#he said 'it's cool i'll let anyone beat me up if it means we can still hang'

[gguk-n]

Chapter 4- Heartbreak and Understanding

Unravelling Max's Mystery (Max Verstappen X Online Friend!Reader)

Series Masterlist

Summary- Y/N decides to forgive Max. Max wins his home race. She meets Max's girlfriend who doesn't seem to like her very much. Did I tell you Y/N watched Max win his home race?

{Reader's POV}

Falling in love with your friend is a bad idea. Falling in love with your internet friend who has a girlfriend was an even worse idea. Falling in love with Max Emilian Verstappen was the worst idea. He's all over my screen after I searched him on every social media ever. I cannot escape him when I'm trying to get over him.

It's been a few months since the either of us have spoken to each other. After I asked for time, Max respected my wishes. After our call, I received a message from him saying that he would always be there for me no matter what and that he would like to clear up the misunderstanding one day. I knew I would talk to him, however I hoped that it would be when I was over him. Doesn't look like that's about to happen any time soon since this man is everywhere and anywhere I look.

Summer break was here, so I was having a girl's night with my friend Riley when I decided to ask for her opinion on this whole debacle. "Sooooo, Riley" I began. "You're about to unload some shit you did aren't you. Who fucked you up?" she interrupted me. "What?" I questioned. "I've known you for 6 years, I know you too well. Tell me who do I have to beat up." she said. I began to laugh. "No one" I said in between laughter. I wiped a tear away from the side of my eye, "I haven't laughed like this in a while." I muttered. "Go on, love" Riley prodded. "Yeah, so I have this internet friend, we've been friends since 2013. He's nice, kind, funny, handsome, blonde, blue eyes" I was talking when she cut me off; "exactly your type" I nodded along. "It's all nice and all. I didn't know what he did for a living. I recently found out that he is famous" I mumbled. She looked at me shocked. "Who?" was all she said. "Max Verstappen, Formula One driver for Redbull Racing" I said. "Damn, I mean he's like cute for a white boy. I think he's cool and shit for driving in fast cars, I appreciate him as an athlete for sure; as my bestie's potential love interest, questionable at best" she replied. "why, I mean I didn't say I was interested in him?" I asked defensively. "Bro, he is literally exactly your type, I've seen the men you date or hook up with, on the other hand, he has a girlfriend" she pointed out. "Ok, I know and you scare me sometimes" I lamented. "so, my real question is, I didn't know he was Max Verstappen. I didn't know he had a girlfriend. I was hurt when I found out and stopped talking to him, had a confrontation and then I said I need time before I am ready" I explained. "Understandable" she nodded along. "what do I do?" I asked. "what do you want to do?" she questioned back.

I love Max and I would like to be a part of his life even if it meant only as friends because I cherished the time we've had together. Also, I feel like I didn't let him explain himself the last time we spoke. I want to mend our ways. I would love to have him forever, even if only as a friend. "I want to still have him in my life even if it meant only as friends." I said cautiously. "Then there's your answer." she pointed out. "Talk to him, clear stuff out. If his explanation seems legit then continue to be friends." she suggested. "great idea. Thanks Riley" I said. "Don't mention it. Now can we un-pause the movie." she asked. "yes" I said while un-pausing the movie.

A few days after the heart to heart with Riley I texted Max. I knew he was supposed to be back next weekend for the race and was currently at home. I kind of confirmed that by watching his streams where he did SimRacing. I don't think I'll be telling this to anyone, honestly. He was on stream when my text went through, I saw him check his phone and ask to leave the stream early since he needed to do something; that something being to call me because within seconds my phone was ringing with the familiar name cropping up on the screen. I answered the call, Max staring back at me, a tentative smile played on his lips. He waited for me to start talking.

Y/N- Hi Max. Max- Hi Y/N, how've been? Y/N- Good, you? Max- Yeah, OK. Y/N- I'm sorry for lashing out the last time we spoke. Max- No, no, don't be sorry. I was at fault for hiding such important information from you. Can you ever forgive me? Y/N- Depends... Max- What do I have to do to get you to forgive me? Y/N- Why didn't you tell me? About everything; your girlfriend, your career? Max- I...When we started talking I just enjoyed being a regular teenager, where we talked about school and random stuff. I got to be Max the teenager not Max the youngest Formula One driver. I enjoyed the disconnect I got with you. I got to be myself and forget about racing for a minute. You made me feel like a regular guy. Y/N- I wish you had told me because when I found out about your championships, I felt like I missed out on celebrating such a huge and momentous occasion with you. That hurt. Max- I'm sorry for that. I didn't know how to tell you since it had been so long, I did want to tell you, I really did want to share my happiness with you; I just didn't know how to. You made me feel normal. Y/N- I'm glad I could be of some help. Max- You were of so much help. You calmed me down before many races and reading your messages or hearing your voice was like a comfortable constant. Thank you. Y/N- Fine, I get it some times famous people want to live regular lives, what about your girlfriend. Why didn't you tell me about her? Max- I....am not really sure. We started dating 2 years ago, it just happened. We'd known each other for a while. It just happened. Y/n- Hmmm....doesn't she mind that we talk so much? Max- No, she's chill about it. (He laughed awkwardly) Y/N- I hope we won't have anymore lies between us Max- No not at all. I cherish our friendship too much Y/N- me too. Max- This weekend is my home race. Y/N- I saw Max- You did? Y/N- I might like watching my best friend win... Max- That's great, then you can watch me win in person next week. Y/N- Sweetheart, Maxie, You might be a millionaire; your friend here is broke as fuck. I can't fly out so suddenly. Max- You don't have to worry about anything. I'll get you the tickets and stuff. Just say yes. Y/N- I mean, I would love to meet you in person.... Max- Then, that's final. You're coming to the Dutch GP next week. I'll pick you up at the airport. You should come early and leave a little later. I'll show you around. Max looked and sounded excited. Y/N- Ok (I couldn't help but laugh at his excitement)

As soon as I ended the call, I got plane tickets to the race. He said he would come pick me. I couldn't wait to meet him. I'm sure nothing bad will happen; from meeting my long time friend.

I thought maybe I should show Max some support and buy his merchandise or something; no one told me it was this expensive. I decided against it. The race was on the 27th; I was flying in on the 24th. The flight there was nerve wrecking. I've seen him although not in person. I got a text from Max telling me to go to a certain gate in the parking area where he would be waiting. I found him rather quickly; he had his hand sticking out of the car. I tapped on the window with a big smile plastered on my face. "Hi Maxie!" I greeted. "hey, schat. Get in, I don't wanna get caught." he said pointed at the door. "By who?" I quizzed. "I feel like you forgot what I did for a living and where we were." he chided. I laughed before walking to the opposite side and getting in.

Initially, things felt a little awkward but the atmosphere turned friendly quite quickly. We reached the hotel I would be staying at; Max had planned the entire week of my stay out. I was going to just rest today while Max attended to media stuff and then we would have dinner together tonight. He would take me along to the paddock for all the 3 days. And after the race weekend, he would take me to all his favourite place; my personal tour guide.

I crashed for the day after a shower and having food. I only woke up when Max called me to let him in. It took me a while to realise where I was. I apologised for not being ready to leave when that was the plan initially. Max didn't mind and offered to wait till I got dressed. He told me we were going somewhere fancy so I pulled out my black satin dress I kept for special occasions. This was a special occasion, right, I thought. Max was a lot more patient compared to all my exes who would start getting antsy; he even helped me decide on the jewellery and shoes I should pair with my outfit. Why are all the good men taken, God?

We had authentic dutch food in a fancy restaurant as a three course meal. I loved the Apple tart. I almost moaned as I placed a spoon of it in my mouth; "Max, this is so good" I groaned. Max smiled, "I'm happy you like it." "I love desserts Max, but this is almost up there with my favourites" I said with a mouth full of apple tart. "What are your favourites?" Max asked. "I love tres leches, tiramisu and cheese cakes" I mumbled. After finishing the food, we decided to walk around for a while; it was kind of dark and Max would probably not get recognised was the thought. "Thanks for the food. Maximilian" I said. He just nodded along. "It's an atrocious name Maxie, no offence but Emilian as a middle name; who ever named you, hates you" I said shaking my head. Max laughed it off; "I would've thought you were fucking with me, if you told me that was your middle name" I said patting his back. "I'm sorry" he said. "Don't apologise for your name, you had no control" I said now facing him. "No, I mean I'm sorry for lying and hiding things from you. I never felt good doing that. I wish I had told you sooner. I wish you had found out about it through me." he said regretfully. "It's ok Max, the past is in the past. I hope we'll be more honest in this friendship" I said enveloping him in a hug for the first time. His head found it's way in the crook of my neck, a woody scent wafted into my nose while Max clutched on to my waist. I felt warm tears drip down my shoulder. "Max, are you crying?" I asked, trying to pull away. He tightened the grip on my waist and buried his head deeper, if it was possible, "No" he replied, making my skin on the shoulder vibrate. "It's ok Maxie, let it all out. I'm always there for you." I said patting his back to console him. "I thought I lost you, I thought you'd never speak to me again, I thought you hated me." he muttered softly. "I could never hate you, I might've been angry but I knew I didn't want to lose you either. You are a very important friend to me" I said. "I don't ever want to lose you" he said, finally deciding to look at me with his tear streaked face. I wiped away the tears. "Me neither, now let's go, you have a race tomorrow" I said pulling him along.

The conversation kept me up at night. It was giving me mixed signals. I didn't know what to make of it. He has a girlfriend, granted I haven't met her yet. There was desperation in Max's eyes and his words. They felt heavy and part of me wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this. Was I thinking too much into it? What was Max's deal?

I got to meet Max's girlfriend the next day. She didn't seem too pleased with me; I mean I don't think anyone could welcome a random women your boyfriend said was his childhood friend suddenly. I didn't hold it against her. I got to meet Max's teammate and the other drivers. All of them were very kind and welcoming. I got to learn a lot about Max while I waited for him to get done with interviews after free practise. I was talking to Lando while he waited his turn after Max. Max returned which made Lando leave. "You didn't tell me you had such cute friends. I would've asked you you set me up with him sooner" I said while we walked back to Redbull. "No" he stated. "You're patronising with the enemy" he continued. "Your enemy, my future boyfriend." I joked. "He's not your type" Max interjected. "And you know what my type is?" I asked. Before he could say anything, his girlfriend whisked him away.

I ended up talking to Checo who was surprised to know me and Max had been friends for so long. Almost everyone in the garage was shocked about our friendship. Checo told me it's because Max had never told them about me. Max and his girlfriend came back who looked visibly annoyed; I tried asking Max what was up but he brushed me off. I spent the rest of the day being dragged around by Max who couldn't stop talking about anything and everything.

I spent Saturday with a lot of the mechanics and engineers who had so much good stuff to talk about. It would probably help me in editing that author. She was almost done with the book; but a few more additions won't hurt. Max qualified pole, he was so excited. He dropped me back at my room when I told him he should rest up before the race when he offered to watch a movie with me. He couldn't care less, he promised to win the race for me even with a little sleep. We ended up watching some movie. His girlfriend's annoyed face was etched in my brain through out the movie, so I decided to ask him about that. "Max, I'm sure your girlfriend minds you spending so much time with me" I suggested. "No, I told her I'm meeting you for the first time. She shouldn't care." he said. "I'm sure she does, she doesn't look very happy to me" I commented. "Don't think about it too much" Max said handing me the can of cold drink. I wasn't very satisfied, but there's only so much I could do.

The race was crazy, it got my heart beating really fast watching all of them zip past at such a high speed. Max did so well, he finished the race in P1 just like how he started it. Everyone rejoiced and headed to where Max was. GP took me with him. Max got out of the car and took his helmet off, his eyes were scanning the area. As soon as our eyes met he strode towards me. His girlfriend was a couple of steps away, before I knew it Max hugged me. "I won, just like I told you I would" he whispered. "Congratulations Max." I said while turning my head towards his girlfriend who looked visibly annoyed and quickly turned on her heels and left. "You shouldn't have done that" I told Max while pulling away. "Done what?" he questioned. "You should've gone to your girlfriend after winning your home race." I said. "She's here for so many of my races, you're not" he stated. I face palmed myself, "Doesn't matter Max, she probably hates me" I said. Max just shrugged his shoulders and went to get weighed.

After all the formality and interviews Max was on the top step of the podium. I was very proud of him and you could see it on my face. I couldn't find his girlfriend anywhere around. Max got down from the podium drenched in champagne trying to hug me while I pushed him away. "No, you'll get me all sticky" I shouted while running away from him.

[ Winning his home race felt special to Max because Y/N was watching. He walked right up to her the moment his eyes landed on her. He couldn't help but wrap himself around her. After the race, they were going out to celebrate his win because Y/N wanted to go out with the other drivers and so he agreed. After reaching his room to quickly shower and leave, he was met with his girlfriend who was sat on the edge of the bed. She didn't look happy and after a bit of back and forth; Max said it. The words that had been floating around in his head for a while now; he didn't know why he didn't say it sooner. He broke up with his girlfriend. He wasn't sad but rather relieved. He walked into the shower while his girlfriend packed everything up to leave]

[ephemeral--dreams]

Making you cry during a fight (2) - Scaramouche, Yae, Kaeya

Okay guys here you go never ask me for anything ever again /j

(part 1)

☆ ☾ ☆ ──────────────────

Scaramouche

There's a sort of deep, instinctive fear that takes root inside the place where a heart would be, as he watches tears fall after a few too-harsh words. 

He's hurt you. He's been careless, he's been too difficult, too much - and it's going to drive you away. You're going to abandon him because of this incident, surely. Why would you stay with someone who makes you cry? 

It's… it's not a feeling he's dealt with for many years. The fear of being left. He has not allowed anyone to get close enough to him to have any concern over whether they're around or not. Scaramouche had learned his lesson about getting attached and having emotion, after all. He had spat out whatever  bitter words he pleased and felt nothing when he upset anyone he spoke to.

But those days are past, and while that's a good thing in many ways, right now it feels anything but. 

"I-"

"Sorry. I shouldn't be crying," the way you apologize as if you're the one in the wrong stabs right through him. You're the one crying, yet he is being wounded just as much. It's an awful thing, caring. "Just. Just give me a moment…"

Scaramouche hesitates. He's paralyzed, caught up in the idea that anything he does or says may make things worse. But what wins out is the idea of fixing it, fixing things before you give up on him—

"Stop it. You shouldn't be the one saying sorry here. I shouldn't have said that to you, alright? You should know better than to take everything I say so seriously, honestly, I-" he sighs, irritated with himself more than you, before pulling you into his embrace. You don't pull away. Good. Maybe he hasn't entirely fucked things up. "...I didn't mean it. Sorry."

Yae

Yae Miko is not the sort of person who yells during a fight. Or at any time, really. So that hadn't been at all what had happened during your little conflict. 

Rather, her words were pointed to hit where it hurt, an attempt to shut down whatever silly human nonsense you thought was worth causing a riot over. Problems came and went, and most weren't nearly as important as they may seem in the moment. Living many years had led her to this conclusion. She was a busy woman who had little interest in wasting her time arguing. 

...Calculating and perhaps dismissive she may be, but she isn't cold. Yae still very much has a heart, and it skips a beat when she realizes you're nowhere to be found at the usual time she would meet with you after finishing her shrine duties. Surely you weren't that upset over it all, right? 

No, you couldn't be still lingering on the issue hours later… 

Well, you could. Others were far more sensitive to these things, a fact she often forgot. Yae should know better. Isn't she used to highly emotional people, after all? At least your tantrums weren't going to practically destroy the nation…

She finds you at the foot of the mountain, sitting and idly staring into the distance. The tear tracks on your face are all too telling. 

