#I can write about MC's future person feels about the hands off approach to most royal/noble families to raising kids

[another-lost-mc]

haiiii <3 i hope u're doing well! if u don't mind, can i request hcs for the brothers on how they would react to a mc (i don't mind whether it's female or gender-neutral so up to u!) who's a high achiever in human world but struggle a lot and probably fail their classes in devildom? thx so much!! feel free to ignore if u don't feel like writing this <3

When High Achiever!MC Struggles at RAD Headcanons | THE DEMON BROTHERS 2.4k words | SFW | gn!Reader | Hurt/Comfort | Fluff A/N: I resonate a lot with this prompt because I struggled with perfectionism as a student. It would've been a disaster if I was suddenly dropped in the Devildom and expected to do well somehow. lol

You stare at the paper in your hands. Your professor hands back this week’s quiz stating that the class scores are excellent, for the most part. There are a few muffled giggles around you, and you stare at the failing grade circled in red and resist the urge to cry in front of your classmates.

In the human world, you were an excellent student. You studied hard, completed your homework every night, finished all your assigned readings, and always left yourself an extra day or two to proofread your written work for errors and accuracy.

In the Devildom, you still do all those things but it doesn’t matter whether it’s a quiz or an assignment - your marks are horrible. Not just horrible by your standards, either.

Some of the professors approach you quietly after class and suggest remedial classes or private tutoring to help you. Other professors, the ones who are less sympathetic to your struggles, sneer when they hand back your work like you’re a perfect example of how humans are so weak.

The walk home from RAD is a blur. The demon brothers chat animatedly around you, but you aren't paying them much attention.

“We’re gonna order takeout for dinner tonight,” Mammon grins when you walk through the front door behind him. He waves his credit card in your face. “My treat. Whatcha want from Hell’s Kitchen?”

“I’m not hungry,” you mutter when you brush past him. You move through the clump of demons in the hallway and head to your room. Your bag slips off your shoulder to the floor, and you fall face-down on your bed and finally let yourself cry.

You don’t know how long you sob into your pillow, cursing yourself for your failures and wishing you never came here, until there’s a soft knock on your door and a familiar voice calling your name.

LUCIFER

Lucifer knows about your poor grades. Your professors have spoken to him and Barbatos more than once, since they’re the ones in charge of overseeing the student exchange program at RAD. Compared to the other exchange students, your consistently below-average or failing grades are a concern.

He’s going to consider your poor marks as a reflection of their program’s efficacy and not a personal failure on your part. Solomon and the Angels score higher in classes than you, but that makes sense - they’re all more familiar with the fantastical concepts you’re learning about for the first time.

He looks over your recent tests and written work to figure out the best solution. It’s obvious that it’s the overwhelming amount of Devildom knowledge and history you’re lacking, not your technical writing skills or your ability to comprehend the stacks of textbooks on your desk.

He reminds you as gently as he can that you’re part of an experimental program, and it’s not perfect. He asks for your input because your unique perspective and experience can make the program better for future students. It’s your chance to help improve the school’s image, and Diavolo’s reputation, so that hopefully the three realms can truly have a harmonious future.

In the meantime, he tries to keep a better eye on your well-being and your academics. It’s a difficult task because his time is already split between student council responsibilities and keeping his brothers in line. He knows that his brothers cause as much mischief for you as they do for him.

He offers you the use of his private study where you won’t be disturbed if you want peace and quiet. You don’t have to ask permission, either - you can use it whether he’s there or not. He shows you his collection of records you can listen to if you’d like to play some music while you study. (He puts the dangerous cursed records away where you won’t accidentally use them.)

If there happens to be a new kettle and a porcelain tea set and tin of your favourite tea on a shelf nearby, it’s just a coincidence. You’re welcome to use them as much as you’d like, though - he insists.

MAMMON

Mammon has a hard time believing that your grades are as bad as you say they are. You’re so smart, and he knows you work so hard. You’re the one shooing him away from your room when there’s an essay or big test coming up, telling him that you need to focus. He doesn’t like it, but he understands. The worst part is, you do all that and his grades are still better than yours - and he’s not even trying!

He’s going to blame everything and everyone except you for your academic difficulties. Diavolo and Barbatos should’ve anticipated this when they designed the exchange program, the professors shouldn’t be such assholes about it, Lucifer should’ve been helping you more, his brothers should leave you alone…

(He ignores your snarky comment about how demons shouldn’t be kidnapping random humans to begin with.)

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a solution or a quick-fix to offer you. If such a thing existed, he would’ve gladly bought and paid for it by now. He knows he has a carefree approach to school, so he’s not going to pretend he’s got good advice for you.

No, Mammon is going to focus on being your friend instead. He’s going to keep those bully classmates off your back and keep you company between classes. He’s going to visit your room and make sure you take breaks and let yourself have a little bit of fun, because he doesn’t like seeing you stressed and unhappy. He’s going to remind you every way he knows how that he fuckin’ adores you no matter what your grades are.

LEVIATHAN

Leviathan isn’t surprised that you’re struggling. He thinks there’s too much homework, and he knows a lot of the content and history already. It’s no surprise that a normie human like you might be flunking out. 

Since he’s taken some of RAD’s classes online, he’s giving you his notes and study guides. There’s some online study groups he’s going to invite you to in case you'd like to talk to other students learning the same material you are.

Watching you struggle reminds him that it would be so much easier to do everything online. If you prefer to learn or connect with your classmates virtually, then he’s going to advocate for more investment in RAD’s remote learning capabilities. Wouldn’t it be fun to stay home together and do that instead?

He tries not to bother you when he knows you’re stressed about a test or a project, but he misses his Henry when you lock yourself in your room all the time. He hates that you’re so unhappy with your grades. So what if you’re not exactly a booksmart here in the Devildom? You’d ace every test if it were about things that actually mattered, like TSL or your favourite anime series.

He’s not as motivated to do well in school, but he is motivated to help you, in his own way. That usually means inviting you to his room so you can do homework together between matches of Super Smash Devils. Games are a great way to relieve stress, after all!

SATAN

Satan is aware of your poor grades, but he’s not going treat you like Lucifer does and make you go to him like some sort of supplicant begging for help. He’s going to invite himself to your room, or drag you to the library, or drag you to his room, and you’re going to succeed with him as your tutor.

He knows that a proper foundation is crucial to helping you learn about Devildom history, culture, and magic. Satan is going to look over your work and go over the basics with you after he figures out how the school’s curriculum is failing you.

Perhaps exchange students should be placed in modified introductory courses?

That might be a solution for future students but for now, he’s taking you back to basics. He guides you through the fundamentals you’re missing so that the more advanced topics actually make sense. He soothes your frazzled nerves when you struggle with remembering certain historical events. When you start to improve, he praises your correct answers so that he can finally see the radiant smile on your face, the one that he loves so much.

When you're both in desperate need of a break, he invites you to join him on his bed, or on the sofa in the library. He has a book open in his lap -a lighthearted story, something easy to follow - and reads to you. You can hear the smile in his voice as you drift off to sleep.

(Later on, when one of his brothers find both of you asleep, Satan's arms wrapped gently around you, they throw a blanket over both of you and dim the lights.)

ASMODEUS

Asmodeus is going to gather you in his arms and hold you close while he brushes away your tears and tells you how much he adores you. You’re too hard on yourself. He thinks you’re focusing too much on all the things you struggle with and not enough on the things he admires about you. 

He can see what happens when you get frustrated and depressed about your grades. You don’t smile as much anymore, the dark circles under your eyes become more prominent, your clothes fit a bit looser and it hurts him when you treat yourself badly like this. You didn’t do anything wrong and it's not your fault.

It just so happens that he loves pampering you any chance he gets, so don’t be surprised if he’s dragging you away from your desk for a mandatory R&R break in his room. You wince when his fingers dig into the knots in your back and shoulders, but he can feel the moment when you finally stop fighting and let yourself relax.

He’ll talk to you about school, but only if you bring it up first. Otherwise, he’s keeping your mind off things by talking to you about something he saw on Devilgram, or he’s asking your opinion about a new Majolish collab he’s designing.

Oh, how about a shopping spree tomorrow, just the two of you? No objections! He’ll let you choose where to go for dinner since he’s not picky. Afterwards, there’s a new boutique he wants to check out - the clothes they have are stunning, and he’s in the mood to spoil you.

BEELZEBUB

Beelzebub won’t lie and say he understands what you’re going through, because he doesn’t. Not exactly. He struggles with school sometimes, but that’s because 90% of the time he’s distracted by hunger or food, and the rest is him getting caught up in his hectic club schedule. 

You’re kind to him and so thoughtful when it comes to asking what he’s like for dinner, or if he wants some of your leftovers. He doesn’t always have the right words to say like Lucifer or Satan, and he’s not as adventurous as Mammon or Asmo, but he’s going to work hard to distract you and support you the best he can.

His biggest concern is whether you’re eating enough, and he’s not going to let you skip meals or rush from the table after a couple bites. He reminds you that being hungry and undernourished is going to make it even harder to focus. He makes a conscious effort to control himself when you're cooking - he doesn't want to stress you out even more.

He also asks you to join him when he works out. He wants to make sure you’re taking time to care for your body. He doesn't care whether you do some yoga or light stretching on a mat nearby, or if you want to listen to music while you walk on the treadmill - he watches you out of the corner of his eye while he trains. When you're both finished (or when you're done and he pretends he is too), he makes sure you both get a proper snack from the kitchen.

BELPHEGOR

Belphegor surprises everyone when he aces a test after rushing through the answers and napping for the rest of class. He doesn’t realize how it makes you feel only a few seats away from him, scribbling as fast as possible even as the professor slides the paper out from under you, and you end up with a barely passing grade to show for it.  

He’s not going to dwell on his feelings about the exchange program. What he is going to do is share his criticisms loudly, and meanly, with his oldest brother and Diavolo whenever he gets the chance. It’s their fault you’re here, stuck trying to learn thousands of years of history and culture about a place you’ve just learned exists. Of course you’re struggling - they’re asking too much of you.

He’ll offer to help you study, if that’s what you want. You don’t have to rely on Satan for that, you know. But what he considers more important, what he wants to focus on, is helping you with your disturbing lack of sleep.

You might not know this, but he knows how late you stay up at night trying to study. He knows how your mind is constantly racing with thoughts of failure and self-loathing and regret. You get up before your alarm after a restless night of tossing and turning. You sleep so badly, he can’t sleep properly either.

He’s going to start visiting you shortly before your usual bedtime, and he’s going to keep you company while he helps you put your books away. (Stop trying to argue, it’s for your own good.) He’s going to push your pajamas into your arms and nudge you towards the en-suite to change and shower and whatever else you need to do to get ready for bed.

When you come out looking cozy and a bit more relaxed and so damn cute, he’s going to ask which bed you’d prefer to sleep in - yours or his? Because he’s going to ward off the negative thoughts while you fall asleep, and he’s going to give you happier dreams. When you wake up tomorrow, you’ll understand what he already knows: none of that other stuff matters, so long as you have each other.

[vivalgi]

I finished a book! Yay.

I liked it. ID2 is far from perfect but I think it turned out better than the first book.

I loved the most the MC's heartbreaking struggle as a newly turned vampire and how he gradually learned to accept it. He seemed too happy about the news at the end of book 1 so I was glad about the change of tone. Probably a hot take but I really enjoyed the troubled relationship with mom. It was a great mix of infuriating and heartfelt moments. Gore and violence were fun too. I was grinning every time bodies were torn apart and limbs flew around, especially when the MC did it.

The timeline was all over the place. The events of book 1 seemed to take place in autumn, yet when book 2 took off right where the 1st one ended, it was already early spring. Even in the CH16 diamond scene by the red beech tree, the MC mentions that the hunters attacked only a couple of months after the Creator, yet in the same scene Lewyn says the Creator attack happened last year. When the hunters attack, it's also suddenly summer solstice when it doesn't feel like there's been any significant time jump.

Steamy scenes were also disappointingly vague and confusing. Instead of being able to immerse myself in the moment, I had to crack my head where the characters were, in what position, how the LI was suddenly behind the MC, what they were wearing and whether they were getting each other off with hands or the MC was actually penetrating. PB really peaked with Shipwrecked and Untameable with the quality and explicitness.

The enemies were better than the one-dimensional big bad with his banal desire to conquer the world. I even somewhat sympathize with the hunters. The vampires hunt and likely kill innocent people or at the very least steal blood bags from hospitals. The hunters also live in danger and sacrifice idyllic family life for the greater good. I never really understood why the vampire covens feel the need to grow their populations. Blood is scarce and vampires need to keep a low profile, so I'd be more selfish and keep the numbers in check instead, like in Bloodbound. I was disappointed that Lewyn and Astoria didn't get their punishments yet. Hopefully we'll eventually get to pay them back for all the pain they've caused.

To describe my romance route, then it was a bit complicated. Both LIs have qualities I love and dislike. Gabriela is sweet and kind and I prefer her more humane approach to vampire life, but she can be a bit overbearing with her knight-in-shining-armor personality and from time to time it shows that beneath the surface there's a male LI. I still have a hard time to accept Cas' desire to hunt unsuspecting hikers and how she looks down on humans, but her rebellious spirit is alluring and I've enjoyed how she's gradually become emotionally more open. She's also written more neutrally in terms of gender coding (BTW, Cas' default pronouns are female in the dialogue script).

In book 1 I mostly leaned towards Cas, sharing even the L-word with her, and I continued along the same line in book 2 as well. Since I didn't want to make Cas jealous, then I didn't even kiss Gabriela before the threesome scene at the very end. There was quite a lot of pining and many angsty moments with Gabriela and since I didn't have enough romance points with her (until the daydreaming scene about the future together with the two) then there weren't any awkward moments to ruin the immersion either. I wish there were some growing sexual tension between the two LIs as well but otherwise I think think the throuple or poly arrangement played out pretty naturally at the end.

Not sure what the future holds though. I checked that the lead writer left in spring and recently contributed to a kinky vampire smut for Chapters, so apparently ID3 will be handed over to someone else (she was also the writing lead for the first 5 chapters of Bitten). I'm quite worried because of what happened to OH, how Blades 2 was a little bit of a let down and how COP series has degraded over time due to changing writers.

[krys-loves-otome]

Warlords + Jealous of the Baby Headcanons

SO, it’s been a bit of a rough time rejoining society after my local shutdown, and I wanted to do something to cheer myself up. And, I found an old masterlist for a fandom I used to be in, and this kind of prompt on it struck me as one that could apply to the warlords as well (though some focus more on the pregnancy side of things, jealousy is the main theme that ties them together.) Some of these could also be interpreted as modern headcanons, but I tried to stick closer to the Sengoku time period (with some minor tweaking, as wetnurses and servants could handle a majority of the childcare for MC and her lord, but where’s the fun in that?)

The original prompt was headcanons about the suitor being jealous of their offspring for taking the attention away of the reader/MC from them, but a lot of them didn’t seem to fit into the jealous archetype, so I made some tweaks to the theme here and there as well. Kennyo and the newer lords are mostly interpretations on my part based on smaller events and fandom headcanons as well because of the lack of material (and I don’t have Kennyo’s bday stories to bounce off of, so he’s gonna be based on fandom interpretations and minor events as well).

So, here’s some headcanons about the warlords being jealous of their spawn.

2nd Person POV, she/her pronouns used for the reader on occasion, they/them used for the spawn. And, also, content warning for pregnancy mentions.

---------------

Nobunaga Ruling the world at his side was all well and good, and having heirs is the responsibility of all leaders, so he was proud when you told him you were going to have his child in a few months' time.

What he didn't expect was that the child was more like him even before they were even born. If you weren't scrambling out of bed for the nearest bucket in the morning, you were falling asleep on him while he was highly keen to explore the new surprises your body provided while creating a new life inside of you. And let's not talk about how he lost the territory of your lap as the weeks rolled on. You tried to compromise by leaning further back, thinking it would be cute to let Nobunaga hear and feel the baby moving as he laid in your lap. However, they soon grew too strong and kicked their father in his ear, and he, eyebrows crossed and frown deepening, almost declared war on his unseen enemy. With some pleading from you (after you had stopped laughing first), he finally declared a temporary surrender of your lap to the child instead. He will reclaim what is his after the child's birth and no later after that.

Hideyoshi It's hard to tell who the true mother was in this parent-ship. Outside of feeding (which you had a sneaking suspicion he would do if he had been equipped that way), Hideyoshi was on top of all things new baby. Burping, diaper changing, rocking for naps and bedtime, bath time, if Hideyoshi has the time, he's with his baby. If anyone is getting jealous, it's probably you, lol.

Any jealous feelings quickly dissipate however, whenever he holds the baby and he has the gentlest smile on his face, whispering how happy he is to have the most wonderful family he could ever ask for. Bringing you into his other arm also helped to ease any jealousy you could have felt as he thanked both of you for being in his life.

Masamune Honestly, if he has any jealous tendencies at all, it'll be subconscious. What's there to be jealous of? He has a beautiful wife and a strong, healthy heir, so what does he have to be jealous of? He might sneak up behind you and rest his chin on your shoulder while he pulls you into his lap, watching you feed the baby once in a while.

If anything, he might jokingly ask if the kid would save any of that milk so he might have a taste. Whether you let him is up to you and I'll leave it at that. So, no, no jealous feelings here.

Ieyasu He might get a little huffy if you overly pay attention to your kid more than him, but it's not something that bothers him too often. He might let a grumble slip about letting the kid learn how to self-soothe themselves once in a while and you’d think he was being mean… if you hadn’t caught him up with the baby numerous times late at night, whispering to them to not wake you, to let you sleep for a few more hours if it’s something he can handle on his own.

He'll vehemently deny he does this, however. Have fun watching his ears turn red when/if you call him out on it. 

Mitsuhide Like Masamune, if he has any sort of jealous tendencies towards you and your shared child, it'll be either be subconscious or extremely subtle. This child has taken a piece of his blackened heart, just as you have, so he understands your need to lavish them with all sorts of attention.

He'd be the type to hold the two of you in his arms and rock you back and forth, gently humming a soothing tune between the two of you, watching over his little family as they are his greatest treasures. No jealousy to be found here.

Mitsunari If you can find a jealous bone in this man's body, you might have found a lost treasure. He loves holding you while you hold the baby and watching the two of you, and he understands your need to lavish them with attention. You two had created a life together! How amazing is that?

However, just because it's a buried treasure, never doubt that such a treasure isn't there. The only thing that even registers as jealousy (to him) is taking away his chance to love on the child. His tendency to be clumsy or to zone out whenever he reads disappears whenever he hears those gentle cries for attention and all of his focus zeros in on his child, not unlike when you're near him. But, seeing that someone else has taken his chance to step up and care for his progeny? He can't help that small twinge of jealousy. He can take care of his child as well if he was just given the chance!

Kenshin He's too busy being protective (read: fearful) of you and the soon-to-be-born child to have even a moment to be jealous. Women dying in childbirth is far too common occurrence for his liking (since this is concerning you now, it's his concern now too), so he does everything in his power to make sure you're as happy and healthy you can be. Certain foods made a certain way? On it. Massaging your lower back to make sure you have a good delivery? His fingers wouldn't leave your back if he could help it. Old wives' tales that can help predict what gender the baby was going to be? He'll do any and all of them to ensure you and the baby are healthy no matter the gender outcome.

His overcoddling was definitely worth it in the end, seeing his soft smile while he held the two of you after the delivery, reassured that the two of you were safe and still in his arms.

Yukimura He's surprisingly good with kids, so seeing his face light up when you tell him you two were now expecting a little one of your own, he hugged you and spun you around in his arms, he was that happy. Cue the next few months bouncing between his (mostly harmless, but some days more than others accidentally hurtful) teasing, like how a little overindulgence in the sweets with an already swelling tummy was making you more and more into a boar woman earned him both a punch in his dumb face and a river of tears not even your favorite treats or backrubs could tame.

As far as jealousy is concerned, he's really not. From relaxing rub downs with special attention to the growing swell, to holding both of you for midnight feedings when both of you were ready to just collapse into bed, Yukimura made sure two of his most important people were cared for and loved, with a tired smile on his face as he watched the two of you contently. No jealousy here.  

Shingen "Ah, my goddess is blessing us with an angel of our own!" Shingen sees no reason to be jealous. As he said, his goddess is blessing him with the gift of life. What reason does he have to be jealous against an innocent life that his most important person is gifting him with?

If there's going to be any jealousy present in this relationship, maybe it's stemmed from insecurity on your part, seeing Shingen practically flirting with other, prettier ladies while you felt as big as a barn, doubled with your sore back and various other body parts feeling weird or doing strange things while your 'angel' grew. Shingen was always quick to kiss away your insecurity however. You were more beautiful than ever, he reassured you, and was more than ready to show you just how much more beautiful you were to him. He'll definitely carry that attitude over once your little angel is born, giving both of you kisses and gentle touches to show how much he cares for both of you. If you’re not careful, he might be just as bad as you are about spoiling them. Proceed with caution.

Sasuke Creating life was a mysterious event all on its own, and though he knew the basic mechanics of how it worked, he was still awestruck at seeing that little red, wrinkly face for the first time, finding his and your features blended together so perfectly, it was hard to deny the beauty of science here.

And, being a future person himself, he understands the need to see to your kid's needs first rather than letting a servant handle the baby's needs (though he does the benefits of having a caretaker around whenever they needed one) as was more common for the time period. And, really, who was he to deny the parental bond between mother and child. If there's any jealousy on his part, it's quickly gone when he sees that child smile when they hear him talking, be it about the stars, some abstract scientific fact about human life cycles and milestones he picked up from his seemingly vast knowledge bank, or just how much he treasures them and their mother so much.

Kennyo Like Kenshin, Kennyo would be more worried about you than be jealous of any future additions to your little family. He doesn't live the cushy life of the other warlords, and really, is the forests constantly on the run really the best place to raise a child, let alone having one away from midwives and nursemaids? He's a monk, not a doctor. Sure, he had his fair share of abandoned infants left on his doorstep when he still had a place to call his own, but the actual birthing process? He had no experience in that department.  

Still, he does his best for you throughout the entire process with the resources available to him. Massages to ease any pain you have, wellness prayers for both you and the baby, even helping you to calm yourself once the pains start. He's more glad that the two of you are both alive and well than have any qualms about overindulging on the child.

Ranmaru From the little we've seen of him outside of a romantic relationship, he definitely has some jealous tendencies, so I have no doubts that might carry over once the two of you consummate. And, to most outward appearances, he's proud that you're having his child, always ready at a moment's notice to take care of your every need and want, foot rubs and sweets galore! There are times when you wonder if you're getting bigger because of the baby or because of the number of sweet buns you've had, however (Ran reassures you that it's completely baby, don't worry! Did he tell you how cute your bump looks today? Because your baby bump is super cute, as is you, the soon-to-be mommy⭐!)

But, just like all things Ranmaru, there's a lot more once you start to see things below the surface. Sure, he might get smug if someone offers congratulations to the two of you, but he wasn't ready for ALL of the 'advice' from all sort of corners coming at him about how to be a good father, from Hideyoshi's good-natured advice (albeit delivered in his familiar nagging tone), to Mitsuhide's little on the nose poke at his insecurities about the future. He had literally no experience with children, let alone babies, not to mention he could lose you to complications and that was far scarier than running between two factions in secret. And, once the kid was born, he didn't have the easiest time bonding with the kid (probably the worst of the mentioned warlords thus far), sometimes echoing Ieyasu's 'let the kid learn to self-soothe once in a while'  but there are times when you wonder if he actually means it, even going so far as to hold you tighter in bed if he's really tired or had been away from you for an extended period of time. But he's quick to get over it if you don't give in to his pettiness, maybe a little sulking on his part as he watches you feeding the baby. But, once he sees that pure love you give off as you hold your child, he completely forgets why he was in a bad mood in the first place, apologizes, and gives kisses to both of you, giving one of his more genuine smiles.

Yoshimoto It's a bit harder to get a read on him since he seems flippant about most things, including some matters that involve his clan. Sure, his vassals would be thrilled to bits when news spread about him and his lady friend expecting a child, an heir! The Imagawa line was to continue at long last! But, with Yoshimoto himself… it's hard to say. Sure, being Shingen-kin means he would and sometimes will go for hours about how beautiful you were with soft kisses and touches everywhere, but soft words and gentle caresses don't mean one is ready for parenthood, let alone one that was currently getting by on the generosity of others or one that has poor survival skills, at best.

Clan matters aside, he can't deny the warmth he feels when he sees how happy you are, so he would also become a spoiling parent as well, no jealousy found here. If you don't step up, however, your kid might never hear the word 'no' in their young life and that might turn into something terrible, so you both might need to learn some self-restraint. Any higher beings, please help this child not grow up to be a spoiled brat!

Motonari Another one that's hard to get a complete read on, as he currently lives for the destruction of all things good and orderly, yet gives sound advice (even to his enemies!), so even chaos man has a stable, sensible side. So, going off that, I can see the two of you having a whirlwind romance that leads to a passionate romp (or a few more romps after that one, if that's your cup of tea) which, inevitably, leads to spending a few months at sea with a baby on the way, which doesn't even sound fun, to be honest. Still, Motonari keeps a good ship and makes sure his crewmates are cared for, even 'surprise stowaways' as he called the baby, to both you and his regular crewmates.

As for having any jealous tendencies towards the baby, in the little we've gotten about him thus far, he doesn't seem the jealous type? Honestly, he'd go with whatever decision you want to do about the child, whether to raise them on the sea or to let a nice land family raise them (or you stay on land for them, but where's the fun in that?) If anything, he might joke like Masamune in watching a feeding and commenting about the hungry little sea pup being greedy with their mom's attention while affectionately rubbing their head, wisps of little hairs getting caught against his gloved hand.

[mobagehelllocal]

“lucky ending”

First at all, I like do much your writing and I hope you are doing well. Second, I was wondering what would happen if the MC (Fem!s/o I guess) decided to not go back to her world, like she decide stay with her villain? Can you do make headcanons of this for the dorm leaders? Thank you very much.

-- from Anonymous

A/N:  Hi Anon! Sorry for taking so long! Thank you so much for liking my work and for sending in this request! Since this was submitted before I opened my headcanons request, I’ll assume you wanted a scenario! It reminded me of a particular Japanese middle school/high school tradition... I don’t want to spoil it, but I do hope you enjoy it!

edit- additional pieces: ver i (this), ver ii (???), ver iii (rook & lilia)

--

“Hey, did you know?” 

You looked up from your meal to see a grinning Ace. 

“Well... you haven’t told me what this is about Ace.” you finally said in a dry tone. “So, no—I wouldn’t.” Beside you, Epel’s lips curled up in amusement. 

"Are you sassing me?” Ace squinted at you.

“Who could say.” you shrugged your shoulders. “Anyways, what is it?” Ace studied you for a couple more seconds before he too seemed to ‘shrug’ it off and continue.

