twsted-kinks · 7 months ago
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Because I overthink here is a map for the TWST Monster AU
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Click read more for a description of each place and who lives there.
The Town of Holyisle: A human town with a monastery run by the abbot, Rollo. The population of the village is fully human and monsters are seen as enemies that should be shunned.
Yuu's Home: Home of the witch, Yuu, and their cat-like imp familiar, Grim. They often make potions for the Riverside Village and the town of Holyisle.
Riverside Village: A farming village that's the home of both monsters and humans. The Lord of the Village is the centaur, Riddle, whose servants include Trey, the minotaur, as his personal cook, Cater, the slime, as his financial advisor, and Che'nya, a catfolk menace who refuses to leave. There are also two newer servants, Deuce, the rabbitfolk, and Ace, the satyr. Another notable figure is the local historian, the human Trein.
Shoreside Reef: A town just off the coast filled fully with merfolk. The head of the village is Azul, an octopus merfolk who also engages heavily with trade on the island and has established a number of businesses on land. His closest confidants are Jade and Floyd, twin eel merfolk who do the dirty work for Azul.
Haunted Cave: A mysterious cave guarded by a small automaton named Ortho who is meant to protect the cave from outsiders, but he mostly just spends time with the resident ghost who is also his brother, Idia.
The City of Pomme: A large city with a population that's mostly monsters. The Lord of the City is the demons, Vil, who is also a popular actor in his theater company. His personal assistant is Rook, a troll and hunter, who was a fan of his performances. The new up and coming star is the fairy Epel who has been taken under Vil's wing. Another popular actor is the angel Neige who is the lead actor in a rival theater company. Another notable figure is the seamster and fasion designer, Crewel.
Duskfall Savanna: A fully monster city with a majority of the population being beastfolk. The lord of the city is Leona, a lionfolk, who doesn't really like his position. His personal servant is the hyenafolk, Ruggie. The gardener for Leona's estate is a wolfolk named Jack. Another notable figure is Vargas, a manticore, who is known for causing chaos from time to time.
Scalding Oasis: A desert city known for its many monster artisans and high quality goods. The Lord of the City is the harpy, Kalim, who is always accompanied by his servant, the naga Jamil. Another notable person is the ghoul, Sam, who runs the most expansive market in the entire oasis.
The Dragon's Domain: A territory ruled by the dragon, Malleus, who lives in his own personal tower. The others who live in his territory include the vampire batfolk, Lilia, the lizardfolk, Sebek, and the centaur, Silver who help care for the territory and act and confidants of Malleus.
Old Ruins: Not much is known about the old ruins other than it acts as a home for a dark feathered harpy.
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winterstarqueen · 3 years ago
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Hey uh can you write a story where the reader is getting bullied at twlight town and people are making fun of reader insulting her face and her looks and Sora has enough with this abuse and decide to stand up for her and Olette also stand up for her too
That’s it. (Sora x bullied female reader.)
(Warning: mean things being said. A bit of violence.) 
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Sora was visiting Twilight Town after a ton of begging. He said that he wanted to find more clues to finding Roxas and Naminé. But,that wasn’t the only reason why he wanted to come here. Sora wanted to visit you. After seeing you a couple times he couldn’t help But,want to see you again. Sora happily walked towards the usual spot. “Wak! Where are you going?!” Donald asked. “To the usual spot. I want to visit the Twilight Town gang.” He said smiling. “I think that’s a good idea. Maybe they found something about Roxas.” Goofy agreed. The trio were on their way when Sora spotted you. You looked worried. “(Y/n)!” He said with a smile on his face. “Sora?” You asked not turning around. You couldn’t let him see you not like this. After all you couldn’t even let your sister look at you. What would happen if Sora saw you? You didn’t want to know. Because you kinda liked him. Plus you weren’t even that pretty. So, you took off running. “Wait! (Y/n)!” Sora said. He turned to his friends. “(Y/n) where are you?!” Olette asked frowning. “Hey, we just saw her.” Sora said frowning. “Yeah. She was going that way.” Goofy said pointing in the way you went. “Let’s look together.” Sora said. She nodded and they tried to look for you in the woods. You stood in front of the old mansion. “What should I do?” You asked frowning. You took one look at your arm. It had a bump on it. You wanted help. But,in the deepest part of your mind something was stopping you. Maybe it was because your bullies were right. You closed your eyes remembering everything.
You were sitting by the sandlot writing a letter to Sora. Of course you weren’t going to send it or anything like that. You just wanted to say thank you to him. Because you could tell how hard he has been working. You looked up at the sunset sky. It probably sounded like you were being clingy or something. That is why you didn’t tell anyone about it. Suddenly someone sat next to you. Oh no, it was Shuka and Yuu. These two girls hated you. “Well,what do we have here?! Look, Yuu it’s the baby!” Shuka said pushing you a bit. “Shouldn’t your sister be baby sitting you.” Yuu said. “N-No I can look after myself.” “What is this?” She asked in a taunting tone. Yuu took your letter. “Can you please give that back?” You asked. “Let me think...no! Besides this is too much fun.” She said. The two of them read your letter to Sora. Afterwards they began to laugh. “Let me get this strait...you like Sora?!” Shuka laughed. You were blushing and you couldn’t say a word. All because your heart was beating at the thought. “W-Why do you care?” You asked. These girls saw him even more rare than you did. That was when Yuu looked at you. “Listen to me. You aren’t pretty enough to have anyone! In fact no one wants you! You can just leave this place and no one would care.” Yuu said looking at you. “I bet your foster parents regret adopting you! Because your always crying to them! You cause so much trouble for everyone including your sister. So,why would Sora want you?!” Shuka yelled. “That’s not true...my sister and Sora care about me.” You cried. That Yuu pushed you down. “Get this in your dumb head! You are ugly,a cry baby and stupid. No one wants you around!” She said kicking you. Shuka tore up your letter and said. “If you tell someone...it will get worse for you.” You were crying because she kicked you so hard. Her words set in as well. That was when she kicked your arm hard. The girls left you broken. You looked at your torn letter. You couldn’t tell anyone about your problem not even your best friend. Your sister.
You began to cry. You didn’t want those girls to hurt you again. So,the best thing to do. Was to hide your feelings and pretend that everything was okay. While avoiding those girls. You heard footsteps and took a mad dash for the mansion. It was the only way for you to calm down. You had to be alone. “I’m sorry...but,I don’t want to see you right now.” You thought running into a room. You hid in the corner as you heard Sora and your sis calling your name. You heard someone come in. You dried your tears and pretended that everything was okay. “There you are. Your sister and I have been looking for you.” A familiar voice said. It was Sora. You looked out the window. Trying not to show him your tears. “(Y/n)? What’s wrong?” He asked. “Nothing. I-I just wanted to explore.” You lied still not looking his way. You frowned upon realizing that you were alone with Sora. He walked up to you. The two of you stood there in silence. But,Sora didn’t like this. This wasn’t like you. You would usually want to talk to him. Ask him if he was doing well. You asked him all kinds different kind of things and you helped out in any way you could. That was something that he could appreciate. Plus you would be happy to see him. Maybe he said something last time he came to visit. “Are you mad at me?” He asked. You shook your head. “No. It’s just...what do you...think about me?” You asked him. Sora blushed. He couldn’t tell you the truth. But,he couldn’t lie either. “Well, you’re really caring. I see the way you treat others. Even strangers. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite like you.” He said looking at you. You didn’t know how to respond to that. Was Sora right or was those girls right? You didn’t know who to believe. You wanted to believe him. But, what they said just lingered in your head. No matter how much you told yourself that you’re okay. You aren’t. “Let’s go find your sister.” Sora said smiling. You smiled and went with him. “I was so worried about you.” She said hugging you. You wanted to push her away and tell her that you didn’t need your sis to look after you. After all the two of you are the same age. But, you didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Let’s go get you some ice cream.” She said smiling. “Sounds good to me.” You said smiling.