Yae is not above realizing when she has done something wrong. Though she's also not one to openly apologize. She doesn't do much of anything openly. 

"You don't listen to me," you tell her. 

"Well, I'll try to listen more, then. Is that satisfactory?" She offers a hand to you. You wait a moment before taking it, allowing her to pull you up. "Just remember to consider my side of things as well. We can work on it… But let's not linger on this too long. Time is fleeting for mortals like you, hm?"

Kaeya

Kaeya is excellent at one thing - avoidance. In fact, he's been successfully avoiding you ever since your fight a couple of days ago. It's easier to simply wait until you've both cooled off. 

That's what he tells himself. It's certainly not  that the fight made him feel anxious. He's not running away from his problems, of course not.

(He's lying to himself. One wrong word and you'll leave. He knows that. It's bad enough that you had an argument, archons forbid he confronts you and it's the last straw.)

So Kaeya carefully stays out of your way, doesn't speak to you, doesn't let you catch sight of him. He'll have to deal with things eventually, he knows, but… Until then, he's content to keep things this way. Four days in you finally seek him out yourself, looking exhausted and absolutely miserable. 

"Can we- can we stop fighting? You're right, I'm wrong, all that-" He can only watch as you start breaking down in front of him, a cold, sinking feeling of guilt settling in. "...Just stop ignoring me, please?"

His life has been filled with bad decisions - it seems that he's made yet another, by avoiding you so long. Now Kaeya is faced with your tears as you practically beg for his attention. It's quite the opposite of what he intended. He reaches a careful hand to brush them away. "Shh, shh. No more, alright?"

You sniffle, looking up at him. "You're not mad at me?"

"Of course not, sweetheart. I never was. We can talk about it later, okay? Let me make you feel better."

[mustainegf]

Hi, Elena! I need some hurt/comfort bittersweet story with Kirk (any era). He tells his girlfriend about his tough childhood with a crazy father, and the reader comforts him in a sweet manner 🥺

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐃 ¹⁹⁹⁰

That summer was thick with heat to our heads like a wool blanket. Even with the windows open, the small cabin we had rented on the outskirts of Mill Valley felt like an oven. Kirk sprawled all over the leather couch, shirtless, his dark hair curled at his damp forehead. I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against the cool stone at the fireplace, with a half glass of wine in my hand.

We hadn't been together very long, only a year, but it felt like forever. We were comfortable together. We didn't talk much about his life on the road. He was Kirk Hammett, after all. The Kirk Hammett. Lead guitarist for Metallica. But all of it went away when it was just him and me.

He'd been quiet that night, quieter than usual. I could tell something was chewing at him, but I didn't push. I just watched him, the way his fingers strummed the air, searching for comfort of the guitar. Finally, he turned in my general direction, his eyes blacker than the dark night coming through the windows into the room.

"You want to know why I never talk about my dad?" he murmured lowly.

This made me nod, he'd said it so suddenly that I knew he must've been thinking about it for a while. I set my glass on the table and moved to sit closer on the sofa, letting my leg fall against his. He didn't pull away as he turned to me.

"He was a mean son of a bitch," Kirk began, his voice rough, like gravel scraping the bottom of a shoe. "He'd beat the shit out of my mom, and me too if he was drunk enough. I was just a kid, but I remember every goddamn moment..."

I stayed silent, letting him talk, my mouth going dry as I imagined his childhood. He never opened up like this before. I reached out, and my fingers found his. He grabbed onto my hand tight.

"There was this one time," he continued, his voice full of the memory, "My 16th birthday... He came home late, drunk as hell, and just went at my mom. I can still hear her crying, begging him to stop." A hint of the crack in his voice, I squeezed his hand tighter, for him to continue. "I just… I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped on him to pull him off her. He turned around and hit me so hard I..."

Kirk stopped, and his eyes dove into mine for anything I could offer. I felt stinging tears in my eyes, not only for him, but for the little boy he'd been, for the one who had grown up too soon in a house of fear.

"One day I woke up and he was gone," he said, his voice barely more than a breath. "My mom was on the floor, bleeding. I thought she was dead, but she wasn't. Somehow, she wasn't. I tried to help her, but I didn't know what to do. I was just a kid, you know? I was so fucking scared."

His hand swallowed around mine in a way that made me want to move closer, to try and hide him from such terrifying memories, I knew actions spoke louder than words. "Kirk, baby..." I whispered in a. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, a bitter smile twisting his lips. "Don't be. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault but his."

We sat silent for a little while, his admission hanging heavy. I mean, how could I ever find the words to say? But I wanted him to know I was there for him, that more than anything, I wasn't going anywhere. I moved in and kissed his cheek, teared with the taste of salt through his wet skin, and he turned into me, burying his face into my neck.

"I never told nobody that," he murmured. "Just James."

I held him, felt his heart. That was all he seemed to need. "You don't have to carry it alone... Not anymore," I said softly, my fingers mindlessly toying with his tight curls. "I'm here, Kirk..."

He pulled back far enough to look at me. "I'm scared," he confessed. "That I'll end up like him. That I'll hurt you."

I shook my head, pressing my forehead to his. "You're not him," I told him firmly. "You could never be him. You're kind and you're good, and I know you'd never hurt me... or anyone for that matter."

For a beat, he just stared at me, his eyes boring into my own. Then he kissed me. Though a tad shocked, I kissed him back just as sweetly.

When we finally pulled apart, Kirk smiled. His fingers traced the outline of my face. He had this look... Perhaps it was peace, or maybe the beginning of it.

[ryin-silverfish]

JTTW Discord Summer Contest Entry: South Seas Sojourn

AO3 Mirror

-In collaboration with the amazing @ejaysstuff, who did the art!

-I'd say "This is mostly me nerding out about folklore", except that sums up all my recent one-shots.

-An LMK fanfic about Wukong going on a vacation, set between S3 and S4. 

---

"I'm going on a vacation!"

Before anyone in the noodle shop could let out a groan or a cry of "Again?!", Sun Wukong immediately added, "And you are coming too, MK. I ain't leaving my disciple out of the fun, not after, well, everything."

"But it's okay to leave me out of the fun?" Mei sulked, as she tried to make the tea inside her cup rise up, yet only created a little ripple. 

"Hey, I'm not the one who signed you up for that internship at your uncle's place." Sun Wukong said. "But maybe we can drop by once we are done! Take a break from the heat in the cool air of the North Sea."

"Yeah, the nice, cool, sub-zero-degree air of the arctic zone..." Mei sighed. "Don't wanna beat on that dead horse, but I'm so, so sick of icy stuff."

"Aw, bummers. Guess you won't be a fan of my new tea recipe, then." Sandy poked his head out from inside the kitchen. MK could hear ice cubes clinking inside a glass, and so did Mei, since she perked up within seconds and looked like she was on the verge of backflipping over the counter.

"Sandy, Sandy my man, I'll never not be a fan of your tea recipe!" 

"Uh, where are we even going?" MK asked, in between the sound of icy lemon tea being slurped through a twisty straw. "Don't get me wrong, I'm super duper up to it! But Mr. Tang had been complaining non-stop on MeChat about Pigsy's decision to drag him to Chang'e's virtual concert during summer break, where every major tourist spot is packed with kids. I hope we are going somewhere...quieter, that's all."

"Oh, no worries. It won't be deserted, but it ain't gonna be nearly as crowded." Sun Wukong paused, striking a pose. "We are going to the South Seas, bud!"

"...Where?" MK and Mei asked in unison, drowning out Sandy's faint "Wait, like, Guanyin's place?".

"Out south. In the oceans. Duh." 

"That explains nothi——"

"And no, my big blue friend, I won't be knocking on her doors at Potaloka unless someone needs saving! She's gonna be real busy in the next few weeks anyways." Sun Wukong continued. "For you less geographically gifted kids: it's where Lion City and Betel City are. Ring any bells?"

Mei made an "Oooo" noise. "You mean the place with the mermaid lion? Man, I was so disappointed when I found out it wasn't a real critter working for the South Sea Dragons." 

"I still have no idea what you are talking about!" 

"Ah well, MK, you'll be finding out soon enough." Sun Wukong said. "So go give your Dadsy a holler, and start packing up! We'll be leaving next week or the week after that, depending on when Nezha gets off work." A pause. "Yeah, he's coming too."

...

"We aren't really going on a vacation, are we?" MK asked, as he dragged his luggage up the creaky wooden walkway near the Megapolis harbor beach. 

Dangit, who knew that mosquito repellent and sunscreen could weigh so much? (Tang and Pigsy were very adamant about the importance of taking enough of these, once they heard the news over MeChat.)

"What makes you think that?" Sun Wukong replied, swishing his tail at the daring seagulls who kept trying to peck it. 

"Well, last time you said you were going on a vacation, you weren't really telling the truth." MK let out a nervous chuckle. "And Nezha's coming too. I don't know him all that well, but he doesn't sound like the kind of guy who'll, uh, join in on the fun just because?"

"Yeah. Sorry again, MK," he sighed. "But you are half-right. It's not a complete vacation, and more of a vacation-slash-summer school, slash-free exposure therapy..."

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing!" Sun Wukong exclaimed cheerfully. "Basically, you are gonna learn how to be a god, MK."

"I——WHAT?!"

"Relax, bud! It's not as serious as you think." A pause. "How do I put it...hmm, it's like being a hero, but more down-to-earth. Where, instead of people asking you to save them from big bad demons, they are asking you to solve their personal problems."

"Like?"

"Win lottery tickets. And discipline their kids for them."

"Speak for yourself."  

A familiar voice echoed through the evening air. The next second, in a blaze of pink fire, the Third Lotus Prince was standing tall on his wheels, his sash flowing in the wind. 

"Oooh, what did I just hear? Good ol' Brother Nezha, Electro-Techno Third Prince, The Other God You Go To For Lottery Tickets, acting all uppity and serious!" Sun Wukong stuck his tongue out at the new arrival. "Nice entrance, by the way. Very flashy." 

"You know very well I don't answer every desperate addict who doesn't know when to quit, nor do I play games of chance for fun! I play them to win!" Nezha retorted. "Also, thanks for the compliment, Great Sage."

"You are welcome, Laodi."

"Are we really going on a vacation to...help people gamble?" MK nervously raised a hand. "Isn't that, like, against the law?"

"Goodness, what have you been telling your disciple before my arrival? No, what have you left out?" Nezha groaned. "Well, since your mentor clearly hasn't explained our goals properly, I suppose I'll have to substitute for him. Again."

"Hey! Professor Sun is getting to it, Teaching Assistant Nezha——"

"In the next week, we shall be visiting and staying in multiple cities of the South Seas. Now that my true body isn't guarding the Samadhi Fire, I can finally start answering the more tricky prayers," Nezha sighed, "Which will only continue to pile up, since the Seventh Month is imminent."

"Seventh Month?" MK asked, reaching into his pocket with one hand. "But it's August the third already! Lemme check the calendar again..."

"Lunar Seventh Month. Also known as the Ghost Month." Nezha shot a look at Sun Wukong, his expression a mix between annoyance and slight concern. "Someone has picked a great time and place to take his student on a trip."

"What could I say? It sure is less depressing than Qingming nowadays. And they won't fine you for burning paper effigies in the South Seas, or so I've heard!"

"I…no matter." Nezha's look softened a bit, but not by much. "Back to what I was saying. Once the gates of the Underworld open, all the spirits will come out, go visit their families, enjoy the offerings as much as they can under the watch of Dashi Ye, Lady Guanyin's ghostly manifestation."

"We'll be assisting him, much like my brother and all the local gods. Keeping order, giving directions, and all that. In between these shifts, I’ll finally get to perform my duties in my actual physical body instead of the youthful manifestations mortals expect to see, and your mentor is free to monkey around with you and his worshippers at his own temples. All clear?"

"So we are gonna be, like, tour guides and security, but for dead people?" MK asked. "That doesn't…sound too bad, actually! Also, you have a brother, Nezha?"

"No, I pop out of a rock, just like your master." Nezha said flatly, then added, "Goodness, I wish. Muzha can be a bit much, but he's a lot more bearable while on the job, so no worries."

"Someone's getting jealous again, I see," Sun Wukong reached over to pat him on the head, and received an annoyed glare. "Oh, and don't let Nezha's sour attitude fool you, MK. We are still on a vacation, it ain't gonna be all work and no play! And the work won't start until several days later, so we'll have plenty of time."

…

This didn't seem like a great start for our vacation, MK thought. 

Okay, it did, for about three minutes, after they got off the somersault cloud. 

The palm trees were swaying in the wind, the two-story buildings with red-tiled roofs were glowing under the tropical sun, and Nezha reluctantly glamoured a lotus-patterned T-shirt and some baggy pants over his armor after rejecting Sun Wukong's more outlandish suggestions ("You should totally change your wheels into flaming flip-flops!"). Not a single dangerous, vacation-ruining, world-destroying threat in sight.

Then a giant rain cloud appeared out of nowhere, driving most of the crowd indoors and leaving the unfortunate ones seeking shelter under the nearest rooftops and bus stations. 

Not that it helped much——MK felt like he was standing behind the waterfall at Flower Fruit Mountain again, as raindrops slammed into the ground with a fury and created splashes of watery mists.

"Okay, Nezha, Did you anger the local dragons again?" Sun Wukong asked, holding the monkey-hair-turned-umbrella over MK's head.

"Nonsense! Not even the East Sea ones hold a grudge for this long, and I've never seen a South Sea dragon other than their king," Nezha said, then added, "and my brother's co-worker. Are you sure you have a temple nearby?"

"Eh, maybe. I saw a bunch of faith beacons up there, all clustered together." Sun Wukong shrugged. "Some of these have to be mine."

"Have to be yours? Oh, that's rich, coming from someone who hasn't visited the South Seas in person since the 19th century——"

"And they still love me, bud. Deal with it."

"Um, what's a faith beacon?" MK wiped the water droplets off his phone screen with one thumb, trying and failing to steer his luggage away from the puddles. "I'm not seeing any on CloudMap."

"Well, you won't, unless you are a patron god of IT workers or some other technology-related stuff!" Sun Wukong said. "How do I put it, hmmm…after people have prayed to you for a while, offered enough incense, you can just sense the places they are doing it at. Usually, it looks like a beam or a glowy aura, but some gods can smell or hear it too."

"Wow, that's so cool! It's like a mystical VR goggle. Is it something you can learn, though?"

"Look, I'm glad that you are doing your job as a mentor, but can we please get some actual directions?" Nezha sighed. "Temples here aren't always their own separate buildings. I've been summoned inside too many HDB flats to count, and you won't know that by looking at the beacons alone."

"We are heading in that direction right now. It'll get clearer once I get closer to the place. So be patient, will ya'?"

"Well, isn't that just the most reassuring answer I've ever heard. 'We'll get there when we get there'." Nezha muttered, as the group took a turn into a narrow side street, ducking below the swaying lanterns and multilingual shop signs. "Just so you know, if the rain doesn't stop and we don't get there in two hours, I'm dragging both of you onto a bus and to my temple instead."

"Why, you three sound like you are lost! Need a tour guide?"

Abruptly, a high-pitched, child-like voice resounded through the torrential rain, coming out of the alleyway to their left. MK turned to look at the speaker—

—and stared straight into the lifeless glowing eyes of a chalk-faced monstrosity, its red tongue hanging out of its mouth.

With a scream, his staff was out, and in a split second, connected with the thing's head and sent it flying into the nearest wall. It slid off the yellowed concrete, landed with a splash, then went completely still. 

A spiderweb crack was spreading across its porcelain mask——Oh goodness, it's a puppet, which was somehow even worse.

"Ah. The answer is 'No', it seems."