“There’s actually a tradition in Twisted Wonderland during graduation season.” Ace’s smile turned wicked, as he raised his hand and tugged at a button on his shirt.

“Please don’t strip. Nobody needs to see that.” you said—Deuce promptly choked on his food and Grim snickered beside you. On his other side, Jack sighed as he patted the man on his back. 

“It’s not that!” Ace scowled. “Sweet Queen, if you keep going on like that, I swear—”

“Sorry, sorry.” you raised your hands—palms up. “So, what is it?” 

“This button.” he pointed at the second button from the top. “Well, for NRC, they go with the fifth button—but either way...” Sebek leaned forward in interest.

“Is this the button tradition?” his eyes sparkled, “you see, I was thinking of giving—” 

“It doesn’t work like that Sebek.” Ace said—at which the Diasomnia student immediately deflated in response. 

"People give this out at graduation.” Ace continued. “It’s like the last chance to confess--before you leave the school life behind.”  

‘Last chance huh...’ you thought, as you remembered Crowley’s words from the other day.

“In my generosity, I have found a way to bring you back home... but...” the Headmaster peered at you with glowing eyes. “Something tells me you don’t want that anymore.”

“And because I’m so generous... I will let you decide what you wish to do.” his eyes brightened behind his mask. “I hope to hear from you soon...”

"Why not the first button?” you couldn’t help but ask. Ace, who had just finished recounting how many buttons he had given out in his last graduation was startled by your question. 

“Err...” Ace scratched the back of his head. “I dunno?” 

“It’s the second button, because on the regular school uniform... it’s closest to the heart. Because graduations at NRC are in the summoning robes—that means the fifth button.” Jack finally spoke up, “what normally happens is... someone confesses, and the other party decides whether or not to give the button. When the other party gives their button—it means they return the love of the person who confessed.” Grim’s face twisted at that. 

“In conclusion... disgusting.” Epel shrugged his shoulders, before he shot Jack a look. “I’m surprised you, of all people know that.” Jack’s whole body twitched, and his tail bristled in response. 

“So. you were being a little shit.” Deuce told Ace.

“Yeah Ace, you’re an asshole.” Grim huffed.

“Not true, all of the people who wanted my heart, got it~” Deuce grimaced in disgust at his roommate’s response. On his other side, Sebek shifted upright.

“I don’t care what you all say, I’m giving—” 

“Sebek, no.” 

As your friends erupted into chaos your hands fell on top of your second button and you fiddled with it thoughtfully.

--

“Alright, what is up with you two?” Riddle turned around to glare fiercely at the squabbling Ace and Deuce. At his movement, the long cloak of the summoning robes shifted around his legs.

“Nothing, Dorm Leader!” the two immediately squeaked out, and Riddle sighed—exasperated, but continued to eye them suspiciously. As a fourth year, Riddle had no need to visit campus as often as he did. Ace was already made the Dorm Leader, and Deuce was his Vice Dorm Leader once the two had entered their third years but—

‘I know Trey told me not to worry…’

-

Cater and Trey had long since graduated from Night Raven College—but the former was still ever so interested in what his friends were doing. He had easily convinced Trey and Riddle to go on call that night to catch up. It was during that call that Riddle had confessed his fears about leaving the fate of Heartslabyul to Ace and Deuce.

“Wow~ Riddle is much more of a mother hen compared to Trey~” Cater had laughed, delighted. Riddle had instantly puffed his cheeks, ready to defend himself. Trey—sensing the argument that was about to come—quickly placated him.

“I don’t think it’s wrong of you to care so much, Riddle.” Trey had said, in his same soothing tone. “You’ve held onto the dorm leadership for three straight years… it’s natural that you worry about how Heartslabyul will do… but… I believe—the dorm will be what our juniors make of it.” 

“That’s my worry.” Riddle grumbled in response.

“Well—the two of them did shadow you as Vice-Dorm Leaders during my fourth year, yes?”  

“…Yes.”

“I think they know what they can and cannot do by now.” Trey consoled, “Have a little bit more faith in them—after all, you were the one who entrusted the Dorm’s future to them in the first place.”

“I suppose…”

“If all else fails,” Cater chimed in, “[Name] will be there, won’t she?”

“I’d like it if I didn’t have to rely on her for the two of them but…” Riddle unconsciously smiled at the thought of you. “but yeah… she… she certainly had a hand in how Heartslabyul changed to be the way it is today...”

“Ah~ I’m a little jealous you still have an excuse to see [Name]~” Cater hummed. 

“I—” Riddle felt his cheeks flush at that, “It’s not like that!”

“Huh~? I didn’t say anything though~” Cater cackled knowingly. Riddle tensed, and Trey only sighed in amusement as the red head began to lecture the older man.  

-

Despite Trey’s (and admittedly, Cater’s weaker) attempts at getting him to be more hands off—he continued to conduct surprise visits to the campus. Primarily to keep a check on both Ace, Deuce and how they were currently running his beloved dorm. He knew it almost always made the two panic, but he just wanted to ensure that—they were doing fine. Riddle worried endlessly— 

-

“I don’t think it’s as surprising as you think.” You had told him once, a giggle on your lips. “Riddle… despite everything… you still genuinely want the best out of people. It’s the way you are.” He had flushed red when you put it that way, but he was incredibly appreciative of the fact that you noticed. He was also happy that you didn’t think it as something he should change immediately. 

“Ace and Deuce—I can see why you worry but…” you had patted his hands gently, and shot him the same sweet grin you had given him that time—about two years ago—after his embarrassing Overblot. “You’re also improving yourself. Take it step by step—little by little, and I’m sure one day you won’t think twice about whether or not those two can do justice to the Heartslabyul in your vision.” 

-

Seeing you as often as he did was just a bonus—or so he’d like to think. He hasn’t quite admitted to himself, how incredibly fond he has grown of your presence, and how much some of his visits was more to see you again—rather than visiting his juniors.

He could feel the way his lips unconsciously curled up just at the thought of you. He quickly turned away from his juniors—if only because he could not stop smiling. 

“Come to think of it…” he mused, pretending that this was just a thought that came to mind—and not something he’d been eagerly looking forward to— “Where is [Name]?” When there was no response, he felt his smile drop and his brow twitched at their silence. 

“Come now—if there’s anytime you’re going to be quiet…” he turned to look at them, only to realize that they had incredibly guilty expressions. “… Is something wrong? Is she hurt?”

“Well—no.” Deuce rapidly stuttered out, “It’s just—well—” he glanced hopelessly at Ace, whose eyes shifted around in an uncomfortable manner. 

“Err—it’s a little hard to explain…”

“What is going on?” He demanded, his expression growing dark as he thought back to the last time, he had seen you. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with you—you had greeted him as kindly as you normally had. You had looked healthy to him and nothing had seemed to be weighing too much on your mind… “Tell me right now.”

-

“Thank you, for coming with me.” You had smiled, “but you can leave me here, really.”

“Do you even know why Crowley called you?” Ace asked, his hands crossed behind his head when he noticed the most subtle shift in your expression.

“[Name]?” he arched a brow, and you shook your head, a smile bloomed on your face at his concern.

“No, it’s… it should be nothing.” You looked down at Grim. “You’ll stay with them, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” The monster scowled. “I don’t know why Crowley wanted just you… It’s not like you won’t tell us after…”

“That’s true.” Deuce had agreed easily.

“I will tell you if it’s important.” Ace’s eyes narrowed at the way you phrased your sentence, and when you slipped into the office—it was only Ace who stayed, his gaze fixated on the door.

“Is something up Ace?” Deuce turned to see that the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader hadn’t moved from his position by the door.

“I think she’s not telling us something.” Ace said, before he approached the door and pressed his ear against it.

“Ace! That’s rude!” Deuce moved to pull him away, but Ace shook him off.

“Sssh! I can’t hear!” he hissed at Deuce before he leaned harder against the door.

“—I have found a way to bring you back home—” Ace and Grim immediately stiffened. Deuce looked on, wary of their reactions.

“What…” he swallowed, “what did you overhear?” 

-

“She still hasn’t said anything.” Ace said after he told a frozen Riddle the story. “and… well… none of us have the heart to bring it up.” 

“Well Grim certainly wanted to.” Deuce interjected. “But we figured… it was probably something we should wait for her to say… are you okay, Dorm Leader?”

“You don’t need to call me that.” Riddle replied immediately, before he exhaled. He raised his hand and pressed it against his forehead as he thought of the situation.

‘Of course, …of course, I should’ve thought of it.’ His hand fisted in his hair, as his brows furrowed. ‘This isn’t home to her this is… it’s the farthest thing from a home.’ He felt the blood drain from his face, and the minute shake of his hand at the realization.

-

Riddle made the two promise to not speak to you about it—and that he’d try to bring it up instead. Deuce looked like he wanted to protest. Riddle could understand—the three of you had a certain type of friendship that should mean that Ace and Deuce had a right to bring it up with you but… Ace had always been much more perspective than he actually let on, and agreed to let Riddle handle it.

Whether Ace understood the depth of Riddle’s feelings or not, was currently inconsequential given the circumstance. What Riddle needed to focus on—was speaking to you about the… issue.

No, it’s wrong to call it an issue—and neither is it a problem… It’s just… perhaps best called a big decision. One that Riddle knew your likely answer to, and how it’s not the answer he would want to hear.

In his defence, ever since coming back, Riddle did try to talk to you about it. He tried very hard to confront you—but whenever he’d try to tell you—he’d take one look at your smiling expression and think about how much he’d like this moment to last longer. ‘Just a little longer… Let me have their smile a little longer—’ because he knew that the moment, he brought it up—you might no longer smile at him.

Unfortunately, time is nobody’s friend—and during a break from his graduation practice, he ran into you.

“Oh, [Name].” he blinked in surprise before his eyes narrowed when he noticed that you weren’t smiling as usual. “Did something happen?” he asked, immediately anxious for you.

“Ah it’s…” you paused, and your expression grew even more distressed. “I don’t… know how to phrase it.” He grew cold at that—he had a general idea on where this conversation could head… Before he could get a word in, the doors to the Hall of Mirrors opened, and a bunch of other fourth years exited noisily.

“Do you want to talk somewhere else about this?” The slightest furrow in his brow, and the tiny down-turn curve of his lips expressed his concern for you. Your heart did a little leap, and you briefly got lost in his pretty grey eyes before you slowly nodded.

-

Your voice was soft as you explained the turmoil you’d been going through the past few days. 

“I… want to stay. I want to stay so badly that I keep coming up with excuses to do so but… at the same time… I know that this means I’ll be abandoning my family… my old life behind and…” you looked down at your hands, and Riddle’s frown only grew as your voice got shaky. “that’s unfair to them—isn’t it? That—I’ll just up… and leave… and say nothing.”

“If you want to stay, then just stay.” You didn’t look to be convinced, and Riddle felt his heart twist that he isn’t enough of a reason for you to stay.

“It sounds so easy, doesn’t it?” you chuckled, your tone low, “maybe my life here is certainly far better than anything else I could dream of but… the guilt will eat me alive. That I just turned away from them… It’s so selfish of me.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong for you to be selfish.” Riddle disagreed as he reached out towards you and held your hands. At the action, your eyes fell to your twined fingers, and you observed the gentle way in which Riddle rubbed the back of your hand. “I think you earned that much. I don’t believe anyone’s ever been in your situation before so—there’s no right or wrong about what you’re doing. It’s all about what you want to do.”  

“You think so?” your voice cracked, and he leaned forward so that you could see the honesty in those pretty grey eyes of his.

“I know so… and if you still feel guilty then allow me to bear it with you.” He took a deep breath before he slipped one hand away from you to tug at the fifth button of his summoning robes. Your eyes widened—stunned, as you recognized what he is about to do.

“Let me express to you my own selfish desire.” He pressed the button into your palms as he met your gaze evenly. “I love you [Name]—I want you to stay—so—can I be the reason you do?”

His deep red hair fluttered in the cool wind that passed through the open halls of the college. You could see sweat dribble down his temple, and the smallest shake of his bottom lip. He swallowed; his Adam’s apple bobbed. His own eyes peered and searched your gaze too—for any indicator of the answer you would choose to deem him with.

As you looked at Riddle, you knew that a part of you will always feel guilty about the choice you were about to make but—that honest affection in those eyes were enough for you to know that Riddle, as he is, was always going to be enough of a reason to stay.

“Yes…” you murmured, and Riddle’s nervous expression broke away for a joyous one—an expression that made your heart do a little dance. “Yes—I’d want you to be the reason I stay.”  

--

It took all your courage (and the fact that it was his graduation—Great Seven did he look so good in those robes—) to finally tell Leona about what Crowley had told you.

“Good riddance.”

You felt your face pale, and your soul—shatter at Leona’s reply.

“What… what did you say?” you stuttered, “Did you just really…?”

“I said good riddance.” Leona rolled those green eyes of his at you. “You can finally go home. You can finally stop bothering me.” His eyes turned poisonous—and you felt your whole body weaken. You would have dropped to your knees if Leona’s glare hadn’t frozen you in the first place.

“You…” you swallowed, “you don’t mean that… you don’t… right… Leona…?”

“Good—” his green eyes became murky with an emotion you couldn’t quite understand, “—riddance.” He then scoffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Now leave me alone.”

“But—”

He began to walk away—but desperate—you grabbed him from behind. Your hands wrapped around his chest, as you clung to him as tight as you could.

“Herbivore... The hell are you doing?” Leona hissed as he moved to rip your hands off him. 

“Wait!” He froze at the command in your tone, and the way you pressed your head in between his shoulder blades.

“Let me... let me say something... Please...” 

‘Were you crying?’ Leona tensed; his tail flicked about in irritation—ready to confront anyone who made his woman cry—

He hissed at his own thoughts. 

“I’m not going to listen to your shit, woman.” He snapped, and he felt you flinch against him. Something deep and primal in him whimpered—because he knew he had terrified you.

He had to convince himself—this is for the best. This is for your sake. 

You were not his woman. You were not his mate. You should not have a future with him.

You were supposed to be leaving.

He wanted you to leave. 

It would be better that way.

You didn’t deserve the second prince. You didn’t deserve a rebel. You—

You deserved much better than him.

‘So please let me go.’ he thought, a little desperately, ‘because if you don’t... then I won’t be able to let go.’ 

“Leona... I... I really have no courage. I can’t even look you in the face because I’m...” He growled at that, and he felt you flinch again. “Let me do this...” He felt you move your hands, and you pressed something into his own palms. You curled your fingers around it, before you pulled away. 

“I want you to have this. If you won’t let me say anything... then please let me do this.” 

There was a brief silence—as you studied the way Leona remained tensed, his tail jerked around in irritation and your eyes shut in despair.

‘Of course... It’s Leona... what was I thinking?’ 

‘Of course, he wouldn’t want you to stay—of course—’ you realized your own foolishness. ‘Of course, he wouldn’t want you.’

“I’ll go. I’m sorry.” you said before you rushed off, as you tried, desperately not to make a sound as you cried.

Leona’s ears moved rapidly; despite your attempt to not make a sound—he could clearly hear you cry your heart out as you ran away from him.

“Tch…” he looked down at his hands, only for his brows to furrow in confusion. “This is… a button?”

“Does the herbivore…” He lifted his head to look off into the direction you took off in. “does she know what this means…?” His brow twitched in irritation; he pulled his hand back and got into a stance to throw the button away—but something in him couldn’t do it.

‘Are you really going to throw her heart away?’

“Shit!” He swore to himself as he threw a fist at the closest thing he could—one of the trees in the garden. He paused, as his eyes lingered on the patch of grass that he enjoyed taking naps on… with you.

He thought of all the things he would lose—

The way you smiled at him, despite how hopeless he was as a person. The way your skin felt against his own when he could get away with hugging you despite never saying those three words… The way you looked at him with acceptance—regardless of his glaring faults.

He thought of all the things he would never experience—

The way you would suit the crown of a princess—more than any other women he’d known. The way you could glow under the light of Afterglow Savanna’s sun. The love you two could’ve shared if he would just stop being such an asshole—“Stupid woman…” he growled low to himself, as he spun to give chase to you. His hand reached up to rip a certain button off his own robes. “I just can’t be selfless—”

‘Not when it comes to you.’

‘Not when I desperately need you.’

When he pushed open the doors of the Hall of Mirrors, Crowley turned around, startled.

“Kingscholar—?” the Headmaster gaped.

“Is that still connected to her world?”

“Yes but—what are you doing?” Crowley cried, alarmed as Leona rushed for the portal.

‘If there’s a god out there… if the ancestral spirits do exist… then please—’ he faltered at his own thoughts before he shook his head. ‘Please—don’t let me be late—’

-

“You’re back!” Your mother had only paused for a second, stunned when you popped out of the mirror in the living room, and fell to your knees. She quickly dropped down onto the ground before she reached for you and pulled you into her embrace.

“Mom—I’m—” you felt your eyes tear up, “I’m home—” you said—even if a part of you felt that home should have been two green eyes, a cocky smirk, and a warm patch of sunlight on the grassy ground.

“Oh… sweetie…” Your mother pulled back to cup your face in her hands as she studied your expression. “Never mind that—tell me what happened? I need to hear everything!”

You blinked rapidly and nodded. She brought you to the kitchen and sat you down as she whipped up a snack for you to eat as you recounted your adventures in Twisted Wonderland.

You were—baffled—she didn’t seem as terrified as you thought she would be. You had thought you would’ve come back to her crying—or, you don’t know—police in your house maybe? She was calm—and she was simply… interested in your story.

Like she knew all about it already—and she just… wanted to hear your point-of-view.

When you got to the part about Leona—you got all choked up. Regardless of how he treated you—you knew that a part of you would always love him. If anything—it would be something you would desperately cling onto, and in the depths of your heart—you will continue to nurture it. It was the only thing of him, you had left.  

“You loved him.” Your mother held your hands, and you shook your head as you gently corrected her.

“I’ll always love him, mom.” You felt tears hang onto your lashes. “I’ll always… wonder… ‘what if.’”

“Would you go back if you could? Would you stay with him?”

“I… I would but—it’s not like he wanted me.” Your lower lip trembled, and you felt your chin wrinkle at that. “He didn’t want me.”

“I think he did, sweetie.” Your mother wiped your tears away. “Leona is pretty dishonest to others… and especially to himself.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“He pretty much is.” And that’s when it dawned on you.

“Wait you—” you looked up at your mother with furrowed brows. “Why does it sound like you know him—? You—you haven’t met—”

That’s when the door swings open, and your father’s voice echoed in the house.

“We’re back!” You only had a moment to question what he meant by ‘we’ when he entered the dining hall with a familiar figure.

“Leona—?” Both males looked at you—surprised. Despite how happy you were to see both—your eyes naturally gravitated to Leona.

Your eyes met his, and he blinked slowly before a smirk crawled up his lips.

“Took you long enough.”

-

“Time isn’t exactly linear across two worlds.” Is the first thing Leona told you as he brought you to your room—or more recently referred to as his room. He dragged you onto the bed and pulled you onto his lap with relative ease—his fingers tangled in the cloth of your shirt. The only reason there was a distance between you two—was because of the way you Leona stared at you with a hungry fervour.

He looked at you like he was a starved man who had just caught sight of an oasis in the middle of a desert. There was also a difference in the way he held you—a certain desperation in the way his fingers pressed against your skin—as if making sure that you were no desert mirage. You had just seen him—but it felt as if he was seeing you for the first time in an unbearably long time.

“You entered the portal before I did.” Leona studied you with his vivid green eyes. “but when I went through the portal… I arrived a day after you were first taken to Twisted Wonderland.”

“Wait… so how long… did I miss out on?” you asked weakly.

“It’s been a year.” He replied quietly, and you looked at him—stunned. 

“That’s—you—” you cleared your throat. “why?”

“Why what?”

“Why—why wait? Why—why did you stay?” you whispered, “you could’ve just gone back—” He scoffed.

“That’s simple.” He stared at you evenly. “If I hadn’t waited for you I…” he paused. “I might have never seen you again.” You felt your eyes go wet, but you inhaled sharply as you resisted crying. He pulled you even closer to him, his arms wrapped around your waist. Though you tried to move away—it was futile, Leona was stronger than you.

“Why—I thought you said—”

“I tried to be selfless with you.” Leona confessed lightly, his eyes studied your face—the way your eyes glimmered, the way your lips pouted as you attempted to hold back your tears—you hadn’t changed from whence he last saw you but—

Having lived in a world without you for one year—only strengthened his resolve to be with you.

“I tried to be selfless with you.” Leona repeated, “but I’m sorry—I can’t be. I have to be selfish because—the future I want… it’s one I can only realize by your side so—” He moved his hand away from you only to move it to his pocket. When his fist opened, your eyes widened to see an elegant black button on his palm.

“I’ve waited a year to return my heart to you.” He murmured softly, as you began to cry in earnest. “Will you accept it?”

“Of course, I will—you big—asshole—” you cried, as you hit his chest. Leona could only chuckle, as he raised his other hand to brush your tears away.

“I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did.”

-

With your fingers laced with Leona, you went downstairs to meet up with your parents. Your mother cooed happily, while your father nodded gruffly at Leona.

“You promise you’ll take care of her, alright?” Your father eyed him, and Leona nodded.

“I will.” He promised.

“You will visit, won’t you? Or call through the mirror?” Your mother asked hopefully, and you looked at her surprised, before you glanced up at Leona in a questioning manner.

“So, you would never need to choose.” He dodged your gaze; a light flush rose to his cheeks. “I worked with Crowley and Malleus,” your eyes widened—he willingly worked with Malleus? “to establish a proper connection between your world and mine. I kept in contact with the Crowley who let you through the door in the first place… and now we’ve managed to keep the timelines properly linked.” He raised a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. “Basically… you’ll be able to keep in contact with your parents… or anyone else you wanted to keep in contact with in this world.”

“Leona…” you felt your eyes water at that.

“Don’t cry.” Leona reached down to wipe your tears away, “cry anymore—and your father will retract his blessing.” You looked at him, a little stunned—he didn’t seem like the type of person who’d ask for someone else’s blessing.

“Of course, I did.” Leona said as he figured out where your thoughts had headed, though he sounded slightly offended that you would think he would not have asked.

“It took him a year too.” Your mother said fondly while your father snorted. Leona swiftly cleared his throat before you could ask again.

“A story for another time.” He said way too quickly, before he offered you his hand again. “For now—” his green eyes softened as he met your eyes, and your fingers instinctively laced together once more.

“Shall we go home?” he gestured for the mirror that begun to glow. You smiled, and quickly jerked on his arm to pull him down. Surprised at the sudden motion, Leona’s face drew close to yours—and you leaned forward to press a kiss against his cheek.

“Silly kitty,” you giggled, “I’m already home.” He speedily pulled back. Despite the grumpy expression on his face, you were delighted to see the flush rise to his cheeks once more.

“And I… I am too.” He murmured softly, and your smile slipped into something much more tender.

You were excited to see what the future would hold for you two. 

--

“Azul.” Azul blinked as he turned his head to the approaching Jade. He arched a brow at Jade’s bemused expression—the man rarely made that face. If Jade ever encountered something he didn’t understand, he was more likely to react to it with curiosity and excitement. So, for Jade to be confused—with the lightest flicker of worry… well, Azul immediately found himself to be anxious. 

“What is it?”

“According to one of our juniors, [Name] came by to ask for you earlier—but we were at graduation practice. They redirected her to your office to wait.” Jade’s brows furrowed. “Apparently… she looked quite distressed.” Azul felt himself frown immediately at that. 

“I was going there anyways because of this—” Azul raised his hand to present some documents. “I’ll speak with her.” Jade nodded; his expression looked a little bit more relieved.

“I’ll keep Floyd off for awhile then.” Jade decided, “there must be a reason why she specifically seems to want to speak to you.”

“Alright.” Azul agreed, before the two parted ways. He thought back to when he had met you earlier that day—you had been thrilled to see them. Floyd had happily picked you up and spun you around several times—before you needed to be saved by Azul and Jade. Shortly after that, you had to go attend class—at which point they bid you goodbye, with the promise of spending more time together, later.

Azul, Jade and Floyd had just returned to Night Raven College today for the graduation practice. They hadn’t seen you in person for quite a while because their internships took them far away from the College. Azul wasn’t particularly happy with it (none of them were, really—even you) but you had always known how important success was for Azul (especially him) so you had encouraged him to pick what he knew was the best choice for the future.

His heart sped up at the thought of how deeply you understood his feelings—and his desires. At that point, he promised that he would ensure—his future would be spent making you happy and that you would never be left wanting.

You will get the best from him because he knows how much you deserve it.

You deserved so much better than him—he knew that—he’s accepted it as an irrevocable truth. However—you had chosen to stay by his side, despite his past—and despite his inexcusable actions.

“Azul… I think you shouldn’t be ashamed of your past.” Your voice resonated in his mind, and he’s instantly brought back to that time the two of you quietly stood in front of his elementary school photo.

“After all, it’s because of that Azul—that you’ve become the Azul I see today and…” You turned to him with a tender smile that instantly made his heart soar like a flying fish and his eyes well up with tears.

“I think you should know—that the Azul before me today, is not as terrible as you like to believe.” Then you giggled, and his cheeks flushed red at your next words.

“It’s quite the opposite actually—you’re someone I can’t help but watch because… I think you’re amazing.”

So, he was going to do his best for you.

He was an inherently selfish person.

 You were someone he wanted to hold onto for as long as possible. He knew that maybe one day you’ll realize that he wasn’t worth it. He knew that it will hurt him—but he also knew that if that day comes, he wouldn’t stop you.

He’d let you go.

As selfish as he was—he knew you deserved for him to be selfless for once. Especially if it meant you being happier.

It would hurt so much but—knowing how much better you could probably have—he would do it. 

‘While you’re by my side…As long as you’re in my life… for however long I’m allowed too…’ 

Until the day that someone … or something—that was inarguably the better choice for you comes along— 

‘I’ll treasure you… take care of you… treat you like a Queen—’ 

He stopped right before his office doors, and briefly fiddled with his hair. He inhaled, before he pushed the doors open. You turned to look at him with a despondent expression.

“Azul.” You hiccupped, and his heart dropped to his stomach at seeing your tears. There’s a part of him that immediately goes into a cold fury—‘How dare anyone make you cry—’

“Shh… It’s alright.” He slid the door closed behind him, dropped the paperwork carelessly onto the ground and opened his arms.

You immediately took it as an invitation to delve into his arms. Your breath was shaky, but Azul’s familiar and fresh ocean scent immediately calmed you down. You buried your head in the crook of his neck, and he rubbed one hand consolingly down your back. He slowly led you to sit down on the couch, and let you stay in his arms as he plotted a way to get back at whoever it was that made you show such a sad expression.

Once you pulled away, he immediately pulled out a handkerchief to pat away the wet tear tracks across your face.

“Are you alright?”

“I… yeah… just… I was… overwhelmed.” You said, breath still heavy. "I have something to tell you.” Azul hummed, as he moved to tuck a lock of your hair behind your ear.

