this time, seeped from his mouth. He grabbed hold of Caesar, eyes wide in alarm.

Caesar's own eyes went wide. He hurriedly settled Joseph on the floor and pressed a hand against his chest, forcing hamon into him. Joseph fought, the hamon feeling like electricity shooting through him. He choked out a pitiful whimper.

"Jojo, stop fighting it!" Caesar commanded sharply, reaching up to grip his shoulder with his other hand. "I'm trying to help you, just relax!"

Joseph did his best, and as he fought against the panic, he did finally feel Caesar's hamon working. His lung felt less tight and he could breathe. It was still painful, but he could get air in without coughing blood.

Caesar finally pulled back and Joseph slumped fully on the floor.

His eyes fluttered, feeling extremely exhausted as he watched Caesar yank his coat off and start binding it around Joseph's middle. He felt sticky, there was a pool of blood under his back and his whole torso was drenched in red. He swallowed hard.

"Caesar," he mumbled.

"It's okay, Jojo, I'm getting you help. Just hang on," Caesar told him.

Joseph wasn't sure he would be able to. He was so tired. All he could think of was his blood dripping away. It seemed to have really started flowing in earnest the instant the rod was out. He felt the electric warmth of Caesar's hamon again, but was too tired to care. The last thing he was aware of was Caesar lifting him off the ground and the weightlessness finally put Joseph over the edge. His head fell back and he succumbed to the encroaching blackness.

~~~~~~~

The next time Joseph woke, he was back on Air Supplena. Someone was humming, and he felt the swipe of a warm cloth against his face. He blinked his eyes open and through the bleariness saw Suzie bending over him.

She gasped softly as she saw his eyes open. "Jojo! You're awake!"

He managed a grin and a wink. "Looks like it. No need to stop on my account."

She blushed and ducked away out the door. Joseph sighed and lay back staring at the ceiling, flashes of the events that had led up to this crashing over him. He shuddered and brought a hand up to press against his side, feeling thick bandages there.

"So, you're awake."

He looked up to see that Caesar had come into the room, Suzie hovering behind him with fresh bandages.

Joseph managed a small smile. "Yeah, thanks to you, I'm still here."

"Hm," the Italian looked like he was fighting a smile. "It appears I need to try harder to keep you from doing idiotic things."

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Joseph snipped and Caesar's lips quirked up in a smile, shaking his head. Joseph gulped. "How bad is it anyway?"

"You'll recover," Caesar promised. "It's mostly closed now, but you'll have to rest for a couple more days."

Joseph sighed and lay back more firmly in bed. "Well, I suppose it won't be too bad. Kind of nice to be waited on—agh!"

Caesar tossed a bottle of pain pills at him and they bounced off his forehead. Joseph glowered, rubbing his head as he grabbed the bottle.

"There you go. Time for your medicine," Caesar told him, glaring at Suzie as she went to fuss over Joseph. "He's not hurt, stop feeding his pathetic whining."

"Not hurt, I am actually an invalid!" Joseph pouted. "You said as much."

Suzie smiled. "It's okay, Jojo, I'll get you what you need. Let me get you some water so you can take your medicine.

Caesar rolled his eyes as she skipped off and Joseph turned to him, sticking his tongue out. "See? That's how you treat a wounded warrior."

"Oh shut up," Caesar grunted.

Joseph sobered. "Really though, Caesar, thank you."

The Italian sighed but nodded. "I'm just glad you're okay." He held up a finger. "But I am not waiting on you hand and foot."

Joseph shrugged. "That's fine. Suzie's prettier anyway."

Caesar huffed a laugh and reached down to ruffle Joseph's hair, causing him to snarl in annoyance. "Just be good to her. Or I'll kick your invalid ass."

Joseph pouted but lay back, relaxed, as Suzie came back in with water for him. He really was grateful to have such good friends watching out for him.

[danwhobrowses]

Why ‘The Karate Kid Part II’ Deserves More Respect

So guess what film I finished watching today? Of course, the Karate Kid franchise is considered iconic mainly for its first entry; Wax on Wax off, Skeleton fights, Sweep the Leg and the Crane Kick all cemented its legacy that allowed Cobra Kai to also be such a success. But imagine my shock when the approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes for Part II is 45% - 21% lower than the Jaden Smith ‘The Karate Kung Fu Kid’ version (and Part III is scored 15%, which is also super harsh but hard to debate outside of the magnificence of Terry Silver). Originally this was just gonna be a general post of how much I enjoyed retreading Part II, but upon seeing that score I had to give it my ‘Deserves More Respect’ posts.

It is an off-chance, but if you haven’t watched this film there will be spoilers within, I encourage you to watch it before reading, and maybe watch it again if you have so it’s fresh in the mind

Let’s start with a controversial point shall we? There are several parts where Part II is actually better than the original. Now I know! There’s a lot about the original which is iconic, but nostalgia does blind you to other shortcomings and while it’s easy to sell the first part because of its mystique, a sequel has the added pressure of rising above and developing on old and new themes set by the predecessor. The Premise In case you decided against refreshing your memory. Karate Kid Part II starts with a recap of Part I, a bit of content that was meant to be Part I’s final scene (in the script, not for filming) and then a timeskip. Ali with an i is gone - brutally dumping Daniel for some Football Player before Senior Prom and after crashing his car, Daniel’s mother is in Fresno for work and Miyagi has received a letter from his home Okinawa in news of his father’s fading health. The stage is set for Daniel and the audience to learn more about the iconic Mr. Miyagi and the life he left behind. Okay, so there is bad in this film Part II deserves respect, but it’s not perfect. It definitely gets messy near the end with Daniel’s antagonist Chozen, he mainly took beats from Johnny Lawrence in physically confronting Daniel when he could with a bunch of no-named goons and he fought pretty similarly to Johnny in catch counters and leg strikes. The opening recap did take a lot of time too, while the ending remained somewhat abrupt having just beaten up Chozen to embrace Kumiko (who had a delayed recovery after being punched once). While not bad, a fair amount of retreaded content felt like downgrades of the original; Chozen and Sato lacked the charisma of Johnny and Kreese, the crane kick was far more impressive than the drum technique and the Tournament setting was grander than the O-Bon festival. But, there are Iconic Moments in this film too Part I may have the Crane Kick and the Skeletons and the Training and Sweep the Leg. But people may forget that Part II had awesome moments too.

Like Daniel chopping through 6 Sheets of Ice! If that isn’t one hell of a power play I don’t know what is. It is a moment genuinely impressive in and outside of the 80s cheese universe of Karate Kid, and it gets referenced in Season 2 of Cobra Kai.

Also referenced in Season 2 is Miyagi vs Kreese. While this is the intended ending for Part I, it certainly acted better at the start of Part II, especially given that is foreshadows the situation Daniel finds himself in at the end of the movie. This moment is equally iconic as it completely encapsulates the character of both senseis - Kreese the confident brute brought to a sniveling mouse when size and power failed him and Miyagi the cool-headed and vastly more intelligent fighter still with the cheeky prankster lightness to him as he honks the scared shitless Kreese on the nose. Perfect.

While I did want to cite the Tea Ceremony as well I think the more iconic moment for Part II had to be Miyagi chopping the log during the storm. The storm itself is a very well-done scene which unmasks several characters in the face of adversity. True tension, worry and stakes are sold as the village are in danger of the cruel whims of nature, an act which is all too real for Sato when the house he’s in collapses on him in the calm before his scheduled deathmatch with Miyagi. Not only is this again some great foreshadowing by the rule of three (Daniel asking if Miyagi can chop a log like Sato is doing with a banner and then Miyagi and Sato meeting and seeing Sato fail to chop a log) it proves a pivotal point where Sato turns from aggrieved antagonist to repenting ally. A great show of power and friendship as Miyagi metaphorically breaks the rift between their friendship that weighs Sato down. Okay, we hear you, but how is it better? I do have to preface that I do still love Part I, I have to because in pointing out where Part II is better I have to pick at Part I’s faults. While the ending is messy Part II definitely has much better pacing, until the skeletons scene Part I doesn’t really pick up because it has to set up, Part II while it does recap doesn’t need to worry about it. Giving Miyagi the main plot was definitely Part II’s strongest suit. Part I profited from Miyagi being the ‘mysterious old teacher’ but learning a lot more about his humanity and history was engrossing and it allowed positive development for Miyagi and Daniel, especially their bond as a surrogate father and son when Daniel personally goes out of his way to support Miyagi on a very personal matter. The main characters maintain their charm as well, still a lovely array of life lessons in Part II more than just finding balance, Miyagi teaches Daniel through words and action on taking time to breathe, to refocus when imbalanced, to forgive rather than to harbour hate, mercy, selflessness and humbleness

“never put passion before principle. Even if win, you lose.” - Mr. Miyagi

The scenes involving Miyagi and his father were some of the most deep and emotive of the series up until Cobra Kai, some still haven’t been topped such as Miyagi’s dad’s first words to his son or when Daniel talked about when his father died.  And say what you will about Chozen, he does have a lot of Johnny vibes but a lot of the character we believed was Johnny due to nostalgia goggles was more fitting of Chozen’s manner. The story did a great job in making sure Chozen was always an asshole, at times Johnny did at least display honour and grace but Chozen was always sore about stuff and quick to claim dishonour even when he was in the wrong. Contrary to Johnny it’s more about his family than it is about a girl, which allowed a lot more freedom in the plot. Whether you felt Elizabeth Shue’s Ali with an i was prettier than Tamlyn Tomita’s Kumiko is up to personal preference, but the messy-haired Kumiko definitely had a slightly improved presence in Part II than Ali did, with actual focus on her own feelings outside of attraction to Daniel, her ambition to become a dancer directly linking to the O-Bon Festival - which in turn related to the Drum technique - as well as the delicately beautiful Tea Ceremony scene and actually contributing to the final fight (granted Ali wouldn’t be allowed to). Also Daniel didn’t try to eat her face which is a general improvement to the romantic subplot, extra applause has to go to Tomita here too because this was legitimately her first role - Shue had her second so that’s impressive too - and both women had good careers going forward. The increased stakes definitely worked in the favour of Part II as well, as sequel culture is forced to do, but by moving to Okinawa (actually filmed in Hawaii) we opened the door to better suit Miyagi’s world while keeping Daniel the fish out of water. I can’t speak too much for appropriation because there is still kinda some ‘white saviour’ undertones but I didn’t feel like Japan was treated negatively in this light, its culture of the O-Bon Festival and the Tea Ceremony was treated with the utmost respect and explained without pandering, the flute music had definitely stepped up its game for the soundtrack as did the imagery. Can also appreciate that Daniel does go for the Crane kick when fighting Chozen but is parried. Added hat tip has to go to costuming too. A lot of costumes would have to have distinct Kamon such as Sato’s twin fish and Miyagi’s bonsai on a lot of their clothing

Between Sato and Miyagi the colours of their clothes often code their emotions towards each other, with Sato usually in grey and Miyagi in white or cream, when Sato and Miyagi prepare for death they are in black and when Sato wants forgiveness he moves to a lighter shade. While Part I also used black and white to differ Johnny and Daniel, Part II put Chozen and Daniel in the more Japanese-themed Red and Blue. While both men wear red, blue and whites at time, Chozen’s clothes almost devolve from the white he debuts in as his darker side comes out before flat out embracing yellow after his chance to prove his honour in the storm is refused (and he’s in white then), while Daniel often moves to Red or red tones even in his blue shirt. Kumiko also moves from white to blue, sometimes even purple, in set up to the final fight to have the primary colours stand out in the colourful crowd of the O-Bon festival, but even in the blue Kumiko had red to pair her connection with Daniel. Also her Yukata at the festival is just stunning, the Great Wave off Kanagawa print is a nice touch.

Anything else we should know? It might not be much else about the film itself I can tell you, but I do appreciate something I’m starting to call ‘The Rocky Connection’ when it comes to Karate Kid. Like Part I’s ‘You’re the Best (Around)’ was shortlisted for Rocky III, Part II’s song ‘Glory of Love’ was shortlisted for Rocky IV’s theme, losing to ‘Hearts on Fire’, Bill Conti also chose to score this film instead of Rocky IV. I like to pair this with Daniel’s Rocky-esque character, he has that same kind of swagger but a lot more naive and childlike. Martin Kove also gets a nod because those bleeding hands were legit, he had an accident on-set and the footage was kept for the final cut. Tamlyn Tomita wasn’t the only film debut for Part II, B.D. Wong of...well, several famous roles including but not limited to Shang in the animated Mulan, Dr. Wu in the Jurassic Park franchise, Hugo Strange in Gotham and many more, also had his debut here in a minor speaking role when he’s handing out flyers for the dance party to Kumiko and Daniel before the Ice Chopping Scene. So, why does it deserve respect A film that adds to a beloved character in a respectful fashion without having really any god awful moments does not deserve a 4.5/10 rating. It may not have as emphatic an ending or as great a villain but it has a captivating plot and a good pace, better stakes and much more emotionally driven and responsive scenes. A lot of effort and dedication went into this film to explore new dimensions of the main characters in a fashion which was enjoyable and at times heartwarming. And characters are given human moments, even Miyagi confesses himself not to be perfect and it keeps each character grounded. Even to this day parts of Part II are remembered fondly rather than the campness that Part III had outside of Terry Silver and his magnificent ponytail, the fondness also continues to reflect in Cobra Kai with homages and fan theories of Daniel going to Okinawa again and even re-encountering Chozen. Not to mention it grossed $113m on a $13m budget and got nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar (losing to Top Gun) Part II was a good and enjoyable film which deserves far more credit than to be rated this low, for that it deserves respect.

[sneezedarling]

One of a Kind- MacCready/m!Sole Sneezefic (Fallout 4)

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long but I’ve written it. If anyone has any Fallout 4 or other video game requests send ‘em in! Anyways I hope you guys enjoy some allergic!MacCready.

MacCready usually agreed with the judgement calls Sole made, they were mostly sound, logical and fair in his eyes. But sometimes Sole was too curious for his own good. They had been walking through Diamond City Market, trading their loot from their travels for supplies and ammo when a guard had commented on The Museum of Witchcraft and how strange it was.

MacCready had immediately groaned as he watched Sole’s emerald green eyes light up at the prospect. Sole had shoved last of his ammo into his bag and stopped the guard to ask a barrage of questions and mark the location on his map. As they left Diamond City, Sole was still studying his PipBoy intently to work out the fastest route there.

“We’re not seriously heading there, right?” MacCready groaned.

Sole glanced up at him, “Why not? Maybe we’ll find something cool.”

“Or we’ll walk for days and find a creepy, crumbling building,” MacCready counters

He finishes examining his PipBoy and smirks, “C’mon, Mac, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Adventure doesn’t bring in caps.”

“Hey, I’m paying you what are you complaining about?” Sole objects, with no real fire.

It had taken a few months, but they’ve finally gotten to the point where MacCready says more than just standard agreeance in conversation and Sole’s sarcasm and witty commentary has become a light-hearted distraction rather than a point of annoyance.

MacCready just sighs and begins walking in the direction of the museum because sole leads, and he follows, that’s the deal.

--------------------------------

It’s dusk when they approach the Museum of Witchcraft. It’s a large gothic building, looming and creepy by itself, but especially so in the fading light. MacCready glances at Sole who looks like a kid on Christmas and has to fight the smile working its way onto his face.

“C’mon, this is kinda cool,” he insists.

MacCready rolls his eyes, “Yeah, a big, creepy building, very inviting.”

Sole just grins and heads toward the back of the Museum, “stay outside if you want, I’m going to have a look.”

MacCready jogs to catch up with him only to stop short when he sees Sole’s boyish smile fade and become replaced by a hard frown as he reaches for the gun at his waist. The ground before him them is littered with the bodies of dead Gunners. As they loot the bodies, they shift into a familiar silence. Although Sole was all smiles and jokes usually, he was always dead silent when it got serious. It had taken some getting used to.

----------------------------------------

After listening to a horrifying holotape, they head inside. There’s a low rumbling that MacCready can’t identify, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The low visibility due to the darkness and copious amount of dust filtering through the air puts him on edge and he’s following Sole a lot more closely than usual. Suddenly, there’s an unmistakable and deafening roar from above them.

“And that’s a Deathclaw, so we should be going, right? Sole?” MacCready whispers, gently nudging sole, eyes trained on the rotting ceiling.

Sole shushes him and inches forward, trying to see through a hole in the floor above them. MacCready feels him flinch as there’s another roar followed by a loud thud as a dead body is thrown to the floor, mangled from the damage of Deathclaw jaws. Dust cascades down as the horrible noise of the Deathclaw finishing his meal fills the air.

MacCready draws in a fearful breath before realizing his mistake. The dust-induced tickle spreads through his nose immediately, his heart rate picking up as he scrunches his nose, desperately trying to quell the itch.

The Deathclaw above trudges away, sending more dust raining over them. MacCready’s eyes begin to water as his breath catches in his throat. Sole is blissfully unaware as he rubs dust from his own eyes and inches forward.

Sole peers through the floor for a few seconds before whispering, “If we catch it by surprise, we can avoid most of the confrontation. We might even be able to sneak past it to have a look, or we can go, I guess.”

MacCready reaches up and scrubs at his nose, breath hitching sporadically, “S-sole, you know I-ahhh I love a f-fight but whaa- what’s the point?”

“The Deathclaw will kill whoever strolls in here, how long until its someone who doesn’t deserve it?” Sole doesn’t seem to notice MacCready’s predicament as he examines the dismembered Gunner, scowl on his face.

MacCready curses internally at Sole’s stupid sense of civic duty as he pinches his nose closed but its too late, the damage is already done as the sneeze makes its way from deep in his sinuses to the tip of his nose, threatening to break the tense silence hanging in the air. MacCready’s heart skips a beat as panic rises, his sneezes aren’t known for being quiet and will certainly end in them being Deathclaw dessert.

He holsters his sniper rifle to give him better access to his nose. He clamps both hands over it, pressing down as hard as he can, a last-ditch effort of sorts. His eyes water so horribly that Sole becomes blurry in front of him. In his hyper-focused state, he’s completely missed whatever Sole just said.

“Mac?” Sole says as loud as he dares, turning to face him and doing a doubletake at his dishevelled state. “Are you…crying?”

MacCready glares at him through allergic tears, the angry gesture dividing his focus, allowing the sneeze to break free.

“Ngxt-chhhoo!”

Despite having both hands over his mouth, the sneeze is still moderately loud and if MacCready wasn’t desperately fighting the next sneeze, he would have been anxiously searching for a charging Deathclaw. Realisation immediately floods through Sole, and MacCready studies his face, waiting for anger, annoyance or even fear, just anything, but it remains blank.

MacCready’s breath begins to hitch again, eyes closing involuntarily. The heavy steps of the Deathclaw edge closer, sending more dust flying. The creature may not have heard the last sneeze but it would sure as hell hear this one.

It’s right above them. The itch is burning ferociously, MacCready can only hold out for so long. Sole’s face is still completely blank. Sole grabs MacCready’s arm and pulls him into a crouch position, pressing him between the wall and Sole’s body, so close that he can feel that rapid rise and fall of his chest as the Deathclaw footsteps stop, replaced by a low growl. The Deathclaw finally seems to be moving on when MacCready loses the battle.

“Hgxt-choo!”

Sole clamps a hand over both of MacCready’s to muffle the sneeze. It helps but both men grow still, waiting for any indication the Deathclaw heard it. When nothing comes, Sole takes one look at MacCready, who still has one hand covering his quivering nose and is trying to breath as little as possible, and roughly drags his arm dragging him back the way they came.

The heavy weight of guilt lands squarely on MacCready’s chest, but is pushed to the backburner by the infuriating itch that returns once again. MacCready knows that it’s not leaving anytime soon, especially not until he has sneezed properly and multiple times.

Sole glances back once more, an unknown emotion in his eyes, and proceeds to move faster, one hand on his rifle and the other dragging MacCready’s arm. As they near the door, MacCready gives in, his hands leaving his nose. MacCready sniffs hard, aggravating the itch, his mouth drifts open and his eyes begin to close as Sole shoves him out the door.

“Aaah- Act’choo! H-Hutch’oo! Ehk’tchoo!” MacCready sneezes so hard his hat shifts and falls off his head, exposing his chestnut brown locks.

Sole raises an auburn eyebrow, “Wow, holding all that in it’s a wonder you didn’t burst a blood vessel or something.”

MacCready half-heartedly gives him the finger as he tilts his head back, “Ha’choo…ehh…Ehk’choo!”

“Bless you…bless you,” Sole watches, face emotionless and arms crossed.

“Jesus C-Christ…Act’choo! I-“

“Bless you.”

“Sooh-Sole I- Ehktchoo…Ichhoo!”

“Bless you…Bless you.”

“I’m sorry…ihhhh…Itchoo…Act’tchoo..Het’choo! I should h-ha-”

“Bless you…Bless you…Bless you.”

“Ehk’tchoo! Sol-“

“Bless you.”

“Would you stop doing that! I’m tryin’ to freakin’ apologise here! I nearly go-ohh…got us both killed.”

Sole just blinks before bursting into laughter. Like a proper, full laugh that is almost non-existent in The Commonwealth these days.

MacCready sniffs hard, wiping the last of the allergic tears from his eyes. “What’s-snff-wrong with you? You get hit in the head or something?

“Could you imagine the story we would have had man? ‘Yeah we just walked in and were going to leave the Deathclaw but then MacCready decided to sneeze his brains out instead’.” He’s still laughing, an easy smile lighting up his face.

God he’s beautiful.

The thought slips into his head without permission, turning his face red. He knows he must look like shi- crap right now, puffy eyes, red nose and blotchy face but Sole’s looking at him like he invented the sun.

“I’m sorr- Ehk’tchoo!-”

“Bless you.”

“I’m also concerned about your mental state right now. Are you okay?” MacCready sniffs and scrubs at his nose a few times.

“Am I okay? Are you? You sure you didn’t pull a muscle or bruise something sneezing like that? You lost your hat!”

MacCready bites his lip, embarrassment tainting his cheeks. “I thought you’d be mad or something.”

Sole laughs again and MacCready feels a pang in his chest as he dusts off his hat and hands it to him, “S’not your fault and we’re alright, no harm no foul.”

MacCready just shakes his head as he plops his hat on, “You’re-snff! something else, y’know?”

“One of a kind,” Sole steps closer. “You should consider yourself lucky, maybe show some appreciation.”

MacCready leans against the wall, arching an eyebrow, trying to disguise the hammering of his heart, “Should I now?”

“Oh, definitely.” Sole leans in, lips grazing MacCready’s.

“I guess I can agree with that.” MacCready reaches for Sole and smashes their lips together.

[goddessofeternity]

Chronicles of the Supernovas: Chosen

Chapter 8: Behind Enemy Lines

Morlo

Everything was going according to plan, and I was ecstatic about the progress that was made. To think it would be this easy to kidnap several hundred children across the galaxy, hell different species in general. My liege was proud of the work I had managed to do in such a short amount of time. Making them happy was my purpose in life and I intended to fill it wholeheartedly. The children had become easier to corral once the sacrifice was over. No more crying and begging for their sires, just quiet fear and terror. My liege thrived on it and it only made them more powerful, the Light would be vanquished thanks to my efforts. If I could keep up this momentum, then I would surely get a high seat of honor in the new world. I was to be made a god in the world that would be created and nothing would stop me from reaching that frontier, not even simple morals of killing children. 

“Such a dark heart…”

I knelt to my feet and dropped my head low as a familiar, yet dark voice invaded my ears. I didn’t look up as a soft fabric brushed across my face. I cursed the goosebumps that traveled up my arms from where the fabric touched me. A low chuckle sounded above my head as my liege stopped in front of me. “I see your body still reacts in fear of me….”

“I’m sorry my liege! I will train my body better!” Another chuckle sent chills up my spine. The room was far from cold, but my body often betrays itself in my liege’s presence. 

“I like that it does...I want you to continue to fear me Morlo….” The voice sounded right in my ear and I could not stop myself from looking up at my master. I could not hold back my gasp as piercing red eyes looked back into mine. My liege had chosen to take their woman form for the last few months and it was a rare sight to see. Their beauty was nothing short of perfection, a perfectly sculpted being. I was positive the Light didn’t look more radiant then my liege. Usually they were just a voice, or a man, or some other creature, but I took immense pride in the fact that I was one of the few people who had seen them like this. Their hair was a pitch smoky black that billowed in the windless room and cascaded down their back to the floor. The pitch black gown pooled at their feet and I would have thought they were gliding if I didn’t hear the distinct sound of heels every so often. I couldn’t help  but glance at the deep v in the front of the dress, perfectly showing off their plump and round breasts. I looked away as their full red lips curled into a smile. “I see that you still have your basic impulses, Morlo, even though you claimed to abandon them years ago.”

“Forgive me!” I put my face against the floor as my liege stalked around the room. I looked up as they looked over the list of children with a smile. “Have I…have I pleased you?”

“Keep this up and maybe you will…” I smiled as I chuckled. My master was pleased with me and that’s all I needed in this life. Now all I had to do was continue with the children before-

“Boss!” I quickly stood as one of my men threw open the doors to my workspace. He rushed at me with a wild look in his eyes, but I did not care because I specifically told them I was busy! My liege could not be bothered with the presence of these idiots!

“Idiot! I said not to disturb me!” He paused at my sudden anger and his eyes darted to my master, and I watched in annoyance as he looked slack jawed at them.

“W-Wow boss…that’s a fine bitc-“

“Watch your tongue before you lose it!” I gripped up his shirt and pulled him in close. “Now what is it that you want?! How hard is it to handle some fucking children?!”

“N-No it’s not that but…well…”

“Spit it out!”

“I got a report that some people have been going around asking about the children!”

“So what? Of course people will ask if children suddenly disappear. The musings of crying parents are of no concern of mine and you have wasted my time!” 

“W-Wait! They said the people who asked attacked some of our men in our eastern location! O-One of them was a black man and a blue skinned woman with pink eyes!”

Now my body felt freezing cold as I heard the manuscript hit the table behind me. I didn’t dare look as I felt my master slink up beside me and run their nails up my spine. They tapped each vertebrae slowly, but with enough subtle force, that I felt as though it would snap. I gasped as I suddenly felt their hand pierce my skin, grasping my spine. I felt no pain and could only think that they wanted me to feel it when they wanted. They were keeping me standing, but playing with my level of pain. I felt cold as they reached around and caressed the face of my subordinate. A small squeeze caused me to let him go as harsh pain traveled through me.

“Why don’t you tell me more about these people who attacked your comrades?” My subordinate looked at my master in shock and also a bit of terror. I could see the sweat form on his brow as he swallowed back his fear. I tried to keep perfectly still as I felt my spine be rubbed like it was a cat.

“R-Reports said that…they were asking the residents about the children. Another man with one eye and a purple skinned woman were spotted in our south location as well.” I felt another shot of pain run up my body as they squeezed harder, and I was sure I heard something begin to crack. 

“Is that right? Well that appears to be a problem…don’t you think so Morlo?”

“Y-Yes…a very serious problem…why don’t you head out so I can-“

“S-Sir…there’s something else…” I cursed to myself as their grip tightened and I felt like collapsing to the ground.

“W-What?!” I hissed through clenched teeth as my master kept a firm grip on my shoulder. “Out with it!”

“A-A man was spotted in the woods a few miles away from our location! He seemed to have some control over the plant life sir! Some men went to intercept him but we haven’t heard anything back!”

“Leave.” My subordinate left without another word and practically tripped on his feet on the way out. I let out a relieved gasp as the hand in my back was gone, but it was short lived as I was thrown across the room into the table. I gasped as my paperwork fluttered to the ground, and my master advanced toward me. I went to stand but a kick to my ribs lifted right off my feet into the air, before my master grabbed me out of the air by my throat. My head was spinning as I couldn’t get any air into my lungs. The wind had been knocked out of me, and I desperately tried to breathe. “I thought I SPECIFICALLY told you to make sure the Supernovas did not catch wind of your plans!”

“I-I-“

“So why is it that not one, not two, but ALL FIVE OF THEM ARE ON THIS PLANET!” 

I gasped as I was dropped to the floor and finally able to catch my breath. I coughed and choked as a foot slammed me into the ground. I knew I made a grave mistake, I should have expected that they would eventually catch on, especially the older members of the Supernovas. I had no words for my actions, and I would accept whatever consequences that my master would give me. I would probably be disposed of...but I had come too far to fail now!

“My liege please! I can make this right! I will put a stop to them at once!”

“If they are here...then Serafina already is aware of your movements, which means she is aware of mine...or however little that is….” I gasped as their heel was removed from my back. “What will you do to keep my favor Morlo?”

“I will send my….my spies to slow down their progress. I have many contacts that I can call to make sure this will not be a problem.” They chuckled darkly at me as they went to sit and I stood up slowly, rubbing my back, I lifted the table and spread out a map. “I will begin moving the children we have here to our ships in the mountains. Our base in Zhikar is well hidden and we can stay there for quite some time.” I rubbed a shaky hand across my brow as I looked up at my master. They were staring at me emotionlessly and I was not sure if my words had angered them.

“I will send you some of my creations and I had better see more progress this time to make up for this failure Morlo. I also have beings that I will send to assist you. This is not a kindness, nor is it a show of good faith. This is a warning. Do not fuck this up Morlo, if I have to get involved...well...don’t let me get involved.” I swallowed deeply as they looked down at the map. “Also...do something about the nature god.” 

I looked at my liege as they gestured to the monitors on the other side of the room. I quickly walked over as I saw the Supernova walk through the forest. I zoomed in as he casually walked on, I frowned as he stopped and held a hand to his chin in deep thought. His head turned to the camera with a knowing smirk before he winked and the signal went dead. I jerked away from the monitors in anger, I turned to my liege but they were already gone.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!!” I threw a chair into the monitor and tossed all of my documents around the room in my rage. I could hear my men shuffling outside the door, and they knew better than to disturb me in my angered state. “Bring one in now!”

I let out a deep breath as the door opened and I heard a pathetic whimper behind me. I grasped my dagger on my belt with a tight hand. I needed to focus, and assembling my forces would be the first step. For now, releasing some stress would help with that. Straightening up, I smiled and turned toward a shaking child by the door. “Hello sweetheart, are you ready to play a game?”

She shook her head fiercely as I walked over twirling my dagger. “Well...you don’t really have much of a choice I’m afraid. I’d love it if you’d start screaming…” Feeling flesh tear with my blade always made me feel alive, but I would not get this satisfaction if my liege killed me for my failings. I’d have to call in quite a lot of favors to make this work. Some sacrifices could be made of course, and...I looked down at the child gasping at life beneath me.

“Let’s continue shall we? I want to savor this before I get to work…”

