#i changed pats expression because his original one always bugged me

[polarpanda73]

screenshot edit of these two gayasses 🏳‍🌈 alt with filter under cut

[romcom-s]

biking

BIKING - DAD!HARRY STYLES

ORIGINAL ASK: anonymous said: Could you write more dad/step dad Harry? 🥺💕 they are my favorite!!!

SUMMARY: Your daughters' birthday is approaching quickly and Harry keeps putting off buying the one thing she wants. Because she wants a bike, and Harry is a scared father. 1.4k but nearly 1.5k

WARNINGS: nothing! just pure dad!harry fluff i think

MASTERLIST

Harry had tried to persuade his daughter far too many times than he could count. When she scrambled onto his lap and begged him that for her birthday she wanted a bike, he had tried his best to convince her to change her mind. What about a doll? Or a piano? We can get you some more Lego? He was sure that he had said every toy under the sun in hopes that she changed her birthday wish, and yet, she never did. And the closer it got to the birthday, her can I get a bike please? changed into a I’m getting a bike soon! and every time Harry heard it, his face turned into a grimace.

You had caught onto this. You had heard his conversations with your daughter, his pleas for her to change her mind, but you didn’t really think anything of it until a week before her birthday. She was turning five and it was like she had every toy already. When her birthday drew closer, Harry’s mother, Anne, had taken your daughter for a sleepover round her house to let the two of you buy all her presents. And when she had returned, you had already gotten a lot. Some cars, some clothes, some nail polish that she saw in the shop a couple of weeks before, but one massive present was missing: her bike.

You knew Harry all-too-well. You saw every time he grimaced at the mention of the bike, or sighed when your daughter didn’t change her mind, and you didn’t really know why. You just assumed that he kept forgetting, and his grimace or sigh was just him writing another reminder in his mind. But you were surprised when you actually found out what the answer was.

“I just don’t want her to have one.”

You looked at Harry with furrowed eyebrows. Moonlight filtered in through the thin blinds, casting a shadow over half his face. You watched as Harry gulped and moved his gaze from you and the ceiling. His hand drew circles over your shoulder and his other arm lay underneath his head. Slowly, you raised your hand to trace his nose, before coming to tap him on the top of it. “What do you mean you don’t want her to have one?” you asked quietly. “Just yet,” he added. “I don’t want her to have one just yet.” He sighed and turned back to look at you, his concerned expression instantly falling as his eyes set upon your face. “She’s just so. . .young - and small! Bikes are so big and scary.” At this, you almost laughed. Almost. The idea that Harry had been constantly putting off buying the bike because he was scared of her getting hurt was so insane to you. But yet, so sweet. He had always been protective of his little girl, after all, she was his only daughter and first child. You knew that this protectiveness would continue but. . .never to this extent. You let a faint chuckle escape your lips as you laid your hand on his chest, head rested on his shoulder. “H,” you whispered so softly, “she’s turning five. She can handle a bike.” “But what if she falls and hurts herself?” he asked as if it was the most confusing in the world. You smiled as you nuzzled into his shoulder more. “Then we’ll just kiss it better.” Harry knew it was coming. He had prepared for this ever since he ordered the bike the night you brought it up. He realised he was being silly, not wanting her to get a bike, and that it was selfish of him. But still, the idea that his little angel might get injured lingered in the back of his mind as they got ready to go out. With the bike beside him, he watched with a smile as you helped her put on her shoes. Her giggles echoed throughout the hallway as Harry secured the helmet on her head, giving it a pat once he had done. “You ready, bug?” he asked her, crouching down to her level. The smile she wore was worth all the worry he was about to pursue. The three of you walked out the house and over to the local park, which was only down the road. When you got there Harry never left your side as your daughter got onto the bike. His hand moved to clutch yours and you gave him a reassuring squeeze. You was nervous, sure, but Harry was more than nervous. He could sing in front of thousands of people without a second thought, but this was taking it too far. You had to practically pry your hand out of his when you needed to help your daughter, telling him to be less nervous. “She’s fine,” you said, kissing his cheek. “Come, help me teach her.” Harry always told everyone he met that his daughter was perfect. She had his curls, your eyes, his nose. She had his charming smile, your caring personality, his love of music and your clumsiness. But even with your clumsiness, she had your determination too. He knew his daughter was never the one to give up, but as he watched his daughter suck in a breath and start riding again, he had never seen to this extent. Every time she stopped riding her bike, she got off, walked to the start, and started again. Harry couldn’t count how many times she had walked back to the start to try again. But so far, it was going well. She was learning really quickly and she giggled every time either Harry or you had praised or encouraged her. But even though it was going well, Harry knew what was coming. And even when it did come, he was still surprised. Both of you lurched forward, arms outstretched, eyes wide, as you saw your daughter fall. It was slow motion for Harry, she had been doing great, and then she started to fall. Her bike was falling and she was falling and Harry was leaning forward and you was leaning forward- Neither of you managed to catch her. And the cry that escaped her lips told both of you that. Harry instantly gathered her up into his arms, frowning as he tried his best to soothe her. As Harry stood up, you did too, holding your daughter’s leg to inspect the graze. You winced at it, eyes moving to meet Harry’s, and in a silent agreement, you both rushed home.

Harry had prepared. As you opened the door to the house, he rushed into the kitchen, carefully putting her on the counter before reaching into the corner cupboard. As he pulled out bandages, you were already sitting beside your daughter, an arm over her shoulder as you rinsed out a tea towel under the sink. You handed it to Harry when he was back in front of you.

“This might sting a little, okay bug?” he asked, looking at her tear-stained face. She only nodded, sniffling as she buried her head into your shoulder. A small whimper fell out of her lips when the wet towel dragged over her graze and you kissed her forehead and rubbed her arms in hopes it helps her. “Good girl,” Harry said, “now I’m going to put a bandage on it, okay?”

As Harry carefully wrapped the bandage around her knee, you brought your hands to cradle your daughter’s face, planting a kiss on her forehead again as you cooed, “you were so amazing on your bike, baby.”

“It hurts,” she mumbled, pouting as she moved to look down at Harry.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, tying the bandage up. “But there, all done.” He pressed a soft kiss to the bandage and winces when his daughter hisses. “Sorry,” he said again. Standing up and straightening his back, Harry sighed, placing his hands beside the two of you. He leaned forward to press his nose against his daughter’s and she lets out a large giggle, her hands coming to rest on his cheeks. She pushed him away and leaned her head back on your shoulder.

“When will it stop hurting?”

“Soon,” Harry promised. “But Mummy was right when she said you was great on your bike. you was amazing,” he said, moving to sit on the counter beside her. His arm wrapped around her small frame, brushing and ultimately falling against yours. You sat like that for what felt like minutes, though you didn’t mind. With your daughter in your arms and Harry’s skin on yours, you felt at home. You felt at peace. You jumped as your daughter sat up from leaning on you and you watched with a grin as she looked between you and Harry. There was no hurt or worry or concern on her face and you and Harry let out a laugh when she asked: “can we go back out to ride my bike now?”

[thestarwrites]

A Different Time, A Different Place, Ch. 5

A TIME SKIP...

All Might has vanished from Japan and no one but two people know where he went. But what of the girl he's left behind?

“The girl is pregnant, Torino.”

Recovery Girl was one of the only people who knew what happened, and where Torino sent the young hero Toshinori. She was over his house, giving a weekly update on the girl All Might had been dating. The one thing he had made Gran Torino promise was that he would ensure Keri wasn't marked by All For One as she tried to live her life. But he didn't want to know what was going on - it hurt too much.

He covered his mouth, looking outside at the full moon, “You’re sure? You're sure she's pregnant?"

“I’m a doctor of course I’m sure! It’s hard for me to get close as a popular hero. She’s enrolled in college. She didn’t go into hero work.” 

He nodded, “Yes, we knew she was going into college," Torino shook his head and ran a hand through his silver hair, "No one can know. Keep an eye on her, make sure no one is also watching. I can't believe Toshinori was stupid enough to get a girl pregnant!”

“You have to tell him.”

“No.” 

“He has a right to know Torino!” She sounded shocked.

“If he knows he’ll come back to Japan. We can’t have that happen right now. It’ll be a distraction. The girl doesn’t know what happened to him. He doesn’t know anything about her. He’s already grieving the loss of Nana and his relationship. He doesn’t need more to worry over!” 

“This isn’t right...”

“I promised I would protect him. And in keeping this knowledge from him we protect all three of them.” 

Chiyo sighed and nodded, “This will be hard on her.” 

“She’s strong enough.” 

Sighing again the woman spoke, “He'll never forgive you for this, you know.” 

“He can hate me if he wants. His vengeance is needed to get stronger to face All for One, not worrying about a child. That is what I have to focus on. The child has a loving mother to care of it.” 

“I should let you go, Torino,” She stood and took a deep breath.

"You're upset with me, Chiyo," He sighed and pushed his hair back again,  “Keep me posted.” 

“I will...” she sighed as she left.

 -------------------------

"Come on, Toshi! What are you afraid of they're just girls!" Dave Shield laughed as he tried to get Toshinori to go to a frat party with him, "The girls are absolutely obsessed with you! You have quite the number of groupies already! You're so lucky!"

The hulking blonde shook his head, adjusting his varsity jacket, "I should... try to do some more hero work."

Dave sighed, "Toshi. You've been working all day." He patted his friends back, "Come unwind with us. It's a frat party! I know you don't have those in Japan. You guys are all too strict with your school and shit."

"Okay- okay," he nodded and pushed a hand over his hair.

"We're just a couple single guys anyway, right?"

All Might looked strange but nodded, Dave made a mental note to ask him about it sometime. Maybe he had a bad breakup?

The frat house was loud and full of drunk teenagers, Toshinori was 18 and he tried to rationalize that he shouldn't worry about Japan while he was here in America. He held a beer in his hand as he looked down at it, he suddenly lifted it up and downed it.

"Toshi! Come do a shot!"

The boy walked over with his empty glass, "A what?"

David laughed, trying to think of the words in English to describe it, "Its a single serving of hard booze you drink in one go."

"Oh." He took the little shot glass handed to him and he did as the other boys did, grimacing at the bitter taste of the tequila, "Well that was unpleasant."

"You don't drink it because its pleasant Toshinori, you drink it because it gets you drunk faster!" One of the guys explained.

"Oh," he expressed again, taking another two shots because that's what the other boys did.

 The party went on and Toshinori was feeling buzzed and a little sick to his stomach. He moved to cross the room, heading for the door to get some air. He was stopped by a pretty blonde girl with a small waist and big round ass who started grinding against him to the music playing, and for a moment he let himself go and placed his large hands on her waist. He sighed as she bent over and stood up, pressing back against him.

He looked down at her and for a moment, he couldn't think of anyone but Keri.

Pulling away from the blonde she let out an annoyed, "Hey!"

"S-sorry." He mumbled and moved to head back to his original trajectory - the front door. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed softly.

Dave was outside smoking a blunt, beer in hand, and he frowned when he saw Toshinori come out of the party looking upset. Sighing he wet his fingertips, putting out the joint and stashing it in his pocket, "Toshi!" He smiled and walked up to his friend, "Hey man, you don't look so good, whats up?" Toshinori looked up at his friend, there were tears in his eyes. Dave knitted his brows together and put a hand on his back, "Hey- hey Toshi, whats wrong?"

He sniffed, rarely ever so vulnerable, but he was buzzed and the tears wouldn't stop, "Dave..."

"Hey, come on- come on I'll drive ya home, pal."

"Yeah?"

Dave smiled and nodded, "Of course, come on."

The blonde nodded and walked with his friend, hands in his pockets as he sniffled. Once they were a considerable distance from the house and down the street toward David's car, he finally spoke, "I left a girl back home."

He frowned, "Yeah? Whats her name?"

"Keri Chairo."

Nodding Dave climbed into the car, "That's a pretty name. Why don't you tell me about her?"

Toshinori clamored into the car as well and he leaned his head back to look up at the sky, "She's really smart. She didn't go to the same high school as me but, I always saw her when i was on patrol, and stuff, y'know? So I kept skipping off patrol so I could talk to her until I finally got up the courage to ask for her number."

"Dude, you needed to WORK UP to asking a girl for her number? You're tall and handsome and you have the most powerful quirk I've ever seen!"

He chuckled and wiped his teary eyes, "You don't get it, Dave, she's so beautiful... and she's going to college. She wants to be a hero therapist."

"Is she quirkless?"

Shaking his head he took a deep breath, "No, she has whats called pathokenesis. Emotional manipulation. Like, if someone is sad she can send comforting waves through their body. Or she can inspire you if you're having doubts. She can feel peoples emotions if they're really strong, or if shes focusing on one person. And like," he laughed, blushing, "When we make out and you know... go all the way with her and stuff, she can't control her quirk and you can feel what she's feeling, its - it's wild."

Dave raised his brows, "You have a whole-ass girlfriend and you didn't tell me!? Oh my god Tosh, i thought we were friends!" He laughed, "You've gone all the way with her! Get out of here!"

Toshinori blushed harder, "Yeah... we used to get motel rooms and sneak around about it. But I... I left Japan without telling her. She has no idea where I am."

"Oh dude, that's harsh. Is that what's bugging you?"

He nodded and slumped in the seat, "Remember I told you I have to get stronger to defeat the person who killed my mentor?" When Dave nodded he continued, "I came here because I need to become a hero. I need to get stronger and more powerful. But if I did it in Japan his thugs or he could find me - and if I told Keri? She could be a target. I... I had to protect her."

"Man." Was all Dave could think to say.

The blonde just started to cry softly, "When I finally get back to Japan I need to find her, tell her how sorry I am. That I did what was best for her."

"Toshi, she'll understand."

"What if she doesn't! What if she hates me forever for what I've done?"

The brunette sighed and started the car finally, "If she really loves you, she'll understand."

"I miss her so much," he whimpered, wiping at his eyes.

Dave nodded and patted his arm, "Well, you know what I think?" He looked over but didn't speak, so David continued, "I think you work hard, you throw yourself into this more than before. You become the Symbol of Peace you want to be. So then, when you go back home, you'll be so successful and strong and you can show off all that hard work. So she'll know you did it for her, and for the world. That you gave it your all, and you can look at her and say, Keri, I am here."

He sniffed and smiled a little, "I like that... I am here."

Dave laughed, "Nah man, you have to say it with conviction," throwing his head up he laughed, "I AM HERE!"

Toshinori laughed a little at his friend, taking a deep breath, "I am here!"

"LIKE YOU MEAN IT, ALL MIGHT!" Dave smirked.

Toshinori laughed and beamed, "I AM HERE!!!!"

 --------------------

Keri Chairo looked down and gently rubbed the swell of her stomach as she left the hospital. She was going to have a boy, that was incredible news. She sighed thinking of the baby’s father, how he must be dead. He’d never abandon her would he? He said he loved her.

She had gone thorough a lot of changes through the last four months, she was only 18 and she would be a mother before her 19th birthday. She would have to figure out how to care for a child and be a full time student. Luckily her parents were helping her out so she wouldn't have to quit school.

“Excuse me, miss?” 

Keri looked up and gasped with a smile, “Y-you’re Recovery Girl-“ 

The older woman nodded with a smile, “Yes- and whats your name?”

“Keri Chairo, miss.” 

“Well young miss, it seems you are expecting?”

Blushing she held her stomach gently, “Yes... I’m going to have a boy, I just found out today.”

“Oh how exciting!” She beamed- Toshinori would have a son - “How... old are you dear?”

“Oh... I’m... I’m eighteen... I know what you must be thinking... some dumb teenager getting knocked up. Why would she have the baby."

Recovery Girl smiled kindly at her, "That's not what i was going to say - but, why are you having the baby?"

She looked down at her hands as she picked at her nails, "I don't know if i would have kept it if... If the father was still here but - he... he's dead and, and we loved each other. We were usually always safe but, someone really close to him died and we were careless. And now he's gone too. It's all I have left of him."

Chiyo's heart shattered instantly knowing the truth, "Oh my dear I'm so sorry... what happened to him?"

"That's the thing," she took a deep breath, "I don't know."

"Then how do you know he's dead?"

"I'd like to think he wouldn't have just disappeared and left me behind."

"Was he a hero?"

"He wanted to be, yeah." She sighed.

She placed a gentle hand on the girl's arm, "Well dear, from what I know of heroes, sometimes they have to make tough decisions for the people they love. Maybe something happened that he couldn't risk you getting hurt? Maybe one of these days he'll come back when you least expect it. But if he is, at least you will have your baby to cherish."

The girl knitted her brows together and she bit her lip, trying not to cry, "I'm sorry I'm getting all weepy on you, miss."

"Oh no no, please, don't apologize young miss Chairo! You're pregnant and grieving, you have a right to be upset," she looked around, "Hey, why don't I take you out for lunch? My treat? Maybe you can tell me all about this boy of yours? And what you want to do with your future?"

Keri looked to her, she felt the emotion of sincerity coming from the woman and she nodded, wiping her nose on her sleeve, "Okay, I'd like that."

"Besides, someone needs to properly congratulate you on the fact that you're having a son."

[milknette]

day 17 - masquerade

you’ll wind up like the wreck you hide, behind that mask you use.

tumblr month: @auyeahaugust

links: ao3 | ff.net

"IT'S a masquerade, but it's unique because this time the masks aren't over your eyes, but they're over your mouth."

Nadja Chamack is visibly thrown, but maintains her calm attitude as she adjusts the face mask on her lips. "Well, that certainly is something… new," she finally decides to respond. "What made you decide on such a theme for the Mayor's— your father's annual Presidential Ball?"

Chloé shrugs, rolling her eyes. "Well, obviously I wanted a normal event, but that's impossible because of this stupid virus," she says, annoyingly clicking her tongue. "So I suggested that we do this instead."

"Alright then," Nadja remarks, before taking out a remote that controlled the large screen behind them. "Now, we have here some questions from Parisians who want to know more about the impending ball."

"Whatever," she only scoffs, before turning her head to face the screen.

[USER 1]: I don't understand why you don't just hold a regular event. Quarantine is lifted already, we don't need to be cautious anymore.

"Ha!" She snorts, shaking her head. "Are you insane? Just because quarantine's over doesn't mean we can just pretend nothing happened."

[USER 2]: But there's a vaccine and cure already available, right? Just have everyone take it, it's not that hard.

"Not everyone can, though," Chloé snaps at the screen. "Daddy's working hard to make it available for the public, but there are still people out there who can't access it. Try thinking about someone other than yourself for a change?"

[USER 3]: You're not even properly informed. Masks aren't good for anyone, they just make the virus worse—

Nadja shuts the screen closed, evidently aware of how irritated her special guest is becoming.

"Chloé, now…"

One can almost see the cartoonish tick that appears on her forehead. "Is this really what most of you believe? No wonder daddy's tired all the time, it's because some of you are so foolish as to think…"

"Chloé, we have another guest who—"

"No more guests," she seethes, whipping her head to the screen:

Only to come face-to-face with her personal idol.

(And Chat Noir, but… eh.)

"We got your invite, Chloé, and we'd love to go. It's a good advocacy that you're working toward, and we appreciate it!"

Ladybug smiles at the camera, with Chat enthusiastically doing a thumbs up in the background.

"See you then! Bug out!"

.

.

"I've never seen you be so nice to Chloé," Chat Noir starts, as they carefully sit on the ledge. He wears a black face mask with a single green paw in the middle— a gift Ladybug had made him after learning how to make ones that actually protected against the virus.

(Chat's only too happy that she had given him a gift at all.)

Ladybug shrugs. "I meant what I said," she says easily. "At least she's taking this pandemic seriously. And I like what their event stands for."

"Why don't they just cancel it, though?"

"Apparently they can't," she sighs. "The ball is necessary for Mayor Bourgeois' to maintain good relations with other leaders. But they're pulling out all the stops— having everyone tested, ensuring they've taken vaccines, social distancing… Chloé really doesn't want anyone to think they're just making light of the virus."

"Didn't expect that from her, huh?"

"I still think she's entitled, but at least I know I can count on her when it's important."

As the sun starts to go down, Ladybug decides to stand up and lazily stretch her arms. "Anyway, I have to go kitty. I'll see you this weekend? The Wear-A-Maskerade, don't forget!"

"I'm looking furward to it!"

.

.

He decides to show up as Adrien Agreste first.

(Ladybug told him she'd show up later on in the evening, so he figures he has some time before Chat Noir was needed.)

Chloé almost clings to him when he enters, before immediately stopping herself a few feet away. Instead, she bows to him. "Thanks for coming, Adrien."

(She's become a lot nicer since she started hanging out with Kagami— he figures that her strict moral code of goodness has started rubbing off on his childhood friend.

The need for social distancing helped, too.)

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he only responds, looking in wonder at his surroundings.

Everyone's wearing a face mask, but it's all from designer brands and labels. (In fact, he spots quite a few Agreste masks being sported by the attendees.)

Adrien can clearly identify who's who, but ultimately decides that anonymity wasn't the purpose of the masquerade— not of this one, at the very least.

Subconsciously, he lightly tugs on his own face mask, a white one with gold-colored embellishments, the undeniable Agreste label placed at the very center.

(He only feels much too relieved that his father had consulted with medical professionals on ensuring the masks were at their most effective; and not simply used for their aesthetic or luxury designs.

— though, make no mistake, the prices for these masks still cost an insane amount. "It's only right," his father tells him.

"Capitalist," Adrien only thinks back.)

He spends the next few hours speaking and socializing with the guests; especially in order to cement relationships and friendships with those who'd help his father's company.

It's tiring work, but he finds comfort that everyone is as careful as he is; maintaining distance as they speak, avoiding direct contact, and never, not even for a moment, taking their masks off.

The cycle of exhaustion ends as soon as Ladybug enters the room— a bright red-and-black spotted mask covering her mouth.

Everyone immediately stops what they're doing, and almost begin to crowd her.

It's only Chloé's sharp and strict voice, "Anyone who violates the social distancing rule will be promptly kicked out of the event", that prevents them from moving any further.

Ladybug's relieved smile— though not directed at him, makes his spirit soar and his heart beat.

Adrien figures now is as good a time as any to transform into Chat Noir.

Excusing himself from a conversation, Adrien quickly runs off to the nearest empty bathroom and locks the door. He quickly changes face masks— he prefers Ladybug's, of course— and transforms.

In a few minute, Chat Noir comes bursting through the entrance, altogether too-loudly announcing that "his lady's purrince has arrived."

.

.

The ball is fun, for the most part.

Except that Chloé keeps looking for Adrien and Ladybug keeps looking for Chat Noir so he finds himself more often in the bathroom transforming than much of anything else.

"You're going to have to retire one of you soon, Adrien," Plagg sighs exhaustedly, after being detransformed the nth time that night. "I don't know how long I can keep doing this. Or how long you can keep it up."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asks, breathing heavily as he leans over one of the sinks. "I'm fine!"

"No," his kwami starts slowly. "You're—"

An old man suddenly enters the bathroom, and Adrien almost panics. "Ahahahaha!" He laughs maniacally, before looking in the mirror. "You are really one funny guy, Adrien."

He turns briefly to the newcomer, then smiles somewhat insanely. "Just talking to my old pal over here," Adrien says, patting the mirror. "Talking to myself… you know, like I always do."

The elderly man just stares blankly at him then nods slowly, before backing away. Adrien heaves a sigh of relief as he disappears— failing to notice the amused wink that the stranger throws toward his kwami.

As soon as he's gone, Plagg makes it a point to ensure the door is locked.

"See, you even forgot to lock it this time!" He complains. "If not for Master— my mastery of being a great kwami, then you would've been found out!

"That doesn't even make sense," Adrien argues. "And it's just an elderly man, I doubt he knows anything."

(Well, Plagg begs to differ.)

"But okay, this is the last time," he finally relents. "I'll stop Chat Noir, because Chloé expects me to stay until the end. I'm sure Ladybug will understand, okay?"

He picks up his mask from the sink, and puts it on.

Then— "Plagg, claws out!"

Adrien fails to notice his kwami's panicked expression as he gets sucked inside the ring.

.

.

Chat Noir finds Ladybug out in the hallway, other empty aside from the two of them. She's busily typing away at her miraculous, barely even noticing as he steps outside the bathroom.

"Milady, what are you doing alone on such a mewtiful night?"

She rolls her eyes, barely letting her eyes rip away from the screen. "I'm not really one for parties," Ladybug replies easily. "I'll probably leave soon, too. What about you—"

As soon as she looks up to stare at him, the words die on her mouth.

Instead she stares at him— almost too intently, her eyes burning holes into his face.

(Is this really happening? Is Ladybug… checking him out? Has she fallen for him the same way he's loved her for months—)

"I know that the glamour of the ball is tempting, but I'd never thought you'd stoop so low…"

Huh.

"... as to literally steal something, I mean, what is that supposed to be? You being a cat burglar or something? That's not even all that clever…"

"Hey, wait…"

"... We're supposed to be superheroes, Chat, I never thought you'd do something so…"

"Milady…"

"... and a mask, of all things?! I thought you were taking this pandemic seriously— and parading around in someone else's mask is extremely irresponsible of you to…"

"Ladybug."

"... what?"

"What are you talking about?"

He stares at her, evidently confused, before her expression flattens and looks almost angry.

"I'm not dumb, Chat; everyone knows that's Adrien Agreste's mask— it's originally designed by his father, and there's literally no other copy of it in this world. So you definitely stole it from him…"

"But I didn't steal anything!"