“The Headmaster... he’s found a way.” 

“A way...?” Azul cocked his head, not quite understanding what you meant.

“...” 

“...” At the sudden silence, Azul raised his head to see you look down at your hands. He noticed that you were trembling ever so slightly. Azul narrowed his eyes at such an action.

“[Name]?” 

You looked up; your eyes were glassy—with one blink you would probably start crying again. He could see the minute tremble of your jaw. 

“I can go home, Azul.” 

“That’s...” Azul blinked rapidly—stunned but at the same time—his heart tightened in his chest, and he automatically clenched his fists. 

‘Ah…’

‘I didn’t think it would happen so soon…’

‘I didn’t think I’d have to let go of you so quickly…’

‘I don’t want you to go.’ 

Azul was selfish—he has always known that he was selfish... but with you... he always tried to not be. 

He would be selfless with you.

He promised himself that much.

You had always been more than what he deserved—so how could he ask you to stay with him?

Knowing that—he knew what he had to say to you.

“You must be happy.” He finally managed to speak, and he prayed that you didn’t realize how shaky his voice got. He was barely able to keep himself from crying too. “You will go home, won’t you?” 

“Is that it?” you asked, heartbreak in your voice but he gritted his teeth in response. 

“Well... what else did you want me to say?” 

“I...” you stood up; your breath shaky. 

‘I wanted you to give me a reason to stay.’ went unsaid. 

“... Nothing. I just... came here to tell you.” you finally said, your voice soft. “I’ll... see you later Azul.” You turned quickly—but not fast enough for him to not see the tear that slipped down your cheek as you escaped Mostro Lounge’s VIP Room. 

“...” 

Azul laced his hands together, before he rested his forehead against his hands. A whimper left his lips, as he began to shake in his seat. 

“Tch...” 

His heart squeezed tight—and he idly wondered if this was the type of feeling that Floyd’s victims got. It hurt—it hurt so much. Azul’s pathetic whimpers turned into guttural sobs. His fingers spread to cover his eyes—and his glasses slid off his face, down to his lap and then to the ground—at his actions. His whole body shook as he cried his heart out.

The one time he tried to be profoundly good—

The one time he tried to be selfless—

It was only right that he felt this much pain over it—after all—he always believed that he deserved it.

He struggled to remind himself how much this was for your sake. How this was better for you. Even if you began to hate him for it (and witch, did the thought of you despising him made another disgusting whimper slip out of his lips—), he’ll watch over you—only the best for you.  

-

When you rushed out of the room, you immediately slammed right into the twins. They are both briefly stunned by your expression, but just as quickly, you clung onto the closest twin—in which case, it was Floyd. The man immediately wrapped his arms around you. He began to coo comforting words to you as he shot a look at his twin. Jade’s eyes flickered between you and Azul’s shut door, before he ultimately decided to shuffle you and his brother into a nearby room. Once you were sat down, Jade quietly coaxed the story of what happened out of you.

Through your tears, you tell him. You grow a little terrified as both twins gain a quiet look of rage almost identical with Azul’s earlier expression at your tears. The two share a look, and Floyd almost immediately got up—until you stop him.

“Please… don’t be mad at Azul…” you muttered, “I… I don’t think he means it.”

You remember the expression Azul made. First—there was fear, pain—before it shifted to something more like acceptance.

You don’t understand.

Why wouldn’t he think he was worth it?

He had always been selfish—and you wanted him to be selfish with you—and yet—

“You must be happy.”

He had said, but you had immediately caught the slightest bit of wetness that had began to well up in his blue eyes. You had noticed the way he had stiffened, the way his breath and voice hitched as he did his best to hide from you what you were truly feeling—

Jade and Floyd exchanged another glance, before coming to the same conclusion.

“Listen [Name].” Jade reached and cupped your chin in a delicate manner. “Here’s what we’ll do…”

-

When Azul finally exited his office, he had to fix his robes, and his make-up—if only to keep his unflappable façade as Azul Ashengrotto of Octavinelle. What he didn’t anticipate was to be immediately blocked by the Leech twins.

“Ah. There you two are.” Azul cleared his throat, his voice still scratchy from the amount of crying he just did. “There are some things we need to do—” Floyd slammed a hand against the wall right next to Azul’s head, before he leaned closed—his eyes dark as he studied the octopus merman in front of him.

“Shrimpy ran by here. She was crying.” Floyd’s eyes narrowed, and Jade sighed from behind him. “What did you do?”

“Apparently, the dear girl is being offered a chance to go home.” His voice trembled at the last word, but he held fast to his belief that this is the best choice for you. “I congratulated her on it.”

“Why?” Floyd hissed, “why would you—Azul—”

“It was only logical to assume so.” Azul said in response. “I presumed she wished to go home.”

“What… makes you think she wouldn’t want to stay here?” was Jade’s quiet query.

“It’s obviously the better choice for her to go. There’s nothing for her here.” Both twins blinked, a little awed that Azul—their selfish, greedy Azul—just said that.

“… There’s nothing here worth staying for. Not for her at least.” Azul said—at the sight of their expressions. “I’m sure—she’ll be happier in her home world. She should have never even come here.”

And wasn’t that a terrifying thought?

He wondered what it would have been like to have lived in a world where he had no concept, no idea of you. He shuddered immediately—he would rather always be able to remember you. If he could not have you, then he would cup the memories you shared together in his palms and hold on as tight as he could.

Floyd let out a disbelieving laugh.  

“Is that truly what you believe?” Jade’s eyes narrowed, “that there’s nothing for her here?”

“You can’t sincerely believe that!” Floyd snarked, his expression twisted in displeasure. “The Azul we know—he would be selfish.”

“Don’t you see?” Azul, fed up, finally yelled, “It’s because I’ve always been selfish with her that I should be selfless for once.” He gritted his teeth aggressively.

“Of course, I want her to stay! I practically need her to stay.” He inhaled sharply, as he looked at the twins with wet eyes—frustrated that, as per usual, he had lost control of his emotions and tears. “But I also need to acknowledge that it may not be the best choice for her! So, I don’t want her to consider me when she’s making this decision—It’s not about me. It’s about her.” He exhaled, a part of him satisfied that he had managed to stun the twins once more… that is until Jade let out a soft chuckle and stepped aside to reveal that you were standing right behind him. Floyd stepped back, while a snicker escaped his lips.

“Azul.” You peered at him with wet eyes, and he tensed.

“You two—” Azul looked up to glare at the twins, who shrugged easily as they retreated away.

“Azul… why do you think like that?”

“…” He looked away, he didn’t want to answer, but when he felt your soft hands cup his face so that you could direct him to look at you—seeing that familiar look in your eyes—the one that told him how badly you wanted to understand him—instantly made him soften. “I always think about it… you deserve better. Better than me.”

“Azul… you need… to stop thinking of yourself like this. I love you.” You added, and his eyes widened, “Regardless of what you think—I think the best option for me… is to be by your side Azul.”

“You… really think that?” his voice shook, and you sniffled too.

“Of course, I do! Even if you didn’t want me… or need me…” you lower lip trembled, and Azul wanted to kiss your worries away. “I would cling to you as tightly as possible—it hurts but—I’d stay. You’re always going to be worth it for me.” Azul’s whole body quivered, and without thinking his hand slid onto a button on his blouse. He took one of your hands off his face to press a button onto your palms.

“You have my heart.” He murmured, voice soft, and his eyes moist. “and you have my future… if you’ll let me share them with you.”

“It’s a deal, Mr. Ashengrotto.” You said, your own eyes pricked with tears—and he let out a little chuckle.

He will continue to do everything in his power to always—remain—the best option for you.

-

“What a couple of cry-babies.” Despite Floyd’s tone, a pleased smile made its way to his lips.  

“Our cry-babies.” Jade murmured, a familiar smirk plastered on his own face as he watched you and Azul bawl into each other’s arms.

--

You were, once more, invited to Scarabia’s annual graduation party for their fourth-year students. It was… one of their grander parties and it was hardly the first one you had ever attended since befriending their Dorm Leader two years ago.

However—what made this party different from the others you’ve attended so far, was because a part of the graduating batch were your friends—Kalim and Jamil. The very fact Kalim was graduating, made the Asim family decide to sponsor this year’s party. This meant that even as far as grand parties would go—this year’s party blew the past other parties away in terms of extravagance. There were a lot of people (guests of the graduates), food (completely catered—for sure Jamil slunk away a little miffed that he didn’t get to cook), music (hired by the Asims) and dancing (right in the centre of the room too!)

It was incredibly beautiful—and just… something you have never believed you would have had the chance to experience. You expressed as such to Kalim, who, with a grin—laced his fingers with yours as he pulled you straight to the dance floor. His warm hand landed on the curve of your waist before he began to lead you in a complicated dance. You let out a few squeals here and there—especially because dances native to the Land of Hot Sands were quick, and nothing like you’ve experienced before. Kalim only grinned happily as he twirled you around then rapidly pulled you back into his arms. You could feel your cheeks flush red as you were pressed up against the man’s well-defined chest.

“Isn’t this fun, [Name]?” Kalim let out a boisterous laugh as he continued to spin with you at the centre of the celebration. His dark summoning robes shined under the opalescent light of the room.

“Yeah…” your eyes flickered away briefly, before landing back on his face. Luckily, Kalim had not noticed your slightest hesitation—nor the fact that you were lying.

It wasn’t that you weren’t enjoying yourself—you always enjoyed any moment you could spend with Kalim—that was the truth but—

You could feel the countless dark stares that many of the eligible young women of Twisted Wonderland shot as you hogged Kalim’s attention. Ever since you had arrived at the party, Kalim had happily, and staunchly stayed by your side throughout it—eagerly sharing with you details from the Land of the Hot Sands.

It made you… nervous… insecure.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” Kalim cocked his head to the side, bright red eyes curious—but you didn’t want him to feel upset on such an important day for him.

“It’s really nothing.” As the music finished, you pulled away. “I do think I’m a little tired… So, I think I’ll go rest back at the table.” He gave you a worried look.

“Are you sure?” he cocked his head in an innocently curious manner that made your heart hum in pleasure of his concern. “You’re my friend, [Name]! So, I want to make sure you’re well!”

‘You’re my friend.’

‘You’re just a friend.’

You felt your lips tightened at such a damning sentence, and you quickly looked away.

“Yeah, I just…” you paused, “maybe you can dance with someone else?” you suggested—even if you wished with all your heart that he’d notice how you were truly feeling.

“Oh! That’s a great idea!” Kalim beamed brightly, before he turned around and happily waved his arms. “Who wants to dance with me next?”

In an instant, the Asim Heir was surrounded by gorgeous women, and you were elbowed out of the crowd.

“Oof.” You grasped at your stomach after you were harshly pushed away, and some of the ladies at the outermost part of the circle, sniffed haughtily at you before they turned away.

You stood there for a moment, as you wondered if it would be too late to fight your way through the crowd to reach his side but… You watched Kalim offer his hand to one of the beautiful women. Something in you lurched, and you could not bear to watch so you quickly retreated to your seat—you felt like a coward.

Your table was devoid of your year mates now. Grim was hanging around with Deuce near the buffet table. Ace and Epel, on the other hand, were incredibly popular and seemed to be dancing with some other women too. Ace looked pleased, but Epel’s expression practically begged for someone to get him out of there. Jack on the other hand, claimed that the noise was too much for him, and had eagerly retired to his dorm. You let out a small giggle, as you briefly met Epel’s suffering gaze, before he and his partner turned again. In the process, your eyes landed on the ever cheerful Kalim… and his incredibly enthusiastic partner.

The woman had herself pressed up against his body and seemed to be saying something right into his ear… but judging from her slightly frustrated expression—whatever she was saying had no effect on Kalim. 

“In my generosity, I have found a way to bring you back home... but...” the Headmaster peered at you with glowing eyes. “Something tells me you don’t want that anymore.”

You frowned as that memory, unbidden, returned to the forefront of your mind. You were supposed to tell Kalim about it but… Your eyes flickered up to see him dance away with the woman.

You doubted you would get the chance to do so now.

Which you definitely… did not do on purpose.

You just—did not know—

How does one bid goodbye to the sun?

As the music ended, the same hoard of women surrounded Kalim once more. Despite the pang in your heart—you couldn’t help the exasperated but fond sigh that left your lips as you see Kalim smile cheerfully at them all.

Not at all bothered.

Still of a kind heart.

The way he was right now…

‘He truly is the sun.’ you thought, you looked around and you noticed—that everyone was paying attention to Kalim. Their gaze fixated and focused on Kalim’s next actions.

‘Everyone here is a heavenly body, orbiting the brilliant sun.’

Kalim had always had a sense of magnitude to him—always had a spark that attracted everyone… even those who were never meant to stay.

‘And I’m a meteor off course.’

Your eyes hazed over and watered immediately at the realization of your position.

‘I cannot stay.’

You ducked your head frantically—as you felt the inevitable spill of your tears down the curve of your cheeks.

‘I have no place here… no place to stay.’

No one ever willingly bids goodbye to the sun.

They spend the rest of their lives trying to find the right way back to it.

And you know the path you must walk will take you universes away from the one sun that you wished you could orbit around for eternity.

You choked briefly, and instinctively grabbed a nearby napkin to dab at your face. You were glad Grim was enjoying the festivities at the table across—had he been with you, everyone would have probably noticed your complete breakdown.

You sniffled quickly and froze as a hand that held out a handkerchief, entered your line of sight. Your eyes traced the tanned forearm, up the toned arm, before your gaze was caught by deep dark eyes.

Jamil stared at you with a frown on his face as he pressed the handkerchief into your hands. You flinched, startled, before you grabbed it.

“Thanks.” You stuttered, voice low, and Jamil gazed at you unflinchingly.

“You’re thinking of going home.” He murmured in that soft spoken, delicate tone of his. “No… you’re already going home.” His eyes narrowed, and under the candlelight of Scarabia’s halls—the shadow of the flames licked his face and made his dead, calm expression somehow… even more terrifying than usual.

“Please… don’t look at me like that.” You bowed your head, as some of your tears slipped down your knuckles. You could hear Jamil sigh.

“You’re going to break his heart.” Jamil murmured, his voice as cool and collected as ever.

“How can I break something… that I’ve never held in the first place…?” You muttered as you lifted a golden goblet up to your lips. Jamil shot you an unimpressed stare at that.

“Regardless of what you believe,” Jamil pursed his lips. “You will hurt him.”

“It’s not going to last.” You said in defence. “He’ll move on…” you looked up; tears got caught in your lashes as you blinked rapidly. “He’s going to meet people even more amazing… Like someone who …”

‘Someone who will suit him.’

‘The best person that he could be with.’

“I’m sure of that.” You tried to sound convincing—but you couldn’t truly—not when your heart believed otherwise.

“… That… isn’t something that you alone can decide.” Jamil’s eyes slid to Kalim. The man was burning as bright as ever in the centre of the room. “Kalim should have a say in that as well.”

“I can’t believe you’re the one saying that.” It was wrong of you to say that. It was—without a doubt—a low blow. Judging from the most miniscule of movement above Jamil’s brow—you had guessed he thought the same.

He didn’t blow up and instead, the man sighed deeply as he picked up his own golden goblet for a drink. You look down onto the handkerchief that you clenched in your hands.

“Jamil…” you did not look up, and instead your hand reached for your own pocket. “would you… give him this letter?” you pulled out a wrinkled envelope—one you had penned immediately after learning from Crowley that you could go home.

You… you couldn’t bear the thought of watching Kalim get sad.

You had always figured that if something like this came up you would tell him in a letter instead.

So, that you would never have to face his sadness or his tears.

“… You’re a coward.” Jamil said quietly, before he grabbed the envelope anyways.

You don’t say anything.

He was right of course.

You were just a coward—as you frantically cupped your heart in your hands in the hopes that it would not burn away into nothingness.

-

“Then,” Crowley peered down at you with glowing eyes. “Are you ready?”

You had to drag your eyes away from the doorway—that you had stared at whilst you wondered if anyone would run after you.

Though you knew nobody would.

It had been what you wanted in the first place.

You didn’t want… you hated seeing people get sad. So—you had chosen to write letters to all your friends… and you had set them in places you’re sure they’d see. It was so selfish of you but—

You remember Kalim’s tears when Jamil had overblotted, two years ago…

‘It’s better this way.’ You reassured yourself before you looked at Crowley.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” You tried to smile, and something about the way Crowley tilted his head made you feel as if he pitied you. He chose not to say anything, and instead the Headmaster gestured to the glowing mirror.

You took one step toward the mirror before the door behind you dramatically burst open.

“[NAME]!” Your heart stopped at the voice, and you turned around to see that Kalim was standing right there—his hands on his knees as he panted in exhaustion.

“Ka…lim… why…” your eyes caught sight of a Jamil who slowly dragged his feet into the Hall of Mirrors before your line of sight was completely blocked out by Kalim’s red eyes.

“[Name]! Why—why are you leaving?” His lower lip wobbled, and your heart wrenched itself at the fact that you were the cause of such an expression. “And you didn’t even tell me—have I—are we not friends? Is that not enough reason for you to stay?” His expression looked so genuinely heartbroken, but you snapped into attention at his words.

“The thing is Kalim…” you tried to avoid his gaze. “It’s exactly because we are friends that I… that I cannot stay.” You managed to force out.

“What? Why?” he gaped at you, and your frustration at the situation made tears begin to slip out of your eyes.

“Because I love you, you idiot!” you practically yelled, uncaring of your audience. Kalim gaped at you.

“But—but—I love you too!” Your heart quickened at his statement, but you frantically shook your head.

“No, you don’t—you love me—as a friend.” You emphasized, “and I can’t stay knowing that—you need to end up with someone… better than me—”

“I mean it [Name]!” honesty shone in those red eyes. There was a flicker of desperation in those eyes before he quickly fell to his knees in front of you. You gaped at him in surprise as he reached for his chest.

Snap.

He looked up at you, as he stretched out his hand to offer you the gleaming button.

“I love you [Name].” He met your eyes head on—and the seriousness in that gaze of his made an exquisite shiver run down your spine. “So—won’t you marry me?”

--

As the graduation ceremony in the Mirror Chamber concluded, Vil and Rook exited first out of all the Pomefiore fourth years. They quickly approached their Pomefiore juniors, who were all, enthusiastically cheering for them. 

"Congratulations Senior Schoenheit! Congratulations Senior Hunt!” 

Epel shuffled forward and offered the two seniors a big bouquet of brilliant red roses each. 

“Oh~ They are beautiful~ Merci, Epel.” Rook took the bouquet with a pleased expression, and happily sniffed the roses. “and very fragrant too~” 

“You were so impressive, Senior Schoenheit! You got so many awards!” said one particularly awed junior.

“Naturally.” Vil inclined his head, as he inhaled the intoxicating scent of the roses. Around him, his juniors continued to give bouquets to his fellow seniors. Disinterested in that—his eyes flickered around in a slow pace... looking for...

Vil frowned behind the rose bouquet when he could not catch sight of you.

‘Now, where could you have gone, sweet potato?’ 

“Er...” Vil glanced back down at Epel, to see him quickly flicker his eyes in a direction. 

‘I see.’ 

“Excuse me.” he murmured underneath his breath before he proceeded to move away from the Pomefiore gathering, down the path Epel had signalled him too. 

-

“Congratulations Vil. I mean—I guess you didn’t need it but--ah... no... I’m saying this all wrong...” he heard you before he saw you. His glossed lips curled up in an amused smirk at the sound of you practising your congratulatory message. Vil turned the corner to see you seated at a bench in the middle of the open courtyard. Unlike him, you were dressed properly in your version of the school uniform. You had furrowed brows, a wrinkled nose and pouted lips as you stared into a bouquet of what looked to be dark coloured flowers. He almost called out to you when you began to speak to yourself again. 

“Hi, [Name] here. I wanted to congratulate you and also... tell you... Agh! Is this really the time to tell him about that? God... I don’t want to...” 

“Don’t want to what?” You jumped in your seat. You turned your head quickly, only to immediately loose both your train of thought and breath at the sight of him. 

It was not the first time you had seen Vil in the summoning robes—he had been one of those students that had immediately caught your eye during that entrance ceremony—all those years ago.

But...

It was like seeing him for the first time—if that made sense.

His light blonde hair twisted into loose lavender waves that accentuated his sharp but delicate features. The sheer brilliance of his violet eyes in contrast to the paleness of his lashes were further accentuated by the dark make up that no one else but Vil Schoenheit could possibly hope to pull off. His lips were glossed gently with that pale lavender colour that had you dying. How long have you dreamed of kissing those lips? Smearing that lavender colour across his cheek? Ruining him, the way he’s ruined you?

How could you ever hope to fall out of love with Vil Schoenheit? 

How could you ever hope to fall in love with someone else, after Vil Schoenheit?

He approached you slowly, with an elegant countenance only heightened by the way his robes swirled around him. 

“Sweet potato?” He arched a fine brow. You were still silent despite that he had taken the seat next to you. While he may draw pleasure from the way he made you speechless, your earlier words still held fast to his curiosity. You snapped into attention after you realised that you had been staring for quite a while at him.

“T-That is—Senior Vil! Congratulations on your graduation!” you stuttered out as you simultaneously offered to him the bouquet in your arms. You peered up at him worriedly, and promptly got distracted by the way his long lashes tangled briefly as he blinked. 

“Roses as well?” he tilted his head, pale blonde hair curled gently around his cheeks. You paused and saw that he also had a bouquet of vivid, red roses in his arms. 

“Oh! Um! How presumptuous of me... I didn’t mean... that is to say...” he always turned you into a nonsensical fool. It was impossible to string words into sentences when everything would fall away in the face of Vil. He stared at you, bemused, as you babbled. “Sorry, I suppose you wouldn’t want this—Right, that’s that—I can just—” 

“I did not say that.” Vil’s slender shoulders shook in laughter. Vil dropped the bouquet of red roses he had already been holding, to take the bouquet you offered him. He peered at it gently and noticed that what he had originally thought were black roses were actually—not. As he moved it under the light of the sun, the roses would shift between a dark violet or a deep blue. His breath caught in his throat. Red roses were—no doubt—classic. They were beautiful—but this bouquet you gave him… the roses were bewitching. 

“What colour are they meant to be?” he finally asked as he leaned down to inhale the familiar, comforting scent of roses.

“What do you see?” At that, he looked up at you with a curious expression. You looked back, eager to hear what he thought. 

“I can see violet and blue toned colours... they also seem to be black in some angles.” 

“Oh.”

“Are they not meant to be like that?” 

“No, no they are... I asked ah... Professor Crewel to help me breed these type of roses... It’s amazing what magic can do for plants.” you admitted, his eyes flickered quickly between you and the bouquet.

“You bred these... specifically?” 

“Ah... yeah... back home...” you struggled briefly, “there were these roses that were either bred or coloured to look pink and yellow. I wanted to make ones that were violet or blue. Thanks to magic, it’s possible to actually create these.” 

“Why?” he scrutinised your expression as you quickly flushed.

“Er... That’s because I couldn’t choose between either of the colours.” You said quickly as you licked your chapped lips—momentarily realising that you had forgotten to bring your lip balm. ‘Vil is looking at me, and I’m horrendously ugly. What hasn’t changed?’ you bemoaned to yourself.

“I figured... Pomefiore colours, yeah?” 

You watched as he studied the way the colours of the rose petals would shift in the light. You were happy to note that there was a little glow of awe in those violet eyes, and—what you hoped was delight. His expression quickly shuttered after you noted that they were Pomefiore colors, and he dragged his gaze from the deep coloured roses to glance at you.

“You know sweet potato... lying isn’t very attractive.” he said, nonchalant, and you froze. 

“What... lying?” you chuckled nervously. His eyes narrowed briefly, and you winced.

“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” You quickly avoided his gaze as you felt your eyes immediately begin to go wet, “Sweet potato, look at me.” You inhaled sharply as you slowly turned your head to face him again. You chewed nervously on your lower lip, and his eyes narrowed again. 

“Don’t do that.” 

“Sorry.” you knew he was referring to your habit of chewing on your lower lip. 

“Well?” 

“... I was hoping you wouldn’t notice until... later.” you finally admitted. “though who am I kidding—I wanted you to know... I wouldn’t have given that to you if I hadn’t wanted you to know that...” 

“Violet roses mean ‘love at first sight’.” Vil murmured softly, “Blue roses mean ‘impossible love’... and Black roses have so much meaning... just what are you trying to say with this bouquet, [Name]?” you flinched as he named all the colours that appeared in the bouquet. 

“Black roses... I... this is also me saying... goodbye.” Vil froze, as he turned to you quickly, his eyes turned even sharper. 

“What are you going on about?” 

“Headmaster Crowley... he found a way for me to go back.” you swallowed, “and... I think I’ll go.” 

“And what about the violet and blue roses? Will you ignore what you just told me?” Vil demanded, and you looked away—unable to look at him—because you know that if you do, your resolve will falter. 

“That’s... I just... I wanted to confess. To get all these feelings out because I know... I know it’s impossible.” Your lower lip trembled, but you held fast and tight onto your resolve.

‘Just let it out. Get it out of your system and... and maybe you could start again.’ 

“Why do you believe it’s impossible?” You hear Vil sigh, exasperated. “For the Queen’s sake—look at me [Name].” 

“No, look at me.” you snapped back, and he recoiled briefly at the sudden flash of anger. "I’m more than aware that we...” 

‘We have no chance. I, of all people—know that. It’s just some dream I cooked up in my head.’ 

“Look at us.” you said, miserable. “I... you’re so beautiful... and amazing... and I’m just... me. How could I ever suit someone like you? How could I make someone like you, happy?” 

“You will stop talking like that.”

“Like what?” 

“Putting yourself down the way you’re doing right now.” He replied, “and look at me when I’m speaking to you, [Name].” You feel a soft, gentle hand cup your cheek, and move it to face him. Vil had a frown on his face—and while he never looked less pretty because of it, you still hated that you were the cause of it.

“[Name]... you...” he paused, sighed before he dropped the bouquet of dark coloured roses down onto his lap and raised a hand to his uniform. 

Snap.

Your eyes widened as you watched Vil rip a button off from his uniform before he offered it to you. 

“Vil—that—you—” you stuttered. You remembered him talking about the importance of the uniform, and he was the last person you would ever imagine, who would actually—

“What normally happens is... someone confesses, and the other party decides whether or not to give the button. When the other party gives their button—it means they return the love of the person who confessed.” Jack’s voice echoed in your head.

“There’s a tradition at graduations in this world.” Vil began gently as he placed it in your hands, “when one person confesses—the other can chose to—” 

“Give them a button.” you murmured and Vil tilted his head to the side in surprise.

“You know of it?”

“The others... Jack... told me.” you mumbled, “but this... Vil... you...” 