~~~

“We have no time for any more mistakes! Move these children faster and make sure that man is being slowed down!” I growled low in my throat at the crying children and my men struggling to round them up. “Just pick them up you idiots! If they keep complaining, beat them, or kill some of them for all I care!” I stared over the raised balcony at them shuffling about faster. I wiped the leftover blood off my cheek as I heard someone run up behind me. “You had better have something worthwhile to report…”

“Our forces are moving in on the Supernova, and some of your contacts have gotten back to us. They want some type of compensation for the trouble.”

“They will have it! Just make sure they get here.” I glanced around the room and narrowed my eyes down at the young boy from the earlier sacrifice. It was obvious that he was afraid, but he kept a determined look on his young face. I was almost impressed by his strength, but it would not matter much longer in the end. I watched as he was dragged away before I went about my business. Heading down a hallway, I shut the door behind me and stared at the glowing orb floating in the center.

“Hopefully they will answer this time….” I placed my hand on it and felt a surge of energy course through my body. I hated using this form of communication because the bastards hardly answered my summons. “Hey! Answer my summoning's! This is an emergency!”

I watched as energy ran through the orb but no response came out of it. My patience had always been thin, but this was a dire situation. I had no time for their games, my life depended on it. “The Darkness will not be pleased that you have been ignoring me…”

“What is it Morlo?”

“He always calls at the worst times…”

“Filthy little mortal….always needs a handout.”

“....I hate being bothered…” I let out a breath as several voices poured out of the orb. Using the name of my liege always got them in a panic. Tch...and they called themselves Gods? I would have called them pathetic, but regrettably, they did have more sway and power than I did.

“My liege has need of your services. The Supernovas are moving in on our operation and they need to be taken care of. We need this handled swiftly, before the Light joins the fight.”

“HA! You think she won’t notice if we even take out one of her toy soldiers? We’d be dead before we’d even see her.”

“I’m trying to keep under her radar…” I frowned as the complaints started to come in. Cowards.

“Besides….what makes you think we can take even one of them? Nim, the God of Lightning, just obliterated a god just the other week with one swing of his sword. I would rather not…”

Fucking children.

“So you would rather my liege rip you cowards apart then? Are you so scared of these Supernovas and the Light, when my master has far worse things they could do to you. Need I remind you what would happen if none of you comply?” The silence was like music to my ears. “I have a counter to these Supernovas regardless.”

“Oh? What would that be then?” 

“I’m sure you all know of the black market...and the items they sometimes procure…” I smiled wickedly as I heard some gasps. “I would be more than willing to gather them for you, that is if you’ll help our master.”

I heard them murmuring to themselves and I rolled my eyes at their indecisiveness. I was about to snap at them to get it together, but a dark chuckle gave me pause.

“When do we start?”

My lips curled into a wicked smile as I relayed to them what the plan would be going forward. Nothing would stop me from pleasing my master, not these children, the gods, these Supernovas, not even the Light herself. 

I would have my retribution.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next: https://goddessofeternity.tumblr.com/post/655945069212418048/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Previous: https://goddessofeternity.tumblr.com/post/653031863907221504/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Thanks for reading!

Comments and reblogs are appreciated! Likes are welcomed!

[myriadnarratives]

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone: My Fangirling Thought-dump

Fair Warning: I’m a darklina, so leave now if you’re not going to be decent (I don’t bash on Mal, though, so you’re safe there)

So I binged Shadow and Bone without reading the books (judgmental people, leave now), and let me tell you, I love the show. True, there were some things I wish were different based on what I’ve been spoiled on about the books, but as a show in and of itself, it’s strong.

So here’s just a dump of my thoughts and fangirling (I use *chef’s kiss* a lot). And obviously, spoilers ahead.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

WHAT I LOVED

- The storytelling, both narrative and visual, is exquisite. How the dialogue contributes to the storytelling, answering the audience’s questions and doubts clearly even before they’re brought up; how the visual arrangement contributes to informing the audience of what they need to know and how that timeline of knowing helps the audience in piecing together the story, the characterization, and the timeline; the tying in of characters’ storylines so audiences are not confused as to why we’re spending so much time watching the goings-on with a character. *super chef’s kiss*

The show is so organically unified in terms of characterization, visual media, dialogue contribution, and so much more that I just, uh, I cannot even! I LOVE THE ART OF IT!

