#━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ open starter ⋮ and though i feed on things that fell.

[byanyan]

ㅤㅤ" you ever see a guy an' just... wanna put his neck under your boot? like, y'don't know 'im, y'don't know anything about 'im, but y'can tell that someone needs t' snap that fucker in half? "

[frombeyondtheblackhole]

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 4

... Skeppies- not in his house... he was in his mansion. Now he is in a mine. That’s not normal, or shouldn't be normal. Who knows what’s normal really. “I reject normal,” He muttered to himself before turning and yelling down the mineshaft “Baaaaaad... Very funny Bad!” He started back down the mine shaft, Bad had to be hiding around a corner up here somewhere. “How did you do it?... Bad?” No response “Bad! Stop hiding already, I know you’re there.” 

Wait, what was this. Skeppy stopped and squinted at the mineshaft walls. He’s a literal diamond, Skeppy knows a thing or two about rocks, and this was a rock he had never seen before. The whole wall was made up of large patches of this dark scaly stone. He knocked his knuckles against it, his diamond skin barely scratching it. “What the hell?” He said and was disappointed when Bad didn't interrupt with his typical ‘language.’ This gave him an idea. He cursed louder. Still silence. Skeppy frowned. Maybe Bad really wasn’t there. 

“Well, I'm leaving now. Last chance.” Still nothing. There was a sinking feeling in Skeppy’s chest. Bad wasn’t there. If this wasn’t a prank then what was this. Skeppy hurried down the mineshaft wasting no time in finding the ladder and climbing out into the sunlight. He exited the little house at the top only glancing back down the mine shaft once through the glass floor. He came out on the edge of a bay, mountains and trees behind him. There was some dirt scaffolding laid out in a massive square across the water, and a nether portal and some chests could be seen on a tiny island in the distance.  

He blinked at it for a minute and then Skeppy did what he always did when he didn’t know what to do. He started yelling.

“Hey yooo! Anyone, there!? Anyone out there?! Hellooooo, I’m talking to you!?” His voice echoed back to him and the water lapped softly against the beach. Skeppy scowled “Well, if you don’t want to be friendly then I’ll just leave. How about that? You hear me? I’m leaving, never returning. Not coming back.” He shouted for the benefit of any hypothetical hiding onlookers as he marched into the forest and started climbing the hill. 

The forest quickly thinned and the hill became more of a cliff, and soon he was climbing over rocky boulders and through flat patches of blue-green grass with the occasional grazing sheep. He came over the next hill and stopped short. The mountain dropped off in front of him and in the plain below looked to be some kind of a village. He squinted; a collective of houses built around what looked to be some kind of pole. 

He heard a bleating sound behind him and turned just as something white with horns rammed into him, knocking him off the cliff and sending him tumbling down the rocky slope, head over heels, till he slid to a stop at the bottom. He looked up at the blue sky and groaned. If he wasn’t a literal rock, he would have been covered in bruises. As it was he still felt like shit.    

“Well look at what the goat dropped in.” Someone laughed. Skeppy tilted his head back to look behind him, everything upside down. A man in a red sweater cast his shadow over him. 

He smiled and the corners of his eyes creased, his shadow growing as a pair of wings spread slightly behind him “Hey there, you seem new, welcome to Boatem town.” 

“Uuuuu... hey there?” 

“You just gonna to lie there, buddy?” He laughed again, reaching out a hand. 

Skeppy blinked and shook his head rolling over and taking the offered hand as the man helped him up. 

“By the way, I’m Grian, whatcha doing out here?” 

“Skeppy, and I, with my excellent sense of direction, was exploring and definitely not lost in any way. I know exactly where I am. And I’m definitely not the victim of some unnamed prankster” He said, starting to walk towards the village and looking around. They were behind a big mossy house.

“Oooh, a prank you say, I’ve got to hear this.” Grian said, following. They walked around the house into the village center, a tower of boats hovered in the middle over an ominous pit. 

“Naaah it’s boring really,” Skeppy waved his hand dismissively as he stopped near the edge of the Boatem hole and peered over. It went all the way down to bedrock, like L’manburg. “Huh... interesting...”

“Ah, yes. That is the Boatem hole, we're planning on opening it up to the void at some point.” Grian explained.

“The void? Wait, you can do that? That sounds awesome. Imagine the pranks you could pull with that” Skeppy said his curiosity getting the better of his caution.

“I know right, Scar’s already fallen down there several times,”

“Hey Grian, who’s your friend there?” A man with in a maroon coat and a tinny hat said coming over. When he came closer Skeppy noticed a long scar running diagonally across his nose and face. 

“Hey Scar! Speak of the devil,” Grian called out to the aptly named man. “This is Skeppy, he’s absolutely not lost.” Grian quipped, smiling, his voice full of sarcasm. 

“You’re lost you say,” Scar said his voice full of all the honey of a car salesman. Skeppy would know, he used the same honeyed tone when trying to talk Bad or Techno into something that probably wasn’t going to end all that well for them but would be absolutely hilarious to watch. 

“Not lost,” Skeppy quickly corrected. 

“Well even those who aren’t lost are trying to get somewhere. I’m sure you wouldn’t object to us sharing a shortcut or too.”

This man was good. Skeppy didn’t want to look too desperate though. Just add a bit of hesitation sprinkled with some skepticism, that should do it “Well... I suppose a shortcut sounds like a good idea. I am heading for the Badlands, know a faster way to get there?”

Skeppy was met with vacant looks, the car salesman gone. “Actually I have no idea where that is,” Scar shrugged sheepishly “How about you Grian,” 

Grian shook his head “Nope... now that I think about it, how did you get on the server anyway,”

“Um... I... I think, I think I just spawned... It’s hard to remember honestly, it’s been so long.” Skeppy frowned at the strange question. 

Grian and Scare glanced at each other in shock. New players weren't born, they were spawned, but it was very rare for players to spawn for the first time in a community server. Usually they spawned in a private server and then moved into a community when they found one that worked for them. 

“Oh!” Skeppies eyes went wide with realization then horror. If a diamond could blanch, Skeppy was the closest thing to that. “...This isn’t the Dream SMP, is it?” 

“Oh dear...” Grian Muttered, “That’s not good.”

---

TFC had been mining. Now he was standing in the middle of a quartz building. That wasn’t normal. His connection to the server had always been a bit glitchy. Maybe this was just another instance of server glitch. He had been frozen in place for days, lagged out, and even defended. Teleportation could just be added to that list. And it wasn’t all that bad, it’s not like it dumped him in the middle of the ocean or lava. As it was, it seemed like he was in someone's starter base. 

He walked down the stairs and out the glass front doors. There were pools of water to either side of a walkway and the yard was cluttered with large colorful statues. A muffin, a duck. Goodness the hermits were already at it with the pranks this season. 

He walked around the statues and came to the front gate of the grounds. A long wooden path lead off in one direction, and wrapped around behind the mansion in the other. A large red multi story building loomed in the distance. The hermits really had gotten busy. 

It was always nice to see what other people were making but he needed to get back to his mine. He took the path following it around the back of the mansion. The path dropped off suddenly. He jumped down and landed with a grunt before taking some bread out of his pocket and munching on it as he rounded the corner of the quartz building's foundation. 

He faltered as his eyes fell on a massive blackstone building looming out of the sea, two imposing lava infused towers book ending the walls at either side... And he had thought the Red build had been big for early game. This was definitely too big for early game... even by hermit standards. 

He slowly walked closer. Beyond the Quartz house was mostly just an open field until it reached the water. As he got closer he noticed his pickaxe suddenly become unnaturally heavy. It felt strangely like Mining Fatigue. What would a Guardian be doing out here? He returned his pick to his inventory. TFC had seen a lot of things in his time, and this thing felt off. 

“Pst..” 

TFC jumped and looked around for the source of the noise. 

“Over here,” 

Now he noticed the footprints in the ground and a floating potion bottle. That sounded like Etho. 

“Etho?” TFC queried.

“Yeah, it’s me. Here drink this, I can explain later,” Etho said, shoving the potion into TFC’s work calloused hands. 

TFC looked down at the bottle of bubbling silver liquid for a moment before uncorking it and downing the liquid. He trusted the young man with his life. 

--- 

Sam started up from his chair in the dark room where he had been flipping through the prison's security camera feeds, lit only by the glow of the computer screens. He expanded the outside front camera feed to full screen and rewound the feed. A strange old man he had never seen before slowly approached the beach by the prison then just disappeared. Who the hell was that and why did he take an invis potion. 

Sam scowled. “Not on my watch,” he muttered, summoning his trident from his inventory and marching for the exit.

[solarwonux]

1. “We have to be quiet.”

67.  “You should wear that more often.”

literary agent!jin x f!reader

genre: slice of life, fluff

w.c: 2.3k

warnings: a little suggestive, nudity, lots of fluff

note: writing this made me soft lolol. I love this couple so much, they’re absolutely adorable tbh lolol. Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Enjoy.xx

MASTERLIST || PROMPTS

“Come back to mine.” Seokjin flashes you an award winning smile, sending your heart into a frenzy. It fights against the beat of the pop song quietly playing through his car speakers, while he drives through the empty streets, not a car in sight, your hand gripped tightly in his.  

“But your roommates.” You whisper even though you don’t have to as there was no one around except for you and Seokjin. Yet, every time either of you mentioned your roommates your voices would dial down, fade into a whisper like an unspoken rule. Afraid that saying their names out loud would somehow summon them. 

“It’s almost four in the morning.” Seokjin stops at a red light, bringing your palm up to his lips, lingering there for a few seconds before setting it down to his lap. “They’re likely sleeping as we speak.” He states, flooring the gas once the light turns green. The impact makes your body hit his leather seat with a light ‘thud’. 

You groan, Seokjin laughs before easing up, slowing down. He liked to do that; catch you off guard. He showered himself in your reactions only to tease you until you kissed him to shut him up. 

“Please, I leave for my business trip tomorrow night and I want to spend all the time that I can with you before I leave.” Briefly, he takes his eyes off the road, fluttering his eyelashes, winding them into flight. 

You cave, because you also do and he knew that you would have no matter what. “Fine, but you’re only going to be gone for two days.” You roll your eyes, a pretty, soft smile decorating your face. The smile Seokjin first fell in love with five years ago. It’s amazing the two of you have been sneaking around for three of those five years and never once been caught. It’s stupid but he prides himself in keeping up with appearances. 

“But it’s my first one without you.” Seokjin grimaces, pulling into the parking lot in front of his apartment building, setting his car on park and turning the engine off. The penthouse he shared with three of his friends was dark and you let out a sigh of relief. 

He was right. There wasn’t a soul awake in that house. 

You shake your head, letting go of his hand and unbuckling your seat belt. Cringing when it hits the car window. Seokjin sends you a glare, his poor precious car that he saved up for years would break if he left it in your hands. You mumble a low apology before leaning over the middle console and planting a soft kiss against his plump lips to seal the deal. 

Seokjin beams, kissing you once more, “let’s go, I don’t think I can stay awake any longer.” He says and opens his car door, jogging over to your side. You wait, knowing that if you were to take initiative in opening your own door he would throw a mini tantrum, stating: “babe I know you’re an independent woman and don’t need me but let me feed my ego every once in a while.” So you let him. 

He janks the door open, the impulse threatening to knock him off his feet. His body was tired, so was yours. But neither of you had been able to sleep after knowing that there were barely twenty four hours left until Seokjin left for his first business trip without you.

You were promoted to Chief Editor at the publishing company. No longer a literary agent or sharing an office with your boyfriend as you were now a floor higher. It had really sent the two of you off the rails for a few days. He was light years proud of you, but he missed having you around. 

Seokjin offers his hand, leaning nonchalantly against the car door, his eyes drooping, heavy with sleep. He looked adorable, “thanks Jin.” You take his hand and he lazily pulls you out of the car, his arm circling around your waist. 

“Anything for you, my queen.” He mumbles, leaning in and leaving a chaste kiss against your forehead. “Now let's go, remember we have to be quiet.” He winks, placing his index finger above his lips, his hand traveling around your waist to your hand, lacing his fingers in between the spaces of yours.

You roll your eyes and slam the car door making him jump. A knowing glare sent your way making you laugh.

 “Babe.” He whines. 

 “We’re outside and they’re fourteen stories up, asleep. Even if the car door were to wake them up they have no way of knowing it’s us. Don’t worry.” You pat his chest and walk past him pulling him along. “Plus I can be quiet when I need to.” You look over your shoulder sending him a kiss. He shakes his head, pretending to grab it mid air and then placing it above his heart, with a lovesick look on his face. 

“So cheesy.” You say, a sigh of protest leaving his lips. 

“Only for you.” 

Sneaking into Seokjin’s apartment prompted it to be harder than expected.

For starter’s the second Seokjin and you walked into the dark apartment, he bumped into the coat rack near the front door, knocking it over. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, leaving you frozen, your pulse pounding against your ears. 

Even in the dark you could see Seokjin’s wide eyes. Panic streaked past them replacing the galaxies he kept hidden behind them. The sweat was pooling against your brow when the hallway light turned on. “The kitchen,” Seokjin’s yell is coated in a whisper. His arms signaling to the kitchen in a haste. “They won’t see you if you go into the kitchen.” 

You nod, jumping over the coat rack and running into the kitchen. Squatting down behind the counter for extra precaution. A laugh stifles behind your closed lips, the adrenaline rush waking you up. This is why you and Seokjin still snuck around, not that you needed to. You were more than positive that everyone has known about your relationship for years. The two of you weren’t necessarily careful, but it was still fun. 

“I thought you were sleeping.” Namjoon says. His voice drenched in sleep, arms crossed in front of him looking down at his roommate confused. 

Seokjin stood up, bringing the coat rack with him and leaned against it. “Couldn’t sleep, pre-business trip jitters so I went out for a drive.” He shrugs.

Namjoon raises his eyebrows suspiciously. Surely he was tired as hell and didn’t want to deal with yours and Seokjin’s antics tonight. He knew you were here, your choked laugh had given you away while he made his way into the living room. But for the sake of going back to the bed that was calling out to him. So, he pretended not to know. He’s been pretending for nearly three years. Another night wouldn’t hurt. 

“Alright well good night,” He squints, bringing up his wrist and taps his apple watch, 4:30am, it reads. “Or good morning, do you still need me to drive you to the airport tomorrow night?” He scratches the back of his neck and lets out a tired sigh. 

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks man. And sorry for waking you up. I think your clumsiness is rubbing off on me.” Seokjin drags the coat hanger, the legs screeching against the wooden floor making all three of you cringe at the noise. He sets it against the wall, fixing the coats to buy time. 

Namjoon shakes his head and yawns, stretching his arms above his head. “Whatever.” He says and turns around making his way to the comfort of his room once again. 

Seokjin closes the door to his room quietly. Letting out a sigh of relief thanking all his angel’s that the only one that woke up was Namjoon and not Hoseok. The ladder would’ve made him sit down on the couch and talk about his troubles. Or if he was in one of his moods - not the bad ones - he would’ve given him a run down on how his day went in full detail. 

“So much for being quiet Jin.” You scoff. 

Seokjin turns around and walks to you bringing you in into a tight hug, “It’s not my fault I forgot the stupid coat rack was there.” He mumbles against your hair, running a soothing hand down your back. 

“It’s your place, how do you forget the way things are set up.” You pull back, tilting your head to look up at him. Maybe it was because you were close to letting the sleep take over your body but he looked more radiant underneath the dim light of his room and somehow taller than earlier. It definitely had to be your sleep deprived delusions. There was no way the man before you could’ve grown another two inches in the last three hours.

“I’m too tired to argue with you so yes baby, my beautiful lover you are right.” He nuzzles his head into your neck, tickling your skin in the process. A tiny laugh falls out of your lips. It sounds like music to Seokjin’s ears. “Do you want to change?” He stands up straight, his brows furrowed in concern, while he takes in your stuffy work attire. 

“Yes, I feel I’ve been wearing these slacks for five days straight.” You huff pulling on the legs of your pants, revealing your lavender painted toenails, wiggling them against his carpeted floor.

At around eight Jin had clocked out and snuck his way into your office asking if you wanted him to take you home. A promise to stop at your favorite burger joint failing to finish escaping his mouth when you had cut him off and told him that you had to finish the re-edits of the novel you were assigned too. Your department was heavily understaffed which meant your work was doubled, biding you to stay late after hours to be able to make all your deadlines. It worried Jin to see you so overworked, but as much as it tired you out. You loved it so he never once complained to the company. 

Plus the two of you had appearances to keep up. Can’t have everyone knowing that he was head over heels for you and vice versa. 

But at around one he started to worry after not hearing from you for nearly two hours. He called you and that’s when he found out you were still at the office. Without a form of hesitation he put on his shirt and walked out the front door, keys in hand. Telling you he would be there in fifteen minutes. Which is how the two of you ended up driving around town for the last two hours sharing fries and caramel sundae from the fast food restaurant down the street of the company. Of course a couple make out sessions here and there after he parked the car at an abandoned Toy’s R’s Us. (The ‘r’ unlit so it read Toy’s Us instead, which for some reason sent the two of you in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.) 

Now you were here, in his room, still wearing your work clothes, shoulders dropping as finally the wave of exhaustion that had been plaguing your boyfriend for a good hour hit you. 

Seokjin untangles his limbs from you and walks to his closet. “They look good on you. I had half a mind to walk into your office this morning and get a good feel.”

“A good feel of what?” You cock your head. Nimble fingers moving up to unbutton your blouse. The annoying Chiffon material scraping against your soft skin. 

“Your ass.” He states throwing you the matching shirt of one of his pajamas. “Do you want the pants?” He turns around holding the striped material in his hands, swallowing thickly as he watches you remove your clothes, leaving you naked in the middle of his room. The only thing protecting you from his prying, hunger filled eyes were the flower patterned panties you kept on. 

“No, they're uncomfortable.” You bend down picking up the pajama shirt and unbutton the first few buttons. Oblivious to the way Seokjin was looking at you right now, burning his heated gaze into your body, loving the way it seemed to glow, shimmer, underneath the moonlight casting through his wide bedroom windows. In about two hours it would disappear for the night so he made sure he imprinted the image into the part of his brain that belonged to you. 

“You should wear that more often.” He throws the pants over his shoulders and stalks over to you.

“I’m not really wearing anything.” 

“Exactly.” He smirks. 

You roll your eyes and shrug on his shirt, leaving the first few buttons undone. You walk to the right of the bed - the one nearest to the window and the wall - and pull back his navy blue comforter. “Let’s go to sleep, I’m too tired to do anything.” You lay down.

Seokjin agrees, as much as he would like to just hold you close and make love to you until the sun rises. His eyes were closing in on him and he was sure the second he felt the heat of your body and your warmth wrap around him, he’d fall asleep. 

It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. 

“I agree, there’s always tomorrow...Well I mean today but in eight hours.” He reassures, laying down on his side and bringing the comforter up to his chin. He wraps his arm around your waist, resting his head against your chest, humming as the comfort overtakes him.

You rake your fingers through his hair, placing your cheek against the crown of it. “I love you, Jin, you make me so happy.” You whisper, closing your eyes. 

Seokjin smiles, bringing you closer, kissing the sliver of skin against his shirt. “I love you angel, you make my life worth living.” 

In seconds the silence and stillness of the night takes over. Your bodies relaxing, tangled up in a mess of limbs, finally welcoming sleep.

[refinedbuffoonery]

Looking Through A Window (2)

macriley married undercover au

masterlist.

Oh man. My dudes. I received so much love and support and excited feedback on the first chapter that I thought my heart was going to explode. Y’all are so wonderful. Keep it up. <3

*****

Luckily, Matty lets them take the Phoenix jet to Houston. Flying commercial would make today even more tortuous than it already promises to be, albeit for a different reason. 

No matter how hard he tries to distract himself, Mac cannot stop staring at the diamond ring on Riley’s finger. The princess cut gem is stunning and ridiculously large, but it suits her cover as a lucrative arms dealer. A white gold wedding band sits below it. Riley left her usual assortment of rings at home, and Mac can’t help but think her long, delicate fingers look bare without them. 

He tears his eyes away from the rings again and again, both on the plane and while driving to the safe house. Riley drives with just her left hand, her right elbow resting on the center console. Mac likes driving, but there’s something relaxing about riding shotgun while Riley drives instead. He’s never been able to put a finger on it, but the sense of ease washes over him all the same. Admiring the way sunlight illuminates her engagement ring is simply a bonus. 

He doesn’t let himself imagine what he might give her, in an alternate future where she reciprocates his feelings and one day wants to marry him. 

Harley obediently lays in the backseat, staring out the windshield. She's been on her best behavior the entire twenty four hours Mac's known her, ever the professional. 

Which puts her completely at odds with Mac and Riley's shenanigans—cracking jokes, dancing on the plane and in the car, doing purposefully bad impersonations of Russ. These are the best parts of going on ops alone with Riley. They can let loose in a way they just couldn’t when anyone else other than Bozer was around. Everyone else is professional all the time; Mac and Riley are only professional when they have to be. 

Riley taps the steering wheel in time to the classic rock song on the radio. “What do you want for dinner?” 

“Dinner? We haven’t even had lunch yet!” 

“True.” Riley chuckles. “Can you tell I’m hungry?” 

Mac gives her a sly look. “Not at all.” 

They settle on Texas barbecue for lunch on their way to the safe house, because that’s what Jack would choose if he was here. If only the old man could see them now, all grown up and getting sent to take down terrorists unsupervised. 

Seated in a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, Mac raises his brisket sandwich in a toast to Jack, in whatever afterlife he found himself in. Hopefully it’s the one with an endless supply of good barbecue. 

“Oh man, Jack would’ve loved this,” Riley says through a mouthful of food. She sneaks Harley a piece of brisket. 

Mac smiles. “Yeah, he would’ve.” 

It’s easier, now, to talk about him. At first, Mac hadn’t been sure he could ever get to a point where talking about Jack didn’t make him want to hit something or just curl up and sob. 

But here he is, on the other side. Him and Riley both. 

Their safe house is another twenty minutes away from the restaurant, in a nice neighborhood full of trees and children playing on the sidewalks. It’s so much greener than a California neighborhood could ever dream of being. There’s even a park across the street from their apartment complex. It’s exactly the sort of place a young, affluent couple would want to live. 

Riley parks in their designated space, and the pair ascend the stairs to apartment number 202. Outside of the car, they don’t dare use each other’s real names until they’re sure the apartment is free of bugs. The place was furnished earlier that week by other Phoenix agents, but Mac and Riley do a thorough sweep of every room just in case. 

It’s a nice apartment. Wood flooring, granite countertops, matching cabinets throughout. There are pictures on the walls, but Mac doesn’t bother to stop and check what they are. 

Riley clears the space from back to front, so Mac does the opposite. He clears the kitchen first, frowning at the absence of any sort of food, before moving on to the living room. 

Mac stops dead in his tracks when he enters the bedroom. The singular bedroom. With a singular, queen-sized bed. 

Oh no. This is not happening. 

Mac shakes his head and rubs his eyes, hoping his mind is just playing tricks on him and that there’s actually two beds. Or a whole other room he missed before. 

The one and only bed seems to mock him. 

He walks back out, finding Riley already sitting at the kitchen table, turning on her laptop. “Uhh, Riles? There’s only—”

“One bed,” she finishes, not bothering to look up. “I know.” 

Oh god. He can’t do this. He can’t. Not with his dignity still intact. Mac stammers, “I’ll, uhh, sleep on the couch. You can have it.”

That gets Riley’s attention. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to be here for weeks. You’ll hurt your back sleeping on the couch that long. Just sleep with me.” Riley’s eyes widen as she realizes what she just said. “In the bed,” she quickly adds. 

Mac ducks his head to hide his blush. 

“What are you working on?” he asks in a feeble attempt to distract himself from their sleeping situation. Because it will definitely be a situation if Mac’s not careful. 

“Connecting to the Wi-Fi,” Riley says in a slow, “What else would I be doing?” sort of way. 

“Right.” Mac silently curses himself. Of course that’s what she’s doing. “Anyway, I’m assuming you already know this, since you probably opened the fridge too, but we have no food.” 

“I saw.” She’s multitasking again, manicured fingers flying faster across her keyboard than Mac can keep track of. “Why don’t you unload our bags while I finish this, and then we can go.” 

Unable to help feeling like he’s been dismissed, Mac complies without protest. 

Soon they’re back in the car, headed to the grocery store, and the whole thing feels ridiculously domestic. Mac’s never been a fan of grocery shopping, but Riley makes it almost...fun. For starters, she’s not methodical about it the way Bozer and Desi are. But more than that, getting to spend time with her doing mundane, non-work stuff is a nice reminder that their relationship is more than just the job. They’re friends too. 

Mac wishes there is a way to tell her all that without it sounding weird. 

They come home, unload the groceries, and take Harley for a long walk, and that feels easy too. It feels normal, even though literally nothing about this situation is normal, and Mac already knows he’ll miss this when the op is over. 

