#♪With eyes that know the darkness in my soul♪

[jeeaark]

Guess how I learned that Greygold had a beak?

Have to say. If it weren't for reload....Dat Dang Prophecy.

When that feeling of 'I love you so much, I could just eat you right up' lacks an impulse control.

When 'follow your gut' is no longer good advice.

When somebody still has yet to read the 'How To Illithid' Manual.

When you discover that you can protect your besties from everything but yourself~

[orshii]

Will I Ever See You Again? CHAPTER 3: Bad Decisions

Author: orshii

Pairing: Kim Hongjoong x reader

Warning: cursing, violence

Word count: 4,1 k

Summary: You were left alone with your brother, Yunho, and his best friend Hongjoong, after your parents' death. Yunho had someone to grieve with, but you? You had no one as your brother and his best friend pushed you away, singing becoming your only savior. There was one rule that Yunho made inside his friend group: “Don’t touch my sister”. And for this reason, Hongjoong had always kept his distance. But one night, you find yourself in danger. And from then on, Hongjoong does not leave your side. He is suddenly overprotective of you, and your relationship shifts and becomes fraught with tension and unspoken feelings, with secrets lurking beneath the surface and a painful past haunting you. Will you find out the secrets your brother and best friend have been keeping away from you? Will you be able to finally free yourself from your cruel past?

Will you fall in love amidst the chaos around you?

A/N: Uhh...sorry it took me so long to update but I have to write my thesis as well and I hate it...I just want to write anything except that pls:'(...so things are slowly unfolding in this chapter, and they are getting closer a little hehet. I am not 100% satisfied with this chapter but it is what it is. I hope you like it tho. Enjoy reading! :') <3 p.s: I'll try to update sooner, but I can't promise...also listen to this song, as it is included in this chapter. tyy, byee.

Taglist: @bvidzsoo @vixensss @deltamoon666 @scarfac3 @chatsgotmytongue

@xiang-zalea @cookiesandcreammy <3 (taglist is still open)

  I was at Mist, sitting in one of the chairs opposite the stage, I was listening as another band was playing, Yeosang was sitting next to me, and we were waiting for our turn. I really tried not to look to my right side as the girl from yesterday night, was clinging to Hongjoong, they were sitting on a sofa pulled next to the wall. I side glanced at them at the same time when Hongjoong leaned close to the girl, grabbed her chin, and kissed her slowly. Suddenly he opened his eyes, just to look at me with fiery eyes, which made my heart rate speed as he still kissed the girl. That poor girl did not know, he wasn't into her. I just locked my eyes with his, not leaving it for even a second, as he imagined me in the place of the poor girl.

I thought of our kiss the other day and to be honest I don't really remember. I have only some little flashbacks in my mind, as he was looking at me, fighting with his thoughts, and kissing me. I don't know, what came into my mind that night, I can blame it on the pills and the alcohol, but if I'm honest I just wanted to play with him. I like to break the rules, and I like to break people, my intention was only to break him because I knew he wanted me, he just couldn't and I made him do it. I don't care if it makes him feel bad, I was long gone in caring about other's feelings. I didn't care about my feelings then why would I do that with others?

Darkness hugged me again as I stepped on the stage. This is the state where I step into another world, leaving behind my problems. When I'm in the dark before the lights turn on, I feel like I'm me, I'm myself for minutes, letting my emotions break free and when the lights turn on, I just give my soul to the music.

I leaned close to the microphone to start singing my feelings out.

♪ There's a war inside my head

Sometimes I wish that I was dead, I'm broken ♪

At first, only Jongho followed me with the drums, sounding like thunder. Then Yeosang joined us, leaving little sparkles behind with his guitar like a fairy.

♪ I'm tired of trying to be normal

I'm always overthinking

I'm driving myself crazy

So, what if I'm fucking crazy ♪

The beat started to slowly quicken as San followed the loud drums giving power to the songs as I sang my soul out, leaning forward to let my voice out.

♪ Just 'cause you say I'm crazy

So, what if I'm fucking crazy

I'm gonna show you ♪

I sang as my eyes met with Hongjoong's, the girl next to him hugging him, then leaning to his ear and she whispered something to him. But Hongjoong looked only at me the whole time, our eyes attracted each other like two black magnets. He was holding a can of beer in his hands and glared into my eyes like he was obsessed with me like he wanted to watch me for eternity.

♪ Loco, maniac, sick bitch, psychopath

I'm gonna show you

Yeah, I'm gonna show you crazy ♪

I sang as Hongjoong’s words echoed in my mind from the night he kissed me.

‘You are crazy’

Loud clapping woke me up, stepping back into real life, as the four of us stood in one line to bow for the crowd. I think this was one of our best performances. I loved it, felt like I was finally alive, and felt like some life crawled through my veins after a while.

As we finished our performance, we gathered together to celebrate. However, our moment of triumph was interrupted when strangers began to approach our table, offering congratulations. We were so surprised by the sudden attention we got. A tall guy came to me and congratulated me as we cheered our glasses together, and when I drank the sweet whiskey, my eyes met again with a familiar one, he stared at me as I couldn't read his face, the girl still clinging to his side.

I lifted my glass towards him into the air, lifting my eyebrow cheering my glass in the air, then I drank the remaining alcohol from my glass, as he watched my whole scene, his eyes sending me red warnings towards me as to stop it. I don't know what cruel game are we playing, but this suddenly seemed like who's gonna be more jealous.

≫The lights were never showing your face

Darkness took over you as fate≪

It's Friday finally, and we were done with classes as we walked home with Yeosang until we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I searched my headphones from my backpack and I let the music flow through my body, feeling every inch of the melody.

The sun beamed down warmly, a welcome contrast to the cold winter that had gripped the town. Spring crawled slowly through the world, bringing life into our little town with some beautiful flowers, the wind blowing away the remaining cold and slowly the sun warmed up the ground giving hope to the plants. Spring is always the time when I think it brings hope to the people's hearts as well. A hope for a better life, a hope that gives you the power to keep going, the feeling of hope, to never give up.

Lost in my thoughts, I navigated the familiar alleyways on my way home, accompanied by the music echoing in my mind. Suddenly all I felt was that I was being pushed against a wall a strong hand on my throat and all I saw was a man in front of me shouting at me, I couldn't hear him as my headphones were still on. My breathing started to quicken I didn't know what was happening. The guy, who still squeezed my neck as I slowly wasn't able to breathe, grabbed my headphones as he realized I didn't hear him.

"Fucking shit are you listening to me?!" The man said angrily, his voice low as he suddenly released my throat. He was wearing a black mask I only saw his dark eyes; he seemed young.

"What the fuck do you want?" I suddenly got some courage to speak as my voice was a bit raspy from the neck grabbing.

"I need you to deliver a message to your brother and his little friend." He stepped close to me pushing me against the brick wall.

I remained silent as he continued. "Tell Yunho that we know who he is, we know whose son he is, so stop doing whatever he is planning to do. Or next time we won't be nice, this is his last chance." My heart started to beat so fast; I was afraid it might jump out of my chest. What did he mean by 'I know whose son he is'? Why the hell did he mention my father? Who died three years ago, not knowing how. Why the hell did he bring him up?

"What do you know about my father?" I demanded; my voice tight with urgency.

"Ohh." He laughed. "He died as a hero, sacrificing himself for you and your brother." The guy smirked in front of me while talking about my father. "Didn't you know it? Your brother kept it from you, didn’t he? Keeping you in a cage to not find the truth." He slowly caressed my checks. I felt disgusted as he touched me. I couldn't control myself anymore, there were too many emotions swimming through my mind, and I just lost control over myself.

"Fuck you!" Adrenaline boiled through my veins as I suddenly spat on his face and punched him with all my strength. He suddenly held his right cheekbone where I hit him, his eyes filling with anger as he pushed me against the wall and suddenly slapped my right cheek. I felt as blood streamed down on my face, just like sad tears.

The guy was surprised by his actions as he stepped back.

"I don't want to do it again so, please tell Yunho." He told me this like he regretted hitting me and just ran away.

I was just standing against the brick wall, slowly slipping to the ground, staring at the opposite wall. Emotion drained from me, leaving a hollow emptiness in its wake. Tears escaped from my eyes, which I didn't even realize, mixing with my blood slowly drying on my face. I just couldn't believe what this guy said.

Did Yunho really know how our father died? Why did he keep it a secret?

Why won't he tell me anything?

So many questions, yet no answers to be found.

Suddenly I felt pressure from my throat as I started coughing, leaning to my right side as my lunch came back, landing on the ground. This brought me back a little into real life as I realized I should go home.

Lost in thought, I resolved not to involve Yunho. With determination, I made my way home, he wouldn't tell me the truth anyway, so I needed to find answers myself. I arrived home and I quickly showered, washing away that fucker's touch from me, the dirt from his hands.

I planned to search for some evidence, for anything which is going tell me something about all of this shit. I stepped into Yunho's room; I knew he wouldn't be home until late at night. I looked around in agony, not knowing where I should search. I thought it was good to start with his laptop, I sat on his bed and opened his laptop, there wasn't a PIN code, he is such a basic human. I searched through his files and opened a few, but there wasn't anything. Just when I saw a suspicious folder, I heard the bell ringing, it was angry, and someone pushed it continuously.

"Shit." I closed the laptop quickly and ran down; on my way, I grabbed a cap and organized my hair so the wound on my cheek wouldn't be seen. Whoever was it I didn't want them to think Yunho may hurt me.

"Coming!" I shouted to whoever was in front of the door, to stop ringing that bell, my head hurt enough already.

I opened the front door and saw a furious Hongjoong standing there, not waiting for me to fully open it, he stepped inside pushing me aside.

"Where's Yunho?" He asked walking around furiously.

"He is working, he'll be home only at midnight," I said looking at Hongjoong as I tried to understand what was happening.

"Fuck." He said running his fingers through his hair and mixing the two colors of his hair.

"What happened, Joong?" I started to feel worried a bit.

He suddenly stopped, and that's when I saw his face. Which was all black and blue, some fresh cuts on his lips, on his eyebrows, the blood long dried. On his cheekbone, there was a slight cut, that seemed to be made with a sharp knife. I gasped at him as I pressed my palm to my mouth.

"Just don't ask, please." He said as he saw my expression.

Fuck this isn't good. "At least let me treat your wounds, please." I looked at him concerned.

He just nodded, so I took his hands carefully to lead him into the kitchen. He sat on the stool next to the kitchen counter, so he was now a little shorter than me. I searched for the first aid kit and when I found it, I stepped between his spread thighs, he then locked me with his thighs pulling me closer to him. I looked down at him concerned when I gave his wounds a closer look, my cap still hiding my eyes.

I pulled out a sanitizer and cotton from the box so I could treat him. Silence took over us as I was pouring some liquid on the cotton and slowly, I reached it into the wound on his right cheekbone, just where mine was. He hissed a bit from the contact, but his eyes never left my face, as he analyzed my behavior. I didn't dare to look into his eyes, I kept my focus on his wounds instead, moving the cotton to his soft lips, which were wounded now, he parted his lips so I had more access to them. When I was done with his lips, I moved forward to his left side, as I felt his hands carefully squeezing my waist. That was when I looked at his hands and his knuckles were bruised as well, from the defending. He tried to look into my eyes, leaning down so he could see my eyes, as I reached the cotton to his red knuckles that screamed, he did not let himself fall for even a second. I hid behind my cap, as I felt his sharp glare.

"Why are you hiding?" He got suspicious and reached his hands towards my cap. "Don't hide your beautiful eyes, sugar." I grabbed his wrist, preventing him from taking off my cap.

He just looked at me, slowly figuring out something was off. I had no time to react when he quickly pulled off my cap, revealing my face, which really wasn't a big deal. But he made it like it.

He just stared at me, with round eyes, looking at the little red wound on my cheek.

"What the fuck happened, Y/N?" He stood up, I saw his body suddenly start to tremble, his blood was boiling.

"It's nothing, really, Joong please, just calm down," I said slowly feeling terrified seeing this Hongjoong.

He stepped closer to me until my back hit the fridge. Cold ran through my back, spreading through my whole body. He held my jaw carefully, tracing his thumb over the little red wound.

"Who did this to you?" He asked in a low tone; I never heard him like this before. Suddenly I felt like I was in front of the Devil.

"Did I ask who did that to you?" I pointed at his wounds.

"That doesn't fucking matter, Y/N!" He shouted suddenly. "Who was it tell me! I'm going to kill them." He hit the fridge next to my head. I squeezed my eyes shut from the sudden impact, starting to breathe heavily. I wasn't scared, I was terrified seeing him like this. But I knew his anger didn't tend towards me. He was pissed because someone hurt me.

"Hongjoong, you are scaring me, please calm down." I looked at him as tears started to appear in my eyes.

He looked at me, surprised, then stepped back from me, leaving me with a cold feeling. "Shit" He rubbed his palms into his face, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening to me." His eyes were full of regret. “When something happens to you, I can’t control myself, Y/N!”

I sighed, feeling the weight of the encounter. “It was a man,” I confessed, unable to meet his gaze. “I didn't see his face, but he had a message for you, " I said looking down at my hands, I tried to remember what he exactly said. "He said something about that plan, to tell Yunho to stop it because they know who he is and shit like these…and…he said something about my dad Joong, they know how he died, do you understand?" I was so confused I didn't even know what was I saying as I started to tear up.

"Fuck, they don't know shit, don't believe them, sugar." He stepped closer to me, to peck my red wound on my cheek. "I think those who attacked me were from the same gang." This was the first time he said some information to me. "Let's wait for Yunho and we'll figure it out." He said caressing my cheek slowly.

≫When your dark side leaves

I'm falling for you deeper≪

I nodded. "Let's drink something." I suddenly offered, trying to break this tense atmosphere. 

Hongjoong frowned at me. "Really?" I saw a little smile appeared on his lips.

"Yeah, I think we can use some, nah?" I turned around to grab two wine glasses.

"I guess." He said watching me as if I might disappear at any moment.

Pouring out the red wine, its hue resembling blood, I made my way to the living room with the bottle in hand. Hongjoong followed me and sat down on the other side of the couch. I looked at him, after sipping the red liquid from my glass.

I tilted my head looking at him curious. "Do you ever smile? I never saw you smiling?"

Well—that was a lie, but I never saw him smiling because of me.

He suddenly chuckled at my question. Oh My God, and that was the sweetest melody I ever heard. He hid his lips behind his palm. "Yes, it happens, sometimes."

His face grew serious as he drank from his glass, downing it in one go before pouring another. I did the same as he poured into my glass too. He turned towards me and laid his head on the back of the couch.

"Do you know you have beautiful eyes?" My heart started to race all of a sudden. "It's mysterious like a dark forest." He looked at me with sincerity. I think the alcohol already hit him. It was funny seeing him like this.

"Oh, so you are a Shakespeare now?" I said teasing him. Downing the wine from my glass to reach for the bottle to pour another, he did the same as I poured for him as well.

"I was a Shakespeare all my life." He said as he closed his eyes and smiled. His sudden smile caught me off guard. Was this the same Kim Hongjoong who had been shouting at me just moments ago? "I write music since…I don't know a long time ago."

I was surprised at that. "Really?" I asked as my face showed how surprised I was.

"Yea" He stared at his hands. "I wrote some for bigger companies."

"Wow, I didn't know," I said respectively. "That's really a big achievement."

He lifted his head to look at me. "Thank you."

"Recently…I don't know, I kind of write something in my mind, but I never wrote it down, and… it may sound weird but I hear a melody as well, which I never heard before. I never tried writing something before." I tried to explain to him my weird thoughts.

"It's not weird at all, I had times when I wrote a whole song like that, but as soon as my brain extended it, I wrote it down quickly. You should do that too." He sipped from his glass.

"Hmm, okay I will. I would be glad if I could write a song, it seems fun." I said to him honestly, staring right next to him into a blank point.

"It is, but it has the bad sides too. The process of music-making is tiring. You have to listen to it a thousand times and change a lot of things so that in the end, it is going to be perfect. But it's worth it, I can promise that." I never heard him talk this much; it was strange. I liked this side of him. He looked so soft and nice, with his black hoodie, the sleeves, and the hood close to the color of beige, the hood now on his head, and black sweatpants hugging his legs tugged up on the couch. I felt like I wanted to hug him, which was strange.

"Mhhm, I'll try doing something," I said laying my head on the couch's back, turning towards him. I slowly started to feel the effects of the alcohol, my body was lighter.

"Since when do you sing?" He did the same as me looking at me curiously.

My heart started to beat fast at that question. I looked down on my hands. "Hmm, since I was seven…maybe." Unwanted tears started to appear in my eyes as I blinked them away.

"Your voice is so beautiful; I get chills all the time you are on the stage." He complimented me. I lifted my head and smiled at him. "Why do you sing?” He asked while his eyes never left me.

It was always hard for me to talk about this. "My mother discovered I can sing, so she was the one pushing me in this way. I fell in love with everything that's music, and since my mother died…" I stayed quiet for a second, trying to be able to talk. "After she died, it was my only escape," I said, my fingers toying with the glass, my breaths shallow and uneven.

It was a long time ago since she took her own life, I was only 12 back then, but how could I forget her beautiful smile, as she looked at me proudly every time I sang? Every time I stepped on the stage, I saw her beautiful face smiling at me and saying 'You've got this'.

Abruptly, Hongjoong's presence pulled me from my reverie. "She would be proud of you." He smiled at me sweetly, reaching his hand to my cheek, and caressing it.

I stared at him as if I didn't recognize him. "Thank you."

We stared at each other for a moment. "Does Yunho's rule affect you?" I suddenly broke the silence. He took his hands away from my face, sudden change went through him, as I mentioned Yunho's name. It really did affect him. He turned on the couch leaning against the back, staring at the blank TV.

"So, it does." I acknowledged as I drank the remaining wine from my glass and I stood to put the glass down. As I turned towards him, he lifted his head, his gaze piercing into mine.

 As if he knew what I was planning. I walked towards him and slowly straddled him staring into his eyes the whole time. I left my hand on his shoulders as he did not move at all.

"Why are you doing this?" He was struggling I could see it in his eyes.

"Because I know you hold yourself back, for a reason of a stupid rule, my brother made," I said leaning closer to his face. "You can't hold back for too long, Joong." I whispered on his now bruised lips. A surge of anger coursed through me at the sight of his injuries, a protective instinct rising within.

I saw as his eyes got softer, he slowly reached his right hand towards my lips and brushed it with the softest touch I ever felt. He stared at my lips desperately.

"What do you want, Hongjoong?" I grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"I want to kiss you." He whispered a little dazed from the alcohol.

I reached my hands to his face to cup his face into my hands. "Then do it," I whispered into his lips as they almost touched his, it felt like a bad decision, but I couldn’t think about that when that's all I had to say, and he grabbed my waist to pull me closer to him, his lips finding mine finally, and I felt complete again.

≫You complete me like black the white

I complete you like fire the water≪

I didn’t even realize back then how it felt to kiss him, because I'm sure it hasn’t felt like this. Our lips moved together like it was destined together, slowly, passionately. His kiss conveyed a desperate longing as if he never wanted to part from me. I felt his bruised lips against mine, as his tongue went through my parted lips, inviting mine for a dance. His hands slowly found their way under my shirt, running his fingers through the line of my spine, I arched my back from his touch. It never felt so good, his touch was like a sin I could commit anytime. I reached my hand to his nape, and slowly teasingly ran my fingers through his hair, mixing the colors, as his lips escaped a moan, that sounded like the melody that was playing in my head rent-free.

All of a sudden, I heard two car doors slamming. I departed from Hongjoong immediately as he heard the sound as well, looking towards the front door with round eyes.

"Yunho is with his motorbike, right?" He asked looking back at me.

I nodded.

 "Fuck they followed me," Hongjoong said as he stood up quickly his hands still holding my lower back. We heard two loud bangs on the door.

"I know you are there, open up or we will break the door." A low voice shouted from the front door, and I started to panic.

<Previous Part Next part>

[ermesskiss]

what music I think jjk adults would listen to

✧ ft: satoru, suguru, nanami, shoko, choso, higuruma, toji, sukuna, and kenjaku ✧ a/n: been thinking about this for a minute, and I decided to write out my opinions/hcs

jjk student version here + jjk character playlist works here

· · ───────────── 𖥸 ────────────── · ·

✦ gojo

➥ Gojo is a very laid-back and fun guy, so I think he would listen to music that has that same energy

➥ He kinda reminds me of those moms who listen to the overplayed songs on the radio and always sing them, I don’t know to explain it, but that's him

➥ I think that he gets his song recs from his students in a attempt to bond with them

songs

♪ Heaven To Me: Tyler, The Creator ♪ Chanel: Frank Ocean ♪ Died and Came Back: Lil Uzi Vert ♪ Pop Style: Drake ♪ Wake Up in the Sky: Gucci Mane ft. Bruno Mars

───────────────────────────────

✦ geto

➥ I think Geto listens to a little bit of everything, alternative, rock, rap, R&B,  and hip-hop. I can’t really picture him strictly listening to rock and alt. It doesn’t feel right

➥ As Geto got older, I think his music taste changed. He still likes everything, but he leaned towards one genre rather than several

➥ When Mimi and Nana show Geto their favorite music, he adds the one he likes to his own playlist, and vice versa

songs

♪ Sextape: Deftones ♪ Passion Fruit: Drake ♪ Rental: Brockhampton ♪ 3005: Childish Gambino ♪ Even Flow: Pearl Jam

───────────────────────────────

✦ shoko

➥ I think the music that she listens to is very mellow and relaxing but might have some sad undertone to it from time to time

➥ She gives me older music vibes from the 70s to the 90s. Like Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, and Sade. I can’t see her listening to newer music

➥ I think she listens to more female artists than men; it’s not intentional. She does enjoy songs from men, but it’s a pattern. I also think that Shoko is a big fan of The Cranberries; I am a soul believer in this

songs

♪ Sunday: The Cranberries ♪ Bette Davis Eyes: Kim Carnes ♪ Fade Into You: Mazzy Star ♪ Landslide: Fleetwood Mac ♪ So Far Away: Carole King

───────────────────────────────

✦ nanami

➥ Student Nanami was emo, so he definitely listened to My Chemical Romance

➥ He started listening to more rock when he grew out of his emo phase. He prefers light rock rather than heavy

➥ When he gets sick of music, he puts on a podcast about business/the economy, or world events OR OR audiobooks

songs

♪ Helena: My Chemical Romance ♪ I Miss You: blink-182 ♪ Dust in the Wind: Kansas ♪ Dancing In the Dark: Bruce Springsteen ♪ Rocket Man: Elton John

───────────────────────────────

✦ choso

➥ He’s giving off rock and metal vibes, also like sub-genres of those

➥ His go-to music is rock, but I definitely think he listens to other music, something like R&B and hip-hop

➥ Like the great sibling, he is, he always gives Yuji the aux and listens to his song recs

songs

♪ Granite: Sleep Token ♪ Generation Dead: Five Finger Death Punch ♪ Enter Sandman: Metallica ♪ Chop Suey!: System Of A Down ♪ War Inside My Head: Suicidal Tendencies

───────────────────────────────

✦ higuruma

➥ Similar to Shoko, I think he also listens to older music rather than newer stuff, but it’s not because he doesn’t enjoy new music; he is just too busy and stressed to figure out what artist he likes and just stays to what he knows

➥ He’s a big Radiohead fan, and maybe The Smiths, too? Music that's kind of sad and angst, yk?