He nearly extended the staff and hit the puppet again when it spoke, had Sun Wukong not dashed forth and, in one swift motion, dragged a pale specter out of it by the robe collar.

"Glad to see you again, Xiao Xie!" He grinned in a rather dangerous way, like what Mr. Tang said non-intelligent monkeys really meant when they bore their teeth. "Is there any particular reason why you are jumpscaring my student in broad daylight, or do you just have nothing better to do?"

"Yes, because this one knows it will happen!" The specter, still in Sun Wukong's grip, said in a cheerfully oblivious voice. “The vision caught this one by surprise too. It's not every day that you see the Great Sage's golden staff approaching your face at lethal speed, especially when you have done nothing to offend him. Good thing this one did not come in his contractor's body!"

Behind them, Nezha let out a groan. "Oh joy, it's these two clowns again."

"W-W-What the heck just happened?! And what's THAT?" MK pointed at the specter. Outside of that creepy puppet, it just looked like a lanky, unnaturally pale youth in an oversized mandarin jacket and a tall hat.

Before Nezha could answer, another sullen voice cut him off.

"You knew you'd get smacked in the face if you came, so naturally, you possessed the creepiest vessel you could find and headed straight in this direction." The air suddenly got a lot colder. "I don't need precognition to know you deserve to be smacked at this point."

The water in a nearby puddle rippled. Okay, technically, it never stopped rippling because of the rain, but this one was a lot bigger, as if something was about to crawl out.

MK took a step back. Seconds later, the murky water turned inky black, rising up into the air and coalescing into the form of a short, stern-faced kid, wearing the same clothings as the pale specter, except they were all black-colored.

"Darn right, Lao—" Sun Wukong paused, as he turned and took a closer look at the newcomer. "Xiao Fan? Huh, didn't expect to see this you here. Not that I'm complaining."

"I'm absolutely complaining." The kid replied. "Our main souls have been attending one meeting after another at Fengdu since the Ivory Lady Incident, which is why I'm currently on," He shot a pointed look at his ghostly companion, "babysitting duty. You gonna smack him or not? Cause I won't mind if you do, Great Sage."

"Aww, really, Xiao Fan? You, of all people, should know that everything this one sees will happen, even if he doesn't know how or why. Since trying to avoid a future is the best way to unknowingly make it come true, this one can only try to soften the impacts and minimize the risks."

"By making sure you would, one-hundred-percent, get hit in the face by someone?" Fan snorted. "Way to go, brother."

"By making sure that staff wasn't slamming into this one's soul, or a flesh-and-blood vessel!" Xie replied. "And the mission is a success! Only a single puppet is harmed."

Nezha threw his hands up in the air. "How did you manage to be even more annoying and nonsensical than your main soul?"

"Welcome to my fucking un-life." Fan mumbled.

"Um, hello?" MK waved awkwardly. "Have you guys suddenly started speaking in some sort of secret code mid-conversation, cause I don't understand a single word you just said."

"Gosh! Sorry, bud," Sun Wukong finally let go of Xie's collars (now that MK thought about it, how did you even grab a ghost's collars? Mystic Monkey Magic at play again?) "Get a bit carried away there."

He pointed at the two specters. "Meet the Heibai Wuchang. The ghost cops, or rather, parts of them. Remember your hair clones? Xiao Xie and Xiao Fan here are kinda like that, but with their souls."

"T-The ghost cops?" MK squirmed. The downpour had become a light drizzle, but he still felt chilly, and it wasn't because his T-shirt sleeves and socks were now soaked. "Like…the ones you see when you are about to die?"

"Don't worry, bud! They aren't here to take any of us away. I think." Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes slightly, "and even if they were, I'd like to see them try."

"Nah. Not a chance. This one still values his un-life—"

"Yeah? Then apologizing to my student and stop wandering around in that thing will be a good start!"

"—so yes, he is very sorry for the distress he caused, young one. The 'wandering around in possessed objects' part, though, is perfectly legal, and this one still has to take the puppet back to his temple, so sorry, no can do."

"You have a temple now?" Sun Wukong let out a chuckle of disbelief. "You two?"

"You really haven't been around here in a while, have you, Great Sage?" Nezha said. "Yes, unfortunately. It's a new South Seas trend, and I hope it stays where it is."

"Our main altar here is still inside the City God's temple. But there are more temples dedicated to us alone, across the strait." Fan said. "And I'm obligated to inform you that all deities who visit the South Seas in their true bodies instead of using clones or astral projections must notify the local City God's temple beforehand, or submit the relevant paperwork immediately after arrival."

"Hmm, and if I don't?" Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do?"

"Other than following you around and staring at you judgmentally? Nothing substantial." Fan said, before sighing deeply. "But if you can at least pretend to respect us and not treat Underworld officials like the complete pushovers we are, we'd really appreciate it."

Sun Wukong hollered at that. "Y'know what? I think I'll do just that, since this you are a lot cuter and not a raging jerk!"

"You know my main soul can hear you, right?"

"Exactly." Sun Wukong grinned. Unlike a few minutes ago, it was a lot less tense. "So lead the way, Xiao Fan!"

…

When MK heard the whole…ghost temple thing, he was expecting skeletons, eerie lighting, spooky stuff.

Okay, some of the statues and puppets were still creepy. Same for the possessions. 

Sure, the ghost cops had explained that they had human "contractors" who'd let them possess their bodies willingly, after signing a lengthy form where all the risks and duties are spelled out clearly.

But when he thought of possessions, the only images that came to mind was LBD's host, shaking like she was in the middle of winter again despite sitting inside the safe, cozy confines of Pigsy's Noodles. And Sun Wukong's golden eyes glowing frost blue, devoid of all warmth and emotions.

Well, better get used to it now. Gonna see a lot more ghosts once the…summer school part of the vacation-slash-summer school starts.

MK took a deep breath and began to make his way back through the corridors, a small incense burner in hand. The exterior of the temple was dated and slightly out of place, sitting beneath towering skyscrapers and surrounded by neatly trimmed park lawn.

Past the main hall and the altar room behind it, however, the place could be mistaken for any modern office building. Or the background of a Monkey Cop episode, except the cops were all ghosts and the monkey was filling in the divine equivalent of a customs form.

"There, done." Sun Wukong said, putting the pen down, "Right in the nick of time! For real, though, couldn't you ghosts just burn the paperwork together with the rest of the effigies?"

"And get them stuck beneath a mountain of sports cars, or whatever insane vehicles people decide to send to their ancestors nowadays? No thanks." 

As he handed the incense burner over to Sun Wukong, who crumpled the form into a ball and tossed it inside, MK caught a glimpse of a dark blue aura, enveloping the handle of the back door before it opened on its own. Two more uniformed ghosts hovered in, telekinetically carrying multiple pitched paper objects.

"Speak of the devil…" Fan turned towards his partner, who was leaning leisurely against a wall. "This year's bunch are already coming in, and if you bothered working with a contractor today, you better put that physical body to good use and start helping!"

"Alright, alright, This one hears you." Xie yawned, then walked over and grabbed the floating effigies. "Hmmm, no helicopters or private jets this year? That's a bit disappointing."

"Well, Mr. Chow sent a pretty big table, boss. We don't think it's gonna fit through the backdoor, so we left it in the park pavilion."

"Excuse me?" MK perked up. At last, a chance to do something instead of just standing there and watching awkwardly. "Do you need something resized? Cause I have just the power for that!"

…

"Y'know, I was wondering what's so special about a table," Sun Wukong poked his head out from behind the door frame, trying very hard to suppress the giggles, "or why they'd make a live-sized one in the first place. Now I get it." 

"Kudos for dedication, I guess?" MK shrugged. "I'm sure their loved ones would, uh, appreciate the gift down there."

With a snap of his fingers, the paper Mahjong table returned to its original size, drastically reducing the remaining space inside the storage room. 

Yeah, the "craft" part of "Arts & Crafts" wasn't really his strong suit, but a piece this detailed and lovingly crafted? It probably took weeks to make. And cost more than an actual Mahjong table.

"Are you two done admiring the beauty of that absurd object? Can we please leave and go somewhere else now?" Nezha's muffled complaint came from the corridors. “It's raining outside again, and if we don't hurry——"

"Even if you do hurry, this one doubts you will be able to get any further than the bus stop, in the two minutes it shall take for the drizzle to become a downpour once more." Xie said, then tossed the last stack of golden joss paper into the storage room.

"Great! Wonderful! Yeah, I'm just looking forward to spending more time with you and your clowns-in-training." Nezha snarked. "How will we ever get anywhere in life without your nifty short-term prophecies?"

"Hey hey, Nezha, chill out. A dash of salt is good n' all, but you are getting spicy over there." Sun Wukong said. "But, speaking of ways to pass the time during a rainy day…"

There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, as he turned to look at Xie. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Judging by what this one just saw? Yes."

"Great! Come here, bud, I have something that will make our stay a lot less boring."

Sun Wukong beckoned MK over, back into the big guest room, then pulled out a tuft of hair. Seconds later, an actual Mahjong table landed squarely on the floor with a thud, complete with chairs and Mahjong sets, followed by an "Ohoho, lovely!" and two simultaneous shouts.

"Seriously? Don't set a bad example for your student!"

"Don't you dare corrupt our guests, Xiao Xie!"

"Please, this one is just joining in on the fun. Our guests have no problem 'corrupting' themselves, so to speak!"

"Oh, c'mon, it's not gambling if you aren't betting actual money!” Sun Wukong exclaimed. "It's like poker, but…for old people. Right, MK?"

"Um, one problem: I don't know how to play Mahjong! Or poker!" MK said, scratching his head. "The only card game I know is Uno."

"Great! You can just learn it on the fly, then, under the watchful eyes of Professor Sun and Teaching Assistant Nezha!"

"No way, Great Sage. I'm not helping you lure your student astray into a potential lifetime of wasted hours and petty vices."

"Really?" Sun Wukong flashed a taunting smile. "I bet you only said that 'cause you don't wanna lose too badly to me. Again."

"Oh, you take that back right now, monkey!" Nezha jabbed a finger at him. "If we were back in the old days and in a gambling house, you'd be going home in nothing but your undershirt and breeches by the end of the day!"

MK did not miss the implication that, at some point in the past, these two had indeed been to an actual gambling house.

"A bold challenge if I've ever heard one!" Sun Wukong's grin widened. "Or is your bark worse than your bite? Brag all you like, but the only way to prove it is to get on the table yourself."

"I——Screw this, I'm in," Nezha took a deep breath, “But only because it will be quite satisfying, kicking the collective behinds of the two most annoying gods I've ever met." A glare at Sun Wukong, then, at Xie. "So. Get. Ready."

"That's the Third Prince I know!" Sun Wukong gave him a thumbs-up. "Bring it on, lad!"

MK gulped. "Yeah, sorry, I think I'm just gonna watch you guys play first. Get a feel of the game before jumping in. Is that alright?"

"No prob. Though this did put us in the most classic bind in the entire history of Mahjong…" Sun Wukong paused dramatically. "The 'Short of a Fourth' problem."

"That won't be me." Fan immediately said, before walking through the nearest wall. "Still have a job to do." He turned, poking his head out of the wall once more. "But by all means, teach Xiao Xie a lesson for me."

"Ah well." Sun Wukong shrugged, reaching towards his head. "Guess this calls for my clone——"

"No!" Nezha smacked his hand away. "That's just blatant cheating!"

"But literal future vision isn't?"

"Hey, it's not like this one can turn it off." Xie protested. He looked like he wanted to say something else, before Sun Wukong stood up, dashing out of the door and towards the altar room. 

"Guys! We are one person short of a Mahjong game here!" A pause. "Niang Niang? Ah Pek? Datuk? Hello? Anyone up to it?"

"...What's he doing?"

"The divine equivalent of spamming telephone calls." Nezha rolled his eyes. "Yelling into the ears of every deity's idol he can find, and hoping for a response."

"For your knowledge, we have a three-people variant of the game here," Xie added, unhelpfully.

…

Way after Sun Wukong had returned, sulking a little but soon jumped right into arguing with Nezha, MK heard a chime. 

Like someone had just dropped a bunch of coins onto a marble floor, but…louder. Okay, he wasn't too sure about that last part, because if the others heard it too, they did not react to the noise at all.

"It's still not gambling! Just a way to keep the score, yanno?" Sun Wukong continued, tossing a tangerine back and forth between his hands——one he probably pinched from a random altar table on his way back. "Also, the game will be pretty boring if you aren't winning something."

"That's the very definition of gambling." Nezha said, with a deadpan expression. "Wagering money or other stakes in a game of chance."

"It's only a stake if it's something of value, and outside of sentimental ones, these offerings have none." Sun Wukong turned to Xie. "Otherwise you won't give them away to folks for free before they spoil, right?"

"Indeed, for we've already eaten them." 

MK squinted at the fruit; not a single bite mark or patch of peeled skin was found on its exterior.

"Ewww." Sun Wukong grimaced. "Anyways, that just makes them even less valuable and further proves my point."

"Is that supposed to be convincing? Because I'm not taking home a bunch of ghost-eaten fruits even if you give them to me for free——"

"Greetings," someone cleared their throat, then said in a deep, magnetic voice, "Is it you who invited this Zhao to your humble temple for a game, friends?"

The door curtain jingled; in walked a dark-faced man with an impressively bushy beard, clad in gilded black armor and red-gold robes. The only thing that didn't make him as intimidating as he should was the black tiger cub, clinging onto his shoulder pauldron like an oversized housecat.

"Yep, Lao Zhao!" Sun Wukong cheered, "Didn't think you'd have the time, but here you are!" He winked at MK, "Now, ya' ever seen a God of Wealth statue in your Dadsy's store? If you did: this is your guy in the flesh, Zhao Gongming himself."

"Oh yeah! The statue," MK tried his best to recall something that looked like the man, yet the only thing that came to mind was the adorable and totally dissimilar one on the counter. "You mean he's..the cat?"

"Ha! I like your little disciple, Great Sage." Zhao Gongming laughed. "Sadly, no. The only feline here is my steed, Biandan Hua." He pointed to the tiger cub. "In her baby form, so I don't get animal control called on me again. Mortals these days are so easily startled, I swear."

"Aww, that's the cutest name I ever heard." Sun Wukong cooed, earning an unimpressed look from the tiger. "Anyways, since we have our fourth guy here, without further ado, let's begin——"

"A second. I'm here for business too. Serious business," he held up a hand. "Have any of you seen a golden scissor? It's about this size, but becomes a lot bigger when transformed," a gesture, "about the size of a city block. Ah, and it can turn into two flood dragons."

"Nope!"

"Hmm. This one doesn't think so."

"The Golden Dragon Shears?" Nezha’s eyes widened. "How did you lose *that*, Marshal Zhao?!"

"I didn't! It's probably my youngest sister again. Bixiao is still rummaging through our study, so I may as well check in the Lower Realms while she's at it." He said. "Make sure no one has 'borrowed' it without their permission."

"Why are y'all looking at me?" 

Awkward silence ensued, broken immediately by Sun Wukong's indignant huff.

"Okay, first, I'm insulted by your insinuations! You eat a few peaches, and suddenly you are THE suspect whenever something goes missing up there." He shook his head. "Second, you have sisters, Lao Zhao? Huh, never know that."

"Well, unless you are planning to have kids in the immediate future, Great Sage, your paths are unlikely to cross!" Zhao Gongming laughed, before resuming his frown. "Our scissors are far from the only missing treasure, though. Other palaces have also reported similar cases over the last hour. I'll just have to go shake down Spirit Official Ma again——wouldn't be the first time that little candlewick bugger tried to pin his thefts on someone else."