“My happiness will not be dictated by others—no, Vil Schoenheit is a person who will grasp happiness with his own hands.” He leaned towards you and pressed his forehead against you. His eyes softened as your eyes watered and the tears began to spill. “I’m giving you this button because I’ve already found happiness by your side. Nothing you say will change that so...” He brushed your tears away with the thumb of his hands, and you found yourself lost in the gentle affection in those violet eyes. 

“Won’t you stay with me?” Those lavender lips curled—and you’ve never ever wanted so badly to kiss someone in your life, “I’m not a generous person, [Name]. You can only answer yes… or yes.” 

--

“Ah—[Name]!” Ortho signalled for you to come close quickly. You moved to the boy’s side, before he gestured for you to peak into Idia’s room. You had expected to see Idia as he fiddled away with his computer—as per usual. To your surprise however—Idia was in fact—just stared off into space. You gaped at him, before you peered down at Ortho who nodded worriedly.

“Big Brother’s been like that for a while.” You could hear the frown in Ortho’s voice. “I don’t know what to do—not even his games can pull him out of it.”

“Really?” at the disbelief tone, Ortho looked up at you with wide golden eyes.

“Really!” he nodded, his fiery hair bobbed at his movement. “He hasn’t touched a single game in a while! He’s actually gone to some of his classes—well I still needed to bring him there—but he didn’t resist like usual… In fact, he didn’t complain at all! He’s even gone to graduation practice! That’s why he’s—” Ortho gestured at his outfit, and you realized that Idia was, in fact, dressed in the summoning robes.  

“What do I do?” Ortho asked, and you knew if he could cry—he probably already would be.

“I’ll… I’ll try to talk to him. You can stay here, alright?” Ortho nodded, and with a deep breath, you pushed the door open.

-

Idia, on the other hand, still stared off into empty space—unable to register anything. All he could do was think about what had got him so distracted.

Crowley had bothered him too much about graduation—and Idia just simply… didn’t want to think about it. Unluckily for Idia, the Headmaster could become incredibly annoying when he wanted to be. Whenever Idia just wanted to brush aside the issues—Crowley only pressed him even more. At his wit’s end, Idia had thought to mess around with his computer… or something. Perhaps jam Crowley’s ability to connect to Idia—or even better—plant something that will hear his secrets… (‘I sound like Azul,’ Idia had even despaired briefly).

It was as he hacked his way into Crowley’s system in the Headmaster’s office that Idia had accidentally listened into a particular conversation that he sorta wished he remained oblivious too.

-

“You asked for me?” Idia had jostled in his seat when he heard you speak. He rapidly looked around his room—wondering if you had made it in without him realizing (again). He had an excuse on his lips—ready to be said if you wondered what he was doing. (He had a feeling ‘annoying Crowley because he wants me to physically attend graduation’ might not up your support levels together much.)

“Ah yes [Name]! Please! Do come in! And sit, sit! For I am gracious.” Idia whirled around to look at his monitor. With some rapid taps onto his keyboard, he was able to get a visual of Crowley’s office. He quickly recognized your form from behind.

‘What are you doing in Crowley’s office?’ Idia thought. He didn’t need to wonder too long however because his question was quickly answered.

“My dear girl, I’ve done it!” Crowley said rather cheerfully, “For I am gracious!”

“That’s… great?” Idia could imagine your cute, confused expression. You made it often enough whenever he tried to explain anything about the games he played. Though your worlds bore many similarities when it came to consoles—there were minute differences that often slipped your mind. He let out a soft giggle at that—you were adorable, and just having thoughts about you made his mood all better.

“That’s great.” You had repeated slowly, “but ah… I’m confused—what is this about, Headmaster?” you inquired, genuinely sounding like you had no idea what he was talking about.  

‘Maybe I should go off. I don’t want to listen in and… I’m sure she’ll tell me whatever it is about—yeah?’ Idia nodded to himself, and just as he’s about to click the button that would cut off the audio—

“Well, what else could it be about my dear girl~?” Crowley had cackled, “In my generosity, I have found a way to bring you back home—”

Idia’s hand slammed down on the keyboard in shock, as he began to choke. He stared at his black screen in shock—not sure how to feel about what he had just heard.

‘You’re going home?’

-

He shouldn’t… have been as surprised as he was really.

He remembered that day, around two years ago, when you were first isekai’d into Twisted Wonderland. He knew that the plan had always been to send you home as soon as Crowley actually found a way to do so but…

As he spent time with you—he had gradually forgotten.

No, he didn’t forget—he—

Put it out of his mind.

He was so caught up in enjoying the time he had with you, that it had slipped his mind that it wasn’t permanent. That it wasn’t something that could last for as long as he wanted.  

He knew that you always had your past world—your family, friends, and life—in your thoughts. He would too—if he were suddenly isekai’d in some foreign world where he had nothing.

So, Idia thought little of the possibility that you would remain in this world any longer. He knew—

He knew you’d want to go home because—

“What would keep you here?”

“What would keep who here?”

Idia yelped and leapt off his chair at the sound of your voice. He turned around to see you, as you peered at him with an amused smile. His heart skipped a beat at the way you smiled.

‘This is illegal—! You shouldn’t have power over me like this!’ He wailed inwardly, ‘Especially when—’ He let out a strangled noise as you pressed a warm, soft hand against his forehead.

“You don’t seem sick…” you mused, and you tilted your head in a way that Idia squealed at. You were just… so cute. Perfect waifu material for sure—you were kind—always so kind to him, and always willing to understand him in ways no one else ever was able to do. Ortho loved you too—

“Idia?” you leaned closer, and Idia frantically moved back. A wire made him trip backwards, and he let out a pained grunt at that.

“Oh no—are you okay?” He raised a hand to prevent you from drawing any closer.

“I’m okay!” he squeaked out, “I’m fine—just—give me a moment—”

“Alright.” You drew back, and with little hesitation, you chose to sit down on his bed as you watched Idia slowly stand upright. He patted his behind and winced—at which you let out a soft giggle. After a few more moments, Idia shuffled to sit right beside you. He fiddled with his sleeves awkwardly, his eyes flickered away—and back to you.

“Why—why are you staring at me like that?” he finally managed to say, and you smiled.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the summoning robes.” You said, “they suit you. You’re very handsome Idia.” Idia’s face quickly flamed up, and his hands rose to cup his own cheeks as he began to stutter rather fiercely.

“That—you—but—I—you lie!” he settled on; his face completely flushed with embarrassment.

“I’m not lying.” You shook your head, as you admired him in his summoning robes. You really weren’t—Idia can clean up rather nicely, and the dark colour of the robes accentuated the blue of his hair and the gold of his eyes.

“Thanks.” He said, his hands still covered the bottom half of his face.

“Are you really okay, Idia?” you asked, a little more concerned when your attempt at a conversation fell through.

“Yeah…?” he looked at you confused, and your eyes moved to the door. You knew Ortho was still there but…

“Ortho was pretty worried about you. Said you were acting all weird.”

“That’s because…” he chewed his lower lip, and he looked at you from the corner of his eye. “Well…”

“You can tell me anything.” You said—as you always did, when Idia worried himself to a frenzy at what you might think of the things he liked. “You know me Idia, I don’t mind.”

“Yeah… it’s…” he hesitated before he turned to you—Idia’s expression was different—it was, strangely serious and intense—not in any way you’ve seen it before. It instantly made you even more worried. “The truth is…”

He was never particularly good at lying—nor was he good at keeping secrets from you. You were a person he considered a dear friend—and he was always the type of person who ended up spilling everything to you. He liked being able to talk about the things he enjoyed—he liked that he had found someone who wanted to hear him out.

So, he told you what he had overheard, his eyes fell to his palms because he could no longer face you. He was worried about what you’d think when you found out that he heard what had happened—and he was worried that something on your face will make him break down.

Idia was afraid of losing you.

Idia was afraid of losing a person who was so willing to be his dear friend.

His fists tightened on his shirt, and he wondered if there was any reason, he could give you so that you would stay.

“Idia…” you began, but your sombre tone made him squeeze his eyes shut because he didn’t want to confront the truth—that you were actually going to leave and…

“Are you really leaving?”

“That’s—”

“Please don’t leave!” you faltered briefly, and looked at the way Idia was hunched over, with his eyes squeezed shut. It would have been quite the comical sight if it were not for the seriousness of the topic.

“Idia—I’m—”

“I really—I don’t want you to go—” he fiddled with his robes. “I know that’s… selfish of me—and I know you’re probably thinking of your family but I think—no—I know—” He hesitated, and he looked up at you, his expression shy, his chin wobbled.

“I… lo—” he shut his eyes quickly as finally blurted out how he truly felt. “I love you [Name]!” He tugged quickly on a button in his robes before he offered it to you with shaking hands.

You stared at him—stunned—you knew what Idia was like. You knew how much courage it must have took him to be tell you this—and to confront you about it too…

“Idia… won’t you look at me? Please?” you asked, gently. He glanced up at you, and you gave him a sweet smile that had his heart run a mile a minute. With that tender expression, you took the button in his hands and rubbed it gently with your fingers.

“Idia… you didn’t hear the whole thing, did you?” Idia furrowed his brows, before he shook his head.

“I accidentally quit the program…” he admitted, “and… I was too scared to go back on so…”

“Idia—I’m not leaving.”

“I guess it wasn’t enough—wait, what?” his head jerked back up to see your happy expression.

“I have no plans on leaving. If you had listened further, you might’ve heard that.” You giggled lightly, “I didn’t want to leave you—so I asked Crowley if it was possible to just… communicate with my world instead.” Idia gaped at you, completely surprised.

“Wait—you’re staying?”

“Yes.”

“For me?” he squeaked, and you nodded.

“For you. For us.” You held up the button between your fingers, and he looked at it for a moment before he met your gaze again, his face rapidly turned a bright red.

“So, I—I didn’t need to—do this—?”

“Technically…  no?”

“Can you just forget the last few minutes please—”

“Absolutely not!” He made a strangled whimper-like sound at the back of his throat, and you laughed as you moved to embrace him. “I won’t forget it—because I love you too!”

“You—you do?”

You pulled back, to cup his face in your hands. His cheeks burned red, but you disregarded that to look into his gold eyes. His pupils shook, and you could see how nervous he was—you could feel the way he trembled in your hands.

“I love you Idia—and I’ll happily accept your heart.” Idia exhaled heavily, as he slackened into your arms, before he moved to wrap his arms around you.

“And… I love you…” he mumbled, less nervous—a little more assured—but for sure, deep in love. “Thank you… for staying with me.”

--

When Malleus himself invited you to Diasomnia—you gathered all your courage to go and tell him about what Crowley had told you.

"Ah [Name].” Sebek greeted you with a cheerful smile as you entered Diasomnia’s Main Hall. “Care for a button?” 

Your brows shot up as you realized that he was carrying a bunch of buttons in his cupped hand. 

“Err... Sebek... why...” you cleared your throat. “Why do you have so many... buttons?” Sebek brightened up at the question.

“You see, remember when Ace was speaking about the Second Button tradition?” At your hesitant nod, he continued, “I have come to understand that I shouldn’t be thinking about exchanging buttons with the Young Master—” 

‘Oh dear.’

“As his vassal, I should be more concerned with the fact that should he exchange buttons with someone, it would ruin his attire—and by extension it may ruin his reputation.” Sebek nodded to himself, pleased with his own reasoning. “So, I chose to prepare a lot of buttons for the Young Master to pass out to those seeking his button.” 

“I... I see.” You exhaled. If you had to describe what you felt for Sebek at this very moment—you would describe it as exasperated, but fond. He wasn’t a bad person--just... hilariously attached.  

'Malleus...’

Had it already been two years since you came to Twisted Wonderland? Had it already been two whole years since you had met him in the gardens of the Ramshackle Dorm?

No matter how much you tried, you couldn’t remember how dark it had been that night—nor could you remember the exact reason why you had still been awake.

“Hm. Who are you?”

What you do know is that everything faded away in favour of remembering how you felt when you first laid eyes on Malleus. 

“Well now this is a surprise. You are a child of man.” 

Long dark hair that tumbled down to the small of his back, pale porcelain skin, and vividly green eyes that were framed by long, thick lashes. The light of the moon was bright enough to illuminate him and it made him all the more ethereal in the night. 

As you had stared at him, you felt your throat dry, your heart picked up its pace and your cheeks burned. You didn’t know—you still don’t know—but something about Malleus just left you so speechless... and in awe. 

You raised a hand to your chest, as you felt it skip a beat just at the thought of him.

‘I have it bad.’ you had to accept that much—even if you knew you had—practically—zero chance with him. 

“[Name]?” Sebek brought you out of your stupor. You dragged your eyes back down to Sebek’s palm, and the shining buttons in his palm. 

“I’m surprised you’re even offering.” you pointed out, and Sebek glanced at you thoughtfully.

“Regardless of my personal feelings,” Sebek sniffed. “I at least know that the Young Master thinks of you as an important friend.” 

‘What was it that Jack said?’ 

Jack had said it was something of a serious promise (Ace completely disregarded it--but... well, you were more likely to believe Jack between the two of them). You also remembered that Malleus wasn’t even allowed to show up in front of the Ghost Bride because he was the sole heir of the Valley of Thorns... 

‘It’s not like Malleus would give me his he...’ You couldn’t help but blink in surprise at the bitterness of your thoughts. ‘Since when did I...’ You quickly shrugged it off, before you finally nodded at Sebek.

“Sure, why not?” After you picked it up, you began to play with it in between your fingers. 

“Come to think of it [Name], what are you doing here?” Sebek eyed you suspiciously. 

“Ah that’s because—” 

“I invited her here.” At the sound of his voice, a shiver ran down your spine—and you felt the tips of your ears burn with a blush. You both turned to see Malleus as he entered the main hall. 

Your eyes widened, and a gasp slid past your lips at the sight of him dressed in the dark coloured summoning robes. As the robe billowed around his long legs, he moved with a certain grace that made it seemed like he was gliding towards you. 

“Woah...” you raised a hand to your lips in surprise. In return, Malleus’s lips only curled—pleased at your reaction.

“Ah, Young Master! You look amazing!” Sebek exhaled, as awed as you. 

“Thank you.” He inclined his head elegantly, before his eyes shifted back to you. You shuffled in place uncomfortably, before his lips raised into a gentle smile.

“I apologize I could not come to Ramshackle tonight. We were busy preparing for graduation.” Malleus said, “I thought we could walk instead in the gardens of Diasomnia... before I escorted you home. Not a bad plan, no?” 

“Young Master...” Sebek furrowed his brows briefly, but Malleus only raised a hand—his eyes never leaving your form.

“It is fine Sebek. I will not take too long.” He tilted his head; his dark hair gently fell across his face at the motion and your struck by the motion to tuck it behind his ear. You had to curl your fingers together to stop yourself. 

“Shall we?” 

-

You walked quietly beside Malleus through the gardens; your heart pounded in your ears. 

‘I have to tell him. I really need to.’ You glanced at him quickly from the corner of your eyes. His eyes had slid shut as he inhaled, his shoulders rose and fell at his action. Your heart twisted regretfully, and you could feel your eyes tear up briefly.

His smile was gentle—delicate, much like the fairy lights that naturally accompanied him every night. 

He looked so peaceful. 

He looked content.

He had once been so forlorn.

His eyes had been so viridescent and sad. Loneliness had wrapped him up in a cold embrace.

You wondered if centuries from now—Malleus would remember you. 

You doubted it. 

You were just a drop in the ocean of Malleus’s life. 

As if you could ever... 

“I’ve been wondering.” you flinched as he suddenly spoke, and you blinked rapidly—as you hoped that none of the wetness in your eyes fall out. 

“Yeah?” you hoped he didn’t notice the way that you had been so overcome with your feelings that you had to choke that out.

“That.” Malleus pointed at button that you had been unconsciously playing with your hands. “Why are you holding a button?” 

“Oh that’s...” you looked down at the button in your hand, “Sebek gave it to me. He said he was passing it out to people who would ask you for your button.” 

“My button?” the dragon fae blinked slowly. You quickly told him about the tradition Ace had mentioned. 

“Ah.” Malleus let out a soft chuckle. “Yes, I do believe Lilia mentioned it.” then he peered down at you again. “That begs the question... why did you accept the button from Sebek?” 

“Well... that’s because...” you nibbled on your lower lip. ‘It’s not like I can tell him that I...’ you stopped walking, and when Malleus realized that you had stopped moving—he turned around to face you.  

“Little one?” 

“I just figured... well... I don’t think I’d ever get one.” you said in a self-deprecating tone. “So, I thought... might as well... It’s a cute tradition anyways.” 

Malleus felt his brows furrow in response. He had easily noticed that your mood was not particularly bright. He frowned; he despised the things that would make you sad—it made your light dim. 

Your brilliance saved him. 

He would be damned before he let anything cause you to flicker out like a dying star. 

When you saw his shadow approach you, you couldn’t help but flinch. You didn’t want him to look at you right now—when you know your feelings are all over your face—when you couldn’t control the way your heart hummed in pleasure—knowing he was with you. 

Malleus grabbed your hands, and you swear he could probably feel the way your heartbeat moved into a rapid pace at his touch. At this proximity—Malleus’s scent—gentle but fragrant—of wildflowers and smoke—enveloped you, it made you instinctively relax. You looked at your hands as he gently pried your fingers open to take the button away from you. 

“I see...” 

Before your eyes, the innocent little button caught a flame and burned away. 

“Malleus, that’s overdoing it—don’t you think—” when you looked up, you caught sight of the way he reached for the buttons on his uniform.

Snap.

“I wish you spoke to me first.” Malleus said softly as he pressed the button into your palms. He looked down at you, with those eyes—

Vivid greens--but so gentle, so loving. 

Nobody had ever looked at you like that. 

“After all, I would gladly give my heart to you, my bright light.” your eyes widened, and they began to sting.

“You can’t... you can’t just do that... You’re a fae prince... and I.... I don’t belong here... I... I...” Malleus listened intently as your breath grew uneven as you tried not to cry. “I... I don’t...” you tried to give the button back, but Malleus only pressed your fingers close. “Crowley told me I could go home...” 

“You do not have to.” Malleus leaned down and lifted your head so that he could press his forehead against yours. Your eyes were too sad—too wet.

He could not believe that you thought of yourself like this. 

‘You don’t understand little light... If there’s anyone who should be unworthy to bathe in your presence it would be I....’ 

“You could stay here, with me. You could be my Queen...” Malleus paused thoughtfully, “No... that is wrong. You already are my Queen.” 

“I’m no fae. Not even a magician. Not a speck of magic in me.” your grief escaped you through your tears, “you still want that?” 

‘Volatile as I was... so arrogant and self-assured in my own powers.... but you had not given up on me, little light.... that is why... I won’t let go of you either.’ 

"Of course.” he replied easily, “you possess more power than you think. You possess so much power over me.” he whispered, and his breath fanned over your face. “I do not mind how powerless I am against you.” 

“I’m not an immortal. You... I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“Oh, bright light... I would prefer to live the rest of your life by your side... rather than spend centuries contemplating what it could have felt… to hold you in my arms.” Malleus professed. You were now openly sobbing, and Malleus pressed his lips against your jaw, onto your cheeks and over your eyelids. 

“And should you worry about the centuries after... that is alright my bright light. I will simply find you again.” 

As he pulled away, he noticed that your breathing was still shaky, and he leaned in again to give you several more comforting kisses. 

“Won’t you... get bored of me?” 

“Ah... but you are such a bright spark... I will never tire of you.” He made sure to stare straight into your eyes, “I will never tire of the way you look at me, the way you blush... the way you react when I call for you—and the feel of your heart...” He moved his thumb to feel the rhythmic beat of your heart. 

“Will you not… let me…have your heart too?” He found the button—his button from earlier—and pressed it once more into your palm, to remind you of his earlier gift.

‘His heart...’  

“...How... can I say no?” you choked out, “Yes... of course... Malleus.... I’d... there’s never been anything I wanted more.” 

He could feel his shoulders slacken in relief at your response, as he bent down to brush his lips across yours. 

‘I was terrified that you would slip away from me... Thank you...’ 

“Then let whatever years we have together... be ours only....” 

-- 

[link4eva]

Kiro’s Seeking Date Translation [CN]

Hey, everyone! Just a couple of things before you begin reading. I don’t actually know any Chinese so this translation was done through the power of Google Translate. A HUGE shout-out to @keliosyfan and @cheesy09 for helping me with edits and revising. Thank you!!! 💛

Here’s a link to the date video uploaded by @keliosyfan​ that you can follow along with.

 Also, here’s a link to the call that comes before the date.

*TW: I feel like I should note that this date has mentions of human trafficking.*

This translation contains spoilers for a date that has not yet been released to the ENG server. If you wish to not be spoiled, please don’t look below the cut. 

Hope you enjoy~ 💛

*Spoilers for future content below!*

[First Part]

??: What are you doing kidnapping her, idiot?! 

??: She has been with Helios for so many years, she must be his most important woman.

??: With this woman, we can make him write off his debts and also crush his spirit as a gift to those foreigners.

In the dimness, two male voices drifted into my ears.

My hands were tied behind me, and the rope bore through the cloth on my body. The rough and wet touch made me very uncomfortable.

??: If he really cared about this woman, would he always keep her by his side? Tell everyone that she is his weakness?

??: This woman is a target he bought four years ago to get rid of trash and see who in the city found him unpleasant!

Although I was very certain that these people were telling the truth, after hearing those words, my heart still couldn’t help but ache.

??: This is the end of the matter. This woman can’t stay.

??: Sooner or later, that beast Helios will know what you have done. He would never let us get away with it. *Changed some wording*

??: This person has just been taken away, and Helios won’t be so fast.

The icy sound of a knife unsheathing made me clench my teeth. My whole body shook.

The hemp rope had been cut with the blade hidden in my sleeve, and I waited for the opportunity as it gradually approached.

Even though I closed my eyes, I could always see that person’s face and a pair of indifferent blue eyes.

If I died, would he be sad? 

??: Hope... is the most precious thing in this world. 

??: Do you want to go with me?

I can’t die yet.

But just before I acted, someone ended up being faster than me.

With a “shink”, it seemed that a sharp weapon pierced the glass and embedded itself into the wooden board. The sudden noise made my heart constrict.

??: Don’t open your eyes.

After an extremely cold and commanding voice sounded, there were shrill screams. In the continuous plethora of sounds, there was the harsh sound of bones being twisted.

I closed my eyes and curled up tightly, worried that this was just a dream.

Until I was hugged in a strong and warm embrace, with the fragrance of smokey tobacco wrapping around me. 

I opened my eyes blankly and caught sight of the silver hair that was eye-catching and dazzling in the gloomy thatched house.

Those blue eyes, which were normally calm, were now mixed with a little anger.

MC: ...Am I dreaming?

Helios: Do you often dream of me? 

The man gave me a look, held me, and walked out the door. It seemed to be the warehouse of a wine shop.

(Cut to outside)

Suddenly his figure stopped, and I lowered my eyes to find that a man was holding onto his trousers tightly.

??: Mr. Helios, boss, please forgive us this time. We will soon have a big deal, and then we will be accommodated…. 

Helios: Is the restaurant I run like an orphanage?  

Helios: Repaying debts is justified.

He turned a deaf ear to the man’s pleading and the whispers from the bystanders. He moved his long legs, and the man fell to the ground.

At the same time, a group of people began to move in and out of the store.

MC: Should I first….

Helios: Don’t move. 

His voice sounded impatient. I blinked and didn’t speak anymore.

After the fight was over, Helios raised the corner of his mouth and gave a slight retort to the kneeling man.

Helios: Mr. Cao, you’re welcome to visit Spring Moon Pavillion next time. 

??: You foreign devil, don’t lie! Go to hell! 

The curse echoed behind us, and the sound of a solid, steady heartbeat fell upon my ears.

Here, people called him many things-- Mr. Helios, the boss, foreign devil. 

No one knew his origins. There was a rumour that seemed to say he was of mixed race.

Most of the restaurants, diners and pawn shops in the city were under his name, and there were many other shady places.

Countless people ate his meals, and countless people enjoyed his turf. They were his business partners, his subordinates, and his debtors.

He was the unspoken ruler of this city.

Everyone here respected him and feared him.

MC: Are you hurt?

I felt the person stepping forward seem to pause, but it was only momentarily.

Helios: No. 

I leaned into that somewhat cold embrace, and in my sorrow, it seemed to overlap with the heavy snow from four years ago.

[Second Part]

(Flashback)

I stretched my arms strenuously, trying to grab the flying photograph.

The man behind me tightened the chain on the back of my neck, leaving only the muddy photo in my blurred vision, which ended up crushed with shoe prints on the ground.

Like unforeseen freedom, it broke free, but also decayed. Like my freedom, slowly slipping away with each step.

The world was covered with a film and the insults behind me were drowned out, and only cold white noise remained.

Suddenly, a pair of delicate leather shoes stopped next to the photo, and someone picked it up in the next second.

I blinked slowly, and found an eye-catching and sharp silver light under the extremely gloomy sky.

It was like the first speck of snow that one would find stunning in the late winter, burning straight into people’s eyes, beautiful and cold.

The boy looked around the same age as me, and a pair of azure blue eyes met my own.

The biting cold caused my reaction to delay and another pair of distant and similar pupils appeared before my eyes.

But they were warmer and brighter.

??: Snap out of it!

When my consciousness was pulled back to reality by the pain, I heard screams that did not belong to me. The force that restrained me suddenly disappeared, and I fell directly to the ground.

I reluctantly raised my eyes and found that the silver-haired boy had come over at some point, twisting the man’s wrist with one hand. His gaze shifted from the photo in his hand to me.

??: Did you stay in the orphanage in the east of the city as a child? 

I looked at him dumbfoundedly and lost my voice for a moment.

??: Answer me.

MC: [flustered] ….Ye-yes! I stayed there for a year.

The boy’s eyes seemed to light up for a moment because of my answer, and then became alienated in the blink of an eye.

He threw the man aside, lowered his eyes and wiped off the mud from the photo with his white sleeves, then squatted down and handed it to me.

??: I’ll only ask once.

??: Come with me?

I stared at him in a daze, and the roaring from the outside world came to an abrupt end. Only the voice of the boy in front of me and my own heartbeat could be heard.

MC: Ok.

As soon as I spoke, the boy threw a few silver bills at the man.

The heavy snow fell silently, and I was taken into his arms, like a fragmented snowflake.

The blood, water and frost all mixed together, and I heard his voice in the dizziness.

??: Starting today, you are mine. 

??: My name is Helios.

??: But I don’t like this name, so don’t call me that.

MC: My name is MC….Then um….what should I call you?

His attitude left me a little perplexed.

Helios: If you have something to say, I will acknowledge it.

Helios: Is that photo important?

In the heavy snow on the quiet road, I lifted my head laboriously, trying to muster a smile.

MC: [smiling affectionately] Very important. He was my best friend in the orphanage and a big star in the city.

MC: Everyone loved to hear him sing. He never cared about who his audience was; he shined nonetheless. 

MC: It’s just… He went abroad six months ago, so he must be an even better person now.