➥ Genre-wise, I think he would like a little of everything if he could sit down and enjoy music.

songs

♪ Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now: The Smiths ♪ Karama Police: Radiohead ♪ Wild Sex (In The Working Class): Oingo Boingo ♪ Eyes Without A Face: Billy Idol ♪ What’s Up?: 4 Non Blondes

───────────────────────────────

✦ toji

➥ Definitely listens to divorce dad music

➥ Drinks a nice cold beer while listening to Nickelback

➥ I think because Toji doesn't think highly of himself, I can see him listening to self-loathing music and music that relates to anger or internal turmoil

songs

♪ How You Remind Me: Nickelback ♪ Pancake Land: Element Eighty ♪ The Man Who Sold the World: Nirvana ♪ It’s Been Awhile: Stained ♪ Crawling: Linkin Park

───────────────────────────────

✦ sukuna

➥ So, at first, I was sure he would listen to heavy metal and rock because he has such an aggressive personality, but after I gave it some more thought canon, Sukuna would hate it. Music or noise that loud and obnoxious would annoy him.

➥ Acknowledging the fact that he was born in the Heian era and during that time, they listened to Gagaku (court music), which is either instrumental or vocal. It’s calming and relaxing in contrast to his persona

➥ Or he hates music altogether, idk; he's a grumpy old man. Everything pisses him off

songs

♪ Menace: Five Finger Death Punch ♪ Monster: Skillet ♪ Bullet With Butterfly Wings: The Smashing Pumpkins ♪ Push: Matchbox Twenty ♪ Geisha: Anthony Davilio

───────────────────────────────

✦ kenjaku

➥ Since he's over a thousand years old, imma say he has a very diverse taste of music and probably listens to a little bit of everything. If I were to choose what genre he likes most, I would say rock, both light and heavy

➥ Kenjaku enjoys listening to Marilyn Mason and Oingo Bingo. Marilyn Mason because he’s Marilyn Mason (derogatory) and Oingo Bingo because of their surrealist music, which I think Kenjaku would find them entertaining

➥ Listens to music that feeds into his delusions, motivating him to continue with his vision of the world he wants

songs

♪ Weird science: Oingo Boingo ♪ Aerials: System Of A Down ♪ Break My Stride: Matthew Wilder ♪ The Beautiful People: Marilyn Mason ♪ Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Tears For Fears

───────────────────────────────

✧ I currently have over 1.9k liked songs, so hopefully, there is enough diversity in songs and artists. i was going to do yuki, but it was stressing me out. Maybe in the future, I'll add hers. There is definitely more I wanted to add but my mind can only contain so many thoughts, unfortunately. ✧ Anyway, I want to hear other people's opinions and/or if people agree or disagree!!

[dreamauri]

Hi I live and breathe for your dark fics could you do dark ex Charles Leclerc x reader and it’s kinda like your max fic, Charles kidnaps her or she ran from him and he finally found her

♪ — 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 dark! charles leclerc x fem! reader (angst/yandere + smut) “. . . peace is short, charles will keep you to himself.”

( general master list | more of charles leclerc ) ( requests )

The only sound you could hear was rain as you ran through the street. stumbling on your feet and shoes, you cried as you did your best to escape your no-longer house, and your no-longer boyfriend.

You eyes were tainted with the memory. Your boyfriend with q tight grip on a crowbar, covered in blood with a dark yet soft gaze, staring into your soul. "Y/N- I can't explain." You didn't wait.

You couldnt stand another second in that household. So you listened to your brain and escaped, running from your calling lover behind. You only gave yourself a break once you reached a train station, slumping in a chair knowing you'd be a safe distance away from the unfamiliar man.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PRESENT TIME :: 2 years and 6 moths later . . .

You blushed as Mika twirled you as the two of you walked down the street together, sharing an ice-cream cone. Mika was solace, your garden of warmth and joy. She was your first roommate here in Italy, your closest ( and only ) friend.

Although the weight the word friend carried was different. You were the type of friends that shared a bed, cuddled in front of the window while watching it rain, sometimes you took each other on sunset walks, or maybe you shared ice-cream cones like the way you were doing right now.

You were sure your feelings for her surpassed the definition of friends with the way she kissed your cheek, or the way she hugged you and held your hand. Or the way she pressed you in the wall as she kissed you while you showered. Mika was a true blessing in your little world.

"Stay here, sunflower. I'll need to get some guitar strings." She ruffled your hair before entering the music store. You nodded, eyes following her through the window as she talked to a staff member. In the shiny surface of the window, your eyes caught the reflection of the all-to-familiar yet unfamiliar green orbs.

"Charles?" You whipped around to look at him only to come face to face with the crowded market. Gulping, you reach for the door handle only to bump face first into the man you were dreading. "Y/N." His soft french accent flowed into your ears as he pulled you into a hug. "I've been looking for you for so long, amour."

No matter how much you were scared of him, you found yourself shakily hugging him back. "I missed you Y/N. Why did you leave me like that? You left me all alone and I was so sad without you." You couldn't bring yourself to speak, the memories of the night you last saw him playing in your head.

"It's all good now. I found you. We can go home together—" "Excuse me." Pulling away from the hug, Charles turned with an angry face to the voice of disturbance, only to find your blond companion. "You must be Mika." Charles forced a smile, outstretching his hand for her to shake. "My girlfriend told me so much about you."

He wrapped a hand around your hip, squeezing gently to send a message: 'play along'. And you did, you didn't want her to have a similar fate to the pool of blood in your living room back in Monaco. "Yeah." You hesitantly nodded, forcing a smile making Mika return the handshake. "I thought I'd stop by in Italy since its my vacation time. Didn't think I'd run into you two."

"You didn't tell me you were coming." You told him, chuckling weakly. "It was a list minute trip. But I don't regret it. I got to see you again." He was ecstatic, leaning down and pressing a kiss to your temple. "We wont hold you back from looking around any longer, Cheri. Me and Mika have to go home anyways." You tried to pull away only for Charles to hold you in place.

"You can join for dinner if you want. It's normally just us two." Mika offered, which Charles quickly accepted. Arriving to your little house, you slipped your shoes off before moving to the kitchen while Mika went upstairs to fix her guitar.

"Oh how I've missed you." Charles mumbled in your neck, breathing in your scent as he licked you ear. "I was so sad when you left me alone like that. I was only trying to protect you. You broke my heart, Y/N. I thought about you everyday." You shuddered as you felt him press wet kisses to your skin and nape.

"Play time is over now. We have to go home." You could feel yourself tear up, holding in your breath as you shook your head. "No?" His voice darked, gripping your neck tightly as he pushed you into a wall. "Y/N this girl on girl fantasy of yours ends here, You are coming with me." He growled, his fist cutting off your air supply. "Would you rather I eliminate Mika? Or are you going to be nice."

You closed your eyes nodding quickly, tears streaming down your eyes at the thought of your lover receiving a death sentence from this monster. "Good girl, ma jolie." [my beautiful] he whispered in your ear, finally letting you go. "Tell her to get something from the basement. I won't stretch out your playdate for long."

"M-Mika!" "Yeah?" You heard her footsteps jumping down the stairs. "Can you get the Madeleines pans from the basment." "Sweet! Yes!" Mika clapped her hand hungrily as she ran to retived the desired item. "Do you want one or two?" She called upstairs looking between the two pans.

"She says both." Charles replied for you. "That's odd." Mika mumbled taking both as she switched off the light, walking up the stairs. " . . . She always says one." The blond mumbled to herself as she opened the basement door open. Looking at the kitchen, she furrowed her eyes confused at you and your apparent boyfriend's absence. "Y/N? . . . "

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"What do you see in her?" Charles voice was the cratrast of his nice and friendly one from earlier. It was dark and menacing. What do you see in Mika?

Well for starts, they Charles and Max are like fire and water. While Charles was French; Mika was Italian. While Charles had chocolate hair and green eyes; Mika had blond hair and blue eyes. While Charles played the piano, a classical instrument; Mika played the electric guitar for a rock band. And the most obvious reason, one had dick and the other had boobs. Very different fields when it comes to sexual occasions.

Charles wrapped his hand around your waist as he pulled your drugged body through the crowd. You couldn't bring your mouth to reply, only mindlessly walking with him. "She can never ever please you like I do. She can never love you like I do." He whispered angrily in your ear as you started to lose the strength in your feet.

Charles carried you in his back as he walked away from your home. You could only lean your head on his shoulder as your consciousness slowly died out.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You breath was ragged when you finally woke up in your bed back in Monaco. You tried to pull yourself up only to discover one of your wrists was tied to the bed, literally. You cursed under your breath as you tried to reach for your nightstand drawer where you remember keeping a pocket knife.

"Ah ah." Charles warned, pulling you back from your wrist to face him. "I thought we were playing nice." He reminded you as he brushed his lips over your neck and collar bone. You squeezed upur eyes shut, trying to pull away only for the monegasque to push you face down and take you right then and there. Claiming you once more.

This went of Days which turned into weeks. Desperation fueled your will to break free. Fear clawed at you, urging you to run, to save yourself from the clutches of a man consumed by obsession and such darkness. And although you were always se hesitant to escape even though you knew you were very capable of breaking free, you didn't. Even if you no longer saw him the same way. No matter how many times he touched you or hugged you, the way he came home from a long trip to you or the way he pleased you.

He felt suffocating for the most part. The way his arms hugged your waist in your sleep so you wouldn't break into run or escape. You hated his eyes, so filled with love yet darkness followed you around your prison.

You hated him overall at this point and you couldn't stand another second with this man. Dragging you around the house, shouting at you, touching you, using you, "loving" you. It was too much, you couldn't stand it anymore.

"911, what's your emergency?"

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your breaths were ragged as you burst into the garden, the moonlight casting eerie shadows around you. Charles' footsteps followed, the pounding of his heart matching yours in a dangerous rhythm. With a chilling desperation, he lunged at you, his hands reaching out to claim you once more.

In a final act of defiance, you caught a nearby crowbar, or maybe even the same one from that night. Your fingers trembling around its cold metal surface. The collision between you and Charles was raw and unyielding, both of you locked in a desperate struggle. Adrenaline surged through your veins, lending you the strength you needed.

"Y/N, stop! You can't escape me," Charles growled, his grip tightening.

With a swift, heart-pounding strike, you managed to swing and hit Charles with the crowbar, his body falling. Panting and shaking, you stared down at the man who had haunted your every waking moment.

You were quick to drop the crow bar, covering your mouth once you processed your actions. His body was limp and still, eyes closed. A gasp left your mouth as you dropped to your knees, eyes tearing up at what you had just done.

He was cold to the touch, and his skin had paled. In a moment of panic you had pulled him in your arms to check if you'd hit the life out of him.

Gripping your hair, you could hear the sirens of the police summoned. Your nails digging in the dirt as you watched Charles try to pick himself up. Wincing as he looked up at you, one eye closed where you aimed.

In a final attempt, Charles manages to catch your crawling away figure. "If I'm going down. You're coming with me." And with one swift move, the chisel end of your fallen weapon had been forced into the skin and flesh of your stomach.

A pained moan left your mouth as you gasped for qir. Charles harshly turned you from your chin and crashed his lips onto yours before he was tackled down and disarmed by authorities.

You watched as he struggled and fought while you pushed yourself away from him, hand over your open stomach.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The stab wound wasn't too deep. You sat quietly as a medical officer stitched you up while you took in the breaths of fresh air and moon light.

This must've been what freedom felt like. You missed this. A small smile covered your lips as you closed your eyes sighing in relief.

War was over. For the most part . . .

voice notes 🔊 . . . ( this fic features an oc with the name of 'mika giovanni', made by a friend of mine who i cannot tag because he doesn't have Tumblr >=( you can check out mika HERE. want to feature your oc? send a dm or drop them in my inbox)

[fierymiasma]

✸ Monstrous ✸ // Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

Summary/Request: Could you write about a Hufflepuff's thoughts post-Solomon-dying? As the only house that sees Azkaban, I imagine they'd have a strong opinion on what to do about Sebastian.

♪ Tags: Slight Dark!Sebastian, angst, sadness, manipulation, making out, heartbreak

A/N: This is a slight variation of what actually happened in the game.  Takes place after they have been dating for quite a while.  Mostly Angst.  Thought Sebastian's life was a bit too easy, you know? 😉

Word Count: 2.5k 💔

|| Masterlist || AO3 ||

Her lungs were burning with exertion as she chased Sebastian through the dark dungeon. 

"Sebastian!  Sebastian!  Wait up, please!" 

Part of her couldn't believe that any of this was real.  Solomon.  Anne.  The killing curse.  It was hard to wrap her mind around it all.  She never thought Sebastian, the love of her life, was capable of killing anyone.

How did it all go so wrong? 

Seeing the blight streaks of sunlight pour through the entranceway of the cave, she used the last burst of energy to catch up with the fleeing boy in front of her.

The Hufflepuff tackled him.  Her hands fisted into his robes, begging him to slow down, to wait for her.  Huffing, she bent over trying to catch her breath.

"Sebastian, why wouldn't you stop?"  She gasped wetly, trying to even her respiratory rate.  "I was calling after you!"

He broke off from her grasp, pacing frenetically back and forth.  "Anne won't survive this. She's writhing away, inside and out."  His arms were shaking, with anger or fear, she couldn't tell.  "Solomon's never been there for us, not really. You saw him, didn't you? He was going to ruin her life.  He attacked us first.  I had to defend myself, defend you."

She gaped at him.  "Sebastian," she whispered quietly.  She's never seen him so unstable before.  "S-sebastian, that's…that's not what happened.  You struck first.  I saw it, with my own eyes."

He paused, face trained on the ground before him.  His eyes darted back and forth, thinking of something.  "I couldn't let Solomon hurt you.  He was going to take the both of us to Azkaban."  He finally looked up to meet her eyes.

She took a step back from him, what she saw scared her.   Sebastian's eyes were wild, full of fury and awful promises.  Who was the man who stood before her? 

Perhaps sensing her unease, he approached her gently.  His rough, tremulous hands cupped her cheeks, willing her to stay in place.  To be not so frightened of the monster in front of her.  "It's all right, my love.  I got you now.  He'll never hurt you."

She wanted to throw up.  A tear rolled down her cheek.  Sebastian gently brushed it away from her face. "Sebastian, that's not what I'm afraid of.  I don't care if Mr. Sallow tries to hurt me, I just care about you and Anne, Sebastian.  Professor Fig says the dark arts leave a mark on the very fabric of our souls."

Sebastian's twisted into an ugly snarl.  "Solomon attacked us, love.  He attacked you.  Was going to lock you up in Azkaban forever, throw away the key."  His grip on her face tightened.  She winced.  "He's already given up on Anne, already ruined her life.  I'm not going to let him ruin yours."

She shook her head harder in disagreement, trying to release herself from his grip.   

Sebastian tried again, more soft and pleading this time.  "Please, sweetheart, you need to understand me.  I couldn't let him hurt you."

Finally, she dared to return his gaze.  He was startled.  Sebastian was able to see his reflection in her glistening eyes.  He didn't recognize the man he saw.  "No, the killing curse is never necessary.  You could have used a myriad of other spells."  The usual shy Hufflepuff stood her ground.  "Goodness knows, we've dueled enough people to know how to handle ourselves."

Sebastian floundered.  His sweet Hufflepuff always took his side.  Against the professors, against Uncle Solomon, even against Ominis.  "You don't understand.  I had to do it.  There was no other choice."

She scoffed, tired of his excuses and his constant twisting of his words.  "There has always been choices, Sebastian.  You just chose to make the bad ones."

Her mind was already racing, trying to repair the damage Sebastian had inflicted.  She wasn't sure why, but it was always her instinct to cauterize the wounds to Sebastian always left in his wake.  She wasn't sure at what point in their deep connection to each other she had fallen so naturally into this role.  But, nevertheless she always covered for him.

Oh Merlin, Anne, Ominis.  Two people had bore witness to Sebastian's crime.  Two people who always protested against the more heinous of Sebastian's misdeeds.  Already, she knew what the future had in store for her lover. 

"Sebastian, you're going to go to Azkaban."

He froze.  All his protests and pleads stopped.  Sebastian's eyes were trained on her ghostly pale face.  She blinked, she hadn't realized she said that part out loud. 

"Ominis…he was on the way to speak with Headmaster Black.  The second he hears of your uncle's fate…" she couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. 

'"Love, I never intended on hurting anyone."  His eyes brimmed with tears.  "I did the right thing.  Protecting the both of us.  I know you, you wouldn't send me to Azkaban.  You know I don't belong in Azkaban."

Something in her snapped.  She was done with his pleads, his sly words, his excuses.

"No, Sebastian, you listen to me." her eyes felt hot.  It was hard to see Sebastian's face through her tears.  "The only reason why you're not in Azkaban is because, I have been there.  I have seen what it does to people.  The only reason why you're not there is because I don't believe anyone should be in there.  Not Rookwood, not even Ranrok."

Sebastian was stunned silent.  He had no idea what to say.  Had all of his sweetheart's good will and patience towards him finallly run out?

She shook her head, deflating quickly, as most Hufflepuffs did.  "S-Sebastian, I just need to think.  I..We need to find Ominis."

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

How did everything go so wrong?  Standing alone in the Undercroft, she didn't know what to believe anymore.  Ominis's words rang in her ears like a death toll before an execution. 

"He clearly regrets everything, Ominis."  She pleaded.  "Sebastian had promised me that he won't do anything like this ever again."

Ominis lifted his head, turned slightly towards the sound of her voice.  She shivered.  It was almost as if Ominis was seeing right through her.  "We've both heard that before.  You are so in love with him.  Ironically, it is you whose been so blind to his misdeeds." 

Her throat was dry.  She had no defense. 

"Sebastian deserves to pay for his actions."  Ominis decided.  His fingers left deep imprints in his palms as he struggled to release his clenched fists. 

Her heart leapt in her throat.  Crazed eyes, blood tinged, decaying teeth.  Emaciated individuals shivering in the cold damp cells.  Dementors sucking the soul of everyone in Azkaban. 

No, not Sebastian.  Not her darling. 

She reached up to brush the tears collecting at the corners of her eyes.  Was Ominis right?  Was Sebastian manipulating her?  Just as he manipulated Ominis into opening the Scriptorium for him?  It was no secret that Sebastian had a way with words, of charming people into what he wanted.

She thought of the way he looked at her, the way Sebastian begged her to convince Ominis to do the right thing.

"Make Ominis understand, love.  He listens to you."

She found herself acquiescing to his wishes.  "I'll talk to Ominis."

Sebastian looked relieved.  "Thank you love.  No matter what happens.  I am glad to have been with you." 

He surged forward, giving her a bruising kiss.  His mouth was hot and rough.  Her lips were already half parted in shock, allowing Sebastian's tongue to slip inside.  She quickly fell apart, as she always had to Sebastian's strong will.  His firm body was pressed flush against hers.  Dark sparks were igniting in her chest.  The warm smell of his rich cologne was dizzying and confusing.

What did that kiss mean? 

She never once believed Sebastian as evil or malicious.  He'd had been so of youthful boyhood and charm when they first met that she could never think of his actions as nefarious.

Now she wasn't so sure. 

The heavy iron gates of the Undercroft creaked open, interrupting her deep thoughts.  In strolled the very man himself.

She smiled grimly at Sebastian's appearance.  "I've got your owl.  What news do you have for me?"

Sebastian's face was dark and cold.  "Ominis spoke with Anne.  She believes I should pay for what I did, but she decided not to turn me in.  I suppose I have you to thank for that."

She gave a small nod in agreement.  Her heart felt a bit looser now that the threat of Azkaban had passed. 

'The thing is, I think I lost my sister, lost my best friend too, forever."  He looked up at her.  "And I might be losing the love of my life too."  He approached her, gauging her reaction closely.  "I can't blame them.  I wouldn't blame you either, if you gave up on me entirely.  You've always believed in me.  Always stood by my side.  Always defended me when I flirted too far with the dark arts."

Her breath was caught in her throat.  What were Sebastian's motives using such flattery on her?  Were they empty words or soothe his frightened prey or pleas baring his fragile heart?

"I realize I can't undo what's been done.  But I can try."  Sebastian looked up into her eyes.  "At least, with you by my side I know I have someone who won't let me stray."

She was incredulous.   So, that was it?  Mr. Sallow's death swept under the rug to become a distant memory.  Anne, so fragile, so reliant on her former guardian, now alone forever?  And Sebastian, escaping unscathed from the jaws of punishment?

What if everyone was right?  What if, under all the coy looks, butterfly kisses, and whispered sweet nothings, Sebastian was using her?  What if Ominis's fear and Professor Fig's hesitancy had merit?

What if she was flirting with evil, and she had been too lovesick to even notice?

She thought of all that she did for him.  She stood up for him over the inferi relic, knowing with every fiber of her being how evil the artefact was.  His sweetheart covered for him whenever Ominis looked too closely at his questionable actions.  Merlin, she even cast Imperio on Ominis, a sweet boy who just wanted his friends to be safe and be good. 

This…this wasn't right. 

She wasn't sure if she had the power or the strength left in her to say it.  Anne was right to not turn Sebastian into Azkaban.  No one belonged in Azkaban.  Not even the darkest wizard themselves.  But…that didn't mean that Sebastian didn't still deserve some form of punishment.  With tears in her eyes and conviction in her trembling voice, she issued her judgement.  "No Sebastian, I know a punishment that is far worse for you than Azkaban.