- How the show dealt with race, identity, prejudice, politics, social acceptance, individual needs, personal wants, the desire for security and safety that mean differently for each character *raises both hands to the heavens in thanks* The show’s concepts hit close to home for me in terms of race, prejudice, mixed biological identity that informs social perceptions, the desire for belonging and safety and acceptance, and I think this show would hold a special place in my heart for its portrayal of these issues.

- How different sexualities and genders are portrayed so casually, as if it’s an everyday normal thing (as it should be).

- The Crows (of course) and how their story intersected with Alina’s, and how the storytelling (I’ll keep going on about the visual storytelling until I run out of breath) shows the intersections and develops the diverging stories to meld into each other

- How they showed how brilliant Kaz’s mind is. The visual storytelling of showing one scene without explanation, leading the audience to create their own assumptions on what Kaz was seeing, then having the scene turn out different once it has been explained later when things have unfolded *chef’s kiss*: the meeting between the Conductor and the First Army General, the hidden changing room, the lynx flush assignments 

- How Inej’s faith is portrayed neither negatively or positively; it’s just a thing that is not contrived but contributes to the plot, not some sort of moral policing inside or outside of the story.

- Mal! I heard he’s a jerk in the books, that’s why I didn’t want to read the books before watching the show. But god, his first scenes with the sparring, and the way Archie moved in that fight. Also how Mal’s overall storyline progressed, how his ties to Alina was shown, how his feelings got revealed to the audience even before it got revealed to Alina so the sincerity is not questioned. That True North thing! *heart eyes*

- How the issue of consent in the sexual sense is highlighted as important. The darkling literally asks “Are you sure?” before he proceeds. (Of course, this is very different from his take on non-sexual consent later in the show - like really, you literally put a control button on your hand to control her powers! Dude...)

- The exploration of Alina’s overall consent and agency. They even literally have her say her lack of it when she was in the final episodes. Even Kaz shoves it in the Darkling’s face that she doesn’t want to be a captive anymore. And throughout the show, the thought processes behind her decisions are clearly communicated, giving her agency a lot more weight as the audience can understand and sympathize with her decisions. And she’s not just a “victim” of the story; she pushes the story along with her actions, from her decision to burn the maps so that she could come with Mal, to her childhood decision to cheat the Grisha test, to something as visually simple (yet strongly narrative-affecting) as choosing the left or right path in Baghra’s escape route.

- The exploration of want. What each character wants, how one want like “security” could mean an entirely different thing for each character (i.e. the Darkling’s want of security for the Grisha, Alina’s want of security for herself, Inej’s want of security in the form of freedom, etc.). The show, being well-written, is a smorgasbord of academic analysis. Again, if I haven’t said it yet, I LOVE THE ART OF IT!

- NINA!!! God, I really like how the actress looks! There’s just something about her face that I really, really like. And then there’s Nina’s lines, the delivery, the attitude *chef’s kiss* One caveat though: I wish she wasn’t made to say “Please” when she was hanging off the ice ledge. Even though she had already warmed up to Matthias (and him to her), I would have wanted the scene to be a clash of his pride and her dignity: just like in the ship earlier, her not submitting even to his kindness (sincere or otherwise), and him having a moral crisis on helping a “witch.”

- Genya’s hand-to-hand fight *absolutely beautiful*

- The overall fight choreographies. It’s not just people punching each other and brawling; the jiu-jitsu locks and judo throws hold a special place in my practitioner’s heart, and the fights look really good, either it be for the women (Hello, Genya and Inej) or the men (Mal and Aleksander’s fight looked so different from usual brawls because of the throws).

- How the different Grishas, even the usually non-combat ones, can weaponize their abilities: Healers can, obviously, break bones; Heartrenders can stop your heart; and even the Sun Summoner can blind you.

- Jesper and Milo the goat. “Grab the goat. Hug the goat. Shut the fuck up.” And how Jesper tearfully parted with Milo LOL

- How Alina just climbed right into the get away carriage’s literal trunk. LOL!

- Kaz and the Darkling meeting. I know it’s not in the books (they’re not even in the same trilogy/duology), so having these two characters with so much gravitas meet and actually verbally spar is *chef’s kiss* 

- Inej’s first kill is to save Kaz *heart eyes*

- The Darkling’s humor! “Yes, David?” and “I’ll have to give that speech again” were hilarious!

Of course, there’s many more, generally because of how they contribute to, again, the visual and narrative storytelling and the characterizations and the plot progression and, ugh, I'll stop now or else I'll just keep going on about how much I love how this show was crafted.

NEUTRAL

- I heard that Alina was supposed to be funny in the books, but apart from the “No pressure” and “My tailbone is killing me” lines, there wasn’t really much of that humor in there--most of the humor came from Jesper’s scenes or Mal’s friends. Honestly, I think the show Alina fits the story, so I don’t really care if her humor is not as evident.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

- Gosh, Netflix and the showrunners really know how to market the show. They were right when they said the first step is to cast Ben Barnes. Then the focus on the General/Darkling and Alina’s story and relationship, that sort of dark and brooding archetype getting with the green and pure protagonist, is so delicious. But of course, endgame is not meant to be. The Darkling is a manipulative, controlling, toxic person, and should be nowhere near Alina if not on equal ground. I just wish they didn't put that much focus on it in the marketing (i.e. the extra clips distributed to media sources) to make it seem like darklina could happen, especially with the story changes the show was reportedly doing. Oh well, that’s what fanfiction is for. And I guess there’s a chance for redemption in the following season? *puts on clown nose*

MY QUESTIONS AND...WISHES?

So since the show has changed the story quite a bit from the books, I'm so stoked to see where the characters’ stories lead to. I’m sure there would be similarities to the books (Nikolai and Weylan would show up, for sure), but there would be a lot of changes, I'm sure (Alina’s a Saint now, so how would that affect her life on the run and her relationship with Mal? There’s no great reveal for Aleksander’s name, so perhaps he doesn’t die? At least not that way?).

- I wish we’d see more of that internal/thought connection the Darkling and Alina seemed to have. And I wish they’d highlight further the idea of balancing, of being the only two in the world, and of how each needs/complements the other in terms of power. I just really wish they’d explore more darklina, and perhaps have it open to have a darklina ending (I’m not holding my breath for that one at all, but hey, membership to clownverse is free). At the very least, would there be a change in the Darkling’s ending (does he get stuck in the tree)? Does he get a redemption arc? Would he utter the “I do not repent” line? Would Alina and him have the shared connection, I-can-see-you-even-if-you’re-far-away bond? Would Alina somehow forgive him (hopefully only if he has changed and is not controlling and toxic anymore)? Would Alina and him have a showdown as he tries to expand the fold and she tries to close it? He has command of even the volcra now, so what would that mean for Alina’s side? Does she get an army, too? Maybe there’d be creatures of light, too? Perhaps other animal amplifiers?

- Now that Mal and Alina have more or less confessed to each other and ended up together, what would be the next hurdle in their relationship? They can’t just stay static, after all, otherwise the story of their relationship won’t be a good narrative. Season 1 touched on Mal’s fear of the Grisha (with Alina literally asking him out loud), so perhaps as Alina’s powers grow, Mal’s discomfort with her powers would show more (I hope the show doesn’t make Alina do a Slip-into-the-Darkside trope, or at least not too much to the detriment of her agency and core characterization)? Or perhaps going from that conversation with the Darkling and Mal, when Aleksander seemed to have gotten under Mal’s skin when he pointed out that due to their immortality, Aleks and Alina are endgame: maybe Mal would have that rivalry with the Darkling again and, considering Alina’s kind of psychic bond to Aleks (if they add that in), would feel that Alina might choose the Darkling in the end? I just hope the characters aren’t reduced to stereotypes of 1-girl-2-guys-and-girl-can’t-choose love triangle. Even season 1 explicitly had Alina cut off ties with Mal first (because she mistakenly thought he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore since he’s not replying to her letters) before she went to the Darkling romantically.

- What’s next for the Crows? Would Inej eventually go to Sankta Alina? Perhaps the Ice Court heist is next for the Crows. Nikolai has to show up some time, right? How would that tie in with Alina’s storyline?

I have a lot of other questions on what happens to the characters and the overall story, and I'm really glad that the show has diverged from the books to an extent that a lot of things could be possible. I hope Season 2 does happen, and I hope it’s as good as Season 1, especially since COVID is still happening and filming and filming options are limited. If Season 2 does happen, I hope it gets release soon :P

[noir0neko]

preview: spellbound- kth

Curses can be blessings in disguise. 

genre: wizard!taehyung + enemies to lovers!au | preview | 1.5k words

A/N: As requested, here is the preview for the Howl’s Moving Castle AU with Taehyung as Howl. The fic will also include other members playing different characters, like Hobi as Markl, Yoongi as Calcifer, Jin as the young prince and more! You don’t need to have read/seen Howl’s Moving Castle to understand the fic, so I hope everyone can enjoy some wizard Tae. Send your thoughts!

His hair is almost brown, shimmering and shining in the high afternoon sunlight like burnt gold brushing against his forehead. Stunning against the dark fans of his lashes are impossibly bright blue eyes, clear and shining, lapis lazuli gems roaming over the guards behind you with a hint of disdain. His skin is pale, nearly alabaster white, and yet his cheeks have slight color to them, as if he has been standing in the sun for far too long.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, darling,” the stranger says, putting his hands around your waist to pull you against his side. You are dwarfed by his height, the heat of his skin branding you.

You open your mouth, then close it, unsure of what to say, of what you can say.

“We were just keeping her company,” one of the soldiers purrs.

“I doubt that.” The stranger responds with a deep and melodic voice.

The dark haired soldier parts his lips to respond, but before he can, the stranger snaps his fingers. As if in response, the soldiers straighten up and with a wave of the stranger’s hands, they are waddling off in the opposite direction, grunting and teetering on their feet.

A wizard. You think, blood rushing through your ears.

But they are supposed to stay in the Wastes, miles beyond the boundary of your town. The Wastes are for all of the wizards and witches of the land, where they can practice magic and aid the king without interrupting or endangering the everyday villagers. Each town only has one magic shop in it, where a witch or wizard makes potions and ailments for the sick or unwell. But you have never seen this man. And although you have never considered yourself to be the most observant, especially when you want to go unnoticed in the main square, you’re fairly confident you would have noticed this man before if he does reside here. If not because of his striking features, but because all of the men and women would have crowded to fawn over him.

“I hope they didn’t give you too much trouble,” he turns to you.

His clothes are perfectly clean and smooth, a white undershirt untied at his chest to reveal lightly freckled skin. And to show off the teardrop necklace at his throat, glistening in the light, the color bright blue like his eyes. His overcoat is gray and pink checkers, lined with fine yellow silk, but his hands are out of the sleeves and by his sides, shirt cuffed and billowing at the wrists. His pants are a dark blue, almost black with shined shoes that scream wealth and ability. You can see the lines of muscle and the lean cut of his body from his clothes, trying to ignore the curiosity that he piques. But the smile that comes to his face sends a feeling through you that you can’t describe. Like butterflies and sparkly things that only your sister ever cared to think of. Your sister. You need to get to her, she will be worried if you show up late.

“It was no trouble,” you sputter. “Thank you.”

The man takes your hand in his, placing it on his elbow as he starts to walk.

“I don’t need an escort,” you begin, “despite what just happened.”

“Maybe I do,” the stranger gives you a mischievous smile. “Don’t be alarmed, but I am being followed.”

You inhale softly, spine snapping erect and eyes going wide. Followed? Possibly by another wizard or witch? So many of them in the town would only bring bad tidings. Though this man didn’t seem particularly evil, there are tales of bewitchment and entrancement in the Wastes. Where poor young women wander too far into the fields and are never to be seen again, their hearts taken or their hair burned or their skin peeled to fuel the warlocks’ desires for power.

The strangers turns you sharply down an even tighter alley and you don’t dare look behind you as you swear you hear a loud slapping sound on the wall, like bodies crashing into one another. Your breathing quickens, heart racing. You bet the stranger can hear it, pounding wildly in your chest like a drum, like a symphony, like the sound of power in his ears-

You gasp loudly as a group of black, amorphous creatures turn from the corner above, their bodies meshing and joining together. Their noses are large and bulbous, faces with no eyes flowing into dark bodies, with long, dragging limbs like jelly. Looking around, there is only stone on either side of you, the squishing sound of the creatures drowning out any sensible thought. The stranger next to you tenses but keeps walking and closes his eyes, as if accepting the inevitable defeat.

Thoughts race around in your mind, jumping and clouding one another. You shouldn’t have taken this short cut today. You shouldn’t have tried to avoid the bustle of the main square. You shouldn’t have left as late as you did. You shouldn’t have agreed to meet with your sister today, you didn’t want her dragged into any of this. Your burdens and mistakes were yours alone. You always made sure of that.

Mimicking the man next to you, with your arms still joined, you close your eyes as well, feeling the heat of all of the bodies begin to trap you in that alley like a blazing fire nipping at your feet.

Your stomach falls out from beneath you, a scream tearing from your lips as wind rips at your hair and your dress. You open your eyes, tears streaming down your cheeks as you feel the wizard move around to take both of your hands in his.

You are flying.

The alley beneath you is completely swallowed by the black of those creatures, their horrid sounds ringing in your ears. The crowd underneath your feet doesn’t so much as look up from the war processions, the streamers and color of fanfare blurring as you’re lifted higher.

“One foot in front of the other,” the wizard whispers, his lips so close to your ear you can’t help but shiver.

You do as you're told, struggling to find the rhythm without anything solid for your feet to grip. He continues to hold your hands, palms warm and pulse beating steadily against the inside of your wrists. Adrenaline pumps through you, this quickly becoming the most interesting day of your entire life. With a wizard. Followed by horrifying monsters. Flying. Flying.

“You’re a natural,” the stranger commends.

You give him a small smile with a turn of your head, trying to focus on the beat of your steps as you both sail through the air. You can see the bakery approaching, instructing him in that direction despite him seeming to know so already. The music below is lost so high in the sky, just the steady hum of the wind and the calm of his breathing refills your ears.

In one swift moment, the stranger turns you around so you face him, eyes burning with blue light akin to a hot fire. He lowers his eyes, the both of you seeming to lower as well as he gently sets you on the balcony of the bakery. You can smell the bread from the ovens, hear the numbers called for guests, and the ringing of bells to signify the door. The green alabaster railing of the balcony is cracking and peeling, so raw and unfinished compared to the stranger in front of you.

“How did you-” You begin to ask how he knew to take you here, but he starts first.

“I made sure those things don’t know where we went, but wait a while before you go back out on the streets.”

You can do nothing, but nod, feeling foolish. Like a little girl in front of a grown man.

“Adieu.” He bows low, sweeping his arms out, before he drops from his hovered position into the streets.

You gasp again, rushing to the balcony to look into the crowd below. You can’t spot him, the people a blur of different hair and clothing. Your stomach struggles to right itself, completely turned upside down from defying gravity for so long. A wizard. You had met a wizard. You had gone flying with a wizard.

You can’t help the small smile that rises from your throat. If your whole life is to be filled by making hats and avoiding others, you suppose you can allow a little triumphant happiness at such a grand adventure. You can allow yourself to let your heart move a little faster when you remind yourself of his face. You will never see him again. Allowing a bit of feeling will not hurt.

And he was absolutely enchanting.

~Admin Eggplant

[wedreamedlove]

[FIC] K I S S

Rating: T Characters: Li Zeyan, Xu Mo, Bai Qi, Zhou Qiluo, Reader Word Count: 12,428

Tags: Nothing explicit. Kisses. Minor jealousy. Tension.

Summary: You wake up in a white room. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like you're alone because you see four familiar men. Unfortunately, the room is sealed and no one has any idea how they got here. The only clue is a door that won't open and a piece of paper with the word "KISS". Uh oh...

You wake.

Oh, but not all of a sudden. It’s more of a slow, gradual awakening where your consciousness is pulled up to the surface from wherever it was buried.

You come to feel that your head is resting on something firm and it makes you furrow your eyebrows, shifting a little, because you’re certain your pillow isn’t this hard.

The thing below you moves when you do though and then you hear a voice.

“—Chips!”

It’s a familiar nickname from a familiar voice and you crack open your eyes, squinting against the brightness, to see Zhou Qiluo looking down at you. The stiffness in his body relaxes when he sees that you’re really awake, but concern still lingers in his eyes as he checks you over. One of his hands ghosts over you, skimming your shoulder, side, and hip, and that’s when you realize you’re lying down with your head in his lap.

“How’re you feeling? Nothing hurts? Can you get up?”

Although you’re taken aback by this barrage of questions you reassure him that you’re fine and sit up without his help.

You look around your surroundings.

Pure white.

That’s your first impression. Your second impression is that it’s not actually pure white, because you can see where the white walls join together to form a room. However, you’re not sure how the shadows are being cast since there’s no clear light source here. It hurts your head to think about it too hard though and so you look away to the spots of color that stand out in this inorganic space.

