#(even before you disappeared you weren’t allowed to be a caretaker)

[outer-edges]

r/regretfulparents is my hellscape. i know most of them are just going through hard times and venting and probably don't actually regret it but like. i genuinely think motherhood would be my most awful prison. the whole sub is like the scariest horror game the internet has to offer for me.

[itsabouttimex2]

I loved the reactions to the lady bone demon defendant! But what about LBD reacting to it? Platonic of course, but would she try to manipulate them? Perhaps get them to join her willingly or by force?

Descendant of the Lady Bone Demon: Part Three

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three)

Maybe they should've seen this coming. Maybe there were a few warning signs they didn't pick up on. Looking back on it now, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? All those little things should've added up a long time ago.

The way the room grew silent and tense when you walked in, no matter how how exuberant it had been prior. How you manage to sneak up on everyone without even trying, as though you had no presence. The wide berth that strangers give you, even though they can't explain why. That last one had been particularly strange for your friends. They hadn't understood why people would treat you so coldly, not back then.

They understand now.

Just because someone loves you doesn’t mean that they want the best for you.

The man that Megapolis calls their ‘Mayor’ has somehow become your most enduring caretaker thus far. Everyone that came before him had either given you up after a few scarce months of guardianship, disappeared without a trace, or succumbed to some kind of sickness.

Frequently, the blame had been put on you. If a child gets passed through foster home after foster home after foster home and never acclimates to any of them, there’s a conclusion that many will draw- the child isn’t trying hard enough.

Never mind how many of your guardians would leave you locked outside for hours on end, well into the freezing cold night.

Never mind how often they ‘forgot’ to properly feed and clothe you, pocketing the allotted care salary for themselves.

Never mind often you weren’t allowed to explore the temporary houses outside of your own room, kept away from areas meant for ‘real’ family.

Never mind often how you were fed box-mix macaroni-and-cheese while your foster family ate real meat and vegetables.

Never mind any of that, of course.

The problem was obviously you, your ‘families’ had decided. And so had their friends and extended families, and even the system that threw you from one miserable little home to the next, leaving you with no one and next to nothing. All that you owned you carried around in a disposable plastic sack, never bothering to unpack and try to settle in.

You’d be gone in another month or two anyways.

Until you had been introduced to the mayor of Megapolis, that had been all the life you had ever known.

With one hand firmly on your back, he leads you into his house, a discreet building hidden away in quiet part of the city. It stands proudly above you, an ancient building refitted time and time again to suit the ever-changing trends of time. The walls are painted in elegant grays and a variety of tastefully selected blues, providing a clean and refined atmosphere.

It wasn’t often that you could truly call a temporary home clean. And this was certainly the first time you could apply an adjective such as ‘elegant’ to a building.

So many houses run-down from lack of care, pet urine long-seeped into fraying carpets, worn cots covered in dust and packed six or eight to one crumbling room.

His arm shifts down your back and to your wrist, holding tight. With such unnervingly wide eyes and the rictus grin he sports, you should be scared.

You should be scared that he’ll hurt you. But you’ve lived a life that’s proven to you a single fact: getting hurt is inevitable.

No matter how much you come to trust someone or how long you live with them- there’s no love or kindness. Just an always-ticking clock, counting down until the moment they break and throw you out quicker then they would toss trash.

But there’s no bruising grip this time. No harsh shoves. No unkind words. No molded side room that smells of bleach and detergent.

“Welcome home, Y/N!” he calls out with a much too loud tone, grinning ear to ear. “I hope you like your new room!”

It’s… actually nice. Not ‘for your standards’ nice. It’s ‘hotel’ nice. ‘Lavish guest room’ nice.

The longer you spend basking in the pleasantly smooth greys and blues of your new room, the more welcoming they feel.

“Thanks,” you manage to say, hoping that you weren’t ‘too late with gratitude’ as you had been so many times before according to many, many caretakers.

“Why, of course!” The grey-clad man pats your back with far too much force, pushing you inside with a stretched grin. “Please, get comfortable! I hope you’ll enjoy your- hopefully- very long stay!”

The door slams behind you, but doesn’t lock. That’s good, you think. You could leave, if you wanted to. You weren’t just trapped in here until your case worker came and asked for you.

And you think that might be the case when he knocks on the door hours later, probably to hand you a metaphorical eviction notice and throw you out because he got ‘unnerved’ like everyone always does-

And you are instead invited downstairs for a hot drink.

How could you say no?

The fireplace is hot, stoked by old papers strewn between the logs inside. If you looked closer, you’d see the names of your previous caretakers and case workers, printed onto them in neat lettering, all in a short, succinct list. And you’d notice the big ‘missing persons report’ stamped in bright red.

But the tea is warm and sweet, and the ‘Mayor’ has his arm around your shoulders as he holds you a little too close-

And you’re naive and desperate enough to consider this safe.

The Lady Bone Demon watches from within. She’s an ever-present force creeping through your veins, ice-cold and unearthly. Her power courses your blood, pumping slow. She feels through your hands. She sees through your eyes. She hears through your ears.

There’s no escape from her.

Carefully, the Lady sows and reaps your suffering. From the confines of your flesh, she makes note of all that brings you to tears, all that brings you to your knees.

In pulses, she strengthens you. Where you walk, crystals grow, smothering flowers and grass in your unknowing wake.

In waves, she activates the powers lying dormant in your veins. Bones buried deep underground shift and stir, waiting eagerly to heed your call.

In surges, she unleashes her presence, staining your eyes the color of a deathly cold ocean. All but a select few retreat in droves, leaving you to wonder what you’ve done to deserve your loneliness.

It is nothing short of cultivation. Within you blooms a small seed of her power, and she stokes it from the inside. The bud of cold blue slowly blooms, rooting deep through your blood. In time, she weaves those roots further and further into the fertile soil of your flesh, ensuring that they may never be pulled free without the utter destruction of your life.

A flower; unremovable, of crystalline sinew and careful tending, a slow and creeping overtake of your life woven by hands unseen. A growing mote of power to be plucked and consumed, taken as part of a greater whole when the day finally comes that you bloom.

And what a wonderful sacrifice you shall make for her cause.

[hurtmyfavsthanks]

Febuwhump Day 27 ALT: Found Footage

Content warnings: none

The police had sent them the video a month after Whumpee’s disappearance. They’d only done so because Caretaker had threatened to sue if they didn't.

“Hey um…Caretaker if you’re seeing this, I’m probably dead. God knows I wouldn’t let you go through my phone otherwise.”

It was Whumpee. Their voice was hushed, barely above a whisper. The video was dim, grainy.

“I just…god, there’s so much I wanna say. I can’t seem to shut up most of the time, but the one time I wanna talk…”

Whumpee’s expression was pitched, their lips pulled into a forced, anxious smile. Their eyes shone with tears. The phone was shaking in their hands.

Caretaker couldn’t tell where they were from the video alone. Somewhere dark and cramped, shadows surrounding them on all sides. Their knees were tucked to their chest, one arm wrapped around their legs while the other clutched the phone.

“I’m sorry. I just–I didn’t mean for this to happen. I thought this was all over. But I guess I’ve never been that lucky, have I?”

There was a tittering to their words, near hysterical in cadence. Caretaker could see tears beginning to slip down their cheeks.

Whumpee let out a gasping half-sob.“I’m going to miss you. I’m going to miss you so damn much. There’s so much–so much I wanted us to do together.”

The phone trembled in Caretaker’s hands. They bit their lips and forced the tears away. They had to focus.

“I love you. Just—forget about me, okay? I want you to be happy, more than anything else. Don’t try to f—,”

There was the sound of a door being forced open, a streak of dim, natural light entering the room. Someone shouted, tone firm yet words indiscernible. The sound echoed.

Whumpee flinched at the noise, eyes widening with terror. They turned towards the noise, their hold on the phone shifting with the movement–

Caretaker paused the video. For a single frame, in between Whumpee turning and then hastily ending the recording, something could be seen. A serial and model number, printed onto a rusted piece of machinery. It was near impossible to read in the dimness of the room. But Caretaker wouldn’t let something like impossibility stop them.

It was an old model of industrial washer. It’d been discontinued nearly a decade ago for structural issues. Only a few thousand models ever sold. That’d made it easier to track those that had been sold down.

Caretaker took a moment to confirm their work. Sure enough, the ID in the video matched that of the rusted wash that sat before them, tucked away in the corner of an abandoned warehouse.

The police hadn’t found this place, they hadn’t even bothered. They’d simply labeled Whumpee the victim of a random act of violence, declared them missing, and allowed the case to go cold. As if Whumpee weren’t important enough to search for. As if searching for them would cause a problem for the police.

“I would never forget about you,” Caretaker whispered, shaking. They swallowed thickly, steeled themselves, and began searching the area.

[whump-about-it]

Sponge bath/ Infection/ “Lets get you cleaned up”

@whumpril day 22

CW: infections, passing out, mild hallucinations, fever. 

The room seemed to be wavering around Whumpee. The floor kept shifting and tilting at odd angles, and the walls didn’t appear to be shifting with it. Instead they kept elongating and shrinking at random intervals. Whumpee couldn’t look at anything straight on or else the constant movement of the room was going to make them nauseous. When they tried to take a step they stumbled on the moving floor and had to grab onto the chair next to them to keep their knees from buckling. 

Their mouth was dry, and their ears were beginning to ring. Whumpee tried to grip the chair harder to ground themselves. Get a control on their body and the shaking room. They knew they should know what was going on, but their brain was moving so sluggishly they couldn’t think of what had happened. 

“Whumpee?” A voice broke through the ringing in Whumpee’s ears, and they could feel someone putting a hand on their shoulder. Whumpee turned towards the voice, and the hand, and managed to focus on Caretaker’s concerned face for a split second before it began to twist and contort like they were a painting someone was smudging over. 

It was all to much for Whumpee’s brain, and their world quickly faded to grey, and then to black. 

“Catch me” they slurred as their body went boneless. The last thing they remembered before they totally blacked out was Caretaker swearing as they tried to pull Whumpee into their arms before they hit the floor. 

The next thing Whumpee remembered, they were coming to propped up in someone’s bed. Their head was screaming, and their skin itched and ached. They felt like a clay pot cracking and preparing to fall apart in desert heat. Even so, Whumpee could feel something wet and freezing being pressed to their neck, just below their ear. The feeling disappeared but quickly came back an inch or so away. The sudden cold on their hot and aching skin made Whumpee wince even as their brain told them to stay still. 

“It’s just me” Caretaker murmured from somewhere very close to Whumpee. They continued to dab Whumpee’s neck with what they could now distinguish as a sponge for a minute until Whumpee managed enough control over themselves to crack their eyes open. 

They were in Caretaker’s room. The lights were out and the curtains were drawn only allowing dim sunlight to filter through. The room was spinning, but it at least was staying proportional now. And Caretaker’s face, mere inches from their own, was only contorting in the usual ways. 

Caretaker leaned away when they saw Whumpee’s eyes open and dipped the sponge in a bowl of water sitting on the bedside table. They rang it out and began to dab at the other side of Whumpee’s neck making them wince again. Caretaker’s face was a mixture of concern and displeasure and Whumpee tried not to stare at them and they continued to wipe the sweat off of their face and neck. 

“Is this your shirt?” They asked in a raspy voice after a moment. They had just noticed they weren’t in the same clothing they had been in when they passed out. 

“You sweat through your own” Caretaker told Whumpee in way of a response. “The cut on your arm has a nasty infection.” 

Whumpee glanced guiltily down at their left forearm. It was splayed out next to them on a seperate pillow. Caretaker had removed the bandage, but there was a warm compress over the deep cut Whumpee had been trying to hide. 

Right. That’s what had happened. They hadn’t told Caretaker about the injury. They didn’t want them to worry. The infection hadn’t been that bad the last time they had changed the bandage. They had cleaned out the puss and made sure to dry the wound before putting on a new bandage. Had they applied the antiseptic? They couldn’t remember. 

“Are you going to give me a lecture?” They rasped, glancing back at Caretaker, who surprisingly gave them a half smile. 

“Eventually” They said fondly “When your fever breaks. I want to make sure you  remember it.” 

Whumpee nodded and instantly regret the movement. They squeezed their eyes shut against the room that was beginning to spin again. Caretaker continued to brush the sponge down Whumpee’s arm while they stroked Whumpee’s sweaty head with their other hand, gently encouraging them to take deep breathes until Whumpee didn’t think they were going to pass out again. 

“I’m sorry” Whumpee rasped when they opened their eyes again “I should have told you about the cut.” 

“I told you, I’m saving the lecture for later.” Caretaker said. “For now lets get you cleaned up, and then I’m tracking down some antibiotics.”  

“Okay” Whumpee mumbled. They shut their eyes again and held as still as they could as Caretaker finished wiping them down with cool water and began to dress their wound, properly this time. 

[twst-drabbles]

Ruggie 1

Summary: Ruggie gained his full form early in the morning.

“Congrats Ruggie,” Leona gave a lazy grin to the shrinking, frowning Ruggie as he leaned against a boulder, “you went from insect to a pipsqueak.” He really doesn’t hesitate to tease, does he?

“Shut up…” Ruggie hissed out through gritted teeth, “can you at least do me a favor and get me some clothes? Laughing at me isn’t going to protect me from the wind, you know.”

“No need,” you finally decided to stop letting Ruggie suffer and stepped out the door, carrying a pile of clothing under your arm as Ruggie ducked further into the tree, hiding his modesty, “I got you some things. Try them on.”

The relief that entered him practically sagged his bones. “I owe you the world, Caretaker.” Ruggie reached out his arms as far as he could, making sure the leaves don’t leave him exposed. “Give ‘em here, please.”

Ah, what nice manners, unlike the sand spirit that continues to smirk at Ruggie’s newfound size. You can only imagine how horrified Ruggie was when he woke up right next to Jack, bigger and bare as all day, his tiny clothing torn asunder.

You adjusted yourself and tossed the ball of clothing into the wind spirit’s hands. You already had a set of clothes prepared inside this sanctuaries house, but Ruggie refused to move, so you had to bring those clothes here. He caught them just fine and dipped back into the leaves.

“Seriously, why did this had to happen while I was sleeping?” He grumbles, pants dangling in view for a bit before disappearing, “And in front of Jack and Leona? They’re never gonna let me live this down.”

“Don’t worry, Ruggie!” Jack pipped up from below, standing as high as his tiny form will allow him. “I didn’t see a thing!” The joy in his eyes reflected the light so brightly, a great contrast to the conflict on his face when he woke you up this morning.

Jack was proud, that much you’re certain, but you suppose he’s disappointed that he hasn’t gained his bigger form yet.

You leaned against the wall of your home, stuffing a snort back down. “I mean, transforming in front of me wouldn’t have been any better.” While sure you wouldn’t have laughed at him—at least not in his face—your reaction wouldn’t have been any better. You don’t think mortification would’ve been a confidence booster.

“It be ten times better.” Finally, the wind spirit jumped down to the ground. “They’re too big,” Ruggie remarked as he flapped the sleeves. He really doesn’t look all the different from a regular person had it not been for his odd, shifting transparency and constantly moving clothes. The winds of this land are calm, but Ruggie certainly was not.

You just shrugged. “They’re hand-me-downs, what do you want me to do?”

You got these things from Crowley, Trein, Vargas and Mr. Kingscholar. Kalim wants to give you clothes but after that one time you let him indulge, you realized you can’t afford another closet just to fit all that Kalim wanted you to have. Crewel wasn’t a believer of giving you old things. You were either up to date or it’s nothing on his part. And Sam, well, he likes his gifts to be more unique. Clothes are too boring and common, simply put.

Even though the naked problem was solved, Ruggie still didn’t look all that happy. His body sagged a bit, eyes wandering down to Jack right by your feet. You saw the frown on his face.

“You weren’t going to be small forever, not when I’m around,” Leona pushed himself off the boulder, turning into a cloud of sand, solidifying right next to you right before poking Jack with his foot, “now you can actually help out around here instead of taking advantage of the Caretaker’s coddling.”

His ability to say such things with a straight face was something to envy. You smacked Leona on the back hard enough to stumble him forward. You gave a tight smile, clapping your hands to grab everyone’s attention. “Now that both of you can assist me in cleaning out all the other places. Speaking of which. Leona, we’re gonna have to clean out Jamil’s place.”

“Wha—”

“Come on,” you turned around, waving your hand to follow, “we’re burning daylight. Best to get it done as quickly as possible. So you better come here.”

The shift in your tone left no room for defiance. Leona’s ears flattened and you can see sharp words forming on his tongue before he pushed them back. He sighed. “Fine.”

Good boy. “I’ll pick you up later Ruggie, okay?”

“Take your time!” Now that put a smile on Ruggie’s face.

[i-cant-sing]

Yandere Rei hurting reader Pt 3

I couldn't write anything for Valentines, but I hope you like this. Enjoy!

Pt 1 here.

Pt 2 here.

Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Enji wasn’t surprised at your funeral.

He wasn't surprised when Rei had begged him to have you frozen, keep your body encased in a glass box at home.

He wasn't surprised when the kids held her, letting him make proper funeral arrangements.

He wasn't surprised when Rei had a breakdown, punching his chest and thrashing around in Shotou's and Dabi's arms.

Enji wasnt surprised when the divorce papers came. He knew the kids were making her do this, but he didn't care. He signed them without hesitation.

He wasn't surprised when he heard the kids had sent Rei to an asylum. She kept escaping the house to run to the graveyard; she wanted to dig your body up. He understood why the kids sent her back.

He wasn't surprised when he heard Rei had killed herself in that place, 6 months after you had died.

He wasn't surprised when his kids didn't inform him of her death or funeral. If he was being honest, he wasn't even sure if he would've gone to pay his respects.

Enji poured himself another glass of vodka, taking the bottle with him as he sat on his recliner, almost tripping on a few empty bottles.

He wasn't an alcoholic, he was just trying to numb his pain. Its the only thing that helps him fall asleep.

Enji pulled out a cigarette and pushed it between his lips. He snapped his fingers to light it, closing his eyes as he inhaled the carcinogen.

"Again, dad?"

Enji didn't have to open his eyes to know its you.

"You know these things are not good for you."

Enji smiled. You were always so caring.

"Ah, so you do smile? I didn't think you were capable of doing that."

Enji opened his eyes. You were standing in front of him, a grin on your face.

"I smiled a lot more when you were around." Enji said.

You chuckled. "Me too." You sat next to him, before putting your head in his lap. "But you weren't around often."

Enji felt tears prick his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

Enji woke up the next morning with a massive headache. He went to his kitchen to get himself some coffee. He checked the calendar as he sipped the hot drink.

Friday.

He finished his coffee quickly, before wearing a large coat. He grabbed his car keys and drove away from his house.

When he reached the graveyard, he made sure to wear his sunglasses and a baseball cap, before grabbing the bouquet of white lillies.

Your grave was a little away from the rest, he wanted you to have space, and his family to have privacy when they visited.

He stood in front of your grave. It was clean and the bed of grass of fresh as ever. He had paid the caretaker good money to regularly clean up your resting place.

Enji stared at your tombstone for some time.

Y/n Todoroki.

Heaven's brightest angel

A loving daughter

Now resting safe and at peace

Tears fell free from Enji's eyes at that. "Safe and at peace". Safe and at peace. Two things he failed to give you.