He scoffed at the idea.  "And what's that?"

"Me."  She replied.  "We're through, Sebastian."  Something was screaming inside her heart.  She could feel its fibers being torn to shreds.  "I don't know what we were.  I don't know what we are, or what we could have been."  His eyes were glassy, tears swimming in his eyes.  "But I know now, I cannot be with you.  Y-you're dangerous.  The effect you have on me." 

If it had been Sebastian who was incapacitated, if it had been Solomon willing to strike the final blow on Sebastian, would she have used the killing curse?

If Sebastian had asked her harder to consume Isadora's magic to use it for evil, would she? 

She was afraid of the answer. 

"I love you so much Sebastian.  The things I'm willing to do for you.  The things I have done for you."  She shook her head, the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now.  "Sebastian, this has to stop.  This is too dangerous." 

He looked like he was mortally wounded.  She's only seen that expression once before, when Solomon had passed.

He shut his eyes tightly, "I understand.  You're well within your right."

She bit her lips, ignoring her every instinct that she screaming at her to look away to turn from the intensity that was his fierce eyes.  "Unless everything stops and you go back to the man that you once was, I don't know if I stand at your side anymore."

Sebastian was in free fall.  He'd never felt more alone in the world.  His parents.  Anne.  Uncle Solomon.  Ominis.  Now her too.  The only good things that was left in his life was now leaving him.  His Hufflepuff, his moral center, his emotional rock, his everything.  Gone.  In a blink of an eye.  Their relationship and friendship were both drawing to their end.  He despaired, thinking of their secret kisses in the dark, her warm embrace as she held him, her beautiful eyes looking at him with such joy.  He looked up calculating, gauging her reaction.  There was an uncertainty in her eyes that he could pinpoint.  A part of her that was pained to have this conversation, full of regret for what she was doing.

It was enough of an opening for Sebastian. 

His voice was about to crack.  "Can I kiss you goodbye?  Just this one last time?"

Against all of her better judgement, she gave a slight nod, almost afraid of saying yes out loud.  It was all the permission he needed.  He inclined his face towards her, capturing her in his lips.  His jaw moved, devouring her hungrily.  Sebastian couldn't help but deepen the kiss into something more risqué, almost forbidden.   One last reminder of what she was leaving behind.  To his delight, she was kissing back, as if starved for his love and attention despite every fiber in her body telling her what an awful this whole affair was.  His teeth nibbled on her bottom lip dangerously.  His kiss was full of promise of what Sebastian could offer, if only she succumbed to his wishes.

Her chest pressed against his, he could feel her quickened heartbeat against his.

They broke apart, panting.  She refused to look at him in the eye, less she lose even more control of the situation.

"Good bye Sebastian." She declared with an air of uncertain finality. 

Sebastian licked his lips, chasing at the last remnants of her taste on his lips.  His eyes tracked her as she turned her back and left him.  As the iron gates of the Undercroft shuttered close, he couldn't help but grin.

He would get what was rightfully his, in due time.  Just with a little bit of patience.

He thought of how exceptional she was, how forgiving of his sins she would.  He would change.  For Ominis.  For Anne. For her.  He would do everything to be the man that she deserved.

He just hoped that it wasn't too late. 

[aroacesigma]

ok idk what en has so im just gonna give u the banger songs i love from each unit. some might not be in-game but also im bad at knowing where en is. also idk the en names of a lot of these songs so uh. you may need to look them up.

fine: hajimari no fantasia (BELOVED.), neo sanctuary, miracle dream traveler, tempest night (wataru goes off), feathers of ark (idk if en has that yet). also fucken. ghostic treat house. that is not in EN but its a banger.

Trickstar: BREAKTHROUGH, Kiseki, Finder Girl (i don't think u guys have that yet) and Daydream x Reality (also don't have that) the world.....

Ryuseitai: Tenka Muteki☆Meteorangers!, Ryusei Hanabi, Suisei HALATION, Nekketsu☆Ryusei Ninpouchou (i don't think u have that yet)

Alkaloid: Distorted Heart (do NOT play that expert beatmap unless you are confident. or do :3), Artistic Partisan, Believe 4 Leaves (u do not have that probably), and Vermilion (my beloved)

Eden: Dance in the Apocalypse (ignore the choreo its SUCH a banger), Awakening Myth, Majestic Magic, Exceed...... idk which ones you have of those Adam: Melting Rouge Soul is good... you don't have that tho. Eve: Sunlit Smile <3 Trap For You <3 Ruby Love <3

Valkyrie: MIWAKU GEKI. THE LOML. Last Lament. Memoire Antique. Tonight in this moonlit mansion. Eternal Weaving. also uruwashi no nightingale but that's not in-game at all you gotta go find that somewhere else.

2wink: Kangei☆2wink Zatsugidan, Heart Prism・Symmetry, LEMON SQUASH CHEERS!, Sugar Spice Hōteishiki !!! idk if u have the last two yet

Crazy:B: Crazy Roulette, Honeycomb Summer, Paranoia Street, Yubisaki no Ariadne, NOISY:BEEP (my beloved......), Helter-Spider (i don't think u have that yet)

Undead: Melody in the Dark, DESTRUCTION ROAD, Gate of the Abyss, Valentine Eve's Nightmare (if you don't like this song we can't be friends /j), FORBIDDEN RAIN (idk if u have that.... adonis went off tho)

Ra*bits: Nousagi March♪, Milky Starry Charm, Made in Tokimeki♪, Love it Love it, Pocket ni Uchuu (the other loml)

Akatsuki: Zan -Ketsui no Yaiba-, Kengeki no Mai, Usubeniiro no Yakusoku, Summer Bird is also very good <3

Knights: Fight for Judge, Silent Oath (if you like slower more chill songs. its very soft lyrically), Article of Faith (the in-game cut does not do it justice listen to the full version elsewhere), Grateful allegiance (listened to a tiny bit of that and almost started crying. oops), Promise Swords, Little Romance (RITCHAN THE WORLD), Mystic Fragrance (NARUNEE THE WORLD), Coruscate Breeze (TSUKIPI THE WORLD), Starlight Parade, Or the Beautiful Golden Drop (IZUMIMI THE WORLD)

Switch: Galaxy Destiny (if you don't like that song either we can't be friends /j), Emerald Planet, Magic for your "Switch", Omoi no Kakera, Majestic Magic, Romancing Cruise (natsume the woooorld)

MaM: Festive!, Yukai Tsuukai That's Alright! (mam the only unit to have bagpipes in his songs), Blooming World

Double Face (rip): Stippling, =EYE=, No name yet

ok thats like everything. lets ignore that i sent you basically 95% of the knights discography. we don't talk abt voice of sword that song doesn't exist

THANK YOU SO MUCH (melody in the dark is the one i am currently obsessed with it is such a banger)

and thats what made me remember . voice of sword is the one i cleared expert on . it was an ordeal but it was the easiest 😭

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – brainwashed

it's interesting to learn how the kpop industry looks at songwriting. joomi soaks it in like a sponge, knowing that now, this is his career. he isn't writing songs for a punk rock band anymore; no wall of sound made of two guitars strummed nearly to death on top of bass you can barely even hear and the consistent pounding of the drums. he misses it, but not as much as he thought he would. writing kpop is fun in its own way; something new and challenging in its own right, and who's to say he can't write rock songs anymore? his instructors, maybe, but they can't really stop him from doing it in his free time, can they?

this isn't one of those times, though. this is independent time to work on applying what they learned in the previous songwriting lecture, joomi sat obediently with a notebook and pencil in front of him and yuji at his side. he hasn't really had a chance to talk to her despite them sitting next to each other for this, because he was almost late and saw a familiar face and open seat and took it.

now would probably be an ideal time to talk, with the instructor encouraging collaboration if his pupils felt so inclined. joomi has something on his mind, though, and he doesn't want to forget.

they're lyrics he wrote in his phone days ago, but hasn't transferred to his songwriting notebook yet. he takes his phone out, opens his notes app, refreshes his memory, and then jots them down.

he just thought of them the other day, waking up next to jinyoung a little before their alarm. he looked over at him, jinyoung always looking deceptively innocent and peaceful while asleep. angelic. no one would ever mistake a waking moon jinyoung for an angel, but for a moment, with jinyoung's supernatural beauty shining through joomi staring at him in the darkness, joomi wondered. maybe jinyoung is a thousand year old angel-soul, slowly corrupted by the human world throughout a dozen different lives he doesn't remember, only to end up here, with joomi as the one holding all of those angelic fragments.

the lines he typed into his phone that moment between night and morning, before promptly falling back asleep:

do you think god knows you've been sneaking out of heaven? were his eyes closed? 'cause there's no way he's just letting you fall from the stars and get in my car, go to my place and you put away your halo

they're the lyrics he transcribes into his notebook now, and once he has them written there, he stares at them for a few moments. he still likes them. joomi tends to just write down whatever comes to mind when writing songs, having gone through countless notebooks lining pages with nonsense that eventually formed into coherent songs. the angel concept is a fun one to run with for a song, so he jots down another "banger line" that comes to mind:

what a match made in heaven i'm so hellbent on you

he gets so absorbed in his thoughts that he forgets about yuji next to him.

–– @beyuji

[proxylynn]

MY WISH WAS ALWAYS YOURS (part #4)

[I have no idea why I went so hard on this chapter. It has everything! How the hell did I cram all of this into a cohesive narrative?! I hope Little Lynn's messed-up backstory wasn't too bad. The poor girl had it hard. But the makeout scene made up for it...right? Anyway, thanks for reading this far. The next chapter will be in the works after I recover from my relentless need to finish this one. Seriously, I powered this bad boy out in two weeks. My drive for this story is nuts!! Take care you lovelies, hope you have a good day/night. ^_^]

Traveling wagons are a usual thing to be seen on the outskirts of towns and villages. It's an easy way to make money provided you have something of value to sell or have a talent others would want to see... or you have magic of some kind. People eat magic up like ants with a mound of sugar. Truly insatiable.

One such wagon is that of “Horner's Pies”. A basic yet humble wagon run by, as the name implies, the Horner family. Mr. and Mrs. Horner, along with their eight-year-old son Jack. Established bakers from a minuscule settlement, they managed to save up for the wagon and began traversing the land in search of a decent place where their goods could be appreciated. However, there's just one tiny problem. They specialized in pies. Plum pies. One of the lesser pies. Not a popular flavor. Not even breaking the top 50 of pie flavors.

Yet, they had something that made it a bit easier to make sales. Jack wasn't just their son, no. What made them so reputable in their settlement was that Jack was one of the rare souls born into this world who would be destined to be special. This came in the form of a Nursery Rhyme. Sadly not a good one.

“♪Little Jack Horner sat in the corner, eating a Horner pie. Stuck in my thumb, pulled out a plum, and said, "What a good boy am I!"♪”

The boy did his best to put on a show, draw in a crowd, and gain attention. But very few look his way.

“Hey! Look! It's a magic puppet.”

Immediately all eyes go to another wagon. One that was far more decked out and glorified. It had lights, it played music, it had confetti cannons, and even merchandise! All of it centered around this old man's wooden puppet that was magically brought to life named Pinocchio. And since it's magic, the people loved it.

“♪‘Cause I'm a real boy. No strings attached!♪”

The cannons blast confetti, the puppet takes a bow, and the crowd goes nuts throwing gold coins at it.

This annoyingly was a sight that the Horners have witnessed often, leaving them rather dejected.

“Geppetto again?”

“I swear, he shows up everywhere we go. How are we supposed to compete with that?”

While his parents sulk further about once more being overshadowed, Jack boils over with spiteful envy.

“What's this guy's hook? He's not a puppet?! I don't have strings and I don't brag about it.”

Knowing their boy and how he tends to get when upstaged like this, his parents try to calm him down.

“Jack, settle down. There's no point getting upset.”

“Your mother's right. Just ignore them and help bring out the fresh batch. Maybe the smell will pull some of them away.”

But Jack doesn't pay them attention. His temper getting the better of him.

“This guy's greatest wish is to be a real boy? What's impressive? I've been a boy the whole time! And you're more impressed by HIM?!”

Jack yells and throws multiple pies in a fit at people, drawing some attention but not in a good way, before he runs off. His parents shout for him to come back, but he doesn't listen. His father attempts to chase after him, yet despite being overweight, Jack is very quick on his feet and outruns his father with ease. He runs and runs and runs some more. His little legs carry him all the way into the nearby village.

This place was dark and dreary. The people looked either depressed or agitated. And Jack stood out like a sore thumb. He was the brightest thing around what with his fair pale skin, faint periwinkle blue eyes, pink bob cut hair, tiny fairy tale pink bow, white long-sleeved shirt, purple trousers with suspenders, black boots, and of course his bright purple thumb.

Adults pay him no mind, though they give a double take due to his color. By the looks of it, it seems children running through the streets unattended is common, if seeing them running around was anything to go by. So when he passes by muttering hard words under his breath, no one bats an eye. His tantrum has him blindly wandering, not paying attention to his surroundings. He doesn't notice the incoming youth running for their life and they collide rather harshly, both being knocked to the ground.

Jack rubbed his head and glared daggers at this idiot who couldn't watch where they were going. Before him is a girl around his age, looking disheveled and scared. The second she shakes off the collision and sees his vicious stare she panics, scrambling to get away. Yet Jack doesn't let her get far. He snatches her by her hair and yanks her back. He'd found a target for his pent-up frustration to be unleashed on. Distant movement draws his attention away slightly. A man, a very angry one, storms down the way looking for something. Or likely someone. Putting things together, he drags her away and out of sight in the back spaces behind buildings. They wait. Ducked behind crates and other miscellaneous gobbledygook. Listening as the stomping steps pound on the stone path as the man passes. Slowly getting softer as they move further and further away. A sigh of relief is shared between the two kids.

Then he remembers why he did this and the moment of peace of avoiding an adult is tossed away. He shoves her. He would rough her up while shouting demeaning things. Venting all his frustration, rage, and jealousy on her. He does this for who knows how long. For them, it felt like hours. All the while something irked him. A nagging little thought. Why? Why was she just taking it and not fighting back?

This made a new annoyance for him.

“What's wrong with you?!”

He fumes, holding her by the scruff of her top and shaking the slightly taller girl.

“Why are you letting me do this? Do you like this?”

“I'm sorry!”

She pleas but there's something about it he begins to like. There's something about controlling this situation and having someone's full undivided attention that pleased a part of him.

“You're a wuss. A pathetic scaredy-cat. I bet you'd let me beat you up if I wanted it. Wouldn't you?”

He slams her back into a wall and she yelps intensely, a sound that resembles that of a hurt dog. It was finally a sound with emotion, all the faint noises she made during his fit were empty. It took him by surprise enough to let her go. She slides off the wall and falls to her knees. She whimpers in pain much to his confusion. Then he looks at the wall. The dark stone is now damp. Curiosity grips him. He moves to her side and nudges her enough to see her back. There's a patch of red that's slowly growing bigger.

“What the...? Why are you bleeding?”

“I'm sorry...”

Her voice is weak.

“I thought I had healed.”

This was awkward now. He just wanted to blow off steam. He didn't expect things to get serious.

“Uh...You should go home. Maybe have your mom...”

“No!”

She practically snaps before immediately recoiling in fear.

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm a good girl! I'll behave! I promise! ”

He takes a few steps back, about to turn tail and flee. She slowly picks herself up and holds her sides, sniffling softly. For some reason, this was the point where he got a good look at her. Somehow she was paler than him, malnourished, the parts of her exposed arms and legs were bruised to varying degrees. Her brown hair is long down to her ankles and matted. Her clothing, a pale blue dress and faded grey pants, both tattered. She's barefoot. But what really got him, aside from her bleeding back, were her eyes. Dark circles made her yellowish-green eyes stand out. Such a weak girl yet she has strong eyes.

It makes him pause. Clearly; something isn't right. He should just leave and forget this encounter. Whatever is wrong with her is none of his business. Yet, for some reason...

“Hey.”

He can't bring himself to ditch her. She meekly looks his way, those eyes of hers glisten with building moisture. He flinches lightly, the sight catching him off guard a bit before he regains his former bravado.

“You know how to get out of here, right? Like to the edge where the vendors park their wagons.”

She tilts her head for a moment, giving it some thought before nodding.

“Great! Tell you what...You guide me out and we keep this whole thing a secret. And if you do a good job, I might be generous enough to help you with that mess you got behind you. How does that sound?”

She's stunned. His offer smacked her as if he had used his hand.

“...R-Really?”

The disbelief in her voice highlighted by a smidgen of hope makes him smirk.

“Yeah, sure. Why not? It's just basic business. You do something for me and I do something for you.”

In the time it takes him to blink she suddenly has her arms around him, hugging him surprisingly tightly. It takes him longer than he cares to admit to realize what's happening. How this girl who looked like she'd break if she fell over was faster than she seemed and was now embracing him. His face heats up and she pushes her away in a fluster.

“W-What do you think you're doing?! Do you want me to change my mind?”

He dusts himself off.

“Gross. You better not give me cooties or some other nasty girl germs.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, you better be.”

“...Thank you.”

That got him to look at her funny.

“For what?”

She rubs her hands sheepishly.

“For being nice to me.”

He scoffs.

“You're kidding, right?”

She just smiles and he rolls his eyes.

“You're weird, you know that?”

He starts walking off and she is quick to get to his side before taking the lead. She kept them traversing through the back alleyways, actively avoiding going out onto the main streets. It got him wondering.

“So...Why were you running? When we met I mean.”

His question made her shrink a little.

“I took something.”

“What did you take?”

She hesitates, but she pulls a small bag from her pants pocket.

“Is that...Caramels?”

“I know. It's wrong. But with this, I won't be too hungry for a while.”

“Don't you have food at home?”

She shakes her head.

“Mama says bad kids don't get to eat. A lot of us have to do this.”

She looks at the bag with sullen remorse.

“...I try to be good a good girl. I really do.”

He shakes his head.

“Don't feel bad about it.”

He interjects.

“I shouldn't?”

“No! You have no other choice right?”

“Not really, no.”

“Then don't feel bad about it. Because if your mom isn't feeding you, then you have to eat somehow. Otherwise, you're going to die. And you don't want that; clearly.”

“...I never thought about it like that.”

“Hey...Want to make another deal?”

“Another?”

He points to her caramels.

“You give me those and I'll give you pie.”

That brought a weird look to her face.

“What's pie?”

Such words have never been heard by him before.

“Are you serious? You don't know what pie is?!”

She shakes her head.

“Well, then you're in for a life-changing experience. I'll have you know, me and my parents are bakers. And our pies are the best.”

“Bakers can make pie? The bakerman here only does bread.”

“That explains that then. Still, you're going to like it. And it'll be way more filling than that stuff.”

She looks at her bag. She has no reason to trust or believe him. After all, he was tormenting her not too long ago. If anything she shouldn't be entertaining any idea he gave her. But here she was, giving him the bag with all the faith of someone who didn't just hand over what was going to feed them this week.

“Thanks.”

He wastes no time popping a small palmful into his mouth.

“Not bad...”

His lip-smacking as he chews is very unbecoming yet strangely hypnotic to watch.

“They're not all that great really, but for a snack, it's decent.”

Her empty stomach growls from that alone.

“Sorry.”

“You apologize a lot, don't you?”

She nods.

“Don't apologize for things you didn't do or can't control. It's annoying.”

“Sorry.”

“What did I just say?”

“I'm sor-...”

She covers her mouth before she can finish.

“You're really weird.”

It only now dawns on him.

“What's your name anyway?”

“You...want to know my name?”

Her reaction was as if he had asked her to jump over the moon.

“Yeah. What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't have a name.”

“N-No, I have one. It's just...No one's asked before.”

“Wow. You just keep getting more depressing.”

She rubs the back of her head with an awkward laugh, clearly about to apologize but holding it back.

“My name...My name is Lynsie.”

“And your last name?”

Her blank stare answered for her. This girl was all sorts of odd to him. He mulls her name over in his head.

“Nah. I'm going to call you Lynn.”

“Heh. Okay. And what about you? What's your name?”

He puffs out his chest with pride.

“The name's Jack. Jack Horner.”

She smiles.

“It's nice to meet you...Jack.”

————————————————–

“Jack...”

A faint voice calls to him softly.

“Jack...”

He groans and tries moving away from the voice that starting to get louder.

“Jack...Come on. Wake up!”

He snaps awake with a gasp, a little on the confused side as if lost completely when coming out of it.

“Jack?”

He looks over at his side and there she is. Hard to believe she was once that frail beaten-down little kid.

“Are you alright? You were muttering a lot in your sleep.”

“I'm fine. Just weird dreams brought on by stress is all.”

He sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

“I'm not looking forward to this.”

She frowns in concern.

“How did this even happen? I can't imagine they twisted your arm that much.”

“It's your fault...”

He mutters.

“You've made me complacent.”

She looks at him funny.

“I used to be able to focus on everything. Now if you're not around, I space out and things get by me that shouldn't.”

She looks away. He's always like this. If she's unable to help him for whatever reason, he blames her for not being there for any mistake he makes. She's used to it, but it's why she doesn't like being apart from him for too long. Being made to feel at fault for something beyond her control is an unpleasant weight on her soul that keeps her down. She sinks in her seat and keeps quiet. On his end, Jack averts his eyes to the window and gazes out at the passing scenery. The carriage they sit in has made good time it seems. They'll reach their destination sooner than originally anticipated.

And he hates that.

…

Happily Ever After Acres.

Nestled in the foothills of the great mountains, is a premiere active adult retirement community situated along a crystal clear lake. It has become one of the best retirement communities in the land with a moderate four-season climate. From championship golf courses to waterfront living, it has all the luxury amenities anyone could want.

From the moment you step into this upscale retirement community, you'll be hit in the face with the serene ambiance it provides. Spectacular mountain views make for a special retirement destination. Complete with a 5-star restaurant, a sports & aquatics complex, an indoor and outdoor oasis pool complex, a 400-seat ballroom, bowling alley, 54-Holes of championship golf, creative arts center, 9 badminton courts, 4 tennis courts, a softball field, a multi-purpose gymnasium, community garden, dog park, and much more.