Ladybug speaks first. "Then how would you explain wearing it around your neck?!"

"Maybe think about other possibilities before assuming that I stole it?!" Chat Noir argues, shaking his head. "I thought you'd know me well enough to know that I'm not a thief, Ladybug— in fact, I would never need to steal anything! I have enough money to last me a—

Oh, wait.

Oops.

"... what do you mean?"

"Haha, I was just kidding, I'm actually dirt poor and stole this mask! You should probably also look around for Adrien, he's passed out somewhere… in an alleyway… uh, YEAH, so…"

"If you didn't take that mask, then there's only one possibility…"

"No, no, don't connect the dots— leave the dots unconnected! Yeah, social distance those dots! There's a virus going around, you know, so you shouldn't—"

"Adrien?!"

[derireo]

river flows in you / homare x izumi

honestly? i play this song when i'm in need of a good cry. this fic won't be angsty, but i feel like homare would chill to this piece, hence the title lmao.

homare x izumi

「 Read on AO3 」 「 2.6k words 」

"Hey, I think you should go to bed." Izumi poked at Homare's shoulder. It was probably around midnight when she noticed that the man was still out in the courtyard doing whatever he does best, so absorbed in his work as he scribbled lines and lines of elegant handwriting into his notebook. The moon was out, shining upon the both of them as the stars twinkled, dancing in the night sky.

Homare paused in his writing when his concentration was broken by Izumi, and he sighed, reluctantly leaning back in the chair he was sitting in to rest his stiff body. His pen lay askew atop his notebook, and Izumi suddenly had the urge to straighten it.

Taking out the other chair that was beside Homare, Izumi seated herself. The poet didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, which was very uncharacteristic of him, and the director wasn't sure what it was that was bugging him. She tucked her legs up on the chair and rest her chin atop her knees while giving him a sidelong glance, her body facing the direction of where the sky shone above them.

"The night sky is quite beautiful, don't you think?" He pondered aloud with his fingers pinching his chin. The expression on his face did not change, but he looked like he was enjoying himself, which was a relief. Izumi turned her head and rested her cheek on her knees, instead staring at Homare who was still smiling up at the moon. He still wore his day clothes, and looked lovely under the beaming of the stars; Izumi did not want to look away.

She did not look away even when Homare's gaze broke from the sky to stare at her in curiosity; not knowing why she was staying so silent. She then smiled at him when his eyes landed on her face, and the gentle expression she wore flustered him. Homare turned his head away for a second to quickly recollect his thoughts, his hands coming down to awkwardly pat his thighs as he waited a few seconds to find the words he wanted to say.

"I.. thought enjoying the fresh air would help me with my writing." He answered the question that Izumi did not ask, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Plus, Homare felt like he had to explain himself.

"I understand." She laughed faintly. On multiple occasions Izumi had gone out to the courtyard alone to enjoy the breeze the night had to offer, but was scolded thrice by Sakyo, Omi, and Tasuku when she fell ill one day after a short stroll around the dorm. She was only able to come out tonight because Omi was worried that Homare had not come in yet, and she offered to coax him back inside. Sakyo gave her his permission, and here she was now.

The moonlight subdued Homare's eccentric behaviour as much as it could, and it had her gazing at him with blatant affection.

The man fidgeted under her watchful gaze.

"I am having a bit of trouble articulating my thoughts into words right now," he sighed bashfully, "I might be experiencing this thing Tsuzuru calls 'writer's block'."

Homare's smile was sheepish as he used the words that he had overheard the university student slur on about during breakfast one morning, but Izumi didn't seem to mind. She continued to look at him with interest, but her lashes fluttered; indicating that she was getting tired.

Slightly panicked that he was boring her, Homare said whatever else that came to his mind that would keep her attention on him. And keep her attention on him he did.

"Would you care to rest in my arms tonight?" He said, tender; tentative. "It may give me the inspiration to write a few more lines."

Her eyes were wide open now and he fidgeted under the stare. Normally, Homare would be able to say this kind of thing with ease, but with how Izumi looked at him tonight made him feel warm and embarrassed, and he couldn't help but stutter over his next set of words.

"Nevermind.. It was rude of me to ask and put you on the spot." He chuckled softly and rubbed the back of his neck with cold fingers, eyes closing in humiliation. He couldn't bear to see the woman in his sights without blushing an even darker shade and his breath was getting uneven with how nervous he was feeling. He blamed the moon for making him feel this way in front of his precious director, and his knee bounced anxiously while waiting for an answer.

The bouncing knee jerked violently when a light hand brushed over it, and Homare recoiled at the touch. His red eyes flashed to look at what had touched him and was shocked to see an equally as startled Izumi smiling in slight confusion.

"Are you alright, Homare?" She asked, innocent. Her smile was still kind as she approached him with cautious movements, until she was scooted to the end of her chair and her warm hands were resting on the leg that wouldn't stop bouncing. She was kind as she tapped her fingers against his knee to help him calm the nerves that were fraying, and relaxed her shoulders when he did the same. Slowly, she reached out, fingers lightly brushing away the creases that formed in his suit jacket with an amused tilt to her lips. "You seem.. restless. I think we ought to bring you inside now."

Just by an inch, Homare slumped in his chair, causing Izumi to muffle her sputter of laughter behind a small hand.

"Sorry, I meant no harm. I was joking." It was endearingly funny to see this uncharacteristic side of Homare, but Izumi understood how important writing was to him, and she didn't really mind indulging him in his small request for inspiration. His red eyes glanced at her unsure, and he cleared his throat with a faint harrumph. She was inching near him with every second that passed and he was getting even more nervous than before; he had no clue what she was going to do next.

He was about to say no and don't, but Izumi had always been so difficult to decline when she smiled at him that way, and as she slipped off her chair to stand in front of him, head tilted, the words died in his throat.

"Do you have a preference?" She asked, innocent. Despite her back now facing the sky, her eyes were still glimmering and the sight caused Homare's lungs to deflate as all the air escaped him in one large breath. His hands were gripping on the armrests of the iron chair he was sitting on while trying to regain his composure, steadily regaining a clear mind.

"Ah.. Yes. Indeed, I do. Here." With calculated movements, Homare scooted himself near the end of his seat and brushed off the imaginary dirty that was on his pants. After that, one of his hands was facing palm side up while his arm lifted to ghost over Izumi's waist, slowly leading her around the side of his chair to bring the young woman towards the space on his lap.

Easing herself onto Homare's legs was fun to say the least, as she pretended she had no idea how he wanted to position herself. Playfully, she decided to plop onto his lap, facing him. Her legs were draped on either side of his hips and were swinging back and forth in a childish manner while her arms hung over his shoulders, the position she put the both of them in causing a blush to rise to his cheeks.

"This okay?" She sang faintly. Her arms were wound around Homare's neck, resulting in both of them nearly being chest-to-chest. The older man held his hands up in shock due to the close proximity, barely ghosting over her waist as he tried to lean away from her so that their breaths wouldn't be mingling with each other. He was so tense beneath her touch that Izumi felt a bad for being so mean, and with a laugh, lifted a hand up to caress Homare's warm face.

"I shouldn't have teased you; it wasn't very nice of me." She apologised, but the smile still remained. Before Homare was able to react and tell her that it was alright, she had already moved around until she was sitting in the way he had originally planned to have her, sitting perpendicular to him with her cheek pressed to the space between his neck and shoulder and the tip of her nose just barely brushing against his jaw.

And for some reason, this position made Homare feel even more embarrassed. Was it because Izumi could stare at him this way instead of hooking her chin on his shoulder to stare into the distance? Or the way she curled up so adorably small against his chest? Or was it because, if given the opportunity and the permission, she'd be able to rest her head in the slope of his neck?

He felt like he was going to lose his mind if he kept thinking about the different things that could happen, and for a long moment, he forgot that there was a poem waiting to be finished.

But could anyone really blame him when Izumi was right there? Could you blame him for brushing his fingers through her soft hair? Could you blame him for wanting to pull her closer to his chest and just whisper the sweetest of words in her ear, just to listen to the laugh that always managed to make his heart beat a little faster?

Homare was very close to risking it all for this woman and it terrified him.

"You're warm.." She sighed suddenly, causing Homare to snap out of his dazed stupor as she fiddled around to wrap his suit coat around her body to keep the breeze from attacking her. Izumi was sure she'd have to go through another lecture if she found herself sick the next day, so Homare was going to have to be her knight in shining armour.

Lips pressed into a thin line, the poet stared at his lone notebook for a few seconds before deciding that maybe it was time to end the night. He let his eyes rest for a brief second as his reluctant arms came to rest around Izumi's frame, pulling her impossibly closer to him to keep her warm while finally tucked her head into the crook of his neck, a little yawn escaping her tired body.

"Shall we go back inside?" He whispered gently, making sure not to rouse her too much.

Izumi frowned at the mention of returning to the dorm when Homare had barely made any progress with his work, but didn't say anything. Her lashes lightly brushed against his skin when she closed her eyes and she let out a second sigh to let the man know that she didn't mind either way.

"I'm sure the others are worrying about you right now," he chuckled, resting his cheek atop her head while a hand cradled the back of her neck, the other already beginning to gather up the materials that lay forgotten on the table, "I wouldn't want to get in trouble with Sakyo of all people."

"Omi and Tasuku are quite terrifying as well." Izumi tacked on; not very helpfully, and melted into Homare's chest when his arm went down to curl around her waist. "Though I'm sure they'll stay quiet when they see me sleeping in your arms."

Homare didn't answer, but he and Izumi both knew that the overprotective men always tended to not say anything whenever they caught her dozing away. It wouldn't be such a big deal if he brought her in while she was taking a snooze, right? He took care of her, and she managed to bring him back inside. Win win.

"Alright," he sighed, "ready for what's to come?"

A lazy thumbs up was thrown his way and he braced himself, setting his small notebook and pen in his suit pocket before standing up from his chair, Izumi comfortably resting against his chest. As he began to exit the courtyard with the young woman settled in his arms, he mustered up the courage to print a small kiss to the crown of her forehead just before he re-entered the dorm, carefully toeing off his shoes to replace them with slippers.

He bent down next to remove the large sandals that she slipped on before looking for Homare and also replaced them with slippers, the sound of him dropping the footwear quiet as he put them on the shoe rock. He was a bit exasperated that she didn't even wear her own slip on shoes; noticing that she was actually wearing Juza's footwear that made her clothed feet look even tinier.

"It's late." A sudden voice came from above, causing the poet's head to snap up to see Sakyo standing at the top of the staircase with his arms crossed over his chest. His face held no emotion, but Homare was still able to see the scrutinising look in his eyes as he made the move to stand up and carry Izumi up the stairs.

His smile was bashful when he tilted his head in the direction of Izumi in his arms, making sure that Sakyo knew that she was 'sleeping' and that it was best if he didn't scold him for now. The blond's shoulders relaxed just the slightest bit when he saw the peaceful look on the woman's face and sighed in resignation, running a hand down his face with a wave of his hand to dismiss Homare.

Both Tasuku and Omi were in the kitchen when Homare turned his head, and the man with the scar on his chin pointed down at the warm plate of food that was waiting for him on the dinner table with a smile. His fellow troupe member also made the move to approach him, and with careful movements, took Izumi from him with a reprimanding look, cradling the small woman to his chest as she sighed at the sudden change of cuddle buddies.

He smiled in defeat, but still managed to whisper in Izumi's ear that he wished she would rest well before Tasuku quietly whisked her away to her bedroom.

"Having trouble writing again, Homare?" Omi greeted with an amused smile when the poet took a seat at the dinner table with a tired sigh, the man in question nodding his head as he began to dig in to the dinner that he had missed a few hours earlier. He missed the first few beats to the respond as the warmth of the food filled his stomach and he closed his eyes, nodding again instead of using his words.

"Hopefully you find the inspiration soon." The Autumn Troupe member wished sweetly and walked around the counter to slap Homare on the back, gently telling him that he didn't need to wash his dishes tonight and should just go to bed to get the sleep he was missing out on now. The poet choked slightly on his food at the force of the slap, but sent a thankful smile to Omi as he walked down the hallway to return to his bedroom; Sakyo seemingly already back in his own.

And as Homare leaned back in his chair with his spoon in his mouth, he remembered the feeling of Izumi laying in his arms, curled against his chest as if she were a little cat. He remembered how her hair felt like when he ran his fingers through it and how hard his heart was beating when she messed with him with that contagious smile of hers.

He sighed wistfully, but the affectionate shine to his eyes told a different story.

Homare definitely found his inspiration.

[vore-scientist]

Cookie Jar (M/f platonic safe/soft sfw vore)

A Tale of the Mystic Woods

Sophia see’s an opportunity to prank her half-giant wizard, by getting him to eat her. Also some Gardening! (sadly no actual cookies or jars feature in this story)

Princess Sophia and Yonah the Wizard are my OCs, they are both adults, and part of my Mystic Woods series. I commissioned art for this chapter! So that’s in there too!

Warnings: While this story is all about safe, soft, willing, silliness there are uhhhh some really strange references/discussion about fa.tal. None occurs. King Ben just is a bit... creepy and uncaring. 

----

“So, what’s the plan for today?”

The Princess Sophia asked as she and her half-giant wizard ate breakfast. Toast with a citrus marmalade and eggs scrambled with spinach, onions, and mushrooms. They always had eggs. Yonah was a really amazing cook, and eggs were his favorite food. Well. Second favorite food. Sophia had to admit, the wizard made the best eggs she’d ever had, and she grew up with royal cooks! Yonah took one more giant mouthful of his own portion of eggs, and a drink of water flavored with a few slices of magic melon, before answering. 

“Not much,” he took another bite. Clearly not in a hurry. “Was thinking we could garden this morning, then I’ve got some translations to complete. Maybe there will be time for a dusk patrol.”

No way. 

Sophia’s forkful of egg was frozen halfway to her mouth. 

There was no way he had forgotten. Right? Someone so smart organized and all. It wasn’t possible Not in her wildest dreams. 

“That’s it? Nothing else?” she risked jogging his memory just to be sure.

Yonah was looking at her funny, so she finished her bite of food to keep a straight face. 

“Nope. That’s it. Unless… Is there something you wanted to do?” He asked. 

She took such a big drink of water she nearly choked. 

“Ah- um.” 

“I could try to put together a lesson, but I didn't plan on one today. Im still waiting on a few potion ingredients, which should be here soon.” 

“The plan sounds good!” She said, her voice squeaking a bit. 

He’d definitely forgotten. And if Sophia was a good friend she would have told him. Thankfully Sophia wasn’t a good friend. She was a great friend. His Best Friend. And as the best friend to an evil giant wizard she got an evil idea. All she had to do was not raise suspicion. 

“Ok…” Yonah didn’t sound convinced. “Would you like me to clear your dishes?”

Sophia nodded and placed them delicately unto his palm, but finishing her water first. Then she zipped off, climbing down the ladder attached to the table, sprinting to the staircase, and leaping down the stairs to the bedroom. By the time Yonah caught up to her she was in her gardening outfit. Waiting for him, on top of his dresser, upon which was her magic wardrobe. 

“What’s the rush princess?” Yonah said with a smile as he took his time changing into a sturdy button up and overalls that matched Sophia’s. “I don’t have any plants that will get up and walk away if we don’t water them.”

He adjusted the shoulder straps on his overalls and held out a hand to Sophia. She scampered across his arm and dropped into his front pocket. 

“Ok then,” he said, smiling as he got out his sandals, gloves, and straw-wizard’s hat. 

“I’m just excited to garden!” Sophia said. 

“Glad to hear it,” he gently pat the pocket over his midsection to jostle the princess, and then with a finger ruffled her hair. Or tried, since it was in it’s pretty-permanently tight braid. He did nearly knock off her tiara but she held it in place. Then she held onto the lip of the pocket as Yonah went up the stairs, and she bounced happily. 

She had to hold on tighter when he leapt from the tower window. That was never not exhilarating  and so frightening she screeched like a banshee as, with an earth-shaking THUD, Yonah landed in the garden. 

“Out you come from there!” Yonah said cheerfully as he plucked Sophia out of the pocket and set her on the edge of a flower bed. 

Then from a side pocket he took out a pouch of power that he dipped a finger into. He dabbed a bit of the powder and recited a spell in giant. With a puff of grey smoke Yonah now stood 7.5ft. About a third his original height. 

There was a lot to do as it turned out. A lot of beds had weeds! Those damn seeds must just manifest out of thin air. The pair spent an entire hour weeding the flower beds. A few weeds happened to be spell ingredients, which Sophia Then wondered why they were considered weeds. 

Regardless she attacked them with extreme ferociousness, getting right to their roots. Which was good because the roots of this particular weed were what they wanted. They were placed in a bag to be dried out over a magical smoke that night. 

They didn’t take a break. Not really. When moving onto the Apple trees and other fruits the pair took random small breaks to sample the ripening bounty, but worked steadily to trim branches and check for sickness and fungus. 

Some fungus was of course wanted! Yonah had recently planted a patch of moaning bamboo that was bred to be vulnerable to infection by void fungus; used to make magical ink to enchant scrolls and book pages. It was a slow growing bamboo but it was finally large enough that if infected would produce a decent amount of magic ink, enough to make the investment in the bamboo worth the money. 

Sophia took a tuning fork and tapped the green-yellow rods. No void fungus to be found. But cuttings of the bamboo were taken. When the current batch caught the bug they would have healthy ones to replace them. Void Fungus was not kind to it’s hosts. Thankfully it wasn’t harmful to animals or people. 

She started to worry that, after all this work, Yonah would insist they have lunch, and she would have to tell him. 

And then she nearly ruined it by cheering when he suggested he get a little translating done before lunch. He was just feeling very motivated for some reason. She didn’t mind waiting a little to eat right?

“Don’t mind at all! In fact, you wanna eat me?” she couldn’t risk waiting any longer or it would be too late. She tried not to look at the clock. 

It wasn’t really a silence, since Yonah continued to gather supplies around the room, until he stopped listening to himself and processed Sophia’s words. Then he stood up, holding a bunch of scrolls, looking at her as if he may have imagined her talking at all.  

“You haven’t had lunch yet, so you must be hungry,” she added. /don’t push it too much he’ll get suspicious!/ “and watching you translate is boring.”

But then she heard his stomach growl and his cheeks grew red. “I- yeah!” he came over to the desk. His face was still a bit flushed but he was smiling as he leaned over, arms folded and he put his head eye level with Sophia. “A pre-lunch snack is exactly what I need!” 

He reached out a hand to poke her, which tickled. “And I couldn’t refuse my favorite snack.”

Without hesitation Sophia got out her vial of glass paste and applied a small dab to her forehead and recited the words. Yonah closed his eyes as there was an explosion of sparkling purple dust. He felt the heavy glass form of the princess sit on his arm. He stood back up, taking the princess with him, keeping her at his face. He opened his mouth in a wide smile that revealed large white fangs glittering with drool and anticipation. She took hold of his bottom teeth, hoisting herself inside. It was a tight fit, which always made her wonder how he managed to eat people larger than herself. And she was petit. 

Air wooshed by her as he took a deep breath and tipped his head back so that she slid to his throat. With perfect timing he swallowed. Once. Twice. Three times. 

The princess’s feet passed over his lips, and he kept swallowing. It hurt considerably. Stretching his throat and putting pressure on his windpipe, but it was worth it. With a strong gulp she was down past his airways and he could breathe again. He could already feel her hands in his stomach, soon joined by the rest of her. Filling him up so nicely, he smiled and sighed. 

“Mr HaEsh?”

It was like his blood turned to ice and then instantly into steam; the pressure threatening to make him explode.  

He remembered. 

Dare he open his eyes? He had to. It was too late now. 

Yonah HaEsh looked down at the magic mirror on his desk. But instead of his reflection framed by the fancy gold filigree, the King of the Mystic Woods looked back at him, arms crossed. It was like the entire damn forest was looking at him. And the forest didn’t exactly have feelings like normal people. 

/Had he seen?/

“Ah- Y-Your Majesty-” 

Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Because at that moment Sophia started laughing hysterically, with her whole body. Normally that would feel GREAT; now it was distracting at best, visible and audible to her father at worst. Her father who spoke over the stuttering giant. 

[art by @pythonpie​ @art_python on twitter]

“We had a meeting today, or did you forget?” The King’s expression. Well it wasn’t neutral but it wasn’t full of vengeful rage, which it surely would have if he had seen his daughter get swallowed whole. It still wasn’t happy. 

“No-I mean yes- I mean no, Your Majesty.”

“Then where, Mr. HaEsh, is my daughter?” The King’s emerald green eyes pulsed and narrowed, his face hardening like petrified wood. 

Yonah resisted putting a hand to his stomach to try and cover up Sophia’s movement, or get her to stop! Her laughter was penetrating his brain! But that would be too obvious. 

“The princess! She!” Yonah realized he had a bit of drool running down his chin, but he dare not wipe it away. “Is asleep.”

“In the afternoon?” asked The King, raising an eyebrow, “Surely she didn’t forget the meeting?”

Yonah gritted his teeth as Sophia screeched inside him. 

He hissed out “No sire, she did not.”

“Speak up Mr. HaEsh,” the King Ordered. 

“Ah- well, I don’t know, she was very tired after working so hard in the garden I thought she deserved a nap,” and he thought he deserved a freaking medal for coming up with that excuse and saying it as convincingly as possible with a princess thrashing in his belly. 

“I don’t appreciate her sleep schedule being dysregulated this way,” said The King, his voice rising enough to make Yonah’s skin crawl. 

It was so eerie, and so absolutely horrifying to see The King get mad in the mirror, while outside the trees rustled with the rhythm of Ben’s words, his breaths, his huffs, and his grunts. Yonah swore the vines around his tower were constricting, causing the stone to crack a bit. Could Ben collapse the tower just like that?

“I didn’t mean-” but once again The King spoke. 

“And,” the king pointed at him. Though it wasn’t exactly precise through the mirror it was clearly at his stoamch very full of struggling human, “Who was that you were eating?”

“Sire?” Yonah didn’t think he could really hide it. 

“Don’t play dumb with me, wizard,” The King spat, “When the mirrors resolved I saw feet disappearing down your massive throat. And they’re still alive by the look of-”

“A thief!” Yonah said a bit too quickly, “It was, is, a thief!”

Now he felt comfortable enough to rub at his stomach, “Tasty too, your majesty,” he smiled a big embarrassed grin, “In the excitement of the chase I forgot it was nearly time for our call.”

The King didn’t look convinced and Yonah felt his heart sink. 

“A thief? In the middle of the day?”

“Yes Sire! That happens, not common but not-” was he gesticulating too much? Was he gesticulating to little? Should he just stop using his hands?

“And that doesn’t sound like screaming, it sounds more like laughter.”

/Oh GODS he could hear it!/ Yonah’s heart lifted but only so it could start racing 

“Nope! Not laughter” Yonah poked his middle and Sophia obliged by screaming a little less happily, “It’s terror! Because I ate them! And I am very scary. Just like you hired me to be!”

“Very well, I suppose you should go wake Sophia,” The King examined his fingernails. Thanks to the mirror enhancing the King’s size, Yonah could see they were painted with black runes. What for? Yonah couldn’t think about that right now. 

“And the thief?”

The king looked up, “Oh right, the thief.” the king eye’d Yonah’s middle like one would a disappointing servant  “Are they not dead yet?” Sophia had stopped laughing so hard, guess Ben couldn’t hear it now. 

“N-No sire,” Yonah poked his middle again and was relieved when Sophia moved sharply and screamed at like she really was in danger. 

“Not in the mood for a free meal today?” Ben asked, completely serious. “Less money out of my pocket. It costs a lot to... feed you.” There was a weird tick in Ben’s right cheek. Like he had been about to mention the fact that Yonah gives adventurers gold when he lets them live, which was most of the time, and that money was technically King Ben’s, even if most of it was deducted from Yonah’s salary. 

“Not with you watching, my liege,” Yonah said, trying to sound like he cared as little for the thieves’ lives as Ben did. 

“It’s not as if I can see whatever horrorshow is going on in there,” he said. 

With Sophia being the one in there, that was the last thing Yonah wanted to think about.  

“Fine, spit them out.” 

Gods those gem-like eyes were so bright yet so hollow. Yonah wouldn’t be surprised if Ben COULD see though mere barriers like flesh, but also was thankful he couldn’t.

Yonah bowed, unable to enjoy Sophia being squished inside him.

“Where are you going?” Ben said as Yonah turned to the stairwell. 

“To- spit out the thief and wake-”

“You cannot do that here? I’ve seen it before”

He had. Once. When interrogating a prisoner of war, Ben supervised Yonah swallowing, threatening, and spitting up fairy. That had been a feat. Fairies were larger than humans. Even thinking about it briefly made his throat sore. 

Yonah’s face turned so red it was like a tomato. If he spat Sophia out that would be it. In the moment he could not fathom what Ben might do to him if Sophia slid out of his mouth. Could he somehow cast a disguise spell on her? No Ben would see the cast. 

Thankfully Ben heaved a huge sigh, “I don’t see why you’re so self-conscious, go ahead.” He waved him off and Yonah disappeared down the trap door. 

---

PERFECT TIMING! 

Sophia couldn’t see what had gone on outside, but as Yonah stiffened, everything around her going tense, the pulse around her accelerating and his quavering voice say “Your majesty,” she knew she had done it. 