There, pacing the length of one of the walls, is Bai Qi. He looks like a caged wolf with the amount of tension radiating from his frame as he strides from one end to the other but, when his eyes catches yours the moment he feels your gaze on him, you see his steps slow slightly and the tightness in his body loosen. Bai Qi checks you over with a look and then returns to pacing after he’s sure that there’s no problems with you.

Moving on, you see Li Zeyan standing in front of a large wooden double door. He’s standing there stiffly with a subzero expression on his face and if looks could kill then the door he’s glaring at would have been microscopic rubble already.

He also feels your eyes on him and glances over. The heavy look on his face doesn’t lighten when he sees you conscious though and instead he makes a flat comment. “You’re quite something to sleep for so long in a situation like this.”

Before you can say anything, a calm voice breaks in and defends you.

“Even though there were no visible injuries, we don’t know if anything else happened. That unconsciousness was abnormal.”

You turn your head to see Xu Mo standing just a few feet away from you and Zhou Qiluo. He has a gentle smile on his face, one that deepens when you look over, but his eyes are cold when he casts his gaze over the room and stops on the door. For some reason, you feel a dangerous air around him in the way he’s standing there motionless with a hand in one of the pockets of his customary lab coat.

“How are you? Does anything feel strange or out of place?” He asks.

You try to lighten the atmosphere by saying this room and everyone being here is strange. It earns you a snort from Bai Qi, a chuckle from Xu Mo, and a laugh from Qiluo. Li Zeyan only looks over without an expression. But the invisible pressure from him makes you clear your throat sheepishly and ask for clarification on where this place is and why everyone’s here.

“No idea. We all woke up here at the same time, despite going to sleep at different hours,” Bai Qi is the one who answers you.

“You were here as well,” Xu Mo anticipated your question, “However, you were unconscious no matter what we did until now.”

There is a pause as you mull over that oddity.

Then Bai Qi continues on. “This room is 20 meters by 15 meters, all the walls are solid, the door is locked, and our Evols aren’t working.”

You’re shocked to hear him drop the word Evol here, but a quick look shows that no one else is confused or surprised. It seems that everyone here is in the know about Evols and about each other.

“Time has stopped. But, as Bai Qi mentioned, it isn’t from me,” Li Zeyan adds. He tilts his hand to show his frozen wristwatch to you.

“We haven’t been here long enough to determine if we can grow hungry or thirsty though,” Xu Mo cautions.

The small relief you feel at hearing time is stopped disappears immediately at Xu Mo’s words and your concern rises again. You look over at Qiluo who has been quiet up to now.

“Sorry, I woke up here with nothing but these clothes,” he gestures at his casual wear, “I don’t have my phone or computer with me.” You understand he’s telling you that he has no way to get access to anything inside or outside this room. Despite his words though his smile is reassuring and he rubs your back with a hand that was placed there while you were listening to the others.

You ask everyone what the plan of action is now then.

There is a heavy silence after your question is asked.

“I don’t know.” Bai Qi breaks the silence but his words are low and tense, and the muscle that jumps in his cheek shows how hard he’s clenching his jaw. He glares at a random spot on one of the walls.

Xu Mo sighs, “We can only continue to look for clues here. Maybe now that we’re all conscious something will have changed.”

Qiluo verbally agrees while Li Zeyan doesn’t object, which means he’s given his tacit approval. Qiluo stands up first before you and then offers you a hand. You take it without reservation, feeling a small comfort from his warmth, and get pulled easily to your feet. When you thank him, he flashes a smile at you that disappears when he seems to realize something.

“Oh! Guess now that you’re up, I don’t have an excuse to be lazy anymore. I’m going to have to help look around.”

It’s clear that Zhou Qiluo cracked a joke to put you more at ease and you cover your laugh with a cough as he slides a hand into his pocket and strolls off to one side of the room, examining the walls. His nonchalant act is so good you’re almost put under the illusion that he’s walking through a museum and looking at artworks on a wall instead of being trapped in a white room and staring at blank walls.

During this time, Li Zeyan has gone from glaring at the double door in front of him to studying the walls beside the door too. Bai Qi is still pacing on his side and looking intently at the corners where the walls join together to form the room. Meanwhile, Xu Mo hasn’t moved from his position a few feet away from you, close to the center of the room, observing everything in a quiet manner.

Everyone seems to have covered what to examine and so, for a second, you flounder and wonder what else you can do. But you’re driven by the need to contribute somehow; it doesn’t sit well with you to stand around and be useless, especially since you were unconscious earlier. Looking around again, you decide to start with the most obvious thing in the room.

You announce that you’re going to look at the door.

“It’s been checked and it’s locked,” Li Zeyan informs you. It doesn’t look like he expects anything to have changed even if you look at it. But he also doesn’t do anything to stop you.

Neither does anyone else, so it seems safe enough to approach the door. You know them all well enough to be certain that someone would have stopped you if it was deemed dangerous.

You go up to the door. It’s bigger than you expected and becomes even larger as you get close. The wooden double doors loom over you and you would need to tilt your head back if you wanted to see the top, but right now you’re looking at the engravings on the door. There’s carved grooves that cover the entire surface of the door and, even when you step back to look at the door in its entirety, they don’t seem to form any patterns. The grooves curl, swirl, connect, and break apart without any sense. Maybe they’re just some sort of abstract design?

Since you’re not getting anywhere with the grooves you put that out of your mind and focus on another part. There are two handles in the center of the double door; one handle for each door. Makes sense. Li Zeyan told you the door is locked, but you decide to double-check anyway. There’s no harm in doing that.

But it happens the moment you touch one of the handles.

There’s a brilliant flash of light and, right as you make an exclamation of surprise, an arm wraps itself around your waist and hauls you back. You collide into a hard chest and, next thing you know, you’re being held a few feet away from the door.

A piece of paper flutters down into the spot you were just standing at.

All these events happen within seconds of each other.

Your heart pounds from the sudden rush of adrenaline, much like the rapid heartbeats you feel from the person behind you. The firm muscles of the arm around your waist relax as the person adjusts their hold on you and that’s when you realize you’ve reflexively grabbed his arm with both hands.

Releasing him, you’re about to turn around to see who grabbed you when you hear Bai Qi ask, “Are you OK?” His breath stirs the hair at the top of your head and his words come out breathless.

You tell him that you are.

Bai Qi’s arm around your waist tightens for an instant before he releases you. He doesn’t step back though, his chest a solid heat against your back, and his hand hovers nearby just in case you need help. But, despite being shaky from the surprise, you can still stand on your own.

You quickly look around to check on everyone else.

Zhou Qiluo is frighteningly still, as if he’s a coiled spring ready to explode into action at the slightest provocation, and it’s only when he sees you unharmed that he releases his tension and rocks back on his heels. Xu Mo’s eyes are focused on your waist, his expression completely blank, but when he realizes you’re looking at him he gives you a relieved smile and then moves his gaze from you to the door.

On the other hand, the severe look on Li Zeyan’s face barely changes even after he sees that you’re safe. Instead, when he strides over to the spot you were pulled away from and picks up the paper on the ground to read it, the frown on his face deepens even more if that’s possible. Every line on Li Zeyan’s face screams with rage and you’re surprised the paper hasn’t spontaneously caught on fire.

“What’s it say?” Qiluo is the one who asks.

Li Zeyan doesn’t answer and his hand spasms, as if he’s thinking about crushing the paper. But he ends up handing it roughly to Xu Mo who comes up beside him.

Xu Mo reads the paper and you see a furrow appear between his brows.

Seeing the two of them react like this makes you anxious and this time you’re the one who asks what it says.

Xu Mo looks up at you, pauses like he’s choosing his words, and then tells you, “It only has the letters K, I, S, and S.”

You blink.

Then your brain starts spinning and puts them together. K, I, S, and S. KISS. Kiss…? Wait, that kiss? No, no way. You clear your throat, feeling silly for even thinking about something like that in this situation, and ask if those letters are an acronym for something.

Qiluo rubs at his chin, looking thoughtful. Li Zeyan still looks darkly displeased, glaring at the door again. You tilt your head back to peek at Bai Qi’s expression only to see that he’s turned his head away to the side, but his ears are a faint red. Okay, no help from this one.

Returning your attention back to Xu Mo you see him shrug, and you find yourself taking a second to appreciate how elegant he makes that look, before he says, “That is one possibility. Or it could simply be what it literally means: contact with the lips.”

Somehow, you don’t think you’re imagining the weight of all the men looking at you…

An awkward - at least for you - silence falls upon the room. Everyone is deep in their own thoughts.

But then Zhou Qiluo claps his hands, shattering the silence. “I’ve got it then!”

There’s an easy smile on his face that clears away your worries and you walk closer to him to ask him excitedly if he’s cracked the code. It looks like even without a computer, he’s still the amazing KEY.

Qiluo gives you a puzzled look, “Nope. I was thinking we should test the obvious and move on if that doesn’t work.”

Huh?

Before you can ask him what he means Qiluo grabs your arm, tugs you into him, and leans in. You hear a shout from behind you, but you don’t have time to pay attention to that when a soft sensation brushes across your forehead.

… Huh!?

You blink and then realize you’re staring blankly at the dip between Qiluo’s neck and collarbones. Did he just kiss you? You raise your head and see him looking down at you with bright blue eyes, as tranquil as a cloudless sky. He grins, flashing one of his canines, and you feel your cheeks heat up. It’s not so much the fact that he kissed you that makes you embarrassed, but that he did it in front of everyone else.

He releases your arm when you take a hurried step back. Looking over your shoulder, you see Bai Qi a few feet away with a foot forward, like he was in the middle of coming over to you and Zhou Qiluo but abandoned the idea; he switches between glaring unhappily at Qiluo and looking towards the double doors.

It turns out that Li Zeyan and Xu Mo are also staring at the door.

You and Qiluo follow their line of sight, but nothing seems to have changed with the double doors. It looks the same as always.

But Xu Mo notes, “There was a flicker of light.”

“Mn,” Li Zeyan gives a noise of agreement.

So… it is a kiss in the literal sense then? You voice this thought out loud, but no one has an answer. Xu Mo looks contemplative though.

And then Li Zeyan walks up to the door, catching everyone’s attention, and tries the door again.

Clack. Still locked.

“Maybe it’s me? Since I gave the kiss?” Qiluo brings up. He doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just shrugs off, Li Zeyan and Bai Qi shooting him narrowed looks and walks up to the door beside Li Zeyan to try the handle.

Clack. Nope, still locked.

The hope that rises in your chest plummets instantly and settles like a rock in your stomach. Your shoulders drop and, even though you know you shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t that easy, somehow you were hoping it would be just that easy.

Xu Mo comes over to you at this point and asks, “May I try something?”

You look at him helplessly because what answer other than “yes” is he expecting? If you don’t let him try then wouldn’t you and everyone else continue to be trapped here?

The corner of Xu Mo’s eyes crinkle in amusement like he read your thoughts and then he picks up your hand in both of his, raising it so that he can press his lips to the back of your hand. His lips are slightly dry and cool against your skin and, to your surprise, he doesn’t pull away after kissing your hand. Instead, he raises his eyes - and your breath stutters at the way those deep, dark-colored eyes glance up at you beneath long lashes - and looks towards the door.

You gather your scattered attention and look over as well to see that the double door has lit up. To be precise, it’s only the top left section of the double door that has a purple light, and even then the light barely covers a strip of the door and flickers like it’ll disappear at any moment.

In fact, the light does disappear in the next second and, just as you make a small exclamation of surprise, you feel Xu Mo push up your sleeve with a hand. You look back at him to see that he’s already raised his head from your hand and then he drops his lips onto your inner elbow. You jerk back reflexively, startled at the contact, but with one of his hands still holding yours and the other holding your arm you’re firmly restrained.

He breathes, and you think you can feel the ghost of a smile against the crook of your arm when you tremble. You hope your goosebumps have gone unnoticed though.

This time the purple light races across more of the door, following the myriad of grooves, but it still only covers a small section of the door before it disappears again when Xu Mo pulls away.

As Xu Mo lowers your hand, humming in thought, you try to work out the meaning behind these lights and the door.

Then he reaches for you again—

But someone grips your elbow and, with a sharp tug, you’re sent stumbling backwards. A broad back soon fills your vision and blocks your sight of Xu Mo.

“That’s enough.” Li Zeyan’s voice is terrifyingly low, like two tectonic plates deep in the earth grinding against each other.

“Is it?” Xu Mo’s words come out serene, but there’s also an unknown quality in them that draws the air around these two men tight with tension. You peek around Li Zeyan to see that Xu Mo’s lips are curved into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “You know as well as I do there’s one more thing to test.”

“No.” This time it’s Bai Qi who barks this out and you turn your head to see that he’s come closer, one hand clenched into a fist beside his leg.

Xu Mo glances between him and Li Zeyan.

You’re sure it’s not your imagination that the tension in the air now feels like it’s sparking towards an explosion. You look over at Zhou Qiluo, trying to find help to defuse this situation. You don’t know how Xu Mo’s words rubbed Li Zeyan and Bai Qi the wrong way, but it’s certainly not going to help anyone if these three get into a fight.

However, you find that Qiluo is watching the three of them with an unexpectedly sharp gaze. It’s only when he notices you looking at him that his eyes soften and he gives you a reassuring smile. You dart your eyes between the three men and then back to Qiluo, making it obvious that you want his support before you do anything. But Qiluo’s smile turns mischievous and he puts on an affected helpless look, shaking his head. You narrow your eyes.

While you have this silent conversation with Qiluo though, Xu Mo speaks up, “I believe both of you are misunderstanding me.” He spreads out his hands in an innocent manner.

Li Zeyan and Bai Qi don’t respond.

This time you’re unable to withstand the pressure building around these three, feeling a cold sweat trickle down your back, and so you quickly ask Xu Mo for clarification. What is he testing? And what else does he need to test?

Li Zeyan angles his body towards you, disapproval in his dark eyes. But it’s impossible to take back your words.

Xu Mo’s attention settles on you. “I don’t believe we would be wrong in assuming that the more light there is on the door the closer we are to solving this puzzle. Zhou Qiluo’s kiss on the forehead compared to the two kisses I gave covered the most area. However, the lights from both our actions disappeared the moment we withdrew. Putting aside the difference of area covered by the lights, if the two of us have the same instantaneous disappearance of light I would like to see if there is a difference when we change the initiator of the kiss.”

You give him an admiring look. Geniuses really do have quick minds. Xu Mo smiles at you, catching your eyes.

So, you just have to kiss him then? You voice this out loud, and then realize how that sounds. Clearing your throat, flustered, you clarify yourself and ask if it can be anywhere like the cheek or something? Xu Mo’s smile deepens at your correction.

“No,” Li Zeyan rejects this. If his voice gets any colder, you imagine you’ll be able to see icicles forming on your clothes.

“It doesn’t have to be me,” Xu Mo calmly says, “Zhou Qiluo and I both lit up a different section of the door. It wouldn’t be a stretch to believe there are two other sections that correspond to you and Bai Qi.”

Wow… what a sadistic door. This thought crosses your mind even as you look up at Li Zeyan, since he’s standing closest to you and the one who vocally rejected this. You ask him if he doesn’t want to get out of here?

Li Zeyan looks back at you in silence with a gloomy expression, gaze sweeping across your face.

You endure it and point out that it wouldn’t hurt to try, unless he has a better alternative? The five of you can’t continue to remain here.

His eyebrows draw together, forming a deep furrow, but he still doesn’t say anything. So, before you can wilt underneath the displeasure he’s exuding you decide to just go for it. Placing a hand on his shoulder, you stand up on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

At least that was your plan.

However, Li Zeyan takes a reflexive step back in surprise, which breaks your balance, but as you find yourself tilting over he steadies you immediately with hands on your waist. Your lips miss the mark of his cheek though and land on the underside of his chin.

“You…!” Li Zeyan’s eyes widen.

You take a second to appreciate catching the normally composed CEO off guard before you turn your head to check on the door. By the time you look over the light is already disappearing from the top right section of the double door though. Fortunately, the disappearance is not instantaneous and you can see how the red light races backwards through the grooves. It almost seems to make out some sort of illustration, but the light is soon gone and the illusion of an illustration disappears back into a confusing mess of engravings.

“That covered more than Zhou Qiluo’s kiss did,” Xu Mo notes.

“It also lasted longer than yours, and I’m guessing mine,” Qiluo adds.

While those two are discussing this, Li Zeyan releases you like a scalded cat and takes another step back, lips thinning into an upset line. You stumble at the sudden lack of support but then Bai Qi is beside you with a steady hand.

“Are you OK?” He asks you in a quiet voice.

You tell him you are, but you don’t miss how he shoots an unhappy glare at Li Zeyan. Li Zeyan isn’t even looking at him though, or you for that matter, and you try not to let that bother you. Not only does Li Zeyan have a poker face, which always makes it impossible for you to guess his thoughts, but he also seems to have a mercurial mood around you. In one moment you’re praised and then in the next you’re called an idiot.

But, in any case, now isn’t the time to solve what’s bothering Li Zeyan. You put him out of your mind and focus on the present situation. By now, you don’t need anyone to tell you what this means. The light lasted the longest when you were the initiator of a kiss. The location of the kiss being the underside of Li Zeyan’s chin covered the most light but it still wasn’t everything. So, there’s only one possible answer this is all heading towards.

Why is it a kiss on the lips though? Every other thing that was done should technically count as a kiss too, right?

“Do you want to argue semantics with this room?” It’s only when Li Zeyan replies to you sardonically that you realize you said your thoughts out loud.