The image of your bloody face flashed in his mind for a moment. Blood coated your teeth and mouth, your gut was also bleeding heavily. Your face was contorted in pain, confusion and betra-

Enji needs to stop thinking.

He sat down beside your grave and pulled out the flask from his coat pocket. He knows he has to drive back. He knows he shouldn't drink, not in front of you at least, but he can't help it. "I'm sorry." Enji whispers before he started drinking. It didn't take long for him to finish the entire flask. It was getting dark and he knew he had to leave before the caretaker came.

Enji pressed a kiss to your tombstone before he turned on his heel to leave.

"Endeavour?"

Enji was stunned to hear his hero name; nobody had called him that in a long time. God, he wished it wasn't the paparazzi. They had no respect for anyone, not even for the grieving or the dead.

But he looked up to see an old face.

"Keigo?"

Hawks smiled. "How are you?"

"Fine. What are you doing here?"

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I've been meaning to talk to you." Hawks sighed. "I tried contacting you several times but you're impossible to track."

Enji knew that. He disappeared from the public eye after your death. He left his agency to Hawks, and got himself a home hidden in the woods. People assumed that he was just distraught over his wife's death or something. They didn't know about you. Nobody did. He paid off the hospital staff to keep their mouth shut because he didn't want his kids to suffer anymore because of his mistakes.

"What do you want?" Enji asked, gruffly.

"I just wanted to talk to you. Check up on you, y'know?"

"I'm doing great." Enji replied, stepping around him, about to walk away, but Hawks put a hand on his shoulder.

"Enji, its not your fault-"

"Shut up." Enji walked past him and made his way towards his car.

"Enji, listen to me-"

"I said. Shut. Up." He growled out. He didn't need anyone's pity. He reached his car with Hawks running up to him.

Enji tried to open his door but he suddenly felt lightheaded as he fell down.

"Enji! Are you okay?" Hawks kneeled beside him.

"I'm f-fine. Leave me alone." Enji was slurring.

Hawks grimaced when he smelled his breath. "God, you reek of alcohol. You weren't planning on driving in this state?"

Enji pushed him away. "I said I'm fine." Enji stood up before stumbling towards his car again, fumbling with the keys, his vision blurring the more he strained himself.

"Let me take you home, Enji." Enji felt his hands on his shoulder, but just as he tried to tell Hawks to fuck off, his vision faded to black.

Enji opens his eyes and finds himself in his house again. His old house. He's laying in bed when he hears laughter from outside. He gets out of bed and walks towards the source.

The kitchen.

He walks in and sees his family, the sun rays flooding the room, and the golden orange hues illuminating their faces. Rei is mixing something in a large bowl, Fuyumi is greasing up some pans. Natsuo and Touya are eating the chocolate chips from the bag, and Shotou is telling them to save some for the cake. And you. You're there too. Sitting beside Shotou, laughing as Touya sneakily gives you some chocolate chips too. Suddenly, they all turn towards him. Rei motions for him to come in. "Enji! Come in. We're making a cake!" Enji walks towards her, wrapping his arms around her. Rei kisses him, making his kids cringe and tell them to stop. They all laugh. Rei pours the batter into the pans, before raising the spoon. "Okay, who wants to lick the spoon?" And suddenly Touya, Natsuo and you yell "me!" before trying to reach for the spoon. Shotou freezes Natsuo's foot to the floor, while Enji pulls Touya back. Fuyumi grabs the spoon from her mom, and gives it to you, making you smile as you eagerly lick the spatula clean, while Touya and Natsuo whine how its not fair. Everyone laughs as Rei cleans up the batter smeared on your nose with a tissue. Its a heart warming scene. Its all he ever wanted.

But its not the reality he was given now, was it?

As Enji closes his eyes, basking in the warmth of his family, he suddenly hears someone crying. He snaps his eyes open, but the kitchen is empty and dark. He hears the crying again. He gets out of the kitchen quickly, trying to find the source. Its coming from Fuyumi's room. He bursts through the door, looking for Fuyumi, but finds you there instead. You're on the floor whimpering as you're trying to rub your arm with a towel. He kneels next to you. "What's wrong?" You cry when you remove the towel to reveal the huge ice burn on your arm. There were ice crystals littering all over the skin. Enji begins to heat up his palms as he melts the ice downs, slowly allowing the sensation in your arm to return. "What happened?" You sniffled. "F-fuyumi came to my room and said that she wants to go shopping with me, I told her I had to study for my test." You hiccuped. "She didn't like that, she- she said I'm ignoring her, blowing her off- I'm not!" You cried. Enji focused on your arm, heating it up slowly. "I know, you didn't do it on purpose. But maybe you could take some time off school? Think of it as a little break. You could spend more time with Fuyumi, with us." You looked at him in confusion. "B-but she hurt me-" "no, she was just a bit frustrated. You know she didn't mean it, right? She's your big sister, she loves you." You hesitantly nodded. "If you say so..." Enji smiled. "See, its all better now. Let me heat up the towel and wrap it around your arm." He turned to get the towel, but when he turned back, the room was empty.

He heard quiet sobs coming from your room. He made his way to your room and opened door and found you lying on the bed. "What happened?" He asked, taking a seat on your bed. "I saw him, I saw Natsuo put crushed pills- sleeping pills in my food! That's why I've been feeling so sleepy lately. When I confronted him, he told me its for my own good. B-but I know its because he doesn't want me to go out with my friends! He forcefully fed me the food, and then he took my phone away too! He said its because its not good to sleep with your phone but I know he took it because he wants to go through my stuff!" Enji hushed you. "Can you talk to him? Tell him to stop or something." Enji raised an eyebrow. "Natsuo is your big brother. He's just looking out for you. And he's not wrong about going through your phone either. Do you have something to hide?" You shook your head no. "But-!" "Natsuo wouldn't do anything to cause you pain, okay?" You closed your eyes. "Okay." You whispered. Enji closed the door as he left your room. But as soon as he did, he heard banging coming from the basement. He rushed down the stairs and found the door locked. Bursting through the door, he was suddenly engulfed by a small body. It was you again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, help me!" Enji pulled you away from him. "Hey, shh. Its okay. I'm here. What happened?" You sobbed into his chest. "I just went to the grocery store- just for 20 minutes!" Enji already knew what went wrong. "You didn't go with Shotou, did you? You didn't even inform him, right?" You shook your head no. "It slipped my mind. I promise I wasn't running away!" Enji sighed, petting your hair. "How long have you been down here?" You sniffled. "I dont know. It was Wednesday when Shotou pushed me in here." Three days. "Its okay. You've learnt your lesson, right?" You nodded. "Please, I don't want to be down here anymore." Enji led you out of the basement. "Just don't forget to tell Shotou next time, or tell us what you need. We'll bring whatever you want." Enji closed the basement door, but suddenly someone whimpered from inside. He opened the door again, but he found himself in the main bathroom. You were standing in front of the sink, putting some ointment on your shoulder. Enji looked closer and found burn marks on your skin. "Did Touya-" You turned around towards him. "Yes." Enji couldn't take his eyes off the red, burnt skin. "Why?" You shrugged your shoulders. "Does it matter?" You slammed the door shut in his face.

Enji didn't even realise he had begun walking away from the door and towards another one. He instinctively opened the door and found Rei and you. Rei had her arms raised, a sharp knife in her hand. "Rei- what are you doing? Put the knife down!" Suddenly, the rest of his kids appeared in the room. They stood between Rei and him, like a barrier. "Honey, its okay! We know whats best for her!" Rei spoke. Shotou nodded. "Yes. You said so yourself." Fuyumi spoke this time. "We're her family! We wouldn't hurt her!" Touya walked towards Enji. "Besides, if something happens, you promised you would save her, won't you?" Enji nodded. "Of course." "Then trust us. Like you always have." Natsuo said. Enji's eyes moved towards you. You opened your mouth to say something but all of a sudden, Enji was pushed out of the room and the door slammed closed. Enji jumped to the door when he heard your painful, gut wrenching screams. "DAD! STOP THEM! HELP ME! DAD!" Enji kept on banging his fists on the door but the door wouldn't budge.

Then it was silent. All too quiet. The door creaked open a bit. Enji didn't know if he wanted to see whats behind there anymore, but he still pushed the door open. How he wish he hadn't.

Lying on the floor, blood spilled from your mouth and your gut. Your body bore burns and scorch marks, the smell of burnt flesh wafting through the air. Enji fell to his knees. Its too late. "D-daddy? It- hurts."your voice was so quiet, so soft, he almost didn't hear you. "Save me?"you coughed out more blood, with each word. Enji started crying. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I can't." Your eyes dimmed when he said that, your chest finally stopped moving.

Enji finally woke up from his recurrent nightmare. He had been haunted by them ever since your death. Sad thing is, they didn't stray that far from reality. You had come to him many times, begging for help, but he turned you away, assuring you that they're just messing around, that it was an accident, or it was just a one time thing.

It wasn't.

Enji couldn't count how many times you had told him how his family had been hurting you, before you stopped asking all together when you realised he would always take their side.

It took a few minutes for Enji to register that he wasn't lying in his bed, or was in his home for that matter.

Enji groans as he sits up, rubbing his head. He remembers he was at the graveyard and then Hawks was there too. Hawks must've brought him to his home.

Stupid bird. He should just mind his own business.

Enji got up and left the room, leaning against the wall for support as he made his way around the house. Where was Keigo anyways?

He was passing by a garden when he saw someone move there. Enji focused his eyes and saw...you. He sighed. Enji sat down on the porch that opened into the garden. He realised he must've had drank a lot yesterday. Clearly, the effects of intoxication were still there.

You were sitting next to some bushes, trimming up their rough edges, your face turned away from him. You were humming to yourself as you worked.

You always did like plants, flowers especially. That's why he made sure you were buried where there was enough space for some flowers and grass to grow.

"I see you've found her." Hawks handed Enji a cup of coffee. He didn't even realise when he had walked-

Wait.

"You can see her?" Enji asked. Was he still dreaming?

Hawks chuckled. "Of course. She's right there- Enji, did you drink again?"

Enji looked at you, then at Hawks, then back to you. "What?" There's no way. There's no way. Hawks looked at Enji weirdly before he called for you.

"Y/n! Sweetie, come here!" You whipped your head around at Hawks voice.

And Enji sees you.

He wasn't hallucinating. You're real.

You skipped towards them, smiling. And Enji didn't even realise it until you were right in front of them. You had eyes. They were different than your real ones. These new ones, they were the same colour as his. Sharp, turquoise blue.

Were you a doppelganger? Is this some kind of sick joke? He couldn't help but wonder, but some part of him knew that wasn't the case.

Enji stood up when you reached them, the cup falling from his hand.

"Hey, dad."

In a second, Enji had his arms wrapped around you. You're really there. You weren't dead. You're still alive. "Y/n? Is it really you?" Enji asked, tears falling from his eyes as he held you tighter, still in disbelief.

You hugged him back. "Yes. Who else would it be?" You chuckled.

He pulled you away from him, his eyes scanned your face. There was still some charring and faded scars around your eyes, but they were mostly healed. It really is you.

"B-but how?"

You smiled. "Hawks-"

It was like something snapped in him at the hero's name.

Enji suddenly pushed you behind him, taking a protective stance. "What the fuck did you do?!" He growled at Keigo.

Hawks held his arms up in surrender, trying to pacify the man in front of him. "Nothing. I just helped her." Enji pounced at Hawks, pushing him to the ground. He was going to murder Hawks if he even looked at you the wrong way. "Oh yeah? And what the fuck did you want in return, you sick bastard?!" Enji raised his hand to punch him, but he stopped when he felt your tiny hands pull on his arm. "Dad! Please, stop! He saved me! Please!" He could hear the fear in your voice. He got off Hawks and yanked you back to him. "Tell me. Did he threaten you? Harm you? Touch you?" Although Enji's eyes held concern for you, he was scaring you with his grip on your wrist turning painfully tight. "No! Please, stop." You replied, struggling as you tried to free your wrist.

"Enji, calm the fuck down! You're hurting her!" Hawks finally managed to pull his hand off of your wrist. As soon as he did, Enji saw his handprint around your wrist.

Fuck.

You moved behind Hawks, peeking at Enji from between his wings, your eyes pooling with unshed tears. Enji's heart sank.

Looking at your scared form, Enji couldn't help but recall how different it used to be before. How you used to run to him for help, seek his protection.

And now, you need to be saved from him.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Y/n. I didn't mean to." He reached his hand out for yours. When you moved further behind Hawks, his heart broke. You were scared of him. Your eyes holding the same fear as they once held for the rest of his family.

"Y/n, darling, why don't you go tend to the bushes. I need to talk to your father." You scurried away as soon as Hawks said that.

"She's scared of me." Enji's voice held guilt.

Hawks patted his back. "Don't worry. She'll come around soon."

Hawks sat on the porch step, motioning Enji to sit beside him as well. He sat but kept his eyes towards your form. "What happened, Keigo?"

"Well, when you had called me, informing me how Rei had stabbed Y/n, I came as quickly as possible. I remember you were holding Rei back, stopping her from entering the hospital room. Once your kids had arrived and taken their mother away, you told me to keep guard while you sorted out some hospital forms." Hawks took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Y/n had woken up a few minutes after you had left. And she started crying as soon as she was conscious. I tried calming her down, but she was- hysterical. She kept on saying how they were going to torture her again. I told her that Enji would make sure they wouldn't. She kept on insisting that you were going to take Rei's side." Hawks looked at Enji. "And you and I both know know, you would've." Enji held his head shamefully, because he was right. He would've taken his family's side yet again.

"She asked me to kill her, Enji."

Enji's eyes widened at that, turning his head to Hawks. "What?" Hawks nodded, his eyes stone cold. "She said she'd rather be dead than return to your house." Enji felt like someone had drove a spear through his chest. Oh god, how long had you been feeling like that? "Thats when I decided to take her."

"But how? We buried her." Hawks rolled his eyes.

"It isn't hard to find a body. You know that."

Enji nodded. Right. "And her eyes?"

"Got a quirk doctor to replace them."

Enji's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But Natsuo said that they were irreplaceable-"

"Natsuo lied, Enji. All of your kids did. They were going to side with their mother, no matter what. And Rei wanted her to remain blind, so everyone made sure she did." He took another sip of his coffee. "You have a fucked up family."

Enji clenched his jaw at that, but it was the truth. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Hawks raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You're hard to track. You went into hiding and I had to run your agency, clean up your mess so that the public doesn't find out and I had a daughter at home to look after too. I guess you could say, I was a bit occupied."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Enji looked towards where you were, happily tending to your garden, completely oblivious to your surroundings. You looked so lively, so content. "Is...is she happy?" Hawks smiled at that. He still adores you. "Yes. She stays at home mostly, tending to the garden, but she occasionally goes out as well."

Enji looked at Hawks. "Alone? What if she runs away? What if something happens to her?"

Hawks shook his head. "She won't. Where's she going to go? She knows that your kids are still out there, and if they ever saw her, God knows what they'll do to her." Hawks crossed his arms against his chest. "Besides, I gave her a special bracelet. It has a tracking device in it and if she ever runs into trouble, all she needs to do is tap it and I'll be there!"

Hawks really had it all figured it out. Everything was under control, so why was he there? "Why did you bring me?"

"To save you." Enji stared at him in confusion. "You can't live without her, Enji. The past few months are evidence that you can't. You almost drank yourself to death." Hawks ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Look at yourself. Your eyes are bloodshot, you drink, you smoke, you're depressed as fuck. Is this the kind of hero you imagined yourself becoming? Is this the kind of father you want to be?"

"Keigo I-"

"You know, she never spoke ill of you once. Never. If anything, she told me that her good memories with your family, were mostly with you. Almost like she misses you."

"What do you want me to do, Keigo?" He asked helplessly, because Enji truly didn't know.

"I want you to stay here." He began. "Be the hero she needs; the father she needs."

"Keep your promise to her." Hawks eyes were full with fierce emotion as he reminded Enji of his promise.

I'll keep you safe. I promise.

Those word had been echoing in his mind forever, always accompanied by gore filled images of you.

"Raise the family you always dreamt of."

As if something had finally clicked, Enji nodded before he slowly made his way towards you. Hawks watched as Enji sat down beside you and talked to you. You smiled slowly before handing him a pair of gardening gloves as you taught him how to plant some flowers.

It was a good thing that Hawks cared about both of you deeply.

He was happy he was going to save his hero, Endeavour.

He was happy that he was going to start anew with you guys.

He was happy as he saw the love of his life and his goddaughter, now daughter, playing in the mud.

He was beyond ecstatic when he had slit Rei's throat in the asylum.

"What?" Hawks asks you, the person reading this story. He leans towards you, face mere inches away from yours, and smirks.

"That bitch had it coming."

So...

How was it?

Oh and yes, I will be taking asks for this (and answering some previous ones as well)

[uwuwriting]

Soulmates w/ Dabi, Shirakumo and Keigo

Request: Hello! I just read a few of your writings &I'd just like to say they're amazing! Anyways, may I request some hc's for a soulmate AU w/ Dabi, Shirakumo, & Hawks?(all separate)- anonymous

Soulmate Aus have a shit ton of tropes so I went for a different trope on each boy bc I love them all. My man Dabi has dipped the last few chapters and I’m getting kinda deprived, although I appreciate him not burning my baby Shoto to a crisp so we good. Love ya.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: angst with some fluff

 Dabi/Todoroki Touya II Interchangeable eye color

-Dabi’s outlook on love is really negative. 

-Growing up the way he did and in the environment he did, the possibilities in him believing or cherishing love and soulmates was low. 

-When he got his soulmate sign he was around 12. 

-It was the darkest moments of his life and he hated himself to no end. 

-When he woke up on that fateful Sunday morning he thought that he was hallucinating. 

-Then he imagined that this could be an after affect of his trauma, just like his hair. 

-His mind though drifted to his soulmate. 

 -He didn’t have a mark up until now and your eye color changing was one of the many soulmate signs out there. 

-As he stared at his left eye, the e/c orb staring back at him, he began to cry. 

-Sobs wracked his body as he clutched his eye. 

-This was unfair. 

-He shouldn’t have a soulmate, what good could he be to anyone?

-He is a failure and he is gonna bring down his soulmate as well. 

-So he hides it. 

-Puts a patch over his eye to conceal the new color blooming around his iris and when his family starts questioning it he buys contacts. 

-Natsuo helps him even though he doesn’t understand why his brother doesn’t want a soulmate. 

-Years pass until he finally meets the person that has changed his life. 

-Shigaraki was being a brat as usual, whining about needing new members for his little group. 

-Dabi couldn’t care less.

-This  whole charade with these losers would only aid him reach his ultimate goal. 

-He didn’t care about Shigaraki’s shitty ideologies and otherworldly desires, he just wanted his revenge. 

-His eyes scanned the so-called hide out in utter boredom, his gaze landing once again at the bar’s door left slightly ajar in case someone came looking. 

-He didn’t expect for the door to open though. 

-And as the grease old door creaked open a figure stepped into the room, clad in black from head to toe. 

-A mask was covering half of your face leaving only your eyes visible. 

-You scanned the place before your eyes landed swiftly on him, knocking the breath out of him as you locked gazes, e/c orbs baring into his own. 

-The vibrant blue on your left eye had him gasping for air. 

-It was stunning. 

-You moved to talk to Shigaraki, your voice albeit monotone and cold, sent tingles up his spine making his hairs stand at attention. 

-His eyes were glued on you, one of his hands subconsciously going to the left side of his face where his mark should be visible.