All of you went to get ice cream. You were almost there. When Sora suggested. “Let’s race.” “Okay. Are you in (Y/n)?” Olette said smiling. You nodded. Maybe you were going to be okay. “Ready...go!” She said. You slowly walked at first. The two of them were confused by this and stopped. That was when you took off running. “I fall for that every time...” Olette sighed. You had a huge smile on your face. You were going to win. That was when you bumped into someone and this person tripped you. Causing you to fall. You shook your head and was about to get up. However, this was when you got a good look at the person. “Oh. I’m sorry did I trip you?” Yuu asked. You got up. But, Shuka pushed you again. “Boy you aren’t just ugly...but,you’re clumsy too.” She said. They were going to say a couple of mean things and let you go. This was until they saw your friends. “You’re a cry baby! I can’t believe that you actually had the nerve to tell them!” Yuu said looking very angry. “No. I didn’t tell them...honest.” You said looking afraid. “You’re lying!” Shuka said. You shook your head. “Time to pay up.” Yuu said about to punch you. Only someone grabbed her wrist. “Get your hands off my sister!” Olette yelled. “Why are you defending her?! She’s worthless little cry baby.” “No she isn’t!” Your sister yelled. “Look at her! She isn’t even that pretty!” Shuka said about to hit you. Sora hugged you tightly wanting to take the hit. But,Donald and Goofy defended you. “These girls don’t appreciate your kindness (Y/n).” Goofy said looking angry. “Oh,please! (Y/n) let’s us have fun with her! In fact she deserves everything that we do to her!” Yuu said. “That’s enough! You must be blinded by your jealousy to say something like that! (Y/n) hasn’t done anything wrong!” Sora yelled. You grabbed Sora’s hand. “She’s right....just look at me...” You whispered. She has already pushed you down and causing your cheek to have a big scratch on it. That was when he finally realized what happened. Sora looked at you as you didn’t want to be seen. That was when he snapped. “How could you do this to someone who is this sweet?!” Sora asked yelling. He summoned his keyblade and this scared the girls off. They must have realized how serious he was. “(Y/n) are you okay?” Sora asked frowning. You didn’t look at him. That was realizing that you were crying. “We’ll go get a first aid kit.” Your sis said going into the restaurant. She was leaving you with Sora. He embraced you. “Shhh. Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe now.” Sora said as you cried. “Listen they’re wrong about you.” “I don’t know Sora...” You cried. “I do. I’ve learned so much while on my journey. But,you taught me very important lessons...” “I did?” You asked. Sora has been to all kinds of different places. What did you teach him? He nodded. “Oh yeah. One of them was to look at a person’s heart not their looks. You care about everyone here. No matter how they look.” Sora said hugging you. “We’re back.” Olette said before opening the box.
She sprayed medicine on your deep cuts. You looked away kinda in pain. It stung a bit. Sora held your hand as she put bandages on your cheek and knees. “Here drink this.” Sora then said giving you an elixir. You shook your head. “You need this for battle...” You said frowning. “It’s okay we have more.” Sora said with a smile. All your friends were too good to you. “I can’t believe those girls! How dare they say things like that you? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that they won’t do anything to you again.” She said. You dried your tears. “Are you feeling a little better?” Sora asked you. You slowly nodded and continued on. Suddenly Sora stopped in his tracks. You stopped as well. His face was red. “Sora?” “C-Can I do something?” He asked you. You nodded. He kissed you gently on head before looking away. You could feel the blush on your face. Sure this was just a kiss on your head. But,to you it felt a little more than that. You needed it and he knew that. You looked down lost in thought. Sora knew exactly what you needed. But,how? Only your parents and sister really knew what you needed to feel better. Everyone had a different something to help them cheer up. And yours was a kiss on your head. “I’m sorry if that was too much.” Sora said frowning. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he actually kissed you on the lips. “No it’s okay.” You said blushing. In fact you wanted him to do it again. But, you couldn’t ask. Maybe shyness took over you. You didn’t know. As the two of you got ice cream Sora couldn’t help but,want to hold your hand. He didn’t know if you would want that. Sora didn’t want to push you. Into doing something that you didn’t want to do. Because that wasn’t right. You smiled as your sister hugged you. “Her smile is so bright. I love it so much.I have to protect this place for everyone including her. I have to keep fighting the darkness.” Sora thought looking at you. After what happened today you became his driving force even more than before. When all of this was over he will spend time with you and try to confess. But,he knows very little about love. He had to go for that goal.
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darkzorua100 · 5 years ago
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In works of fiction, one of the hardest things to do isn’t so much as writing a solid story but trying to find a way to end it with a satisfying conclusion. It could be a happy, sad, or all of the above as long as it fits the story that you have building up to at this point. After all, this is the last thing your viewers are going to be seeing. The last big take away before they have to move on. What is going to be the legacy of this fiction? A ending can make or break a series after all. Just look at Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V for example. Looking back at it, it was such a groundbreaking entry into the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise for being the first series to make all the Extra Deck Summoning Mechanics relevant to the story instead of pushing them off to the side for the newest one in Pendulum at the time. It was a huge nostalgia trip by paying homage to the past series that came before it from using their locations for the different dimensions to bringing back past characters, in a way anyway, to the forefront. There is just so much more I could say about that spin-off but to put it in a nutshell, ARC-V just did so much right at the time but of course we all can’t forget that damn ending. The way that ARC-V ended just left pretty much everyone who had watched it from the very beginning with such a sour taste in our mouths. I don’t think I need to explain why, anyone who has seen the final knows exactly what I’m talking about, but yeah, it goes to show that a finale leaves a lasting impression and is pretty much why, even to this day, a majority of people consider ARC-V to be the worst Yu-Gi-Oh series to date. 
So with all that being said, how did Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains finale do? Was it able to wrap everything up into a perfect little package with a nice bow on top? Well honestly, the package itself was a freaking mess and a half but I will say the bow on top wasn’t half bad for what it was worth. We all knew with Vrains ending way to early compared to the previous series that things were going to be getting rushed at the end but I will say that even if things were rushed, and it wasn’t the most satisfying ending they could have given us, what they did give us still left me feeling fulfilled and with Vrains being the absolute train wreck that it was, at the end of the day, I’ll call that a win. 
So let’s start off with the final part of the Playmaker vs Ai duel. These two really were just full on neck and neck that it literally came down to their aces (because yes, Decode Talker is Playmaker’s true ace monster of show) batting each other, once again like from the opening, with Yusaku only being able to pull out the win in the end because Ai wanted to make sure that he was going to be able to finish him off during his turn. If his greed didn’t get the best of him, he would have actually won. That is actually really crazy to think about. At one point, just before Playmaker summoned Accesscode Talker, I seriously thought he was going to summon a Link 8 since he had the total Link Rating on his field with his three monsters plus Darkfluid being a Link 5 but nope, he summoned basically his new combination of the six Ignises in the form of a Code Talker (which all seem to be model after an Ignis anyway). I mean how he was actually able to summon out Accesscode was kinda BS but that’s just normal BS when it comes to the final duels in a Yu-Gi-Oh final. I’m still questioning how in the actual world did Yusaku not deck himself out during this duel. Seriously just how many cards did this boy go through? Way to many from the looks of things.