The boy’s footsteps froze for a moment as if his feet were bound in ice and snow.

Helios: He’s just an actor. 

Helios: A useless profession.

MC: But….it was his smile that gave me strength.

Without him, I would not have been able to hold on till the day I met you.

(End of flashback)

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see Helios sitting on the sofa, casually reading the newspaper. As usual, he should be in the restaurant at this time.

Looking at his profile, the dream I had just now made me a little confused.

It turned out that I had stayed by his side for so long.

He took me back to the small restaurant, healed my injuries and taught me all kinds of things.

Literacy, singing, dancing, medical skills, business���.

He was the most ruthless and sharp blade. I had witnessed how he, with his own power, had expanded this small restaurant to its current size in just a few years.

Helios: Get up and eat if you’re awake. 

The sudden words interrupted my thoughts. Helios didn’t look up as he slowly took a sip of tea from his teacup. Seeing him frown, I immediately got up from the bed.

The food had been arranged on the wooden table, the temperature just right; neither too hot nor too cold--

Obviously, the people who prepared this had carefully taken time into consideration.

I looked at the man sitting aside from the sidelines and saw the teacup he put aside. I was a little puzzled.

MC: Is that pot of tea not brewed?

Helios: It’s poisoned. 

Helios: Tastes terrible. 

I almost choked on the spring rolls in my mouth and sighed inwardly at his calm demeanour.

I went up to the cabinet, skillfully took out the bottle of medicine and poured out a pill. I walked up to him and handed it over.

Helios: I won’t die.

After hearing the expected answer, I picked up the pill and brought it to his mouth.

He didn’t open his mouth but stared at me coldly.

MC: You don’t need to stare at me. I’m not afraid of you.

With that said, I continued to pry open his mouth with the pill.

Probably moved by my fearlessness, his mouth finally opened slowly and swallowed the pill.

I smiled with satisfaction and when I turned around to continue enjoying my spring rolls, a pair of cool palms swept over my waist.

The incense stick burned quietly, and a small sigh and familiar body temperature covered me closely from behind.

Helios: Don’t you blame me for using you as bait? 

He closed his eyes. His long eyelashes were covered with sunlight and his brows were furrowed.

MC: You taught me that there is no meaningless business in this world.

MC: You bought me. My life is yours.

Helios: That’s the spirit. 

The person behind slowly opened his eyes, his pupils full of jest and scrutiny.

MC: Today I just wanted to go to the temple to ask for a peace charm like in previous years. 

MC: I was going to go there by myself, but I didn’t want to cause you trouble.

He probably didn’t believe me. Even so, I explained it word by word.

A cool finger stroked my neck and entangled a few strands of my hair.

Helios: How many years have you been with me?

His sudden question had me stunned for a moment.

MC: ….Three years and two hundred and seventy-five days.

Helios: It’s three years and two hundred and seventy-six days.* 

*This is a little Easter egg that @keliosyfan spotted.  “When Helios asked MC how long she has been with him, she says "3 years, 275 days" but he corrects her saying "3 years, 276 days". If you put the numbers together you get 3276 which in CN numeric slang means "love Qiluo(Kiro) for life" or "生爱棋洛"So in a way, he wants MC to say "I love Kiro for life"(3276/生爱棋洛). 🥺😭🤧”

Although his voice was faint, it was conclusive.

I thought about it and didn’t argue with him. For me, there was no difference between one more day and one less day.

Helios: Want to leave?

MC: ….?

He laughed suddenly, but only slightly mocking this time.

Helios: I can teach you enough to live a better life.

After that, he stood up. The sudden drop in temperature made me feel a little cold in this midsummer weather.

Helios: Since you want to leave, I won’t stop you.

Helios: But leave before the seventh day of July. 

[Third Part]

Helios left after saying this, leaving me alone in the room in a daze. 

Compared to his sudden expulsion, I was more concerned about another thing.

The seventh day of July.

What was going to happen on that day?

The annexed restaurants, and suppressed merchants….I know what Helios has been doing for several years.

Would my existence cause him any trouble?

I looked at my bare wrists and couldn’t help laughing at myself.

Maybe I was locked in place by a pair of invisible shackles.

I pursed my lips and walked to the closet to take out the bag hidden in its depths. Perhaps it was just my illusion, but it seemed to have been turned over by someone.

(Outside of room)

Outside the dark room, late at night, I tiptoed over with my bag. There were faint sounds of firm punching and kicking coming from inside the room. 

Helios stayed alone here every night, not letting anyone come close.

But this was my hidden secret, and I could secretly monopolize Helios at this moment.

As usual, I opened the window a crack.

In the room, Helios was half-naked, and the small old silver locket hung with silver bells, reflecting sharp lines of bright silver light in the cold moonlight.

His movements were swift and fierce, harder than usual as if he was venting out something.

His wet hair was weighed down, and sweat dripped slowly from his lower jaw and down his strong and undulating chest.

He stood at the junction of light and shadow, with most of his face hidden in the darkness.

The sound of cicadas in midsummer made people feel a little restless, and the silver locket on his chest heaved slightly as he panted hard.

Helios stood there and didn’t move. I don’t know what he was waiting for. *The music from the first Valentine’s Day event starts playing so it’s getting steamy 😏*

In the next second, those blue eyes passed through the window and were firmly locked on me.

MC: ….!

I instantly withdrew my head and squatted down.

Helios: ….Come in. 

Helios: I’ll only say it once. *Don’t need to tell me twice!! 😩😩 *

Hearing the slightly stiff tone, I stood up, lowered my head, and pushed the door open. I only took a single step in and then stopped.

Helios: I don’t see you this compliant on weekdays.

MC: ….You knew?! Then why did you never let me go before….

Helios: For my own pleasure. 

I suddenly raised my head and found that he had positioned himself right in front of me. His scorching body temperature seemed to be able to cross the distance between us and set me on fire.

MC: I-I didn’t come here today to take a peek, I just….

He lowered his eyes and his gaze flicked across the bag I was holding behind me. His smile melted into a bit of a smirk.

Helios: If you’re saying goodbye, you don’t...

MC: I want you to teach me some martial arts.

I held my breath and did not miss the momentary surprise that flashed through his eyes.

MC: What you taught me isn’t enough.

Helios looked at me condescendingly, his eyes dim. A breeze flitted past my ear as his hand smacked against the door frame behind me.

Helios: Not enough? 

In this tense atmosphere, I tried my best not to avoid his gaze.

MC: You taught me a lot, but….it felt like things had become even serious today.

MC: So I…. I still need you.

Before I finished speaking, Helios suddenly grabbed my left wrist from the outside and at the same time stretched out his leg to hook behind me. 

When I lost my balance, his left hand instantly reached out to support my waist, and his right hand came out from under my arm and clasped my wrist from the front again.

When I came back to my senses, I found that I had been directly pinned to the floor, and the bag in my hands had been tossed aside.

The entire movement was executed clean and smooth, and there was only the faint sound of the silver bell on the old silver locket swaying in the silent air.

Helios: There are many people who need me in this city. 

Helios: I can teach you. Want to learn?

He lowered his head slightly, and the old silver locket grazed my chest, which made me take in a sharp inhale. My entire heart and lungs seemed to be occupied by his breath.

I tried to lift up my wrists and lower limbs, but it wasn’t enough to shake off the person above me.

MC: In this bag is the money that I have saved over the past few years. The money you bought me for back then, plus four years’ worth of interest, will be given to you.

Helios: I’m not short on cash.

MC: If you accept the money, I won’t owe you anything, but I will still help you.

I tremblingly stroked the old silver locket on his chest. It carried his body temperature and made my fingertips hot.

It coincided with the seventh day of the seventh month of the first year we met. For the first time, I heard someone cursing him and wanting him to die.

I had cried and went to the temple to ask for a peace charm and an old silver locket. When I got home, I gave them to him together.

I knew that many people in this city hated him, but I wanted him to be safe.

He had just smiled sarcastically at the time, and I threw it away when he turned around. Who knew that I’d see it dangling on his chest here that night.

The silver bells chimed, just like my unstoppable heartbeat. 

MC: You still wear this old silver locket.

Helios: I forgot to remove it.

His hot breath fanned my face, entangling with my own breath in the scorching air.

My fingers followed the silver chain of the old silver locket and stroked his chest. I could clearly feel his taut muscles under my fingertips.

MC: There are many orphans like me in the restaurant.

MC: Those merchants who were suppressed by you could always open new shops.

MC: Underground, the losers will always be the bureaucrats who usually bully others and gain funds out of ill will. 

MC: I don’t know why you want to be a bad person in the eyes of the city, but what I see is different from others.

Helios: Ridiculous.

MC: This is what you taught me.

Looking at my smile, he snorted coldly, but the moonlight sneaking in illuminated the faint smile in his eyes.

Helios: You just said it wrong. 

He glanced at my bag and lowered his body even further.

Helios: Don’t owe me anything?

Helios: The three years and two hundred and seventy-six days with me were enough for you to repay me?

MC: [confused] You didn’t even see how much there is inside…. 

Helios: I’ve seen it.

He pulled slightly hard, making me stand up instantly.

Helios: You owe me too much. 

Helios: I’ll ask you to settle the tab later.

Helios: However, you do need to learn some self-defence skills.

Unlike his usual touch, his fingertips caressed my eyes, ears, nose and neck.

Helios: People have many weaknesses.

Helios: Eyes, ears, throat, heart…. *The way he said this sent shivers down my spine 😳🥵*  

As he whispered, his fingertips kept moving downwards, making me nervously hold onto that hand.

Helios: [more sexy whispering] What’s the matter? Don’t you want to learn? 

Helios: I gave you the chance to leave.

Helios: But you refused. 

[Fourth Part]

Helios implemented his teaching method, “diligently” teaching from the most basic style, which made me extremely embarrassed.

MC: [flustered] ….Can you put on some clothes next time? *MC, no!! What are you even asking?! You enjoy it and you know it! 🥵

Helios: I can wear what I like. 

Seeing the obvious teasing in his eyes, I ran away completely.

Finally, I asked him about what would happen on the seventh day of July, and his expression became a little solemn under the clear moonlight.

Gradually, I became even more sure that this was related to what he had done for so many years.

(Cut to store)

In the early morning of the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, a few foreigners in suits and arrogant expressions came to the store.

These people seemed to be a little unkind, and my heart felt uneasy.

Waiter: Miss MC, a guest of the boss, made a reservation at Spring Moon Pavillion.

MC: Let me take care of it.

With a smile, I went to the foreigners and led them to the booth. I didn’t expect that Helios would already be waiting there.

The moment he saw me, his brows lightly furrowed and he tilted his head slightly.

“Leave.”

I blinked and instantly understood what he meant. After the foreigners walked into the booth, they positioned themselves again at the door.

MC: Boss, your guests are here.

After that, I took a step back and then ridicule suddenly rang out.

??: Leaving already?

Unexpectedly, a foreigner walked over, grabbed my wrist and dragged me directly into the booth.

??: Helios, you must have misunderstood.

??: What is the meaning of a group of men when talking about business?

The foreigner smiled sarcastically. I restrained the urge to shoot and looked at Helios cautiously.

In the next second, an invisible cold front flew past my face, grazing the wrist of the foreigner and leaving behind a small, bloody wound. 

No one knew when he fired the shot, and Helios was still leaning on the sofa, lazily looking at the wailing foreigner. He made no effort to hide his coldness and murderous intent.

Helios: Next time, it’ll be your head. 

Helios: Come here.

I stood cautiously behind Helios, and saw a man in a white suit standing up with a feigned smile.

Foreigner: Just kidding. Don’t get upset, Helios.

Helios: Is that what you learned by spying on me every day?

My heart sank and I tried my best to calm my nerves.

Have these people been spying on him?

Foreigner: Don’t say that, we just need to confirm whether you are worthy of our cooperation.

Foreigner: After all, with this kind of business, ordinary people are not eligible to participate.

Foreigner: But….we also have to look at the sincerity of the boss.

His eyes moved from Helios to me with an arrogant smile.

Foreigner: I heard that you have a well-trained girl who is clever and easy to use. I wonder if you are willing to share?

I was shocked and couldn’t move. I waited quietly for Helios’ answer.

Helios: I can. 

The cicadas kept humming noisily, and for an instant, I seemed to be back to that moment from four years ago, when there was only haziness left in this world.

But I just blinked and walked respectfully from the back of the sofa to the foreigners.

It sounded like a serious matter. Maybe he wanted me to be an undercover agent for these foreigners?

Or maybe he just changed his mind again and didn’t need me anymore.

My vision became a little blurred.

Helios: Did you really think I would say that? 

Helios’ arms encircled me from behind. His familiar breath came over me, and his voice was filled with pure mockery.

Foreigner: Helios, what do you mean?

Helios: Your nonsense... will anyone still want it?

The foreigner was stunned as if he didn’t expect him to say that. But in the next second, his expression became fierce again.

Foreigner: So it was you who brought those people…!

In the horrified eyes of those foreigners, Helios’ smile became even more ruthless.

Helios: I’ve been tired of looking at the faces of you idiots for a long time now. 

Helios: I asked you to come today to settle the account.

At Helios’ signal, I slowly withdrew from the booth.

(Cut to lobby)

I didn’t know what would happen to them next, but maybe something would briefly end today.

I returned to the lobby and asked for the guestbook from the front desk. I wanted to distract myself but there was one face that was stuck in my mind.

Helios won’t get hurt, right?

Helios: ….MC.

Did I trouble him again just now?

Helios: MC.

An impatient sigh sounded in my ears and I felt my figure tilt, and in the next moment, I was trapped in someone’s arms.  

Helios: Didn’t you hear me calling you?

MC: Helios….!

Helios: I should’ve said that only you can’t call me by that name.

In this lighted corner, the ambiguous gazes of the other guests in the lobby wandered over to us.

MC: Did you just call me? Wait… Has your matter been resolved?

MC: And let me go first. Th-there are other guests here.

Helios: This is my restaurant.

His fingertips rested on the guestbook, and a faint chilly scent emanated from him.

Helios: Did you really think I would give you to those people just now?

MC: ….

He narrowed his eyes, his voice carrying with it some faint, dangerous warning.

MC: …. I didn’t.

Helios: You’re a terrible liar.

Helios: Why did you walk over?

MC: Because I believe in you. I know you have your reasons.

I couldn’t help holding onto his drooping lapels. At this moment, Helios seemed to reveal all those sharp edges and corners of his heart. 

There were only some unfamiliar ones left, which belonged to the insecurities of youth.

Helios: Ridiculous.

As he said this, he pulled me up and walked into the depths of the lobby.

MC: ….Sorry.

Helios: I’m talking about myself. 

I looked up in surprise and saw his slightly ironic expression.

Helios: They have a large munitions factory behind them.

His voice was indifferent, but what he said was like a time bomb, going off in my brain.

MC: Munitions factory?!

Helios: Those foreigners have been smuggling arms into the city.

Helios: I couldn’t find the buyers and sellers, but there was always a steady stream of arms that kept coming into the city.

Hearing this, I felt cold sweat ooze from my back.

I knew what the meaning was behind all of this.

I remembered the unfinished words under the hideous faces of those foreigners just now.

Helios had found those people now.

MC: Why…. are you telling me this?

Helios: Because I want to.

In the midst of my wildly racing heartbeat, his words were sure and firm, as if something seemed to be coming to light. 

MC: The merchants and bureaucrats that you suppressed were all related to this, right?

Helios’ silence secretly confirmed my suspicions, and my heart couldn’t help but race.

He always carried all the dangers by himself; walking alone in silence.

Why not ask other people for help?

Just as I was about to ask, I immediately thought of the answer.

With the continuous delivery of arms, both buyers and sellers were in the dark, and easy actions against them would only be a surprise.

Did he destroy those arms?

Helios: Strength and weapons are necessary. 

Helios: Those who really need it will use them to protect important things.

He said this matter of factly with determined eyes as if understanding what I was thinking in my heart.

We walked through the corridor of the hotel and came to the street from the side door.

The dusk was heavy, the red lanterns softly brightening the sights of the entire street, and it was full of liveliness.

The girls blushed as they cuddled up with their partners under the lights and the crescent silver moon.

Such a quiet night made my nose itch.

MC: If those goods were sold to the original sellers.

MC: What would tonight have been like?

I turned my face to look at Helios by my side. The warm yellow lights shone on the side of his stern face. He didn’t say a word, probably accepting something reluctantly.

MC: What you said about this world… What do you think it will look like in the future?

Helios: There is only brief peace at the moment. 

Helios: But suffering will bloom into a flower. (Sidenote: what he means to say is "no pain, no gain." It's one of Kiro's character themes :>)

He raised his head slightly, and the cold moonlight reflected in his blue eyes, like the sea under the moon. 

Silent and immense, as if it could contain everything.

Seeing him like this reminded me of those distant eyes.

In a ghostly manner, I took out the crumpled old photo from my purse and held it beside his face.

Helios: Why do you carry this person’s picture with you everywhere?

MC: [smiling affectionately] Because he is special to me.

Helios: And yet you still follow me?

MC: This is different.

Looking at his teasing smile, I snorted at him and looked at the boy in the photo with a warm smile.

MC: You said that when technology advances in the future, this photo will definitely become the colour in my memory.

Under the blue sky, the blond boy was like a passionate golden sun under the eyes of the crowd.

He smiled and seemed to be able to become a source of invincible courage.

He could gather endless amounts of enthusiasm as long as he stood there.

His voice turned into notes and tunes, dancing along with the wind, driving some of the darkness away.

In this devastated generation, he was like a burning flame.

Kiro: I’m Kiro. 

Kiro: Thank you for listening to my song. 

Helios looked at the yellowed black and white photo, looking a bit dazed for a while, and a little lonely.

Helios: No one in this city remembers him anymore. 

MC: I still remember.

MC: Even if the whole world doesn’t, I will remember him.

In those turbulent years, I had always remembered the embers left behind by that meteor.

Once, there was a young man named Kiro who helped me through countless dark and dull times with a smile.

Until the day I met Helios. I gained the strength to live again from this person.

MC: I think you are very similar.

MC: Although your methods are different, you are both using your own strength to illuminate and empower others.

Helios’ pupils contracted unconsciously, and became deeper with my words.

The slowly rising paper lanterns glowed with a gentle light, quietly surrounding us, like a tender embrace.

Helios: You haven’t asked for this year’s peace charm.

Hearing what he said, I suddenly remembered that because of the previous kidnapping, I couldn’t find a peace charm.

MC: Seeing your attitude before, I thought that there was something that was making you anxious, so I kept following you.

Helios: What attitude?

MC: You said I should leave before the seventh day of July. I asked you about it later, but you didn’t say anything. Wasn’t it about that serious matter?

Hearing my question, Helios froze for a moment and then turned his face to the side, his earlobes slowly turning red.

MC: Was that not what it meant?

Helios: …. 

He pursed his mouth and the lights shone behind him like a splendid landscape painting.

Helios: Because “weakness” really does become a weakness.

MC: Huh?

Helios: You are the only person here who wants me to be safe and live a long life.

Helios: I was reluctant to wait until the Qixi Festival this year.

Helios: Although, I don’t understand why you would want to wish for peace during the Qixi Festival.

My heart was beating fast, and seeing Helios’ face turned to the side, I found his eyes to be brighter than the stars.

MC: [blushing] Because, because I just happened to run into you at that time. *Changed some wording*

MC: And if it’s the New Year, the wishes would all pile up on top of each other, and God won’t be able to hear them.

MC: During the Qixi Festival, maybe God is used to hearing the wishes for marriage, so he can hear my request for peace without needing it to unheard.

Helios: Then today, in addition to asking for peace, you can also wish for marriage.

Helios smiled slightly with some clarity and sincerity.

MC: ….In that case, a name is needed.

MC: But you never let me call you by this name.

I held my breath nervously and saw his face slowly leaning towards me. I didn’t mind the attention around me, and his breath slowly entangled with mine. 

Helios: Let me see.

His protracted tone was a bit tempting and bewitching as if it had lost a thick shell; more naked and intimate than usual, and finally landed on my lips.

Helios: Ki-Ro. 

Helios: Please use that name.

End

 You can find the call that comes after this date here!

[jiminiediminie]

A not-at-all brief commentary on BE-hind story interview.

We really got over an hour of BTS just talking about their music. They really told the media yall don’t ask the right questions so let me do it for you. Love that for them. 

But honestly I am so happy that they decided to do this. Because most of the time interviewers don’t ask the right questions or it is in a situation where they have time constraints. Or the interviewer never even listened to the album in the first place (think james corden saying his favorite track on be is dynamite probs because it seemed like that was the only one he knew).

I appreciate as well that it is the members interviewing each other. They could have just as easily sat each member in a room and asked them the questions off screen. But they didn't. I think that adds such a personal element to the interview. Bts members likely know about each other’s music (even solo music) better than anyone else. So who better to talk with the members about their music than each other? 

Running commentary of each interview below the cut. 

JK interviews Jin

Blonde jk for the win

I lost count of how many times they shook hands please they are so annoying 

Jin please don’t downplay your talents. That hurt my heart. If I could describe his voice in one word it would have been powerful. I hope that jin got to see all the praise after the fix you cover. Because he killed it in that. 

I loved getting to hear the behind the scene of jin’s role in stay; I didn’t know his role in it before he talked about it.

I’m glad jin got to release abyss and put so much of his own work into it. It is also so amazing to hear how much help joon is to all of the members when it comes to lyrics and music. A talented king. 

Slightly surprised there wasn't more clowning around in their interview since these two are usually so chaotic together. I thought jk would clown jin when they started talking about jin being older but he didn't. Growth. 

Hobi interviews JK

Hobi looks so soft in that cardigan 

Hobi right off the bat asking about the mixtape. He knows what we want. 

Jk talking about how he wants to try writing songs not just about his own experiences was so interesting to hear; can’t wait to see what he comes up with in the future. 

Him talking about all the different things he wants to try but it’s almost too many was very relatable. That feeling of having so many choices you don't know where to start. But that does mean that when we do get a mixtape from him it will be from varying styles of music and i am all here for that. Personally holding out for rocker jk or acoustic jk. 

His favorite song to sing is euphoria; that’s so sweet it is such a gem of a song. I think I would have chosen still with you since it’s pretty different than a lot of the other songs he sings.

Hobi saying “you’re all grown up” to jk and jk saying “i'm not the old me” really hit me in the feels. Hobi and bts really did watch jk grow from a slightly awkward pre-teen to the confident man he is today. They must feel so proud of him. 23 yo jk is not a baby of bts anymore. He does what he wants. He wears what wants. He has long hair and dyes it blonde then blue just because he can. He even talked about how his voice has matured. Im glad that the members see that too and seem to be proud of the person he has became. 

3 main tracks. 3 mv. 3 choreos of different styles. Yes do it jk please im begging. After seeing him dance in black swan at mma i want to see more contemporary dancing from him. And i feel like after getting still with you and stay he can write songs that would fit that vibe. I just want to see jk’s dance talent showcased more. 

I don’t know if the fans could survive 3 separate jk mv. We barely survived a live performance of my time. 

Tae interviews Hobi

Tae in that emerald green sweater. He looks so good. He should wear that color more

I love how serious tae is about playing the interviewer. The actor in him never sleeps. 

Hobi talking about the dual meanings behind the title of Dis-ease was so cool. Fans obviously caught that it could mean multiple things. But as far as i know that was never confirmed. Now that it is I am once again impressed with the thought they put behind everything they do. 

A psychological occupational disease. Your mind hobi 

I think it’s so cool that hobi recorded it by himself and how he said that doing it like that allows him to grow as a producer since he has to listen and edit himself. They really just always continue to grow in their roles in music don’t they? 

Hobi talking about how he would love to solve his own problems but then remembering that he is part of a team really shows how much they trust and rely on each other. So he and jimin worked on the melody of the bridge together and then joon wrote the lyrics. And now we have the most iconic bridge of all time. Still holding out for a dis-ease live performance or music video (I’m a clown I know). 

And lol at tae being like call me next time dude 

“I would like to share my music with everyone” -- please do

Please tae is so sweet and attentive!? “When you talked about music i noticed you had a smile on your face and i thought ‘he really loves music’”. “But personally if i had your skills I’d be showing off and be proud of myself”. Kim taehyung is the embodiment of a teddy bear 

And closing it with actor tae again -- “can i get your autograph” 

Jin interviews Jimin

Two seconds into the interview they are clowning each other with jin saying to talk informally. Yet as soon as jm did (and that slight smile when he did), jin is like I was talking to myself. Chaotic as expected of these two. 

Jm talking about his process for music being “just go as i feel” makes so much sense for him. He is an easy going person and it makes sense that it reflects in his work style. 

It’s so cool that him coming up with the melody of the dis-ease bridge was just because he was humming to himself and the producer liked it -- almost serendipitous if you will  

I love when people praise jimin for his vocals. So hearing him talk about how they used his vocal in place of a female for lgo’s chorus stroked my jm bias ego

Joon is seriously the best human ever. Jimin didn’t want to bother the other members to help with christmas love but joon contacted him and helped with the lyrics anyway. Bts seriously has the most amazing leader. 

“I’d like to try making an acoustic style song”. Please do it jimin. Acoustic bts is my weakness but especially acoustic jimin. Songs like promise sound so good with his singing style.

Jin shaking jimin’s pinky 😂

“I’m a little disappointed in the MC” “but you know if you looked around there is no MC like me” -- jinmin’s relationship everybody 

Jimin interviews Joon

Minimoni look so cozy in their sweatshirts sitting on a plush rug. 

“You know we have this youngest member”. “Oh jungkook?” “No the real youngest” “Oh seokjin. That’s a shame” -- please minimoni are so funny and joon knew immediately who jm was talking about when he said the real youngest. 

“It felt like I was doing the only thing i could do” . Please let me give you a hug joon

Joon’s mind continues to amaze me. How he talked about needing the concept or key word to give “flesh” to the song was such a good way to explain how he approaches music. 

“What do you mean little? You play a very big role” -- lol jimin speaking facts. I already mentioned how amazing it is that he helped jimin and jin with their individual songs. The fact that members who want help with their own music always seem to go to joon really tells you how much of an amazing and talented human being kim namjoon is. I can’t remember the context, but there was this moment that jimin (or was it hobi?) said something like “what would we do if we didn't have rm”. They are truly lucky to have him. 

Release that minimoni subunit now please and thank you 

Tell us what you’re working on joon don't be shy. Joon mentioned that his music is like a diary. I would love to know his thoughts expressed in music now. 2018 joon who made mono and 2021 joon are two very different people. Bts has grown so much since then. 

Joon interviews Yoongi

The work colleagues! Did you know they have worked together for 10 years? 

Yoongi’s fuzzy sweater. So soft

Yoongi saying he writes songs when he is bored. Lol i love him so much

It’s really interesting to hear them talk about their lyrics getting rejected. I guess we don’t hear much about that part. And lol at joon just laughing and saying he guesses he didn’t grasp tae’s intentions for b&g. 

