#mads mikke

[promisingyounglady]

cigarettes after sex. | DV x Reader

PAIRING: Duncan Vizla x Younger!Reader

A/N: I could treat him so good…

The sounds of the clock ticking softly are heard in the background, almost matching to the thumps of Duncan’s heartbeat which you hear as you press your head against his naked chest.

“Does it feel good?”

You say softly, watching as he drags the cigarette from his soft lips you were kissing before.

Duncan simply smiles, leaving his cigarette in the ash tray by his bed, and getting up to put on a pair of pants.

With his back turned, you quickly swipe the cigarette at its last puff, secretly wanting to try it.

You took a drag, the thick smoke filling your lungs and immediately making you cough. You covered your mouth with the back of your hand, despising the taste and foul smell. How did he make them taste so good when you kissed him?

Duncan walks over, watching this unfold at his amusement, before he sits on the edge of the bed. He takes the cancer stick, putting it out fully.

“Don’t touch those. They’re not good for you” he says in a deep voice, putting on a white tee that accentuated his soft abdomen and arm muscles.

You smiled, looking your lover in the eyes. “You’re always smoking them. I want to smoke too” you said timidly, playing with his belt buckle that hands loose on his jeans.

Duncan let’s a hand caress your face, heart warming at the sight of you.

“Later. You have time”

[ratatatastic]

CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP. THE FLANNEL. THE COMFY FLANNEL. WHAT A POLITE CAT WHAT A POLITE LITTLE CAT.

Ravintola Hook | 7.16.24 (x)

[musicalislife]

Käärijä and his crew as animal(s) I associate with them:

Käärijä: quokka/golden retriever

Häärijä: Chipmunk/duckling

The Dalton boys: meerkat

Mikke: ferret/husky

Jesse: young labradoodle

Ewwee: hedgehog/kitten

[kuppikahvia]

okay fINE i'm joining this madness but only because jere reposting a fucking grindr mayhem thirst trap edit of himself made me throw my phone as a reflex

[hotcat37]

Meeting the family (38) would be so nice, with overly protective mikke in your deaf jere AU <3 thank youuu

this was the last prompt left in my inbox I'm glad I managed to do them all 💪💪 Fun fact I wrote the deaf! Jere AU before the Euro tour so Mikke was still very behind the scenes and not outspoken on socials and that's why his English is way too good in the AU☠ I wish I could retcon it because I love Mikke's rally English like Jere's but I don't feel like rewriting all his dialogue scenes 😭

38: meeting the family

Bojan hopes he doesn't come across as too weird or awkward. He's usually a smooth talker, a natural charmer, but right now he's practically trembling in his seat out of nerves. Jere beside him is much more relaxed, which makes sense given that they're in his childhood home sitting at the kitchen table with his parents. The deaf Finn isn't just relaxed though. Jere is happily wiggling in his seat, unable to contain himself, overjoyed at having the people he loves most finally sit together in one room.

The wiggly movements coax a genuine smile out of Bojan. But he quickly startles again once he catches Mikke's eye. That X-ray gaze is hyperfocused on him, staring right through the Slovene's soul. It still unnerves Bojan. He can't say that he feels like the older Pöyhönen hates him or anything but it is glaringly obvious that the blonde is still not entirely on board with this whole Bojan dating his little brother thing.

Which, okay, that's on Bojan for having hurt Jere. It's been several months since then but it still seems fresh on Mikke's mind. Understandable. Jere has been through so much in the past 26 years so Bojan doesn't blame the photographer for being suspicious when it comes to who his brother dates.

Jere's mom and dad are less outwardly hostile, constantly moving around and yapping about whatever so Bojan in turn doesn't feel as harshly judged.

"So, tell me Bojan, how you meet my son?" Jere's dad pipes up eventually, still lighthearted, eyes not as soul piercing as Mikke's. At least for the time being.

Jere rolls his eyes at the question, quickly typing something in Finnish on his phone before turning the screen towards his dad. Whatever the text says makes the older man burst out laughing.

"No, no! I just asking. Is not....interrogation!" The way the word gets completely butchered really does effortlessly remind Bojan that these people are definitely blood related. "Bojan not mind me asking, yes?"