Now let’s talk about Playmaker and Ai scenes. My god, those shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did. Just at the beginning when Yusaku was telling Ai about how the bonds between others were the things that created the future, not predetermined simulations, and how Ai just couldn’t understand it just hurt right off the bat because I can understand why Ai can’t think that way. Just like he told Yusaku, he is data. To find a situation to a problem is all he knows. To base something with nothing to support it makes no sense to him especially when he can’t chance it. He has seen the alternative and my god, Ai. We didn’t even see the full simulation play out (but what we did see is definitely getting censored in the dub no questions there) but I could already tell what exactly played out. If Dr. Kogami was right about anything, it is that it is inevitable for humanity not to turn against artificial intelligence out of fear that they would one day surpass humanity and try and take us over or just kill us on the spot. I think the future we saw in that simulation was just that with Yusaku trying to convince them that Ai was no danger to humanity and well....we all saw how well that ended. Honestly I lowkey wished we got to see more of that simulation just to see the moment that Ai snaps and murders anyone. Because lets face it, Yusaku literally is the only family that Ai had left at that point. If something happened to him, Ai was actually going to snap. And it wasn’t even if something terrible would happen to him. Yusaku is still human while Ai is an artificial intelligence. If nothing happened to him, Yusaku would have just aged over time and eventually pass away while Ai would always remain immortal which once again would probably lead to a snap. I honestly don’t blame Ai for picking the path that he did in the end. Even if Lightning never showed him the first simulation, I don’t think it would have been long before Ai would have put the pieces together and start doing his own simulations. Ai was just a goner since the moment he was created as a A.I. with free-will. As for his death scene, I almost did start crying because things shouldn’t have had to have ended this way. I don’t care what Yusaku said. You should have took the fusion deal, young man. It worked out pretty freaking well for Judai and Yubel. Heck, regardless how stupid it was, the Yuu Boys and the Bracelet Girls were all still their own individual people too. I don’t see how that would be any different for you two, especially considering that Ai came from you, Yusaku. I have a lot of feelings about this but I will say that the moments that really hurt for me was when Ai asked Yusaku if he was a good partner, to which Yusaku answered “yes”, and when Yusaku explained to Ai that his name meant “love”. I actually didn’t think they were going to explain the meaning of Ai’s name in the show but I’m so thankful that they did but damn, that freaking hurt! Also Aiballshipping is canon. I actually find it hilarious that Ai stole Yusaku from Ryoken at the last second XD
As for everyone else’s endings. As much as it is still the most convenient bullsh*t ever, I am happy that Jin was able to move on after freaking years of being tormented by his PTSD and by Lightning in season 2 and is now happily working with his brother at the hot dog truck just like Kusanagi always wanted. I’m glad that they are slowly starting to make up for all the time that they have lost together because of this one incident. Aoi seems to be doing okay but I won’t lie, I was bit salty that Miyu wasn’t with her when she was visiting the brothers since it seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to be together and to show that their friendship is still strong after all of these years. Like what the heck? If they are going to force this stupid storyline on us, at least commit to it damn it! It has been three months and wait? Is she still in the damn hospital? Like we literally don’t know what happened to Miyu after all of this and I just find that infuriating but what’s new there? Akira is now CEO of SOL Technologies and I’m kinda mixed on how to feel about this. I mean we all were expecting this since the very beginning but again it is one of those things like what happened to Queen? Vrains threw away the rest of the Chess Pieces long ago but Queen was still a character. I mean I like to think that Queen just up and give Akira the company out of fear of being attacked again by someone else in the future but it is still one of those things that you wished you knew what happened to her as to how Akira got this position. It seems that Vrains has continued to grow and expand during this three month time skip and I don’t know if it was intentional or not but all the connections make it look like The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister and if that truly was the case that was a really nice detail to add, Vrains. Emma and Kengo seemed to have teamed up as a brother and sister bounty hunter team in the network which is fitting. Go is back to being his entertainer self to please his younger fans. I’m planning on giving my full thoughts about Vrains sometime later this week hopefully so I’m get into more detail about him and everyone else there. The Knights of Hanoi are taking Takeru’s declaration to heart and are watching over Link Vrains from Ryoken’s freaking cruise ship apparently while Ryoken and Spectre are watching over everything inside of Link Vrains. Now that Vrains is over, I officially have to ask. Where the actual hell is Ryoken getting all of this money from? Correction, WHERE IS HE GETTING ALL OF THESE BOATS FROM?! Geez and I thought we as a fandom were the shippers. This boy has a freaking navy of them in hiding.
HOMURA TAKERU GOT HIMSELF A GIRLFRIEND! MY BOY IS GETTING LAID TONIGHT! 
No but seriously, before they showed the duel disks and just them sitting on the bed, my brain went places. The dialogue did not help. Yes my brain is extremely dirty but that’s besides the point. 
ENTRUSTSHIPPING IS CANON! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
I like to think that wherever Flame ended up in the A.I. afterlife, he is looking down at Takeru with a proud smile during this moment. I also just find it fun that since Kiku doesn’t have an avatar, if anyone knows her in real life sees her in Link Vrains with Soulburner, they are obviously going to put the pieces together real quick about who Soulburner actually is. I’m in just such amazement right now over this even though I had any idea that something like this was going to happen. During the closing interviews from the VAs, Kaji Yuuki made a comment about how we were going to be seeing Takeru getting “unmasked” during the finale and I just knew that something like this was going to happen and I was not disappointed at all. I’m sorry but I just have such a huge sh*t eating grin across my face because of this. 
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY MADE THIS CANON!
How is it that Kiku, a freaking SIDE CHARACTER, ended up being my favorite female of Vrains? I don’t know, I’m just going to move on before I start freaking out again about these two being so freaking adorable. 
I do like how Naoki, as soon as he saw these two, makes it his new goal to get himself a special someone of his own. I don’t know how that’s going to work out for him but hey good for him.
And as for Yusaku, the shows ends with him going on some kind of journey, leaving his final fate obscure which is pretty normal for a Yu-Gi-Oh series as they did the same in the past with Judai and Yusei. My guess he’s going around the network to try and find a way to bring back Ai and maybe the rest of the Ignis.
Speaking of which, the last scene we get of this series is that Ai is apparently alive. Maybe. Who actually knows. He could be in A.I. heaven for all we know but if that’s the case I feel they would have shown us a scene of him being greeted and welcomed by the rest of the Ignis but what we got of him instead was him in his eyeball form looking to be restored. Man Ai is literally like a cockroach and I am saying that in the nicest way possibly. He gets his data eaten by a dragon, tore to pieces by a Data Storm, destroyed by a powerful program, and even kills himself by his own hand and yet he still lives. I am very curious to know if anything is going to come from this reveal, such as if YGO 7 actually is a crossover series, or if this was just the writers giving us a break and letting us know that Ai is still alive and there is hope of him returning. I mean I’m happy he is alive, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like it would have just been fine keeping him dead with the rest of the Ignis. Because if he is still alive, won’t Ai just try and kill himself again? Seems kinda counterproductive but I digress.
So yeah, I very much enjoyed the final episode of Vrains. The series had a lot of problems, and I mean A LOT of them, but it had its shining moments, such as this. Like I said, I’m planning to go into more detail about my full thoughts about the series but when it comes to its ending, I think it delivered what it needed to. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains. You were a freaking struggle to watch at times but you were a joy to have around all the same. I guess the best compliment I can give you is that you literally are Ai. You are insufferable at times but you had your charm that kept me coming back for more and I’m sad to see you go just like I was with Ai.
Now it is onto Yu-Gi-Oh 7th and who knows. If it actually is a crossover series, Vrains might just be back sooner then we expect. I hope so because I’m not ready to say goodbye to my meme-lord and my fire child and his new girlfriend yet! I don’t think it has fully hit me yet that Vrains is actually over and it is going to suck when next week comes around and there is just no more episodes.
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detective-redstar · 5 years ago
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Journal Entry N.02 || Chapter 1
|| This journal will act as a recap for everything that has happened during Chapter 1. This means there will be information that Airi would not realistically know. This is only for the sake of the recap. If you’re confused on who’s who, here’s a link to the roster page. ||
@despot-despair
It’s been some time, hasn’t it? A lot has happened since I last wrote in this journal. This may take a while and my wrist will probably hurt from writing this much, but I’ll survive~
I was able to get around and mingle with lots of people after we escaped that wretched dungeon! I have a sneaking suspicion not many of them like me. It’s a bit upsetting, to be honest :’(
However! I’m not the most hated person here, since Yuu decided to stir the pot even more. During our first conversation, which got rather heated, he threatened to rip my nails off. My beautiful nails! Thankfully, I escaped with all my nails in tact.
Apparently, he also got into huge shit with Hitomi and Ivy too. Yuu grabbed the rabbit girl by the ankle and started dragging her across the courtyard so he could dunk her into one of the ponds. Hitomi was there and, in an attempt to stop the local blue menace, hit him right in the neck with his gas tank. Ivy was freed, but I guess that encounter scared her pretty bad. Hitomi must’ve felt guilty too, ‘cause he stormed off the second Yuu was knocked to the ground. 
That isn’t all. He also bullied Tsuguyo, the small origami artist, by giving her the same treatment of grabbing her to drag her along the grass. Apparently he was trying to throw her into the nearby pond. Only after Tsuguyo bit and threw rocks at him did he let go, due to being knocked half-unconscious.
Yuu’s honestly such an annoyance, and that means something coming from me.
A day or so passed and Raiouji announced that he prepared a feast for everyone. Some sort of welcoming party, maybe? Either way, it was far from welcoming, as the dinner quickly took a turn for the worst when the dead body of Sujaku was discovered underneath one of the serving domes. He told us that we needed to investigate what happened to the phoenix or face punishment, aka mass execution. 
Safe to say, not many were pleased with that. But we had no choice, so everyone split up to investigate.
