#the dumbest people you know are among us. stay safe out there

[lesbiancolumbo]

me when i see dumb takes on this website but then realize they’re written by children and i’m 30 or 40 years old and therefore legally not required to care or pay attention

[the-punforgiven]

thoughts on Half Armor? Like Characters who only wear a breast plate and a few other pieces of armor here and there, if that makes sense?

I actually really like it tbh! I think that if done right in a character design it can showcase a lot about the character other elements in character design fail to, mostly in what they choose to armour the most and how that can reflect on their character

See, the thing with armor, especially plate, is that it's really expensive. And like, while in a medieval setting beset by war or demons or whatever it'd probably be a good thing to invest in on a financial level similar to like, a car or something, not everybody can afford that, it was actually pretty common to see imperfect armor worn by people who just didn't have the cash to maintain a whole armor set trying to protect what they can

(Also a little side tangent I think is interesting is that painted armor became somewhat popular among poorer fighters, since paint could prevent rust on a similar but slightly lower level to oiling it, but didn't need to be applied NEARLY as often, and tbh I just love armored characters who like to express themselves artistically and think that's a cool avenue to explore)

But sometimes you have a character who's just like, poor or just isn't used to the weight of armor and doesn't want to wear full plate, I feel like there's a lot of cool ways to do that

For example, presumably people who wear armor want to stay alive during a fight, so in theory the place you'd want to protect the most would be your torso and head, since hits to there can kill you pretty quickly if not instantly. Shoutout to the Witcher game and D&D for having a level of armor that's just like, a breastplate and that's it, since protecting your heart, stomach, back, etc. should be really high priority when armoring up, and if you've only got enough cash for one piece of plate armor a breastplate is a very solid choice

However if you're going a little more Fantasy about it, you could have a character who chooses to armor their left arm primarily, since they're confident in their swordsmanship or have developed a style based on blocking/parrying with their off hand, or makes heavy use of a shield and want to tank up the bits that are right next to it that they might not be able keep safe behind it, like their shoulder or something (Shoutout Elite Knight Set from Dark Souls for that exactly) while putting less of a focus on protecting their torso since they've got a shield for that

I feel like helmets should also be more common in partial-plate armored characters in fantasy since taking a blow to the brain from any weapon can often be dangerous to say the least, but I also understand the Character Designer Need To Show The Character's Face At All Times thing

Another thought on the matter is that between gambeson, chainmail, scale mail, a splint armor/coat of plates sort of thing, leather to a lesser extent?, or whatever else there's a lot of decent protective options that you can use to suppliment a lack of plate, especially gambeson (a padded textile armor, made by basically just making a really dense quilt of linens in the shape of a coat, almost always worn underneath plate since it is good at cushioning blunt impacts, though it is a more resistant to slashes and stabs than people tend to think), being the cheapest option by far, and relatively easy to repair compared to the others and especially compared to plate, but in 100% honesty it's your character design, you don't have to stick to one specific armor style if you don't want to, personally I love mixing plate and scale armor, I think it makes for really cool designs personally, even if they are difficult to draw most of the time

Actually fun fact I got super excited seeing the gambeson coat sticking out in the Vagabond Set from Elden Ring, I know that's probably the dumbest Nerd Shit to get really excited over but Gambeson is cool (I would attach a picture but apparently Tumblr doesn't like me at the moment)

TL;DR I think it's really neat and opens up a lot of very fun avenues in character design! However I also think sometimes it's used in really weird ways that I'm not super fond of, specifically in Dante's Inferno The Video Game, Why Is His Armor Like That

[h50europe]

Why the ending of the series finale felt off for many of us (and what PL could have had really in mind) - Aphorisms

As you can easily see from the photos, season 11 was a safe bet, as was a new team member, McCole. What could have been, it says, written by Justin, the wife of Alex stunt/stand-in double. I'm going to play the advocatus diaboli.

In the penultimate episode of H50, Lenkov created a new character. He was sort of based on Steve, but also not. As it turned out in the last episode, Cole and Steve also had a mutual friend: Catherine. Why does that not really surprise us? The rumor mill was really churning, and it was a given that PL was definitely going to bring her on board. So, without further ado, he made her a key person. She was the one who cracked the ominous code that Doris had left for her son. Question, couldn't Jerry have done that just as well?

Anyway, PL set up Cole and Steve. But the chemistry - for us - wasn't really there. They could have just as easily put anyone next to Steve. PL built on the military past of the two (what else) and finally the common denominator: Catherine. Oh, how original. NOT. If you look at this constellation, you can already guess where this was going. But there remained this one obstacle: Danny.

Well, no problem, Lenkov thought and had him kidnapped without further ado. All planned because of all the great McDanno moments we got to see in season 10. So appropriately for lulling, even if these moments did not have nearly as much heart as in previous seasons, but hey, the fans would swallow and relish it, PL thought.

Then came the obligatory threatening call from Daiyu Mei (note the clever pun ala Yoda: die you may...), and the drama unfolded. The whole thing was further clarified by the words of Wo Fat's ex: "I have the person you care about most in the world." Bummer, as she is not talking about Catherine but Danny. Queerbaiting at its worst. Then comes the usual. And during the escape attempt, Danny, who is already half-dead, gets shot. So far, so good, or not.

Danny's injuries could have easily been fatal. So now I'm going off the premise and just claiming that this was PL's original plan. Why? PL did mention at one point that he could imagine H50 without Steve or Danny, but he certainly wasn't stupid enough to believe that. It was nothing more than a smoke grenade. But what PL had wanted for a long time was the end of McDanno. He preferred another ship. But while McDanno sailed blithely across the seven seas, PL's fav ship never left the harbor. But now, he had the ultimate opportunity with a new, equal partner at Steve's side (Book'em Cole), who also pulled Catherine out of a hat.

PL's heart did somersaults. What a great plan that was. Alex didn't say anything about really wanting to quit, even after the series ended. While he had been open about his departure after season 7, there was no need to hide this fact now in season 10. And as you can easily see, all signs were pointing toward season 11. What PL didn't count on was the massive resistance from CBS.

In contrast to PL, they had no problems with Scott/Danny or McDanno. They knew that this was the heart and soul of the show. And PL's protector Moonves was no longer available because he had been kicked out of the network. So PL's back was against the wall. And nothing and nobody could change that. Too bad, because actually, PL had everything perfectly planned.

Danny would either die on the way to the hospital or later in the hospital. This would lead Steve to a massive revenge attack, which should have ended in a brilliant showdown (brilliant for PL, not necessarily for the fans), but Daiyu Mei escapes eventually. Then, Steve would have been driving around aimlessly. We were possibly shown some flashbacks, only to end up at Casa McGarrett, where Catherine would have already been waiting for him. Nice reversal of the goodbye scene from season 6.

The conversation between Steve and her would have been similar to Danny's, except that it wouldn't have been about his parents, but about Danny and that he just can't take it in Hawaii any longer. Too much reminds him of his dead friend. Steve also wanted to pay his final respect and bring him back home to Jersey. Of course, Catherine suggests joining him. What else? Now that one ship sunk, PL could easily replace it with HIS fav ship. And because Cole has done so well, Steve also entrusts him with the task force's leadership. Before Steve leaves to accompany Danny on his last journey, he hands Cole his credentials.

Steve and Cath stand next to each other at the airport and watch as Danny's coffin is loaded onto the plane. Then they board the plane together, ending with them holding hands as we know it. Fade out, season 10 ends.

How would it have continued in season 10? Danny's funeral would have happened off-screen, like so many other pivotal scenes. Steve would have maybe spent an episode or two mulling it over and then returned to Hawaii to hunt down Daiyu Mei with Cole and the team, which now included Catherine.

So much for Lenkov's wet dream, um, plan. However, because CBS knew that McDanno was the heart and soul of the series, they found this idea more than lousy and turned PL down. We could imagine that Alex also threw in that he would certainly not continue without Scott. There was a short back and forth, and it was decided to cancel the show. So we've come full circle to the sloppy, heartless execution of the last episode and the absolutely meaningless words PL put in Steve's mouth as a result. Due to lack of creativity and apparent lack of time, the deadline seemed to be predetermined, considering how quickly the soundstages at Diamond Studios were obliterated.

The crew was equally surprised when PL succinctly informed them that there would be no season 11. See the post from an angry crew member on IG.

Can we prove any of this? Nope, but it's the only reasonable explanation for why the show ended the way it did. Namely, completely illogical, with a Steve who was more than just off the rails. At the very beginning of the series, Steve gives completely different reasons for staying. If you do a rewatch, you'll see.

Everybody knows that you don't solve problems by running away. You don't get rid of the weight that you carry around with you. Steve may be a stubborn mule, but one thing he has never been: self-centered. And if Danny was really the most important thing in the world to him, as Mei said, then he wouldn't have dumped him in the end. Because that's what you do when you really love someone, you stay and fight against all odds. Especially when someone is in a bad place, like Danny, who has just jumped from the brink of death.

You don't suddenly go on a self-realization trip and kick the person who's already lying on the ground. But that's exactly what Steve did. At least the way PL wrote the part. The man must have really lost it when he wrote those lines. I'm sure he was enjoying pure schadenfreude.

And if you take a close look at the two protagonists, you can clearly see the reluctance with which they shared it all with the audience. There was no more room for any affectionate ad-lib actions that we knew from before. They could only stubbornly reel off what was in the script. PL would have done well to sit down with Scott and Alex and find a common solution instead of imposing his version on them and the audience. That's what people with integrity do, but the man never any.

In our opinion, the show's ending ranks among the dumbest and most unimaginative of all time. Rarely a person manages to drive a show against the wall in such a way and at the same time assassinated the main characters. PL shouldn't be proud of it. He should rather stand in a corner and be ashamed of himself.

And now you can go ahead and bash us, or just ignore the whole thing and keep on scrolling. Thank you for your time and for letting us share our thoughts with you.

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

ii. Fun Facts About The Cast | Actor Au | Obey Me

Request: Its not, I love this AU tho

Word Count: 2303 words

Page Count: 6.5 pages

A.N. Hope you guys all like this! Fun facts about the cast lmao

[ Actor AU Masterlist ]

Fun Facts

Benjamin ( Lucifer )

- Is the dad of the cast.

- In any scenes with Dmitri ( Luke ), he makes sure to know if he is alright, and often will stop scenes to ask.

- He also is an overall joker, so he has trouble filming most of his scenes, will often start laughing in the middle of filming and can break character the easiest.

- Best with kids overall, probably due to having his own, keeps their lives private tho.

- His hair was white for a past show, but the directors liked the look, so that's why he has white tips.

- One of the few male characters who cannot do those diets to accentuate his abs- so that's why his character is always covered up.

- He's in shape! But, he likes the fat that protects his muscle, he says he needs to stay soft to hug his kids.

- Known diabetic, so there's a table full of foods so his sugars are stable, the cast has glucagon shots all over the sets to be safe.

- Is in his early thirties, but people say he can pull off early twenties- he just snorts at this.

Avery ( Mammon ) 

- Takes the job seriously, and his scenes are easiest to film.

- Dark humor and often is the "Lucifer" of the cast.

- Seeing him switch from Avery to Mammon leaves the rest of the cast and crew fucking s h o o k.

- Will always be seen looking his finest.

- No, no one has seen him in public in sweatpants or anything like that. His image is very serious.

- Is a sweetheart when with the rest of the cast tho.

- His eyes are actually that blue.

- No one is sure if his hair is actually white or not, the way he speaks about it is vague, and fans are always theorizing.

- Watching over Benji ( Lucifer ), and is usually the one to tell him to check his sugars, since the other is quite forgetful.

- Is an immigrant from Turkey, so he has an accent, makes people thirst for him more.

- Helps aspiring actors and directors get into the field, and goes on hard work and talent, not who tries to pay him off.

Jackson ( Leviathan )

- Is the resident fuckboi.

- Always with males and females hanging off him, at this point the pop gave up, no- they aren't his partner.

- Flexes a shit ton.

- Wearing chains, a Rolex, and anything designer.

- Donates half of his salary to ocean reserves and protection funds, he has the money for it, and the show pays him well.

- Always at the beach, or near lake houses and shit, the one ( 1 ) thing he likes about his character.

- Hates the fringe he wears with a passion.

- His hair is actually a light shade of brown, his eyes are a darker shade, but still pretty light.

- First generation, his parents are Korean, so you can pick up hints of their accent in his speech patterns. Gets heavy when he's sleepy. 

Ross ( Satan )

- Is a stoner.

- Goes on Instagram lives with either MC and gets high, talking about the dumbest shit or he's alone in his room and his cats join in.

- "So, if you think about- oH MY GOD PRINCESS. YES, COME TO DADDY."

- Has a kitten curled up on him, purrs loud as hell because mf is so warm, and the lives turn into purring ASMR sessions.

- Into self care, has a line of vitamins, face masks, and everything you can think of.

- Calls his fans his SaStans.

- Dmitri ( Luke ) is his younger brother.

- Will never let him out of his sight, and they love to be as mean as they can to each other, they love each other but love to bully one another.

- Is from the Bronx, so his accent is what Avery ( Mammon ) mimics for his character, often just records Avery's lines and sends them to him so he can practice.

- Owns an animal shelter he funds.

- "Carol Baskin? Who's that?"

- The REAL tiger king.

- Gets all his cats dyed to look like tigers.

Micheal ( Asmodeus )

- Chill as fuck.

- Has like 5+ kids, so the role fits him perfectly, and now it's an on running joke among fans that they are all his illegitimate children.

- You know why Asmodeus on the show wears so much makeup? 

- His eldest daughter is one of the makeup artists, and she loves to try new looks on him, and the producers think it would fit the character well.

- People speculate his age, looks young but is in his late 30's.

- His first child was born when he was 16, so he likes to support safe heavens and things like that for struggling youths- from being kicked out to needing assistance with mental health.

- Tired af.

- Always in sweatpants, him and Ross ( Satan ) are the trademark bums of the cast.

- Thinks it would be hilarious that when Micheal is revealed, in the show, that he plays the character.

- Is a writer as well, TSL is a real series and he writes it, so they let him use it in the show.

- Vlogs in his car, in a Wendy's parking lot, eating a shit ton of food and talking about the most random shit.

- Half asleep in all interviews, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, it's gotten to the point where everyone memes it too.

James ( Beelzebub )

- Himbo.

- One of the few cast members closest to their character.

- Absolute sweetheart.

- He's 20 years old.

- But how is he so fucking big???

- Comes from a big ass family, the middle child, he's baby 4 out of 9.

- All his siblings are redheads too.

- Very playful tho, with the cast always going along with his antics, making for the best bloopers.

- The contacts he wears make him blind af, which doesn't help since he's so tall, and will bump his head on the doorways and such.

- Can speak Scottish-Gaelic, and even has an accent to top it off.

- He is an absolute unit, and one of the characters who does the stupid diet to show off his form.

- Literally on the verge of passing out sometimes, so he needs to rest with Benjamin ( Lucifer ).

- All pictures, shirtless scenes, and such are filmed first so he can rest after and go back to a normal diet.

- Quiet guy, but loves talking about sports and his siblings tho.

- Is always carrying MC and Dmitri ( Luke ) around, now there are many off-guard photos posted to the casts shared twitter+instagram accounts

- Still pretty new to acting, but is amazing at emotional scenes, to the point fans actually think he's having a breakdown.

- Nah, he's just thinking about being alone, without his family- and it gets him bawling for said scenes.

Conner ( Belphegor )

- Crackhead 

- Will not stay still, either for filming or just when everyone is chilling.

- Scenes where he's asleep? He's usually turned away from the camera, cause the idiot is smiling and giggling.

- Has tripped over his tail multiple times.

- Comes from a farm-life, literal cowboy, his southern accent just hits hard.

- He hides it very well, but it comes out at times or with certain words.

- Sees Benjamin ( Lucifer ) as a mentor, he's in his early twenties and new to the scene, but they are best friends.

- Benjamin ( Lucifer ) has now acquired a new child.

- A living meme.

- You know how Tom Holland can't keep a secret?

- Yeah, he's worse.

- Rest of the cast have all had to physically stop him from talking at one point.

- The cow pillow? It's actually his, when he got the role his father has sewn it himself, so he will bring it with him.

- It's basically free promo for the show and comforts him in the city space.

- Gets overwhelmed in large crowds, so he usually makes sure to have another cast member close by, or he will literally leave to a less crowded place to take a breath.

- Apologized to MC after the scene in which he kills them.

- His mama raised him right, so he takes MC to his house for a movie, in which they cuddle and relax for the night.

- Felt really bad for like... a whole week.

- "Country boy I love you~"

Thomas ( Barbatos )

- Brat.

- This is one cocky man, he's smooth as hell, and one whisper can make you weak in the knees.

- Grew out the one side of his hair, but he slicks his hair back or will pin it back, dyes it himself when it's time to film.

- Loves to piss Alex ( Simeon ) off.

- Has a true crime podcast with Roman ( Diavolo ), Alex ( Simeon ), and Benjamin ( Lucifer ), because they're all old friends.

- Donates to the cold case foundation because he knows what it's like to lose someone and not know what happened to them.

- He has a twin who is his stunt double, they love to fuck with the rest of the cast, both of them are little shits.

- Is the motherfucker who makes a channel and reads the crackhead fanfics

- Loves every word of it tho.

- Responds to every fans dms. Every. One. As a whole account for this shit.

- Walks with a bit of a limp, so he wears a brace to help even himself, but during wide-shot scenes you can catch it sometimes.

- Took actual classes to be a butler for the role.

Roman ( Diavolo )

- Himbo 2.0

- Catch this man tweeting what he's trying to search up at 2 in the morning.

- Leaves them because it's hilarious, makes videos where he reads them out sometimes, it's all in good fun.

- He has a set of triplets at home, so that dad energy radiates into the show too.

- You know how Diavolo seems sus at points of the game? Yeah, he's still like that IRL.

- The rest of the cast was put off at first, but that's how he is, and everyone eased up pretty quickly.

- Makes jokes that he has family in the Italian mob, but needed to stop once his father called him, saying that there were too many eyes on the family now.

- Man was s h o o k.

- Has sensitive skin, so all his makeup and body paints need to be specially made, made with all natural products.

- The bags under his eyes are baby bags.

- Will bring his kids on set, to which everyone will gush over, and watch them when they aren't filming.

- Very private with his kids ( to the public ), doesn't post about them much, and only the cast really sees them.

- Wine dad.

- Catch him bringing the whole cast out for "family trips"

- People nicknamed him Caesar

- So many JoJo references now

- "SHHHHIIIIIZZZAAAAAAAA"

- "Please, no."

Dmitri ( Luke )

- Is actually 12.

- Quotes vines, tiktoks, and other memes.

- Is one of the few people that Alex ( Simeon ) is openly nice too.

- Also has an accent, but since he's young and is learning, can now mimic every other cast member's accent.

- Wear earplugs for certain scenes, because of how raunchy and dark the scenes can get, so Simeon and Barbatos are always conveniently in the way, hiding the plugs.

- Is Ross' ( Satan ) younger brother, and if he isn't hanging off of him he's with James ( Beelzebub ), Benjamin ( Lucifer ), or MC.

- They know there are some sick fucks in Hollywood so he has an adult with him at all times.

- Posts pictures of him cuddling up to his brother and the kittens, new foods he is trying, and some pictures with family.

- He often is considered the new Gordon Ramsay.

- Had a collaboration with him.

- It was amazing.

- Best boy, catch him taking a nap in his ( and Ross' ) trailer, surrounded by tiger kittens.

- The TIGER PRINCE.

Alex ( Simeon )

- Avatar of wrath who?

- The embodiment of "No talk me, I angy"

- Jkjk, though he does have a temper, he only loses it with Benjamin ( Lucifer ), Roman ( Diavolo ), and Thomas ( Barbatos ).

- A sweetheart with all children though, like you know Simeon on the show? 

- Yeah, he's only like that with kids.

- And respectable adults.

- Mama raised him well 2.0

- Grew up in NY

- Born in Gucci and Balenciaga.

- Was a child model and slowly expanded to acting.

- Dark humor galore.

- If Simeon met Alex, he'd probably have a stroke, cause THOSE WORDS are coming out of HIS mouth.

- Says the weirdest shit too.

- "Put your hand on my ass and call me a virgin."

- Bro are you okay???

- He is fluent in five languages and has a high IQ.

- Speaks: English, French, Italian, Arabic, and Mandarin

- Has a support system for children who struggle to learn conventionally, with trained tutors who are affordable, he knows what it's like to need certain needs met to learn, and he wants every kid to get that chance.

- Rough around the edges but has a heart of gold.

Derek ( Solomon )

- Loves to smoke with Ross ( Satan )

- He is more aloof than chill.

- One of the more awkward members, doesn't know how to socialize well, and is very shy.

- Watch out for Dmitri ( Luke ) on the down low.

- Didn't have the best life growing up, so he is a lot more street smart than book smart.

- Doesn't have a big social media influence.

- Very nice to fans, gives full hugs to them, and everyone feels so appreciated.

- Has a husky named Blue.

- Also has an owl, who he took in when he found it on his porch with a broken wing, and nursed it to health.

- He set it free, but she comes back often, and has a nest in the tree closest to his house.

- Named her Lovely.

- Animal person, so he helps Ross out with his animal shelters.

- Uses Blue as a living pillow, and only sleeps in his boxers when Blue is on his bed, because goddamn does that dog radiate heat.

- Him and MC live together, having grown up together, and made their livings together. 

[imaginetonyandbucky]

The Buy In

Chapter 5: Keeping Up Appearances

by @dracusfyre

Bucky stared sightlessly at New York traffic as he quietly panicked. He tried and failed to think of any way to get out of this, now that he was already in the car; if he could have, he would have given himself nausea and diarrhea immediately and suffered the indignity instead of escorting Tony Stark, the Mechanic, the single most powerful crime boss in Manhattan, to the Policeman’s Ball. What in the hell was he going to say to his handler? For three blocks he debated whether to give them any advance warning at all; it would be so much easier to deal with the fallout later by claiming that Stark had taken his phone before telling him where he was going. For three more blocks, he tried and failed to type something, each sentence he came up with sounding dumber than the last, so with only the barest bit of guilt he stashed his phone in the car’s glove compartment as Happy pulled into the drop off line for the ball.

Cameras started flashing almost as soon as he got out of the car to open Stark’s door, and while Stark climbed out, smiling and waving, he tried to look as boring as possible, mouth a flat line as he ignored the press and kept an eye out for anyone looking suspicious. Just what exactly was he supposed to be guarding Stark from, anyway? Other mob bosses in attendance? A mugger? The police?

“Want a drink?” Stark said once they got inside, and Bucky forced himself to shake his head even though he desperately wanted to say yes. He trailed behind Stark as he glad-handed the crowd, making jokes and asking after people’s kids, and miserably tallied the various important people in the room: the mayor, who gave Stark a handshake and a clap on the back for his donation to the Food Bank For NYC; a representative to the state house, who managed to solicit campaign donations in the guise of complimenting him on his philanthropic efforts; a US Senator that thanked him for his investment advice. And those were just the people that Bucky recognized; there was no telling how many government officials and CEOs that numbered among the people that subtly held court around Stark. He wondered how many knew about Stark’s criminal ties, and how many would care if they did know.

Finally, for Bucky’s sanity, they made the announcement for dinner and everyone filed dutifully into the main hall where they set up tables for the event.

“I was wondering if you were coming, Tony,” an amused voice said from behind them. Stark turned, and the smile he had been wearing all night widened and finally reached his eyes as a tall, slim redhead let him pull her down to kiss her on the cheek.

“Pepper, so glad to see you,” he said, taking one of her hands and putting it in his elbow. “Are you sitting next to me?”

“Of course.” Bucky recognized the woman from Stark’s case file; she was Virginia Potts, his personal lawyer. Though ‘lawyer’ didn’t really capture her, really; from a police perspective, she was Cerberus, the dragon guarding the tower, Gandalf on the bridge: in short, “You Shall Not Pass” in human form. She was largely the reason why Bucky was on this undercover assignment; faced with the potential of meeting her in court, no judge in the city would grant them a warrant without a literal smoking gun of Stark’s guilt. She was just as well connected as Stark was, to boot; one of the other senior partners at her firm was on the short list of the Democrats’ Supreme Court Justice picks and the other worked for the state as the deputy Attorney General. “How are you? Who’s this?” she asked, finally noticing Bucky following them to the dinner table.

“I’m fine, and this is a new guy,” Stark said as he pulled the seat out for Potts to sit. “I call him Blue Eyes.”

Potts rolled her eyes and offered Bucky a surprisingly kind smile. “Don’t worry, he can’t remember my real name either,” she said. “Don’t take it personally.”

“I don’t, ma’am,” Bucky said, returning her smile despite himself.

“Oh, Bill, it’s good to see you,” Stark said, and Bucky glanced away from Potts to see that sitting right across from Stark was the NY police commissioner.

 Tony hid a smile as he heard the strangled noise Blue Eyes made when he recognized the police commissioner. But after an evening of watching the man sweat as Tony rubbed elbows with the most powerful men in the state, he took pity on him. “I’ll be good for a while, if you need to take a break,” he said, and watched with amusement as the man all but fled from the table.

“What was that about?” Pepper asked with a small frown, thanking the wait staff as they filled up her glass with water and set a glass of white wine in front of her.

“I think his eyes aren’t the only thing about that guy that’s blue,” Tony said, looking significantly towards the police commissioner. Pepper’s eyebrows shot up and she took a drink of wine as she realized what he was saying, then she barely swallowed it in time before she laughed.

“And you brought him here? You are a terrible person,” she scolded him, clearly trying to suppress a smile.

“Yeah. It’s been fun watching him trying to avoid the cameramen all night. Especially because he’s been so worried about being photographed that he probably didn’t notice the fact that half of the conversations I’ve had tonight involved breaking the law in some way or another.” For example, what had probably sounded like a request for a campaign contribution was actually a solicitation for a bribe, which Tony was going to pay because politicians were just good investments, really, and honestly the Senator Walker should really talk less about how much money he made off of insider trading, particularly when he is using his committee positions to do it.

This time, Pepper’s eyes held a flash of warning instead of amusement, and Tony held up his hands in surrender, turning the conversation to safer waters as they ate.

                                                               ***

To Bucky’s surprise, Stark was ready to go not long after dinner; for some reason Bucky had the idea that he would want to stay all night, shaking hands and taking turns around the dance floor. He was all smiles as he left, but as soon as the car door closed behind him, he collapsed against the car seat with a sigh.

“You know,” Stark said, eyes closed as he rested his head on the back of the seat, “the funny thing about going to these events, is that I probably shook hands with more criminals tonight than I have in the past six months put together. But no one cares about that because the people who are supposed to care are criminals too.”

“That sucks, Boss,” Happy said, clearly having heard this complaint before. Now that they were far from the crowds and bright lights, Stark’s good mood seemed to be curdling; he sounded almost depressed. 

“It’s exhausting, is what it is. Blue Eyes, have you ever had to shake hands with and smile at someone that you hated all the way down to your bones?” Stark’s voice was muffled and Bucky looked back to see that his hands were over his face as he rubbed his eyes.

“Yeah, of course. There’s always that one guy at every job, right? The asshole that no one likes?”

Stark barked out a laugh. “Having only one would be nice, actually.” He sat up suddenly and scooted forward until he was all but in the front seat. “Let’s get dessert. Is there a late night ice cream place? Or pie? Or donuts? Back there they only had some sort of fancy baklava on the menu and I don't like honey.”

Happy and Bucky shared a look and Bucky patted his pockets for his phone before remembering that he’d put it in the glove compartment. Then he remembered why he’d left it in the car, and winced as he saw the notifications on his phone. But it was after midnight so that was going to be a Future Bucky problem. He pulled up the search bar and found a late night cookie company that was on their way home.