Xu Mo clears his throat and, when you and the others look over to him, he has an arm folded across his chest with the other arm raised to press a lightly curled hand against his lips. You recognize this pose as one he takes before he starts a lecture.

“I’ve been considering this, ever since we established how we all appeared here after falling asleep. That perhaps this room is a shared space between us all. This door is distinctly linked to us and, as for the definition of a kiss, the first thought an adult would have towards one is of a romantic nature. You would only consider the technicalities of a kiss after thought or if you were trying to find a loophole.”

You and Qiluo must have been thinking the same thing because he voices your thoughts. “If you’re trying to say that we’re all sharing the same dream, then couldn’t we just think really hard to change things? Or wake ourselves up?”

Xu Mo shakes his head. “Therein lies another question: just who is the master of this dream? All of us equally? Some more than others? Or just one of us?” He extends a hand and spreads his fingers, turning it back and forth in front of him. “If this is a dream then the detail is outstanding, enough to trick the perception. Because of that, I also believe it is too late now. Much like seeing an elephant in a room and then being told it doesn’t exist, some part of your mind will always accept this as an immutable fact, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise.”

“That’s a detailed explanation,” Bai Qi comments in a neutral tone.

Xu Mo gives a closed-lip smile. “My field of study is neurology after all.”

Suddenly Qiluo’s eyebrows shoot up in realization and he grins mischievously. “So, seeing as a kiss is needed to solve this door, doesn’t that mean someone here is having naughty dreams?”

Right after these words Li Zeyan and Bai Qi stiffen and then you see blue eyes land on you. The others seem to follow that line of sight to you one after another. Excuse me!? You don’t need a mirror to know that you’re red underneath everyone’s gazes because your cheeks burn with heat. You shake your head vehemently, denying Qiluo’s words. It’s just as likely to be the other way around, with you as the innocent one and everyone else here being the dreamers!

As you throw everyone else under the bus without scruples, in the corner of your eye you see Bai Qi turn to the side, hand rising to cover his reddening face. Li Zeyan spits out the word “childish”, appearing offended by your insinuation, while Xu Mo hides his laugh behind a cough.

Qiluo nods with a serious expression. “True, true. I don’t know about the others, but at least I know I’m not the master of this dream or else this place would have—”

You say his name loudly to interrupt the rest of his words. Zhou Qiluo raises both hands in surrender, laughing. “I was only going to say this place would have bags of chips! Sorry, sorry, I’ll stop teasing. Don’t be angry, please?”

You try your hardest to hold onto your glare, but your twitching lips gives away your amusement. The uneasy atmosphere that had settled when Xu Mo was talking disappears as if it has never been there to begin with.

However, this doesn’t last long and the gravity of the situation reasserts itself.

So… it looks like a kiss on the lips really is the way to get out? You bring this up again for clarification, but also hoping someone came up with an alternative answer.

But no one offers another solution.

Just as your eyes start to dart around, skirting around the men here, Bai Qi spins around and stalks over to the double door. “I refuse to believe there isn’t another way out.” He presses the handle down and pulls. Hard.

Of course the door refuses to open, but he continues to struggle with it. Despite giving Bai Qi an unimpressed look, Li Zeyan still walks over to his side and re-examines the door while discussing things in a low voice. Xu Mo watches them.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiluo catches your eyes and tells you, “I’m happy to go along with whatever you wanna do.”

You jokingly ask him what he’d do if you decide to stay here then.

Qiluo answers without missing a beat, “No problem! I’ll treat it as a vacation. Aah, honestly, the only thing that’d make this a paradise is if there was food here… and maybe more privacy.”

You don’t catch his last words, too busy covering your startled laugh when he plops down in an exaggerated action and falls backwards to cross his arms behind his head. Again, you can’t help but be amazed by how Qiluo can make this blank and eerie room feel like a normal place.

But, in the end, you decide out loud that you’d like some time to organize your thoughts and everything you just learned.

Seeing that no one has any objections, you go over to the other side of the room and crouch down, dropping your sight to the ground. So, are you really going to kiss all four of them to get out of this room? Do you even have a choice? It doesn’t feel right to drag your feet on this when the answer is right in front of everyone. It’s just a kiss, right? But all of them? And in the same room?

As your thoughts spin around and around, you feel tempted to clutch your head and groan. If this really is a dream then why can’t it be simpler? For example, placing everyone in a different room. Why does the difficulty level feel like it’s set on extra hard!?

Wait.

If this is a dream then doesn’t that mean nothing matters? Maybe no one will remember this when it’s all over?

“Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”

You’re startled out of your thoughts by Xu Mo’s voice which flows into your ears like a calm stream. It looks like he came over to your side at some point and, after you look up at him, he takes a seat beside you, sweeping his lab coat back with an arm so that he doesn’t sit on the underside.

It doesn’t take any time to identify the words he quoted. They were from Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher back in the Warring States Period. You say this out loud.

Xu Mo touches your head, giving it a stroke. “Correct. He was of the thought that there must be a distinction between him and the butterfly; however, it is impossible to distinguish between dreaming and being awake. Perhaps this will never be known until a person reaches enlightenment. Then, in this event of not knowing whether we are in dreams or reality, should we not treat all our dreams as a state of reality? What you feel, experience, and learn exists regardless of the form of the world.”

You must have accidentally said your earlier thoughts out loud on how, if this is all a dream, then nothing matters. So, does Xu Mo mean that because any place is indistinguishable between dream and reality you should treat everything as real and do things with sincerity? It is said that a life without regrets is an important thing.

You tell Xu Mo that you think you understand what he’s getting at. To be true to yourself, right? You can’t help but smile at how this seems like another version of his very first advice to you. To trust in your instincts.

Something ripples across the surface of his eyes as he stares at you.

You clear your throat, feeling a bit flustered when he doesn’t say anything, and ask him if you got it wrong.

He blinks, looking a bit surprised at himself before he smiles. The gentle expression softens the weight of his attention. “No, you’re right. You catch on quickly.”

Xu Mo reaches out again, as if he can’t help himself, to rub your head. But this time, although you accept his praise with a self-satisfied “hehe”, you ward off his hand to protect your hair from getting mussed. He can only withdraw his hand with a helpless upturn of the corners of his mouth.

During this lull in conversation, you take a look at the other three men. Zhou Qiluo was sitting up from his previous position lying on the ground and watching you and Xu Mo; he tilts his head, glancing between you two, and mouths a question to you, asking if things are OK? He must see your confusion at his question because Qiluo points at his head, making you realize he must have seen you guarding your head from Xu Mo. You quickly nod and smile for added reassurance.

Then you search for a certain police officer in this room, reminded by Qiluo’s concern. Fortunately, because Bai Qi is still testing the double door, it doesn’t look like he noticed your small exchange with Xu Mo or he would have come over (you remember some notable incidents at your shooting sites); but it does feel like Bai Qi is about to resort to force. Meanwhile, Li Zeyan has moved onto scrutinizing the grooves in the door.

“Are you hesitant about kissing everyone here?”

You jolt at Xu Mo’s astute question and, as you turn to him, your shoulders rise to cover your awkward expression. Is it that obvious? You ask him this, but you know he’s always been able to read you like an open book.

“It’s a natural reaction in this case.”

So he’s also aware of how this room’s request is outrageous then. You don’t hide your sigh or the way you hang your head. Why is it you? Hey, wait. You perk up your head and look at him again, pointing this out. Why IS it you? Sure, the light lasted the longest when you did it, but no one’s tried out other combinations with each other.

Xu Mo raises an eyebrow and pokes your nose. “Silly fool, what do the four of us have in common here?”

You scrunch your forehead in thought, going through things like their occupation, their age, their physical features, and their hobbies, but they’re all too different from each other. The only thing they have in common is… Oh. You. Not to mention, some of them don’t even seem to know each other, or they’re just surface-level acquaintances with each other.

You duck your head down miserably again, probably looking like a turtle drawing back into its shell.

“You don’t need to think so much. I’m certain everyone understands that these are extenuating circumstances.” Xu Mo chuckles and comforts you with these words.

Right… right. It’s like giving CPR or something. You latch onto this thought and say it out loud.

However, Xu Mo gives you a troubled smile. “I don’t think that would be wise. Remember, this room is seeking a kiss. If you convince yourself that you’re not giving a kiss then you may not fulfill the requirements.”

… Inwardly, your mind does its best impression of “The Scream” by Edvard Munch. Could that even happen!? You picture the scenario of working up the courage to kiss one of them only for it not to count. You’re struck with the urge to clutch your head again. Such a sadistic room! Xu Mo has a point about getting it done right the first time, so that you don’t have to do it over again. Honestly, it doesn’t feel great having to play by this place’s rules but there also doesn’t seem to be anything you or the others can do about that.

You breath in deeply, hold the air in your lungs, and then send it whooshing out together with your hesitation and embarrassment.

Following this action, you spring to your feet and turn around to Xu Mo to hold out your hand, telling him that you’re going to do it then. It’s just one kiss, right? Well, four in total, but one for each.

Xu Mo looks up at you from his seat on the ground and you’re struck with how uncommon it is to see him like this. The sourceless light in this place shows his thin lips clearly, along with his defined cheekbones, proud nose, and the elegant sweep of his brows; altogether, these features should make Xu Mo appear aloof from the world, but the gentle curve of his jaw and the way a smile hangs on the corner of his lips transforms his atmosphere. Whenever he smiles at you, it feels like a layer of softness settles over him. However, despite the light illuminating everything, it cannot seem to penetrate the depths of his eyes, framed by long eyelashes. Like deep pools, every now and then you can catch a glimpse of a rippling purple in his eyes, but it’s a royal purple so dark that it comes off as black.

This all happens in a moment before he takes your hand and gets to his feet, although on his own without your help. However, as he stands up, you find yourself needing to tilt your head back to keep eye contact with him and suddenly the presence around him, which was restrained, seems to envelop you when he’s at his full height.

The smile on Xu Mo’s face deepens. “How would you like to do this?”

Your expression stiffens on your face. Does he need to ask this? Confirming every step just makes this more awkward! But then you catch the mischievous glimmer in Xu Mo’s eyes, making you send him a disapproving look. You tell him briskly to close his eyes and lean down.

He obediently does so, chuckling.

You reach out to grab the lapels on his coat and then pause. You only need to lean up and kiss him on the lips, but you know you’re not imagining the prickling stares from the other three men at your back and, with the deliberateness of this set up and Xu Mo’s earlier question, the mood has gone strange!

Not that there was a mood to begin with…

Realizing that you’re trying to delay the inevitable with your tangential thoughts, you keep your voice nonchalant as you tell Xu Mo that you’re going to count to three. He gives a short hum of acknowledgment.

One.

Two.

Three.

… Xu Mo, with his eyes still closed, gives a helpless smile. “Should I be the one to count instead?”

You agree that it’s probably a better idea if you aren’t the one counting.

“One… two…” he counts at an even pace, “three.”

The end of his count catches you with hands tightened in his lapels, but feet glued to the ground. You clear your throat self-consciously, telling him that he counted too fast and you weren’t expecting that so you weren’t ready yet.

Xu Mo opens his eyes with a soft laugh and then before you can react he exchanges positions with you, stepping around you so that his back is to the others, blocking their vision, before his lips descend onto yours.

You startle at the cool sensation that touches your lips, eyes closing instinctively, and try to pull back but his hands have settled at the back of your head and waist to hold you still. Quickly, you remember the purpose of this kiss and tentatively move your lips against his. Is this good enough for the door? You’ve kissed Xu Mo, right? And, even though you’re covered by Xu Mo, you can’t help but be aware of the other three men.

However, just as you think this, a sharp pinch makes your eyes fly open to see half-lidded dark eyes watching you. You realize distantly that the stinging sensation from your lips is because this man nipped you; but the majority of your attention is pinned by his gaze. Those eyes are the eyes of a beast. Hungry. Covetous. And is that not a look of exultation from a hunter catching their prey?

Surprise and a faint sense of alarm at this alien look on his face makes you tremble. You open your mouth, but only get out the first syllable of his name before he cuts you off.

“Don’t think about anything else. Just pay attention to me.”

Xu Mo’s voice is low and you don’t have time to react before he overwhelms you.

His tongue seizes the opportunity of your parted lips to intrude into your mouth. He explores this intimate part of you without any reserve, sliding his tongue against your teeth, stroking the sensitive roof of your mouth, and entangling your tongue and trapping it beneath his. You can’t keep up with this assault, feeling completely at his mercy and an indistinct pleasure fogs your head. Even though his lips and hands are cool, your warmth is shared to him and gradually both your temperatures rise.

Xu Mo’s hand flexes on your waist and then, with a tug, you’re pulled right up against his chest, which is broader than you expected. Turns out his clothes make him look more slender than he is in reality. He straightens up, forcing you to rise onto your toes and to lean against his chest. Next, he tilts your head with the hand that’s in your hair and deepens the kiss.

Through the hot haze of sparks that tingle through you every time he moves his lips against yours, you feel a desperate need for oxygen; but he doesn’t budge even when you push at him. Instead, Xu Mo presses his mouth even harder against yours. Like he’s trying to devour you. Or like he’s trying to keep you as close to him as possible. You blindly try to breathe but just end up swallowing the combined saliva in your mouth.

Finally, when you’re pretty much resting against him and clutching at him to stop yourself from sinking to the ground on shaky legs, he pulls back.

Xu Mo’s cheeks are flushed a faint red and his chest is rising and falling faster than usual, although not to the extent of how you’re gulping for air. Still, this is probably the first time you’ve seen him so disheveled.

When you blink past the mistiness in your vision you notice that his eyes are dark to the point where you can’t even see a hint of purple. But then he blinks, eyelashes sweeping down, and when they raise his expression has returned to its normal gentleness. His eyes are as serene as an undisturbed lake.

Xu Mo tidies your hair with meticulous care, smoothing out the area where he had been holding your head, before he moves on to fix your disheveled clothes.

It’s at this point that you come back to yourself and step away quickly, fixing the rest of your clothes yourself with a flustered expression. You can’t seem to look at Xu Mo directly and, as your eyes dart around, you exclaim in surprise when you happen to look past him to the double door behind him. You take a few steps past him to get a closer look. He follows your line of sight and also turns around.

The top left section of the double door has lit up in purple light, and bright and dark shades of the color fill in the numberless grooves on the door. From your position, where you can see the door in its entirety, you realize you didn’t see wrong during the moment you kissed Li Zeyan. The light and grooves do make an illustration and in this case you can see a tortoise shell outlined in a royal purple, while the rest of its body is in a purple dark enough to be considered black. The neck that comes out of the tortoise shell is sinuous and long, like a snake, and it curves partially around the shell so that its head rests on its back while its webbed feet are tucked underneath its body. The half-lidded slitted purple eyes of the turtle-snake watches everyone in this room with a solemn presence.

This is Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise of the North.

You glance between the illustration and Xu Mo, curious as to why this holy beast of water appeared for him on the door, only to see that he’s staring at the illustration with a narrow look. But when he feels your gaze on him, he turns to you with a small smile.

“Interesting.” He doesn’t add anything more to that statement.

Then Zhou Qiluo clears his throat.

You startle at the noise and you’re abruptly reminded of everyone else’s presence. The other three are looking over in yours and Xu Mo’s direction and you fight back the embarrassment that burns beneath your cheeks. You reassure yourself that Xu Mo was blocking everyone’s sight, so it’s not like they saw anything, and even if they did this whole situation is an emergency. You’re just doing what you need to do to get everyone out of here.

Qiluo looks at Xu Mo, who is standing somewhat behind you, and something you can’t make sense of passes between them over your head. But soon enough those bright blue eyes return to you and Qiluo comes up to take your hand and lead you a few steps away.

He changes his grasp on your hand so that he’s holding both of your hands in his and then grins. “My turn.”

You unconsciously squeeze his hands out of nervousness, making him tighten his own grip, but the smile on his face doesn’t change. He just watches you patiently. For some reason you feel like you should apologize, but you don’t know what to apologize for or why you’d need to apologize.

Your eyes dart around his face, taking in the casual but artful way his blond hair falls over his forehead. It almost seems to glow gold in the light of this room like a miniature sun and, paired with eyes that are as clear as a sky without clouds, you find yourself relaxing from the warmth and security he gives off. His smile widens, flashing a glimpse of one of his canines, when he feels your hands lose their tension and he runs his thumbs across the backs of your hands.

“Yup, that’s right. Relax, relax.”

Qiluo suddenly leans in and you shut your eyes reflexively, expecting to feel him kiss you.

Except you feel his lips skim across your forehead instead.

Confusion fills you, but before you can open your eyes another kiss lands on you. This time it’s between your eyebrows. Then kisses land on your eyelids. Then your nose. Then your cheeks. Each kiss is like gossamer, brushing against your skin with a light, ticklish feeling. Qiluo continues to drop this tender rain of kisses on you everywhere but your lips and behind your closed eyes you can see flashes of yellow. You don’t need to actually look to know that the double door is probably lighting on and off like fireworks every time Qiluo’s lips touch and leave you. The sight probably looks ridiculous and the image of this makes you laugh.

“That’s more like it. I love your smile.”

You’re not given any time to respond to his whisper before you feel his smiling lips press against yours.

Zhou Qiluo deepens the kiss without any fanfare. His tongue slides in through your parted lips and wraps around yours, inviting it back into his mouth, and the searing heat there startles you. He raises your hands to drop them on his shoulders before he slides his hand around to your back, pressing between your shoulder blades, while the other grips your hip and draws you into him.