"Not at all!" Bojan squeaks out, so desperate for approval that even he himself cringes at it. Okay, he's a (somewhat) grown man meeting his partner's parents, not the damn president. This feels much more important than any political meeting, though. "Uhm, so, I was running late for my first day at school. Or, well, I couldn't find my classroom. So I go up to Jere and ask him if he can help me."

He glances at his lover while recounting the tale, encouraged by Jere's cheeky grin. It really was a funny first meeting in hindsight. "But he didn't have his hearing aid in at the time and I couldn't figure out that he was deaf!"

Jere's mom briefly interjects in Finnish, presumably a small lecture towards Jere for not wearing his hearing aid in public. The youngest Finn just shrugs in response. Bojan dares to continue once Jere's mom urges him to share more of the juicy story.

"So I got a little mad because I thought he was ignoring me and being an assh-a jerk." The Slovene tries not to flinch at the twitch in Mikke's eyebrows. "A-and so I tap him on the shoulder and God when he turned around I just-kinda lost my words. Like his beautiful face just completely stunned me."

While Jere's parents coo in delight, Bojan turning several shades redder when the realization of what he just said sinks in, Mikke pulls a funny face. He seems rather unimpressed by the wholesome love at first sight thing.

"No way you immediately fall in love with Jere's face!" Mikke squints his eyes in suspicion as if somehow even Bojan finding Jere attractive at first sight is off putting.

Jere makes an irritated little noise, tapping at his keyboard with such attitude that Bojan can't help but giggle a little. The text is in English and Bojan is secretly smug about the fact that Jere clearly wrote this to defend his Slovene's honor disguised as a typical jab the brothers tend to take at each other.

You just jealous cuz no one fall in love with YOUR face 🙄🤯

The message triggers a chain reaction of bickering, which soon includes the parents as well, Bojan surrounded by broken English and fast paced Finnish he can't make sense of. But in all honesty, he's never felt more at home while meeting someone's parents.

[faux-fires]

From the "40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers": 7, 28 and one of your choice!

Thanks Holly! For the 40 questions for fic writers meme:

#7: Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

this dumb fucking joke from my dragon!fai/kurogane fic, Your Princess is in Another Castle. it's like 10 years old and I don't think anybody following this blog (except my fav scrublord, @mikkeneko) was in it with me, but i still smile to myself reading this fic and if u can't smile at ur own fic, what else is it FOR:

"Oh my god," Kurogane said, automatically, because like most dragons Ashura wasn't wearing any clothes. His knees suddenly felt very weak. "Um," said Fai, his glib tongue seeming to have deserted him. "Hello?" "Can I go?" Yuui asked Ashura. Despairing it was, then. At least he wasn't naked. It was a low bar to meet in terms of presentation, but so far two of the six people in this room weren't making it.

#28: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Easy peasy! #1, montparnasse, because i adore their poetic prose (as exemplified by the intro to my fav of their fics, the Hawkebella On Southerly Winds):

Once, lost-but-not-lost on a windless night at sea, Isabela told a young sailor, “You’ve got to live like everything can hurt you.” The sailor, new and green as a beansprout, said it was sound advice. She didn’t understand that it was not. It was fact, like iron in the blood.

#2, Spicyshimmy - handers fandom will know why, but i love their clever playing around with tone, their Hawke characterisation is so fun and sad, and Fareweel Regality remains one of my fav unreliable narrator stories. I also enjoy their larger ensemble pieces particularly in the Mass Effect fandom.

It didn’t take Bethany long to corner Garrett in the den, after he’d seen both the seneschal and Saemus out with a wink and a nod and a sigh of relief. ‘What on earth was that all about?’ she demanded, eyes alight with pure irritation, the mark of a truly loving sister. ‘Do you want the viscount’s son to think there’s madness in our family? Because that’s certainly how you were acting tonight.’ ‘Better madness than magic, I’d think,’ Garrett said.

And last but not least, #3, mikkeneko, my favourite scrublord. she can be ur angle:

"Hawke, what's going on here?" Merrill took in the scene with wide green eyes. "What did you do?" Hawke's expression was insufferably smug. "I found out how to use the Mirror of Transformation to make extra copies of myself," he said. "And... viola!" "That's the instrument," Varric muttered out of the side of his mouth.

... she can be ur deville....