When they got there, there was no place to park, so Bucky got out with Stark to go inside while Happy stayed with the car. Unsurprisingly, they were the oldest people inside; the cashier and the two other customers looked like they were still in high school or college, because realistically who would be looking for a sugar fix this late at night except students. And one mob boss with a sweet tooth, apparently. Stark made a beeline for the display case and all but pressed his nose to the glass.

“What’s your favorite kind of cookie?”

“Something with fruit and nuts in it,” Bucky said. “You?” Bucky came up next to him to read all the labels. “Mexican chili cookie? Who wants a spicy cookie?”

“Can’t do better than chocolate chip,” Stark said.  “But that salted caramel is speaking to me.” He glanced up at the menu and said, “Ooh, ice cream sandwiches,” sounding so excited that Bucky had to smother a smile. It was hard to keep a straight face as Stark deliberated; the man was being so stupidly cute as he debated the merits of the different options that Bucky had the dumbest fucking desire to kiss him. Stark ended up buying a whole box of cookies and an ice cream sandwich because he couldn’t decide on which cookies he wanted, and because he kept thinking of people to give them to: “Happy will say he’s on a diet but I think he’ll want one of these M&M cookies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen mint in a cookie, I’ll get that one for Rhodey, but also this sprinkle one because it will be funny.”

Maybe it was the sugar or the impulsive shopping trip, but Stark seemed in lighter spirits as they drove the rest of the way back to his garage, telling funny stories about the people that had been at the event. It even made Happy unbend a little, as much as he ever did when he was working, and at one point Bucky was laughing so hard he was in tears.

“Here’s good, Happy,” Stark said before they could pull into the secured parking lot behind the garage.

“Are you sure, Boss?” Happy said dubiously. “It’s not safe-”

“I got Blue Eyes to protect my virtue, right Blue Eyes?” Stark said. Bucky almost bobbled the box of cookies as climbed out of the car at the mention of Stark’s virtue, and when Stark met his eyes Bucky knew he’d done it on purpose. “Come on inside with me,” Stark continued. “We need to talk about the event tonight.” He leaned over to look at Happy through the window. “You go on home, I’ll make sure he gets home ok.”  When Happy nodded, Stark tapped on the top of the car and stepped back from the curb as the car pulled away

Bucky’s hands tightened on the box of cookies as his heart gave a heavy thump and his mouth went dry. He swallowed against a spike of nerves. We need to talk was never a good sign, but also, he was about to be alone with Stark. Trying not to think about what had happened earlier, he trailed awkwardly behind Stark as he put in the security code for the door and stepped inside, turning on a few of the big banks of fluorescent lights as he went.

“You can change, if you want,” Stark said, gesturing towards the bathroom where Bucky’s clothes were still folded neatly on the sink. He shrugged out of his suit coat and unbuttoned the sleeves, rolling them up so the cuffs didn’t dangle. Bucky’s eyes lingered for a moment on the lean muscles of his forearm, the strong, slender wrist bracketed by the narrow-banded watch, and decided that a moment alone in the bathroom was a good idea.

He changed quickly and splashed cold water on his face, giving himself a stern lecture about professionalism in the mirror, reminding himself why he was really here. His boss would be telling him that this was a great opportunity, that he seemed to have Stark’s trust. That now would be the perfect time to dig a little deeper. Bucky told himself that even though Stark was handsome and funny and apparently the kind of guy that would stuff a hundred dollar bill in a tip jar didn’t mean that…

“Wait, start over,” he muttered, shaking his head. Even though Stark seemed like a good person he was, at the very least, the target of a massive criminal investigation, even if it did seem like maybe there were worse criminals out there they could be investigating. They weren’t friends, he reminded himself. Stark didn’t know anything about him, and would probably drop him into the Hudson if he did. With that sobering thought, Bucky sighed, gathered up the fancy suit and shoes Stark had lent him, and went back out to the main room.

Then that whole pep talk promptly went out the window as he came out to see Stark sitting on a metal table, swinging his legs like a kid as he ate a cookie. As Bucky came closer, he saw that Stark had kicked off his shoes and had also taken a signle bite out of half the cookies in the box. When he looked up at Bucky with a smile of welcome, Bucky knew that he was in trouble.

“So what did we need to talk about?” he asked, taking a seat on the table next to Sta- Tony. He might as well stop calling him Stark; it’s not as if thinking of him by his last name was helping him maintain any sort of objectivity.

“Just getting your impression about tonight. Did you notice anything I should know about?” Tony held out the cookie box and Bucky took one of the oatmeal craisin ones, one of the few that Tony hadn't taste tested.

He took a bite to buy himself some time to think; Bucky had a lot of observations from tonight, ranging from the completely inappropriate (the curve of Tony's ass when Ms. Potts dropped something and Tony bent over to pick it up) to the irrelevant (not impressed with the music selection) to the potentially explosive (the Commandant had a drinking problem and was probably cheating on his wife). Assessing which were relevant to Tony took a moment. “There were a couple of people that were giving you the evil eye all night,” he said finally. “Right after you shook hands with them they looked like they wanted to shank you.”

Tony threw his head back and laughed at that. “I’m sure. Was one of them a skinny tool with glasses? Justin Hammer?”

“Yeah, that was one. Another one was the Special Agent in Charge of an FBI satellite office-”

“Not surprising,” Tony commented. “She’s new. The new ones are always hungry, she’ll come around.”

“-And the other was a big guy, bald but had a beard. I didn’t catch his name, sounded like you called him Toby.”

“You mean Obie? Obediah Stane?” Tony said with surprise. He dug out his phone and pulled up a picture. “This guy?”

Bucky leaned over to look at the phone. “Yeah. I always saw him watching you when you were talking to other people. Guy had eyes like a shark. People like him can kill someone and pass a lie detector test while his hands were still bloody. Who is he?”

“A family friend.” Tony frowned down at his phone and tapped it against his palm thoughtfully. “At least, I thought he was.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry,” Bucky said. “Maybe I’m wrong, you know, I’m not-” an expert, is what he was going to say, but he stopped because no matter how you sliced it, cop or criminal, he was. He was an expert in assessing threats, and that guy was definitely bad news.

Tony waved his words away and tossed his phone on the table with a clatter. “It’s fine. Better to know. I’ll look into it. Anything else?”

Bucky shook his head and took another bite of cookie. “Why do you go to these things if they are full of people you don’t like and apparently people who don’t like you?”

“Networking, mostly. Obligation. Gotta show my face every now and then. Spite,” he added with a smirk. “But it’s also a good reminder.” When Bucky made a questioning sound, he took another cookie from the box and nibbled the edge.  “Look, I was a rich asshole for a long time,” Tony said after a moment. “Too long. Then one day, I met a guy at a party. Don’t even know how he got invited because he wasn’t rich, wasn’t famous, he was just some doctor. And I don’t remember what I was saying, but at one point he looked at me with such pity,” Tony said, eyebrows drawing together. He studied his cookie like it was helping him remember. “I still remember his face. No one had looked at me with pity before, and he said, ‘Look at you. All this money and still you have nothing.’ And I was like, ‘excuse me? Do you know who I am?’ As you do, right, because I could have anything I wanted, I’m fucking Tony Stark. And he said, ‘Yeah, I know who you are. I’ve seen dozens of men like you. And despite all their money, all their fame, death came for all of them in the end, and they had nothing to show for it but a tacky tombstone.’” Tony bit his lip, frowning a little. “I’m sure I said something, but he just finished his drink and walked away, like I wasn’t worth his time. I wish I could say that I had this like, huge change of heart and changed my ways after that night, but it ended up being this gradual thing.”

Bucky realized he was staring. “What do you mean?” he asked, taking a bite out of the cookie he just remembered he was holding.

“Well, I looked him up later and found out he ran a free clinic downtown and on a whim I donated some money. Like, 'see what a good person I am, have some money.' Like I was proving him wrong somehow by doing that." Tony snorted and shook his head at the memory. "Anyway, doing that puts you on some kind of list somewhere, apparently, and one day I got an email about a runaway shelter. Then a food bank, then a refugee thing, and it kind of snowballed from there.”

“Wait, wait.” Bucky shook his head. “How did you go from ‘donating to a clinic’ to ‘mob boss over half of Manhattan’? That’s one hell of a snowball.”

“Well, after donating to a bunch of causes, I saw that a housing complex near all these nonprofits went up for sale, so I bought it,” he said with a shrug, fiddling with a napkin as he talked. He was already done with his cookie somehow, despite having done most of the talking.  He reached for another from the box and took a tiny bite. “I was kinda feeling like, I don’t know, tied to this area as I kept an eye on my pet projects. Then I started getting a bunch of complaints about the conditions and I was pretty fucking appalled at what I was seeing. Like, no one should live like that. It was a shame for rats to even be living there. So I fixed it up, and then I set up a trust for the building and gave it back to the tenants. All their rent goes in a fund, and they spend money on that fund to pay for what the complex needed.”

“Like a condo association?”

“More like a cooperative. They decide how much to charge everyone for rent, they decide if they want to spend money on painting the place or upgrading the light fixtures, you know, whatever. I think last time I checked they had put in a community garden. So when another came up for sale, I bought it, and then another, then I realized I might as well invest in some of the businesses here. After the fiasco of that first apartment building, I started looking at what I was spending my money on so I would know what to expect. Then when I was looking at a commercial building, people came in to shake down the owner of one of the businesses while I was there. Like, I was standing right there and those people didn’t give a shit who saw them. I was so surprised that I didn’t say anything until it was over, and then I asked the guy if that happened a lot. Can’t let that go on, you know, because...well, I mean, the owner looked so scared, and that made me mad because he's just trying to make a living, you know? Also, it cuts into the bottom line, so.” Tony shrugged again. “I put a stop to it. And then, well,” he gestured expressively around him with his cookie. “Like I said. Snowball.”

Bucky could only stare, bemused. If he had heard the same story on his first day of work, he might have been unable to keep from laughing in Stark’s face. But now…well, it was increasingly hard to square what the police knew – or thought they knew – about Tony Stark and what Bucky was seeing. “I guess no kid wants to be a criminal when they grow up,” Bucky said. “We all just kind of wander into it.”

“Yeah? Is that how you went from Bagram to Brighton Beach?”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to shrug, uncomfortable. After hearing Tony's story, he didn’t want to feed him some bullshit line from his cover story. “There’s only a few career opportunities for a grunt back home,” he said vaguely. “Even fewer that pay well.”

He glanced up to see Tony studying him thoughtfully. “Do you miss it?”

“The Army? Hell no.” That part was true enough.

“How about here? Are you happy here?”

Bucky’s mouth quirked. “Are you asking me about my job satisfaction? One means not at all satisfied, ten means highly satisfied?” He had the pleasure of watching Tony almost spit out a bite of cookie as he surprised a laugh out of him.

“Sure,” Tony said after a moment when he finished chewing. "One out of ten."

“Ten,” Bucky said truthfully. “I like helping people.” He had the traitorous thought that the past few months working with KT had been closer to what he'd thought it would be like to be a cop than what it had actually turned out to be like, and felt vaguely guilty.

“Yeah, me too.” 

They sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a few moments before Bucky heard the ding of a notification on his phone. He silenced it without looking – his handlers were still yelling about the Policeman’s Ball – but sighed when he saw the time. “It’s getting late,” Bucky said reluctantly, more because it seemed appropriate rather than any desire to actually leave. He opened his mouth to say, I had a great time tonight and immediately felt like an idiot because, bare feet and half-eaten box of cookies aside, this wasn't, in fact, a date.

But apparently he wasn’t the only one who had lost the plot, because Tony said, “Would you like to come up for a dr-” before he cut himself off with a look of horror that would have been funny if Bucky hadn’t, deep down, wanted so badly to say yes. “I’ll call you a cab,” he said instead, looking away to grab his phone.

“I’ll wait outside,” Bucky said, and fled.

                                                ***

Tony watched from a window as Blue Eyes' taxi drove away, then as Tony went up the elevator to his penthouse condo he texted a sad face to Rhodey.

Told you it was a bad idea, Rhodey wrote back.

Don’t say I told you so. I’m sad, Tony responded.

You’re making yourself sad pining after an undercover cop. I don’t feel bad for you.

“That’s fair,” Tony said out loud. You should. I got you cookies and you’re being mean to me. Tony texted Rhodey a picture of the half-empty box of cookies and made himself sad all over again, remembering the intensity with which Blue Eyes had stared at the display of cookies when told to pick one, like it was a pop quiz that he was determined to pass.

Go to bed, Tones.

With a sigh, Tony tossed his phone on the bed and started peeling himself out of the monkey suit, setting the cufflinks he’d been wearing on his dresser as he threw the suit and shirt on the back of a chair to be dry cleaned. The problem was that tonight, like every night for the past few years, Tony was going to bed by himself. There had been a certain point where he’d realized that he’d tipped over from bending the rules, to breaking the rules, then to breaking the rules in a way that would get him put on lists written by people with badges, and at that point he’d realized that to bring anyone into his life was to put a target on them. The only way to avoid it was to not get close to anyone, but he’d done the one-and-done lifestyle and wasn’t interested in that anymore. It had been Pepper for a  while, because she was more than capable of protecting herself, but after a year she had gently but firmly told him that it wasn’t working for her, and that had been the end of it. Since then, there had been a few people that he thought maybe, maybe this one but in the end, they didn’t feel right.

Blue Eyes felt right. He knew it was dumb and he knew what Rhodey would say – star crossed lovers only exist in fiction, Tones - but as he slid between the sheets that night, he let himself daydream about it until he fell asleep.

[queenxxxsupreme]

Heyo! So I heard that you’d write for Regis and I thought of something: what about Regis being with a really curious Fem! Reader and she likes to casually ask questions about being a vampire? Stuff like “do different types of blood taste different to you?” “Is it difficult to eat some foods because of your sharp teeth?” Or even “what was the dumbest or craziest thing you did when you were young and realized that you can pretty much do anything because you’re immortal?” Only if you want to tho!❤️

A/N: OMG SEND MORE REGIS FLUFF

You brushed your fingers over the silky material on your stomach. You wore a new chemise, one you’d bought a shop in town earlier in the day. It was soft pink with pretty lace trim around the hem. 

You moved through your home, humming a quiet tune as you pushed the door to your bedroom open.

Unsurprisingly, Regis didn’t acknowledge that you had entered the room. He didn’t do it on purpose, but sometimes he became so enveloped in a book or whatever it was that had his attention that he just didn’t realize you were there. 

The Higher Vampire sat on his side of the bed against the headboard, ankles crossed as he held a book in his hands. 

You closed the door, making sure the click was loud enough to startle him. He lifted his head, smiling at the sight of you. 

“Hello, darling. Is that a new nightgown?”

“I bought it earlier today.” You spun lightly on your toes, showing off the cute chemise. “Do you like it?”

“Of course I do. Pink is a fantastic color on you. Very radiant and alluring.”

You smiled, climbing up onto the bed. You moved his hands, taking the book from him and placing it aside so you could rest your head in his lap. 

Regis placed his hand on your head, gently brushing his fingers through your hair. Using his free hand, he picked up his book to carry on reading.

“Regis?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Does having sharp teeth make eating difficult? Eating human food?”

Regis chuckled a little from deep within his chest. 

“No, darling. I can enjoy human foods just as much as you.”

“Oh, okay.” You closed your eyes, nuzzling your cheek against his thigh a little. “Do vampires like human food?”

“Well that’s quite a silly question. You’ve seen me eat human food plenty of times, my love.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t sure if you did it to be respectful or because it’s just a human habit you’ve picked up.”

“I like human foods.” He chuckled softly. “Well, some human foods.”

You turned over on to your back so you could look up at him. You frowned when you realized he had that damned book again.

“Regis.”

“Yes, my love?” He raised his brows but didn’t look away from the book. 

You reached up to grab it but he pulled away, holding it just out of your reach. 

“Regis, pay attention to me!” You whined softly.

“I am, darling.” He finally looked down at you, placing one hand on your cheek. “You forget that I am an excellent multitasker.”

“I know you are, love, but this is one of those rare nights I get with you.” You pouted just a little, trying to look more sad than you really were. “Dettlaff isn’t here. Geralt and his brothers are finally gone, not that I dislike their company. But I finally get you all to myself.”

Regis closed the book and put it aside, bringing his hand down to your stomach. 

“You have my complete and undivided attention.”

You smiled, content that you’d won.

“Do different types of blood taste different to you?” You asked him, eyes falling to his lips. 

“Each individual has their own…. taste. But I don’t believe the taste correlates with blood types. More or less, it has to do with what an individual consumes.”

“Hmm.” You hummed, reaching up to caress his cheek. Your fingers were warm against his skin, tender and careful. You trailed along his jaw to his chin, then up to his lips. “Do vampires mate for life?”

“If one is lucky enough.” He kissed the pad of your index finger. 

“Are mates just…. just other vampires?” You asked, timid and hesitant. 

He took your hand, pulling it from his face so he could hold you, lacing your fingers between his. 

“Depends. I’ve heard of a few who found their mates in humans, but it is a rarity. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” You sat up, brushing your hair over one shoulder. “Do you lose your teeth when you are young? Like human children do?”

“No.” Regis shook his head softly, watching you turn around to face him. “We are born with all of our teeth which we keep throughout our lives.”

“Have you ever lost a tooth?”

“Not that I recall, no. But if I were to lose one, I’d imagine it would grow back, regenerate just as an arm or a finger would.”

You clambered into his lap, tucking your knees beneath his arms so you could sit comfortably without completely wrapping your legs around him. 

“Geralt always mentioned that you were a punk when you were younger.”

Regis chuckled.

“Ah, yes.”

“What does that mean? What did you do?” You brought your hands to his shoulders then trailed up to his cheeks. 

“If you would like to know, then I will tell you. I want to keep nothing from you.” Regis took your hands from his face once more, feeling more comfortable holding your hands. “But my past is nothing I am proud of.”

“Nor is mine.” You looked up at him through your lashes. “I think the best people come from difficult pasts.”

He said nothing, admiring the way your eyes shined just a little from the candlelight. 

“But we don’t have to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about anything upsetting tonight, not when we have the house to ourselves.” You leaned forward to steal a kiss from him, soft and chaste. “I have more questions.”

“Of course you do.” Regis watched you lay back along his legs. He smiled at the sight of you. It was clear you were somewhat bored. He was more than happy to keep you occupied with answering whatever questions your mind could create. 

“Do you remember everything? Everything that’s ever happened to you? Or just important things?”

“I could probably remember everything if I were to try to keep all of that information in my head. But things get…. fuzzy when there is too much up there.” He tapped his temple and then brought his hands to rest on the outside of your thighs. 

You shivered at how cold he was to the touch. 

“I try to remember only the important things.”

“Like what?” Your eyes trailed all across the ceiling, searching for something to study. 

“Like…. When I met my friends. Geralt and Dettlaff. Jaskier….”

“Me?” You lifted your head to look at him.

“Oh, I could never forget the first time I laid eyes on the most beautiful and stunning being I have ever come across.” He took your hands and pulled you back up into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around you.

You slipped your arms around his neck, nuzzling your nose into his collarbone. His hugs were always the best, always warm and comforting, and they made you feel safe. 

“When did you first see me?” You asked, your voice quiet.

“At the library in Oxenfurt. You were sitting on the floor between two bookshelves with dozens of books around you.”

“I couldn’t pick which ones I wanted.” You smiled shyly.

“You looked absolutely breathtaking.”

“You came over and asked me if I needed help finding the right book. So generous of you.” 

His chest vibrated with a chuckle. 

“I expected to find fiction books among your piles, but they were all nonfiction ranging from medical texts to things about monsters and creatures that live all across the Continent.”

“I like learning.” You lifted your head from his collarbone to kiss his neck. “I like knowing more than others. That way when obnoxious men try to act like they know more than me, I can prove them wrong and make them look like fools.”

“That’s my girl.” Regis rubbed your back and kissed your head. “Your presence then had an effect on me - just as it does now. My very being was influenced by you, just as the tide is influenced by the moon.”

“You’re such a charmer.” You leaned back, still draping your arms around his neck. “I’m already yours, Regis. You don’t need to woo me.”

“Woo you?” He repeated, a playful grin crossing his lips. “My darling, I’m not wooing you. I am simply telling you of the effect you have on me.”

Your eyes fluttered shut as he leaned in to kiss your neck. 

“Regis?”

“Yes, my love?” His breath was warm against your neck, making a shiver travel along your spine. 

“Do you believe you’ve ever met your mate?”

Regis pulled away from you, eyes finding yours. His brows furrowed together softly. 

You couldn’t hold his gaze for long, taking his silence as your answer. 

Your chin fell to your chest, eyes closing as you cursed at yourself for bringing it up.

But Regis wouldn’t let you hang your head for long. His index and middle fingers hooked beneath your chin, tilting your head up and making you look at him. 

“I know I have.” He murmured, tender and sweet. “And she is the one I have the privilege of sharing a bed with, of calling my own.”

Your heart raced inside your ribs and butterflies fluttered in your stomach.

“Tell me more about her.”

He grinned, leaning forward to kiss your cheek. 

“She has a dazzling smile, one that always steals my breath. And she’s brilliant. One of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

“Oh, you are too sweet.” You couldn’t hide the blush that rose to your cheeks. “I’m sure she thinks the world of you.”

Regis was quiet for a few moments, eyes staying on you. 

“I know she does. I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me.”

Your lips parted and you smiled. 

“Good.” You kissed his lips once more. “Because you’re too good a man for her to let you think otherwise.”

Taglist: @pressedinthepages @MishaFaye  @whitewolfandthefox @ayamenimthiriel @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @wolfyland07  @belalugosisdead @persephonehemingway @romancebibliophilia @keira-hulmaster @dinonuggs69 @greatestauthorofmygeneration @shadow-hunters-lover @dancingwith-thesunflowers @tedi-fach-las @thecomfortofoldstorries @raspberrydreamclouds @natkowaa @disasteren @weathervanes-my-oneandlonely @onlyhenrys @crazybutconfidentaf @wackylurker @criminaly-supernatural  @Magpie343 @permanently-exhausted-witcher @hina-chans-stuff @the-space-between-heartbeats @havenoffandoms @carriebee1 @ger-bearofrivia @naominami @thefirelordm @writingawaymylife @reaganjenelle @badassspaceprincess @theawkwardpedestrian @scarlettwitcher @runawayolives @badassspaceprincess @just-a-sad-donut @summersong69 @an--actual--human--disaster @she-wolfoftheinquisition

[letsnotdoanything]

DAY6 and halloween costumes [halloween series 3/3]

i know i said that there would be five parts of this series but i might’ve overestimated my free time during... well, my ‘’free time’’. so let’s finish this up at three and forget about what i said, okay?;; sorry about that

Day6 as couple costumes for a halloween party

Sungjin

• you'd go with the dumbest costumes you could find

• like a socket and a plug or something

• which would make it kind of hard to dance but honestly?

• who cares

• i feel like sungjin would try to keep track of how much both of you would drink to prevent embarassing yourself and hangover the next day

• maybe he wouldn't drink at all to drive you home and make sure you'd be safe

• but that wouldn't stop neither of you from enjoying the party

Jae

• among us.

• does anyone even want to discuss on that

• it would be even better if his s/o played it too

• bc you'd definitely play among us in among us costumes before the party

• and if you're public, then most probably do it on a live stream

• omg that would be such a mess

• but also really really entertaining

• let's get back to the party oops

• i feel like jae and his s/o would be so much fun to be around

• constantly joking around

• getting a bit tipsy but nothing extreme

• also some dancing jumping around to the music

• but mostly chatting with each other and the other guests

• so you'd come home (by uber, don't drive after drinking!!) pretty tired, having enough strenght to wash up and maybe a snack before laying in bed and mindlessly talking until you fall asleep

Young K

• i think younghyun would want to look scary, but still cool

• like vampires, pirates, or tokio and rio from la casa de papel

• whatever you'd choose, you'd slay

• lots and lots of dancing and eating

• basically having the time of your lives

• he'd probably want to stay with his s/o the whole night, only greeting your friends and maybe some small talk

• you'd eventually fall asleep at the host's and come back home in the morning with a hangover, but happy nevertheless

Wonpil

• someting really cute

• like a couple of cats maybe?

• one of you being a black cat and the other being a white one

• and it'd be up to you which one you want to be

• like yk, where you're dressed up in normal clothes in that color, but wear cat ears, gloves that look like cat paws, a tail, and a collar kskdnsks help me

• i think wonpil would be shy at first, just standing at the bar and talking with you

• but when he'd get some alcohol in his system, he'd open up a bit and let you drag him onto the dance floor

• sooo giggly, like he would have a smile on his face the whole party

• he'd be the cutest cat you've ever seen

• and he'd probably think the same because he'd whine so much when the time to change would come

Dowoon

• somewhere between sungjin and wonpil

• he'd go for something silly but also really cute

• maybe like an astronaut and an alien?

• he would wear like a full on spacesuit and you'd have glittery clothes and a headband with antennae

• but you'd have to figure out how he would pee with that costume first

• on the party, you'd most probably stay on the side, chatting with people and sipping on your drinks

• so you'd go out pretty sober

• unless someone spiced these up

• then someone would have to carry you out because you'd pass out in no time

[muwur]

hii :-) ur writing is so cute!!! could i uhh get some super fluffy mayb a lil suggestive one shot or scenario about being quarantined with oikawa post-time skip? 🥺

quarantining

✩ oneshot ✩ for oikawa

❧ gn reader

✎ 2.2k words

a/n: gotchu! hopefully i didnt take too long ;(( i have trouble getting inspo, it usually will hit me all at once or neverr. hope you like cx

wishin i got some quality times during quarantine, y/n out here rlly living their best n domestic life smh

also, i hope this was fluffy! ik i made it a bit silly and playful so i hope thats ok! lmk if you would like me to attempt again and id be more than happy too cx

requests: open!

So far, it’s been a month into quarantine. Despite having lived with Oikawa’s needy self for the past two years, being stuck at home with him all the time definitely tested your patience, especially when he was bored, seeking attention, and missing volleyball.

“Oikawaaa, hold on, I’m almost done with work. Maybe talk to Iwa for a bit until I’m free,” you suggested as you typed away at your computer, not even sparing your whiny boyfriend a glance as he lamented about his boredom.

“Iwa’s already asleeeppp and there’s nothing to do hereeeee,” he complained. He pulled up a seat next to you and poked your cheek repeatedly. “Having a long distance best friend and an s/o who doesn’t care about you is harddd, why does life give me such a hard time?” he despaired, referring to his best friend who lived in another country, and you, his partner, who was trying to do work so you both could be financially stable in the middle of this pandemic.

You rolled your eyes in response and turned in your chair to face him, grabbing his cheeks in your hands and giving them a squeeze. “Boohoo, I think someone’s gotten a little too used to having fan girls entertain him all the time.” You gave his pouty lips a quick peck. “I’ll be done in 20 minutes, max. Go watch some tik toks or something.”

After you returned to doing your work, Oikawa settled for wrapping his arms   from behind you and resting his chin on top of your head. He hummed to himself some trendy tik tok song he discovered the other day as he played with your hair, and you found the vibrations from his throat and the soft tugs on your scalp strangely soothing.

As much as you rolled your eyes or scoffed at his antics, you loved when he would go out of his way to catch your eye. Oikawa knew what would get to you. He could make you smile, laugh, piss you off, or comfort you in an instant.

You felt your heart soften at a memory from not too long ago.

“Hmmmmm,” Oikawa thought aloud, stroking his chin with his thumb. “Put that one... here.”

“Yes ma’am,” you responded, placing a pillow in the gap between two other pillows. Then, you both took opposite ends of the same blanket, draping it over the array of pillows you arranged on the living room floor and thus completing your pillow fort.  