While she had wanted to try and hear what her father was saying she could not help but burst into laughter as soon as she imagined the look on Yonah’s face. Probably guilty, smiling, bewilderment. Oh she wished she could see! But if she could have done that, this would be a very different prank. 

It wasn’t hard to guess her father’s words based on Yonah’s responses. 

Deciding to help her poor giant she switched from laughter to just yelling when Yonah poked at her and insisted the sound coming from his middle was terror. That should be pretty convincing, though it was hard to sound scared when riding the high of such a brilliant prank. 

Eventually she calmed down to hear her father. She loved her dad. She really did. But 30 years ruling two kingdoms; 30 years being joined magically to The Mystic Woods, a mind as far from human as one could get, he tended to be a bit heartless. Ben’s body, mind, and spirit were part of a vast ecosystem that had things living and dying in it every day. So why would random adventurers dying, even eaten by one of his employees, be of much concern to him? 

Still, she felt proud of Yonah for managing to get away to “wake her up” and “spit out the thief”. She did not resist when Yonah threw up into his bathroom sink. 

“That was ! A dirty trick!” 

He coughed out a bit more fluid and did not bother to aim away from Sophia. He didn’t speak again until he regained his breath. By then Sophia had washed and dried off, and returned to flesh of her own accord. She sat on the towel and looked at him with big innocent brown eyes. 

Ok not innocent, but definitely not guilty or regretful. He reached out to grab her but she grabbed him back, wrapping her arms around his fingers. He wriggled his fingers and she laughed, not at him, but with him. He did pull her to the edge of the counter and kissed her side. She tried to get away from his scratchy facial hair but failed. 

“How long were you planning that?” he asked, his chin in her lab. 

“Since this morning,” she said, shoving him away.  

He obliged but left one arm on the counter for her to climb across to his shoulder. She lay into his hair. The dark curls so fluffy and soft. 

“Couldn’t believe my luck. Something like our monthly meetings slipping through that big wizard brain of yours!” She scratched his head, making one side of his hair stick up funny. Then she sat down and he put on his hat. 

“Let’s not keep my father-” she paused. 

“The King-” Yonah smiled. 

She laughed “Let’s not keep him waiting.”

Ben had not moved a muscle as far as Yonah could tell, when he sat at his desk and tried to smile without conveying that he had in fact, not eaten a thief, but the king’s daughter. Sophia scrawled down from his shoulder and leapt onto the desk. 

“Hi dad!” she said. 

“Hello Sophia”

And no, it wasn’t really comforting to see kind emotions in the face of The Mystical Majesty, if anything it made him more eerie. He was capable of human feelings, or at least he remembered what they were enough to mimic them. 

It never really bothered Yonah before but. He barely noticed. Oh sure Ben unnerved him greatly. Yet he hadn’t registered just how detached The King was. 

Not until he had figured out that Sophia was already chosen as the next Mystic King. Would she slowly turn into an unfeeling vessel for the forest? Would he lose her? He was to train her, prepare her to be King. Maybe that meant she could avoid this fate. 

Shit Ben was asking him a question! 

Shit Sophia was answering for him!

“-unconscious when they came out. We put washed them off and put them in a box.”

Ben was back to his normal, detached irritation. But there was a flicker of amusement. Still not comforting. 

“You woke her before spitting the thief up?”

He had to nod; Sophia was in charge of the narrative now. 

“Cutting it a bit close weren’t we?”

/why did he care? Ben was just fine with letting this hypothetical thief die while they had a not-so-pleasant chat/

“No sir, fainted from fright. Happens all the time. They were kicking and screaming until-”

“I don’t actually want the details Mr HaEsh.” 

Yonah wasn’t so sure about that. King Ben seemed to have some morbid fascinations. Maybe when one’s mind is so expanded you need some really extreme diversions to peak your interest. 

With so much time wasted the talk was very brief. Ben was actually legitimately pleased with Sophia’s progress. In the last month she’d met with several insular communities in the woods. One in particular was hardly more than a rumor. The fact that she’d made contact was a significant achievement. Not that she knew why, but she was glad to go on about the new spell she’d learned, none the wiser about her growing connection to The Woods. 

Still, Yonah didn’t breathe easy until Ben’s face faded from the mirror. 

Sophia sighed and turned to look up at him. 

“Im going to get you back for this,” he said, “especially since you were this close” he held his thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart, “To Ben seeing you eaten. He saw you feet.”

“Ah!” She finally looked guilty, “Well- I couldn’t resist”

No. She wouldn’t be Sophia if she’d done anything else. He even suspected that his mirror had delayed establishing the link and made a mental note to be kinder to it. 

“-if you want to eat me again.”

Yonah scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. “You’ve certainly earned the honor of being my dessert tonight,” he cooed. “And I’d better get some belly rubs. But that doesn’t count as payback.”

“You’re going to eat me now too?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “No. We should have actual lunch; like we normally do after talking with your father-”

“The King!” she declared, standing up unsteady and pulling herself onto his shoulder. 

He laughed so hard she almost fell back into his arms.  

And they went downstairs. 

[FIN] if you liked PLEASE REBLOG!

REBLOGS HELP SPREAD MY WORK! I also love knowing that people read my stories! My askbox and DMs are OPEN!!! let me know!!! 

[Thanks for reading! please reblog! Or message me telling me what you think! I crave feedback! For more mystic woods go to vore-scientist.tumblr.com/tagged/mystic+woods+story or search ‘mystic woods story’

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 2 - Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Note: This is my Leon fic!!!!! Originally posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

Warnings: None! But dis fic be scary sometimes

Extra Note: If this was an anime episode it would be called 立ち去った、悪霊！チャンピオンダンデと祓魔師の冒険！ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=┌(;￣◇￣)┘

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

...

...

["It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter." - The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien]

...

...

This would be the first time you have had someone properly accompany you during your excursions; a long time ago, Sonia was eager to come with you but unfortunately she wasn't quite able to stay awake during most of the night and you had to continue on without her, leaving her fast asleep in the tent with Yamper.

Also, you don't want to endanger her in either way, otherwise Magnolia may not forgive you. You're close to them and Magnolia wouldn't say such things to you in person but you know deep inside that you mustn't jeopardise her granddaughter.

It's nice to have a companion for a change.

"I mean, for once, I don't need to fill in the silence by talking to myself," you utter to yourself under your breath and it's completely due to force of habit but Leon overhears and throws his glance to you.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing."

It's true though.

Leon and yourself meander down the path with Charizard lumbering behind you. Although you're not sure if it is the right thing to allow Leon to come with you, a part of you is wondering if things might end up differently if you tackled this one as a group rather than just going solo. There is still no sign of the house however.

"This can be very dangerous," you warn him again but he's looking very optimistic.

"Charizard will protect us!" he exclaims with boyish enthusiasm, a type of naïveté which you find rather bemusing because you wonder how he will react once he sees a ghost....though you do inwardly cringe about the thought of Leon running away whilst screaming his head off.

Meanwhile, Charizard emits an all-knowing snort and nods his head. They both look confident and comfortable.

"Ghosts are an entirely different thing, Leon."

"Yeah, but do you have any pokemon?"

You stop in your tracks immediately, cheeks feeling warm as Leon pauses as well, quietly observing your reaction. Without looking at him, you mutter out, "K-kind of, I have my sister's pokemon but I don't want to use them. If anything happened to them I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Okay, so you don't have any pokemon with you?" Leon says, crossing his arms. Although he's wearing baggy clothes, his sleeves still go taut from the motion and you can see the outlines of his rock hard biceps which you had grabbed not too long ago.

You clear your throat, trying not to think about that incident and focus on what is presently at hand at this moment. It's refreshing to see him fully-dressed in his sweats for a change. You're used to seeing pictures of him in the champion attire consisting of the red cape, tight black t-shirt, white shorts and tights. He's kept his snapback, however.

Shaking your head in response to his question, a look of surprise crosses his handsome face.

"It's incredibly dangerous to go into the Wild Area without a pokemon partner. I could send you back to the Meetup Spot right now," he says.

Your cheeks go pink as he tells you off and you hang your head low whilst kicking a stone in your path, pouting. "As long as I have my stash of pokedolls and I don't go into the tall grass, I'm fine..."

He breaks into a grin at your defeated response, "I was kidding!"

You don't get his humour as he continues to chuckle; your clueless expression must be priceless to him.

He adds, "It's fine, I can help catch a pokemon for you."

"...You don't need to catch a pokemon for me. I've always been going to the Wild Area without any pokemon."

"Miss, if you insist on wandering the Wild Area alone in the dark with no pokemon... as Champion of Galar and for the sake of your safety, I insist that I must stay by your side for the remainder of the night."

You give him an incredulous look. “Do you say that to every girl you come across or am I special?”

He starts spluttering immediately, your comment has taken him completely off guard. “W-what? N-no, I don't say to every girl-"

You watch as he continues stuttering.

"Uh, I don't talk to a lot of girls but when I do, I usually wouldn’t... I wouldn’t say-"

It seems to be growing worse.

"I mean, I had to say that because you are special-"

"Leon, relax, I was joking," you chuckle under your breath and Leon ends up offering you an awkward grin. "C'mon, let's go."

You begin to pick up pace once again with Leon on your left and Charizard moves to your right. Compared to you, he is so cheerful and enthusiastic, even at this time at night. He looks happy and so the conversation continues.

"What's this all about then?" he asks.

"A client says he came across a haunted house around these parts so I'm going to investigate," you reply, "this isn't anything new, Leon. I'll get to the bottom of this soon."

He blinks wide-eyed for a few seconds, "And uh, how long have you been researching pokemon?"

"About five years."

"I recognise your name – you live with Sonia and Professor Magnolia, right?"

"Yeah."

"They've mentioned you several times. It's a shame we never got a chance to meet until now."

"Likewise," you reply, throwing a glance to your radio which you have fished out from your bag.

"You know who I am, don't you?"

"Of course I do, and even if I didn't, you said it yourself there anyway," you utter, although the majority of your attention is focused on the radio, "I didn't expect to meet you here though."

His face grows red as he rubs the back of his neck with his large palm. "...Charizard and I are undertaking some private training. Isn't that right, big guy?"

Charizard nods happily and swings his bulky tail around in the air and you have to hop to avoid the wagging of his tail until he accidentally smacks into you and something hot slaps you on the rear and begins to grow hotter and hotter.

Sniffing the air, the atmosphere begins to become laced with the smell of burning plastic and you quickly throw a glance behind you. You are greeted with the sight of bright orange flames tickling your backside and your eyes widen.

"I'M ON FIRE!!!"

A bug-eyed look is Leon's response when he turns round and gets an eyeful. The back of your coat is indeed, covered in flames. "Charizard! Be careful!" he reprimands the flame pokemon. There is no hint of malice in his voice but he is stern.

Charizard's apology consists of a couple of snorts and loud huffing as you begin running around aimlessly in a panic.

"Um, drop to the floor and roll around!" Leon yells so you throw yourself to the ground in front of him and begin rolling but the fire doesn't go away so easily.

Fortunately for you, you spy a deep puddle up ahead that is being perused by a Lotad so you get back up and leap heftily towards it.

The Lotad hurriedly scurries away as soon as it senses your incoming arrival and your back meets the puddle. Water goes splashing everywhere but you are saved. You exhale noisily with relief as the flames are extinguished and there is a loud yet satisfying 'tssssssss' following as smoke begins to seep out from under your back, evaporating into the air in silky white wisps.

Leon heads up to you sheepishly and stands before you; you swerve your eyes up and your gazes meet as he removes his snapback, cradling it in his hands, "I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

"........Yeah."

"I'll make it up to you," he pulls something out from his bag and lifts it out.

It's a Burn Heal.

You cannot help but roll your eyes and sigh under your breath. "I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

Leon sticks his hand out for you which you take and he helps you back onto your feet once again.

"....Thanks," you say with a wince as Charizard looks at you with very wet eyes, "It's okay, dude. No big deal."

You reach a hand to pat him on the horns but then it dawns to you that maybe you should've asked Leon for permission first. The thought hadn't crossed your mind therefore you're quick to retreat and Leon notices, emitting a laugh.

"Go on, he likes to be petted. And he loves tummy rubs too."

"O-oh, right...Cool." you pat Charizard's horn and his tail slams up and down over the ground with affection. "Hey, Leon. How bad is it?"

Leon tiptoes round you to inspect your back. Your coat is waterproof so the material is more durable but you're not sure whether it is flame retardant to a certain degree or not so Leon takes note that it is charred and black all over, especially at your ass. Good news, Charizard's flames didn't burn right through to your trousers and panties. However, Leon does stare for a fraction longer than necessary which warrants you to turn and look at him curiously in response.

He clears his throat, returns to your side, fitting his snapback over his soft and fluffy purple hair. "I'll pay for the damage."

You shake your head.

After that shenanigan, the conversation and any further attempts to interact fizz out like a dying candle in the wind. You're far more invested with finding the damn house and the quicker you find it the better.

On the way, you continue fiddling with the radio and try to grab a signal as you hold it high and low in the air and Leon often throws wary glances at you and your device but says nothing of it. You wander down the path, looking up and around and Leon halts in his path all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"There," he has spotted a distant glow ahead; it would have been difficult to see if either of you had taken a few steps further. "Do you see that?"

You follow to where he is pointing and indeed, a small trickle of light can be seen peeping out between the thick leaves of the trees and it's suspicious enough; you move towards the bushes, pulling all the thick fauna and branches and leaves away until you are greeted with the brief outline of a large and dark building.

"Leon, you found it!" you exclaim happily.

Oh thank Arceus above! Finally, some good news!! Grinning widely, you look at each other at the same time, elevated to have achieved the goal and it seems everything has returned to normal; there is no awkwardness, no more silence between you, and it occurs to you that he has a really nice smile.

"L-let's go," you stutter out as your heart decides to thud harder than usual and you speedily abort eye contact.

You feel your cheeks growing warm as Leon nods.

The house is completely off path. You have to wade through extensive, overgrown fauna and step through some slimy mud, occasionally getting your foot stuck if Leon wasn't here to help you. Charizard trails after the two of you and snorts as he gets caught in low-hanging branches and he waves his claws around as tiny insects buzz around him. It appears to be a normal path but soon it grows to a long-winded nature trail that takes you far from the main path which the gym challengers are supposed to stick to.

After a long trek that seemed to go on and on, you find yourself in front of a large and dilapidated house and you whip out your book, glancing at the diagram you drew before you spare another glance at the house once again.

"This is it," you say, as Leon peers over your shoulder to look at your drawing. "It's been abandoned for years."

Your drawing matches the house perfectly. The house is as your client described - a two storey mansion, derelict, one single door. Georgian architecture with symmetrical, long and thin, tall windows. There is only one light visible from the top floor, second window from the right.

"Must be a master bedroom, the old man's bedroom perhaps....it must be the source..." you murmur as you look at it in awe.

You proceed to take a step forwards and as though sensing your presences, all the lights flicker on with soft orange glows emitting from all windows.

Leon and Charizard stare at the spectacle, stunned.

"It knows we're here," you murmur under your breath again, "...Note to self: perhaps it is a sentient being?"

"Huh?"

"N-never mind, I'm just talking to myself again."

"Oh, uh...shall we go in?"

You nod without further ado and promptly make a move towards the house until you remember you are not alone; glancing at Leon, you say, "Leon, you don't need to go inside with me. I can take it from here."

He shakes his head. "I'm going with you. I'll protect you," he replies, and your cheeks grow pink once again.

You're aware he means it literally of course, but sometimes when a guy says such words to a girl...

Well... a girl might get the wrong idea.

"Thanks, Leon. I really appreciate this," you utter, before you pull out a small pouch from your pocket and hand it to him, "Take this; it's salt. Salt repels evil spirits. Use it if you need to, create a salt circle and sit in it, all the way until dawn. Keep this with you at all times."

He accepts the packet of salt with some uncertainty. "Thanks."

You give a packet to Charizard but he just ends up tearing it in half and the contents fall to the ground.

You don't bother telling them about anything else that repels or protects evil spirits because he already has your good luck charm and the salt and that should be enough so you proceed to go up to the front door. Leon follows you with Charizard at his heels. They are both on high alert.

They're extremely brave considering they're dabbling into the unknown and you're stunned they want to continue to stay with you because you have finally located the house and do not require further assistance. They're not as scared as you thought they would be.

Once you're at the door, you swallow down, take a deep breath and knock on the wood and wait as a low, creaky groan emits and echoes around the house. You use the time to inspect the door as no minor or detail feature should be left out although all you can see is that the door is rusted and dull. Only the handle shows use as it's smooth and shiny, indicating many hands have touched this doorknob prior.

"Why are you knocking?" Leon asks in a hushed whisper as he peers over your shoulder.

"It's polite," is your reply.

The door opens.

You and Leon exchange a brief glance as it creaks open a small fraction before you push open the door as wide as possible and you shine your torch inside, the light illuminating the dark walls and revealing an empty corridor.

It's silent.

At the very end of the corridor is a lone door.

This particular door is ajar and a thin outline of orange lines the walls indicating the light is on within. You can see shadows flitting around too, giving the false pretence that there are people here.

You are about to step inside further until Leon holds his arm out.

"I'll go in first," he says.

His demeanour has changed from goofy goofball to the serious and brave champion of Galar. You stare in surprise at the sudden change as he passes you, strolling in the house without any tremble in his step, followed by Charizard who is keen to protect his best friend.

You tell him that it's best to retrace your client's steps so your group ventures through the corridor, taking note of the staircase to the right that leads to the second floor before you head towards the door and Leon firmly grasps the awaiting handle and pushes down, opening the door.

You watch as Leon enters the room first with Charizard and you slide inside after him.

It's a room.

You do not see or hear anything out of the ordinary as you glance around; it is nothing but an empty room with peeling wallpaper. There are no furniture, no painting or portrait on the wall, no carpet. There are only two windows in the room, showing the bleary night and trees wavering in the wind outside.

However, you can’t deny that something is off about this room.

The atmosphere is suffocating and you draw in heavy breaths.

”Leon, be careful,” you say, “...there’s something evil here. I can sense it.”

Leon and Charizard continue looking up and around until the drastic drop in room temperatures causes you to grow still, having sensed an ominous presence. Numerous chills run down your spine and as your chest goes stiff and your breath begins to shorten, you slowly avert your focus to one corner.

An old man dressed in dirty rags stands with his back to you, facing the wall.

It's as your client had described.

You grab Leon by the arm and point at the apparition; he's seeing what you're seeing too whilst Charizard is ready to attack.

However, you shout, "Who are you? Reveal yourself!"

Immediately, the room flares into life at your demand.

The old man turns, revealing a disgusting, grotesque and deformed face before a scream erupts into the room and the apparition zooms towards your group.

You gasp as Leon throws himself over you and you're pulled into his thick and sturdy chest and Charizard attacks out of fear. Flames burst forth from his mouth and once the flames die away, the old man is nowhere to be seen though you do hear the little pitter patter of footsteps rushing away.

Whilst Leon clutches you firmly and Charizard pants heavily, you have pinpointed the source of the horrendous screaming, locating it to the top left corner of the room where you see the wavy silhouette of a Misdreavus who quickly disappears into thin air after being spotted as well as a Chandelure that dissolves into the atmosphere.

The screaming stops at once and the lights go off in a split second, bathing everyone in darkness; the only source of light is from Charizard's tail and your torch.

Whilst Charizard huffs, Leon is still holding you tightly.

Strange. Your heart is thudding even harder than before and not from the apparition but rather your close proximity with the Champion... and you're sure he can tell as your chests are pressed together so tightly and your nose is pushed into the soft, downy fabric of his hooded sweater. He smells of musk, fire and earth and his arms are looped around you protectively whilst your fingers curl over his broad shoulders. Your heart gradually races even harder against your ribs when you realise no-one has held you like this before, especially a man.

He swerves his glance down to you. You're not as tall as Leon so when you look up timidly and your eyes meet, you both look away and his grip loosens on you and you're quickly released. He steps away from you, clearing his throat and when you steal a look at him, you see that there is a spray of pink dusting his cheeks.

"W-well, that explains the screaming and the lights," you stutter, trying to calm your racing heart, "I-it's a Misdreavus and a Chandelure."

You do not receive a response; Leon is silent.

".....A-are you okay?" you croak.

"Y-yeah," he finally grunts out, rubbing the back of his neck, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Whoo, sweet mother of Cherrim, that was something, right?" you laugh awkwardly as you stand near each other in the room, "I gotta hand it to you, Leon, y-you must be a...a sociopath or something if that didn't scare you. And a highly-functioning sociopath to be exact."

You wonder if you should've said psychopath instead; no matter, you had meant that in the best way possible but Leon's expression forces you to stop laughing.

"You're okay too," he points out.

"I see these kinds of things often, it is so unoriginal it doesn't scare me anymore," you say as you fold your arms gently behind your back.

"...What kind of things scare you?"

What a funny question to ask, but you suppose you can humour him. "I'll tell you when all of this is over."

"Okay. So, what was that?"

"An illusion," you reply as you take a deep breath. "Allow me to elaborate."

Leon watches as you begin your analysis, stepping around the room.

"I noticed there's no dust here or outside in the corridor. Not a single speck. It's been regularly maintained which tells me this place is important to the occupants. It's their home and it's special to them."

You begin walking around Leon and Charizard, strolling in circles until you nonchalantly step over to where the old man was standing and immediately go on all fours, sniffing the ground whilst Leon and Charizard watch your display with mystified expressions.

"This smell is....Pecha berries," you finish after sniffing the air, before you reach forwards to grab a pluck of rough black fur that is sticking out from one of the gaps of the floorboards.

"Is that from a pokemon?"

"Yep. A Zorua or Zoroark, maybe. They're masters in the art of illusion."

Leon crosses his arms with a smile playing on his lips; he looks impressed with your findings.

You move to stand, dusting your palms again and placing them on your hips, nodding to yourself.

"Mm-hm. That about sums it up. This is it's home and it's not alone. I'm guessing a lot of ghost pokemon live here and maybe even some dark types. They're harmless and I highly doubt there's actually any ghosts here, just pokemon. They probably just enjoy pranking people or scaring people who stumble across here so they're working together to create the ruse of a haunted house and – "

You are interrupted in your explanation when you are violently swept off your feet by an unseen force, your body tossed into the air like a ragdoll and flung against the wall to the far left.

Leon and Charizard rush over immediately as you drop to the floor and roll to your stomach, face-down. "Are you okay?!"

You hiss in pain as Leon helps you up, "Ouch. Uh...yeah, I'm okay. No need to worry, this happens to me a lot too...." you end up croaking out, though you can't help but shiver as soon as the room becomes blanketed with an impermeable darkness that differs from before. It is a darkness which Charizard's lit tail and the light from your torch cannot even penetrate. You add, "Usually in these cases, there are lackeys and the mastermind. In this case, the mastermind is the strongest pokemon here."

Leon looks around cautiously, hoping to catch sight of who or what and Charizard moves to stand in front of the two of you but then you're picked up by the invisible assailant once more, the neck of your coat pulled and tugged and as quickly as you are lifted in the air, you're hastily flung to the other side of the room a second time. On this occasion, Leon grabs onto you by throwing his arms around your waist and you both end up crashing against the wall.

You hear a loud 'crack' and gasp as your pocket radio comes tumbling from your bag and smashes against the floor, having slipped through the opening of your bag which you hadn't zipped up properly.

The radio is broken.

"Shit!" you can't help but curse, "Not again!"

Amused by your anger, the culprit finally reveals itself: a pair of piercing red eyes and a wide, grinning mouth appears in mid-air, snickering sinisterly at your misfortune.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Leon commands, and the flame pokemon obliges, hurtling a huge ball of flame at the pokemon.

The attack misses its target as the pokemon disappears into the darkness for a fraction before it reappears once more. It's murky black and large, with a round body and two stubby arms and legs and spiked head and tail: a Gengar.

For a Gengar, it's bigger than you and Leon had anticipated, compared to the pokedex entries anyway. It's at least the same height as Charizard. It fully manifests before you, rolling around the air with laughter.

"This isn’t funny!" you yell, but it merely sniggers even louder before sticking its long tongue at you and waving its arms together, conjuring a large ball of swirling dark energy which it effortlessly tosses at your group.

Whilst Charizard retaliates with another attack, Leon grabs you and you both go rolling to the side, safe from the attack.

"Thanks, Leon.”

"No problem," he replies as he helps you up. You appreciate how quickly he thinks and reacts to situations like these.

Gengar cackles wildly, holding his tummy as he spins around in the air before his red eyes begin to glow brightly. A ball of white light the size of a golf ball is conjured and with a wave of his finger, he unleashes it towards Charizard's direction, letting it bob along in the air.

It's a Confuse Ray and Charizard dodges though the Confuse Ray chases after him for a moment or so and Leon commands him to use Fire Blast.

Although Gengar is fast enough to evade, Charizard's attack has wide coverage and slams into Gengar in seconds; the ghost pokemon is repelled in mid-air, eyes clenched shut with agony before it ultimately crashes to the floor.

Remembering his promise to you, Leon pulls an empty Ultra Ball out from his pockets.

With expert flair, he twists and turns his body back and executes a perfect throw at Gengar. You can tell from how he threw the ball that he has done this many times and has mastered the technique of ball-throwing and the Ultra Ball smacks Gengar right in the face and the critter is sucked into the capsule in a ball of red light. The ball lands on the floor, rolling.