-It felt as if his contact burned his eye and he quickly took it off, not minding about possible infections since he didn’t wash his hands before touching his eYE DAMMIT YA NASTY AF. 

-His body was drawn to you, his mind screaming at him to talk to you to go close to you. 

-You knew he was your soulmate. 

-You had known the moment you stepped into the bar; no one had such a beautiful blue hue in their eyes other than your soulmate. 

-Despite your mutual desire to be close to each other you  held off for months. 

-Months of keeping distance, months of giving each other the cold shoulder. 

-It would all reach a tipping point soon and Dabi would finally understand what it’s like to truly love someone. 

-Until then though, suffer in your mutual pining. 

Shirakumo Oboro II Red string of Fate

-The string around his pinky finger always lay motionless for years. 

-It was slack and lifeless, no sign of his soulmate being remotely alive. 

-It really worried him, he thought that he might be one of the few unfortunate individuals who didn’t have a soulmate. 

-He talked to his friends about it and they all reassured him that his soulmate was just too far away from him so even if they tugged at the string he wouldn’t be able to feel it. 

-This reassured him all throughout middle school. 

-He started getting a little discouraged when he saw all his classmates getting their soulmate signs whether it be names tattooed on their wrists, one of their eyes changing color or a strand of their hair, other could hear faint music if they concentrated hard enough while others were unfortunate enough to feel their soulmate’s pain. 

-Shirakumo was left staring at the red string surrounding his finger. 

-He had thought about tugging at it, making the first step instead of waiting for the person on the receiving end.  

-But on this day, the day when both Aizawa and Hizashi got their respective signs he found himself tugging at the string. 

-At first he pulled lightly watching the string grow taught slowly and then go slack again. 

-He waited for what felt like a century before tugging again and again, more force being put in his pulls every time. 

-After an hour of waiting and tugging he was done. 

-Eyes downcast with a frown on his lips, he was ready to let this whole soulmate thing go. 

-At the end of the day he doesn’t need the universe to tell him who he should fall in love with; who he is destined to be with. 

-Then he felt it. 

-The lightest tug at his finger. 

-His eyes followed the red string as it straightened a few times before going limb again. 

-Aizawa walked in on him pulling the string like crazy, excited giggles leaving his lips when his soulmate responded with their own pulls. 

- “Shota I did it. T-they answered!”

-This whole string communication business lasted until the first day of high school. 

-As Oboro walked through the halls of UA he felt the string shift on his finger. 

-It was as if it was wrapping tighter around his finger, almost to the point that it hurt. 

-Maybe he was about to meet his soulmate that’s why the string was thinning. 

-Wait, meet them??

-He wasn’t ready to meet them!!!

-What if they didn’t like him? What if his hair was a bit too cloudy for their likes? Oh god his hair must be a mess because he flew here. Maybe he can dash into one of the bathrooms and fix it real quick. Will he be too loud for them? What-

-Lost in his own thoughts he completely missed the person standing in front of him and soon he was crashing into them, a small grunt leaving his lips as he maneuvered himself to cushion their fall. 

- “Oh God I’m so sorry, I was totally zoned out. Are you alright?” 

- “Why are you apologizing? I ran into you.” 

-He let out a chuckle as you scrambled off of him, dusting off your skirt before offering him a hand. 

-As he took it he felt his pinky being released from the pressure. 

-Right before your eyes you witnessed the red string that connected you both unwrap for your fingers, illuminating for a moment before completely disappearing leaving a sense of familiarity and warmth in its wake. 

-You both stared wide eyed at each other before awkwardly introducing yourselves. 

-It didn’t take long for you two to actually fall in love and if you’re being honest it’s was so easy to fall for him that you believed that even if you weren’t soulmates you would have loved him. 

-Even after years, even after that fateful summer, the sense of his presence and his warmth never left you; it was as if he wasn’t gone and he was still somewhere out there. 

-You were half wrong in that one….I think. 

Takami Keigo/Hawks II Name tattoos

-He got his tattoo when he was 13. 

-It had really awful timing if he was being honest. 

-The hero commission was isolating him completely, even from the few friends he had made around the facility he trained in.

-He couldn’t even begin to imagine what they might do if they find out he had a soulmate. 

-He truly wished he had a different soulmate sign or no soulmate at all. 

-He did everything in his willpower to hide the calligraphy of your name on his left wrist. 

-Bandaging it up, covering it with a watch even scribbling over it like he used to do when he was 9 and bored. 

-But at some point it became harder to hide it, harder to conceal the beautiful name that was printed on his wrist. 

-So he confided in someone. 

-One of the caretakers at the commission had taken him under their wing ever since he was a wittle toddler, he trusted them with his life. 

-When he approached them frantically grasping his wrist in attempts to hide the letters, they were both delighted and saddened. 

-It was nice knowing that this poor child had someone out there that was meant for him and would make him happy, replace every single one of these awful memories with new ones.

-Memories he would like looking back to. 

-But just like Hawks himself they knew that the commission wouldn’t allow this person to get involved with him, at any costs and they knew how far these people could go in order to guarantee Hawks’s undivided concentration. 

-So they helped him; they bought him some make up to cover it up and taught him how to apply it correctly. 

-By the time he was out of the hands of the commission *at least not in close reach* no one apart from them knew of his soulmate’s name. 

- “Now listen here Keigo, I want you to take good care of them when you finally meet them. And never forget that you deserve nice things, don’t let anyone take your happiness away.” 

-He did find his happiness. 

-It didn’t happen right away but it did come sooner than he expected. 

-He had learned about the new transfer student who began attending UA in the middle of the year. 

-He never heard their name but he knew they existed. 

-Turns out they were quirkless but were determined to become a hero despite their shortcomings. 

-After a few months he bumped into them and oh lord his wings have never been puffier. 

-He was  relaxing on the roof, away from prying eyes and loud people, just him and the birds *he found his people at last*.

-When he heard the door open he almost leaped off the building but paused at the sound of a soft voice. 

- “Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t know someone was up here.” 

-Turning around he came face to face with the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes upon. 

-For the first time in his life he stumbled over his words, a swift ‘It’s alright’ escaping his lips and before he knew what he was doing he was inviting you to sit with him. 

- “Wow you can see everything from here.” 

- “The view is better up in the sky if you ask me.”

-After a long pause he added. “I could show you if you want.” 

- “How can I trust you? Hmmm?” you teased. “I don’t even know your name.” 

-He let out a chuckle before continuing. “Could say the same for you but since I’m a gentleman I will grace you with my name. I’m Keigo Takami or Hawks if you wanna go with my hero persona.” 

-He saw your eyes widen as you stared at him, your eyes darting to his covered wrists. 

-Quickly you composed yourself straightening your shirt and extending your hand, the black letters of his name delicately engraved on your smooth skin. 

- “Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N L/N.”  

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[uvobreakmylegs]

The Graveyard

Vampire!Hisoka

🎃~Happy Halloween~🎃

Warnings: violence, gore, kidnapping, threats of noncon

The Nostrade cemetery sat a few miles beyond your hometown of Milsy, tucked in between the trees of a vast forest that had stood there for ages. The cemetery itself had been there almost as long, and was consequently the subject of gossip and tales of the supernatural. Every child that was born in Milsy had it drilled into them at an early age that they were never to approach the old graveyard or the woods beyond it.

The older folk claimed it was a gateway to hell.

You had your doubts that there was anything out of the ordinary about the cemetery, however. The rumors circulated in your town calling the graveyard cursed and that all manner of creatures roamed around it at night, but exactly what kind of creatures changed depending on who you spoke to, though the most consistent one was stories of ghosts and other restless spirits who were trapped on the cursed spot of land. But asking questions on how it became cursed didn't get you much in the way of answers. Even the middle-aged women who had nothing better to do than gossip had little to say when you asked. The closest thing you had gotten resembling an explanation came from an old man at the retirement home who had told you that something 'unholy' had happened there, long before he was even born, and that since then, evil had been attracted to the place. His explanation shortly turned into a rant about how it was the cause of everything wrong in the town; from the mysterious illnesses that occasionally plagued the people living there, the claims wild beasts that roamed the forests that only ate human flesh, to the disappearances in the town where typically teens and sometimes children vanished without a trace.

One of the nurses at the retirement home had escorted you out after the old man's rant and asked that you not come back if you only intended on upsetting their patients.

It was hard to believe that a graveyard could be the cause of an occasional illness that went around, but you couldn't blame the man for thinking the disappearances were related to the area. All of the witnesses to the missing children saw them last near that cemetery. Same thing with the the teens. Anyone else who had gone missing just vanished one day with no warning. And based off of what you had heard, you suspected that they had the same interests as you in wanting to find out what made that graveyard so special.

Your family was aware of your curiosity and tried to keep you on a tight leash, keeping your days busy and trying to keep the thought of visiting the cemetery out of your mind. As hard as they had tried, you had still found your opportunity and slipped away. Maybe going to an abandoned, likely falling-apart graveyard probably wasn't the smartest thing you had ever done, but there were probably dumber things you could have done instead of that, and you swore to yourself that if you just went there once and just see the damn place, you could put the matter to rest in your own mind.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky as you entered through the rusted gateway, still a long way off from nightfall. Though you told yourself to not believe in such things, it gave you some comfort that it wasn't dark out. Every ghost and monster story you had ever heard always took place at night. If there was something otherworldly in the graveyard, it seemed unlikely that it would come out in the middle of the day.

All in all, you would say that you were underwhelmed. The abandoned Nostrade cemetery appeared to be just that: an abandoned cemetery. Within the confines of the stone walls, there were graves and headstones as far as you could see, with an occasional mausoleum that obscured parts of the vast graveyard. There were large portions that were overgrown as trees, bushes and other plant life covered the slabs of stone, turning the gray rock various shades of green. You approached one of the headstones, kneeling down to inspect it and see what had been carved into it. Unfortunately, all you could learn from that particular bit of rock was that it was old, as the weathered stone had been battered by time and the elements to the point that it was impossible to read anything off of it. As you made your way further into the cemetery, you found that to be true of all of the graves you came across. Though you had anticipated that to be the case, given that there was no one to take care of the place, you had hoped you could learn at least a little about the people who had been buried there. The most you were able to make out from a few was just the image of a skull with wings that adorned the tops of the headstones.

And as you went deeper still into the graveyard, no matter where you looked, there was still no sign of any ghost or ghoul that the people in town were convinced inhabited every corner of the ancient site.

Part of you told yourself that it was time to head back now. You had accomplished what you had come here for: you had seen the graveyard, and proved to yourself that the multitude of stories that were passed around were just stories told to scare children and keep them out. You could be content with knowing that there was nothing mystical about it and get on with your life.

But you didn't want to leave yet.

For whatever reason, you felt compelled to explore more of it, to see how far it went. The size of it confused you, as it was larger than you had expected, and you wondered how many generations of families were buried beneath your feet for so many graves to litter the area in the way they did.

'I'll leave after I see the back wall,' you told yourself. That way you would have explored at least a majority of the graveyard, as well as see if there was anything different at the back, maybe an ancient tool shed of some kind for the long-dead caretakers.

There was nothing of the sort when you saw that wall come into view. Walking around a crumbling mausoleum, your eyes scanned the wall and the foliage that covered it. There was quite a bit more plant life this side of the cemetery, the graves near the wall all but overtaken by vines and flowers you didn't recognize. A tall tree towards the back, and on closer inspection, you noticed that behind the tree a bit of the wall had collapsed, allowing you a view into the dense forest beyond the walls. Considering the amount of time that the cemetery had been standing here abandoned, it was a miracle that more parts of it weren't like that; that the majority of the structures within the walls were standing upright instead of crumbling and broken.

You glanced to your right, wondering if there were any more parts of the graveyard that were more dilapidated like the hole in the wall before you.

“And what might a little fruit like yourself be looking for in here?”

You jumped at the sound of a voice behind you, your heart racing as you turned around to see who had spoken.

A man sat behind the mausoleum you had passed by, sitting cross-legged on a raised stone casket. He was dressed strangely, with card symbols on the front and back of his shirt and black heels on his feet. His hair was a vibrant red, and when he glanced over to you, yellow eyes looked you over.

The two of you stared at each other for a moment. He then turned head towards you, smiling with his eyes closed.

“Well?” he asked, his tone cheerful.

“Uh.... Nothing, really?” you stuttered out, “I just wanted to look.”

“Ah, sightseeing, then?”

“I guess.”

He wore makeup as well, a star and a teardrop adorning his right and left cheeks respectively.

“And have the sights this cemetery has to offer been satisfactory to you?” he asked, turning his attention back to what was in front of him: a pyramid made out of playing cards. He held a card in each hand, carefully moving them to the top.

“For a cemetery, I guess it has,” you said, shrugging your shoulders.

He hummed, placing the last two cards on the pyramid and carefully pulling his hands away.

“You must have gone out of your way to come here, and yet you don't seem like you care much for this place. Why is that?” he asked, turning to look at you again.

“Everyone in town freaks out over this cemetery, saying that it's cursed. I wanted to see if that was true,” you answered, placing your hands on your hips as you looked around once more, “it seems like a normal graveyard to me.”

“Oh? So just because you don't see anything wrong with it means that it must be normal?”

“I mean, if it wasn't normal, would you be hanging out here?”

The man smiled and chuckled to himself.

“Fair enough,” he said. He then motioned to the spot before him.

“Sit with me.”

You huffed, but obliged as you walked towards him. While he definitely seemed strange, you didn't get any sort of feeling that he was dangerous. Just a harmless weirdo who hung out in graveyards playing with cards.

…. Saying that in your head like that didn't make it sound like he was harmless. But for now you decided to go along with it. If worse came to worse, you were certain you could outrun him.

“What's your name?” you asked as you pulled yourself up onto the casket, copying him in sitting with your legs crossed.

“Hisoka. And yours?”

You responded with your own name as you settled yourself. The old stone didn't make for a good seat, and you squirmed a bit as you tried to make yourself comfortable. Hisoka watched with amusement, his eyes taking in your form as you looked back to him.

“Would you like to try?” he asked, pointing to the tower of cards before him.

You shrugged.

“Okay.”

With a single finger, he knocked over the structure, sending the cards toppling down.

“I've never tried making one before, though,” you added.

“That's fine. I can show you. Watch,” Hisoka said, gathering the cards together.

He put the cards in a stack, and with a practiced ease, he passed them from one hand to the other in the same way a professional dealer would. He then set about making the base, setting up two cards together so they formed a small triangle. A second set of cards joined them, and then a third.

“.... So do you just come here to play around with cards?” you asked after the sixth card triangle had been placed.

“Sometimes,” he said, laying several cards over the ones he had set up, creating the base for the next row.

“Doesn't that get boring?”

“Not really. I've met many interesting people through my visits here.”

“Like who?”

Hisoka paused as he began setting up the next row, looking at you with a grin.

“..... Me?” you asked, an eyebrow raised.

He nodded at you, smiling.

“That's stupid,” you muttered.

“And why's that?”

“We just met and we're playing with cards. You can't call me an 'interesting person' just for that.”

“The fact that you're here at all is what interests me,” he said, placing another set of cards.

“You said that the people in your town dislike this place, and despite all you seemed to have heard you came here anyway. And it appears to have been all for your own satisfaction.”

He hummed to himself as he placed down another layer of cards on top, the second row complete.

“Does it not matter to you that people have gone missing around this area?” he asked.

“It's been over two years since someone last went missing, and they caught the guy who did it,” you said.

“Oh? They found out who took that young man?” Hisoka's eyebrows went up slightly.

“Yeah. It was some guy in the next town over. Serial killer, among other things.”

“And they confirmed that he was the one responsible?”

“Technically, no. But there's a lot of people who went missing while he was running lose, and he isn't telling the police where the bodies are. So it's a pretty good chance that he's the one who did it. It's not like there are any other suspects.”

“I see.”

Hisoka was smiling, and you swore he was holding back laughter.

“You think it's stupid that I came out here?” you stated more than asked.

“I would say that you're a bit more brave than the others in that town of yours. That, or you just have a poor sense of self-preservation,” he said. The third row was now done.

“Tell me, do you plan on telling people about your visit here?”

“If I did that my family would lock me in the house for a whole year,” you scoffed, “you said it yourself earlier; it's for my own satisfaction.”

Hisoka's smile had widened. To you, it seemed like it was slightly too wide. Like the edges of his mouth went further than they should have. You caught a flash of his teeth as well, and noted that something about them seemed off. Like they were somehow sharper than they should have been.

“That's rather selfish of you, isn't it?”

His words broke your train of thought.

“How so?” you asked. The last set of cards of the fourth row was being placed.

“You came here without telling anyone despite knowing that there's a possible danger. What would happen if you injured yourself and you couldn't get back? No one would know where you were, and in a worst case scenario, you could die before any search parties find you. If they were to find you at all.

“You really didn't think about anyone but yourself when you came out here, did you?”

“.... Well that's one way to make me feel guilty,” you mumbled, “but I don't plan on dying in a place like this,” you added with a bit more confidence.

“You'll survive through sheer force of will alone?” Hisoka prodded.

“Something like that,” you huffed.

Hisoka was chuckling again, looking back at you with amusement. He'd gotten to the fifth row of cards, leaving only the very top of it left. With the last two cards in hand, he repeated what you had seen him doing before and placed the cards at the top of the pyramid, pulling his hands away slowly and spreading his arms open with a slight flair.

“See? Easy,” he said.

“There's no way I can do that as fast as you can.”

“You'll never know unless you try.”

Just like before, he knocked over the tower with the tap of a finger, the cards fluttering down onto the stone below them. This time he made no move to collect them, and he leaned back on his palms as he looked at you expectantly. Taking the hint, you gathered up the cards, sticking them into a semi-neat pile before grabbing two and copying what you had seen him do.

Or you tried to, at least. It took you several tries before you could get the cards to stand upright, and when you grabbed two more, you accidentally brushed against the two you had just set up and sent them falling.

A beat of silence passed as both of you looked at your fallen cards.

“We're going to be here a while,” you mumbled.

“Fine by me. I didn't have any plans,” said Hisoka. It was like that smile never left his face.

Many more tries were made with similar results, and it didn't take long for you to become frustrated to the point that you were tempted to give up. But a look at Hisoka's face made you reconsider throwing in the towel. He was clearly enjoying your failures and how irritated you were becoming by them. He wanted you to give up. The smug look on his face pushed you to keep trying, unwilling to give him that satisfaction.

After a bit, you realized that you could cheat slightly with the first row. The surface of the stone casket you sat on was rough with many grooves and bumps that provided a bit of support that at least ensured that they wouldn't fall instantly. After some careful positioning you were finally able to get a row of six. If he disapproved of the tactic he didn't mention it. You copied what you had seen him do earlier, grabbing what would be the base of the second row and gently dropping them on top, holding your breath each time.

Neither of you had said anything during this time, and while he seemed content just to watch, the silence was starting to get to you.

“So have you been to Milsy?” you asked.

“Yes. I frequently find myself there,” he said.

“Do dress differently when you visit? I feel like I would have heard something about you before today. The older women there live off of gossip.”

Hisoka shook his head.

“I don't need a disguise, if that's what you're asking. I only let people see me if I want to be seen.”

“Hmm.”

The answer didn't tell you much of anything. You decided against asking what he meant by 'letting' people see him as he would likely only give you more cryptic replies.