He eagerly slid inside the castle and patted the spot next to him. “y/nnnn, hurry up and lay here with me so we can watch our favorite show while we cuddle and I feed you~”

You couldn’t help but smile as you obliged, easing into the spot next to him. You both lay on your stomachs, supported by a single, long pillow stuffed underneath your chests. Oikawa hooked an arm around your waist, closing the gap between you two. His free hand reached for a bag of your favorite snacks. He opened it, picked up a piece, then held it up to your face.

Just as you were about to take a bite, your face contorted into an expression of shock and betrayal when you saw him quickly seize the piece into his own mouth. Looking at your gaping face, he raised a mischievous eyebrow. “Oh, you thought that was for you?”

And that was how he ended up face down and star fished on the floor, with you sitting cross-legged on his back and triumphantly munching on your snacks, surrounded by a chaotic mass of fluffy pillows and blankets.

“I win,” you giggle through your bites.

“No fair! That pillow to my face came outta nowhere!”

15 minutes passed by when you finally finished, closed your laptop, and hugged his arms. “Alright, I’m all yours now, what’s up?” you tilted your head back and glanced upwards to meet his gaze, the corners of your lips turning upwards in a small smile.

“Wellllll, I was thinking of sharing a nice dinner together, maybe a fragrant bath...” he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Pffft,” you spit out, shoving his face away playfully and getting up to your feet. “Only if your highness will make me dinner. I’m hungry after a long day’s work of breadwinning. What have you even been doing all day?”

“Uhhh...” Oikawa pursed his lip and looked at the ceiling in faux thought. Then his eyes landed back on you sheepishly, “Nothing.”

Laughing, you gave his cheek a soft pat and took his hand, leading him to the kitchen. “Of course, I expected nothing less of you, Lazykawa,” you jibed, well aware you were using one of Iwa’s classic nicknames on him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll get something ready for us. You just sit your pretty self at the table and watch.”

"I want a close up view, though,” you remarked, snaking your arms under his own from behind as he was investigating the fridge’s contents.

“Works for me,” he winked.

You clung onto him and followed his steps around the kitchen, taking in his refreshing scent and observing judging his meal preparation.

“Mm, yes, instant ramen, quite the challenge, Oikawa. What’s your strategy?”

“Divide and conquer. Watch and learn, y/n.”

He exaggerated his movements throughout the cooking process, which made clinging onto him a bit of a struggle, to say the least. He finally poured the cooked noodles and soup into a large bowl, adding in some boiled eggs, seaweed, and green onion for embellishment. “Voila!” he bragged, carrying the dish slowly to your small dining table as you continued to follow him. Oikawa set the bowl down, “Dig in, honey.”

Unlatching yourself from his back, you took a seat next to him and lay a head lazily on his shoulder. His heart fluttered at the sight of your cheek nestling comfortably into him, and he mentally kicked himself for letting your proximity make him experience those first date jitters all over again, even though it’s been four years since that time. He took in the details of your face, feeling his heartrate quicken when your eyes slowly flickered upwards at him from underneath your eyelashes. Your sweet lips parted slightly, looking like honey could drip from them at any moment. They were captivating, but tread the wrong way and he could be left stung. He wanted them to say his name, longingly--      

“Well, are we going to eat or just sit here and let the food get cold?”

“O-Oh, right,” he stuttered out, taking a pair of chopsticks and dipping them into the bowl. How had his mind strayed so easily? He might act like he could keep his cool all the time, but with you, that was a different story. Four years whipped by quickly, but the thought of you never failed to bring him a sense of comfort, anticipation, embarrassment, and intrigue all at once.

He picked up a few strands of noodles and blew on them gently. The steam from the bowl rose to warm both your cheeks, marking them with a dewy, rosy tinge. Oikawa brought the noodles up to your open mouth, which you received with such delight that he had to refrain from gushing over how cute it looked. He continued to feed both of you, listening as you talked about work, how your friends were in quarantine, and what you wanted to do when things got back to normal. Although he was attentive, making sure to acknowledge your words with some sort of response such as a nod or a reply, he could feel a knot in his stomach begin to tighten ever so slightly. When his mind wandered, he couldn’t help but think about what the future held for you both.

You were one of the most supportive people in his life. You decided to move here in order to stay close to him and support his career and passion for volleyball. You found yourself a job in order to help make a living and adjust to your new lifestyle. You put effort everyday into your relationship, making sure you looked after one another and communicated your needs. Your empathy and understanding were unmatched, and he couldn’t imagine what his life would have been like for the last two years if you never came along with him. Reaching back farther, he was almost positive the last four years of his life and all the good that’s come his way since then was thanks to you.  

“To be honest, that ramen hit the spot more than I expected it to,” you sighed with satisfaction. Then, you looked over at him and noticed the slight furrow of his brows. “Tooru...? Helloo?”

You waved a hand in his face and jolted him from his thoughts. He took your hands and looked into your eyes with a spark of determination. “Y/n.”

“Uhhh... Yes?” you asked, a bit confused.

Closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath, he proceeded. “The years we’ve been together have been among the best in my life. You’ve never failed to make me feel safe and happy, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you by my side. I need you to stay with me, to look after me while I also take care of you. I know we’ve only fantasized and shared jokes about the future, like when we tell our children stories, you’ll make fun of me and share with them some of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. When we get a pet dog (or cat, or any other pet you prefer), I’ll have to compete with it for your attention, and I’ll probably lose. When I’m old and my knee finally gives out on me, you’ll lug me around on your back. But I don’t want those things to remain little jokes; I want to experience all those moments with you, no matter how big or small. That said...”

Once Tooru realized what he was about to suggest, his cheeks flushed and he accidentally bit his tongue. “Ow, fuck!”

Startled and still caught off guard from his sweet words, your eyes widened as you choked out, “H-Huh?? What’s wrong, what happened?? Tooru?” You tried to convince yourself the heat you felt was due to the hot ramen and your concern for Oikawa.

I was just about to ask for your hand in marriage.

He held his hands in front of his face, waving them around in frantic dismissal. “N-Nothing, I just bit my tongue..!” Gotta think, gotta think of a cover...! What else could I even say that would make sense after having said all that..?!

He took in another deep breath and held up both your hands again, bringing them close to his mouth and giving them a kiss.  “When this is all over... W-Why don’t we take a trip somewhere? We’ll go anywhere you like! Just us two, going on adventures, having drinks, doing fun things.”

You sighed out in relief, releasing your pent-up anxiety. “T-That’s all?! I-I mean, ah yes, of course! That sounds amazing, I’ve always wanted to go to *insert place here lol* and this would be the perfect chance!”

You cupped his face gently and brought him in for a warm, soft kiss. His lips meshed with yours as his hand reached for your jaw. His thumb caressed over your right cheekbone, pulling you closer and giving you a sense of security.

Though, at the back of your mind, you had suspected, Was he about to propose? But then you thought, Nah, if he was considering it, I don’t think he’d do that right now, stuck at home during quarantine. Now, what if I proposed before he did.... Hm...

And his mind was filled with, Oh thank god I caught myself, I don’t know what I would’ve done, I don’t even have anything ready, I never thought about it as seriously as I did in that moment, what was I thinking, also ramen tastes kinda good on their mouth...

A few minutes passed when you broke apart. He spent a few seconds looking into your eyes, which glistened with passion and love. “You’re really sweet, Tooru, you know that?” you said with a smile. He smiled, giving you a kiss on your forehead before standing up abruptly, much to your dismay. But then he offered to wash the dishes, much to your content and appreciation.

He finished not too soon after, then walked into the living room to find you splayed out on the couch and browsing your phone.

“I made dinner like I promised, so into the bath we go!” he yelled, hooking his arms underneath your back and legs to lift your body. You yelped in surprise, dropping your phone on the sofa. You instinctively wrapped your arms around him, laughing as he rushed towards the bathroom.

“Fine, I’ll keep up my end of the deal,” you said, reaching for the bathroom door’s handle and turning it open. Once inside, he kicked it shut with his foot and set you down on the sink counter. He moved towards the tub to turn on the warm water, then came back to the counter and held up two bath bombs. “So, you want rose or lavender?”

But instead, you hooked onto him once more and pulled him into a needy kiss.

Someday soon, when this is over, you’ll be mine forever, y/n.

Despite having lived with Oikawa’s dorky self for the past two years, having to be stuck at home with him all the time had definitely its perks. There wasn’t anyone else you would’ve rather spent your time with, that’s for sure.

a/n: fihuofiejmcg i tried LOL, i hope you liked, honestly was just typing ad goign along till i got ideas! I wouldnt let myself sleep until i finished this sdfghjk anyways. we luv oikawa. also i hope that last thought of his dont sound creepy LMAO

ps i shoulda been filling out my job application but lmaoooo

[minervahopebeyond]

Blood Daffodils.

Chapter 20: Lightning has struck.

He felt the cold sweat under his shirt. Early hours, the sun still hidden and they were walking behind Neville through, apparently, the only secret passage that he wasn’t aware of.

Hermione and Ron kept asking things to the boy. He seemed so mature, he had this leader aura around him that made Harry almost not recognize him when he saw him peeking his head behind the portrait in Aberforth’s.

Harry was quiet for the most part. He just wanted this to be over.

He had sought the vision. Not that he would ever admit that to Mione or Ron, mind you. But everything was taking time, too much time. It was May already and they needed for this to be over before June. He missed Malfoy. He missed kissing him, he missed touching him, he missed arguing with him...

He hadn’t seen him since the day they left. They tried to go back to the mansion once they had stolen the Cup from the vault, though. You can imagine Harry’s desperation when they found an empty house. It was Hermione who pointed that the house had no damage, it just seemed desolated, most things were gone... like clothes and that stuff (the same things that they had taken when they ran away).

“They probably had to leave, breath Harry.”

Fortunately, he didn’t need to snap at her because Ron took care of it.

“Probably” the redhead hissed. “Do you even care about Malfoy, Mione?? He is dying. If you had let me tell Harry at the wedding, getting separated wouldn’t have been such a big deal or any of the other million times where we had the chance! But no! Now he must be coughing to death somewhere, Merlin only knows where-“

“DO YOU WANT ME TO ADMIT THAT I WAS WRONG, RONALD? FINE! I WAS WRONG, I MADE A MISTAKE-“

“YOU SURE DID! YES!” He spat out viciously. Everything seemed to be ringing in Harry’s ears. So much information. The wedding. Kissing Ginny. Running away. Coming back. Kissing Draco.

All the times where he had the opportunity to tell him how he felt cane to mind. Now he wasn’t here, now he feared send a Patronus in case they weren’t safe enough to get one. Now it was too fucking late.

“Stop. Stop fighting.” He said with his voice broken. “It’s my fault. It’s my fault that he doesn’t know, that he is still sick.”

And after that, they had to camp in different places every three days. But it was taking time, they brainstormed where the horcrux could be but it was useless. There wasn’t any sure lead to follow. Not like the vault at least.

So, he had let the walls in his mind drop, for a day, maybe two... They didn’t need to know that. As far as they knew, Harry sucked at occlumency and they were fighting that day so emotions were all over the place... He let him in, he let him see what they were doing for a brief moment and that was it. Voldemort knew and he was so furious that he had accidentally let Harry know where the other horcrux was. Hogwarts. Of course.

So they were infiltrating the castle, 4 A.M and the alarms on Hogsmade had already went off as soon as they apparated. Bless Aberforth, if he hadn’t had hidden them, they would have been taken by now, he just knew it.

He was too bloody nervous, his thought kept going back to Draco. Neville showed them the way and Harry tried to focus. If they finished this, he could see Draco soon. Before it was too late.

When they got to the Room Of Requirement they found the entire DA hiding there. They were celebrated as soon as they entered and Harry couldn’t help bet to think that they looked awful. Tired, dirty, beaten and far more skinny than they did last time he saw them.

“Nott?” Ron asked, surprised.

The brunette came into view, passing by Seamus and Dean.

“Oh, yeah!” Neville exclaims. “He’s been helping us to hide, let us know when the Carrows or Snape are leaving so we can get out.”

Harry blinked. He wasn’t even hiding the dark mark. His sleeve was rolled up and everyone seemed so unaffected by it. Like it was a common thing among them.

“Where is Draco?” Nott hissed at Ron and Harry frowned.

It was stupid. He hadn’t any reason to be jealous anymore... Well, that was a lie. Nott was still an attractive man who was in love with the love of his life, the first friend that the blond boy ever had and Draco still loved him (even though he wasn’t in love). And Harry had learned quick enough that he was the possessive kind. He usually tried to hide it and failed in the process... He definitely did not like the brunette asking for Malfoy as soon as he saw them.

“Funny story-“ Ron started but Nott cut him short.

“Oh really?” It was Luna who got the brunette to stop with the hissing and the cursing.

“Stop it, Theodore. I’m sure that Draco is fine.” She said patting his shoulder before turning to Harry. “It’s lovely to see you again.”

And that was when Ginny appeared, walking through everyone. Her long red hair was falling over her shoulders, it seemed to light up the room, to be fire it self. He remembered what he liked about her. How he thought she was so beautiful... Now, it felt kind of wrong to even notice it. Last time they saw each other they had kissed and dance in the same day.

“Harry, hi.” She breathed out. She seemed excited to see him and Harry felt a wave of guilt brushing over him because it had been almost a year and he didn’t have Ginny much thought. He was too busy with other things, too in love with someone else.

“Hey...” He responded, hesitant tone in his voice.

“She hasn’t seen me in ten months and doesn’t even wave my way. I’m her brother-“ He heard Ron whisper with annoyance at Mione behind him.

“There are a lot like you. Only one Harry.” Seamus said smugly and Harry wished he would just shut the fuck up. He didn’t need for Ginny to get her hopes up, they were broken up.

“Shut up, Seamus.” Ron replied more harshly than he should have. They didn’t know, no one knew about him and Draco. Well, almost no one...

“Lovegood, move.”

He turned to see Nott with a wand on his hand (not his wand because Harry had that one), trying to get pass Luna to hex him probably.

“Do the breathings. I taught you those.”She said with a soft voice that only made Nott more angry.

“No. Move.”

He didn’t get the chance to cast anything because Neville chose that moment to announce that they were here for a mission, something in the school and let Harry explain what it was. He was not surprised about the questions they got.

“So, you don’t know what it is?”

“No.”

“Where is it?”

“Also no.”

All the students were staring at them. Just blinking.

“We think it would be something small, easy to hide. And that it has something to do with Ravenclaw.”

Nobody answered, there were whispers, brain storming, but no one spoke up. Not until Luna did. She truly was an angel.

“Well... There is Rowena’s Ravenclaw lost diadem.”

“Oh bloody hell, here we go.” The redhead muttered under his breath. Harry could see the glare that Nott sent his way as soon as he heard him.

“Lost diadem of Ravenclaw...?” She asked, glancing at the rest. “Hasn’t anyone heard of it? It’s quite famous.” Which was a polite way of Luna saying that she thought they were stupid. Harry wasn’t going to point that out, though.

“Yes, Luna but it’s lost. For centuries now. There isn’t a person alive who’ve seen it.” Cho said kindly.

“We’ve already alerted the Order. They are on their way.”

Harry’s heart flipped in his chest. He didn’t know if Draco would come. He kind of wish he would for selfish reasons but he also wish he wouldn’t to be safe, to not get hurt more than he already was.

Nott hissed in pain as he covered his Dark Mark with his hand. Luna took some steps forward to be near but he shook his head and gestured for her to stay away.

“He is summoning everyone. He must know you are here, Potter.”

“There goes our advantage.” Neville sighed.

“We knew it was going to happen, we set off the alarms in Hogsmade. They must have finished searching.” Hermione replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “So we get the Order here and we attack, distract them as we look around the castle for the thing.” She was very careful not to say the word horcrux, Harry noticed.

“They are going to call for everyone, in just minutes. We need a way to hide Potter.” Nott said, his jaw clenched from the pain, his hand still over the mark.

“Robes?” Ginny said.

“What?”

“Robes, we dress him in uniform, make him march with us, we are too much people for them to recognize him.”

“That is the most dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. What are you going to do when the Order gets here? Announce that they are here too?” He replied with a sarcastic tone and an arched eyebrow. Sometimes he reminded him of Malfoy. Must be the Slytherin way of thinking.

“That would be kind of cool, don’t you think?” Ron said smiling excitedly.

“It was a joke, Weasley.”

“But it sounded like such a brilliant idea, Nott.”

And soon enough Harry was in Gryffindor robes all over again.

———————————————-

———————————————-

The voice of Alastor Moody irrupted in their home and Draco woke up like there was a bloody fire. There probably was.

“Lightning has struck. We got a message. It’s time to move. You know what to do.”

The silver ball moved around the house repeating the same thing but when he couldn’t hear anyone waking up, it was Draco who opened Sirius and James door without even knocking and found them cuddling together in their sleep. How precious.

“GET UP! GET THE FUCK UP!”

He yelled and flowers fell off his mouth but what was new, right?

“Kid...? Stop yelling-“ His voice was sleepy still and Draco didn’t have a better idea than removing the covers so they were waken up by being uncomfortable. He wished he hadn’t, though.

“Oh, for Salazar’s sake!” He turned around and covered his eyes. “Put on some clothes. They are in the castle. Moody sent a Patronus.”

“What?” He heard Sirius ask and the sound of clothes moving, at least they were changing.

“Your mess of a son and the rest of the Golden Trio infiltrated Hogwarts. We need to move, the Order has been called to fight.”

Draco still had his eyes closed but he heard Edward starting to cry in the main bedroom and soon enough he also heard Remus and Dora’s voices.

“We are decent.” James said and Draco turned around.

“Finally. Where are my potions? The ones I hate.”

The flowers were cutting him, desperate, twirling in anticipation of seeing Potter once more.

“Why do you want them?”

“Because I need to be able to fight and I can’t do that if my lungs keep burning like this.”

He heard Edward’s cute little noises behind him. When he turned around Remus was holding the baby and Dora had a worried look on her face.

“You are not going, Draco.” The man said as he bounced the baby in his arms. “We need someone that stays with Teddy and you are not an oficial member of the order-“

Draco started to have a coughing fit right there and then. Taking out his wand in case they tried to keep him in the house against his will. He held his breath, counted to ten, let out the petals that had accumulated in his mouth.

“No. You two, are staying here. You have your son, you have each other.” He stole a glance of Sirius and Mr Potter before continuing, he needed some king of support in this. “Their son is marching off to face a madman that’s been trying to kill him since birth. And you know how I feel about him.Try to make me stay here, I dare you.” He hissed at him.

And that last warning was for everyone in the damn room, but Sirius and James knew better than to try. They knew he needed Potter. He needed him more than anything and anyone in the world.

Remus started to say that he couldn’t stay either, that he wanted to finish a fight that he had been part of since forever. That it was for Lily too, for Sirius, for James. Nymphadora mentioned her father, her mother, how she didn’t feel comfortable staying behind either and it surprised Draco that neither Sirius not James were pointing out that those were just excuses, and mediocre ones at that.

“You have Edward! I refuse to become his guardian at the age of seventeen because you couldn’t sort out your bloody priorities. Nymphadora gave birth two months ago, she is in no state to fight and maybe neither I am, but I don’t have a kid.” He pointed to James behind him. “We had enough of self-sacrificing parents for a lifetime. You are staying, end of story.”

“Hate to agree, Moony, but Draco is right.” The voice of Sirius was softer than normal because he knew that Remus hated them for this, for throwing Edward ending up an orphan in their faces.

“We are coming back. It’s a promise.” Mr. Potter added, knowing that there was no guaranteed that they would but it was the only thing that seemed to make Dora and Remus a little more at ease.

“Now, go fetch me my potions and give me my godson.” He said reaching out to grab him, a smile in his face even though they were in the middle of a horrifying situation.

Everyone was watching him, most days he didn’t have the strength to lift him but he guessed that his body had too much adrenaline right now. He pulled Edward close to his chest and inhaled his beautiful baby smell before coughing a little bit.

His hair was blue now, it changed with his mood but Draco never saw him with this one so he couldn’t guess what it meant.

“We’ll see each other after this, okay? I’m going to bring your other godfather home, even if I have to kick him in the arse all the way here.”

Of course Edward didn’t understand a thing. Mr. Potter laughed though. That was good. It was good to laugh even though this could all end very badly.

He kissed his tiny forehead and gave him to Dora. He saw his big eyes fill with tears and his chubby hands reaching out to Draco again. It broke his heart but he shook his head and left the room to find Remus. He could hear Edward’s ugly crying. That kind of crying that only babies and small children have, heartbreaking, desperate, filled with need.

“Promise me you are staying here.” He pleaded the man, currently packing all the potions that might come in handy for them out there.

“Yes, Draco. I hate this but I’ll stay.” He replied with defeat.

Okay, good. Now he only had to get to Potter.

The flowers started to slam themselves against his lungs.

‘GO FIND HIM. GO FIND HIM. GO FIND HIM. GO FIND HIM. GO FIND HIM. GO FIND HIM.’

[jj-ktae]

Game Nine - Longing -

Title : Survival Games Genre : AU, Angst, Fluff, Romance Pairing : Taeyong x You (reader) Beta : @listlessmaenads​ - She’s finally out of the dungeon and she was so quick so let’s all thank her for saving my poor soul. Summary : A deserted island and no hope left. There is only despair and this boy, Lee Taeyong, who seems to be the only survivor. You both were on the flight KAL134, from Auckland to Seoul. Words : 3802

Teaser - Discovering -  Sharing - Thinking - Accepting - Hoping - Breathing - Missing - Treasuring -

Game Nine - Longing -

You suppress a gasp, not because you’re surprised but because you didn’t know. 

You didn’t know how good it would feel to hear these words from him.

Taeyong was about to get up and leave again but your hand grabs his in a swift motion. He barely has the time to tell you to be careful of your injury.

He barely has the time to do anything before he finds himself into your arms. You’re crying, so loudly.

“Does it hurt that much?” he breathes, bewildered.

You chuckle and it sounds like a sob but it doesn’t matter. You let everything out, from the frustration of being locked in a deserted island to the guilt which takes over you as you finally understand how Taeyong feels.

“No, it’s not about that.” You try to articulate between tears and sniffs, the relief so strong it makes you feel exhausted. “I’m so sorry. I’m so damn sorry, Taeyong.”

He stiffens, arms reaching for your shoulders to push you away from him and all you see is confusion. His brows are furrowed. “What do you mean?” He doesn’t understand.

It almost scares him. Maybe it’s a farewell, maybe you’re sorry because he isn’t as important as you are to him.

You rub the tears, eyes bloodshot and cheeks moist. “You’re important, too. You’re fucking important and I’m so sorry it took me so much time to say it back to you.” You sniff, pained yet not even daring to look into his now shocked eyes.

Taeyong blinks, mouth opening and closing in evident distress. His tongue feels dry and his chest hurts so much he has to stop himself from coughing.

He isn’t even sure of what he heard.

So he doesn’t speak. He knows himself enough to keep quiet and not say nonsense. Taeyong’s legs hit the sand softly as he finally lets his body rest, muscles now soft and mind appeased.

You let your hands fall on your knees, the moistness gluing sand on your palms as you rub the skin in distress. “You probably don’t really care about what I’m saying now, or maybe I’m too late, but I miss you. So damn much.”

You don’t know why your throat gets dry or how hoarse your voice is now. Maybe it’s the whole situation, maybe it’s the exhaustion that makes your tears fall.

But as Taeyong slowly moves on the burning ground to wrap his arms around your neck and embrace you, you feel it.

The relief.

--

Life gets less complicated. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that Taeyong’s presence makes everything easier, from something as simple as getting food to lonely nights on the beach.

You feel thankful and cared for but Taeyong still seems different. He barely stays close to you and even though he always keeps an eye on what you do, it’s like there’s a barrier between you two.

You want to question him, especially one night when you notice how he seems to disappear when it’s time to sleep, only to appear in the morning, dishevelled and looking exhausted.

Taeyong chooses not to mention anything about this so you act like you’re not worried, too scared of whatever his answer would be if you decide to question him over it. Days go on and it’s the same, from early mornings to late nights. Taeyong avoids, hides, stays quiet but never forgets to get you food.

Johnny feels it. Johnny sees everything. The others are too busy to analyse the situation but he understands right away when he finds Taeyong observing from behind a tree, acting busy yet staring at your direction.

“What’s happening?” He asks out of the blue one night. Taeyong is by the sea, feet in the sand and hands playing with a tiny branch.

Taeyong isn’t surprised by the question. He knows his friend and how observant he can be but he also knows he hasn’t been very discreet so far. He tries, though. “What do you mean?”

Johnny chuckles, his long locks moving along his amused face. “The girl. You’ve been avoiding her and it’s surprising, considering how close you seemed to be a week ago.” Johnny’s smile deepens, “Taeyong is being Taeyong again?”

His friend laughs tiredly, it’s so like Johnny to be straight-forward.

“I’m not doing a great job here.” He admits, letting his guard down because maybe, just maybe, Johnny would be able to help.

Because Taeyong feels like a useless piece of shit.

“It’s a typical Taeyong move,” Johnny leans, hands touching the soft waves. “Avoiding the girl you love because now that she finally told you how she feels, you’re freaking out.”

“Am I?” Taeyong teases, a smirk growing on his usually expressionless face.

“Dude, you’re shitting your pants. It’s not that dramatic!” Johnny shrugs, eyebrows rising. “You survived a plane crash and you’re lost on an island with no mean to go back to civilization. If anything, you shouldn’t freak out about your own feelings.”

To this Taeyong hums, pensive. Johnny is right. The situation is dramatic and he should be panicking about a thousand things but nothing works.

Nothing works better than your eyes, staring at him like they are longing for affection and if he didn’t have any self-control, he would have given in.

“At least stop avoiding her,” Johnny concludes, stirring and complaining about small people using him like a ladder, “you’ll end up pushing her away another time and I don’t think you’ll like it. Also, Doyoung said it’s about time you get close to the girl because he will have to beat your ass if he sees you sulking one more time.” His friend laughs discreetly, finally getting up and patting a now scoffing Taeyong. “G’night bro.”

It’s true. Everything Johnny said screams reality for so many reasons, Taeyong thinks. This is why he hates himself, this is why he is so torn between coming back to you and unleash his inner soft side or keep a distance and act like he is unaffected.

Taeyong grunts one last time before aiming for the little camp where he finds you softly snoring.

He is in deep shit.

--

Lunch is always fun. You like being around everyone during lunch. They forgave your selfish past with Timothy and finally seem to open up to you. Solene talks to you from time to time, too. It’s awkward, weird and embarrassing, but you don’t care.

You’re so glad to feel included.

Only one thing bugs you. One very busy thing, which seems to be running everywhere this morning. You see it go from the jungle to the beach, carrying wood and teaching things to people.

Taeyong also seems to feel more at ease among the people in the camp. He smiles and nods cutely when someone shows him something, he offers to help the elderly whenever he sees one having trouble doing something and even laughs openly now.

He still seems so keen on staying away from you, though.

It’s disappointing but you can only blame yourself. Taeyong deserves none of your shit and even though you apologized, you can’t seem to forgive yourself for the way you acted.

Now Taeyong would rather protect himself and even though it hurts, you smile through the days.

Deep down though, you can’t deal with it. The probability of Taeyong running away from you is too harsh to handle. It’s true that he is still obliging, he brings you food silently, offers help when needed but never tags along enough to hold a conversation. It makes you want to yell in frustration because you crave proximity but there’s nothing you can do.

So you give up. You busy yourself too, spending days trying to find something useful to do. You lose yourself in the jungle twice but Taeyong doesn’t notice.

How funny.

Taeyong doesn’t deal with the situation well. He is glad you’re finally opening to the others and does his best to keep a safe distance. Johnny keeps on nagging him but it’s all clear in his head.

You’ve just lost your boyfriend. You can’t possibly see him the way he sees you.

He isn’t sure about that though, and Doyoung finds pleasure in letting him know how lost your eyes seem to be every time he sees you. Taeyong thinks it has nothing to do with him and his friends want to slap him for being so ignorant.