But normalcy ends when Riley beckons Mac to sit beside her at the kitchen table, and together they write an advertisement for their arms dealing business. Once they’re satisfied with it, Riley sends it off into the dark web, and there’s nothing to do but wait, like a spider after spinning her web. 

The waiting is the worst part. 

Mac is contemplating taking Harley for a second walk when Riley asks, “Want to help me make dinner?” He takes one look at her hands on her hips and the “you don’t actually have a choice” look on her face and knows he’ll be left to fend for himself if he doesn’t help now. Mac learned that the hard way back when he and Riley lived together. 

“Sure.” 

They work in comfortable silence. Mac chops vegetables and grates cheese for their quesadillas while Riley does the actual cooking part. Even though they are doing separate tasks, Mac is acutely aware of every move Riley makes, no matter how insignificant. Flexing her long, thin fingers around a knife. Itching the back of her calf with her foot. Dancing in place, spatula in hand, while she waits to flip the quesadillas sizzling in the pan. 

Mac smiles softly. Her random little dances are cute. He’s noticed them more and more since realizing he has feelings for her, but if Mac is being honest, he’s always thought the dances are cute. 

Riley hisses as she peeks under the tortilla, checking to see if it’s browned yet. 

“You good?” Mac asks, frowning. 

“Yeah, I touched the pan by accident.” Riley runs her thumb under cold water. 

Her laptop dings while they eat. Wide-eyed, Mac glances at Riley. That was fast. She grimaces before sliding the laptop closer and checking the notification. 

“Is it them?” he asks tentatively. That’s the hard part about this; in order for their business to look more legit, they had to just put an ad out and hope for a response, rather than target the terrorist organization directly. 

Riley exhales. “No, it’s not them. It’s someone else.” 

Swallowing another bite of quesadilla, Mac says, “I don’t know whether I’m relieved or if that’s worse.” 

“Same.” 

There are no more responses that night.

*****

Mac wakes up in the same position he fell asleep in—on his side, facing outward, with as much space between him and Riley as possible. When they crawled into bed the night before, Riley did the same. 

Harley spent the night on the couch. 

She’s a very guarded dog, Mac is slowly realizing. Tolerating, but not trusting. Mac supposes he would be like that too if he was a dog and he got stuck with a bunch of strangers after his human suddenly disappeared one day. 

He makes coffee, feeds Harley breakfast, and takes a shower, all before Riley loses her battle with the snooze button and finally gets out of bed. While she showers, Mac takes Harley for a walk in hopes that the cool, spring air will ease the anxiety that took root the moment Riley released their ad into the void. 

It doesn’t. 

Dark, puffy clouds loom on the horizon, and the few birds Mac hears shriek at each other in warning. It looks like a storm is coming. 

When Mac returns, he’s met with a grim expression, one he understands without Riley uttering a single word. “They answered,” she confirms. 

“What did they say?” Unclipping Harley’s leash, Mac moves to stand behind Riley, resting his hands on the back of her chair. The scent of her shampoo tickles his nose, and he forces himself to ignore it and focus on what Riley’s saying. 

“They want to meet. Today.” 

“Time or place?” 

Riley points at a small box on her screen. “Just an address.” 

“What’s there?” 

“A warehouse,” Riley says. “Owned by the same shell corporation other Phoenix techs already tied to the organization.” 

“Not very clandestine, are they?” 

“No, they’re not.” Riley looks up at him, her head bumping his sternum, and butterflies ricochet inside Mac’s rib cage. There’s something soft in Riley’s expression that makes Mac want to kiss her. “Are you ready for this?” 

Mac sighs. “As ready as I ever am. Are you?” 

“Yeah,” she says, but her confidence falters. Without thinking, Mac squeezes her shoulders in reassurance before walking away to change.

*****

The warehouse is located on the edge of the city, in an industrial area that has certainly seen better days. Even from a distance, Mac can see cobwebs decorating the warehouse windows and rust creeping up the roller doors. Aside from Riley, there’s not another soul in sight. 

As per the directions the organization sent after Riley confirmed the meeting, Mac parks on the south side of the building, near the only functional-looking door. He doesn’t look at Riley as they get out of the car, instead desperately trying not to cringe at the cold, heavy weight of the gun holstered at his side, hidden beneath his jacket. 

High-end arms dealers couldn’t walk around unarmed, unfortunately. 

Although her hands are occupied with holding Harley’s leash, there’s a gun hidden beneath Riley’s suit jacket as well. Mac’s stomach churns. The second Riley emerged from their bedroom earlier wearing that jet black suit, she was a different person. She was wholly Genevieve Turner, and no matter how hard Mac tried, he couldn’t find even a single trace of his best friend beneath the icy exterior. 

Locking their SUV, Mac smooths the lapels of his own black suit and slips into character as well. 

The dark clouds Mac noticed earlier are directly overhead now. Mac has never believed in omens the way Jack did, but he can’t help hearing Jack’s voice in his head, warning him that black clouds are a sign of certain doom. Or something like that. 

There’s no one inside the warehouse, at least as far as Mac can see. “Hello?” he calls, the word echoing slightly in the open space. Aside from a few random wooden crates, the room is empty. 

A door slams, and then an older man comes into view. He’s probably in his late fifties, with graying hair and a beer belly his shirt doesn’t quite cover. The man swaggers like he owns the place, although Mac doubts the leader of a terrorist cell would deign to play tour guide. 

No doubt there’s a quip on the edge of Riley’s tongue about entitled white men, but she doesn’t share it. 

The man extends a hand to Mac in introduction. “Conrad.” His sneer doesn’t reach his eyes. 

Mac frowns, keeping his hands at his sides. “Last name?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” 

What he’s about to say might screw everything up before it even starts, but Mac says it anyway. In his gut, he knows it’s the right call. “If it doesn’t matter, then we’re done here. My wife and I have no interest in entering a business relationship with someone too inexperienced to understand that trust is integral to any transaction.” Mac spins on his heel and strides toward the door, Riley falling into step beside him. 

“Wait!” the man calls. They pause, turning around slowly. “Deacon. Conrad Deacon.” The man seems to know he’s already lost. Good. “Welcome to the cause.” He gestures for Mac and Riley to follow him. 

Mac stands his ground. In his peripheral, Riley stands utterly still, the perfect mask of cool, collected neutrality. Almost bored, even. It’s scary how easily she becomes her cover. 

“Come on now,” Conrad says, taking a single step forward. “We have much to discuss.” 

That’s enough of the power play, Mac thinks, but just as he’s about to give in and follow Conrad, Riley utters a single, sharp command that rings through the room. “Sit.” 

Harley obeys. 

Riley’s lips curve in a cruel, taunting smile. “Then enlighten us.” Mac suppresses a shiver; he’s seen this side of Riley plenty of times before, watched her hone it over the years, but it’s still unnerving. Admittedly, it’s also kind of hot. 

Conrad ignores her entirely. He croons, “Why don’t we start with your names?” It’s phrased like a question. It sounds like a question, but Mac sees the demand for what it really is. 

Mac gestures to Riley. “This is my wife, Genevieve Turner. And my name is James.” His father’s name tastes like ash on Mac’s tongue. 

“And the dog?” 

“Killer,” Riley sneers. Mac isn’t sure if she’s kidding or not. 

Again, Conrad doesn’t acknowledge her. “James, why don’t I give you the tour and explain what we do here.” 

“We’ll go on the tour, but we are not here to join your cause.” It takes every ounce of Mac’s willpower to maintain his neutral tone. “All we care about is what you’d like us to provide and how much you’ll pay for it.” 

Conrad doesn’t hide his displeasure. “Fine. Follow me.” 

Mac and Riley are led through the open warehouse. The layout is straightforward and nearly impossible to get lost in. But after Conrad shows them a room full of rifles—countless hung on the walls, floor to ceiling, the rest in half-open crates—Mac finds himself counting the number of wooden shipping crates scattered around the building. 

He doesn’t like his final number. 

Arming terrorists doesn’t sit well with Mac, even if it serves a purpose. It makes him sick, knowing he will likely be indirectly responsible for their next attack. 

Especially because those crates are no doubt full of the kind of rifles designed to kill people most effectively. The ones hanging on the wall are military grade, probably cutting-edge. Desi would know exactly what they are and how they work. 

Trusting Riley is paying close attention, Mac only half listens to Conrad babble about the cause. But then the older man says something that stops Mac in his tracks. “Our country is being run into the ground by whiny do-nothings,” Conrad asserts, “who waste our money and spew garbage that some people matter more than others. Well, you know what? Hardworking, everyday Americans matter. But no,” he scoffs, “those damn liberals don’t like it when we remind them of the truth. Once we’re rid of them and the insufferables who elected them, this country will be better off.” 

The ground sways under Mac’s feet. He knows these people believe this, read it in Matty’s extensive briefing notes. But it’s another thing entirely to hear someone say it to his face. 

He can only imagine what Riley must be thinking. 

Clearing his throat, Mac tries to redirect the conversation. “Like I said, we don’t care about your cause. Just tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll be on our way.” 

Conrad eyes him suspiciously, but complies. “We’re looking for something a little more than what you can get at the store, you know?” 

Mac doesn’t, not exactly. He’ll have to ask Desi later. “I do,” he lies. 

“Good. Here’s what we’re willing to pay for it.” He hands Mac a folded piece of paper, and Mac does a double take when he reads the number. There are a lot of zeroes. “And as a show of good faith, we’d like it delivered tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?” Riley splutters. Mac feels it then, the broiling rage slipping through a crack in her persona. He needs to get her out of there. Now. Not just to preserve the op, but for Riley’s wellbeing. Some audacity Matty has making Riley play nice with men like this. 

Mac slides his hands into his pockets, using the movement as a cover to brush his knuckles against Riley’s fist. I know. I’m here. I’m sorry. 

For the first time, Conrad addresses Riley directly. “Yes. Tomorrow. Unless that’s something you can’t do?” 

“We can do that,” she replies calmly, and the difference between her reactions is like night and day. As quickly as that crack appeared, it was gone. 

“Excellent.” Conrad takes another step toward Riley, offering to shake hands, but Harley’s low, menacing growl keeps him at bay. Rewarding the dog with a quick scratch on the head, Riley closes the gap and shakes Conrad’s still-outstretched hand. 

“It’s a deal,” she says. Following suit, Mac shakes Conrad’s hand as well and follows Riley out the door, neither of them uttering another word. 

Mac drives. One look at Riley’s trembling fist decides for him. 

By the time the warehouse disappears from the rearview mirror, he can’t take the silence anymore. “Hey,” Mac starts, but Riley cuts him off with a hand. 

“Not until we’re inside.” 

They hit every single red light between the warehouse and the apartment, and Mac anxiously taps the steering wheel. Raindrops land on the windshield. They’re small at first, but soon the drops are large and numerous enough to refract the streetlights, and Mac struggles to see where he’s going. He adjusts the windshield wipers over and over, never landing on the right speed. 

Too slow. Too fast. Too slow. Too fast. 

Mac settles on a setting that’s slightly too fast, and the squeak of rubber on glass nearly matches his heart thudding in his chest. 

Riley stares straight ahead, unmoving, unblinking. Mac wants to reach out, to let a gentle touch say what he verbally can’t, but the road is slick enough to make him keep two hands on the wheel. We’re almost there, he reassures himself. 

By the time he parks, it’s pouring hard enough that the ten second walk from the car to the door soaks them to the bone. Riley’s hands shake as she unlocks the apartment door. 

Once they’re inside and Mac unclips Harley’s leash, Riley turns to him with pained, pleading eyes. His heart breaking all over again, Mac draws her in for a long, tight hug. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to. 

Mac just cradles the back of her head and sways gently, wishing he could fix the world for her. 

Neither pulls away, even when Riley suddenly says, “If Conrad was smart, he would’ve had someone bug our car while he paraded us around the warehouse. I don’t think he’s actually smart enough to do that, but we should check first, just in case.” 

Mac curses himself for not thinking of that. “Good call.” He rubs Riley’s back, hoping the gesture is soothing. “I hate the way he treated you,” he snarls. “Like you weren’t even worth acknowledging.” 

“Welcome to being a woman.” 

It was more than that. They both know it. But neither say it.

*****

“You need what?” Matty shrieks over the phone. 

Mac winces. “Sorry.” He’d called Desi first, to ask what kind of guns Conrad meant with his innuendo, and received a verbal lashing for not asking any follow-up questions. But she made her best guess anyway. Now on the phone with Matty, it doesn’t take even a single brain cell to know that her reaction will be much, much worse. 

“He wants us to prove ourselves,” Riley adds. “As a show of good faith.” The words come out dripping in venom, but their boss doesn’t comment. Mac takes a second to study her; Riley changed into leggings and an oversized flannel shirt, and there are still remnants of dark makeup smudges under her eyes. Now, she’s sitting on the kitchen counter with her knees tucked into her chest. It’s weird to see her take up so little space. 

Matty sighs, deeply and loudly in a way conveys her annoyance more than words ever could. “Fine. A few weeks ago, Border Control confiscated a huge shipment of smuggled guns near El Paso, so I’ll see if we can borrow those. But next time, Blondie, don’t make promises you can’t keep.” He doesn’t correct Matty in that it was Riley who made the deal. That would only add fuel to the fire. 

“Thank you,” he says, and Matty hangs up. Mac runs a hand through his damp hair. “That went well.” Riley’s lips twitch, but it’s not the amused reaction he hopes for. He’s at a complete loss regarding what to say to her, so Mac gently asks, “What can I do?” 

Riley slides off the counter, and Mac reaches for her automatically, although he doesn’t actually touch her; his hand hovers just beside Riley’s elbow. She doesn’t shrink away, but she makes no move to touch him either. 

“Help me put him and everyone like him in a deep, dark hole where they can’t hurt anybody. And then just…” she trails off, taking a deep breath. “Keep being you.” 

With that, she walks away, leaving Mac alone in the kitchen, racking his brain to figure out what that last part means.

*****

Later that night, Mac tosses and turns, replaying Conrad’s words. Once we’re rid of them and the insufferables who elected them, this country will be better off. They seem off-kilter, like what the man said and what he really meant are misaligned. Mac sighs, rubbing his face. 

Another bolt of lightning illuminates the bedroom, and Mac automatically counts the seconds until he hears thunder rumbling in the distance. The storm is moving closer. 

Beside him, Riley lies on her back with her eyes closed, although her breathing is too light for her to be asleep. Mac wonders if her mind is just as loud and chaotic as his. 

For Riley’s sake, he hopes it’s not.

*****

Sleep never finds Mac. 

The storm rages all through the night, but by the time dawn arrives, the thunder and wind dissipate, leaving just the steady downpour. The clouds are dark enough that Mac can hardly tell the sun even bothered to rise this morning. 

When Riley’s alarm goes off, it’s like the shrill tone is mocking Mac for being awake. Riley groans as she shuts it off. 

“Morning,” he mumbles. His throat hurts. He needs water. “Did you sleep well?”

Another groan. “No.” 

“At least you slept,” Mac mutters.

Riley rolls onto her side, drawing one of the extra pillows into her chest. “Do you always toss and turn that much?”

It was his fault, he realizes, that she didn’t sleep. Mac suddenly feels guilty. “Sorry. And no.” 

He expects Riley to be upset at being kept awake, but she isn’t. With a look that just might be understanding, she softly asks, “What were you thinking about?” 

Mac can’t say that his thoughts whip around his mind like raindrops in last night’s storm. Not without sounding crazy, at least. So instead he says, “I don’t even know. I just have a bad feeling about this.” 

“Me too,” Riley admits. “It feels off.” Her eyes are heavy, and Mac’s had enough early mornings with Riley to know it’s not just the lack of sleep weighing her down. 

“Go back to sleep. I can handle the delivery.” 

Riley rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not letting you do that by yourself.” 

He doesn’t argue. “Okay.” 

A moment passes between them. It’s been happening more and more lately—holding eye contact a little too long, sharing smirks when no one else is looking, stealing moments where it’s just the two of them and nothing else matters. Each one gives him hope that there’s not a wall between them, but instead, a door. Someone just has to be brave enough to open it. 

Sitting up, Riley quipps, “Just don’t make me regret letting you sleep in the bed with me.” Mac snorts. 

“No promises.”

.

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Ruling Me

You ever get an idea, and then you realize how good that idea is? I dunno what overcame me, but I remembered an idea I had way back when I started the blog. Didn’t have a single thing written for it, but I sat down and crunched it out in like two or three sessions. However, couldn’t think of a title, so just slapped on a slightly fitting mediocre one haha

Anyways, that particular idea was that Michalis rubbed Niles the wrong way, and honestly you should know what comes next if you are following this blog. It also let me write dialogue for this which I love to do, I’m pretty pleased overrall with how it turned out. Enjoy!

Niles and Michalis were a little less than acquaintances. They were often deployed at the same time, sure, but to imply they were anything more than occasional coworkers was...generous. Neither had a personality that would particularly jell with the other, nor backgrounds that befitted such a thing. It was more or less a strict work relationship. So why Niles felt a need to approach him on that particular day was something of a mystery. Maybe it was just the convenience of the location they had passed by.

Niles had begun with a particularly tame conversation starter, especially by his standards. He had been loitering in a hall as Michalis passed by. “Well well, King Michalis himself. Nice to see you about-”

“Speak when spoken to, cur.” Michalis didn’t even let him finish, before turning to him with a disgusted look. He glared at the archer with a rather unwarranted disdain.

Somewhat flabbergasted, Niles could only say back- “Excuse me?”

“Did I stutter?” Michalis hissed. “I have no need to talk to you. I can barely tolerate your presence on the battlefield. Know your place.” He pointed a gloved finger at Niles, malice exuding from his continued grimace. “I can’t stand the sight of you. Begone.”

When Niles continued to sit where he had been at the first place, surprise still evident on his face, Michalis took his leave first. Storming down the hall, in his dark cloak. Niles was no stranger to such angers, but usually it took him actually doing something first. Sure, there were some haughty nobles in Nohr who would likely see him in the exact same light, but he wasn’t fighting alongside those nobles. Surely he was warranted a chance, a modicum of respect?

And that got under Niles skin. Just a bit. 

Now there were perhaps less extreme methods of annoying Michalis he could’ve gotten to, such as planting himself in hallways that the King of Macedon would certainly pass through. Not to mention, Michalis couldn’t exactly just attack Niles outright- The Summoner would have something to say about that. But just annoying Michalis also seemed a tad...Too gradual. After all, he had delved into verbal assault quite quickly. So maybe Niles could also jump to an extreme as well.

It had been three days since that incident. Michalis was walking alone as always. His face stern, like he had a good reason to be grumpy in an empty hallway. Though he would soon not be so alone, as someone grabbed his long red hair. He whipped around to see who it was, only spotting Niles’s face for a moment- Until an odd scent and sensation overcame him. It all went dark.

He awoke in a much different location. Brief sunlight was all that illuminated the room, as Michalis’s eyes darted around. They quickly settled on a particularly smug man, leaning against the wall. “Good, you're awake. Glad to know I didn’t overdo it.”

Michalis wasn’t even about to waste breath on Niles, until he realized that he was bound to a chair. He grunted as he pulled against the ropes binding his hands together, scuffing the chair across the floor a few inches, trying to free himself. Finally, he snarled. “Scoundrel. Release me at once!”

“Oh? And why should I do that?” Niles said back. “I don’t go out of my way to tie you up just so I can let you go. Besides, it’s not like you had anywhere to be fast, considering you spend most of your time brooding alone. We have time to chat.”

Michalis futilely struggled more. “So what do you want? To kill me?”

“No, not at all. I couldn’t get away with that, trust me. Besides, you are far too entertaining to simply kill.” Niles shook his head. “I just want to...how to put it...Knock you down a peg.”

“Humiliate me? Are you just going to leave me here...to waste away, left with you as my only mercy?” Michalis hated that idea. Left to rot in a shady backroom until this...lowly rogue...came to give him food and water.

“Decent guess, but also no. I’m moreso interested in your words...You couldn’t ‘stand’ to see me, right?” The smug look on his face seemed to grow ever more smug, much to the annoyance of Michalis.

“So what?! Are you going to break my legs? Paralyze me?! Stop toying with me! Get to the point!”

Niles decided to humor Michalis. “Yes, yes, fine. Look up.”

Michalis did, finding that there was some sort of jury rigged contraption above him, and also sitting behind him. Barrels, a tube cascading down...What was it?

“I don’t understand.”

“I figured you wouldn’t. I was inspired by a similar machine, made for filling troughs. A time saving machine for farmers, though I’ve made it a bit more...direct. As funny as the image of you eating out of a trough is, I’m rather impatient.” Niles went over, and grabbed the tube.

“What are you even prattling on about-” Michalis was silenced by the tube being shoved in his mouth. “Mmpf!”

“I told you, it was direct.” The proud King tried spitting out the tube, trying to uselessly speak as he did so. Meanwhile, Niles turned a valve, opening the barrels. A brightly colored liquid descended. “I’ll be honest, this stuff wasn’t cheap to get a hold of. So don’t waste it, okay?”

As the liquid got closer, Michalis tried harder and harder to spit out the tube- He wasn’t sure what the hell that stuff was, but he certainly didn’t want it in his body. Though it was for naught. Soon the substance was filling his mouth. It was sickly sweet in taste, nearly overpowering. He could feel it dribbling down his chin as he tried to keep himself from swallowing it, before giving in. 

He took a deep gulp of the liquid, feeling it sink to his stomach. He looked to Niles again, looking down at him with his sly grin. Michalis grunted in resistance as Niles ruffled his hair. “See? It’s not that bad. Now, I do have other things to do, so I’ll come back soon to make sure you’re doing well.” And like that, Niles slipped out of the room, leaving the feeding King alone.

Michalis grunted more, struggled more, even after Niles left. He wasn’t sure what this substance was, only that it was...honestly really good. The taste was amazing. Still, Michalis’s prideful mind forced him to keep trying to resist. Not to mention, his stomach would fill up and, and he’d vomit at some point...right?

His stomach certainly felt full. It gurgled and grumbled, feeling bloated. He looked down, surprised to see it actually bulging decently outwards. And further outwards. His regal wear and belt felt tight against it. It...was just bloated, right? Michalis’s angered glare soon softened into one of worry.

His stomach gurgled again, louder this time. He could see his belly begin to push over the belt, like it wasn’t stuffed full, but rather filling out with soft fat. As Michalis took another gulp, he swore he could feel his pants and armor filling out. Fabric and metal joints growing taut. Niles words...Couldn’t stand to see him. Things began to click in Michalis’s head.

He struggled against his restraints once more, but it was still pointless. Not to mention, he couldn’t even start trying to spit out the tube. Not because it was difficult, though that was certainly true, no, it was just too good to do so. And with each gulp, his clothes became tighter, straining further to contain his growing form. Uncomfortably tight, actually.

The first victim of his now burgeoning body was the belt. The sound of leather creaking, cracking, snapping apart. The metal buckle shot across the room, clattering on the floor. Michalis’s belly promptly flopped out, pale flesh laying upon his lap. Whatever muscular frame he had before had given away to his currently chubby one. He let out muffled groans as the seams on the sides of his pants split, more pudge spilling out. The chair slightly creaked under him.

His struggling had ended now, as he was starting to willingly drink the substance. His pride was beginning to lose out, as he slowly got lost in the taste. Unconsciously, he began to suckle at the tube- He wanted- No, he needed more. He wasn’t even watching as his clothes began bursting and tearing all over. How his pecs had turned into blubbery tits. His ass spilling over the sides of the chair, his thighs not far behind, as his pants tore further and further. His gurgling gut grew larger by the second, filling with the concoction, immediately turning it into more blubber to pack on.

His shirt was practically tearing down the middle, as his cravat became shreds. His thick neck and second chin wouldn’t fit it. Buttons popping, metal bits and bobs pinging off onto the floor. The chair’s groaning got louder as he surpassed the weight it was meant for. Truthfully, he had likely surpassed that weight far before the chair had begun to give out. 

Before the chair came apart, however, the restraints holding back Michalis’s fatty arms snapped apart. It was only rope, and the growth had managed to pull it far enough. If Michalis was still as bitter as he was the few minutes before, he would’ve certainly pulled the tube out. But that was long gone to this Michalis, who reached for the tube not to pull it out, but to demand even more. Though his arms were a tad too inefficiently large to reach it by now.

A snapping sound briefly brought Michalis back to some of his senses, as he fell to the floor with a slam. He looked down at himself, realizing his freedom- Though ‘freedom’ was a meaningless term when one couldn’t move. An anger welled up in his mind towards Niles- That vicious ne’er do well who was responsible for all this. How dare he do this to the King of Macedon!

But then, another thought- This was incredibly enjoyable. Ugh, how the thought of growing even larger brought him elation. And if he was King, he certainly deserved such a luxury! The thoughts of Niles began to fade once more as he returned to his guzzling, spreading further and further on the floor.

The only clothes that hadn’t ripped completely to shreds was his cloak, which covered very little of his body. The rest was coated in thick fat, spreading further into the room. More and more he encroached upon the room, his frame nearly immobile.