I like that this was more of a conversation than an interview. I love it when these two just sit together and talk about technical stuff that i don’t understand (like the festa interview)

Yoongi is such a good person to make music with. JK wanted to add humming to telepathy? They added humming to telepathy. I had wondered the reason why there are two different versions of the song. I prefer the longer one tbh

Yoongi wants to make an acoustic song? Hell yeah. Jimin does too. So yoongi x jimin subunit acoustic song with yoongi playing the guitar (please). Also a folk song?? Yoongi your taste i like it

I can’t wait to hear yoongi sing im so excited for him

Yoongi talking about how they made this album with no pressure and got to just do what they wanted and that it was received so well. How he wants to keep making music like that. That makes me happy. I want them to continue to get to do that. I love the big productions and concepts of their albums. But if they are happier making albums like be that do not have that then that is what i want them to do. 

“Please listen to telepathy a lot” -- what yoongi wants yoongi gets. Go stream telepathy 

Yoongi interviews Tae

The title of blue and grey is because tae wants to overcome that feeling. My heart. 

He looked so shy talking blue and grey. I am so excited to see him get to talk about kth1 when it comes out. I could listen to him for hours. 

English guide track? Release it tae

“I felt kind of proud of myself” -- you should tae 

Yoongi straight up asking tae why he didn't include joon’s lyrics was interesting. It’s cool to know that tae had the kind of power to choose what he felt would fit the emotion of the song.

It doesn’t surprise me that tae feels so much pressure to make sure the tape is good before it is released. It seems like when it comes to solo work the members really do feel more pressure since they aren't sharing the burden with the others. 

“Please look forward to it” -- don’t worry tae everyone is

We know from the preview that there are 13 songs potentially on the mixtape. That would be so amazing if he released it with so many songs. Tae’s voice sounds so good in so many different styles so i know that it would be so varied.

Final thoughts -- I love that they got to do this. I hope going forward they do this more for their albums. And from what the members said they enjoyed getting to be so involved in the process of making the album. It would be amazing if that continued. While a lot of their hit songs are not made fully by the members, those songs that are often have more meaning to the fans. b&g, stay, telepathy. These were songs from the members. We got to hear their actual thoughts put into these songs. I hope that bh sees how well this album did and lets that continue.

Congrats if you made it to the end! 

[cinnella]

Name: Libelle Abrams (chosen name); Varda Lesedi (birth name)

Age: 22 years old

Sex: Female

Sexuality: Demi-homosexual

Zodiac sign: Libra

Birthday: October 7th

Patron Arcana: Justice (Major); Queen of Swords (Minor)

Occupation: Magician, healer, painter and gardener

Height: 5'9" (1.76 m)

Weight: 194 lbs (88 kg)

Relatives:

Briella Lesedi - mother (deceased)

Abanus Lesedi - father (deceased)

Gushvin Basu - distant family friend

Origin: Born in the Catclaw Desert, grew up in Vesuvia

Race: African-American

Powers: White (purification) and healing magic, as well as telekinesis and precognitive dreaming

Intelligence Level: On a scale from 1 to 10, she's a strong 8.5

Backstory:

During the beautiful sunset of the Catclaw Desert, little Varda was born not far off from their home, where her parents had built their sculpture selling stand.

About 7 months later, while they were enjoying their time at home, their friend, Gushvin, hurried to tell them that an unexpected aggressive sand storm started heading their way.

They made sure to give Varda to him as he was faster and went ahead of them. They tragically got swept away by the storm and inhaled too much sand. They were found without breath or pulse hours later.

As selfish as it was of him, Gushvin didn't want to take care of a child, so he made sure to find someone willing enough to do that, soon running into a person who said they specifically searched for orphaned children that needed care.

After a couple of days of traveling, they arrived in sunny Vesuvia, where Varda was brought to the orphanage in the South End. There she was cared for and raised like promised.

She grew up to be one of the sweetest but most naive kids there. One day during lunch, she noticed a kid was sitting alone at his table, sulking and not eating. She approached him and offered to eat with him.

He had silverish eyes and ash-blond hair and the kindest smile she'd ever seen. She'd heard the adults call him Lucas and she knew he was kind of a troublemaker, but he seemed so lonely. They became best friends almost instantly, and always spent time together.

Some years later, when both of them were around 5 years old, they befriended three other kids, all significantly older than them. She learned that their names were Eris, Syro and Morana, and immediately became worried.

They were the biggest scoundrels in the entire orphanage, and quite honestly, all of South End. But Lucas insisted that they join their group. And she trusted him.

She didn't think that these four kids would become so important to her, that they'd become her family. But they did, and she couldn't be more thankful.

When it became clear enough to the adults that they couldn't raise nameless kids, the more capable ones took to teaching them the importance of knowing how to read and write and then they could choose a name for themselves, on their 7th birthday.

Soon enough, her sweet 7th rolled around and after months of searching, she found a name that would complete her.

And so, Varda Lesedi became Libelle Abrams.

Lucas, not much later, also changed his name, to Calyx. Libelle thought it was such a beautiful name for him.

Many years passed by with the four causing as much trouble as possible, to her unfortunate luck. But once she approached her preteens, devastating news came with them. When they'd reach the age of 17, they would need to leave, one by one, and search for a different home.

They discussed about it, made plans and set goals to find their homelands, their roots and possibly their families.

Obviously, Eris was first in line to leave as the eldest between them. Then Morana with Syro. It was only her and Calyx left. She made the promise to not abandon him there and take him with her when the time would come.

And she did. After celebrating her 17th birthday and talking with the one that had found her so many years ago, they set out to travel towards the Catclaw Desert. The journey was a couple of days long and it took them almost as much to find the one who knew about her parents.

Gushvin was sat on the bench in front of his home when they approached, and when Libelle called out to him, he recognized her immediately. There was some confusion with her name at first, but they quickly caught onto everything.

He told her everything that had happened the day she became an orphan and although he was hesitant, he confessed how selfish he'd been back then, something he regretted deeply and hadn't let him sleep properly since then.

All of the discoveries shocked her beyond belief, so much so that she wanted to go back to Vesuvia right away. After a while of mulling over everything she found out, she decided to focus on helping her best friend.

Luck had seemed to smile upon them, because Eris insisted on tagging along with them. After all, they had to travel across the sea all the way to the Macawi Port.

After even more shocking reveals about Calyx' parents, none of them wanted to know anything more, so at dawn they started back home.

Now, Libelle could focus on the things that she wanted to do most. She learned how to become a professional healer and magician, so she would help people in need. Around that time, her secret powers slowly surfaced as well.

She realized she could move objects with the will of her mind and at night, she would have visions and dreams of the future. After consulting with an expert in healing magic, she discovered that most people have these gifts and adviced her to learn to control them.

Everything was fine in her life until the Red Plague rained upon them and they each made the decision to leave Vesuvia. Well, all except for Eris. She wanted to help the doctors with the dead, confided to Libelle that she'd taught herself necromancy and wanted to reverse their deaths.

Eris had been too stubborn to listen to reason, so they had no choice but to leave her behind. Syro and Morana left for the Southern Spines, while Eris specifically told Libelle and Calyx to go to Venterre and find her brother, Sethos. He would shelter them until the nightmare would be over.

So they did, they took the first boat straight to the west coast of Venterre, where they ran into the young man in question.

When they finished explaining everything to him, he insisted they go back and get her too, but there would have been no use in doing so. His sister would have been way too stubborn to listen to anyone.

Days later, a letter arrived in their mailbox and all three were devastated to find out Eris died from the plague. Libelle and Calyx were sobbing messes and Sethos almost thrashed the room before collapsing too.

They informed the other two through a letter as well, but they figured there would be massive delays because of the distance, so they didn't expect an answer right away.

Suddenly, about 6 days later, Libelle had a dream, of Eris being alive. It had felt so real she woke up in a cold sweat and with tears in her eyes, she went to wake up the other two, shaking them hard.

She couldn't form clear words but Calyx caught onto it right away, and while with shaky hands, Libelle explained that she could sense Eris' aura and presence in the real world.

Although Sethos was very skeptical about it, he would have rather held onto the tiniest string of hope that she was indeed alive than live with the thought of losing his sister a second time.

So they wrote another letter to Syro and Morana and immediately packed their things and headed back to Vesuvia in plain midnight.

True to everything Libelle said and sensed, Eris was alive. How, they didn't know, until they spoke to Asra, one of her older friends and apparently, the one who brought her back. She was shocked to find it involved a deal with the Devil. She'd heard of the sacrifices needed to make such deals.

After about 3 years of total absence, Syro and Morana also arrived in Vesuvia and the shock cycle began again.

Not much later, when Eris got assigned to solve the mystery of Count Lucio's murder and catch his fugitive murderer, everyone offered to do something to help her out.

Though she was shy about it, she could sense that the Countess, Nadia, needed help as well. So Libelle suggested assisting her in whatever Nadia would need.

She didn't expect to catch feelings, but she didn't complain either.

Personality: shy, sensitive, kind-hearted, gentle, imaginitive, creative, generous, loyal, honest, trustworthy, observant, reliable, cheerful, too forgiving and sometimes naive

Interesting facts:

Although it isn't very noticeable, she does have a white lotus tattoo on her left middle finger.

Her wrists are littered with past self-harm scars, which the others love to kiss just to make her feel better about them.

She is very insecure about her body, but she has the others to lift her moods up when she's down.

Has an entire collection of earrings, but her favorites are the peacock feathers.

Even though she wakes up early in the morning, she usually takes a nap in the afternoon.

Her thighs and hips are full of stretch marks.

Has the biggest sweet tooth in the world.

Can play the clarinet, but you would have to really indulge her to get her to sing on it for you.

Appearance: Dark espresso skin tone, neck-length curly chestnut brown hair, dyed periwinkle blue halfway down, jade green eyes, chubby slight hourglass body shape, D cup breasts

Familiar: Lumi, a cute and sweet stoat but a sneaky little thief all the same

Voice claim: Dana Gourrier

Full sprite:

WOOOHOOOO I FINISHED ALL MY MCS' BIOS AND I'M SO HAPPY!!

My girl turned out so damn beautiful too and I'm just hhnnnnn- 😖💜

PLEASE SHOW HER SOME LOVE AS WELL!!! ✨

[emilycollins00]

hello! i've recently stumbled across your works and i really love your characterization and writing uwu if it's not too much, is it okay for me to request for a scenario where some actors accidentally found out that their director is actually good dancer? like maybe somebody was watching tv and 'hey doesn't that backup dancer look familiar?' ((you can decide on whoever finds out about it and you can also choose to use izumi's name or just write mc)) AAAA thank you very much! ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡

Thank you, dear! 💕 I feel so happy when I read I you guys like it. Sometimes it gets difficult to not fall into OOC!

I opted to choose Izumi, mainly because I don’t think I’ve written anything with her even though I love her so much! As for the actors, well, couldn’t decided wich one so everyone is making an appearance.

 Hope you like it!  💕

The dorm discovering Izumi’s dancing skills

“Tenma, hurryyyyy”

“Yeah, yeah... Uh? Hey, who didn’t wash their dishes this morning, it stinks!” the summer leader complained outloud, leaving the kitchen with Misumi with the last chopsticks and glasses to place on the lounge. 

Tsuzuru entered and looked at the sink, frowning. Indeed, it smelled awful. He walked towards the couches to get the culprit.

“Itaru-san, don’t ask me why, but I know whatever that was in that plate was yours. Please clean it right now”

“Oh shit, my shield fell” 

The man in question was laying next to Kazunari and Banri, all of them most likely playing a battle game, judging by the way they were staring intensely at their phones.

 “Itaru-san!”

“Yes, yes, one minute…”

“Dang, Itaroon! You can’t pull something like that to win, I don’t have any more resources!”

Omi put a hand on Tsuzuru’s shoulder when he saw the scriptwriter was about to start scolding them “It’s okay Tsuzuru, we have enough plates. Itaru-san can clean later so dinner doesn’t get cold”

At that moment Juza, Taichi, Muku and Sakuya arrived. 

“Ah, Omi-san! After Tenma-kun and Misumi-san finish the table will be set” the cheerily the spring leader informed approaching them.

“At least we get things done quickly, having so many people at Mankai” Tsuzuru smiled tired but gratefully at the four of them “…although it would be quicker if others offered to help from time to time” he looked at the gaming group and a certain pair watching TV.

“Tsuzuru, this program is too important to sip!”

“You mean to skip? Also, I truly don’t think so. That’s one old program you’re watching” he looked around resting his hands on his hips. No one had moved an inch “That indirect was also to the rest of you, you know”

“Noted” 

“Aha”

“So you want me to set the table instead of trying to come up for ideas with customes? Fine by me”

Misumi and Tenma entered before an argument could take place “Table’s set. Someone should call Masumi, Sakyo-san and the winter troupe. They were in the practice room with director, right?” 

As if by pure summoning, the last spring member arrived, taking off his headphones “…I’m here”

“We are here too!” Tsumugi waved as the rest of the winter troupe entered talking to each other. Their play schedule had been decided and they had had a run through while Izumi and Sakyo discussed the final details for the performance.

“Okay then everyone, time to dig in!”

                                         …………………………..

Everyone sat on their chairs and started moving plates around and refilling glasses with drinks. It wasn’t often, due to the difference in schedules, but some nights the whole dorm got together and opted to eat at the same time. It was a bit of a mess but in the end, everyone had fun.

Citron was still watching silently the TV when he paused it, concerned. Getting up, he headed to the dinner table as everyone ate and talked “Director?”

Izumi looked up, stopping  herself from grabbing the delicious tonkatsu in front of her “You called, Citron? Ah, leave the TV and sit, come on. Omi’s food will get cold!” she motioned the chair that was empty.

He did as told, but kept his eyes locked on her “Director I must ask you an important question”

“Uh… ok?”

He nodded as his chopsticks grabbed some rice “Are you maybe a twist?”

Everyone turned to him, confused, but not surprised. The young woman found herself blinking in confusion too “…Twist?”

Masumi nodded in agreement “You can twist my heart anytime you want”

No one even tried to contradict the young boy, still trying to decipher Citron’s meaning.

“I don’t think Citron means twist”

“…Twix”

“Yeah Hyodo sure, Citron meant Twix. I swear your brain is a fucking sugar cube”

“You are sweet like a twix to me, director”

“Ugh, someone tell the Psycho Stalker off”

“Y-yuki-kun!”

“Citron, I don’t think your phrasing is right” Tsumugi laughed as he saw everyone starting to debate. 

The foreigner crossed his arms, deep his thought “Mmm… this word is meant to be a clone… of another person! Is it close enough, Tsumugi?”

“C-clone?!” Taichi looked up from his seat, eyes wide open “Director has a clone?!”

“Guys, come on...”

“Mhm… I might be wrong, but maybe Citron meant if our dear director has a twin?”

Citron gasped “Twin, yes! Azuma’s wisdom is as always precise!”

The winter member received the compliment from the blond with a soft laugh as the rest frowned. Sakuya raised his hand from the other side of the table “U-Um! Why do you say that, Citron-san?”

“You have sisters?” Tasuku raised his eyebrows at Izumi.

“Of course not! I’m an only child”

“But that cannot be. I saw you with my two very eyes!”

“Me?”

He nodded seriously, getting up from the chair and turning on the TV again “I will demonstrate now, the director’s clone!”

Izumi sighed. Why couldn’t they have a normal night? Just for once. It was weekday for christ’s sake. The sudden gasps and exclamations brought her back to reality.

“It really looks like Izumi-san!”

“She looks younger though, is it really her?”

“Waaah, director you are moving so beautifully!”

“Wait, seriously?”

Izumi got up and approached the TV screen, concerned for the amount of attention it was getting “Come on, how can I-“

“That is you, isn’t it?” Sakyo pointed the TV with his head.

As everyone came to the realization that it was indeed Izumi. the woman in question stood there, watching her younger self.

“Oh, you meant that!” she sat on the arm of the couch, forgetting dinner and the fact that everybody was still trying to make sense of it. Their director? In TV? “It’s not been that long but... ” she laughed “Might be the one and only time I made it for a play in a performance, come to think of it!”

Kazunari, who was at that point recording the whole situation, turned his phone towards her in awe “I am beyond SHOCK, director! What play? How come we didn’t know you danced so well? Any declarations?”

She pushed the phone away from her, laughing “I did my studies and entered in the dancing club from my university for a change of peace”

“But this amazing choreography? The moves? Not to mention you are totes on TV!”

She looked  back at the TV and a smiled appeared. Competing in friendly dancing competitions had been nice at the time “That program shows musicals, right? My university dancing club just happened to want to enter the competition and we decided to do a mute dancing play trying to tell a story without speaking. Forgot it had been recorded then”

Everyone stopped talking and looked at each other.

“…Oh”

“That’s right”

“Director had another life before Mankai…”

“Feels weird to think about it”

Izumi blinked confused. Of course, she had tried to make a life outside of acting! It had been rough, but she had had to come to terms with herself that she had to move on, at the time.

“Ey, ey, director let’s dance too!” Misumi grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the courtyard. She found herself stumbling to keep up.

“W-whoah, Misumi-kun, we haven’t finished eating!”

He laughed releasing her as he tried to copy what they all had watched “That looked fun! What other dances did you do?”

Izumi laughed at his excitment.

“Well, there was nothing specific…?” she listed a few songs on the top of her head. The rest of the dorm gathered around the frames of the courtyard, watching curiously. 

“I also want to see director’s dancing!”

“Anyone has a phone?”

“On it~”

“Enough! Why are you…” Sakyo came out too, ready to start scolding when one of the songs mentioned before started playing and saw Izumi’s bright face.

It was as if some kind of adrenaline had been injected into her, enough to make her body start moving along the music, not a single movement being wasted.

It had been a while.

                                       ………………………………

“Oh my, such a stunning view… the turning of grand jetes! If this moment was to be engraved…”

Hisoka frowned next to him “Arisu… you’re too loud. Can’t enjoy it” 

“Director… is really good!” Sakuya was practically beaming as he watched Izumi moving around “She looks like a fairy!”

No one there disagreed. Her movements flowed, taking away the breath of every person in that familiar audience. Izumi had never been able to act well, but somehow her dancing expressed more than she could in a play.

Omi smiled at the view and crossed his arms “A pity I left the camera in my room” he looked at his left and saw how Sakyo looked at her.

The blond’s eyes followed her figure entranced, not moving an inch.

A few minutes later, Izumi stopped, breathing heavily after song. She looked up, greeted by a big amount of applause. Were those claps for her? Her cheeks grew hot. She didn’t remember last time she got an applause and smiled bashfully.

“Fufu that was wonderful, Izumi-san”

“Epic. I think I just fell in love all over again, director! Gonna need to post the clip on my instablam!”

“Not bad. I guess currian has another thing she’s good at, uh”

“Well, if we ever have a dancing play, now we know who to ask for notes, isn’t that right, Tsuzuru?” 

Taichi gasped in excitement looking at the scriptwriter “Oh man, I definitely want to do a dancing play now, girls would love it!”

Of course, as theatre fanatics as they were, the conversation headed into their future performances.

“Maybe like a musical?”

“But dancing as you act is…”

“I want to do a triangle dance in our play!”

Izumi laughed, gaining everyone’s attention “Okay, okay, this is enough. Let’s go back and finish dinner. Can’t believe you all tricked me to dance in front of you, geez” she still felt her breath uneven from the workout.

“But you did look beautiful out there, director” Tsumugi smiled as he pushed a complaining Taichi and entranced Masumi inside.

Tasuku sighed as he watched everyone returning to their normal behaviors “Well, I guess we must thank you are more an acting addict than a dancer” he sent a small smile to Izumi, placing a hand on her shoulder and going inside to help the adults tame the youngest.

Izumi was about to follow when she heard Sakyo’s voice from behind “You danced well”

“Ah, Sakyo-san, thanks”

He dropped his eyes momentarily before looking at everyone going back to finish dinner inside “…Think you will miss it? Dancing like that”

Izumi lifted her head up and closed her eyes, enjoying the night’s breeze. She had set it aside for so long she hadn’t really been able to think about it.

Dancing to her was like turning back the clock, returning to a previous life that might have been good. However, she had always felt something was missing. 

She smiled tenderly. Just thinking about everyone at the dorm made her heart go warm. 

“It’s become a good memory to keep”

She tore her gaze away from the night sky to smile at him, assuring him that she was being honest to those words just said.

True. She had loved dancing, but theatre? Ah.

That was her life.

_________________________________________________________

I enjoyed it a lot, hopefully, you guys did too. Have a wonderful day!  💕

[litteidiot]

Hello! I've been reading ur fics recently, and I love them- they're amazing and touching! I was wondering if I could request a scenario for all 4 boys, in 2nd pov about the MC having a sudden panic attack? I understand if you don't wanna write it!

Hii! Thank you for reading my fics and I’m really happy that you like them. I hope with that one I can satisfy you as well!

I split this into two parts so stay tuned! Sorry if the second part will take time.

Reacting to MC having a panic attack pt. 1

——————————————

Type: Scenarios

Attention! The characters are not mine credit to the Mr. Love Team!

——————————————

Victor

It was another day like the other. But you were nervous. Recently you got two great opportunities for the next episode of Miracle Finder. You were 100% sure these episode will make the company go viral.

And just like always Victor asked for the draft and report about the episodes. And it was due today. You were busy this week preparing the set and everything essentical for the show you totally forgot to to do yor job assigned by him. So one day before due you pulled an all nighter, writing the reports to satisfy his request. By the time the clock hit 6 am you were done. Both documents were at least three pages long, and you were sure no information was left out.

But then why you were so nervous? Maybe because the companies you will soon work with are bigger then yours? As you approached the LFG building this tingling nervousness didn’t stop. It was like a parrot on your shoulder, chanting the same word until it drives you crazy.

You step into the elevator and pushing the button where Victor’s office was. Your palms were sweating. It’s not like this is your first time handing him your work. But still. Your heart rate quickened, and with that you took small breathes to consol yourself.Knocking on the CEO’s office door, you waited for his approval to enter.

“Come in.” His usual stern voice was heard and after a second of hesitation you walk in. Like usual Victor was dressed in his black business attire, behind his computer, his fingers flying on the keyboard as he typed away whatever he was workinh on.

“I brought you the reports you were asking for.” You said in a voice surprising not even you, but Victor. He stopped his work, an eyebrow arched. “Are you doing well?” He asked. You cleared your throat. “Yes, I’m okay.” Victor’s concers vanished, and his serious business manner returned. “Good, now hand me the reports.” He demanded. This time it hit you. All day you were nervous about the reports you will going to hand to Victor. Are they good enough to his expectations? You almost forgot to do the report the other day. As you looked at the papers, you got even more nervous. Your handwriting was messy, a lot of correcting scattered across the pages, you realized whatever you wanted to write only ended up as a small side note.

No way in the world you will hand this to him. You stood there still, panicking out of your mind. Your heart at this point went crazy in your chest, your hands are dranched in sweat, your chest hurt as the lack of oxygen entered your lungs.

“I’m not asking again.” Victor’s voice pierced through your thoughts, not helping the situation. “MC, hand me the report.” He raised his voice, clearly annoyed because your lack of action. But your mind froze. Are the reports good enough? What if he thinks it’s one of those many sloppy reports you gave him and this time he had enough and not only he whitdraws the funding but also calls off the next show.

At this point you were wheezing. Suddenly you gripped your chest, and dropped to the floor. You felt lightheaded as you slipped in and out of consciousness, small beds of sweat appearing on your forehead.

“MC!” In a flash Victor appeared next to you literally having no idea what happened to you. Not going to lie even he went pale for a quick second. “MC! Look at me? Can you hear me, look at me!” He shook you lightly forcing you to look in his eyes. Not enough, your panick switched into a breakdown, tears streamed down your face like two little rivers. You got a strong and firm grip on his arms, as you both hyperventillated and cried at the same time.

Victor was scared out of his mind. He looked at you breaking into pieces in front of him, literally having no idea what is happening with you. He wrapped you into his arms as he strokes circles on your back murmuring things to calm you down. After your little episode you pulled away from him looking all ashamed because of the mess you caused him.

“I-I’m sorry.” You mustered out between two breaths. “I was so busy this week I nearly forgot the reports and I wasn’t confident my work will make it to your expectations. I got stressed, I’m sorry.” You rabled your reasons at him.

After this day, he made sure you were doing okay with the work he gave you and paid close attention if you are overworking yourself.

Kiro

You just launched a new episode of Miracle Finder but you weren’t on set to supervise the shooting. You were busy making contracts for future project you didn’t even bother to look over the script, you just signed the approval to air ot and that’s it. And boy you wish you did.

On the airing night you watched the episode and you almost ripped out your hair seeing how sloppy and unprofessional the episode was. And the feedbacks on social media and your company’s official website didn’t help either. It was all negative comments, judging the episode, you the company. This occupied your mind the whole week.

“What’s in my Miss Chips mind other than me?” Kiro’s playful voice interrupted you as he waved his hand in front of your face. You were at his house, Kiro asked you over to hang out a little while.

“Am I a good boss, Kiro?” This question, what circled in your mind finally set free. This question took a full 180, Kiro switched into a serious manner. “What do you mean? Of course you are! You are amazing as always!” He encouraged you, his radiating sunlight shone over you. But this couldn’t brighten up you mood. Not this time.

“I don’t feel like I’m good enough.” You said. “This week’s episode was a disaster! I wasn’t there to supervise and after that I wasn’t paying attention to it I just approved the airing. Now all the comments and feedbacks are attacking the company and me because of how bad this one turned out.” You rambled you hands getting shaky.

“Kiro and it’s all my fault. I was too busy to look through the files, now everything backfired on me. I can’t pay attention to multiple things at the same time. What kind of producer am I?” Your worry grew, so does your panic.

“I will bring down this company. Dad worked for decades on this TV show and my carelessness will ruin his hardwork.” You said, your body was now trembling. The air felt stuffy, The place suddenly was too small for you two.

“MC look at me.” Kiro lifted your head too look at him. “Answer these questions for me.”

“Kiro, it’s not the time to play 20 questi-” He cut you off.

“Just aswer these questions to me. What’s the day today.”

“Um, it’s Friday.”

“What’s the date today?”

“It’s the 24th.”

“Good. How many days we have in a week.”

“Seven days.”

“And in a month?”

“Thirty or thrity one days.”

“And what about a year? How many days are in a year?”

“Threehundred and sixty-five.”

“Good job. Are you okay now?” He looked at you with his tender blue eyes. You soon realized your breathing stabilized. You were no longer nervous. Seeing your confused face, Kiro flashed you a smile. “You were having a panic attack. So before it could get worse I distracted your mind from it.”

He pulled you in his arms, giving you his bearhug you love so much. Inhealing his scent, your mind fully relaxed. “Are you okay now?” He asked in a low voice, and you nodded, closing your eyes in comfort.

“You are an amazing producer MC. You are one of the most hardworking person I ever met, you are doing an amazing job, do not let those comments get to you.”