He sucks on your tongue and the rush of pleasure that blazes through your nerves makes you miss how he slides a leg between yours until it’s already there. You’re helpless beneath his lack of hesitation and intensity, feeling like you’re sweltering in this fire he set. Then the hand between your shoulder blades descends, following the curve of your spine, and the scorching trail his touch leaves makes you arch your back. In your dazed mind you’re not sure if you want to get closer to him or escape the burn of his hand.

But a small part of you recalls that you’re still in public and so you squirm, wanting to pull back out of embarrassment and for air. Qiluo lets you draw back but, as your mouths separate, his tongue continues to follow yours, leading into a wet open-mouthed kiss. You can feel the flush on your face deepen, undoubtedly turning you even redder, and you clench your damp hands on his shoulders in a panic.

The tight line of muscles below your hands shifts as Qiluo leans forward again to seal your mouths together and, for an instant, you think you can feel the ghost of a smirk. His tongue gives one last lingering caress against yours before he pulls away slowly, as if reluctant to leave. There’s a thin trail of spit between your lips and his before he swipes his thumb across your lips, breaking the line and wiping away the wetness that lingers on your mouth.

Zhou Qiluo’s eyes are like blue flames and you feel yourself shiver at his gaze. Did he always look like this? There almost seems to be a flicker of a steely shadow behind his eyes before the fire there dies down and warmth returns to his eyes, softening his features into something familiar.

“I knew you’d taste swee—”

You slam a hand over Qiluo’s mouth, eyes wide open. He’s not supposed to say those things out loud! You chide him and feel him shake with soundless laughter before a wet sensation swipes against your palm.

Did he… did he just lick your palm!?

You glare at him and the playful look in his eyes. It’s the last thing that erases the strange feeling you had from earlier and returns him back to the Zhou Qiluo that you know.

“The door is lit.” Li Zeyan’s words strike like a whip, shattering the atmosphere between you and Qiluo.

You startle at that and drop your hand from Qiluo’s mouth to push against his shoulders, wanting space. He slides his leg out from between yours and pulls back his hands with a pout. You turn your head to determinedly look at the door and step away, fixing your clothes.

This time the bottom right of the double door has lit up. The grooves are predominately filled with a yellow light but there are also shades of orange and red mixed in. The illustration this time is of a bird with its wings outstretched in a flourishing arc, looking like it may take flight at any moment, and the way the three colors shimmer gives the illusion that there are flames dancing on the edges of each of its feathers. The stunning blue eyes of the bird watches everyone from its majestic pose.

This is Zhuque, the Vermillion Bird of the South.

So, according to this room, Zhou Qiluo is associated with the holy beast of fire. You’re sensing a theme from this door and you think you can guess what the other two sections will reveal.

Speaking of the last two…

Li Zeyan has such a dark look on his face that you nearly take a step back.

You decide to go to Bai Qi instead, although he doesn’t look happy either. There’s a deep furrow carved between his brows and his jaw is set as fixed as a stone sculpture. He even has a ferocious look in his eyes as he stares at Zhou Qiluo and Xu Mo.

Nevertheless, you tentatively approach Bai Qi and call out his name. For a second, you feel like the air around him is abnormally sharp, which shouldn’t be possible since he can’t use his Evol, but then Bai Qi moves his gaze - or more like rips it away - from the others and when his eyes land on you the dangerous look in them fades into a warm amber.

He steps forward to meet you and holds you lightly by the shoulders, examining you as if he’s afraid you’re injured somewhere. Then he opens his mouth and says, “You don’t have to do this.”

You blink at him, surprised. Is he really saying this at this point? Isn’t it a bit late?

His expression doesn’t change when you point this out, still serious. “If you want to stop now then you can. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We can always figure out another way to escape from here.”

The solemn sincerity of his words wrap around your heart like a gentle embrace. You smile from the bottom of your heart, thanking him for his concern but tell him that this is the quickest way and you’re okay with this.

Bai Qi continues to look uncomfortable but he dips his head in acknowledgment of your choice. He doesn’t move apart from this though and you realize you’re going to have to be the one to do things around here. So you lean up with a heartbeat that picks up from nervousness, gripping the front of his shirt for balance, and kiss him.

His hands stiffen on your shoulders before the stiffness slips out of his frame and he wraps his arms around you, cradling you securely into his chest and slanting his mouth against yours.

Bai Qi’s kiss is pleasant. His tongue swipes, almost tentatively, against your lips and he seems more interested in mapping out the shape of your mouth than anything else. Sometimes he caresses your lips with his, changing the angles, and other times he’ll catch your lip and graze it softly with his teeth before laving over it with his tongue.

These caresses make you unconsciously tighten your grip in his clothes, wanting to get closer to his warmth, and when you press up and fleetingly touch the tip of your tongue to his he freezes. Then he deepens the kiss with more confidence. Bai Qi eases himself into your mouth and savors you in a melting, languid movement as if he’s memorizing everything in this moment. He seems attuned to your every reaction because, just as you’re about to push against him when you feel your chest tighten from a lack of air, he pulls back to rest his forehead against yours, nuzzling you in a subconscious act.

Both of your quickened breaths land, scorching, against each other’s mouth for a moment before Bai Qi straightens his back and you find yourself blinking up at him with dazed eyes and lips reddened from his focused attention.

Upon seeing this expression of yours he stifles a groan in the back of his throat, which vibrates in the lack of space between your bodies, and then the next thing you know he presses a hot kiss against your forehead and embraces you solidly into his chest. You make a small noise of surprise, both at his action and when he presses his chin down on the crown of your head. His arms are wrapped around you like steel bands and they stop you from getting out of his hold.

You call out his name in confusion, still sounding breathless.

“Just a moment…” he breathes out, “Let me hold you just a moment longer, or I won’t be able to control myself.”

You’re not quite sure what he means, but you can hear the growl of violence beneath his words and your heart jumps as your thoughts immediately turn to the others in the room. Even though you’re aware that everything you know about Bai Qi from his high school years was a misunderstanding, his reputation didn’t spring from nothing. It’s all too easy to imagine the bloodbath that can happen in this enclosed room if Bai Qi decides to turn his repressed tension, which you can feel in his bunched muscles, into physical action. Hurriedly, you wrap your own arms around him and soothingly pat his back.

Right when you feel him relax you hear Xu Mo clear his throat.

You instinctively jump and try to step away from Bai Qi, but he doesn’t let you go. His arms tense for one, long second before he sighs heavily enough to stir the hair on your head and reluctantly releases you. He gives you another look over, as if confirming you’re presentable, before he steps aside.

You carefully don’t make eye contact with Xu Mo, Zhou Qiluo, or Li Zeyan and instead look towards the double door.

The lit up illustration that appears in your eyes doesn’t surprise you much. In the bottom left section of the double door there are alternating portions of navy blue and an ice blue so luminous it could be mistaken as white. A blue light outlines these colors and corrals them into the shape of an enormous tiger with rippling muscles. The tiger has one paw raised with its claws unsheathed, looking like it can tear its way out of its section with ease. Its mouth is open in a soundless roar that almost seems to shake through your bones.

This is Baihu, the White Tiger of the West. The holy beast of metal and a symbol of strength and military force. You can understand why the room would pick this one for Bai Qi.

Three out of four sections of the double door are now illuminated. There is Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise of the North, lit up by Xu Mo, in the top left square of the double door. Zhuque, the Vermillion Bird of the South, lit up by Zhou Qiluo, is in the bottom right. Then there is Bai Qi’s tiger which you were just looking at in the bottom left.

It doesn’t take a genius to know what will appear in the top right section.

You look over to Li Zeyan just as he so happens to shift his gaze from the door to you and you feel yourself freeze. He looks… very unhappy. There’s no emotion on his poker face, but you think you can see frost spreading out on the ground from his feet. Of course, nothing like that is actually happening but the air still feels several degrees colder over there.

For an instant, you wonder if you chose the wrong order. Maybe it would have been better to go to Li Zeyan first? But that might have killed your courage right there and then and you’d never have gone through with this. At least, in this case with him being last, you’re propelled by the feeling that you have no choice but to finish things since you’ve come this far and you’re this close.

You shore up your resolve and then head over to him.

Li Zeyan’s blank expression doesn’t even flicker as you come close to him. He tilts his head to look down at you.

You stare up at him.

He doesn’t seem to have any intention of making things easier for you, but the thought of placing your hand on him to go onto your tiptoes to kiss him like you did Bai Qi makes you falter. It’s not like you haven’t touched Li Zeyan before, however it certainly isn’t with the same ease you’d reach out to the others with. This isn’t even mentioning how displeased he is right now.

You can’t continue to stand here in this deadlock though! You rack your mind, trying to think of a way to ask him not to mind you when you grab him for balance so that you can kiss him, when Li Zeyan unexpectedly opens his mouth and breaks the silence first.

“Is this what you’ve decided?”

You laugh, startled, after you hear his words. Li Zeyan’s forehead wrinkles slightly and so you explain that Bai Qi asked you a similar thing earlier. Your answer now is the same as then. You’re sure and it’d be silly to stop now at this point.

Li Zeyan’s eyes darken the more you speak and a heavy pressure seems to exude from them, unbeknownst to you.

You go to finish off your reasons by pointing out how he’s the last one too, but Li Zeyan interrupts.

“—Idiot.”

Indignation rises up within you. His insult is uncalled for! Especially when you’re doing this to help everyone.

But, just as you open your mouth to complain, you feel Li Zeyan grab your chin in an unyielding grip and then he leans down and kisses you.

It’s a bruising kiss. All you can sense is that Li Zeyan is furious. He presses his mouth down against yours, domineering and oppressive, and squeezes the fingers he has on your chin, turning the grip just shy of painful. You knock his hand off and retreat a few steps with a reflexive exclamation. It didn’t actually hurt, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Out of the corner of your eye you see light flash on the double door and then disappear.

“Li Zeyan!” “CEO Li.” “Zeyan!”

The other three men have already reacted, saying his name in warning.

You move before you even think, somehow knowing that if you don’t stand between Li Zeyan and the others there really will be a brawl in the next few seconds. Bai Qi’s eyes are narrowed in a ferocious glare and he looks like he’ll pounce over at any moment. Qiluo has a cold expression which you’ve never seen before on his face and it sends a chill down your spine. Even Xu Mo has lost his smile and he’s clearly showing his displeasure.

You firmly tell them that you’re fine and you can handle this. You’re going to discuss this privately with Li Zeyan.

When you turn back to him, he’s looking over your head at the others without any expression before he returns his gaze to you.

You point at him and then go on a tirade about how you know he thinks you’re dumb for doing this. You know he doesn’t want to kiss you, but letting you kiss him is a small price to pay for an easy way out, right? He doesn’t want to waste his time being stuck in here, right? Even if time seems to be stopped in this room, who knows what will happen if you and everyone remain here. He can think of this whole kissing business as being bitten by a cat or something and he doesn’t need to take his anger out on you. You end your speech by crossing your arms, frowning at him.

“… Idiot,” He simply spits out.

Idiot, idiot, idiot. Is that all he can say!? You ask him to explain himself.

Li Zeyan presses his lips together, looking mulish, and for a second you think he will keep silent; however, he looks past you to the others again and then orders them, “Turn around.”

It comes as no surprise to you, when you glance over your shoulder at them, that no one listens.

“Turn around!” Li Zeyan growls.

You jump a little because it’s extremely rare to hear Li Zeyan raise his voice like that. But the three men have focused their attention on you instead. You give them a nod and reassure them again that you’ve got this.

Bai Qi looks extremely reluctant but he seems to trust you and turns around. Zhou Qiluo has a frown on his face and doesn’t hide his concern, but he still turns his back albeit stiffly. Xu Mo scrutinizes you and Li Zeyan for a few more seconds before he turns around.

You look at Li Zeyan. He watches you back.

There’s a lull of silence.

You prompt him. Well? Is he going to explain what he means by calling you an idiot?

Li Zeyan clenches his jaw, as if he’s struggling over whether to answer or not, before you see his shoulders drop with resignation. It’s such a small movement that you would have missed it if you weren’t staring at him so hard. Finally, he speaks in a low voice which sounds dragged out of him. “Who said I was angry at you? I’m displeased over this situation. I would have found another method, and there was no need for you to do this.”

You blink.

Is he… upset that you didn’t believe in him?

You take another look at Li Zeyan with this new perspective and now you can see the steely protectiveness and determination in the depths of his eyes. He stands before you with an upright posture, unbowed by the demands of this room, and undaunted by this situation everyone is in. Calm, steady, and reliable. These three words pop into your head when you’re reminded of how you can always rely on him, despite his occasional thorny remarks, and you find yourself dropping your defensively crossed arms.

But still, even though you recognize and appreciate his concern now, you’ve made your decision. He needs to trust you with this like he trusts your business ventures. You smile wryly to yourself, remembering all the times he’s scolded you on subjects for a shoot and the aid he sends you in spite of his exasperation.

You meet Li Zeyan’s eyes steadily and explain to him that you want to do something to help too. You’re not one to stand around and with such an obvious answer in front of everyone - which is clearly working - how can he expect you not to do anything? If you were really against this then you wouldn’t have done it. He should know how stubborn you are (a huff of laughter escapes Li Zeyan). So, can he trust you here?

His eyes sweep across your face. You stand resolute in front of him.

Li Zeyan’s lips turn down with his displeasure but he accepts your decision with a short, “Fine.”

He reaches out to slip his fingers beneath your chin again, tilting your face up, and then leans down. You close your eyes and tense unconsciously, remembering your earlier experience, but this time his touch is gentle and so is his kiss when he presses his mouth against yours before you can react any further.

His lips are a light touch on yours and it’s a complete contrast to his previous kiss. You feel his other hand grip your upper arm, but then he makes no other movement. Somehow, even though he initiated the kiss, you can tell he’s letting you decide what you want to do next. In response, you tentatively kiss him back.

There’s an elusive taste that seems to enter your mouth from this kiss and so, before you know it, you lick his lips. Li Zeyan breaths in sharply, parting his lips, and you take this opportunity to slip your tongue inside, too caught up in trying to figure out this faint taste. His mouth is… sweet. Huh. It’s unexpected and reminds you of the pudding he makes.

Li Zeyan’s hands tremble at your entry, but then you feel him slide his hand from your upper arm to your back and spread out over your shoulder blade. Instead of pulling you into him though, he steps closer to you. Meanwhile, the hand underneath your chin shifts to cup your jaw; his palm is warm against your skin and his fingers, when they brush the area behind your ear, leaves a trail of pleasurable tingles that make you shiver. He lets you explore his mouth to your heart’s content, his tongue patiently following yours.

It’s a slow, unhurried kiss and, at the end, he suckles your tongue tenderly before giving one last lingering kiss to your lips when you both pull back. You open your eyes slowly and your breath catches at how Li Zeyan’s eyes blaze as he looks at you. His eyes flick down to your mouth again and you catch him swallowing hard.

But then Zhou Qiluo breaks the moment. “The door’s glowing!”

You turn your head to the completed double door and, like you expected, you see Qinglong, the Azure Dragon of the East, in the top right section of the door. The long sinuous dragon, silhouetted in burning crimson and with deep blue scales that seem to glimmer red, almost seems too much for its section as it curls around itself in tight loops while its four arms, topped with five sharp claws, dig into the borders around it. However, its antlered head is raised grandly to stare down imperiously at everyone in the room. It is effusive with dignity and presence.

Qinglong, the holy beast of wood, and often a symbol of imperial power. You can only shake your head in wry amusement at this illustration representing Li Zeyan.

In the next moment, a loud click echoes through the room before the handles on the double door seem to move on their own. The door opens, exposing an extremely bright white space. You can’t see past this blinding light to whatever is beyond this door.

Just as you’re about to ask everyone for their thoughts on this new development, you hear Li Zeyan make a startled noise. You whip your head back to him to see that he’s disappearing, starting from his feet. You cry out in alarm.

“Don’t.” Li Zeyan holds up a hand to stop you from coming closer. “It doesn’t feel dangerous, but you still shouldn’t get close.” The in case it is dangerous is left unsaid.

You clench your fists, worried but unsure of what you can do, and cast a desperate look at the others.

Xu Mo is already examining this phenomenon with a serious expression. He relaxes a few seconds later though and tells everyone, “I believe we’re being returned to our original locations.”

Maybe it’s due to the unexpectedness of this situation, but no one questions just how Xu Mo knows this.

Li Zeyan takes one more glance at how his lower half is pretty much gone before he looks at you and takes a step closer somehow, even though you can’t see his legs now. “Come to my office tomorrow at ten o’clock sharp.” He only gets this out and reaches out to lightly brush his knuckles down your cheek before he disappears entirely.

You barely have time to process this before you’re drawn into a strong embrace. “I’ll be at your place to pick you up tomorrow.” Bai Qi’s voice rumbles against your ear and you feel him squeeze you tightly before he also fades before your eyes.

In his stead, Zhou Qiluo is already there and he grabs your hands. Despite the fact that he’s also disappearing, and that everything below his waist is gone already, he still has a relaxed and bright grin on his face. “Post what you dreamed about to your moments. I’ll do the same and we can see if we really shared a dream.” He winks at you and then disappears.

You expect to see Xu Mo next, but you blink in confusion when you don’t see anyone. Looking around, you see that he’s still standing in his original spot even though half of his legs are gone.