Though soon his growth came to a halt. He suckled the last drops of the potion from the tube. And Michalis definitely tried to get as much as he could out of it, and relaxing his head back. The tube was promptly spat out, a much easier feat now that it wasn’t feeding him the delicious nectar. Another rumble from his stomach, and Michalis let out a belch.

He was likely over six hundred pounds at this point, if not heavier. He sat on his titanic ass, under ripped fabrics and crushed wood. His gut similarly sat flat on the floor, two large rolls encompassing it. His man boobs laid upon it, plump and full. A chunky neck, a few additional chins, an all around chubby face. His long red hair and reforming scowl would be one of the few hints that this man was Michalis. 

The sunlight flitting through the thin cracks had turned to the orange shine of twilight. Michalis felt...dissatisfied. With? He wasn’t absolutely sure. Perhaps dissatisfied he was now immobile. That he was unable to flaunt his new form, away in this dank room. Or was it the fact he couldn’t reach down and pleasure himself? Or maybe it was the lack of that liquid elation, and how his form grew ever more expansive…

He had no time to consider that. There were noises. Footsteps. Michalis stood to attention- Well, his head did at least, focused on the sole entrance and exit. The rest of his body nudged and jiggled slightly.

“Is someone here? I heard a-”

Before the massive king stood Corrin, another not quite acquaintance. In more standard circumstances, Michalis would’ve been more neutral on his presence versus Niles. But now? Michalis face once again grimaced, though made less intimidating by his jowls and pillow like cheeks. Fists clenched as he looked down upon the young prince, who looked upon him, shocked at the transformation his teammate had undergone.

“Bring me Niles,” He huffed out. 

“N-Niles? Why do you-”

“Because,” Michalis didn’t feel like he had time for this. “I need more.”

[with-love-anu]

Consequences

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader Summary: You help Fred and George escape from Flitch and soon become friends with one and fall for the other Warnings: swearing Word Count: 1,655

You were going through the corridor when you bumped into someone, specifically the Weasley twins. Their eyes widened as one of them grabbed your hand and made you follow them.

“Hey!!! What the hell do you want?” You whisper yelled, scared that Flich would catch out after-hours. Afterall trouble followed the two identical redheads.

“Shhhhh… Mrs. Norris is following us!”

“What?!? Why are you taking me with you then?” You asked incredulously. They turned and hid behind a small opening, taking you with then. You were already huffing. To think you wanted a cup of hot cocoa to soothe yourself.

“Meowww” the cat’s voice came from nearby.

“Shit.” Fred mumbled under his breath.

“Shushhh” you motioned towards the twins taking out the red laser light, you always kept to yourself. Positioning it through the opening, you pointed it at the ground near the cat.

Mrs. Norris’s eyes quirked as it kneeled down, facing the red dot with excitement. As soon as it jumped towards it you moved the light farther away. The cat jumped, slided, ran, getting more and more impatient to catch the mysterious red dot; not even noticing the quiet snorts of Fred and George.

“Okay, when I say now, quietly move to the 3rd corridor.” you whispered, moving your laser to the far opposite end. 

“Now!” you said, turning the laser off and exiting quickly. 

You all huffed as you reached the familiar staircase, sure that Mrs. Norris would not follow you here. 

“That was wicked!” one of the twins said watching the laser in your hand.

“What is that thing?” asked the other one.

“Oh, this? This is a red laser. Apparently cats go crazy for it.” You handed him the laser to see.

“Bloody brilliant!” they both said together, making you let out a laugh.

“Who knew, (Y/n) would be up to some mischief?” Fred said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, just because you are not caught, doesn’t mean you lead a boring life.” you said winking at them and turning to leave for your dorm.

Unknownst to you, you had left Fred in awe. How did he not notice you before? Well, he did now.

***

You made your way to the history of magic class, yawning. How did you get sleepy, just thinking about it? You slid into your usual seat, taking out a notebook even though you knew, you weren’t gonna write anything that day. 

“Morning (Y/n)” you heard someone as they slid beside you. You turned to see none other than Fred Weasley. You raised your eyebrows to ask what he was doing there.

“You up for some mischief?” he asked.

“Nooo” you said, shaking your head. The twins meant trouble.

“Oh come on, you’ll be a valuable addition.”

“I rather not.” you said quietly as you saw the grumpy Professor Binns come in.

“Okay, then go on a date with me.”

“What?” you said whipping your head towards him, widening your eyes.

“Well, we could go to honeydukes, Zonko’s, Madam Rosemeta’s for butterbeers later?” Fred said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And what makes you think I would say yes?” you said smirking.

“Well, I am funny and hot; so that ticks two of the desirable traits. Plus I can show you a good time.” Fred said, wiggling his eyebrows.

He was cute, you could see that. And you knew the things he said were true. But, you decided to toy with him a little. You glanced at the professor, seeing he had no idea that you two were talking.

“I don’t know, is that enough?” you asked cocking an eyebrow, keeping a poker face on.

Fred’s mouth dropped before he composed himself. He smirked.

“Okay, then you tell me, what would you like?”

You grinned. You acted as though you were thinking hard.

“Well, I definitely want someone I am comfortable with, you know, know a little bit before thinking about each other romantically.” you said air quoting ‘romantically’.

“Ahhhh” he said, “I could do that!”

“How are you sure of yourself? What if I don’t like the little bit?” 

“Who cannot like this?” he said gesturing to himself. “And besides I am a complete sweetheart.” Fred made love eyes almost making you melt. Almost.

“Well, we’ll see.” you said rolling your eyes.

***

After that Fred seemed to be everywhere. He would sit beside you in classes, study with you. You found out he was actually very intelligent and sharp. He just didn’t give academics much thought. You were never not smiling when you were near him and he constantly flirted with you. You did keep a poker face but sometimes he complimented you so genuinely that it became hard not to blush. It was only time before you started hanging out with George too. The three of you would be seen laughing your asses off at some corner of the common room, because it was ;in fact; fun to be with them.

You started noticing little differences between them. How Fred’s eyes were lighter in shade and sharper than George’s, whose eyes were rounder. How Fred was louder and more emotion-driven. Fred was making it very difficult not to fall in love with him. It was impossible to keep up the nonchalant exterior when in fact you wanted to kiss the hell out of him. He would put his arm around you casually at times, and you couldn't help but smile. You wanted it there. You liked it.

As for Fred, he was whipped. He was falling hard and fast for you. You were funny, witty and not to mention breathtakingly beautiful. You were driving him crazy. There were times you would flirt back and act as if nothing happened, while his heart thumped so hard, he thought it would burst. Over the top of everything, you cared for him. And it showed. You had panicked when he had broken his leg during a quidditch mishap. He had fainted and had a bad concussion. When he woke up in the middle of the night in the infirmary, you were there beside him. You had cried in his arms as he reassured you, he was okay. He knew it was wrong, but your sadness had filled his heart with warmth. He loved you. And no matter how much you denied it, he knew you loved him too.

***

You woke up with a grunt. Your nose was stuffed and you felt like you were burning. You went into the washroom cleaning yourself up. You sneezed on coming out. You shivered, feeling very cold suddenly. You piled yourself with clothes, moving towards the great hall for breakfast. You filled your cup with some hot tea, not feeling like eating anything else. 

“(Y/n), Are you okay?” Fred asked.

“Just a little fever.” you said not having the strength to smile. 

“Come here,” Fred said as he placed a hand on your forehead.

“You’re burning! Come-on you are not attending any classes today!” 

“Noo” you tried to protest, but Fred had already wrapped an arm around your waist, making you stand up and leaving for your room.

“We’re gonna need soup!” Fred called out and you heard a faint “on it” from George before the two of you had exited the hall.

Fred laid you on your bed and covered you up with blankets. There was a knock on the door and Fred got up and brought back soup with him.

You ate some and felt suddenly very full.

“I’m not hungry,” You said, handing the bowl back to him.

“You need it, even if you don't feel so.” he said, making you pout.

“Come on, I’ll feed you while telling you something about my childhood” 

Fred started feeding you as he launched into a story of irritating his mother. Even though you had a headache, Fred’s voice felt soothing. You felt calm just listening to him talk and before you knew it, the soup was gone. Fred gave you a pepper up potion and you drank it unwillingly. He made you go under the covers again and he caressed your hair until you fell asleep.

***

It was nearing Christmas and the school was decorated beautifully. Mistletoes, trees, bells everything looked like it was out of a fairy tale. Fred was chasing you for the last chocolate frog when you both froze. You looked up to see a mistletoe hanging over your heads. Fred noticed it too and you gulped. Fred took this as you being uncomfortable.

“I know a spell to undo this, just wait.” he said reassuringly as you felt a rush of affection for this man. Never mind the chasing he did for months, he wanted you to be comfortable first.

As you felt the spell weaken around you, you grabbed his shirt, pressing your lips firmly against his. He was surprised at first, but quickly responded back grabbing your waist pulling you closer. Your hands were in his locks, tugging at them gently, making him moan. As you pulled back breathless, you looked at Fred’s eyes sparkling brightly.

“Well, it’s tradition,” you said as you turned and started to walk away. Fred grabbed you, pulling you back to him.

“Nuh-uh, you wanted to kiss me and you did it. It has consequences”

“Really? And what would those be?” You asked, smirking.

“Well, for starters you need to admit that you want to be my girlfriend.” He said bumping his nose to yours.

You sighed. 

“Well I guess I would have to suffer the consequences, huh? Fine, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

“Noooo, say you want to be my girlfriend”

You pouted and Fred rolled his eyes. He turned to leave and you stopped him quickly.

“Fred, I really, really want to be your girlfriend. Allow me?” you said in a small voice.

Fred pulled in and kissed you again.

“I did a long time ago.” He whispered.

A/N: Guys I hate asking this, but I would love some feedback on this one as this is this is the first time I am writing about Fred. And some reblogs would be nice as most of my blog is about Sirius Black. Thank you!

[mamabearcatfanfics]

Second chapter up now on AO3, or read on below!

“Pizza delivery for one Kagome Higurashi!” The bright grin on the wolf demon’s face immediately fell when he saw who opened the door. “Oh, it’s you mutt. Ain’t you got a home of your own to go to? Or is the salary Myouga the flea’s paying you so miniscule that you’ve been reduced to couch surfing?” He chuckled at his own joke. Inuyasha did not join in.

“Hand over the pizza and fuck off”, he said pleasantly, holding out one clawed hand expectantly.

“I didn’t see your name on the delivery order”, said Kouga, making a show of checking the receipt then trying to peer into the apartment behind Inuyasha’s broad shoulders. “Nope, no mention of a mutt named Inuyasha. Only Kagome. For all I know, you’re a freeloader trying to steal Kagome’s hard earned dinner.”

“Yeah, she’s eatin’ three pizzas and a serve of garlic knots all by herself. Even though she’s the size of a wet kitten. Hand it over wolf.”

The stalemate continued, Inuyasha continuing to block Kouga’s view, and Kouga refusing to hand over the pizzas. Finally Inuyasha rolled his eyes and hollered for Kagome, who appeared in a pair of soft blue flannelette pyjamas and fluffy slippers, drying her damp hair with a towel.

“Oh wow Kouga, that was really fast! I didn’t expect you to deliver it in person!” she said, her blue eyes lighting up at the stack of cardboard pizza boxes he was carrying.

“You’re my favourite customer Kagome – I’m always going to deliver your pizza in person.” Kagome laughed a little uncomfortably.

“Aw, that’s sweet. Um, let me just get my wallet so I can give you a tip.”

“I’ll give him a tip”, Inuyasha grumbled, stepping aside so Kagome could pay Kouga. “You should wash behind your ears more often wolf, you stink.”

“Inuyasha!”

Kagome’s elbow caught him in the ribs, making him grunt. She pulled out a crisp ten dollar note to pass to Kouga and squeaked in surprise when his much larger hand wrapped around hers.

“Forget the tip. I’m finishing up work in an hour or so. How about I come back and take you out for a drink?”

Kagome smiled kindly at him, valiantly trying to tug her hand free, and failing dismally.

“Ah, um, Kouga, that’s very kind and thanks for the offer, but as you can see” she said, glancing down at her pyjamas and slippers, “I’m not going anywhere else tonight. I know it’s Friday, but it’s been a tough week at work. All I want to do is sit on the sofa, eat my pizza and just relax.”

“So, tomorrow then?” Kagome’s smile slipped a little, and she did her best to ignore the rumbling growl beginning from her inuhanyou friend looming protectively behind her.

“Um, I have plans. For the entire weekend”, she added quickly when it looked like Kouga was going to inquire about Sunday. Kouga sighed in obvious disappointment and then placed a lingering kiss on Kagome’s knuckles, before taking the money out of her hand and handing over the pizzas.

“Another time then mon chéri. Enjoy your meal!” Inuyasha slammed the door on him.

“What did I say to you about encouraging him?!” grumbled Inuyasha, taking the pizzas out of her hands and carrying them over to the coffee table. He dropped himself onto the sofa and flipped back the lid of the first one, making a disgusted face. “Yuck. Mushrooms. This one’s yours.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to eat a vegetable occasionally you know”, said Kagome, sitting down next to him, continuing to dry her hair. “And in what way was I encouraging Kouga? I told him no. I tell him no every time he asks.”

“That was a no?” he snorted. “You called him sweet and batted your eyelashes at ‘im. He’s gonna take that as a yes.” He flipped open another pizza box and breathed in the fragrant smell of pepperoni and cheese. “Kouga’s a wolf youkai Kagome. You need to be firm with him, or he’s gonna walk all over you. Say somethin’ more like ‘stop asking me out, because I wouldn’t date you if you were the last demon on Earth’. That should do for starters. And if that doesn’t work, lemme punch him a coupla times. Or at least start orderin’ pizza from somewhere else.”

“But that’s so mean!” said Kagome in an aghast voice. “Kouga is actually a nice guy! When I first moved in here, he told me where all the good coffee places were. Besides, his pizza shop is in the bottom of the building, I’m not going to order from anywhere else!” She hung her towel over the back of the sofa, now her hair was as dry as it was going to get. “He means well, he just comes on a little strong sometimes. And I’m not going to let you punch anyone!” Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

“Whoops Kittycat, your small town roots are showin’ again.”

“Hey! I don’t want to hurt his feelings, and that’s because I’m a nice person, not because of where I grew up!” she said, punching him as hard as she could on his bicep. Inuyasha barely moved, but looked at her pointedly.

“Nice, huh?” She crossed her arms and huffed at him and he sniggered. “What’s the current population of Wrightwood Kagome? I bet it ain’t even 5000, am I right?” He grinned at her when she rolled her eyes. “That’s what I thought.”

“I did live in San Diego for six months before I moved here”, she pointed out primly, reaching for a garlic knot. Inuyasha snorted, then folded his slice of pepperoni pizza in half and took a huge bite.

“Ah, that hits the spot”, he said indistinctly around his mouthful. “He may be a stinky wolf bastard, but he knows how to make a good pizza.” He wound a piece of stretched out mozzarella around his finger and slurped it into his mouth.

“Charming.”

“Hey, I’m all charm.” Kagome rolled her eyes, reaching for her own slice, then let her hand drop with a sigh.

Inuyasha glanced up, trying to read her scent. She was a lot calmer now, after her shower. A good thing too. For some reason, Kagome feeling upset made him twitchy, like he needed to do something to fix whatever had caused it. He supposed it was her size and personality. She was so little and so nice – it was no wonder he felt protective of her.

The four of them had settled into a regular routine in the three months she’d been living with Sango. Beer and chili dogs on Friday nights. Occasional trivia nights, with a stroll to the best pretzel cart in Queens on the way home. Regular card games at Miroku’s. She’d fit into their little friendship group like she’d always been there. And with Sango and Miroku’s current ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement, he and Kagome were left to hang out together more often than not, which was fine by him. At least he wasn’t playing third wheel anymore.

She was cute and funny, easy on the eye. Kind, with an infectious smile and bright blue eyes. But surprisingly, also kinda sarcastic, which made him laugh. And she’d stood up for him when someone had said something with a racist undertone while they were out at the pub. He’d grown a thick skin over the years, and was so used to tuning it out, he’d hardly even noticed it. But Kagome had, and she was a sight to behold. A tiny spitting ball of fury. He’d had to carry her bodily out of the bar, needing to remove her from the situation before her comments started an all out brawl.

“Inuyasha? Um, thanks again for walking home with me tonight”, she said softly. “You really didn’t have to.”

“Sure I did”, he answered, bumping against her shoulder. “If some creepy bastard’s following you, calling me is the first thing you should do.”

“So I should always call you? Not Miroku?” she teased.

“What’s he gonna do? Put the moves on them by flooring them with his boyish charm? Flirt them into submission?”. Kagome giggled, then sighed.

“I don’t know that he was following me, really. But he kept up with me, even when I walked faster, and I just got that feeling, y’know? That something bad was going to happen.”

Inuyasha nodded. Her voice on the other end of the phone as he’d answered had been a dead give away.

He hadn’t been expecting to hear from her tonight  – Sango was visiting her brother and was away for the weekend, and Kagome had been working late nights all week, so she’d texted him and Miroku and cancelled their usual Friday night drinks. Miroku had opted out also, and he’d been sitting on his sofa with a beer, watching Netflix, and scrolling through his Facebook feed, phone in his hand. And then she’d called.

 “Hey Inuyasha?” There was an edge to her voice he didn’t like. She sounded panicked.

 “Kagome? What’s up?”

 She was panting a little now, and he could hear her hurried footsteps on the pavement, and the jingling of keys, which meant she was probably carrying them in her hand. Kagome never did that, because she had them on a long lanyard secured to the buckle on her bag strap so she could always find them easily. He knew from Sango that was something girls were taught to do if they were feeling threatened.

 “Sorry, I’m going to be a little late!” He sat up straight on the sofa, ears alert as he looked around for his wallet and keys, then shoved them in his pockets. Something was definitely up.

 “Is everything okay? You said you were goin’ straight home tonight after work.”

 “Yeah, I got held up at the office, and then missed my train. But I’m almost at Veteran’s Park, the one near Jackson Mill Road, so I should be there pretty soon.”

 “Kagome… is someone followin’ you?”

 “Uh huh!” He could tell she was aiming for a bright happy tone, but was failing miserably. Shit. The thought of anyone mugging her or worse made his gut twist.

 “Keep talkin’ to me”, he said firmly, shrugging on his jacket and shoving his feet into his work boots. “I’ll be right there. Keep walkin’ and stay under the streetlights okay? Try and move towards people if you can. I’ll find you.”

 “Sure thing! I’m really looking forward to seeing you!”

 “I’m headin’ out the door, I should be there five minutes, tops.”

 He’d sprinted, keeping his mobile on speaker so he could hear her talking aimlessly about random stuff, the tone of her voice getting more and more nervous. He caused a few angry yells as he dashed past people, but he didn’t care. Kagome was his friend, and she needed him. He slowed his pace to a slow jog as he rounded the corner to the park, easily locating her by scent. She was terrified. He’d walked straight up to her and embraced her in a tight hug. He could hear her heart hammering in her chest, her hands shaking as she wrapped them around his waist.

 “Inuyasha…”

 Inuyasha could smell the bastard, loitering in the background, the stink of the other man’s lust making him want to hurl. He glared in the direction the scent was coming from, pushing back a snarl. He could go after him, confront him, but he didn’t want to scare Kagome any more than she already was, so he put his arm around her shoulders, leading her away. But he knew that guy's scent now. And if they should happen to cross paths again, it wouldn’t be his fault if the fucker tripped and fell directly into his fist.

 “Nice to see you Kittycat. Thanks for callin’ me to tell me you were going to be late. I appreciate it.”

 She’d pressed herself into his side, still shaking, and he’d done everything he could to soothe her during the ten minute walk back to her apartment. Making jokes, asking about her work, inviting himself to dinner, because he could tell she was still feeling nervous. He was so glad that she’d called him, and more than a little flattered.

“I’ll always come when you call. What are friends for right? Besides, you bought me pizza. That’s more than enough payment for jogging a coupla blocks and walking back to your place.”

“You probably think I’m ridiculous”, she sighed. “He probably wasn’t following me at all. I think it’s just because it was so much later than I usually walk back from the station, and it’s the first night I’ve been here alone, with Sango visiting her family.”

Inuyasha thought for a moment about confirming her suspicion that she was being followed. But he didn’t want to frighten her even more. Part of Kagome’s charm was her openness, her excitement about finally living her dream here in NYC. He didn’t want to spoil that for her. But unfortunately, part of living in a city was learning to move about it safely, and being more aware of your surroundings. Because there were always random assholes who wanted to take what you had. He could help her with that.

“If you’re ever late again like that, call me. I’ll be happy to walk with you from the station, even if I’m workin’. Myouga wouldn’t care if I had to leave the shop for a while to walk with you – he thinks the sun shines out of your cute little ass. And ya know, if you’re still feeling worried, I can sleep here on the couch.”

“Inuyasha, I can’t ask you to do that!” Kagome said, glancing down at his long legs and then the length of the sofa, one Sango had purchased from Ikea. “You’re way too tall, your back would be wrecked by morning. I will be fine, I promise!”

He studied her closely. Her words said she was fine, but her scent, and her expression, said she wanted him to stay. He could do that for her. It wasn’t like he had any other plans on a Friday night. Besides, if he left now, he’d just be worried about her, wondering if she was sleeping or not.

He made a show of stretching himself out, twisting around to throw his legs up on the sofa and crossing his ankles in her lap, then reached for another piece of pizza.

“Ooh, yeah, this sofa is pretty comfy. I don’t think I could be bothered to go home now. Besides, you can make me breakfast. I happen to know you’ve got bacon in the freezer.”

Kagome sighed. “You’re still eating dinner and you’re already thinking about breakfast?”

“Bacon is a serious business Kagome.”

Kagome leaned forward over his legs to grab herself a slice of pizza, which flopped downwards, losing a good portion of the topping as it slid off onto the cardboard box below it. He laughed at the pout on her face.

“Okay, you should know this if you’re gonna be a full time resident of NYC. You gotta fold your pizza. Like this, see?” he said, reaching for another slice for himself and folding it in half lengthwise. He took a big bite. “You get twice as much in a mouthful, and the topping don’t slide off.”

“You should open your mouth a little more when you chew dog boy, I didn’t get to see everything in there that time.”

“You think you’re funny don’tcha?” he smiled. The nervousness in her had settled, and she was back to her normal self. Everything was okay now.

“Yeah, I do actually.” She patted him on his ankle absentmindedly as she reached for another garlic knot. “You’re a good friend Inu.”

“Right back atcha, Kittycat.”

[byanyan]

ㅤㅤ" can't talk right now, i'm doin' hot girl shit. "ㅤin this case, they happen to be referring to the stitches they're currently in the process of giving themself.

[aye-write]

Summary: Research student Isla Reid has been fascinated with the legend of the Kildonian Chessmen - a trio of mythical Pokemon rumoured to have lived centuries ago on the remote region of Kildo - for as long as she can remember. So, when a museum exhibit on the Chessmen is set to open in Kildo’s Hydrogate City, coinciding with her independent research project, she packs herself and her trusty partner Furret onto the long ferry journey bound for this new region. 

 However, when she arrives in Kildo, thoughts of her research, new friends, and an entire Pokedex’s worth of new Pokemon, are quickly dashed. Kildo is a troubled place, beset by natural disasters and fierce rivalries among its people. Isla suddenly finds herself at the centre of a centuries-old plot to invoke the wrath of the Chessmen, and is set on a race against time to stop them, before it spells destruction for the entire region.

Other Links: Read it on Ao3!

Tags: OC Pokemon journey, OC region, Fakemon region, bisexual main character, found family, ace main character.

If you are not interested in these posts, especially as I know Pokemon journeyfic is fairly niche, please blacklist the tag #Checkmate. Most of the story will be put under a Readmore anyway!

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! This is just a quick author's note today! Thanks to everyone who has read and commented! I hope you enjoy another chonk of a chapter and that the starters' introduction went okay! There were a LOT of Pokedex entries this week, so I won't be including them all in the author's note this time, but you can head over to our tumblr @kildo-pokedex​ to see them in full! See you in two weeks, everyone!

*****

Chapter Four

Things moved fast that night. Too fast. Morning dawned, dappling the sky with tangerine oranges and cotton candy pinks, and Isla soon found herself packed and standing on the doorstep of the cottage she’d almost come to think of as home.

Rhona fussed over Skye’s layers and blankets for so long that Isla thought they’d never get away. Even Blair started to look nervous, casting pointed glances first at his watch and then at his mother. It would be a long walk, he said loudly, at least five hours of walking, and they needed to get on. Finally Rhona got the hint and passed over a mammoth bag of sandwiches, juice, and crisps – enough to sustain an army for about a week – and both parents said their goodbyes. Rhona’s eyes were wet with tears when she broke her hug with her daughter.

Isla moved forward, meaning just to offer thanks, but before she could open her mouth, Rhona swept her into a rib-crunching hug.