"Promise me," Kurogane insisted. "I promise," he said. "I'll... do what I have to, to stay alive." So that you'll have something to come back to.

... but mostly, she's ur mikke.

Somewhere lost in the clouded annals of myth, in the vague spaces beyond the edges of the map where only dragons lie, in places unknown and untread by mortal feet, (do not pass Go, do not collect $200), in just such a dim and murky place, resides a tavern. This mysterious inn can only be reached by -- "How did you lot all get here, anyway?" Wei Wuxian asked. "Unmapped tributary of the River of Souls," mumbled Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Ninth Saint to the Serve the King Undying, the Reverend Daughter of Drearburh and Heir to the House of the Ninth. "Secret paths of Yggdrasil," murmured Loki Laufeyson, Shape-Changer, Sly-One, Wizard of Lies, Thief of Giants, Foe of the Gods and Forger of Evil. "Experimental portals powered by the Elder Blood," said Yennefer of Vengerberg, court mage of Aedirn, hero of Sodden, refugee of Nilfgaard, mother of Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Lady of Space and Time. "I mean I came here on a donkey, but your things are cool too," said Wei Wuxian.

And ladies' choice, #1: Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

happy endings. eventually. 😎

[bisexual-bookman]

In a Stranger’s Home

Fandom: D.Gray-man

Pairing: Tyki Mikk/Kanda Yu

Tags: Royalty AU, Angst, Forced Marriage, Unrequited Love, slight Tyki/Lavi

Summery: "He could feel another crack slice through his heart. He was shaking, his vision blurring as he felt his eyes burn. He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as his chest felt like it was being crushed… crushed between two boulders until he would be on the ground broken and bleeding, the hurt leaking out of him for all to see."

Read on AO3

“But your majesty–“

Kanda slammed the door closed to his suite, effectively cutting off the voice of his advisor. Of course, that didn’t stop the tenacious man, the advisor’s insufferable knocking following Kanda as he paced the length of the obscenely large room. Only with a vase being thrown at the door and a shout from Kanda to go the fuck away did the advisor finally leave.

Finally, Kanda was alone.

He paced the length of the room, his footsteps heavy. For once, the grace that had been instilled in him since he was born was thrown aside due to the turmoil of emotions inside of him. Betrayal was first and foremost, the bitter emotion making him feel sick to his stomach. His insides twisted painfully, making him want to throw up the meal he had just eaten.

Anger was a harsh second.

He could feel his heart beating painfully, his blood pumping throughout his body. It made his movements aggressive, wanting to do nothing more than to walk up to that bastard, to both of them, and punch them in their stupid faces. Hurt them the way he was hurting.

Kanda’s agitated pace slowed; his footsteps were not as heavy but the sharp twists at the end of his line belayed his residual anger.

Hurt.

It was making him clench his jaw painfully, teeth grinding so as not to spout the pathetic things he wanted to say: how could you do this? I thought you were better than this. I’m your husband aren’t I?

How could you hurt me like this?

Kanda abruptly stopped. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a weary, bone-deep sigh.

Deep down he knew it would end like this. Their marriage was nothing more than a political gain for both their kingdoms. War was constantly on Tyki’s borders and Kanda’s kingdom had one of the best armies. Tyki’s kingdom was much larger, more space for agriculture, therefore able to feed Kanda’s citizens and armies. It was a mutually beneficial agreement.

No feelings attached.

God, how he wished there was no feelings involved.

Kanda reached up to give a light tug to his bangs, an unconscious movement that was the only tell of his anxiety and troubled mind. Walking over to the large-windowed doors, Kanda pushed them open, stepping out on to the balcony.

Leaning against the railing he breathed in the fresh ocean air, so unlike his own kingdom’s polluted air; it was filled with smoke and exhaust and dying embers floating up into the always grey tinged sky. Here, you could see for miles… could see the entirety of the surrounding city, even to the fields beyond that, and the glittering of the ocean on the horizon. You didn’t have to peer through smokestacks, see nothing but mountains or have the constant ringing of the blacksmiths in the background.

Kanda ran his hand along the warm, smooth stone of the balcony railing, so unlike the cold and harsh stone that made up his kingdom’s palace. Even where they lived was different. They were different.

Maybe too different.

A harsh noise left Kanda as his hands tightened, the skin across his knuckles turning white.  