I had paired up with Kliment Holloway, the Clarinet Boy. All was going smoothly, when, in one of the stalls in the restroom, we found some graffiti that said “Airi x Koko best ship.” I still have no idea who wrote it. Kliment had absolutely no idea what it meant. At the time, I was disgusted. Funny how much my feelings have changed since then. I’ll... get to that later.
z̵̬̩̳̾͛̏@̸̫͉̠̼̭̪̇̐̉͊Ȇ̷̮̠̠̥̰ͅ@̷̡̼̝̫͍̔̏̀͗͑̉͗̇͘̚C̷̛̙̦̓̅̍͂̆̀̍:̴̬̜͓́̽̆̉̈́͐̎͗̈̈́͠͝]̷̢̢͔̲͎̻͍̩̲̱̝̘͆͗̽͊̌͐́]̵͔̬̦̑͂̂͛̾̒̃̋̒͘]̷̬̦̈́́̈́̏͛̊̇̑
In any case! We were going to have a trial. A trial for a robotic bird. It was a joke, so I treated it like one. To add onto the stupidity of this mock trial, Klim entered the graffiti we found as actual evidence. I wanted to die of embarrassment. Explaining what a ship was took forever, and I still don’t think he gets it.
The trial ended pretty quick - faster than any trial I had been to. Turns out Yunime stomped Sujaku to death because Sujaku had spoken ill of Raiouji. As stupid as it sounds, it was written in the rules that it’s forbidden to insult him. No one was killed for it, as Raiouji deemed Yunime’s actions as acceptable punishment.
In the end, we avoided execution and were to resume our lives in captivity. Mukuro, Sujaku’s mate, was pretty upset about the whole thing. Not sure why she’d stay loyal to Raiouji after that.
Raiouji, however, wasn’t going to sit around and just wait for a body to appear. So he prepared a motive - an incentive to kill. After gathering everyone in the foyer, what could only be described as the screams of the damned started blasting throughout the castle. Mukuro confirmed that it was Sujaku’s mixtape. Yes, his mixtape. It sounded awful.
Remembering what happened after that... really annoys me.
I made a joke. One simple little offhand comment about how Koko should die first. Then those witches decided to swarm me while pretending to uphold some bullshit justice. Sakura and Mari especially. Sakura hit me twice, yet she pretends to be some righteous hero who opposes violence. What a bunch of hypocrites.
x̶̢̡̰̻̜̪͇̝̠͇̥͇͖̓̍̇͊͘͝ͅ ̵̢̨̛͕̬̼̘͈̯͍̜̩̏̆̔͊́̑̋͜9̵̧̧̜̱͇͍͍̲̩͔͔͎̗̿̂̍̽̄͑͗̋͋̋͜2̴̛̦̫͗͂̆̾͛̉Ę̶̼͔͇̰̮͗̽̍̿̾̈́̿̈́̍͗͝6̵̩̭̱̻̈́ ̵̢͈͚̥͎̰͎́̐̈̂͑̓͒̆͗͜E̷͖̭̱̯̞̥̼̠̞̬͔̘̍̓̉͋̍̾̏̾̉̎̈͆͘̚͠9̶̡̙̪̘̺̯̙̯̪̰̱̏̕͘͘6̶̡̞͖̭̱̖͕̈́͊̋͆́̀̇͌͝͠>̶͙̩̯͉͍̹̜͍͉̺̟͊ͅ]̶̧̛͎͈̗̩͇̼̤̦͙̐̔̃̅̉͜ͅͅ
I was so mad and I had to get out there before I did anything reckless. So I left to the dining room, where I found Ivy looking downcast. She tried to comfort me, in a way. Ricky Boy was there too, but I’m sure he was only wanting to hear some gossip. He isn’t sincere in the slightest. 
I cracked. I freaked out and told them about how I was going to make their lives miserable. I even snapped one of my nails off. Writing about it like this reminds me of how crazy I must’ve looked. Ricardo and Ivy panicked and took me to the bathroom to wash the blood off. Though Ricardo only came after I promised to give him what he wanted: that scalding hot tea. (I hate myself for writing that.)
Ivy retrieved a ribbon from her room and used that as a makeshift bandage. Honestly, I’m really grateful for it. I wouldn’t be able to stand having some ugly wound ruining my perfect appearance. Ricky left after we subtly threatened each other and that was the end of it. 
I still haven’t forgotten though. Of the unfair treatment I received simply because I’m deemed the villain. Oh no, this was only the beginning. 
Once the motive was dropped, there was tension hanging everywhere in the castle over whether or not someone would truly kill over this. Hitomi, %̷̨̢̍̔̅̃̕9̴̲͙̹͓̑6̵̭͇̯̊͐̈́ ̸̨̭̗̥̈͑3̷̛̻̘̘̬̋̎̓͜@̵̞͂̃͌̾͝@̴͔̼͕̞̙̓Ě̵̥̜͠ ̷̻͝=̴̛͈̀̇̿̕͝:̵̢̧̜̞̉͋̅͛4̵̭̻̻͇̯̱̍̅̌<̴͓͓̽͐͊̉6̴̟̜̰͈̣̄̏̂͘̚͝C̷̡͙͎̯̊ Sakura and %̴̩̥̖̌̈̀̾̚ͅ9̸̧̛̿̌͗6̴̩͙̘̣̈ ̶̠̐3̸̛̥̓:̸̢̺͔͙͎̓͜E̵̛̦̱̗̣͓͉͗͋̑̑̕4̶̤͖͙̳̗̼̊9̵͛͌̃̏ Mari tried to brainstorm some way of preventing such a killing from taking place. They created some rules to enforce - rules they never bothered to tell anyone else. Quite the oversight I must say~ 
Their plan failed. 
But that’s enough about them! Time to talk more about me ★ And Koko. She’s pretty important to this equation.
If I could trace back a specific point in time which was the trigger for everything, it would be that fortune telling session Koko hosted for all who stopped by. I, of course, don’t believe in any of her garbage spirit talk, but I was interested in what she would say. I went second, after Gam, and I was given a rather positive reading. The reading itself wasn’t the start, but a simple comment meant to tease me. Koko joked that she was 0.1% attracted to me. I’m not sure why it bothered me as much as it did, but I was quite distressed over it.
Later on, I went to her room, Room 7, to confront her about it. Call it petty, but I needed to clear the air. We were supposed to be rivals! Everything changed with that single visit to her room. 
Koko confessed to me. Koko had feelings for me. That Koko, who berated me and I insulted in turn. She liked me, for some reason I couldn’t comprehend. I kissed her, after she dared me to. I don’t think she expected me to go for it, since her face turned bright red. I’m sure mine was just as red, too. 
We talked for a while. She gave me a name, her real name. Kotori, she said. Told me that she and I were quite similar. It opened my eyes. For the first time, I found someone who knew what it was like. Though it was slightly different, she knew. She understood. I had an ally and I couldn’t let her go.
The following event was one I honestly wasn’t expecting, even though I was the instigator. After getting into a slight argument with Cai Collins in the group chat, he challenged me to a fight out in the courtyard. Of course, I wasn’t going to back down. We met outside, with a few others watching.
I taunted him quite a bit, as he seemed hesitant to hit me. I know how to take a punch, so I wasn’t afraid of him. He did hit me, though it was only in the gut. That was when I decided to turn up the heat. I took a nearby rock and smashed it into my head, throwing it to Cai’s feet in an attempt to frame him. I passed out shortly after, so I’m not sure what happened between then and when I woke up. Kotori and Liya were by my side in my room, having patched me up. They told me my plan failed, as everyone believed Cai’s side of the story. I was really disappointed. Although, I took some satisfaction in knowing that I traumatized Cai-chan just a little bit. It was worth the concussion I gave myself. Does that make me a horrible person? Hahaha~
One night, I found a tarot card taped to my door. It was The Lovers, with some drawings on it. An apple and a star. Not a difficult riddle. I went out side and found Koko waiting for me. She said we were to stargaze for a bit. I didn’t quite understand, but I agreed. So we laid next to each other, looking up at the sky and talking about lots of different things. We kissed a second time. I believe that was the trigger for my own feelings to start bubbling to the surface, though I wouldn’t realize it until the next morning. 
When I did, I needed to tell her. It was so early in the morning and no one was awake, but I needed to tell her. She didn’t seem surprised. Was it so obvious to everyone but me? I’m honestly a little embarrassed, but I’ve never had these feelings before, so how could I know what they meant!? In any case, we were now an official couple.