"That looked painful," you murmur, and Leon grins sheepishly at you.

The capsule wobbles once, twice, then it promptly bursts and Gengar re-emerges. Having evaded capture, the pokemon abruptly sinks into the floorboards and disappears from sight and the room returns to silence.

"Let's go after him," Leon suggests, and you nod in agreement.

Your group leave the room, heading down the corridor and though you thought there was nothing else here, there is actually a small set of stairs that lead to the second floor. It's the only way forwards so you head up where a couple of Litwicks, Lampents, Chandelure and Misdreavus sit or hover on the banister and watch curiously as you make your way up. Each step creaks under your feet loudly and your group reach the landing where another long, foreboding and dark stretch of corridor greets you, lined with numerous doors on either side and a few cupboards.

Whilst you wonder where Gengar could have gone, it's then you hear an unfamiliar voice belonging to a male:

"Gengar, you are hurt. Who did this to you?"

Various chills run down your spine once more.

"Leon, did you hear that?" you whisper.

"Hear what?"

It's close but there are so many rooms. You could try and split up but according to every horror movie you have seen in your lifetime, splitting up is a terrible idea. Thus your group pass each door one by one only to discover they are locked or boarded up which does not surprise you. The Misdreavus and other ghost pokemon begin to follow you around though they are more interested in watching than assisting.

You are almost halfway through the corridor and up ahead, it seems to split into a T shape until Leon informs you he has found something and would like some more light; returning to his side, you shine the torch to where he is gesturing to where you see a Zorua ducking away from sight, hiding under a rickety cupboard. It yelps weakly and Leon approaches it carefully.

"It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you," Leon says as he moves to kneel on one foot in front of it.

The Zorua stares at Leon with its large teal eyes for a few seconds or so until it slowly crawls out. It's been burned. No doubt, from Charizard.

"I think that's the old man," you say, remembering how you found black fur in the room downstairs.

Charizard snorts apologetically in response but Zorua is too weak to react. The Burn Heal comes in handy now as Leon rummages in his backpack to find the item and proceeds to spray it over the singed fur of the weakened pokemon.

"There you go, that should make you feel better," Leon mutters with a warm smile.

He should be surrounded by talking and singing woodland animals, you think to yourself.

You watch the display before the forceful thump of your heart beating against your ribs makes you snap out of your thoughts and you smile awkwardly at Leon as he glances up at you with a heart-wrenching grin. You swallow down the thick lump in your throat as the thrum of your pulse soars to an astronomical rate.

Leon returns to tend to the Zorua with much gentleness and care that would put a well-trained nurse to shame, pulling out some Pecha berries contained in a medium-sized ziplock bag and handing them to the Pokemon. As Leon lowers his hand with the berries in his palm, it lunges for one and gobbles it happily.

"Who's there?"

The disembodied voice draws your attention once more so you continue down the dark corridor on your own, attempting to locate the source whilst Leon tends to the Zorua. You can hear him chuckling as Zorua licks his fingers.

As you search, you eventually narrow the source of the voice to a door up ahead which is open.

It's a master bedroom; there is a king-sized bed that sits in the very middle and a couple of undistinguished furniture covered in white drapes. Resembling the room and corridor downstairs, it is in impeccable condition and you see it is devoid of any individual.

You can still hear Leon and Zorua in the corridor.

Stepping inside, you immediately catch sight of the massive portrait hanging on the wall that portrays a middle-aged man with bushy brown hair and a stout but kind face, dressed in a royal blue waistcoat with brass buttons, matching white pantaloons and riding boots. Beside him, a Ghastly hovers near his arm and a Zoroark stands to his left.

There is a rusted plaque on the bottom that says 'In Loving Memory of'. The rest is too faded; you cannot make out the name.

Although you saw a contorted, twisted-looking old man downstairs, you are certain this man featured in this portrait is the basis for the old man.

"Leon, I found something," you say aloud as you shine the torch up at the portrait though you do not receive a reply, "Leon?"

You stay still, listening.

It's...silent.

You leave the room abruptly and return to the corridor, only to realise that Leon, Charizard and the Zorua are nowhere to be seen. You shine the torch down the corridor and towards the direction of the stairs, the long reach of light touching the walls.

"Leon? Charizard??"

They're gone.

You are on your own.

You begin your search, trekking down the long hallway and returning to where you had found Zorua. There is nothing here, no traces.

They have simply vanished.

There are two doors on your left and right. You try the left door but it's locked so you head for the right, muttering a curse under your breath as you hope they're not playing a horrid prank on you. You do not believe Leon has a mean bone in his body to do such a thing, however.

"I'm too old for this shit," you murmur under your breath.

You remember why you work alone; you're used to investigating terrifying places on your lonesome but since you had arrived with two companions and suddenly having them disappear on you, literally vanishing into thin air, has made you uncomfortable even though it could be Gengar pulling the strings.

"Become a Pokemon Researcher, they said. It'll be fun, they said," you groan with frustration as you try the door only to discover it is also locked, "Gengar, show yourself. I know it's you. What did you do to them?"

A faint, scratching noise grabs your attention and you spin sharply on your heels to the locked door to the left.

"...Gengar?"

The scratching intensifies and you stand in your little spot, waiting with baited breath as the door clicks on its latch and the handle pushes down, the door slowly creaking open, revealing a long and pale hand. Bony fingers begin slinking through the small gap and pushes the door a fraction, followed by a pale white face with sunken black eyes.

You freeze, your blood turning cold.

Not Gengar. Can't be Gengar. Different. This is stronger. Darker.

Your eyes grow wide.

Evil.

You can’t help it; your first instinct is to run which you do. You turn away, heartbeat speeding up, pulse racing, palms growing sweaty. A dull ache makes its presence known in your head and your vision begins to blur, nausea hitting the pit of your gut; however, you force your legs to move and you head down the corridor as quickly as your feet can carry you, your breath shortening as the apparition behind you begins to follow.

Client was right. Not a Pokemon.

You dash into one of the rooms, flinging the door open and rushing in, slamming the door shut. You grab a black marker from your bag and pull off the lid, hastily drawing a protective symbol on the surface before you press your back against the door.

A hushed silence sweeps over which you find calming and you hold your breath, glancing at the room you have holed yourself up in.

It is empty, with no sign of anything or anyone.

Suddenly, there is a violent slam on the door which makes you squeeze your eyes shut as the door begins to shake, the handle rattling furiously. Digging your heels into the ground, you hold the door shut as much as possible, biting down on your lip as the door trembles viciously under the weight of the force outside that is trying to force its way in.

You do everything in your power to hold the door shut, not to let it in, but it's too strong and you believe you will not be able to hold it for much longer and soon the door will give in.

What next? Salt circle, good luck charm, earth crystal, iron??

Those choices seem laughable until you realise you had forgotten one important thing.

The Odd Keystone.

It's then you see a familiar stretch of shadow at your feet and you glance up.

"Gengar?"

He stands near the window, looking at you, then at the door, which thumps and quakes behind your back with tremendous strength.

The pounding on the door continues until one mighty push sends your heels scraping one inch out of your spot and you gasp as you're forced to throw your right shoulder against the wood with your hands splayed over the surface. You attempt to renew your strength, shifting and leaning your entire body weight on your right foot, pushing down and pressing your entire body against the door.

"Gengar, help me! Grab the Odd Keystone from my bag!!" you exclaim, even though it has absolutely no obligation to assist you in any way, "It's uh...it's a brown stone, smooth to touch. You'll know it when you see it!"

Gengar looks at you in mild disbelief before it floats towards you and glances at your bag, then sticks its hands inside and rummages inside before it lifts out the item you had described.

"Yessss, thank you!" you gush, "Put it on the floor in the middle of the room."

He does as he is told, funnily enough, and looks up at you for the next instruction.

"Now I'm gonna let go of this door. Stay away from the stone, okay?"

He nods.

Swallowing the thick lump in your throat, you throw yourself from the door and it slams open.

A cold rush of air bursts in and you close your eyes as you hurriedly chant under your breath, "Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium."

The keystone begins quivering so you continue, a bright light emitting from the fissure.

"Imperet illi deus, supplices deprecamur tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis, satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude.”

It's a mouthful but an ear-splitting shriek tears through the atmosphere when you finish your chant and as you open your eyes, you see a shadow convulsing and writhing furiously in the air as it is enveloped by the bright light. Unable to break free, the light proceeds to drag it towards the keystone though it resists fiercely and attempts to escape. In a matter of seconds, it is promptly sucked into the keystone and the fissure stops glowing, the stone goes limp and slumps to one side and the room returns to darkness.

Gengar stares before it looks at you, confounded.

Your legs are trembling.

It takes a while for you to calm down.

You decide to wait it out for a few seconds or so before you slowly move to stand.

"...It worked."

Gengar looks at you questioningly as you pick up the Odd Keystone off the floor and hold it up to the air and into the moonlight. You give it a little shake and muffled but horrific shrieking can be heard emitting within. Slipping it into your bag and zipping it up properly, you give it a hefty pat.

"Phew, that's another evil spirit for the collection, and all in a night's work too. If I get up to one hundred and eight, I'll have myself a Spiritomb," you add, nodding to yourself. Turning to Gengar, you say, "Thanks for your help."

Gengar's jaw drops slightly as you murmur a quick prayer to purify the room, then you begin to exit and Gengar follows you keenly.

“What’s wrong?” you ask.

He looks at you somewhat wistfully, clasping his hands together.

”...You...want to come with me?”

He nods furiously.

”...Really?” you cannot mask the astonishment in your voice, “...But isn’t this your home? And what about your master? Will the rest of the Pokemon be okay without you? What about Zorua?”

He nods again but slowly slides his glance to the side, then he pushes himself off the ground to float in the air, circling you wildly and throwing several dark energy balls into nothingness.

"Oh...that's...wow, I've never had any pokemon say they want to come with me, t-thanks, I'm...I'm honoured. I know you want to fight evil, but I don't do this often. This is just a one off."

He grins anyway.

"Alright then, you can come with me. Let's go find Leon and Charizard for now."

You close the door behind you with Gengar happily floating by your side and when you turn round, dark shadows pop up in front of you and you yelp and stumble backwards, almost falling onto your rear if he didn't grab your arm in time.

"Hey!! Are you alright??"

The Champion stands before you with Charizard and Zorua.

"Leon!" you exclaim.

Unable to help yourself, you throw your arms around him tightly for you are so relieved to see him, eyes curling with happiness as an overwhelming sensation of solace blooms in your chest. You revel in his warmth and the sound of his beating heart which pace matches yours, relieved to be able to hold onto another living and breathing human being.

Taken aback by your hug, Leon grows still whilst Charizard gawks.

You let go of him when you notice how rigid he has become. You must have made him uncomfortable so you are quick to retreat. "Um, s-sorry. So, uh...Where did you and Charizard run off to?"

"Huh? We were looking all over for you. You disappeared."

"...Sorry."

"Never mind, it's fine, I'm just glad we've found each other again so everything's good," Leon says with a grin before he spots Gengar by your side. "What happened?"

"I'll fill you in," you say with a smile, "Let's get outta here first."

...

[spacegaywritings]

Dark puzzles

I can finally post my gifts! Summary: Virgil visits the dark sides. He finally realised his actions may have been shit. Will they take him back or reject him like he rejected them after leaving? (Dee hisses a lot.) Tags: death/execution/stoning/slaughter mention, serial killer mention, politics implied, mass shooting mention, implied animal cruelty, Remus being fucking Remus and being absolutely odd, sexual innuendo if you wanna read it that way (nothing worse than canon Remus), emetophobia (mention), mentions of skinning, mentions of making out, a bit of crying, non-sexual nudity, mentions of body horror (slight bc Remus), mention of bugs/cockroaches, porn mention, reference to snake anatomy, “platonic safewords”, implied synethesia, mention of depression, ADHD Remus (implied, stimming mention), tentacles but nonsexual (it looks like a lot but is basically just remus being remus)

a3o link here.

My KoFi  - Support me ♥ or Commission me

Story under the cut:

The night struck the seemingly empty apartment. Silence hung in the air, heavy like a loaded truck. The whole place looked much like the rest of Thomas’ home if it was not for the rather dark looks. Some things were laying around carelessly, almost as if dropped right after the moment of use. It was so different from the light side’s space but it was still strangely similar. It was like looking into a mirror but one that twisted things and turned reality into something it was and was not at the same time instead of reflecting it properly.

Roman had explained it quite well when he had tried to explain his relationship to Remus, the other side of creativity. However, it never explained the relationship the dark sides had among one another. Virgil had not once spoken about it and while Deceit had teased the idea of their connection, it remained a mystery. As always, Remus seemed too confusing and changing like the flowing water in a river to actually get information out of him.

All the light sides knew were that Virgil used to be a dark side until Thomas started accepting and including him and even worked to hear him out as much as possible. Deceit was on the way to it but he still had not shared his name. Patton tried his best to pave the way for Thomas to accept him too but now it was their way to try and accommodate someone other than Virgil for once. Thomas knew about how Virgil used to be a dark side and it had prompted him enough to make a start and encourage Deceit to join their VLOG once. Patton did his best to ask the lying side to join their activities and general meetings such as eating together, just hanging out or accompanying Thomas during certain events.

Still, .. Deceit was not all in and neither was Remus. Remus was a lot harder to win over for one of the sides. Thomas had issues accepting the Duke as he was but he made an effort to go slow and ease up into it (which made it somewhat more manageable but it was still work). Logan kept warning him to never overdo it or force himself into acceptance since that would be counterproductive as well.

There was just so much to pay attention to and the light sides as well as the others were just in a myriad of shards, their respective spaces of the mind absolute messes compared to before. It counted for the mind space the light sides were in charge of. The space the others inhabited looked unusually clean for someone like Remus living in that area. Virgil carefully stepped through the dark version of the living room and carefully looked around. Remus’ whole outfit was there. Just dropped right on the spot and there was a banana peel, perked up on the table in all provocation it could come up with.

The anxious side ducked a bit as he let his gaze roam over the floor before him. Having Remus around was a lot since usually, things like Lego stones and similar things were jut laying around. Sometimes they popped out of his body for no reason or literally any reason at all. Magic trick? Sure thing. Oh, rather a random intermission? Right there for ya! Feel like lifting up the mood? Everyone likes Lego. Fucking around with Dee? Pull out the stones and leave them laying around on the floor just for getting on the perfectionist’s nerves.

Alright, sometimes Lego stones were needles, pins or straight up frozen nipples digging into your skin. One could never really know with Remus around. Consistency did not necessarily exist with him, neither did it in this place - probably correlation, as Logan would conclude.

Virgil carefully dipped closer to the kitchen. He could hear the steady flow of water running and the repetitive yet random ticking of the clock. There was no rhythm to the time flowing in here yet at least the sink did the trick of sticking to physics. If he had not gone into this space with a certain determination filling him, he would have been affected by the sound of measured time passing. But he came here for something.

Remus was probably asleep or some shit so he could not fuck around with the laws of nature. Or he just did not feel like it. That was more like it. His moods painted the mindscape and shaped the loose for it usually took.

Dee... Dee was around. He had to be around. Time running wild was his way of insisting that time was just another dumb concept society came up with in order to trap everyone in a certain system and enslave the people according to certain measures as were scales and the BMI or grades. Actually, everything was pure evil in the eye and a half of a frustrated snake.

The once-upon-a-time-dark-side carefully stepped closer, finally having reached over to the kitchen. Anxiety was sitting heavy in his gut. A big, dark pitfall of emotions and dread eating him up form the inside out. It was the pure panic as always. Virgil had always dreaded these moments but with his heart on his tongue at the moment, honesty up his sleeves and pure openness in his eyes, he was scared of bringing his vulnerable state into a conversation with the angry snake. He had all right to be angry. They used to have it all and now, all he had served to split up what they used to be. It was his fault.

The anxious trait took a shake breath and blinked over the snake and took off his big jacket.

“Damien.”

After this, a lot of things happened at the same time and Virgil could do nothing but blink.

Dee immediately spun around, something in his hands and immediately slipping from his exposed fingers. Too slipper to keep up an angry grip on all that was real and all that was a potential reality. Virgil flinched as the plate crashed onto the floor and burst into an uncountable amount of little fragments, only held together by the idea of how this used to be a plate once in a lifetime. Now not Remus painted the space but the white porcelain directed what this place would look like from now on.

The sound had Virgil let go off his jacket and freeze up like a deer in the headlights. Caught off-guard and prepared for nothing ever in his entire life, he inhaled sharply. Dee’s piercing eyes nailed him to the wall he had kept close to. There was no hat, no cape and no gloves either. They were both vulnerable. Equally so. The dark space was a place for them to be who they were at any moment and with any mood they could come up with. They were loosely bound to Thomas’ experience but they were much freer than the light sides. Partly because they were not as involved in his life but also because Thomas did not pull them into question of fulfilling tasks for him in his cognitive processes. He rarely took deception into consideration, neither did he often summon the darker themes of his creativity.

Hence, the sides varied their appearance when not with Thomas. The light sides just did not insist on it too much because they were legitimate parts of Thomas, they both identified as such. It was a mutual relationship. The others were not so lucky. They varied greatly from their origin. When Thomas did not imagine them to be in a certain way, they let their own imagination and potency flow and just existed, sometimes even without corporal form.

Virgil pressed himself against the wall, staring at his ex-friend with a blank expression. Purple panic dripped into his face. The lying side stared back at him. Silence stretched out between them like a lazy cat trying to get a tan.

Dee carefully patted his hands dry, the scaled fingers dancing around the towel and gently gripping it ever so slightly. Virgil wondered whether anyone knew how delicate Damien’s grip could be when he wanted to. No matter the temper tantrums, he had never been a violent or brutal type. He was a delicate touch, a person to stay in your mind for his mind, for his eyes and his arguments that would stick with you even months after your encounter.

“He-hey”, Virgil mumbled. He was speaking through his teeth as he bit down onto his lips and looked at the other. Dee was readily putting his hat and gloves back on as he let the first greeting slide and with a dull snip of his fingers, his cape was back in place.

“Hello, Virgil”

The anxious trait carefully shrug his shoulders and averted his gaze. The floor looked interesting again despite there being no more obstacles to worry about with Deceit working on consistent order and banishing Remus from wrecking havoc outside of his room. It was new.. but it seemed like a change he did not hate. If he was allowed to judge it after all... it did not feel as if he was all too welcome after all. He could not exactly blame Damien for that. Virgil sighed. He had been a bad friend. A truly shitty companion and he got what he deserved when the other’s gaze simply wandered through him as if he was made of glass and anything but his existence was more interesting than him.

“I-I’.. sorry.”

Damien continued looking through him. By now his clothed fingers worked to adjust his bowler head, the coal colour resonating with his aura. Virgil could feel darkness oozing from the other. It was common to be more sensitive to certain influences in this corner of Thomas’ mind but Virgil had forgotten just how intense it was for him to be around the liar, not too far away from the chaotic creativity either. The influence was undeniable and while it could shut up people like Logan, Virgil felt his tongue feel nearly freed.

“Ssssorry?”

The word hit him like a whip and made him jump. It lashed out onto him, revealing wrath and destructive powers while the hiss lingered after him. It was the sneakingly slow threat of a snake. Virgil nodded eager as the word shot into his ears and he carefully rubbed over his exposed arms. It suddenly felt so much colder. He was all exposed on his own, now.

He did not think he could deal with this.

“You are sorry why? Because you interrupted me?”, the words were glowing like the last piece of blaze in a campfire on a trip into the lonely woods. Virgil forced his eyes shut. He should just say it. Just rip it off like a band-aid. That was what he could do, yeah. He should just..just speak up and get it out. He knew he could, it was like saying his name, it was like saying Damien’s name-

“Dee, I -I fucked up!”

He dug his hands into his lower arms as he curled them around himself and pushed his limbs into his lower abdomen. Maybe he was not real, but the panic and the dread was. It was a dark shadow spreading within him and poking him in all the sensitive spots. It rose and spread and stretched all over him like ingested poison travelling through a body.

One of Deceit’s many arms ducked out from under his cape and he handed Virgil a tissue without further comment. All his hands were gloved in yellow. He just rarely used them all at once. When did you ever need six arms? Virgil took the little tissue with care. Warmth spread from one hand to another and he gently padded at his eyes.

The anxious side was obviously working hard to be absolutely in an extreme state of overdrive with his makeup darkening a large part of his face, eyeshadow opaque and thick on his skin. Damien must have realised Virgil would not just come down for nothing and try to force his tears back while talking to him. He might have his feelings about their situation but he was no fool. He could sense a special situation when it was in front of him. Or maybe he just wanted him gone because having him around was possibly bothering. Was it because the triggered memories pained him or simply due to Virgil taking up valuable time and space Dee could put to much better use than interactions with the former dark side.

“Sweetie, what brought you here? Does Patton need anything? Thomas, perhaps?”

He assumed, with mild interest, that someone had sent Virgil down to them because he was very much able to be rather unaffected by the other dark sides. He did feel their influence but it did ultimately not bring out anything excessive within him due to his own history of being one of them. That being the case, it would not corrupt Thomas in any way. Maybe this Virgil was just another of Remus’ experiments to show Deceit that he was, in fact, not over their previous friendship and started intervening with Thomas’ business for more than just benefits but also to show Virgil’s new “friends” that he knew more about him, that he had more power over him after all.

The other carefully shook his head and bit down onto his lip with more force. The snake could see the dark lips paling and caving as small dents appeared in it.

If Virgil could, he would cuddle into the depth of his jacket and curl into the oversized mess that was basically a whole fucking blanket to him. His body was meant to swim in this thing! However, right now he was standing in front of Dee, sweatshirt covering him as much as his bangs and the usual ripped black jeans. All he could do was play with his thin sleeves, pick at them and stare at his fidgeting fingers as he hunched over and shook his head.

If he came down into the comfort of Deceit’s space, then he needed to show he was of good intentions and reveal a bit more of himself that he other side did not quite know enough about. It was like playing poker and he had caught up on when to risk and when to play it safe. He needed to pay a tribute and raise the stakes.

“No, nobody sent me.”

He straightened his back, the curve around his shoulders disappearing and instead his body rose into a more straight-up position. His body was slightly hover over Damien. The lying side was slightly shorter and the tip of his head reaches about Virgil’s nose. Actually, he was not just smaller than Virgil but all in all, the shortest of the sides who have openly interacted with Thomas so far. Funnily enough, Remus was the tallest and nobody ever talked about it because everyone could just manipulate their heights anyway (given Thomas did not actively imagine them in a certain way).

“I sent myself”, he said with a shrug, eyes still darting into any direction but Damien’s piercing gaze, “I wanted to come.”

The shorter side shifted but stayed in place. Upon clearing his throat, he prompted his ex-friend again. Even the thought of the prefix to this term hurt.

“Oh, Virgil. Did Patton finally give up on you?”

Something sparkled in the other’s face and his cheeks pushed themselves upwards in circular-shaped hills of laughter.

“Did your happy friends finally get enough of you sso now you come crawling back to me because you are sscared to be alone. Because you refussse to be the only bad guy, sszweetie?”

His words rolled off his lavish tongue, heavy and sweet like honey but they were spice to his open wounds. The more he talked, the more hot and hurtful energy they seemed to charge. The boiling hiss shot its explosive load right at Virgil. It felt like Romans’ sword practice with the Dragon Queen had to feel for the latter party. They were directed at Virgil’s heart and thrusted right into it. At least Anxiety was more than ready for Deceit’s lies and attempts at hurting him in return for having been hurt before by his all he had done.

God, how could he ever have done that. He really fucking deserved and that just made it worse for him to cope with this. It was a last straw but it was all he could focus in when he felt panic creep into his system like the despicable hoard of cockroaches everyone tried to keep locked away.

“Inktea”

Damien blinked. For a moment, the force of his presence seemed to distance itself a bit It let Virgil breathe just a tad better.

“Pardon me?”

Without any other moment passing, the kitchen lights flickered and a rather happy yet naturally clothed Remus appeared in the room. Which was nothing but a euphemism for Remus being in all the glory of how nature had made him. ...Or Thomas, actually.

“You summoned me?”

His voice scratched over the kitchen surfaces and made the snake man groan in response. The room was immediately filled with the gradually intensifying reek of ivy and something unidentifiable. It smelled familiarly unpleasant but at the same time, it was a somewhat oddly comforting smell. Like one of those things that smelled bad but still made one smell them again because they were actually not that bad but kinda got one all hooked up but were ...reek after all.

Still, there was not a single moment in life during which Virgil was more relieved (or positively feeling at all) about the Duke being finally a part of the gathering. Especially considering the man did not even have the decency to cover his personal parts.

“Nobody ssssummoned you”, he hissed back at the other and picked up Virgil’s jacket with one of his many hands. “And Virgil isss on hiss way out!”

The Duke let out a cartoon-like huff. His voice was comically shrill and annoying. It was so high-pitched, it made Damien wonder just how the fuck this man was a part of Thomas after all. Then again, they were all differing to certain degrees for more than just good reasons. It did nothing to help anyone over the fact that a loud and intense contribution from Remus had the capacity to hurt ears.

“Eh- sounds like bullshit to me, Virgil called the safeword on us. I am here. The rules said for me to join if I can and I can. And you made the rules so fuck you, Dee. And you know I gladly will!”