“Now you be careful out there, chick,” Rhona said, her breath tickling the whorls of Isla’s ear. “You always have a home here with us, alright? Don’t you dare be a stranger. I expect to see you again here before you go back to Johto, you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Isla said, her voice thick.

Kenneth shook her hand next, his huge fingers easily engulfing hers. He had a firm grip, yet surprisingly soft hands, and when Isla drew back, she found he’d slipped her two crisp twenty pokedollar notes.

“Kenneth, thank you, but I can’t take—”

“You take care of yourself,” he said firmly.

Isla decided not to argue. Especially when it was the most the giant man had ever said to her in one go before.

Blair took his mother’s hug with an embarrassed grimace, nodding along to a laundry list of instructions she hurled his way. Make sure you take frequent breaks. Don’t let Skye go wandering on her own. Make sure you feed a Clatty if you see one, it’s good luck. Don’t dare go any further than Aberdrip. Eventually, Kenneth clamped his hand on Rhona’s shoulder, and she stopped.

“I suppose you best be going, eh?” she said, forcing a quivering smile. “Before it gets too late on. Have fun, darlings. Call me when you get there. Be safe.”

“Thanks for everything, Rhona,” Isla said, her voice catching. She had to turn around to shield her face from view.

Blair, who had been battling to fit Rhona’s supplies into their travelling bag, grunted with satisfaction as he finally got the zip up, leaving the bag bulging like an overripe balloon. He felt around at his waist, unhooked a Pokeball, and tossed it over the gate.

“Coastrot, come out!”

Isla let out a breath as the ball burst open and she came face to face with Blair’s Pokemon. Easily reaching Blair’s shoulders, it had a long, lithe body with a clipped coat the colour of the ocean under the morning sky. Even when it stayed still, its mane and tail rippled like plumes of gentle flowing water. It was a stunning Pokemon – right down to its dark, inquisitive eyes and glistening hooves – but there was something unusual about it that Isla couldn’t quite put her finger on. As she stared, Coastrot’s body seemed to blur, wavering in front of her like a picture on a TV with a dodgy signal.

Blair saw her staring. “Touch him,” he suggested.

Isla frowned, uncertain. Under Blair’s watchful eye, she reached out to touch this new Pokemon, only for her hand to slip straight through its body, as easily as if she had just put her hand through a hologram. She whipped her hand away like she’d just been shocked. The Pokemon’s body turned solid again the moment Blair touched it to string up one of the bags.

Isla consulted her Pokedex. “Coastrot, the Mirage Pokemon. Its translucent body refracts light, and it will often appear as though it is surrounded by rainbows. If it doesn’t trust someone, they will not be able to touch it. This is seen as an unlucky omen by some.”

“Amazing,” she said. “So it only lets people it trusts touch it?”

“That’s right,” Blair nodded.  “Coastrot is actually the evolved form of one of the Kildo starters. He was my starter, so he’s been in the family a long time, but it still wasn’t easy for him to trust all of us. He lets me touch him, of course, and Skye, and sometimes Dad, but Mum is still a tricky case. Since he’s only just met you, it may take him a while to warm up.”

“That’s okay,” Isla held her hand out for the Pokemon to sniff. Its nose passed straight through her hand, a sensation rather like she’d plunged her hand into a bucket of ice-cold water. “I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”

Blair clapped on Coastrot’s haunches, signalling everything was secured. He called for Skye and helped boost her up, Isla holding her breath as she entertained a vision of Skye sinking right through the Pokemon’s ethereal back. Luckily, Coastrot remained solid and strong, allowing Skye to settle herself.

“Hold onto his mane, there,” Blair fussed. “No, not there. That’s too tight. Just there, look.”

Skye made several wide-eyed glances over the Pokémon’s massive haunches as Blair made the final checks. Isla offered her a smile.

“I take it that you won’t be going for Coastrot’s evolution for your first Pokemon, then?” she whispered.

Skye shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “Definitely not.”

As she waited, a breath of wind lifted the hair from Isla’s forehead, already moist with sweat from the heat of the beating sun. She’d dressed light, in a loose, billowing top two sizes up from her normal, and a pair of comfortable jogging trousers, but she still worried about the journey. The bag slung on her shoulders didn’t feel heavy now, but walking would leaden it. She’d sprayed most of a bottle of antiperspirant on herself before setting out, but she still had doubts about its efficiency. She could only hope they would take it slow and she wouldn’t embarrass herself.

“That’s us,” Blair announced. “We’re ready to go.”

And with one final look back at the Whispering Pines Croft, they set off.

**

Having left the confines of the family croft, Blair switched into serious mode. He had done some travelling when he was younger, he explained as they walked, enough to know the basics, and he’d made the journey between Aberdrip and Port Glen enough times to pick out the best route to accommodate Coastrot. Their chosen path along Route 1 started out as a stretch of delightfully flat ground, buffeted by a strong, salt-smelling, easterly wind. After an hour, the flat paths became bumpy and wild, grass rising as high as their knees, the tips of trees bordering the horizon.

Blair told them stories as they walked, a welcome distraction for the pain needling through Isla’s legs. He brought them to a stop at the peak of a hill to point out Loch Culla in the distance, a shimmering body of water neatly fringed with trees. A place claimed to be the home of an entire family of shiny Kildonian Lapras.

Skye’s shriek of excitement at this news startled Coastrot, and Blair had to dart to her rescue in case she was catapulted off. She wasn’t fazed. She still insisted on making the detour so they could go hunting for one. Blair laughed. The loch was a protected area for that exact purpose, he explained, and catching Pokemon wasn’t allowed there.

“But we can manage a picnic nearby,” Blair added when Skye’s face fell. “Come on, let’s go.”

Back to walking it was. Isla forced herself back to her feet. To give Blair his dues, he factored in plenty of breaks, at every rest stop or every half an hour, whichever came first. He said he wanted Coastrot to get plenty of rest, as he wasn’t used to carrying weight over long distances. Isla wasn’t sure how true that was, but she was grateful all the same. If Blair and Skye saw her flushed face, sweat patches, and occasional gasps for breath, they were very kind and didn’t draw attention to it.

As promised, they unpacked a picnic at the bank of Loch Culla and shared out sandwiches, fruit, and flavoured waters. Sitting in the shade, listening to the water lapping against the bank, and sipping their drinks fresh from the cool bag, Isla felt totally at peace, despite the numbing aches sprouting in the back of her calves. Blair recalled Coastrot for a proper rest, but Isla released Soba and Wingull to stretch their legs and wings. To keep Wingull amused, but more to stop him stealing, she lobbed his food into the air, sending him swooping and diving over the loch and into the deep grass in pursuit.

Skye didn’t eat much, her eyes trained on the still loch water. When Blair nudged her back to reality, she folded her arms and said, “Blair, I’m looking for Lapras. Leave me alone.”

Isla saw him roll his eyes, but when he spoke to his sister, his tone was nothing but gentle and respectful. “You won’t see them, Skye. It’s massively rare to see a Kildonian Lapras out in the open. They live pretty much entirely underwater. Proper deep down.”

Isla looked up from her sandwich. “Do they? They don’t in Johto.”

“Yep. Kildonian ones are different types too. Ours are Ghost and Dragon.”

“Water and Ice for us.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty different, isn’t it? I think the mainland variant travel a lot, but you can pretty much trace all Kildonian Lapras to just one or two lochs here. They don’t move around a lot. Hence why the area is protected.”

“It doesn’t look protected?” Isla said, looking around. There wasn’t a stitch of modern technology to be seen. No buildings. No cameras. Heck, there didn’t even seem to be any other people around other than just them. “There’s nothing here.”  

“Doesn’t need to be. See that sign?” Blair pointed out a sign nailed to a nearby tree. A bold, crimson X was splayed across a black and white image of a Pokeball. “That sign lets us know that there’s Anti-Pokeball Interference here. API for short.” When he saw Isla’s blank face, he frowned. “I don’t know exactly how it works, but basically, Dad said that it transmits some sort of signal that humans and Pokemon can’t hear, but it scrambles the capture mechanism on all Pokeballs. Makes them nothing more than fancy paperweights.”

“We certainly don’t have that in Johto.”

“It’s pretty new. Just come into fashion over the last year. Lot of folks don’t like it, though. I think they had protests out in Tideburgh. They say it violates our rights to catch Pokemon and that it’s going to lead to overpopulation. If you ask me, it’s a load of Tauros shi— uh, nonsense,” he corrected himself when Skye turned her head.

They lapsed into silence, Isla pretending to be fascinated with her sandwich crusts. They’d gone dry and hard in the sun, and she nibbled at them ineffectively. Wingull, amazingly, had eaten its fill and had nestled with his head (mostly) under one stubby wing. Soba, who had been luxuriating in the sun, had fallen asleep curled around a bottle of lemonade. Blair lay back in the grass, his eyes shut, making occasional contented noises. Skye was scribbling something in a notebook patterned with Slugma.

“We’ll head off soon,” Blair yawned. “I just want to rest my eyes for a few minutes.”

The soft noise of snoring drifted over the wind moments later. Isla had to resist the urge to join him. Sitting down had been fatal. Now her eyes felt as heavy as her legs and the thought of getting up again made tiredness sink into the very pit of her. She could shut her eyes for a few minutes, she reasoned. Just a few minutes. Just a few—

“Isla!” a voice cut through her thoughts. “Isla! Isla, look!”

Isla had to force open her eyes, gummed together like chewy toffee. Skye was on her feet, pointing at the nearby undergrowth.

“What’s goin—”

“Shush!” Skye hissed. “Just look!”

In amongst the green, leafy fronds was a flash of something dull and brown. It emerged from the grass like a Furret in miniature. It had a long, snake-like body, the colour of dark chocolate, and a cream underbelly. Its sharp, inquisitive nose twitched, and its tail swished like an over-eager feather duster.

“What is that?” Isla gasped, pulling her Pokedex out.

“It’s a Mudstel!” Skye said, just as Isla’s Pokedex chirped “Mudstel, the Mud Ferret Pokemon. Curious, but shy, Mudstel rely on their stealth and environment when hunting. They blend in well among trees and bushes, but if spotted, will quickly burrow underground to escape.”

“Gosh, it must be hungry if it’s come right out in the open!” Skye breathed out. “Can we try feeding it?”

“Yeah, if you like. Try it with the crusts there.”

Skye offered the Mudstel some of the uneaten crusts. The Pokemon held back, its nose twitching, eyes unblinking. Skye stretched her hand out further.

“Wait, Skye. Stay as still as you can,” Isla advised, not even daring to breathe too loudly in case she startled it. Skye’s wavering arm came to a stop. “That’s it. Let it come to you.”

After a few moments, the Mudstel stretched out its long, ribbon-like body. Skye looked like she was about to burst from excitement, but somehow, managed to stay still. Isla caught a glimpse of sharp white teeth as Mudstel opened its mouth and snatched the crusts from Skye’s hand. It didn’t pause to eat them, just turned on its heels, and dove back into the undergrowth.

They waited, but Mudstel didn’t come back out.

Skye looked crestfallen as the grass went still. “Bread crusts aren’t all that nutritious,” she said mournfully. “I wish it had stayed and I could have given it some Pokemon food. I think we even have some Pokemon Rock. That would have been even better for it.”

Isla made a sympathetic noise. “Maybe we can leave some pellets for it when we pack up and leave?”

“Maybe. But I wish I could have caught it. I don’t want it to end up starving. Mudstel wouldn’t come out and take food from humans if it could help it.”

“Some Pokemon are just opportunistic, Skye. He probably has plenty of chances to get food and then saw us and thought “Oh yes, a free lunch!” Pokemon are clever. They can take care of themselves.”

“I suppose.”

Isla slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Try not to worry,” she said. “We’ll be in Aberdrip soon and you’ll have your very own Pokemon before you know it.”

“I know,” Skye said. “I just… wish I could make friends with all of them. I don’t want any of them to suffer.”

“Then I think that means you’ll be a good trainer.”

Skye smiled. Isla’s heart skipped a little. Could this really be the first time that she had ever seen the younger girl smile?

A sudden kerfuffle sent them both looking over Blair, who snorted and pushed himself upright, making a strange gulping noise. “I wasn’t asleep! I wasn’t… sleeping?” He looked blearily across at Skye and Isla. “Was I sleeping?”

They didn’t answer. Instead, the noise of their laughter echoed across the loch like water tinkling from a waterfall.

**

They had stopped for another break on Route 3, a densely wooded path littered with fallen leaves and fresh with the smell of moss, when Blair got a text through on his phone.

Immediately, he was dialling a number, face twisted, and one hand covering his ear to block out the shrill shriek of the local Caperchick. A Caperchick, as Isla had found out was another of Kildo’s resident bird Pokemon. Pretty much helpless as babies, they were only able to eat, sleep, and call for help from others in their family group. Isla had hoped to see one, but Blair dissuaded her, explaining their later evolutions were territorial and aggressive. Most wouldn’t take kindly to humans on their turf.

It still didn’t stop her, or Skye, from hoping. Skye got up to wander four times while Blair stepped away to speak on the phone, poking at the bases of trees and among tall grasses. Or maybe she was just doing it to fill the time. Whatever conversation Blair was having, it was taking a lot of it.  

When Blair did eventually return, his face was pale. “That was Mum on the phone.”

Isla’s instant thought was Nana Morag. “Is everything okay?”

“Kind of. She’s just back from the hospital. Nana Morag is doing better, they think she’ll be alright to come home soon as long as she gets plenty of bed rest.”

“Did they find out what it was that made her ill?”

“They’re still waiting on some test results,” Blair said, worry creasing his eyebrows into one long caterpillar. “She said she’ll phone me as soon as they hear. Now, the other thing. Mum said she had a voicemail waiting for her when she got out of the hospital. It was one of Professor Spruce’s aides.”

Skye stopped what she was doing, pricking her head up.

“There was some problem with the breeders they use to supply the new trainers and they don’t have enough to supply everyone who wanted one.”

Skye looked ready to burst into tears. Blair saw this and quickly assured, “Don’t panic, Skye. They’ve just moved it to a booking system instead to try and get as many folks sorted as possible today. Mum gave me the number and I called the aide. You’re still getting your Pokemon – as long as we get there in time.”

Skye visibly relaxed but Isla felt like something had severed her at the chest. “When’s Skye’s slot?”

“2pm. It was the only one I could get. All the others were filled.  

Isla looked at the time on her phone. It was already ten to one.  

“Yeah,” Blair said, as Isla caught his eye. “We need to hurry.”

**

Isla hoped that adrenaline would see them through. That they could power on the remaining couple of miles without feeling the pain or the tiredness, subsisting only on the rush of purpose to get there. But it was hell. Pure hell. As they half walked, half jogged along unsteady ground, the air dense and muggy, the heat of the sun dripped down their backs.

I can’t let Skye down, Isla told herself as she dragged her aching limbs over the nobbled hump of yet another hillock. I’ll never forgive myself if I let her down.

Once, when the shooting pain of a stitch left her doubled over, she told Blair and Skye to go on without her. But she didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Blair cut in with “Absolutely not. We’re going together,” and that was the end of it.  

As it ticked closer and closer, the clouds receded, and the sun intensified. The air remained stubbornly heavy and humid. Finally, they were over another hill and Aberdrip loomed in the distance, a monochrome city with silver buildings reaching up like metallic petals. They didn’t stop to take in much else. Feet pounding the concrete, each step sending pinpricks of pain up Isla’s legs, Blair hailed a taxi. In one confusing bundle of recalled Pokemon, sorting of bags, and too many legs in one small space, they clambered in. Within minutes, they were speeding along the blurred roads, the streets like smears of running ink.

Professor Spruce’s lab sat right at the western outskirts of Aberdrip in a plot of land closed off by wrought iron gates. The taxi driver dropped them off at the bottom, and after buzzing through to the office, they were on their way up the vicious uphill path to Professor Spruce’s lab.

Stumbling through the front door, trembling with exertion, Isla checked her phone. Three minutes to two. They’d made it.

A concerned looking aide lead them through a maze of breezeblocked hallways. Skye stuck so close to Blair that they practically became one person. The aide opened a door at the end of a particularly long corridor, and they emerged into a room groaning with workbenches and strange equipment that wouldn’t have looked amiss in an old sci-fi film. The room was wonderfully chilled, the overhead fans pumping in swathes of cool air.

Blair and Skye gave the aide their names, Blair signed a proffered sheet, and then they were shepherded through into an adjoining room. As they stepped through, Isla felt the eyes of a dozen people land on her.

“Ah, Skye McLeod, is it?” came a voice from ahead of them. “Excellent. I was starting to worry you weren’t coming.”

Skye tensed next to Isla as the woman who had spoken – Isla assumed this was Professor Spruce – beckoned them forward. She was small, rounded, with greying hair slung into a messy bun. Her eyes were sharp, glinting like the sheen of ice over a frozen puddle. Easily a foot shorter than everyone else in the room, she still commanded everyone’s attention.

With a wave of her hand, Professor Spruce separated Skye and the two other young trainers – one girl and one boy – from their respective guardians. Isla collapsed gratefully into a nearby chair. Blair was rigid in his own seat as Professor Spruce took the new trainers through the standard “First Pokemon” spiel. It was a comforting lecture, so much so that mixed with the relief they had made it in time, Isla soon felt her eyelids drooping.

Then, voices surged.

“I want to go first!”

“No, I’m going first!”

“Enough!” Professor Spruce barked, her voice tight. “Being a Pokemon trainer isn’t about who goes first. It’s not even about getting exactly what you want. If you go into this life expecting to get what you want all the time, you are setting yourself up for failure Pokemon are as unique and individual as each one of you. A “weak” Pokemon can become strong from the right training and support. On your journey as trainers, I encourage you to open your hearts and minds. Embrace all that this region has to offer you. Take a chance on people – and Pokemon – you might not expect to. They might just surprise you. Now, young lady…” Professor Spruce’s eyes fixed on Skye, who had been sitting quietly the whole way through. “Why don’t you come up and pick your partner?”

Frozen under the expectant gaze, Skye didn’t move. The other two new trainers muttered as the silence grew. The faces of the parents clouded. Still Skye didn’t move. Or perhaps she couldn’t.

Isla pushed herself out of her chair. Despite the angry murmurings from the other guardians, she threaded herself in next to her. “Skye, do you want to go up first?” she asked.  

Skye nodded.

“Would you like me to go up with you? Or maybe Blair?”

She shook her head, but no words came out.

“Just take your time. I know it’s a bit scary, but you can do it.”

With the encouragement, Skye faced the three Pokeballs next to Professor Spruce. Each one was furnished with a plaque listing information about the Pokemon inside. Isla read them over, trying to absorb the information quickly, in case she was asked to sit back down. One Grass starter, one Fire, one Water. Exactly the same as Johto.

Coozy, Lv 5

Gender: Male

The Little Cow Pokemon

Good natured and docile, this Coozy is an excellent choice for those who enjoy a slow and steady pace in life. Be careful not to let him get lazy and complacent!

*

Bleater, Lv 5

Gender: Male

The Nightlight Pokemon

Aloof yet curious, this Bleater will be a loyal companion to any trainer willing to take the time to get to know him. Be warned, Bleater are prone to dependency on their trainers later in life.

*

Coltide, Lv5

Gender: Male

The Water Horse Pokemon

Spirited and independent, this Coltide can be a handful without firm guidance in the beginning. However, you will rarely find a more dedicated Pokemon out there!

*

Curiosity burned at the back of Isla’s head, but now wouldn’t be the right time to interrupt everything by checking. For now, she turned back to the chairs and waited as Skye made her final decision.

“This one.” Skye eventually said. “I would like this one, please.”

“Excellent choice,” Professor Spruce said kindly. “Why don’t you take your, uh… guardians towards the back and fill out the paperwork? The aide will have your license waiting for you.”

“You go,” Isla motioned to Blair. “I’ll wait here.”

While Skye was away dealing with her paperwork, Isla watched the two remaining trainers making their picks. Compared to Skye, there was no hesitation. The boy beelined immediately for Coltide, but the other girl seemed perfectly happy to be left with Coozy. Which, of course, meant that Skye had chosen Bleater.

One by one, the families left for the other room, and Isla had the chance to look closer at the three Kildo starters. She painstakingly punched the names – or her best memory of them – into the Pokedex and clicked Image Search.

Coozy, she decided, would have been her choice. It was almost painfully cute; small, and quadrupedal, covered in a thick coat of moss green fur, a pale pink nose, and dark inquisitive eyes. Her arms ached to hug it.

Now, Bleater was cute too, she thought. It reminded her of a favourite Johto Pokemon – a Mareep – just smaller. Its wool was coarse and tightly packed against the body, in a vivid orange, the colour of flame. Its short, stubby legs and the small nubs of horns were a much darker orange, a striking contrast to the rest of its body.

The final one, Isla could figure out on her own. An aqua blue body, a mane and tale reminiscent of flowing water, black hooves polished like obsidian, and dark, beguiling eyes. Coltide, the previous evolution of Blair’s Coastrot.

“You seem very interested in the starters, young lady,” Professor Spruce’s voice cut through Isla’s thoughts, making her jump. “Not local?”

“How could you tell?” Isla laughed nervously.

“I’ve been around the block too many times,” Professor Spruce said. “Kanto?”

“No, Johto. My accent is a bit softer though, so I get why people mix them up.”

“Johto, eh? That’s a long trip. What brings you here?”

“Visiting family. And some research into the Kildonian Chessmen.”

Professor Spruce’s eyes widened. “How interesting.”

A perfect opportunity had fallen right into her lap. She would be stupid not to take advantage of it now. “Professor, do you know anything about them?” she asked. “Or the Vitalities? Anything you could tell me?”

“Like what?”

“Like where they could be found?”

Professor Spruce’s eyebrow arched. “Well, no-one really knows where the Chessmen are now. Recent reports claim they settled in remote places – like islands far away from the mainland or underground. But that’s all just theories. There hasn’t been a confirmed sighting in over a century. But the Vitalities, on the other hand…”

Isla leant forward, closing the space between them.

Professor Spruce seemed to think better of what she was about to say and let out a sigh. “You have to understand something first. The Vitalities are a polarising bunch. Much of my generation, us old folks, even some of the more… naïve younger people believe the Vitalities are responsible for the natural disasters around Kildo.”

This wasn’t news to Isla, but still she pressed “Why?”

“The Vitalities brought many gifts to humans. Some were used wisely. Others weren’t. One of the most enduring theories is that the Chessmen banished and trapped the Vitalities to four remote corners of Kildo to prevent them intervening in humans’ natural progress. There’s an argument to be made that the natural disasters are the Vitalities fighting back, I suppose rebelling against their banishment.”

“So, no-one knows where they are? Or the Chessmen?”

Professor Spruce shook her head. “You may have noticed that Kildo is a region on a precipice. Pokemon journeys, gym circuits, the battling leagues, these are all very new to us. And they’ve become very popular very quickly. Up until about twenty years ago, most people in Kildo only used Pokemon to help them work the land, to till crops, things like that. It was like the whole region carried this collective memory, a shared fear of what happened when technology became too great a force.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Yes. But that fear has diluted. It’s been lost among much of the new generation. Things have changed. We’ve made amazing technological advances since then, eclipsed even some of the other regions that have been doing this for much longer. I’m sure you’ve heard about our API technology and Ability Suppressors and Experience Boosters, all that sort of thing.” Isla hadn’t, but she didn’t want to stop her and ask. Lots of people think it’s amazing. Lots more people are scared. Scared that if the Chessmen were to wake again, and were to see the way we have advanced, they would do exactly what they did the last time they awoke.”

The phrase festering in Isla’s mouth felt ridiculous. Laughable. But something compelled her to say it anyway.

“That they would destroy the whole region?”

Professor Spruce’s piercing grey eyes met Isla’s.

“Exactly.”

[pokeau]

Moon - rocks? my uncle likes rocks (Ch.7)

Read from the start

Characters: Pearl, Hau, Lillie, Mallow, Hapu, Olivia, Faba, Colress, Plumeria

AN:

this is like mostly filler sowwy. i forgot how to write in the 4 months i forgot abt this

also theres more cronge colress momence bc i needed to segway into faba somehow

anyways. yolo

also we have titlecards now which are made by me in mmd :} thought theyd be funky

~~

“Hau!!” Pearl called back, running towards her friend. She met him with a hug, though she quickly broke away after realizing how sweaty she was from the heat and the high-energy battle she’d just gotten out of.

“It’s been goin’ alright! I actually just finished Mallow’s trial! It was pretty tough.”

“Oh, neat! I was just headed that way to take part myself. It wasn’t… too tough, was it…?” Hau replied.

“Ehhhh…” was all Pearl said, with a bit of a concerned grimace on her face. Though, her expression quickly returned to normal with a sigh.

“You still have your starter with you, right? You’ll probably have a way easier time since you have a fire-type with you.”

“Hmm… makes sense! I’ll give it my best shot and let you know when I’m done!”

“Cool cool! Lillie and I have a room at the nearby motel if you’d wanna chill afterwards. Otherwise, we were gonna wait for Mallow to direct us over to the Kahuna, which’ll probably be… tomorrow, maybe?”

