violentvalerian

[violentvalerian]

The Best Bad News (WuWa AU Rover x Calcharo) // Part 1/3 // A Little Calamity

“This day fucking sucks!”

Aalto walked to the door of the living room and peeked around the corner into the hallway. There stood his roommate, drenched from head to toe and dripping water onto the hardwood floor. And looking massively annoyed.

“Lemme guess,” Aalto said, throwing his pale hair back, “You got into a fight with a sprinkler and lost.”

“Yes, Aalto, that’s exactly what happened,” the dark-haired man in the hall grumbled with an eyeroll and peeled his soaked black denim jacket off his slender form, hanging it up to dry, “It’s raining cats and dogs outside.”

His words were accentuated by a clap of thunder that made both young men jump.

“Oh really?” Aalto asked with a grin, “Thanks for letting me know, Ro. Wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Ro said, kicking off his sneakers that hit the ground with a wet splat. A flash of lightning lit up the otherwise dim apartment.

“You hungry or something?” Aalto asked, “I could order us something.”

“I can’t afford to get takeout every day,” Ro complained, “Don’t we have anything to pop into the oven or something?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aalto graciously said and placed his hand on his chest, “It’s on me tonight.”

“Really?” Ro asked and looked at him with wide eyes, “You’re actually serious? Never thought I’d ever see you so generous.”

“What?” Aalto exclaimed, “I’m always generous! Just not when it comes to monetary things. Whatever! What do you want?”

“I don’t care, you decide,” Ro said and quickly disappeared into the bathroom to avoid any further questions. He was notoriously bad at making decisions, no matter the subject.

He tore off all his clothes that were sodden with cold water. The rain had totally caught him off-guard on the way back from the library where he’d worked on some assignments for his history studies. First he’d been drowning in work, and then almost drowning in the literal sense with how heavy the storm was.

He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, cursing when the ice cold stream hit him, colder even than the rain. For some reason, Aalto liked to take freezing showers, and no matter how many times Ro begged him to at least turn the tap back into a neutral position, he never remembered to do so. At least it didn’t take forever to warm up today, and soon he was wrapped in a misty cocoon of warm steam and water that relaxed his tense shoulders and smoothed the goosebumps that had risen on his skin from the cold.

Feeling like a completely reborn person, Ro emerged from the bathroom and went into his room to change. It was small, barely large enough for his bed and his desk. Since he’d only moved in a few short months ago when he started studying in Jinzhou, the walls were still bare, and in a corner there was a tower of not unpacked moving boxes whose structural integrity seemed worryingly precarious.

Ro threw on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt and  returned to the living room to see Aalto lounging on the couch in front of the TV, ignoring some sports game while scrolling on his phone, as he always did. Despite only knowing each other for two months, Ro and Aalto had already grown to be close friends, albeit with rather different interests and personalities.

“Feeling better?” Aalto asked, noticing Ro’s presence, “I ordered pizza by the way.”

“Much better,” Ro replied and pushed his legs off the couch to take a seat, “Hope you didn’t get tuna for me again.”

“Nah, you don’t like fish, I get it. There was a two for one deal on something with four cheeses.”

“So you’re not paying for me after all,” Ro grinned.

“Yes I am!” Aalto insisted, “I bought a pizza just for you and just so happened to get one for free myself.”

“Sure, sure,” Ro laughed and pulled out his phone. When he opened Echoline, the most popular social media in Huanglong and beyond, his face fell. “Oh… my… god,” he breathed, pronouncing every word as if it were a full sentence, “No fucking way!”

“What?” Aalto asked, “What is it now?”

“No way!” Ro repeated and flew to his feet, staring at his phone in disbelief.

“What?!” Aalto asked, pushing himself into a more upright position, “Tell me! The suspense is killing me.”

Ro furiously tapped and swiped on his phone. “My favorite band is going on tour for their second album, and they’re playing a show here! In Jinzhou! And… oh my god… It’s on my birthday! Oh my god, I have to be there!”