While Remus’ voice made a leap from strong and confident, the good impression immediately yielded to yet another drop into the scratchy sound of his voice. And the even more horrible imagery to come with his words. Dee blinked in reply at the statement.

“He wh-”

Remus turned to look at Virgil, his eyes widening in his calm chaos.

“Emo!”, he cheered and spread his arms, approaching the unusually exposed figure, “you came back!”

Virgil let out a protesting sound and shoved the tall man away by his chest, his nose scrunching up just enough for it to show a difference on his facial features as they pulled into a little wrinkles for a moment just short enough for someone to notice.

“Yeah, still don’t like hugs, eh.”

Virgil threw the Chaos Creativity a look. Remus squeaked in delight like an excited puppy.

“Also you are kinda naked, dude. Not my comfort.”

Remus tilted his head, wide shockingly open eyes staring into the void that was Virgil before him.

“Oh. That sounds like a YOU problem, tho!”

Virgil squeaked and shook his head as Remus made a dove for him, trying to catch him in his hug but the usually rather lethargic man was quick to dodge and flee himself next to Damien instead who just eyes the two as if he was staring at a camera in The Office. Honestly, at this point, he might have just been in this show, considering how everyone around him behaved so ridiculously.

“Stop it, you two”

His voice interjected as Remus arched his back and ... uh,, kinda hissed like a cat in an attempt to mimic a war screech and be somewhat intimidating. At least that it what it seemed to be like when Virgil jumped away like chased prey getting trapped and Remus just got ready to drop down and jump after him. It was a lot like dog and cat since Virgil was such a little shit after all. It was almost like old times.

Deceit’s six arms jumped out and grabbed the two before they could run through the whole mindspace and ruin the whole order he had just established. (With Remus around, the whole place was just a second away from burning down or spontaneously combustion but..well, the short side somewhat decided to bother enough to care about any of this.)

“You sssit down. And we will talk about this. You do not get to walk out of our livess and just pop back in and play with Remus like he iss your best friend when you left without a word. He may have the attention span of a dying mayfly but you don’t get to jussst barge in here like that. Not on my watch.”

Virgil could nearly hear a pun in his ears, Patton’s cheerful voice and little giggle ringing in his memory with a hint of nostalgia to it. Something on his face must have given away enough of his mental images for Damian to let go and look him over for a minute.

“Nobody is forcing you. You can go. You can always walk out of here. I will not stop you and I will make sure Remus won’t either, sweetie.”

A little bit of soft sparked in Dee and for a moment, the reek from Remus was not as bad. For a moment, the past never happened and they were just .. friends.. like they used to be before Thomas had decided to change something about himself. Light blinked in Virgil’s heart. For just a moment. And there was warmth between them

“...okay.”

Remus whistled and gave the two a smirk. A seemingly knowing one. His eyes were reading books and porn at the same time as they reflected the couple before him.

“You two need to get a room”

And then, without another prompt.

“Are kitchens rooms? Kitchens are rooms but do not count as rooms. Such horrible thing! In rooms you do private things like slaughtering your pet and now you do not have any privacy in the kitchen? Did slaughter become a social event?”

Virgil blinked at him. Kinda.. Kinda did not miss that part of the dark sides.. not really. He sighed in vain. Remus continued on.

“Now, consider. Beheadings were public and so was the execution by guillotine and then there was also the case of stoning people - well actually that is still a thing! And also, there are bull fights and the media feasting on mass shootings anD-”

With a snap of Dee’s fingers, the kitchen was gone and the chaotic Creativity fell onto a leathery couch. Plain. Black. Remus sighed- possibly in distaste. The side felt insulted by how simple everything around here seemed to be. Damien was like the Logic of the dark sides. Boring (to put it maliciously) and simple and Remus had his thoughts on the lying short stack but he also has his thoughts on the lack of blood and man-eating jelly plants around here. It was shocking to say at least but well, it was not his fault the lying side decided to live without the true beauty of a precious life dedicated to creativity.

Virgil was seated next to Remus, rather unceremoniously falling into his corner of the couch and scrambling to shift into a more comfortable position on the icky feelings below him. He retreated his arms into his sleeves and let his palms push down onto his knees. Leather was so cold and stiff and - A shiver ran down his spine and he visibly shook. Just the thought of how much he disliked the feeling of it made him feel worse about where he was sitting

“Wait, I can dress up for you! I will make it super hot, tho!”

Remus shot up before Deceit could stop him and the Duke was gone for but a moment just to freshly pop up in an actual dress. It was short, barely covering his fine ass that Thomas had worked on so well. The long legs were covered in fishnets -probably made from actual fishnets he used to catch some octopus friends because why not. There was no reason to what he did, just ‘mood’ as Virgil would say and a sense of curiosity that Logan would envy to have. The black of his dress was slightly floating but it was rather simple compared to Remus' usual attire (given he was clothed at all). The front has strings to tie him into the dress and adjust his slightly bulky figure. He was a bit broader than Thomas but the dress easily reached up to the middle of his upper arms and concealed his inviting shoulders. Some intricate green ornaments decorated the part of the dress that could be tied together flexibly. The strings were silver, slightly sparkling and looking about as strangely fitting as the skunk streak in the garbage man's nest of a hair. The dress hugged Remus' body shape in all places, adjusting to his form like an actual birth suit.

Remus flopped down again and sprawled over the couch, excitement glimmering in his eyes like dreams and hopes of children a moment before it was time to receive gifts on the holy night. He really reminded Damien of a of a dog. It made him wonder how Patton had not tried adopting him yet but that was another part of hypocrisy he did not have the nerve to think about at the moment.

“uh... thanks, Ree”, he mumbled in reply and the dark creativity sniffed the little sounds the other made like expensive perfume gracing his nostrils. His head inched closer but Virgil did not make any inclination to meet him.

Damien was standing before them, his stance implying that he did not plan on joining them on the couch but instead stare into them. He cleared his throat.

“Yes, Double D?”

Ah. How original. Virgil giggled and Remus looked as if he would spontaneously hyperventilate if Virgil did any other thing around him, willingly, without even gaining a bit of dark eyeshadow. Dee blinked, unamused.

“You used the word, darling. Why are you here and why are you saying these things?”

The snake man let his eyes gaze at the puddle of black and purple once more, a clear sigh provided despite Remus’ clear intention to leap onto the ...the intruder. Deceit could not even think about how he felt about this but it was a strong sensation within him, from as far as he could tell. It felt as if he was about to split from his own existence or immediately vomit his guts out. ... difficult to describe but something within him felt sick, as if he had ingested poison he could not quite handle. It was something he rarely ever handled..

The bitter taste of the unwanted truth. A product by cold reality.

Virgil scratched the back of his head and carefully drew his legs closer to himself.

“Uh... I.. I thought it all over and.. I -I am sorry, okay? I fucked up, messed it all up big time and I get it. I..um did a lot of stupid shit and I regret it but I thought this was different.”

The anxious trait sighed and played with his sleeves, pulling at them a tearing at the ends of them.

“I thought.. I thought we were all bad for Thomas and then I tried to not be bad but you all still were and I really believed that we actually harmed him before and that you wanted to bring him down... when I am the only who really did.”

Dee blinked at the speaking person.

“I made a mistake and I.. I am sorry.”

Virgil shrugged and brushed through his bangs, the hazel strands falling through his fingers with ease.

“I should have talked to you or something”, he started and let out a heavy sigh, “literally anything rather than just fucking off like the coward I am. Uh, anxiety things I guess. Fight or flight and all..”

The man in question shrugged and Remus let out a little squeak in response. It reminded him of an aroused pig but with Remus, nobody could really tell with confidence. It was just assumptions and educated guesses.. or literally any random suggestions which are probably more likely to hit the spot than any logical deduction could ever get to.

Dee looked between Remus and Virgil for a moment. He could not feel the anxious trait lying at all. Usually he would feel a contradiction in himself, in the world itself. The liar would see the lie in the words, he would see the letters break and fall apart because they had no ground to stand on. There was no truth to build up on that that could keep the words together.

“Really, you get anxious?”, Remus piped up with his voice ending on a slightly increased volume in all the seriousness his chaotic mind could come up with. Virgil simply glared at him before rolling his eyes so hard, it looked as if they might as well just pop out and leave his face forever. Remus briefly wondered whether he could kinda suck on them but that would probably be a bit too close for the purple man.

“Yeah, no fucking shit, Sherlock. I AM Anxiety. I gotta do my job at least somehow.”

Remus snickered and stuck his tongue out at the other without further comments. Damien let out a little sigh and rubbed his temples. No word in the English language had the capacity to describe the emotional state he was in at this moment. It was a lot, akin to taking one of these depression showers after a big and greasy depression nap. When feeling better yet still bad, the feeling of comfort and ugliness clashed together in this weird mix. And at the end of all, there was Dee. Washed with the waters of truth and refreshed with new information and feelings but he was but a clean slate, a tabula rasa and absolutely void of experience to deal with this.

He knew how to handle Virgil before he left, he knew how to handle Remus before Virgil had left. Deceit used to have it all under control and now it was coming back but it was not quite the same.

“Virgil, let me be clear here”, he started eventually.

His voice was settled, sedated like a tired dinner in among loving family with young children.

“I am sorry, too.”

The anxious side blinked rapidly, jaw falling open just a tad for Dee to acknowledge it with a little nod and even a smile.

“Yes, I know.”

He shook his head.

“We all made mistakes, sweetheart. We made the mistakes to tale Thomas’ changes personal.”

For once, not a single lie or condescension weighed the value of his words down. The truth liberated his sentence and let the sounds of his verbalisations fly through the air like a happy bird baby that had finally learned how to navigate through the air and raise up into the sky.

Dee sighed and made a somewhat swipe-like gesture with his gloved fingers. Virgil shoved himself into the middle of the couch and Remus immediately retreated his legs to himself for his favourite emo to have some space next to him. Remus let out another squeal and started bouncing a little, his body trembling like some strange sea monster in the middle of the ocean that only moved for the sake of shaking the water and causing some waves.

Again, Remus was simply a fucked over yet absolutely endearing dog. Loyal, excited.

“Hug?!” Remus blinked. Somehow, his bouncing got more intense.. The fabric of his dress was slightly shifting here and there, his body budging along with him but his butt was mostly staying on the couch rather than wobbling up and down like the odd jell-o creature he made himself out to be.

This man was going to explode if he did not get to stim or at least have someone to be squished within the death grip of his arms. The touch-starved eyes glances over Virgil again and then continued on, eventually locking with Dee’s wondrous eyes.

“Still don’t like touches, Ree”

Virgil tried a soft smile in reply only to be countered with a scoff from behind him. He turned around, meeting Deceit’s intense glare as he shook his head slowly. His tongue clicked a few times for added suspense and the extra effect of scolding a kid.

“Virgil, I told you before. It takes a liar, to know a liar. You don’t need to save face here.”

The addressed man shook his head, heat rising to his face and painting red over his cheeks. His chest burned like hay.

“I-I am not lying! I told you before, I meant all I said, I-”

“Shhht”

Dee pressed a clothed finger to Virgil’s lips and winked.

“Sometimes, you need to be quiet, my little raccoon. You know as much as I do that there is touch you would never say no to.”

Damien’s voice dropped low, travelling over his skin and leaving imprints in the form of goosebumps all over his body as his words made their way over to Virgil.

“Darling, you and I both know that you enjoy touch if it is just the right one. Now, what is the matter? Do you have a problem with the touches Remus would give you? He is not Patton.”

Virgil curled up on himself and shook his head violently, gently hugging his legs and hiding in them. His sweatshirt was far from enough at this point. His skin screamed for more to cover him in these trying times of social interaction. Being put on the spot was an especially extreme case of socialising. At the same time, his body did not even burn enough to challenge whatever he felt whenever he was around Roman or Patton a lot. Logan was not even a person to throw him off.

“I-”

Remus already charged at him and rolled his heavy body onto Virgil’s in a sudden movement. Squeals and little squeaks accompanied his sudden leap and he threw his arms around Virgil to engulf his friend in the fluffy trap of his physical love. A muffled sound came from the emo but he finally wrapped his arms around the other and let his head be tucked under Remus’ chin and mumbled some words of little meaning.

Dee watched the scene for a moment, a warmth blooming within him, unfolding and spreading until he actually felt a warm sensation tug at him. Remus.

The chaotic trash master carefully pulled at him. His movements were soft and repetitive so he would not rip the other’s clothing yet still get his attention easily. Once his focus was acquired, the lying side did not wait for Remus to ask him again and he leaned in, his chest soft pressing against Virgil’s slightly bigger body. His muscles were tangible from under thin sweatshirt he was wearing after he had taken off his clothing as special sign of vulnerability.

Nobody made him regret it. Not a single act or word had given Virgil just enough of a shock to summon his clothing back around his body or transfer his body back into his room, into the safety he desired and required when he pressed the panic button of this last-minute appearance in his own four walls.

The three remained in the soft comfort of one another for several moment. Just breathing in the weird mixture of Virgil’s rather decent yet rather sweet smell, Dee’s scent that reminded everyone of nature and then there was the weird, oddly slimy and sticky smell of saltiness that emanated off the Duke. It also reminded him of ivy but that was covered by Deceit as well. Whatever it was, it felt like the weirdest yet somewhat greatest mix to ever exist. It was like chocolate and mint. It was weird but at the same time still tasty. To some people at least. For some reason, it was actually a real treat during winter time. Like pumpkin being an autumn thing, mint and cinnamon were the spices and scents of the cooler months in a year.

“How was that again?”, Dee teased softly, “ ‘don’t hug me, I’m scared’, isn’t that right?”

A low grumble could be heard from the violet spider in Dee’s many arms and Ree’s long limbs.

“Aw, come on, Virgil. Don’t be like that. I just want you to be honest with yourself. Who knows who long you will let me around this time.”

A growl could be heard but this time it came from the taller of the three.

“Deeeeeeeeeeee” The scratchy whine reached a nasty level. “Don’t be meaaaaaan! He used the word for stopping and we are stopping! It is the rules! You made the rules and you have to play by the rules or you are a bad person to play with!”

Remus retreated to his corner of the couch again, slightly tugging at Virgil but ultimately leaving him in the centre. The snake man looked back at the dark Creativity and nodded.

“It had been so long anyone ever used the word, I nearly forgot. Oh honey, even before you left, you were the only one to really make use of the word.”

Virgil brushed through his precious bangs once more as if to brush off the sudden sweetness in Dee’s voice and the space he had gained despite Remus’ obvious desire for more affection and proximity.

“You kinda made that word a thing so I could clock out whenever you guys got too far with me. No wonder I am the only one to use this shit.”

Damien rolled his eyes playfully. He then allowed the others back into the hug and the pouting tentacle man was quick to squish their dark friend between him and the snake. Deceit’s body fit right together with Remus and Virgil, their position natural, almost necessary between them. Their existence was linked together. They were hooks - all attached to one another and difficult to get apart, even when trying a lot. It did obviously not really work out even now. They were just “simply meant to be”, as Roman would probably sing for them.

Remus carefully nuzzled Virgil’s neck and sent tickles and shivers down the other’s body.

“HEY!”

Virgil pushed his body as far away from Remus as he could. By far, a harsh activity to submit himself to, seeing that he was sandwiched between the two dark sides in a rather close hug. All he did was essentially drive himself into Damien’s many arms. Once he was pressed against Deceit, he looked at the Duke, lips pushed into a pout and head ducked like a cautious kitten.

And then he let out the most slurred excuse of a hiss one had ever heard in the history of human life. That man was threatening no one but children with a lisp who feared the idea of being put on the spot when working out their little speech impediment whenever they heard a faulty ‘s’ around them.

Remus giggled. Oh he giggled like a crazy maniac when he got started. The sounds quickly shot into a pitch so high, his voice doubled down on taking it further yet basically cracked and came out in nothing but squeaks that resembled the level of intrusion from a door creaking whenever someone as much as just looked at them. He pounced onto the emo again and hugged Damien and Virgil with his immensely long arms and inhumane power to just squish the two smaller sides together.

“Remus- What the actual hell”

Deceit’s words were met with no verbal answer. Instead, he was allowed to witness Remus being himself in all his shameless glory. A purr could be heard as the predator stuck his face close to Virgil’s neck much to the other’s dismay (which he voiced in several moments of squeaking out ‘no’ and hiding his head away in Dee’s cape).

And then. I t. happened.

Remus had gotten close enough to not just nuzzle Virgil again - which he did not, for that matter - but instead lick him all over his neck and make the light side freeze in motion and immediately fall silent.

“Mine.”

“Remus you sick fuck, howmst the fuck darest thou”

Virgil glared at the man. There was no fire in his eyes. Actually, he was even smiling while trying to rub the saliva off his neck, using the sleeve of his trusty sweatshirt. Remus had already pulled back in order to look at Virgil, a lazy grin spreading over his lips as they broadened.

“I think we need to claim Dee, so he is all ours only~ Care to give me a hand?”

Anxiety’s face reflected Remus’ own smirk all of a sudden. A true mirror at hand and without another blink of an eye, the two strove forward to launch themselves at Dee. However, the lying side was quick to jump out of reach and off the couch. Within a heartbeat, he was gone and quickly made a run for the hallway - all but in reach of the two dorks who wanted to wet his cheeks and claim him for some stupid reasons they made up in their tiny pea brains!

He dashed away, casting abandonment on the others as he sprinted forward. Heads clashed together and Remus jumped down to follow the lead of their prey while Virgil rubbed his forehead. A small yet visible patch of red started fading onto his pale skin and he could feel his head aching and wounded place throbbing uncomfortably.

They were mental projections of Thomas’ personality but if they could be hurt and get emotional, they might experience physical pain, temporarily. This one counted as one of these moments in which he felt actual agony and it was not over one of Logan’s issues with taking proverbs literal or Patton making puns or, behold, Roman serenading all his activities and generally breaking into songs at any given moment. ... they all had issues, and sometimes they were a lot, okay?

“Stay away from me!”

Remus screeched in laughter while Dee ran back to the kitchen, his hat flying due to the speed of his attempt at a dramatic escape as fast as possible from these lovable idiots.

“Don’t dare the Dukey ~”

Damien jumped out of reach once more but the kitchen had been the closest choice and then again just a dead end. He was trapped. Virgil was finally back on board and trailed after the others with sneaky, fast-paced steps. His movements echoed through the hall and let the yellow man narrow his eyes at the entrance to the kitchen. Shreds of white were flying across the floor as Deceit’s hurrying feet kicked them around.  

It was coming.

“Raccoon! Come over here~ Our friendo needs help with our affection”

Dee was glaring at the other.

“Keep your filthy tongues away, you heathens. I. dare. You.”

The Duke was suddenly silent and still and Virgil nudged him in the side as soon as he reached up to him. He was not that fast compared to the other sides.

“Yo snake, come on”

He did not budge.

“Talking about snakes, do you want to know what is up my butt th-”

“I can tell you for sure that nobody wants to know this right now, Ree”

The chaotic man snickered briefly, the sound resembling a shadow sneakily crawling away from its owner and moving on its own.

“Does this mean we can come back to this at another time?”

Virgil glared at him for a moment, scoffing but not minding the comment with any more words. Unbeknownst to him, Remus was using his Remusness for exactly this special time and promptly scooped up the trophy that was the lying side. During the whole exchange, he had used his tentacles to strive forward and reach for the man in cape and more. He was quick to work these things off so he could see the other in his usual attire again, the clothes he allowed himself to wear around The Others.

He was comfortable with them. The man dared to reveal himself when the was in the darker spaces of Thomas’ mind. Whenever he visited the light sides, he was notorious to cover up. Every patch of skin he could alienate from the original Thomas was to be hidden away. He was not him.

By now, he had to worry about several other things than just wearing clothing or losing his cape and glove to the tentacles. His tired glare merely graced over Remus. Deceit actually looked like a guys who has had his fair share of dealing with kindergarten children all day long, five days a fucking week for the rest of his time until fucking retirement.

“Do you feel better now that you removed my gloves, honey?”

Remus eagerly nodded at the man and his question. His voice dropped down into the usual tone he used to talk around the light sides, the sneaky sound of evading a straightforward answer.

“Now we can love you!”

Virgil shrugged, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Yeah, dude, you gotta stay with us so we can, like, be nice or whatever.”

Dee dropped his shoulders and his usually upright position reverted to a slight slouch. Instead of a proud position, there was a comfort rather than the attempt at ascertaining dominance as he did in court. There was no need to do this here, not around his dear ones. Not around the people he could trust with his life.

“Only if you stay”, he whispered. His voice was a needle dropped in absolute silence.

“At least come around a lot, just come over some time.”

The vigilant side looked up at him and carefully inched closer until they were close enough to hug. Remus quickly moved over to join the hug, drawing the two slightly smaller sides to his warm chest. His tentacles, with the life of their own, slowly retreated. They had some clothes to chew on for now. Their transluscent green forms gradually inched away from the deceptive side and left the three have their moment of intimacy over their reunion.

“Now, Now, Snake Whisperer, Virgin. We will always stay together. I can glue us together if that helps you-”

He gently nudged him, making the classic man sniffled.

“I’m .. I am not able to just come back but I can drop in as much as Thomas’ mind lets me. I will stay around for as long as I physically and mentally am able to manage.” Virgil took a deep breath and wiped at the salty liquids that formed in his heterochromatic eyes, the precious gems of different colours and wild secrets. They held all that Thomas knew and repressed, it was all the knowledge about lying and certain obstacles in life.

“If you leave, I might skin you”

Virgil giggled.

“Please don’t say that”

“Please don’t leave”

“Please, shut up, you two.”

They all chuckled and Virgil pressed a kiss to Dee’s cheek while Remus leaned in to push his tongue against the other’s scales.

“Mine!”

Deceit snorted.

“You are such a fucking mess.”

Remus kissed the top of his head and gently tugged him and Virgil closer once more. As they should be. This was where they belonged. They were the dark sides and they were the ones who would always stick together. Virgil may be a light side or not, they belonged together and with him around, they could finally complete their own puzzle. They had the little piece that made them whole and filled the void the other had left after his transition to the light sides (due to Thomas’ change in cognition and attitude).

“My room. I mean.. you are not really affected a lot by my room since I, uh... relocated it to the other side and all. I mean, like, you know. That is okay for you? Is it?”

Deceit nodded and the Duke simply wiggled his eyebrows at the suggestion.

“Can I visit Thomas? OW”

The snakey snake retreated and straightened out the wrinkles in his clothing that came from the little struggle they had together. His hand reached over to the wet spot on his cheek and he wiped over it before washing his hands under the sink.

“Disgusting.”

Another sound of giggles erupted from the creative side while he held his Virgil. Soon after, he could draw Damien back into their little cuddle pile. Deceit was the shortest side along with Roman but he was still a powerful and proud man. He had the power to pinch a man and evoke pain if he wanted to!

“Aw okay, then maybe we will just go to Virgil’s room already and stay there and then we can cuddle and finally get to make the fuck out! I wanna taste some tongues!”

Virgil let out a prominent noise that resembled a big old ‘blergh’ but he threw himself into the others and let them appear in his room. Their bodies crashed into his bed and foreheads bumped together as they embraced one another and giggled.

Sounds were swallowed and Remus’ idea was taken more serious than anyone would ever admit to one another or the sides outside of this room. Giggles drowned in the joy of feeling and tasting one another. Feelings sparked in colourful fireworks and there were smiles colouring their faces that could not and would not be wiped away.

Finally, all pieces were back together.

[simmeredsalmon]

idk if requests are /officially/ open, but could i request sanemi blurb w some fluff. i love this babe so much istg-

they’re definitely open, thanks so much for the req!! i went hard on this one but that’s only because sanemi loves you so much…

As the Star Pillar, there’s no dismissing your strength—or the imposing presence you give off. Affable and charming, you’re adored by your peers (but perhaps the lower rankings more so).

But everyone easily agrees that Sanemi is attached to you the most. Even if he doesn’t always outwardly display his affections, it’s lucid he’s fond of you; especially when he shares portions of ohagi with a neutral expression or chases after you when you’re injured to confirm for himself that you’re alright.

Yet Sanemi never could pinpoint whether these ‘secret’ feelings he harbored were reciprocated or not, but a twinge of hope flourished in his chest when you asked, “Sanemi-san, if you’re willing… would you like to accompany me to a festival in my hometown? I already got permission from Oyakata-sama for my absence, as well as yours!”

Sanemi could clearly see the wishful hues swimming in your eyes, and he only truly accepted after reaffirming his prefecture was well taken care of and that you’d both be alerted immediately of trouble. When Sanemi told you he’d be coming along, he swore he never seen your face lit up as much as then.

It was thrilling to visit your roots; also exulting as you didn’t ask anyone but him to take part with you.

On the way there, Sanemi questioned you about your hometown and the traditions of the festival. Of course he was only met with aloof remarks about ‘waiting until you got there’.

When you arrived, your family ecstatically welcomed you, proclaiming they were worried you weren’t going to make it!

“Oh, is this Shinazugawa-sama? We’ve heard so much about you in her letters!” your mother gushed, giving him a bow. “We’re [first name]’s parents.“

“Letters?” Sanemi iterates, turning his head towards you for clarification.

Your complexion flushes and you’re visibly flustered, having assumed he’d have of skipped over that tidbit of information. “N-Never mind that! Where’s my sister?”

And that’s also how he learned you had a little sister, around Genya’s age, too. You had kept that aspect similarly hidden, but for differing reasons.