“Alright! See ya later then!” Hau said with a wave, as he walked past Pearl into the jungle.

Pearl returned to the hotel, relatively exhausted. Lillie seemed happy to see her back, but gave her space so she could cool down from the summer heat and change out of her sweaty clothes. Pearl went straight back into a pair of pajamas, and flopped down onto the bed next to Lillie.

“...And I think that was enough for one day. You cool with just chilling here? Hau will probably be around later.”

“Oh…! Of course, I wasn’t planning on doing much anyways. I agree though, it seems so much hotter outside after that storm. Nebby’s been sitting in front of the AC unit since they woke up…” Lillie said, chuckling a bit and gesturing towards Nebby, who was indeed contently sitting in front of the cool air.

Pearl plugged her phone into a charging cable before lifting it up in front of her face. She got comfy and propped her head up on a pillow, and started to scroll through her social media feeds. It was mostly anime and nonsensical posts, which Pearl would show Lillie to more often than not elicit a giggle. Lillie eventually laid down next to Pearl to better look at her screen, and the two browsed Pearl’s feed until it buzzed with a text from Hau.

>What room u guys in 👁👁 I’m done with the trial

>IMG_78948.JPG

The attached image was of Hau’s torracat, who looked pretty scruffed up, but happy.

Pearl quickly replied with the room number, and no more than 30 seconds later a knock fell on their room’s door.

“I’ll get it!” Lillie said with a smile as she scooted out of the bed, and opened the door.

“Were you just standing in front of the motel when you texted me?” Pearl asked as Hau walked in past Lillie and set his things down on the foot of the unoccupied bed.

“..Maybe?” Hau replied, his tone playful.

“Hey, if you’re interested, I brought the disc set of WSLFS redux with me if you guys wanna watch!”

“WSLFS?” Lillie asked, annunciating every letter clearly with an air of confusion.

“It’s that anime we watched back at Hau’s place! Except like, the remake. Hence the redux part.” Pearl replied, sitting up and crossing her legs.

“Ohhhh, that makes sense! Sure, we can watch!”

Hau nodded to Lillie, and dug the disc set out of his bag. Pearl and Lillie both got comfy, and were soon joined by Hau - after he got the DVD player below the TV all set up.

The three binged through the disc set, and as it got later, ordered some food to be delivered. Partially though eating, Pearl received a text from Mallow.

>Hey, sorry for such a late follow-up! Turns out I’m still super booked in terms of challengers tomorrow, would you be ok with making your way to Konikoni city yourself? I’ll send you the directions and address of the Kahuna’s store.

>>yea, no prob! good luck with the challengers :0

Pearl sighed, as she was getting a bit sleepy. Still, she opened up the directions Mallow sent and quickly reviewed them, mumbling out the key locations to herself. Thankfully, there was a long, straight road that cut through the ranchlands and led directly to Heahea city, so it’d be a straightforward - if not long - walk.

The three friends got about halfway through before they got so groggy that Hau turned the TV off, and they drifted off to sleep.

--

Morning came, and per usual, everyone woke up early. Hau had plans to train a bit first before he challenged the Kahuna, so Pearl and Lillie once again said their goodbyes to Hau before setting off on the long road together.

The bus line was late, so Pearl managed to convince Lillie to walk along the path next to the road with her. It was quiet, and there weren’t many - if any trainers out looking for a battle. It was nice, and Lillie even felt confident enough to let Nebby out of the bag to stroll, given that they were the only ones around.

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind the two, accompanied by a whinny.

“‘Scuse me! Coming through!”

Lillie stuffed Nebby back into her bag, and the two separated to make way for what was behind them - a short trainer with long black braided hair riding a mudsdale. Once the pokemon was ahead of them, it reared lightly and turned to face the friends.

The trainer riding the horse pokemon looked a bit confused, but ultimately shrugged and hopped off the pokemon and gave a small wave to Pearl and Lillie.

“Well, ain’t that something! Guess this old girl has always loved attention… hope you don’t mind if she sniffs ‘ya for a second…”

Almost on cue, the mudsdale leaned its massive head towards Lillie, who seemed to freeze up at a pokemon so large. But Pearl moved in and stroked it between the eyes, which the horse pokemon seemed to greatly enjoy.

“She’s cute! Did she wanna battle at all?” Pearl asked, looking over towards the pokemon’s rider.

The other trainer let out a small laugh, shaking her head.

“No, no, not now at least! I was just takin’ her out for a run, is all. Name’s Hapu, by the way! ...My name, not her’s. Are you two takin’ on the island challenge?”

Lillie silently shook her head, and Pearl spoke up.

“I am! My name’s Pearl! I was just on my way to see this island’s Kahuna to challenge them!” Pearl paused for a second before gesturing towards Lillie.

“And this is my friend Lillie! She’s not a trainer, but I really like traveling with her!”

Hapu simply smiled and dug a carrot out of her bag, handing it to Lillie.

“Here - she’s been eyeing your bag, I think she must think there’s treats in there. This’ll settle her down.”

Lillie grabbed the treat hesitantly, and with a bit of a shaky hand, offered it to the mudsdale. Without hesitation, the horse pokemon chomped the carrot in one bite, eliciting a surprised squeak from Lillie.

Hapu just let out a hearty laugh for someone her stature, before patting her pokemon’s side, grabbing it’s attention.

“Well, I’ll let you two get goin’! But I expect we’ll meet again soon, my old man’s the Kahuna of Poni Island! I’ll remember you two for then!” she said, promptly hopping back up on her pokemon and giving it commands to continue onwards.

Before Pearl or Lillie could properly reply, they were gone, running off into the distance.

There was a moment of silence, before Lillie spoke up.

“That’s… the biggest pokemon I’ve ever seen, I think.” she said in awe.

Pearl laughed a little and grabbed Lillie’s hand.

“Well, I guess I gotta show you some of my aunt’s dragons some time!” she said, picking up her pace a little.

The two made it to Heahea city by noon, where they stopped for lunch at Burnetts’ lab. Lillie decided her legs hurt too much from the walk, so she’d stick at the lab while Pearl continued to Konikoni.

The main path to Konikoni city was a road carved through a tunnel, but Pearl opted to instead walk the cavern by foot. At the tunnel’s foot traffic entrance, Pearl was stopped by what appeared to be a law officer.

“Sorry, foot traffic here is closed at the moment, you can go and take the bus. Some folks who regularly cause trouble around here decided to try and block off the path.” they said, shaking their head.

“Regularly cause trouble? It’s not those Team Skull people, is it?” Pearl asked.

“Well, we’re technically not supposed to disclose, but… yes, it’s Team Skull. Still, we’ll deal with things as quickly as possible, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Pearl put on a pout and crossed her arms.

“I’ve dealt with those bozos before! Lemme in there, and it’ll be open again in no time!” she said with a confident tone.

The officer rolled their eyes, and lifted a finger to speak, but their mouth was left agape as their eyes drifted beyond Pearl.

Suddenly, a woman’s voice spoke up.

“Yes, why don’t you let her in? I’m sure some trainer giving them a good old taste of cruel defeat would be more efficient than just trying to talk it out”

Pearl turned around to see a tall, muscular woman in pink behind her, with her arms crossed.

“Oh… fine. Yes, Miss Olivia. But only if you supervise in case something goes awry.” the officer said, standing out of the way of the tunnel’s entrance and moving the small wooden barricade that had been set up to the side.

“Thank you.” Olivia replied, looking down to Pearl and moving her hand in a shooing motion towards the cave.

“Thank you!” Pearl said with a nod as she ran into the tunnel.

Team Skull grunts tried to stop Pearl from going through the cave, but she was swiftly able to defeat every one of them. Pearl would occasionally look behind her, only to see Olivia watching from a distance.

Pearl had no idea who she was, but assumed she must be in a position of power to convince someone to let her bypass so easily.

Olivia caught up to Pearl just as she exited the tunnel, and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Hm?” Pearl emoted as she turned around.

“That was excellent work! To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Mallow’s description was accurate, but now I can confidently say I’m excited for you to challenge me after seeing you deal with those grunts so cleanly!”

It took Pearl a second to connect the dots in her head. Mallow told her about me? I’m challenging her later?

Then, almost like a lightbulb went off in her head, Pearl’s eyes grew wide.

“Ohhhhhh!! You must be the Kahuna, aren’t you?”

Olivia smiled and nodded.

“That would be me! You must be Pearl, correct? Mallow told me you were an exceptional trainer.” She paused for a second, stepping ahead of Pearl.

“Here, why don’t you follow me to my shop in Konikoni to rest for a bit? While you do that, I can set up your challenge.”

“Sounds good!” Pearl replied as she followed Olivia down the footpath.

It wasn’t a long walk to Konikoni, but Pearl could smell the city even before they arrived. It was an overwhelming aroma of incense and freshly cooked food, that only got stronger as the two approached the front gates.

Olivia led Pearl down the corridor-like city, which was lined with vendors of all sorts. Pearl was starting to get a bit spacey, as all the noises and smells were bordering on overstimulating - but she was quickly snapped back to reality when Olivia spoke.

“Alright, we’re here!”

Olivia opened the door of a nearby building, with a bell jingling as she did. Pearl stepped inside and investigated the store with her eyes - coming to the conclusion that it must’ve been some kind of jewelry shop.

“Feel free to hang around, I’ll let my assistant know when I’ve finished setting up so she can tell you! And please, if you’d like to buy anything, feel free!” Olivia said with a nod.

“I’m off now! I’m excited to challenge you.”

Pearl nodded and waved as she watched Olivia leave the store. She stood there for a bit, before slowly moving to investigate the store around her.

The stock was mostly jewelry of all sorts - necklaces, rings, earrings, and more. Though, there was also an assortment of standalone polished gemstones.

The assistant at the cash register caught Pearl staring, and spoke up.

“You know, Olivia puts together most of these herself. She’s a real pro!”

“Oh, neat!” Pearl said, looking up from the display case she was looking down at.

“My uncle does this kind of thing too - well, the polishing and collecting gemstones thing, I’m not sure how big he is into making jewelry.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Maybe you’ll find something he likes?” the assistant asked.

“Hmm… I dunno about him, but maybe I can find something for someone else…”

Pearl moved around the store some more, before eventually stopping in front of a spinner with earrings on all sides. As she looked over it, there was a pair that caught Pearl’s eye - a set of spherical polished moonstone studded earrings, no extra flairs.

Pearl had seen raw moonstone before, but was surprised to see they became a pleasant baby blue color when polished. It was then that Pearl made her decision.

She brought the earrings up to the checkout, and dug around in her bag for her wallet.

“Oh, these are pretty! If you don’t mind me asking, are these for anyone special? I can put them in gift wrapping if you’d like, in that case.” the assistant asked as they rang up Pearl’s purchase.

“They’re for my friend! This kind of color reminds me of her, so I thought I’d get her a little gift. No gift wrapping, I can just carry them in my bag!”

The assistant nodded and handed the earrings back to Pearl, who carefully put them in one of her bag’s inner pockets. It was a bit pricier than Pearl had anticipated, but wasn’t worried that her parents would chew her out.

For the next 25 or so minutes, Pearl hung around on a bench in the store, browsing her phone.

The assistant managed to catch her attention and let her know that Olivia was ready, instructing her to simply follow the road signs past the graveyard on Memorial hill to get to the Ruins of Life, where the battle was to be located.

Pearl thanked the assistant, and made her way to Memorial hill. Once she had made it outside town and to a clearing, she released Azul from his pokeball to walk along with her. Pearl hadn’t actually been informed of what type Olivia specialized in, but Pearl’s educated guess based off of her hobbies was that Olivia specialized in either rock- or ground-types. Either way, Azul would be indispensable.

Memorial hill was quiet, with only a few people in the graveyard paying their respects. Pearl tried her best to respectfully walk through, but couldn’t shake the feeling that she was somehow being watched. It wasn’t even that late, which is what Pearl found the most odd - any ghost-type pokemon lurking would probably be asleep at this time.

Which was when Pearl spotted her.

The woman had bright pink and yellow pigtails, and when the two locked eye contact, she pretended to not see Pearl. That of course piqued Pearl’s curiosity, so she made her way towards the cliff in which the woman was sitting on.

Pearl tried catching her attention without being too noisy, but it would almost seem like the woman was ignoring her. So, she commanded Azul to spray a weak stream of water at her. This, of course, caught her attention quickly.

“Hey!! I’m ignoring you for a reason, leave me alone. I’m trying to vibe.”

Pearl just looked even more confused.

“Huh?? Hey-! Why were you staring at me? Do you know me or something??”

The woman sighed and shifted a little, moving over so that Pearl could see the skull-motif tattoo on her abdomen.

“Oh, let me assure you - you’re very popular with all the problems you’ve been causing my little siblings. But I was specifically instructed to avoid some Draconid kid with a big yellow bow, so for now, you’re not my problem.”

The woman’s words only partially made sense. Given the tattoo and the ‘little siblings’ Pearl was supposedly causing trouble for, she could only assume the woman was a member of Team Skull.

But how was she able to recognize Pearl based on description? It could be word of mouth from grunts, but Pearl thought an Alola native specifically knowing she was a Draconid was odd. Nonetheless, Pearl moved into a stance, hoping to get some answers.

“Look! How about you battle me, and when I win, you tell me who on earth you are and how you know me!!”

The woman just laughed.

“Wow, she really wasn’t wrong when she described you. Look, kid, you probably have better things to do, and I’m just trying to chill, so leave me alone.” she said in an annoyed tone.

Pearl had never had anyone straight up deny a battle before, so she was a bit shocked. Pearl felt beyond intrigued, but decided to respect the woman’s decision. After all, Pearl had a grand trial battle to attend, and some random Skull member wasn’t worth her trouble.

Without a word, Pearl continued walking onwards to the Ruins of Life.

The entrance to the ruins was located in a clearing, where Olivia was already waiting. Upon hearing Pearl’s footsteps, she turned around from attending to her nosepass, and waved.

“Alright! Shall we begin?” Olivia asked, wasting no time.

Pearl nodded, and both Azul and herself got into a sort of battle stance.

“Of course!”

Olivia smiled, and gave an impressive flex of her muscles.

“Alright! Now, I know you’ve dealt with that old man Hala before, so I guess this is a little different. That guy loves his theatrics, but I’m usually more chillaxed, I’d like to think.” Olivia said.

“Of course, I’m only chillax when it comes to presentations. Don’t expect me to go easy on you! I am Olivia, Kahuna of Akala Island and rock-type extraordinaire!”

With that, Olivia called forwards her nosepass, and Pearl called out Azul.

If it wasn’t for her nosepass’s ability, sturdy, Azul would have one-hitted it. But it came out with 1 hp, and was able to paralyze Azul.

Not like it mattered, though - using aqua jet, Azul still moved faster than the slow nosepass and took it out.

Next up on Olivia’s end was boldore, and Pearl took the turn to heal Azul of his paralysis - who seemed quite happy about it.

Once again, if it wasn’t for sturdy, Azul would have one-shotted the poor rock pokemon. Pearl let out a groan, knowing this battle would be dragged on for just a slight bit longer.

With an aqua jet, the boldore fell to the ground, and was returned to its pokeball. Olivia looked a bit annoyed that she was being swept so easily, and maintained her confident composure.

“Alright! Here’s my partner, get ready!” she called out, as she sent out her final pokemon - lycanroc.

It was faster than Azul, but Azul was able to tank its hits well. With only a few turns of hard-hitting water-type moves, lycanroc was down.

It was a bit underwhelming for Pearl, as she had expected it to be harder - but thanks to her type advantage, it was like a walk in the park. She picked up and grabbed Azul, twirling him around in the air, as Olivia let out a frustrated sigh and recalled her fainted pokemon.

“Congratulations, Pearl! I’ll say, that brionne of yours is quite the powerhouse… I really wasn’t expecting it to hit as hard as it did!” Olivia said, her face now a smile.

“Here, take out your trainer’s passport! I have a special reward for you.”

Pearl enthusiastically nodded, and dug her passport out of her bag. Just like Hala had done, Olivia took out a large stamp, and placed a page-wide mark in her passport.

“I’m sure Mallow and her friends will be enthusiastic to hear about your easy victory, she was really rooting for you!” Olivia said, putting the stamp away.

“Hey, it’s getting a bit late, would you want a ride back to Heahea? No pressure.”

“Oh, sure! I’ve done a bunch of walking today, so I’m sure my legs would appreciate it.” Pearl replied with a nod.

Pearl followed Olivia out of the clearing, and over to the road where her car was parked. She recalled Azul to his pokeball, and got seated in the shotgun side seat.

Pearl was a bit sleepy, so she wasn’t much for conversation with Olivia, who respected that. She just looked out the window at the world passing by, until Olivia pulled in to the parking lot at Burnett’s lab.

“We’re here! Figured this is where you’d like me to stop.” Olivia said, stopping the car.

“Hm? How’d you know?” Pearl asked in response.

“Burnett’s an old friend of mine! She was one of the people who told me how talented of a trainer you were.”

“Ohhh! Makes sense!” Pearl said as she hopped out of the car.

“Well, thanks for the ride!”

“Yea, no problem!” Olivia said with a smile, as she waited until Pearl was on the sidewalk to start the car back up again and drive away.

Pearl wanted to see Lillie and ask Kukui what to do next, but emotionally and physically, she was exhausted. She decided it wouldn’t hurt to crash for the night, so she made her way to one of the many hotels in the city and booked a room.

It was much nicer than the previous motel she’d stayed at, and even more so than any Pokecenter hostel. Pearl collapsed into one of the beds, and texted Hau the location of the hotel and room number, before passing out - only awaking briefly when Hau entered the room an undefined amount of time later.

--

Pearl slept in a bit that morning, so much so that Hau actually woke her up. Neither of them really had plans, and while Pearl was raring to go on to the next island, Hau wanted to do some exploring.

Nearby the hotel the two were staying at was a full-on luxury resort and marina, which Hau wanted to check out. Pearl and Hau got ready for the day, and made their way to the resort.

The actual resort building was massive, and in the distance behind it, Pearl and Hau could see a golf course.

“We have golf in Alola??” Hau said, almost looking dumbfounded.

They walked past the massive plaza and over to the marina, to check out the various boats docked there. It was there that a familiar distinctly-haired man quickly caught both Hau and Pearl’s attention.

“Oh my gosh, wait… it’s not like I didn’t believe those pictures you showed me… but that’s really him , isn’t it?” Hau whispered to Pearl, slightly gesturing at the person who was definitely Colress.

Pearl elbowed Hau a little bit.

“ Duh, he’s really here! Which means she’s here too! I bet she’s staying at this exact resort!”

The two scooted so they were partially obscured by a boat as they watched Colress converse with someone who appeared to be another scientist with green glasses. Colress looked rather frustrated with him, and eventually stepped back.

“No, no, no way, no how, I told you, I’m only here for the equipment! I got my own weird questionable stuff to worry about, I’m… NOT doing that.” he said, his tone indicating he was more than fed up with the other man.

He walked away, frustrated, as the other man looked defeated. He noticed Pearl and Hau as he walked past, and his expression lightened a bit.

“Oh, hey, you’re that girl with the strong brionne, right? I never got your name, did I?”

Pearl froze. To be recognized by other trainers was one thing, but to leave an impact in the mind of the husband of her favorite idol? Pearl felt almost unreasonably accomplished for something so small.

Still, she did her best to collect herself, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Uh, yea! That’s me! My name’s Pearl, and this is my friend Hau I told you about! He’s also a pretty big fan!”

“Oh, nice to meet you two officially, then! You know, I can call Lune down to say hi, if you two want.”

Pearl was practically vibrating in place, but before she could say anything, Hau interjected.

“That’d be wonderful, but we’re kind of busy at the moment! Maybe later though!”

Colress looked a bit confused, while Pearl looked downright offended.

“Well… alrighty then! I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again though, haha! Stay safe out there!” Colress said, as he waved and continued walking past.

Pearl waited until Colress was out of earshot to speak.

“HAU?! What was that for?! We could’ve had a one on one exclusive meeting with her ! Are you out of your mind?!”

“Pearl, I know you. And I know you would’ve completely lost your mind and made yourself look like an idiot. I wanted to save you that trouble because I know you’d regret it.” Hau replied, shrugging and shaking his head.

Pearl only sighed.

“I guess you’re right… hopefully, I can mentally prepare myself for whenever we bump into Colress again, though.”

Pearl stretched her arms a bit before looking onwards to the man Colress had been talking to, who was scrolling through a tablet. The two were going to continue talking down the marina anyways, so they decided to ask what happened.

Surprisingly, the man spoke to them the moment he saw them move towards him.

“Oh, you two there! Are you by chance working on the island challenge?”

It seemed completely unrelated to anything, but Pearl spoke up.

“Uh, yea? What was that all about earlier, though? You sounded like you were fighting.”

The man let out a frustrated sigh.

“It’s none of your business. Just an annoying man stuck in his ways and afraid of progress.” he said with a huff, adjusting his green, oversized glasses.

“But that doesn’t matter to you. I’m Faba of the Aether Foundation! We recently began sponsoring the island challenges, and I’ve been looking for some challengers to take on a tour of our island! ...But so far, nobody has accepted my offer. So that’s why I’m asking you two!”

Hau and Pearl looked a tad weirded out, Pearl moreso. She remembered Colress’s words about not trusting Aether, which came in a new light especially after seeing the tailend of his argument with Faba.

“Hau, is this guy, like, legit?” Pearl whispered to her friend.

“I mean, I think? The Aether Island is a giant artificial island that got built some 20 years ago. Grandpa manages sponsorships, and I think he mentioned they do like, pokemon rehabilitation or something.”

It seemed Faba could hear the two despite their whispering.

“That’s right! The Aether Foundation takes in pokemon that are hurt and rehabilitates them, and gives pokemon unable to live in the wild a safe place to stay!” he chimed in, looking smug.

While Pearl was still uncertain, Hau gave her a little nudge.

“Why not? It’s not like we got anything better to do.” he whispered.

Pearl eventually gave in with a nod, and Faba led the two onto the Aether Foundation’s speedboat. It was roomy and clean inside, and in no time at all, they were off.

Faba tried and failed to make conversation with the two, who were mostly just browsing their phones. Pearl wasn’t keeping track of the time, but they shortly stopped, and Faba led the two out onto an artificial dock.

“Welcome to Aether Paradise!”

[disownedbytiime]

Bing/Jiu thoughts (with added Bing/Qiu)

We know how it went when LBG came to the non-pidw world, and I believe that when he left he realized he was missing so much. One of the differences between Bing-ge and Bing-mei is that Bing-mei is more anxious and scared, the betrayal he felt was different than the betrayal Bing-ge felt, which is why Xin Mo was able to control him and not Bing-ge, but this anxiety comes from the love SQQ poured into him; he felt loved and then betrayed, while Bing-ge never felt truly loved. Sure, he had thousands of wives, but isn’t it obvious he’s just trying to fill a hole in his heart?

So what I’m saying, is that after Bing-ge saw what he could’ve had, he probably became more unstable and now he can only imagine how everything could’ve been if he had a nicer Shizun. Or what if he had brought that other SQQ to his side?? Would this hole in his heart be filled?

So! Leaving Bing-ge aside, let’s focus on SJ. Wouldn’t it be nice if he were to come back and reappear at Bing-mei’s world?? Just like BG came, why can’t he see this different world?

Bing-ge realizes he wants a Shizun of his own, and with whatever magic plant or blood or whatever he manages to bring SJ back (limbs attached and everything.) SJ is definitely surprised and scared, he doesn’t understand why he was brought back (possibly to get killed again, he thinks), he doesn’t trust Bing-ge at all, and why would he? But he’s weak from having been revived recently, so he can’t fight him, he can only be at his mercy. And Bing-ge is confused. He looks at him and sees all the damage they both gave each other, but he wants to try? If he can make his Shizun into a better one, like the one he missed, then maybe things could be good again. He doesn’t want to treat him better though, no, he wants to force his Shizun to treat him like the other one, but it’s not easy when SJ resists so much.

So, during this time where they’re both untrusting and confused, still hating each other, SJ arrives to the other world because Xin Mo opens a portal thanks to Bing-ge’s new instability. Also let’s say that because SJ is still weak he can’t come back quickly, he has to stay in that world for a while.

It’s such a shock for him, to see a world so similar to his own but, at the same time, completely alien. And it’s not just because the SQQ of this world is married to that horrid beast, which is an issue of his own. He can’t believe how different everything is. YQY is alive. “He” didn’t kill LQG. The peak lords are all alive and have a family-like relation. MF and NYY are healthy and are still his lovely disciples. “His” reputation is mostly intact, but he married LBH. Was that the variable? Them falling in love is what made this world completely dissimilar?

On the other hand, this world SQQ –SY– would be livid. He’d be scared at first, the original goods, the scum villain, came back. And sure, he understands him better than when he was only a reader, but still, he’s the man who tortured LBH to the point of transforming him into Bing-ge. So, once he understands what happened, oh how he’d chastise him! Why are you like this?! Why did you have to hurt him so bad?! SJ would chastise him back though. How could you fall in love with such a beast?