Taeyong refuses to accept the frightening reality and it makes him do the dumbest shit.

Sure, he is friendly, sure he is willing to help, but why is he so stupid he doesn’t notice the way Solene sticks to his ass every single day?

This is what you want to ask him but you don’t. You stay away from the two, even when the pretty girl hits his shoulder lightly when Taeyong makes a weird face. You don’t move when she tries to feed him a piece of sweet potato. It started out of nowhere and it’s shocking but deep down, you know there’s no way to stop this.

Taeyong is receptive and doesn’t run away from Solene. The latter continues, her giggles starting to sound annoying as time passes. You find it low that she would act this way when she witnessed how close you and Taeyong were.

But it’s not like you two were openly close to each other either.

You’re the one who ran away from him to be with your boyfriend. You left him on the island and considered running away.

It has always been the same. You get what you deserve.

--

It continues.

When Taeyong sees you struggling with a coconut, he doesn’t help because Solene calls him. When you come back limping from yet another adventure in the jungle, he doesn’t move as Solene apparently cut her finger with a knife.

Johnny magically appears every time, an apologetic smile painting his usually goofy expressions. He acts like he doesn’t notice the way you look at Taeyong and chit-chats for a while, before leaving you alone again.

You sigh every single time, before going back to another day of numbness.

Taeyong doesn’t know why this girl keeps on following him. From what he remembers she used to be close to you but now she spends all her days asking for help. Solene never mentions you and even though he is glad she doesn’t, Taeyong finds it weird that she would suddenly ask for help.

He isn’t the type of guy who refuses to help someone in need, but somehow it’s fishy.

“She likes you.” Doyoung tells him one morning. They’re both swimming around one tiny waterfall they found in the jungle. “She likes you and she doesn’t really speak to y/n anymore. You’re going to put yourself in more mess if you keep on being too nice.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes, hands massaging his scalp to clean it off the sand stuck into his locks, “She just needs help, like everyone else here.” He dives once, shaking his head as soon as he emerges from the water.

“She doesn’t. The last time Mark tried to help her, she told him she used to be a scout and knows a lot already. She wants you to help her.” Doyoung continues, his face overly dramatic yet he smirks. “Solene probably wants to get close to you because she noticed how you so desperately want to run away from y/n.”

“So what do I do? Do I ignore her? People will start thinking I’m a freak again.” Taeyong admits. As much as he loves being alone, he still doesn’t like how everyone used to run away from him.

Doyoung looks exhausted as he glances one last time at his friend. He gets up and starts walking away, “Stop being a coward and confess to y/n. I bet Solene will magically stop being clingy.”

“Y/n doesn’t have these type of feelings.”

Doyoung lifts a hand, his head slowly shaking “Dumbass.” He mutters, before sticking a finger into his ear to clean it.

--

Do you have feelings for him?

Taeyong wonders why he is so hesitant.  He acts like he doesn’t see it but the look on your face says it all. You admitted that you missed him yet he could not bring himself to stay close to you.

Maybe he is scared.

Well, he is scared. Taeyong doesn’t know how to deal with feelings but this is getting too complicated for his liking. Solene sticking around every day drains him because he has no idea how to act. Part of him wants to be nice but then he sees you and feels like a cheater, the other part can’t reject Solene either, for her eyes always seem to shine whenever he shows her a new trick. She asks a lot of questions like he is the most interesting person around there and her eyes always shine when she looks at him.

He should feel flattered but he almost regrets all this.

So eventually he decides he’s had enough. You probably don’t want to hear from him ever again but he can’t keep on living this way. To hell with fear of rejection and other considerations.

“Are you going somewhere?” Solene asks him when he gets up from his spot near the fire. “Can I tag along?” she smiles, her hair floating as she turns around quickly.

Taeyong shakes his head, mind busy with sentences he will probably never say because he is stupid when it comes to interactions. He finds you kneeling next to what’s left of your belongings. You look tired and done with everything as you’re folding clothes. You don’t see him at first, eyes scanning the stains on what used to be your favourite tee-shirt.

Taeyong starts sweating instantly. “Hi.” He stutters, palms warm against the fabric of his jeans.

You look up, startled. What is Taeyong doing here and most importantly, is he talking to you?

You nod, silent.

“I…can I talk to you?” You see the way he plays with his fingers, like he fears what is about to come.

You honestly want to say yes, but you’ve been thinking a lot and even though you deserve what happened, you can’t help but feel like you’ve been played with.

You smile, not genuine and almost sour. “So…now you want to talk?” It sounds more aggressive than what you’d like to admit and Taeyong slightly flinches, not really expecting that kind of reaction.

It’s true that you want to talk to him but you don’t understand the way he functions. A couple of weeks ago he was talking big about how you shouldn’t let yourself die because you are important to him. He held you back as you were crying, rubbed your back, acted like he cared.

But he doesn’t. He ran away and lived his life like nothing happened.

“If you don’t want to…I can come back-” Taeyong tries, but you cut him before he can finish, the sentence already infuriating.

“No, no you won’t come back. You’d rather avoid me like I’m sort of disease and we both know it. I admit it all happened because I started avoiding you, but I don’t get how you always talk like you care when you don’t. Why do you open your mouth and don’t let me do what I fucking want if you’re about to act like I don’t exist the day after? What the hell is wrong with you?” You let it all out. It feels like you haven’t talked in ages and it’s such a relief. It makes you feel a thousand times lighter.

Taeyong is speechless. He expected some sort of uneasiness, but he never thought it would be this complicated. “I’ve always been there whenever you needed it.” He tries, not getting why you were so mad over his behaviour.

“Have you?” You laugh, almost looking scary. “When was it? Was it before or after being all over Solene?” You didn’t want to talk about her at first. You promised yourself you wouldn’t feel jealous but somehow, seeing Taeyong looking like he doesn’t understand your pain made you freaking annoyed.

Taeyong doesn’t like how you’re starting to accuse him. He straightens his back and his face turns blank. “Both. Before and after you tried to leave this island. I was always there, even when you decided I was some sort of disease so you could play perfect couple with that bastard.” It slips past his lips before he can think about it. He doesn’t know why he speaks like this, especially when your face turns pale as you get up angrily.

You’re no match to him. Taeyong can be the softest guy ever, but you’re not ready for him going back to his old self.

“I apologized,” You start, voice turning low and shivery, “and I’m still regretting.” You grab your clothes and sigh. Maybe it’s too messy. Maybe your relationship with Taeyong is so broken it can’t be fixed.

Maybe it wasn’t meant to happen in the first place.

“Forget it, Taeyong. I’m tired of being here and fighting with you. Forget I said anything and go on with your life. I’m sorry I was such a horrible person but you know what? I’ve always been a bad person so I guess it’s natural.”  You conclude, tears ready to fall but you do your best to keep them in.

Taeyong takes a step toward you. “No. I’m not done talking to you.” He is calm, way too calm for someone who is ready to fight. “So you stay here and you listen to me.”

You open your mouth, anger rising again, “Don’t talk to me like you’re in the army again! I said leave it so you fucking leave it! Go do your thing for fuck’s sake!” the tears fall before you can calm yourself but you can only let your clothes fall on the floor.

“Are you done?” Taeyong stays composed, his hesitant moves now gone and confidence back. “Are you going to listen to me or should I let you yell some more?”

You’re confused. You’re so confused you can only let the anger vanish. “I don’t understand you, Taeyong. I’m trying to, but I can’t seem to get what is it that you want from me.”

“I shouldn’t have acted like this.” He starts, taking a deep breath in hope you’d let him finish. He sees you freeze, eyes wide open and bloodshot and it’s a mixture of exhaustion and pain.

It breaks him.

“I…you…I mean, I don’t know how to act. I don’t know how to act and it’s freaking me out because now that you’re back with me and you said all these things, it makes me want more and more and I don’t want to be pushed away again.” He finally admits.

You blink, honestly wondering where he is going.

“I can’t let you on your own but at the same time, the more I get involved, the more it makes me want to be close to you. I’ve never been this way and you know it. I’ve never been so close to someone that I don’t imagine myself on my own without them. Of course I’m scared so yeah, I probably made you feel like I don’t care about you. I just, I don’t know how this works! I don’t know if I’m important the same way you are to me.” Taeyong surprises himself. He isn’t used to be openly fragile and weak, he never had to even explain himself when it came to his feelings.

“It’s just so messy and you’re here. You’re here and you’re all I can think about. I’m sorry for being such a stupid person but you know what? I’ve always been stupid so I guess it’s natural.” He opts for a stupid comeback in hope it’d make you smile and he is relieved when your lips timidly twitches. “I’m so scared that once I let everything go, there will be no turning point for you and you’ll realize how hopeless I am,” he stops, rubbing his forehead and deciding he had talked enough for now. “Just don't think I don’t care because I’ve never cared about someone the way I care about you.”

You don’t know how to answer. Taeyong’s finally saying all the things you were doubting and now it makes perfect sense but at the same time, how could he even think so low of himself? He has been nothing but perfect with you all this time and you owe him your life. There’s no way you could ever think of him as hopeless.

It would be too long to explain yourself and right now is not the moment to be mushy so you cut the crap and go for it. “Are you in love with me?” you ask, arms limp by your side yet feeling tensed all of a sudden.

It sounds arrogant but before you can regret being so straightforward, Taeyong nods.

“I thought this was clear but I guess I’m not as smooth I intend to be.” He looks like a small boy lost in a huge mall. He glances around the beach, then at the trees around you and you cannot help but close your eyes in relief.

Your feet move on their own and you stop when you find yourself in front of a blinking Taeyong. He observes you intensely and tilts his head when you say nothing.

“You’re hopeless indeed.” You speak slowly and wait just enough to see his shocked face, but Taeyong cannot complain anymore.

Your lips feel amazing against his.

He needs a second to recover. You’re kissing him. You���re kissing him because you love him too. Your arms are around his neck, one of your hands is rubbing his scalp and pushing him toward you. You’re offering yourself and confessing your feelings at the same time and it feels so good.

His heart becomes erratic and it calls him back on earth, making him move and finally reciprocate the movements.

And oh god how it feels exactly like he imagined it would. Your skin is as smooth as it used to be, your frame is the same perfect one, stuck to his and complimenting his own figure. He doesn’t care about the lack of hygiene and how sticky he feels, he barely pays attention to you wriggling away when his hands brush your armpits, he doesn’t hear you mumble about how greasy your hair are and he definitely doesn’t hear the faint noises coming from the people walking by.

Time is nothing and so is he, lost in what he knew would be pure bliss.

You part from him, lips slightly red and breathless.

“I love you too, Lee Taeyong.”

[takaraphoenix]

When it comes to goodbyes, there’s only one person I’ve ever known who had her own personal take on that. Whenever I’d say “Mach’s gut” - “take care”, though literally it means “do well” - she would counter with “Mach’s besser”. Do it better.

I always thought that was a funny little thing, I always found that adorable, because she’d say it with mischief in her eyes and in a playful way but still like she absolutely meant it, like she wanted me to do better than her.

And it absolutely wrecks me to think that I’ll never hear her say that to me again.

When I was a kid, I used to spend at least one day a week at my grandma’s. It was always just my grandma; my grandpa had died when I was barely a couple months old. But I still had my grandma and grandpa on my mom’s side of the family. The two grandmas thing was always very confusing as a child - and I mean, too young to realize relatives have names beyond their familiar relation title - so in my family, we solved that rather easily.

My dad’s grandma, she was my Gartenomi. My garden granny. Well, not just mine, I have three older cousins on that side of the family and she was all of our Gartenoma. Because, as the title implies, she had a garden. Back then, that was something I assumed everybody had, you know. Everybody had a mom, everybody had a dad, everybody had a regular Omi and everybody had a Gartenoma.

She had berries in her garden, among other things. And my older cousins and I, we used to always go and gather them with her. I hated that, I always hated being out in the sun and well, manual labor was also never a thing I was a fan of. But I was a fan of the berries, so that evened out.

She used to make jam out of them. We had like a whole deal with that, my dad and his two older sisters would always keep score on who gets to take how many jars of what jam home. And her jam was the best, leagues above any store-bought jam, clearly the most superior jam, truly.

She also used to have veggies in her garden and she she would make that broccoli/cauliflower soup for me. About, I don’t know, between five and ten years ago, she had to give up the garden because they tore all the gardens down there to even the field to build houses there. And even though I haven’t had home-made broccoli/cauliflower soup in a long, long time, it still gives me that homey feel and reminds me of when I was little, even if it’s packaged soup.

We’d also always play games. Well, I suppose that’s normal, isn’t it? Playing games with grandparents. Though she was always rather bad at it and always lost. Around my teens, I started to suspect she may be losing on purpose to let her grandkids win, but to this day I am not a hundred percent sure. Especially Mensch, ärgere dich nicht (I think it’s called Sorry! in English?) and she had these particular little wooden figures for the board-game. Particular, because they were a deep, dark magenta - and normally this game comes with yellow-red-blue-green figures only.

When my grandma moved to the retirement home two years ago and gave up her apartment and we - the whole family - came to... salvage among the things she wanted to throw out, I picked those four wooden magenta figures. I still got them standing on my desk, you know, right next to my screen.

I also took a shell. My grandma had this big shell collection - she, grandpa, dad and my aunts used to go to Italy a lot to camp when dad was a child. The shells were always laid out next to her TV on two long shelves. There were a lot of pretty ones there, but I had always liked one in particular, it’s huge and a pretty curled one, the kind crabs live in. My cousin and I, we used to play with them, with this one and another one similar in size. We pretended they were our shell-phones. I got to keep mine and she took hers.

The two of us, we also had these... school notebooks. But like, old school notebooks. From the 70s, back when our parents still went to school. We used to write and draw out our adventures and stories in them together. Those, we also took and kept.

December two years ago, my mom bemoaned that she didn’t save any of my grandma’s cookie-boxes, because until she had to give up her apartment, my grandma used to provide all Christmas cookies to the entire family. She made... so, so many cookies - do keep in mind, my dad and his two sisters, each with kids of their own. Each family usually got two to three boxes of cookies. And they weren’t just any old cookies. She made ones that I have never before or after seen anywhere else and she used to make them with her home-made jam too, of course.

When I was a late teen, she started talking about the war. She’d never done that before, I don’t know if she deemed me old enough to hear about it then, or if she was already slowly slipping into dementia, because it were... the ever same stories that she’d repeat with a haunted look on her face.

Of the food they couldn’t afford, of how lucky she had been that her mother ran a grocery store and that they were doing better than most other families thanks to that. Of French soldiers living in their apartment with them during the war. Of how nightmarish our beautiful city had looked back then, bombed and destroyed. Of going to school as a little girl, while the bomb sirens were going off, past dead bodies on the street.

It was also when I was pretty much out and proud as a lesbian to... nearly everyone I knew. Aside from my grandparents, who all have... unfavorable opinions on the gay.

That was when I started visiting less. Not never, still about once a month. I also justified it a lot with being busy with college, you know. I was still visiting her regularly, after all.

Two years ago, she slipped in the stairway in her apartment building and while she made it upstairs, she collapsed there. My aunt only found her two days later. That was when we knew something had to change.

With her broken bones, she had to stay in a care home for a couple months anyway, which was enough time for my dad and his sisters to thoroughly debate what to do. It’s hard to consider that your own mother won’t be able to take care of herself anymore, but with that fall it became apparent that she couldn’t and that living on the first floor wasn’t exactly safe anymore either. That was when she sold her apartment and went to a retirement home.

The home’s just down the street from her old apartment. It’s... nice, I guess. The same where my great-grandma used to be in, I even still faintly remember that.

But she wasn’t the same anymore after the fall. I don’t know if dementia can be kickstarted by a fall on the head, but she slipped so fast in the following year.

We’d come and get her for Christmas or Easter or birthdays and when we’d drive her back to the home, she would get disappointed and sad that we were abandoning her, that we’d just trick her into leaving her at a retirement home, having completely forgotten that she was living there for months now.

When visiting her, she’d get her hopes up that we had come to pick her up and bring her back home again.

Then, in the past year, it started to get even worse. She’d forget where she was, completely. Looking out the window of her room, the one pointing directly at the elementary school she used to go to as a little girl - as she had told me very proudly when first moving into that room - and she wouldn’t recognize the building, wouldn’t recognize the neighborhood she had spent all her life in.

She had to rely heavily on her walker too, which was so terrifying to see, because I’ve only ever seen my grandma as, honestly, more fit than myself. She used to ski, she used to hike, she used to climb, she had and took care of that garden until she was eighty years old. To see her so... fragile... was terrifying in its own right, but to have her mind and memory slip like that too?

She started repeating whatever others told her, mixing up memories, not recognizing people anymore, staring blankly through you when you were directly in her line of sight.

Last Christmas,we got her to go to my aunt who hosted Christmas (it used to always be at my grandma’s). And she was... really just... physically present. She slept most of the time, even fell asleep in the middle of conversations. She looked through you, nodded along but didn’t quite listen. She could barely get up with help, but not more around on her own anymore.

About... four weeks ago or so, she was permanently put in a wheelchair because she couldn’t walk anymore at all.

Three weeks ago, the home called to inform us that visiting hours were cancelled due to the corona virus.

This morning, the home called because grandma had a fever.

Seven hours ago, my grandma died at ninety-one years old.

We don’t know if she had corona, or if it was something else. We couldn’t go visit to say goodbye due to the risk of it being corona. We don’t know how things with the funeral will play out thanks to corona.

And I spent the last seven hours doing the dumbest, most time-wasting tasks I could think of to not think about the fact that she’s now gone for good, or the way that makes me feel, because I don’t know how I feel because she’s been slipping away for two years now and she hasn’t been the grandma I grew up with in two years but the thought that she’s now really, truly gone still hurt so much and the only thing I can think about is how I couldn’t say goodbye to her and that she will never say do it better to me again, ever.

[taehyungiestummy]

Blood, Sweat, and Tears -- Chapter Twenty

Masterlist     Previous     Next

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 7026

         I rapidly blink, focusing in on Reo with his annoyingly attractive smirk gracing his face. This is the bastard that I have been stuck on for breaking my heart, and no one had the guts to tell me to stay away from him.

         “I can’t fucking believe you,” I snap, doing my best to keep my voice low. My jaw clenching as I stare at the boy who acts as if he has no shame. “You are the one who hurt me so badly all those years ago. Who made the biggest fucking mistake by doing one of the dumbest fucking things you can do. My heart shattered over a piece of scum that is you.”

         Reo chuckles, staring at me with no emotion. “Oh, you think that you are the one who experienced the most pain? Did you even remember what you did to me?”

         “Physical pain, all that I did to you, is temporary,” I roll my eyes. “A broken heart can never be pieced back together the same. It’s because of you that I had such a bad view on men.”

         “Oh, you poor baby, with your broken heart,” he mockingly pouts. “Would you like to see the scars that scatter my body because you got a little mad and took it out on me?”

         “Are you trying to say that you didn’t deserve what I did to you?” I pick up my pencil, twirling it in my fingers like I would a knife. “I held back on you. I could have killed you, but I thought better of it. You hurt me, so why should you get off so easy.”

         “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I don’t hold it against you. I should have never gotten so careless.”

         “You are disgusting.” I grip onto my pencil, pointing it at him. “What do you want me to say? Huh? What did you come to tell me?”

         “There’s nothing that I would force you to say, Areum. I’m on a mission, and you are my target,” he leans forward. “I’ve never stopped loving you, and I made a mistake. We both made mistakes. I tried to make my amends with you, but you never would forgive me.”

         “Once a cheater, always a cheater,” I scrunch my nose in disgust. “You’ve come all this way, turned into this boy that I can’t recognize, so that you could take me away from my family? So that you could take me to a group of people that I know nothing about? You sit there, thinking that all you have to do is act cocky and apologetic to get me back.”

         His eyes slightly widen in shock, but his mouth stays shut.

         “I’ve spent years wondering why someone would hurt me like you did, and I have shed so many tears over a boy whose face I could no longer imagine. You’ve been taking over my nightmares,” I sigh, slamming my pencil down on the table. “Man, I am so sorry.”

         “That’s it, baby,” Reo grins, reaching his hand out to me.

         “I am so not sorry towards you,” I mechanically laugh. “I am sorry that I had to waste two years of my life with you. I am sorry to my current boyfriend for having to watch from the sidelines when I went through so much hurt. Fuck you, I would never be sorry about what I did to you.”

         He snarls, pulling his hand back, “You think that you are some big shot acting like this towards the man who will have you in the end.”

         “I have a group of men standing behind me every second of the day, and I can act however I want. Especially towards a bitch like you,” I scoff.

         “You’ll change your mind about us eventually. It’s only a matter of time. You are destined as the princess of the Red Wolves.”

         “Why would I ever consider going to the enemies side to drop in rank when I am already the Queen of Bangtan?” I tilt my head to the side, doing my best to portray that I think he’s an idiot without words. “I am leading the country’s biggest organization with my brother, and you think that I would throw all of that away to be some bitch on the side. Get the fuck out of my face.”

         “It isn’t always about what you want, sweetheart. This was planned way before you were born. I’m just following orders.”

         “What are you going to do? Kidnap me? The whole city will be in an uproar, and you will have some very pissed off guys looking for me. The Red Wolves would be no more if you did that.”

         “Kidnapping won’t be necessary. We always have our eyes on you, so we will figure out the best time to strike.”

         “I have the best protectors in the world. I’d like to see you try and get me.”

         “How are you sure that each one of those in the mansion isn’t actually a rat that is sending information back to us?”

         I feel my heart stop for a second; my breath catching in my throat as I consider the possibility that someone would give crucial Bangtan information to the enemy. The feeling is gone in a split second as I realize how ridiculous that sounds. “Impossible. Bangtan saved each of the people that has come through the mansion doors. If anyone was betraying us, we’d know about it. We’re a close-knit group, and I know everyone within those walls.”

         “I didn’t think that you would catch my bluff,” he nods a few times. “There used to be someone among your precious organization that was sending information back to the Wolves, but they returned to us years ago. They’ve moved up in ranks since those years, and is now a vital cog in the machine.”

         “Why now?” I find the words slipping through my lips before I can stop them.

         “You haven’t figured that out yet? Do you really believe that your father’s death was a random event?”

         “I fucking knew it.” I am seething. “You assholes never know when to stop, and I can’t wait to be the one to end you forever.”

         “Oh, but sweet Ari, he’s the one who approved of it,” Reo chuckles as my eyes widen. “You think a man as powerful as your dad would drop his guard in order for a group like us to kill him? Oh no, this goes a lot deeper, and we are not going to stop until we accomplish what we set out to do. We will do anything to reach our goal. Anything.”

         I feel a cold wash over me as Reo’s smirk turns from annoying to taunting. It is dripping with evil as his eyes scan over me, looking for some kind of sign that his words have an effect on me.

         “Leave me alone!” I can’t help the rise of my voice as I shove away from the table. My chair falling to the floor with a clatter, and then I am rushing off into the library to find Jimin. To feel safe once again.

         My mind is a blank slate as I try to remember what book I sent him off to find, though I doubt that will help me in a library this big. He doesn’t know the layout of this place, so he could be anywhere. I’m in no state to have to fight against people, even if Reo said that they weren’t going to come and kidnap me. I don’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth now that I know what he did to me.

         I will thank him for unlocking part of my memories. He’s good for one thing, and now I hope I’ll never see him again.

         “Jimin,” I gasp, frantically looking down aisles for the boy who has so graciously become my bodyguard.

         My head is beginning to pound as too many thoughts are running about the Red Wolves and my memories. Everything has just been thrown on me in the past few months. I don’t think that I can keep brushing it off and acting like nothing happens.

         “Jimin!” I whisper-yell at the boy standing in the middle of an aisle with a book in his hand. His eyebrows are furrowed as he looks at the cover, trying to decide if this is the book I sent him to retrieve. “Jiminie,” I cry out, rushing at him as tears well up in my eyes.

         “Hm?” Jimin turns to look at me, surprise exploding on his face as he drops the book and opens his arms for me to fall into. “Areum, what are you doing here? Why are you crying? I was just going to come back with the book. Are finals that bad?”

         I shake my head as I grip onto his shirt. “Reo, doctor son, bad guy, my memories, father, fucking dickheads,” I choke out, knowing that the words mean nothing to Jimin, but I have to say something.

         “Okay, as much as I want to laugh at how crazy that sounded, I know that you are in a panic state, which is not good.” He pulls me off him by my shoulders. Concern has taken over the surprise of just moments ago. “Take some deep breaths, like I always tell you to do when fighting, and focus on me. Whoever scared you, they can’t hurt you with me right here. I can take a lot of guys at once, and I never leave the mansion without a weapon.” He gently smiles, running a few fingers over my cheek.

         I feel my heartbeat in my ears as I lock my gaze with Jimin. My breathing begins to match his even one as we stand in silence. If I can’t calm down, then I can’t explain what happened, and Jimin can’t help me if he has no idea what is going on.

         “I can feel your heartrate going down. You didn’t run through the library looking for me, did you?”

         “Yes,” I breath out, letting my grip on his shirt loosen.

         “It’s a good thing you didn’t have a panic attack while running. Now, can you tell me what happened?”

         I take a deep breath, trying to get all my thoughts in order. “When you left, Reo, Dr. Sato’s son, came over. I knew he went here, but I have never really seen him. He started talking to me, and then I noticed he had a tattoo. But not any normal tattoo, a Red Wolves tattoo,” I whisper the last half of the sentence. “That bastard is part of the gang that keeps calling me their princess.”

         “Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have left you,” his jaw clenches. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

         “He helped me get my memories back.” I feel a sharp pain exploded in my skull, causing me to grimace.

         “Oh, baby girl, I am so sorry,” Jimin sighs. “I know that there are holes in your memories that hold bad times.”

         “He’s the cheater,” I shake my head. “He’s the one who broke my heart, and now he is trying to get me back because the Red Wolves promised him. He said my father’s death was planned,” I choke out, feeling the tears pricking my eyes once more. My head now throbbing like a sinus headache, but I doubt that is what is happening.

         “Oh, so he’s the little shit,” Jimin grins, shaking his head. “The next time I see him, I am going to punch the fuck out of him. You already had to live through that terrible time once, and then to remember it must have been horrible.”

         “No need to punch him, I already hurt him back then,” I take a shaky breath, closing my eyes for a few moments in hopes that it will relieve some pressure in my head.

         “Let’s get back to your stuff, and you can sit down and compose yourself,” he steps away, reaching down to pick up the book he dropped. “We can decide if you can get through your last class then.”

         I nod a few times. “What if he is waiting for us?”

         “I’ll kick ass,” Jimin shrugs, a teasing smirk on his lips. “That’s what I have been trained to do, and I will fight anyone who tries to hurt you.”

         “Thank you,” I take a slow deep breath to give me strength.

         He slings his arm around my shoulders, leading us back towards the table. “Are you feeling better?”

         “Enough to push through the day,” I offer a smile even through my head feels like it is going to explode.

         “I’ll be on high alert from now on, so that will never happen again.”

         “I want my memories to come back, so even though he is a massive jackass, I am okay with him showing his true colors.” I let out a shaky breath. “I just want them to leave me alone. This warped view of me being their princess because my mom was the daughter of their leader is fucked.”

         “We’ll get to the bottom of it soon, and life will return to a new normal.”

         We reach the table where not long ago Reo and I had our standoff. Reo is no longer seated across from my stuff, and it doesn’t look like any of my stuff was touched. My chair is still on the ground, which is not surprising.

         “Here, take a seat,” Jimin picks up the chair. “That boy is smart to not stick around when I’m here. Those bastards know how to train them in the basics at least.”

         I plop down in the chair, “They make me fucking sick.” I push my laptop screen up to see if Taehyung messaged me, but I am met with no chatroom at all. “At this point, I just want to go home. I don’t want to be here right now knowing that he’s out there.”