Your hometown was lavished with history of night-related worship; believing in the primordial god of darkness—which, at first glance, seemed out-of-place.

“After my childhood friend died, I realized that I wanted to take the night back from demons. Nighttime is my origin, my family’s; I don’t want anyone wrongfully stealing that anymore,” you explained softly, scrutinizing how Sanemi soaked in your words. “But I didn’t bring you along to only talk about that. I’m also this town’s priestess, so I wanted you to see me in action… a different way than normally.”

Traditionally, your town held a festival that started at sunset and climaxed at midnight. The activities continued until sunrise, but the main event of a dance began at exactly midnight. Usually, the priestess would be the one to dance… but you wanted to give that gift to your little sister who loved dancing. Rather, you’d participate in the musical aspect on the flute.

Sanemi couldn’t disprove the appreciation he felt at your sacrifice of customs (which were, clearly, important to you) for your younger sister.

“Come, Sanemi-san, I’ll show you to my home. We’ve prepared an outfit befitting the festivities for you.” And Sanemi went along, gazing at the ornate decorations beginning to adorn your quaint town until he reached your abode.

After he got changed, Sanemi simply waited for you to be finished as well. And, well, when you ambled out… he was immediately enraptured. Bewitching was surely an understatement, with how your hair was done-up and how the equally resplendent kimono tautly fitted your form.

With a pensive note in his voice, Sanemi praised you, “You look beautiful, [last name].”

“Oh my, should you be saying that about a priestess?” you teased lightly, before adding on, “Thank you, Sanemi-san. I don’t want to be treated like one by you, really.”

Your vague words left room for interpretation, but before Sanemi could press further, your parents came inside to beckon you both out onto the streets to enjoy the festival.

As you left your home, the skeins of sunset illuminated every crevice in gorgeous color; evoking a nostalgic and captivating feeling.

When you twined your arm around Sanemi’s, he almost froze. He wasn’t expecting you, someone who just joked about their status in the town, to unabashedly link arms. He wasn’t complaining, mind you.

You blithely guided him around, the gentle and pale lights from lanterns growing more and more prominent as time passed.

The two of you often got questionable remarks on marriage, the folks who watched you grow up surprised at your authority with a man, and whenever you found yourself overheating from it all, you’d suddenly suggest a trip to gather shaved ice.

“Again? Are you sure you’re not getting a fever?” Sanemi naively (or so you thought) asked, although he was somehow still willing to eat his third helping of strawberry-flavored ice.

Delicately situating yourself on a bench, while patting the seat beside you, you helplessly shovelled a spoonful into your mouth. Your one inelegant habit was your pleasure for anything sweet, and you could become greedy with it.

But that was also something Sanemi found endearing. If there’s anything he made note of tonight, it was that you were comfortable with him—you didn’t feel judged, hence why you were able to shamelessly eat.

“Is a priestess suppose to get married before a certain age?” He nonchalantly brought the topic up, having grown weary of the incessant comments from everyone.

You shook your head. “Not necessarily. The title is more relaxed than that since I’m mostly in-charge of looking after the well-being of dreams, I suppose. Repelling bad energy so that everyone can achieve what they want… or sleep peacefully during the day. It’s truly a system that originates purely from my ancestors.”

“What about you? Who helps you with your dreams?” Sanemi’s question almost sounded silly, but it wasn’t. He knew you alone were in charge of that… yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that you were also subtly hinting at him.

There was a short moment of silence, before you pursed your lips together and shyly said, “You?”

“Answering a question with a question is unbecoming of a priestess,” Sanemi smoothly declared, his heartrate bursting. “And that’s why everyone’s bugging you? Because you want to marry me?”

“E-Eh? Where did you get marriage from what I said, may I ask?!” you stammered out, flummox and embarrassment melding together within your chest.

“I originally asked about marriage, dummy.” Sanemi tricked you, didn’t he?

Bringing a hand to your cheek, praying the frigidity of holding a cold cup would cling to your fingertips and alleviate the warmth, you confessed, “I have talked about you in my letters back home, but never did I mention marrying you.”

You thought you weren’t being obvious, but you were. In how your overall posture exuded yearning and bashfulness, it was pretty clear to him that you didn’t view him as only a fellow Pillar. That’s what his instincts were telling him, and he wasn’t wrong more times than right.

“Would you marry me?”

The question made your heart palpitate, the white-hot sensation following your leaping heart suffused through you so quickly it almost made your head spin. “In a hypothetical situation where you would have me, I would,” you admitted as boldly as you could.

Sanemi made you so comfortable that the grace embedded so deeply in you felt fleeting.

With red dotting the outlines of his cheeks, Sanemi brought his hand forward and placed it over your own. “I’ll help you with all your dreams than. None of this hypothetical bullshit, I will.”

Incapable of suppressing your smile, you coyly locked your fingers between his; adoring the scars and callouses rubbing against your skin in the process. “It’s a promise. If you break it, I’ll use my priestess powers to curse you!”

“Oh, shut up! You said it yourself you didn’t want to be treated that way by me,” Sanemi retorted, his lips kissing the corner of your mouth. The hot breaths emitted from his parted lips fanned across your lips shortly, but he pulled away—still as serious as he was before. “But I’ll accept any curse. As long as you don’t leave my side.”

[fyeah-redvelvet]

[TRANS] Allure July Issue - Seulgi

What do you think about the most these days? Our album; I think about how busy I’ll be soon. How will this year pass with meeting our fans and promoting? However, I still want to have freedom and enjoy small happiness, how can I do that? Things like that.

Seulgi’s ‘small happiness’... What does it consist of? Coming home after finishing a schedule and watching a movie, eating tasty food, meeting my friends when I get the time. Nothing big, just small things in my daily life. These days I’m into ‘escape rooms’. Whenever I had time, I went with Wendy, and we’ve completed three so far. It was so hard that we used all the hints that we had to complete it, but for a moment after cracking it, I feel like a genius. Next time, we’re going to try a higher level room. 

What do you think of when people say ‘summer is Red Velvet’?  We’ve started looking forward to summer ourselves. What song will we practice this time? What side of us will we show? So I end up anticipating summer with our fans. 

Your performances also gather anticipation. How would you describe your choreography in words?  At first, it was difficult for me as well. It was a style of dance I’ve never tried before, so I was worried, but I’m hoping to cover it up with my practice load (laughs). I think the performance goes well with the song. When you first see it, you’ll find it interesting.

Was there a story character that you wanted to be when you were younger? Story character... Mickey Mouse? When I was young, I had a lot of Disney books at home. Although there were a lot of princess books as well, I always thought playing with Mickey and his friends looked like fun. 

When you imagine a life living alone, what do you anticipate and what do you worry about?  I look forward to having my personal space. The fun that comes with creating my own space. The thing I’m worried about is most definitely household chores. I can’t even clean up my own room... However, I also look forward to that. The thought that if I have my own house and have to do everything on my own, I’ll end up doing it? Thoughts like that. I think I’ll find the small fun in making my own food and doing laundry. 

I was just about to ask what chore you would choose if you had to do one chore for the rest of your life while living with your members.  I like re-arranging furniture or organizing something. I have fun when I organize things. The problem is that it doesn’t last. I think I have the most interest in decorating my room. I often think about buying this and that to put in my room. I think my members like more useful things. 

You spend so much time together [with the members], even more than your family. Do you have times where you really feel that you’re a family? Just when we comfortably go back and forth between each other’s rooms. We’ve become used to lying on each other’s beds comfortably to talk and being in one space together. When someone orders food, the members come out one by one without anyone telling them to, or gathering together to watch a movie. It’s everyday times like this where I feel happiness. 

What’s different between Red Velvet’s Seulgi and human Kang Seulgi?  Slowly the difference between them is disappearing. My appearances on variety shows is a more nervous side of me, but it’s still me. However, I think I’m quite different on stage. Everyday me looks more approachable, but I think I appear colder on stage. I think, more than anything, a person has to become different when they work. Because with each song, there’s a different concept and with that concept comes different things we have to show. I want to live up to that. 

What’s your favorite summer fruit?  Peaches, plums. I like watery peaches. My father owned an orchard for a short period and used to grow peaches. I can never forget the taste of those peaches. There was something different about peaches eaten right after they got harvested. I’m sad that he doesn’t have [an orchard] anymore. 

Today’s more a patbingsu fitting day. Do you like it? I used to not like pat (t/n: red beans), but now I like patbingsu. I ended up liking it thanks to milk tea bingsu. There was a place in front of our company building that sold milk tea bingsu, and I used to secretly eat it at times. 

What makes you realize it’s summer?  When it’s hot, and when I can hear the cicadas. I actually like the atmosphere of summer so at times I listen to ASMRs of it. There’s an ASMR with cicada sounds that help me feel the refreshing atmosphere of summer. You can also hear the sound of the bugs at night. Sometimes I fall asleep to it. 

Is there a ‘keyword’ you continue to stick to?  In the past it was ‘growth’, but it’s changed now. I got the feeling that I was suffocating myself too much. I think I couldn’t let loose because of the thought that I had to mature and grow. So now I’m going to change it to ‘freedom’. 

In the summer, if you had exactly one day where you can do anything, what would you do? I want to meet my friends. Not too long ago, when I had a small amount of time, I went to Oido Island with my elementary school friends. If I could have a whole day, I would spend it with my friends, making something to eat or sleeping together at their house. 

I heard you have the nickname ‘stamina king’. Is it still true?  My stamina isn’t very good. I realized that it wasn’t very good (laughs). I realized it was true that stamina gets worse with time. I trusted my stamina but was backstabbed by it. Now I try to exercise and build my stamina. I think it’s really important to have. Not just my body, but my mentality is also affected by my stamina. 

Are there times when even Seulgi has difficult with dancing? Of course. I’m not an expert myself. If I had the skill of expert dancers, every dance would seem easy, but I’m still in a learning stage. That’s why it’s still fun to me. If I do something well and get a good reaction, it makes me proud. Honestly, up to now, there wasn’t a moment where [dancing] was easy. I have a genre that I like more, but I had to keep learning new ones. 

There was a time I observed Seulgi’s hands when dancing. I think it was during ‘Rookie’? What does it mean to use your hands while you dance?  While I’m learning, I watch how my teacher uses their hands. Next, I need to go through a process where I make that skill mine, but I think that comes naturally now. Especially because we have five fingers, and each one has a lot of joints; there’s so much you can express with them. There are people who solely dance with their hands. I think they’re important as well, so I end up paying more attention to them. 

Do you have any skill in teaching dance as well?  I did it a lot when I was a trainee, but I haven’t taught in a while so I’m not sure. I think explaining has become difficult because I’ve stopped teaching. I can teach moves, but it’s difficult to realize how much or if the person understood it.

How does it feel to receive so much love from people? I think it brings a lot of responsibility. While realizing that I have a lot of people that love us, I also realize that there’s that much anticipation built up. So I think through my actions more carefully and think about how I want to be a good influence. I believe that good actions come from a good mentality, so I work hard to keep that. 

When do you become the most courageous? When I’m stimulated by something. You know, those times where you swear to do something? Even when watching a movie I think, “I want to live like that”. Although it crumbles down, the moment where I proclaim something, I think I become courageous. 

Do you make it apparent when you’re upset by something?  I let it out and make it shown. I talk to my members or sometimes other people if they’re around. I find this important. Because people don’t know if you don’t say anything. When we talk about it, it helps our relationship become stronger, and I like that. 

Your person fashion seems very natural and cool. What’s your clothing preference? “Am I going to wear this on a daily basis?” is probably my first thought. I choose clothes that seem stylish but also comfortable. Because I tend to move my body around, I look for more comfortable clothes.

Every year, SM’s Halloween party is a big issue. Is there a costume you want to try? I want to try wearing a hanbok (t/n: Korean traditional dress).

Between the past and future, which do you find more important? The future. Because I can form it myself. You can’t return to the past. That makes it important as well, but I think it’s more important to think about how I can live in the future and create. Though that will eventually become the past as well. 

Your Instalives are very natural, but I think the nature of a live broadcast may be burdening as well. It’s become a lot more comfortable. We’re living in a SNS generation (laughs). Rather than hide, I try to show that I’m the same person. When I was younger, I looked up to mysterious artists myself, but now I find more natural, human-like parts of me more pretty and charming. I don’t think about all this when I start a live, but I’m just comfortable showing off the real me. Human Kang Seulgi and Red Velvet’s Seulgi are eventually the same person anyway.

trans credit: jinhee @ fyeah-redvelvet! original source: SCAN by SGSGOM @ TWITTER please take out with credits!

[bleeding-antlers]

L with tomato and whoever you want ;)

Since there was another asking for L this whole came to be a pretty good ask then??

L. A stolen kiss.

Tomato and Bed

“Why are you here?”

A grumble from Tomato’s lips spilled out after seeing Bed in front of his door frame. He didn’t want company today as the weather outside was mucky and had no plans on going outside in that kind of forecast. It was his own time to just relax and have no one bug him, especially his crew members deciding to crash his house. They.. always crash his house, for who god knows why, probably just for the sake to pop a vein in his forehead from all their rambunctious antics.

Tomato’s arms were crossed, against his chest to bring out a stern, annoyed stance as he faced the other male that stood in front of his door.

“Because why not? Felt like visiting you,” Bed’s voice was softened with a gentle coo at the end of his sentence. He looked too damn proud of himself to make Tomato a grumpy mess- though, that usually was the redhead’s go-to look. Always been like that.

Bed waved a hand at Tomato, wanting him to move out of the way so he can barge inside, yet that didn’t resist from the taller male staying in place, he kept himself locked as he started blocking the whole door frame. It was a childish move, but he didn’t want the other to just run inside.

A shake of his head was gestured at Bed, his eyes rolling before he tsked at Bed’s behaviour and eventually tried closing the door on the other before he could give another lame excuse on why he’s on Tomato’s property.

Bed seemed to already be a step ahead as his foot was kneeling against the door’s bottom corner, his weight on that foot stopping the door from closing all the way.

“C’mon, baby, why can’t we just hang out for today? Just you and I. It’s not like I’m like Buck and gonna rummage through all your snack drawers,” a chuckle landed out after his sentence, his hand reaching out to Tomato’s shoulder after pushing the door back open and patting him, “I just rather be in a different house than my own. My neighbours have been pricks so.. I needed a little break.”

Tomato looked through Bed’s eyes, seeing if whatever he’s saying is the truth instead of a lie just to make him go into Tomato’s house. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Bed didn’t have a troublesome twinkle in his eye and didn’t break contact when he needed to check if Bed was serious or not. He was telling the truth, and whether or not Tomato would tree persuading the other to go to Criken’s or Buck’s, he knew that he wouldn’t have a fighting chance of changing the boys mind.

“Fuck.. you’re so annoying, you know that?” A breathy snicker was heard from Tomato, “fine. You can come in, as LONG as you don’t bug the hell out of me, okay? I wanted to do some work, but apparently I can’t now if you’re here.”

After mumbling the last part of his sentence, he moved off and away from the frame and gently motioned for Bed to step on in. A grin was soon pasted on the other’s lips by the time he moved and then closed the door behind them. He had that look of approval and snarkiness, but Tomato only shook his head as he went over to his kitchen’s counter and turned on the kettle to get his second coffee for the day. Without even asking Bed if he wanted a cup of joe, he already had placed a second mug on the counter and went to lean against the edge, waiting for the kettle to heat up all the way.

“So, what’re you wanting to do?”

*

With a couple of small arguments here and there, both men had settled down on the couch to play a cooperative video game. One where it wasn’t too chaotic and would lead them to having another discourse, but definitely a challenge for both of them to complete. They had been figuring out this one puzzle for awhile now, and before they decided to call it quits, both Tomato and Bed had a tantrum of how difficult and dumb the game really is. No doubt the reviews were so low and the pricing on the consoled game was nearly only 75c.

It was only a matter of time before they got angry over a game, well, mostly Tomato. Bed only joined in for the hell of it, creating their own bits even though they weren’t in front of a camera.

Either way, they decided to call quits on playing the game and just relax with them being in the same room. They had already finished their coffee, and the sound of rain dropping onto the windows could be heard in the distance. Even if they weren’t originally going to hang out, it still was an unexpected, good day, especially for Tomato. He doesn’t always care for company since he’s a lone-wolf. He rather be in his own terms and do his own things without having a distraction beside him or someone wanting to talk to him. Yet, he had Bed over. He was the only exception though. The other wasn’t as bad as some of his other crew-mates, yes he can be chaotic and disastrous and a hell of a headache, but today, it was actually a calming day. With both of them being in the same presence and in the same room, they hadn’t had a problem with each other, even though there was definitely some discourse here and there, but only for dumb reasons and stupid jokes.

With a click of a button on the remote for the tele, a random music channel began to play. It was only a background sound for them as they quietly sat down next to each other on the couch. Bed had been snacking on popcorn that they made in the progress of downloading the game, and surprisingly the bowl wasn’t all gone by the time they put down the controllers and decided to relax.

They had nothing to talk about, as the silence took over with the sound of a soft beat playing on the TV’s speakers. Tomato had his head resting on the couch top, his eyes closed and his posture relaxed and comfortable.

To bed, it was a beautiful site. A site where you could see how charming the other male is. He may always have a grumpy expression to him, but with his head back and his shoulders not being tensed up, he was a sweet fella.

A smile pasted on Bed’s lips, an endearing smile showing his affection towards the others calm behaviour. He sighed after taking his gaze off of Tomato, looking at anything to think of a subject, but nothing would come to mind. He was blank with ideas and topics. The only thing running through his mind was how cute the redhead was. His face was already boiling up, his cheeks glowing a light red and his fingers fidgeting as he tried hiding his expression.

Bed combed his hair back with his fingers, his eyes focusing more so on Tomato than anything else now. He grumbled under his breath, barely audible as he gently pushed himself off of the couch and behind it. He originally wasn’t going to do what he was doing, but.. he couldn’t help himself. A cheesy and nervous chuckle escaped Bed’s throat as he looked down at Tomato. His eyes were still shut, but he did know that Bed’s presence was there. He scrunched up his nose and sniffled. Whatever Bed was planning on doing, didn’t seem to run through his head as he stayed put. Not bothering to move away or open his eyes and give the other a questioning glare.

A hand brushed against Tomato’s neck, slender fingers curling against the others jaw, his thumb caressing small, loving circles against the others cheek. Soon enough, lips landed quickly against Tomato’s, a quick peck from soft lips finally snapped Tomato into reality.

His friend.. kissed him, and before Tomato could react, Bed had already moved away from the other and went on to the kitchen, rummaging through his fridge to find an alcoholic beverage.

“ What.. ” Tomato’s words spilled out and his sentence that he was wanting to say didn’t seem to form as he was lost in a daze of being flustered and confused. His head snapped away from the couch top and pulled himself up as he stumbled on his own clumsy feet, his eyes narrowing at Bed who was still avoiding eye contact.

“ You fucking kissed me!?”

[a-butterfly-on-his-tummy]

Sweet Creature

Picking up the utility knife from the bed, you run it across the seam of the box, flattening the cardboard so you can break it down and place it in the pile. Opening another box, you begin to place Harry’s collection of loafers in your closet.

“Mumma! Someone at da door!” Grace bounds into your room, jumping up and down, her curls acting as little bungee cords hooked to her head. “Da door bell went ‘ding dong’!” Her head moves side to side demonstrating the noise the door made.

“Alright Bug, let’s go see who is here.” Leaving the box on the floor, you follow Grace out of the master bedroom and down the stairs.

“I wond-a who is here!” Grace takes each step with a jump, her feet making small thumps against the carpet. She lands on the wood floor and runs for the door, reaching for the knob.

“Wait for mum, Gracie.” You prompt. She pulls her hand back and bounces, trying to be as patient as possible. Moving your hand towards the door, you turn the knob, opening the big wooden entry.

“Hello! Wanna be my friend?” Grace asks the postman before he can even get a word past his lips.

“Hello, little one.” The nice older man chuckles at Grace’s request. “I would love to be your friend.” He smiles widely and Grace mimics his expression.

“Wanna see my new room? It’s pink!” Grace opens the door more, inviting the man inside.

“Oh! I wish I could come play, but I have packages to deliver. Just like this one.” He holds the package up in his hands, showing Grace the white box. “It is addressed to Elizabeth and Grace Styles.”

“Dat me!! Package for me!” Grace shakes her hips back and forth expressing her happiness in a happy dance.

“I see that it is from a Lorelei Williams.” He looks down at the sender's address. “Traveled a long way, all the way from America.” He smiles, holding the package out to you, giving you a clipboard so you can sign for the parcel.

“Dat my Sweet Cweature. She live far away. But I lob her.” Grace says, reaching up towards the package that looks like it is filled with fun.

“She sounds like a nice lady.” Taking the clipboard back from your hands, the postman tucks it in his satchel.

“Thank you so much!” You say, smiling as you release the package into Grace’s arms.

“Enjoy your package, friend.” The postman waves.

“Bye, friend!!” Grace hollers as she runs the package into the front room, her bare feet slapping against the wood flooring.

“Have a great day!” You smile and wave as the older gentleman makes his way towards his mail car, carrying on with his day. Closing the door you make your way into the family room, where Grace is grunting with all her might, trying to get the tape to release on the box. “Should we see if she is available before we open it?”

“FaceTime??” Grace’s mouth opens wide with the excitement of seeing one of her favorite people in the world.

“Yes. It’s about 9 in the morning at her house. I’m sure she is already at work. But we can try and see if she answers.” Pulling your phone out of your pocket you search for your godmother's contact, pushing the video button, the ‘boop boop boop’ begins to ring. Plopping yourself in the couch you pat the cushion signaling to Grace she has a slot next to you.

Pulling herself up on the couch, Grace drags the package across her lap, huffing and puffing from the hard work.

“She gonna ans-a?” Grace says, biting her lip nervously in anticipation for the phone call and package.

“I think so! Look it’s connecting!” You point towards the screen where the phone is starting to connect to another device on the other side of the world.

“Hello! My two favorite girls!” Lorelei’s face takes over the screen. Her smile brings an immediate warmth into your soul. Her eyes disappear when her smile is genuine and her face brightens the room just with this one expression.

“Sweet Cweature!!! I got a package!” Grace yells excitedly.

“You did? A package from who?” She asks.

“My Sweet Cweature!” Grace giggles at herself.

“Yes. What is this package for? There isn’t a holiday soon, is there?” You ask, recalling that just a couple weeks ago you received a Valentine’s Day package from your godmother, and she typically doesn’t send one for St. Patty’s Day.

“Just open it! There is a note. Read it first.” She instructs, smiling with glee that you are completely surprised.

“Alright then. Let’s see what’s inside.” Pinching the tape between your fingers, you pull it across the box, opening the parcel. Pulling out the envelope, you close the box so that the contents inside can stay hidden.

“Weed the note, Mumma!” Grace shouts, pumping her fist in the air.

“Okay. Hold your Sweet Creature please.” Handing your phone over to your four-year-old, you clear your throat before starting the novel that has been written. “There is a story that comes along with this package. Typically I only send one friend. But this time there are two. The mama panda is hugging her baby panda because they need each other so much. The baby is for Gracie, and the mama is for you.” A gasp is released as Grace reaches into the box, pulling out two stuffed pandas that are softer than anything you have ever felt.

“Grace always complains about how I never have a friend to cuddle with. But this time around I got a mama panda too.” Your eyes fill with tears as you read the words from a woman who you look at as your second mother.

“Sweet Cweature have a panda too?” Grace looks at the phone, watching her friend nod her head yes. “You hug your panda, it like you hug me!” Grace exclaims loudly. The smile that slides across her face is bigger than the space of land between your two homes.

“I felt that you both needed a new friend for your new home.” She smiles, holding back tears.

“Thank you, Mama.” You smile, knowing that’s all you can get out without sobbing, snuggling the soft panda against your chest.

“I name you PANDY!!!” Grace smiles, jumping up and down on the couch, holding her panda high in the air. “I go show Daddy!” Bouncing off the couch, her bare feet smack against the wood floor moving her quickly towards the office.

“There is something in there for Harry too. I sent him a book I just finished and figured he would like it. It was sad. Not my favorite, but I know it’s his cup of tea.” Your godmother says.

“Thank you for this. Moving isn’t easy. It’s been a bit of an adjustment, even though we are in the same city.  Just a lot of change.” You say, the tired look in your eyes showing through the screen. “This is a good pick-me-up.”

“I’m glad! That was my goal!” She smiles, her eyes almost nonexistent from the massive grin on her face. “Do I hear Harry?” Looking down the hall you can hear Harry tickling Grace as he brings her into the family room.

“Hello Lorelei! Sending us new friends?” Harry smiles as he comes behind you, ducking his head so he is in the FaceTime picture.

“Yes. I thought it was slightly funny the name they gave the panda on their tag.” She says.

Harry looks down at the panda in Grace’s hand and reads the tag. “Medium Harry Panda cub.” His laugh explodes through the air. “Grace says you have one; please keep the name it was born with. It’s an iconic name.” His cheeky smile expands on his face, causing all the adults to laugh.

“Mine name PANDY!!” Grace shouts.

“A perfect name for a panda!” Harry says to his daughter, tickling her stomach. “Although Harry is pretty original too.” He whispers towards the phone.

“Sent you a book, H. It’s a sad one. You’ll like it.” Lorelei says.

“Oh, I love a sad romance.” He smiles. “Thanks for the package. We miss you.”