At the mention of Spirit Official Ma, Nezha mouthed something that sounded suspiciously like a swear word. Sun Wukong made a face. 

"Yeah, show that Huaguang brat who's boss! But before that, surely you still have time for a Mahjong game? It'll only be a minute up there." 

"Hmm, I suppose it won't hurt." Zhao Gongming replied, twirling his beard. "But with one condition: no one uses their godly powers."

"Define 'godly powers'?" 

"Anything that requires intent to activate." Zhao Gongming said. "Your golden vision, active divination instead of passive, uncontrollable foresights, my power over fortune..."

A sigh. "I've played enough games where that is allowed. With my disciples it always turns into a teaching session, and playing against my fellow gods of wealth feels more like a power-measuring contest than a true match of skills, especially when Bi Gan was involved." He shook his head. "For a scholarly god of wealth, the old man can be more competitive than us martial ones."

"I feel ya', Lao Zhao. It's always the old geezers who play dirty."

"Hello? Excuse me?" Nezha asked. "Am I the only one who's more concerned about the missing treasure of mass destruction than the silly Mahjong game?!"

"Yes, yes you are." Sun Wukong smirked. "It's just a tiny scissor! What mass destruction can it cause, other than to Art & Crafts materials?"

"Says the blissfully ignorant monkey who has never seen it in action," Nezha retorted, then lowered his head with a defeated look. "Whatever. I don't care anymore. Just don't mention me when the Celestial Host starts pointing fingers and your sisters come knocking, Marshal Zhao."

"You have my words, Third Prince." Zhao Gongming made a fist-and-palm salute, almost jokingly. "For I'm not one to tattle, even if it means enduring Yunxiao's scolding alone. Now, what are the stakes for this game?"

…

After a brief discussion, the four had settled on using some unopened and unoffered snacks as their stakes. Which still didn't beat the gambling allegations, according to Nezha. 

Well, it was better than betting all your belongings on a rigged game and losing them all, at least. And after watching a few rounds of their play, MK's only thought was Dang, if that goldfish demon chose this game back then, he wouldn't even need to cheat to wipe the floor with me.

"You know, if someone tells me I'll be watching the Great Sage, two celestial gods, and a ghost play Mahjong like old people at a community center during the first day of our vacation..." MK mumbled to himself, "I'll probably believe it, actually."

Despite having only the vaguest idea of the rules——whoever completed a set of certain tiles first won the game——and not getting any closer to understanding them, he was determined to keep watching. 

If only because Sun Wukong winked at him right before tossing the dice and starting the round, and he was pretty sure it meant "Watch and learn, bud!" in a way that suggested the message went beyond a simple Mahjong game.

"What you are seeing now is not a typical day for most of us, if that makes you feel less disillusioned." Fan said, without looking up from the documents he was flipping through. 

A while ago, the ghost had returned with a stack of them, and the papers were now floating around him in a ring, suspended by the dark blue glow of telekinesis. If that wasn't the most stylish way of doing paperworks, MK didn’t know what was.

"Uh, but I'm not?" MK said. "It's just…a lot less serious than I thought, this whole 'gods' business, and honestly, I'm not complaining! The Great Sage looks like he’s having a good time too."

Back on the table, Sun Wukong and Nezha yelled "Pong!" at the same time, then immediately glared at each other.

"Hey, I said that first!"

"That doesn’t matter, because you are cheating!" Nezha huffed. "It is impossible for two players to Pong at the same time unless someone has sneaked an extra tile in there while shuffling them, and we all know who that is."

"Well yeah, but I'm just evening the odds in a rigged game, Laodi." Sun Wukong said, eyeing Xie sharply. "For the sake of fairness, I'll allow you to cheat back too. How 'bout that?"

"Good grief, and I thought Master Taiyi was the most unabashed cheater I ever met on the table." Nezha took a deep breath and announced, "New battle objective: show the two cheaters who's boss, without lowering myself to their level."

"Well, this one can't blame the Great Sage for it. Two more turns, and he’ll claim the first win."

"Keep your visions to yourself, ghost!"

"Thanks a lot, Xiao Xie." Sun Wukong grinned. "That gives me even more reason to do it."

A few more turns, a few more clacks, and the monkey was left staring wordlessly at the table.

"Hey, what the heck! Your vision isn't right."

"This one's vision is always right. That, however, isn't one." Xie gave them an innocent look. "It's just the time-honored tactic of 'lying', friend."

"Serve you right for trusting him and cheating." Nezha snorted, before reaching out to claim the discarded tile.

"Why, ya' little——!"

"Credit where credit's due, that sure is a more entertaining use of precognition than the average Dipper Mansion chess game." Zhao Gongming commented, amidst the chaos. "I look forward to what you will bring to the table next, budding little wealth god."

"More bullshit, that's what he'll bring." Fan crossed his arms. "And he wonders why I don't play chess with him anymore."

"Well, I guess it could be worse." MK said. "They could be playing Monopoly."

"What's a Mono-poly?"

"A game that ruins friendships and turns family members against each other. Mei tried introducing her cousins to that during a New Year gathering." MK shuddered. "Some of them still won't talk to her."

"Sounds like it needs to be exorcized." Fan said, without a single hint that he was joking. 

"Please don't."

MK kind of got the impression that he was the "by-the-book" cop of their buddy cop pair, who sounded serious whether he meant it or not, but maybe the kiddy soul would take things just that literally.

Sadly, his clarification ended up killing the conversation. For the next few moments, they just sat side-by-side, listening to the clacking of Mahjong tiles.

And the clacking had intensified, as the game picked up speed. Sun Wukong in particular was speeding up into a blur, fidgeting in his chair, using only one hand to move the tiles while juggling the same poor tangerine with the other.

Now, he was always in motion, gesturing as he talked, grabbing something or the other wherever they went. But the fidgeting had intensified to a point well beyond what MK was used to, which was making him fidgety too.

After a loud "Would you please stop that?" from Nezha, MK finally mustered enough courage to half-prod at Fan——and immediately drew his hand back! Wow, ghosts are freezing to the touch. 

(Okay, he wasn't really touching anything solid, but it felt like reaching into a pocket of sub-zero-degree air, made even more jarring by the heat of summer.)

"Sorry sir, one question." MK asked. "I don't really have a good grip on the rules yet, but is the Great Sage in trouble now? Like, is he losing?"

"No idea. I'm not bored enough to watch and guess their sets." Fan said. "But if you are talking about his hyperactivity, that's not a result of panic."

"Then what’s he doing?"

"He's teaching you how to fight someone with precognition."

"By…acting like a wind-up toy?"

"On the surface level, yes." He answered. "How much do you know about divination?"

To pain. 

No, not that one. MK shook his head wildly. "Next to nothing, I guess."

"Good. You aren't losing out on much." Fan said, before frowning. "I'd rather know less about it, but Xiao Xie just has to be an insufferable prick, so here we are. Essentially, think of Fate like a game of cards, or Mahjong, or whatever game of chance of your liking."

MK chuckled. The idea of Fate being a Uno game was quite a funny one, not gonna lie, if only because he'd get to figuratively shout "Reverse!" at someone.

"The Way is the ruleset, what is allowed and not allowed to happen. The winning and losing conditions. The cards and tiles are the individual events and outcomes, happening to a being as they draw them, one by one."

"To the Dipper Mansion celestials in charge of Fate, divination is like having your master's golden eyes and fiery vision. They can see through the cards and tiles, know what's on them instinctively, and are thus banned from playing, only able to shuffle and deal them out on the Celestial Host's orders."

Zhao Gongming's tiger, having jumped off its master's shoulder long ago, pawed at Sun Wukong's twitching tail. This only egged the monkey on, as they promptly began a game of 'catch my tail if you can' off the table.

"For some," he looked at Nezha, his face a mask of intense concentration, "it isn't so much divination as making snap-second, highly accurate guesses, aided by superb memorization skills. To the more unfortunate mortals, however, it's like seeing recordings of multiple games playing side-by-side, with no way of knowing which one is theirs."

"Lucky for my sworn brother and almost no one else, he can see snippets of a single recording, which just happens to be ours." Fan said. "It's also random, very short-reaching, and makes the part of his soul that bears the brunt of it into a kooky brat with no self-preservation instincts. But I've complained enough. Now that you know how his precognition works, what will you do to counter it?"

"Does not playing the game count?"

"A wise choice. But suppose you don't get to choose."

"I, uh." Think, smartie kid, think! What is the relationship between ultra-hyperactive monkey behavior and beating a ghost with future vision on the Mahjong table? (Oh geez, it's like that one question about ravens and writing desks in that foreign children's book again…)

"I guess I'll make myself, well, unpredictable and even more random?" He finally said, hesitantly.

"Not very specific, but you get the gist of it." Fan nodded. "Going back to my analogy, your master knows his opponent is making a random draw too, except each card he draws allows him to see others claiming or discarding a certain tile."

"So he decides to add more useless cards into the pool. False maneuvers, feints," Fan pointed to the tiger, still pawing at Sun Wukong’s tail, "Artificially creating another game on the side to divert the visions. Nothing can be a hundred percent predictable, not even literal future vision, and if only my partner realized that, he'd be a lot less annoying and not on the way to getting absolutely destroyed in this game."

"Wow. That's very clever and all, but should you really be telling me this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know much about the Underworld, outside of how Monkey King wrecked the place and scribbled him and his monkeys' name off the Book of Life and Death——" MK waved nervously, "No hard feelings 'bout that, ey? But if the Great Sage is teaching me how to counter you guys, does that mean you'll be going after us at some point in the future?"

"Technically, we'll be going after everyone who isn't an immortal or formally ranked celestial, sooner or later." Fan said. "Your master is firmly in the first category, and for you, that won't be in a long, long time, if it eases your worries."

"Yeah, no. Not at all. Thanks."

"You don't like ghosts very much, do you." He said, then, before MK could reply, added, "Which is fine. We don't like ourselves either."

"Uhhhh, don't be?" Oh gosh, was there really a way to word this without offending ghosts more? "It's not like I dislike you guys! Like, you and the other ghost cops seem pretty chill. It's just, y'know, a bit freaky, seeing the walking reminder of my inevitable mortality and all, ahahaha…"

"It is. And I won't tell you what to feel about that." Fan held up a finger, and the documents he had been reading were instantly sorted into neat little stacks in midair. "But if there is one thing you remember from our conversation, let it be this: no game lasts forever."

"One has to end in order for another to begin, and a game where no one wins or loses is gonna be a very boring one. We, officials of the Ten Courts, are but the keepers of scores, and you don't have to win in order to have fun while it lasts."

"Hu le." Zhao Gongming's calm voice cut through the chit-chat, followed by a light thud of him pushing the tiles over. "Four Kongs."

All eyes were immediately on him.

"By Buddha, Lao Zhao! No wonder you've been so quiet."

"Ugh!" Nezha facepalmed. "I was so close!" He shot a half-hearted glare at Sun Wukong. "This is all your fault, by the way. Without the extra tiles you snuck in there, he'd have never gotten such a rare combination."

"C'mon, maybe he's just that lucky?"

"Very enlightening." Xie hummed, handing over the bag of peach-flavored chips to Zhao. "This one knows he won't be winning the first round, but its certainly a great start!"

"And this is why you don't gamble with a literal, formally ranked, celestial god of wealth." Fan said, after a long, stunned silence. "Even when he isn't actively using his influence, for fairness's sake."

"He's not?"

"If he did, he'd just win every round, and there wouldn't be a game to speak of."

…

They stopped playing when the rain stopped, at which point the sun had already disappeared below the horizon. Zhao Gongming left halfway after getting an astral call from his sisters, shaking his head, giving MK the chance to finally join in. 

Sun Wukong had stopped cheating after that——at least not as blatantly, if Nezha's words were to be believed. To MK, he just settled back into his old laid back attitude, which, in turn, made his own palms less sweaty as he faced off against the other two.

He still lost, badly, only barely managing a win at the very end. Not that it mattered, since Nezha had soundly kicked everyone's butts like he wanted, coming out at the top by a wide margin of three bags of chips and a single Tau Sar Piah.

"Let this be your lesson, Monkie Kid," he said, with a hint of childish glee, "That hard work, knowledge of statistics, and memorization skills will always triumph over luck and a bunch of cheating clowns."

"Ah well. I'll let you have your moment, Laodi, since it's pretty much the only fight you can win against me." Sun Wukong responded with a cheeky smile, then tore open his bag of chips and started munching loudly on them. 

"Yes, keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll actually start believing in it." Nezha smirked, before standing up from his chair. "I'll just be over here, basking in the glow of victory and trying to not run into my brother on the way back——"

As if on cue, a shout came from outside.

"GREETINGS! This Hui An pays his respect to the City God and his attendants!"

"Annnnnd there goes my good mood." Nezha muttered. A formation started glowing under his feet. "Goodbye. If anyone asks, I've never been here."

Almost immediately after he disappeared in a blaze of pink fire, the speaker outside with the loud, booming, megaphone-against-your-ears voice marched through the doorway.

"Oh. Hi there, Muzha."

"HI THERE, as the younger generation says these days!" The tall man replied cheerfully. The dangling green ties on his hair bun were swaying back and forth, as he made a bow. 

"Heard you yelling into Lady Guanyin's statue a while ago, Great Sage, so I decided to pay a visit. Is my brother here too? Longnü said she saw you two flying together, while weaving the storm clouds with her kins."

"Well, in Nezha's exact words, 'If anyone asks, I've never been here'." Sun Wukong shrugged.  "So no, he is not here." 

"Ah. Embarrassed, I see!" He exclaimed, making his way to the Mahjong table and staring down at the tiles. "He really shouldn't be, though. By my religious vows, I'm supposed to refrain from such worldly pass-times, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be preachy about it!"

Now MK was starting to have an idea of what "Too much" meant. Namely, his complete lack of volume control.

"Well, looks like I've dropped by at a rather inopportune time, so I won't keep you fellows any longer, Great Sage. Thanks for keeping my little brother company, though——"

His sight met MK's, and only then did Muzha seem to notice his presence. "And DEAR ME! Is that your new disciple I've heard so much about? A pleasure to meet you too, young one!"

He reached out for a handshake. MK made the mistake of taking it, and immediately winced. 

"Oww, owww——Nice to meet you too?!"

"Please stop crashing my disciple's hand, Muzha."

"Sorry, sorry!" He laughed, releasing his iron grip at last. "It's just so wonderful to see the juniors coming into their own, I get a bit carried away. Still, this acolyte looks forward to working with you in the days to come!"

"Man, we are busy here today, aren't we?" Xie commented, just as the overly cheerful and loud immortal made a turn and headed for the backdoor. "So many visitors. Not that this one is complaining."

"...Yeah." MK agreed, after awkwardly waving Muzha goodbye.

Well, one thing was certain: godhood internship or not, he'd sure have one hell of a story to tell once he got back home.

[canirove]

Rice, Rice, baby | Chapter 5

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Time to go to the bathroom! Anyone else?"

"Nope" they all reply.

"Well, then I'll go alone" I say, getting up from my seat. 

"Wait, alone?" one of my friends says.

"Yeah" I shrug. 

"Liv, every time we come to Wembley and you go to the bathroom, you end up getting lost" she laughs.

"That isn't happening today."

"Ha!”

"It isn't. You'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see" she says, making everyone else laugh.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Fuck" I say when I find myself outside the vip area. How did I manage to end up here?

"Liv?"

"Declan?" I say as I turn around, my heart skipping a beat when I see him. Will that ever stop happening? Probably not. And definitely not when he is looking as hot as he is right now. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question" he says, making us both laugh, definitely remembering when we met at Madders’ house. 

"I told you I was coming to watch the lionesses game with my friends."