         “I’ll have to call Yoongi and make sure that is alright, but I think it would be a good idea to get out of here.”

         I close my laptop, “Can you help me clean up here?”

         “Of course,” Jimin steps closer, crouching to help me put items in my backpack.

         “I’m so glad you were here, Jiminie,” I run my fingers through his hair. “I’m so glad that we are friends.”

         He giggles, “The adrenaline running low now?”

         “I’m starting to feel sick, actually,” I slowly stand up, gripping onto the edge of the table. My breathing has become quick once again as I try not to throw up. “Fuck, Jimin, I need to get out of here. I can’t come back here ever again. It has become unsafe for me, and I can’t live my life in constant fear that some fuck boy is going to come up to me and drag me off. My head is going to burst,” I squeeze my eyes shut.

         “Areum,” Jimin places a hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to call Namjoon to pick us up, and then we can deal with professors afterwards.”

         “That sounds great,” I groan, forcing my eyes open to look at Jimin.

         His eyes are slightly widen as he must be freaking out with how I am acting, but he’s holding it together, so I don’t fall deeper into whatever panic state has taken hold of me. “We’ll make sure that you get enough rest after this.”

         I open my mouth to answer, but anther bolt of pain crash through my skull. Flashes of all kinds of memories with Taehyung or Reo are running through my mind. Memories that have been locked up for years bursting through.

         I reach out for Jimin as I feel darkness closing in, and then the whole world falls away.

********

         My brain slowly drags me from the sleep I don’t remember lying down for. A dull heat pulsing on my right side that has me wondering what I fell on. Regardless, the pain in my head is no longer making my brain want to explode, so I can take a small pain in my side for now.

         I slowly open my eyes; the lights of the room blinding for the first few seconds. Though I know that I am not in my room based on the smell, and the fact that the bed I am in is a lot smaller.

         My eyes drift down to see an IV in my left arm, meaning that I must be in the hospital wing. Oh yeah, I passed out in the library because of the worst headache I have ever experienced. Jimin must have called for some guys to come and get me to take me here.

         I slowly move my head in fear of causing another headache, and I spot Taehyung right next to me. His fingers are flying across the keyboard of a laptop as he’s probably been hacking for hours waiting for me to wake up. His natural brown hair a mess from his fingers running through it. I can’t believe that I wasted two years with an asshole when Taehyung was right there all along. If only he wasn’t stolen from me.

         “Tae,” I choke out; my throat burning for water.

         Taehyung’s head snaps towards me. “Areum!” He places his laptop on the side table next to him before jumping up to lean over me. “Oh, babe, I was so worried. I saw you with Reo and tried to warn you, but you just shut your laptop so you couldn’t see my messages. God, and then I saw you pass out, my heart fell.”

         “Water,” I smile, reaching up to pat his cheek.

         “Oh!” He steps away, looking around the room. “I should have had something ready for you, considering you’ve been out for about sixteen hours.”

         I let out a surprised squeak.

         He giggles, “Don’t worry about school. Yoongi talked to your professors, and you’ll take your finals in the comfort of your bed as soon as you feel up to it.” He snatches a water bottle from off a table, turning to step back up to me. “Can you hold out your arm?”

         I reach for the bottle with my right hand, “What happened?”

         He unscrews the bottle’s cap, “I think that Doc and Boo will be able to explain it better than I will ever be able to. I’m Mr. Hacker, not a doctor, you know,” he grins.

         I take a few sips of water before handing the bottle back to Taehyung. “Have you been sitting right there this whole time?”

         “I promised your brother that I wouldn’t leave your side,” he plops back down in his seat. “With a job like mine, I can do it anywhere as long as I have a computer. I was so worried about you, Areum, I needed to be with you.”

         “I’m so glad that I woke up to see you,” I tenderly smile. “Sixteen hours, huh?”

         “A long ass sixteen hours for everyone in the mansion. Sooyoung was in hysterics in the beginning, but Jungkook calmed her down. Your brother went into an angry fury looking for Reo, but that was a lot of dead ends. There’s also been a deep look into everyone who works here, on the off chance that someone is giving away precious information.”

         “I am guessing nothing was found.” I shift around, remembering what Reo had told me.

         “Nothing,” he sighs. “Which is a good thing. The people within these walls should be loyal to the Min’s.”

         “To Bangtan,” I run my right hand through my hair. “I’m just happy that I don’t have to go back to that campus. There’s too many bad memories, and I don’t feel safe anywhere but here. Even though I can kill a man hundreds of different ways, the Red Wolves will stop at nothing to bring me into their group.”

         “We’ll keep you safe, babe,” he reaches over and grabs my hand. “I’m doing my best to figure everything out. This is one big puzzle.”

         “I think I am ready for Doc and Boo to come in and explain what the hell happened to me,” I softly chuckle.

         “I’ll be right back then,” he stands back up. “Before that, though, there is something that I have been itching to do since you got back.” He leans over me, gently cupping my face. “I love you so damn much, so stop making me worry about you so much.”

         “I love you too, Taehyungie, and I will do my best,” I poke his stomach.

         His lips press against mine in heart-skipping kiss, and before we can truly enjoy the action, he’s pulling away and leaving the room.

         “Rude,” I pout. “And now I have nothing to do. I’m gonna have to ask for a handheld console if I’m going to be in here for a long time.”

         The door to my room opens a few moments later, with Taehyung leading the way for Minho and Boram. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sibling doctors, which usually is a good thing, but not when they are close friends.

         “How are you feeling, Areum?” Minho asks, walking over to check the fluids in my IV bag.

         “Well, my head doesn’t feel like it is going to explode, so I can only imagine that is a good thing,” I answer.

         Taehyung returns to his seat, reaching over to place a hand on my leg.

         “Since we weren’t able to ask you, where would you have placed the headache on a pain scale?” Boram asks from the end of the bed, hugging a clipboard to her chest.

         “A ten without a doubt,” I nod. “I’ve had sinus headaches, but this one was a lot more intense and all over. I thought I was going to throw up, or start crying, or rip my hair out, but in the end I just passed out.”

         “Jimin told us that you had just remembered some of your past thanks to a certain boy coming up to you,” Minho returns to be next to his sister. “Yoongi approved for us to look at the file your therapist had on you, and you have a lot of traumatic events under lock and key, which have started to trickle back to you. Taehyung says that until recently, you would have nightmares that most likely were linked to memories that were pushing to break free.”

         “That’s definitely what those nightmares were, but I don’t have them much, if at all, anymore. Mainly because of Tae, but also because I have remembered whatever was haunting my dreams. I was able to overcome various events recently.”

         “That is quite possible,” Minho nods. “It is also the reason for your intense headache.”

         “Because I have been remembering things too quickly?”

         “That’s what we think,” Boram answers. “Your brain couldn’t hold all that input of information, and because it was traumatic experiences that were taken from you, it exploded with pain. That pain was so intense that the only thing your body could do to fix the problem was to knock you out.”

         “For sixteen hours,” I shake my head. “What now?”

         “We want to keep monitoring you for a few more days at the least,” Minho flashes a smile. “We don’t think that anything bad will happen, but we want to be safe. You’ll stay here, rest up, get enough to eat, and relax. The most important thing that we want you to do is to not trigger any more memories.”

         “I know that he makes it seem easy,” Boram hip-checks her brother. “Considering you haven’t gone out and triggered memories on purpose the other times, but I believe that staying in this room will keep you from finding the key to the locks. The only people you’ll see are those you see every day, and all you will do is tasks that help your brain shut off.”

         “What would happen if I were to remember anything else?” I nibble on my bottom lip.

         “We don’t know,” Boram sighs. “It’s not like people have their memories taken from them every day, so you are the first person we have come into contact with that is like this.”

         “We don’t want to find out what will happen if you were to have those last chunk of memories returned to you,” Minho says. “That is why we are going to be super careful these next few days, and really the next few weeks.”

         “I trust you two,” I tenderly smile. “I accept that I have to take it easy for a little bit, and I accept the guidelines that you have laid down. Too much has been going on since my father died, so I could take a break.”

         “Oh, Bambi,” Boram’s face shows a wave of sadness.

         “You’ll be surrounded by friends and those who love you, so I think that this will end up being a good thing,” Minho nods. “We’ll let Seokjin know that you are awake and to get a nice big meal sent up for you.”

         “Thank you, both of you, for all that you have done for me,” I do my best to bow.

         “Do you think she can have her IV removed?” Taehyung speaks up.

         “Almost forgot about that,” Minho chuckles. “I checked to make sure you still had enough fluids, but I think with you awake and basically back to normal, you won’t need it anymore.”

         I hold my left arm out, “I’ll let you guys do it, and not rip them out like all the crazy people do in movies and what not.”

         “I always get so mad when they do that,” Boram chuckles. “Preference who takes them out?”

         “Well, since you did my stitches, Boo, would you please?”

         “Told you,” she slaps her clipboard into her brother’s stomach. “Girls stick together.”

         “It’s just an IV,” Minho groans, rolling his eyes.

         Boram steps up to my bedside, “I promise that my hands are cold, and that this will hurt.”

         “Perfect,” I look at Taehyung. “I’ll just talk to keep my mind off it.”

         “What are you looking forward to while in here?” Taehyung gives my thigh a gentle squeeze.

         “Watching all kinds of shows with you, and playing all kinds of video games. I’m just excited to have a break and to be with you. I need to do some Christmas shop-Ow!” My head snaps to look at Boram who has the biggest grin on her face.

         “Come on, it wasn’t that bad,” Boram chuckles, grabbing a cotton ball and some tape, quickly bandaging the small holes. “We’ll be in periodically to check on you, but all you need to worry about is resting.”

         “Don’t try anything,” Minho smirks, pointing at Taehyung.

         “What am I?” Taehyung raises his hands in shock. “Do you think I am some dirty minded boy?”

         “Yoongi told him to say that, I just know it,” I roll my eyes.

         “Come on, idiot,” Boram grabs her brother’s arm and starts dragging him out of the room. “Glad that you are awake, Bambi!”

         The door shuts behind the siblings, and I am relieved to be alone with Taehyung once again. He’s the only one that I want to be with right now. The only one that I know won’t ask too many questions and will just let me be.

         “Seems like more people know about my past than I do,” I force out a chuckle. “Damn, is my report extensive?”

         “I actually was tasked with retracting information before they could read it over,” Taehyung reaches over to grab my hand. “Areum, I need you to know that I will never be like Reo. I am going to be so much better than he ever was. You are the most important person in my life right now, and I am determined to make sure that you are safe. I am going to love you with all of my being, and you will never question that I love you. God, you should have never gone through what you did with that jackass. I should have made my move at the party all those years ago before him. You’ll never go through that kind of shit ever again; I promise you that. You’re the Queen of Bangtan, and you are also my queen.”

         I place my hand on top of Taehyung’s, “I know, Tae. I know that you will never be like that prick. I trust you, and I never want to be away from you. He played me like a fucking fiddle, which makes me even more furious. That I couldn’t see the evil within him. I just hate that I ever went out with him when you were so close. When the red string of fate was pulling me to you, and I wouldn’t listen. You’ve always been my soulmate. We just had to get over some bumps.”

         “I wonder why he became a part of the Red Wolves when his father is entangled with Bangtan. They also are still quite close, so that means he keeps it hidden.”

         “I’m surprised that Dr. Sato didn’t bring it up when we saw him at Halloween, but I’m sure my father got together a team to wash our entire relationship from the earth.”

         “I was actually one of the hackers that helped with that job,” Taehyung awkwardly smiles. “There was quite a bit out on the internet about you two, and I was tasked to erase it all. I had a bit of fun doing it, actually.”

         “I’m sure you did,” I chuckle. “I just don’t understand why he has to get with me, or how come he didn’t move on after I literally tortured him. He’s not in love with me. He’s obsessed.”

         “I wonder if he came to the Red Wolves or if they came to him with the proposition to have you and rule the organization together. It makes sense that the seat would be reserved for you, since your mother was the boss’ daughter, but he doesn’t have to be involved at all.”

         “The Red Wolves definitely came to him after I caught him cheating with the opportunity to not only run a large gang, but to get me back. He’s a fucking sick bastard.”

         “They are really giving us great reason to take them out. There’s never been a chance like this.” Taehyung brings my hand up to kiss my knuckles. “We’ll figure it out when we get there. Right now, you need to stop thinking about all that. You need to relax. What do you want to do?”

         I am about to answer when the door to my room slams open, making us instantly look over to see my brother in the doorway with the traces of a smile on his lips.

         “Bambi!” Yoongi’s smile grows, but once his gaze spots Taehyung, he does his best to lose all emotion.

         “Yoongi, I was wondering when you would come and see me,” I widely smile. “Come to make sure that I am awake and good?”

         “I was so worried about you,” Yoongi shuffles over to stand on the side that Taehyung is not. “I keep thinking that those bastards hurt you in some way, and I guess they kind of did by making you remember.”

         “No need to worry anymore. I’m doing fine. I feel so much better after all that sleep, and I’ll be relaxing right here for as long as Doc and Boo say that I need to.” I make the move to get up, so I can give my brother a hug, but a lightning bolt of pain shoots down my right side. “Ugh,” I groan, settling back into the bed in hopes that the pain will subside.

         “What? What’s wrong?” Yoongi’s eyes widen as he searches all over, probably looking for blood.

         “I don’t know,” I tenderly touch my side, feeling for a bandage that would tell me if I have a wound. “I remember waking up to a dull pain in my side, but moving really made it hurt.”

         “She’s fine, you’re fine, babe,” Taehyung runs a hand through my hair. “You got a nasty bruise on your side when you fell from passing out, and it’s going to make moving a little hard until it heals. There’s nothing to worry about.” He presses a quick kiss to my lips. “You have to relax, babe.”

         “I’m trying,” I giggle, pressing my lips to his for a few seconds. “It’s been a long few months.”

         “As cute as that was, and as happy as I am that you are with V, I am going to have to ask you to not do that again until I have truly wrapped my head around this whole relationship,” Yoongi firmly states.

         Taehyung’s cheeks redden as he settles back into his seat. “Sorry boss,” he mumbles, bringing his laptop back to his lap to get back to hacking.

         “Thanks Yoongi,” I tap my feet together as my cheeks heat up. “Could you do me a favor brother?”

         “Anything,” Yoongi runs a few fingers over my cheek.

         “I’m gonna make you a list of things to grab from my room since I’m going to be here for a while, and I would love if you could go collect it all,” I flash my best gummy smile and bat my eyelashes.

         “Anything for you, brat,” he pinches my cheek. “Anything for you.”

********

         “Thanks for coming and hanging out with me while Tae is with my brother, Hobi,” I swirl noodles with my chopsticks before bringing them up to my mouth.

         “Always a pleasure,” Hoseok flashes a big smile. “What are Tae and your brother talking about?”

         “Tae’s going over all of our dates that lead to Red Wolves’ coming up to me, and then all the information we have gathered before Yoongi knew about us dating. He’s also explaining the team I put together that was going to tackle the problem by ourselves, but we don’t have to do that anymore.”

         “No more sneaking around your brother’s back, I see,” he teases.

         “Well, it was that or have him ground me for life and kill Tae,” I shrug. “Love makes you do crazy things. I can now remember when we were little, and we spent so much time together, and I loved him then. I couldn’t understand it, but looking back on it now, I was deeply in love with him.”

         “You are the cutest, buttercup.”

         “Have you ever been in love, Hobi?”

         “It’s been awhile, but there used to be someone, before Bangtan, that I think I was in love with them.”

         “Do you know where they are?”

         “I’ve been searching, hoping, and I am sure that one day we will meet again. If not, then I am content were I am at, and I don’t need anyone to complete me. I’ll just keep living life and thanking some higher power from bringing me here.”

         “That’s very sweet, Hobi.”

         He shrugs, “I didn’t mean for it to get all mushy, but it did. Tell me what you’ve been doing since you woke up.”

         “Well, they don’t let me do much but lie in this bed, so I have just been playing video games, coloring, reading, or watching shows with Tae.” I skip over the detail that Taehyung has helped me take a bath once, and how I was shocked at the bruise that covers my entire right side. “No schoolwork until I leave here, so I have been trying not to worry about that. No worrying about the business either, which has made me a bit more antsy than I thought it would.”

         “You were wired to lead. We’re doing fine without you, though. We keep working hard so that you don’t have to worry while you rest up.”

         “How much does everyone know?”

         “Only your inner circle knows about your memories and all that. Everyone else thinks that the Red Wolves sent some asshole to scare you, and then gave you some drug to make you pass out. It’s been a great motivator in our fight against them. We all understand how precious you are to Bangtan.”

         “Precious,” I turn the word over in my mouth. “That’s what my mother used to call me when I was little. I’d like to think that I have grown since then.”

         “You have,” Hoseok nods. “Precious is more than being weak and needing others to protect you. Without you, Bangtan would spiral into madness.”

         “Well, I can’t argue with that,” I chuckle.

         “You’re the best fighter I know, buttercup, so never think that anyone looks down on you. That we think you can’t protect yourself. We know that you can, but there are things that you need help with, and you can’t go through life alone.”

         “I know. That’s why I am thankful that I have all of you by my side.”

         A small knock comes at my door, with a voice calling out, “Dessert!”

         “Come in!” I call back.

         The door slowly opens to reveal Seokjin and Namjoon with a plate of brownies.

         “Hell yes,” I grin, tapping my chopsticks on the edge of my bowl. “That is just the kind of treat I have been craving.”

         “Well, you’ve been locked up in here for a few days, so I thought this was the least I could do,” Seokjin grins, stepping up to place the brownies on my bed tray.

         “Did Joonie help?” I tease.

         “He watched and that was it.”

         “I can cook simple foods,” Namjoon huffs. “I’m not that clumsy.”

         “Sure, sure,” Hoseok says. “Just because you can drive a car without any trouble doesn’t mean you didn’t once set the laundry machine on fire.”

         I burst into laughter, “I haven’t thought about that in forever. We had to redo that entire room because of all the smoke and water damage. I’m still trying to figure out how you could have started a fire in there in the first place to this day.”

         “Shut up,” Namjoon pouts, grabbing a brownie off the plate.

         “How have you been holding up, pumpkin?” Seokjin takes a seat in one of the chairs around my bed.

         I shrug, “No headaches, which is good. My side still keeps me from doing a lot, so I am just doing my best to let it heal. It has been a while since I have been able to relax like this, so I have been enjoying it a lot.”

         “She loves spending all her day with her boyfriend too,” Hoseok teases, reaching over to pinch my cheek before snatching a brownie.

         “I mean, yeah,” I take a deep breath to stop the blush from spreading across my cheeks. “He hacks a lot, so we don’t do a lot of talking, but just having him in here with me calms me down and makes me feel safe.”

         “I remember you talking to me about the red string tied around your pinkie a few years ago,” Seokjin says. “After that one boy hurt you, and you wondered who was on the other end of your string. I’m so glad you found him.”

         “The string never breaks, though it may tangle, and the two people are destined to get together no matter what,” I take a bite of a brownie.

         “That boy made sure that he always had an eye on you,” Namjoon speaks up. “He would send me updates so that I knew when you would reach the car.”

         “I’m surprised he didn’t talk about you more to me when he came to the kitchen for meals,” Seokjin adds.

         “He’s the one who suggested the job of watching over me to my father, and I couldn’t be happier,” I let the small smile edge onto my face. “What about you two?” I point at Seokjin and then Namjoon. “What are some of your dreams?”

         “I’m still hoping to get back to running a restaurant,” Seokjin answers. “Even though the kitchen here has the same atmosphere, I just want to leave a legacy like that behind. There is also someone from my past that I would like to talk to again.”

         “Like a special someone?” I tilt my slightly.

         “You could say that,” he somberly smiles. “Namjoon, what are your dreams?”

         “Oh, hm, I don’t know,” Namjoon shrugs. “Street racing is a thing of my past, and I only have a degree because Bangtan payed for it. I guess, it would be nice to show my parents that I did something with my life. To ask for their forgiveness, but I don’t know if that will ever happen,” he sighs.

         “We’re kind of like a group of misfit toys,” I giggle. “I believe that we can accomplish our dreams if we try hard enough, so never give up.”

         “And what is your dream, buttercup?” Hoseok questions.

         “I have a lot of dreams, but I guess right now I just want to be happy. I want to figure out the puzzle that surrounds my parent’s deaths, and then finally move on.”

         “She wants to spend the rest of her life with me,” Taehyung’s voice perks me up in an instant as he enters the room. “She’s already got it all figured out.”

         “Taehyungie!” I happily squeal, bouncing a few times. “How was your meeting with Yoongi?”

         “Went well,” he nods, walking over to me. “We have a plan now, or at least we have begun to develop a plan.” He cups my face, leaning down to press a few pecks to my lips. “You have to get better before anything moves ahead, though.”

         “Ah, look at the couple being all cute and kissy,” Seokjin teases.

         “Leave them be,” Namjoon gives Seokjin a shove.

         “I love you,” Taehyung pulls back, walking over to the couch where he’s set up a place to work.

         “I love you too,” I gummy smile.

         “Look at you being all cute,” Hoseok chuckles. “Forever and always the cutest.”

         “And forever and always mine,” Taehyung has a boxy smile gracing his face. “And I couldn’t be happier about it.”

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

Holy shit, I think this may be the longest chapter, and I think it deserves it. There was so much information that needed to be told in this plot turning chapter with Reo and then Areum’s memories causing headaches and giving some of the other minor characters their time. It’s been a while since the last chapter, and I am sorry for that. I will try to do better. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought, as that means a lot to me. Now, I’ll get working on the next chapter! :D (This is a repost from earlier, some chapters were deleted, and I wanted it to make sure that everything was in order).

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 4

Skipper Thistlespring and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

We pick back up at The Swan’s Little Parade where rich people shenanigans are taking place. Gorgug breaks from the group to try and call Zelda. When she doesn’t answer, he leaves the saddest, sweetest apology voicemail ever. Lou breaks. Siobhan breaks. I break. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group gameplans. Adaine pushes back against the idea that they have to talk to Aelwyn. Her parents are also an option and Aelwyn is not a good person, no matter how hot Fabian is for her. They also check out the guest book from the hotel and see that Bill Seacaster has stayed there several times, always right after a Garthy O’Brien (they see that it happened a bunch while they were in jail and it was probably in conjunction with when Bill was supplying palimpsests). Fabian recognizes the name as a pirate and Cathilda knows they run the Gold Gardens which is a floating pirate casino/brothel.

Kristen tries to release Gorthalax but just confirms that, because of the curse, doing it without messing up Gorthalax is gonna be tough. 

Sandra-Lynn goes to get Gorgug while Fig decides to careen the campaign into Crazytown and make herself Empress for Life of the same. She disguises herself as an old lady and tries to drop off a note giving her phone number as the new number of the cop she impersonated last episode (Detective Decker) so she can send a fully grown cop texts that would def get him Chris Hansen’d irl. Brennan decides that if she’s gonna keep making beds, she should probably lie in one of them for once and comes for her entire life in the funniest scene of the episode. No recap I could give can do it justice(links to clips here: x, x). Just know it ends with Fig running away and ditching her phone in a lake, which could very possibly have plot consequences if she forgets to replace her phone before she’s in a tight spot where it would be helpful and the absolute dumbest/funniest reason for a character death (I want to note that she did replace her phone technically, but with a huge, old, brick phone from Adaine’s jacket that can’t be as useful as an actual cell). 

ANYWAY

Tracker creates a Moon Haven in the van which is basically like a dope pillow fort with the Sanctuary spell cast on it and TARDIS bigger-on-the-inside spatial mechanics. Once they’re inside the Moon Haven, Ragh finally feels safe to tell them what he knows--which he does telepathically via Adaine and the message spell to make everything extra safe. Here’s a rundown of what he tells them:

He saw Kalina on the night of prom after the big fight. She was talking to Jace (the sorcery “teacher”) and an elven woman who looked like Adaine in black robes--Adaine confirmed with a picture that it was her mother. 

After being healed by Porter, Ragh started walking home and was stopped by Kalina who said she would kill his mom if he told anyone what he saw. 

Ragh’s mom Lydia is also a half-orc barbarian. She was on a mission in the Red Waste (where the 7 Maidens have their Sophomore Year quest) and they found a soul gem that was leaking something bad. She put it in her chest to contain the evil but at the cost of her health. She’s now extremely sick and in a permanent, medically-induced rage to keep her alive. She refuses medical treatment because no one can ensure the evil won’t be released if they remove the gem. 

His mom fucking slaps.

So that’s all deeply worrying. Adaine invites Ragh and his mom to live with them in the Haunted House and Fig offers to give them Dr. Asha’s number. Gorgug discovers the Van can become a boat which is convenient for the pirate-y things they have to do (the Golden Gardens is on the way to Falinel so they decide to stop there first). Fig has a heart to heart with Gilear while Adaine and Sandra-Lynn take first watch outside since the Moon Haven can only hold nine people. Adaine has to roll a wisdom save because she’s outside of the Haven’s protection and, even on a 16, the music goes all scary and she feels that something is in the tent with her outside. Something humanoid and her size with its knees to its chest. She senses that if she sees its face, something will happen to her and, instead of looking at it, she calls for Sandra-Lynn. By the time she shows up, the thing is gone. Fig assures Adaine that she’s not crazy or seeing things and, based on Adaine’s description, they’re able to deduce that it wasn’t Baron or Kalina. 

In the morning, Gorgug is pretty bummed and asks everyone to call him Skipper. Kristen is very down and Fabian is very not. They discuss whether they should tell all of the information from Ragh to the 7 Maidens (no) and whether Gorgug should call Zelda (yes). They drive into the sea. Gorgug finally talks to Zelda who is not happy with him for the ghosting and unintentional thoughtlessness. She’s even less happy with him when she realizes he forgot to get the generator they needed to stay in touch long distance. They’re breaking up. Do I mean relationship-wise or phone-wise? You don’t know? Well that makes two of us (Thanks, I Hate It).

They’re at sea for two days and then make it to the floating pirate shipwreck city of Leviathan. Pirate adventures next week, y’all! 

Detention

Fig for Trying to Seduce ANOTHER Middle-Aged Man

Listen, I’ll stop putting her here for this when she stops doing this. Not to mention, she invented a whole ass person (HILDA HILDA?????) when she’s just been told that nightmare monsters are being generated from lies. Fig, my girl. Ms. Faeth. Please. I’m begging you. Please. 

Honor Roll

All of the Adults for Stepping Up

Every single adult in this episode was on fire. Fig confided in Gilear and he stepped up to the plate with a This-Is-So-Serious-I’m-Going-To-Use-Your-Actual-Full-Name, speech. Sandra-Lynn showed Adaine how to do some ranger stuff and jumped in to save her when she cried out. Cathilda was ready with warm milk and cookies she somehow was able to make in the van as soon as Adaine needed them. Sandra-Lynn also had a heart to heart with Fig and even Gorthalax, who’s still trapped in the ruby, gave Fig a spell slot back. And, of course, Ragh’s mom slaps. 

Random Thoughts

Adaine and Fabian both being uber rich but being on the opposite ends of the rich people spectrum is hilarious. Adaine is a “Sleeping in a van? I’ve heard of that but I’ve never gotten to do it. This will be fun!” Rich Kid  and Fabian is a “No turn down service? Hard pass,” Rich Kid. 

I was happy that they brought Ragh along for comedy reasons but who knew he was gonna be so chock full of backstory and important story beats? Like, every good GM has a way of making whatever story path that was chosen seem like the only way the story could have gone and I’m sure that whoever was picked, Brennan would have made that seem like the obvious and essential choices but I’m very happy they picked Ragh. Him talking about how much he loves his mom was so adorable! I love that he’s a big, good, dumb boy now and I’m happy they invited him to live at the Haunted House. That’s def gonna be good for some shenanigans (also love that Adaine’s only stipulation was that he had to be nice to Zayn and he was so eager to agree).  