“I miss you all so much.” She says, her eyes beginning to tear up again.

“It’s about time for a visit. I’ll have Lindsay get with you to set up a flight?” Harry nods.

“I’ll wait for her call! I love you all so much.” She says. “Need to get back to work. I’ll FaceTime later so you can meet Harry!”

“We would be honored.” You say, smiling at your godmother. “Love you lots, Mama!”

“Lob you butterfly much!” Grace shouts, blowing a kiss from her lips. “Go to sweet cweature,” she whispers, guiding the kiss toward her loved one.

“Butterfly much and so much more,” you say, puckering your lips, kissing the air. Waving goodbye the phone call ends. Grace jumps out of her daddy’s arms, excited to introduce Pandy to her other friends, while you make your way upstairs to finish making this new house into a home.

[dobrienbabe]

Camped Out|| Stiles Stilinski

Original Post: on ssimagines

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x reader

Word Count: 3742

Summary: You and Stiles are trying to get to a better place after him keeping a big secret from you. 

Warnings: minor teen angst, sarcastic little shit named Stiles, oh yeah minor swearing, closet make outs

Request:   Hey! Love your page. Can I request a Stiles Stilinski one with the prompts 14. “I’m starting an idiot jar. Any time you do or say anything idiotic, you have to put at least a dollar in it—more depending on how stupid the thing that you said or did was.” &  62. “Looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.” those sound pretty explanatory? Thank you love!

Can i request a stiles stilinski imagine? With the prompt; 6. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Thank you! 

Prompts:  14. “I’m starting an idiot jar. Any time you do or say anything idiotic, you have to put at least a dollar in it—more depending on how stupid the thing that you said or did was.”

                  62. “Looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.”

                  6. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” 

Note: I’m combining these two to make a my load a little lighter I hope that You don’t mind. I’m sorry for the super long wait, but I wrote it!

This takes place in Season 2. 

This is obviously already been posted, but since I started my smaller blogs, I wanted all my work for each fandom in one place. Instead of just reblogging everything I figured that I would repost it.

Request/Taglist

Masterlist

With Derek turning teens left and right, everyone in the pack was stressed out including you. You had watched over the past week how it put significant strain on Allison and Scott’s relationship, and you were worried that it would affect your already rocky relationship with Stiles. 

You, Scott, and Stiles had been friends since you were still in elementary school, but earlier this year when Scott was bit, the two of them had left you out of the loop for some time. It took you walking in on Scott on a full moon for them to come out and tell you everything. 

It had been a long road to get back to some semblance of normal since then. You and Scott had found a way to get on after he had come to you to help him and Allison sneak around. You had been really happy when he had come to you. It had actually helped you get to know Allison better. Being her cover story had actually resulted in the two of you hanging out a hefty amount and becoming good friends. 

With Stiles though, you hadn’t gotten as lucky. The two of you were still at odds with each other as you continued to fight through the past few months. It was his idea to leave you out of the whole werewolf mess. He claimed his intentions were to keep you safe, but not knowing had actually put you in more danger with the alpha on the loose. In the end, your trust in the sarcastic little asshole had just been decimated. 

That left you where you were now dazed out during class trying to ignore that same annoying little asshole next to you. He kept cracking jokes trying to get some sort of reaction out of you, but you refused to give him anything as you continued to work on the worksheet that was placed in front of you. The whole class period so far had gone on like this as you waited for him to just shut up and do his own work. 

“Do you think that Mr. Harris wrote these questions because he wants to actually learn this stuff or just so he wouldn’t have talk to us today?” Stiles spoke up again after only five minutes of silence. You let out a large huff of air. Why couldn’t just shut up?

You continued to work on the worksheet as Stiles dejected looked down at it beside you. Other than the rustling of notebook pages and a scratch of a pencil against paper, there were no sounds that filled the room. You embraced the silence while it lasted. 

“Y/N, you know you have to speak to me sometime, right?” Stiles voice was whispered through the otherwise quiet room. It echoed in your head as you tried to ignore it, but Stiles continued to say your name softly over and over again while poking you in hopes of getting your attention.

“Stiles, shut up, would you?” you let out a hushed yell. It was loud enough that the two girls in front of you could hear. They both shot deadly glares back to you before return to their work. There was another elapse of silence where Stiles left you alone again. 

“Y/N,” he was so obnoxious. “I’m stuck on number five. Do you think you could help me?”

You can’t help but roll your eyes. So far, you’d had nearly thirty minutes to work on this stupid worksheet and he as on number five? You were on at least eighteen by now.

You didn’t believe for a second that he needed help. The questions really weren’t that hard, and Stiles was way smarter than he let on. There was no way that he actually needed help. This was probably another ploy to get you to talk to him. 

“We can’t work together,” you whisper back to him. It was true. At the beginning of the hour, Mr. Harris had emphasized that this was not a group or partner project. There would be consequences of working together that you knew Mr. Harris would invoke without a passing thought. 

“Come on, please,” Stiles said back. The boy moved closer to you. He placed his hand over yours. The warmth of his touch flowed into you comfortingly, but your anger with him wanted nothing to do with the gesture as you jerked your hand away from him. 

The same hand jutted up into the air as you hoped to catch Mr. Harris’s attention and make an escape out of the room and away from Stiles. An audible sigh came from Stiles beside you as you held your hand up. 

You felt the blood draining from your arm as you waited. Mr. Harris sat at his desk reading and clearly not bothering to actually see what his class was actually doing. After nearly two minutes of just waiting, you gave up and just stood up. 

You made your way around the tables were fellow students sat to the front of the classroom where your obnoxious chemistry teacher sat. Standing in front of him, you waited for him to look up at you and question his presence, but he didn’t seem to have any interest. It wasn’t until you actually laid your palms down on his desk loudly that he even bothered to glance up. 

“Yes Ms. Y/L/N?” his tone did nothing to hide the boredom he was experiencing. You bit your tongue in order to avoid saying something snarky as you took a moment to collect yourself. Taking a deep breath, you spoke. 

“May I use the restroom?” you said. The smile that was painted across your face was sickly sweet. 

Mr. Harris pursed his lips as you maintained eye contact with him. You weren’t going to take no for an answer. The teacher took a deep breath before waving you off. It was a silent way of giving in and you were thankful as you rushed out the door and away from Stiles. 

Once you got through the door. You casually walked down the hall in no hurry at all. You were free and you were going to enjoy that while you could. 

You ran your finger slowly along the lockers as you walked past them. The cool metal on your fingertips was soothing in a way. The silence of the hall added to the serene feel that enveloped you like a blanket as you strolled in the direction of the closest bathroom. The only real sound that could be heard as you walked was the pat of your shoes against the ground. 

You heard a door open somewhere behind you but thought nothing of it. It was probably just another student that had been aching to get out of class or maybe someone who actually had to use the restroom. 

You stopped cold when you heard hurried footsteps running to catch up to you as your name filled the air in a familiar voice. Whipping around, Stiles came into your view running now towards you. 

“What the hell, Stiles?” you kept your voice under a yell, but you were as close to screaming as you could be. He gave you a small smile as he slowed in front of you. When he stood two feet away from you, he came to a full stop. 

You crossed your arms over your chest as you looked at the sarcastic teen. You tapped your foot impatiently giving him a moment to actually speak before you dismissed him again. He stared back at you for a moment as if he was unsure of what was going on. Suddenly his eyes little up and his mouth opened slightly. 

“Oh, so you want me to speak now?” he said as a smile returned to his smirking face. 

“Shut up and speak, Stiles” you said. “How did you even get out of class?” “So, do you want me to shut up or do you want me to speak?” Stiles said laughing. You rolled your eyes and titled your head left. You weren’t going to take any of this. Turning around, you prepared to continue your journey to the bathroom; this time with a bit more urgency.

“Wait Y/N, I’m sorry,” Stiles said. 

He caught your elbow in his hand causing you to stop in your tracks. You looked over your shoulder at him urging him to continue. 

“I’m sorry for bugging you today, “Stiles started. “It’s just with everything going on right now, I’m just really feeling off and I haven’t really been able to talk to Scott about it ‘cause he’s always with Allison, and I can’t talk to you about it ‘cause I really messed up our relationship. I just miss you.”

Your posture eased as you looked into his eyes. The expression he was wearing was soft, but sad. You could tell he was being genuine with his words. You reached out to him and rested your hand on his upper arm. He offered you a soft smile at the gesture. 

“I miss you too,” You said softly taking a step closer to your best friend. Being mad at him had been hard on you. You had hated it. It felt so unnatural to not really speak to him, but you weren’t in ready to let it go. They had left you out of this large life changing thing. Now though, you just felt drained because of the anger. You were ready to move past it.

“Can you forgive me?” Stiles said. He was timid about it which was something you hadn’t really seen him be lately. You ran your hand down his arm and intertwine your fingers with his giving him a gentle squeeze.

“Of course,” you said taking a small step closer to him. Hesitantly, Stiles brought his free hand up to your cheek. He brought your gaze up to meet his own. His thumb ran over your cheek bone right under your eye. He moved closer to you making your heart pound in your chest. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he said as he seemed to move even closer to you without touching you. You weren’t sure how that was possible. There was a heat between the two of you that was unfamiliar to you., but you definitely weren’t against it. 

The two of you had been standing there for no more than ten second when the familiar click of heels and heavy foot falls filled the hall. Your headshot around toward the source of the sound. The two sets of footsteps were followed by the easily identifiable voices of two of Derek’s new recruits, Erica and Boyd. 

Breaking contact, you and Stiles turned your whole bodies in the direction the voices were coming from as they quickly approached. They were just around the corner from the two of you. A panic set over you as you grew worried about what to do to avoid being seen by the two extremely intimidating new betas. 

Before you knew it, you were being pulled into a dark janitor’s closet by your elbow. The door closed behind you shielding you from the owners of the approaching footsteps. Their voices were significantly muffled by the door, but you could make out some of the conversation. They were very casually talking about how the perceptions of them had changed since their… well change. 

Stiles’s grip was strong on your elbow causing your face to contort slightly. Your eyebrows furrowed, and you scrunch your nose until he let go of you. You moved to rub your elbow lightly after Stiles released you. You looked up at him to see a flash of guilt danced across his features in the dim light. 

You were already pretty close in proximity to him due to lack of space, but you moved closer to him to show that you weren’t angry with him again. You slipped your hand into his as you stood closely to him. That brought a small smile to his face as he looked down at you. 

The two of you were silent as you carefully listened for the footsteps to pass. Unfortunately, luck didn’t seem to be in your favor today as the two betas stopped not far from the door of the closet you were hiding in. At least, you could more easily hear what they were saying. 

Erica was saying something about meeting Derek after school. A locker opened and some shuffling ensued. One of their lockers must’ve been just outside. You figured that’s probably why they stopped. Boyd responded by telling Erica he needed a ride to the Railroad Depot after work. At his words, your eyes shot up to Stiles. He looked down at you with an excited smile on his face. The new information was just what you had been looking for. 

The werewolves talked a little bit longer before a locker door slammed closed. Their voice started to fade away as footsteps started again.

Your shoulder slumped as all the tension they held fell away. Stiles squeezed your hand as he let out a long slow breath. You let your head fall forward onto Stiles chest. He brought his free arm up around you to lay his palm flat against the small of your back. He pulled you closer to him. 

Every place that your body touched his was a flame with his warmth as it had been earlier. You didn’t quite understand what was going on, but you weren’t going to pull away from it. You stood there leaning against him for a maybe two minutes when you finally decided that you had been gone from class far too long. 

Reluctantly, you pulled yourself away from the brunet’s arms to move to the door. Stiles took the step with you to the door standing barely behind you as your hand landed on the door handle. You pulled down to open the door, but the handle didn’t budge. You tried again only to meet with the same resistance.

“Stiles, the door is locked,” you said softly. Your eyebrows furrowed as you stared down at your hand on the handle.

“What do you mean it’s locked?” Stiles said. You stepped back so he could move around you and try on his own to get the door open. He pushed down on the handle and tried to wiggle it the best he could. It barely moved as he continued to try to get it budge. 

“Stiles, it’s not going to open,” you said flatly rolling your eyes at the boys attempts. Stiles hit the door out of frustration before stepping back towards you. You just stared at the boys back in front of you.

“How could this be locked from the inside, but not the outside?” Stiles said as he stared at the door. He was slightly out of breath from his exaggerated efforts with the door. You took a moment to just mull over everything that happened leading up to you being dragged into the closet. Stiles turned to you as you furrowed your brows in thought. 

“Stiles, this is the first floor, janitor’s closet…” you said slowly hoping that he would get the point, but when he made no attempt to show understanding you continues, “It’s door handle broke earlier this year, remember? When the Alpha attacked the school, the Janitor was running from Peter when he broken it by accident. They left it because it didn’t seem like a major fix. As long as you prop the door open, everything is fine.”

Stiles eyes light up with understanding as the dots connected. Of all the places to hide, Stiles had pulled you into this closet of all places. Stiles didn’t speak as he started to look around the room maybe looking for a way to escape. 

“Do you have your phone?” you ask. “We just text Scott to get us out of here.” Stiles patted his pocket as he searched for his phone. You let out a small stifle of laughter as you watched him. He had a habit of doing things like that. When he stopped, you could tell he ended up empty handed. 

“No, I think I left it back in class,” Stiles said. He seemed on edge. He knew how you would respond as you bit back your lip to stop yourself from yelling at him. 

Fantastic job, Stiles,” you said. “Looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.”

You leaned back against the shelving unit behind you. Bring your hands up you ran through your air out of frustration. How could he not bring his phone?

“Well, where’s yours?” Stiles said. There was a tone in his voice that you weren’t to keen on. 

You had left your phone at home today as you rushed out the door to make it to school on time. You shifted your weight from one foot to the other as you looked down at your shoes. Your hands found the end of your shirt as you fiddled with the hem of it trying to avoid looking at Stiles. 

“That’s what I thought,” he said. 

You just sighed as you sunk to the ground still leaning against the shelf that housed several rolls of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. You sat there without another word. Stiles started pacing across the floor. His shoes squeaked against the tile as he turned around every few seconds. You watched his shoes as he paced. 

The next several minutes went on like that. 

“Can you stop?” you said looking up at Stiles face. At the sound of your voice, he turned to look at you there was a look of desperation in his eyes as his gaze meet yours. You raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to look back at you. 

Stiles strode over to you and dropped down next to you. His legs were extended in front of him reaching the door that was opposite the two of you. Your feet were bent and pulled to your chest. Your hands were between your calves and your thighs holding your thighs to you. 

The two of you sat in silence just staring at the door. It seemed like torture as you both silently hoped that someone would randomly decide to open the door, but you didn’t even hear any footsteps on the other side.

“We could make out?” Stiles broke the silence. You flipped around to look at him shocked at his suggestion. If all things you expected to have come from his mouth that was not one of him. He was lazily staring at you. 

“Really that’s what you came up,” you said after getting over the initial shock. “I know I’ve been saying this since middle school, but I’m starting an idiot jar. Any time you do or say anything idiotic, you have to put at least a dollar in it—more depending on how stupid the thing that you said or did was. I’m serious this time.”

Stiles just laughed at that. It brought a smile to your face as you watched him throw his head back to let the laugh escape his lips. When his laughter died down he looked at you with that sweet smile of his. You just laid your head on his shoulder. He brought his arm around to circle your waist comfortably. The two of you stayed like that for a while together sitting on the uncomfortable floor of a janitor’s closet.

After about ten minutes of sitting on the floor, your butt started to go numb. You released your legs and stood up trying to restore feeling to the lower half of your body. Stiles stood up too but was not very conscious of how close he was to you before doing so. 

Stiles stood no more that two inches from you. With wide eyes and mouth slightly agape, you looked up at his face. You saw his Adam’s apple bob slightly. 

His hand moved up to your cheek for the second time that day. This time it was your turn to gulp. The same warmth that you had now felt twice that day filled you with his simple touch. He moved his head down to yours.

“Can I kiss you?” his voice was so soft as his lips stopped just above yours. You didn’t trust your voice to speak as you looked into the gorgeously honey colored eyes of your best friend. You gave him a simple nod before his lips meet yours.

It was awkward and stiff, but there was so much more to it then that. His chapped lips against yours was odd. His right hand cradled cheek while his other arm wrapped around your back. You had no idea where to put your hands as you brought your right arm around his neck while the other hand came to rest on his chest. 

The kiss lasted maybe five seconds. It was Stiles who pulled away. While yours fluttered open right away, his remained closed as he licked his lips. His gaze met your when they opened. Neither of you knew what to say as you stared at each other. Before you think too much about what just happened, Stiles lips found yours again. This time it was more aggressive and less awkward. His hand on your cheek moved down to rest on your hip. He moved you back so that your back was pressed against the only wall that didn’t have shelves against it. You moved your hands down to his sides as you held him close to you. 

Stiles pulled away just a little to catch his breath when the door whipped open behind him. Your hands still rested on his waist as Stiles pulled away from you as the light of the hall filtered in illuminating your faces. 

You squinted at the door as you tried to adjust to the much brighter light. The chuckling of your other best friend hit your ears as you recognized Scott’s frame. You let your head fall forward as you buried it in Stiles’s shoulder. 

“I was told to come find the two of you, but I can come back later,” Scott said between his laughter.

“Oh, shut up,” Stiles said as his hand found yours. He guided you out of the closet past Scott who was still cracking up.

[writer-and-artist27]

How to Kill a Slimy Snake Man

Because Osie gave me permission and the idea was too tempting to really resist. And they were nice enough to help me edit, so woo! More writing to share!

The usual disclaimers as always: I don’t own anything or anyone except Tomoko. Kei belongs to @langwrites, and Otoha to @owlsofstarlight.

The theme for this story is My Soul Your Beats, specifically the fanmade Duet Remix done originally by Lia and LisA for Angel Beats. I found that the remix really fits the world that is Silent Feathers, combining the piano that Tomoko is known for with the rock beats Lang and Osie seem to use a lot for CYB. I wanted to use this song for so long, I’m just glad Silent Feathers has given me an excuse to do so now!

This should canonically take place after the original Silent Feathers post, the short story titled Kuroha-san, and Osie’s most recent story showing Otoha’s lab antics.

Please enjoy!

Secrets always seemed to have this unspoken code of conduct. Vy’s past family took it to heart enough to where it was still ingrained in me as Tomoko.

(1) Never force someone into saying it. (2) No one was entitled to hearing another person’s secret. (3) If a secret is shared with you, you’re not supposed to share it with others because it breaks the whole idea of a “secret” in the first place. And (4), always be patient and understanding when someone wanted to share a secret. Interrupting was literally the nail in the coffin of any talk like that.

Even now, that didn’t change.

Kuroha-san was particularly antsy when the prospect of secret sharing came up in the air, and even if I didn’t know them as well as Kei, that didn’t mean they were any less deserving of respect.

Kuroha-san was just as much of a reincarnation buddy and friend as Kei. The least I could do was hear them out. The more help we could get before the world went to shit via Aliens and bullshitty snakes, the better.

I wasn’t expecting Otoha to blurt it out when the tension became a bit too much.

…Well, technically, they glossed over it, but the words were way too suspicious to be ignored. Even if they weren’t directed at me.

Kei was with us too, so that helped.

Maybe.

It all started with Kei prompting the question behind her cup of tea. “So, any updates on snake-man?”

Otoha flapped their right hand in the air while swaying back and forth on their seat cushion. “Oh you know, same-old same-old. The snan’s still proving why we need a code of ethics.” She fell silent for a second, then brightly added, “Oh, fun news, I told him about Unsealing Technique: Flesh Confetti and actually creeped him out!”

Kei visibly paused her thinking. “Flesh Confetti?”

Snan? What? Hisako loudly expressed in my place with a raised eyebrow. Is that supposed to mean something? And what the hell is Flesh Confetti?

For some reason, I could only imagine that one filler arc where Hinata came up with the Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Technique for literally slicing up summon bees, and I shivered. Bug corpses were already not a pretty image to remember.

Otoha’s next comment didn’t help because Kei apparently set off an explanation. Around their strawberry mochi, because the sweets didn’t even deter them from talking. Or flapping their hands. “I store the fleshy bits and gore left over from my Razor Wind Jutsu and then unseal it over my unsuspecting enemies when I need a quick distraction! So, Flesh Confetti!”

Never mind. Ew.

My stomach sank as the saliva quickly dried up in my mouth. “How…effective.” The words were almost guttural and far too deep to really be from my voice if not for the fact I felt my lips move.

I did not need that image in my head.

Otoha only grabbed another strawberry mochi from the plate sitting in the center of the impromptu group huddle that we were having on my room floor. They apparently didn’t mind? “That’s the same reaction Orochimaru had.”

Now bile was climbing up my throat. Um. What.

Rewind. Did Kuroha-san say, “Orochimaru”?

My mental voice came out tiny and barely audible in the massive mental library. Hisako?

…They said, “Orochimaru.” My Nobody paced back and forth, shaking her head vigorously. Her long brown hair was flying everywhere, but she didn’t even seem to care, continuing to pace with a fish face. They. Freaking. Said. OROCHIMARU. Hisako repeated incredulously.  

What. What.

Kei didn’t seem all that fazed, judging by the raised eyebrow in Otoha’s direction, but my stomach was already starting to grow pumpkin patches for butterflies to start flocking around. Ugh.

The conversation starter of “snake-man” didn’t make me feel any better. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that my voice turned high-pitched to express that uncertainty. “Um, Kuroha-san? Kei?”

Both ninja turned to me. “Yeah, Tomo-chan?”

They were in unison. Holy heck, they were in freaking unison. Hisako clapped almost immediately, but I outwardly blinked because that kind of thing rarely happened outside of well-established ninja teams. Then again, I only really talked with Team Minato and Gai, so there was that…

That was both cool and kinda whoa. Hisako finished for me.

Yeah…

Kei and Otoha exchanged a look before turning back to meet my stare. “Uh, Tomo-chan,” Kei started slowly, putting down her cup of tea, “are you okay?”

“Trying?” I squeaked. The stomach butterflies were starting to mate now, frig. I did not want to throw up right now! “To be okay. I think. Um. Uh.”

Hisako had taken a fetal position in the library while pulling out a single cue card from around the corner. She was broken too. Darn it. The cue card barely helped with its single sentence of, Just say it.

This was going to be a bombshell.

I forced as much oxygen into my lungs with a deep breath, instinctively closed my eyes to save myself the embarrassment that was meeting my friends’ stares, before blurting it out. “WH-WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY OROCHIMARUUU~?!”

A long pause followed.

My heart was still beating against my ribs, the stomach butterflies were having a field day, and for some reason, no one was talking.

Okay. I know we’re not ones to talk, but. Hisako raised her head from her knees to glare out at the world. Despite her limited vantage point. Someone. TALK. Silence. Sucks.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Otoha had apparently turned white, brown eyes wide as their jaw clenched. Kei was equally perplexed, glancing between Otoha and I before shrugging helplessly. “We forgot to tell Tomo-chan, didn’t we, Os?”

“Eh…yeeah.” Otoha said slowly. I was not expecting them to chuckle nervously when turning back to meet my stare, and I couldn’t help but feel like I had done something wrong when hearing it. “Hehehe…yeah, Tomo-chan, I work for creepy snake guy.”

It was such a simple sentence, but it was enough to set something off.

Hisako, naturally, blew up first. Because of course. Inner darkness, people. THE FUCK?!

Outwardly, I held my tongue, took another really deep breath, and clenched my hands. Kuroha-san was nervous. They sounded guilty. I couldn’t panic. “…Creepy snake guy?”

“Creepy snake guy,” Otoha repeated, laughing again. It was still a nervous laugh. “Hehehe…oops?”   

“OOPS” DOES NOT HELP ANYTHING.

I took another breath. Hisako wasn’t helping either, but yelling something wouldn’t help the sudden weight residing in my heart. There were so many questions flooding my head, but what left my mouth instead was a quiet, “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Otoha inclined their head, and the confusion was obvious in their voice. “Oh yeah, Tomo-chan, I’m mostly safe. I mean, I’m taking shifts at the hospital and now I’ve got you. He can’t disappear me without questions. And being his lab assistant means I’m right in the spot to take him down.”

“Th-That’s not what I meant!” I didn’t even mean to yell, especially considering the fact that Otoha and Kei both had flinched, but something had snapped in me, and I was left helpless in riding whatever emotional wave it had. “You’re…you’re…” I hung my head. “You’re…”

You’re putting yourself at risk. And I have to hear about this just after we got to meet up? You’re risking your life?

You’re risking dying again?

Hisako was already getting up from her previous fetal position in the library to reach out towards me, a solemn look on her face. She already knew. She already saw where Vy’s old memories ended. There was too much red. Tomoko-chan—

Kei was faster than my Nobody in scooting over to sit near me, a hand already resting over both of mine. I didn’t even realize my hands were starting to shake until she was steadying them with hers. “Tomo. It’s okay.”

Snot was starting to come up to my nose as the doubt took a seat in my heart to fester like the darkness it was. Goddammit. The memory had to influence me again. “I-Is it? It’s fucking Orochimaru, Kei. An Orochimaru who got away with abusing his only son in Canon. An Orochimaru who got away with countless murders and child abuse and Hokage Naruto didn’t put him to justice. Hokage Naruto didn’t do anything to him.” The urge to cry was strong, but I didn’t want to break down now. The emotion wave couldn’t take me yet. It couldn’t. “A-And, Kuroha-san…” My voice stalled, no thanks to the sudden lump surfacing in my throat. “I just met you again, and hearing that—”

My breath was already starting to shake, but I choked out because they needed to hear it. From me. “I-I…I don’t want you to die.”