But Bing-mei? I don’t think he’d be able to hate him. He doesn’t know what exactly happened over there, he only knows that because his Shizun wasn’t around, the “he” from that other world became a playboy tyrant. This may be a different SQQ, but he’s still Shizun, he can’t treat him badly. SY would tell him not to trust him, but he can’t really explain how he knows so much. If Bing-mei ever finds out the truth –that this Shizun treated “him” so badly that made him become “that” and that that world’s LBH ended up assassinating him in the most horrible way– I don’t think he’d be able to hate SJ anyway. Instead, he’d hate Bing-ge even more. So what if SQQ hurt him? How could he do something like that to him? So, he’d make sure this other Shizun would be comfortable. He can’t change what happened over there, but he can show him that, in this world, he doesn’t hate him and would never hurt him.

Of course, SJ would be even more untrusting. The LBH from his world revived him and cured his wounds, and this one is cooking and caring for him. What is wrong with them?

But time passes, and he can’t help but start to feel comfortable. Even though he’s in the demon realm, he’s not in danger (other than from SY’s glares) and there’s a roof over his head and warm food on his table. He also has access to a library and music instruments, so he’s not bored either. Still he doesn’t understand, he thinks this just means he’ll fall worse later.

SY would hate it so much. He’s the one who disgraced LBH in pidw, how can Bing-Mei treat him so well? His food is meant to be only for him, why is he cooking for that other person too? He’s not jealous of course, but he simply can’t stand that he’s there. Why do they have to watch him? He knows he can’t just throw him away (he has his face and he can’t let him roam around, tarnishing his reputation), but why do they have to keep him there? He tries to leave him with SQH (he’s his ‘father’ after all, isn’t him?) but Bing-mei insists that it’s safer if he stays with them. SY can definitely see that SJ is having fun though.

But then, they decided to let him go to Cang Qiong mountain instead of SY. SY can rest and SJ can go see how his old sect is doing, and somehow SY decides that maybe having him around isn’t that bad, he can now spend more free time with his husband (not like he’d ever admit out loud.)

(Around this time Bing-mei decides to feed SJ his blood –he’s surprised Bing-ge didn’t do it already– but he lets the other man know it’s just so he can track where he is, he won’t do anything bad to him. SJ wasn’t even aware this was a thing until it’s too late, but since Bing-mei really doesn’t do anything bad, he simply accepts it.)

SJ goes together with SQH, who gets somehow blamed and roped into helping him in case someone gets suspicious. And they do, especially Qi-ge. They ask him why he’s there alone, did he fight with LBH? He’s never separated from him. And SJ, who still can’t accept that “he” is meant to be together with him, tells them off. (So they all think he definitely had a fight with him), but little by little they realize he’s… different. He seems like he forgot some things, he is wary around them, he kind of resembles his old self? But when they ask neither him nor SQH confirm it, so they can only wonder silently. SJ is somewhat happy that in this world he still has disciples like MF or NYY, but he can’t help but want to know what really happened. How did this world’s SQQ fell for LBH and viseversa.

(As an added, SQH is amazed to see the original villain. He didn’t know before about Bing/qiu meeting BG, so when he finds out, he’s overjoyed that his original sons exists anyway. He’s quite interested in hearing SJ’s story from his own mouth (to see if it’s the same as his own work) and I feel like SJ would be, at first, weirded out but later he’d like the attention and thus, a nice friendship between the two would start –much to SQQ’s chagrin–)

The first thing SJ does is finding ‘Resentment of Chunshan’ –which definitely do not help the case nor ease his worries– he knew LBH was a beast, but for him to act so shameless towards his own Shizun ??? He wants to kill him again and even feels bad for this world’s SQQ; until SQH explains that the author took some artistic liberties and that in real life things didn’t happen that way. Here either SQH tells him what happened or they go with Meng Mo for help (he’d be interested in why there are two SQQs so he’d help him in exchange for info, which he doesn’t get since SJ isn’t even sure why this happened.)

After finding out the whole truth SJ is sort of speechless. It seems like at the beginning everything was the same until suddenly SQQ started treating LBH better out of nowhere, and that simple action was what changed everything. Really? Only by showing some compassion it made the world so different? He realizes it was all SQQ. He doesn’t fail when helping LQG, he doesn’t go to sleep at the burdel, his relationship with YQY is pleasant. And so he realizes, he is the problem. And also the answer.

It truly shakes his world, but what can he do? He’s not SY, even if he tried, there’s no way he could’ve done the same, right? There’s simply no way he could fall for someone like LBH for starters, even if the beast had fallen for him first.

Still, he can’t help but want to see more into their relationship. SY still pushed Bing-mei into the endless abyss (just like he did), but it didn’t feel the same. Bing-mei still brought a lot of problems for SY, he preyed on him, he imprisoned him, but how come SY still died for LBH? What was his problem? Dying for an unfilial disciple. (It’s here where he sees the real power of the demonic blood). But the more he remembers what he saw in the dreamscape and compares it to the couple that live with him, he starts to understand. He doesn’t like it, he can’t feel like this world’s SQQ made a mistake, but seeing that his life wasn’t any better he realizes that maybe this is how things were supposed to be.

Then why does his world exist? Just to be proof that the worst could happen? Is his world simply a bad example? He decides that it’s no use to ponder about this. Even if things were meant to be like in this world, there’s no way he can change the past, nor does he wants to, he thinks. He can only accept his reality, enjoy this ephemeral opportunity he was given and maybe think how things could’ve been. If he has to be honest, this isn’t such a bad life.

Then at some point, months in maybe, when he’s already accepted his life there, Bing-ge finds a way to return to this world. Unknown to everybody, he freaked out when he saw with his own eyes how his Shizun was pulled into a different world. He spent months trying to find a way to get him back, only to find him in the same world he had visited some time before, the word that caused his instability, his need for a Shizun of his own and what brought him to get him back.

As soon as Bing-mei sees him he goes for the kill. Not only he played with SY last time, but he also hurt SJ so much. He can’t forgive him, so they fight again, and once again they are properly matched. SJ is in awe at their fight, and the fact they’re fighting over him, but once he sees how worried and terrified SY is when he sees Bing-ge attack Bing-mei, he finally understand completely. Whatever happened in the past it’s forgiven and forgotten, SY and Bing-mei are fated and in love, and he… he feels jealous. He’s not new to this feeling. He definitely understands it well, that’s what he originally felt towards Bing-ge. But where did that brought him? So he makes a choice.

He knows the match won’t stop until one dies or leaves, so he takes the decision to go back with Bing-ge. Both LBHs are surprised (while SY is silently overjoyed) by such choice. And this is kind of self indulgent, but before he leaves, I want SJ to kiss Bing-mei. He goes to say goodbye and just presses his lips over his. It’s so sudden that Bing-mei doesn’t have time to react, but SJ doesn’t want him to because he knows he’s not the one he wants. He just wanted to feel once how it was to be so close to the man who treated him so well. And then, he leaves. He and Bing-ge simply vanish.

After the initial shock, Bing-mei would be slightly sad. Was he not enough for SJ? How come he had to go back to the man who once killed him? Sure, he didn’t love him like he loves SY, but he cared for him, so it’s painful to have him leave. SY on the other hand is both grateful that the scum villain finally left, but also angry that he kissed his husband. It’s his husband, why did he have to do that? But once he sees Bing-mei sad, he can’t help but feel tender. He tells him that he doesn’t need to worry, even if Bing-ge is powerful, SJ is no longer weak and he probably can defend himself, I mean, is him right? Does LBH thinks so poor of this teacher? (SY knows SJ has no opportunity against Bing-ge but he can’t tell him that.) Bing-Mei feels better, but he feels even better when he finally realizes that SY had been jealous all this time. And so, he soon puts SJ in the back of his mind (but not totally forgotten!) to enjoy this new development of his husband.

Back to Bing/Jiu. When Bing-ge found out SJ was in that world he was surprised, but when he saw SJ kissing Bing-Mei he got mad, even if he accepted to go back with him, how come that other LBH got to have both Shizun for himself? Not only he’s sleeping with one, but he also stole SJ? He hadn’t even touched him yet, less alone kiss him. What right did he have? And he lets SJ know. He asks him if he enjoyed it? Screwing around with a taken man. Did that loser even learn already how to fuck? SJ is not having it though. Because of what he saw in the dreamscape he knows that Bing-ge had been there already, he saw him fool around with SY and knew the reason why he was brought back. So he fights back. Does you harem not satisfy you anymore? He was so jealous of the couple over there that had to bring him back and hope they could be the same. It’s obvious they won’t though, and this is something they both know well.

But what else is there then? SJ is already recovered and could try to fight his way out and leave; but he doesn’t. He demands Bing-ge to bring him dinner and goes to the place he was allowed to sleep. Of course Bing-ge can’t believe his audacity, but when he finds out that he’s got demonic blood inside him –and that SJ is well aware of its abilities– but still chooses to stay, he takes a step back. They’re unsure what to do, but maybe it wouldn’t be bad to cook for him once? He definitely can do it better than that loser over there. (Before this he hadn’t cook for him, he had some of the girls do it instead.)

And so, they continue a weird dynamic for several days: Bing-ge cooks for him and SJ doesn’t leave. Until one day when BG brings him dinner, and just before he leaves, SJ asks him to stay for a minute. And then, SJ he kisses him. He doesn’t know exactly why. He doesn’t like this Bing-ge, other than his physique and cooking abilities, there’s nothing good about him; but it’s a thought he’s had for a while, so he goes ahead. Bing-ge is as surprised as Bing-mei was back then, but that doesn’t stay like that for long because moments later he’s slamming him into the table, kissing him deeply and already fumbling with their clothes to get rid of them. SJ complains about his roughness and about the wasted food, but he doesn’t stop him.

And so, just like that their relationship becomes physical. Neither of them is in love, they don’t yearn or pin for the other, but it’s enough to fill the hole in their hearts for now.

And they both become bolder. Bing-ge conditions SJ that if he’s good and behaves, he’ll maybe be able to bring back some of the peak lords, but he has to stay with him or he’ll kill them again. SJ doesn’t mind if he does or doesn’t (though he does yearn a bit for YQY). Bing-ge also starts seeing his harem less and less, until he spends almost all his time with SJ. SJ complains that he’s too clingy and can’t have time alone, but he’s secretly overjoyed. He even goes and flaunts it in the harem’s faces. And though he wants them to leave them alone (he’s now okay with being with the beast, but having to share him with thousand of women is… not his thing), he also remembers how good NYY was over there, how LMY was a respected cultivator, how all these girls were not useless, so he pushes them into leaving and doing something for themselves. What a bunch of trophy wives! Over there the girls actually had a spine! They fought and had their own ambitions. You, though? You can only follow a beast. He definitely sees the irony in his words, but this is a life he decided for himself, so it’s okay.

And then it’s only them. Are they in love just like the Bing/qiu from that other world? Of course not, that’s impossible. Can everything be deleted and can they change? Most likely not, but they can pretend it’s forgiven and forgotten. And are they happy? Who knows. They feel their hearts filling those holes, but it’s most likely out of necessity and not actually something they wanted. But, so what? It’s enough for them. They finally have something to hold to, so they’ll take it.

(Btw! They definitely use the demonic blood when they have sex! Bing-ge is experienced and he’ll use all his knowledge and SJ won’t be able to reject him.)

Also, side note that would kind of make another huge post, but at some point they find a way to go back to that world and have a foursome with Bing/qiu. How? 🤷🏻‍♀️ who cares, it just happens.

[masterofmaagnetism]

A Monster in the Dark - Chapter 2

[ self ship fanfic about Nightmare Bonnie and my insomniac s/i :) ]

[ Previous ] [ Next ]

Cheesy Dip was certainly more effective than an alarm clock. 

Canetheus woke with a groan, a little annoyed by the cat pawing at his back (when had he rolled over?) but understanding that it was probably just dinner time.

His beloved asshole jumped off of his back once she was sure he was awake, so he rolled off the couch, crashing onto the floor with a groan. 

It took him a minute, but eventually Canetheus managed to pull himself up onto his feet. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he muttered at the sound of Cheesy screaming. He stopped in front of her food cabinet to stretch, the motion pulling a satisfied yawn from his lips.

Only to have it replaced with a groan when Cheesy began headbutting him, trying to get him to move faster. He fed her quickly before moving on to feed himself, since he usually associated her feeding times with his own.

It was dark out now, as far he could tell from the little sliver of moonlight breaching his covered up windows. Perfect timing then- this was usually the time that the nightmares started. 

He needed to find a graveyard shift job. The one he was working now was during the day, which made sleep even harder than usual to find. He was lucky if he didn’t accidentally fall asleep at night on days like that.

A slight shudder went down his spine at the thought of his nighttime naps. Without the sunlight to keep him safe, the animatronics he used to love would take on monstrous forms and haunt him in his rare moments of sleep. He tried to talk to people about it, but they always brushed him off. Eventually he stopped trying.

He really should stop thinking about them. That was practically asking for the bastards to show up. But sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder… maybe they weren’t attacking him. Maybe they were just asking for his help. It wasn’t an uncommon thought of his, since it was five children who had disappeared.

Other times he considered the possibility that these nightmares hadn’t been meant for him. They just said some… odd things on occasion. One of them called him ‘Christopher’ once, and they referred to him as if he were a child. That didn’t make sense not only because he was a fucking adult, but also because he wasn’t born male and certainly wasn’t given the name ‘Christopher’.

It was just a strange situation altogether, but he tried not to think about it too much. It didn’t matter that they weren’t made for him, all that mattered was that they were his demons now, not this Christopher’s.

Though it never stopped him from being curious. He spent most nights like this researching and while he hadn’t found anything on a Christopher, he did find something about a Fredbear’s Family Diner. One of its kind, basically the starter version of the Freddy’s chain.

Tonight was the night he was going to delve deeper. He finished his dinner, giving Cheesy an affectionate scritch behind the ear and heading to his mostly disused bedroom. He rarely ever slept in here, mainly using it as storage and an office of sorts. 

He fell back into the chair in front of his desk, pausing to pop his back and knuckles, before opening up his laptop and getting to work.

The tab his computer had been left on was a sort of… fansite for the ‘lore’ behind the Freddy’s chain. He never really liked the site (they always described Bonnie as blue, as well as other discrepancies) but it had the quickest access to information on Fredbear’s Diner.

What he really needed from here was the newspaper clipping from 1983 with the big headline “Child Has Frontal Lobe Bitten Off By Animatronic- Does This Spell The End Of Frebear’s Family Diner?”. It’s only a partial clipping, never going far enough down to show the name of the child, but it does have a picture of the child and his family and the name of his father.

William Afton, co-owner of the diner and the performer sometimes inside of the Spring Bonnie animatronic, who was apparently so devastated after the incident that he quit and divorced his wife, taking their two other children with him.

It was a little easier to find stuff on Afton than his child, especially because he was apparently the one to start the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.

“What kind of man watches an animatronic almost kill his son and decides to open an animatronic based restaurant chain?” Cane muttered, once finding a picture of Afton standing next to his new animatronics. “Fucking freak.”

Not that he could blame him too much. Cane had always been fascinated by animatronics, even after that terrible day. He’d never start a chain restaurant with them, but he could help build them just fine.

After a few more hours of searching, nothing more was yielded other than a killer headache. He sighed as he shut the laptop once again, getting up to grab some aspirin and maybe head out for a short walk. Depended on how quickly the headache went away, if at all.

Aspirin in hand, he was about to pop it into his mouth when caught sight of something… blue peeking out of his bedroom doorway.

No. That couldn’t be… was it? Cane stood there and stared at the monstrous bunny that stared right back at him, it’s head tilted ever so slightly.

He’d never seen one of them in the real world before, only in his nightmares. He figured he had to be dreaming so he blinked a few times, even pinching himself in the arm. The thing was still there.

It was only when Cheesy looked at the bunny that he realized it was really there, and he was awake. Could cats see hallucinations? He hoped so. At least that thing wasn’t moving.

“Okay, well, you stay there, I’m gonna uh… I’m gonna go for a walk,” he suddenly announced, surprised that he’d spoken to it. It seemed surprised too, but he didn’t fully process that as he popped the aspirin into his mouth, chugging down a gulp of water with it.

He then threw it a peace sign, turned on his heel, and practically stormed out the front door, trusting that it wasn’t real and that Cheesy would be fine. Even if it was real, his bastard kitty could open doors well enough.

It was only when he was about a mile away from his house when the reality of the situation hit him. “What the fuck,” he muttered as he came to a hard stop. “What the fuck,” he stated much louder, gaining the attention of the couple taking their dog on a late night walk.

What the fuck indeed my good dude.

[dianapana]

SasuHina Month 2020 - Day 5

Prompt –Collage AU

Long Distance- Part 3

Hinata POV

Sasuke drives like a pro; whenever I’m in the car with Ino I fear for my life, Neji drives really smoothly but he always goes really really and I mean really fast so, I find myself griping the side of my seat a lot. But with Sasuke the speed is good I don’t feel like we’re about to pierce to the vail of time and his movements are confident and easy; he seems to be at ease. We’ve been on the road for about 45 minutes and we haven’t really spoken much but the silence is pleasant and it doesn’t bother me.

“So, you’re from Konoha and about my age how come we never met in school?” Sasuke is the one to break the silence.

“I was homeschooled until 10th grade. And after that I went to Suna Academy for girls. I am what you would call ‘sheltered’. My mom told my dad I should attend public school before university but he just about had a heart attack. He didn’t really want me going to University either” I didn’t mind being homeschooled I’m more of an introvert and I know that; it’s not because I didn’t go to public school it’s just how I am and I’m ok with that. But I did want to go to university so I fought for that as well and when mom came to my aid too dad didn’t stand a chance. I’m happy with my decision; I’ve made a few really good friends and enjoyed the experience so far. I also loved the freedom of doing whatever I wanted without asking for permission. I’m not a party person but I did discover I enjoy certain things that mom or dad would never allow.

“Ah makes sense. My older brother was homeschooled for about 2 years but neither mom nor dad really liked that so when I started school, they sent me to public school from the get go”

“Are you going to be a senior this year?” he looks older and more mature than I do, or at least than I feel.

“Yep, what about you?” I look from the corner of my eyes at the way his muscles move in his arm when he changes the gear. He’s not built like most guys in my classes.

“I’m also going to be a senior. What’s your major?”

“I only declared my major last semester so despite it being my last year I’ll have a lot of courses to take. I’m majoring in education. I was accepted on athletic scholarship and have been a starter on the hokey team since the second semester of my freshman year so I plan to either go pro or coach. What about you?”

“I major in creative writing and minor in photography or as my dad says, I’m paying money to become a starving artist. I’ve never seen a hockey game; my sister likes it and played a little in middle school but I was away in Suna so I never went to any of her games.”

We talk a little more about collage, I find out that he lives with one of his teammates who is also his best friend and another friend that’s a tattoo artist and is majoring in fine arts at KU. I also applied there but the creative writing program is better at the UoA. I did hear that the graphic design department from KU has some of the pest teachers in the country. I told him about Ino who I met at orientation but, we also share the same minor; her major though is flower arts, surprisingly she has a lot of business-oriented courses to pretty much teach her how to run her own shop. We’re about 15 minutes away from KU and once again I feel guilty; he’s been on the road for 4 hours even though under normal circumstances he’d just now hit the road. After passing KU we finally hit the highway and Sasuke speeds up but it’s still comfortable.  

We talk a little more for the following few hours and I’m surprised by how easy it is to talk to him. He even explains hockey to me as briefly as possible and says he’ll invite me to a game when the season starts. The implication that we will talk after the end of this pleases me. We’re about half the way to Konoha when we stop so Sasuke can fill the tank and so we can go to the bathroom, maybe drink another coffee since we drank the extra ones I packed as well already and eat something. Thankfully the gas station has a McDonalds next to it.

Sasuke POV

Once we hit the road again after eating the only noise is the radio but we don’t talk. The silence isn’t unwelcomed and awkward. After a couple more minutes I peek at Hinata and see she has fallen asleep. I dim the music a little and continue driving. We have about 5 more hours to go.

About 4 hours later I make another stop at the gas station; I need to go to the bathroom. Hinata hasn’t woken up yet. I’m debating whether to wake her up or not when her phone starts ringing loudly and waking her up anyway. She wakes up and answers in a hurry while rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

“Hey mom. Yea we’re about…” she looks towards me and I mouth ‘1 hour away’ “1 hour away. We just stopped at a gas station. I’ll see you soon ok? I want to go to the bathroom. Bye” she hangs up not really waiting for a reply.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I fell asleep for like 4 hours.” Her cheeks are red and I can tell she feel guilty and embarrassed but I shrug.

“No big deal” It looks like she wants to apologize again so I get out of the car. Each of us goes to the bathroom and then Hinata buys some snacks and I get myself a Pepsi and we get back on the road.

Hinata rips open the packet of candy she bought and eats a few. “Do you want some?” she asks. Usually I’m not a huge fan of sweets but I do want some sugar to get energy so I nod. I can’t take my hand that instant off the wheel so I make a small pause with full intention to extend it in a few moments but before I can do that Hinata leans over and pops a candy in my mouth. I am shocked and I look at her from the corner of my eye and she is frozen in place, her face red as a beat.

“I…umm I am sorry” her voice is barely a whisper and she leans back in her seat. “I did that without thinking sorry. I do that whenever Ino drives. In the beginning she would take her hand pff the wheel mid turn and it would freak me out so I developed this habit of feeding her rather than her letting go of the wheel. I am so so so sorry” she talks really fast and her hands are over her cheeks.

“It’s ok. You just surprised me” I say. Hinata I realize is very socially awkward. She blushes easily and apologizes a lot about everything. Despite me trying to reassure her she doesn’t talk much for the rest of the road.

Hinata POV

The candy incident happened almost 20 minutes ago but my heart still beats way too fast. I did that on instinct and the moment my fingertips touched his lips I was gone. I am way too aware of him now to be able to talk to him normally. Even if I don’t want to I notice everything about him. From his muscles that shift whenever he moves the slightest bit, to his beautiful profile, to his dark and shiny hair.

I keep my hands joined in my lap because I’m scared, I’ll do something embarrassing again. I want to touch him. I want to take pictures of him. He would be a great subject for a photoshoot. Images of him in a studio dim lighted and a bit destroyed fill my brain. He would suite something grunge or maybe something with neon lights to give him an eerie atmosphere. That is his attitude, if we were to talk about his looks, he is handsome and beautiful; he would look good surrounded by white, that would make him look like an angel. The angel analogy starts to run while when I imagine him naked with only a silk sheet over his lap. I feel my cheeks growing redder again.

I shake my head and look out the window. The familiar scenery tells me we’re only about 15 minutes away from my house, after waking up I gave him my address to put into the GPS. I curse myself for sleeping half of the ride. There’s no use lying to myself. I like Sasuke, he’s easy to talk and cool. His good looks only aid this predicament.

“We’re almost home” I say.

“You don’t sound that happy. You did say you didn’t want to return. Why is that?” He answers, eyes still focused on the road, his voice even. He really does not think about the candy incident. The knowledge hurts a little. I kind of wanted him to be as shook as I am.

“I liked the freedom I have at University. I’ve never really been the one in charge before” Mom and Hanabi are the only ones home which means we will be doing a lot of shopping. They’ll make me try on things I don’t particularly like. Most of my closet consisted of thing mom and Hanabi think look good on me but that I don’t like to wear so when I got to University I started selling them.

“I get that, I feel the same. That was also my reason for not coming back home” He admits and it shocks me a little, Sasuke doesn’t seem like someone that would let himself be controlled by someone else. This makes me relate to him, admire him for admitting something like that, Neji is very prideful and he would never say something like this.

When the car pulls to a stop in front of my house, I have to admit I am glad. I like spending time with him but I feel myself developing a crush on him that can only lead to my own demise. I look to the front door half expecting mother to come running outside but she doesn’t. Sasuke gets out of the car as well and helps me with the suitcases. I go to open the door but it is locked. I unlock it and the house is silent. Sasuke asks me where to take the suitcases and I abuse his kindness and tell him to follow me to my room. In the mean time I call mother.

“Hey mom I got home…but where are you?”

“Hinata baby I’m over at Mikoto’s come with Sasuke. She wants to meet you and we can all have a nice late lunch or early dinner” Her voice is chipper and light, is…is mom drunk?

“O….k?”

“See you soon baby” She says and hangs up on. I look at my phone and then to Sasuke.

“Um…she’s at your house” I say and he laughs.

“Of course, she is. How did we not see this coming?” Sasuke asks rhetorically as we walk back to the car. I top to lock the door. “I mean they are best friends so of course they are together.”

The drive to his home takes about another 10 minutes and this time when the car stops mom and another woman, I assume Sasuke’s mother wait for us on the front porch and they each have a wine glass in their hands. Mom is smiling wide and chats with Mikoto lively.