You grabbed two cards, trying to place them as carefully as possible on top of the ones you had stacked so far to start the second row.

“So do you live near this area? In another town nearby, or are you some kind of hermit?”

“I'm a magician,” Hisoka said.

“Magician? So you do magic tricks?”

“Yes.”

“... Can you show me?”

“I could,” he drawled, tilting his head, “but it would be boring if I just did that for you without anything in return.”

Your eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“That we could make this a little more interesting! How about I'll show you a trick or two if you can successfully make a card tower?” he asked.

It sounded reasonable enough, so you nodded.

“Oka- Fuck!”

You weren't paying attention and had set the cards down too forcefully, causing the cards beneath to fall under the pressure.

“Ah, too bad!” Hisoka teased, “going to try again?”

“Of course,” you said, already gathering up the scattered cards.

Remembering your cheat, you were able to set up the base cards a little more quickly this time as you began the process again and built your way back up. Trying to rush through it ended with you being punished when your tower fell once again when you reached the same point as the last time. Hisoka continued to smile while you cursed and began again.

You tried asking more questions about him, but the answers you were getting stayed cryptic. Hisoka was born “somewhere” and had lived in the area for “a long time”. He had no friends or family but said that he had “acquaintances” that could “work in those roles” if he so needed. He also claimed that he had traveled quite a bit but wouldn't say where exactly, saying that you wouldn't know the places he was talking about.

“I'm starting to think you're trying to get me to leave, Hisoka,” you said, hissing as your tower fell for the umpteenth time.

“And why do you think that?”

“You've been doing everything to avoid actually giving me a straight answer to any of my questions.”

Beginning again, you glanced back up at him, not surprised to see that smile still on his face.

“You're not wrong,” he said, shrugging, “however, I think if I told you the truth you would still be upset.”

“Why?”

“Because you would still think I was lying.”

You sighed.

“You're impossible to deal with.”

“So I'm told.”

Setting up the bottom row of cards had become somewhat easier now, and by this point you had managed to make it up to the third row. A small breeze came through and you froze, hands going around the cards protectively as if you could shield them. Luckily, the cards stayed in place.

“I don't actually want you to give up and leave,” Hisoka said, leaning forward with his chin resting in his hand.

“After watching you for this long, I want nothing more than for you to succeed. I would hate it if you gave up now.”

“If you say so.”

You weren't at all trying to hide your tone, broadcasting that you still weren't convinced.

Hisoka sat quietly as he watched your tower grow once again, taking in your expression.

“How about along with a few tricks, I give you something good if you complete it?” he asked suddenly.

“I don't know. Do I actually want anything from you?”

“I think you might. Complete the house of cards, and I promise it'll be worth your while,” he said, “you just promise me that you won't give up.”

You sighed once again.

“I've wasted so much time now, I'm not letting that all be for nothing.”

“That's the spirit!” Hisoka encouraged.

With your focus on the cards that you continually built up over and over again, you didn't notice the way the sun slipped lower into the sky as time moved forward. Though sunset was still far away, certain lesser things within the cemetery and the surrounding woods were waking up and found themselves drawn to your scent, multiple sets of eyes peeking over and around the old stone to look at the human who had wandered in. You didn't notice any of them, nor did you notice the warning glances Hisoka sent to all of the beings that approached. The smile stayed on his face the whole time, daring them to try something.

No attempts were made on your life; they knew better.

“Is this going to be the one?” Hisoka asked.

“Shut up.”

Hisoka chuckled, amused at how hard you were concentrating. You had finally made it to the fifth layer of the pyramid, four cards leaning against each other at the top. You held a card horizontally above them, preparing to place it. If you got this one, then all you would need to worry about was the last two cards to finish it, and then you would finally be done with this and be able to laugh in Hisoka's face. You were aware of how stupid and petty this whole thing had become, but after all of that effort, you refused to let it be for nothing.

The card was in place and you pulled away, releasing a small sigh of relief when the cards stayed standing. Without taking your eyes off of the pyramid you grabbed the last two, ever so slowly bringing them up to face each other in what was now a well practiced motion. You positioned them on top, placing them so that the top edges leaned on each other to create the point, and slowly, slowly pulled your hands away, mirroring the way Hisoka had done it earlier.

“I did it,” you breathed, amazed with yourself. Despite how you had told yourself that you weren't going to leave before doing it, you hadn't actually been sure that you could pull off the trick, your original motivations of wanting to prove Hisoka wrong long forgotten. It was such a meaningless achievement and had taken more time to complete than it was worth, but you had done it, and you couldn't help the pride you felt when you looked up to Hisoka who was politely applauding for you.

“Very well done,” said Hisoka.

And with one flick of his index finger he sent the cards toppling down.

Your satisfaction turned to shock as you watched the result of all your effort fall back down to the rough surface of the stone. All that time you spent, and it only stood for a few measly seconds.

“..... I want to punch you.”

“Now now, don't be like that,” the magician laughed as he gathered up the cards, “you won, after all.”

You glared at him as he flashed you another smile, and you caught it again: something that was just off with his teeth.

“Now, I promised to show you some tricks, correct?”

His voice brought you back to what he was doing as he divided the stack into two, holding the stacks in both hands. He then brought his hands together with a clap. When he pulled them away, the cards were gone.

…... A sleight of hand. That was his trick.

“I'm going to punch you.”

“But it was a trick, like you asked for!” he gasped, feigning shock at your irritation.

You put your head in your hands. This time had been so thoroughly wasted on this asshole.

“If it really doesn't satisfy you, I can show you some others. But first! I'll keep my other promise.”

Lifting your head back up slightly to look through your fingers, you saw Hisoka as he hopped off the casket and extended a hand towards you.

“.... Something 'good'? Do you want to elaborate on what that is?” you asked.

“All in good time; I want to take you somewhere first.”

“Take me where?” you questioned as he continued to beckon you into taking his hand.

“It's a surprise~”

When you didn't reach out to take his hand, he gave you another grin - what was wrong with his teeth? - and grabbed you by your wrist.

His hand was large enough that it circled around your wrist completely, and his nails long and sharp enough that they lightly nicked your skin as he pulled you off of the stone and led you through the cemetery. Hisoka weaved through the headstones and plants while you trailed behind. Normally you would have protested someone grabbing you and leading you along like this, but you were caught off-guard by how cold his skin was. Like a person who had been left out in freezing temperatures, Hisoka's skin virtually sapped the heat away from yours in his iron grip. It didn't make sense given how mild the weather was at the moment, and the two of you had been out there for so long; how could his skin feel so cold when you were just fine?

“Hisoka, are you sick?”

He tilted his head back as he smiled at you.

“I've never felt better.”

The two of you made your way to the hole in the cemetery's wall, climbing up the exposed roots of the tree that stood in front of it before stepping over the crumbled rock and out into the vast expanse of the forest. He continued to lead you forward, dodging your questions of where he was taking you with the same claim of it being a “surprise” and that you would “find out soon”, while his faster pace required you to trot behind him while you tripped over the forest floor. His hand remained in place around your wrist, never letting you fall and pulling you closer to him when you began to fall too far behind.

It now dawned on you how much time you had spent out here. People in the town would have noticed your absence, and for those that knew you well, it wouldn't take much for them to figure out where you had gone. You were screwed, and the only thing you could do to try and make this better was to get back before sunset.

“Hisoka,” you tried, “I just realized I've been gone for too long. I really need to get back home.”

“Don't worry; I'll take you home.”

Worries about this man that you had pushed away earlier were now coming back, and you mentally berated yourself for even speaking to him. You should have left the instant you saw him. Instead you spent, what, hours with him? With a man who thought that fun was hanging out in graveyards and playing with cards over buried bodies. You had idiotically thought he was harmless, and now you were being dragged by this man through the woods, further and further away from the cemetery and any familiar landmarks that would lead you back home while you fought against the grip on your wrist that didn't budge in the slightest no matter how you pulled against it. Your pleas to know where you were going and for him to let go became increasingly desperate but appeared to fall onto deaf ears as Hisoka pressed onward.

“Hisoka, please stop and tell me what you're doing!” you yelled, exasperated.

To your surprise, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and you to almost ran into him. You took the chance to catch your breath, looking back up at the magician. He wasn't looking at you, still facing forward.

“.... Hisoka?”

A long, low moan sounded from the man, and he turned towards you as he ran a hand through his hair, tongue licking his lips and his eyes brimming with lust.

“Your little heart is beating so fast and it's making me so excited~” he breathed, pulling your wrist up to his face and nuzzling against it. A chill ran down your spine and you tried again to pull back your hand. But just as before he didn't budge.

“Let go of me,” you whispered.

“That would be a bad idea, little fruit. There are lots of things in this forest that would love to have a piece of you, but as long as you're with me, you're safe.”

“I don't feel safe.”

Hisoka smiled against your skin, his other hand reaching to grip the back of your head. All the while his eyes never left yours.

“Would you believe that you're the first person to ever finish making a card house for me? In all of the years I've been here, every other person gave up and tried to leave,” he said.

“.... I can't say I blame them. I should have given up, too,” you mumbled.

“That would have been very bad for you, dear,” he continued, his lips only a breath away from the skin of your wrist.

“And why's that?”

“Because I would have killed you.”

Despite the gravity of his words, Hisoka said them with a certain air of nonchalance, all while he kept your wrist up near his face, his thumb rubbing circles into your skin as his eyes gauged your reaction.

You didn't know what to say or how to react. The alarm bells in your head were blaring and you wanted to tear yourself away from his grip and escape this situation. But the longer you spent in his presence, a sick feeling rose within you that you wouldn't be getting away from this man.

“.... That's a sick joke, Hisoka.”

“I said earlier that if I told you the truth, you would think I was lying, didn't I? If I had been completely truthful, you would have been scared off and I would have needed to kill you. It's a little rule I made for myself,” he explained, “just killing anyone who wandered in became a bit boring, so I thought it would be more fun to give people a chance to save themselves by playing my game. But as I said, you're the only one who stuck through it. And I have to say, I couldn't be happier that the first person was you. Some of these people I simply-”

“Let go of me!”

Your yell interrupted his speech while you once again pulled against his hold on you, your other arm pushing against the one that held you by the head. His words sent a rush of adrenaline through you and you twisted and pulled to free your wrist while you kicked at him. He was insane, dangerous and if he wasn't going to kill you, you were willing to bet he was going to rape you just based off of the way he was looking you over.

“Did you not hear me? Right now you're safest with me,” said Hisoka, not at all bothered by your struggles.

“You wouldn't want to know what other kinds of things are around these parts.”

And with that he bit into your wrist.

You screamed as his teeth sunk into the flesh of your arm and broke through. Hitting and kicking at him, you felt him sucking out your blood, watching the way his throat moved as he swallowed it. He was drinking your blood. Actually drinking your blood.

Hisoka was unaffected by your attacks, ignoring the way you were beating at him in an attempt to get him off of you. In mere moments after he had bitten you, you began to feel dizzy, and when your free hand landed a soft blow to his head, it stayed there. He opened an eye, taking in your flushed appearance as the blood-loss – how had he taken so much so quickly? - began to get to you. The corners of the mouth that was still planted on your wrist turned upward as he sneered at you. He was enjoying your distress, and that realization had you seeing red.

In an action fueled by rage at being toyed with by this man, you moved the hand you had placed on his head-

And jammed your thumb into his eye socket.

Hisoka yelled out in a mixture of surprise and pain. He pulled away from your wrist as he staggered backwards.

You lifted a leg and kicked him, finally pulling away from him and turning to make a mad dash back to the cemetery. The adrenaline and the panic in your mind allowed you to not really think about what you had just done to him, only focusing on getting back to the cemetery and from there escape home. And after that, you swore you would never even think about this place again.

Dirt and leaves kicked up around you as you scrambled to get away from that man. You prayed that you would be able to find that entrance to the cemetery – whatever kind of freak Hisoka was, he wouldn't pursue you with a wounded eye, right?

You weren't sure if you tripped over a stray tree root or just simply lost your footing to sheer stupidity, but you stumbled as you ran and fell flat on your face, the speed at which you fell making you hit the ground hard. Your arms and legs flailed as you tried to push yourself back up and continue running, but the shakiness you were suddenly experiencing made it hard to control your limbs.

A heel slammed down on the base of your spine and you yelped as you were forced back down onto the ground. Struggling only made the heel dig in deeper and you screamed as the pain became too much, tears streaming down your face as you were forced into submission. Your whole body shook as you looked at the person standing over you: Hisoka, breathing hard, his eye shut and blood trailing down his cheek and ruining his make-up. Slowly, he brought a hand up to his bleeding eye, wiping the blood with a single finger. He inspected it, like it was something he had never seen before, never experienced. There was a wild look in his uninjured eye, and when he looked back at you he smiled, sharp bloody teeth on full display.

“You have a vicious streak in you,” he breathed, “ if you're willing to gouge out someone's eye just to get away from them.”

“You- you were drinking my blood, you freak,” you spat.

He groaned, licking up his own blood as he looked down at you.

“Darling, you're perfect.”

Suddenly his body was on top of yours, pressing down and holding you in place while he held your wrists above your head. His other hand roughly gripped your hair and pulled your head to the side. His teeth sunk into you again, this time into your neck.

Warm blood was dripping down your neck as he began to suck you dry. Your vision began spinning, and your limbs weren't moving like you wanted them to. When Hisoka pulled away the hand that held your wrists in favor of grabbing your waist, you could barely move them. Your strength was almost completely sapped and you whimpered, never imagining you would die like this.

Hisoka pulled off of you, licking up the blood he had missed before sitting up, virtually straddling you as he re-positioned himself.

“I needed to take a bit more since you injured me, and of course, now you're probably too weak for me to continue like I wanted to. Shame. I liked the idea of fucking you into the forest floor, but I really want you to be awake for it.”

With a good deal of effort, you glanced back up at him.

Two yellow eyes gazed back at you. Two, perfectly fine, yellow eyes that showed no sign of injury save for the lingering smear of blood on his cheek. The eye that you had shoved your thumb into had miraculously healed itself, and that wide smile formed once again when he saw your shock.

“I.... I.. M-my- how?”

“I just drank blood from your neck; you really can't figure it out?” Hisoka laughed, “you aren’t very bright, are you?”

He leaned back down, his nose nuzzling against your cheek. Hisoka sighed against your skin.

“I'm going to keep you like this for a while, let you live out a few more years as a human. You'll want for nothing, and I'll keep you safe. And eventually, I'll make you like me.”

'I don't want to be like you,' you wanted to scream, but you didn't have it in you to say anything. By now you were having a hard time keeping your eyes open. When he finally moved off of you, you made no move to run again. You physically couldn't.

He hauled you up by the back of your shirt, laughing as your head lolled back when he pressed your body against his.

Hisoka's hand on your jaw pulled you back, and his lips met yours in a sloppy kiss, tasting your own blood on his tongue as he shoved it into your slack mouth.

He pulled away, patting your cheek.

“Get some rest now. I expect a lot from you.”

You barely registered his words before unconsciousness finally overtook you.

With a satisfied hum, Hisoka slung you over his shoulder and began to make his journey back to his home deep within the forest. Licking the last of your blood off of his lips, he let out another satisfied sigh.

You were going to keep him entertained for a long time.

[whump-a-la-mode]

*waves awkwardly* ahaha you know why I’m here😂😭 ... yet again... cliffhangers..

You’re keeping this story going singlehandedly! I’m glad for it, I’m loving writing this.

Another cliffhanger? Maybe.

Maybe a little bit.

Continued from here.

CW//None

The truck’s wheels grumbled over the overused and underkept streets of Metropolis. Once in a while, its tires would catch in a particularly jarring pothole, launching the vehicle against the force of its own suspension.

Villain couldn’t remember the last time they’d been in a car. They’d been brought to the HQ in one, certainly, a covered backseat kennel restraining their movements and eye sight in equal measure. After that... after that was the blackness. Then Hero, who was more than content keeping their dog in the facility overnight.

Thus, however long it had been since they were in a vehicle, it was far too long a period. They’d been in the facility so terribly long. There was no reason for them to be brought elsewhere, and therefore they were not.

Staring out the window, they could not help but feel as a slack-jawed child, awed by the sounds and sights of the big city. Regardless of how long Villain had spent in the metropolis beforehand-- their whole life, practically-- viewing it again after such time made them feel to be wandering through a painted memory half-forgotten.

They were free. They supposed that was the most incredible aspect of the whole thing. The door was closed, their seatbelt stretching across their body, but neither were secured. Neither were intended to keep them anywhere they didn’t want to be. If they had the impulse, they could undo the restraint, swing open the door, and be free.

Of course, they’d be swept up in moments, either by their newfound guardian or by their former captors. It was a hollow sort of freedom, but freedom nonetheless.

Better than they’d had in a long, long while.

The truck was new, the inside laden with black leather seats that had already been thoroughly ruined by golden pet hair in short order. A shiny screen replaced where most cars had dashboards, offering enough options to make Villain dizzy.

Not that they had access to it, at the moment. They were seated in the back of the vehicle, holding tight to a pillow that Spouse had sent along with them. Despite their partner’s protests, Civilian had refused to allow them to go along. Something about a low profile, about safety.

Villain missed Spouse.

Yet, this was their choice, and they were well aware of that.

The dilemma their caretakers had presented them with had kept them awake all night. Two options in sharp dichotomy. The first offered freedom, unhindered. Brought to another country and left to roam.

But, it was a conditional freedom. They would be free as long as they could keep running, keep their head down, keep out of their captor’s hands.

The other option offered the opposite. Contained protection. Shuffled around the homes of strangers, kept hidden, yet kept safe.

Even as they debated with themself, they knew that they could never take the first option. They were a pet. They could never be a stray-- they knew that. They knew how quickly they’d be surrendering themself to the closest police station they could find.

Either way, they wouldn’t stay free for long. So, they’d chosen the second. Contained protection.

Civilian turned the truck’s wheel, pulling off a main road to weave through winding residential pathways. The townhomes all seemed to be mirror images of one another, but they supposed that that was perhaps the point.

Thus, there was nothing remarkable about the home that the truck pulled up to and parked in front of. It was the classic staple of suburbia: Pale walls and gabled roof and all. The building was distinguished from its uncountable neighbors only by its number.

“I need to go talk to Friend.” Civilian began-- causing their passenger to jump. They hadn’t addressed them for the entire ride. Instead, their ear had been pressed against their phone. “Stay here, okay? It’ll only take a minute. Make sure you have all your stuff together, yeah?”

“Mhm.” Villain hummed. Outside of the safety of the home, their voice felt to have been sucked dry from their throat.

With that, their caretaker popped open the driver’s side door, hopping out to the asphalt below. On their seat, they left their cellphone-- which Villain noted to still be on. They moved with a paranoid gait to the front door, glancing around every few moments. This behavior only heightened when they rang the doorbell, waiting in silence for a few moments.

When Friend at last emerged, they had just as much nerve about them. Why were they taking all this risk, all for the sake of an enemy of the city? They seemed tense enough to startle at a pin dropping.

The two disappeared within the building.

It was okay. The car was locked, and no one was around, anyways. Everything was going to be okay.

Though, it was difficult to convince their paranoid mind of such a thing. Instead, they attempted another tactic: Distraction.

Villain glanced to the seat beside them, and the bag upon it. They had no need to make sure everything was still in it-- they hadn’t even touched it yet--but it still made them feel better. Pulling the bag close, they fished through its contents. Candies, books, and stim toys filled the thing practically to the brim.