If only I knew that I would soon lose her.
The next day, we were met with quite the horrid sight. Ami Mochizuki, the SHSL Librarian, was found dead atop the chandelier. The killing game had started and we were to have a real trial after some investigation. I have to admit that, as a detective, I was a bit excited to expose the mystery behind this murder.
I did my investigation with Ivy, who was rationally upset and scared by the killing. She didn’t like to approach anything relating to blood or the body, which was fine by me. More investigation work for me~ I got to jump onto the chandelier, so that was fun! Ami was clearly stabbed with a knife, but the question was who did it and how the body got onto the chandelier. 
The evidence we found wasn’t much, but it was all we had as we went into our first official trial with a real trial grounds. Though this one was different from those I was used to. We were all standing in a circle. I guess it was so we could see one another as we accuse each other.
The trial went on for some time as new evidence came to light. Ricardo had the room key to Ami’s room, and Yuu’s Primpod was missing. Both were suspicious, so they were two major suspects in the case. I even accused Ricky Boy. Hopefully he didn’t take it to heart~ 
The damning evidence was a piece of cheap gold found in the Treasure Room. I immediately knew who it belonged to and my heart had sunk into my gut. I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t believe it! 
Kokoro-koro was voted to be the killer. And it turned out she was. She killed Ami by stabbing her in the Treasure Room. Ami had apparently threw herself onto the chandelier. I have no idea why, but I didn’t care. Kotori was the killer. 
And she was to be executed for failing to get away with her murder.
Before that, she had approached my podium. She gave me her final words, as well one to remember her by. I... I need to figure it out what it meant. It wasn’t a Japanese word. Kotori kissed me one last time, before knocking me out with a punch to the jaw... so that I wouldn’t have to see her execution.
Apparently it was rather horrible and depraved, one that humiliated her before she died. I’m glad I didn’t have to see it. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
When I woke up, she was gone. Kotori, the girl I liked and wanted to be with, was dead. I still struggle to accept the fact that she’s never coming back. I could never hear her voice or hold her in my arms.
I lost it. Consumed by my grief, I went off the deep end. To be honest, I don’t remember much of what I said. I know that I made a promise. A promise to bring everyone else here to their knees with despair. They took my happiness away and I wasn’t going to let them get away with it. 
I will see it through. Until my heart stops, I will assure that I destroy everyone here, no matter the cost.
Signed, Airi Akahoshi
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pocket-luv101 · 6 years ago
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I had a few ideas for family fanfics that weren’t long enough to make a full fanfic so I’m putting them into one.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Misono! Thank you for inviting us.” Mahiru said to her friend. They stepped into the manor and out of the cold. Kuro placed their three year old daughter on the ground and knelt to help her take off her snow boots. It was a difficult task since Machi was impatiently shifting from feet to feet. The moment she was free, Machi bolted to her favourite uncle.
“Oji-san! Uncle JeJe! Machi came to visit you.” She called into the house as she ran into the living room. Machi spotted the tall man sitting on the couch and reading to his nieces and nephews. She joined them and hugged him. “Mama brought pretty ribbons for you to braid my hair. Machi will make your hair pretty too! I practised and I can do it now.”
“No, Angel first!” Lucy grabbed JeJe’s long hair and held on tight. He winced in pain but he endured the pain. She let go of his hair and waved her arms like a bird. “Unkie JeJe already promised me a piggyback ride. This angel wanna fly high in the sky.”
“My uncle!” Yuu yelled and puffed his cheeks in frustration. He patted the picture book on JeJe’s lap to bring his attention back to him. JeJe sighed heavily and went back to reading the book. The three quickly became engrossed in the story and listened to him intently.  
Every family gathering, the three toddlers would fight over JeJe. To everyone’s surprise, the tall man was the children’s favourite uncle. The parents thought that it was cute and amusing though. Misono laughed softly and tugged on her sister’s sleeve. “JeJe is really good with kids. It must be because he had to take of you for so long, Mikuni.”
“Please, I was the one taking care of him! I’ve been taking care of Misono and Abel since I was teenager too.” Mikuni insisted but that only made the room burst into laughter. She jumped onto the couch and hugged Yuu. “I’m your favourite Aunite, right? Tell your parents that I’m more responsible than Uncle JeJe. I’ll buy you any toy you want.”
“Bribing a child with toys for a childish reason isn’t helping your case.” Mahiru pointed out. She lightly touched Machi’s shoulder and spoke in a gentle voice. “I know you like Uncle JeJe but shouldn’t you say hello to all of your other relatives? Auntie Misono was kind enough to invite us to dinner so you need to greet her properly.”
Machi nodded and slid off the chair. She skipped to Misono and bowed politely. “Thank you! I will be a good girl at dinner.”
“You’re a good kid,” Kuro chuckled and ruffled her hair.
“What are you doing, Shit Rat?” Licht screamed when she spotted her toddler daughter in the baby swing. She almost had a heart attack when she saw how dangerously high her husband was pushing the swing. Her mother’s imagination couldn’t help but picture her angel falling out of seat and hurting herself. She flew across the playground and yelled curses at Hyde.
Licht grabbed the swing seat and stopped it. She hugged Lucy protectively and glared at Hyde. “I go to the bathroom for five minutes and you decided to do shit like this? You were pushing the swing too high and she could’ve fell off. Are you okay, Lucy? Did that scare you? Mom’s here so don’t worry.”
“Lucy wasn’t scared. I was flying!” She told her mother with a wide smile. Lucy turned in her arms and reached towards her father. “Again, Dad! I want to swing high this time. Mom, let me go so dad can push me again. Dad is the best!”
“Of course, I am! You’re a tiny little dare devil like your mother was when she was your age.” Hyde said proudly and hugged his two angels tightly. Their daughter moved between them so she could play on the swing again. Licht was hesitant to let her go because she could easily see Hyde pushing the swing enough for it to make a complete circle.
Hyde’s next words caught her attention. “Uncle JeJe is taller but I can still give better flying lessons than him.”
“You’re doing something so reckless because you’re jealous of your brother?” Licht didn’t know if she should be surprised or not. She rolled her eyes yet she gently placed her daughter down. She trusted Hyde but she had to chastise him softly. “I don’t know which of you two is more childish. Make sure to be careful so she doesn’t get hurt.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to tie up her hair?” Mahiru asked Kuro as she watched him struggle with the ribbons and hair ties. Usually, she was the one who made two little braids in Machi’s hair. To her surprise, Kuro offered to do her hair while she cooked breakfast. She would occasionally look over her shoulder to them. “I really don’t mind, Kuro.”
“I can do this, Mahiru.” He insisted. Kuro couldn’t admit that he watched several videos the previous night so he could braid his daughter’s hair. The only reason he didn’t style her hair was because he was afraid he would unintentionally hurt her. Carefully, he brushed her hair. Machi sat patiently and played a simple children’s game on his phone.
“Papa, I beat the level!” She cheered and turned around to show him.
“That’s great. Now sit down so Papa can finish braiding your hair.” He lightly instructed despite how uncertain he was that he could braid her hair well. “Tell me if I accidentally pull on your hand too hard.”
Mahiru could guess his thoughts and smiled wearily. She turned off the stove and went to his rescue. She washed and dried her hands. Then, she took the brush from his hands and knelt next to them. “I have an idea. Machi, how about I braid your hair while you brush Papa’s hair? He has super soft hair like a cat. Kuro, sit down here and I’ll get a stepping chair for Machi.”
“Thanks,” Kuro whispered to her and she smiled brightly at him in return.
She returned quickly enough and gestured for Kuro to sit on the ground. She placed the chair behind him and lifted Machi onto it. Machi happily took the brush she held out to her and began to brush his hair. Mahiru smiled at the endearing sight and began to braid her daughter’s brown hair. “You have soft hair like your father, Machi.”
“We’re kitties!”
I would love if anyone can guess why I picked the name Yuu for Tetsono’s son XD
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pumpkins-s · 8 years ago
Text
Spilling Like An Overflowing Sink
Read on AO3 Here
Read the Other Chapters on Tumblr Here
Lance Alexander Rafael McClain is born in the middle of a summer storm, thunder cracking and rain slamming onto the roof of an old ramshackle house that had seen more than its fair share of children.
The miracle baby, that’s what the family had called Lance. The unexpected son to a mother of five daughters.
(In which family is always complicated, Lance’s life hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, and he and Keith are really emotionally constipated for each other.)