“Oh hell yeah, congrats,” Aalto said, but he’d lost interest. He knew Ro’s taste in music differed from his own greatly. Aalto liked all kinds of sounds that came out of computers, the less real instruments, the better, as long as the bassline was heavy enough to shake the ground. Ro, on the other hand, liked classic rock and alt punk. Music was one of the things they’d never agree on.

“Ah!” Ro now shrieked in horror, “No! No, that can’t be true!”

“What is it now?” Aalto sighed.

Ro sobbed. “It’s already sold out?! How is that possible? They only went on sale a few hours ago!”

“Damn, those guys must be pretty popular for that to happen.”

“Yeah,” Ro said sadly, “They’re from the New Fed, and this is their first international tour. Fans have been begging for one for years. And now they’re gonna be here, but I won’t be. I’m gonna cry. This is the worst day of my life!”

“From the New Federation?” Aalto asked, “Think I might know them?”

He’d moved to Huanglong from the New Federation a year ago to study business at Jinzhou’s Huaxu Academy that was famous for its excellent courses. And its insultingly low acceptance rate.

“Pfft!” Ro scoffed, “They don’t do your stinky robot music. They got real guitars and drums and vocals that haven’t been fried by ten different filters and overlays.”

“Stinky?!” Aalto asked in offense, “Don’t insult my modern taste like that just ‘cause you’re still stuck in the eighties!”

But Ro wasn’t even listening anymore. “Ahh, the lead singer…” He sighed, “He’s got a voice sent from the heavens, I swear, and he’s just dreamy. They’re all really good, but Cal is just on another level.”

Aalto perked up, grabbing his roommate by the shoulders. “What did you say?”

“That the lead singer is on another level?” Ro asked in confusion.

“No, what did you call him?” Aalto asked and almost shook him, “Cal?”

“Yes,” Ro slowly said, looking at Aalto like he was crazy, “Calcharo. He’s the lead singer of the Ghost Hounds, my favorite band.”

“Holy shit!” Aalto exclaimed and let out a hearty laugh, “Why didn’t you tell me you’re a Ghost Hounds fan sooner?!”

“You know them?” Ro asked in surprise and tilted his head, “Didn’t think that’d be something you’re into.”

Aalto laughed again. “Their music be damned, of course I know them!”

“Huh?” Ro was utterly confused.

Aalto beamed at him when he dropped the mother of all bombshells. “Calcharo is my brother!”

Ro’s jaw dropped and he coughed up an incomprehensible bouquet of word fragments, sputtering and gasping for air. “Wh- B- You… He… B- brother?!”

“Yeah, my big bro!” Aalto confirmed, nodding rapidly, “No way you like his stuff!”

“His stuff is the best stuff ever!” Ro called out, “Between Me and the Devil is my favorite song of all time! I can’t fucking believe you’re Calcharo’s brother! You are, right?! You’re not bullshitting me right now, right?!”

“Hell no!” Aalto denied and pulled out his phone, quickly digging through his gallery and producing a photo he held under Ro’s nose. It was a capture of an older, physical photograph from an album. On it were two boys with the same light hair, both carrying large backpacks. One was significantly taller than the other and showed only a faint smile while his shorter counterpart grinned between both ears and revealed countless gaps in his teeth.  “Look, Dad sent this the other day because he was going through our family albums. It’s my first day of school! Here is me, and there’s Cal. He’s four years older than me.”

Ro’s jaw dropped again. Despite the kid in the picture looking far, far younger - around ten or eleven - it was undoubtedly Calcharo, lead singer of the Ghost Hounds, with his naturally white hair and those pale blue eyes. Looking at Aalto again, the resemblance suddenly hit him. It was almost uncanny. He had the same hair, even styled it similarly with the bangs hanging around the side of his face and the rest of it always combed back, and their face shape was really similar as well, only Aalto’s jaw wasn’t as pronounced as Calcharo’s. And their eyes were different. But despite that, Ro totally bought it.

“That’s crazy!” Ro screeched. “Crazy! Insane!”

“I’m gonna call him,” Aalto said, holding up his phone with his arm stretched out, “and ask him if he can do my bestie a favor and drop some tix.”

Ro gasped, nearly hyperventilating. “No way! You’d do that for me?!”