So odd, to be given a gift. Spouse had put it together for them. Cautiously, they took out one of the candies, beginning to peel back its wrapper.

A voice startled them from their distracted state.

“You weren’t followed?”

For a few moments, the vehicle’s passenger scrambled about, scrabbling to find the source of the noise. Yet, the street was as deserted as ever.

“No. It’s not my car, either, it’s my partners. No one was behind us. I made sure of it.”

Civilian’s voice.

Villain’s eyes snapped to the darkened device, laying atop the driver’s seat. Civilian’s phone. With as much care as they could manage, they undid their seatbelt, slowly, slowly creeping towards the device.

With a single finger, they touched the screen, igniting the phone to life.

The call. It was still going. They must have forgotten to hang up.

And Friend’s phone was inside...

They sat with bated breath as the cellphone began, once more, to speak.

“Good.” A relieved exhale. “You have no idea how paranoid I’ve been.”

“Oh, no, I think I have quite a good idea, actually. You should look in a mirror. You look terrified.”

“I do?” A nervous chuckle.

“Mhm.”

“Oops.”

“It’s fine. If everything goes according to plan, it won’t matter. No one will know to look here in the first place. Besides, even if they do, we have backups, remember?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I remember. Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“I think we all are.”

“So... they’re really out there? #4? I didn’t think we’d ever see them again.”

“Neither did I. But some of us have partners who wind up in the wrong places at the wrong times.”

“Yeah. Yeah, who could have ever expected this, huh?”

“No one in their right mind. We should get them in here soon, though. Do you have everything ready?”

“Yep. Room’s all set up, I got curtains to cover the windows.”

“Good. I can’t thank you enough for this, Friend.”

“It’s the least we can do, I guess.” A brief pause sat between the two. “They aren’t... dangerous, right? I mean, I’ve never dealt with a failed attempt like this before...”

“They aren’t.” Civilian reassured. “They don’t remember us. And my partner packed all kinds of stuff to help keep their mind off of it. What matters is keeping them safe.“

“And calm.”

“And calm.” They agreed. “Let’s bring them in, I don’t want them to get any stupid ideas out there.”

The voices began to fade, little by little. Villain’s gaze whipped upwards, just in time to see the front door opening. Biting their tongue, they clicked ‘hang up’ on the phone as quickly as they could manage.

They didn’t remember...

What didn’t they remember?!

[handy-dandy-monster-candy]

Brace, part One

Rating: SFW Length: 1272 Pairing: Male-Coded Android x GN Reader

A dark sci-fi fantasy romance. Huge trigger warnings for genocide, child death, attempted murder, injury, blood, heavy religious themes.

xxx

It’s another grey day in Spire City, and rain comes down in streams against your prison window. As you watch, neon lights flicker and steam in the downpour, advertising dentists and bars and career opportunities in Jackson Thomas’s Silver Spire. You can see the Spire in the distance, lit up like a beacon in the haze of watery white noise. You’re sure that you could navigate the labyrinthine streets of the city using it as one would a compass needle, if only you were given half a chance.

You are one of the Fallen: a branded human who developed an unstable genome that gave you supernatural powers, thus deviating from the humans who pass on to sit at the foot of the Beholder’s throne. In the beginning, before the phenomena became widespread, your kind was whispered about behind closed doors, nothing more than an insubstantial spectre in the dark. Then, when more and more children were born with strange powers, the world flew into a panic.

Temples were overwhelmed by desperate parents or those pregnant begging them to cleanse or help spare their children. It wasn’t long before the Temple of the Beholden officially declared such children aberrations against the laws of nature and forbade them from stepping foot in a temple. Some children were abandoned in the dark, some disappeared; most were killed in religious fervour, buried in unmarked graves or washed up on riverbanks.

The Temple of the Beholden called it the Great Ousting—a fancy name for genocide.

Faced with the blood staining the eyes of their Most Holy, a silent exodus ensued from the Temple of the Beholden, its Templars renouncing the white and gold of their former regalia in favour of founding a new faith for the people: the Order of the Fallen. Shrines for the Fallen were erected seemingly overnight—a direct challenge to the Beholden, and one they did not take lightly. All members of the Order were promptly excommunicated from the Templar faith, and though years of unrest have followed, a holy war had yet to break out. 

You remember running your fingers along the robes of the Order in your mother’s wardrobe, admiring the swift but subtle gradient from coal black to blood red. You had grown up kneeling beside her in front of the altar, letting her hand guide yours as you lit the incense and red candles in front of the effigy of the Beholder. You remember praying for the Fallen to find redemption at the feet of the Beholder; to not be barred from re-entering the stream of souls that trickle down into new bodies; to find love and safety in those around them.

And then you Fell.

A knock on the door stirs you from your muddled thoughts, bringing you out of the trance you allow yourself to fall into in order to pass the time within these four walls. When you turn your head to look, the door is already closing, having allowed in a tall, lanky man with bags of groceries stacked impossibly high in his arms. You watch him walk across your tiny cell and begin to sort the goods into the cupboards and fridge, and that’s when you notice that he isn’t human at all. He has the same smooth, sculpted head that most generic androids do beneath his hood, rather like a supercycle helmet that just melts into the lines of his neck and shoulders.

Despite it all, you find yourself feeling curious; just what game is your mother playing now? The android wears the gloves and robes of the Order, stocking the pantry and fridge with things in soft packaging. You weren’t allowed to have tins or other hard packaging after the incident with the beans and the caretaker who tried to take advantage of your solitude. In fact, most metal was kept away from you, within reason, due to your specific ability to manipulate it. This meant that the building that you were in was built entirely out of plastisteel and ceramicrete, from the supports to the rivets and even the bathroom fixtures. Not even nanotech or biometals were safe.

Why, then, had your mother sent you an android?

The light in the camera in the centre of the room flickers and dies. The android calmly sets aside the rest of the packages and turns to face you, crossing the room in a few even strides and snatching you up from the window seat like a damsel in the old reels you used to watch with your mother. Shock and outrage war for dominance for an instant as your instincts buck, senses seeking metal to rend and destroy, push away from your bubble and—the wall beside you explodes.

The blast is so loud after days, weeks, months of silence that you’re briefly light-headed and lost to a powerful bout of tinnitus, almost entirely missing the transition your body takes from warm and dry to cold and wet. Your bare feet touch the roof of the neighbouring building and you blink through the lashing rain to see rioters at the base of your prison on the other side of the street, a multitude of fingers pointing from your broken window to the building you now stand upon. In an instant you’re airborne again, narrowly avoiding yet another explosive projectile from the crowd, and then you find yourself in the arms of the android as he scales from roof to roof away from your would-be murderers.

You must be dreaming, you think, except that dreams don’t bleed and you’re definitely bleeding, cut by shrapnel and shivering with shock and cold. You know nothing of where you are or where you’re going, entirely at the mercy of the android carrying you through the city.

When at last you arrive at your destination, you’re sure your lips must be turning blue from hypothermia, but you aren’t allowed to stop. The android leads you into a little hovel in a building in the slums, half-collapsing and with petra moths fluttering against bald light fixtures. Here, he gives you clothing to change into and a warm can of coffee, which you sip as he tends to your wounds.

“Who are you?” you finally ask when the chattering of your teeth has calmed, looking up at what passes for the android’s face. “Who sent you?”

“My name is Brace,” the android simply replies, shrugging off the robes of the Order and revealing streetwear as nondescript as the clothing you now wear. “I’m with the Resistance.”

“What Resistance?” you ask, bewildered and out of sorts. “What does a resistance movement want with me?”

“Not you specifically,” says Brace, sliding a gun into a slit in his trousers that leads to a gap in his leg. “Fallen in general. Think of us as a liberation movement. We want your freedom. It’s my job to smuggle you off of this continent.”

“The whole damn continent? I’m conspicuous,” you say, gesturing to the tattoo on your face.

“Minor surgery will remove the brand. Whatever other objections you may have, I suggest you remember what I just delivered you from.” Brace conceals more weapons among his person as you watch, from thin knives to long, terrible needles. This seems to be his storehouse, filled to the brim with all matter of weapons and explosives. “We leave tonight. I suggest you get whatever rest that you can.”

You have more questions burning on your tongue, but you swallow them for now. If this is to be your new normal for however much longer you’re alive, you want to be as prepared as possible for whatever may come.

[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

Safe Haven, part 1

(this is the continuation of 12C!)

12C: Part 1 |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |  Part 6 |   Part 7 |   Part 8 |   Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

Tag List: @deluxewhump @whumpinggrounds @yet-another-heathen   @its-mysweetlittlesecret-blog  @killtheprotagonist @kixngiggles

Content Warnings:  immortal whumpee, lady whumpee, references to captivity and lab whump, malnutrition, dehydration, exhaustion, escape, caretaking, implied trauma, implied nudity

Author’s Notes: I really really hope you guys enjoy this one...I hope it’s as cathartic to read as it was to write. :)

I decided to start this next bit under a new title. The parts for the last one were getting excessive, and also this way even if my plans for the rest of it don’t work out, 12C is a complete thought.

As for the ‘escape plan’, I had more details of it in my mind but as I was writing it they felt...boring? So I cut the crap and kept it simple. Just trust that there was a plan and I’m just not a good enough writer to make it interesting. Besides, I wanted to get to the cute shit. :))

----

“You’re sure you know the plan?”

“Yes.”

“And...you’re sure you’re strong enough?”

“...I have to be.”

“That isn’t a yes.”

A huff lacking any real frustration. “Yes, Liv.”

“Okay. Two nights from now. Hang in there.”

----

The wheels of Liv’s cart are loud as they roll down the empty hallway, muffling out her sneakered footsteps. The sound also muffles her half-full water bottle falling from one of the shelves with a smack, and even if it weren’t for the cart, she’s got her headphones on, music turned up loud.

Liv comes to a stop at the door to the storage room. It’s unlocked, like always. She holds the door open with one hand and pushes her cart in halfway with the other. It’s then that she ‘notices’ her bottle down the hall, several yards away. Frustrated, she leaves the cart where it is and trudges to go pick it up.

When she returns, she only spends a couple of minutes in the storage room, restocking a few cleaning supplies so she won’t have to tomorrow. As she leaves the room and continues down the hall, she gives no indication that her cart has suddenly become heavier.

She gets into the elevator and heads upstairs to finish her final tasks of the night. This includes disposing of the garbage and hazardous waste she’s gathered throughout the night, putting utensils in a machine to be sanitized, and dumping linens from a hamper down a chute into a laundry room.

“Curl up tight,” she whispers as she tips the hamper. There’s a soft thud as more than just sheets and towels slide down the chute.

Liv finishes putting her things away, puts the papers from her clipboard in a file folder outside her manager’s door, uses the bathroom, and finally clocks out and heads to the parking garage. Calm, collected, seemingly lost in her music.

Heart pounding. Thoughts racing. Hopeful and terrified.

Her old but beloved little car sits alone on this floor of the dimly lit concrete garage. She throws her things into the passenger side before sitting heavily with a sigh in the driver’s seat. After a moment she turns on the car and begins the winding path up towards the exit.

As she rounds a bend she slows down a little...and remains slow for several moments until she hears her back door open and shut and a rustling as someone lies across the seat and burrows under a waiting blanket. She picks up her speed again, rolling down her window so she can swipe her ID card to get out.

Liv drives into the dark of night. It’s just past two in the morning, the roads empty, the traffic lights in town all blinking yellow. From the back seat she can hear weak, muffled breaths. When she looks at her rearview mirror, she can just make out the bundled heap trembling by the light of street lamps.

She waits until she’s a couple miles beyond the facility’s property before speaking, her voice hoarse from how dry her throat is.

“You okay back there?”

“...not sure,” comes Emmeline’s answer, fear and exhaustion palpable in her voice. “Do you think they saw anything?”

“If we did everything right, no...but I guess we’ll find out.”

Liv puts on an air of confident nonchalance that is so far from how she feels, but it’s for Emmeline’s sake. The risks have become so much more than a slap on the wrist. If they’re caught Liv will be fired and almost certainly arrested for theft of company ‘property’. But Emmeline...not only will she have to go back there, but she’ll be kept under such tight lock and key that any second chance of escape would be impossible, and Liv would no longer be there to even try.

This was their one shot, and all Liv can do is try to keep her panic at bay and hope they didn’t screw it up.

And take care of Emmeline, she thinks, glancing again at the mirror.

The drive home takes its predictable twenty minutes, give or take a few. Liv pulls into her spot beside a nondescript brick apartment building and shuts off her car. She closes her eyes and gives herself a moment to breathe and pull her thoughts together.

It’s quiet from the back.

“Are you awake?”

“Mmhmm…”

That translates to barely.

“Not much further...then you can rest…”

The weight of that statement is too much for Liv’s tired mind to truly process, but it still briefly occurs to her just how big it is, just what it means. For the first time in months, Emmeline can finally, truly rest.

She goes to the back seat and helps Emmeline to her feet. Emmeline remains resolutely wrapped from neck to ankles in the blanket. Despite it being the old, scratchy one Liv keeps in her car in case of emergency, to Emmeline it’s so much more than she’s been allowed.

Standing there barefoot in the parking lot, Emmeline slowly looks up at Liv, strands of limp, messy hair hanging around her face. The single light on the side of the building illuminates her drawn face and although she’s weak, malnourished, exhausted...there is a grateful reverence in her eyes that no matter what happens, Liv will never forget.

Liv swallows and pushes down the lump in her throat. “Come on,” she whispers, putting her arm around Emmeline’s blanket-clad shoulders and guiding her towards the door.

----

Her apartment is tidier than usual; Liv made sure of that, even though she’s pretty sure Emmeline won’t care. Considering where she has spent the last several months, a jail cell would seem like an upgrade. But if Liv is anything, she’s self-conscious.

Emmeline looks around, blinking blearily after having barely made it up the single flight of stairs. She’s swaying on her feet and Liv ushers her to sit on the couch before she passes out right there in the middle of the living room.

Liv is running on adrenaline and fumes at this point. It’s all too surreal, like an out of body experience. Even after long hours spent thinking and planning, she never expected to get this far. But now Emmeline is here, in her apartment, sitting on her couch. Existing outside of the lab, real and tangible.

And she needs you. Get it together.

“I know you probably want to sleep,” Liv begins. Emmeline is still looking around the room like she can’t quite believe it either. “But you haven’t eaten, so...I want to get something in you first, if that’s okay?”

“Okay,” Emmeline whispers.

Liv moves slowly to the kitchen and busies herself with preparing something light and easy: canned soup, crackers, a mug of herbal tea with honey. Like in the car, she allows herself a moment to take a few deep breaths and will her hands to stop shaking before she picks up the plastic tray and carries the food back into the living room.

Emmeline hasn’t moved an inch, not even to relax back against the couch cushions. It isn’t quite what Liv expected...but then, what did she expect? For everything to be better the moment they got here? It isn’t all going to be okay overnight, she realizes. Give her time.

“Here…” Liv sets the tray on the coffee table and sits at the edge of the couch, leaving a few inches between them, not wanting to crowd Emmeline. “Um - chicken noodle soup. Saltines. Chamomile vanilla tea.”

Emmeline blinks slowly at the items before her. “I’m not dreaming. Right?”

“I hope not. Eating canned soup in my apartment isn’t a very exciting dream.”

A faint smile appears on Emmeline’s face. “To me it is…”

Liv holds the bowl of soup while Emmeline eats small spoonfuls of it and nibbles on crackers. She only eats about half before moving on to the tea, cupping the warm mug in her hands and humming with pleasure when she takes the first sip.

“Could I - “ Emmeline begins, but stops abruptly, ducking her head and taking another sip.

“Could you…?”

“Take a shower?” she asks almost inaudibly.

“Of course you can,” Liv answers automatically. “You can have whatever you need.”

Emmeline hesitates, still so frail and uncertain. “Just that is enough...thank you…”

Strengthened by her meal, Emmeline is able to make her own way to the bathroom. Beneath the blanket she is wearing a pair of nurse’s scrubs, stolen from the laundry room at the lab just in case a glimpse of her was caught on camera, though Liv meticulously designed their plan to avoid that. She sheds the clothes and Liv bundles them and the blanket into a plastic bag to discard tomorrow.

Emmeline disappears into the bathroom and a minute later the water comes on.

Liv is left sitting on the couch, finally alone with her fears and doubts.

I can’t believe I did that…

If we get caught we’re so fucked…

Does she even want to be here?

What the hell do I do now?

She grabs the tray of dishes and hurries to the kitchen, where she actually washes them instead of pushing it off to tomorrow, just to distract herself. When that task is done too soon, she goes to change into pajamas and find something for Emmeline to wear.

She’s unfolding and refolding the clothes for the third time when the water shuts off. Just as Liv is standing to bring her the clothes, the sound of the shower curtain moving aside is followed by a cry and a loud thud.

Liv darts to the bathroom, everything else forgotten. She enters without knocking, her heart in her throat.

Emmeline is sprawled on her side on the floor, grimacing. One leg is hooked over the edge of the tub and it quickly becomes apparent that she slipped.

Not attacked. Not passed out or dead. She just fell. It’s okay. It’s okay.

At the sound of Liv entering the room, she rolls onto her back with a groan, revealing a bruise on her hip that slowly starts to heal as soon as the pressure is removed from it.

“Ow…”

“Shit...I forgot to put the bath mat in,” Liv mutters, embarrassed. No wonder Emmeline slipped. She crouches beside her and offers her arms for Emmeline to hold onto.

“Not your fault,” Emmeline answers quietly as she slowly gets to her feet. “I got dizzy…”

The moment Emmeline is standing she sways into Liv, leaning heavily against her before her legs can give out again. Liv freezes, acutely aware of the pressure of Emmeline’s body draped against hers, soft and clean, so weary, so in need of comfort.

All of those evenings Liv spent watching her suffer, wishing she could hold her, touch her gently, stroke her hair...now she has the chance, not a camera or another soul in sight, and she can’t move, can barely think. Not when Emmeline has her head tucked against Liv’s shoulder, breathing soft breaths against her neck.

Liv reaches blindly to her side until she finds a towel hanging on a hook beside the shower. She puts enough space between them to wrap it around Emmeline’s shivering form but remains close enough to steady her. By now Emmeline looks like she might fall asleep where she stands.

“Sorry,” Emmeline whispers, her drooping gaze fixed on Liv’s shirt. “I got you wet…”

“Shh. Don’t worry about it,” Liv answers quietly. “Come on…”

She guides her the final few feet into the bedroom and helps her into soft cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt. Then she pulls back the covers - freshly washed sheets on a freshly made bed, another thing she made sure of - and motions for Emmeline to get in.

“A bed?” Emmeline breathes. She runs her fingers over the sheet with a look of wonder.

“Mmhmm,” Liv affirms, lips pressed together. She’s afraid if she opens her mouth to speak she might cry from the sudden well of emotion at finally being able to give this to Emmeline, this comfort and safety she so deserves.

Emmeline slowly lies down on the bed, letting out a long sigh of relief when her head comes to rest on the plush pillow. Liv pulls the covers over her and tucks them around her snugly. She barely resists planting a soft kiss to Emmeline’s damp hair. Barely.

“Goodnight,” she whispers.

Emmeline is already fast asleep.