The enchanting welcoming gates open forth for a rather large carriage being pulled by four pitch-black shire horses. To some, this sight is awe-inspiring, surely it belongs to a member of nobility and is either here to offer financial aid or to visit/leave someone here. However, the staff maintaining the area unfortunately know all too well who's inside that elegant display that goes by to the houses.

The carriage pulls up to a stop and the wide door opens to a woman with long flowing brown hair that reaches as low as her thighs. Nothing too out of place unless you took into account her choice of attire being that of a man. Her outfit consisted of a grape purple vest, a crimson linen shirt with frills on the cuffs, maroon knee breeches, black silk stockings, and black leather shoes with stacked heels that were medium height. A carmine full-skirted knee-length coat tops it all off. Her only accessories are that both of her ears are pierced twice with steel ball stud earrings and around her neck is a silver choker band studded with a row of amethysts gems.

She takes a moment to look around, surveying the area before opening the door more, and out steps a much larger more annoyed-looking man. Short pink bob-cut hair and piercing cold periwinkle eyes. Donned in a purple dress vest detailed with little plums, a white buttoned dress shirt, dark grey leather pants, and black knee medium buttoned leather boots with small heels. A long wine-colored overcoat is casually draped over his shoulders like a cape. Despite all that, the most striking thing about him is a bright plum stain on the thumb of his right hand.

“Ugh. This place gets more detestable with each visit.”

She sighs as she digs into her jacket to pull out a flask and offers it to him.

“So, you can be good for something.”

He takes it with indifference and quickly drains it down his throat.

“At least you had the good stuff on you.”

“I've taken the liberty of stocking more on the both of us. Even so, do try to pace yourself please.”

He sneers and shoves the flask at her.

“Don't tell me how to drink.”

She rolls her eyes while taking it back, getting a tad irritated at his attitude.

“Fine. I won't. Just don't expect sympathy when you start acting a fool for chugging Slivovitz.”

“Good. I don't want your sympathy. I'm not some lightweight pushover. I can handle it.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!!”

“FINE!!”

The door to the home opens and their demeanor changes as fast as a coin flip.

“Mother. Father.”

Jack is stoic in an almost emotionless professional way.

“Mr. & Mrs. Horner!”

Lynsie is the delighted one as if being presented with a puppy for the first time.

“My boy!”

A tall blonde woman comes rushing out and embraces Jack much to his chagrin.

“My sweet little man. Look at you! Oh, I could just love on you all day. Yes, I could!”

This would be his mother, Elizabeth Horner. Long wavy golden locks tied up in a humble yet elegant bun. Bright violet eyes that put flowers to shame. Her attire is a simple yet comfortable champagne pink dress consisting of a full skirt braided round the hem and an upper skirt with a wider braid, the square-cut china pink bodice, also braided, being finished with a turned-down linen collar, everything lightly done white accents and pink slippers.

She holds Jack's face, smushing his cheeks like one does a chubby-faced baby. Jack, understandably, hates this with a passion. But he holds himself back, biting his tongue as his right eye twitches.

“Mother...Please, would you mind not doing this?”

“Boy, you let her have this...”

A large man with brown hair stands in the doorway.

“It's not every day she gets to see you.”

And this is Jack's father, Jonathan Horner. Short shaggy auburn hair that mops at his neck. Deep sapphire eyes like the water of the sea. A strong pronounced chiseled square jaw. Donned in a faded powder blue leather jacket, a white buttoned linen shirt with frills on the cuffs, dull black leather pants, and black boots.

Jack rolls his eyes at his old man.

“God forbid raising me wasn't enough time.”

“Be nice.”

Lynsie chides and Jack snarls at her.

“No one asked you!”

“Lynsie!”

Mrs. Horner switches her attention to Lynsie and the smaller woman is easily lifted off the ground in a parental hug.

“My precious little lady!”

As more inclined to enjoy this kind of attention than Jack, Lynsie still isn't used to it. Especially when everyone else was bigger and tended to handle her as if she were a toy. Jack is 7'7” naturally, his father is 6'6”, his mother is 6'2”, and Lynsie at 5'7”. She might be of decent height when compared to others, but there's a reason her nickname is “Little” Lynn and it's not just to pair up with the “Big” of Jack's handle.

“Mother, could you refrain from smothering her for five minutes?”

Mrs. Horner lets Lynsie go and then gasps.

“Goodness, dear! Did you get paler? You look dreadful.”

Lynsie is a bit taken by that but it makes Jack snicker.

“Oh, that. That's from the blood loss.”

“Blood loss?”

“There was a burglary attempt at the factory. I got careless and the thief managed to wound me.”

“What?!”

“Fear not. They didn't manage to take a thing.”

Lynsie states such things as if talking about a paper cut. But, like a normal person and the concerned parent that she is, Mrs. Horner doesn't take this well. Taking Lynsie by the arm and dragging her inside, leaving the men together.

“You have your woman fighting your battles for you now?”

“It's literally her job. And don't say that.”

“Say what?”

“She is not 'my woman'.”

“Shame.”

Jack leers at his father.

“And what's that look for?”

“You always do this.”

“Do what?”

Jack huffs, choosing to not take the bait his old man is dangling in his face, and brushes past him to enter the home.

“Well, this is going to be a long visit.”

Mr. Horner shuts the door. Mrs.Horner continues to pull Lynsie along.

“I swear...That boy knows better. Letting you get hurt like that.”

“It's fine, Mrs.Horner. Really.”

“No, it's not fine. A woman has no business fighting.”

“But it's literally my job.”

Mrs.Horner rolls her eyes.

“He has other guards. You don't need to put yourself at risk. Not after all you've gone through.”

“Mrs. Horner...”

“Give it a rest, Mother.”

Jack interjects only to get slapped on the back of his head by his father.

“Don't disrespect your mother, boy.”

Jack sneers.

“I'm not a child.”

“Then don't act like one.”

Thus begins something that could be called neutral chaos.

…

Mr. and Mrs. Horner, aka Jonathan and Elizabeth, are two of the nicest people one could hope to encounter. This is why it's all the more baffling to those around them how their son could be, for lack of better words, kind of an asshole. Granted, raising him wasn't easy. They struggled for a good portion of his formative years, garnering financial success in his early to mid-teens...only for him to force them both into retirement once he hit his prime. It was a complete takeover. Most would see that as rude. Yet...This was a welcomed relief to them. Especially when Jack set them up in such a fine place. One would assume he would have them left in the woods or sent on a ship never to be seen again. But no. Seems even someone as callous as Jack is capable of general respect to the ones that brought him into this world. So this easy life after years of hardship was a gift. One they occasionally like to use as a means of giving their always working son forced time off to relax and not burn out.

However...The disconnection between them couldn't be any wider.

To tolerate any of this, Jack drinks and avoids his mother. Which is easy when she's mothering all on Lynsie. But then that just leaves him as the sole attention point of his father. And Jonathan likes to get under Jack's skin by plucking at nerves that Jack never indulges in due to his single-minded self centered ambitions.

On the opposite side of things, Elizabeth does a similar thing with Lynsie and treats her like the daughter they never had. This dynamic is a bit complicated. Granted, unlike Jack, Lynsie takes to this better. Her submissiveness and obedience to parental figures definitely help with that. Even if she's awkwardly uncomfortable with being pushed into more lady-like things.

Once pleasantries are out of the way and the welcomes have become lukewarm at best, the pair are separated. Elizabeth takes Lynsie into another room, muttering small motherly chides and concerns. But Jonathan pulls his son aside and leads him outside, taking him to nowhere in particular, merely strolling along the community grounds.

“So how are things?”

Jonathan starts things off.

“Business is fine.”

Jack bluntly states.

“That's good. Very good.”

Jack rolls his eyes. This is how this usually begins. Unassuming small talk. Then his father will blindside him with the more annoying chatter once his guard drops for even a second. Absentmindedly feeling his coat, the outlines of more flasks tucked inside bring him comfort. Hopefully, he'll be good and sauced by the time his father starts laying on the personal talk.

“Tell me, boy. Are you up for playing a few games with your old man?”

“That all depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“Where you're going with this.”

Jonathan chuckles.

“Always blunt and to the point. You still have much to learn about tact.”

“Just answer the question, Father.”

“Fine. Fine... I know how much you enjoy our conversations. So, I figure, how about we make a friendly wager.”

This has Jack eyeing his dad with suspicion.

“What kind of wager?”

Jonathan smiles to himself. He knows his boy well. Jack doesn't back down from challenges, not even small ones, so long as it inflates his sense of superiority and has a prize he can lord over others.

“You know that bottle I've been saving? My prized Armagnac that I've been saving for when you announce your betrothal?”

“...You're serious?”

“Quite serious. We partake in a few of the activities provided around here. The winner picks the next game. And whoever has had the most wins by supper time gets the prize.”

“What's the catch?”

Nothing is ever so straightforward when dealing with Jonathan Horner. His cunning and ruthlessness in business were something Jack inherited after all. All the decency they show is purely to the ones closest to them. To anyone outside their family, the Horners are to be feared and respected. Empires don't just pop up overnight. Sometimes it takes shady dealings and less-than-honest means to emerge from the grave of poverty this world expects souls to die in.

“The catch, my boy, is this...”

Jonathan pokes his son's side and smirks.

“You can't sneak your little drinks till we get back to the house.”

Jack's eyes widen.

“What?!”

“I want you sober while with me. That and I promised your mother I'd ensure you keep your wits about you.”

“Oh come on! That isn't fair!”

“What's not fair is how you ignore that which is in your face and rather than acknowledge it, you dismiss it and drown it out with distractions.”

“There you go again with your inane ramblings that make no sense. This is why I drink when I come over.”

“I swear you can be such a child. Always whining when things don't go your way.”

Jack's face reddens in building annoyance, his right eye faintly twitching.

“I. Am not. A child!”

“Then you should have no trouble in accepting this challenge.”

“Fine! But on one condition.”

Jonathan cocks his brow curiously.

“Name it.”

“If I have to do all this without a drink, then you have to not bring up anything about my personal life.”

“Sounds fair.”

“And that goes double for my romantic life too.”

“Of course.”

“Seriously. Why are you so fixated when it comes to useless crap like that? I don't gush over you and Mother being all lovey dovey gross. So what is it about my nonexistent social life that gets you all eager to integrate me? Oh! And the weird insinuations you make too. I can't stand it when you do that.”

Jonathan merely chuckles.

“Well, you got me there. But can you blame me? You're our boy. Our only child. You're the generation to continue the line and pass the Horner blood into the future.”

“This bloodline dies with me and you know it.”

“It doesn't have to though.”

“I have no interest in such matters. Attachments are nothing more than self-made weaknesses waiting to be exploited. I don't need companionship. I loathe children. I mean, I guess they're useful for cheap labor and tax benefits. But otherwise, they're just more annoyances and liabilities.”

Jonathan chuckles.

“What? What's so funny?”

“Don't need companionship? This from the boy that has his only friend live with him; works by his side, and even brings her along to visit his parents.”

Jack flinches.

“T-That...That's completely out of context! She lives with me because she has nowhere else and it's the most logical position for a bodyguard to be. She's also my assistant so of course she'd be at my side when working. I bring her with me so Mother has someone to coddle that isn't me. And she is not my friend.”

“Sure she's not.”

Jack snarls.

“That woman means nothing to me and I won't have you trying to make it seem like there's something more when there clearly isn't!”

“You know...I seem to recall there was a time long ago when you demanded we take her in because she was yours.”

“...Are you seriously justifying your entire argument based on something I said as a child?!”

“Mama! Papa! Can we keep her? It's not like anyone will know.”

“Not like I was wrong. And I'll reiterate...I. Was. A. CHILD!!”

“And you liked her.”

“I did not!”

“For someone that claims that, I remember you doing a lot of begging.”

“I do not beg! I demand!”

“So you were demanding we keep her?”

“Yes! Because she belongs to...”

Jack cuts himself off once the smug look on his father's face finally registers and the realization of falling for yet another of Jonathan's stupid ploys hits him like a pie to the face.

“Well? Go on. You were saying...?”

Jack huffs and ignores him. This only makes Jonathan grin.

“Such stubborn pride. You get that from your mother.”

Says the man that won't let this talk die.

“Come on, old man. Let's just get this over with already.”

Jonathan chuckles and leads his son to the golf course.

“As you wish.”

…

Back at the house, the conversations aren't any less contrived.

“So...How did it happen this time?”

Lynsie asks Elizabeth while seated in front of a vanity, the older woman brushing out the younger one's hair.

“You know how that boy gets. His mind was so focused on other things that we just made him answer yes to a bunch of nonsense then threw the 'will you come visit' question at him. Sweetiepie agreed and we left it at that before it dawned on him.”

She knew gifting them that two-way communication crystal would bite them back, but did Jack want to listen? Of course not. Because "Big" Jack Horner is never in the wrong or makes mistakes.

“It's amazing how much grew back. Your hair is nearly as long as it was when you were small. Oh! I bet if we braided it you'd look gorgeous.”

“If you say so, Mrs. Horner.”

These were aspects Lynsie didn't particularly take interest in. Her appearance didn't concern her. And the lengths of time most women use just to peacock themselves for the approval of others seemed like like a big waste. Looks mean nothing if you have no substance to back it up. Like a sword made of gold. Sure, it looks pretty. But gold is a soft metal and it makes the sword worthless as a weapon. What's the point of having something like that if not just to parade it around for bragging rights? Nonsense.

Elizabeth on the other hand, not having a daughter of her own, sees the potential that a young lady in her prime has to offer. Sure, the girl is skilled in a variety of things. But it's such a waste that she doesn't apply her charm while she still has it. You could have the world's largest diamond but if it's dull and not shaped right then none will want it. At least she knows Lynsie will allow her to make her over while here. Perhaps if she does a fine enough job she'll convince the tomboy to get in touch with her more sophisticated feminine side.

“You really are a lovely woman, Lynsie.”

Elizabeth remarks.

“But I'm sure you get that all the time.”

“Not really.”

Well, that was shot down faster than an Robin Hood shooting ducks.

“What? You can't seriously tell me my little girl isn't noticed.”

“Then I don't know what to tell you. Most avoid me.”

“Really?”

“Probably the death threats keep them away.”

“Oh.”

“And I don't honestly care about what others think of me as well.”

“So...There's no one whose opinion of you matters? Not even the slightest?”

“Well, I care what you all think of me.”

This takes Elizabeth back for a moment, to which Lynsie looks at her funny.

“Does this truly surprise you? Why would anyone else matter to me? Your family was the one that showed me any decency. The rest of the world can fade away to nothing. After all...it expected me to.”

She sadly knew that to be true. She can recall it so clearly still. Those memories from their past of when they were still traveling around in that wagon and that one day their son came back from his typical fit with a scared beaten little girl at his side. A child in need that none so much as batted an eye or acknowledged was even there.

“It's hard to believe sometimes. Seeing you as you are now. What you've become. You've come a long way since then.”

Despite the positive words, Lynsie says nothing, her expression is blank but there's trouble in her eyes. The silence that builds is a bit unnerving. Mother mode activates for Elizabeth.

“Is something the matter, dear?”

Again, there's only silence.

“If there's something on your mind, you know you can tell me.”

She stops brushing. So Lynsie looks up at her.

“Mrs. Horner...Did you ever do something you've come to regret?”

The serious tone of such a question has Elizabeth cease her doting to pull up a seat beside her.

“Everyone has something they regret. It might be something small. Or something large. But having regrets is normal.”

Lynsie puts her hands on her knees, taking slow calming breaths through her nose.

“You know the life I had as a kid. And what I did after I fled. I learned to steal. I learned to lie. I learned to kill. And not once would I ever cry. I have taken lives or been the cause of many to be laid to ruin. And I have not once felt anything about it. But there is one...”

Her hands tighten on her knees.

“One life stains my hands. Haunting my dreams. Tormenting my soul. Bringing me to the brink of it all.”

Elizabeth hasn't seen her this vulnerable in a long time.

“Would it help ease you to talk about it?”

Lynsie eyes her with concern.

“I fear to burden anyone with this. I should shoulder this weight alone as I had done it to myself.”

“Lynsie.”

Her tone, that parental “you better tell me now or else” tone, always works on the girl.

“Very well.”

There's a pause as she collects herself.

“It started as a normal day. Jack sent me on a simple item collection mission. Nothing overly complicated. But...He came along with me. That should've tipped me off that something was wrong.”

Elizabeth made herself comfortable, this was going to get interesting.

“I take it he doesn't go with you often when doing these tasks.”

“No. Jack knows I'm capable. I'm usually alone when working on such missions. This was different. He wouldn't tell me what it was and insisted on coming along. He was actually kind of giddy about it. It wasn't until we got close to where it was that I realized what the 'item' was. And it all spiraled out of control from there.”

Her grip tightens.

“That house. That stupid god-forsaken shoe...”

————————————————–

Jack looks smugly as they stand outside. A large shoe, likely one from a Giant that fell from the sky, that was converted poorly into a house. A house that is in very horrible condition. The leather is chipped. The laces were stripped. The tongue flopped out like its namesake. The windows are cracked or broken. And the roof is one bad storm away from collapsing. It's honestly an eyesore and appears to be abandoned to rot.

“Wow. What a piece of crap. You really lived in this dump?”

Lynsie can't take her eyes off it. This was her home. The house was a living hell. This is where she and countless siblings were under the remorseless rule of their mother. She swore never to return.

“Why are we here?”

Jack rolls his shoulders.

“Isn't it obvious? This. We're here for this pile of garbage.”

“What?!”

He snorts.

“What's with that reaction? You know how I collect trinkets like this.”

“Yeah, you collect things of value. But THIS?!”

She points.

“Since when do you give a crap about Nursery Rhyme icons?! If you can even call this circle of hell on Earth an icon.”

Being here was agitating her, she wouldn't be like this normally. But uncharacteristically, Jack just smirks playfully at her.

“Who said that I do? This isn't for me.”

Confusion smacks her in the face.

“Huh?”

He pulls out a rolled sheet of parchment.

“You see, I've been thinking a lot lately. Revenge is like a fine wine. The longer you let it sit, the sweeter the flavor when you pop the cork. So...”

He tosses it to her and she fumbles but catches it.

“Go ahead. Pop the cork.“

Her confusion only grows but she takes the hint and unrolls the parchment. Reading it, her eyes widen and she looks at him in disbelief. It's a deed. A land deed. With his name on it as the majority owner. ...And her name as minority co-owner.

“I...I don't understand.”

“Not a bad surprise, right? Figured you earned it. Can't say I never did anything for you.”

She is at a loss for words, so he continues.

“Oh yeah. This hunk of dirt is mine and that goes for anything on it as well. That includes this crummy thing. There's just one annoying problem.”

“What's that?”

A sound rattles from inside.

“It's still occupied.”

Her heart falters its beating.

“Y-You don't mean...”

He slaps her back in mock support.

“Yep. That old bat is still loitering in there. It's just her though. I got no reports of any other people going in or out. Seems like she finally learned how to close her legs.”

Disregarding the insult to her mother, no matter how true it was, she asks the question she knows the answer to but dreads.

“So...What is it we're doing then?”

“We? Oh, no no no. YOU are the lucky one here. You get to evict that old bitty.”

“...You can't be serious.”

“I made you a shareholder to something of mine. You damn well know I'm serious.”

He holds her by her shoulders.

“After everything she's done, wouldn't it be bittersweet if she lost what little she has left at the hands of her own kid?”

She looks at the deed in her hands.

“You can't tell me this isn't something you've thought of at least once. You're the one in the position of power here. Not her. This is yours. And there's not a thing she can do about it.”

She couldn't deny it, thinking of it that way did bring on some feelings. She was always the helpless one. But now...Now the shoe was on the other foot. It tickled some spiteful part of her that craved retribution for all the suffering that she went through in her youth. And so, she listens to it.

With a nervous sigh from her and a shove on his part, she approaches the door to the shoe house. She never was the praying type. But at this moment, she begged for any deity that no one was home and that the sound they heard before was merely the inside crumbling on itself. She knocks on the degraded wood. Her heart pounding. Then...She hears it. Footsteps. A sense of dread fills her and she nearly flees, but the door opens before she can react.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

Her voice alone was enough to have Lynsie freeze. All her growth as a person flashed to dust once her mother was before her. She turns her head to look back at Jack, only getting a “well, go on” expression. It wasn't all that helpful.

“Well? Say something or shove off!”

She gulps down her nerves.

“By order of Master "Big" Jack Horner, I am authorized to inform you that you are to vacate these premises.”

“What?!”

Such a familiar shout. It nearly broke her.

“Y-You...You are trespassing on private property. You are to pack up what you can carry and relocate elsewhere. This house and what remains are now forfeit.”

“You have no right!”

“Ma'am, it is well known you've illegally been squatting here for years. And we have a deed.”

She holds up the parchment.

“Please do not bother with resisting. There is quite literally no point.“

The Old Woman fumes, her face getting red with anger. But something gets her attention. It distracts her anger long enough for her to realize something. She takes hold of Lynsie's face, making her flinch. It's the reaction that brings about recognition.

“Yes. I know that look. You're one of mine.”

The lack of response is enough to make the Old Woman grin.

“You came back. You kids always come back.”

It happens so fast. The door slams shut and both women vanish inside. Leaving Jack outside with the horses.

“Well damn. ...I should've brought snacks.”

Inside, however, it's not any better. Trash, dust, cobwebs so thick they've killed spiders, broken furniture and dishware. There's nothing to indicate that children of any kind once lived in this place, minus a few marks that only a former child of the home knows about.

“Dear lord...”

A bit of the floor gives way and her foot goes through it, tripping her up.

“You've really let this place go.”

“I let it go?! You brats did that. You lot were the ones maintaining it. It's not my fault it's like this.”

That makes Lynsie roll her eyes.

“But that's going to change. Now that you're here. You'll fix this place up as good as new. And then things will be as they should be. Just like before.”

The Old Woman must be delusional.

“You can't be serious...”

The Old Woman cocks her head.

“What?”

“I don't know what you think I do for a living. But I'm not a carpenter or a repairman.”

The Old Woman scoffs.

“That's not my problem.”

Lynsie sneers. Damned Old Woman hadn't changed one bit. Refusing to take any responsibility and expecting things to be done for her or for things to just fall into her lap without any effort on her part.

“No, that IS your problem. I'm not helping you.”

The Old Woman glares.

“Yes. You will.”