Insane Ally Move of the Game: Deciding that Kristen genuinely doesn’t know Gilear used to be lunch lad at their school. Is Kristen even on the same plane of existence as everyone else. And then, later, “I worry about Gilear.” Do you really???

I totally forgot that Gilear was not only an elven diplomat but also a full on actual counselor. Makes it even wilder that he lost the job to Jawbone. Also, while we’re talking about him, I said we were gonna inevitably gonna get some more color on Gilear this season and we saw some of that in this ep when Adaine uses detect thoughts on him (which, btw, seems like a horribly invasive thing that people do very casually in this world) and we see that he gave up his career for Sandra-Lynn and then was wrecked when she cheated on him. Really puts a melancholy shade over his hilarious ineptness. 

Another thing I figured we’d see soon and that we’re starting to see is Adaine speaking up on Aelwyn. Two times this ep she tried to steer the group away from Aelwyn and seemed more serious than her usual trash talk. As excited as I am for pirate adventures, I want to get to Falinel ASAP to see how this shakes out. 

Also, on the mom front, wild that we found out that Ragh has a super dope mom in the same scene Adaine took another L and found out that her mom is also involved in this shadiness. Black robes are never a good sign. But I will say, just based on the story beats we’ve gotten, I’m not totally sold on the idea that she’s 100% bad--or at least that she doesn’t care for Adaine at all. I’m wondering if she wasn’t at school trying to find Adaine (possibly among other things). 

“Every time you have sex it’s a gamble. You could lose your heart.”/”What happened to you on tour?”

Gorgug trying to let a full sized griffon land on his arm is hilarious. I love that. He’s so wholesome and dumb.

I love that when Emily was doing her Hilda-Hilda nonsense , turned into Detective Decker, and ran past the police house precinct, Lou was the only person who was on her wavelength and understood what she was trying to do while everyone else was like????

We find out in this ep that Van can control all the auxiliary functions of the van but not the actual driving, which is important to know before a sticky situation. On a more personal note, we find out that he was originally a planetar (second most powerful D&D angel) of Elysium, specializing in harmony, relaxation, and chill vibes and he got dumped and kicked out of heaven for sleeping through a call to battle.

We also get the cursed image of a van with hands which I knew was gonna be the shirt and lo and behold. 

“Fuck Me.”/”When.” Y’all are the worst. 

I love that Brennan mentioned Porter in Ragh’s flashback, fully knowing it was gonna trigger Emily. 

Fig’s new plan is to get all of her parents in a throuple and I don’t even know where to begin with that tbh so I won’t.

@voxfantasma made a comment last week that Sandra-Lynn very well could have seen Kalina which is why she can she her in the photo--which is an offhand comment I made when I was talking about the rules of the photo last week--and Ragh’s reaction to the photo is making me move this theory back up to the top spot. I still wish they would show the photo to more people so we’d have more data for this. 

I loved Fig tossing Fabian a bardic inspiration for a compliment even though he didn’t really need it. I also love that she has a rider in her rockstar contract necessitating gogurt be at all her shows for Gilear. 

Adaine paranoidly casting water breathing on everyone at the slightest hint that they may have to go near water. Our girl is learning from the mistakes of the last oracle. 

With the gang facing off against the Nightmare King and Brennan’s description of the thing in Adaine’s tent as being humanoid, about her side, and sitting in a sort of defensive way, I’m wondering it what it was was a manifestation of her own anxiety or something along those lines. Of course, it could just be a normal ass monster. Sometimes the scariest thing is your inner turmoil and sometimes it’s just a monster trying to bite your head off. 

We also learn that Cathilda has a super wild adventurer’s life before she settled down to be a maid--so she knows what she’s missing and she’s fine with it--and also that she is paid ridiculously well, which makes me feel better about what’s going on with her. Also, her moment with Adaine and the cookies was so sweet. My notes for that scene say, “Adaine loves Cathilda and so do I.”

I loved Murph and Riz going equally Pepe Silvia trying to anagram out Garthy O’Brien (which is also what I was doing, especially since Brennan specifically spelled out the name). Cheers to Murph/Riz and Siobhan/Adaine trying to single handedly keep the story on track--both in and out of character.

There’s a part in this ep where Adaine Ray of Frosts Fig who immediately Hellish Rebukes her and that’s truly the kind of step-sister shenanigans I want to see from them as much as possible please and thank you. Also, like I said before, it was very sweet of Fig to reassure Adaine that she wasn’t just seeing things in the tent. Her catfishing middle aged men aside, she can be very empathetic when she wants to be.  

Adaine cast (or tried to cast Friends) on the thing in her tent. And I think it’s very telling about her character that that’s the spell she would cast and not an offensive one. Not that messing w/ someone’s brain is a super chill thing to do or anything, but I think, “Maybe I can calm whoever this is and talk to them and we can get some information,” is a much more measured reaction than maybe, “Let’s blast this thing to kingdom come and ask questions later.”

“Man van is a boat, my boat is a van.”

Brennan lets Adaine roll w/ advantage to convince the Hangman to come with them on the Van (which he still hates) because she said, “Please” really cute which is the kind of arbitrary DM fiat that I love. 

Adaine: We should tell them unless we’re being graded on a curve. (Savage.)

“Fig, she’s a maid. She’s not allowed to lie.”

All the skipper talk this ep got the Gilligan’s Island theme stuck in my head (never seen an ep but my mom watches it sometimes) so the next day I was getting dressed going “With Fabian, and the skipper too, the oracle, the PI,” to the GI theme song. Also, did not know skipper and captain were the same title until Fabian got all upset and I looked it up. Yet another piece of information I know because of some game (along with what a panacea is (Dragon Quest 9) and where the CDC is (Pandemic)).

Gorgug, being offered a virgin daiquiri: No thanks, I’m driving. (I’ve said this before: Zac low key has the best comic timing of anyone.)

When Riz is angraming, one of the things he ends up with is something about a “night yorb” which Brennan decided is a real thing that both the Hangman and the Van are very wary about. Having the Hangman constantly being like, “SPEAK NOT OF THE NIGHT YORB!” and the Van being like, “Seriously, don’t fuck with the night york,” was so funny and such nonsense. I can’t wait for the night yorb mini boss fight that has to happen now because of the rule of funny.

Gorgug comes down from his call with Zelda and everyone except for Fabian (and probably Ragh who cannon-balls off the boat w/ Fabian and they both have to be rescued by Sandra-Lynn) knows exactly what happened immediately. Aw, buddy. One of my favorite things about media where you have kids saving the world is you have relationship drama and also the world is ending and it all feels equally high stakes. I find that so funny but also it feels very representative of what high school was like, or at least what it felt like (minus the literal apocalypse, obv. Or maybe not. Idk what was going on at your high school). 

Adaine continues lending out Boggy to anyone who needs him.

Also, Gorgug tries to build a cell tower with driftwood and parts from Adaine’s jacket. It’s not going super hot. 

Both Adaine and Riz are podcast nerds and listen to This Solesian Life. All checks out. Their friendship is underrated.  

“I’m feeling really bad and my van is a boat.”

“I was gonna be straight edge except for drugs,” gives me “Sober salad” energy. 

The whole discussion about Kristen getting tracker silly putty for her birthday. 

The Van was serving some serious Ned Flanders energy along with the Owen Wilson energy this episode. 

Brennan does pretty good whale noises. 

Only crit this episode is Fig with a nat 20 insight to know Gorgug’s conversation with Zelda did not go well. Which is something she’d crit on.

[queenmorgawse]

transmigration for dummies

chapter five. mdzs scum villain au. concept credit goes to @lee-luca. read on ao3 for end notes. previous | first | next 

She said the lunatic killed her son!

At the servant girl’s words, gasps ripple through the group of disciples. “What?” Lan Fan asks, her face full of disbelief. “That funny-looking guy with the ghost makeup?”

The other girl opens her mouth as if trying to explain, but she’s shaking so badly only a few garbled, incomprehensible words come out. Jingyi takes pity on her. “It’s fine, we’ll go.”

“Yes, you’ll be safe,” Sizhui intervenes, shooting Jingyi a grateful look. Jingyi sternly tells his heart it is not the right moment to feel so pleased with itself. “You,” their leader points at half the group, “stay behind in case other corpses show up while we’re gone. Everyone else, come with me. Jingyi, send off one of the flares now. This is an unexpected development, we’re not supposed to deal with it on our own.”

If there’s one thing Gusu Lan disciples can do mindlessly, even with fear rising at the back of their throats, it’s follow orders. They fall easily into disciplined ranks again, packing up their weapons and talismans and checking their supplies, sharing them evenly among themselves.

The servant girl looks on, eyes wide ; Jingyi tries to give her a smile, even as he feels his own heart hammering at his ribs. ( If it’s out of fear or excitement, he honestly can’t tell. ) Fumbling with his pockets, he draws out one of their flares, igniting it with a flick of a flame talisman. The fireworks whistle through the air, exploding in a shower of pale blue sparks and forming the Gusu Lan cloud pattern overhead.

They hear the East Hall before they reach it. Horrified murmurs and hushed comments buzz around Jingyi, the crowd’s fear almost tangible. When the young cultivators enter the hall, some of the Mo family relatives turn to them with such hope in their eyes he doesn’t have the heart to think of what comes next.

Jingyi gently taps Sizhui’s elbow, pointing to a human-shaped object covered by a swath of white fabric with a nod of his head. “Look, over there…”

They carefully skirt around Madam Mo’s slumped form. For a moment, Jingyi almost feels sorry for her, but it’s hard to make the feeling last when he remembers how fast she turns on the rest of them, or what Mo Xuanyu went through at her hands. At least, she doesn’t protest when Sizhui bends down and, murmuring apologies, uncovers the corpse’s face.

Mo Ziyuan looks like he’s been dead for days, not minutes. His skin looks like it shriveled up, both water and life draining out of him, and Jingyi feels his stomach twist at the expression of pure terror frozen on the boy’s face. “It’s like an old man’s corpse,” he whispers to Sizhui, whose face betrays similar confusion.

“They found the corpse less than three minutes ago, is what I overheard,” Sizhui replies in a hush. “In the hallway outside of the East courtyard, apparently. He was already like this when they got to him.”

“Da-shixiong, what happened to him?” Tao Ming whispers as he catches up to them. When he takes his first good look at Mo Ziyuan’s corpse, his face turns an interesting shade of green.

Sizhui’s barely opened his mouth to reply when a loud crashing noise resounds at the entrance of the hall. The crowd looks on as a few servants drag ‘Mo Xuanyu’ in, their hands like vises around his arms. Though they don’t let go of him, Jingyi catches Wei Wuxian’s slight movement to be able to get a better look at the corpse. He can practically see the gears turning in the man’s brains.

Moments like these remind him that for all the times he called Wei Wuxian the dumbest main character to ever walk the Earth, he really is whip-smart when it comes to everything but Lan Wangji.

Movement at the periphery of his vision catches his attention just in time for him to move out of the way as Lan Sizhui surges forward, gently wrapping his fingers around Madam Mo’s wrist and knocking a silver dagger out of her hand. It lands at Lan Fan’s feet, and Jingyi quickly bends to pick it up before the woman can wrestle out of Sizhui’s - admittedly light - grip and try for round two.

“My son died a tragic death, so I am only avenging him! What are you stopping me for?” Madam Mo screeches, her frantic gaze darting between the two of them.

In the meantime, Wei Wuxian’s captors have let go of him. The infamous Yiling Patriarch tucks himself behind Sizhui’s back, his eyes barely peeking out over the boy’s shoulder. “How does your son’s tragic death concern me?”

Well, he’s not wrong, but he could have worded it better!

Jingyi doesn’t need to speak, anyway. It’s obvious Sizhui won’t raise a hand against the ‘lunatic’ ⎯ at least, not yet. Instead, his fellow disciple forces a smile, standing tall between Wei Wuxian and his would-be attacker. “Madam Mo, seeing from your son’s condition, his flesh and essence have been drawn out of him, which means that he was killed by evil beings, not him.”

Next to Jingyi, Tao Ming squeaks out a little ah, while Lan Fan winces. Despite himself, he considers it a family resemblance.

Madam Mo looks more ready to either blow up or faint by the minute. Instinctively, Jingyi steps forward, putting himself between her and the younger teens.

“You know nothing!” she heaved. “The lunatic’s father was a cultivator. He must have learned a lot of demonic spells from him!”

“Madam, there is a lack of evidence, so…” Sizhui starts, before she interrupted him again.

“Here’s all the evidence you need! Look for yourselves! A-Yuan’s remains already told me who murdered him!”

Another wave of whispers ripples through the servants and family members. Jingyi makes a move toward the white sheet, but before he can get to it, Wei Wuxian scampers to the corpse’s side and gives the fabric a sharp tug. It slips away without a sound, revealing the awful detail for all to see.

“What happened to his arm?” Lan Fan asks, her voice almost an octave higher than before.

Madam Mo gives a triumphant cackle. “See? Everyone who was there heard what the lunatic said, even you children! He said that if A-Yuan touched his belongings again, he would cut off his hand!”

Almost immediately, she buries her face in her hands. Whatever she says comes out as wretched sobs, which Wei Wuxian is perfectly fine with ignoring, taking advantage of her distraction to bodily shove his hand into the folds of Mo Ziyuan’s robe and fishing out a black scrap of fabric.

Jingyi snatches out of his hands as soon as a spark of understanding lights behind his eyes, holding it out towards Sizhui and the other disciples. Their eyes collectively widen, the truth of the situation dawning on all of them at once.

“What an idiot!” Lan  Fan exclaims under her breath, earning herself a disapproving glance from Sizhui. Jingyi can’t help but share the sentiment, though. When someone repeatedly tells you not to disturb a flag formation unless you want to get seriously hurt, listen to them, dumbass!

The look on Sizhui’s face says otherwise, though. Our fault, he mouths to Jingyi, eyes suddenly downcast.

“It’s not your fault,” he feels compelled to say. “We were busy subduing the corpses or resting between waves, we couldn’t keep an eye on the stuff literally everyone was told not to mess with.” He awkwardly pats Sizhui’s shoulder, hoping the gesture conveys everything his brain is not letting him word properly at the moment.

The other gives him a wry, grateful smile, but the moment is quickly interrupted when Madam Mo pulls herself out of her stupor again and hurls a teacup at Wei Wuxian’s head, the porcelain shattering on the wall where he would have stood had he not moved in time. “If you didn’t frame him in front of so many people yesterday, would he go out in the middle of the night? It’s all your fault, you son of a bitch! And you!” she screams, whirling toward Sizhui. “You bunch of useless fools! You cultivate and ward off evil spirits, but you can’t even protect him! A-Yuan is still a child!”

Sizhui’s face darkens, but he somehow keeps his expression neutral. Jingyi, on the other hand, is burning up with the need to introduce his fist to Madam Mo’s face, but the invisible, hovering presence of the System keeps him from acting on that impulse. From the slight movement behind him, though, he’s not the only one entertaining these kinds of thoughts, even if they’re all too used to discipline to crack so easily. At least, there’s nothing stopping him from mentally clapping for Wei Wuxian’s tirade. That’s right! Suck it, Ancient Chinese Mrs Robin!

Madam Mo grows visibly red in the face. Her hand whips out, slapping her husband on the shoulder. “Call everyone! Call everyone inside!” Her shoulders shake violently. “You… You… You, get out of here as well!”

Jingyi does feel a bit sorry for the master of the house. Grief wraps around him like a cloak, making his movements sluggish. Kind of like watching a fish jerk around on land, he thinks regretfully. Rest in peace, my dude. Or maybe just a bit, because you were maybe also shitty to Mo Xuanyu, but, you know.

He’s entirely prepared for the shrill scream that pierces through the air, just seconds after A-Tong the servant leads Mr Mo out into the courtyard.

He and Sizhui don’t need to look at each other twice to rush out of the hall, closely followed by the other disciples. Barely a few steps out the door, they almost trip over two twitching bodies. At first glance, even an idiot could tell there’s nothing to be done for Mr Mo. His corpse lies on its side, left arm missing, looking as thoroughly drained of life as his son’s. A-Tong, on the other hand, is still drawing in shallows breaths, as if trying to crawl back inside.

Madam Mo, following close behind, lets out a quiet wail at the sight and crumples. One of her attendants catches her right before she hits the ground, looping her arm around her shoulders.

The others’ faces look as pale as Jingyi’s must be. Despite knowing what happens next, fear twists in his gut all the same. In theory, everything should be fine, but he’s already proven that canon can veer off the ‘correct’ path. What if it does again? What if he’s not as fast as the original would have been and someone gets hurt?

As soon as the thought worms its way through his head, Jingyi resolutely shakes it off. Worrying about things like that is exactly the kind of distraction that’ll actually impede him.

Sizhui’s voice cuts through the haze, although it still sounds rattled at the edges. He helps A-Tong up, his grip surprisingly steady. “Did you see what it was?”

The boy’s mouth moves, though he’s unable to form more than a few strangled sounds. Seconds last hours in Jingyi’s mind before the servant starts shaking his head, unable to calm down or stop trembling. “Fan-shimei, help him up,” Sizhui finally says. “Jingyi, you did send the signal, right?”

Jingyi nods. “Yeah, but if there aren’t any seniors around, no one’s gonna be here in less than an hour.” He takes a deep breath, crossing his fingers behind his back not to get pinged by the System, then adds : “Let’s stay outside. There’s more room to move around here, if people panic inside, we’ll never get anything done.”

A quiet whimper interrupts their conversation. Horrified and fascinated, Jingyi watches A-Tong slowly draw himself upright.

“A-Tong, you’re awake!” the girl supporting Madam Mo sighs. Dude, you’re about to have so many regrets, Jingyi thinks, and lights a candle in his thoughts.

As if on cue, A-Tong’s hand curls around his neck. Lightning-fast, Sizhui gets to his side, tapping a few acupoints to get him to loosen his hold. When the other boy looks to him, Jingyi grabs the boy’s left hand. Even a Lan disciple’s arm strength is no match for a resentful Nie Mingjue’s, it seems ; even knowing exactly how it goes, he’s tempted to close his eyes.

It ends when A-Tong’s head drops with a sinister crack. Shocked, Sizhui lets go, leaving Jingyi free to follow suit.

The servant girl moans, hiding behind the group of cultivators. “… A ghost! There’s an invisible ghost here. It made A-Tong strangle himself!” At the same time, all the lanterns in the courtyard are blown off, plunging them into darkness.

The scene plunges into absolute chaos. Masters and servants alike trample each other in their attempts to flee as fast as possible, stumbling over themselves. “Stop!” Jingyi shouts, hoping his voice carries over the screams. “Everyone shut up! Stay right where you are or I’ll drag you back!”

It works better than expected. More than a few people stop in their tracks, stunned, and Jingyi’s friends ( can he call them his friends now? ) make googly eyes at him like he just grew a second head.

【OOC behavior detected : uncharacteristic outburst : -20 ⎯】

Before the System can announce points deduction, Jingyi interrupts : I’ve got to try and keep things from escalating! Original’s an asshole but he wouldn’t risk more people getting hurt, okay?

He marks the silence that follows as one of the proudest moments of his entire life.

“Most people still left,” Lan Fan observes after the commotion quiets into faint sobbing. “Nice try, ge.”

“Yes,” Sizhui echoes kindly. “Let’s just...let’s do our best now, okay?” He pulls a flame talisman from his sleeve and ignites it, creating a reassuring burst of light to keep the shadows at bay. While he goes to restore the lanterns’ glow, some of the disciples approach the remaining members of the Mo household, murmuring reassurances.

This is a lull. Jingyi’s no soldier, and the courtyard is not a battlefield proper, but he can tell they’re only getting a few moments’ reprieve. He spares a thought for the others. If he’s this scared knowing more or less what comes next, what about them?

“Hand… His hand! A-Tong’s hand!”

There we go.

He doesn’t need Sizhui to turn toward A-Tong’s body, burning talisman in hand, to picture it. The servant’s left hand is gone, chopped off at the shoulder, just like Mo Ziyuan.

Wei Wuxian lets out a wild cackle that startles the breath out of several disciples, including Jingyi himself. “Why the hell are you laughing? Is this the right time?” he hisses at the man. Does the lunatic cover really need this? He’s definitely going to scare the household further!

“No, no!” Despite knowing the truth, he has a hard time repressing a full-body shudder when Wei Wuxian pulls at his sleeve, pointing at the corpses. In the low light, his hanged ghost makeup stands out all the more harshly, making him look like one of the undead himself.

“What, no? If you’re not going to stay quiet ⎯”

Wei Wuxian pffts and shakes his head. “These aren’t them.”

“What?” Tao Ming asks, a tremor to his voice, at the same time Sizhui adds “What do you mean, these aren’t them?”  

“This isn’t Mr Mo, and this is not A-Tong either,” Wei Wuxian states, uncharacteristically serious. “Look at their hands! I know they’re right-handed, they always hit me with the right one.”

Lan Fan looks like she would have crossed her arms if she wasn’t so determined to cling to the hilt of her sword. “So what?” Whether she or any of the other teenagers will admit it, they’re all hanging to ‘Mo Xuanyu’s’ lips, out of dread or anticipation or both.

“He’s right,” Sizhui says slowly, his face pale. “I remember, when he was in the hall earlier...” His eyes stray toward Wei Wuxian again, a hint of suspicion creeping into his gaze.

Nope, nope, nope ⎯ not if he can help it. The hint’s too obvious, and Jingyi can’t risk jeopardizing Wei Wuxian’s cover ( read : the OOC function for himself, too ). He grabs Sizhui by the shoulder, ignoring the little surprised noise the other makes, and nods towards Madam Mo. “We should check on her state."

He can pinpoint the exact moment Sizhui sees what he’s meant to see : the disproportionate fingers of her left hand, thicker and longer than they should be, calloused like a wealthy mistress’ would never be. “Grab her!” he shouts.

Tao Ming and another few boys surge forward, seizing Madam Mo’s arms and twisting them behind her back in a hold most people would struggle to break out of, let alone a rather frail, middle-aged woman. For a moment, everything feels like it’ll be alright, until her arm snaps back in a humanly impossible angle and shoots towards Sizhui, who stands poised over her with a talisman in hand.

Jingyi moves before he can think. Later, he will remember spell-embroidered robes and the protective patterns woven into the fabric, but right then there is only Sizhui, the ghost hand about to tear out his throat, and his own lack of impulse control.

He almost screams when the corpse slams against his shoulder, biting down on his lip to stifle his voice. In Sizhui’s eyes, staring up at him, he can see the reflection of green flames as his tunic bursts into flames. Madam Mo shrieks and lets go, crumpling to the ground in a heap.  

Jingyi shrugs off the rest of his ruined outer robe as fast as he can, but half of it has already been burned to a crisp. He throws the remains over Madam Mo’s corpse, but it’s too late : her left arm has detached itself from her body, crawling around like a difform spider, veins and muscles bulging in a grotesque way.

As if waking from a haze, the other Lan disciples wriggle out of their own robes, ball them up and throw them at the ghost hand, engulfing it in a circle of emerald fire. “Sword formation!” Sizhui orders, visibly still shaken. His gaze crosses Jingyi, and he mouths thank you.

Light flashes across the courtyard as they draw their swords, planting them into the dirt in a near-perfect circle. The ghost hand writhes, crashing against the fence again and again. Jingyi can see sweat beading on Lan Fan’s forehead right across from him, her face lit by the glow of her blade, but she’s too focused on pouring spiritual energy into it to keep her hands steady to notice him looking ⎯ or Wei Wuxian sneaking back into the shadows. Good.

When he spots the first signs of corpses moving at the edges of the courtyard, Jingyi screams, “Look out! Let go of the swords!”

A few of the others look ready to protest, but an inhuman roar cuts them short. They move out of the way just fast enough to avoid being trampled by three newly-awakened fierce corpses. There’s little to do but stare as the late Mo family hurls itself at the disembodied arm, tearing at it with nails sharp as knives, teeth protruding like needles from their distorted mouths.

Jingyi makes a move to stand in front of Lan Fan ( as, he assumes, a good big brother should ), but she nudges him aside, leaning forward. She looks...absolutely enthralled?

I mean, good for her.

Despite the apparent entertainment potential of the fight, it quickly becomes clear who’s winning it. Slowly but surely, the fierce corpses are losing ground, tossed around like chiffon dolls, the shocks punctuated with the sinister crack of bones. Jingyi looks anxiously between them and Wei Wuxian, still half-hiding in the dark, ready to distract any of the disciples should they point out the lunatic’s sudden change in attitude.

Just as Madam Mo lurches toward the ghost hand again, a hoarse, wheezing sound tearing from her dead throat, two vibrant notes cut through the air, clear as silver bells. They seem to echo through Jingyi’s very core, stealing the breath from his lungs.

The creatures freeze, cowering.

Around Jingyi, his friends come back to life. Tao Ming almost faints, Lan Fan breathes the biggest sigh of relief Jingyi’s ever heard from anyone, and Sizhui wipes blood off his face, beaming. “Hanguang-jun!”

[bleached-d-soul]

Going Rogue

The 20$ commission for none other than @the-wayward-arc featuring one of my favorite crack ships in RWBY

Length: 10, 058

Remnant was the land of miracles and nightmares. On the one hand, you had Aura, Semblances and Dust. On the other hand, you had the Grimm of all forms, shapes and sizes. With the threat of hordes of creatures of horror, everyone was forced to one day make a choice. The choice of how you would survive. Do you put your faith in strength? Do you pray your feet can carry far enough? Or do you build walls and fences and hide behind them?

The Branwen Tribe had mastered all three. And that is why they survived for so long. Since the days when the Moon above was whole, the Branwens were the survivors. Vernal had no illusions about her tribe. As much as some Mistralian poets and Atlesian pseudo-rebel brats loved to glorify the bandits, Vernal never forgot what the Tribe were and what they were not.

They weren't some roguish heroes that stole from the rich and gave to the poor. They weren't free spirits out to live lives, unlimited by social conventions and norms. They didn't spean days talking philosophy or playing music as everyone laughed around the fire. No, all that shit belonged only in the books of some sappy bitch who would wail one day in their life.

Branwens were the survivors. And surviving was not pretty.

They stole from those weaker than themselves and ran when facing someone stronger. They raided villages and towns, taking whatever food and supplies the people there had before leaving them to die of sickness and starvation. And some of their own fell? They would spend one night drinking and mourning at best before splitting the valuables of that person among themselves.

Their life wasn't pretty. But it was the only life she knew and had.

In the tribe, everyone had a role to play and the weight to carry. Those who weren't strong or vicious enough to fight had to accept their role as the lowest on the totem pole, only occasional captives were given rougher treatment. Having been born into the tribe, Vernal felt it on her own skin what it meant to be the weakest. And she promised to never find herself in that position again.

She trained to be strong. And she worked to be useful. She made one sacrifice after another, all for the sake of the tribe. So that she wouldn't be left behind. So that she never became a burden to be discarded.

And now here she was, taking one for the tribe again.

"Are you comfortable?" the woman's silky voice slithered around Vernal's ears like worms. "You seem stressed."

Raven was strong. Their tribe wasn't much, relying far more on their target's weakness and sheer numbers, but Raven was strong. Strong enough to take on this bitch and her two little sycophants. Strong enough to tear the three to shreds and not even break a sweat. Raven could kill them.

But she didn't. Which only meant that whoever was behind Cinder Fall was someone even Raven feared. Feared enough to not even try to escape. Whoever this person - or creature at that - was, if Raven feared them, then Vernal knew better than challenge them. It was just how the survivors lived, kill and use those weaker than you. And, in turn, be used by those stronger than you.

"Not used to flying, that's all," Vernal grunted out. It was a shameful thing to admit, especially to some outsiders. But having spent her whole life on the ground, she never realized just how much she hated the air. "How long do we have to go?"