[hanatiny]

Love, just maybe

requested by anon: Hi! Can you please write a Yeosang fic where he's in a wheelchair and a caretaker is hired to look after him and he falls in love with her? Thank you!!

a/n: in case anyone spots any medical inaccuracies and/or language I shouldn’t be using, please let me know so I can fix that!! thank u, enjoy <3

pairing: Yeosang x caretaker!f!reader

genre: fluff, very slight angst

word count: 2453

warnings: non-idol AU, mentions of disability and wheelchairs, mentions of driving, mentions of car crashes, brief mentions of food, Wooyoung unintentionally becomes the wingman of the year with someone else’s help lol

-----

You were not the slightest bit sure of how to feel about the situation, tapping your fingers against your steering wheel anxiously while you impatiently waited for traffic to clear up.

A man by the name of Jung Wooyoung had contacted you earlier this week, explaining that his friend Yeosang was in need of a caretaker but stubbornly refused to look into hiring one himself.

You had taken the “offer” without much thinking (it was more of a desperate request although Wooyoung would never admit this), especially since Yeosang was supposedly around your age and it’d make bonding with him easier, but now that you sat here in your car you weren’t all that confident anymore.

It seemed you weren’t allowed to dwell on this any longer, however, since you finally saw traffic clear up and were able to continue your way to your destination, namely Yeosang’s house.

You glanced at your duffle bag on the passenger seat, mentally checking if you’ve got everything - since you were a live-in caretaker, it meant you’d be staying for a while - more precisely, until your client decided they no longer required or wanted your assistance. It didn’t take you much longer to pull into the driveway of Yeosang’s house, which turned out to be a small townhouse in the outskirts of the city.

You climbed out of your car after taking a deep breath to calm your nerves

To your surprise, you found an abundance of flowers blooming in the frontyard. You also spotted a set of swings a little further back, curious to find out the reasoning for the presence of both of these things since you knew Yeosang had been a wheelchair user for quite some time and most likely didn’t take care of his garden or constructed those swings himself.

You weren’t any less startled when you rang the doorbell, only for a little girl who you assumed to be around 11 years old to open the door and greet you with a bright smile, “Hi there, ma’am! Are you here to visit uncle Sang?”

You quirked a brow at the words ‘uncle Sang,’ crouching down to be eye level with the girl before nodding at her, “Something like that, yeah. Could you go and get him for me?”

“Mhm! Just give me a minute~” She giggled as she ran off back into the house, returning shortly after with Yeosang following behind her. He was pretty good-looking, you had to admit. His messy blonde hair framed his face perfectly, and you wondered if it was as fluffy as it looked-

“Miss?” It was the girl’s voice that broke you out of your thoughts, her head tilted to the side inquisitively as she looked at you, “Are you okay?”

“Hm~? Yeah I’m fine, don’t worry.” You gave her a smile to reassure her, one she promptly reciprocated before turning to Yeosang when he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s getting late, Minji.” He spoke softly, “You should get home, I bet your little brother and your parents wanna hear all about what we did today~”

She whined as he playfully ruffled her hair, nodding at him in understanding, “Fine~ See you tomorrow, uncle Sang! Bye bye, nice lady~!”

You found it adorable how she addressed you before she gave both you and Yeosang each a small hug before skipping off, presumably back to her own house.

Yeosang watched her with a smile until neither of you could see her anymore, the male clearing his throat awkwardly while his eyes inspected the bag in your hand.

He motioned you to follow him after another beat as he carefully pushed his wheelchair backwards and further into the house, stepping inside and closing the door behind yourself afterwards.

“I know why you’re here, since Wooyoung can’t keep his mouth shut,” Yeosang finally spoke, and it was as if the weight of your nervousness physically dropped from your shoulders, “and I imagine that you know why I’m not all too pleased about it.”

There was no disdain whatsoever towards you in his tone, only exasperation about the fact that his best friend had gone against his wishes.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing, “As I’m sure you’re aware, I dislike having other people do things for me. I grew up being independent from others so this... circumstance isn’t exactly a fortunate one. If you can prove within, let’s say... a week that you genuinely care for more than the money that’s in it for you for doing this, I’ll let you stay even longer.”

It was a fair agreement - if Yeosang was to have a caretaker despite being highly apprehensive about the idea, the least he could make clear is that he didn’t want anyone who’d do a half-assed job and only pretend to care about him.

“We’ve got a deal.” You stated firmly in response, placing your bag on the floor next to you and extending a hand for the blonde to shake. He appeared to hesitate for a split second before shaking your hand with a nod, and you could’ve sworn you his lips twitch into the faintest bit of a smile.

“Lovely. Since I know you’ll need the knowledge, I figured I should tell you where all the rooms are.” He gestured for you to follow, watching him manage to turn himself around before picking up your bag again and letting him lead the way for you.

It was a pretty spacious living space for a single person, though given the circumstances, you weren’t particularly surprised about it.

“Let’s see... My bedroom is down the hall, and so is my bathroom. Minji’s room, the guest room you’ll be staying in and the guest bathroom are upstairs. And the kitchen, living room and dining room are, as you can surely tell, all connected.”

“Got it.”

Yeosang cleared his throat, and you subconsciously straightened your posture a little. “Now,” he said, “you should know that I tend to go to sleep really early, so I suppose this is what I will go ahead and do now. You can explore a little more if you want, but you should get rest as well since you officially start working tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you won’t need my help tonight...?” You inquired tentatively, not wanting to overstep any kind of boundary, and Yeosang seemed hesitant to answer before nodding firmly. “Thank you... but I’ll manage.” He finally said, “Good night, Y/n.”

You shouldn’t have been as stunned by his use of your name as you were, yet there you stood, watching him make his way down the hallway before disappearing into his bedroom. You turned on your heel, deciding that exploring could wait in favor of making yourself at home in ‘your’ room.

You skipped up the stairs, your bag swung over your shoulder, and were quick to find the bedroom you’d be staying in. Minji’s room was decorated overly cutely, while yours looked... lived in. You made a mental note to make sure to ask Yeosang about this.

And sure enough, prove yourself like he challenged you to do was exactly what you did.

Finding out the time Yeosang would usually wake up, you made it your goal to always get up before him to cook a healthy breakfast for him and prepare clothes for him to wear. He was initially reluctant to let you help with the latter, although it didn’t take him long to admit that he both needed and appreciated your assistance with things he wasn’t able to do by himself. Yeosang blushed profusely whenever he asked you to help him in bathroom, be it to empty his bladder or to wash himself, but he did catch himself warming up to you faster than he’d like anyone to know.

He admired the care you put into helping him even with arguably straining tasks like changing positions into a chair, for example, even though he was capable of doing so with minimal help. He took to either reading or playing the violin whenever you left the house to run errands like grocery shopping, and he couldn’t help but let his mind drift to you.

He had once been so distracted by his own thoughts that you had caught him playing a gentle piece on his instrument of choice, and he mentally scolded himself for the rest of that day for allowing it to come to such an embarrassment.

You, however, were absolutely endeared. Both by the fact that he was able to play an instrument as beautiful as the violin, and by the observation you’ve made that he seemed to have quite a big soft spot for Minji.

Speaking of the young girl, you grew closer to her as well - she even began calling you “aunt Y/n” after a few visits, and you could’ve sworn that her cuteness had melted you right where you stood.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Yeosang either, and it had him constantly repeating the two words in his head. He refused to admit it aloud, but he knew that what had his mind racing was the thought of a possible relationship with you that’d go beyond simply caring for him.

Similarly, you found yourself thinking about what it might actually be like to care for a child together with the blonde but snapped out of it before you allowed yourself to take your thoughts to a level that exceeded the professional one you should’ve been keeping it at.

It was Yeosang who finally broke the splintering ice between the two of you after approximately three and a half weeks of you living with him while you two were sitting on the terrace that overlooked his garden, enjoying a comfortable evening together, and you couldn’t help but tense a little from his words, “You know,” he began, “I feel like you deserve some answers to the questions I know you have but are too hesitant to ask.”

You felt your cheeks warm, he couldn’t have been any more correct with his observation.

“Let’s see - your room looked so... used, if you will, because it’s the room Wooyoung previously stayed in before he was forced to move away for work and consequently hired you to take care of me. As for Minji, her parents are away a lot so that’s why she comes over almost every day. Wooyoung and her parents constructed those swings for her when she started visiting me more frequently, and Minji’s friends are the ones taking care of the garden together with her. Y’know, since I can’t for obvious reasons.”

You nodded thoughtfully in response, somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of information you were being given but still grateful for Yeosang’s willingness to be this open with you.

“It’s been almost a year since the accident that caused me to be as I am now, in a wheelchair and codependent due to paraplegia. I will be honest, I neither know nor care to find out why that other guy rammed my car with his... I just know that we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation if he didn’t and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for putting me in this situation, in this dilemma of being unable to move or even just feel my lower half.”

“That’s understandable... I can only imagine how much it ruined your life, not to mention the emotional trauma that must’ve come with the accident.” You replied softly, trying to be careful with your words as Yeosang nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I haven’t sat in a car again ever since it happened. And I don’t really like talking about it, admittedly...”

You tilted your head at him in question while he trailed off, “I don’t mean to offend, but if that’s the case... Why are you telling me?”

“I can’t blame you for being confused about it, and I’ll be happy to explain my reasoning behind this. Truth is, I like you. In a more than ‘you care for me so I act nice around you’ way, in a... ‘I want to get closer to you’ kind of way.”

You couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow at Yeosang’s roundabout way of confessing to you, “Are you saying... you have a crush on me?”

“I- well, yeah. That’s what I’m trying to say.” Yeosang nodded shyly at your tentative question, a hum sounding in your throat in response before he continued, nervously fidgeting with his hands a little. “Listen, I just... I think I could fall in love with you. I want to ask you to permanently move in with me, because I most definitely will never get sick of you. Of course you don’t have to accept, if you don’t want to or just don’t feel the same way...”

He trailed off, not even realizing how distracted he was by the way the light of the setting sun illuminated your face until he heard you giggle softly. Yeosang blushed when he noticed that you had, rather boldly, moved your chair closer to him and were now stroking his hair absentmindedly. He found it pathetic how easily the simple gesture flustered him, not dwelling on it any longer while you spoke, “It’s funny that you bring this up, honestly... Because I happen to feel the exact same way. And maybe, just maybe, I could also see myself falling in love with you in the future. With all of you.”

“All of me?” Yeosang echoed tentatively, “Are you sure..?”

You nodded a little more enthusiastically than intended, although that was presently the least of your concerns, “I’m sure. What kind of person would I be if I rejected you purely because of something that’s out of your control?”

Yeosang felt a grin tug at his lips at the double meaning of your statement, although he found himself fumbling a little over his words. “Touché. So... what now? Is this the part where I ask you to be my girlfriend?”

“It is, and it’s also the part where I answer that question with a ‘yes’~”

Yeosang beamed at you, truly delighted that you were willing to give him a chance to be yours. Little did you know though that, as the two of you continued to talk until late in the night about everything under the sun, there was a certain young girl watching you both from where she sat at her window in the neighboring house with a small dreamy sigh before suddenly jumping up and making a run for it down the stairs.

“Mom, can you give me the phone for a sec? I wanna tell uncle Woo that my matchmaking plan worked~!”

----- Taglist:

@atinykitty @cometoceantrenches @ddeonghwva @galaxteez​ @latte-fairytaekwoon @little-precious-baby @multidreams-and-desires @nightqueennyx @serialee @twancingyunhoe @vocalyunho

Network tag: @8makes1teamnet​

[five-rivers]

Glowsticks

Sneaking in before midnight on Halloween~

This is another continuation of Exhumed.

.

.

.

McGee had talked to several people about the strangely popular gravestone.  What he had learned made him feel sick.  Literally. He wanted to throw up.  First, the person buried there was the kid that had been found in the park.  Second, the locals had made him into a cult figure practically overnight.  

Or, at least, a tourist trap figure.  These people had no shame.  

On the other hand… Didn’t they say that Daily person was in charge of cults?  Did Amity Park have a cult problem on top of everything else that was going on?  Was the cult the problem, the root problem?  If there even was an actual cult…

Cults were dangerous and took vicious advantage of legal loopholes.  Maybe he should call the FBI.  They were the ones that were supposed to deal with cults.  

He took a deep breath, pulling himself together. No.  This was his case.  His job. He didn’t know that there was a cult involved, not yet.  Besides, it didn’t matter if they were religious so long as they were breaking the law.  Yeah.  

“Are you okay?”

McGee almost jumped out of his skin, his hand twitching towards his firearm before he realized that the person who snuck up on him was a kid.  The kid from earlier, to be precise.

The boy’s eyes narrowed.  “Were you about to pull a gun on me?” he asked.  

“No,” said McGee.  

The boy blinked, suspicion still evident on his face. “You’ve got to be more careful with guns,” he said.  “There’s no reason to go for one just because someone surprised you.”

McGee didn’t grace that with a response.  “What are you doing here, anyway?  Weren’t you across town, earlier?”

“Yeah.  So were you,” said the boy.  Danny. His name was Danny Fenton.  “Why are you here?”

“I asked first.”

“You shouldn’t ask questions you aren’t willing to answer yourself.”

What the hell was up with this kid?  “I’m just trying to get a better feel for the town.”

“Hm,” said Danny.  “I help out here at the cemetery, sometimes.  Got to lay all those ghosts to rest, you know?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little much?” snapped McGee. “Death isn’t supposed to be a roadside attraction.”

“Oh, don’t worry.  We take death very seriously around here,” assured Danny.  “But seriously.  I do help out.  The caretaker lets me take that stuff away when it gets to be too much.”  He nodded at the blank headstone and all the offerings around it.  “Mom likes the flowers.  Jazz is making a collage of some of the cards.  You know.  Stuff like that.”  He shrugged, angling himself away from McGee.  “Someone left a tiny copy of the Tempest once.  In one of those teeny tiny books.  Post.  It had that one passage from Ariel’s Song decorated.  It was nice.  I liked it.”

“What?”

“Ariel’s Song.  Full fathom five thy father lies;/Of his bones are coral made;/Those are pearls that were his eyes;/Nothing of him that doth fade,/But doth suffer a sea-change/Into something rich and strange. Shakespeare.  I think it’s supposed to be a commentary on ghosts, but the guy in the play isn’t actually dead, people just think he is.  So, I’m not really sure how to take it.  You’re a detective, right?  What do you think?”

McGee stared at the teenager. The kid who was buried there was his age.  “This isn’t a joke,” said McGee.  “A person is dead.”

Danny tilted his head. “I’m not joking?”

“How are you even connected to all of this?”  McGee waved his hand, frustrated.  

“I just told you how I’m connected to the cemetery.  If you mean the town…  Well, I do live here.”

“Why do Patterson and Collins know you?”

“I know everyone,” said Danny.  He started backing away.  “You should go get something to eat soon, if you don’t want to be late.”  He turned and disappeared in the crowd.  

What the hell.

.

McGee did not go to get food. He went back to the station.  He had some questions to ask Cameron Daily, and he got the impression that the man was the kind of person to practically live at work.  

When he opened the door, though, he had to stop.

“What is this?” he asked, loudly.  

“Glowsticks,” said one of the secretaries.  “You have seen them before, right?”

“Yes, but why?”

As much as the police department had been infested with Christmas decorations before, it was now covered with glowsticks of all varieties.  

The secretary shrugged. “You’ll find out.  And, no, this isn’t hazing.”  She broke a new glowstick with a snap.

“Right,” said McGee.  “Where’s Daily?”

“Cameron Daily is in the computer bay,” said the secretary, pointing.

“Thanks,” grunted McGee, once again wondering why there was a separate computer bay when everyone had their own desks, computers, and, in some cases, additional laptops.  

Screw it, he might as well ask.  

“Hey, Daily.”

“Mm?”

“Why’s there a separate computer bay?”

“Oh, it’s shielded,” said Daily.  

“Shielded.”

“Yep.  No signals, and the Fentons did some pretty neat stuff to the walls.  Bunch of, ehm, nasty hackers.  We learned our lesson, eventually.”

“The Fentons.”

“Yeah.  And Foley did the firewalls.”

“They’re the ones who did the computer filing system.”

“Uhuh.  Kids are geniuses.  The parents aren’t too shoddy, either.”

“The—” No.  There was no way.  “Are they the same Fentons that hunt ghosts?”

“Yeah.  You wouldn’t think it to look at them, but apparently they live off of their patents.  Made a bunch of fiddly little things that every other mass production factory in the country uses.  Also, they own a toilet paper company.  Not my favorite brand, but it isn’t the worst, honestly.  Kind of wish we’d buy it here, but, no, we get that gross single ply. I swear, that stuff should be classified as a crime against humanity.”

“You let the ghost hunters deal with your computer security.”

“Oh, I know that tone. You met them, huh?”

“Just the kid.”

Daily looked up at McGee over the computer.  “What?”

“I only met the kid. Danny.”

Slowly, Daily uncurled from his hunch in front of the computer.  The man was taller than McGee thought.

“Then what’s your issue? Danny’s a good kid.”

A good kid whose parents were allowed to run roughshod over the town, who was allowed to steal from graveyards, and knew all of the police officers.  For some reason.  

“I heard you’re in charge of monitoring the cult?”

Daily snorted.  “You make it sound like there’s just one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, after all the ghosts, most religions had to modernize, you know?”

Oh, god, this was part of the tourist trap.  Or the tourist trap was part of this.  Did they recruit from people who actually believed this nonsense?

“There’s more than one cult?”

“Yep.”

“Sounds like quite a job.”

“Eh.  I’m mostly just keeping track of their online activity.”

“So, how are the Fentons involved?”

“They aren’t.  They’re pretty areligious, overall.  Danny’s been almost kidnapped a few times, though.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Kidnapped.  By a cult.”

“Cults.  Gotta remember the plural, man.  Cults.”  Daily was hunching again.  “But, hey, if you’re interested in the subject, I can give you a thorough run-through of this new group that started up last week.  Their philosophy is wild.  I can’t even tell you—”

“Hey.  You’re early,” said Patterson, leaning through the door, her braid swinging.  “Great. Have you eaten?”

“Yes,” lied McGee.  

“Get better at lying,” said Patterson.  “Come on, let’s go.”

.

Patterson and Collins weren’t the only ones there.  In fact, there were more people in the station than there had been that morning. All with glowsticks.  Said glowsticks were being loaded into unmarked cars while office staff and police officers whispered back and forth.

“Did you get the green stuff?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Gave me more than enough.” Glowing green milk jugs were loaded into a car.  The car McGee would be riding in with Collins and Patterson.

‘Green stuff.’  Was this some kind of bizarre drug smuggling ring? McGee had fallen behind in drug slang, if so.  ‘Green stuff.’  Were they lacing it with glowstick fluid?

Never before had he felt so lost on a case.  Amity Park was messed up.  

“You’ve got the howlers hooked up?” asked Collins.

“I asked Daily to do it this morning.”

“But did he do it?”

“I mean, it looks like it. Are the howlers really that important?”

McGee had no idea what was going on.  

The cars all started off in a group.  Their car was the last to leave and soon peeled off to trundle slowly down back roads.  

“You probably have questions,” said Collins.

“You could say that,” said McGee.  

“You’ve been a good sport about them,” observed Collins.  

“So,” said McGee, drawing out the word.  “What is this about?”

Patterson swallowed a laugh. “Ever hear of the Men in Black?”

“Look, I’m humoring the ghosts.  Conspiracy theories are where I draw the line.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it’ll stick.  Anyway, here in Amity Park, we deal with their less intelligent cousins.  The Guys in White!”