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Relationships: Keith/Lance, significant platonic Lance & Hunk
Characters: Lance, Lance’s family, Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Pidge, Allura, Coran
Chapter 7: Lifelines
((Author’s Note: 
Yoooo.
So this wasn't originally where I was going to place a chapter break, but in honor of season 2, I figured I'd put out one last chapter before the new season drops. (Ironically this chapter ended up pretty lighthearted so consider it your break before shit goes south again.)
I have it on good word that there'll be some Lance backstory in season 2 (a friend of a friend works for the Voltron team), so chances are after season 2 this fic will no longer be canon compliant. I love this story, so I fully intend on continuing writing it, but I'll have to wait and see what content is in season 2 before I decide how much of it SLAOS will adhere to. If I don't agree with certain things, I may just go with my original plans for the "voltron canon" part of this story, but if I find the season workable with the versions of these characters I've written, I'll try to keep as canon compliant as possible, minus what's already been established in this fic.
Anyways, enjoy. I'll see y'all over on the other side of the new season, yeah? <3))
“Hey Mavis? Question.”
“Yeah, sure …Hold on lemme just get my waffles out of the toaster… Okay, shoot.”
“Why are you making waffles at midnight? Wait, never mind, that wasn’t the question. What’s the point of flirting?”
From the other end of the line, Mavis splutters, and there comes a loud hacking noise, followed by a bout of coughing. Wincing, Lance holds the phone away from his ear and waits for the noise to subside.
“Why are you asking me that?” Rings out loudly, even without the phone near his face.
Lance frowns, bringing the phone back closer. “The waffles? Well you mentioned them first…”
“Not that!” Mavis screeches. “The other question! And don’t question my eating habits I am an adult I’ll eat waffles when I damn well please to. Why are you asking me about flirting at midnight, huh? Wait— You’re eleven why are you even awake?”
“It’s a private magnet school, and we have a test on Friday.” Lance deadpans, stretching out on his bed and poking a socked foot gently into Ritzie’s side where she’s asleep at the foot of the bed, face planted on top of her open biology textbook. She snorts in her sleep at the movement, rolling over slightly, and Lance stifles a giggle. “Sleep is for the weak.”
And his friends, apparently, he thinks, noting Hunk and Yuu’s sleeping forms on the other side of the room, Hunk on his bed, Yuu leaning against the base of it on the floor, notes scattered around them.
Over the phone, Lance hears Mavis grumble, and he grins. “So you never answered my question?”
“Oh dear lord.” Mavis sighs. “Ok hold on I’m gonna need some fucking… maple syrup to get through this shit. And maybe vodka.” There’s the sound of clinking on Mavis’s end as she presumable fetches something, and then her voice returns. “So why are you asking me about flirting?”
“Dunno.” Lance says. “Just noticed some classmates are apparently into that now.”
Lance was aware that he was among the younger students in many of his classes, and that meant there would be some things the older children… er, teenagers, would do that he might not get, but this one appeared to be a new habit with the students a year or two above him. He’d consulted his resident teenager first, but Ritzie had launched into a rant about the stupidity of hormonal teens and the patriarchy, which hadn’t been very helpful, and Lance had figured asking Yuu was going to be even more unenlightening, which meant he was fresh out of primary sources to consult.
Well, he supposes Hunk is technically nearly a teenager now, too, but that is… too weird to think too hard about. Hunk probably hadn’t noticed anyways. He was at his most perceptive when suspicious or feeling like snooping, but otherwise out of the two of them Lance generally did the people-reading, and left Hunk to handle the machines and general common sense.
“I don’t know, Lance.” Mavis says, sounding somewhat disgruntled, but just slightly amused, as well. “Apparently some people just do that when they get older. When they like someone, I guess.”
Lance huffs. “Boring.”
Mavis snorts loudly. “I don’t know what to tell you, buddy. People are boring.”
“I mean what’s it for. There’s got to be a purpose? Something it’s useful for?”
“Mmm…” Mavis hums, voice lilting. “Well, if you want to look at it like that…” She trails off, the sound of fingers tapping against a table echoing across the line, and Lance knows he has her hooked. “I guess, not that I have any personal experience or anything,” She coughs awkwardly, “it’s good for reading people? How a person reacts to advances like that gives you a big clue into how their personalities work. And if they’re receptive, you could use that for manipulation, or to get something you want from them. Or if they’re not… It’s a way to annoy them and throw them off their game. Plus, it’s something to do, right? Gives you an excuse to talk when you’re bored and want to get a read on stuff and some attention, without it seeming obvious that you’re trying to be a snoop.”
“…And this is all just theoretical musings on your part?” Lance deadpans.
“Yes! Definitely.”
“Y’know, if you weren’t my cousin I’d be very afraid of you becoming a criminal mastermind.” Lance says solemnly, and fails to stifle his grin when Mavis laughs loudly.
“You’re the one that asked me for useful reasons for it!”
“Hey, I mean you did give me what I was looking for.” Lance answers, sitting up and pushing his bangs out of his eyes. “I like knowing how I can use something to my advantage. Lot more useful than the ‘birds and the bees’ talk Marcie tried to give me when I asked her.”
“And you say you’re not half as manipulative as me.” Mavis chides, and Lance giggles. Idly, he swings his legs off the edge of the bed and stands, careful to move quietly as not to wake his sleeping companions as he slips into the adjoined bathroom and flicks on the light.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lance says innocently, tucking his phone between his shoulder and his ear so he can reach for his face wash on the bench, extracting it from the neatly arranged stacks of colorful bottles. He’d originally started out the year with one face wash on the bench, but between Marcie sneaking this and that into his bags, and stuff he’d semi-accidentally pilfered from Ritzie’s bathroom, Lance now had a wide assortment of face cleansers, washes, and moisturizers. All things considered, he figured it was a harmless enough habit to indulge in. People were hardly regularly coming through his and Hunk’s bathroom aside from themselves and occasionally Ritzie or Yuu, and if anyone ever asked about it, Lance imagined that, with several older sisters, saying they’d instilled a mentality of proper skin care on him at a young age, which was true anyways, wouldn’t be too hard to believe. Regardless, it was a small and relatively secret habit that helped him feel… more like himself. He couldn’t have his clothing or his hair or the box of shiny lip gloss and glittery nail polish back, but this was safe.
“Mhmm. Sure.” Mavis’s voice is lilting, poorly hiding her amusement, before she pauses. “…Is that it? You usually don’t call this late.”
Lance winces. “It was on my mind?” He tries, rubbing the face wash into his skin carefully.
“Lance.” Mavis chides firmly. “What’s really going on? If it was just about flirting you would have texted me instead.”
“I don’t know, okay?” Lance snaps slightly. Mavis is silent on the other end, and Lance sighs, closing his eyes. “…Sorry. I just felt… jittery. Couldn’t sleep.”
“…Is it about summer break?”
Lance blinks, not sure whether to curse or thank Mavis’s ever-present ability to read into what’s going on, even hundreds of miles away. “I guess?”
“You worried about going home?” Mavis says, and Lance frowns, contemplating.
“I don’t think so?” He hesitates, trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts into words. “I’m excited to see everyone, spend time with them without having to worry about going back to Greenwood a day or two later, and I like summer, but…”
“But it’s three months.” Mavis finishes, picking up smoothly. “Three uninterrupted months in Veradera, with no breaks from everyone.”
“…And no Loraine.” Lance says quietly, acknowledging the elephant in the room. “They all think I’ve gotten so much better, that I’m handling everything so well— What if I can’t keep it together that long? I don’t want to ruin everyone’s summer with them worrying over me again. It’s not fair to them.”
Mavis hums. “It’s not selfish to need help, Lance.”
“But it’s not fair either. They feel guilty, I feel smothered, and everyone just ends up miserable. I’m…” He thinks of the gentle hands of his sisters picking him up and soothing him when he has a panic episode, of Hunk’s bone-weariness, yet determined patience, as he hides the sharp things and wraps up Lance’s arms when he hits the breaking point each time. It’s not as bad as it was when Loraine first… died, but Lance knows he isn’t coping, really. Oh, yes, he’s gotten good enough at hiding it from his family on the short weekend visits, to soothe their worries, but now that just leaves the onus on Hunk to deal with Lance when, inevitably, the cracks begin to show. “I’m tired of being everyone’s burden.”