Their marriage might have been arranged, forced, but the feelings Kanda held now for the tall, dark-haired man were not.  

Tyki, at first, had irritated him to no end; the other man’s generally cool and uninterested attitude towards everything, how he was so informal with his subordinates, even to his citizens, his lax attitude towards the constantly looming war on his borders…. It all drove him mad.

But as they had started spending more time together –much to Kanda’s initial dismay– Kanda had noticed that it was all just a façade the other man put up.

His indifferent demeanor was to cover up how hurt he was that his kingdom was suffering, to bury down his anger over being handed a kingdom on the brink of war, while his brother ruled an idyllic kingdom.

His informality came from a wish of wanting to help his citizens. A show that they could trust him, see him as a person that they could come to with their problems rather than an imposing, untouchable figure.

The war was the worst of them all, keeping him up to the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep from the constant worry over whether his kingdom would survive, if his people would survive. Kanda had lost count of the number of times he had awoken in the middle of the night, feeling the loss of Tyki’s presence in bed, his side of the bed cool to the touch. Kanda would find him on the balcony overlooking his city, face draw tight with anxiety and worry, only to hastily throw up his indifferent mask when he heard Kanda’s quiet footsteps.

Seeing the other side of Tyki, the one he rarely showed people, caused the small bud of affection Kanda felt in his heart slowly bloom to a breath-stopping feeling of love.

It was a feeling that he thought Tyki reciprocated. It was something they hadn’t talked about, Kanda having a hard enough time understanding his own feelings in his head, let alone vocalizing them. He found that Tyki was the same. Someone who valued actions over words, so when Tyki attitude towards Kanda shifted from apathy to all of a sudden showering him with gifts-

“This is a journal from an acclaimed General. I thought it might help you in your war room.”

“I brought these plants back from my visit with my brother. Look, the colour of the flowers, I thought it would match well with the others in our room.”

“I’m glad the outfit I ordered from the tailor looks so good on you. I figured that the colour would make the blue more noticeable in your eyes.”

“Here, it’s a new sheath I requested for your sword. I had them engrave red lotuses on it. Those are your favourite, right?”

Paired with the subtle touches – a large hand on the small of his back during a party, a whisper of a touch brushing hair out of his face, a knee pressed against his during council meetings, a warm hand on his hip as they slept-

It all made it seem as though there were mutual feelings.

But now…

Now Kanda wasn’t so sure.

Tyki pressing someone up against the wall, fingers combing through a shock of red hair as their lips locked together, mutual sounds of pleasure coming from the pair as a leg curled around Tyki’s hips pulling him in closer, closer–

Kanda’s fists thumped against the stone of the railing, the dull throb of pain barely noticed through the fog of anger and hurt that settled over him. He could feel another crack slice through his heart. He was shaking, his vision blurring as he felt his eyes burn. He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as his chest felt like it was being crushed… crushed between two boulders until he would be on the ground broken and bleeding, the hurt leaking out of him for all to see.

“Kanda?”

The intense feelings only increased with the sound of Tyki’s voice calling from inside their room. Kanda closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath trying –by God was he trying– to prevent Tyki from seeing him this way.

“Kanda, are you in here?”

That thought gave Kanda pause. Tyki didn’t deserve to see him this way. If Tyki really did feel nothing for Kanda –a thought that nearly send him into another fit of gasping breaths– then Kanda would only show Tyki what he wished for the other man to see. Tyki didn’t need to be privy to Kanda’s thoughts, his feelings, his heart.

“Oh, there you are. Are you okay? One of the vases is in pieces near the door.”

Kanda took a deep breath. The feeling of being crushed didn’t lessen, the boulders on his chest still weighing down on him. But now, now they wouldn’t hurt him. Now he would use them to keep Tyki away, use them as a barrier to prevent the man from ever getting close again.

Kanda’s shoulders relaxed. He forced his pained expression away. He stared ahead with an emotionless face, save for his customary scowl.

Yes, he decided as he turned to face the oblivious man, he would play a good husband. Do his part as the kingdom’s military leader, be there during council meetings and assemblies with other kingdoms.

He could wait.

Wait, to see just how he could hurt Tyki. Hurt him til he was the one laying on the floor gasping for breath; tears in his eyes and doubts in his mind, wondering what he had done to deserve such pain.