“That’s not their actual name,” said Collins, glancing back over his shoulder.  “But, well, their appearance fits.”

“Alright, let’s say I believe you.  What does this have to do with the jugs of glowstick fluid in the trunk?”

“Oh, that’s not glowstick fluid,” said Patterson.  “It’s waste from the reactor that powers the town.”

“Don’t worry,” said Collins, hastily, the car swerving somewhat.  “It’s completely harmless!  Not radioactive at all!”

“That’s not what—” started Patterson.  

“You absolutely will not get cancer from it!”

McGee raised a hand.  “You have nuclear reactor fluid in the trunk?”

“It isn’t nuclear reaction fluid,” protested Patterson.  “It’s—"

“Back on track,” interrupted Collins.  

“Yeah.  Anyway.  It’ll trip the Guys in White’s sensors—”

“Eventually,” Collins grumbled.  

“—so we can lead them on a chase.”

“And…  why do we want to do this?”

“Because it’s a quiet month,” said Patterson.  “Don’t want the Guys to get antsy.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means what it means. You’ll see in January.”

McGee looked between his two ‘partners.’  “Are you trying to get me to quit?”

“Because you’re a spy for the county?” asked Patterson.  “Oh, no, never.”

Before McGee could process that statement, the car’s radio crackled to life.  

“We’ve got a class-3 northbound on Orion at 35 miles per hour.  Ectosignature suggests an amorphiform ghost—”

“Hah!” shouted Patterson. “That’s us!  Punch it!”  She twisted the dial on the radio as Collins slammed his foot into the accelerator.  “Bogey to Redrum!  We’ve got followers!”

“Copy, Bogey, this is Redrum. We need a few more minutes to set up. Can you stay out of sight?”

“The hell?”

The radio crackled.  “Forgot you had the new guy!  Don’t shake him up too much, okay?  Over.”

“Copy.  Collins you catch that?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m taking Pan and Laurel.  The holiday tour.”

“Ooh, good choice.” Patterson held up the radio again. “Yeah, we can manage.  Over.”

Collins went faster. For the next several minutes McGee occupied himself with not throwing up.  He succeeded.  Barely.

“Bogey, this Cam,” said the voice of Daily, “followers are gaining.  They’re on Brassica, just passing High Street.  Triggered the speed cameras.  Over.”

“How many and what type? Over.”

“Three gliders.  Don’t think they’ve spotted you yet, though. Over.”

Gliders?  Who did these people think they were kidding?

“Copy, over,” said Patterson. “Not like those guys care about speeders, though,” she muttered.  McGee could barely hear her over the beating of his own heart.

“Sharp right, brace yourselves,” said Collins, split seconds before matching action to words.

“Redrum to bogey, we’re moving out now, over.”

“Copy.  We’re on our way.  Over.  Head to the park, Collins.”

“Gotcha.”

It didn’t seem possible, but Collins somehow pushed the car to go even faster.  Then, just as quickly as the whole ridiculous thing had begun, the car skidded to a halt in a parking lot.  Seeing his chance, McGee clawed at the door handle and dragged himself out onto the pavement.  

Collins and Patterson, meanwhile, were pulling the almost-certainly-toxic waste out of the trunk and launching it into the glowstick-filled woods with—

“Is that a bazooka?” demanded McGee, so far past his wit’s end that he couldn’t even see it anymore.

“Nah, just a modified T-shirt canon,” said Patterson, stowing the object away again.  “Fentonworks special.”

“I don’t believe you,” said McGee.  

Three – Three things – McGee did not want to call them gliders – raced overhead, jets roaring and wind whistling.  They came to a stop approximately where the ‘reactor waste’ had fallen.  

“What the hell?” whispered McGee, passionately.  

“Come on,” said Collins.  “Time for us to go.”

“Yeah, better to spectate from afar,” agreed Patterson.

“I agree,” said a third voice.

“Oh, Danny,” said Patterson.  “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

The boy walked into McGee’s field of view and glanced down at him before shrugging.  “Couldn’t sleep.”  He looked up, at the park.  “Thanks for this.”

“Had to get them to blow this month’s budget somehow,” said Collins.  “But, really, we should all go before the fireworks start.”

Danny sighed.  “Hope they don’t blow up the fountain again.  It just got fixed.”

“Same,” said Patterson.

“Well, see you later.”

“Yep, we’ve got that wellness check tomorrow,” said Collins. “You don’t have any excuse to forget, this time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said the teen, waving over his shoulder as he walked straight into the dark.

“What,” said McGee.  

“That’s just Danny for you,” said Collins.  “Great kid.  Super creepy.”

“Yeah.”

“How’d he even know we’re here?” asked McGee, trying to keep his voice even.  

“He did give us that eeeeehhhhhhh—reactor waste,” said Patterson.  “Come on, get up, we’ve got to—”

A small explosion sounded from the park.  

“Seriously.  I don’t want to have to pick you up.”

“I’d wind up doing most of the lifting,” grumbled Collins, who was sliding into the driver’s seat.

Patterson put her hands on her hips.  “Excuse you?”

There was another, larger explosion.  McGee climbed back into the car.

As they drove, he realized that no one had made fun of his name. Not even once.  

Amity Park was weird.  

[icouldntfinditsoiwroteit]

Story 1

At the moment I may or may not be a bit obsessed with One Piece without even watching the anime, and I'm even more obsessed with Sanji and the Vinsmokes in general, so I thought of four story ideas with a reader insert, two will be romantic and the last two will be platonic.

1. Aracne

Fem Reader X Vinsmoke quadruplets.

Soulmate au (red string, sort of)

Sneak peek.

In this Au Reader is a Third, her family has webbed countless portraits for the Vinsmoke family, she goes with her older brother in order to further her practice and experience in webbing a portrait.

She is four years older then the quadruplets and one year older than Reiju.

Story time

*Big brother says I need to be careful with the Vinsmokes, they don't act bad but I don't like how their eyes look and I feel dizzy when I look at them, although brother said that it was sea sickness,* (F/N) thought while she carried some of the webbing material behind her brother.

Her brother had three spider arms and one pair of human arms while she has tree pair of human arms and one pair of spider ones.

*Mother always says how we are total opposites in not only personality but also in bodies just like the Mrabara,* (F/N) remembered.

"Brother,"

"Yes?" They had already arrived to the webbing room.

"What is a Mrabara?" (F/N) moved to one side for her face to be visible.

"W-Where did you hera that word?" Brother's face was twisted in nervous worry.

"Mom,"

"Oh thank god," His face relaxed.

"Is there something wrong with Mrabara?"

"It's a mature word," Brother tried to explain.

"I'm mature," (F/N) pouted following her brother who had entered the webbing room.

"Never said you weren't.......just don't say it in front of Clío and if you do tell her mom taught you the word," Brother said while he started to prepare the webbing station.

"Come help me with this (F/N),"

Four hours later.

"Are you listening (F/N)?"

"Yeah," (F/N) muttered in her seat while she watched her brother web.

"What did I just say then?" Brother looked at her and smiled playfully.

".............."

"You already bored, don't you usually last for 7 whole hours?" Her brother gave her a worried look.

"I don't know," (F/N) really wanted to walk outside but she didn't know why, she loved webbing to the point that in her lessons they had to remind her to eat, although they said that it was normal.

"Tell you what, I'll ask for something to eat, meanwhile go and retrieve my webbing book," (F/N) lightened up at the thought of walking outside.

"Ok," (F/N) bolted to the door.

"Stick to the route we came from," Her brother reminded and she just nodded in agreement before she opened the door and left the room.

When she left the room she bumped into someone slightly smaller than her, she caught the stranger before they could fall to the ground.

"Are you ok? I'm so sorry," She looked at the stranger who had yellow hair.

"Hello?" She asked after stopping herself from apologizing again when she received no answer, the boy was frozen.

"S-S-So-orry-Sorry," The boy whispered.

"Why are you apologizing?" She then gasped recognizing the prince.

"Your highness, I'm so sorry," She apologized again.

Before she could keep apologizing they heard some footsteps approaching them and then someone calling out.

"Sanji!!" The boy stiffened at the voice calling his name, he took (F/N)'s hand and ran.

(F/N) followed along until they reached a dead end, she could see how the little boy was trembling and heard how the taunts and footsteps where still following them, but something good was that the dead end had a window.

She took out of her pockets a thread serger that had spider web her family told her to always carry with her, she roped the thread around the boy to create a small harness.

"I'm going to get you down there," The boy only looked at her in shock.

She pushed the window open and put the boy in the ledge of the window, under the window was a small bush where he could easily hide.

"Be very quiet," She said as she pushed the boy and started to let him down as fast as she could, the steps where getting closer and closer.

Luckily she felt the boy reach the ground a few second before the chasers reached her, but she only had time to throw her end or the thread and close the window.

"SANJI!!" She turned around in surprise and saw that a bow with green hair had yelled that.

*It's the princes,* (F/N) noted when the last two boys rounded the corner.

"Ichiji, this is just a girl," The blue haired one whined.

The red haired boy glared and (F/N) felt shivers when she made eye contact.

"Oi, where did Sanji go?" The green haired boy asked.

(F/N) only shacked her head.

"Then what is a insect like you doing here?" The blue haired one asked.

"Looking out the window?" (F/N) gave a look of "seriously", this seemed to anger them.

"An lowlife doesn't need to see out the window, maybe we should use this one since we can't find Sanji," The blue haired one was clearly the most volatile.

"(F/N) what are you doing here?" Came her brother's cold voice.

"Brother, I just wanted to look out the window," (F/N) explained while the boys turned around and their grins disappeared when they saw her brother.

"Young princes, I will be taking my sister with me now," He greeted politely.

(F/N) immediately followed him not looking behind, this made her brother the only one who saw the red strings tied to her pinkies.

Au info dump

In this Au there is a species called Aracne, this species is a hybrid between a spider and human, there are different forms a Aracne can be born into such as seconds, thirds and fourths, although the form is respective to the family they come from.

Seconds

As the name says, they are basically half spider and half humans, the spider humans is always the lower, members of this species are considered either as builders since due to their form it would be incredible dangerous for the to go into the sea and their silk is the strongest and more resistant or as knowledge guardians (librarians) and they have the most elders since they have the longer lifespan. They can also be seen as teachers and caretakers too, they are also the ones who take care of the security alongside the Fourths, there is usually two of them per family they take the role as grandparents or simply mentors although the last one is extremely rare and two is just the minimum but unofficially they take care of all family's since they most probably took care of them as children. Their bites are fatal and will take your life in less than a minute and can dissolve any surface.

Thirds

Their humanoid features are more dominant than the spider ones, in this form they possess either one, two or three pairs of arms and the rest takes the form of a spider leg that is always in their lower backs. When it comes to females their web exit is in the middle of where the lowest spider legs find themselves this causes them to be incredibly flexible to reach for the web. They are considered the negotiators and commonly leave their homes to aid their nest's economy, this is usually trough them selling their services in making clothes, rugs and even portraits with their silk but this kind of service is only given to royalty or families considered sacred or that are friends with them. (It is considered a honor or sign of power to have one portrait since it is believed that they can predict the future). Their bite is also mortal but will take six minutes to kill an adult, although it has been used in some medicine that kind of works like chemo.

Fourths

They are the ones who exit their island the most in unofficial matters unlike the thirds, this is due to their forms being less evident and easier to hide, they are the ones in charge to keep the island updated in politics, economy, science and culture although some of them also accompany as guards the thirds when it comes to political exits, they only possess two to tree pairs of arms, their whole body possess small hard hair that allows them to still be able to climb webs like the other forms, their bite takes ten minutes to kill someone or if they are a strong human they can survive but not without any damage that is usually caused to their muscles, although their venom if processed correctly can be used to cure countless of sicknesses, this is a secret guarded with their lives in order to prevent their active hunt. They are also the buffest since they need to compensate their lack of spider legs with their strength.

More info

Skin and eye color varies an there is no consistence, when it comes to eyes Seconds may possess 8 to 6, Thirds 5 to 3 and Fourths possess 4 to 3, two eyes is incredibly rare and only happens when someone is born from a Fourth and a human, hybrids are born from the union of two different forms, the Aracne are not against romantic relationship between different forms but when it comes to reproduce they worry, if a fourth became pregnant with a Second or Third they will die during the pregnancy or in childbirth since the baby's form will be mixed and the Fouth's body cannot handle it, same goes for a Third with a Fourth although there are higher chances of survival there is still the possibility of some life damage occurring, Seconds are the ones who can carry in a less dangerous way the offspring of the lover but due to the Second's anatomy a Fourth's baby has a 85% of chance to die and a Fourth's has a 50% chance to die in the womb.

If the hybrid is born healthy they are raised normally but health issues will come in the future if they aren't born with them already, although there are cases where hybrids manage to enjoy a full life, they still needed medical help to manage it.

There is a lot less danger if the child is a mix between a Aracne and a human, since a human's gene would only water down the child's form a long as it is the Aracne who carries, if it where the human they will die if they carrie the offspring of a Second or a Third, if it is a Fourth's child they carry it comes with less danger but their chance of survival is of less than 30%.

[peach-the-owl]

Taken

Child of the Nein (Mighty Nein & Child!Reader)

If you take their kid it doesn’t matter if they don’t know who you are. They will look for you, they will find you… and they will kill you

Jester

Jester bursts into the tavern out of breath, eyes darting around quickly until they landed on the rest of the group staring at her from one of the tables, she quickly makes her way over.

"Did any of you see (y/n) walk in here?" She immediately questions when she reaches the table.

"Aren’t they supposed to be with you?" Caleb questions right back.

"Well yes, but I guess we both got distracted and then separated and now I can’t find them." Jester says worried.

"This looks like a job for Nott, the great detective and her assistant Jester." Nott stands up and pumps a fist into the air. "Or you could try scrying on them."

"Good idea! How did I not think of that?" Jester then heads up to her room and gets to work casting the spell, once everything’s ready she feels herself being lifted from her body traveling through the roof of the building and into the clouds, off to your location.

"I don’t like the looks of this." The voice of the Traveler whispers to her and when her vision becomes clearer she understood why he’d said it. You were tied to a wagon, desperately pulling at the restraints to try and free yourself to no avail, an unknown individual steering the wagon away from the city.

"Let me go! Let me go! I want my mama!" You cry out.

"Just shut up already, or else I’ll tear out your tongue and make you shut up!" The driver snaps back at you making you shrink in on yourself. There’s a long pause before they speak again. "You don’t have a mother, I’m the best you got."

"I do so have a mama! She’ll come get me, you’ll see."

"Really, someone actually thinks a brat like you is worth their time? I’ll believe it when I see it." They mock.

"You’re the worst caretaker ever." You mutter.

"Well your making this far more difficult then it’s worth! No matter, everything will be taken care of soon." They say ominously. Before anything else can be said Jester is pulled back from the spell into the little inn room. She immediately gets up and starts heading out the door.

"Where are you going?" Nott questions.

"I have to save my baby." She replies dashing out of the inn, the rest of the Nein following after her…

To be continued…

Nott

You were one who could disappear on a common basis so when you didn’t show up right away for lunch no one thought too much on it, no one except for Nott that is. She knew you liked sneaking off from time to time but you’d always tell her about it first, and you certainly weren’t one to skip a meal, something was fishy and Nott didn’t like it one bit.

"You sure you’re not just being paranoid?" Fjord raises an eyebrow at her.

"You wouldn’t get it, you’ve never had children." Nott retaliates.

"I’ll help you look!" Jester excitedly volunteered.

"I’ll come too." Yasha say, already getting up from the table.

"Yeah sure, I’ve got nothing better to do right now." Beau also stands, stretching herself out. The four of them leave the inn to start their search, splitting up with Beau and Yasha in one direction and Nott and Jester in the other in hopes of covering more ground that way. It wasn’t easy to get information seeing as you were a slippery target to track down, and it’s not like they could be very open about asking if anyone’s seen a little goblin running around, that could cause more trouble then help. They all meet up again by the inn, Nott feeling very anxious about finding no sign of you anywhere.

"We got ourselves a lead." Beau says when she’s within ear shot.

"What is it? Where are they? Tell me everything!" Nott blurts out, trying and failing to hide her panic.

"Someone had umm, asked us to join in this sorta pit fighting tournament." Yasha starts.

"We thought about it, I said yes, they gave us this flyer and then they left, but I heard one of them say, and I quote 'I can’t wait to see Dezmo absolutely annihilate that half-baked goblin you found.'" Beau finishes the explanation. This instantly caught Nott's attention.

"They want to annihilate my baby? Not if I have anything to say about it." She hisses lowly letting Beau and Yasha lead the way, looks like they had a tournament to crash…

To be continued…

Caleb

Five minutes, he left you alone for five minutes and in that time you had disappeared, this wasn’t like you, sure you were a curious little kid but you always listened when he told you to do something. It's not like he was gone long and Port Damali isn’t that big so how could you have disappeared so quickly? All sorts of what if's and maybe's came to mind, all of them coming to a worse case scenario which only made Caleb more anxious about the situation. He asked the group if they’d seen you first, they all hadn’t but now they were helping to look for you too.

"Excuse me, have you seen a child? (H/c) hair, (e/c) eyes, always carrying a little bag with them. Anything?" He had been asking people the same questions for a large portion of the day, determined to find you as soon as possible.

"Sorry sir, but I haven’t seen anyone like that." This was the common answer he’d get in return, making it feel like he was running in circles. He just gives a somber nod and the people walk away, continuing on to their own business.

"*Mein kleiner, wo bist du?" Caleb mutters to himself, reverting to his native tongue from all the stress. Where were you, were you okay, were you hurt? Hundreds of questions and more what ifs filled Caleb’s head. On the verge of a meltdown, he clings to the sides of his head and tries to steady his breathing as the world spun around him.

"Hey, Caleb!" Fjord comes running over, taking a short moment to catch his breath. "Someone said they may have seen (y/n)."

"Where?" Caleb quickly refocuses.

"They said that a woman claiming to be the mother was dragging them off somewhere." Fjord explains.

"Where did they go?" Caleb grabs his shoulders a desperate look on his face.

"Headed for the docks last I heard."

"Then what are we doing standing around for, we need to get everyone quick!" The two of them hurry off off towards the docks, Caleb needed to get to you before it was too late, he didn’t have moment to waste…

To be continued…

*translation: "My little one, where are you?"

Caduceus

"Are you sure you don’t want to come to the market with us? I mean, I’m not sure if I’m all too comfortable just leaving you here." Caduceus expresses his concern.

"I’ll be okay, I promise I won’t go far, but I really wanted to practice with some of my new spells." You give him a reassuring smile.

"Alright, I’m trusting you. We shouldn’t be gone too long." He looks over his shoulder at the others joining in for the little outing, Jester giving a large smile and thumbs up. You wave to them before heading off to practice. Shopping was going well, restocking on some potions and food supplies, picking up a few materials needed for spells, the like, however the entire time they were in the market Caduceus couldn’t shake this grim feeling he had, like something bad was going to happen.

"You seem worried." Nott's shrill voice cuts into his thoughts. "If you really like we can head back now and check in on them?"

"I, ummm, maybe?" Caduceus puts a hand under his chin in thought. "No, you continue without me, I’ll go back myself."