“Duh!” Aalto said and flicked his forehead, “Means I don’t have to worry about a birthday present for you. Easy win!”

“You rat!” Ro said with a grin, “I’ll love you for the rest of my days if you make that happen.”

“Leave it to me!” Aalto said eagerly, “I’ll call him right now.”

Unfortunately for him, right now was also the moment the doorbell rang incessantly.

“Ooh!” Aalto whistled, “Dinner time!”

He zipped into the hall to accept the food. Ro, meanwhile, held his hand against his mouth so Aalto wouldn’t hear his squeals of joy as he kicked his feet in excitement. This was the best day ever!

A couple days later, Aalto waltzed into Ro’s room unannounced, totally unnoticed by the aforementioned.

Ro was sitting at his desk over the fattest book Aalto had ever seen, headphones over his ears and bobbing his head in the rhythm of his song. Aalto hesitated for a moment and listened in, giggling when he very faintly made out his brother’s voice. Perfect timing.

He tapped Ro’s shoulder, making him let out a startled gasp and whip around.

“Jesus, Aalto!” Ro complained, “You scared me!”

“I got something for you!” Aalto said in a sing-song voice and revealed a nondescript envelope from behind his back.

“For me?” Ro asked and accepted the envelope, opening it as Aalto watched him eagerly.

“It’s something really special. A VIP ticket for the Ghost Hounds gig!”

Ro shrieked and launched himself out of his chair to throw himself into Aalto’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He said and hugged him so tightly that the other almost couldn’t breathe, “You’re the best friend ever, Aalto! I love you!”

Aalto let out a nervous chuckle and patted his back. “No problemo. Just played some of my connections. Easy peasy.”

Ro continued hugging and praising him to high heaven, almost making Aalto blush uncomfortably until he could free himself.

“I got a second ticket, actually,” Aalto revealed, “You can have it if there’s someone specific you want to go with, but if you don’t mind, I’ll go with you.”

“Sure! It’s gonna be a ton of fun!” Ro cheered and clasped his hands together but then realized, “Wait, you don’t like the music though.”

“It’s not like I hate it,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Besides, I rarely get to see Cal now that I moved away and he’s always on the road anyway. Gotta hunt him down for a second of his time. Besides…” He showed a sneaky grin. “If I'm there and Cal knows that I'm there, it's only right I introduce you to him and vice versa.”

Ro stared at him like he was a Messiah, then spun and jumped on the spot, cheering, “You are literally the best, Aalto!”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he laughed and watched Ron's victory dance. How endearing that sight was…

That same day, Ro went to his favorite neighborhood stationary store to buy an archaic paper calendar (with motivational quotes and pictures of kittens) for the explicit purpose to mark the date of the concert and his birthday. ‘Ghost Hounds!!!’ The calendar now proudly announced. He counted how many days he'd have to wait. Sixty-nine. Two months and three weeks and a few more days.

The calendar was the first thing to decorate the walls of his room, right next to the window under which his bed stood. A Ghost Hounds poster soon found its spot next to it, the cover art of A Little Calamity, the album his favorite song was on. A second poster followed, this one showing the three band members posing for the camera. Calcharo in front with his bass slung around his shoulders, Encore, who looked laughably short next to him, on his left with her signature red and pink electric guitar, and then a little bit behind them was Mortefi sitting by his drum set. Ro dared to hope that he'd get the poster signed by all three of them. It would be a dream come true.

Every day upon going to sleep, Ro crossed off another day, watching the concert come closer and closer. Two months became six weeks, then four, then two, one week, three days, and finally! The day was there.

It was a Saturday, and despite his immeasurable excitement, Ro had been able to sleep in in preparation for his long night. It was almost noon when Aalto knocked on his door.

“Rise and shine, birthday boy!” He said with a wide grin.

Ro tiredly lifted his head out of his sheets and blinked at him. His hair was a mess, the black strands thoroughly disheveled. He looked like he had about zero idea of where or who he was.

Aalto walked to the bed and crouched next to it to get on eye level with him.