There was only a single second of silence before I could pick up the sound of someone scooting over. A hand landed on top of my head, and I looked up only to see Otoha smile. “Eh, no worries, not even death can kill me.” I could vaguely register that same hand start to pat my hair, and even when the tears were starting to bubble up in the corners of my vision, Otoha was still smiling. “I’ll be fine, Tomo-chan.”

When glancing to the side, Kei only shot me a small smile, nodding her head encouragingly. It was obvious she shared the same sentiment.

Trust them, Tomoko-chan. Hisako was already hugging me. Trust them.

I could’ve taken it. I could’ve. Instead, what left my mouth was a tiny and squeaky, “Really? How—How do you know that?”

I could’ve taken it if not for the fact that Ty said the same thing, and their influence still hurt. If not for the fact that I — that Vy — tried to help him, and he didn’t accept it. That he still called me out for being too naive. Too ignorant.

Otoha frowned, letting out what sounded like the hum of a troubled dinosaur as their hand stilled on my head. I wasn’t expecting the frown to suddenly turn upside down. “Hey,” their hand started patting my head again, smoothing some stray hairs back into place. “I got you and Kei, right? We can handle anything.”

My heart skipped a beat. When I glanced to the side, Kei only smirked, nodding again. “We’re all together, Tomo-chan. We’re not alone. We can do this.”

Hisako only closed her eyes, stepping back to look up at the library ceiling with a resigned smile. Water was already pooling at her sneakers. Three, two, one…

The first tear slid down my cheek. “K-Keiiiiii, Otohaaaaaa…” my voice cracked. “You—you two are such—” A smile was creeping up my face as I reached up to wipe at my eyes, the beginnings of a laugh echoing in my throat. “You two are such cheesy dorks. And you’re the ninja…” The first sniffle finally slipped through.

These two were the ninja, and they weren’t pessimistic.

They were actually optimistic. They actually believed in something better.

They weren’t Ty.

They felt like Leo and Josh. The same warmth, the same confident reassurances.

They were my friends.

I could finally take that.

Even with the water starting to flood the library like a sudden rainfall, Hisako only shrugged with a fond smile. We’re lucky, huh, Tomoko-chan?

I didn’t even have to look up to know Kei and Otoha were exchanging another look before I could only see past their shoulders. I somehow activated the Quick-Play Magic Card: Sudden Group Hug. Aaaaaah. “You don’t have to worry, Tomo-chan.” Kei’s voice echoed above my head, and the tight grip on my shoulders was enough for me to know that those hands were hers. “We can do this. There’s no need to cry.”

“I-I can’t help but cry, okay?” was the protesting squeak, but I couldn’t deny I was hugging them both back just as hard if not more so. “You two are my reincarnation buddies, and I want to see the future with you! A-And just when I worry, you two say something like that, and now I feel so happy, even though I know I should be worried about the Creepy Snake Guy…!”

Hisako bit back a barking laugh. Avatar reference a no go?

Then the lightbulb went off. “O-Or should I just call him, ‘Creepy Spooky Slimy Snake Guy’?”

Otoha let out a soft and happy crow-noise as the hand on my head started to brush through my hair. If I didn’t know any better, it resembled a triumphant laugh from how sudden it was. “Tomo-chan, I’m the lab assistant, let me worry about the Creepy Snake Guy. That’s easier.”

Even without the space to look up, I could already tell Kei was rolling her eyes. “Creepy Snake Guy. That works.” There was a small pause before the arm around my shoulders squeezed softly. “I think we should leave the music to Tomo-chan and not the names, huh, Os?”

“Hey…”

Otoha laughed again. “Vy Vy’s better at music.”

Now the tears were fading for a pout. Gosh darn it, these ninja. I could never be depressed around them, huh. “So,” I tried not to grumble, “does that mean I have to be the Nurse Joy of the group?”

Another small pause, then Kei was chuckling above my head. “I think Kairi is better.”

Otoha squawked like a pterodactyl. “Why not Al? Or Winry?”

Kei’s hand on my shoulder loosened. “That works too.”

Did they just start bringing on more references? The water in the library was already starting to reach Hisako’s knees, but she apparently didn’t seem to care judging by the proud grin on her face. Yes.

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by my Nobody pulling out a vacuum of all things. Time to clean up! was the loud bellow. Water, be nice, and they’ll be no blood spilled.

It was best to ignore her pushing the power button.

Instead, I found myself laughing before sitting up in the group hug and squeezing Kei and Otoha both.

“Tomo?”

Another squawk. “Tomo-chan?”

“Just, thank you,” I said honestly, holding back happy tears. “Thank you both, so much. For believing. And for—” the name was like sawdust on my tongue, but I still said it anyways because I needed to let go. I needed to vent at one point. “For not being Ty.��

Kei exhaled shakily in what sounded like clear understanding, just as Otoha’s hand on my head stilled, another dinosaur trill soft in the air. “No problem, Tomo-chan,” they added quietly, hand patting my head all over again. “No problem.”

I couldn’t help the last small happy tear. I didn’t deserve these two, yet they were here. They were here, in the Group Hug, and my heart and mind were finally in agreement about something.

They weren’t going to leave.

The tear fell quickly to the floor tile as the Group Hug didn’t let up for a while.

Snake Man was going to see a painful death, and at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if these two ninja were the ones I would have to thank for it.

I had more than enough to thank them for already.

[zebrashavestripes]

Answer all questions for ask game about your cats!!(I'm dying for knowing about ash and Sabby pleeeaase!!😍)

Oh my goodness girl, so many, but okay.

1. Name? Ash and Sabrina2. Fur colour? Ash has grey fur on his back, with white markings on his face and white on his belly. Sabrine is the same, but with black on her back, and a special marking on her face.3. Any family you know (other than you)? They are related by blood as brother and sister, which is cute I think :)4. Age? 21 months old (my babies), which is around 17 in cat years5. Favorite toy? They love playing with cardboard for some reason, it’s super weird. There are cardboard scraps all over my house. And, according to Ash, Sabrina’s tail is his FAVOURITE toy.6. Nicknames? Ash: Ashy, Ashy baby, baby boy, pretty boy, foofy boy, crazy boy. Sabrina: Sabbi, Sabrrrrrrrrrina, Miss, purrty, pretty girl, baby girl, fluffy girl,  Miss desperate and more7. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Ash is both of those and Sabrina is neither. Sabrina is too good for you. How dare you be in her prescence? But also, freaking pat her already, she’s desperate, people!8. Length of fluff? So long, omg. The flooofiest. Ash is the fluffiest, just covered in clouds of fur. Sabrina’s fur is long but a bit sleeker.9. Any funny habits? Does eating things they’re not supposed to count? Or the fact Ash always wants me to walk him to the food and keep him company while he eats. Sabrina’s habit of turning around and forcing your hand into her face is a nice one.10. How old were they when you met? 9 months. BABIES11. What does their food bowl look like? They have a conjoined bowl which is bright green and a water bowl with little fishies on.12. Indoor or outdoor cat? They’re allowed to go outside, but Ash prefers to be indoors where he can move and lounge around without cause, where as Sabrina loves exploring outside, she kept escaping when I first got her, lol13. Recent picture?

Sleepy babies.14. Old picture?

BABIES15. Cuddly? Reasonably so. I’m the only one they really let pick them up, but they don’t mind sitting beside you or on your bed and stuff. I actually think it depends on their mood, or how hot it is on the day.16. Ever changed their name? YES. I kept Ash’s name, he was called that when I got him from the SPCA. But Sabrina’s original name was Scamp which we didn’t like because such a name is not appropriate for royalty.18. Eye color? Yellow/green19. How do they express love for you? Ash follows me around the house, Sabrina walks up to me when she comes in from exploring. Both like to be in my room when I wake up. They’re really nice cats. Also, tolerating me picking me up is definitely a sign of love.20. How do you express love for them? HEAPS of pats, feeding them good food, and by telling them all the time through long blinks and actual words.21. Any theories on what breed? I don’t really care about breeds, honestly. What matters is what kind of personality they have, not their genetics.22. Do they ever wake you up? YES. Recent time Ash woke me up: He was meowing for me to get out of bed so I went and saw he had a mouse. Sadly, I was not surprised by this. Recent time Sabrina woke me up: Came into my room and started ripping up my homework, lol. Silly girl.23. How much do they meow? They aren’t super loud, but Ash will meow when we go to get his food because he’s happy about it and wants to communicate. I always meow back. Sabrina’s meow is more squeaky, lol, and she does it when someone touches her unexpectedly of when she comes inside and sees me, or when she’s been picked up and she doesn’t like it.24. Any hiding spots? Ash likes to lie beneath the table and my chair, etc. Sabrina will hide behind the couch occasionally. They have both hidden beneath stools because the fabric will hang down to cover them, bu their paws and tails peek out so I always know they’re there.25. Do they enjoy guests? Depends. A hoard of screaming children? Hell no. A lot of people in one room? Nope! They’ll be in my room the entire time. One person carefully introducing themselves? Okay, now you’re talking.26. Lofty objects to sit on? The back of the couch. Various window sills.27. Wear a collar?(and describe collar?) Yes! They have matching collars. Ash’s one is blue, Sabrina’s is purple. They both have a magnet on to get through the catflap.28. How much shedding? Inevitable with such long-haired cats. There is so much cat fluff all through the house.29. Do they enjoy brushing? Sabrina LOVES brushing. Will purr the entire time, will make you feel so special. Ash hates it. Will only let me do it, and I still will come back a little scratched and bitten. He’s a vicious boy. I love him.30. Ever drink from the toilet? Lol, yes. They leave paw maks on the bowl. But Sabrina prefers to drink from the sink. She’s more proper that way. Sometimes, they even drink from the bowl.31. How do they get your attention? For Ash, meowing usually does the trick. Sabrina, you can call her sometimes but it’s best just to go up to her.32. Embarrassing thing they’ve done? Ash fell out of a window. His face, omg. He was so ashamed.33. Weirdest thing they try to eat? Ash likes to eat peas. There’s no try about it, he does it. Sabrina likes to try to eat paper and cardboard.34. Are they like your siblings, children, or friends? They’re my children. My babies.35. What time do they eat breakfast? Whenever they want. They self regulate their eating.36. Do you cut their nails? No? Why would I do that? How else will they scratch their foes?37. Do you think they understand you? Yes. Of course.38. Ever make fun of them? Of course. Ash can be so stupid and violent (He’s an Ed Nygma, lol). Sabrina pretends to be all innocent and perfect but she likes to play just as much and is SO desperate for the pats.39. Do you take their picture often? When I feel like it. I like taking pictures of them.40. Ever hiss at you? Not really. Last time I heard Ash hiss, it was because a baby was crawling towards him and Ash felt trapped and didn’t want to hurt the baby, so he was trying to tell it to go away. I don’t think I remember Sabrina hissing.41. Ever try to scratch or bite you? Yes :) Attack babies. Ash has no hesitation, loves clawing and biting. Sabrina Will claw to stay attached to you or to bring your hand closer to her face for PATS.42. If you try to grab their paw, what do they do? If they’re in a good mood, they do nothing. Otherwise, Sabrina will pull away, and Ash will bite you or scratch you or both. 43. Do they ever eat bugs? SO MANY BUGS. They don’t discriminate, if you are bug they are eating you. They bring them in to play with before they have their meal. They’re a bit sadistic, although I’m sure Sabrina would protest me saying that. The favourite is Wetas, which are exclusive to NZ as far as I know.44. Canned or dry food? Dry food. It’s better for their fur.45. Weight? Ash is heavier, around 7kg or so last time I checked. Sabrina was closer to 5kg. But it’s been a really long time since I checked.46. Ever got lost? Nope.47. Do you buy them presents? I am their present. I am a gift.48. Do they respond when you call? When they want to, lol.49. Do they ever see other cats? There are other cats on the street, but they don’t like each other.50. Declawed? NO!!!!!51. Funniest expression? Ash makes a face everytime he thinks I’m about to give him food. Sabrina likes to look around with her eyes barely open, silently judging you for being in her presence (and not patting her).52. Favorite place to be pet? Face. Cheeks, chin, fore head, FACE.53. Worst thing they’ve destroyed? A whole frozen chicken. We don’t talk about it.54. Give them a head kiss. I did. Sabrina made such a cute, squeky meow that I had to pat her afterwards. Ash was like “wtf are you doing?” I think he’s only interested in food atm, lol.55. What time of the year is most exciting for them? Spring. They go outside lots and the grass is super wet and they get leaves and shit stuck in their fur.56. Are they good at hunting real prey? They have killed two birds and one mouse and soooo many insects. Does that count?57. Do they ever attack nothing? Of course. Especially Ash. He stupid.58. What are they doing right now? Sabrina’s on the chair, wondering why I left her after giving her kiss and pats. Ash is licking himself.59. How long have you had them? About a year. My last cat I had 8 years.60. If you could have them stay as a kitten forever, would you? No. What would be the point? Cats are more peaceful than kittens anyway.61. Ever baby-talk to them? Everyday. They are babies.62. Favourite napping position? Ash is a lover of the C position, or loaf position. Sabrina is a big fan of Ball of Fur position.63. Have you ever stepped on their paw? No.64. Ever tripped you on stairs? Yes, lol. That’s what they get for running like that.65. Any ear hair? They gots furry ears, it’s cute.66. Favourite view from a window? They like to watch the birds nest out one of the windows, Ash especially.67. Describe why they are precious. Because they just are so preicous. Sabrina is so tiny and baby but also attac and playful but she deny it. Ash is stupid baby, scaredy cat but he attack and pretend to be brave and I love my brave scaredy-cat baby.68. Fit the cat stereotype? Some of them, yeah.69. Chaotic neutral? Lol, Ash is chaotic Evil, but Sabrina is def chaotic neutral, even though she claims to be lawful good.70. Do they enjoy following/ keeping you company? Yes, I believe they do.71. Are you their favourite human? Definitely.72. Do they like tv? I think so. I’ve caught them both watching my laptop screen over my shoulder.73. Favourite noise to make? They love to purrr and make their lil meows.74. If they were a Neko Atsume cat, what would their momento be? I don’t know what is is, lol

Wow, so many questions. You now know so much about my cats.

[shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl]

Other ahoges: Makoto | Komaru | Hajime | Matsuda | Munakata | Kaede

Saihara Loses His Ahoge and Everyone Loses Their Shit

Waking up to a mystery has never been a good morning for Saihara.

When he woke up on that particular day, it had been innocuous at first. He did his usual morning routine of getting ready. It's only when he sees himself in the mirror that he notices the difference. He patted the top of his head. Smooth. That's strange... While he wasn't particularly fond of the ahoge, he doesn't remember ever getting it cut. It's just supposed to be there. Always sticking out. No gel or wax could hold it down. Only his hat was able to tame it but he doesn't wear that anymore.

He's already let go of the hat. What's the harm in losing the ahoge too?

"Um... Who are you?"

Apparently more damaging than he originally thought.

Huh? Huuuuuhh???

"Who the hell brought this normie over here?" Iruma greeted him with an insult. Well, it was pretty tame coming from her. "Oh, I get it! You're one of my fanboys! Sorry to bust your nuts but you ain't touching these glorious tits of mine!"

Never mind. Iruma not recognizing him isn't a huge loss anyways.

"Oh, who is this? A new friend?" Gonta waved at him. "Hello there new friend! Do not be afraid, we are good people!"

Such a good friend he was indeed. What did the world do to deserve Gonta?

"Hold up. I wouldn't start getting cozy with the new guy just yet." Hoshi warned. "It's only ever been us sixteen here. Sorry for being paranoid but getting a new classmate out of nowhere is pretty suspicious. The kid's gotta introduce himself first."

Even though they're basically the same age, Saihara will admit any day that Hoshi holds some form of seniority over him.

"He's been quiet though. Hmm, could it be?" Amami stared at him with an unreadable expression. "You have troubles with memory too?"

No, not memory. He's just utterly speechless at how everyone is treating him all because he doesn't have one lock of hair sticking out.

"Perhaps our guest does not feel welcome enough." Tojo proceeds to correct this situation by pouring him a cup of tea. It's exactly his favorite. "I hope that this is up to your tastes. Please, make yourself comfortable. We only wish to know more about you."

He tries not to cry into his cup of tea. He just wishes to know how his friends see him. Just the ahoge? Guys, his eyes are down here.

"Be careful! He's still a menace!" Tenko was already in a fighting position. "I do not know who you are but I do know that you are a degenerate male! And Tenko will not let you and your impure intentions get to the girls! If you try anything, I will break you!"

He just wants his identity back, please don't break him. He breaks easily.

"Too loud..." Yumeno yawned and then slumped in her seat. "Hey, you being here is a pain so could you get out?"

It's not like he wanted this commotion either. He just went here to have breakfast and he honestly feels so attacked right now.

"No non! Don't go yet. Angie senses a divine aura from you!" Angie clasped her hands in prayer. "It's A-OKAY! If you're feeling lost, come to Atua and he will guide you."

He's not even surprised that he's already getting recruited upon supposedly their first meeting.

"And so adds another person to the number of people I will be observing." Shinguji chuckled lightly while covering is already masked mouth. "Ah, I wonder what kind of human you'd reveal yourself to be, kukuku..."

Okay? Sometimes he really wonders if Shinguji's okay.

"Oh, no. This is a problem." Shirogane settled her chin on her hand, contemplating. "We can't have two plain characters. That's just plain redundant."

Well he knows he doesn't have the most... unique face. But still, the way she says it makes it sound like an actual problem.

"I have checked my database of people whom I've previously met and you did not match with any of the IDs." Kiibo crossed his arms. "Please let us know who you are so I can update my records."

Not to sound robophobic but Saihara expected for at least Kiibo to recognize him. If even the robot's program couldn't identify him then this just confirms his fear that this was beyond his control.

"Hey, buddy you've been quiet. You okay?" Momota smiled reassuringly. "Don't freak out in front of us now. Relax, man. We're a loud bunch but I promise that we won't hurt you."

It's really hard not to freak out when you realize that your whole identity is centered around your ahoge.

"Answer if someone talks to you." Harukawa glared at him. "...Do you want to die?"

Whatever happened to that promise that they wouldn't hurt him?

"Guys, you're freaking the new guy out." Akamatsu "Still, it is kind of weird that you're only showing up now. Oh, it's not like I'm suspicious of you or anything! It's just... weird. Hmm, if only Saihara was here. He probably would have some theories."

But he's right here? Literally guys you don't have to look so hard.

"Has anyone seen him? He's never usually late for breakfast."

"Oh, pick me! Pick me! I toooootally saw him this morning!" Ouma "Hey! Look, it's Saihara-chan!"

Everyone turned their heads away from him and towards where he pointed at. Everyone except Saihara himself.

That's why Saihara saw. He saw Ouma take out Saihara's hat (he had been wondering where that went) and he saw... an ahoge on top of it. He saw Ouma wear it. He also saw Ouma smirk at him.

Ouuuuumaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

"Where? I don't see him at all."

"Hey guys! It's me! Totally Saihara-chan" Ouma declared oh so innocently despite his smile being anything but. He didn't even bother changing his voice. Or anything else for that matter. He's just wearing a hat with an ahoge ridiculously glued on top.

He can't possibly think he could pull this off.

"Oh, hey Saihara! Where were you, man?" Momota warmly greeted him.

Okay... But to be fair, Momota isn't the... sharpest so...

"Geez, you had us worry for a bit there. What took you so long?" Akamatsu pouted at him.

Not Akamatsu too?? Shit. This was happening.

"There is something... different about you today, Saihara." Kiibo pondered. "Oh but you match perfectly with my identification scanner so it just might be a slight bug."

How can Ouma wearing a dumb hat with ahoge match Saihara's profile? Is he just an ahoge in his ID?!

"It must be the clothes. I mean it's plain to see that this is Saihara since his signature ahoge is there." Shirogane proudly presented.

So he's really just an ahoge in their eyes. That's... kinda sad okay.

"Nishishi!" Oh, come on! Ouma's even doing his trademark laugh and no one's going to point out that inconsistency? Seriously? No one? "I thought I'd try a new look today! Since I'm always wearing emo clothes, I thought I'd spice things up a bit!"

Okay full offense taken. His clothes are black not emo. It's just a coincidence that it's a common color for emos. Hey, black is a general color, okay? He is not emo.

"It looks suspiciously like Ouma's." Harukawa pointed out. "You have poor taste."

That's all she's going to take away from that? His fashion sense?

"Well I happen to think that Ouma has ridculously good tastes! Supreme leader tastes! Godlike even!"

Please, won't anyone at least point out that Saihara will never in his lifetime praise Ouma.

"Angie doesn't know about that last part. Atua says that Ouma's tastes are just so so." Angie commented.

Again, focusing on the wrong specifics here.

"Ah, but one can argue that since Ouma's talent is being a supreme leader then does it not mean that technically he does possess supreme leader tastes? I admit that it's a mere technicality but it fits logic." Shinguji argued.

Hey so, Saihara isn't the most egocentric person there and he doesn't even like attention but can they get back to him? It's bad enough that they think a barely disguised Ouma is him but to get set aside in conversation too? Just when Saihara thought things couldn't get any sadder, it does.

"Does it really matter? They're both menaces! Changing one's clothes does not change the evil within." Tenko sneered.

He's desperate. He will take any insult as long as it changes the topic.

"Whatever. Can we eat already?" Yumeno huffed in annoyance.

Not really contributing to the conversation but at least it's not about Ouma. His standards have hit an all time low.

"Yes, I will get the food served shortly." Tojo politely bowed. "However, it would seem that Ouma is the one missing now."

Aaaaand we're back to talking about Ouma. The same Ouma who's masquerading in a discount costume of Saihara. The one and only Ouma who's snickering right now.

"Who gives a shit about Cockichi?! If the cock sucker wants to miss out on good food then it's his loss!" Iruma ranted.

While she does make a good point, Saihara hoped that someone would have at least noticed that Ouma only disappeared as soon as "Saihara" appeared. But he knew better now than to hope.

"Oh, no! But what if he starves? Gonta don't want friend hungry." Gonta said with genuine concern.

If Ouma really was a friend then he wouldn't be making Saihara suffer like this.

"Eh, he'll live. If he gets hungry, he knows where the food is." Hoshi shrugged. "Just let him run around as much as he want so we can have some peace here for once."

Except the only flaw in that plan is that Ouma is HERE. He's literally right here. Seriously, is it a detective thing that only Saihara is noticing all these discrepancies?

"That's right. Ignore poor Ouma and let him die a dog's death! Nobody likes him anyways! He's the worst!"

Well he's not wrong... But how can he say that so easily about himself??

"Wait. Something's been bothering me." Amami, who Saihara only noticed to be quiet all this time, suddenly spoke up. He wore the most serious expression ever seen on his face. He walked up to Ouma and placed his hand on the hat. It stayed there, gripped ever so tightly.

Could it be...?

"There." Amami said after twisting the cap just a few degrees. He was back to smiling as if a weight off his chest had been lifted. "I apologize for the glaring. It was crooked and I was debating on letting it be but as you can see I just couldn't stop myself, ahaha."

"Awww, it's okay! Thank you, Amami-chan!" Ouma blew him a flying kiss.

At this point, Saihara would have gladly welcomed death.

"Oh, by the way. I almost forgot!" Ouma suddenly turned to Saihara. Oh no. He's wearing that smile. The smile that never leads up to anything good. That shit-eating grin. Ouma is wearing it at full blast.

Saihara should have run when he had the chance.

"I have a theory on the new guy! He's obviously the mastermind because I said so. Listen. I'm a detective so I know what I'm doing. So let's all gang up on him, okay? Let's go, team!"

...

Fuck.

It was at that moment that Saihara knew he was fucked up.

"Oi, is that true? You think we got ourselves the mastermind, bro?"

"Hmm, Saihara said it so it can't be a lie."

"Let's kill that asshole! I'll fucking cut his dick into pieces!"

"Tenko too will destroy this menace!"

"Please, guys we're more civilized than that."

"Ahaha, let's listen to our leader. Maybe there's still room for negotiations."

"Nyeh, sounds like more work. Can't we just finish him off?"

"...I can kill him quickly but it wouldn't be as satisfying."

"Don't kill him off just yet. We still need information from him."

"It is not a request I haven't heard of... I believe I may be of assistance."

"If you require rope then I would gladly volunteer in tying our culprit up. I have learned of methods where it brings more pain than it does pleasure."

"Oh Gonta does not want to hurt anyone. But Gonta does not like it if this person has hurt friends."

"Well Atua says that this calls for a divine retribution nyahaha!"

"What a plot twist! A mastermind reveal during a filler episode!"

FUCK!

He didn't have to be detective to know that he wasn't going to survive if he stayed there any longer. So he bolted and ran far enough to lock himself in his room. Just outside he could hear his classmates rioting. He knew they weren't allowed to break the door and it seemed that they remembered that rule. He just wishes that Ouma would conveniently forget that he could lockpick doors. Speaking of which, he could hear his distinct laughter bouncing just outside. Atua, if you're out there please spare him.

Saihara already lost his ahoge and consequentially, his identity. He wasn't ready to lose his life too.