His eyes catch yours and he admits, “I made a mistake.”

Huh? You jolt with alarm, asking him if he means he’s wrong about everyone going back to where they came from?

He shakes his head, a deep smile appearing on his face. “No, I mean I made a mistake in being your first. I should have made myself your last.”

It takes a second for you to realize what he’s talking about and, just as embarrassment floods your face, Xu Mo disappears with a chuckle.

The room is now empty except for you.

You look down, expecting to see yourself start to fade, but nothing happens. Uneasiness fills you as worst case scenarios flash through your mind, like being the only one trapped here forever. But then you remember the open double door and the blinding white space. Could that be an exit too?

Hey, why did everyone else get to be transported but here you are forced to manually leave? You complain inwardly even as you cautiously move to the door.

Even when you’re right in front of the open doors you still can’t see through the glaring light. However, there doesn’t seem to be anything else you can do or anywhere else for you to go. You take another look around the room, confirming that it’s still empty, and at yourself, confirming that you still aren’t disappearing, before you breath in deeply to calm your racing heart.

You step through the door.

[rose-demica]

A guest shows up at your house drunk. (Prompt)

Fandom: Ouran High Host Club

Series: Unnamed WIP,

Pairings: Kyoya Ootori / Violetta Tatsuya (OFC)

Warnings: Underage Drinking

Tags: @evilskank-inthemegacoven

This is a little old, and doesn’t fit in with the current direction the story is heading, but it was fun to write. 

Violetta Tatsuya didn't know what she was expecting from a lazy night in, she had completed all the paperwork the White Lily League had pressed upon her earlier. She had just settled down in front of the huge flat screen television in her private drawing room when a butler barged in. Her requested glass of Red wine sloshed over the sides of the silver tray it had been delicately placed atop a few moments earlier. "A guest, my lady, for you." He announced, Violetta reached for the nearest item of clothing, shrugging it around her shoulders, covering up the low cut tank top she would wear to sleep in later that night. She nodded at the butler as her arms slipped through the sleeves, wrapping around her waist to hold the shirt closed until she found the time to make herself more presentable. "Lady Tatsuya." A man called, stumbling through the door, it took a moment for Violetta to recognize the normally perfectly composed male. "Kyoya?" The light reflected off of his glasses as bloodshot and glazed over eyes attempted to focus on her.

"Is that my shirt?" He blurted out, hand covering his mouth as he realised he had spoken his thoughts. "Leave us." Violetta ordered the butler, who fled from the room, eager to tell the others of whom had drunkenly showed up at her door. "Kyoya." She moved with years of trained grace to his side, wrapping one arm around his waist, the other tugged his arm over her shoulders, holding it there as she navigated him towards the couch. "Excuse me, my lady, shall I send for a car to take Master Ootori home?" A much more competent butler knocked on the door, calling out softly. Violetta glanced at the man she was supporting, before making up her mind. "No, Master Ootori can remain here. Have a guest room prepared, make sure painkillers and water are readily available, and be sure that competent staff are on hand when he awakes." "Of course my lady, can I get you anything now?" Violetta forced Kyoya down onto the couch, using one hand on his chest to hold him still when he tried to get up once more. "Just water." She replied, eyes flicking back down to the man when she felt a gentle tug on her hair. "Such a beautiful colour." He murmured to himself, letting the strands of dark red weave through his fingers playfully. "Kyoya." Violetta whispered, his eyes flicked to her, then to the hand holding him down. "My shirt." A smile tugged at his lips, his fingers tracing the skin just below the folds of the sleeves. Violetta rolled her eyes, of course it was his shirt, only he was so pedantic about the sleeves being folded, folded not rolled, a certain way. "How do you have my shirt?" Kyoya voiced her thoughts, she definitely hadn't taken it from his room, nor the Ouran host halls. "I am unsure." She responded, realising he was waiting for her to answer his musing. "Perhaps it was Sylvia and Haruhi, they did take the club's cosplay clothes to that commoner's washing house." Kyoya sighed, letting his hand fall to rest on top of hers. "You're beautiful." The sincerity in his voice astounded her, it could not have been true, she was in her worst night time wear, makeup removed and hair no doubt a mess from all the times she ran her fingers through it while calculating budgets. A nervous habit her father had not managed to break. Heavy breathing cut off Violetta's chance to reply, Kyoya falling asleep. Slowly she retracted her hand from under his, removing his glasses and placing them on the nearest solid surface. A hand ran through his raven locks, easily tussling out the knots. "Sweet dreams Master Ootori." she whispered, kissing his forehead before breezing from the room. ~~~ Kyoya awoke with a groan, limbs strangled by sheets and blankets too silky and far too soft to be his own. His back sunk into the mattress, lacking the firmness he was so used to. Slowly he opened his eyes, blurry images only half coming into view, there was a distinct lack of quality lighting in the room. Only a small lamp seemed to illuminate a small corner of the huge room; more specifically it lit up a table that held two small pills, a large jug of water, and his glasses. Pushing aside the sweltering blankets, Kyoya forced himself into an upright position, hand holding his head as it decided to make its presence known. An army of drum playing monkeys, hurling and screeching while being horribly off key assaulted his senses. "Master Ootori? We had not expected you awake so soon. I apologise for our mistake. Here." A silver tray made its way into his watery view, he took his glasses first, putting them on so he could make out the two small white capsules before him. "For your hangover sir. I shall have a meal brought up immediately. Is there anything in particular you wish for?" Kyoya shook his head slightly, taking the full glass, and downing the pills with ease. The soft shutting of the door sounded like a clap of thunder in his head. With a groan he covered his ears, laying back down. Kyoya could remember very little of the night before. He remembered suits, ball gowns, and a large hall filled to the brim with people, dancing and mingling. He remembered being proud, watching it all go off without a hitch. So it must have been a host party. The twins? They were always up to no good, they must have spiked his drink, Had they gotten to anyone else? What was supposed to be a soft knock startled him out of his thoughts. Light flooding into the room as the door opened, hitting his eyes as though someone was shining a spotlight directly into them. He squeezed them tightly shut, listening for the sound of the door shutting before he would dare attempt to open them once more. "His father searches for him, my lady, what shall I say?" A soft spoken female questioned, "Call Tamaki Suoh, he will cover for his friend. No one is to know of Ootori's whereabouts nor the state in which he arrived at my door, understood?" He recognized the female voice that spoke the second time. Lady Violetta of the Tatsuya family? How had he ended up at her place? This had to be her family's estate, right? "Help! Kyoya." Tamaki raced towards him, Sylvia hot on his heels, the younger woman clearly furious with the club president. Kyoya remembered the sight, and accepting a drink from Hikaru. Easily smoothing out whatever it was his best friend had managed to do to anger the newest transfer. He had been busy overseeing the proceeding ball and ensuring all the hosts - and hostess played their respective parts, keeping the guests happy and coming back. Never realising the drink he had never emptied, no matter how much he drank from it. Kaoru and Hikaru were especially nice, odd, how did he not notice this sooner? The twins were really that nice unless they had something planned. How many others had they tricked into consuming alcohol? It could ruin the club's pristine image. The bed shifted, dipping as a weight settled itself on his left hand side. A gentle hand rested on the side of his face, sweeping a few strands of hair back into place. Lips as soft and smooth as silk lingered on his forehead, long hair brushed over his neck and chest, tickling him ever so slightly as Lady Violetta pulled away. What had he said to her in his drunken state? What words of truth had she pulled from his unwitting lips. "Relax Kyoya, I did nothing to take advantage of you. You were asleep before I got the chance. Try to get some more rest, you can hide out here until you feel better, or ready to face the world again." The hand pulled away from the side of his face, his skin tingling where it had been resting. "Excuse me, my lady. Breakfast is ready, where would you like it served?" A male voice whispered, clearly cautious around Kyoya's half drunk, half hungover state. "I shall have mine in my study, Master Ootori can have his here if he so chooses. Please have the staff obey him as they would me." Kyoya was startled as the weight on his bed shifted, sinking even further down, something pressing against his left hand side. "Etoile, behave, get off the bed." Violetta scolded, trying to contain her laughter. Kyoya's eyes flew open as something licked his face, a long pink tongue startled him into squeezing his eyes shut again, hands coming up to try stop the onslaught. "Etoile!" Violetta shrieked with laughter as the dog turned its affections to her. Kyoya opened his eyes to see Violetta half heartedly fight the husky off. A smile crept over his face as he saw the younger woman with her guard down. "Settle down girl." Violetta rested a hand on the pup's nape, instantly the dog was settled, laying down against Kyoya's side. Nudging him with her head until he relented and petted her. His long fingers smoothing out the huskies grey and black fur. "I prefer cats." He grumbled, as his arm was made subject to a huge lick. Etoile didn't seem to care for his insult, her tail whacking him repeatedly in the leg. "My Lady, Master Ootori, I apologise for the interruption, but Master's Hitachiin are demanding to see you. Apparently they're certain he is here." A elderly man half knocked on the door as he spoke. "Kyoya-sempai!!" Kyoya whimpered slightly at the exceedingly loud yells of the two young men. Violetta smiled, before motioning for the twins to keep quiet. They ignored her, barrelling onto the bed to wrap themselves around a furious Kyoya. "I believe you owe Master Ootori an apology. I shall have breakfast sent up for you. Etoile, come." Both woman and dog gracefully got up and left the three men alone in the large guest room. "What-" Kyoya growled, eyes flickering between the two boys as they stumbled over one another in an attempt to explain. "We only meant for you to have one or two Kyoya-Senpai." "We just wanted you to have a little fun." "We didn't realise how much you had until-" "We're sorry Kyoya-senpai!" Kaoru cut his elder brother off, nudging him to stay silent. "Until what?" Both twins refused to meet his gaze, suddenly finding various other things around the room interesting. Kyoya knew he had no need to speak, glaring at both of them until one finally caved. "Well Kyoya-" Hikaru started to speak, Kaoru sighed, laying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. "You see-" He spoke softly, "It's my fault really." Both boys spoke in unison, looking guiltily at one another as they began to recall the night before. "I don't know guys, this can't be smart." Haruhi cautioned the twins, watching as they tried to pick a bottle of alcohol they hoped Kyoya wouldn't be able to taste. Haruhi was supposed to be helping the torn twins to decide. "It'll be good for him Haruhi, he needs to loosen up and have fun." The boys chorused, reiterating the exact reason behind their evil-genius plan.

"If you say so." Haruhi reluctantly pointed at Kaoru, who held his bottle of vodka up victoriously. Hikaru scowled as he placed the gin back on the shelf. "Do I want to know how you were able to purchase alcohol? You aren't yet 20."  Kyoya interrupted the twins flashback with a sigh. "The butler is." Hikaru announced with a smirk, "We told him it was a present for a older friend." Kaoru added, "Technically not a lie, he just failed to ask how old you were." "Anyway-" Hikaru and Kaoru both smiled at each other, a perfect opportunity to finally spike the uptight shadow King's drink. They slipped a glass into his hand as he dealt with Tamaki and Sylvia. Sharing yet another sly smirk as Kyoya drank deeply, not noticing the vodka that accompanied the punch. After that, the twins found it easier and easier to top up his glass, the alcohol getting stronger and stronger each time, the twins trying to one up each other with each refill. They didn't realise how much the older man had drunk until it was too late. Kyoya was stumbling slightly, taking advantage of the well placed tables and support pillars around the room to remain standing, His hair was dishevelled for what may have been the first time in his life. Top few dress shirt buttons undone, much to the female population's amusement, his tie was loosened around his neck, flirting with a young red haired woman. 

Sylvia and Haruhi seemed to notice the impending disaster, Sylvia sweeping the Shadow King out onto the dancefloor as he made as though to kiss the student. The guests thoroughly enjoyed what they assumed was a performance. Tamaki expertly distracted the females so Haruhi and Sylvia could sneak Kyoya out and into a nearby limo.

"No one realised. We're sorry Kyoya-Senpai." Both twins chorused, ending their tale of the night before.

"Breakfast." A butler announced, three trays laden with food handed to each young boy. Kyoya smiled to himself, eyes on the young woman in the doorway. It seemed not everything had gone entirely awful after all. 

[jenovahh]

The Honey Pot - Ch. 14 - Wallflower

“Good morning, Honey.”

Ever since he had learned of your schedule, Elidibus had elected to chat with you each morning for the duration of his stay. You found it incredibly strange, considering that you came from two different worlds. Nevermind that he was a government official, coming from Garlemald of all places was reason enough to have different ideals.

Garlemald was slow to step into a new era and join the rest of the world in democracy, clinging to an emperor until they were brought down by peer pressure. Their monarch had lost a majority of his power, but still had a large amount of sway over government matters. Elidibus was the true ruler, with a surprisingly low profile. You weren’t sure how to feel with someone so important deigning to eat breakfast with you nearly every morning…

Or that that fact had spurred Zenos to join you as well.

“Good morning, Elidibus.”

Zenos is never far behind, always seeming to show up right as Elidibus does. Dressed in his workout clothes, he towers over the two of you, his expression blank to the untrained eye, but it is the ever so slight furrow of his brow that hints at his annoyance as soon as ruby eyes meet crystal blue.

“Good morning to you as well, young Zenos.” Elidibus hums, a curious smile on his face. He sounds as if he knows something you do not, and truthfully that is a feeling you get from him any time he opens his mouth. As a result, you’ve tried to be as friendly as one can, while also taking anything he says at face value. “Joining us for breakfast once again?”

Zenos doesn’t bother to answer, merely strolling into the dining room. Sighing at his lack of manners, you trudge along behind him, hearing Elidbus’ footsteps follow close behind. You take your seat next to Zenos, knowing he would throw a fit if you even bothered to sit near Elidibus. He never tries to make conversation; he merely sits there quietly until you are served, only offering commentary if Elidibus seems to ask something he doesn’t like.

“Are you ready for today's events?” Elidibus asks, paying no mind to the maid pouring his coffee. A tray of cream and exactly two cubes of sugar are placed in front of him, complete with a delicate stirring spoon.

“What’s there to be ready for?” You counter, more than used to his prying. You had caught on quickly that Elidibus was the type to ask questions yet reveal nothing. Any attempts to know anything more than his favorite color were rebuffed with carefully chosen words or a query of his own.

“Oh nothing, we shall hope. The previous incident certainly has a lot of guests on edge…” he trails off, plunking the two cubes of sugar into his cup. With practiced hands he stirs, and you swear he’s somehow able to stir in a perfect circle.

“I’ve been informed that there will be extra security,” you comment, sitting back as the maid places your cup of apple juice in front of you. Zenos throws you a small sneer to which you arch a single eyebrow daring him to not let you have your one sugar fix. He stays quiet. “And as you have seen, I am more than capable of taking care of Zenos. Varis’ own guards will be at the gala to protect him, and I’m sure things will be fine.”

The “event” as Elidibus had mentioned, was a charity gala. You had taken a peek at the attendee list and saw all kinds of names: from singers like Cirina, to actors like Hildibrand. There would be no shortage of high profile names, and though you would only be given the opportunity to gawk, you were excited nonetheless even if you did your best to not show it. A part of you wishes it was you getting dolled up in an elegant evening gown, your hair and makeup done, hand in the crook of a handsome man’s arm or even a beautiful woman…

“Honey.”

You snap out of your daydream as your breakfast is set in front of you, blinking the imagery away. Zenos throws you an inquisitive look and you merely shrug him off, deciding to pay more attention to the plate of Dzo eggs and various fruits before you. “With the added security, I think things will be fine. It might be a bit awkward for celebrities to have to be escorted around by their bodyguards, but it is with their safety in mind.”

“Well put.” Elidibus thrums, smiling gently as he is served.

“Will you be attending, Emissary?” You ask, cutting your fruit into bite sized pieces. Your time at the table has allowed you more time to grow familiar with the cutlery, with Elidibus’ instruction. Much like Zenos, he was a surprisingly patient teacher, and you didn’t sense any condescension from him either.

That or he was great at hiding it.

“Attending the event? No, not this time. As a political figure, I have no business attending such an event, even if it is for charity.” Elidibus replies, dabbing at his full lips gently with a napkin. “An event such as that has long lost its luster for me anywho. If I did go, it would be to see your reaction to our world.”

You snort in a very unladylike fashion, having long lost any sense of propriety when Elidibus was around. “Not like I’m going there to dress up in a pretty gown and grab a couple champagne flutes myself. I’m going there for work, and work is what I’ll do.”

Elidibus lets out a rich laugh at that, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. “Well said from someone as dedicated as yourself, Honey. Young Zenos has little to fear with someone who focuses so hard on their duty by his side.”

You resist the urge to snort again, instead settling for a light shrug of your shoulders. “Someone’s gotta take care of him.” He clearly can’t do it himself, almost rolls off your tongue, but you bite it back, remembering that Elidibus does not see your treatment of the young heir. It had been annoying to be on your so-called “best behavior” around the Emissary, but at Zenos’ request, all insults and back sass had to be reserved behind closed doors.

And speaking of behind closed doors…

Zenos’ would stand there and take your insults in stride as he always had. The only difference now is that given the opportunity, especially in private, he would not hesitate to make some lewd innuendo in response.

“Could you focus you actual twelve year old--”

“I am focusing.”