“Gotcha something,” he said and presented a cupcake on his palm, “I didn’t know what you like so I went for red velvet, the classic.”

“Hm?” Ro groaned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, “Cake? For me?”

“Of course!” Aalto said, “Again, it’s your birthday. You know what that means.”

“Birthday,” Ro muttered and turned over to look at his calendar. There were no more days left to cross off. Today was the day. The day marked in red and circled thrice over. ‘Ghost Hounds!!!’

“Holy fuck!” Ro suddenly exploded and pushed his blanket away, practically falling out of his bed, “It’s the day! The day is here! Ghost Hounds!”

“Easy there,” Aalto placated him, “Cake first. Everything else later.”

He presented his cupcake again and Ro smiled, accepting the small pastry. “You’re right. Let’s share.”

“I already had breakfast,” Aalto waved him off and sat in Ro’s desk chair, watching him peel away the paper from the cake and taking a hearty bite, “Good?”

“Sho good,” Ro said with a full mouth, closing his eyes in delight, “Thanks Aalto.”

“You’re welcome.” Aalto grinned and pulled out his phone. “Cal texted me earlier, they made it to Jinzhou and are setting up. What’s the location called again?”

“Dragon’s Nest,” Ro said without hesitation, “Small club downtown. Why did they pick such a small venue, anyway?”

“Cal said they didn’t expect that kinda interest,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Ghost Hounds are almost more famous in Huanglong than in the New Fed.”

“Huh,” Ro said in thought, “Who would’ve guessed.”

“Anything you wanna do on your special day?” Aalto asked, aimlessly spinning in circles on his chair.

Ro shook his head. “I have to mentally prepare. I still can’t believe I’m actually going to see the Ghost Hounds live.”

“Not just see,” Aalto corrected him, “Meet. Thanks to your super special best friend and his premium network.”

Ro squealed.

The two continued casually chatting while Ro answered some happy birthday texts.

“Hey, what are you wearing later?” Ro asked at some point.

Aalto looked down on himself. Blue jeans, plain white t-shirt. “This?” He asked.

“Fair.” Ro nodded and eyed his closet. “Can you help me pick something?”

Aalto sighed, “Sure.”

Ro sent him out of his room and went to shower, then picked out an outfit he always felt comfortable in. Dark blue suit pants and a white button-down. However, when he went into the living room to show off, Aalto only briefly looked up from his phone and said, “Too formal.”

Ro grumbled and went to change. Cargo pants and a way oversized shirt with a graphic print.

“Too casual,” Aalto judged.

“Bruh,” Ro complained, but went back to the drawing board regardless. Next on the list was a pair of shorts and a bright yellow crew neck long sleeve.

“Hmm,” Aalto hesitated for a moment, “That’s gonna make you stand out for sure, but don’t wear shorts to a concert.”

“Why not?” Ro asked, confused.

“I dunno,” Aalto said with a shrug, “Just don’t.”

“Fine,” Ro groaned, and this time he dug deep in his closet to find the clothes he rarely wore and wouldn’t show himself in anywhere. Either because he lacked an occasion or wasn’t comfortable enough to flaunt them. But if not today, then when would he ever?

He walked into the living room again, provocatively asking, “What do you have to say about this, huh?”

Aalto looked him up and down, blinked, looked some more, and finally said, “That’s the one. Damn, Ro.”

Ro did a little spin, smiling timidly. He was donning a sleeveless cotton top with a high collar, black and tight. Not obnoxiously so, but it did show off his figure flatteringly. As did his black jeans, ripped at the knees and thighs, washed out and a bit rugged.

“Glad that that’s settled,” Ro sighed, satisfied.

“Wanna head out?” Aalto asked, “It’s sill a bit early, but we could grab a bite before the show.”

“Sure,” Ro agreed. At this point he was glad for any distraction from the excitement churning his stomach. It felt like his intestines were a bunch of writhing knots and coils, and he felt so incredibly nervous. The only thing that helped was to not think about the gig later, but it was hard, no, impossible not to think about it. He was a mess. An excited, giddy mess.