“Are they drunk?” I say out loud. Sasuke narrows his eyes.

“I don’t know about your mother but my mom is a lightweight. If she drank a glass of wine, she is not only drunk but wasted.”

“Mom can’t hold her alcohol very well either” I admit, we both turn to look at them still chatting away, obvious to the fact that we have arrived. We turn to look at each other and chuckle a little.

“Come o let’s go join them, drink a glass of wine too. Why should they be the only ones to have fun?” He says and gets out of the car. My heart is beating faster once again. I can’t move for a moment. Sasuke opens my door and extends his hand to me, I look at it and take it. His skin is warm and rough but I feel sparks going up my arm. I look up at him and he’s smirking at me. The sun is just now setting behind Sasuke and it gives him a golden glow. That is the moment when I realize that I already like him, this boy I met today. He lets go of my hand to go get his own bags but I can still feel his touch. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. When I open them he’s next to me and nods towards out mothers, I nod back and we start walking up the driveway. The two of them finally see us, put their wine glasses down and come towards us for hugs. Mom kisses my cheek and tells me how much she missed me; than she hugs Sasuke and thanks him for bringing me while Mikoto hugs me and tells me how nice it is to meet me.

Looking at this scene with them so happy makes me realize that I don’t regret coming home. I’m glad I could make mom happy. I’m glad to see her having fun with a new friend. I peer from the corner of my eye towards Sasuke. I’m glad I came because I met him. I’m still looking at him when he turns his eyes to me as well and smirks. I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if he feels even remotely like I do. Even if he doesn’t, I hope he will still be my friend because Sasuke Uchiha is pretty cool and I’d love to have him in my life. If his mother is anything like him, I can’t blame mom for calling Mikoto her best friend already.  

Part 1 (This happens after the 2nd and 3rd part)

Part 2

[welllpthisishappening]

Mom’s Trip

The trade deadline is stressing me out. That’s it. That’s the reason for this. i have no idea how long it is or why it is or, really, what it is except using Rangers-provided content as fic inspiration. Special shoutout to @shireness-says​ and @eleveneitherway​ for both being like, “yes, make it Regina” when I was talking about this. Also, guys, please acknowledge that I turned the six on Mrs. Skjei’s jersey to a zero. 

Or: Ryan Strome’s mom told Artemi Panarin to get her kid the puck and my brain was like THAT’S A BLUE LINE THING. And then Mika’s mom wanted to hug her kid and my brain was like, SERIOUSLY, BLUE LINE. 

----

“Dad! Dad! Mom! Ma—c’mon are you actually here and just ignoring me?”

Emma glanced up from the computer in front of her, a paper-covered desk and plans for an event she was only marginally interested in. She heard the footsteps coming down the hall — more like a brisk jog, really, and that couldn’t have been good for his right thigh.

He’d blocked a shot the night before.

“Hey,” Matt said, almost out of breath when he skidded to a stop in the open doorway to Emma’s office. “Did you not hear me?”

“People across the entire island of Manhattan heard you.”

“Oh, wow. Scathing from the get, huh?”

“How’s your leg?”

Matt shrugged, a quiet noise in the back of his throat that only made Emma’s eyebrows pinch. “Ah, don’t do that, it’s—I’m fine…I mean, we won, right?”

“Sometimes it genuinely concerns me how much you are like your father.”

“Scathing to insulting in four seconds flat.”

“Were you not yelling for him too?” Emma asked, and she was ninety-six percent positive Matt hadn’t knocked. Not like he had to. In this house. The one he grew up in. With enough empty rooms now that Emma could have an office.

Matt let his head loll to the side — a far too knowing expression that Emma did not appreciate at all. She was the mom. She was the adult.

She was—

Her computer dinged.

“Whatcha watching?”

“What did you say?” Emma countered. “Don’t do that? Don’t do that.”

“We’re going in circles here,” Matt muttered, crossing his feet at the ankles. Like he was trying to hit a BINGO card of all the things that made Emma feel vaguely maternal-type emotions. Her computer wouldn’t stop playing the video.

Or she wouldn’t stop playing the video.

Whatever, semantics.

“How many times have you watched it?” Matt pressed. He took a step into the room, arms crossed now and one eyebrow arched impossibly high. “Just—you know, like ballpark it for me.”

“What are you doing here, Mattie?”

“That’s not an answer. Also, this is my house.”

“You do not live here, Matthew David.”

He stopped walking. And the other eyebrow joined the first. Maybe Emma would just slide out of her chair and lay on the floor.

That would hurt her back, probably.

Getting old was stupid.

Being jealous of Regina was stupid.

“Ballpark,” Matt repeated.

“No.”

“What?”

“No,” Emma said again, slower that time like it would make her sound more responsible. Or, at least less insane. She felt a little insane.

She’d watched the video so many times already.

Elsa had sent her ten text messages about it.

Ruby had written a small novel.

Mostly exclamation points.

Matt’s lips twitched, rocking back on his heels with wide eyes and genetically enhanced eyebrows. He didn’t get anything from her eyebrows.

“Yuh huh,” he drawled. “I’m going to guess somewhere in the twenty range, but that’s only because I can still hear it on auto-play and—“

“—The Flyers website is not as good as ours,” Emma interrupted. “It just keeps looping. So my viewing numbers are probably all skewed.”

“You know you can hit pause, right?”

“In theory.”

Matt laughed, crossing the rest of the space and perching on the edge of Emma’s desk. The video started again.

And, really, most of her reaction to the stupid thing was based almost entirely on surprise.

Because it wasn’t the first time Regina had gone on the mom’s trip with the Flyers.

Emma had gone with the Rangers — decked in head to toe blue and Matt’s jersey and Regina didn’t look great in orange, but no one really looked great in orange.

It was a thing.

A hockey tradition, even.

Except now the tradition included viral videos, apparently, pinned to the top of every Philadelphia Flyers social media page — Regina standing in the middle of the visitor’s locker room in Columbus with Mills-Locksley emblazoned across her back and the Flyers lineup in her hand.

She called out every name, all enthusiasm and a smile on her face as soon as she glanced Roland’s direction.

And when she turned towards the Flyers’ starting center.

Demanding he get Roland the puck.

Emma’s eyes flickered back towards her computer. The best part of the whole video might have been Roland’s noticeably pink cheeks.

Or, the way his head dropped to his gloves.

That was Ariel’s favorite part.

So half a dozen text messages Emma hadn’t answered yet proclaimed.

“I didn’t know Gina had it in her, honestly, Matt said. “The sweet is—“

“—Oh, I’m going to tell her you said that.”

“Please don’t. I need my endorsements.”

Emma wasn’t sure what noise she made at that, but she resolutely refused to take responsibility for it, reaching out to rest a hand on her kid’s leg. He grinned.

“You might have some competition for those endorsements,” Emma said. “I bet in between scoring demands and—“

“—Rol did score. The group chat was very quick to point that out while he was whining about getting interviewed because of his mom.”

“What a rough life you children lead.”

“It does get a little aggressive, though,” Matt continued, “Get him the puck! Get him the puck! She’s got a lot of thoughts about Rol’s scoring potential, don’t you think?”

“Eh. She’s got reason to be confident. Legacy and all that.”

“You honestly think she’s working endorsement deals for Flyers guys?” Matt asked. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“Any moment without trying to make connections is a moment wasted as far as Regina Mills-Locklsey is concerned.”

“Oh, I’m going to tell her you said that! Then she won’t have time to be annoyed by all the gifs I keep sending Rol.”

Emma clicked her tongue. “Stop teasing him.”

“I’m not teasing, I’m mercilessly making fun. Get him the puck! Get him the puck!”

“Got to shoot to score.”

“Top-tier cliche.”

“Mmhm. That’s definitely my MO.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed, mouth twisting slightly when his hand landed on Emma’s. “Why do you keep watching it?”

“Rubes has watched it more than me.”

“That’s because she wants to analyze the hits and the long-term reach of one thirty second video clip. Is Dad even home right now?”

“No,” Emma shook her head. “Did he tell you to come here?”

“Yuh huh. Why would you think that is? Exactly.”

She couldn’t keep clicking her tongue. She was going to sprain it.

Matt practically beamed.

“Maybe I’ll challenge him to a shoot-off or something,” he mumbled. “Interfering like this. Got to put the old man back in his place.”

“You’re really throwing out insults, aren’t you?”

“He planned this.”

“What did he tell you to get you here?”

“That he had film I needed to watch. Which is just—I’m sure he’s very pleased with his lie and ploy and—“

“—Good word,” Emma grumbled.

“I also think it’s nice you think it’s nice that Gina demanded one of Rol’s teammate set him up. And, I uh—“ Matt shrugged, a lopsided grin tugging at the end of his mouth. “You don’t need to go all retweet to get me to come over here, you know. Or tell me shoot. On the mom’s trip or otherwise.”

“Good to know. And your dad and I are going to talk about not-so-subtle plans later. Taking advantage of my mom-type feelings and—“

There were more footsteps.

Emma rolled her eyes, Matt’s laugh bouncing off the walls of her office and making it difficult to hear Regina’s voice coming out of the shitty computer speakers.

Killian tossed his feet at the ankles when he leaned against the open doorway.

“Hey, Matt,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

Matt groaned. “You’re not funny.”

“No other people on the ice during our shootout?”

“Do you not remember how shootouts work?”

“Grounded,” Emma said at the same time Killian did. Matt’s head fell to his shoulder.

“I was already reminded I don’t live here,” he argued. “And Dad should probably get in trouble before me, anyway. Lack of tact or a good plan or—“

“—I told you I had video you needed to watch,” Killian interrupted. “Where was the lie in that?”

“You think you’re very smart, don’t you?”

“Let your mom read the lineup on the next trip.”

“Is that my call?”

“Make it your call.”

“Please don’t mention that to Ruby,” Emma grumbled. “It will consume her every thought if she even starts thinking about the impressions.”

“Good word,” Matt echoed.

She flicked his side.

His eyebrows jumped.

And Killian looked very proud of himself.

“Something to think about, at least,” he said, across the office in a few, quicks steps and Emma tilted her head up on instinct so he could press his lips to hers.

Matt sighed. “Awesome, awesome, awesome. Is there food here?”

“You and your brother have got to learn how to feed yourself,” Emma muttered, but she was already standing up and Matt was already jogging back down the hallway and there was far too much food in the kitchen.

And she never did get around to telling Killian where he could stick his plans or his interference, clicking off the Flyers’ website eventually because there was a trip to get ready for three weeks later.

They didn’t reach viral status — a fact Ruby would probably never let Emma live down — because she didn’t actually read the starters, but she did—

“Matt,” another mom grinned after finishing the lineup. “Your mom wants to give you a hug.”

He laughed.

The locker room laughed.

Emma…kind of ran.

The arms that wrapped around her were a little tighter than she expected, but that only made the space around her heart clench a little bit, her chin hooking over Matt’s shoulder pads when he kissed her on the cheek.

“Try and score, huh?” she asked.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He did. Twice.

Which Emma made sure to mention in the slightly more adult, if even less mature group chat. Several times. Possibly a dozen times.

That night.

[dariodanoite]

send nudists | bo & dario

LOCATION: the forest. PARTIES: @bemyfriendplease and @dariodanoite. SUMMARY: dario meets with the girl who lured the jaguar back into being human. bo accuses dario of being both a nudist and a furry. somewhere along the way they promise to be each other’s person.

Dario knew that he’d told Bo he’d show her the jaguar again, but the truth was— he didn’t have any plans of turning completely into the cat he had been stuck as for thirteen years. A very large part of him had thought to do so, to simply disappear into the forest for another decade or so instead of dealing with the grief for his family that came with being human again. But if he did that, who would avenge his family? Was losing himself again truly what he wanted? That was a part of the reason he’d been excited to find Bo again. Even if she didn’t know it was him, she’d known him in some way before he’d come back to civilization. It was at least some sort of link that he had, rather than coming back to nothing. However, that excitement had quickly dissipated when it had become clear she simply thought him insane, or a nudist, or both. So here he was at one of his favorite ponds in the forest, waiting for her to show up so that he might...well— he wasn’t entirely certain yet. Hopefully he’d think of some way to prove what he was, and that they’d known each other...in a way. His sensitive ears picked up the sounds of someone rustling closer, and he called out, “Bo?”, curious if she’d come.

It was a bad idea to meet a nudist, Bo knew that. Except this nudist she knew, vaguely. In glimpses in highschool, in slapping missing persons posters around, in--apparently--feeding him cookies in the forest like an idiot. She held her cookies closer to her, baking a fresh batch and putting it on one of her nicer tupperware containers. She stepped over roots and around branches, navigating with some understandable difficulty to a pond she’d never been to before--or maybe she had, all ponds kinda looked the same to her. Ducking under a branch, she was happy to find a clothed Dario waiting for her. “Y-yeah…” she gulped, suddenly a little nervous. This was a man that’d seen her cry, supposedly, and that vulnerability she hadn’t meant to show. “That’s me!” Bo coughed, stepping closer to the man and holding out her little container of cookies, still hot. “I--uh--brought the--uh--um--you look good! W-with clothes! The clothes suit you!” She gulped, again. Her voice fell small as she continued, “p-p-please don’t take them off.”

Dario looked at her, and little flashes of his time as a jaguar came rushing back, making him wince a little. It was always disorienting when his lost memories decided to bombard him like that. But he remembered her cookies, and now he remembered the...crying. Why had she been sad? Meanwhile, a flash of relief also made its way through him, glad that she’d actually come. There was also a shred of guilt though, for so far having zero memories of her in highschool. It was only made worse by the knowledge that she’d help put up his posters. Normally, he might have made a joke about looking good without clothes as well, but that would most likely only make her more nervous that she appeared. Instead, he sat himself on the ground next to the pond, trying to appear non-threatening. “Thanks, you look good with clothes, too.” She really thought he was a nudist? “I promise I don’t make a habit of taking all my clothes off unless the other person wants me to. Thanks for ah- coming, though,” he finished, rubbing at the back of his neck. His nose twitched a little in excitement as he smelled what was in her tupperware. “You brought cookies?”

Bo shifted uncomfortably, kicking at the dirt below and watching it give to her in a way the world didn’t. “D-d-don’t compliment me,” she stammered, holding the cookies out while turning her gaze anywhere but at him. This was so much worse in person. The vision of his abs was burned into her eyes, practically, and it was all she could see. Now she felt like one of those girls that spent highschool tripping over themselves for him--except she didn’t like him, she just turned red like she did. “Oh, um, I did!” She smiled, stilling avoiding his eyes, and opened the container. The cookies shone in all their lumpy, misshapen glory. One of them was even a dark, almost moldy-green! Just for that extra kick! She thought Dario might like the color, so she tried to mix one up a little special for him. Nevermind that it was splotchy, and the choice of white-chocolate chips was questionable. “Try one!”

Dario frowned for a moment. Didn’t girls usually like it when you complimented them? Something that simply added to his confusion was the concept of wanting Bo to like him, and having to… work for it? It was true that he was much changed from highschool, not as openly charismatic, or sending a charming smile to anyone that looked his way. And he couldn’t entirely explain the need he had for the girl’s approval. Maybe it was simply because he wanted someone who knew where he’d been for the last thirteen years of his life. “Why shouldn’t I compliment you?” he asked, eyes not leaving her face. As she turned pink, that was an expression he recognized, though he couldn’t be sure what had caused it. But then she smiled, and he was set a bit more at ease. That was something, right? “It’s true though- I remember thinking you were pretty.” His back straightened as he craned over the cookies, perhaps a bit too eager. “Oh, thanks.” Anything was a welcome respite from eating exclusively ramen. Naturally, the green one drew his eye, and he plucked it from the bunch. Had he seen a green cookie before? It wasn’t until the thing was in his mouth that he tasted the chocolate. He probably shouldn’t eat it, but surely just a few bits of lactose wouldn’t make him keel over, right? Then he patted the forest floor next to him, signaling that she should sit. He was still curious why she’d been crying, but figured it wasn’t the best conversation starter. “So...do you like the forest?” 

Why shouldn't she be complimented? Wasn't that the question? Bo sighed, mouth shut tight around the right answer. That she wasn't good with them, that she never felt like a single one was deserved or truthful, or more obviously in this case, that she didn't want one from an alleged nudist. "I just don't like them," she admitted quietly after a moment. "Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes, a small laugh fluttering out of her mouth. "You didn't even remember me! And you probably think every girl is pretty." Being called pretty really wasn't much of a compliment coming from a guy like Dario, and even less knowing he'd slept with Beatrice. Beatrice was far prettier, unmistakably. But she watched him take a cookie, the one she made special for him, and bite into it without fear or coercion. She smiled a little wider and took a seat beside him. "It's—uh, nice?" Bo glanced around, the pond was serene, the trees were tall. Seemed like a nice spot to cry. "You said you liked it here?" She turned to look at him, "c-can I ask why that is? It kinda just seems like any old pond." 

The little line between Dario’s brow deepened, not sure what to make of Bo and her aversion to compliments. Further than that, she was confusing him. She’d seemed...more sure of herself online, all too willing to yell at him about being a nudist. And now here she was stuttering through sentences. “To be fair— I’ve been having memory problems recently, and since I disappeared...and some of the time surrounding it.” Nevertheless, he gave her a slow and lingering once over, trying to will himself to remember something about her from highschool. It was no use, and he turned away in frustration, chewing angrily on his cookie. Had he really not noticed her in highschool? That was rather...shitty of him to do, wasn’t it? “I think a decent amount of girls are pretty, but not all girls. I mean we all have our preferences, right?” He looked towards her again, taking her in. “And you align with mine,” he finished with a simple shrug. Dario’s gaze shifted back to their surroundings., feeling a bit more serene as he took them in. “Well the pond is deep, and nice to swim in. And I liked climbing the trees. They were sturdy and tall. Also not many people came by here.” Then he realized such a phrase might offend her. “Not that I minded when you came by wherever I was.”

“So you...didn’t run away to be a nudist?” Bo looked over at him again, considering for the first time that maybe her idea was a little ludacris. Maybe, instead, that something terrible happened--like everyone had thought. But what explained the days spent in the woods? The days he seemed to remember being fed cookies? “I--uh--woah!” She blinked at him, “s-slow down! You’ll choke on the cookie!” She sighed, shaking her head. And then he continued and concern grew into shock and then anger, and then angry shock. “I said don’t compliment me!” She swatted at him, knocking her free hand gently against his, surprisingly, toned shoulder. At least the casual compliment-giving Dario seemed more like the one she knew, half-knew. “You...swim in there?” She looked back at the pond, brows furrowed in worry again. “You climbed the…” the way Dario was describing it, he sounded like some kind of feral jungle man living out Tarzan in the woods. But why? She opened her mouth to ask when he spoke again, and more than being called pretty, this struck her. “You mean...when I was crying? You didn’t mind that?” Bo turned to him, tilting her head. “I wasn’t...interrupting your manly jungle time; climbing trees and yodeling?”

This time, her nudist comment only earned her a gentle eye roll from Dario, finding her seemingly beginning to accept reality a bit amusing. “I did not run away to be a nudist,” he confirmed. Did she think that joining a nudist colony had been his response to his family being murdered and their house being burnt to the ground? She’d know about that, wouldn’t she? After all, she’d said she put up posters. Which reminded him of something he’d been wanting to ask. “Why’d you put up the missing posters of me? Or were you already working for the police?” One of the things that had unsettled him when he’d returned back was realizing just how ready White Crest had been to forget that he’d ever existed. Though...he supposed he couldn’t completely blame them. He’d only lived there for a year before everything went South. Still, it wasn’t the best feeling to realize that there was no one to welcome you back after being missing. However it was nice to think that...someone hadn’t forgotten he existed, even for a little while, and even if it was their job. Her insistence about the cookie made him pause for a moment, surprise flitting over his features before amusement took hold once again. But what garnered his first little smile since seeing her was, perhaps counterintuitively, the way she hit him. “Is this assault? Are you trying to go to jail right now? I know a cop. You know that, right?” Nevermind that the cop was her. “And I wasn’t even trying to compliment you! I was just saying the fact! Am I not allowed to say facts about you being attractive?” What was so confusing about swimming in a pond, though? “Yes? It’s nice and refreshing. And I like the way the water feels when I move in it.” Was this a part of her still refusing to believe that he’d been the jaguar? And he hadn’t meant to make it sound like he didn’t mind that she was crying. That made him sound insensitive, didn’t it? Of course, to be honest, he hadn’t really had much of a concept of crying when he was a jaguar. “I just mean- it’d been...a while since I’d seen a human. One that I didn’t want to...ignore, or have them not see me. So it was nice to have the change.” And have the person that had somehow triggered the change back to human for him. A light snort shook him. Manly yodeling. Where did she come up with these phrases? Alright, she definitely didn’t believe the jaguar thing still. “You know- I could show you how I climb the trees.” Maybe this was his chance to prove it to her.

Bo, still set in her nudist idea, simply gave Dario a solemn nod. His next question caused her to fall over, staring at him up from her place on the ground. “Why….why wouldn’t I put posters?” She didn’t answer the other part, the first thing having struck her as so completely stupid. “Why wouldn’t I care? I c-care about everyone that goes missing...and you--I knew you. I would have done anything to help. I s-still would.” She righted herself, coughing and swiping away dirt. “I don’t just care because it’s my job to, you know.” She sighed, looking at the pond and its steady waters. Oh, to be a pond in the middle of the forest where a weird nudist man would swim in you...well, maybe she wasn’t so jealous of that last part, but the steadiness was enviable. “I care. I care about you. I care about everyone. I cared that you were gone, and I care that you’re back. I keep---I keep track of it...or I used to. It’s depressing but I think...maybe if I remember every name and face that I’ll know if I see them somewhere, and if they come back they’ll know at least one person was waiting for them. But there’s been so many people gone, it got impossible to keep up with.” Not to mention her own missing father. Well, especially not to mention him, because she didn’t want to talk about it. 

She snickered, now given completely to the idea of finally smiling. “You know, technically it is assault! That--” Bo paled, “oh no! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to--” she pulled herself back from him, conscious to make sure no parts of their bodies were touching. Eventually she realized it was easier to stand and so she shot up. “I-It’s not a fact. Being attractive is subjective. A f-fact is that you….h-have nice arms! Oh no, wait, that’s also subjective…” Her brows furrowed and her attention fell back on to the pond. Oh to be a body of water instead of a bumbling young woman. “You could...just go to a public pool.” Rather than a pond with who-knows-what in it. But he was fine and not covered in a flesh eating bacteria so maybe it was okay anyway. “See you...climb a tree?” She looked back at him, “that’s...okay? Okay, sure? I guess? I’ll watch you climb a tree.” It was the oddest thing to offer to do, and odder still that she accepted it. But he ate her cookies, and somehow that was important here.

Dario stayed silent throughout her explanation, eyes intent on Bo as she spoke and not breaking away. Perhaps one of the things he still needed to get used to when it came to being a human again was appropriate amount of staring and eye contact. But he only had vague memories of her as a jaguar, and most of them were of the girl crying. Now, he found himself wanting to know what she looked like when she was wearing other emotions, to see what form her features took as other thoughts and feelings flickered over her face. And the fact that she felt so...much for these people, people like him. The fact that someone hadn’t forgotten about him, even if he hadn’t been in her thoughts every day, and even if they hadn’t been friends...it was comforting. To know that his existence hadn’t just been a blip, a fluke, that all he’d ever been was the popular boy girls liked to chase after. The thought gave him another stab of guilt. To think that she’d been out here doing her best to find missing persons, himself included. And...he couldn’t be bothered to remember what she even looked like in highschool. He wasn’t sure what to say, a foreign sort of thrumming coming from somewhere in his chest making it confusing to find proper words. For a moment his voice caught in his throat, and then he tried to clear it. “Thanks,” he started simply. “Thanks for...caring. You’re a good person, Bo.” Certainly better than himself. Most likely better than the majority of people on this Earth. The girl went around putting up missing posters and handing out cookies to stray jaguars. That was more than enough to prove his point. Her caring did something else though. It made...part of him want to try. Certainly she deserved that in return. His voice was more sincere this time as he spoke, “Um- why were you crying? In the forest?” He was an ass for not having already asked wasn’t he? 

For a beautiful moment, his own smile widened into a genuine grin, enjoying her snickering despite himself. Christ, he hadn’t felt this human since...he wasn’t sure how long. But her quick turn from joy resulted in his face falling into confusion, unsure what had happened. “Bo—” he began, reflexively reaching up to try and lightly grasp her wrist. “Bo, you’re fine. I’m joking.” Then he was straightening himself from the ground, standing in front of her. She was getting flustered again, it seemed, and he did his best to try not to make it worse. Still, he couldn’t stop the smirk from sliding back over his lips. “You think I have nice arms?” he asked, brows raised in a small tease. “But fine, whatever. I find you subjectively attractive, then. It’s a fact to me, though,” he finished nonchalantly. “Mmm, pools have lots of people. And lots of those people are often screaming kids.” As she agreed to the tree watching, an unexpected bundle of nerves sprouted in his stomach. He’d been so keen to have her actually know it had been him in the forest, to...prove that they didn’t just know each other from highschool and her putting up the posters. But what if she reacted negatively? The only person in White Crest who genuinely cared that he’d returned, had remembered he was gone...what if that care went away? “Alright- uh- don’t freak out...okay? And don’t worry, my clothes will stay on. Just like...try to be...calm...please.”