"You did, yes. But I thought you said you had tickets next to the pitch. What are you doing up here?"

"I… I went to the bathroom and got lost" I shrug.

"What?" he laughs.

"Yeah… It happens every time I come to Wembley, I don't know how I manage to do it."

"Have you tried not going alone?" he asks with a teasing smile that is definitely not turning me on. 

"We somehow still get lost, so now they don't want to come with me anymore."

"So they let you get lost on your own? What if something happens to you? What if you cross paths with a weirdo?”

“Are you calling yourself a weirdo, Declan Rice?” I ask him, trying to tease him and not sound like… a weirdo.

“Rude, Olivia. Rude” he laughs. And it is one of those loud laughs of his, so I guess I managed to do it right. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“That sounds like something a weirdo would say.”

“Stop teasing me, Liv” he says, closing  the space between us a bit and looking at me in a way that makes me gasp. If I was turned on before, now I'm… Well, you can imagine how I'm feeling. 

“Sorry, I just… I… Umm… Where do you want to go?”

“Well, the game is basically over, the girls are winning 4-0 already. So I thought we could go have dinner.”

“Us? I mean, you and I?” Oh my God, Olivia. Of course he means you and him. Who else would it be?

“Yes, you and I” he smiles, moving a bit closer. “What do you say?”

“What about my friends, tho? And your brothers? You came with them, didn't you?” 

“Yeah, but I don't think they will miss me. And seeing that your friends allowed you to be alone around Wembley knowing your history…”

“Rude, Declan. Rude” I chuckle, repeating what he had just told me and making him smile.

“So, are you in? There is this really cool restaurant I want to try and that I think you would also love. They apparently have some of the best cakes in the city, and if there is something I've learnt since I met you, it is that you have a sweet tooth.”

“Who, me?”

“Yes, you, Olivia” he smirks. “Are you coming with me or not?” Declan says, offering me his hand.

“I am” I reply, taking it and feeling that electricity I always feel when we touch.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“That was the best cake ever” I say as we leave the restaurant. “The food was great too, but the cake? Urgh. Thank you for bringing me here, Declan.”

“You're welcome” he says as we start walking, his hands in his pockets.

“Are you ok? Didn't you like it?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Then why do you look so… off.” 

“I kind of regret bringing you here.”

“What?” Oh, shit, Olivia. What did you do?

“Yeah” he shrugs.

“Why do you regret it? Did I do something wrong? Is it because I let you pay for everything?” 

“What? No, no” he says, stopping to look at me. “You did nothing wrong, Liv. That was one of the best dates I've ever had.”

“Wait, it was… a date?” I ask. I'm sure my eyes are so wide right now that they could pop from their sockets.

“What did you think it was?” Declan laughs.

“I don't know… Just… two friends eating together” I say, nervously playing with my bag's strap.

“That was a date, Liv. And like I just told you, one of the best I've ever had.”

“Then why do you regret taking me to that restaurant?”

“Because…” he sighs, running a hand through his hair and making me feel funny things in my belly. Maybe a bit lower too. “Because I got jealous.”

“Jealous? Jealous of who?”

“It wasn't a who. It was a what.”

“You are not making any sense, Declan.”

“I got jealous of the cake.”

“What?” I laugh. But it isn't a cute laugh, no… It is a horrible one, one that makes a woman who is walking past us give me a weird look. 

“I know it sounds like I'm crazy, but you should have seen yourself, Liv. The way you were looking at it, the way you were enjoying it, the noises of pleasure you were making…”

“Noises of… what?” I may not be able to see my face, but I know my cheeks are starting to turn bright red. 

“Of pleasure” he says, moving closer. “I got jealous because I want you to look at me like that, Liv. I want to make you enjoy yourself like that, to hear you make those noises because of me.”

Is he… Oh my God, is he talking about what I think he's talking about? About us…

“You… I… Ummm…” I mumble, my knees feeling like jelly once again as he moves even closer, one of his hands cupping my face.

“I want to be on your lips, Olivia” he says, his thumb moving over my lower one, making me gasp. “Inside your mouth” he whispers, his breath tickling my skin. If I was turned on earlier at the stadium, what I'm feeling right now is just another level. Dear lord. “May I kiss you?” 

I can't speak. I can't move. I can barely breathe. I'm frozen in place, lost once again on those damn blue eyes of his.

“May I kiss you or not?” he asks again.

“Yes” I whisper.

“You are gonna have to say it louder” he smirks. Oh, great. Since I didn't have enough already with feeling like I'm about to burst into flames, now he decides to smile like that. Bloody hell, Declan Rice. “I'm waiting, Olivia.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you” he says before kissing me. A kiss, that will be remembered as the one that caused the death of Olivia “Liv” Chapman.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

The Unwanted Visitor, PT 3

Part 1's here, Part 2 here, enjoy! (I swear I'll finish apns soon, but I just got a bad case of new-wip-itis)

The sun was shining, the wind was pleasantly cooling, and it was a wonderful day. At least, it would have been if I hadn't been cycling for my life. My feet pumped like hell was on my heels, and my thighs ached from the exertion.

As I passed through the gates, I could hear the bell chiming, a warning to students that the doors would be locked soon.

"Wait!" I screeched, pulling on the brakes as the gates swung shut.

The guard, Mr Gerry, was standing there with his arms crossed. "Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" he teased.

"Yes, sorry," I panted, leaning on the bike for support. "You know, I wouldn't be this late if school started at a sane time, right? Who the hell gets up and ready at 10?"

Mr Gerry laughed. "I don't know. You might wanna start waking up earlier, though. If you're late one more time, the school'll give you detention."

"I know, I know," I grumbled. It was all Visitor's fault. He had turned off my alarm, wrecked the wheels on my bike, held me up with his pranks and so much more, and it was taking a toll on my attendance.

"Anyway, I've got to go. You should hurry too, Aida." Mr Gerry waved me through the gates, and I dumped my bike to the side.

Joining the tail end of the flood of students entering the halls, I flipped up the hood of my jacket. Being the weird kid who lived at the edge of town was social suicide, and not being allowed to invite anyone over made matters worse. I was stuck being the butt of all the jokes, and I couldn't even beat them up, because I would get suspended. (Don't get me started on what happened when I poured bleach all over their lockers and ruined their stuff.)

"Oh, look, it's AIDS on legs," someone hissed as I walked by, and I artfully ignored the muffled laughter that followed me. I hated my name, or at least the first part of it. It was ripe for the mocking. I mean, what the hell kind of archaic name was 'Aida', anyways?

Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do. I was still a kid, after all, albeit not for long. Soon, though. Soon I would be free of these idiots and I would move out into the great world. I comforted myself with that thought as I stepped through the door, prepared for the next session of the shitshow that was my school.

"Good morning, Miss O'Dell. I trust you have a good reason for being late?" My homeroom teacher, Miss Kearney, glared at me from her seat.

I sighed. "No, Miss." I doubted that 'my spirit held me up by causing trouble' was a valid excuse.

"I'll let you off this time, but do it again and you're in deep trouble, Aida," Miss Kearney snapped. She wasn't usually so snappish, but she'd had a bad day, apparently. All the better for me, I thought bitterly.

"Yes, Miss." I slid into my chair in the back row, the most unobtrusive spot in the room.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, we can finally introduce a special guest. She's an exorcist consultant for the police; Please welcome Mrs Bell, everyone," Miss Kearney said.

"Hello," a woman with brown hair stepped into the classroom. Her suit was impeccably crisp and her smile was perfectly polite. I instantly disliked her.

"Mrs Bell has kindly agreed to teach us a bit about the paranormal. You'll have plenty of time to ask questions, but for now, listen up," Miss Kearney said sternly.

The class sat up straighter, looking interested. The paranormal was a big interest amongst the students. Magic was rare in Palioden, and exorcists were both respected and beloved by the people. I wanted to be a mage, when I grew up. (Everyone did, but I was one of the few who had an affinity for it.)

Miss Bell stood to the fore of the whiteboard, brandishing her pointer like a wand. “Children, what do you know of spirits? Not the cute sort you see on television, that is. The real kind.”

A smattering of hands shot up. The nice thing about my class was that most of us were teacher's pets, and that allowed me to slip right past their notice. 

“Spirits are the most powerful sort of twice-dead. They're found in the Celitane Forests, the Syvniko Mountain Range and west Palioden,” Lucia piped up. Lucia was exactly the sort of person I hated, popular and people-pleasing. The feeling was mutual, and she was one of the main proponents of the Anti-Aida-Army (or AAA as I liked to call them).

“Correct!” Miss Bell clapped for her, and I rolled my eyes in disgust. “What an excellent foundation of knowledge you children have! I see my job is already half done,” she added with a wink, and I finally understood why Visitor was scared of exorcists. If they were all so sickly sweet, they could probably melt his eyes out with their friendliness. 

“Now, we've received reports of a spirit haunting this area, so my team sent me to help you all understand spirits and how to deal with them!” That made me sit up a little. Had my parents finally grown a pair and reported Visitor? “Firstly, spirits differ from humans in three major ways; They're translucent to the human eye, they have unusual eye colours and they have sharp teeth. So if you spot someone who covers most of their face and body, and never reveals their teeth, you may have met a spirit. And if that's the case, you need to report it to the police!”

I was incredibly tempted to point out that a great deal of those who covered their entire body were simply doing it in the name of their religion, but the need to not get noticed outweighed my wish to stir up trouble. “Why do we have to tell the police? Are they dangerous?” It was Jack, member of the AAA and possessor of approximately 2 brain cells. 

“Yes, they're very dangerous,” Miss Bell said, her sugary expression hardening. “That's why I'm here, because this isn't a playing matter. Spirits kill people for fun, for their own pleasure, for no reason at all. While one is free, we cannot rest.” I thought that was rather dramatic; Visitor had never harmed a hair on my head, for all his threats. 

“I'm going to ask you an important question now. Which of you has been harbouring a spirit?” Miss Bell smacked the pointer against the teacher's table, and I flinched. “I know one of you did it, and I know which of you did it. Now, own up.”

Taglist here:

@coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch @ramwritblr, @urnumber1star, @fortunatetragedy, @bigwipscholar, @ratedn

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west

@finicky-felix, @evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @owldwagitoutofyou (Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[justshapesandaus]

(welcome back to Arc 3 we are finally continuing it)

Outside of the house Barracuda pulled something out from his pockets, upon revealing them to the guardian they were puzzled, They were egged shaped. "They are teleports I've been working on. Since you got this big quest from the Treeangles I thought it would be about time to give you theses."

Grabbing them from Barracuda's hands, putting them in her pocket so she would not forget them she asked. "What are we suppose to do with them?" Barracuda lit up at being able to tell what his invention was for. "I think it's about time we got a better transportation then using horses, or walking, But unfortunately You three will still have to activate them at each town you go too, just on the outskirts of it, and they all should be able to connect to one another." "Have you tested them out?" Lycan asked from the grass they were laying in, petting Barracuda's Pegasus, who has trapped the flower with it's head. "In small doses I have, But they work well enough longer distances shouldn't be a problem." "I trust Barracuda's inventions." Blixer stated but Cyan said sarcastically. "Oh ya because the 'Antidote' was such a good invention." Blixer looked back at him, making the child grin with glee. "You two stop being so mean to one another, we're about to be spending about a year together, and I'm not going to tolerate this behavior on our trip." Cube said not even looking back at the trouble makers. Blixer stuck out his tongue making Cyan charge at the man, but was blocked by the man's hand keeping him contained. Cube and Barracuda shook their heads before looking back at one another. "Thank you then for the teleporters. Though You also don't happen to have anything for transportation? I don't think being horses would be a good idea." "Funny enough I have." He pulled out something else from his pockets, two small compacted cubes were now in his hands. throwing one on the ground let it roll out into what can only be described as a hovering contraption. "I call it a hoverboard, and it gets powered by the sun, so leaving theses in the sun will charge them."

"Oh so like a none wheeled skateboard that's so cool Baracuda." Cube said excitedly watching as the triangle man kicked it up into the air, seeing it compact back down into a cube, before landing it right back in his hand, before giving one to Cube, and then to Blixer who had walked forward, Cyan laying on the floor pouting.

"Ya Cuda you are amazing." Blixer said, pocketing his much like Cube. "I'm glad you do, you have a long journey ahead of you, though I do have one more think I want to confess, This is still a work in progress, But I do have another teleporter prototype I wanted to test out." "What is it?" Cube asked. "Well it'll allow anyone to teleport into a space they remembered, It's not as well tested as the cross portal teleports, but this, if it goes well should sent you on your right path, Arow is far, so i thought this'll be helpful, if only helping you out on getting you started."

"Well it's worth a try." Cube said with a shrug. Barracuda smiled, pulling out another egg looking device, and throwing it on the ground. It opened up it looked to hold on;y one shape or beat at the current time, but he did say it was still a work in progress. "I just have to calibrate it real quickly. And then you three should be on your way." Cube nods before walking over to lycan. He sat down with his flower brother. "Be good while were gone ok. Or Grandma's ghost will kick your ass." Both of the siblings chuckled "Or I'll get a surprised visit from Grandpa, he'll really kick my ass if he saw me doing nothing around the farm." That got both of them to chuckle just a bit louder that time, before growing quiet. Without needing to say anything they pulled each other into a hug.

Cyan watched this all play out, He was happy to finally be spending time with his guardian. But with it being with the monster who almost destroyed the entire planet? He didn't know how long they'd last being near one another. He could tell that Blixer felt the same way.

But he'll try not to anger the beast,, while Cube is around. Though the only thing he was worried about was why was the Treeangle sending them to Arow, it's a ghost city, according to the locals, always been like that since before he was born,,, a few months ago. But still, a Ghost city shouldn't be having problems, but the Treeangle's words were final so they'd go there."

"And that should do it. you three are all ready to go on your adventure." Barracuda stood up, and backed away from his invention. Blixer took a deep breath, stepping onto the teleporter, and only 4 seconds later, the device lit up, only 10 seconds later did it lit up brightly surrounding the ex king, before he vanished into thin air.

Cyan looked at to where he had gone and grinned, welp there goes his problem. But instead of celebrating in his head, Cube picked him up, bringing him over to do it secondly, it took 14 seconds like last time, and when the blinding light faded, Cyan looked out into the sea of buildings, the forest behind him, a mountain in the distance. Blixer was unfortunately there and still alive, looking out of the vast city, that was supposedly bursting with life, but now layed dormant, being reclaimed by nature. No wonder his friends didn't want him to recover there.

One last light blinded the both of them, signaling that Cube had finally joined them. They all looked out into the town. All wondering the same thing. 'Why were they called to Arow the city of the clockworth?'

[todouswife]

Guardians of Serendipity -pt1

this is the first part of my mafia bloodline fic that I've been working on. i think its good for the first part. I'm not sure how long it will be yet but I have the the next couple of parts ready. feel free to give me feedback! :)

"Let me go!" Yasmine yells through slurred words. They try to use force to get away from the man trying to force her to go with him. She would have been more successful had she not been so drunk. They were trying to walk home from a bar when a man walked toward her using her intoxication to his advantage.

"Oh just shut up and come with me I can get you home safe." the man says with his other intentions obvious. The street was reasonably busy so he was glad people were minding their own business.

"No! I don't know you! Let me go!" Yasmine screams clearly enough to catch the attention of a group of men walking in their direction. The group speed walks to the drunk girl's aid. They immediately pull the guy off Yasmine.

"Who the hell are you? " one asks, "she said she doesn't know you, so fuck off!" another chimes in. Yasmine feels relief wash through her. She may not know who they were but they saved her life in her eyes. The guy who harassed her huffs and walks away without saying a word.