How much longer did she need to play along, was left unsaid. Cinder told her that they would be in Vale in an hour at most. The green brat and her cripple of a friend were already waiting for them at some hotel on the outskirts of the city, ready to do whatever their little owner told them to.

"I am sure Raven appreciates what you are doing for her," Cinder smiled, not bothering to hide her pleasure at getting her way. "Once we are done with the mission, your tribe will be granted full safety and protection from our Mistress."

Vernal knew it was all bullshit. She herself had given such promises before to so many suckers and stabbed them in the back all the same. She knew it was a pile of crap but didn't call the woman out on it. And so, with nods and half-hearted agreements, Vernal forced herself to swallow the shit Cinder was feeding her. After all, what would she do after calling the woman out?

What even could she do? In the end, every choice she could make would lead to her death. The only chance at survival Vernal had laid in her trusting herself to stay alive and praying for Raven to come up with something.

As the two got off the plane. As they picked up their luggage, one of the employees smiled at Vernal, "Welcome to Vale! Hope you will enjoy your stay here."

Somehow, Vernal doubted she would.

VA

When Vernal was seven, she took the diary from the village they raided. The owner - whom Vernal assumed was a woman by how neat and honeyed was her writing - used to study in one of the bigger cities and wrote all the details about how exciting her school years were. At first, the little Vernal used to dream of living the same life. The life where she wasn't forced to pick up other people's trash and do back-breaking chores for scraps of food.

It was a nice little dream, one that she cherished for years. Her safe room where she could escape after getting shit beaten out of her for doing something wrong or just for the laughs of some creep. Those dreams used to keep her warm at night.

But that was before she realized how foolish that dream was. She was a bandit. A damn good one too. What would she do if she ever came to attend some fancy school in the city? Drink tea and eat cookies all the while gossiping about some stupid stuff? Lose her sleep over some silly crush?

Ever since her first kill, Vernal hated her childhood dream with all the venom and spite one could have.

And now here she was, in the hall of the school, just like she thought she would hate.

The first night at Beacon is everything Vernal feared it would be and more. After listening to Ozpin talk about the duty and responsibility of huntsmen and huntresses - y'know other than dying like a bunch of morons to buy other idiots a couple more days - they were locked in one room. And boy, did Vernal wish she could kill them all and be done with it. Seriously, if Cinder wanted the damn comatose girl, why not just come here with her army and kill everyone?

That would make taking Amber or whoever so much easier.

No matter where she looked, she found something or someone to loathe this place even more for. The girls who kept giggling and chatting as if they were having some sleepover. And guys who were trying to show off their physiques. Granted, some of them were quite well-built but what did it matter when facing against a Grimm? Unless you knew how to use all that muscle, you were just making a bigger meal for some lucky Grimm out there.

At least, she was spared hanging around Cinder and her posse. The Fall Maiden wanted them to spend the night apart, as a precaution in case Ozpin found the four students becoming a team so smoothly all too suspicious. Paranoid but Vernal couldn't care less. She would enjoy whatever peace she could get.

Her peace didn't last for long.

"Stop stalking me!"

"I am just trying to be friendly! Why do you have to be so crabby?"

Quarrels and yelling weren't uncommon in the tribe. Honestly, every day some morons found a new reason to start trouble with each other. Someone stealing another guy's drink. Or some bitch banging someone else's man. The everyday trouble was the kind of trouble you got when placing every arrogant and self-centered piece of crap into one family where the only law was the law of the blade.

The fights between their own weren't uncommon and, in fact, somewhat encouraged by Raven.

But these two were nothing like that.

With the mixture of amusement and annoyance underneath her skin, Vernal watched two girls - both looking too young to even be here - argue over a vial of Dust. She quickly recognized the Schnee heiress and entertained the thought of stealing her wallet at some point in time in the future. Vernal briefly toyed with the idea of buying tons of sex toys for with whatever card the heiress had.

And then she saw him.

Tall, blonde and wearing the dumbest choice of sleepwear she had ever seen. He wasn't too bad on the eyes, if looking more like an errand boy than an aspiring huntsman. A couple of girls giggled as they watched him pass with guys laughing at him. And honestly would you blame them?

What kind of idiot wears baby blue pajamas? Let alone in front of everyone? If the boy's intent was to ensure he wouldn't get any till the graduation, then he did a fucking great job at it. Still, at least, he managed to make her laugh if not knowing that himself.

"Bold choice, blondie," she heckled, getting a few laughs out of the people nearby. The boy blushed in embarrassment but stopped and turned to her. Stupid, honestly. Should've walked away faster. "Got something to say?"

She kind of wants him to start trouble. To give her an excuse to vent out her frustration. Instead of hissing or glaring, the boy looks more embarrassed than anything and mumbles, "I like it, that's all. It's really comfortable."

"I bet the others think it is," she chuckles as the blondie briefly looks around the room. His face grows even redder as some girls whistle at him in a mocking fashion. She almost feels sorry for the idiot, he really should've left when he had the chance to.

"Eh, I can deal with it," the boy shrugs, though failing to play it cool. "Not the first time someone laughed at it."

She didn't have trouble believing that for obvious reasons. "Pretty confident in yourself, huh?"

"I like to think I am," the boy smiles before sitting down by her side. Vernal raises an eyebrow but the boy seems unfazed by her seeming lack of amusement. With the same goofy mile, he extends his hand, "Jaune Arc. Short sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

"Are those ladies your mom and sisters?"

"Yup, mom and all seven of my sisters."

"Seven?" Vernal does a double take before looking the boy up and down in search of the clue at him joking. Nope, he is not shitting her. He is absolutely serious. "Wow, your parents are rabbit faunus or something?"

Some girl with black bow glares daggers at her and actually hisses. Eh, she would deal with her later. "Er, no, I don't think so. They just really love each other and-"

"They are pretty loud about it, right?" Vernal grins as the blondie blushes deep red again, no doubt reliving the moment he caught his mommy and daddy fucking. "Having some repressed memories? I wonder what was the weirdest place you saw them do it?"

"Okay, let's change the subject! Please?"the boy raised his hands in a plea. Alright, she was done with the joke. No need to come across as some sex-starved deviant. "So what's your name?"

"Vernal Wennbar," she said offhandedly. "Simple and memorable. The people whose villages I pillage and burn don't remember it though."

She is kind of disappointed when the boy takes it as a joke and laughs. As much as the conversation amused her, she was getting tired by the Mr Sunshine here. After a few seconds of laughter, Arc sighs and looks at the room with the weird longing expression, "Man, I can't believe that I am finally here."

"Let me guess, your parents are huntsmen as well?"

"I wish," Arc scoffs in annoyance. "Maybe then dad would actually let me come here."

The boy instantly freezes as the realization of what he just said hits him. To someone like him, a boy who never knew how cruel the world could be, running away was probably the peak of the debauchery. DId he expect her to be impressed or horrified? As if. Running away from your parents' home was about as petty as stealing candy as far as Vernal was concerned, "No worries, I am not ratting you out to anyone."

Seriously, who could she even rat him out to? And if she had someone, why would she do that? This was his life and his mess. Still, Arc thanks her with genuine smile, "Thank you, Vernal. I owe you one."

And just like that, the two kept up the small conversation. Bits and pieces of what they did prior to coming here, with Vernal lying at each and every step. Not that she expected Arc to be able to do anything even if she told the truth. But he looked like the kind of moron who could let it slip that she came from the tribe of bandits around the teachers.

And so she told a tale of poor little her who grew up on the streets, harsh and cold. How she was saved by the powerful huntress and now wished to be one to help people. And hey, other than the part about helping people, she was almost honest about her life.

As the time to sleep came closer, the blondie wished her luck on tomorrow's test. Cute if she needed it. She wished him the same, though not on passing the exam.

But simply not dying too painfully.

VA

"Now remember, you need to be on the same team. Roman will supply you with the proper communication equipment but you still need to be careful. Who knows where Ozpin might have installed surveillance. The last thing we need is him suspecting the new team of collaborating prior to the exam."

Keep your head down. Don't give away your powers. Blend in. Those were easy enough instructions even if given in annoyingly condescending tone by the Fall. All she had left to do was make sure she ended up partner with one of her little lackeys and she could get over the damn test.

The Grimm here were pretty weak as well. A few Beowulves and Ursas with big ones like Nevermore or Deathstalker few and far between, and even those were half the size of what a healthy Grimm should be. Her guess was the teachers controlling their numbers by routinely exterminating stronger ones. A dumb thing to do, really.

If their applicants couldn't handle a couple of stronger Grimm, then what good would academy do them? Weak should just stay in the line and not get in the way of the Strong. Weak died. Weak suffered. Weak begged for mercy and cried for help.

"Help! Somebody help!"

Case in point. Now where did that noise come from? She looked behind and saw nobody. From the right then? From the left?

"I am stuck up here!"

Vernal looked above and did double take. After she rubbed her eyes, the sight before her didn't change. It was the same blonde from yesterday. Impaled to the tree by someone's spear. Jeez, whom did he piss off that much that they tried to off him during the exam? Not to mention so dumbly. Seriously, if you wanted to kill Arc off, you could at least try and make it look like a Grimm attack.

Oh well, not her kill to steal. Before she could properly leave, Arc noticed her, much to her chagrin.

"Oh hey, Vernal!" He waved and smiled even though he looked deathly pale. "Uh, could you please help me get down? I think someone accidentally threw their spear at me and now I can't get down. I am not very good with heights so..."

Vernal barely suppressed the urge to throw a pebble at the guy. What was he doing here at the huntsmen academy in the first place if he couldn't even get down from the tree? It was so pathetic it was almost funny. Like watching a cat stuck on a tree. Or some moron with his head between the bars.

"If you need help getting down from there, you might as well quit the exam," Vernal said, enjoying how the boy flinched at her words. "Seriously, if you can't handle some heights, then how are you going to handle the hordes of Grimm?"

"Oh come on, is there nothing you can do at all? Come on, you aren't going to leave me hanging up here like that, right?"

It was almost amusing how wrong he was. She left much many more of much better people to much worse fates. Then again, if he made her a good enough offer, she just might consider helping him out, "What do I get out of it?"

"W-Well, I am pretty good with cooking and massages," at her raised eyebrow, Arc scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Living with seven sisters will do that to you. You won't believe how many times I had to make up for my mess by giving them a good foot rub."

Hmm, that did sound tempting. But she could always get a professional for it. "Sorry, but if you can't offer anything better, I think I best leave you to your own-"

"I can get you a fake ID!" Arc blurted out in panic. Now if that wasn't interesting. "If, uh, if you help me get down, I can get you the fake ID. For buying drinks and getting into clubs and other stuff like that."

Well, well, it seems it was always the quiet ones. "How good are you at making those? Cause I can tell bad forgery from proper one, you know."

Arc looked uncomfortable as he sighed, "I am pretty good at it. Criminally good, you might say."

"Then you got yourself a deal,"

With a smirk, she released her weapons.

"Thank you!" Arc smiled brightly. Though that smile waned as he saw her approach the trunk of three with the savage grin. "Wait,what are you-Aah!"

The bark didn't even make the sound as she cut through it in one swift motion. The blonde did though, letting out the girliest cry Vernal had the displeasure hearing. With a loud crash, he groaned on the ground. "Ow... I think my arm is broken."

"Your Aura will heal it."

The boy looked at her as if she had just grown a second head.

"What is Aura?"

Was he fucking serious? "Are you fucking serious? Are you telling me that you are trying out for the Beacon Academy to fight Grimm and you don't even know what Aura is?"

"I, uh, was kind of planning to learn it later? You know, catch up on all the material once the semester starts and all."

Catch up on all the...

"You have no idea what Aura is, do you?"

The boy deflated, "No..."

"Great," for a moment, Vernal considered leaving the idiot alone in the woods for Grimm to eat. It was only right, after all. The idiot brought it on himself by coming here unprepared. And hey, maybe some meat would placate the other Grimm around and make it even easier for her to kill them.

But if he died right now, then she would be losing her fake ID maker. And while she didn't doubt the Fire Bitch could help her get one, Vernal was sure she wouldn't get her one. Alcohol makes you sloppy. Alcohol distracts you from the mission. And more of the same dumb garbage she didn't need listening to. Not to mention that if she was given one, those little lapdogs would follow her all the way to every good drinbking spot.

With a sigh and thoughts of quiet pleasant drink in mind, Vernal motioned for Arc to come closer, "Come over here. Before I change my mind."

He did as told, trusting her entirely. Seriously, who was this guy? He was too weak to be a huntsman. Hell, he trusted her - a random stranger who cut down the tree he was stuck to - as if they had known each other for years. For all he knew, she could just stab him and take whatever was of value on him.

Which she had done already. Many times.

And yet he didn't run or even look suspicious of her. Ah, she had no time for that. Better be done with him and move, "What are you going to do? Why is your hand glowing?"

"Just shut up and let me do it," Vernal snapped at him. The boy fell silent. The bandit took a deep breath as she placed her palm on his chest, letting her Aura flow free into the boy and find its way to his own. "For it is in our power that we achieve freedom. Through this, we become juggernauts who know no restraint. Free from laws and untamed by nobody, I release your soul and by my hand empower thee."

She could feel the momentary rush - the feeling of sharing her Aura with another and forcing it open. She felt slightly winded, both annoyed and impressed at how large his Aura reserves actually were. Well, her work was done here. With those reserves, he should be good enough to last until the teachers arrived to save him if something went wrong.

"So long, blondie," she said as she headed off in her own direction. "Try not to die too fast."

"Wait, aren't we partners now?" Arc asked awkwardly. "I mean-"

Partners... Yeah, right. "Oh just shove it, will ya?" Vernal scoffed. "You already owe me two favors. Don't go pushing your luck."

Just as she left, she heard someone else call out for him. Vernal didn't look, of course. She already helped that moron enough. Not that Aura would help him once Fall brought the whole place down. Helping out the weak wouldn't them any favor in the long run.

She just wanted to get whatever was worth out her deal with him.

VA

Days passed by and their team - appropriately named Venom (VENM) even if the Headmaster didn't know - was about as close as four strangers pushed together could be. Unlike many of the other teens though, there wasn't any real attempt to bond. And honestly what could they bond over?

Their kill counts? Favorite types of knives and guns? Their top ten ways to kill someone? Vernal just knew that it was much better to just put up some distance between each other. Mercury and Emerald would hang out with each other. That Neo girl would do... whatever it is she did when they weren't watching.

And Vernal would enjoy her lunch by herself. At least, the food here was decent enough. As much as it sucked she couldn't get any booze here, at least, they served some decent meat and fruit as well as some sweets. The latter of which they didn't keep around in the tribe.

Pancakes and waffles were, in particular, the rare treats around her home. She reached for the last plate standing when someone else grabbed it out of her reach. Well, this was looking like a good day already.

"Sorry, you snooze you lose~" the girl with ginger head and sickeningly sweet voice said in a sing-song tone as she made away with her pancakes. Heh, if it wasn't for the girl's love of frilly and pink, they might have gotten along. After all, pancakes, as everything else, belonged to those who got them first.

And who was strong enough to hold onto them.

"What the- Woah!"

The girl slipped and fell, her tray flying up with everything else. Eggs, bacon and juice all spilled all over the floor. And only the plate of flapjacks were safe, carefully snatched by Vernal. Her Semblance was usually for combat only. But who would judge her for that?

"Oh my God, Nora! Are you okay?"

Vernal didn't even make three steps away from the mess when she heard a familiar voice. As she sat down at the nearest empty table she watched as the three other students surrounded the gingerhead. A redheaded tall girl. A boy with pink strand of hair. And the blonde she kind of assumed was dead by now.

So they were a team, huh.

To her credit, the girl, now identified as Nora, didn't make much of a fuss about her clothes or hair as Vernal expected. She looked positively nonchalant until her eyes caught something missing among the pile of food. Eyes suddenly narrow and sharp, the girl looked around the room until her eyes zeroed in on Vernal.

Specifically, her plate of pancakes.

Vernal smirked as she slowly cut a piece of thick cooked dough, covered in honey and sprinkled with berries. Just as slowly she brought it to her mouth without breaking an eye contact with the girl. Their eyes locked, Vernal bit into the treat, making sure to show the gingerhead just how much she enjoyed it. The quickly growing scandalous look on the girl's face made the already sweet treat so much more delicious.

You know what, maybe the breakfast was a great time to be petty.

"You thief!"

With the impressive speed, the girl was in her face, an accusing finger pointing in her face. Under the scrutinizing gaze, Vernal saw no other option than take another slow bite and say, in a mocking imitation of the girl's voice, "Sorry, you snooze you lose~"

"Why you..." The girl looked positively murderous, ready to get into a fight. Great, just what she needed. And hey, whatever happened to it would in self-defense so she could go pretty much all out. "Rennie?"

Or would have, if her boyfriend didn't step in. Along with the two other people. "Come on, Nora. You may have mine if you want."

"Eh, but yours are never as sweet as I like them," Nora whined. "Can I have Jaune's instead?"

"Hey, I never agreed to that!" Arc protested. Only to fold in when the brunette gave him the look that said it all: his pancakes were no longer his and he had to deal with it. "Oh, alright alright. I'll just double down on the cereal then. Oh hey, Vernal!"

"Hello, Jaune," Vernal greeted him in return. "I see you aren't dead. Congrats, I guess."

Arc laughs awkwardly, probably thinking her words were a joke instead of genuine surprise. "Thanks, Vernal. I couldn't do it without you helping you there. Hey, where's your team, by the way?"

Probably robbing a shop or torturing someone. "They decided to skip breakfast."

"Why don't you join us then?" Vernal groaned silently. "My mom always said, breakfast is best with people."

Not when anyone could snatch your food when you aren't looking, Vernal wanted to add. Unlike the blonde overe here, Vernal actually liked being by herself when eating. No bastards smoking near her food or trying to stick their fingers in it. She had half a mind to tell the blondie to go and screw himself. But the way Jaune was smiling told her she wouldn't get out of it that easily. "Sure, thanks."

"Great, let's go then!"

The breakfast went from quiet attempt to enjoy her food to the lively conversation with the group. Surprisingly, the whole situation was not as annoying as she might have expected. None of them pried too much or did anything to particularly annoy her. And, in a way, it helped her out with her mission. As it turned out, Jaune got himself the famous Pyrrha Nikos as partner. She didn't even recognize her, with how shy and quiet the girl in front of her was acting.

Someone as strong as Nikos should have carried herself with more weight.

Still, Champion of four years in a row was someone she might need to keep an eye on. If Ozpin was half as smart as Raven described him, he would pick someone strong. But also someone gullible or naive enough to mold into a perfect little Maiden. Mistralian Champion with obvious self-esteem issue would definitely do. Not the only potential candidate but one who fit the bill well enough.

"Hey guys!" Slowly, four more people joined their small group. This one, looking all so much more interesting. With the exception of the quiet brunette with a dumb bow, she recognized the three easily. Two girls from the night before the exam, one of which was the potential score of a lifetime and another was a jailbait brat. "Who's your new friend?"

And, of course, Vernal recognized Yang Xiao Long. The weakling Raven had abandoned. The daughter whom her leader didn't want to have. She would have lied if she said she wasn't itching for the chance to meet her. If only to see what kind of warrior Raven's daughter could be.

"The name's Vernal," Frankly, she wasn't impressed. The blondie was strong, that much was obvious to anyone. She was strong but not powerful. For her, strength meant just raw physical power, disregarding the ruthlessness and killing instinct necessary to be truly strong. She could see it in the way the girl carried herself. Not like a warrior who would slay anyone who opposed her. But rather a fool who thought she could take on any challenge that came her way. "Nice to meet you."

The girl shook her hand, without any hint of doubt or suspicion. Even with her teeth shown and eyes sharp, Xiao Long didn't think twice before letting her get so close to her. If Vernal wanted, she could kill her. A knife within her reach would be enough - she was too fast for the girl to activate her Aura in time. And just like that, the bimbo would be dead and Raven would have one less nuisance distracting her.

Then again, murdering a fellow student would be a bitch to explain.

As the discussion within the group shifts from discussing weapons to weekend plans to dances and teachers, Vernal is feeling more and more frustrated with her position. With her plate now cleaned of any food, she asks what class they have first. And silently, she prays that it is not the Port's class on Grimm. She would rather suck Shay off than listen to another lecture by the man.

When she hears that they have the Combat Class by Goodwitch first, Vernal feels genuine relief. She finally gets to kick some ass around the place without any worry for her cover.

VA

"For the final match," Goodwitch says as the screen behind her is flashing with photos of students. "Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc, come forward and prepare your weapons."

By this point, Vernal is ready to go out and fight the woman herself. Having been forced to sit out the whole class watching the others fight was one thing. But having to watch these morons fight so poorly was just infuriating. Everyone moved slow. Their attacks were sloppy and didn't have any actual force behind it. They were holding back, afraid to hurt someone. Scared of getting hurt in return.

Vernal was simply disgusted with it. And the final match promised nothing better.

Winchester was a hulking mass of muscles. And he had some skills and traits Raven would appreciate. But the shining armor he wore along with the arrogant grin that seemed to have been painted all over his face made him look less of a fellow survivor and predator and more like a hyena. It was clear that all that he had came from power and money. And those born into those things were always the first to break under pressure.

That, however, didn't change how this match would end.

Because even if Winchester was an arrogant prick, he still had enough strength to act like one. And Arc, for all his passion about being a Huntsman, was weak and as skilled as a toddler in terms of combat.

The match proceeded just as she expected. The bigger guy didn't seem bothered by the gap between them. In fact, it was quite the opposite as it was clear to everyone that Winchester enjoyed kicking the blondie all across the ring like a puppy. Arc was clearly faster and more agile but, just as with his sword and shield, lacked any actual experience in using those to his advantage.

In the end, Arc has no other option other than put all his remaining strength into holding his shield and taking on the hits. Vernal is somewhat impressed with how long it takes blondie to run out of Aura. His reserves are definitely twice what a normal huntsman his age should have. If he were better trained, he would make a fearsome warrior with those reserves. But the way he is right now, all he can do and is doing right now is just whimpering behind his shield as he weathers down the hits.

"Mr. Arc's Aura is in the Red, Mr. Winchester wins the match," Judging by her tone, the older Huntress hardly considers this a match and Vernal can't help but agree with her. A bully dishing out hits and leaving himself open because of his arrogance. And a weakling too unskilled to take advantage of said openings and turn the tide. "We will be covering the shortcomings of you both next class. Trust me, there is enough to last a semester."

Winchester scowls at the insult but doesn't do anything. To the professor, that is. As soon as Goodwitch's attention is focused on the rest of the class, the bigger guy quickly shoves past the blonde, knocking him down. Vernal expects the latter to yell, get angry, do something. And, unsurprisingly, she is disappointed as she sees the blonde just bury his eyes in the ground as he simmers in his own frustration and self-pity.

She stays a bit longer and watches on as his teammates try to comfort him. It's not his fault, they say. He will get better, Nikos promises. With a smile a bit too eager and desperate, she offers to train him. Get him up to speed on some basics. A generous offer, if one asked Vernal. She heard some people were willing to pay top Lien for private lessons from the Invincible Girl.

"Thanks," the blonde responds, with much edge to his tone than she expected from him. The trio mistake it for frustration with his loss. But Vernal feels like there's more to it. "I mean it, Pyrrha"

And in that moment, she sees something worth her attention. It is small but unmistakable for Vernal. The smallest glynt in Arc's eyes as he considers Nikos' offer. Briefest and impossible to catch unless you were watching, but it is there. But it is not the noble or grateful spark in the eyes of an aspiring hero. Not the bright flames of determined champion of the weak and oppressed.

But rather the same lust for power she and Raven shared.

The desire to be stronger than anyone else.

Vernal scoffed to herself as she gathered her things to leave. There was a spark, but hardly anything more. So what if the boy had some twisted desire for strength like her? From what she had seen, he had neither the drive nor readiness to do what needed to be done to achieve that kind of power. He wasn't willing to stain his hands and siul with the blood of others.

In the end, it was only those two things that determined whether you were predator or prey. And Jaune Arc had neither of those traits. He was a rabbit wishing to be the wolf. And creatures like that didn't last long out in the cold cruel world.

A sad yet simple fact.

VA

Days pass and Vernal wonders how long she would have to stay here. The classes are boring and useless as far as she is concerned. She knew plenty about killing Grimm and surviving in the wild. Why she needed to know about history was beyond her.

Luckily for her and any poor soul who'd suffer for her boredom, just when it seemed she was ready to start some trouble for the sake of having something to do, she happened to overhear something truly intriguing. A conversation between Nikos and Jaune, one she caught only thanks to her room being so close to the roof.

She expected a lot of stuff. A heartfelt confession. Or maybe even the two banging up there. Whatever high school cliche on the roof you could expect, she did. But what she heard was something completely unexpected. Though, in hindisght, maybe she shouldn't have been.

"So what you are saying is, that Arc kid faked his way in here" Black asks in the mid of their spar. For an asshole with no legs, he fights well enough. He actually makes her break a sweat. "Gotta say, I didn't expect that from him. It's always the dumb ones, I suppose."

Vernal notices that tiniest bit of respect in assassin's voice. And she can see why. Faking documents wasn't exactly an easy task. His fake ID was good enough for her to use, sure, but she never expected something of this scale.

Forging the certification from a huntsman school well enough to enroll into Beacon? This wasn't some sick note to skip school or prescription for drugs. This was the place where future fighters of humanity were raised into warriors of high calibre. To fake it so well... Jaune certainly had some talent for it. His skill would definitely be useful for the jobs in the cities if he were a part of the tribe.

Too bad he was too busy chasing after fairy tales and daydreaming.

"Cinder will like it," Sustrai smirks. "If I am right on Nikos crushing on that guy, we can use it as leverage. Get him to dig up whatever weaknesses the Champion has."

Vernal sighs in annoyance. That was indeed a good leverage. But just like everything else, only good in the right time. And theirs might have passed them by already.

"I doubt that will work out right now. From what I saw, Nikos is giving him a cold shoulder right now. Man, for a professional athelete, she is really uptight about the whole cheating thing."

Seriously, where could honest work get you in life? Slaving away from morning till night in some office as those born into power and money kept bragging about their hard work? Or work until your body breaks for someone to swoop in and take all that you've earned? In the end, the world didn't care if you got what you had by honest work or through cheating.

All that mattered was if you were strong enough to hold onto what was yours.

"And then there is Winchester," Vernal scoffs as she blocks Black's kick and goes for his gut. He dodges but she finds an opportunity to get him in the shoulder. "He knows it too."

The thief and the merc exchange brief looks before the latter smirks, "Feeling sorry for the Arc kid? Don't tell me someone got a crush."

The comment costs him a blow to the chest. Her crushing on Jaune? Right, as if she wanted to have some needy weakling for a boyfriend. As if she even wanted one. The guy looked like the kind of sap who would try and introduce her to his family after the third date or so. Life was short and Vernal wasn't one for commitments. And most definitely not to someone as weak and pathetic as that kid.

"I could care less about what happens to someone as weak as him," Vernal says honestly. "But lately the prick's been getting bolder. Thinks that just cause he got some weakling under his thumb, he is the king of the fucking school."

And she hated those kinds of assholes. Because if there was one thing Vernal despised more than weaklings, it was weaklings who thought they were some tough shit. Then again, she couldn't just kick his ass. Everyone knew that she was stronger than him. Her beating him up wouldn't humiliate him as much as she wanted him to be. No... If she wanted Winchester crushed, he had be beaten by someone he saw as weak. Someone whose victory over Winchester would leave him burning with shame.

"I am tired of being weak... This is why I came here. To learn how to fight. To never be left behind as my friends put themselves in danger trying to protect me!"

Arc's words from that night echo across her mind. She didn't buy all that crap about him wanting to protect friends, of course. What, would he be happy being weak and useless if there were no enemies? No, underneath all noble and heroic act the boy convinced even himself of, he wanted the same thing as all the people wanted. The same thing that people would fight and die for.