“I said, no. You're not the boss of me.”

This was something she would never have said to her mother back when she was a kid. Such words would be met with a beating. But she's not a child anymore. She's an adult who has been trained to kill for coin. Plus she deals with Jack 24/7, so she's gained some level of spine. That and a smidgen of pent-up frustration slipped out while she stood her ground.

“You don't understand the situation. I'm not here to clean up your mess. I didn't come here for you. I don't care if you are my mom. I've been gone for years and dealing with my own life. One with responsibilities of my own.”

“What do you know of responsibilities?!”

The Old Woman practically spits venomously.

“You ungrateful urchins never struggled for anything!”

Such a blatant lie makes Lynsie snarl.

“Never struggled for anything?! Do you not even know the rhyme based on us?! There was an Old Woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread. Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. How the hell can you stand there and say we didn't struggle?! Because we all knew you sure didn't have a problem!”

“You watch your mouth.”

“No! You know damn well you didn't have it bad. You were able to eat full meals anytime you wanted. You were able to have decent clothes every day of the week. You had a real goddamn bed while we slept on the floor without blankets or pillows. You didn't do a damn thing for us. We had to fend for ourselves because you gave us no choice. We stole. We rummaged in the trash. We learned to forage. We scavenged for our lives because you sure as hell didn't care if we were even alive the next morning!”

The Old Woman flinches.

“I lost count of how many of us died in this place. Or when I stopped caring when we'd wake to find some of the others not moving. Either succumbing to injuries or other issues. All we knew was when it happened to take what we could get and pass on the scraps to the others. So don't you dare say we didn't have it bad. The only reason we had to do any of that was because of you!“

She huffs to keep her breathing steady but the stream of hate is strong. Repressed emotions unleashed.

“You know, there was a time when I used to wonder why. Why did you bother giving birth to us? Why did you keep us if you were just going to ignore us? Why not abandon us to our fathers so you didn't have to do any of the crap you did? But then...It hit me. It didn't matter. Even if you did have a reason for why you were the biggest piece of shit of a person that ever dared to call themselves a mother, it doesn't matter. Nothing can ever justify anything you did. You are without a shadow of a doubt a miserable excuse for a human being and it sickens me to the core that I spawned from you.”

Fueled by this, she looks down on the Old Woman.

“But I digress. As I said, I'm not here for you and I have my own responsibilities. Like, for example, telling you once more to leave this place.”

The Old Woman balls her fists in rage.

“All be damned if you think I'm going to let you talk to me like that in my own home.”

“It's not your home. It never was. And now it's a matter of fact by law.”

She shows her name on the deed under Jack's.

“Now get out of MY house.”

Maybe it was the authoritative command in Lynsie's voice. Perhaps it was the power that growled in her tone. Maybe it was the defiant way she stood her ground. Or maybe it was the steely resilient look in her eyes that burned with unyielding spite. Whatever the reason might be, this was unacceptable to the Old Woman.

“You insolent whelp!”

The Old Woman is as spry as ever when it comes to dealing out punishments. She cracks Lynsie in the face with a backhanded slap that has her back up a step.

“You dare speak to your mother that way? Disgraceful!”

She expects this to do what it has always done. To have instant subjugation.

“Is that all?”

Yet that's not what happens. The fire in Lynsie's eyes only burns stronger and the Old Woman flinches.

“Well, I've got to hand it to you, Mom. You're still living up to all the memories I have of you. Bravo. You've met the bare minimum of my expectations. Then again, when the bar is set so low that worms can pass it there's not much room to fail now is there?”

A look comes to the Old Woman, one that Lynsie's never seen before. Sure, there's anger. But there's also fear. And seeing that on her mother's face...it makes her smile.

“Such a strange sensation. I don't think I've seen that look on your face before. It suits you.”

“S-Shut up!”

“Were you expecting me to crumble? To fall to my knees? To grovel for your forgiveness? Perhaps your age has caught up with you; because you don't seem to notice what's in front of your eyes.”

She takes a step forward and the Old Woman backs up.

“I took your beatings for years. And after that, I was subjected to harsh grueling training. Hard to believe murderous rouges treated me with more decency than you. But thanks to all that, my pain tolerance is now quite high. Unlike my patience for this pointless delay of the inevitable.”

She keeps up her approach, making the Old Woman back up further till her back hits a rickety table.

“Stay back!”

“I truly hate repeating myself, so this is the last time I'm saying this. Leave. Now.”

“I'm not setting foot outside this house.”

“That wasn't a request. I'm telling you. Get out.”

The Old Woman snarls.

“You're giving me an order?”

This seems to be the last straw on the Old Woman's tolerance. She hurls a chair at Lynsie and she's able to avoid it just barely due to the close range. But it is merely a distraction. In an instant, the Old Woman has her hands around Lynsie's throat, squeezing to either choke her out or snap her neck. For her part, Lynsie is brought to kneel as she holds her furious mother by the wrists.

“You miserable brat! Who do you think you are?! You forget your place! Children do as they are told! They obey their mother! Ingrates. The whole lot of you. I always knew that you mongrels would turn on me someday, but I never knew when.”

“Let go of me.”

“So I had to make sure you all stayed down in the dirt where you belonged. Yet it wasn't enough. You lot thought you were real smart, didn't you? Running off into town, grabbing goodies with your grubby little hands, did you think I never noticed?! I'd hear about it from the people and sometimes see you with my own eyes. I never gave any of you permission to leave!!”

“Mom...Stop this.”

“And you...Don't think I don't remember you. I could never forget those eyes. From the first time you looked at me with those eyes, I knew you were nothing but trouble. A bad seed. A bad girl. And that is why I had to teach you by punishing you. I had to hurt you more to make you an example. All of you had to know who was in charge and what lengths I would go to. For a time, it worked. You all stayed in line. But it was a façade.”

Her grip tightens and Lynsie gags.

“Don't make me hurt you...”

“Now, I see that you were just waiting for the stakes to get high enough before you played your hand. I'd say it was a commendable effort if you all came back together. But you've decided to do the one-by-one approach, a poor decision. Slowly you runaways come back for some reason or another. Yet once you're back in this house I see to it you never walk out that door again. It's like I always told you wretched little heathens. I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it. You all were born in this house and none of you will ever truly escape it. So I hope you've enjoyed your time on the outside, my darling dear; because you're about to join the rest of your brothers and sisters!”

*crash*

A rock comes breaking through a window.

“Hurry it up in there! I've got better things to do than stand out here waiting on you!”

Jack's voice calls out. This gets Lynsie to sigh before her hold harshens, making the Old Woman wince and release her grip.

“Damn it...Well, you heard the man. I don't have any more time to waste on your petty power-tripping crap.”

She stands back up with no issue, the Old Woman trying to pull from her daughter but not budging an inch as she now realizes her once victim has been holding back so much more than she thought.

“L-Let go of me you brat!”

“Poor choice of words.”

Spinning on her heels quickly, she flings the Old Woman across the room and into kitchen cabinetry then hits the floor.

“Look what you've done, Mom. I had the smallest bit of hope you'd be civil enough to talk without your god complex getting involved. But now you've gone and annoyed my boss. And that means I'm done being nice.”

She draws closer as the Old Woman trembles and staggers to her feet.

“How dare you! Have you forgotten who I am?! I AM YOUR MO-!!”

“You're pathetic.”

The words die in her mouth.

“From the moment you gave birth to us, we had to trust you. There was no say in the matter. We only had you. We needed you to protect us. To care for us. To prepare us for the world so we could traverse the hardships, madness, and soul-crushing journey that life could throw our way. You did NONE of that! You took the unconditional love and trust of all of us, then crushed it into dust on a self-fulfilling prophecy to destroy something that you killed the moment it was born!”

The Old Woman feels around the counter behind her.

“So what are you going to do? Get revenge? Make me pay for everything I did?”

Lynsie scoffs.

“You seriously haven't listened to a damn thing I said. I don't care about none of that.”

This confuses the Old Woman.

“You don't care?”

“No. Why should I care? You severed the bond of motherhood the second you laid your hands on us. You're a bitter old hag who got a kick out of controlling her children and lording over them like a demented cat playing with its prey. And as for my siblings...They can rot. Not once did they help when I needed it.”

She grits her teeth.

“No matter how much I begged it to stop...No matter how long I wailed till my voice was shot...No matter how much I bled from the fresh or old scars opening...None of them did a thing. Not even something as small as a comforting word. So no, I don't care about them or what you did to them. I guess I have to congratulate you there, Mom. You succeeded in gifting one lesson to us. Survival of the fittest. The only one that's going to care about you is yourself. Now...”

She cracks her knuckles.

“No more games. I don't care if I have to drag you out, kicking and screaming, I'm getting you out of this stupid shoe. Whether you like it or not!”

Lynsie lunges to grab the Old Woman's arm...only to be met with the sting of a knife slicing across her palm, making her recoil with an intense hiss.

“You want me out of my house? I'm never leaving here. And neither will you!”

The Old Woman comes slashing wildly, aiming to end her child's life as she has done to countless others. However, while Lynsie was humoring her mother before, that time has passed. She, instead of moving away from the coming swing, flows into it to grab the Old Woman's arm with both hands and uses the momentum to flip the Old Woman onto the floor. While stunned, she quickly sits atop the Old Woman, pinning her, and forcing her to hold the knife up to her own throat.

“Are you quite finished? Resistance is futile and useless.”

“Get off of me, you insolent wretch!”

“You're a sad creature. Barely recognizable as a person. You are clinging to the shattered remains of a past that can never return. It's time you wake up and face reality. You are no mother. I am no child of yours. You have burned every bridge and cut all ties. You have no one and you have nothing. And you never will. All you have awaiting you is bleak emptiness in the cold unforgiving void or the anguish of eternal torment in the smoldering pits of Hell. How appropriate for one so hollow and wicked as you.”

“Do it! You hate me so much; you might as well just kill me!”

“Is that what you want? Have you desired your end so much that you ensured that one of your brood would harbor enough resentment to grant you such a wish?”

She sighs.

“Yes, I do hate you. I hate you with every fiber of my being. The thought of you makes me ill. Looking at you fills me with contempt. This world would be better off without you. And while I would have no trouble killing you, really, death is kind of a specialty of mine. I think I have a much better idea.”

A devilish grin smears her face.

“Yes...I guess this is the one time I'm not afraid to disappoint you. A more fitting fate for a coward like you would be to allow you to live. To wander this Earth alone, a meager shadow to be ignored and looked down on till the day fate reaps your worthless soul. And you know what? No one will care.”

The Old Woman's eyes widen as Lynsie savors this. A long overdue victory. A child has bested the parent and rather remorselessly at that. Yet, if there's anything the Old Woman is known for, it's how traumatizing she can be to her kids and how far her pettiness is willing to go to have the final say.

“I favored you so much. Why couldn't you just have continued to obey me?”

This is enough to confuse Lynsie enough for the Old Woman to make her move—the pressure on the knife shifts. No longer is the Old Woman pushing it away...she pulls it in...cutting it into her neck.

“M-Mom!!”

Blood spurts out like a broken fountain everywhere, showering the space and Lynsie in crimson.

“What have you done?!”

She tries in vain to clamp the gash shut with her hands, ignoring her instincts that scream it's pointless.

“No! No, no, no, no, no! Don't you dare die on me! Do you hear me?! You're not allowed to die!! Not like this! Don't you run from me, you bitch! Don't ignore me now! Answer me! Answer me damn you!!”

“Lynsie...”

She flinches. She hadn't heard her mother use her name in years. To hear it now, in a voice so weak and gurgling on the verge of death, it's haunting.

“Y-You did t-this...”

The Old Woman grabs her by her hair and pulls her down, getting in her face, seeing the fear return to her daughter's eyes makes her smile.

“Y-You're such...a b-bad...g-g-girlllll...”

The telltale rattle of a last breath leaves the Old Woman and her hand falls limply along with the rest of her body.

“Mama...?”

It's such a thing to leave imprinted in her eyes. Her mother, lifeless and smiling, blood everywhere. Those words repeat like a ghost whispering in her ear. It was the final hit to her resolve. Tears storm her eyes and fall like rain. Utterly distraught, she isn't aware of the anguished howls that leave her. It's these pained cries that alert Jack that things have gone awry. His size preventing him from entering, he rips a part of the leather wall away by use of a missing window, and the sight he finds would cause a weaker soul to crumble. This wasn't what he wanted to happen. This wasn't what he wanted at all.

————————————————–

“I was hysterical for a while after that. Jack did what he could to talk me back into a state where I at least ceased my sobbing. He explained this was a massive flop and there was no point now in the house being there. So...We burned it. It was so dry that it ignited easily and all the broken openings allowed excellent ventilation. The blaze was intense. Nothing remained but ash that the wind was eager to blow away. It was almost like nothing was ever there. It was kind of relieving in a way.”

Elizabeth had been silent the entire time Lynsie told her story. She knew her mother was an awful person, she'd seen the scars that littered her back as a child and remain even now from the constant whippings. But for that horrible woman to do that? It has even someone as sweet as Elizabeth wishing the worst to happen to the soul of that witch.

“It's funny. I have taken many lives with these hands. I've never felt bad about it, aside from the first one. The first time is always tough. That's what the rouges taught me. It made things easier knowing cutthroats had a hard time killing at the start too. But nothing prepared me for that day. It's affected me. And I don't like it. The nightmares of it leave me restless. The lack of proper sleep makes me sloppy. I don't perform optimally. I snap. I get hurt. I fail Jack. I...I can't do that. I can't fail him! I can't!”

She turns to look at Elizabeth. Her eyes watering with the threat to cry.

“It's my fault. It's all my fault. If I was just better...If I...If I was a good girl...”

Elizabeth can't stand it any longer and pulls the girl into her arms, holding her in an emotional embrace.

“Mrs. Horner...?”

“It's not your fault.”

The buildup of telling that event is too much, and Lynsie becomes too soft to contain her feelings any longer. And what made it hurt a little more was that she was being comforted by the woman she wished was her mother. She clings to Elizabeth tight and weeps.

“You're a good girl, dear. I promise.”

Elizabeth does what any decent mother would and tries to soothe a youth when they're feeling hurt. Little do both women know though their entire conversation was overheard from the hallway by Jack.

He was just passing by on the way to grab his father's lucky bowling ball when he caught wind of familiar-sounding bits, the kind that piqued his curiosity enough to listen to everything. And by the time their talk had ended, he had learned things he didn't know. Things that made other stuff make sense now. He takes his leave before they notice his eavesdropping or things get too emotional. He'd need a much stronger drink if he had to deal with two sorrowful women looking for comfort. Such sentimental dribble.

Elizabeth pets the back of Lynsie's head, gifting the woman more affection than she's gotten from a parental figure in a single day than she'd gotten throughout her lifetime.

“I do...I do have something I've come to regret.”

Lynsie does what she can to hold back her cries so she can hear Elizabeth.

“I regret not taking you with us when we had the chance.”

Lynsie's hold on the woman tightens and Elizabeth nuzzles the top of her head. There was a time back when the struggling young girl would come running to their wagon like it was her home and the idea of adding her to the family was brought up. They could only see a battered starving child who seemed to get along with their antisocial son so long before they had questioned should or shouldn't adopt her. And they would've done it too, but the issue was their situation at the time. Business wasn't good. They were just scraping by enough to cover what they needed at the time to manage. Another child would've been too much especially since they didn't know if or when things would get better financially. It was a choice that guilted them for the longest time as they never thought they'd see her again or worse, that she died due to her situation. Then, one day, Jack visits them and isn't alone. The odds were insurmountable, yet, here she is, back in their lives. And while these visits aren't long, mostly because Jack tries to leave as soon as he can, they make the most out of the time they have to make up for a life that could have been.

“Little one. Would you like to help me with dinner tonight?”

She feels a nod against her chest. It makes the motherly woman smile.

“Do you need a little more time before we get started?”

Another nod is her answer.

“Okay, dear. Take your time. There's no rush.”

…

It wouldn't be long before things went back to normal. The event between the two women was not spoken of more as the evening went on. The home would soon be engulfed by warmth and savory aromas once cooking was underway. The men return to a welcoming abode and with a hot meal at the ready. It's a rather peaceful reprieve. Almost domestic. No one speaks. Just savoring the moment as well as the food. It's nice.

But all things, good or bad, must end at some point.

The sun rises and sets. The moon takes its place in the sky, gracing night's darkness with brilliant light. And while most slumber in their beds, some remain awake. Either for work, play, stress, force, or the cruel joke of some magical hex. Some are up in these fleeting hours of solid peace.

Case in point...Jack Horner.

The man tosses and turns unable to rest in the guest bed that he lays on. All the damned annoying rhetoric his father kept prattling on about and not a drop of liquor passed his lips since he stepped inside. His head was pounding. He was irritable. But...He was victorious. He dealt with all of it. All the accusations. All the grasping at the tiniest of strings to force a narrative where his father's inane nonsense made it seem like fact. He heard it all and disputed the outlandish claims with sound, totally calm and not at all seething, logic. He was going to save the bottle for when he got the map to the Wishing Star, but at the rate the night was treating him, he might as well savor his prize in hopes it helps him pass out.

So with the bottle in hand, Jack leaves the guest room and quietly wanders down to the kitchen to fetch a proper glass. Brandy is not the kind of drink to just guzzle out of the bottle. Silently he passes by rooms, slipping through the living room where Lynsie lies sleeping on a chaise lounge. She almost looks peaceful yet he sneers her way, continuing to the kitchen and scours the cabinets for a cognac glass.

*groan*

The sound makes him pause. Surely he hasn't made any noise to stir her. When the room goes still once more he resumes. Finding the proper glass and then being as gentle as possible with popping the cork...which was a failure, as it popped with quite a loud snap. Surprisingly, this doesn't jolt her. Allowing him to indulge in his drink, swirling it around in the glass before taking a deep inhale of the aroma and getting a nice mouthful.

“Mmmm...Notes of oak, smoke, nuts, candied fruit, spices, possibly some chocolate, dried fruit, caramel, and a rich mouthfeel. Heh. I'll give you credit, old man. You have a damn good taste in drink.”

He's able to finish his first glass when she starts whimpering. It draws his recognition to what he heard earlier. Her nightmare, reliving that day over and over. The foolish woman must've forgotten to bring the potion he gave her to suppress them. And her telling his mother the entire thing likely didn't help to keep it off her mind either. Why? Why did that kind of irked him? She tells him everything. So why didn't she...?

She jolts up with a sharp gasp and holds her trembling self. He hated that the suddenness made him jump. He held still in hopes that she wouldn't notice him there. Her breathing is shaky and she curls in on herself like a scared child seeking any form of contact for comfort. Pathetic. Letting mere memories get the better of her to the point they had more control over her than he does. Well, that won't do at all.

“More nightmares?”

Not expecting to hear anyone, she aims with her pillow as if to throw it at an intruder. Only for Jack to chuckle as he saunters over to her.

“Look at you. Were you so lost in your head you didn't even recognize my voice?”

She looks away and sniffles.

“Are you crying? Ugh...You're such a baby sometimes, I swear.”

He shoves her over and sits down beside her, pouring himself another glass.

“Are you giving me the silent treatment or are you just too much of a wuss to talk?”

She just keeps silent with her eyes on the floor.

“Fine. Either way, I just want you to listen. So try not to sulk too much.”

He swirls his glass around, eyeing it before drinking deeply.

“I heard what you told Mother.”

She flinches harshly.

“Man, I knew that hag was sick. But to do that? She gives the Devil a run for his money with that new level of messed up.”

She claws at herself.

“Why didn't you tell me? This whole time I thought you lost it and offed her because she was trying to kill you. But even after she tried, twice in that instance I might add, you were still holding back and she's the one that did it? Then she blamed you? I mean, what kind of psycho does that? And that's coming from me.”

She remains silent.

“Don't tell me...You didn't want to bother me, right? Didn't want to trouble me with your problems or some other weak excuse. Correct? Well, knock that off! Because you bottling your stupid feelings isn't going to do anyone any good.”

When she still doesn't say anything he smacks the back of her head.

“Enough with the pity party. You're better than this. I don't keep you because you’re some sniveling little bootlicker. You're tough. You're clever. You don't stay down when beaten no matter how badly. So do it! Get back up. Pull yourself together and out of the pit that old hag tried to keep you in. I know you can. You're something of mine. And I don't keep useless crap.”

That seemed to get to her, the dim fire behind her eyes began to come back. She's about to speak till he cuts her off by putting the glass near her face.

“What's this for?”

“Don't be stupid. You know what a cup is for.”

He pours some brandy into it.

“Drink. You'll feel better.”

She sniffs it and grimaces.

“You've never had a hard drink in your life, have you?”

She shakes her head.

“Well, there's a first time for everything.”

He yanks her head back and practically forces the glass to her lips.

“Now open your mouth. I'm offering you something of mine. You know how rare that is. Are you really going to refuse my generosity?”

She hesitantly obeys. Her lips parted enough and he, surprisingly, gently tilted the glass for the golden brown liquid to flow in. If it weren't for his hand holding the back of her head she'd be jerking away from this strong taste, but she has no choice but to swallow it down till he's emptied the glass and let her go. He watches as she retches a little before settling down. The whole event made him laugh.

“With a reaction like that, I can tell you're going to be having one hell of an experience.”

“What does that mean?”

He pours a drink for himself and lets her stew in confusion as he savors it. It amuses him. Part of him wonders what kind of drunk she'll end up being. Will she be a happy drunk? An emotionally honest drunk? An angry drunk? A stupid sloppy drunk? A blackout drunk maybe? Or would she be able to hold her booze with no sign of change whatsoever? His money was on the blackout one though. She gave off the vibes of someone who couldn't last a few drinks before hitting unconsciousness. The very idea makes him chortle as he offers another drink to her. This time she doesn't resist and sips it slowly, trying to get used to it. Even in the dim light of the room, he can tell her cheeks are beginning to flush. It won't be long at this rate to see if his little self-bet wins out.

[An hour and one very empty bottle later...]

How?

How did it end up like this?

They were sitting in relative silence and drinking one moment. The next, they were cracking jokes and telling stories. Then the stories went from tales of wondrous adventures to personal events. Things that were kept secret slipped out. Vulnerability shown. One thing led to another and, without sound judgment or clear concern for what the consequences could be, they cave to the lack of inhibitions.