"What a fuckin creep," one of the men huffs, "I should've beat his ass for trying some shit like that." he leaned on the tall plant pots and crossed his arms. He inhales and looks at his friend when he exhales. One of the other men helps Yasmine to the bench. She sits and groans, putting her head in her hands.

"I don't feel good." she manages to get out.

"I'm going to that convenience store to get her food and some drinks. It should help her sober up." the others nodded. One sat on the other end of the bench. He sighed and ruffled his hair "We may as well wait a while, make sure he doesn't come back."

"Hey, where do you live I'll get you an Uber." the one with his arms crossed asks.

"Dumbass as if she would tell you after what just happened." he rolls his eyes and gets up from the side of the bench and kneels in front of her. "Do you have anyone to call to get you home?" he asks Yasmine, She just shakes her head no and lazily looks around at her surroundings. She fishes her phone out of her pocket and attempts to make herself an Uber. After fiddling with the phone a bit she asks one of the men for help.

"hey, uhm, one of you," she says slurred, "can you help me get a Uber. my address is in there already but the phone is hurting my eyes." she holds her phone up so someone can grab it while rubbing her eyes.

"I got you lil mamma." it was the one sitting on the bench he scoots down closer to her. He grabs her phone and finishes her transaction, reserving her an Uber.

"I'm back, I got a couple of things for tonight and the morning." the one who walked to the store says as he takes out a snack cake and a bottle of water and gives the items to the intoxicated girl. She quietly thanks the men around her for staying with her.

"Nah you ain't gotta thank us, we would do it for anyone. That shit ain't cool. My name is Jey by the way, that's Roman," he pointed to the one who looked mean with his arms crossed, "and that's Jimmy." he pointed to the one who brought her things to sober up. She noticed in this introduction that Jimmy and Jey were twins.

Yasmin's mind was too foggy to process anything else about the men. Right as she was about to say something her phone dinged and a white car pulled up in front of where they were."Hey, can I see your phone to make sure it's the Uber?" Jimmy reached his hand out for her phone. Yasmine unlocks and gives him her phone. He checks the license plate and talks to the driver before letting her in the car. He walks back and gives the okay for her to get in.

"Here let me help you," Roman says walking over to help Yasmin up and into the Uber. He made sure that she was comfortable and had her purse before she left. Yasmin went home in the Uber and wobbled into the house trying to be quiet so she didn't wake her roommate. She makes it to bed and immediately goes to sleep.

The boys look around at each other after seeing the Uber leave. "I hope she's alright, she really shouldn't be out like that," Jey says looking at his brothers.

"Yeah that shit wasn't safe, she almost got snatched the hell up. I wonder why she was out like that," Jimmy asked putting his hand in his pocket. When he did he felt more than one phone. He pulls them both out and cusses under his breath.

"Fuck, y'all I still got her phone. Y'all think she'll call it and try to find it?" Jimmy says pulling out the phone.

"Shit I hope so, let's keep it and hope she can use a phone to call it in the morning," Roman says.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Stages of Mamma Mia

Fandom:

AU where Catherine Johnson is Jason's bio mom and Jason doesn't know who his father is. (Jason Todd is Jason Johnson for fic reasons).

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Jason Blood, Catherine Todd Mention, Bruce Wayne, Willis Todd Mention

Relationship(s): Past Catherine Todd/Jason Blood, Past Catherine Todd/Bruce Wayne, Past Catherine Todd/Willis Todd

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Mamma Mia-inspired AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Father-Son Relationship(s), Jason Todd Experiences the Five Stages of Grief

Chapter Seven: Take A Chance On Me

Mr. Blood left Jason's room to make something for him to eat. He cracked open a jar of fire cider and poured a small amount into a pot. He cut up vegetables for soup and put them in a pot to boil with various herbs. His mind drifted to the feeling he had when he discovered Jason had run away. He couldn't blame Jason for being afraid. Any person would've done the same. Still, it hurt Mr. Blood's heart to know that Jason feared him. His eyes filled to the brim with tears, and when he could no longer blink them away, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. "I don't want to be alone," Jason mumbled. Mr. Blood whipped around and touched Jason's forehead. "You shouldn't be out of bed," Mr. Blood whispered. Jason's skin felt warm and clammy, and he still had bits of dried blood in his hair and behind his ears. Jason stood still, his eyes dull and lifeless. Mr. Blood could tell Jason was still in shock. He crouched down in front of Jason and embraced him. "How do you feel?" "Everything hurts," Jason whispered, laughing softly to lighten the mood. Mr. Blood pulled away and looked at him, smiling as he smoothed his hair down. "I—. I'm scared." Jason's smile faded. "I know," Mr. Blood whispered, "But I promised you I would never let anyone hurt you. I meant that." He cupped Jason's cheek before making Jason sit down. He turned the pot of cider off and poured it into a mug. "Here, drink this. It'll taste terrible, but it'll make you feel better... The soup will be done shortly," Mr. Blood whispered. Jason blew on the hot cider until it was cool enough to drink. He didn't mind the taste. "Slowly." "Is that—? Is that thing part of you?" Jason asked. Mr. Blood let out a sigh of relief. He thought that Jason would never ask. It was better that they get the worst part out of the way. "No, he's not part of me... He... inhabits me. His name is Etrigan. He's inhabited me for fifteen centuries," Mr. Blood explained, "That's what your mother found out." "She would've gotten older... And you would've stayed like that," Jason whispered. Mr. Blood nodded. "She wasn't afraid?" Mr. Blood stared at Jason and gestured for him to take another sip of his drink. "If she was, she never showed it... Jason, what do you remember about last night?" Mr. Blood questioned. Jason didn't answer. "Did you mean what you said?" Jason asked. Mr. Blood raised his brow. "You said you loved me." "I did, didn't I?" Mr. Blood whispered as he tapped Jason's nose with his finger. "Drink your cider." Mr. Blood turned away to tend to the soup.

"Mr. Blood," Jason whispered, "If you're curious... I love you too." Mr. Blood turned to him and kissed the top of Jason's head. "You're not afraid?" Mr. Blood asked. "A little, but I think almost dying beats you being inhabited," Jason replied. He took another sip of his drink, and Mr. Blood chuckled. "Can we talk about that?" Mr. Blood questioned. Jason's smile faded. "It's alright. You can say no. I'm just concerned." "Um," Jason's voice broke, "Not now..." They both blinked away tears, and Mr. Blood nodded. "It's alright. Jason, I just want you to know that I'll be here to talk when you're ready," Mr. Blood whispered. Jason finished his drink, and Mr. Blood took the mug and washed it for him. "Back to bed..." "Will you stay until I go to sleep?" Jason whispered. Mr. Blood nodded and followed Jason to his room. He sat by Jason's bedside, and Jason turned on his side to face Mr. Blood. "Did you only say you loved me because you were scared?" Mr. Blood rustled a hand through Jason's hair. "Of course not," Mr. Blood whispered. "Would you settle for happy?" Jason asked innocently, eliciting a chuckle from Mr. Blood. "You should rest," Mr. Blood whispered. He reached over and dimmed the lights. Jason's eyes were red with sickness, but he couldn't rest. His heart raced as his mind took him through the previous night's events. "Please don't," Jason whispered, "Don't turn out the lights."

Mr. Blood frowned. "Can I show you something?" he questioned. Jason nodded. Mr. Blood pulled out a vintage wallet and drew a picture from behind a handwritten letter. He gave the picture to Jason. The photograph was of Catherine. She sat in Mr. Blood's chair, writing in the same diary now in Jason's possession. "I didn't want to show this to you... You're so much of her, but you're something else too. Perhaps you're mine or someone else's... My hesitance to admit my love for you isn't your fault. It's the uncertainty that I have that frightens me. I hold back because it'll make things easier if—." "You think I couldn't still love you if you weren't my dad?" Jason asked. Jason would've sat up, but his weakness overpowered his offense. Mr. Blood pulled a quilt over Jason. Mr. Blood knew the illness well. Magic almost took Jason's life, and it'd take Jason a while to recover from the shock. "Or do you think you'd stop loving me?" Mr. Blood could hear the pain in the child's voice. Jason was only a child. "I didn't mean that... Jason—." Jason pulled the blanket over his head. "I don't want to talk anymore," Jason mumbled underneath the quilt. Twelve was so young, so inexperienced, so full of sentiment. Mr. Blood respected Jason's silence, but he didn't leave Jason until he was sure the boy was fast asleep. "I'm so frightened, Jason," Mr. Blood whispered, "And I don't want you to get attached until we know for sure. I don't know why I can't say this to your face... I don't want to let you go, but I may not have a choice. Only time will tell, I guess. I'll be back in a minute."

[blackjackkent]

Approaching a busted-up house in an area of the shadowlands called "Ruined Battlefield", surrounded by a bunch of dead githyanki, and hear this, in a child's whining voice:

This seems fine.

Getting closer to the house, we get this:

O.O; cool cool cool coolcoolcoolcoolcool

"BOO!" A child erupts out of the shadows and lurches at the group.

The reaction is immediate. Everyone is tremendously on edge. Hector's staff comes out and whiffs just past the boy's head, a burst of flame splashes around Gale in all directions, and Karlach gives a sharp yelp of dismay and only just manages to redirect her sword's swing, sending it clanging against the nearby stone wall.

Only Shadowheart retains some semblance of self-control, although she has frozen stock-still with the brilliant glow of Lathander's blood stretched out in front of her like a warding glyph.

The child - a tiefling, it seems, but a strange-looking one, with pale skin and hair and a glowing green mark sprawled across one side of his face - laughs brightly at their reaction.

"I scared you! I saw it! NOBODY beats me at hide and seek!" he crows gleefully. Then his smile fades and he looks up at Hector plaintively. "Will you play with me?"

"Who *are* you?" Hector asks, bewildered, once he has gotten his heart rate back down to something resembling normal.

"I'm Oliver. I'm seven," the boy says brightly. "Will you play with me?"

Hector looks around in bemusement. The area is completely abandoned, a shattered burned out husk of what might have once been a home. "Don't you...have anyone else to play with?" he asks cautiously. Perhaps the boy has other friends, someone he can take him to for safety.

Oliver grins. "I have a mummy, a daddy, and a doggy. They'll be back in a while. But you're here now! And I want to play."

Hector glances at the others, who all shrug, equally bemused. Something is definitely not right here.

[MONK][INSIGHT] The child's ki feels...uneven. At odds. Why?

Narrator: Below the layers of shadow and curse, you sneak a fleeting glance of this creature's true nature. Not an ordinary child, but not a spectre either. One part of a greater whole. Something ancient...and oddly sad.

Part of a greater whole. Hector thinks back to what Halsin said about the nature of this land and the curse across it. "In a moment, maybe..." he says cautiously. "Have you seen another little boy? His name is Thaniel."

Immediately something darker crosses Oliver's face. "I don't know anyone called that. Don't ask me again." Then the shadow disappears, and he's smiling again. "Now play with me!"

Hector frowns. "You're not what you say you are," he says firmly. "I can sense it."

Oliver shrugs. "I don't know what you mean," he says. "I'm just me. I have a mummy, a daddy, a pet doggy."

Hector hesitates. Is he misreading the situation? He can't be; why would a normal boy be out here in the middle of the shadows, unaffected and alone? "What are your parents' names?" he tries. "Maybe I can find them."

The boy scowls. "They don't *need* names. They just need to be mummy and daddy and do what I want. Now play with me, or they'll be angry at you!"

Narrator: [INSIGHT] The boy doesn't like these questions - because he has no real answers. And perhaps no real family.

Hector sighs with a sense of deep compassion - and concern. Is the boy a ghost? A lost soul wandering this cursed land? Or something far darker?

The compassion wins out, though. The lost soul of a boy only wanting a game...it would be cruel to walk away from that. "You want to play?" he says gently. "Fine." He sees Karlach nod agreement out of the corner of his eye - along with, somewhat surprisingly, Shadowheart.

The boy grins widely. "All right! I'll hide and you see. Find me, and you win!"

Hector raises an eyebrow. "And if I don't find you?"

The boy smirks, and says, sing-song, "Then you lose!"

I really hope this isn't a terrible idea, Hector thinks wearily. "All right," he agrees. "Let's begin."

"Get ready!" Oliver says excitedly. "And no cheating!"

And then he vanishes.

---

"Well, that doesn't seem particularly fair," Hector says to the empty air, dryly.

"Impeccable strategy, really," Gale comments. "No better way to be unseekable than to be unseeable. Although it does leave fairly little room for maneuver on our parts as the seeker du jour."

"I don't suppose that means you have any ideas?"

"Oh, plenty!" the wizard says cheerfully. "True Sight, See Invisibility, Detect Magic, Faerie Fire...plenty of ways to get around an invisibility spell. A good helping of Fireball will also do the trick although I don't imagine our intention is to see the little lad turned into a flambe."

"Ah. Do you have any of those methods currently available?"

"I do not." Gale grins. "But they would all work, I can say with great authority."

Hector sighs. "Any other ideas?"

"I could run round with my arms outstretched until I hit something," Karlach suggests helpfully.

"...I think this is going to take a while."

---

In the end we did find him, and it really was just kind of a matter of seeing the vague direction he went and then stumbling over him.

Needless to say, he isn't happy about it.

"You weren't supposed to find me!" he whines. "You weren't supposed to win."

"Don't be a sore loser," Hector comments reprovingly.

"You're not my daddy," the boy snaps. "Don't tell me what to do. Let's play another game - I deserve a chance to even the score."

Hector sighs. This whole situation is starting to feel uncomfortable. "Let's play."

"Try to find me again!" he says cheerfully. "But my family will be looking for you at the same time! So don't get caught!"

...Excuse me, what?

OK suddenly we're stealthed in turn-based mode and...these things are wandering the area:

Uh...huh.

----

"Y'know, Hec," Karlach mutters in an undertone as they begin maneuvering carefully back towards the collapsed house. "I don't think this game is quite so much fun the second time round."

"You and me both."

-----

Stealth did not work, we got spotted almost instantly. And here's the other member of the family!

I kind of don't want to kill Oliver's family if I can help it but they don't seem to have nearly the same compunction about me and the squad.

This game is getting weirder and weirder.

I did find Oliver inside but it appears that if mummy and daddy have spotted you then you do have to fight them before you can talk to him, sadly. Hopefully he's not too mad at us.

"I win! I always win in the end. You did better than most, though, so I'll let you go. Here - second prize. You'll need it."

And he handed us a ring of Pass Without Trace and then vanished.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

do you know any good ghost stories, frank?

No, I don't know any ghost stories as such, although I think I once had an "imaginary friend" in the form of this story:

A little boy was walking on a hot, humid day in summer. It was a nice day, but the boy was tired and hot and thirsty. He came across a lake, where the water was shallow, and splashing around in it was a little boy a year older than him, playing by himself. The older boy noticed that the other boy was thirsty too and decided to give him a drink.

The older boy got out of the water, and the young boy followed. The older boy said, "We need to sit somewhere shady to cool off," and the young boy said, "What about those logs over there?"

The older boy nodded and the young boy sat down on the first log he found. They drank their drinks, but the older boy seemed even thirstier than before. The young boy began to notice that the lake was the same shade of green as the younger boy's skin, which looked particularly pale and sickly that day. The younger boy seemed the opposite, looking more animated and well-hydrated.

The older boy said, "Look, I have to tell you something. You're not supposed to drink lakes or wells. You'll get sick." Then he said, "I can take you down the waterline so you don't get in trouble at school. I know this isn't your fault. But, you see, you don't know about this stuff, so if you told anyone at school, they would probably be mad at me, and I can't have that. You need to understand how serious this is. I'm not going to lie to you or try to hide it from you, it's just that it's very important that you don't tell anyone about this."