Bo tensed, gazing into the still pond again. Being called a good person was...odd. Like any other compliment, she didn’t know how to accept it...or if she could. If he changed his mind, would she still get to keep the words? If she didn’t always feel like a good person, did that make his words more or less true? She clenched her hand, drawing dirt and bits of dead grass into her palm. “Everyone’s a good person...deep down, I think.” And so she decided it wasn’t much of a kind thing to say, because it was true of everyone, and she was as special as the masses--which was to say, not at all. Like this, she could take his words with more comfort. “Why was I crying here?” She looked at him, as though the answer was obvious and she shouldn’t have been asking. She’d come here adamant on not talking about the why so much, maybe explaining a lie to two about it. But Dario was being so honest, so giving...it was only fair she offered him some of that back. And maybe part of her wanted to. Part of her hoped he might not laugh. That he might understand it. “There’s nowhere else to cry, really. Not any place people don’t try to ask questions or...give advice. It’s--I’m really tired of the advice. It’s nice, I guess. People see someone cry and they try to stop it but...the solutions I want, they don’t have so it’s kinda pointless.” She looked back at the pond, imaging she might have filled her own once with how much she sobbed. “I dunno. I cry about everything. I can’t cry at the station, so I come here. I can cry about people who get hurt, people who go missing, people who are sad and can’t cry.” Herself, even. “When you hold everything in...it’s nice to just let it out. It makes the holding in a little easier.” And that was more she’d shared to someone else in years. The exchange left her breathless and eager to move on. 

The officer shook her head, “I do! They’re kind of like really muscular trees!” It would be nice to be held by them, hugged. Not that she’d ever ask. At all. Ever. “You don’t like kids? They’re just really happy to be in water...I dunno what it is about kids and water. They go nuts.” Not that she understood it, she hadn’t swam since she was a child either. She hoped it was a skill that stuck, on the off-chance Dario threw her in the pond. Which she wasn’t yet convinced wouldn’t happen. “Why would I freak out?” She looked at him, blinking in confusion. She sat back down, and then sat up and then down and then decided that standing would give her the best view of...Dario climbing a tree. “Please commence operation tree climb, Captain Dario. The leaves await you!” She beamed, happy for the first time in...well, a long time. Everything she did was tinged with sadness, but for a moment, with the absurdity of watching the only man who enjoyed her cookies climb a tree, it didn’t matter. It could be okay, maybe. “I’ll be calm, you weirdo. Promise.”

Again Dario felt a frown tug at his lips. Certainly, she’d said she didn’t like compliments, but this was hardly a compliment, right? What was so bad about being called a good person? Yet again, he did his best to rebuttal her words, as if determined to make his sentiment stick. “No, they’re not,” he said bluntly. An old rage for the Hunters that had killed his family began to surface, but he quickly tamped that down, not needing it at the moment. “And even if they were, not many would be as good as you.” But he stilled once more as she decided to go on another lengthy explanation. Not that he was complaining. He liked listening to her talk, and the more she did it, the more he remembered having enjoyed it when he’d been a jaguar as well, even if a decent amount of it had been crying. Dario hadn’t meant the location so much as the why, but he listened still, content to hear whatever she saw fit to share. “People...don’t know what to do when someone cries. Or when they’re sad. They just want it to stop when it’s around them. So they try and offer shitty solutions.” She cried about...all these things? Bo probably thought more about others in the span of a single minute than he ever had in his entire life. And he hadn’t been the one to think about people and their bleeding hearts before, “Then I’m glad I came back. To give you less missing people to cry about.” He was surprised to find that the words were true, often warring with himself when it came to whether he should just go back to the forest, live out the rest of his life as a jaguar. Dario knew he’d go back one day, after everything was done, and after he got rid of those that had harmed his family. Being human...it just wasn’t right anymore. Not after everything that had happened, not with this burning grief in the pit of his stomach that he refused to acknowledge. He’d have to tell Bo when he changed back. Have to lie and say he was moving somewhere so that he didn’t add again to her pile of missing people she cried about. And just like that— he’d become one of the problem solvers he’d been so cynical of only moments ago. But it hadn’t only been because he was uncomfortable with the thought of her crying. He just wanted her...happier. So that maybe she didn’t have to spend quite so much time crying in the forest. “But uh-” Had it helped when he’d been her for her crying? Even if he’d been a jaguar. “You know- if you didn’t want to- cry...by yourself. I could uh- be here. Or whatever. Like before.” Absently, he rubbed at the back of his neck with a raised arm, obviously on shaky ground when it came to doing things like this. “I promise not to say shit. It’s probably safer for you, too. Keep the nudists away.” Was that weird? Was it...strange to offer to be there for someone when they cried? 

A relieved sigh found him grinning once more, eyes crinkled in the slightest as they sailed back into more familiar waters when it came to topics of conversations. “You could touch them if you wanted.” Had he ever had his arms be compared to trees before? It was becoming clearer that her unique way of defining the world was something he enjoyed, something he found himself looking forward to whenever she answered once of his questions or spoke. “And I don’t mind kids. I swear they just turn into little gremlins at the pool.” With that, he was done being able to put off showing her at least a part of the jaguar, and he was left facing the tree in question. “Well I can’t keep the leaves waiting. I don’t mind Captain Dario, though.” A small, last joke to try and steel himself for any reaction she might have. But...so far things had been good, right? “Alright. Here we go.” With that, he willed his claws to slip out, letting the partial transformation take hold and holding his hands out for Bo’s inspection. “These...make it pretty easy to climb the trees.”

As clear as day, as simple as the fall of night and the change to day, Bo retorted without missing a single beat. “They are,” she asserted, looking at Dario with an unwavering resolve. “I know---I know what you mean. I’m an officer and I know. I know what people do, I’ve seen it. But you have to believe that deep down we are all creatures of good, capable of good. That we can be misguided, but we are good still. It’s---” her resolve shattered as she went on, and she blinked, lashes fluttering. “What else is there then? If you don’t believe?” Is that what Dario thought of the world? Should she have asked him what actually happened? Should she have inquired into his truth? She thought she might have been doing a kindness. Her normal nosy attitude pushed people away...as much as she didn’t really know Dario, she didn’t want to push him away. “I’m glad you came back too...but not for me. So you don’t have to live in a forest. So you can have people again.” She smiled, weak, but a smile nonetheless. And then, a laugh--equally as watery and weak, but a laugh just as genuine as the smile. “It’s okay, Dario. I think I should probably learn to stop crying so much…” she trailed off, her smiling growing just a little bigger; more valiant as she looked at him. “We can...do that for each other...you know? I can be your person and you can be mine? We can...cry with each other?” Was that dumb? It was probably dumb. “I don’t think either of us should be so alone, I mean! A-and I am really happy you’re back, even though I don’t know you so well!” It was weird. And it was getting weirder the more she went on so Bo swallowed back more of her word-vomit and moved on. “Yep! One nudist is enough for me.”

And it had been going fine, away from her weirdly personal babble and into more lighter territory until---”TOUCH THEM!?” Bo blinked, a slowly reddening face screaming her thoughts on that idea. “No, no, no, no,” and then she screamed them. “Absolutely not! I will not be doing---there will be no touching of you!” She gestured to him, scoffing like a nun. “Yeah! The kids turn into gremlins!” She whacked him again, finding that even in her embarrassment, she liked his company. And this odd humor they’d struck. “Okay, there, Captain. You--” she froze, staring at his hands. Had his nails always been that long? Wasn’t there some personal hygiene issue about that? Certainly, she hadn’t just watched them grow from him. That was absurd. She must simply have been too distracted from his tree-trunk arms to notice his clawed nails. “...You should really cut your nails, Dario. I mean...it’s pretty gross to let them grow out like that and is that--are they sharp? Did you sharpen your own nails?” She glanced at him, opinion skewed again. He had a nice heart though, and she was the one going on about believing in the good. “Uh, well, I’d be worried you’d break a nail if you used those. Are you sure this is safe for you?” At least he wasn’t nude...although maybe she wouldn’t have minded that.

Dario wasn’t sure if he agreed with her beliefs when it came to people. As much as he might want to think that people were pre-dispositioned to be good, that the goodness was always lingering inside them somewhere, fueling at least a little of their actions...he couldn’t let himself. How could he reconcile such a concept with the picture of the Hunters that had killed his family, that had murdered a little girl without hesitation...How could a person like that have even a single grain of goodness in them? But he wasn’t sure how to answer her question. What else was there? “I- maybe just...people. People that...aren’t good or evil. I don’t know.” He wasn’t sure whether he actually agreed with his answer, but he hadn’t wanted to disappoint Bo by not giving one whatsoever. And beyond that- he liked the certainty with which she spoke of her belief. That believing— it reminded him of how she wanted each and every person to come home, and that wasn’t something he wanted her to lose. So he could have people again. He didn’t know how to tell her that he wasn’t interested in people this time around. That picking up people meant you could lose them, and he wasn’t interested in losing people anymore. Nevertheless, he did his best to mirror her wan smile, not wanting her to be unhappy. “Honestly- the forest wasn’t bad.” Probably actually better than the weird cat lady garage he was currently staying in. “Especially since a pretty girl liked to come along and visit. Even if she was sad, sometimes. And that’s not a compliment,” he tacked onto the end, even if it was a lie. It seemed there was a direct link between her grin strengthening, and his own growing wider, but he still felt those nerves bundled with dread in his stomach. And yet...for a moment he decided to try and ignore them, to give Bo something she wanted, and give himself what he wanted as well if he were willing to admit it to himself. “I wouldn’t mind being your person.” He tried not to think about what would happen to her when he had to leave. Then he was blinking a bit owlishly, her words reminding him that there was truly no real explanation for the strange little string he seemed to feel that linked them together, that she knew him even less than he thought he knew her. She didn’t believe the jaguar stuff had really happened...right? “Yes. I’d probably just be jealous of any other nudists in your life.”

This time, his grin was brighter as she blushed, with a hint of a smirk as well. Old habits died hard, he supposed. “Alright, you don’t have to touch me. Should I touch you, then?” he teased, hand barely raised in her direction. An actual chuckle fell from him as she landed her hit, his head nodding forward a bit with the motion. “You said you wouldn’t touch me and then...you touch me. Do you see how I might be getting some mixed signals here, Bo?” You should really cut your nails, Dario. Well. At least she hadn’t freaked out. However at the same time...this wasn’t exactly...progress. “No- it’s not my nails,” he said, trying to hold them out further, retracting them into his hand, and then letting the claws slip loose once more. “It’s- I know you...you have to remember seeing...a jaguar...right? 

Bo held herself, eyes fixed back to the pond—still, steady water. A sight she could parse, a sight that had easy answers. Maybe people weren't good or bad but then...what was the point? If everything was neutral then where did the hope go? She didn't answer his speculation, she thought even entertaining an idea like that would strike her frail optimism down. She looked back at him, hoping he'd understand that she'd been lying just a little; she needed that hope. She needed to believe. Even if everyone else didn't, she had to. But these were grand questions, probing introspection that she didn't want to get into. He'd already seen her cry, would he have to know how fragile each part of her felt? She'd never known how to lay those parts bare without thundering guilt striking behind each confession. "But it's a forest, there's no plumbing out here." She already felt like he knew too much and her throat tightened around her words, begging she swallow it all back down. Instead, she smiled a little wider still and let him go on. "Then it's official," Bo grinned, shyly tucking away strands of her hair behind a reddening ear. "We're each other's people." His height never bothered her until she decided she wanted to look him in the eyes properly. She propped her hand on her hip, indignant, just to make it seem like she wasn't hopelessly gazing up—wishing on whatever stars she could see. "I'd be jealous of any other police officers in your life." A beat. She threw up her hands a moment later. "Uh, b-but not really because you should definitely seek the help of everyone on the force if you ever need it!" 

Bo didn't know her face could burn as much as it was now. "I'm not—hitting doesn't count as touching! It's not touching! I'm not touching! There will be no touching!" She jammed her hands into the tiny pockets of her jeans, awkwardly kicking at the ground. "I'll mix your signals," she grumbled, "you giant nudist with meaty arms." Bo had also never really learned how to insult people just right, though it wasn't a skill she ever wanted. Her eyes turned to his hands and she stumbled back, blinking. "That's some...interesting make-up work…" Stage plays used something similar for those fake-knives, didn't they? But she'd never seen it so realistic, done so effortless. Even Beatrice's magic (which was also fake) didn't look this good...then again, she never did look at it this closely, more marveled by the spectacle of it. "Jaguar?" She glanced up, meeting his eyes again. "That—that—" she had remembered one. But that was him...in a jaguar-suit? With those fake-claws? Was he trying to say that not only was he a nudist, he was one of those people that dressed up like animals? Bo stumbled backwards, inching away from Dario. "Y-yes I—I sometimes see things when I'm crying. It gets—I get really dehydrated... that's probably why. Jaguars don't live in Maine." 

Dario didn’t feel any need to push the conversation about good and bad, pure and evil. That was something he himself didn’t have any wish to delve into, not wanting to burden himself with the emotional baggage that would seep into such a conversation. Besides, who was he to try and break Bo’s worldview? By the looks of it, she already had enough reasons to cry, and he was a little surprised to find that somewhere in the last fifteen minutes, he’d decided to never be a reason she felt the need to run to the forest and let tears loose. And yet, it was still impossible to not give a little sigh as she spoke about plumbing, obviously still not willing to marry the concepts of the jaguar she fed in the forest, and the man that stood before her. “No plumbing is correct.” But the warm little feeling in his chest was quickly returning as they got back to their declarations of people, and his soft smile was blooming in another moment. “Then it’s official,” he echoed, feeling a little stupid for how...content he felt in the moment. To think that he had someone here in White Crest that would be his person, and vice versa. It’d been far too long since he’d felt the bond of another human in a way such as this. Perhaps...he’d missed it more than he’d been willing to admit. “Don’t worry, Bo. I promise— you’re the only police officer for me,” he said, slipping into more flirtatious cadences once again without so much as blinking. 

God, it was cute the way her face just lit up to the color of a tomato though, wasn’t it? And it couldn’t be his fault if he found himself increasingly endeared. Who wouldn’t have such a reaction to a sight such as this? “It definitely counts. It’s too late, Bo. You already touched me. There’s no going back, now.” He dropped the hand he’d teasingly been inching towards, not wanting to make her uncomfortable if he was misreading the situation. “You can mix my signals any time you’d like to,” he continued on in that smooth, effortless tone. He held his breath as she stepped back, a pang of nerves entering his stomach as fear made itself known. Would he lose this person so quickly? All because she couldn’t believe what she was seeing? “It’s not make-up, Bo,” he said gently, sincerely— very much disliking the hint of vulnerability that was coming through his voice now. “You’re right, they don’t live in Maine. Not regular jaguars, anyway.” Fuck, she was backing away again. A flash of panic set in, not wanting to drive Bo away. “Bo- please. I’m not- making this stuff up. I promise,” a hint of pleading entered his tone, along with a sense of worry.

Bo beamed, warmth settling into her in waves. It was official, she smiled. They were each other’s people, the definition of which she wasn’t entirely sure about but she liked the idea all the same. “And you’re the only nudist for me!” She beamed back innocently, whatever flirtatious tone he took, she was unaware of. She never was the best at reading those kinds of things.

Except...this did kind of sound like flirting, didn’t it? “Oh,” Bo squeaked, trying to figure out if he was earnest or not. Probably not. He did this sort of thing with women all the time, right? He probably did it with Beatrice too which made her feel...something. Something she definitely didn’t want to address. But really, was it any of her business knowing her ex-friend turned tentative-friend slept with the hot nudist with the tree-trunk arms? No. And so, like most things that didn’t make sense, she ignored the feeling. “I don’t want to touch or mix your signals!” She coughed to hide her impossibly red face. Eventually, the redness did fade, replaced with paleness. She continued to stumble back. “Th-that’s so cool, Dario!” Her laugh was nervous. Could she remember the way out of the forest? Was it a left and a right and then a left? Or was it two rights? “If it’s not make-up then what---” she gulped. She didn’t want to know. “You’re not...you’re not one of those people are you?” The small population in White Crest that screamed about Vampires and Werewolves and now...Jaguar people? No. That couldn’t be right. They were each other’s people. Dario wouldn’t do this to her. He wouldn’t be like them, he wouldn’t throw his life away like her father had. “A furry!” She quickly corrected herself, “okay, wow! That’s sooo neat!” She picked up her things, leaving the box of cookies for him. “So awesome! I like Garfield too! Or whatever furries like.” Bo was nearly crawling away before she paused. Dario was being sincere and she was being...rude? “Okay,” she sighed, “It’s just---It’s getting late. And I need to...water my plants.”

Dario’s eyeroll and matched sigh were gentle enough, still simply pleased to have made a...friend? How long had it been since he made a new friend? He was fairly certain the bear he’d meet in the forest and sometimes hung around as a jaguar didn’t really count, even if they’d hung out a good amount...if you could consider a jaguar and a bear lying in the tree branches making various noises at one another...hanging out. A low chuckle rumbled through him while Bo’s face was still pinkened, and her voice was possibly too high pitched for her own good. This was the second time the word ‘cute’ had leapt unbidden to his mind, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. Better just take it for what it was. If he found her cute, it made sense. Who wouldn’t? “You don’t have to touch me, Bo. Only if you want to, like I said. Just let me know,” he teased a bit longer, though his voice had toned i’s smooth and effortless flirtatious air down a few notches, a bit worried Bo might spontaneously combust. 

All that joy was once again replaced by dread, disappointment, and a tinge of guilt. He shouldn’t have shown her, right? He’d made a mistake. But was it his fault for wanting the girl who’d somehow brought him back to the human world to fully understand what she’d done? Just how much he owed her? And should he be condemned for hoping that...she’d be happy to know him both as himself and as the jaguar? As quickly as they’d appeared, that claws were gone, and Dario was holding his hands alongside his head as if surrendering. “Sure, if that’s what you want to think...sure.” It wouldn’t be the first time he was called a furry. At this point, he was willing to go along with whatever she might say in hopes that she might stop looking at him like he was- well....a freak. To top it all off, it seemed like the chocolate chips that had been in her cookies decided to take their vengeance, his stomach gurgling and rolling in a very unpleasant manner. If he didn't want to make an even bigger fool of himself, Dario needed to get out of here as well. “Sure,” he repeated, retreating back into the closed off shell he’d made for himself upon returning to human-kind. “You go do that.” Taking a few steps back to give her some space, his hands thrust themselves into his pockets before he remembered to say. “Thanks...for the cookies.”

Bo lingered at the edge of the clearing, hand pressed to the rough bark of a tree. She watched him for a moment, seemingly defeated, and waited. Part of her thought he might transform into that strange Jaguar she saw in her tear-filled delusions, part of her thought his eyes had that same curiosity, tinged with that same sadness. Her fingers twitched against the bark and she fought back the urge to go to him, to ease away pain, to make things better like she always wanted to. She didn't like the way he nearly curled into himself, she liked him open and laughing and joking and saying he was her person, a lot better. She could fix this. She could fix that sadness. She could for him, and she would for everyone else in this town. "Dario," she called out, "thank you...for inviting me here." She bit her lip, searching for more words, "and thank you for...taking your fursuit out and listening to me cry and letting me rub your belly and—" she gulped. That wasn't exactly the comfort she was trying to go for. "You're a good guy, Dario. I hope good things happen to you." And with that, she left, mind on the strange man by the pond.

[seungwoork]

¨    PLOT CALL ’

hello there again!! now that i can officially reveal myself i decided to post my plotcall-- it’s lari who also plays @rkbyunbaek​ and @rkjennie​ 😊 for plotting and talking you can find me @snailqueens on twitter, feel free to follow!! otherwise here is my plot page for everyone who wants to check it out. finally!!!! wooo!!!!

i’d like to get a few connections going to seungwoo to give him a good start here despite it being a slow one ksjdf so here are the options for everyone who’s up for it,

like this post for a charisma starter! please only like it if you’re interested in making a thread out of it, i’m not doing this just for points. i'd like to get connections and relationships through this.

send me an im if you’re interested in a plot i put under the cut! there are a few plot ideas under the cut with some thread and relationships ideas that i’d like to do. some plots might be similar or even copied from my plot page for those who only check this out ( because they’re some i’d rly like to be filled and / or might move them to the page later if they don’t get filled and i want to keep them jksd )

RELATIONSHIPS,

¨ something good ’       ◞ ( m / f , ) CLOSED

family. any kind of family, actually. you’re cousins but are you close? have you hardly met or do you meet all the time? as much as possible? how is your bond, able to talk about things? not getting along at all? in the end, though, you’re still family.

¨ milk & honey ’       ◞ ( m / f , ) open

you’re seungwoo’s best friend. you’ve been for ages, the apple to his pie. the straw to his berry, the smoke to his high and the one he wants to marry who know the song anyways. you’re best friends, nothing can tear you apart. you can handle seungwoo’s stupid competitions because you’re more easy-going, less uptight, share his pain with him and he can deal with everything you have on your plate -- you’re always there for each other. it just works.

¨ physical ’       ◞ ( m / f , ) open

usually, you never go the gym. you might even hate it there but lately you’ve been going to check out seungwoo while he’s there like a creep boooo with the excuse of being envious of that body rather than any other reason!!! you just want to see what he does to be this fit!! seungwoo notices and asks you if you want to work out together or need any help. like a fool, you say yes but have no idea how to the equipment works. well, this is going to be embarrassing and that’s the last thing you want to happen, looking like an idiot in front of that guy.

¨ second chance ’       ◞ ( m / f , ) open 

you used to be friends a long time ago but drifted apart during seungwoo’s service, the friendship ending with a fight after his return and change in attitude. you couldn’t deal with this.. new seungwoo that seemed so different from the friend you used to know. it’s been a while and you feel shitty for giving up on seungwoo and your friendship so easily, so you reach out to him in hopes of a chance to talk this out.

¨ ultralife ’        ◞ ( m / f ; ━━━ m prefered ) open

best friends and partners in crime. literally. you both got into a lot of trouble in high school for shoplifting but still kept each other going with dares and bets and all of that. after graduation and seungwoo’s depature to the military you both fell out of touch but recently met ech other again. did you change your ways too or will you be the bad influence in seungwoo’s life that he isn’t looking for?

¨ clementine ’       ◞ ( m / f , ) open

the first time meet seungwoo does the most logical thing, he flits with you. and now you keep meeting at the most random places -- you meet so many times that it doesn’t seem like a coincidence anymore but it is. and every time you spot each other in a crowded coffee shop or in a clothes store, at the magazine rack of a bookstore and in the back of the convenience store, seungwoo does the most logical thing, he flirts with you.

¨ going under ’       ◞ ( m / f , ━━━ has to be a trainee ) open

actually, you’re good friends. you used to be pretty close before you got signed into a company and became a trainee. seungwoo’s proud of you but envious as well, competitive as always, because you managed to accomplish something like that before him. it’s one of the reasons why he meets up with you less, cancels more often on you when you finally have some time to hang out and when you get to be with each other, things tend to get awkward sometimes.

¨ home ’        ◞ ( m / f , ) open

seungwoo’s father started dating your mom a while ago and it’s weird in every sense. while seungwoo is bitter about this for a lot of reasons ( like his father neglecting him paying attention to a woman to him even dating another woman in the first place when he was so sad about his mother’s death ) it’s a difficult situation for you for your own reasons. it’s debatable if you two get along but there’s a chance you’ll become step siblings in the future so you have to beat with each other.

PROMPTS,

we sat next to each other at the movies and you got scared during it. now you’re clinging to me because you’re too terrified to go home alone.

the only reason you visit me at home is to spend time with my cats, right?

we’re sitting next to each other on the train and i’m definitely not leaning into your personal space to peek at your phone because i thought you were sending sketchy texts!

this cat strolling around the neighbourhood hates like everyone except you apparently. i always see it nuzzling against your leg and you petting it and i’m jealous. tell me your secrets!

the walking dead binge watching! think you can make it?

you’re on your fifth cup of coffee and your hands are shaking pretty badly. i can’t take this anymore, what the hell is going on?

i can cook but you can’t, so it’s me who constantly has to feed you and make sure you own’t starve to death or drown in junk food.

we’re always fighting over the movie at movie nights. also, the popcorn.

this lesson of me learning you how to ride a skateboard is turning into a nightmare. i didn’t think you would have such a hard time staying on that board.

your attempt at flirting with me with the line ‘do you come here often’ is crushed when i tell you that i work here. uhhh, awkward.

you’re crying on a bench at the park and i’m too kind to just walk past your heartbreaking sobs. do you need a tissue?

looks like you’re in trouble, i can pretend to be your charming date.