For more research study go to Science section

Stay tuned for pt. 2!!

[walkerismychoice]

Unwritten (Raleigh X MC AU)  - Chapter 1

Book: Platinum

Pairing: M!Raleigh X MC

Rating: This series will contain mature themes. Any necessary warnings will be listed before each chapter, but the overall series rating is 18+

Note: So I've been trying to come out of my unofficial writing hiatus for quite some time. Leave it to @choicesarehard​ having a birthday to get me to jump right back in with a whole series. This is an AU, and although some of the story follows along with parts of the book, there are major deviations as well. If anyone wishes to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know.

Word Count: 1369

Happy Birthday (belated) birthday @choicesarehard​!

Master List

"Ms. Campbell?"

"Huh?" Aria snaps out of her meditative trance. It feels as if she' been waiting for hours, but she's been too nervous to keep track of the time. "I mean, yes, that's me."

The young but already hardened looking executive assistant seems unimpressed as she gives Aria the once over, lips pressed in a thin line. "Mr. Knight will see you now."

Aria self-consciously smooths her pencil skirt and tugs at her thrift store blazer. What is she doing here trying to pretend she belongs amongst this designer-clad crowd? Just days ago she was working in a smoothie shop, and now she's meeting with Ellis Knight, owner of Overnight Records and probably the biggest name in the business. She hesitates, telling herself this is the last chance to turn around and run back out the door, but finds the courage to move forward following the assistant through Ellis's office door.

Aria had always dreamed of a career in music. With her parents both being music teachers, her musical talent and interest have come naturally. As much as they had encouraged her to follow in their footsteps and go the practical route, it wasn’t her dream. Singing and songwriting have always been her passion. However after multiple rejections and being stuck working a mall job, she’d been beginning to think her parents were right when fate stepped up to the smoothie shop counter in the form of pop-star Avery Wilshire. Too stunned to speak, she’d been mortified when her coworker and best friend Shane gushed about Avery being Aria’s musical idol and slipped him a piece of paper with the link to her YouTube channel. The only way it could have been worse would have been if she’d been wearing the store’s banana costume. She’d gone to bed replaying the embarrassing exchange over and over in her head, but it had been all but forgotten when she woke up to her notifications blowing up after Avery followed her on Instagram and shared one of her music videos. Several phone calls and one week later, and now she’s here in Ellis Knight’s office surrounded by important-looking people, wondering if this could be the start of something big.

“Ms. Campbell,” Ellis begins as he shakes her hand and they all sit down. He’s even better looking in person than in pictures with his perfect, bright white, probably veneered teeth and neatly coiffed, dark silver-gray hair, making him all the more intimidating, even if he is old enough to be her father. “I’ll cut right to the chase. I’ve listened to your demos and you have a raw talent; that’s undeniable.”

“Thank you, Mr Eliis,” Aria blushes.

“...But, I don’t see us being able to sell you as a mainstream artist.”

Aria’s heart sinks to her stomach and she’s wondering why he brought her here just for another rejection. ”Okay, well thank-”

“Wait, let me finish,” Ellis insists. “I meant yet. You do have potential, and that’s why you’re here. But like I said, your talent is raw and you need time to develop, and time is money in the music industry. While you aren’t ready to make it on your own yet, paired with the right artist, you could have hits on the radio in no time.”

“So what are you saying? You want someone else to sing my songs?”

“Not exactly. We have an artist that’s struggling, in more ways than one, to finish out the last album in his contract.”

“You can’t be serious!” A petite woman with a sleek black bob and striking blue eyes interjects. “Her style is all wrong for him.” 

“Fiona...” Ellis warns.

She shoots Aria a mildly apologetic glance. “No offense.”

Once he says her name, it sparks her memory, It’s Fiona Syed, manager of Avery Wilshire among other big names. Aria tries to play it cool. “None taken...I guess. I’m not even sure who we are talking about.”

Ellis clears his throat. “Unfortunately due to the need for discretion, you won’t know who this artist is until after the contract is signed. Like Fiona said, your style does not quite mesh with this artist, but there are elements there. As mentioned, we can’t use any of your current songs for him, but together, I think you could create something with real mass appeal.”

None of this makes sense. Why all the secrecy, and why her? Aria has so many questions. "What are the terms of the contract?”

----

On the way to the beach house, it all seems so surreal. Aria has agreed to spend the summer holed up with an unknown artist in an undisclosed location writing songs. At least Fiona, now also her manager, will be there. Wow, just even thinking about having her own manager feels so weird. Despite their rocky start, Fiona has been polite and professional, if not exactly warm towards Aria. Her chest flutters as they approach the light blue, cape cod style home on a secluded area stretch of Atlantic beachfront. Knowing that Fiona is also Avery’s manager has Aria both excited and terrified that he could be the mystery artist.

Aria steps out of the car just as a black Escalade with dark tinted windows approaches.

Fiona holds out her hand. “Give me your phone.” Picking up on Aria’s confused expression, she elaborates. “Remember the contract? We can’t risk anyone finding out about the location or who’s here. Streams of fan-girls traipsing along the beach trying to get pictures will not bode well for productivity.”

“Yes, that’s right.” It’s a little annoying because it’s not like Aria would break the contract even if she had access to her phone, and she’s most definitely going to feel like an appendage is missing the first couple days, but she gets it. She knows from her days in the Avery Wilshire fandom on Tumblr just how crafty those fan-girls can be. They can give the CIA and FBI a run for their money. Even one non-descript photo could lead to their location being found out. 

Aria has little time to grieve the loss of her phone before the Escalade stops and the back door opens up. She reflexively stops breathing as the figure emerges and has to make a conscious effort to pick her jaw up off the floor. It's not the sandy blond, squeaky clean, heartthrob she was expecting. Quite the opposite, in fact. Raleigh Carerra, the tattooed, dark, smoldering-eyed, hotel room-destroying, Puerto-Rican boyband member turned solo R&B artist, has an image that’s far from wholesome. Not that she’s a puritan saint herself, but she now see’s why Fiona had objected to Aria writing with him. What could they possibly have in common, musically or otherwise?

“There’s no fucking signal out here.” Raleigh holds his phone up, seemingly searching for service.

Fiona reaches up on her tiptoes and snatches the phone out of his hand. “Good thing you won’t be needing one anyway.”

"Hey, give that back. I need to let everyone know where the party is tonight since nobody would tell me the address before we got here." Raleigh reaches for his phone just as Fiona tosses it to the Escalade driver, an imposing figure in a navy suit and dark sunglasses.

"Hank...C'mon man," Raleigh pleads.

Hank slips the phone in his suit pocket and crosses his arms across his chest, face fixed in a stone-like expression.

"Fine, but we'll be discussing this later. Where are the guys? How am I supposed to write without my team?"

Fiona rolls her eyes. "Seeing as you've been working with them for months and all you have to show for it is a lot of late night partying and charges for property damage, we figured a new approach was needed. Meet your new writing partner, Aria Campbell.

Aria smiles sheepishly as Raleigh seems to notice her for the first time. He smirks ever so slightly, before his lips turn downward and his eyes narrow.

"What, am I supposed to write a fucking Kidz Bop album or something now? I'm sure you're lovely, sweetheart, but this isn't going to work. Hank, take me back home." Raleigh gets into the back seat of his car and slams the door shut.

[funeralhomewifi]

Little Secrets - Diavolo x MC

Concept: Due to being the prince of Devildom, Diavolo keeps his and MC’s relationship a secret. Until a ball tests their limits. (tagging @beelzebubsthot bc I word vomited headcanons into their inbox)

Coherence? We don't know her, but I'd low key like to write more for this MC.

“This has to be a secret.”

And you had been fine with slipping into Diavolo’s office to seek out a kiss under the guise that he simply likes keeping tabs on his exchange students. You were also more than fine with traipsing around the palace after hours, hair tangled and already desperately missing being in his arms.

Because it wasn’t a secret. Not really. 

Not to Barbatos, who’d caught you many a time taking detours to class and who had started leaving water out for your walks of shame back to the House of Lamentation.

It wasn’t even a secret to Lucifer, because not much was when it came to Diavolo, and he’d become accustomed to hearing you enter the House of Lamentation minutes before curfew.

But now, you sit in class as discussion of a ‘once in a millennia’ ball hosted by Devildom royalty is underway. It’s important for Diavolo. To his entire legacy that he mingle with other nobles from other levels of Hell.

It doesn’t bother you at first, because it sounds fun, until there’s mention of desperate nobles cloying for a chance to toss their eligible single child onto the throne beside him like years and years before.  

You tune out of the conversation, stomach tossing as you make your way to Diavolo’s office during lunch to savor the few minutes of time you have before he’s whisked away to more meetings.

Ever watchful and knowing, Barbatos pours a glass of tea and leaves you two be with the gentle reminder that you only have fifteen minutes. The warning being not to start anything that can’t be finished within ten minutes.

But today you don’t press a kiss to his neck and wrap your arms around him. You quietly slip into the plush seat next to his desk and become hyperaware of how chipped your nails are compared to the fine china as you take a sip of the tea.

Diavolo is watchful, quickly catching on to the shift in routine. “Do you not like this brew?”

“Hm?” You hadn’t savored the taste to make an adequate assessment, “No, it’s nice.” When he doesn’t respond, you sigh, “So what’s this ball about?”

“You’re invited,” Diavolo starts, sipping his own tea thoughtfully. “So is Solomon. There will be other humans there. If that’s what you’re concerned about.”

“Dia…” You hesitate and tap a nail against the glass. You don’t want to ruin the few minutes you get with him. You don’t want to question the soft kisses and late nights and thoughtful messages just yet. But you want a straight answer. “That’s good. That, um, I’m invited. But…”  

“You will be a guest,” Diavolo tests. “Not a date. As a formality. You know this, MC. We can’t—”

“I know. You’ve told me. And I understand. But…” You start to chastise yourself mentally for even opening this can of worms, for questioning your feelings, and start to feel a knot at your throat. “Should we end it sooner than later?”

Diavolo pauses, brows furrowed, “MC…”

“No, wait.” You sigh and set the tea cup down, using it as an anchor, “If this concerns your future, the future of Devildom, then maybe we shouldn’t do… what we were doing anymore?”

Eerily calm, Diavolo nods, “Is that what you want?”

“Not really, Dia,” you quietly answer as there is a knock on the door signaling the end of teatime. “But my forever isn’t the same as your forever.”

Barbatos enters to clear the cups. You stand and force a smile as you shoulder your messenger bag and slip out of the office.

XXX

You allow yourself a night to cry then allow your feelings to go on the back burner as you tune out any talk of the ball and throw yourself into more activities with the brothers.

Lucifer leaves you be, for the most part, because at least someone is doing the dishes without complaint. But that comes to an end after day three of avoiding Diavolo, when Lucifer sends you a single text late at night: Message him.

In your overall tiredness from studying for final exams, you send Diavolo a single ‘??? Demon Emoji’ and leave it for the night, only to wake up to a missed call.

A week of halfheartedly ignoring Diavolo and mere days away from the ball, Devildom is crawling with nobles, leaving you to tag along with Asmodeus as he catches you up on at least 100 years of gossip while practically turning Majolish over.

“Breasts covered or on display?” Asmo asks suddenly and you nearly choke on Bujo Tea. He grins and leans in to pull at the bags under your eyes, “You weren’t listening. Now answer my question.”

You pull away, “Your boobs?”

“Aw, you really think I would cover up?” Asmo squeezes your cheeks, “I know a post-break up funk when I see one, dear. You need this ball as a pick me up.”

“No.” You huff, “The ball is the last thing I need.”

“No, MC,” Asmo circles a rack of dresses, “you’re going to get dressed up nice, feel good, maybe get laid. I’ll even go through my little black book for you. Maybe I’ll even offer myself up.”

“Maybe?” You flick through a few dresses idly, “Maybe doesn’t sound like you.”

“Because I’m confident in my—Oh! MC! Here!” Asmodeus pulls a dress from the rack and practically pushes you into a dressing room.

The dress is a deep crimson, verging on brown that flows against your curves, but leaves your back on display and just barely covers your breasts. The flowing sleeves leave your tattoos and pact marks just visible enough.

Asmo pokes his head in and nods, “That’s the dress.”

XXX

Asmo pats on thin layers of make and expertly styles your hair while you sip on wine that twists in your stomach instead of chasing away the nerves. You wouldn't be able to avoid Diavolo tonight, but despite the words and distance, you wonder if it’s a good thing or not.

The castle ballroom is buzzing, gossip and giggles and music merge together in a way that a party in the human realm never would be able to.

You try your best to not let your eye be drawn to the immaculate muddle of tan skin and gold making the rounds, although you swear you can feel Diavolo’s gaze follow you around the room.

You try to stick close to familiar faces. But Lucifer is near Diavolo, who’d placed himself on the dark throne to overlook to ongoings. Asmo introduces you to a gaggle of succubi, who promptly invite you to a ‘little afterparty’. You decline and join Beelzebub at the snack table, only to down a glass of wine quickly before palming a cup of something unknown and wandering.

Conversations prickle your nerves.

“He’s not very interested.”

“It’s not about interest, though.”

“He has…”

You finally drag your attention back to the throne. Your gaze meets Diavolo’s and your stomach flips as he cocks his head, acknowledging you only briefly before returning his attention back to a guest.

The liquor is bitter on your tongue and you tune back into the desperate conversations.

“He declined a little rendezvous in the coat closet.” Because Barbatos would be five steps ahead.

“He declined a taste of my raspberry infused poison chocolate liqueur.” He doesn’t like raspberries.

“He’ll need an heir eventually.”

“Wasn’t his father already—”

You finally step out of the throne room and into a more empty area of the castle, with the empty glass and heated cheeks, you’re tempted  to text Lucifer for the house key, thinking incorrectly that you’d at least be ready to go when one of the other brothers would be.

You slink into a hallway that hadn’t been enchanted to be off limits and wait, listening to muddled conversations and rethinking most of your life decisions as the alcohol burns in your stomach.

Your DDD vibrates.

Barbatos: The enchantment on the main wing has been altered to allow you through.

Barbatos: Please go on through to the rooms. I’ll send someone with water.

You want to hesitate and ask for an escort back to the House of Lamentation, but allow your feet to guide you through the hallways you know so well. You linger at the entrance to Diavolo’s personal rooms and give into pressing into the bedroom.

After a while, a Little D hops into the room and leaves glasses of water and juice along with a bottle of aspirin to ‘prevent a hangover’.

You sip on the juice and pace around the room, lingering near the dresser upon noticing a collection of small trinkets you’d brought Diavolo from your visits in the human realm. With a sigh, you finally sink down to the bed, Diavolo’s cologne wrapping around you.

You’re alone in the silence, the room horribly empty and dull by yourself. And you dare to wonder how Diavolo stands it. Then you remember: he has no choice but to endure the dark silence, it’s what he is.

The door creaks, then opens, and Diavolo enters, a heavy air around his demon form, yet it doesn’t unnerve you. It never has. It probably never will.

“MC.”

“Dia.”

There’s a silence as he approaches you. Gently, he reaches down, gold around his wrists cold against your cheek and you lean into the touch. Instinctively, you stand and wrap your arms around him as best you can, a hard feat even when he’s not in his demon form.

His arms go around you, hands exploring your hair, “You look lovely, MC.”

“So do you,” you muffle into his chest. You bask in the warmth for a moment longer before peering up, “We do need to talk… about this, Diavolo.”

“Give it more time, MC,” Diavolo kisses your forehead. “These events won’t be needed much longer. I promise.”

---

Dress Reference

[purpleiri]

Xu Mo: Ordinary Date Translation

许墨 【平淡之约】

During the time Xu Mo was immersed in a new research project, our meetings have become scarce. I was incessantly torn between not wanting to disturb him at work and longing to see him. Finally, I came up with a solution to the problem...

Please do not re-post my translations.

I’m not a professional translator. I do not claim that my translations are 100% accurate.

I hope that you’ll enjoy watching/reading the date! Text-only version under the cut.

When I reached the entrance of the research centre, Aming and the others were on their way out. They must have just pulled an all-nighter to finish their experiment, as the youths yawned loudly. Even so, they were chatting happily and exchanging banters back and forth.

Student A: “Let’s have soup dumplings at Sheng Ji, it’s near.”

Student B: “Since today’s a day off, we have a lot of time. Let’s go to Li Ji Restaurant, it’s only two stations away by subway anyway.”

Student C: “Is Professor Xu not coming with us again?”

Aming: “The Professor said that he’ll be busy with some other things.”

Student B: “Do any of you feel that although Professor Xu looks approachable, he also seems strangely detached? He never talks about himself, and he’s not close with any of the other teachers.”

Student A: “It feels like he’s very polite, but keeps everybody at arm’s length, isn’t it?”

Student C: “I feel it a little. There were a few times when I saw him standing alone by the window and wanted to go up to him and say hello, but at the same time I felt that he would feel bothered for sure.”

Student B: “Sometimes, it does feel as if we just can’t figure out what kind of person Professor Xu really is…”

I stopped in my tracks and hesitated for a while, but still went ahead to meet up with them.

MC: “Aming!”

Aming: “MC, are you looking for the Professor? He’s just finished being busy with work so he should be resting now.”

MC: “Yes, I brought all of you something to eat!”

I handed a paper bag filled with food over to Aming. He smiled as he accepted it and scratched his head a little awkwardly.

Aming: “The things we said just now, we didn’t mean anything by it…”

MC: “Don’t worry, I won’t tattle on you to your Professor Xu.”

I smiled, but it was clear in my mind—there was a time when even I have deeply felt Xu Mo’s indifference and elusiveness, so I did not blame others for thinking so. For the past month, for instance, ever since he has started working on some secret experiment, I have been seeing him less and our usual interactions with each other have decreased. I have tried asking him about it indirectly twice, but he always answered vaguely and digressed from the topic. I could not help but worry a little.

Student B: “May I ask, are you Professor Xu’s girlfriend? We didn’t mean to talk about the Professor, we just don’t understand him very well so we couldn’t help but discuss a little.”

He paused for a while and let out an embarrassed smile.

Student B: “It’s rare to see such an impressive and young professor, so it makes one really curious.”

Student A: “He’s not just impressive, he could already very well be included in a textbook!”

They continued talking, and the conversation turned into a discussion of Xu Mo’s most recent academic research. I could see on their faces their hopes for the future, as well as an overwhelming sense of accomplishment from being able to work on the project with Xu Mo.

MC: “Sometimes, he can get too immersed in his own world and may seem unsociable.”

“But don’t worry about him being difficult to get along with.”

I looked at them and couldn’t stop the corner of my lips from turning up into a smile.

MC: “He’s a really gentle person.”

“The most gentle person I have ever met.”

--

It was still early, and the research centre was much quieter than usual. I walked along the long corridor and arrived at the entrance of the lounge. The door was open; I quietly took two steps forward and saw Xu Mo deep in thought.

The window blinds were shut tightly. Entering through the gaps and infiltrating the room was a thin layer of sunlight, reflected on his calm and impassive eyes. It seemed that even the continuous drizzle of the wallpaper surrounding him lingered with a hint of coolness. The slightly bitter aroma of coffee permeated the air, and hot steam from the mug drifted little by little to the corner of Xu Mo’s thin lips.

Although he always wore a mild expression on his face, I felt that the darkness of the room was filled with an inexplicable silent melancholy. It was as if he had carved out this cold little space that was isolated from the world—isolated from the warm morning light outside the window, and isolated from himself.

I stared at his thin silhouette and could only feel how particularly lonely he was at this moment.

MC: “Xu Mo.”

I could not stop myself anymore and took a step forward, softly whispering his name. As if he had just suddenly woken up from some deep contemplation, he looked at me with a hint of surprise in his eyes. Almost at the very moment our eyes met, I could clearly see a smile light up in his nonchalant eyes.

Xu Mo: “Why didn’t you tell me in advance before coming over?”

Quickly, I walked over from the staircase to meet him, grinning as I held up the paper bag in my hand.

MC: “I brought you breakfast! There’s bread, egg tarts, palmiers, sandwiches…”

I opened up the paper bag and showed him how filled to the brim with food it was, prompting him to let out a small laugh.

Xu Mo: “It’s only breakfast, how can I eat this much?”

I placed the bag on the table and turned around to walk towards the window.

MC: “It’s precisely because it’s breakfast that you should eat more nutritiously.”

“If you can’t finish it then you can have the leftovers for tea, supper, or snacks. How do you get inspiration during work if you don’t eat some food?”

With a quiet “swoosh”, I drew open the blinds completely—a dazzling gleam of light spread inside, and the monotonous white walls of the room immediately took on a golden hue. The green plants on the windowsill seemed to have woken up from their deep sleep, slowly swaying their branches and leaves to the mild morning wind now blowing into the room.

Xu Mo: “Turns out that the weather today is really good.”

When I looked back, Xu Mo was already bathing in the mild sunlight. His entire body was enveloped in a soft warmth, and the corners of his lips were curved slightly upwards, revealing a quiet gentleness comparable to the first rays of light in the morning.

Xu Mo: “If it weren’t for the experiment, I would have gone out to take a walk with you. I wonder, at this time, if there are any more peach blossoms in bloom around the suburbs.”

He spoke as slowly walked towards me.

Xu Mo: “Didn’t you say that you’ve been busy with a new show recently?”

“Coming to see me so suddenly, did you come across some difficulty?”

I flashed him a knowing smile and took out my own notebook from my bag.

MC: “It’s just as I’ve said before, it’s about inviting a professor in logical studies to do an episode of the show…”

Before I could finish what I was saying, Xu Mo shook his head and sighed softly.

Xu Mo: “…sure enough, you didn’t come here specially to bring me breakfast.”

For a moment I was stunned, but I quickly denied it.

MC: “Of course I came here specially to bring you breakfast, it’s just a coincidence that I have a question that I needed your advice for.”

But after listening to me, not only did Xu Mo lightly furrow his brows, his voice also fell, as if he has just suffered some terrible injustice.

Xu Mo: “...so you brought me breakfast only because you needed my advice on something?”

“We haven't seen each other in such a long time, yet you don't miss me at all.”

MC: “…w-wait!”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s not that I don’t miss you…”

At this moment, Xu Mo raised his eyes, which were twinkling with a hint of slyness. It was then I realised that I must have fallen into his trap once again. I looked at him and bit my lips with a huff. And yet, this man’s mood suddenly shifted happily as he came over to hold my hand with a smile.

Xu Mo: “Let’s have breakfast first.”

--

Under my “quiet” supervision, Xu Mo finished eating three egg tarts, two bread, and half a palmier before concluding this somewhat hearty breakfast. Although at the end he said that he really couldn’t eat anymore, there was still a happy smile on his lips.

Xu Mo: “Just spare me this round, Great Producer. I already know what I did wrong.”

“Now, I really know that you didn’t not miss me.”

He spoke slowly, dragging out the last part of his sentence as he took one last sip of coffee from his mug. He rested his chin on his hand and looked at the notebook in my hands. Before I had the time to think of a comeback to his words, he changed the topic.

Xu Mo: “Let me take a look at your question next.”

I really didn’t know what to do with him. I could only go along with his tempo; I opened up the notebook in my hands, spreading it on the table.

Xu Mo: “So this is the question that got you stuck.”

Xu Mo took a pen out of his pocket. Just as he was about to start writing, he looked over at me again.

Xu Mo: “Sitting opposite each other like this, it’s not so easy for me to write. Do you want to sit a bit closer?”

I nodded my head. I pulled my chair over and sat next to Xu Mo, shoulder to shoulder. Satisfied, Xu Mo smiled and wrote down the four letters “AEIO” on paper, forming a rectangle.

Xu Mo: “You can simply understand it this way: ‘A’ means complete affirmation, ‘E’ means complete negation, ‘I’ means partial affirmation, and ‘O’ means partial negation.”

“Among these, ‘A’ and ‘O’ have a contradictory relationship, just as ‘I’ and ‘E’ also have a contradictory relationship. Between them, there must be one that is true and one that is false. For example, taking what you said just now about how it’s not that you don’t miss me…”

“…it negates complete negation, which is to say that ‘E’ is false. In contrast, it confirms that ‘I’ is true, which is to say—you do miss me a little.”

“Is that right?”

The low voice that he used to slowly describe the concept flowed like sunlight. As I listened, I fell into a trance. The way the corners of his lips were raised subconsciously prompted me to smile along with him.

MC: “Right.”

A familiar light scent lingered between our breaths. I stared at his mesmerising eyes and only came to my senses much later. Xu Mo held my hands as an ambiguous smile appeared on his lips. His eyes narrowed slightly with the action, and he came closer.

Xu Mo: “Two days ago, I attended a lecture and happened to meet the Old Professor Xu that you invited as a guest on your show.”

“He was full of praises for you, saying that you and your team have already handed him the script two weeks ago. The questions on logical reasoning that he came up with, you managed to solve them all.”

“All these basic theoretical concepts have ceased to become a challenge for you much earlier on.”

“And yet you still came up with the excuse of having a question you needed my advice for…”

MC: “I…”

I avoided his stare guiltily, but still hesitantly hummed a soft “mhmm”. Xu Mo let out a helpless smile and sighed lightly. Raising his forefinger, he tapped me on the forehead gently.

Xu Mo: “Little liar, you only know how to bully me.”

Hurriedly, I tugged on the cuff of his white coat and softened my tone.

MC: “That’s why I said, I really came here specially to bring you breakfast.”

Xu Mo: “This isn’t the only thing I’m referring to.”

Xu Mo gazed into my eyes mysteriously, seemingly that no matter how I reacted afterwards, it would all be within his sight.

Xu Mo: “For the past two weeks, Aming often brings me supper; sometimes it's hot congee, other times it's vegetables and rice. He claims that it's takeaway, but the taste says otherwise.”

“The leaves of the spider plant on my balcony have long since turned yellow, and I haven't had the time to take care of it. However, when I glanced at it a few days ago, I found a new pot has long taken its place.”

“After returning to my office from the research centre early in the morning, I would sometimes find an extra cup of freshly-brewed tea.”

As he spoke, he showed an expression of serious contemplation, and his eyes revealed a faint puzzlement.

Xu Mo: “When did I start raising a little snail girl like you?”

He paused. Although it seemed like he still had some words left unsaid, he didn't continue speaking. Instead, he rubbed my hand with his fingertips, slowly, lightly, and very gently. I could feel the warmth from his fingertips, the slight, tingling itch resulting from his touch, and understood his momentary silence.

MC: “I should’ve known that I couldn’t keep this from you.”

I responded with a calm look. However, I suddenly remembered the little gift that I had prepared for him previously and couldn’t help but laugh a little.

MC: “But you still left out one thing.”

“I placed a humidifier on the corner of your coffee table—you didn’t notice it, did you?”

Xu Mo paused for a while and sighed softly.

Xu Mo: “How could I not notice? Moreover, the tea jar that I had already emptied out was filled with new tea leaves by a certain someone.”