So the older boy told the younger one that if he told anyone at school about the lake, the older boy would beat him up and not let him go out or see his friends anymore.

The younger boy got up and shook his head. He didn't want the older boy to beat him up. But the older boy said that there was no other way. "You don't need to be scared of your friends, you'll be alright in a while," he said. "I have to take care of you, okay? You can't tell anybody or I won't be able to take you to the waterline. It's only fair."

The young boy said, "I'm not scared, I'll be fine."

Then the older boy said, "I know. I know. Come on, I'll take you to the waterline." And so they went on.

"This story's not scary," the older boy said. "Not really."

The younger boy said, "It's not scary for me either. It just seems kind of mean."

The older boy said, "Yes, well, it is kind of mean. I'm sorry. That's the only way. I have to be mean to you."

When they got to the waterline, the younger boy asked the older boy to come closer. "Take this thing off, this shirt," he said.

The older boy smiled and did as asked, pulling the shirt off his back. The younger boy pushed him closer and started to rub his arms and face with it, and, "You're really sweaty," the younger boy said, "I have to get you some of that." And so they ran off and went home.

Over the next few days, both boys felt better, but the younger boy started to notice that he still couldn't see in his left eye. Then he noticed that the lake had the same shade of green as his eyes -- he could see through them, but not his own eye -- and that they now had a green film over them. When he tried to take it off, it stuck to his face. Then the film started to move like a head was swimming inside his eye. "What's wrong?" the younger boy said, as the head took on a human appearance, and the head began to speak. "I'm sorry about what I did, I'll go to the waterline now." "No," the head said, "it's you, you're in there," the boy said. "You can get out." And the head replied, "It's a matter of life and death." "I can tell," the boy said. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Your name is you," the head said. And with that, the boy was able to get the head out of his eye and out of his life. The boy washed his eyes and face, and all was well again. The older boy was relieved, and after that, they became good friends.

[taelovesjohnny]

Muted ( The Outsider) Chapter 11 The Devils House

millile's PoV

This house is so angry now. Ever since ally told the whole gang that it was dally who raped me, everybody has been so uptight, and i think the only one that really likes dally right now is Johnny. i think he wouldv'e been a good dude, but he raped me so, thats a big game changer, for sure. i was sitting on the couch, reading a book, something i rarley do. its just to get my mind off of the maddness. i think the boys thought that just because they know who raped me, will get me to open my mouth. i got big news, its never gonna happen!

" hey baby, wanna go with me, skinny dippin'?" two-bit joked. and though it was meant for me to get mad, and start yelling, soda beat me to it.

" what the hell, two-bit!!! shes my sister!!!! lay off!!" 

" Soda's right, if she dont wanna go out with you, thats final, sorry dude." steve butted in on our conversation.

" im never letting my sister date a foolless drunk, thats for sure, even if he's a buddy." this time it was ponyboy.

" smart ass i can date anyone i want. just watch me." two-bit grinned, as he came over to me. " may i have you, my lady?" 

i closed my book. oh this is gonna be fun. i gave two-bit my hand, and he yanked me up. he put his hands on my waist and started to lean in. two-bit was one of my bestie's. besides soda, two-bit was the next highest on my list. we knew eachother like an open book. he started kissing me roughly on my jaw bone. just then i heard the door slam. i looked over two-bit's shoulder to see dallas winston, staring at me with cold eyes. All the boys stood where they were, dumbfounded at what two-bit was doing. this was the most fun i was having in like forever. 

" i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you." two-bit was going mad. he knew i wanted to lighten things up, so before he started he gave me his " i'll do this if you let me, and i will not hurt you, but ill go to the extreme" look. and boy was he going to the extreme. his beer soaked breath soaked my face, as he leaned down and kissed me on the lips. The whole gang started yelling at that point.

" Bro that was seriously not cool!!" steve shouted.

i kissed back. and i kept kissing back.

" Millie, please dont do this, you dont want to go out with that bafoone." i looked at who said it, we all did, the boy who said it, was not  Sodapop, or Steve, or even Darry, It was Dallas. Dallas winston.

Dallas, pov.

I just came into the curtis house, hopefully to find a beer and make up for some of the shit that i have done to half of this gang. I went in with some very high hopes. but when i saw everybody looking in a direction that was not the direction of the tv i knew something was amiss. 

two-bit and Millie were kissing. I got kinda jealous, i mean. wait what. no. i did not just say that. i hadn't heard the girl talk since ive been with the gang. i think thats crazy, a girl like her, ought to have a ton to say.

she looked at me, those eyes impaled my thoughts. she looked at me with, i dont even know, was it savage, fear, anger, i dont know, but it sent me crazy. two-bit lingered at her face for one moment, and then kissed her on the lips, steve shouted something. and then she kissed back. wow.

" Millie, please dont do this, you dont want to go out with that bafoone" I was shocked i said that, in front of the whole gang, but its true, i might have developed some feelings for her, ever since the first day i saw her. i thought she was beutiful. the whole gang looked at me.

" what, i'm pretty sure, you guys were all thinking it." i said, trying to cover up my story.

they did not look impressed. so i sat on the couch, and looked up at two-bit and millie. and smiled reclessely.

[fuckedprophet]

(  #FUCKEDPROPHET  )    a  extremely private  rp  blog  for  DALLAS "PRETTY BOY" MCMEEN.  a  (  FANDOMLESS )  original  HORROR character.  birthed  by  L  and  originally  est. 2023.  this  blog  is primarily iconless.  BLOG  FEATURES;  heavy  themes  that  are  USFW.  topics  include  and  are  not  limited  too;  murder,  drugs,  sacrilegious  ideology,  religious  trauma,  sex,  cannibalism,  sacrificial  rituals,  etc.  CONTENT  WILL  NOT    be  suitable  for  all  viewers,  please  curate  your  own  space.  in  order  to  interact  please  be  over  the  age  of  twenty  one,  mun  is  twenty  six.  

*FUCKED PROPHET  -  a man who can see the past , present , and future and chooses to walk willingly into his death.

SLIDES. / DALLAS CD CASE. / QUICK LORE SHEET.

1.  don't  be  gross ( homophobic, transphobic, racist, antisemitic, ableist, pedophilic, someone who fetishizes someone for their race. )  basic  rp  rules  apply,  but  please  don't  be  rude  or  mean.  that  kinda  negativity  im  not  into.  keep  the  drama  to  yourself,  im  just  here  to  write.  if  you  wanna  be  friends  that's  great  and  we  can,  but  i  don't  wanna  be  pulled  into  any  kind  of  drama. 

2.  this  blog  is  heavily  nsfw.  when  i  say  heavily  i  do  mean  it  literally.  it  touches  on  uncomfortable  topics  for  most,  drug  abuse,  murder,  cannibalism  (mentioned  not  written  out),  sexual  conduct,  sacrilegious  topics  and  or  behavior,  cosmic  monsters  verses  human  monster.  its  not  for  the  faint  at  heart.  i  wont  write  rape,  incest,  dd/lg,  or  anything  gross  like  that.  if  you  write  that,  stay  away.  thank  you.  i  also  wont  write  smut  on  tumblr.  if  we  are  close  enough  and  have  developed  a  stable  friendship  /  plotting  /  chemistry,  we  can  write  it  on  discord.  

3.  im  simple.  easy  as  that,  i  used  to  write  real  flowery  prose  and  such  --  but  i  cant  seem  to  do  it  anymore.  my  writing  has  shifted  more  into  a  novel  format  rather  than  a  Shakespeare  play.  if  you  write  that  way  awesome,  i  love  to  see  it  and  read  it.  i  just  cant  do  it.  that  being  said  i  don't  expect  you  to  match  my  length,  writing  style,  or  anything  like  that.  i do have vision issues so i don't use icons or tiny font.

4. shipping is fun. its cool and great and i love it. im not afraid to admit ships are one of the fun aspects of rp-ing. i enjoy all forms of connections, romance, platonic, hateship, etc. i just like chemistry is all. its easier that way yknow? so please don't force anything on me. i don't consider memes sent force shipping its testing the waters. if you have an idea or see anyone that strikes your interest just let me know and we can chemistry test. easy as that. 

5.  i  love  ocs.  i  love  some  canon  characters,  but  im  skeptical  of  some  fandoms.  forgive  me  if  i  don't  follow  you  for  my  own  comfort.  if  i  followed  you  first  though  that  means  im  interested  in  writing.  i  try  to  keep  my  list  pretty  sl

im,  so  if  we  follow  each  other  and  i  send  memes  with  no  real  response  or  there  isn't  any  pulse  on  the  other  end  of  our  plotting  i'll  unfollow.  i  just  don't  see  the  point  in  following  someone  if  we  aren't  going  to  actually  try  to  write  together.

that's  the  end  gang.  hope  those  rules  weren't  too  harsh,  i  don't  see  the  point  in  kinda  beating  around  the  bush.  im  pretty  sporadic  and  this  is  a  low  activity  blog;  i  work  and  have  a  family  im  pretty  dedicated  too.  any  questions  please  shoot  them  my  way.  

psd credits go to ; ariapsds

authors note: this character is constantly evolving and never has a real set lore to him, he's affiliated with my two other ocs thefair and thenewton.

mains:

exclusives:

QUICK FACT SHEET ABOUT DALLAS; - he grew up in an abusive home. his neglect began from the day he was born and carried on into his youth. - he was the son of a well renowned pastor luke mcmeen who prided himself on the perfect family image. he kept his abuse of dallas under wraps for years and even to date several of his patrons do not know what he did to him. - dallas' mother was compliant in all this abuse because she feared being left by luke; she eventually began to believe luke's insistence that dallas was horrible and an abomination they were forced to trial by gods hand. - dallas despite being highly intelligent did poorly in school because any attention be it positive or negative was viewed in bad lighting by luke and lead to more abuse. - at first he was nothing more than an onlooker to these things, but soon he realized that his actions in this liminal space caused ripples that changed the out come of his nightmares turning them for the better or worse.

[francisp0rter]

An Illuminating Interview with Dayton Church -- The Forgotten Member of Odd Future

By Francis Porter

Very few names can conjure images of a time and place on mere mention alone, but Dayton Church happens to be one of them. The 27-year-old California rapper, once a member of the notorious Odd Future Wolf Gang, has been a mainstay of the West Coast hip hop scene for close to twenty years now, but it is his work with the eclectic rap collective that brought him to the place he is now.

Many casual fans of Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt may be wondering "Who the hell is Dayton Church? I don't remember him being in Odd Future." But the real heads know. The real heads remember Dayton Church.

Dayton was nice enough to speak with us about his upcoming album, his previous work with Odd Future, and what it means to be a West Coast rapper in 2022.

FP: First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. You've had a very unique experience in the music industry and I'm excited for people to finally hear your story.

DC: No problem. Thanks for reaching out. I don't do much press these days, which is mostly fine with me.

FP: You don't like doing interviews?

DC: It's not that I don't like them, it's just a little tedious. At least the way we were doing it back then.

FP: You were probably posted up in hotel rooms doing one reporter in one reporter out kind of stuff?

DC: Yeah, exactly. Super shallow.

FP: Well, I'll try to avoid boring you here (laughs).

DC: (laughs) Cool, man. Sounds good.

FP: So I wanna start with Odd Future, and the work you did with those guys.

DC: Sure, yeah. That's usually what people wanna hear about. I met those guys in 2009 in Ladera Heights. They were at the mall and I saw Tyler trying to kiss Hodgy Beats on the lips. Hodgy was running away but Tyler kept chasing him down and saying "gimme a kiss baby boy" and shoving his face up to Hodgy's. I figured it was some kind of sexual assault going down so I tried to stop it but then they all started laughing at me and taking videos of me and I realized that they were goofing around.

FP: Wow. That's so embarrassing for you.

DC: I guess. It was cool though. We laughed about it and then they invited me to come smoke in their car. Once they realized that I made music, and I realized that they made music, it was a wrap. We were boys after that.

FP: Was there anyone you were particularly close with during that time?

DC: Yeah. Me and Left Brain were really close. We used to go down to this record store on Fairfax where you could find really crazy synthwave records to sample. He used to take the records and wipe a bit of his butt sweat on them to "mark them with his scent" and "curse the sample" so that no one else could flip it. I always thought it was funny but then one day the owner caught him doing it and we got banned.

FP: So you guys were really close, then. That's interesting, because Left Brain notably told Complex that he always thought you were a, and a I quote: "Bitch made, baby-brained, baby-dicked motherfucker with no friends and no bitches."

DC: Yeah. We all had our little falling out. I don't blame anyone for the things that were said during that beef. It got a little tense there but everything is fine now. I actually ran into Left Brain the other day. He's working at the bodega by my house.

FP: Did you guys catch up or reminisce?

DC: No. I bought some cigarettes and pretended I didn't know who he was. I thought I got away with it too, until I went to leave and he said: "See you in your dreams, Dayton. We've been watching and waiting. I am looking forward to becoming you." It was weird but I think he was trying to be nice.

FP: It sounds like he's trying to let bygones be bygones.

DC: Yeah, I think so.

FP: You didn't get along very well with Tyler, the Creator. Is that correct?

DC: (laughs) Yeah, you could say that.

FP: Why not? You guys seem like you could be very good friends if you put aside your differences.

DC: I'm sure we could be. I don't think he's a bad guy, we just had very different goals. He was listening to Quincy Jones production all the time. He wanted this really jazz-fusion kind of sound but the software and equipment we were using at the time wasn't really made for that kind of thing, so all of his beats sounded like Creed Taylor tried to write a song on a Nintendo 64. I hated it and I would tell him that I hated it.

FP: You weren't into what he was doing?

DC: Eh, not really. I'm more of a street rap guy. I'm inspired by Raekwon, Ghostface, Jeezy, Wayne, that kinda stuff. I never really liked the R&B type shit.

FP: Did you and him ever have any disputes over this? Perhaps come to blows even? Fisticuffs, and the like?

DC: Why are you talking like that?

FP: It's how journalists talk. I'm a good and serious journalist so I talk like that too.

DC: Okay, well we didn't come to any fisticuffs, but we did get into quite a few screaming matches.

FP: Tell me about that.

DC: The worst one was at Syd's house. We were all recording making beats and stuff. Tyler had this beat going on the laptop and it was just astoundingly bad. Like, I can still hear it in my nightmares. That level of bad. He had this drum loop going that sounded like Timbaland having gay sex with both of The Neptunes while Alex Da Kid watched.

FP: You like your analogies.

DC: My weekly pub trivia group calls me "The Analogy Guy."

FP: Is that true?

DC: No.

FP: So what happened when Tyler found out you didn't like the beat he was making?

DC: Well, he was drinking an Iced Frappe from Starbucks when I told him that I thought his beat sounded worse than my ass taking a shit in the morning. He promptly hurled it at me, getting Frappe all over the studio. Syd was screaming: "Fuck you, Tyler! You always coming up in here and getting my shit all covered in various delectable sugary drinks! I hate you!" I really thought they were going to kick us both out of the group.

FP: Did things calm down once Syd got involved?

DC: No, Tyler leapt across the room and attacked me. He put his hands around my throat and told me he was going to kill me. "I want to watch the life leave your eyes," were the exact words he said to me.

FP: Wow. He must have been pretty upset.

DC: He was. But he had this calmness in his voice. Like his rage was stone cold. It was... chilling. It scared me to my bones.

FP: Is that when you left the group?

DC: No, I stuck around a few more months after that. I was helping Earl with his debut mixtape and I would have felt bad leaving him behind. He needed a lot of help with rapping when he first started.

FP: Really? I bet a lot of people would be surprised to learn that Earl of all people needed help rapping.