Aalto tried to make some sort of sensible conversation, but there was no getting through to him. While they ate Panhua’s signature ramen, all Ro could talk about was the concert. What songs would they play? In which order? Aalto knew barely any of their songs so he couldn’t contribute much. Would he laugh at Ro if he sang along out of tune? He promised not to. Would he tell Calcharo how obsessed he was with him? No, of course not. Aalto didn’t want to embarrass his friend. What was Calcharo like, anyway? He’d see, Aalto told him, getting mildly annoyed.

Soon enough it was time to head to the venue. The Dragon’s Nest was a small club with only two floors and a bar in the corner. It often hosted concerts of lesser known bands that weren’t popular enough to fill stadiums, hence the vibe was more personal, intimate, almost.

With their VIP passes, Aalto and Ro could skip the long line in front of the entrance to the club, and they were corralled into an area right in front of the stage, literally the best seats in the house. Except there were no seats. It was standing only. The venue wasn’t packed, but it certainly was more comfortable in the VIP area where they didn’t have to stand shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors. Ro continuously shifted his weight from one foot to the other and kept telling Aalto how crazy this all was and that he couldn’t believe that they were here and it was less than half an hour before the concert was set to begin.

Having enough of his fangirling, Aalto excused himself under the guise of getting drinks for them both, which he actually did, but in reality he just wanted to catch a short break.

Aalto returned just as the lights in the room dimmed, and he almost didn’t find his way back if it weren’t for Ro squealing and raving.

“It’s starting!” He roared and absentmindedly chugged half of the whiskey coke Aalto handed him in one go, “It’s really starting!”

The room was fully dark now, and the crowd grew silent. Then, the first sounds of drums, a light on the left of the stage, and Mortefi, the drummer, under it, already giving his all. Another light, this one on the right-hand side, tracking Encore who gave the crowd a double thumbs up before strumming the first riff on her guitar, and it was one Ro would’ve recognized anywhere.

“That’s Between Me and the Devil!” Ro screamed, grabbing onto Aalto’s arm so hard it hurt, “That’s my favorite song!”

“Wow!” Aalto shouted back, “They’re opening with your favorite song? What a surprise!”

Ro was oblivious to his sarcasm, he was too busy biting on his lips, waiting for the vocals to kick in. Calcharo was still nowhere to be seen, though he already played the bassline, but then…

“Hey! I don’t know where I’m goin’...”

The first line. Ro heard his voice and was ready to faint.

“But you know where I’ve been…”

The central lights finally flared up, shining down on pure white hair and a shiny, ultra-violet bass played by nimble fingers belonging to the revered lead singer.

Aalto noticed Ro grow completely silent by his side and looked over to find him stare upwards, following every single one of Calcharo’s motions, utterly awestruck.

Calcharo finished the first verse, and into an instrumental break said, “Hello Jinzhou!”

The crowd roared.

“How are you doing?”

The crowd screamed.

“Hell yeah!” Calcharo called out, “I know you’ve been waiting for us, and we’re going to make this a night you won't forget! You ready?!”

The crowd thunderously sounded out their approval, and Calcharo took it as a sign to pick up his bass again and pour out his heart into the chorus, with Encore delivering powerful backup vocals and Mortefi going wild on his drums.

Ro’s eyes were swimming in tears of helpless euphoria, and his heart beat to the song that was so special to him. He was pulled into the rapture that was unlike anything he’d ever experienced as he watched the musicians perform their passion turned music. It was an eternity but just a blink at the same time, so much in so few minutes, but still the better part of two hours passed, filled with song after song. For some, Calcharo took a backseat and let Encore have the lead, and she shredded her guitar like no tomorrow, delivering vocals that were so powerful that no one could have guessed they’d come from this pink-haired girl with the small stature.

Mortefi had his chance to shine during the numerous drum solos, and Ro realized they were different from all the recordings he knew. Mortefi was improvising, freestyling live, whipping up new rhythms and tunes on the spot. The chemistry between the band members was impeccable, they complemented each other perfectly, an entirely new whole growing from them as parts.

After playing all songs from First Last Time, the album this tour was meant to honor, as well as many of their fan’s favorites, Calcharo signaled a break and leaned onto the stand of his microphone.