Power.

Winchester wanted power to push those weaker than him around. Black sought power to be free. Sustrai was a moron who hungered not for her own power but sought to give it all to her owner. And Vernal wished to be strong just for the sake of being strong. In the end, none of that crap mattered. Why they wanted it. How they would use it. None of meant anything.

It only mattered that you had power.

For power, you would sacrifice your soul and heart. For power, you would break your body over and over again. For the sake of never feeling weak, you'd do anything.

Even betray your partner.

"Leave Nikos to me," Vernal smiles as the plan brews in her head. "By the time I am done with Arc, he will be ready to hand over whatever he has on Nikos."

Power came before everything, after all.

VA

Mom always said that hatred was like poison. It entered your body and killed you from the inside. She always told them how important it was to let it go. Let the anger and rage wash all over you and fade away.

But how could he do that when he was drowning in this hatred?

"You better have my paper ready by tomorrow, Jauneyboy!"

Jaune grits his teeth as he struggles to keep himself in control. The bully notices it and smirks at the impotent rage on Jaune's face. He makes sure to look him in the eyes, challenging him to do something - anything at all.

He wishes he had enough strength to fight Cardin. To wipe that arrogant grin from his damn face. Or failing that, make it damn hard for Cardin to win. But he doesn't have the strength to do it. What's worse, he doesn't have the guts to even try doing something. Not just a weakling but a coward too...

Though honestly, what even was there for him to do? Even if somehow, through some miracle, he was strong enough to beat Cardin, he would still be ratted out and expelled. He would be paraded out of the school as everyone saw him for a fraud he was. And forging the documents into a huntsmen academy wasn't as forgivable as making fake IDs to get some alcohol.

At best, he would be blacklisted from all schools that trained huntsmen. He wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the academies and his best chance at fighting Grimm would be joining some faraway outpost city.

At worst, he might even go to jail. Mom and sisters would be devastated. And dad would blame himself for everything. His family would be shunned by everyone around them as the news of their only ending up in jail spread.

In the end, it didn't matter what he did. He was screwed either way unless he somehow got Cardin to never tell his secret.

"I always could kill him and bury his body somewhere in the forest," Jaune jokes as he walks to his room. His mind is falling apart under the stress as he struggles to do the double workload thanks to Cardin making trouble each and every class. "Yeah, right, that would totally solve all my problems."

"Don't be so sarcastic," a familiar tone interrupts his thoughts. Jaune is surprised to see Vernal. And slightly embarrassed about saying those things out loud. "Violence solves a lot of problems. More than you'd think, actually."

He gives Vernal a tired smile and half-hearted greeting, "Vernal, hey," Secretly he wishes he was in a better mood right now. Vernal was a good person, not the nicest girl, but a good one. "Sorry, but I am a little busy right now. I-"

"I know your secret, Jaune," the girl smiles and Jaune can almost feel the ground slip from under his feet. "I know all about your transcripts."

Suddenly, Vernal doesn't look as innocent or harmless as before. There is no pity or disappointment in her voice or eyes, but neither there is any support. As he looks longer at her, his heartbeat grows more frantic as he sees the same miscievous glynt in her eyes. The same burning in the eyes that he saw in Cardin's.

Both look like predators. But if Cardin looked like a hungry beast who had caught its prey, Vernal seemed more akin to a cat.

She looked like she wanted to play with him.

"Vernal, please, just listen," he doesn't even try to play dumb. The girl's eyes tell him that she knows everything and won't be fooled. "I know I messed up and I know you don't owe me anything, but please, don't tell anyone about it. Whatever you want, I will do it."

Pathetic and weak. Coward and wuss. Those are some of the nicer words that swin in his mind as he is trying to get Vernal's silence. Gods, how pathetic could he be? He wasn't strong enough to get in without cheating. And now he was too much of a coward to face the consequences like a man should. Though disgusted, he still begs and pleads for silence.

"You are tired, aren't you?" Vernal's question stops his pleas and he looks up at her in confusion. "The stress of keeping the secret, the whole Winchester mess... Those are really troublesome, aren't they?"

He nods miserably, feeling as the weight on his shoulders is slowly being lifted. "I just wanted to be a huntsman... To get strong enough to protect others. Where did it all go so wrong?"

"You chose the wrong purpose, that's all," Vernal smiles at his confusion. Wrong purpose? What was wrong with seeking strength for the people he loved and wanted to protect? "People don't seek power for the sake of others. The only person you should seek power is yourself and only yourself."

"That's not true," he quickly protested. "Huntsmen and huntresses all across Remnant train to help others. To fight the Grimm. How is that not for the sake of protecting those who can't protect themselves?"

"I think it is the part where they are strong to deal with Grimm," Vernal chuckles when he has nothing to say to that. "Think about it, Jaune, why seek power to fight Grimm if not to ensure that you don't have to fear them yourself? How many huntsmen and huntresses trained and graduated from one of the four academis yet chose to find safer places where they are the strongest?"

No, she was wrong. "There may be some bad people, Vernal. But that doesn't mean that all of the hunters are out for their own gain!"

"Yes, you are not one of them, are you? You only have the noble intentions," Vernal sounds genuine, yet something in her voice rubs him the wrong way. Like garlic floating in sweet tea. "Which is why I want to help you out."

What?

"Really?" he curses under his breath at the note of suspicion that creeps into his words. Vernal seems unfazed, even somewhat amused, by it though. "Why would you do that?"

"Maybe I have a thing for you. Maybe I fell for you the moment you came in that ridiculous sleepwear and have been pining for you ever since, waiting for the chance to get closer to you," Jaune chuckles humorelessly at the obvious bait. Normally, he would blush and stutter at the way Vernal widened her eyes and spoke just a tiny bit higher, obviously mocking the cliche romance tropes. But it was his life and dream at stake right now, so it was a bit harder for him to feel anything but fear and pressure. "Or maybe I just think there should be more noble huntsmen around. Someone who knows right from wrong. Someone willing to fight for what he believes in."

Coupled with her comments from before, Jaune can't help but feel the doubt in his gut grow. Was she serious about training him? Or was she just stringing him along for the sake of some cruel joke?

"She is not Cardin," Jaune chastised himself as he looked at Vernal again. This was the girl he befriended on his first night here. The same girl who helped him get down from the tree and even unlocked his Aura. Because of all the shit Cardin pulled on him, he now was blaming an innocent girl of something she didn't even do.

"I would like to take you up on this offer then," Jaune takes her hand. For a second, he feels the weird cold feeling coil around his heart. As if he was stepping into the dirty waters or night forest. He quickly shakes off the uncomfortable feeling, opting to focus on the more important things. "You can't imagine how much this means for me. Ever since I fought with Pyrrha-"

No. He won't talk about Pyrrha. Not like that. Not behind her back. His partner didn't deserve him lashing out at her back then. And she certainly didn't deserve him talking trash about her just bgecause he was dealing with consequences of his own actions.

"That's no problem, Jaune," Vernal smiles. "I am sure you will pay me back someday."

Definitely.

"I give you my word, Vernal. And an Arc never goes back on his word."

VA

Invincible Girl was the idol of countless people. The Champion of Mistral, capable of taking on any opponent, be it a professional fighter just like her or a very personal and invasive interviewer. Yes, Invincible Girl was indeed a confident and unshakeable person.

Too bad that Pyrrha Nikos was a nervous wreck, always anxious and worried. Her fame and success kept the others away from her. Alienated and starved for the interaction with her peers, she wished just for the normal person whom she could talk to without them going crazy over her status as the Champion.

And then she finally found one in Jaune. He had no idea who she was or how much being a Mistralian Champion meant. With him, she could be just Pyrrha Nikos. Not an Invincible Girl who had to carry herself with the power and esteem of the elite warrior but just another teenager.

And then she pushed him away.

Sure, Jaune had cheated his way in. But his heart was in the right place. He just needed someone to help him and Pyrrha was sure he would make an exceptional huntsman. But their first training session ended unpleasantly and now Pyrrha had no idea how to fix it with him. For all the interviews and meet-n-greet's she's done over the years, she still had no idea how to smoothly talk to someone when they had a fight.

Jaune, I don't agree with what you did but I want to help.

Hey, Jaune, weird week we are having, right?

Hi, Jaune! Wanna get back to training tonight and pretend nothing happened?

It wasn't just the fact that they had a fight, but also Cardin's increasing bullying of her partner. She wanted to put an end and she could. On the other hand, how could she know it wouldn't only worsen the relationship between her Jaune? If she just went and made Cardin stop bullying her partner, how could she knoew Jaune wouldn't see it as her looking down on him?

No. She was going to talk to him. No hesitation or doubt. The moment he walked inside, they would talk and resolve all their issues. No match could be won by remaining on the defense or waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. You had to be proactive and create opportunities on your own. With deep breath, Pyrrha promised herself that the moment Jaune came back, she would talk to him.

The door clicked open. Jaune entered. That confidence vanished.

"Hey, Pyrrha,"

Crap.

"Hi, Jaune," she smiled politely. "How was your day?"

"Not bad," he responded briefly, going for the closet in search of something.

"Good, that's good," she said and, for a few brief moments, there was awkward silence. Finally, Pyrrha decided to follow through with her tactic. "Look, Jaune, I know that- Wait... Where are you going?"

Only now did she realize that in those brief silent minutes, Jaune had changed out of his school uniform into some training gear. What concerned her even more was almost manic expression on his face as he packed Crocea Mors.

A small spark of hope lit up in Pyrrha. Could it be that Jaune also wished to bury that fight and get on with their training? "I see you are going to train," Jaune nodded in response as he checked his bag. "Great, just let me change into my workout clothes and I-"

Someone knocked on their door. Loud and hard.

"Hey, Goldilocks! Hurry up!"Pyrrha's words died in her throat as her mind struggled to match the face to the voice from behind the door. Not Nora or anyone from team RWBY. Then who was this? "You make me wait one more minute and I am breaking the door!"

"Oh man, she is pissed," Jaune didn't look afraid or surprised. In fact, he looked positively excited. Just who was this girl? "Sorry, Pyrrha, can't talk right now. I will be late so tell Ren and Nora not to worry."

Another loud banging on the door, followed by something that sounded suspiciously similar to blades being sharpened. "Five... Four... Three..."

"Okay, gotta go. Good night, Pyrrha!"

With a swipe of his keycard, Jaune opened the door. Behind it stood the girl whom Pyrrha vaguely recognized from their breakfast a week or so ago. Now also clad in combat gear of sorts, the girl looked positively annoyed. "Just for making me wait, I will make sure you are all sore by the morning. Oh, hey there, Champion."

"Hi, Vernal," Pyrrha feels something form in the pit of her stomach. Something small but hot. Something ugly and unpleasant. And that feeling grows bigger and stronger the longer she looks at Vernal and how close Jaune stands to her. "W-Where are you two going?"

"Just some late-night training," Vernal smirks. And Pyrrha can't help but feel the urge to wipe it off her face. "Jaune over here asked me to beat him into shape. Hope you don't mind if I borrow him for a few nights."

She did mind. She minded very much.

"Oh, sure," curse her tongue. "I am really happy Jaune has someone like you to help him out."

Even though he already had a professional fighter as his partner.

"Cool, then I'll return him by breakfast," Vernal slapped Pyrrha's shoulder, giving her a wide grin. Then, turning to the left, she called out for Jaune, "Let's go already. Trust me, blondie, you want to start the training as soon as possible."

Jaune doesn't even question or comment, instead obediently following the instructions as he runs after the girl. As she watches the two leave, that nasty burning feeling coils itself around her heart like a snake. Her fists clench and, for a brief moment, she considers fighting the girl right there and then. But then she stops...

It was good that Jaune found someone to help him out. Even if it wasn't her, Pyrrha wasn't going to start trouble over some jeal- concern for her partner. It was rational, after all. It was logical and normal to allow Jaune to train under whoever he wanted, he was old enough to make his choices after all.

But the further they left, the less Pyrrha believed her own words. And as the two disappeared behind the corner, that ugly feeling tightened its hold around her heart. She was happy for Jaune. But she certainly did not trust Vernal. Whatever was happening between the two, she would keep a close eye on it.

For both her and Jaune's sake.

VA

Vernal smiled as she stood in the pale moonlight, enjoying the sensation of cold light on her skin. Opposite of her, clad in his own gear, Arc stood ready. Ready to listen. Ready to follow. Ready to obey. In a way, she felt some gratitude to Winchester for driving the boy so desperate that he would listen to her every word. People, when backed into corner, would always take any chance to get out of it, after all.

"I hope you are ready to hurt, Goldilocks." She cracked her knuckles and let her Aura flare. "Because I am not going easy on you."

No pep talk. No kiddy gloves. No safe words or any other crap. If he wanted to be strong, he had to be vicious and mean. No matter how much she pushed, he wouldn't get to Cardin's level of brute force. So they would make up for that with pure viciousness and resilience.

"I am ready, Vernal."

To his credit, the blondie didn't let himself be intimidated. Instead, he stood tall and confident. Determined to take on any pain as long as he got what he wanted. That kind of determination was almost impressive. Bigger men than him ran away from her, begging for mercy.

"Do your worst..."

Despite being weaker, he grins. And in that grin, in those azure eyes, she sees the same hunger she once saw in her own reflection. The same desire for power that started out innocent and then turned primal. The same look in her eyes when she promised herself to stand above all with her strength. The same fire that burned in her eyes today every time she fought.

"Because I am not backing down!"

And she liked what she was seeing.

[rallis-fatalis]

Truly Daring

Bad weather always seems to bring people together, both in proximity and relationship. When a nasty storm forces Adam, Rallis, and Peg to spend the night at Grimro’s tavern, they decide to start what would become a tradition: game night at the Ruby Harvest. And on this night, no one is safe from the clutches of truth or dare.

Written by @tibblers but being posted here!

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The rain was crashing down onto the roof of the Ruby Harvest. There was the occasional thunder and lightning as well. The Ruby Harvest was still running as usual, a little water wouldn’t scare vampyres. Unless it was raining holy water.

Adam, Rallis and Peg had ventured to Morytania to visit Grimro. Originally they were going to leave the same day but with the storm, they were forced to stay the night.

All three were sitting at the table nearest to where Grimro was working. Adam had a glass of beer that he was slowly drinking. Peg had gotten huffy when he wouldn’t let her have one.

“Have you three ever played Truth or Dare?” Grimro asked.

“Nope. I think I know how to play though.” Peg replied.

“I’ll start then. Rallis, truth or dare?” Grimro gestured to her.

“Um, truth.”

“What’s something you do when no one else is around?”

Rallis thought for a moment. “At home I try to make new outfits, from scratch and from materials I’ve picked up in adventures.” She continued. “Peg, truth or dare?”

Peg perked up at the sound of her name. “I’ll start off with truth.” She hoped the question wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

“What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done as a raccoon?” Rallis asked.

Peg facepalmed. “Aside from falling out of every tree ever, one time I woke up to another real raccoon trying to climb on me.” Her voice was muffled as she had both hands on her face now.

Adam was taking a sip of his beer when she said that. He choked on his beer and started coughing. Rallis opted to just spit out a mouthful of her sweet drink. Grimro’s eyes widened.

“Can we get some more details on that?” Grimro asked on behalf of the other two.

“Nope! It’s my turn to pick right? I choose Adam.” Peg was blushing down to her neck.

“Truth.” He replied in between coughs.

“What’s something embarrassing you’ve done recently?” She not so secretly wanted someone else to be embarrassed too.

“I was going through a mood one week and I stepped on a salamander by accident. I felt so bad I gave it a barbarian funeral with a little raft and pyre.” He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not over it yet.

Peg tried to hold back a laugh as it seemed that Rallis was genuinely moved by the story.

“Alright your turn to pick.” Peg prompted him.

“Rallis, truth or dare?” He was going to ask Grimro but she had gone into the back of the restaurant for now.

“Truth.”

“What’s the deal with you and Olaf?” He smirked.

Rallis shrugged. “I probably don’t have the answer you’re looking for. I don’t know, it’s confusing.” She avoided eye contact with him and tried to take the focus off herself. “Peg! Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” Peg grinned.

“I dare you to take this and put it in one of the customer’s pockets without getting caught.” She handed Peg a tiny clove of garlic, just enough to make a vampyre itch and sneeze.

“Easy peasy.” She put the clove in her pocket and got up from the table. She spied her target, a young looking male vampyre across the room. Peg snuck along the walls, ducking behind tables and chairs often. The vampyre turned around to talk to someone and she dropped the garlic into his back pocket. She returned to her table with a smug smile. Adam narrowed his eyes at her.

“Adam, truth or dare?” She was still proud of herself.

“Truth.” He rolled his eyes.

“Do you have a crush on anyone right now?” She couldn’t wait to hear his answer.

Adam finished his beer. “I shouldn’t be saying any of this, because if she finds out it’ll narrow it down to at least three people who could have told her.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I think I have a thing for Lady Shauna Piscarilius.”

“I knew it!” Rallis slammed the table.

Peg wasn’t entirely sure who she was but she was excited nonetheless.

“This doesn’t leave the room!” Adam shouted over the other two cheering. “I hate her but I can’t get enough of her.” He muttered to himself.

A vampyre at the other end of the restaurant sneezed and scratched his chest. Most of the patrons had left due to the late hour and the worsening storm outside.

Grimro returned to the sight of Adam pinching the bridge of his nose and Peg and Rallis chattering excitedly.

“Grimro, truth or dare?” Adam groaned and regretted telling them.

“Let’s be daring. Dare.” Grimro replied.

“I dare you to put your hair down.”

Grimro reached up and undid the tie. Her blood red hair flowed down like a river. She tucked it behind her pointed ears.

All three jaws dropped simultaneously. Grimro flipped back the rest of her hair.

“I always thought you had the best hair out of any vampyre I’d ever seen.” Adam stuttered out.

“Vanescula wished she looked that good.” Rallis complimented her.

“Adam, truth or dare?” Grimro asked.

“Dare.” Adam was nearly finished his next beer.

Grimro took a spice off one of the shelves and passed it to him. Rallis immediately sneezed when she poured a small amount of it into his palm.

“Snort this spice and try not to sneeze.”

Adam scoffed at her. “Is that it?” He put the spice up to his nose. The beers he drank that night ensured him that this was a good idea.

In one sniff all of the spice was gone. His eyes began to water.

“Is that all you got?!” He said as he slapped his nose and attempted to suppress a sneeze.

Grimro hurried to grab some napkins for him.

“DAMBIT MY FUGHCKING NOSE!” His eyes were bloodshot and his nose turned into a faucet.

“GIMBO THE TAPS BETTER BE WORBING!” He got up and ran behind the bar counter. He tried to flush out his sinuses in the sink but it was too late. Back at the table, Peg was cackling and slapping her knee.

“Enjoy smelling the fire flower?” Rallis called out to him.

After a few minutes of drowning noises, Adam returned to the table. He blew his nose with one of the napkins that was kindly provided.

“Aghh, I’m fine.” He took a big gulp of beer to soothe his throat and pride. “Rallis, truth or dare?”

“After that incident, truth please.” She replied.

“Why do you collect woad?”

“Every dragon hoards somethings and most have no idea why they do so. The ones you call the King Black Dragon hoards gold, gems and treasure maps, while my friend in the Wilderness, Niu, hoards anything white. I just happen to like woad leaves. Besides, isn’t woad the prettiest thing ever?” She was always had a huge grin on her face while talking about woad.

Tarot, Grimro’s kyatt kit meowed. Rallis petted him. He came downstairs since it was just the four of them in the tavern now.

“I used to wear woad on my face.” Adam said offhand as he reached for another napkin.

“Like Vannaka’s makeup but woad?” Rallis asked.

“More or less.” He replied.

“On with the game! Peg, truth or dare?” Rallis pointed to Peg.

“Truth please, I don’t want to snort any woad.” She laughed at her own joke.

“Are you upset you can turn into a raccoon?” Rallis was curious. Peg rarely talked about her feelings on the matter, save for a few jokes.

“It took some time to get used to, but I’ve accepted it now. At least the shapeshifting is by choice. This however, isn’t.” She gestured to her patterned face on the last bit. “Grimro, truth or dare?” She didn’t want to linger on the subject.

“Dare. You have to be bold sometimes.” She winked.

“I dare you to give me a glass of the strongest booze you have!” Peg wanted a drink, and this was the best way to get one. Aside from stealing one of course.

“NO! No alcohol for this child!” Adam drunkenly shouted. The last few drinks he had were catching up to him.

“There’s no minimum drinking age in Morytania.” Rallis shrugged.

Grimro crossed her arms and thought about what to do.

“Shot glass or lager?” She asked. If the child wanted a drink then by Zamorak she would get one.

“I want the biggest glass you have.” Peg was surprised that her plan worked.

“DO NOT! CHILD REMEMBER?!” Adam shouted again.

“Let her have a drink. She can at least try it!” Rallis chimed in.

Grimro filled a large glass and gave it to Peg.

“Fine go ahead, I’m not your dad.” Adam sulked.

“Moonlight Mead, popular among werewolves in Canifis.” Grimro explained.

“Oh man, that stuff is strong.” Rallis said.

Peg took a small sip. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted!” She proclaimed.

“There’s a reason why only werewolves drink it.” Rallis laughed.

“Is it everything you dreamed, Peg?” Adam sarcastically asked.

“No, but I’m going to try to drink more. There’s still a whole glass left.” Peg replied with determination.

Grimro chuckled, she had to admire the girl’s spirit. “Rallis, truth or dare?”

“I want to avoid ingesting anything nasty so I’m going to say truth again.” Rallis was wary of any potential dares that might come her way.

“What’s your worst habit?”

“Hurting people a bit too much when I scare them away from slayer tasks… That’s a bad one I guess.” Rallis looked ashamed. “Though they shouldn’t be hurting my friends in the first place...” She angrily muttered that and some other things that were too quiet to hear.

Adam was reminded of how they met in similar circumstances. He took a cigar from his runite case and smelled it. Still trying to get the smell of fire flower out of his nose.

“Adam, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever had to do?” Rallis’ face turned serious.

“Well, I’m sure I’ve done scarier things, but the thing that scared me the most… was when you lost your mind on the boat when we faced Galvek. I had to point my crossbow at you, and I thought I was going to have to put you down if I didn’t think of something.” His eyes glazed over as he recalled the memory. “I mean, Iban was scarier I guess. But I was so pissed off the entire time I wasn’t thinking about it. Adam cut open his cigar and directly snorted the contents.

Rallis mumbled an apology and slouched in her chair.

“Rallis c’mere.” He opened his arms wide. She leaped into the drunk green man’s arms.

“Grimro, truth or dare?” Adam asked while he swayed in his seat, with a blue dragon on his lap.

“Truth.”

“What was your father like?”

“I don’t remember my father, or any of my family really.” Grimro replied nonchalantly.

“I don’t remember my family either, if I even had one.” Adam said.

Rallis raised her hand as if to say “Me too.”

Peg just solemnly stared into her barely started drink. Moonlight Mead was strong and she was definitely a lightweight.

“Momma Blue was good and nice though.” Rallis smiled as she thought about the closest thing she had to a mother.

“I would have taken a dragon over Mudknuckles any day. ‘Adam quit crying, you’re such a wuss. If someone makes you feel like dirt, you slam their face in it. If they make you feel like dirt again you put them six feet under it. Nobody respects anyone they aren’t afraid of.’ That son of a bitch.” Adam’s face was contorting in anger, but as soon as he realized it he immediately calmed down.

“Sorry I’m feeling kind of weird right now. Whose turn is it?” Adam asked.

Rallis motioned to Peg who was wavering in her chair, trying to hint to Grimro to put her to bed.

“It’s my turn, Peg, truth or dare?” Grimro nodded to Rallis.

“Truth.” Peg thought that booze was supposed to make you feel better, not worse.

“How did you become part raccoon?”

“Some bitchy witch caught me trying to steal from her and transformed me into a raccoon as punishment. I made my way to the Wizards’ Tower to see if they could help me, but since the spell was permanent not temporary, they couldn’t fully separate me from the raccoon.” She waved to her face again for emphasis. She took another swig of her drink, shuddering less this time.

“Peg you don’t have to finish that.” Adam said.

“Moss giant, truth or dare?” Peg asked.

“I’m feeling better now, dare.” He was too drunk to notice the nickname.

“I dare you to do a cartwheel.” As agile as she normally was, if she tried to do a cartwheel in her current state it probably wouldn’t end well, even more so for Adam.

“I can barely do one when I’m sober. And in here, I don’t know.” He protested.

“You can do it! Try your best!” Rallis cheered him on.

Adam peeled Rallis off of him, she was still cuddled up to him from earlier. He sculled the rest of his beer. “Hold my dragon.”

“I don’t even know how to do one…” He sighed. “I mean, I can do a combat roll, but that’s on my back. I guess if I hold my arm out instead of curving it in… No, I think I got it.”

Adam kicked up into a handstand then promptly crashed down onto a nearby table. Grimro sighed and made a note to herself to charge him for it.

He stayed down for several moments before saying: “Can someone check to see if I’m bleeding out of my ears?” Rallis went over to help him stand up. He was bleeding from one of his eyebrows and the eye below was swollen shut.

“Don’t get any ideas.” He pointed at Grimro, referring to the bleeding.

“The alcohol content ruins it anyway.” She replied.

“Can someone pass the fire flower napkins this way? Oh, Peg truth or dare?” He tried to sit on his original chair but missed and landed on the floor. Peg handed him some napkins. She felt slightly bad.

“Don’t worry about the blood, Peg. Happens all the time. Head wounds bleed a lot, and I get a lot… of… them…”

“And neck ones…” Rallis pointed out.

“Yeah those too, truth or dare Peg?”

“Truth.” Peg was too scared to accept a dare from him.

“What was going through your mind when you left me behind in the desert? Did you think I would leave you? Cheat a kid out of her share and run off?!” He was drunk and upset now, not a good combo.

“I...I...didn’t…” Peg started stammering and she looked for an exit.

Adam pulled himself up from the floor and leaned on the table. “The world isn’t out to get you kid. You were dealt a shitty hand. I forgive you. I forgave you before I realized what you had done.” He looked like he was going to fall down again. Rallis guided him back to a chair.

“...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was scared that you would leave me.” Peg was sitting with her legs up and arms wrapped around them.

Rallis leaned over to Grimro. “I think they both need to lie down now.”

“Peg, I want you to know… that…” Adam fell off the side of the chair.

Rallis wasn’t fast enough to catch him, she motioned to Grimro for help with moving him. Adam was nearly out cold but he was still mumbling.

“Let me go!” He tried to resist the help. He somehow managed to sit upright.

“I won’t abandon you. Nobody here will, you’re not bad.” The blood was dripping down to the collar of his shirt.

Peg was crying into her knees now, overwhelmed with alcohol and guilt.

Rallis was about to cast a sleep spell on Adam but his eyes started to roll back.

“I’m fine…Just a bit dizz-” He finally passed out. Rallis cast Heal Other on him and felt a splitting pain throughout her head. Other than the residual blood, the wound was healed. She and Grimro worked together to haul Adam up the stairs and into one of the spare beds. Getting him up the stairs was the worst part and they both nearly threw out their backs for it. They came back downstairs to coax Peg into getting up. She was still frozen in her chair.

After some convincing, Peg was sound asleep upstairs. Rallis measured the intact tables for blueprints so she could make Grimro a new table.

“They’ll be okay until morning right?” Rallis asked her.

“Yes, I’ll stay up tonight to make sure.” Grimro began the long job of cleaning the tavern.

“Thanks, I’m going to sit outside for a while to help this headache.” The pain was still bouncing off the walls of her skull, but at least Adam wasn’t bleeding out.

Outside, the thunder and lightning had ceased and only a light rain remained. She prayed to Guthix that tomorrow morning wouldn’t be too awkward.