Whoever made the first move is quickly lost to memory. But what came next at least was chaste...For a moment anyway.

She is perched on his lap, held to his chest in his arms, both leaning in to get their rose-tinted faces close to one another. His eyes searched her half-lidded ones for signs of hesitation or reluctance. When he was sure there was none, he continued to draw near till his lips pressed against her forehead, brushing them delicately against her soft skin and sending shivers through her that made her whole body tremble. At that, he vaguely expects a small remark or word of protest. But no such things come from her. So, he keeps going, experimenting with what he can get away with. His mouth traces along the frame of her face, like following a path drawn out on a map. His lips grace the hollow of her temple, then the warmth of her cheek, and peppering along her jawline. Each instance of tenderness is accompanied by the sound of her soft sighs and the quickening of her breathing. It was so much. Too much. Like he was dumping kerosene on a small flame. This was something that set a tiny spark into becoming a roaring inferno.

She reaches up and pulls him to her, rendering him stunned against her lips, but not for long. He kisses her back tenderly, his mouth smothering hers and leaving her breathless. Gone was the time to handle each other like fragile porcelain. Being gentle wasn't enough now, not after being deprived of such affection their whole lives. They were starved for so long and now, the hunger was unleashed and it demanded to be fed. She claws her fists into his shirt, pulling him hard against her, the need for contact is strong. He groans softly, low in his throat almost like a growl, and his arms tighten their grip on her. The tameness they began with had ended and the intensity that followed was embraced fully. The kiss grew in the wake of ignited passion. His tongue is forced inside her mouth, strong and demanding, it wrestles with her own. Every inch of her body feels as though it burns for him. Her hands journey upward, feeling their way over his broad shoulders and encircling his neckline, one clutching him for support while the other combs into his hair.

His hands aren't idle either, no longer content with merely holding her. His massive hands could easily palm her head like she could hold a ball, even one of his hands encompassed her waist with no issue. He was so much bigger than her. The size difference certainly made him enjoy this more. There is something so enjoyable about being able to handle her like she were a small toy to play with as he pleases. So he takes to exploring her figure with meticulous skill, roaming over each supple curve as though trying to commit her form to memory. One of his hands slides up into her hair, his fingers running through her fine locks before gripping hard and pulling her head back, eliciting a wimping gasp from her as they lock eyes. Her heart is racing and her breathing is heavy, her cheeks inflamed with blush, her head was swimming in intoxication as well as the effect of his actions. She was putty in his hands...and he knew it.

His eyes fall to the choker around her neck, the first proper thing he ever gifted her with and she seldom takes it off. Something about that stroked his pride. An idea forms in his sauced-up mind and he grins mischievously. Still holding her head back, his other hand slowly makes its way up to her neck, his fingers brushing along the edge of the choker and making her squirm. Seems her prolonged wearing it had made her quite sensitive there. The reaction only fueled his idea. With his thumb, he nudges the choker up more to expose her nape then brings his mouth to it. His hot breath makes her shiver before he even does anything, her level of sensitivity is rather tantalizing. His lips pepper the smooth skin and then he begins to nibble, her breathing getting shaky. His hand in her hair changes its grip to hold the side of her head, his thumb pressing over her lips. She eyes him in confusion till her breath hitches sharply, muffled by his thumb as his teeth bite into her neck. His thumb presses down more to signal her to keep quiet as his teeth dig lightly into her skin. She tries in vain to fight her whimpers and she clings to him, her nails digging into him as he sucks on the supple skin. After what feels like an eternity, he detaches from her nape with a sickening wet pop, lazily dragging his tongue across the faintly bleeding and already bruising wound, making her shudder. He can't help but grin while admiring his work.

With his thumb still on her lips, he traces the outline of her mouth and then takes hold of her jaw. Her eyes are glossy but bright. He motions to her and then toward where the guest room is. Her mind is too washed with booze and latent yearning to register what this implies, she merely nods like the good girl she is. With that, his grin widens and he stands up with her held close. No words are spoken as he effortlessly takes her to the room and locks the door behind them.

…

Morning comes. A roster crows off in the distance. The sounds of birds beginning their songs are heard. Flowers slowly start to open up and greet the sun. A nice peaceful start to the day. Till the faint sound of knocking happens. With a groan Jack resists the urge to shout or throw something at the door, limply rubbing his face before sitting up. His mind was slow and groggy, his body feeling heavy, standing took a bit more effort than usual but he did get to his feet eventually. He lugs himself to the door and yawns as he gets it open.

“Yes?”

Jonathan mulls over the discarded brandy bottle in his hand before casting his eyes on Jack and his next words die in his throat once he takes in the whole scene before him. His son stands there disheveled, his face portrays someone who is still half-asleep. He's topless, still wearing pants, but his neckline along his shoulders has faint welts as if something tried to claw him.

“Um...You okay?”

Jack rubs his face to get the sleep from his eyes.

“Tired.”

There's a sleepy slur to his speech. He knows his son can handle a hard drink, but maybe the vintage of the brandy made it hit harder.

“Have you any idea where your woman is?”

Jack groans and lazily glares at his father.

“It's too early for this crap.”

“I merely ask because...”

Movement behind Jack is just barely visible, a body shifting beneath the bed sheets, yet this is enough to make the older gentleman smirk.

“Ah, never mind. I see the brandy treated you favorably.”

Jack eyes him funny.

“What are you talking about?”

“Who knew all you needed was some liquid courage to man up and shoot your shot? But I didn't think you would've taken her to bed so quickly.”

Confusion twists Jack's face. He looks back at the bed and grimaces upon seeing her there, knowing damn well he won’t hear the end of it if he isn't careful.

“So...Do you want me to tell your Mother the good news or would you like to do the honors?”

“This isn't what it looks like.”

“Oh really?”

Jonathan's smug “I caught you red-handed” tone made Jack want to slam the door in his face.

“She's been having nightmares about her mom. Been troubling her for like a month now. I let her have some of the Armagnac to take her mind off things. The girl can't hold a drink to save her life. So, rather than leave her a mess out there, I let her crash on the floor in here. Clingy little thing must've crawled into bed while I was sleeping.”

If it wasn't for what Elizabeth told him before bed, Jonathan would call Jack out for the obvious lie. But he does know. And he knows Jack. He doesn't lie. He might not tell full truths but he never lies.

“And you locked the door because...?”

“Would you allow a drunk woman to roam freely and potentially cause chaos?”

A fair and reasonable answer.

“Good point. Sorry to trouble you.”

“It's fine.”

“Will you both be joining us for breakfast?”

“Give me, like...an hour.”

“And her?”

“I'll shove her out in a bit.”

Jonathan chuckles to himself.

“You know...You're really lucky.”

Jack tilts his head.

“There aren't many that would stay with you as long as she has. Lord knows no other woman would put up with you.”

Jack's expression becomes flat irritation; he shuts the door without a word. Jonathan laughs and walks away to help his wife with the morning meal. Can't let the misses work too hard to feed four people. Jack in the room sighs and looks over at the bed. Last night is something of a blurry memory. He remembers bits, enough that the story he told his father wasn't all that false, but it gets harder to picture what happened when he brought her to the room. He doesn't remember losing his shirt or nodding off. But at least judging by how he's still wearing his pants, nothing too crazy happened. His back feels a tad sore, but he blames it on the mattress...Not knowing about the scratches that litter his fair skin.

Coming to the bed, he sits down and holds his head in his hands. Part of him wants to go back to sleep like nothing happened yet he's too awake to conk out now. She rolls over, her bear arm hitting his leg. He glances over at her and two thoughts pop in his head. The first was wondering where was her shirt. Lifting the covers a little bit answered his second thought enough to let him sigh with relief. Pants on; shirt off. Giving her a look over, her neck and shoulders are marked heavily with bite-riddled hickeys. What the hell was in that brandy to make them riled up hormonally charged-up teens? Though there is a part of him that likes seeing her like that. Something about her small body laying there innocently, sporting his marks. It hits a deeply buried part of him in a certain way. And it feels good.

He shakes the feeling away. Now's not the time or place. He gets up once more, gathering his discarded clothing and a pillow, before making his way to the door. He gets out to leave the room but hurls the pillow at her as he shuts the door. From the hall, he can hear her bark in surprise and the pillow flung back at the door with a harsh thud. It gets a chuckle out of him as he goes to the bathroom to freshen up.

What a strange way to start the morning.

…

Aside from the most unusual means of waking and one having her first hangover, the pair act as normal as ever. Breakfast is a welcomed moment. Good food made with care always tastes better. And nothing beats the care of a mother in an oddly cheery mode. For that matter, his father seemed to be in good spirits as well. Jack merely ignored it all. Lynsie was too concerned with soothing her throbbing skull to be aware of anything. Jack uses her condition as a quick excuse to leave and is more than a little suspicious when his parents don't try to pull some ploy to keep them here like offering to take care of her for him or making some obscure outlandish remedy. Yet he's not going to question this bit of luck.

When the carriage pulls up to the home, the farewells are warm and about as awkward as their welcomes when they arrived. Elizabeth hugs Jack and leaves an obnoxious motherly kiss on his cheek that he rubs away at like a little kid would. She then does the same to Lynsie but the girl is just out of it at this point and doesn't fight the smothering. Jonathan offers his hand to his son and Jack shakes it. Then he provides a small basket to him.

“What's this?”

“Something to help with her situation. Take it from someone with experience. You don't want to be stuck in a long ride with a woman that's hurting. Deadlier than any dragon and twice as unpredictable.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

Jack takes the basket and heads into the carriage, eyeing his father curiously the entire time.

“Okay, Sweet-Tart, that's enough. She and the boy have to go.”

“Oh. If only we weren't so far away. Then these visits would be longer.”

“I know, dear. But also...I'm pretty sure she can't breathe and the boy might get jealous of all the attention you're giving his woman.”

“She's not my woman!!”

Shouts Jack and his mother relents in letting Lynsie free from her crushing embrace, only to hold her head due to the shout causing her pain.

“Will you please not be so loud?”

She winces as she heads for the carriage, Jonathan giving the girl a little head pat as she passes.

“Take care you two.”

“And come back soon!”

The moment the carriage door shuts it takes off, a cloud of dust left in its wake as the horses race away.

“Did you see her neck?”

Jonathan remarks playfully.

“That boy needs to learn how to be gentle. My little girl is too fragile for him to just rough her up like that.”

Elizabeth answers with worry before punching her husband in the arm.

“He gets that from you. You Horner men can be such brutes.”

Jonathan merely laughs as he scoops his wife into his arms and takes her back into their home.

Meanwhile in the carriage...Lynsie takes her vest off and shields her face from the sunlight, the brightness makes her head hurt more. Jack looks through the basket. A pouch containing assorted berries. A couple of pomegranates. A bar of dark chocolate. And the one that got him puzzled was a familiar brandy bottle. Opening it and taking a sip, however, revealed it to be filled with water. It's not much, but all of it will aid in speeding up her recovery. Taking into account how long this ride home will be, he peels the tin from the bar and taps her hand with it to get her attention.

“Better eat it now before it melts.”

She fidgets in taking it, letting her vest drape over her head like a veil, she stares at the bar before breaking it in half and holding the separate piece to him.

“It's for you. You keep it.”

“We don't often get to have chocolate and I know you like sweets. I don't mind.”

She wasn't wrong. He was a man who liked his treats. He takes the offered half and bites into it, her eating the other half.

It's a very quiet ride for a while. The both of them, just there, him passing her the occasional aid from the basket and her offering to share. Sometimes he accepts, like with the chocolate and water. He passed on the berries though. She finishes the berries off soon enough and pulls her vest off her head, the light not being so bad now.

“How do you feel?”

She rubs her face and combs up into her hair.

“Decent. Not quite better. But close.”

She eyes the brandy bottle.

“I'm not sure I can be your drinking buddy if I end up feeling messed up afterward.”

“Eh. You fared better than expected.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. I figured you'd be blacked out after the third glass. Not bad for your first time with something that strong.”

That makes her smile a little.

“For now, at least, you're not touching anything stronger than juice. I wouldn't want you getting hooked on the stuff and acting weird.”

She tilts her head.

“Acting weird? Why? Did something happen last night?”

He flinches. She hadn't asked anything after she woke up and he was hoping she wouldn't.

“Not really.”

“It's okay to tell me if something happened. I wouldn't want to have done something stupid, not know, and then drink later to do it again.”

Seems she didn't recall anything after getting significantly drunk. Luck was on his side.

“Jack? Please?”

He sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

“Fine. But it wasn't so bad. You got a little tipsy and acted a bit clingy.”

Her face gets red with embarrassment.

“I did?”

“Just a little.”

She hides her face in her hands and groans as he bites his tongue to keep from laughing at her.

“Oh lord...I am so sorry!”

He snickers.

“Come on, it wasn't too bad. Trust me, I've seen worse. You were tame.”

“Was that why I was in your room?”

“Well, I couldn't just leave you alone when like that. I'm not a scumbag.”

He says while withholding the more important details for the sake of making the situation better for himself...like a scumbag.

She looks up at him, an expectant gleam in her eyes as if giving him the chance to keep talking. But when nothing more is said she sits back in her seat and puts her hand out for a pomegranate. Instead of being handed the fruit, he pulls her closer to have her sit across his legs.

“What are you doing?”

“Reliving a moment from last night for my amusement. Did you expect me to not find some way of entertaining myself?”

“What?!”

He pokes her head and chuckles.

“Heh heh heh. So small.”

She growls a little but just huffs it off. Better to let him have his way than fight it. He gives her the fruit anyway so it's not like she has much to complain about. Still...

“So I got on your lap last night?”

His chuckling stops and she smirks when his cheeks tint faintly. Such a dangerous question. Something he can't rush yet he also can't take too long to answer. His expression sours but he doesn't miss a beat.

“I did say you were clingy. Don't go making assumptions like my old man.”

“Daww. What's the matter? There's no need to get defensive.”

“I am not getting defensive!”

“Did little drunk me give big Jack hugs~?”

“I'm three seconds away from throwing you out and making you walk.”

She snickers and bites into the fruit, peeling the flesh off to make the insides available.

“Easy now, there's no need for that. I was only teasing you.”

She offers him some of the seeds. He sneers but accepts, feeding along with her.

“Why do I put up with a pain in the ass like you?”

“Because I make your life less boring. That and...”

She pauses, the words getting caught in her throat. Something doesn't feel right. Something's changed.

She doesn't remember much of last night. Much of it is fragmented and foggy, the brandy hit her brain hard. But some parts shine through. Like clean spots on a dirty window but the image is different under each spot. She remembers laughing it up with him and a sense of joy. She remembers throwing her arms around him for comfort when hit with sadness. She remembers a burning need to be close to him and the searing heat of his bite. She remembers the hit of cool air on his skin when he removed her shirt before doing the same to him. She remembers feeling his weight when he climbed over her and being crushed when he passed out on her leading to her own unconsciousness. She remembers all that and also isn't dumb to not notice the bruises when he woke her up. She'd have to be a moron to have not noticed any of that. Especially when waking up topless. It's a no-brainer honestly. They got really close.

She remembers all this. So it's likely he remembers stuff too. Yet...They weren't talking about it. Granted it wasn't something to mention while his parents were around, but still. It's just them now. They're alone. Yet he's acting the same. Like nothing happened. And if he's not going to acknowledge it, then she isn't going to either. Things have changed between them. But at the same time, nothing's changed.

“And...What? You going to finish that or did you lose your train of thought that quickly?”

His voice breaks her thoughts. She shakes her head and palms her forehead.

“Sorry about that. Must be the booze still lurking around in my dumb brain.”

She laughs it off before sighing.

“I was going to say...That and because...”

She gazes up at him, giving him a soft sincere smile.

“Because we're friends.”

He just rolls his eyes.

“Bah. There's nothing sentimental like that involved here. We're associates. Nothing more or less.”

Yep. He's still the same old Jack. And she's still his ever-faithful lapdog.

“Right. Of course, Master Jack.”

Nothing has changed.

Yet that's obviously wrong. Their energy was different. Their behavior has altered. They're grown close.

Change has happened.

Whether they acknowledge it or not.

[justsoohi]

Makoto Yuuki (Gamer's soul) 3*

Work that makes the most of yourself

Characters: Makoto, Sora

Season: Autumn

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Yuuki: uwah... It's cold!?

(I took a walk around the school for a change of pace, but it's getting chilly even after school and it feels like winter already)

(I don't have work or lessons today, I think I'll go home early, warm up, and finsh the games I have piled up)

Sora: HaHa~♪ Yuuki sensei~! sora finally found you!

Yuuki: Hm? What's wrong, Harukawa-kun? It seems you were looking for me...

Sora: Yes! Sora has come to invite Yuuki sensei~ to the game research club!

Yuuki: Such a grand welcoming again... Could it be that you made a new game or something?

Sora: No, it's not. Sora is inviting you because he wanted to play with Yuuki sensei~ in the clubroom today!

Sora always plays with Yuuki sensei~ in the dormitory, so for the first time in a long time, I want to play the game in the Game Research Club!

Yuuki: Ah, is that so... come to think of it, I feel like I haven't been in the clubroom much lately.

If I remember correctly, there were some maniac games that weren't kept in the dormitory at Game Research Club. It might be nice to play with it after a long time...

Well then, I guess I'll impose myself to the clubroom for the first time in a while today♪

Yuuki: Pardon me for intruding…~ it seems Sakasaki-kun isn't here today?

Sora: Yes! Shisho~ seems to be very busy today, so we're alone in the club room.

Yuuki: I see. does that mean Harukawa-kun was a little lonely?

Sora: Ah sora have been exposed! You can play games by yourself. But today, sora feels like he want to play with someone~♪

Yuuki: I know how you feel. Sometimes you want to have fun by yourself, and sometimes you want to get excited with a party play ♪

Sora: HiHi~♪ yes yes, sora knew Yuuki sensei~ could understand how gamers feel~

So, Yuuki sensei~, what would you like to play today?

Yuuki: hmm... let's see

(Recently, with the official release of "VS" live showdown, I've been spending a lot of time playing with the new games.....then..)

Yeah, let's go back to the basics and play little games!

Sora: Little game it is. If that's the case, it should be around here... Ah, found it! Is this okay, Yuuki sensei~?

Yuuki: Great! I feel like it's been so long since I've played that game. I hope I remember the controls......

after a few minutes

Sora: .......There is a gap!

Yuuki: You rushed into the game, Harukawa-kun! It's a counter!

Sora: Whoa......!? sora lost again

Yuuki: Haha, it's an old fighting game. Compared to the latest one, the movements are quite sluggish and the timing of offense and defense is difficult.

Sora: One more round please! Sora can't leave with a loss!

Yuuki: Of course! As long as time permits, you can challenge me as many times as you like!

Sora: Yes!....., Ah... Speaking of time, sora forgot that he had something he wanted to say to Yuuki sensei~!

Yuuki: something to say? Was there more to it than just wanting to play games together?

Sora: Yes! Sora also watched the livestream of the showdown "VS" the other day!

Yuuki sensei~ Congratulations on setting the RTA world record for "VS"!

Yuuki: Ah so Harukawa-kun also saw it. I'm glad you said that, thank you♪

Well, I guess the record has already been rewritten now that the full version has been released.

Sora: HuHu~♪ But the excitement that Yuuki sensei~ showed at that time was special~♪

sora couldn't take his eyes off the battle with the "king of darkness" when you were on the verge of setting a world record!

Yuuki: Haha! If it was that exciting for you, then it was worth my effort.

I never thought I would be asked to work on a game as an idol. That's why I was even more excited than usual.

When I lost to Hidaka-kun by a large margin in the mid-term presentation, I remember wondering how I was going to recover.....

Sora: Yuuki sensei~ You're giving off a warm "color"~

You must've really enjoyed working on the game didn't you~ ♪?

Yuuki: Yes! I feel that working as an idol in my favorite game has made me love this job even more, and my love for games has deepened

As an idol, I am able to make my favorite game more successful together with everyone. And through the game that I love, I have been able to grow as an idol...

If I have the chance, I'd like to do a job related to games again, and I'm thinking now I need to improve my skills on a regular basis in order to be ready for that.

—So, this is not the time to be looking over your shoulder¹, Harukawa-kun!

Sora: Eh... wh, woah!?

Yuuki Sensei~ is so tough isn't he? Sora lost again

Yuuki: Fufu, just now I was only taking advantage of Harukawa-kun who had completely let his guard down.

Sora: That's not all~ Yuuki sensei~, you've become much better at the game than before!

Yuuki: Do you think so...? I don't think I've gotten that good at all though

Sora: But Yuuki sensei~ hasn't lost any of his skill even though it's been a long time since he played.

Also, it's amazing that even if you play while talking, the controls don't become sloppy at all~♪

Yuuki: Come to think of it, I can concentrate on playing while talking more than before.....

Thank you, Harukawa-kun. I realized that only because I played with you today.

Sora: HeHe~♪ you don't have to thank me. Sora had a great time playing with Yuuki sensei ~!

Talking about "VS" makes sora want to play it next~

Yuuki: Oh, Harukawa-kun are you playing "VS" too? How far are you going now?

Sora: Sora has now advanced to the seventh stage boss. But it's so strong that sora can't beat it. Yuuki sensei~ do you know "The black dragon"?

Yuuki: Ah, Yeah that boss has a lot of nasty attacks anyway. I can see why you'd get stuck~.

Sora: Yuuki sensei~ Have you already completed it!? As expected!

By the way, is Yuuki sensei~ going to be doing any more live broadcasts of "VS"? Sora would like to see Yuuki Sensei's playing with commentary again~♪

Yuuki: hmm, Well I don't have any plans to do so at the moment. I feel I'd like to take my time and enjoy the strategy by myself.

Besides, if Harukawa-kun saw what I'm doing right now, it would be a spoiler isn't it...?

I'd love to play multiplayer in Harukawa's kun world, but I'll end up playing in a state where I know the story......

Sora: That's certainly true....!

It's a pity that I can only choose between playing the game for the first time and playing the game with Yuuki Sensei~ in commentary play. Sora wish he could erase his memory and play again...

Yuuki: In that case, let's both clear the first time, and when we start the second round let's meet in either room again

And with a second round, we should be able to watch each other without worrying about spoilers.

Sora: ... But won't sora make Yuuki-sensei wait?

Yuuki: Don't worry! My progress is not so different from Harukawa-kun's. I'm still in the middle stage

So let's compete with each other to see who can clear the first time first.