“I know it’s the last thing you want to hear,” he began, his voice slightly hoarse from his extortion, “but we’re through with our planned line-up.”

Sad crowd noises ensued.

“But!” Calcharo sparked hope, “There’s still one thing we gotta do.” He cast his eyes over his eager onlookers that hung to his every word. “A little birdie told me that we have a special guest tonight. Someone here has completed another trip ‘round the sun, and that deserves a celebration, don’t you think?”

Despite barely knowing what he was going on about, the crowd cheered. Ro raised his eyebrows and glanced at Aalto who was trying hard to keep his grinning in check.

“We wanted to keep it a secret for a while longer, but we’re already hard at work on our next album, and you’re the first ever people to get an exclusive first listen of our newest song, Bad News.” Calcharo found Aalto in the first row, then looked over, met Ro’s eyes and pointed at him. And everything else faded away when he said,  “Ro, this one’s for you!”

Ro stopped feeling the ground beneath his feet, stopped smelling the sweat of so many bodies moving as one, stopped hearing the crowd going absolutely wild for the last time. He  could only perceive the beat of Mortefi’s drums, the hum of Calcharo’s bass, and the tune Encore strummed on her guitar. And he only saw him.

“You’ve heard the rumors

I know they’re pretty bad

The only thing worse than the rumors

Are the cold heart facts

I ain’t no angel

But maybe you like it like that…”

Maybe Calcharo wasn’t an angel, but he looked like one, surrounded by the colorful flood lights reflecting off his hair, painting a halo around him. And Ro did like it like that. It was one of the best sights of his life.

“Mama told me

I always was a problem child

But Lord knows I never had a problem getting wild

I know some back roads, baby

If you wanna get lost for a while…”

Ro did want to get lost. Or maybe he already was. Lost in the performance, lost in the rush of watching Calcharo and his band go all out for a final time this night. He almost forgot to take notice of the song that was fast-paced and energetic like all Ghost Hounds songs but still felt like a different flavor, a new spin on everything their fans loved most.

“I'm bad news

I bet you heard about that

Yeah, I'm bad news and bad news travels fast

Hey!”

The Chorus shook the ground, or maybe it was the jumps of the crowd moving in sync, encouraged by Calcharo who raised his arms and walked around on stage, hopping and dancing with way more energy than he should have had left over after two hours of exerting himself like that.

Ro stood still through it all, wholly in disbelief that this was supposedly for him, out of all these people. This global premiere was dedicated to him, and it made tears stream down his face while he grinned from ear to ear. This was the best night of his life. Period.

The Ghost Hounds delivered the rest of the song and ended it to thunderous applause.

“Thank you, Jinzhou!” Calcharo called and bowed, “You were fucking amazing! We’ll be back for sure, but for now, take care, get home safe, and always, always keep your fangs sharp!”

Under more cheers and roars, the stage went dark, and when the lights in the room came back on, Calcharo, Mortefi, and Encore were gone.

---

All lyrics and song titles are from the real life band Ghost Hounds. Go listen to them if you like what you read here.

AO3 link to the whole fic

[violentvalerian]

Introduction

Hi!

I'm ViolentValerian, violent only in name, not in nature. I don't bite. Unless you're into that shit ;)

Jokes aside, I'm a budding fanfic author giving tumblr yet another try. Let's see if it sticks this time. For now I'm focusing on my Wuthering Waves fanworks (there's a whopping two of em), which you can find on my AO3 under the same name as this blog.

I consider myself outgoing and friendly, and I'm always happy to chat, so don't hesitate to reach out or send me an ask!

-- My Works -- (which will be posted on here with probably irregular updates, sorry in advance lol)

Clashing Fangs My current main project, a long, slowburn fic about a Jiyan x Rover x Calcharo polyship. The ship will be established over the course of the story, with eventual smut.

The Best Bad News Calcharo x Rover modern AU oneshot in which Calcharo is the lead singer of a band. Includes smut.

-- My other socials --

AO3: ViolentValerian (Art) Insta: enzian.eternal Discord: en.zi.an