DC: He was really bad. The potential was there but he was genuinely one of the worst rappers I ever heard. He would only rap about Bob the Builder because he thought there were secret messages in the show. He'd be trying to write these intricate, conceptual verses about Bob the Builder and I'd be like: "Earl, man, why don't you write about something else?" So he switched to Thomas the Tank Engine for a little while. But after a couple months he was right back on the Bob the Builder thing. It took a lot of work to get him to rap about other topics.

FP: Well, they say all great artists have thematic preoccupations.

DC: This is true.

FP: What's your favourite song that you were involved in with Odd Future?

DC: Probably Yonkers.

FP: But you're not on that song? Are you?

DC: No, but I wrote and produced the entire thing. The whole song is actually a thinly veiled metaphor for my relationship with my father. It makes me sad that all anyone talks about with that song is the shocking stuff, like the Bruno Mars line, and not the actual deeper meaning behind it.

FP: Did you ever do any work with Frank Ocean?

DC: No, he wasn't actually in the group. He just paid a PR firm to pretend he was so that he could be popular with the young kids. The guys went along with it because his presence gave the group an appearance of versatility. It really helped them to level up, in my opinion. I doubt anyone in the group would be where they are now if Frank hadn't pretended to be involved.

FP: But what about the songs he did with Odd Future members? Was he pretending there too?

DC: He's not actually on any of those songs. Several of the guys could do pretty good impressions of him so they'd just hop on the track and lay a "Frank verse" down whenever they wanted something a little different. Mike G probably had the best Frank Ocean impression. You can hear his on "She."

FP: Mike G sings the chorus on "She"?

DC: Yup, he's even in the video. They just dressed him up like a sexually fluid bohemian and put a prosthetic mask on him. Pretty wild stuff, actually.

FP: You have so much insider information, I could chat with you all day about it, but I do want to ask you a little bit about your upcoming album before we go. Can you tell me about it?

DC: Sure, it's called "Faking the Frank" and its nothing but fake Frank Ocean verses I recorded. It's produced by Popstar Benny and it's about the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, told through the lens of a five-year-old boy with Down's Syndrome.

FP: That certainly sounds forward-thinking.

DC: Not really. It's all about historical events. If anything I am exclusively looking backward on this record.

FP: Well, in any event, it was very nice speaking with you, Mr. Church. I look forward to hearing "Faking the Frank" and whatever other projects you've got cooking up.

DC: Thanks for having me.

-------

So there you have it folks. The low down on the downlow, from the man who saw it himself. I hope you enjoyed reading this interview, stay tuned for more!

[duskterrace]

✉️🥀

tw: long ass post. ✉️ : LETTERS TO SANTA

Raffa,

Heads up this is kinda lame, but I was told to be honest so this is me, being honest for once.I don’t really know how to start or end these, so I guess I'll start with a quote that I read lately that reminded me of you. “meeting you was like listening to a song for the first time knowing it would be my favorite.” This one stood out to me for a while, and I couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe I wasn't exactly sure how to do that. Because it would mean that I would have to be honest with myself about how I felt about you. Because it would mean that the second I am honest, I'll have to let those harbored feelings go. And I can admit…I didn't want to let them go. No one really wants to give up on a crush they’re harboring deep within themselves. Sometimes because they’re afraid a small piece of them will break off along with the person sized chunk they tore out of their chest. Other times because there's always that residual feeling of hope that one day, just maybe, if you try hard enough, that person will find space in their heart for you too. But that's not the case for us. For me, I mean. To give some back story ( excuse any typos because my hands are starting to get shaky hah ), I met you through Noa and Jaehyun so many times and thought you were just… so, so cool. At first it was awe, like when you finally find someone you can look up to. Someone to aspire to be like. It wasn’t love at first sight, in fact I didn't feel anything past platonic feelings. But then, that one…weird night when I was at my lowest ( mentally ), you came to the rooftop while I was up there doing my ‘pretty dorky’ studies on planets. We both knew you were searching for Noa and happened to stumble on me but, you being the nice person you were, noticed i wasn't in the best mood and you stuck around. I don’t know what that night did to me, but despite it being below 60 degrees… I was oddly warm talking to you that night. I, a person so….detrimentally afraid of falling…fell so hard in less than 3 hours and it shook me to my core. Achilles and the words he said to Patroclus had nothing on the things I wanted to say to you. And what…made me fall so hard, you might ask? You made a dumb fucking joke about the stars, and your smile just….messed me up from then on. The stars themselves couldn’t compare to it. And the rasp within your deep laugh was like the knife i twisted within myself, because i knew i was genuinely…fucked. I started looking forward to seeing you around. I started, despite knowing that this –that feelings– never usually end well for me, started looking forward to simple interactions between us after that. At first just noticing that weird flutter in the pit of my stomach when you’d pop up, to full blown waiting for my next fix of you as if I was addicted to the butterflies you gave me. I’d cherish those fleeting occasional texts, the “ hey’s ” or nods in the hallway and the random tiktok’s you sent about…fuck knows, but they made me laugh. I…fuck, this is beyond embarrasing. Why did it have to be you? I don’t know why my heart skipped a beat when it came to you, and i can’t lie, i tried to will and pray the feeling away. But, you were like that karma I wasn't ready for. Your name furiously etched itself into my heart in a way that no one else’s ever had and before I realized it, before I could erase it to save myself from the doom that was welcoming me, it was practically tattooed there.

Don't get me wrong … I’ve had my rib cage broken into and left empty countless times. So I know the routine by now. It’s very fond of me, so I almost welcome it. Fall, break my own heart before anyone else can, tell myself it is what it is, give up on feelings for a bit, hyper-focus on my studies, meet someone again, rinse and repeat. Over and over. And I did that with you. Twice. Broke my own heart to give it some relief from being painfully aware you wouldn't see you the same way I saw you. But you’d come back with that dumb smile again and – oh how fast i’d realize i was putty in your hands. At some point, i was almost 100% sure I was just infatuated. And I probably was. I hopefully was just simply pining for you for superficial reasons but… whenever I sat down to sketch to just clear my mind, the only face that came to mind was yours. The way the sun catches the slope of your cheek, the deep grooves of your jaw, the crook in your smile, the warm undertone in your skin, and the shapes your mouth makes when you're yelling to a friend from across the common room. On countless occasions, I closed my eyes to imagine the personification of beauty itself, expecting to see Aphrodite and the only image behind those veils of black that I created–– the only thing that ever comes up–– is you. You and the way your lips round out to pronounce my name, the rich color of your eyes when light is reflecting in them, and how shadows will literally bend to your frame like my will bends to accommodate yours. I know it probably sounds weird to hear ‘one of your boys’ tell you this ... so I feel like I have to mention that it's been months since that day and I do everything in my power to distance us so that these feelings fade on their own. But there are those days where everyones hanging out and I can't just avoid you, and there it is again, the idea that maybe one day. We could be something. Simply because you sat next to me. Simply because you asked about the stars again. When I'm with you…it's so fucking weird. I get homesick for arms that have never held me. Arms that honestly, probably definitely never wanted to. Sometimes i feel like this is the curse that comes with my power. Not feeling like I'm enough in either gender. Not being able to be permanently female when I need to be, nor permanently male when it's asked of me. But… I think what I hate most about it–– or really, what I hate about myself–– is that if I could choose who I was and I had a shot with you? I know I’d do it 10 times over for a single chance to have you look at me the way you do her. And that’s not healthy. My powers always manifest as however i feel and lately when i'm with you, by default, i’m always….female. Almost as if I'm teetering between wanting to be what you like and being heartbroken knowing these actions to make you want me won't be permanent. I know it won't happen, but I can't help but…hold out hope. Anyway i’m just fucking around and wasting your time huh? I’ve bottled these feelings long enough to know that wishing for you would only make one of us happy, so the one thing I really want for Christmas is to see your smile for as long as I can. That and to q u i c k l y get over you because jesus fuck, man, this pining thing isn't a good look. I’d like at least a pinch of dignity in 2024. Um…so yeah. I think the hardest thing I'll ever do is walk away despite still being head over heels for you. So, despite the fallen tears slipping down the back of my hands as I write this. Despite every bit of my soul wishing to hold onto you for just a moment longer– for just a single milli-second longer. I think this letter is me giving you up, officially. Maybe… in another universe, or in another lifetime, there's space for you and me, but it’s not this one. You aren’t mine. And I have to make peace with that. Also– Feliz Navidad, btw. Heh, Duolingo coming in clutch, once again huh?

Sincerely, Nasa Nerd.

[ this letter was left in drafts. ]

🥀 : 3AM DRUNK TEXT

( ✉️ ) SMS → PA RAFFA THE RAPPA

delivered / 03:25 am ✓ › you caillou built assh bitch where tf is my phone i saw yu take it???

delivered / 03:30 am ✓ › i hope a roach crawls across yur forehead tonitghte 😒

delivered / 03:40 am ✓ › nvm i founfded it. my bad.

[betchanted]

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔 | 𝐡. 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐮 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

You and Haruchiyo made promises that day. Not even death could separate the two of you.

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Mention of D*ath, +18 (nsfw)

Warnings: Bl**d, drugs, smut, self harm, k*lling.

Fem!Reader

1317 words.

Chapter Song: P!atd - I Write Sins Not Tragedies

CHAPTER 1

"Oh, how cool!" little girl said, showing the manga in her hand. Y/N quickly grabbed manga from her hand and was dazzled as she saw the drawings on the page.

"Wow! How strong they are. I want to beat men like that too!" she said excitedly.

You nodded in disapproval. "Senju, you can't beat people out of the blue."

"Why? I'm so strong!"

"It's ridiculous to even ask why. It's a crime to hurt people out of the blue."

"If they mess with me, I'll punch them. I won't let them mess with you either Y/N. You're my friend!"

You smiled at your friend, even though you was angry at her ridiculous thoughts right now. "I'll protect you too, Senju. You're my best friend too!"

In return, she laughed too. "Of course it is. By the way, we need to borrow this manga from Mikey. I really like it."

"Hmm." You said thoughtfully. "I don't know if Manjiro will let us. But we're friends after all."

"At the end of the day, it's a stupid manga. It's not worth much." Said Senju and used his hand as a fan when her face felt hot. But what came to her mind made her face turn red with guilt.

"Is it hot, Senju?" you asked.

Senju felt herself tense, "I don't know, I think weather it's so hot." She said and tried to hide her blushing face.

Y/N said, "Did you do something?" Senju averted her eyes from you.

"No-"

"You sure did something, Senju. You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Senju looked at her friend. The honesty in her eyes encouraged her, but she couldn't be sure. What if Y/N got mad at her for doing this to?

"No big deal-"

"Senju, it's important now that you're so tense."

"Promise you won't tell anyone Y/N." She approached you. "It will stay between us."

You nodded. "I promise."

She didn't know how to say it. The words mingled in her mind as she tried to regulate her breathing. She didn't want her friend to blame her.

What would have happened if she hadn't said it anyway?

After all, how big can an ordinary lie get?

She had just opened her mouth to tell a different lie when the shouts distracted both of them and you two ran outside.

"Hey! Cut it out!" yelled Keisuke.

Senju immediately opened the sliding door and what she saw made both of you freeze.

Haruchiyo on his knees on the floor with his mouth torn and his face bloodied.

Keisuke was pushed to the ground.

And Mikey, standing in front of Haruchiyo, his hand covered in blood.

Y/N said, "Haru?" in shocked. While you was trying to walk towards the boy on the wooden floor, your friend grabbed you by the arm.

Haruchiyo was like this because of her. At least she should have protected her friend.

Senju gripped your arm tighter so you wouldn't go.

The dazed Manjiro didn't look at either of them, but only focused on Sanzu on the ground.

"Smile, Haruchiyo." He said in a menacing and frightening voice. Even though Mikey's just a kid, Senju and Y/N couldn't help but shiver.

Sanzu, who was covered in blood, could not laugh. He couldn't laugh because of the pain, the fear, or the damn confusion he felt.

"Mikey, please don't." Y/N said shakily. The blood frightened all three of them. But what scared the four of them the most was their friend Mikey.

"Smile." said Mikey again. The pupils of the eyes, which had lost their meaning, seemed to have lost their color.

Haruchiyo raised his hands from where he had collapsed. He tried to smile shakily as he put his knees in his hands.

When he finally stood up properly, he had a smile on his face. But it was not a smile devoid of happiness.

Mikey just stared at him for a few more seconds, then picking up her broken plane on the ground vanished without looking at all three of them.

Y/N, "Haru!" she said, breaking free of Senju's grasp and running towards her friend. All three of them were still frightened as Keisuke, Senju, and Y/N looked at the still laughing boy in shock.

"I'll get napkins and water!" Said Keisuke as he hurried inside.

Senju said "I'll bring towel, too." in a low voice when she dont look at his brother. He couldn't look at his bloody face as guilt was eating him away.

On the way to the bathroom, she imagined Mikey making her mouth bleed that way, too.

"W-why did he do it? How c-could he do something like that?" Y/N said while looking at the still smiling Sanzu.

"You don't have to laugh, Haru. Mikey's gone, you don't have to laugh." Despite what you said, the boy was still laughing.

You pulled out the blue handkerchief your mother had given you from your pocket and awkwardly tried to wipe the blood off the child's hands.

It still didn't make sense. Whether you were 12, 20 or 40 years old, for some reason you would never have thought of doing this.

Especially to Haruchiyo.

"Don't laugh, Haru. You'll be hurt more if you do that." You said and threw the bloody handkerchief on the ground.

"After I clean you up, we can go to the doctor-"

"I don't want." Said the boy, and a groan came out of his mouth. He didn't realize that he had stopped smiling.

"Well." You cupped his cheeks lightly with both hands.

"Don't say a word to Mikey." said Sanzu, remembering that you had told him to stop.

"Why?"

"He can make your mouth too like that-"

"No he can't, nobody deserves something like that. I'll tell Mikey that too. How dare he do something like that to your friend-"

"Y/N. I'm laughing. It doesn't hurt."

"Don't lie, Haru. Don't lie to me. How can someone not get hurt in this situation?" You did, but you couldn't articulate what Mikey did.

Mikey and Haruchiyo were friends. Which friend would do this to another, without pity.

"Still, let's clean your face, Haruchiyo." You actually smiled the opposite of the smile the boy had just made at Mikey's word.

Haruchiyo gave you a tearful smile in response. He couldn't really smile like you, but they both seemed to know that it was more realistic than before.

"I won't let anyone do anything to you again, Haruchiyo." You said seriously.

"I promise you. I give Y/N and Haru's promise. No one will touch you." You said and placed a sincere kiss on the boy's bloody lips without feeling disgust.

You didn't care if his own lips were also covered in blood.

"M-me too." said Haruchiyo, looking at your blood-stained lips.

While his own blood was on your lips, a few drops of tears rolled down his cheeks.

"How so?"

"I'll protect you too. No one will touch you." When he said that, Y/N smiled again and Haruchiyo came closer to you and gave you a kiss on the lips with his own trembling lips.

"Then that was also a promise." You said and hugged him, ignoring the blood on him.

"I won't let you be alone." He said and wrapped his arms around your neck. Bloody hands gripped your waist as you hugged him tighter.

"Let not even death separate you from me Y/N."

"Then don't let it, Haruchiyo."

'All three of them changed because of me that day.'

'Even though Y/N is still my best friend, the event that changed her was actually something different than that. '

'A person's first murder and the reason for that murder can sometimes be both frightening and sad.'

Hi guys! This is my first story on Tumblr! I hope everyone who reads it enjoys reading it. If you like it, don't forget to fill the heart with love and follow me!

And I'm a foreigner, sorry in advance for my typos!

Bye 💗

I found it from @kurowoh 's Pinterest.

So pretty 🌸