Sora: HoHo~ Then there's nothing to worry about! If we're going to compete sora is not planning to lose ~♪

Yuuki: Me too. I was in charge of the promotion of the game so I won't give up on winning.

Alright, since that's decided, I'll go back to my dormitory right away and take a look at the "VS" strategy—

Sora: Please wait, Yuuki-sensei~! Our battle isn't over yet~?

Yuuki: Huh? I won the fighting game, right?

Sora: Sora has yet to admit defeat. Yuuki-sensei~ said, "You can challenge me as many times as you want as long as time permits"

There is still some time left before school lets us out. So, let's play with this for a little while longer~♪

Yuuki: I see. So you can't end the game on a losing note. As I thought Harukawa-kun you're really competitive in games aren't you?

But I feel the same. If you want to play and have fun, that's aside but as a gamer, you can't lose!

The time limit is until the chime of the complete dismissal from school rings. Until then, I won't let Harukawa-kun beat me even once. I swear on my gamer soul!

Sora: sora will definitely win against Yuuki-sensei! I won't allow you to win and run like this~♪

End.

............

¹, to worry or think about the possibility that something bad might happen,

[sagaofstardustmkg]

blood meridian: or, the evening redness in the west

[ ♪♪♪ ]

The more the others talk, the more Janelle’s breath snags in her throat and her eyes ache and she fights the urge of her body to begin trembling itself to pieces.

But she makes no movement at all until Nevros’s turn arrives.

Below her dark fathomless eyes, her lips move with theirs from the dry stone to the shadows. 

(Somewhere out past men’s reckoning she feels the movement of their shared stars, as she has felt it many times before, and her soul shudders with the hunger that has eaten them both alive. The glutton and the ascetic are the same, in the end; both die of starvation.

She loves them. She loves all of them.)

And she continues after they stop. A different poem, but one by the same writer. 

“Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow.“

Her eyes close. Another poem, another author. She extends her left hand to Rya, gentle as can be, and the snake slithers up onto them to curl around her shoulders. 

“I saw pale kings and princes too

Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;

They cried — ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci

Thee hath in thrall.’”

Her teeth flash in a bright arc against her skin. The expression is like a smile, except it isn’t, just as the high mad sound that her lungs push out is almost exactly unlike a laugh. 

“That last one’s about her. The faerie queen. Did you know that? Or what people remembered about her by the time it got written. Except — you know, it’s funny — except the last couple years, I’ve started to think it may as well be about me, too.”

La Belle Dame. The monster in Coraline, a book she and Adelaide had read as little girls, was called the Beldam. She draws children into her world with the fantasy of a better life and then refuses to let them leave. Consumes them one piece at a time. The real meat is their feelings, but their eyes go first. 

Janelle’s own eyes open. A tear slips out and she does not seem to notice or care and the corners of her mouth are twitchy. She blinks rapidly, as though suddenly roused from sleep or hit in the face. Really she’s trying to think of what to say. 

The only thing she can think of is, softly, glancing up:

“This isn’t right. I’m still wearing a white hat.”

Sasha senses his moment. He is as he ever was and ever shall be: A gourmand in the field of drama.

“Oh, oh, is it my turn again? Finally! You’re doing a splendid job, you know - but neither of you had outfits prepared! A terrible oversight. Thankfully your good friend Sasha is here to help! Yes! Oh, I am enjoying this.”

The corners of her mouth tighten. And her shadow catches up with her after five long years of running from it.

Darkness descends and she rises from her chair to meet it. 

[ ♪♪♪ ]

It starts, as it should, at the crown of her head, where her hat darkens as though inkstained and its stars fade. Black settles over her shoulders; she slips her arms into its sleeves and allows a ribbon bright as arterial blood to tie itself around her neck. 

“You only think it’s not my fault because you haven’t been here, Petrel. Not really, until these last months.” Her voice is low and soft. “Not like Caleb and I have been here.

“Think he counts as my first victim. Right? Or maybe Ben? I killed them both, Bo. I’ve killed — hundreds of people in this school, dozens of times. Every time we restart, there’s a moment where they all die again because of me. Die in the worst way anyone can. I got let into the temple and I pull all the pillars down again, and again, and again.”

There’s a high mandarin collar and a smart vest shaping themselves around her body and thank God they’re light because she is being loaded up with a hundred thousand crushing tons of understanding and forgiveness, stripped and plunged raw-wounded into a salt bath, given gifts that rash her skin at every touch. 

People are attempting to draw her close because they don’t know she is poison. She cannot allow it.

Why won’t they hate her? Why does she have to do it all herself?

“I carved Yuto’s protection charm and the charms we’ve used to keep Bo from seein’ us with the same knife I used to split Caleb’s throat open like the belly of a fish the first time I realized it was him resetting the loop.

"And the second time. The third. I thought if I killed him, the loops would stop, or. I’d get out. Something. I didn’t mean to hurt all of you when it started, but I meant to hurt him to stop it, and I — I — we came up with the game together. We ran it together. I’ve had moments these last five years where I — “

Emotion is flooding out, she hits this next bit hard with her teeth and tongue. 

“— hated every single one of you so much I couldn’t breathe. I mean, I’ve wanted to — “

a sudden jump in volume

“— SCREAM —”

and back down

“— until my ribs split, watching some of you hurt each other in all the same ways over and over again, every single time. Knowing it was my fault. Knowing I was hurting you and couldn’t stop.”

Trapped in a bubble with these wonderful, beautiful souls that cannot stop tearing each other open, either, regardless of her interference or lack of it. With Yuto, who is good and kind and dies first almost every time. With Mizu, his waves upon waves of uncontrollable feeling. With Mari and her rudeness and Bo and his rudeness and Xueman and — a lot of them are rude. 

Caleb walked to one end of the table when he was caught out, taking his place at the head. She walks to the other. 

“I’ve failed at everything I ever tried to do. The things I said to my sister were the reason she ran away. And when I found the Sun Gate, and went in, I found Adelaide and told her I was going to save her. But I got caught. I told her I was going to save her and then I got thrown out so hard it left a skidmark in the sand, and Dionaea closed the gate for good with Addie still inside. I came here and trusted Sasha and blew up the universe.” 

Her chest hitches.

“I’ve had five extra years in this school with you all, and I’m still — can’t talk to people — couldn’t figure out how to help Yuto or — make friends or — I think it’s only made me less of a person, the more we go on, and — there wasn’t a lot to start with. I’ll never be able to be a whole person again, I don’t think.”

Her face works. She is dangerously close to bursting into either tears or laughter.

“I have done all the worst things you can think of. Any of you. And it’s true I’ve tried to save you some pain. I don’t like hurting any creature on this Earth. But saying any of that makes me a person who cares is like saying one drop in a desert makes it a lake. It just isn’t so. I am not doing anything good. I have not done a good thing since I got here.”

The stone returns to her expression. Comes over it like the dark.

“I am doing what is needful, and I am settling my debts. And I’m about to do the worst thing I’ve ever done. 

Because the focus can’t be stolen, turns out. It can only be given.”

She raises one hand to touch the brim of her hat, tilting it back so they can get a good look at her.

This is Janelle Longbough Carter, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Traitor.

Killer.

Mastermind.

Glassbreaker.

“I’m asking you to give me one more chance to save her.”

[breezingby]

Dark Star ~ Crosby, Stills & Nash !!!

~ ♫♪♫ ~

Forgive me if my fantasies might seem a little shopworn I'm sure you've heard it all before I wonder what's the right form Love songs written for you it's been going down for years But to sing what's in my heart seems more honest than the tears

I am curious Don't want to hurry us I'm intrigued with us Ain't this song a bust I don't care dark star

I met you several years ago The times they were so strange but I had a feeling You looked into my eyes just once An instant flashing by that we were stealing

Another time you felt so bad And I wasn't any help at all as I recall We didn't know quite what to do so we left the wanting be Still there for me and you

Dark star I see you in the morning Dark star a' sleeping next to me Dark star let the memory of the evening Be the first thing that you think of When you open up your smile and see me dark star

It's easy to be with you Even with the storms that rage beneath your search for peace We must make some time together Take the kids and find a world that's ours to keep

Now you've got me dreaming girl It's been so long that I thought that I'd forgotten how My heart is once again my soul We touched we did you know we did no more teasing now

Dark star I see you in the morning Dark star a' sleeping next to me Dark star let the memory of the evening Be the first thing that you think of When you open up your smile and see me dark star

~ ♫♪♫♫♪♫ ~

Dark star I see you in the morning Dark star a' sleeping next to me Dark star let the memory of the evening Be the first thing that you think of When you open up your smile and see me dark star

Let the memory of the evening Be the first thing that you think of When you open up your smile and see me dark star

~ ♫♪♫ ~

[lisxdumbr]

HI LIS !! There's just *something* with the way you organize and do your themes that looks soooo pleasant to visually look at. Not too much and not too less: just right ! ♪

Mhm, this is not hate in any way, shape, or form but I do think the same as well! There is something off about the icon,,,, perhaps the way it's illustrated? That's my guess on it, but you know there's this Trick or Treat card as an alternative, if it's any better !! Still bat motif ^_^

OMG a lil sun... Wow,, heart eyes,, thank you,,, ACTUALLY that is what i think of you. You're very warm and welcoming, it's like your space is a safe haven, no terrors on sight. Just 2wink. I even think of you like yuta in my head while i'm trying to type up messages (admittedly am a person that associates people with their pfps),,,

It's like "Yoohoo!! You have discovered a 2wink secret hideout, would you try to enter it?? There's silly stuff and a nice owner!! " You're not exactly someone that produces some kind of content on your main but there is something!! Rambles aren't frequent, but I love your blog in a way that it draws me to it. To sit down in the little cafe it has and stay. I do not know how to word it properly, but despite the similarities on how main blogs operates, a force of gravity is tugging me here. I hope you get what I mean?? Hopefully!! :')

ALSO Now that I think about it, there's a possibility you could have given me the butterfly emoji if not for me exempting the insects (because they're definitely one of the prettiest emojis to you,, maybe? Apologies if I have mistaken !!) Just so happens they're creatures am afraid of ><

Thank you, as always. <3 Remember that you're special to lots of people if ever you're feeling down !! Best wishes~ My brain wants to go philosophical and say that "Life is Beautiful, but Living it is Not" but I'll wrap things up here for now<3 (actually i am insane i will go send a second ask maybeee)

— 🌻.

+ another ask;

SO. Hi again <3 second ask, as promised. Entirely unsure what to write the moment i tried typing </3

I forgot to tell you that I wish you good luck on your second theme !! <3 Me too, idk how to put a catrin on Mika's face since it's pretty much detailed (<— person who suggested the idea but doesn't know how to execute it) STILL if it's difficult for you, there's a lot of halloween theme options, just in case !!

If it's not too intrusive (?) or maybe privy, please tell me about your day !! good things or bad things, any is fine ! Really. If you want to ramble about it, or get something off for a short while. Though you can choose not to, I understand <3

(Even if it is not about your day, I don't mind you talking about something else ! I just wanted to be able to say something in my future messages !! If that's okay, you know ♪ and feel free to ask things !!)

Some things to share from my side : i am terribly scared of the next featured scout announcement especially the next Event,, rei did not come home and gambling my poor 1k dias might not be the best option !! Love is not real,, I feel your mirage yuta pain so much. Cries. Love does wonderful things like losing dias without having pulled your fave! <///3 It's funny though, he hates me (pretends to not cry).

See you in a bit ! ~

— 🌻.

I decided to reply to both of them in the same ask www I hope you don't mind. BUT HI HII, I HOPE YOU'RE DOING GREAT !!

Please, my themes are just.. themes. there's not a lot going on around (and I take a lot of inspiration out of my friends' themes. have you seen qian's or soren's? uuuu I fall to my knees when I enter to their blogs). And it's ok !! you don't have to feel bad or anything for the criticism, I love scaredy bat Yuu with all my soul but I may try the trick or treat one to see if it's any better 👀

AND,, WAHH. I'm not a sun at all, I actually always considered myself a bit dark. If anything, I'm a moon,, my name kinda comes from the moon so cough lis lore but it makes me really happy that you see me that way !! My blog is currently a 2wink space because I've been very obsessed with them lately...

Honestly it wasn't like that before? Kureibee used to be above them before. Valkyrie too at some point. I always loved 2wink but seeing how they slowly became my top 1 is like "woaH how did this happen? when did they arrive here?" Sometimes I want to believe they chose me (as explained in my 2winkversary ramble (yes I'm cringe))

And ! yeah I never intended to produce anything on my main. Main is just that y'know? I've had this account since 2018 and I've gone through s lot of phases and fandoms, but I'm really comfortable with the community I'm into right now !! I miss a lot of people that were active in enstars fandom aprox a year ago, though... but I hope they're ok.

YYESS, I would've loved to give you a butterfly honestly, but I understand your reasons ! I am very scared of bugs too, though with the years I've been controlling that fear little by little; now I actually love a lot of them ! I learned to appreciate the harmless (← important clarification) little spiders, moths, butterflies, BEES. specially bees. the other day I saw a dragonfly in my school and oh my god they're HUGE I thought they were small,, but it was so pretty ! I'm still scared of, y'know, the horrors. Venomous spiders, wasps, roaches,,, shakes. Also crickets are harmless but they're so horrible oh my god I don't like them (and obviously the list goes on but I believe you get the idea). Sunflower is still fitting though!! Or at least I think so, I really hope you're comfortable with my decision.

Thank you for your good wishes ;; you're really caring and cool, I wish you the best too ! And it's ok, I'm a really philosophical person too. I used to study philosophy when I studied psychology too.. there's a lot going on there.

ー・ー・ー　♡　ー・ー・ー

NOW to the second ask !

Thank you, honestly idk either, I may mix it with other things? It's been a long time since I had a theme of another franchise other than enstars omg.. I think the last one was. at the beginning of the year. I would like to design catrinas based on different characters though 👀 the face paint can vary a looot so I'd like to have a bit of fun with it. (honestly sad that people associate the celebration with Coco thanks to Disney 💧 I mean the movie was cool honestly but. you can't search for culture accuracy in a fantasy movie for kids and I think foreigners don't understand that sometimes 0(-( the best representation we've gotten comes from Monster High I believe. I treasure Skelita with my entire SOUL she was one of my faves when I was little).

You're really kind really wahh. I don't have much to talk about, my life is like a. spiral that goes down. constantly.. I don't want to sadden you or anything, but at least I'm ok !! I have a ton of homework and it's like 💥 but at least I like my classes ! I'm making a painting inspired on Undertale and my next engraving will be Omori themed (and I also want to make an artiswitch one because I lack creativity rn 0(-( ). I have to decide what to make for my drawing final project though. It can be anything, that's what my teacher said, but I want something. something good, something pretty.

Please feel free to come by anytime though!! you're s beloved anon and I'll always welcome you here <3 don't worry about the topic, it can be anything you like.

AND OOOH, anon lore, so you're a ReiP I see? 👀 No because I can't believe Yuta didn't come in 100 pulls, we're over. Now I'm a proud HinataP (Hina loves me for some reason. at least I have his two event scouts.. his FS didn't treat me kindly though). I HOPE YOU GET YOUR REI. grabbing him by the ears and throwing him violently to your account. He will love you. I will make sure he does.

Also as a fun fact, I have this KanataP friend and he pulled trying to get the Kanata 4* and GUESS WHAT. two copies of Rei FS2 in *INDIVIDUAL PULLS* but not s single Kanata. (He also pulled Natsume FS and Yuta FS in the anniv free pulls. Two of my faves and specifically the cards I don't own of them. I blocked him that day, I was so mad with his luck fr).

I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY !! Or had,, I don't know your timezone, it's night here though.

[kinnikinniki]

[English Translation]

葉月ゆら - ブルーベルの森

葉月ゆら - ブルーベルの森 アルバム：Mistletoe -黄昏の妖精歌- 作詞：7chi子♪ 作編曲：矢野トモ(WIZARD ODYSSEY)

Yura Hatsuki - The Bluebell Forest Album: Mistletoe -Twilight Fairysong- Lyricist: 7chi子♪ Composer: Tomo Yano (WIZARD ODYSSEY)

Lyrics:

フェアリーテイル　見渡す限り緑　知ってるようで知らない場所 ココは何処？　つい漏れた声が　独り言じゃなくなった

fearīteiru miwatasukagiri midori shitteru yōde shiranai basho koko wa doko? tsui moreta koe ga hitorigoto janaku natta

Fairytale, green as far as the eye can see, a place familiar yet unknown. Where am I? The voice that then leaked out, wasn’t my own.

「いらっしゃい」と　微笑んだ　浮かぶ華　光る羽 差し出された手に　そっと乗せた　小指が紡ぐストーリー

'irasshai' to hohoenda ukabu hana hikaru hane sashidasa reta te ni sotto noseta koyubi ga tsumugu sutōrī

“Welcome” he grinned. Floating flowers, shining feathers, Were softly placed, in my outstretched hand. His little finger spins a story.

俯く横顔に見惚れる　貴方はブルーベル　青い妖精 導くその先が何処でも　彷徨い続ける　運命でもいい

utsumuku yokogao ni mihoreru anata wa burūberu aoi yōsei michibiku sono-saki ga doko demo samayoi tsudzukeru unmei demo ī

I adore your bowed head, my dear Bluebell, my blue fairy. No matter where he leads me, I’ll keep wandering. It’s okay if it's my destiny.

木漏れ日とも違う淡い光　囀りさえももう　聴こえない 私が誰かは私しか　知らない　それも悪くない

komorebi-tomo chigau awai hikari saezuri sae mo mō kikoenai watashi ga dareka wa watashi shika shiranai sore mo warukunai

This pale light is not the sunlight filtering through the trees anymore, I can’t even hear, the birdsongs, And I’m the only one, who knows who I am, but it's not bad.

「どうしたの？」　触れられた　頬に伝う一滴 理由ごと拭い去るのなら　全て忘れさせて

'dō shita no?' fure rareta hoho ni tsutau itteki riyū-goto nugui saru nonara subete wasure sasete

“What’s wrong?” As I was touched, a tear fell to my cheek. If you want to erase my every reason, let me forget everything.

頷くだけでも麗しい　貴方はブルーベル　甘いパフューム 寂しく独りで咲かせない　青い絨毯に　寝転びましょう

unazuku dake demo uruwashī anata wa burūberu amai pafu~yūmu sabishiku hitori de sakasenai aoi jūtan ni nekorobimashou

Even your nod is beautiful, my dear Bluebell, my sweet perfume. You can't bloom when you’re lonely and alone. Let’s lie down, on the blue carpet.

噓と真実　意志と誘い　光と影　曖昧模様 振り返っても未知はない

uso to shinjitsu ishi to sasoi hikatokage aimai moyō furikaette mo michi wanai

Lies and truth, will and temptation, light and shadow, ambiguous patterns. Even as I look back, nothing is unknown.

俯く横顔に見惚れる　貴方はブレーベル　青い妖精 導くその先が何処でも　彷徨い続ける　運命でもいい

utsumuku yokogao ni mihoreru anata wa burūberu aoi yōsei michibiku sono-saki ga doko demo samayoi tsudzukeru unmei demo ī

I adore your bowed head, my dear Bluebell, my blue fairy. No matter where he leads me, I’ll keep wandering. It’s okay if it's my destiny.

頷くだけでも麗しい　貴方はブルーベル　甘いパフューム 寂しく独りで咲かせない　青い絨毯に　寝転びましょう

unazuku dake demo uruwashī anata wa burūberu amai pafu~yūmu sabishiku hitori de sakasenai aoi jūtan ni nekorobimashou

Even your nod is beautiful, my dear Bluebell, my sweet perfume. You can't bloom when you’re lonely and alone. Let’s lie down, on the blue carpet.

Notes:

This is a song about a girl being turned into a flower. Despite being a brighter song than her typical gothic style, it is still dark and twisted in a lovely way.

How many souls are in the blue "carpet"?

Honestly, Mistletoe is one of my favorite Yura Hatsuki albums. Its such a different style for her which really shows how versatile she can be! I really hope we get some more ethnic folk music from her in the future!

Pronouns aren't often used in Japanese, so I took some liberties adding some pronouns based on who I thought was delivering the line in the story, but there is actually no suggestion of gender.

🪻Please consider buying this album to support Yura Hatsuki on her booth!🪻

[knowlessman]

lol, forgot this show was a thing for a whole month. um, there's more nomus, there's smart nomus I think, endeavor fucking died except he didn't, anyway now it's movie time so probably nothing relevant to the current plot will happen and also nothing in this movie will become relevant to the plot even if it should. (bnha movie 2, heroes rising)

cg cars I think? ohey it's Lizardman from Every Villain Is Lemons. and some buckethead rando who looks like they wandered in from Dark Souls. and that… dude… the lock guy, forget his name. -- did yall fucking kidnap actual literal vegeta from dragonball

yooo it's fukken happening, Dancing Boy's fighting Frowny Man, I didn't think that was til next season

so they were actually just transporting solid snake?

(intro spiel) ♪ and then one sunny afternoon, All Might came to say... ♪

beach episode stuffs ig, no notes cept why did they have to intro mineta first

...tokoyami can fly? in broad daylight? is that, like... is that legit, or just movie-show inconsistency?

("you took an hour to find a lost kid? I'm gonna leave a bad review") should've scolded that kid back for making a fake call and wasting time that could've been spent responding to an emergency

bakugo: "I'm reserve, that means I can lie around and do fuckall unless a villain shows up" -- "cool, thanks for volunteering for guard duty" 'XD got his ass

"hurry up and master that quirk so I can fight you" bakugo continuing to think he's in dragonball

poor hat kid crying wolf. that sister of his is gonna owe him three buckets of ice cream for the chewing-out bakugo will probably give them

I thought the hero-nerfing darts were, like, resolved? Eri got rescued, but I guess there are still a lot of unused darts? -- ah, maybe they've just managed to replicate All for One.

holy shit they got jim carrey for this movie

"the next time you could come home was in ten days, right?" are these kids just completely unsupervised for ten days? don't they at least have a grandparent watching them? no wonder they can't find anything better to do than make prank calls -- dilf legoshi hates trucks? not clickbait?

k, confirmed then, psycho mantis or wever can steal quirks. …and he has mega-explosive farts that pulverise skyscrapers in the background and throw lightning everywhere whenever he does it. (he should probably take something for that.) -- now, I've never played the Metroid Prime games (cept Hunters and it probably doesn't count), but even I know a Phazon overdose when I see one

"you picked the wrong person to taunt!" "katsuki baku… oh! you're that guy that got taken hostage by the slime monster that one time, right?" -- "what's up with that guy, anyway?" A LOT. -- pokemon npcs, that's who these kids look like. they got "level 4 Caterpie" written all over them.

okay, dilf legoshi is on some cool shit. top-tier design right here for a filler villain

"an invisible wall made of air? wow, I definitely didn't just finish kicking someone's ass who had that exact quirk."