[metalshockfinland]

Finnish NOBODY to Release New EP "Neurotic Age" on August 15th, First Single + Music Video 'Stronger Than Dead' Out Now

Photo by Mikke Strandberg Finnish one-man dark folk band Nobody is set to release a new EP Neurotic Age on August 15th 2024 via Inverse Records. The first and only single Stronger Than Dead is released today and music video is available below. The man behind Nobody, Tuomas Kauppinen comments the single:“Stronger than dead is an account of madness and murder that took place decades ago but still…

[kuroopaisen]

to this day i have never seen a 2d man as attractive as tyki mikk

[mikkeneko]

Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion as I'm still new in the Untamed fandom, but anyway I know WWX was happy to have Lan Wangji back in the timeskip forward, but he could have paid more attention to poor Wen Ning constantly in the background and being left behind everywhere.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

Well, there are a couple of axes here! The top factor in my answer is that I strongly believe that Wen Ning Deserves Everything, so I absolutely think that after everything he’s been through he deserves people to fuss over him and be kind to him, and since Wei Wuxian is one of the very few people left in his life who don’t think he’s a monster, he absolutely should! 

The second axis is that it’s hard for me to tell, not having read the books, how much of WWX’s disregard of Wen Ning is due to Wei Wuxian’s flighty and distractible nature/preoccupation with Lan Wangji and the other things going on in his life, and how much of him being left behind/in the background is just ‘the show writers put him in this scene but didn’t know what to do with him because he wasn’t there in the book.’

And the third is that I’ve seen people argue that what Wen Ning really needs is not more of Wei Wuxian’s attention, but some time and space away from him to find himself and grow some relationships that don’t involve revolving around WWX as the center of his universe. Hence him going off with Lan Sizhui at the end of the series is actually the best thing for him! I can accept that interpretation.

In the end, I come out on the side of: Yes, Wei Wuxian should pay more attention to him and repay his loyalty in kind! BUT I would also like him to form other relationships with people who can be nice to him aside from Wei Wuxian. Or, ideally, just shift over into a Wen Qing’s Not Dead, We Never Saw A Body, They Kept Wen Ning So Why Not The #1 Mad Doctor Of The Generation? Anyway Wen Qing Is In The Jinlintai Basement Please Pick Her Up au.

From the unpopular opinions ask

[looniecartooni]

Possible D Gray Man timeline

So as many DGM fans know, there is no direct timeline known for D Gray Man. And with what we know, DGM may not even take place in the time period its set to be in. But- one tumblr user (I forgot who they were- I am so sorry) suggested that in chapter 220, it looked like Katerina’s clothes were from the 1870′s, but that would skew the whole timeline of when DGM is said to take place. After a person on one of the DGM Discord servers (vergelapada) asked what year the Earl may have split, I did a little fashion research and discovered Katerina’s clothes would have most likely been from the 1840′s. And given how most Victorian era media takes place in 1895 and D Gray Man is said to be “an alternate late 19th century”, I think I have a clearer idea of what years everything might have taken place. I may be off by a year, but now that you know the method to my madness, let’s dive in.

Aprox. 5115 BCE (if DGM takes place in the 1800′s)- The first 3 days of darkness occurs, and the Pillar destroys the world as well as the Noah becoming born.

Approx. 1395- Lala is made a doll

Approx. 1795- After “discovering” Innocence, the Black Order is founded. Heveslaska is made the keeper of loose innocence by her family, the Lvellie family

1807- Bookman is born (Aug 5th)

1843 or 1844- Mana and Nea are “born”

Late 1840′s- Mana is sick for a month, yet recovers 

1860 and/or 1861- Nea destroys the previous Noah family and Mana becomes the Earl, thus destroying Nea in the process. Past!Allen agrees to become his host.

1861 or 1862- Sheril Kamelot is possibly born (Jan 20th)

1866- The original Kanda and Alma are destroyed by Akuma. Komui born June 13th

1867- Arystar Krory III is born

1869- Tyki Mikk is possibly born (Dec 25th)

1870- Miranda Lotto is born (Jan 1)

1877- Lavi is possibly born (Aug 10)

1879- Lenalee is also born (Feb 20th)

1880- “Allen Walker” was “born” (?) 