You yelp as your feet are suddenly kicked from underneath you, back crashing hard into the floor. Even with your quick reflexes, the pain of your landing makes you too slow to roll out of the way of Zenos who comes to pin you in place. “It is not my fault if you can’t keep your mind out of the gutter long enough to prevent yourself from losing focus, my beast.” His hair whispers against your skin as he looms above you, ice blue eyes blocking out the bright, fluorescent light. “I never thought you so easily flustered.”

Your lip curls in indignation as you lie completely still beneath him. Zenos knows how to pin someone, his bulk be damned. If he wanted you to slip from his grip, he would let you. Giving him your own smirk, you arch your chest at him, not missing how his eyes dart down for the briefest of moments. “You wish I was flustered.” It is your turn to purr at him, taking note of how desire slowly creeps into his gaze.

He lowers himself, wisps of his breath trailing across your face. You’re not even sure if you’re still breathing yourself, truly going still underneath him. “And if I did?”

You give him a roguish grin, all teeth. “I make it a habit to not sleep with people I don’t like.”

He barks out a laugh at that, head canting back for a moment as his entire body shakes with the force of his laughter. As it abates, you swear the desire had mixed with reverence. “You will fight me to the bitter end, won’t you?” He sighs almost dreamily, a hand coming to cradle your chin, thumb running across your bottom lip. “Suppose I accept your challenge. What must one do to gain your affections?”

Your eyes widen before narrowing, positive he’s just yanking your chain. “Not being a fucking murderer would be a good start.” You deadpan, starting to feel your leg fall asleep.

“I am not a murderer, but an enforcer.” He tries, having the nerve to give a sheepish smile.

“Yeah. You enforce your will, through murder.”

“Semantics.” He waves nonchalantly, as if making light of all the men he’s killed is as simple a topic as the weather. “I do not enjoy the act of the kill itself. Quickly now; tell me what else.”

Your throat constricts without your warning, unsure how to feel about this line of questioning. “Nothing, you bastard, I hate you, what do you not get,”

He chuckles deep in his throat, the sound vibrating through you at every point of contact. “Oh, Honey...if I wanted you, I would have you.”

With one of your hands free, you waste no time socking him in the jaw.

The blow manages to rattle him enough given that you held back none of your strength. It shifts his weight just enough that you can push him off of you and storm out the room without another word.

Even though you know it’s Zenos’ status and bulk that has probably prevented anyone from telling him he’s an insensitive prick, it doesn’t stop the sting you feel in your chest from feeling any worse than it already does. His confidence was more exasperating than it was attractive, his self assuredness more irritating than it was sexy. You could not expect genuine feeling from someone like him--

Not ever.

With a sigh, you retreat back to your room, deciding to enjoy some time to yourself before the charity event later this evening. Thankfully it seemed like Zenos was able to take a hint, remaining blessedly absent for a few hours, or perhaps he went to go busy himself with whatever preparations he needed to do.

As you lounge upon your bed, your (Galvus Enterprises issued) cell phone gives a ring. Rolling across the soft top you snag it, giving it a quick look, beaming as you see it is a welcome caller.

“Heya, Ardbert!” You greet happily.

“Hey.” He responds in kind, and you can hear the smile in his voice. “How’s it goin’?”

“Eh, the usual. Same shit, different day, you know?” You groan, rolling back to your original position on your back. You mindlessly wiggle your legs as you stare at the art on the underside of your canopy. “Just killing time before this charity event or whatever. You goin’?”

He snorts. “Like I have a choice.” He laughs. “These events are super boring. I’m charging my phone and tablet ‘cause I gotta stay out in the car for hours. Don’t even get to come in and get some free hors d'oeuvres.”

“No worries, I’ll make sure to shove some in my pockets to save for you on my way out.” You snicker.

“I’m sure the Flint Caviar will taste wonderful after sitting in your pockets for a few hours.” He jokes, sending the both of you into a fit of laughter. You sit and giggle for a few seconds, before both of you begin to settle down.

“So...you sounded a little down when you picked up. Anything wrong?” He asks. As usual, there was no hiding from Ardbert, and so there was no point in lying to him either. Besides, who else could you confide in and gripe to about your boss?

“It’s nothing really, just Zenos being his usual, bastard self.” You sigh, flopping your legs out. You had started to calm down but just thinking about what he said gets your blood to boiling again.

“Oh no. What was it this time?” Ardbert questions, his very voice a comfort.

“He keeps flirting with me. After telling me weeks ago that he wouldn’t ever make a move or be interested because someone has to keep things ‘professional’. But ever since I saved his ass, he can’t seem to help himself! He has no concept of personal space and has the nerve to make some shitty innuendo and turn around and make it sound like I should be lucky to have his attention!” You didn’t realize you had raised your voice until you could hear Ardbert shushing you through the phone.

“Sounds like he got under your skin real good…” He trails off, clearly unsure what advice to impart.

“Sorry. Usually he doesn’t, but just… I don’t know. He said that if he wanted me, he would have me and that just…”

It’s Ardbert’s turn to sigh into the phone. “Look, Honey. You are a wonderful woman. Any guy would be lucky to have you. Someone who’s smart and can kick ass. Just ignore him for now. He might keep you on a tight leash, but you still have your own life to live, yeah? Why not show him by getting out more? You said you should be lucky to have his attention. Why not show him what he’s missin’ out on?”

“Deny it all you like, my beast. You are mine, and mine alone, no matter how much you may hate me. Until you breathe your last breath, I never intend to let you go.”

“Yeah.” You reply, staring blankly at the canopy. “You’re right. Thanks Artie.”

“Oh? We’re doing nicknames now?” he chuckles, the sound filled with genuine amusement.

Ardbert’s pep talk puts you in a far better mood for the event later that night. As the sun sets on Hingashi, you don your freshly pressed and starched event suit, thankful that it is a new one and they’re not making you reuse the one from the hospital. Seeing as you’re not spending hours putting on makeup or trying to fit into a dress, you finish in record time, making your way to the debriefing room where Livia and Rhitahtyn await you.

Since the “incident”, they have shown a concern bordering on fear for you. It is not a concern for your mental health and well being because they care and want you to do well, but a concern where they fear saying the wrong thing will make you snap and cost them their lives.

Not that you know anyone like that.

Done with explanations, you grab your linkpearl and head to the garage where Zenos is waiting for Ardbert to pull up underneath the awning. Father and son step into the limo while the security team gets in unmarked, black cars, sunglasses on as they prepare for a long night. The drive is somewhat long, as you have to cross town to get the Rakusui Gardens, which is normally public, but has been closed off for the event tonight. Just seeing the hoards of cameras and paparazzi as you pull up makes you groan outwardly, waving away the driver’s look of confusion. With a shrug, they wrap up their job by pulling in behind the Galvus’ limo, the wheels having barely stopped as you open the door and hop out.

You find you’re thankful for the shades as they protect your eyes from the unbearable camera flashes. Livia beats you to the door as she opens it, the crowd going wild as Varis steps out first, followed by Zenos. He makes a sharp figure in his tuxedo, the obviously tailored pieces fitting to him like a glove. A wistful sigh escapes your lips without your realizing it as you sidle up to him, keeping fairly close as he strides down the red carpet behind his father.

The water of the pond reflects the many hanging lights from trees, and the glitter of jewelry. Already you can see notable figures such as the artist Alphinaud, with several of his pieces for sale on display. Environmental activist Kan-e-Senna catches your eye as well, her white gown accentuating her youthful features. It’s hard to not be a little star struck being around so many celebrities, and it’s only when Zenos clears his throat do you quickly turn your attention back to the task at hand.

“I’m allowed to look.” You hiss under your breath, throwing him a glare.

“Look, yes. Gawk, no.” He taunts, reaching to grab a champagne flute from a nearby waiter. “At least try to look like this isn’t your first time seeing the sun, and you, a blind man.”

You grab two flutes from the tray before the waiter can slip away and down both in one gulp for each. Were you not in public, you would throw them at him for extra measure, but instead place them down gently on a nearby table. “Finished?” you hear him ask, his voice betraying his entertainment.

“I could probably down a dozen more to have to deal with your insufferable ass tonight.” You grumble as you trudge back over to him, thankful your glasses shield your eyes and therefore, won’t betray your emotions.

“If I am so insufferable, why don’t you go scurry off then?” He asks, making his way through the crowd. Where most people would weave through the throngs of people, it was almost scary to see how people would just naturally move out of his way, even if they were deep in conversation.

“And have your father fuss at me for being out of arm’s reach? No thanks.” You snort, content with simply gazing at the lavish decorations. It was like being in a magical wonderland, and you couldn’t help but feel enchanted. “I doubt you want me handing your father’s ass to him to make the news.”

“Don’t tempt me.” He jokes, throwing you a sly grin. You try to ignore the way your heart stops for a second. “If you must stay near, then we might as well start our little charade.”

The charade, of course, involves talking to all manner of celebrities and making good impressions. Zenos is a surprisingly good actor; able to flip the switch of his charm to where he’s a different man entirely. People seem to be drawn to him like moths to a flame, not knowing danger if it stared them in the face. You had seen a few blush under his attention while the bolder would silently slip him their number. You grit your teeth as he palmed each one into a pocket, politely kissing the backs of hands and allowing casual hugs. Things he would never--

“Honey, get us a drink, if you would.” He orders and you take the out as soon as you’re given. So caught up in needing to get away, you temporarily forget your need to stay close to him for your job. You reach a table filled to the brim of various, rich foods, feeling a little lighter now that you’ve put distance between the two of you.

“You look like you could use something heavier than champagne, yeah?”

On full alert your eyes jump up to meet blue ones, preparing a retort before you realize these aren’t the same blue eyes you know. While cold, these have an almost jagged edge to them, much like the silver hair framing the man’s face. Pointed, Elezen ears peek out from the snow white locks, the tips a rosy red. Thick, strong eyebrows are furrowed in a scowl, with lush lips pulled into a frown. “Are you done staring?”

Snapping from your stupor, you have the decency to mumble an apology and avert your gaze. The stranger scoffs and reaches inside his coat. Your instincts go on high alert, a hand of your swiftly moving to reach for his wrist before it is intercepted by his other hand. Your eyes widen at the man’s quick reflexes, to which he simply arches a single eyebrow. “Calm down. I’m just trying to help you. I know who you are.” He pulls out a simple, silver flask, giving it a shake so you can hear what must be liquor sloshing inside.

He flexes his hand around your wrist, and you realize he’s waiting for you to go slack. “Well? You want some?”

Still wary, you release the tension you had been holding, and he lets you go. “Only if you tell me who you are.”

Tutting, he twists the cap off the flask and takes a long sip. Smacking his lips with a smile, you can smell what is a strong bourbon on his breath. “Only if you tell me yours. Name’s Estinien.” He holds out the flask once more. “Last time I’m gonna ask.”

Taking it from his hand, you stare at it for a moment before quickly taking a gulp. The bourbon burns, but in a silky smooth way. High quality bourbon apparently. “I’m Honey.” you return, giving his flask back to him.

Grunting his thanks, he twists the cap back on in one turn and shoves it back inside his blazer. “Bodyguard to the Galvus heir right?”

Biting your lip, you wonder if he’s just digging for information, or genuinely making small talk. “Oh come on, I’m trying to make conversation here. Not like you weren’t all over the bloody news a few weeks ago.”

Huffing, you cross your arms defensively. “I am here on business you know.” You do your best to maintain a neutral expression, but something about his gruffness knocks you off balance.

“So am I. You think you’re the only bodyguard stuck here?” He questions, arching a wintry brow. “I’ve had my eye on you ever since you got here. I’m free to roam wherever the hell I want; so long as I keep boss man in sight.”

At his comment, your eyes search out Zenos in the crowd, able to find him easily as he towers over the majority of them. He’s still winning over whatever woman he’s with at the moment, and for the most part, safe, so he doesn’t need your attention still. “Considering the last time I went out, my client was nearly killed. Forgive me if I try to hang a bit closer.”

“Apology accepted.” Estinien grins roguishly and your face goes up in flames at how good it looks on his handsome features. “Aside from that disaster, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you. Seems like he keeps you on an equally tight leash, huh?”

Reaching for what looks to be some sort of fish on a nearby table, you pop it into your mouth to bide some time to figure out a crafty answer. “He keeps a low profile compared to his father. Everyone knows who Livia is, right?”

“That bitch? Who doesn’t?” He snorts, leaning back against the table. His rough demeanor has you warming up to him rather than feeling pushed away. Maybe something was wrong with you… “Anytime I’ve tried to talk to her, she’s had a stick up her ass. But I’m not surprised. All the Garlean bastards do.”

Oh, you two would get along just fine.

“You’re definitely a better conversationalist than I’ve heard here tonight.” You compliment, to which his grin grows. You find yourself girlishly amused by his antics.

“Well, not like I got anything else to do tonight ‘til I can go home. Might as well and try to find someone interesting to talk to.” His handsome grin hasn’t left his face, blue eyes twinkling with mirth. Keeping Zenos in your sights, you remain there by the table, unsure of how much time passes as you continue to talk with Estinien. Guests come and go, art is sold, and the trays slowly empty as the night wanes on. You can’t remember anyone making you laugh as much as Estinien had, as he shares some of the happier blunders of his youth. You wonder how you can ask for his number without being so...obvious.

“Making friends Estinien?”

Turning, an older man (or is he younger?) strolls up to you two. Dressed in his own tuxedo, he shares the same frostbitten hair as Estinien, though that is where most similarities end. Far shorter in stature, a pair of goggles sits on his forehead, his jawline covered by a well groomed beard. Something about him seems familiar...you’ve seen his face before.

“You’re the one who told me to go mingle, Cid.” Estinien drawls, suddenly prickly as a pear.

“Cid?” Your eyes widen as you take in the stockier man before you. “As in Cid nan Garlond? Creator of Ironworks?” You gasp, unable to keep the stars from your eyes.

He gives you a warm smile. “The one and only. Might I have the pleasure of your name?”

Shyly, you tuck a stray hair behind your ear. “My name is Honey, and I’m the bodyguard of Zenos yae Galvus.”

His eyebrows shoot up for just a second as he glances at Estinien. You miss Estinien give a curt nod to Cid. “Oh, is that so?” His hand fishes into his pocket for a brief second before he extends it in an offer to shake. As you clasp your hand with his, you feel cardstock beneath your palm. As your eyebrows arch in confusion, he gives you a wink. “It is not often we get to meet on...kinder terms with our competitors.”

“Kinder, Garlond?”

Quickly releasing his hand you spin to find Varis has somehow snuck up on your little gathering, usual frown in place. His hair is neatly braided down his back, tuxedo accentuating his figure just like his son’s. Cid gives Varis an innocent smile, one that shows no fear. “Of course, Galvus. After all, you are such a fierce competitor and as such we haven’t been able to speak as companions. I was merely commenting on the novelty of meeting an employee of yours that was not so...abrasive.”

Varis’ frown deepens, clearly unsatisfied with Cid backhanded comment. “She is certainly more...docile than others in my employ. However, I have heard of her ferocity.” You flinch as Varis places a hand on your shoulder, wishing desperately to move away. “Did you have a reason for talking to my bodyguard?” You swear you can feel bile rise in your throat.

Cid still smiles, betraying nothing. “Personally, no. I had seen her speaking with my own bodyguard here, and was curious who he had found to chat with. She was a new face as far as I could tell. We had just finished introductions when you had arrived.” Varis’ cold, golden eyes slide over to Estinien, who looks like he’s one hair away from telling him to fuck off.

“I see. Perhaps your own bodyguard could benefit to learn from her.” Varis comments to which Estinien starts to open his mouth before Cid places a steadying hand in front of him. Estinien huffs as he casts a murderous look at the Galvus patriarch.

 “That actually sounds like an excellent idea, Galvus. Would you be opposed to Honey coming over to see what Estinien is lacking?” Cid proposes, pressing firmly on Estinien who throws him an exasperated look.

Varis considers him a moment, looking between you and the Ironworks CEO. Giving your shoulder a firm squeeze, he speaks, “An agreeable idea, Garlond. Since she is so much kinder, as you have said, perhaps this can be the start of coming to more...agreeable terms with one another.” Varis finally releases you and you let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding.

“Excellent. I will have the two exchange information. Until next time, Varis.” He nods, at the much taller man, before turning to you. “And to you, Miss Honey,” he holds out his hand to which Estinien places a glossy, blue card in it. Flipping it over, he whips out a pin from inside his blazer and scribbles a number down. “Please take this. This should have Estinien’s contact info so that you may reach him and organize for your meeting at a later date.” Taking the card from him you give him a slight bow and a murmur of thanks. “I believe it is time for us to start making our way home. Good evening to you both.”

You watch as the pair stride away, taking a moment to glance at the business card you were given. Estinien Wyrmblood is printed in elegant lettering, complete with his contact information. You can still smell some of his cologne lingering on it, finding it pleasant.

“Do not dally on meeting with them.” Varis cuts into your thoughts, causing you to turn to him. One brow of his is upraised as he looks down at you, though with infinitely less disdain than you had met. The way he looks at you makes you uncomfortable being belief, wishing to be anywhere else but here. “I certainly do not know Garlond’s motives, but you will be useful in figuring out what they are.”

Furrowing your brow at him, your cross your arms in defiance. “I’m a bodyguard, not a spy.”

“I am aware. However, this is the first time Garlond has ever entertained ‘building a bridge’. You will simply need to act as you normally do. Meet with this Estinien; see what happens.”

He smirks just as Zenos strolls up, lips curled cruelly.

“That is an order.”