Mavis pauses, and while Lance can’t see her, he can imagine her on the other end of the line, perched on some chair with her feet on a table as she twists her hair around a finger and glares contemplatively at some random object. Between what he saw of Mavis before she left home, and of the occasional video chats they’ve had, he’s gotten relatively adept at picking up Mavis’s body language, helped in part by the fact many of her idle habits are much like his own, if only slightly more aggressive at any given moment. He thinks maybe it might have something to do with the fact that he picked up most of his habits from Loraine, who in turn might have adopted some from Mavis— They were two of the closer in age after all, Mavis herself only a year older than Evie, making her five older than Loraine. It’s not hard to picture his sister at eight or nine trying to imitate her cool thirteen-year-old cousin.
Though, by that reasoning, Lance supposes it’s fair to draw the conclusion that all his siblings and cousins had picked up some behaviors from one another.
“Why don’t you come stay with me for a bit then?”
“What?” Lance jolts, snapping out of his idle thought derailment.
“You don’t want to do three continuous months in Veradera, right? Take a break. Come up to stay with me for a couple weeks during the summer in July or August or something.”
“…Really?” Lance gapes, and across the line Mavis snorts.
“Yes, really. It’ll be fun. I’ll take you to the theater I’ll be doing some tech work in this summer, walk you around the tourist parts of the city. Can’t afford to shop there, but we can make fun of tourists or something.”
“But I thought…” Lance frowns, unconsciously staring down at his moisturizer bottle like it holds the answers to the universe. “You liked your space? You don’t really come home much. Or… at all, really.”
“Because everyone always begs me to stay.” Mavis says. “You don’t. You’re a good kid, Lance. I like coddling you a bit, and I’m not a coddling person.”
“I know you aren’t.” Lance says quietly.
“Just think about it, yeah? You can bring Hunk if you want, or something.”
“No!” Lance yelps, before he can stop himself, slapping a hand over his mouth.
“No?” She pauses. “…You two aren’t fighting, are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two have a fight. Or even a spat, for that matter.”
“No, of course not.” Lance mumbles. “It’s just… I had an episode the other day, and when Hunk was bullying me into eating and sleeping after, it made me realize that… I’ve kinda forced him to be stuck dealing with my problems? He deserves a break.”
Mavis sighs. “You know he probably doesn’t look at it like that, right? That boy loves you to death, Lance, es evidente, plain as day. Whether you two choose to define that as familial or something else is up to you, but my point is, he’s probably more worried about you than he is annoyed with any perceived inconveniences.”
“That’s it, though. He’s stuck worrying about me all the time. He’s scared to leave me alone on a bad day in case I hurt myself again. He’d run himself into the ground trying to help because he’s a good person like that, and I’m the kind of cabrón who’d let him.”
Mavis clucks her tongue. “Language. And I think you’re overthinking things, you should just talk to him.”
“Maybe.” Lance admits, padding out of the bathroom, flicking the light off behind him, and over to his bed, wiggling in and grabbing azul from where he keeps it hidden under the pillow and hugging it to his chest, tucking its soft blue fur under his chin. “I don’t know. Thank you anyways Mavis. I’ll… think about New York.”
“Alright.” Mavis says with an air of resignation, obviously sensing an end to the conversation. “Goodnight Lance.”
“Goodnight Mavis.” He whispers.
Two weeks later, Lance finishes the last of his finals, exchanging amused glances across the room with Ritzie as they scrawl down answers on paper, and then goes home to Veradera.
Despite all his worries, he finds the comfort of being back outweighs any lingering anxiety he feels. He moves back into his old room— The room that was once his, Loraine’s, and Karen’s, and now only belongs to him, and, more unofficially, Hunk, Karen still living in the other room his sisters share, and Igraine having moved into Lucas’s room and taking Carlos’s old space there to make more space.
“I know it was weird for you, having Karen back in your room when she was gone most of the time, especially right after… Loraine.” Evie tells him quietly the one and only time he asks her about sleeping arrangements, guilt at having driven his older sister out of her room last summer still hugging his chest. “She’s not mad about it, promise. It worked out, anyways. Gave Igraine an excuse to move into Lucas’s room so the two of them can stay up all night gossiping. It’s good, I think Lucas was getting lonely with both Mavis and Carlos out of the house.”
Loraine’s bed still stays in its corner, the walls above it littered with pictures of their family, of Lance at varying ages, of constellations. It’s… more or less Lance’s now, he supposes. He’d slept in it so many nights over the previous summer, blindly seeking comfort in the remnants of the smell of Loraine’s shampoo on her pillows, that he’d kept up the habit on his weekends back home during the school year more out of instinct than anything else.
And now, it’s summer again, a whole cycle passed, and if he hasn’t managed to rid himself of this coping mechanism before, Lance doubts he’ll suddenly start doing so soon.  
So Loraine’s bed becomes his, and his bed is relegated to Hunk, on the nights the two of them don’t just share. Hunk’s actual bed back at his own house goes more or less unused, but that isn’t anything new, Hunk has practically lived here for years— His grandmother, too, honestly, spending her days on the porch or in the lounge with Lance’s own grandparents.
So, yes, in that fashion things really haven’t changed.
He makes Loraine’s… his bed a mess of blankets and pillows, azul tucked up in the middle of it, pins a couple photos of himself, Hunk, Ritzie, and Yuu from school to empty spaces in the wall above the headboard, and tries to forget the jarringly empty space next to him.
It’s not that hard to find distractions, at least. Lance had forgotten just how… alive his family is. It doesn’t really hit him how much he’s missed out on until he’s being introduced to Carlos and Rachel’s new baby, Josie’s long-awaited sibling, and he realizes in the couple weeks he chose not to come home to study for finals, he somehow missed the baby’s birth. When it slowly dawns on him just how much change and growth in their lives he has missed in his self-pity, Lance pushes himself into trying to be there for all of them.
He decides to take it as a marking point of change. Nicky, his newest cousin, is all the fragile smallness and tiny features Lance remembers Josie being, with the brown hair and slight curls that are predominant in their family, and the dark eyes that everyone but Lance has, his own blue eyes now an anomaly without the matching pair that used to look at him with joy and love.
Lance can’t change the past, but he can, at least, hold himself to this. Even if he cannot fix his broken pieces, this new, youngest member of their family will never see the jagged edges that make up Lance’s heart.
With luck, perhaps Josie will never remember that Lance either. She’s not even four, after all. Children forget so easily.
Either way, it’s a promise Lance holds himself to.
He helps his mother and aunts around the house, visits Carlos and Rachel’s house to mooch some breakfast from them on the good mornings, takes Josie to the beach on the sunny days with Hunk, plays scrabble with his grandparents, occasionally letting them win, and tried to be happy… or at least look it.
Mavis is his saving grace, the patient voice on the other end of the phone when he talks to her at night, perched on the roof with a blanket around his shoulders as he watches the stars.
“Spend more time with your sisters.” Mavis chides him over the phone when he recounts his days. “They miss you.”
“It’s… different.” He tells her, spilling out the unsaid words and quiet secrets into the night air where he trust only she will hear him. “Everything’s different now. I don’t know how to be their Lance. What if they don’t—”
“Have a little faith in them.” Mavis’s voice is firm, allowing no argument. “Evie helped you get into your school, Igraine keeps that stupid hoverbike in working condition for when you’re old enough for it, Karen moved rooms to give you your space, and Marcie calls me constantly hoping to hear how you’ve been doing through me when you don’t pick up her calls. They love you, Lance. Loraine or no Loraine, that doesn’t change. They’re still your hermanas. Give the bonds you have with them another chance.”
And so, because Lance knows Mavis is rarely wrong about these things, if ever, he does.
He sits with Evie around the computer and asks her about the work she does, coaxing her away from the screen for a trip to the dairy on the beachfront for an ice cream when she overworks herself.
He goes to the park on cooler afternoons with Karen, hand in hers when they cross streets because she still thinks of him as little and in need of protection, asks her to teach him new skills he’s seen her do, and delights in the way her face lights up at the opportunity to talk to him about the sport she loves.
He helps Marcie brush and braid her hair at night, chatters with her about the gossip she’s heard from the housewives at the salon, and helps her fix the holes in her clothing with careful stitching, accepting her excited offers to teach him how to embroider little flowers along collars and let out and take up hems so a skirt can be worn longer.