"Don’t be ridiculous, I’ll just send (y/n) a message to check how they're doing if you’re so worried." Jester pipes in before she casts Sending. "Hi (y/n), we just wanted to see how you’re doing. Caduceus is being a worry wort so just tell us your fine please… Do bap." She gives a reassuring smile while waiting for a reply… a moment passes… another moment passes. The longer the silence goes on the more her smile drops.

"I don’t like that look on your face." Caduceus points out, Jester just looks at him with worry. Without another word the three of them quickly make their way back to the inn, stopping briefly when they encounter Yasha.

"What’s all the rush?" She asks.

"Have you seen (y/n) recently?" Nott questions back.

"I thought they were with you." Yasha says with a little more concern. They all head inside and check the various rooms they rented for the week, when no sign of you was found Caduceus goes to check outside, remembering you saying you wanted to practice with your magic. He comes across a small field, the inn still in sight but also slightly obscured by trees, it defiantly looked like magic had been used here, but not for practice, some of the ground was uprooted a few scorch marks and definite signs of a struggle. He inspected every inch of the area when his eyes landed on something that nearly made his heart stop, your staff had been discarded off to the side and he could faintly see tracks of something or someone being dragged off.

"Oh no…" This wasn’t good, he had to find you before something terrible could happen but he couldn’t do it alone, he makes his way back into the inn to tell everyone what he’d seen. Caduceus just prayed you were alright and that it wasn’t already too late…

To be continued…

Fjord

More often then not Fjord preferred that you don’t join in on nightly watches seeing as you were young and needed more time to rest them the others, you'd argue that because your half-elf you don’t actually need a lot of sleep to take on the next day. After a lot of talking it over you were allowed to sometimes help take watch with Fjord so he could make sure you didn’t try anything reckless. The night was calm, but even the calm could be a disguise for trouble.

"I think I saw something." You point out, looking down the darkened path. "I’m gonna go investigate." You get up, grabbing your weapon and make your way over.

"Now wait just a second, I’m not just letting you leave the fire where I can’t see you." Fjord interjects.

"I won’t go far, promise." You say while letting out an annoyed sigh. Fjord just gives you a long narrow look but agrees nonetheless.

"Not too far and don’t stray from the path." He instructs. You quickly nod and he watches you make your way down the darkened road, keeping his eyes on you the whole time. Dark shadows suddenly darted across the path instantly making Fjord stand to get a better view of what it was he just saw was real or his eyes playing tricks on him. Looking down the path again showed it was empty, you were no longer in sight, Fjord hurry’s down the path looking left and right for any sign of you. "(Y/n)! If this is one of your little games, now's not the time to play." He calls hoping that this was nothing more then you trying to pull a prank on him.

"So the kid's name is (y/n), good to know." An unfamiliar voice comments making Fjord turn quickly on his heel, summoning Star Razor.

"Who are you and where's my kid?" Fjord asks in a low threatening tone, the man just chuckles and snaps his fingers, about three more thugs step onto the path, one of them holding your squirming form as you try to free yourself. "Release them this instant!" Fjord holds up his weapon, ready to take on all four of these thugs if he had to.

"How about you drop your blade and give us your valuables instead." The first and obvious leader to this group demands, pulling out a curved dagger and place it to your throat, you instantly stop squirming out of fear. "Don’t think I’m against killing a kid." They threaten pressing the blade harder against your throat, beginning to draw blood.

"Alright, alright." Fjord dismisses Star Razor and raises his hands up in surrender. "Just don’t hurt them." The leader gives a side smirk and gets the two others who weren’t holding you hostage to pat down Fjord of his valuables. They step back once they’re done. "You got what you wanted, now release the kid." Fjord says through gritted teeth.

"Thing is…" the leader trails for a second a devious smirk curling across their face. "I said all your valuables, and this kid sure seems valuable to you." Fjord's eyes widen in horrible realization but before he can do anything the two thugs from before tackle him to the ground while the third dashes off with you still firmly in their grip. Desperately trying to free himself of the thugs beating on him, managing halfway before he’s struck in several different spots and harshly shoved against a tree, knocking the air out of him.

"Dad!" He hears your scream for help grow fainter, but one of them must’ve been a monk having known which pressure points to strike as he couldn’t move, letting tears fall down his face knowing he failed you…

To be continued…

Beau

The two of you had an argument, most likely over something stupid seeing as Beau couldn’t remember what you’d argued about anymore, but with both your stubborn attitudes neither one wanted to apologize first. The better part of the day had gone by and Beau was sitting at the bar downing her third mug of whatever alcoholic beverage they served here.

"Sulking I presume?" She whips her head around at Caleb who seats himself next to her.

"No." She starts bluntly. "Shouldn’t you be studying some spells or whatever."

"The commotion upstairs is very distracting, I don’t think (y/n) took whatever you were arguing over well."

"They’ll get over it." Beau brushes him off. It’s then that Caduceus comes over to join the two.

"Do either of you know what all that ruckus was?" He asks taking a seat on the other side of Beau.

"It’s just (y/n), we had a bit of a disagreement and I guess they didn’t take it too well."

"Oh, well everything went pretty quiet when I walked by." The two Empire kids look over at him.

"What do you mean?" Beau asks, a hint of concern to her voice.

"Well there was a lot of clattering and then it just stopped suddenly." Beau just stares for a moment before darting up the stairs, she reaches the door to your room and flings it open. The room was an absolute mess, items haphazardly strewn about, the window wide open and you were nowhere in sight.

"This isn’t like them to completely trash the room and just leave, the kid has some decency." Beau speaks mostly to herself as Caleb and Caduceus join her and have a look around the room themselves.

"I think this might have your explanation." Caduceus says picking up a note that had been slightly hidden amongst the mess. Beau snatches it from him and reads it over, her grip tightening and hands starting to shake as she does. When she finishes reading it, without a word she balls the note up and throws it across the room before heading out.

If these people wanted a fight they were about to get one…

To be continued…

Yasha

Yasha wandered alone terrified for your safety, she'd been tirelessly tracking a rather large and brutish group of bandits to the best of her abilities for almost two days now. The sound of your cry’s and pleas for help haunted her and she refused to sleep until she knew you were found and safe but doing this on her own was hard. She wasn’t the greatest at tracking but it was thankfully enough to keep up the scent. All the while she'd mentally beat herself up, had she been more aware of her surroundings that strike from the warhammer wouldn’t have stunned her as much as it did and she wouldn’t of had to endure the pain of seeing another loved one be taken away from her. She couldn’t lose you too, she wouldn’t, with strong determination she marches forward.

"Yasha!?" A familiar bubbly voice brought both surprise and relief to her. "How have you been? Where’s (y/n)?" Jester skips her way over to the barbarian, the rest of the group not too far behind.

"Oh umm, I could be better. Uhh, w-we got ambushed about a day ago… they took (y/n), I…" Yasha let her voice trail off, trying so hard not to let worse case scenarios dominate her mind. It was odd how foreign it felt now to have been completely by herself, ever since you became a part of her life the "loneliness" didn’t bother her anymore, now that you were gone it all came crashing back.

"They took your kid?" Beau seemed shocked, Yasha just nods. "Then let’s go get them back." Everyone voiced their agreement as well and they all set out to follow the trail, Yasha feeling that sense of relief wash over her again but it wasn’t complete until she had you safe in her arms again…

To be continued…

Molly

It had to be you, of course it did why would it be anyone else? Of course Molly had to act on instinct, of course it ended recklessly and of course you came to his rescue, you always do whenever he got himself in a tight spot. This time however you weren’t there to chew him out when the dust settled or share a fun laugh together because everything was gonna be ok now. No, nothing was ok, you were taken by that asshole and it was all Molly’s fault. You kept him alive, but right now he felt it better if he'd bit the dust, it would've felt less painful then having to watch helplessly as that freak Lorenzo walked off with you squirming in his grip. These feelings were getting way to overwhelming for him as he lets out a scream of frustration and punches a nearby tree, the wood splintering cutting into his hand and making it bleed. He didn’t care, thinking he probably deserved it. Everyone else looked on in concern, they weren’t used to seeing the tiefling who usually brought up the mood acting out like this.

"Hey, you uhhh… you doin' ok there Molly?" Beau asks, being the first to break the tense silence between everyone.

"Just fine." He practically growls back.

"What’s your deal with the kid anyways, I know you two are good friends or whatever but you said yourself you don’t usually care for getting too close to people." He snaps his attention towards everyone at that, holding nothing but a furious look in his eyes.

"I also mentioned there being one exception to that, need I say more." This display of rage was a little unsettling, like something deep within him had started to awaken and was out for blood.

"Whoa! Hey just calm down."

"Calm down!? I just watched my kid get taken from me, possibly to their death, and could do nothing about it and you want me to calm down!" He quickly snaps, fighting back the hot tears that tried to prick at the edge of his vision. This all felt so foreign to him, first Yasha now you, he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. You were there since day one to help guide him along, now he just felt lost.

"We'll get them back. All of them." Monotone in speech as it was, Caleb’s odd words of encouragement slightly eased some of the tension.

"One problem, that kid was our only source of healing magic and with them kinda gone…" Keg trails off a bit not sure how to finish the sentence without souring the situation anymore then it already was.

"Then we find ourselves a healer who's willing to help us. There’s a town not too far off, I say we rest up and recollect ourselves before doing anything else that could be too rash." Caleb suggests, having to act as the voice of reason. Everyone gives a nod in agreement, except Molly who stares off into space a bit. "Mollymauk." He looks over at the sound of his name and gives a slow nod before they all round up their things and make their way forward, him trailing at the back of the group.

If he wasn’t determined in saving everyone before, Molly sure was now. He was going to make sure those Iron Shepherds paid for what they thought they could get away with and he was going to take great pleasure in watching them all crumble down to the dust, especially Lorenzo. He was going to make sure they knew they messed with the wrong tiefling. So focused on this goal, Molly made his way forward unaware of the dull glow emitting off of the nine eye tattoos…

To be continued…

Don't freak out too much, I’m working on a part two for this as we speak, justice shall be served and it will be glorious

[the-most-slytherin-hufflepuff]

Chapter 6

I manged to finish chapter 6 😃. I’m so excited about this one. I had so much fun and I hope y’all like it. Inspiration for the fic comes from @heyitssmiller and her fabulous anons. Credit for the characters goes to @lumosinlove 

To say he was nervous was a gross understatement. Leo had spent his whole life behind the tower’s walls, and now he was going to a place full of people. He was going to meet Finn and Logan’s family. 

Leo stopped in his tracks when he saw the stone building. The orphanage didn’t look the way he expected. It was a house, probably a family estate. It didn’t look scary or intimidating, it looked inviting and warm and like what a home was supposed to be. 

It looked like what the tower never was. 

Leo heard Finn take a deep breath. “Celeste is going to have our heads.” 

A nervous laugh bubbled out of Logan. “Yeah, we’re super dead.” 

“Worth it”, Finn said softly, looking at Leo. The boy didn’t seem to notice. 

The blonde had a worried expression on his face. He had heard Logan and Finn talk about Celeste constantly. She sounded like a great person, if not a little scary, but nothing like what Walburga was like. What worried Leo was that she wouldn’t like him. 

He didn’t know why that worried him so much. He’d told the other two as much, they had tried reassuring him. Tried telling him she would like him just fine because, as Logan put it, “what’s not to like”. 

“Well, let’s go.” Finn began walking towards the building. “To our, hopefully painless, deaths”. 

“I can’t tell if you are joking or not”, Leo sounded worried. 

Logan laughed, “they’re joking, trust me.” 

Finn turned around to look at Leo, they had a puzzled look on their face before something clicked in their mind. 

“Don’t worry, Celeste is a sweetheart she won’t hurt us.” 

They opened the door. A small child with long brown hair came running out and jumped on Logan, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. 

“Hey Katie.” 

Logan put her down and she looked up at him with a glare. “Logan Tremblay, don’t ever disappear like that again.” 

Finn watched Logan get scolded by a small ten year old Katie with an amused face. After glaring at Logan for a few seconds she turned around to look at Finn, she was mad. 

“Don’t think I forgot about you. Disappear like that again and I’m taking away your Katie privileges.” She turned to look at Logan, “yours too”. 

Leo tried to suppress a laugh as he watched them both apologize profusely. “What are Katie privileges?” 

Logan looked at Leo before explaining, “Basically, if she takes away our Katie privileges, we would have to call her Katherine.”

She turned to look at Leo, the anger in her face changing into curiosity. 

“Hello, who are you?” 

“I’m Leo.” He put his hand out for a handshake. 

“Katherine”, she said, shaking Leo’s hand. 

“Wow Katie, you’re so classy”, Finn said between giggles, “shaking hands and everything.” 

“Shut it Finnegan”. 

Logan laughed at Finn’s pouting face. “Lo, you’re sister is making fun of me”. 

Logan’s shrug made Finn pout more. Leo wanted to kiss it away. 

 He shouldn't feel like that about Finn. They had a boyfriend who, Leo realized, he also wanted to kiss. The realization made him startle slightly. He wasn’t exactly surprised, he had dreamt about having a storybook ending since forever. Someone coming to rescue him from the evil inside the tower had been a fantasy of his since he had started reading. 

In the story it was always some damsel in the tower. It was always a girl getting rescued by a dashing prince. Finn and Logan weren’t a prince, and he wasn’t a damsel, but Leo found that he really didn’t care. They had gotten him out of his own personal hell, that he had lived in for years, and he loved them for that. 

Leo had known Finn and Logan for about three days, and he knew almost nothing about them, but he knew enough to know that what he felt wasn’t just gratitude. They were patient with him when he didn’t understand things, and made him laugh and got him out of his thoughts when they drifted to the more dangerous of his memories and they were so beyond gentle with him. 

They made Leo happy. 

They had taken every idea, thought and opinion Walburga had planted into his mind and destroyed every single one of them, and yes maybe somewhere there was someone that would want to take advantage of him the way she always told him the world would, but she already did that.

 Walburga was every single danger and horror she preached about. People like her were the reason Leo wasn’t allowed to leave the tower. That’s why he had made the deal with Finn in the first place. He had made a choice between two monsters and he didn’t regret it. 

If Leo had chosen to stay, to just give Finn the crown and let them leave without him, he wouldn’t have gotten to know either of them. He wouldn’t have known that there were people out there that could care for him, he wouldn’t have known what kindness and love felt like. 

If given the choice again, he would always choose Finn and Logan. 

“Leo, are you alright”. He met Logan's worried gaze. Leo blinked slowly, shaking the thoughts from his mind before responding. 

“Yeah, I’m ok” he tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. 

“Well Katie is already inside and probably announced to the world that we’re here so”, Finn made a motion with their hand, “you may get questioned by an eccentric twenty three year old .” 

Leo laughed, Logan was pleased to hear it sounded real. “What do you mean ‘questioned’.”

“June is very curious. She tends to ask a lot of questions.” 

“Who’s June?”  

“June is Finn’s Katie”, came Logan’s response. “Come on”, he motioned with his hands for Leo and Finn to follow him inside the house. 

The inside was interesting to say the least. There were toys and books thrown all over the floor.  A boy and girl were running around being chased by Katie, there was who Leo guessed was June, painting the portrait of a woman that was sitting in front of her. 

  “Alright so, they”, Finn whispered while pointing at the kids, “are Pascal and Celeste’s children. Marc, Adele and well you already met Katie.” 

“What about them?”

“That’s June“, they pointed at the girl painting, ”and her girlfriend Heather. 

The girls turned at the hushed voices. June’s eyes went wide when she saw Finn. She ran towards them and hugged them tightly. 

“June, I can’t breathe.”

“Shut up, you have no say in this”, she said, hugging them tighter. Leo could have sworn he heard Finn’s back crack. 

“June”, Heather grabbed June's waist, trying to pry her off of Finn, “love, they need air”. 

“June, sweetie, I prefer my partners in one piece”, Logan said between giggles. 

June must have decided that Finn had suffered enough, because she let them go,  punching them in the arm right after. “Finn soon-to-be Tremblay, I will only say this one, you disappear like that again and I am hurting you.”

Logan blushed slightly at the name, Finn just laughed. “Heather please control your girlfriend before she murders me.” 

“Why on earth would I do that Finn.”

“Because you like me and would hate to see me dead?”

Leo felt a slight tug at his hair and looked down. Katie was braiding a small piece of his hair. “Hi”. 

Katie looked up at him, “can I braid your hair?” eyes shining with barely suppressed excitement. 

Leo thought about it. He wasn’t used to anyone other than Walburga touching his hair, but how could he say no to such a cute kid. “Yeah”. 

Katie grabbed his hand and brought him over to where Adele and Marc were seated on cushions with a basket of different colored daisies. When Leo sat down the three of them began braiding the flowers into his hair. It was calming, he liked being able to relax into the feeling of someone doing his hair just because they wanted to. Katie, Adele and Marc didn't have ulterior motives to do this, they didn't know, and even if they did Leo doubted they would want to hurt him like Walburga did.

“Hey”- a girl’s soft voice brought him out of his thoughts- “my name is Adele, this is my brother Marc. What’s your name?”

“Leo. It’s nice meeting you”. 

“Why is your hair so long?” Marc said from besides him. He was making a flower crown. 

“My caretaker has never let me cut it.” He tried to keep his tone light. 

Katie hummed, like never cutting your hair was a completely sane decision. “I wish I didn’t have to cut my hair”, she said before going back to placing flowers on Leo’s hair.

“All done”, Adele said as she placed an orange daisy on Leo’s ear. “Come on, let’s go show Lo and Finn.” She pulled Leo by the arm and dragged him over to where Finn and Logan were sitting with June as she continued to paint Heather. 

Katie reached them first. Logan picked her up and sat her on his lap so she could whisper something to him. “We made Leo’s hair pretty.” Logan smiled softly before looking up and seeing Leo. 

Logan’s thoughts stumbled over each other. Different versions of the words beautiful and adorable and lovely running through his mind in both English and French. Finn felt a couple faint taps on their leg, but they didn’t pay any attention to it. Their  mind couldn't focus on anything that wasn't blonde hair, daisies and soft baby blue eyes.  

“What do you think?” Leo asked, twirling so they could have a good view of the braid. Finn made a soft sound while Logan just sighed, a soft smile on his face. 

“You look-”, a dreamy sigh left his lungs, Logan couldn’t find words to describe the way Leo looked. 

“You look amazing”, Finn had a dopey smile on their face.  

“Thank you.” There was a soft blush on Leo’s cheeks, his eyes shining with amusement and something else Logan couldn't recognize. “I think the crown is a nice touch.” 

Finn couldn’t have agreed more with the last statement. The crown on Leo’s head was beautiful. It was made of yellow and purple daisies, and it fit Leo perfectly. Resting gently on his head like a halo. 

Logan watched Leo crouch down in front of Katie so that she could fix the flowers that had gone out of place with a soft look in his eyes. Both Finn and Logan turned towards each other, brown meeting green, a mutual understanding passing between them. 

Leo was great. He was funny and sarcastic and beautiful. Even though they had met Leo less than three days ago it felt like they had known each other for years. Whatever it was that Finn and Logan felt for Leo was right. 

They realized that what they felt about Leo was exactly how they felt about each other. They loved Leo. They didn’t know how they fell for someone they had just met, didn’t know when or why or even what it was that made them fall in love in the first place, but it didn’t matter. 

Finn and Logan loved Leo and it felt right, and if they had learnt anything through the years it was that things like these didn’t follow order. Love was messy and wild and free and so right. 

Finn and Logan loved Leo, they just hoped Leo could love them back.