1883- Lavi becomes Bookman’s Apprentice

Approx. 1885- Mana reawakens and becomes a clown to look for his brother Nea. He meets a 6-year-old Allen aka Red on Christmas Eve and adopts him the next day. This was also the year Lenalee was taken away from Komui to the Order

1886- Alma Karma is “born” (Dec 6th)

1887- Yuu Kanda is born (June 6th)

Later in 1887- Komui becomes head of the European Branch Order and both Kanda and Lenalee become friends

1888 or 1889- Cross takes in Allen and begins training him

1892- Skin Boric awakens as a Noah

1893- Lavi joins the Order

1895- Allen becomes an exorcist and the story begins

1896 or 1897- Allen runs away from the order as the 14th aka Nea begins to take over his body

Note: I added a couple character birthdays I thought might be useful or worth mentioning on the timelines because A- they were important to the story and B- because they may be important for theories or coming up with a better timeline. Hope this was useful to someone. I spent all morning on this. If there is anything I need to add or change, please let me know nicely. Thank you.

[inkyquince]

okay so im a person who needs a face for a game characters if they aren’t provided so these are kind of the faces ive been imagining mixed in with fanart ( devotion disorder’s Whitney will always remain in my heart )

eden: karl heisenberg and i won’t say anything further

avery: Patrick bateman ( also nanami from jjk)

kylar: for some reason nagito from daganronpa??? like imagine his hair was black and i think u would basically have kylar

sydney: mary from kakegurui bro idk it just works esp when she’s corrupt omfg

robin: sam from totally spies pls look away

i got nothing for whitney and Alex but here are some extra’s of mine:

mason: jackson marchetti wbk

leighton: imagine joseph joestar ( specifically part 3 ) but…rlly skinny and hannibal lector ( mads version )

wren: hawks from mha

bailey: toji from jjk ( a bit sulf indulgent i won’t lie ) and weirdly midas from Fortnite. FORTNITE.

honestly, agree with most of these but am gonna put my own lads underneath the cut

Robin

I'm so sorry, but as someone not really attracted to Robin, I picture... Shinji

But legitmately, unironically? Nagito from Free!Iwatobi Swim Club. Baby boy, angel.

Kylar

Yeah, its Yoonbum.

Whitney

Literally just @lumowu's Whitney drawings, like here and here. Legitimately can't see em as anything else.

Eden

Riftan from Under The Oak Tree... Or Eddie Gluskin from Outlast DLC lmao

Avery

Legitimately, Nanami until I saw @bestoan's Avery here. He's so gorgeous and my god, it fits him better than what I was imagining before.

Alex

Edward Wong from Cowboy Bebop <3

Sydney

Koujaku from Drammatical Murder lmao

Bailey

Toji Fushiguro from JJK, if he slicked his hair back

Wren

I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN. WORICK ARCANGELO FROM GANGSTA

Leighton

:3 Vicar Jeremy Rathbone from Black Butler

Remy:

 Tyki Mikk from Dr.Gray-Man

Niki:

Uta From Tokyo Ghoul

YEAH MOST OF THESE DON'T MAKE SENSE AND IM NOT SORRY

[greelin]

still sometimes think fondly about my dgm self insert who was just like “yeah being an exorcist is cool i guess but you know what’s even cooler? fucking tyki mikk raw😌” like.. mad respect. where is he now

[ralunix]

Me: I'm not going to see Fantastic Beasts 3 cause of all th-

The movie: We now have Mads Mikk-

Me: So here is my money.

[jasontoddiefor]

Title: remember who I am in the morning

In which the author refuses to give up on the “Tyki is a failed Nea clone made by Past!Allen” theory. Alos hello again D.Gray-man fandom.

Tyki Mikk had more than a few issues and most of them he traced back to his childhood, even though he remembered nothing but laughter and wonder. His first memory was of his father looking down at him, glasses obscuring his expression. It was the only memory Tyki had of him in which his father wasn’t smiling at him. The moment couldn’t have lasted longer than a second, then Tyki had been picked up, wrapped in a soft towel, and been carried out of a room he’d never seen again afterward.

They’d never stayed anywhere for long, never stopped walking, moving one foot in front of the other, or, more often than not, Tyki was being carried on his father’s shoulders. He’d learned Portuguese first as it was the country they spent the first year in, then English, Spanish, French, and Russian.