He takes trips with Hunk to visit Igraine at the mechanic’s, helping her with the pet project motorbikes she keeps hidden in the back, suggesting outrageous paint colors for each restoration cheerfully from his seat while Hunk vehemently argues against them, and on the occasional weekend morning, walks with Igraine to the scattering of trees near their house where she has tied up old milk cartons and bottles from the branches to shoot at with her paintball gun.
Igraine’s always done this. She taught Lance to shoot as well at a young age, but it still surprises Lance to find how often she does it now, sometimes disappearing early in the mornings and spending hours sitting against a tree and painstakingly landing a hit on every target in view. Watching her grim face and sullen eyes on those days, when Lance sneaks after her and she doesn’t realize he’s there, he comes to the realization that perhaps he isn’t the only one that has developed some odd coping habits since Loraine’s death.
After that, he makes a point to spend more time with Igraine.
She catches him following her only once on one of her early morning sneak-and-shoot sessions, but instead of getting angry she just glances at him and pats the empty spot on the ground next to her, already loading up another shot.
“I taught Loraine to shoot, too.” She tells him after a long moment of silence, avoiding his eyes as she places her paintball gun in her lap and fiddles with the adjustments. “Like I taught you. A natural, she was. I had to work to learn to hit a target, but Loraine? She could hit a perfect shot easy by the time she was only ten or eleven. Much like you, the same innate talent.”
Lance frowns, studying Igraine’s face, and finally she glances down at him, smiling slightly. “I was so excited when she was born, but I remember throwing a fit when I heard her name. Having a sister who’s name ended with -raine as well? It’s not like Marcie or Karen had to share their names. “ She chuckles. “I remember for months I refused to call her by her name, so I came up with any other variant possible. Lori ended up sticking, even after I accepted her as Loraine as well.” Igraine ducks her head. “When I told her that’s how she got that nickname she laughed and laughed.” She pauses. “She was never like that with you. When you were born I thought she’d throw a temper tantrum like I did, over you both having names that started with L, but she was delighted. Kept hugging you and saying it meant you matched.”
“…Really?” Lance asks quietly, glancing down sheepishly when Igraine looks at him.
“Really, really.” She hums softly. “Y’know, I don’t think you ever cried when she held you, not even once. First time I picked you up, you screamed bloody murder, and Marcie got a foot in her face the first time she held you. You’d settle for Mamá, sometimes, but Loraine... You were always quiet for her. The two of you would spend hours, Loraine sitting on the couch with you in her arms, just… staring at each other.” Igraine chuckles quietly. “Course, guess I shouldn’t be surprised Loraine was so good about it all. She was so selfless, loving. Never behaved like a selfish brat like I did.”
“You’re not selfish, Igraine.” Lance says softly, leaning in and resting his head on his sister’s shoulder. “And no, I don’t think Loraine ever held a grudge against you trying to rename her as a baby.”
Igraine snorts. “Nah, you’re right, probably not.” She tips her head down, resting it on top of Lance’s, and sighs. “I wish… I wish I’d known about the Garrison, had convinced her to go, promised her we’d figure it out. She wanted more than Veradera, her whole life. I knew it, we all did, and she gave that up because, when she deserved most to be just a little bit selfish for once in her life, she still chose to give.”
“That’s who Loraine was.”
“That’s how you are, too.” Igraine says patiently, humor lilting in her words. “I won’t deny that I’m proud of you for what you’re doing, Lance. I just hope you’re doing it for the right reasons. Don’t sacrifice yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”
“Selfless would be staying here, in Veradera, with all of you.” Lance says, shaking his head just slightly against Igraine’s shoulder. “What I’m doing is beyond selfish.”
“No, it’s not.” Igraine says lightly. “You are just as unselfish as Loraine always was, Lance. Me? I wish I could be like that. Instead, when I think of Loraine, of what she wanted and never got, all I can think is that… “ She sighs, slumping forward. “I’m so afraid to die in Veradera.”
Lance blinks, mulling over Igraine’s words. “…Is this about the Marines?” Above him Igraine stiffens, and Lance sighs. “Loraine and I found the brochures you and Lucas had hidden years ago.”
Igraine laughs wetly. “Well. You two were always ahead of the game.”
“Igraine…” Lance pauses, closing his eyes. “Igraine, if that’s what you want, then do it. Wanting to be happy? That’s not selfish, that’s what you deserve…. Lucas too, if he’s still with you on that.”
His sister chuckles, turning her face into Lance’s hair, and when Lance feels the warm wetness of tears on his face from above, he reaches out and hugs Igraine’s arm in front of him.
“How am I going to tell Mamá…?”
“I’ll help you.” Lance says firmly, feeling the resolve settle in his bones. Distantly, another, separate conversation of hesitant decisions, whispered over a phone in the dead of night, comes to mind, and he sucks in a breath. “I’ll help you… if you help me with something, too.”
“Help you with what?” Igraine asks readily, even with her voice laced with confusion.
“Mavis offered to let me come stay with her for a bit during the summer. If you help me convince Mamá to let me go, I’ll help you convince her too.”
Igraine chuckles. “New York, huh?” She nods, hugging Lance tighter as they sit there on the ground. “Alright, mini-stalk. You’ve got yourself a deal.”
…In the end, they both get what they want.
Lance’s mother is less than happy with Igraine’s little announcement, and neither is Aunt Lupe, when she finds out Lucas is going along with it as well, but, much as they were with Lance, they are accepting of their children’s decision, even if they fret over the dangers of military service. Ultimately though, it’s Marcie who takes it the hardest, immediately bursting into tears when Igraine announces things much in the same manner Lance and Hunk did about Greenwood.
The thing about Marcie, Lance thinks, is that she sees her younger siblings heading down a path she cannot, will not follow. Evie stayed home because she feared the world, but inevitably lives in another world of numbers only she knows, Karen left early to chase her dream, and only came back once they needed her… and until not long ago, Lance, Loraine, and Igraine remained in Veradera.
Except now Igraine is leaving, Loraine is dead, and Lance is a shadow chasing a lost dream.
And Marcie? Marcie, who stepped into the head of the household when their mother first got sick, Marcie, who guards her younger siblings and cousins with her life, cannot bring herself to leave. Marcie, single, living with her family at just past thirty, sees her life, her duty here in Veradera, to hold down house and home in their mother’s place if she ever gets sick again.
It’s part of who Marcelia McClain is, and it’s part of why Lance loves and respects his oldest sister so much, but he also knows it’s why her heart aches every time their family stretches further apart.
Losing Loraine affected each of them, in their own way, and for Marcie, Lance knows, it made her only want to protect her baby siblings more.
Still, when Igraine announces her decision, Marcie cries, soothes their mother in her worried, and tells Igraine she is proud of her— Because Marcie, first and foremost, wants her family to be happy.
It’s painful to watch his sisters cry, but in a way, it feels like a balm of the jagged edges of Lance’s soul. No matter what, they are still a family.
Regardless, getting permission to go to New York is fairly easy, in comparison.
“Nurse Lance.” Mavis says with a laugh when he tells her. “Out to solve everyone’s problems but your own.”
Lance huffs, feigning insult, and thinks of selfishness, for what you want, what you need, and selflessness, for reparations to mistakes.
“It’s what I do best.”
New York is densely packed blocks of walk-ups and office buildings, cracked concrete on rushing swarms of feet, and a scorching blast of summer heat at least fifteen degrees warmer than Maryland is that Lance is distinctly aware of minute he steps off the plane. For all that Lance thought he’d gotten a handle on city traffic living at Greenwood in the middle of D.C., the capital has nothing on the simple busy-ness of New York.
It’s terrifying, but a little fascinating as well.
When he sees Mavis waiting for him in the airport, short hair tied back in a half-hearted ponytail, sunglasses pushed up onto her forehead to keep the stray locks that don’t stay pulled back with the rest of her hair off her face, and slurping loudly from a mostly-empty bubble tea cup as she stands there in her jeans and dark red flannel she’s owned since he was a toddler, Lance can kind of see how this city has ensnared his cousin. She just somehow kind of… looks right here.
“Lance.” She says when he walks up to her, seemingly aloof until he pulls his suitcase to a stop, and then she pounces on him, hugging him tightly and resting her nose in his hair. “Good to see you, kiddo.”
He laughs, feeling oddly relieved, and hugs her back in return. There’s no secrets to disguise here, not in such a big place where no one knows him, and not from Mavis, who just intuitively knows. “It’s good to see you, too.”
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