"what? the guy whose power is making explosions exploded his way out of my bandages!"

"I can't steal it… no, I don't have enough free spaces to steal them all…" shoulda bought more ram. that is interesting, tho; the previous avatars won't let One for All be stolen (or it just counts as as many quirks as it's had wielders, or maybe adds quirks to its, like, payload when a wielder has one?).

(giant inflatable-mascot-looking deku illusion) …hehe. kid could have a future in advertising.

"ha! I have air maneuverability, so I can get around your shields!" "in response, I summon yellow eyes blue dragon in attack mode!"

-- "detroit sma-" "holding priority, fartocalypse into forked lightning!"

"what happened to the villain we caught?" "you mean the one bakugo blasted in the face with nitroglycerin at point-blank range? he's tied up in the basement, but he's not talking much. probably because his lungs, teeth and entire fucking head got Galick-Gunned into oblivion"

good pep talk happening, but when does some kinda plan show up -- …okay this is actually an awesome plan, and not only takes into account everything the heroes know, but correctly guesses the villains' whole deal. …how the hell are the villains sposed to compete with this? 'XD I guess psycho mantis probably has some tricks left he hasn't shown, but they'll need some other aces in the hole. or at least to not try to come in via the front door.

dilf legoshi lights his cigar with his own fire breath. …damn this guy's cool. I mean, how many characters have fire breath, and I've never seen one do that.

they seriously have nothing to throw at psycho mantis but rocks tho, huh. they did say they gotta keep their distance, I guess. and it wouldn't be *heroic* to make spears or whatnot.

"we poisoned our weapons with a toxic mucus made by asui, who by the way can also turn invisible now." …hah????? is any of this shit canon? is this movie actually set a few episodes into s5? what gives? aoyama has also been firing lasers from his shoulders and stuff, and I don't think I've seen him do that before either. -- daaamn, dilf legoshi also knows hyper beam?

uh-oh, they got psycho mantis to his limit, but it looks like he's juicing with more Phazon to surpass it -- daaang, he's got cg thunder clouds going now. he's going super fartocalypse god super fartocalypse -- he's also got doc ock tentacles except they're dragons from yugioh

second time this movie these dumbass kids have been told to run from the villain and just sat there -- …kid, your quirk is illusions. like, okay, that didn't work last time either, but still, running TOWARDS the bad guy? and your brother is STILL just sitting there

"you did a good job, katsuma" no he fucking didn't, he ran AT the bad guy, maybe hoping his quirk would suddenly turn into something that could attack -- oh NOW you run

"but how did you avoid the lightning?" "we used kaminari as a lightning rod" 'XD harsh, but a legitimate strategy

"what would all might do?" idk, win? all might doesn't have half the brains you do, deku, I don't think he's ever made a plan in his life -- "the power to transfer power…" oh hell no, bakugo is the LAST person you should be trusting with this. deku, for all your brains, how do you still find it in you to assume the best of a guy who has bullied you relentlessly and unrepentantly your entire life?

(flashback) I forgot all for one doesn't have fucking eyes, wtf, he's got overgrown skin where his eyes should be

"besides, I'm sure all might would say it's fine if it's you" jesus christ, all might is an idiot and even he knows better than that. you may be the plan guy but you got a blind spot bigger than the sun. good thing this is a movie so nothing in it sticks.

"wh-what is this?" …so wait, you both did detroit smash and opened the clouds and shit and some lady started singing the star spangled banner or wevertf and you DIDN'T EVEN HIT THE BAD GUY WITH IT -- YOU BOTH HAVE FUCKING PURPLE ARMS AND YOU DID NOT EVEN HIT THE BAD GUY WITH IT??? HE'S STANDING RIGHT THERE TAUNTING AND POWERING UP WTF YOU JUST WASTED SO MUCH

this is some good-ass animation that they've decided to mute and set to America's football halftime showtune (it's just all slow and loud and showy so it makes me think of that, I have no idea what the actual song is but I think most of it's in English)

I'll say this about the last quarter, I like the bad guy's purple energy butterfly wings

"sayonara, one for all, I leave you in the most abusive, self-centered person I know's homicidal hands" -- "the predecessors gave them a miracle…" okay so maybe all might doesn't know better, but the previous avatars do and rejected vegeta, thank fuck

"good night, Nine. good work." but he didn't do anything here. also can handface eat people's quirks too?

"vegeta doesn't remember anything about the transfer of one for all…" again, thank fuck. I guess they knew he'd be impossible to write from there without officially making him an antagonist. hell, how often does a movie have to specify one character not remembering the events from it? (I know, from the writer's perspective it's just that he would talk about it, but really, they're way too generous to his personality in general)

the kid's only got a healing quirk, stop telling him he'll be a hero, he'll think he's a front-liner when he can do no good there. the back line is just as important.

eh. end part was a little annoying, but was good movie overall. Pretty much everybody got to do cool shit, and the action bits were cool.

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Cater Diamond Ceremonial Robe Personal Story: Part 1

"Want to play a guessing game?"

Part 1 (Part 2)

[Mirror Chamber]

[overlapping chatter]

Cater: Oohhー The new students are all in a row! They've assembled in full force♪

Trey: Of course they have, Cater. That's because it's the entrance ceremony.

Trey: From the ones who are frozen stiff from nervousness, to the ones who can't settle down at all... I don't know whether to think of them all as naïve or boisterous.

Cater: I wonder if you were just as cute two years ago, Trey-kun～?

Trey: I absolutely don't remember.

Cater: I probably took a picture, y'know. Of you from our first year.

Trey: You don't have to show me.

Cater: Well, there is that one person who wasn't at all naïve from the moment they entered the school.

???: You new students over there. 4 rows from the right, you three at the back!

Riddle: Are you not able to stay silent during the ceremony, at a minimum?

Riddle: Next time you whisper, it'll immediately be off with your head. Be sure to bear that in mind.

Cater: Whew～ Riddle's super loud and clear today too. I'm almost getting chills down my spine.

Trey: For Riddle, this is the first entrance ceremony after he was appointed Dorm Leader.

Trey: He's probably nervous.

Cater: I say today, but he's irritable every day.

Trey: Well then… The dorm sorting ceremony is starting soon.

Cater: It's here～～♪

Trey: I'm curious as to what type of folks are going to join us this year? It would be great if they are students who are calm and have common sense.

Cater: I want someone who's cheerful and easy to get along with～ Oh, but not one who can't read the room, y'know! That'd be troublesome.

Cater: I have an idea! Want to play a guessing game as to who'll join Heartslabyul?

Cater: Whoever's wrong has to volunteer to watch over the first years at the welcome party after this.

Trey: It feels like whenever you make those kinds of joking statements, you always seem to lose.

Cater: I don't know, I've always had a good eye when it comes to watching people～

Trey: Fine then. We can only observe the new students while their souls are being sorted, anyway.

Cater: So then… Let's start the "(2,000,00)1st Heartslabyul New Student Guessing Game"♪

Cater: Let's go straightaway with the first person. I wonder if that student will join Heartslabyul～?

Cater: Uwa～ What a rough looking guy! That's a no vote for me. I don't think our flashy dorm uniform would suit him, anyway.

Trey: I also vote that he won't join us.

Trey: If I were to infer from historical patterns, a majority of beastfolk tend to be assigned to Savanaclaw.

Dark Mirror: The shape of your soul is… Savanaclaw!

Cater: Yep, there it is～ When it's your third time attending the entrance ceremony, you start to be able to read how the Dark Mirror makes its choices.

Cater: Next is the second person. I wonder if that student will join Heartslabyul～?

Cater: Yep, my vote is that kid will come to us!

Trey: What's your reasoning for that?

Cater: He's by far the cutest～! If he had an older sister, don't you think she would be a total stunner?

Trey: Rather than a prediction, that's just your own wishes. Besides, isn't it possible that he might not even have an older sister to begin with?

Cater: Even so, he'll have a mom. …Hey, I'm joking, I'm joking!! Trey-kun, did you fall for it?

Trey: I vote that he also won't be joining us.

Cater: Don't ignore me～

Cater: Next is the fifth person…

Cater: Next is the tenth person…

Riddle: ――Now, does that conclude the entrance ceremony and the dorm sorting?

Riddle: Listen up, you new students. I am the law in Heartslabyul.

Riddle: Understand that anyone who defies me will lose their heads.

Cater: The "Heartslabyul New Student Guessing Game" has finished～! And, as expected, the outcome is――?

Trey: Too bad, Cater. It's my win, 5 to 4.

Trey: So have fun watching over the new students. That first year with the auburn hair seems to be pretty lively.

Cater: Man! I lost…

Cater: And on top of that, Pomefiore took that cuuute lavender-haired first year…

Part 1 (Part 2)

Requested by Anonymous.

[buckyismybicycle]

Hold Onto Me: Chapter 2

Pairing: WS!Bucky x Reader (musician) Rating: Teen for now, Explicit later Tags/Warnings: canon-typical violence, canon-divergent, angst, fluff, music soothes the soul y’all, so many other tags to come Summary:  You happen to get caught in the Winter Soldier’s attack one day, but you don’t expect to ever see him again. You definitely don’t expect him to show up at your home, bleeding. You definitely, definitely don’t expect to want to go on the run with him.

♬ ♪ ♫ You could be my luck Even if the sky is falling down, I know that we'll be safe and sound We're safe and sound, I could fill your cup You know my river won't evaporate, this world we still appreciate You could be my luck Even in a hurricane of frowns, I know that we'll be safe and sound (safe and sound) We're safe and sound (safe and sound) ♬ ♪ ♫

When you wake up, there’s a crick in your neck and you stiffly raise your head from the back of the couch, where it had evidently dropped and remained for the entire night. You stretched, and smiled as the blanket dropped into your lap, knowing that you hadn’t grabbed it yourself last night.

The blood stains are faint, like he’d tried to get them out, but other than that, he might as well have been a dream.

You followed the news a lot more closely following your encounters, not sure if you were hoping to catch wind of him or not. You suppose that you should be glad if he’s laying low.

Every now and then you look up the Winter Soldier just to see, but it’s always the same. Unsourced articles and blog entries with blurry pictures or video clips that shook so much you wouldn’t be able to tell a person from a moose in it. It was like he was a myth, like a yeti that appeared once in a while just to get stitched up.

You weren’t complaining, of course. To feel useful… It felt nice. Even if your “patient” was a fugitive. You vowed to ask him when you saw him next, why he was doing this. Why was he so different around you? He couldn’t possibly be the war criminal in these stories. He stalks around like a cat - a scared one - and he follows your instructions when you tell him to sit. He watches Jeopardy with you. There is no way that he’s the ruthless killer they claim.

It was a long two and half months before you saw him again, by chance. You had been at Noir Café doing an evening set and it was dark outside, but it was unmistakable. His stature, his gait, the hair - you were going to call out to him but realized you had no idea what his name was. And you definitely weren’t going to run around calling him “Winter”.

“Hey,” you whispered down the alley. “Are you okay?” You started to take a step into the alley. You couldn’t see for shit further down but the dim street light was just enough for you to make out the cut above his eyebrow, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. You reached one hand up and startled when he flinched backward, harsh.

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay,” you tried to remain calm. “It’s me… [y/n].” It felt a little silly since you’d never actually introduced yourself. You raised your hand again, slowly and his eyes watched your hand inching toward him. You could tell that something was off - it was like he didn’t know who you were. Like he hadn’t broken into your house before. Did he know you’d been leaving the window open for him ever since the first visit?.

This cut healed much quicker, given how much smaller it was than his other wounds. Once you were satisfied with the closing of the wound, you wiped what you could of the blood away so that it didn’t drip into his eye. You were about to rummage around in your purse to see if you could at least find a tissue but he took off down the alley, and you heard a slight rattling of the fence, so you assumed he had jumped over and was long gone.

You really couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t the same person. Each night, you hoped for his safety, selfishly wishing that he’d come back to you.

The next time you saw him, he was back in your living room, his eyes calculating but calm. You didn’t want to rock the boat, so you didn’t ask about the alley, but you started to talk to him to fill the silence. Surprisingly, he didn’t have any wounds to mend and you wondered what that could mean. Did he come just to… hang out? Was that something that worldwide wanted assassins did? Two hours had passed and you refused to sleep lest he slip out again and you never knew how long it could be until you saw him again. You get up from the couch.

“Hey, are you hungry?” You ask him. There’s an entire crockpot of chicken tortilla soup and even you were getting hungry again, which was surprising given your constant lack of appetite.

He blinked up at you and some dangerous part of your brain thought he’s like a puppy before remembering he probably had at least half a dozen knives strapped on his body right now. You held his gaze as you very, very slowly brought your hands up to his face. Hovering, you saw that he tensed but didn’t pull away. You tried your best to smile reassuringly and simply placed your hands on either side of his face. The tips of your fingers rested on his cheeks while your palms laid on his mask, cold and hard under your touch. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, like he didn’t understand what you were doing but his muscles had stopped tensing. You gently let your hands slide to the back of his head, his hair surprisingly soft against your skin.

“Can I take this off?” Your fingers rested on the clasp. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t shake his head either. He gazed up at you, and you thought that - maybe - he was giving you permission. You undid the clasp, peeling it away from the back of his head. His hands came up to grab your wrists and you froze, but not out of fear. You let him take control and after a minute, he lowered his hands, taking you - and the mask - down with him. He was just as handsome as you remembered from the first time you’d met him.

You smile brightly at him, and set the mask down on the table. Your fingers lightly trace over the deep red line it’s left behind.

“Why do they do this to you?” You whisper. You have no idea who “they” are, but you’re certain nobody would do this to themselves. He looks away, but there’s something like - regret or shame, that flickers across his face.

“Do you need... help?” You didn’t know what on earth you could possibly offer him, but you try anyway and he vehemently shakes his head.

“Okay, okay,” you placate him, urging him to sit down. “Hey, would you… would you tell me your name? Or something you want me to call you? It feels silly that I don’t know.”

He just shakes his head and you try not to be too disappointed. You grab him some water and place it on the table again. With the mask gone, you had expected him to take it this time but he still stares at it.

“You know it’s for you, right?” You nudge it towards him. “You can have whatever you’d like.”

He looks at you and looks back at the bottle, confused. He rolls up his sleeve, revealing a few fading track marks which means they must have been recent given his healing. You don’t know why he’s showing you this when you were just offering him a bottle of wa -

Oh. My god. The realization hits you like a freight train and you forget to breathe for a moment. The muzzle, the track marks - giving him water through an IV.

“I knew it,” you whispered, dropping in front of where he’s seated on the couch. “It’s not you, is it? Someone’s - doing this to you.” Your eyes search his, looking for the truth. He might have no idea what you were asking him but he looks away from you anyway to stare at the wall.

“You deserve better,” you murmured, afraid your voice would betray you. Instinctually, you wrapped your arms around his midsection, sniffling into his chest. How could you reduce someone to this? What do they have on you…

He was so still in your hold it was like he stopped breathing, but you were also embarrassed that you had started to cry.

“I’m sorry,” you hiccuped. “I’m sorry, you don’t deserve this.” And as you babbled on, he eventually let his body accept your touch, his hand playing with a strand of your hair as you continued to try and convey your heartbreak to him.

 ♬ ♪ ♫ Hit me like a ray of sun Burning through my darkest night You're the only one that I want Think I'm addicted to your light ♬ ♪ ♫

Things had changed since that night. He appeared twice the next week, which was incredibly rare. It made you feel that maybe you’d formed some sort of connection. Knowing that he was being forced in some capacity made you more determined to get through to him.

The first time he speaks, you nearly trip over your feet as you two were going to settle in for an episode of Jeopardy! His voice is softer than you expected it to be, a little shy and raspy like he’s not used to talking. It makes you terribly sad and you ask a million questions just to hear him speak. You had felt brave enough to ask him more questions about himself, but he answered with mostly shrugs and shaking his head.

His name is Bucky, he’s pretty sure. And you’re pretty sure it’s just a nickname but it suits him, so you make sure to call him that any chance you can, to remind him he’s human. Bucky, Bucky, Bucky.

“If you… Need anything. If there’s anything I can do,” you stress again while holding his hand. His hands were large, and rough even though his scars all heal over time. There are still some calluses that have formed so many times on top of each other you’re not sure any amount of healing capabilities would smooth them out again. “There has to be a way. You could run. I could help you. I’d come with you.”

You have no idea why the hell you would say something so stupid, but it was out there already. He was an internationally renowned killer, you were… nothing. He just looks at you, his mouth curled up in a grin before he shakes his head. You feel your cheeks heat up with embarrassment, feeling like a child. You reverted to something that would change the topic entirely, something that had always been your passion and made you forget about everything except the music.

You take out your guitar, a little worn and covered in so many stickers you couldn’t tell what colour the guitar actually was. Warming up, you closed your eyes and felt the familiar rush of performing - anywhere could be a stage to you.

“Remember those walls I built, well, baby, they're tumbling down And they didn't even put up a fight, they didn't even make a sound I found a way to let you win, but I never really had a doubt Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now It's like I've been awakened, every rule I had you break it It's the risk that I'm taking, I ain't never gonna shut you out Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace Baby, I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace You're everything I need and more. it's written all over your face Baby, I can feel your halo, pray it won't fade away I can feel your halo, halo, halo I can see your halo, halo, halo Hit me like a ray of sun. burning through my darkest night You're the only one that I want. think I'm addicted to your light I swore I'd never fall again. but this don't even feel like falling Gravity can't forget. to pull me back to the ground again I can feel your halo, halo, halo I can see your halo, halo, halo”

BUCKY

He feels the air leave his lungs as your voice fills the room, his ears, his heart. It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful, he thinks and he is so fucking thankful that your eyes are closed so you don’t witness his crisis.

He licks his lips because they’ve gone dry since your first note and he has to reign himself in. His thoughts are almost cohesive today, and it’s a good day, he never wants it to end. He desperately takes in every word you sing, every strum of your fingers, the smile on your face as though nothing else existed in the world.

It’s funny that you’ve picked this song, because he feels every word.

Remember those walls I built. well, baby, they're tumbling down And they didn't even put up a fight. they didn't even make a sound

How did he end up here so quickly? Trusting you, coming to you for help. Something about your voice nails him in place, and he can’t turn away, even if he wanted to. He can’t remember the last time he’s even heard music. HYDRA sure as shit never had anything playing in the background. He has goosebumps from just your first few lines.

I found a way to let you in, but I never really had a doubt Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now

He hadn’t meant to - he still doesn’t know why he remembered you out of all the faces in his head, doesn’t know why he chose to come to your little bungalow. And he’s been stuck ever since. As you smile brighter, your eyes screwed shut as your voice hits a higher note, he really thinks you were sent to save him. His Angel. And maybe it was too late for him, but you were one hell of a way to go.

He thinks about your small, steady hands on his body, how it was the first touch he hadn’t flinched away from in god knows how long.

It's like I've been awakened, every rule I had you break it It's the risk that I'm taking, I ain't never gonna shut you out

Christ, this was a terrible idea. There are rules - not just his handlers’ rules, but his own rules. He was The Asset… but he knows that he also isn’t? He’s unstable, and you, glowing in the sunset spilling into your living room, should be nowhere near this mess.

Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace Baby, I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace

Saving grace. Embrace - when you’d held him and cried and he’d nearly cracked the damn titanium from clenching his fist so he didn’t do something stupid like hug you back. Christ. The way you say baby and it’s - that word is affectionate, it makes him think of the fair - a ferris wheel - lips on his. He knows it’s just a song, but your words are like a spell, rendering him weak. Shit, he is so fucked.

When you finish your song, he can do nothing but stare at you in awe.

♬ ♪ ♫

“That song always reminds me a lot of you,” you say shyly. He’s looking at you with a different kind of light in his eyes and for a while, neither of you speak.

“There’s a lot of songs that remind me of you,” you swallow nervously, putting your guitar back in its case before walking back over to him. “I hope that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable… That I think about you often.” You have no idea who this girl is, brazenly flirting with an assassin when you are normally as shy and awkward as can be, but music has always given you strength, hasn’t it? He stands up from the couch and takes the last step to close the gap between you too. His eyes are alive and searching yours, you find yourself thinking that if he wanted an invitation he should’ve taken the open windows as a sign.

You bring your hands to his face again, so glad that he always lets you take off that damn muzzle as soon as he sneaks in. His eyes close peacefully and leans forward until your foreheads touch. Your heartbeat picks up as you angle your head upward, both of you creeping closer to finally connect your lips, and you both move so slowly it was almost as if time itself had stopped. His arms settle around your waist and a large hand is splayed across your shoulder blades, holding you close.

Maybe, it’s been a while for both of you, because you’re instantly hungry for more. You don’t even lose connection to breathe, feeling his breath ghost across your cheeks. When you feel him shift like he was going to pull back, you wrap one hand around his neck, the other fisting the front of his shirt to pull him back to you, and he comes so, so easily. As your kiss grew, you could feel him smile against your lips and your heart soared. You couldn’t help but return the smile.

“This is a bad idea,” he murmurs against your lips, but it’s completely unconvincing as he can’t find the will to pull away and his words get lost against your tongue.

“Is it?” You ask him, even though you know he’s right. He hasn’t pulled back any further, and he kisses you again instead which is all the answer you need.

“Yes,” he answers (lies). But neither of you seem to care as his hands glide down your sides causing you to shiver. You run your fingers through his hair.

“I don’t want to stop though,” you say, body burning with desire and warmth.

“I don’t either,” he whispered against your lips. “But I have to go.”

Panic fills your chest because –

“You’ll come back, right?” You ask, hating how small and clingy you sound.

“I will,” he vows. With one last kiss, you watch him leave out your window, your gut telling you to stop him - to keep him here, but he’s told you enough to know that you can’t do anything. You just have to trust him.

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