“Languages are important,” his father had said, teaching him yet another one. “They help you understand yourself.”

His father was always smiling.

“You’ll have to disentangle so many memories when you grow up, Tyki.”

It wasn’t always a cheerful smile, though he’d been too young then to realize it. Looking back, as happy as he recalled being, how carefree, it was easy to see that his father had been haunted by nightmares and fears Tyke was only now beginning to understand.

“Are you alright?”

Tyki stepped out of his mind and turned to Sheril. His older brother, as the man liked to pretend to be, was watching him with concern. Sheril had taken to hardly allowing Road or Tyki to leave his sights. Since Road had to look after the Earl, ensure the head of their family wasn’t losing his marbles entirely, Sheril tagged along to any mission Tyki was sent on, obsessing over him instead.

Noah were frighteningly good at that, caught up in their own aspect, drowning in it. Tyki hadn’t been White in a while and he suspected that his family’s joy at his switch to Black was starting to fade and become concern instead.

“Of course,” Tyki replied and brushed his long hair out of his face. Maybe he should cut it again. It hadn’t been this long since he’d been a child. “This is just nostalgic.”

Sheril raised his brow and looked at the small house they’d been sent to inspect for a sign of the Heart.

“It reminds me of my childhood,” Tyki elaborated and opened the old front door to a small, familiar kitchen. This house had been abandoned by some suspect, according to their intel. Tyki hadn’t paid too much attention, too distracted by the thoughts of his escaped target, Allen Walker, on the run from Order and Noah alike.

It was a fruitless escape, but the part of Tyki that had been so much at ease around Allen during their first meeting wanted the boy to be chased a little longer, remain himself just a few moments more.

“My father and I lived in a house like this for a while.”

At the start of Tyki’s memories. How strange that they were all resurfacing now, rewinding.

“You’ve never talked much about him.”

“He was a scientist,” Tyki said as they walked the stairs down to a small basement that had been concealed beneath a trap door. Of course, if he so desired, he could fade just through the ground, but he’d chosen his White side for this morning for once and decided to stick with it.

At the very bottom of the staircase was another door. Itched around its handle were old runes, no longer intact, but they must have been powerful once upon a time. Tyki wasn’t as well-versed in magic as some of the other Apostles, but he knew enough to recognize and avoid it if necessary.

“It’s disabled,” he informed Sheril and opened the door to—

You’re not Nea at all, are you?

Vaguely, Tyki registered his knees hitting the ground, Sheril’s strings reaching for him in support as he stared at the laboratory in front of him; the smashed tanks the I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe—

I’m so sorry, child. You weren’t supposed to exist.

Gentle hands, kind words, the only time that father’s expression had been unreadable because he’d been crying, the fluid of the tank still sticking to him.

I should have known Memories can’t be transferred like this.

He was tucked in, his eyes still blown wide, pressing himself close to the nearest source of heat.

I suppose I need to abandon this hideout. There’s no point in continuing this research.

His heart was beating and then it was not, unsure of what to cling to as white bled to black and black faded back to white—

You’ll need a name. How about Tyki?

He reached for the papers left abandoned on the table, the old photograph, his father’s eyes staring back at him—

My name is Allen, but you may call me ‘Father’ as I did create you. Nea is going to be mad he’ll have to look after a child once I’ve disappeared. Don’t be too harsh on him. He did provide your genes.

“Tyki!”

In his hand was the photograph, the files, his own youthful face staring back at him as he floated unaware in the tank. He had no memories of this, could not recall his birth, but it would fit so well, why his oldest memory was exactly that.

Sheril helped him to his feet again, took the papers from him. “Is that—?”

“My father,” Tyki answered, truth ringing hollow, failing to reveal to him how exactly his father had died, when he’d last seen him before his Memories had swallowed him up.

The father, who used to sing him half-forgotten lullabies to fall asleep, taught him whatever instrument they could get their hand on while traveling, encouraging Tyki to ask as many questions as he wanted, indulge in all the riches of the world, all the pleasures.

“Allen Mikk.”

A young man, whose face was half obscured by glasses, his annoyed expression still visible, entirely identical to the boy Tyki had been sent and failed to kill.