“I even thought to myself, you must have gone out alone again to buy new tea leaves when I couldn’t take any time out.”

The light in Xu Mo’s eyes deepened. He leaned over and pressed his forehead against mine.

Xu Mo: “Did something happen recently?”

I shook my head subconsciously—after all, it really was nothing. He has his own things to be busy with, and he had promised me early on that we would go on a trip once his work has been dealt with.

However, during the times I couldn't hear footsteps coming from next door even after waiting all night, or when I picked up my phone only to remember that I shouldn’t bother him at work...

I really missed him.

Xu Mo's breath fell on my face, warm and a little moist—just like a light drizzle on a spring day, it felt as if one’s heartstrings were being gently caressed.

MC: “Truthfully… I miss you more than ‘just a little’.”

Xu Mo: “…me too.”

--

A week later, the new show entered the recording process as scheduled. It was fortunate that early preparations were done well, as the outcome exceeded expectations. Anna even felt that the show’s new season ratings could reach a new high, prompting me to prepare to treat everyone to dinner soon. I couldn’t wait to tell Xu Mo the good news and rushed over to the research centre as soon as work ended.

As I neared his office, I could hear Aming’s laughter coming from within.

Aming: “Professor, there is a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for a really long time. Let me tell you about it today! It has to do with MC…”

Upon hearing my own name, I lowered the hand that was reaching out to knock on the door, and discreetly looked into the office from behind the half-opened door.

Xu Mo and Aming sat facing each other, seemingly engaged in idle conversation. I had no idea what they were talking about that would prompt Aming to spill the beans so mysteriously.

Aming: “Actually, the suppers I have given you previously were all sent over by MC in secret.”

“One time it rained, and we all thought that she wouldn’t visit anymore. However, she still came and even brought all of us freshly-baked cakes and biscuits.”

“Also, there was once when she discovered that you’d finished drinking all your tea and refilled your jar with new tea leaves the very next day!”

As he spoke, he sighed deeply.

Aming: “It’s so nice having a girlfriend…”

All along Xu Mo had been listening quietly, but after hearing Aming sigh so deeply, he could not help but let out a laugh.

Xu Mo: “Why, are you jealous?”

I could not stop my hand from reaching out and knocked on the door lightly. Xu Mo smiled and stood up slowly.

Aming: “Professor, there’s someone looking for you, I should leave first.”

Just as I was about to push the door open and step inside, Aming pulled on the door knob. When our eyes met, he scratched his head awkwardly.

Aming: “MC, you’re here… I-I definitely did not tell the Professor your secret.”

“I still have a paper to write, I’ll be leaving first!”

I was just about to tell him that the Great Professor Xu had already discovered the secret earlier, but he slipped away and ran. I watched helplessly at his retreating back as he disappeared into the hallway. But before I could react, Xu Mo pulled me into the office with one hand.

Xu Mo: “Since you’re here at this time, has the recording ended? Did it go well?”

MC: “Mhmm, it just ended.”

“I don’t know what the outcome of the broadcast will be like. However, based on experience, it should go successfully… but how did you know that I came here to talk to you about this?”

Xu Mo: “Isn’t this our chemistry with each other? In the past, when you came to me like this, it was almost always to share good news with me.”

MC: “Then, how did your experiment go?”

The light in Xu Mo’s eyes shifted for a second, but there was a smile on his lips.

Xu Mo: “It failed.”

He let go of my hand and walked towards a filing cabinet, from which he took out a big stack of papers. On the cover, I saw the words “laboratory report” printed in bold. For a moment I was confused, unsure if he was just teasing me or telling the truth.

However, Xu Mo has already started putting the papers one by one into the paper shredder, and the quiet office was soon filled with the continuous buzzing sounds of the machine. Xu Mo saw the look of surprise and concern in my eyes, smile still on his face.

Xu Mo: “In a hundred experiments, it is indeed the success of the hundredth experiment that makes one happy. However, this does not mean that the previous ninety-nine failures are worthless.”

“It’s just like how you might encounter difficulties when you work on your shows; sometimes the ratings are poor, and sometimes the show’s reputation is not well-received. Similarly, my work often has such discouraging moments.”

“But it is fine, for failure is not important–knowing that you are on the wrong path is more important.”

Xu Mo looked at the thin sheets of paper in his hand, the smile in his eyes growing.

Xu Mo: “Hopefully, next time I would have good news to share with you too.”

MC: “But, after working so hard for such a long time just to not yield results…”

“If it were me, I would definitely be upset for quite some time.”

As the shredder swallowed the last page of the report, Xu Mo walked over in front of me and sighed lightly.

Xu Mo: “Indeed, no matter how small, the feeling of discontent is there.”

I thought about it for a while, and then offered Xu Mo an invitation.

MC: “How about we go out for a walk?”

“The weather today is great; we can take a stroll. Sometimes I just need to take in the sunlight for a bit and my mood becomes better.”

Xu Mo let out a laugh and agreed softly. With practised ease, he interlocked his fingers with mine, and led me out of the research centre.

As the weather became warmer, the streets were filled with more and more people. Despite it being a work day, the people passing us by were mostly in groups of three to five. Xu Mo held my hand tightly, as if worried that I would be separated from him in the crowd.

As we were walking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and advised me seriously.

Xu Mo: “In the future, don’t come out alone in the middle of the night.”

“You are not allowed to walk through the alleyways and take shortcuts, either.”

When he said the first sentence, I had wanted to crack a joke and make a silly face before simply agreeing to it. However, when he said “alleyways”, my entire heart jumped.

MC: “How did you know…”

The road back home from the research centre was a main road, and it has always been safe. There were many people walking on the road even at ten o’clock at night. There was one rainy day when I wanted to reach home quickly and took the alleyway as a shortcut.

Only once.

Xu Mo stood in front of me and placed a hand on my head.

Xu Mo: “How could I be at ease with you walking home alone at night?”

“However, if I had walked back home together with you, or simply spoke to you, I probably would not have been able to focus on my experiments.”

“That’s why, every time, I have always seen only you off downstairs, and waited until I could see your lights go on before turning around and going back to the research centre.”

“This way, I could also take a small break, slowly organising my thoughts on work for the day as I walk.”

MC: “……”

At the thought of him putting his work down, secretly following behind me just to protect me and see me home safely, and then waiting around downstairs until he could see my lights come on before walking back to the research centre under the night sky…

I suddenly felt bad inside.

My intention was to take care of him, but I did not expect that I would cause him this much trouble…

MC: “I’m sorry.”

Xu Mo shook his head and laughed gently.

Xu Mo: “Little fool, you don’t have to apologise, you didn’t give me any trouble.”

“The surprises that you gave me, I really liked them all. More than that, I could not help but look forward to them.”

“Looking forward to what kind of gifts you would bring me next time, and looking forward to the moment I could see you after a long, exhausting day of work…”

“This is the most interesting experience I’ve had in all these years of dry and routine life doing research.”

Xu Mo grabbed my hand and turned to look at the intersection.

Xu Mo: “Want to have some ice-cream?”

It was only then that I noticed a dessert shop selling ice-cream in front of us. I hesitated, but before I could speak, Xu Mo had spoken first.

Xu Mo: “I do want to eat it a little. Want to have it with me?”

I rarely saw this side of Xu Mo, so childlike and pure. I agreed immediately and jogged over to the dessert shop to buy two ice-cream cones.

MC: “Here, this ice-cream is my treat. Next time, I will surprise you in a more thoughtful way and not make you worry anymore.”

"This time's debt, let's just call it even!"

I handed one of the ice-cream cones to Xu Mo and then I could no longer resist tasting my own—the cooling sweetness melting at the tip of the tongue, the rich strawberry flavour giving one a sense of happiness.

At this very moment, Xu Mo bent over at the waist—

He leaned closer, pursed his lips slightly upwards, and, under my slightly dumbfounded gaze, gently licked the tip of the sweet cone in my hand.

The small ice-cream cone suddenly turned into a small mountain, separating two pairs of thin lips, yet not able to separate the sights we have of each other. In that moment, the boisterous and noisy crowd around us seemed like they have been put on pause. My heart was full, and I only had eyes for the pair right in front of mine, deep and vast like pools of water.

Xu Mo: “Mmm, it’s delicious.”

He straightened his back. In a good mood, the corner of his eyes curved into a smile, and at last he tasted the matcha-flavoured ice-cream cone in his hand. Even with a cunning smile in his eyes, the passing breeze seemed to have caught onto his aura, becoming a little gentler.

I could never figure out what to do with him…

MC: “Xu Mo, are you still going back to the research centre?”

Xu Mo: “The experiment is already over, so it’s time to go back and rest.”

MC: “What a coincidence, we’ll be going the same way!”

Lifting the corner of my lips, I reached my hand out towards him—

Xu Mo smiled gently, and held my hand without hesitation.

Xu Mo: "Mm, let's go home."

--

T/N: Little snail girl (田螺姑娘) is a character from a Chinese folklore of the same name. The story goes that a young farmer found an unusually big snail when he was out in the fields, so he decided to bring it home and take care of it. Since then, every time he came home from work, he would mysteriously find freshly-prepared dinner waiting for him. He later found out that the one who cooked for him was indeed the snail he brought home—and that she’s not just a snail after all, she’s a young and beautiful woman. They fell in love, got married, had children and lived happily ever after.

[danieyells]

Thanks for answering my questions! I know it was a lot lmao but I Am Have Questions and very few people informed enough to discuss them with xD

I suppose it is possible they Oniwaka and Co. were being rent from their exceptions and not to Tokyo itself, but I thought the way it worked was that MC rent their connection to Tokyo itself and overwrote it with their own! I hadn't considered your angle before; something to think about haha

If I remember right though, Sitri's wings, and with them his powers, only grew in recently right? Like, a little while before the first Valentine's Event? That's why he had so much trouble controlling them if I recall correctly! But sustaining himself on that energy is one thing that can be explained (though! It's possible that part of Sitri's deep desire for chocolate in general, but valentine's chocolate especially, is the love that gets put into them? Not to say he sustains himself solely on it or anything, but it might explain the strength of his desires ahaha)

Wait. Do those character quests mean that collisions can literally send people into the pasts of other worlds?? Like fr?? And also, does that mean collisions are like, direct overlaps with other worlds and not just illusory versions?

Part of why I'm trying to sort this all out is because I want to write a TAS fic, but I needed a better understanding of how, exactly, the system works, and was basically about to throw my hands in the air and say that actually nobody goes home at all until they've fulfilled their contracts ever and that's that xD I've finished all the story content btw! Including chapter 11 and most of the translated events, except for the Canaan one (gotta get on that, pray I get myself a Dagon 5★)

Does that mean that we contracts are *unfulfillable*? Like MC's connection with Agyo was basically like "I want friend lmao" and then they got their friend, but does that mean that Agyo is trapped in Tokyo until MC decides that they don't want to be friends with him anymore?

Also, do you think that if a Stray Transient does eventually run out of energy to sustain themselves in Tokyo, they get booted back to their world permanently, or do you think they just recover their strength in their home world and then get pulled back over?

Thanks again for answering my questions! I hope that this is proving as interesting to explore to you as it is to me hahaha

I don't mind that it's a lot at all! Lol it was just a surprise. I'm honored to be approached about this kind of thing, and I find it very interesting, yeah! 'u' I love worldbuilding and characterization so thinking about/sharing my thoughts on it for things I like is always a pleasure.

I mean it's possible they're rending their connection to Tokyo, but I feel like that wouldn't take the exception away? Because it came from an interaction they had, not Tokyo itself. I figured they were torn from the exception and the exception and fighting robbed them of all their energy in the proccess of making them a. . .screaming, mindless fighting machine lmao. Like rending a familiar from someone? But that familiar is inside them? If that makes sense? I don't remember if this was explained to begin with let alone how lol I should reread it lol

Sitri's wings did come in pretty recently, and they're implied to be a puberty thing. The problem is that he says they came in "the other day"--which doesn't necessarily mean "two days ago" as convenient as that'd be. The Japanese is even more vague, just saying "When I was taking a bath" without giving a timeframe. But I kinda figured that, until the wings popped in, love from his family was enough to sustain him. Because Bathym doesn't have a family here, really, he has his fans and the guild. But also since his family knew about the wings, saying they were a sign he was growing up, maybe they have a similar power that pops in during puberty and thus were able to feed him others' feelings. But yeah they were new which is why he couldn't control them.

As for the pasts in other worlds. . .time doesn't flow in other worlds the same as it does in Tokyo necessarily. El Dorado isn't even around anymore, time in Shangri-La flows slower than in Tokyo, etc--but these places still participate in the Game despite that. So worlds and timelines aren't entirely stable--after all time's been reset over and over. Also, we have time travelers from Utopia(which is the future???) so if they were forced to conform to a single space-time path that'd be kind of difficult? So, yeah, time and space and memories aren't necessarily stable in collisions. I mean, if a world collided based on memories, who's to say those places are still exactly as remembered? It works for the jungle in Shangri-La because it's a jungle and how much will that change--but the collided oceans are connected to towns in other worlds? Dagon connected islands from various worlds into one, too--those can't all be his own memories or from the same timeframe. Collisions are pretty unstable by definition so it doesn't surprise me that time can get screwed up along the way.

But yeah collisions seem to be actual overlaps of some sort--since Macan remembered that he heard MC's voice that happened in the collision, Xolotl met and saw himself in the collision, etc. And those things had effects that brought them to Tokyo to begin with.

Oh, there's also Nomad's character story where MC was invisible to everyone but Nomad--Nomad could feel them too--because the worlds were unstable under Ikebukuro Coliseum and they reminded Nomad of the prison he was in, causing the Collision.

MC could travel the collision/memory without Nomad around and get accurate information about its layout to help him escape.

If the collision doesn't alter the actual past then there's no way they'd know without Nomad physically with them. . .and there's no way Nomad would know where to go to escape the prison if MC weren't able to get actual information.

Then MC breaks the lights--only Nomad can see them, but they can affect reality/the past in a way that influenced everyone in it. And they're able to escape thanks to information MC gathered about and influence MC had on the world that Nomad would have no means whatsoever of getting/doing on his own.

Then they saw present Nomad who said MC was his, MC tried to reassure past!Nomad that it was okay, they were the same person, and past!Nomad felt betrayed.

Past Nomad sees MC through the transient light and chases after them, bringing him to Tokyo in continued pursuit of revenge.

. . .and present Nomad, now home with Mc and having had resolved the collision, remembered that he'd been chasing MC through the transient light but had travelled to Tokyo to find them--but had not travelled to them. He'd likely forgotten who he was looking for because he was kind of out of his mind at the time and thought he was chasing after his own hallucination to begin with.

Now that he remembers he wanted to kill MC for leaving him but also knows that he's the one who MC left him for, he deems them half a traitor for only betraying the him of the past not the him of the present and lets them off the hook for now.

(nice kabedon--DAMN THE TEN IMAGE LIMIT.)

MC was the one he wanted venegence against when he left Utopia, although he still has to get revenge against the people who turned him into a tiger. But he went to Tokyo to get revenege against MC and made a contract with them without remembering they were the target. He says he won't kill them for now but someday, when his other revenge is done, he'll come after them for betraying him. Until then they're his assistant and they'll be helping him get revenge. If they betray him again--betray him "one and a half times"--they'll become the new priority and he'll kill them first.

But even he said that he thinks that he's crazed for revenge is stupid so MC figured out that he wants them to keep him in check. (He calls them 'traitor' fondly(? He smiles while doing it, I think it's pretty fond) and I wish he kept doing that but it'd probably reveal more to people than Nomad is comfortable revealing lol so he calls you by name instead.)

Also, canonness note, he declares them his detective assistant when he declares them his accomplice--and in the Beach House Andvari he reiterates that's your relationship too. Which means that his character quest is canon across events. And if events are canon--whether through your choices or not(at one point in the story you know Gyobu but you only met him in events until that point???) that means Mc making pacts with everyone could be canon too.

. . .but yeah collisions are just time and space freaking out. Maybe they're past resets of sorts.

And oooh fanfics are exciting 'u' I'll give it a read if you link it! And congrats on reading everything! *U* I've gotta do that myself lol and good luck getting 5★Dagon!! I wanted 5★Tangaroa(someone I have added has him and. . .holy shit he heals himself, he heals allies around him, he's practically invincible) but I ran out of transient stones and I'm poor irl 8'D The Canaan event is fun and also chaotic and will probably give you even MORE questions about how the fuck timelines and collisions work. Because it kinda introduces a new mechanic into the mix. So uh brace yourself?

The problem with "nobody goes home until they've fulfilled their contracts" is that some people just don't have contracts. And their own desires only seem to cause gates to open and take them, not actually bind them--someone from Tokyo(or in Tokyo in MC's case) needs to be their binding agent if they're not like. A World Rep or someone similarly powerful enough to stay on their own(this is a guess--they're probably sustained by being the System and thus stand on the faith of all their people from their world. Alternatively they're bound to Tokyo via MC as the trophy.) Otherwise they wouldn't note that transients disappear eventually if unbound by a contract.

Gullinbursti isn't attached to MC by contract anymore not because MC said "I don't want us to be friends" or anything but because MC refused to make a proper contract with him because he'd misinterpret it. But he's still hanging out, so. It's not immediate. But, yeah, there are probably unfulfillable contracts that can only be broken by death or declaration. Agyo is stuck with MC until MC says he can go lol--I mean they're friends now but it'd defeat the purpose of the pact if they went away as soon as that happened. Because MC wants more and more companions they'll never truly have their desire to have friends fulfilled probably. So anyone summoned that way gets to stay in Tokyo until MC is no longer in it or maybe until MC decides "I don't want people around me anymore/I don't want to see anyone ever again" and truly means it--which will declare their contracts fulfilled and send them home, if they have a home/life to return to.

As for if Stray Transients go back permanently, yes and no. I think they go back and recuperate their energy and they stay home if they don't have an outstanding pact(whether they're aware or not)--however if they were just there because they went into the light and had nothing binding them to the land but that energy/will that brought them, they'd go home without bwing sent back unless they really wanted it again. Thus they can be resummoned, intentionally or otherwise. If MC one day dismisses everyone, regrets it, and says they want their friends back, everyone would come back. But if they didn't ask for everyone to return they'd stay home(disregarding that they'd probably all go NO WE WANNA GO BACK TAKE US TO MC and the transient light would bring them back to Tokyo again lmao.)

So. Yeah, they'll stay home until summoned again, even after they get their energy back, I think. If they don't have a home to go back to maybe they float in the void for a while, kinda like how MC just kinda existed as the Exiles without a home or like how Robinson says they can't stay anywhere forever because they're Wanderers.

(Somewhat related, Shiro mentions in the Apprentice Santa event that it must be hard to import turkey to Tokyo. . .import it from where? Tokyo is closed off on all sides INCLUDING THE OCEAN. That means someone's bringing turkey from other worlds into Tokyo--a business-like summoning contract lol. "Come to Tokyo, bring goods from other worlds, and you can go back until I need more" basically. Using another world like a manufacturing plant lol. . .little things like that make me consider that you can go and come back at the will of a summoner, assuming you donct have an artifact or ability that allows you to traverse worlds as you please.)

Another thing for you to consider if you wanna be a bit more puzzled: remember how much belief plays a part in how things work in Tokyo. Consider. . .if someone claims they're not a stray transient when they actually are and everyone around them believes that they have a contract or guild or something keeping them there even though it's not true. . .are they bound to Tokyo by that belief as long as they're around more people who think they're bound to somebody? Will they disappear if people stop believing them or they're around people who believe they're a stray? Consiquentially if people believe a stray will disappear sooner than later does their timer run out faster? If Ose somehow ran around telling people that transients won't disappear with his ability to make people believe everything he says, do they stop disappearing because no one thinks they will? I suppose he can't lie to nature, but can those beliefs sustain people? I mean belief can cause Oni to be hurt by beans, can cause Behemoth to regain his sense of taste, can cause people from worlds that've been destroyed to become demons because the Angels invading will it to be so. So where does belief's power end and the power of the System kick in? Does the game end if MC puts on Ose's crown and tells the Representaives it's over and they all lost? Or would the alternation of belief on a mass scale cause an Exception by clashing with something more powerful than it? What, since they so value Systems and the Faith that sustains them, to the point that losing Faith in your System causes a full on collapse of the world it holds together(see:Canaan), is more powerful in this game than the power of belief?

[takingcourage]

Jaime x MC Fluff Alphabet

Part 1 of 2

Pairing: Jaime x MC (Arden)

Word Count: 5,650

Note: July 8 marks the first anniversary of the Wishful Thinking finale. I’m still not over Jaime Lewis, and this seemed like an excellent opportunity to check in with him and Arden through a series of drabbles. Since I’ve already addressed some of these topics in previous fics, I’ve linked the relevant stories below as well.

I plan to release Part 2 within the next week. I hope you enjoy! : ) 

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them? 

Swatting away the sweat bee that was hovering around her neck, Arden trudged through the grassy acreage that lay between her and Jaime. They were still hours from the full heat of the day, but the air was muggy enough to drown in.

“You forgot your water bottle back up at the farmhouse,” she called once within earshot. 

Jaime dumped the shovelful of dirt onto the pile beside him and leaned a forearm on end of the handle. “Thanks.” He peered at her through one eye, the other blinking rapidly to dispel the sweat. 

“Next time, I’m bringing a bandana for you too.”

Taking a swig from the bottle, he pulled it back with a shake of his head. “My hair’s fine how it is.” 

“I’m not disputing that it’s fine, just that it’s impractical in this weather. Come to think of it,” she mused, shielding her eyes with her hand, “so is that shirt you’re wearing.” 

A sly smile crossed his lips as he squatted to set the bottle on the ground. “You sure you’re really here to help the people of Oak Hills, Arden?” 

She brushed the question aside with the wave of her hand. “I wouldn’t still be coming out here if I weren’t. But the day’s only getting hotter. Going shirtless would clearly be the most logical course of action.” 

“Uh-huh,” he drawled. “I’m onto you, Mrs. Lewis.” 

Squinting against the mounting sun, Arden cast an appreciative eye over his form. “And I’m looking forward to having you all to myself, Mr. Lewis.” 

Jaime sighed in feigned exasperation, but she didn’t miss the decisive wink before he returned to work. 

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

“Jinx.” 

A momentary sliver of green appeared between the calico’s eyelids. 

“Jinx,” she tried again, skimming a knuckle over the curve of the cat’s spine. “You know this isn’t your bed.”

Both eyes remained firmly shut. 

Jaime stretched an arm over Arden’s pillow to stroke the feline behind the ears. “She’s used to getting away with it until you go to sleep. You’ve thrown her off her whole routine coming to bed so early.”

"Well, she’s not getting by with it tonight. She’s just going to have to find somewhere else to sleep.” 

With a chuckle, he pulled the hand away and propped himself on his elbows. “Want me to move her for you?”

“I’ve got it.” Sliding both hands under the mass of fur, Arden transferred the cat to the foot of the bed. “There you go, princess. Sleep well.” 

Jaime had thrown back the blankets for her by the time she returned. “It’s nice to fall asleep with you again. And seeing you in these is definitely a perk.” She looked up in time to see his gesture toward her satin sleep set. 

“You mean the pajamas you bought me for my birthday? What a surprise,” she ribbed, scooting over toward the middle of the mattress. “Though they are super comfy.” 

“And they look amazing.” 

Lips curling at the tired, yet sincere compliment, she unlocked her phone and began scrolling through her personal emails.

“Seriously,” he continued. “I think I need you to wear them around the house all the time. Your hips look incredible.”

Arden looked up from the screen, “They’re just hips, Jaime.” At his dumbfounded expression, she shook her head and laughed. “There’s nothing special about them.”

“You don’t understand,” he countered, reverently stroking the arc from her knee to her waist. “They might be my favorite part of you; they’re absolutely gorgeous.” 

“And you’re an absolute flirt.” She bit her lip with a grin and leaned out of his reach to plug her phone onto the nightstand charger. The disappointment she heard as she moved away was visible in his eyes as well. 

“Not that I’m complaining,” she clarified as she snuggled back into the mattress beside him. “Besides, if this is the reception I get for coming to bed early, I might have to do it more often.” 

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.? (See also In Stasis, Back to Bubbly, and Flat)

Jaime could hear the panic in her voice when he called to check in over lunch. His fiancée’s words were measured and controlled, but he’d known Arden too long to ignore the shakiness that came along with each inhale of breath. 

“It’ll get done,” she assured from the other end of the line. “We’ll make it work. Anyway, I’ll probably be home late tonight, but I can’t wait to see you.”

She begged off moments later, leaving Jaime with the smiling picture of her that popped up from his contacts. From the sound of things, she was a long way from the happy, carefree Arden she’d been when that photo had been taken. 

With less than a week before tapings began for The Ellen and Arden Show, she was more stressed than he’d ever seen her. She was getting by on only a handful of hours of sleep, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d successfully convinced her to take a break from her work. 

Her strong work ethic was one of his favorite things about her, but she was approaching this phase of life with a bit more can-do attitude than he would have liked. That stubborn independent streak of hers was back in full force. If it weren’t for her insistence that he continue his normal work schedule, he’d be there with her now. 

Slipping the device back into his pocket, he surveyed the worksite and ticked off the tasks that remained. Edge sanding, screen sanding, staining... As he sorted through grits of sandpaper, his thoughts kept slipping back to Arden. He could easily have the first coat of stain done by 5:00. After that, he’d go to the studio and see what he could do to help.

Maybe it was time to remind her that she didn’t need to handle everything on her own. 

_____

She was busy when he strolled into the studio -- too busy to notice he’d arrived until he was standing across from her at one of the staff writing tables. “Hey!” she jolted, her reddened eyes trying to focus on his face. “Is everything okay?”

Jaime lifted a thick brow. From the mock scowl she gave in return, she’d taken his meaning. 

“I’m fine, Jaime. I just don’t know how we’re supposed to start filming in three days when our set still looks like that!” She pointed at the bare-bones stage on the other side of the room. “The electrician had a family emergency, and we still haven’t gotten the custom flooring that we ordered from the store downtown.” 

“Listen,” he urged, stretching out a hand to help her up from the chair. “When we head out of here tonight, I promise we’ll be leaving things in much better shape. But I need you to do two things for me first.” 

“What?” she inquired, her tone verging on apprehensive. 

“Let me hug you.”

In spite of her initial reluctance, she stepped willingly into his arms. “What’s the second?”

“Eat some dinner while I take stock of where you’re at.”

“But I don’t have time to--”

“There’s a bag of Chinese in your makeup room.” He dropped a kiss on her crown as her grip tightened around his waist. 

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in makeup since we were, like, nine.” Arden took a step toward him and he dipped closer to hear the words she murmured next. “It’s kind of hot.” 

“What? There’s no way that’s true,” he countered, hoping that the makeup was enough to conceal the blush that was stealing across his face. Two months into married life, he still turned to putty every time she used that tone.

“Did Maggie even touch your hair? It looks the same as always.” 

“Just some hairspray.” 

Mumbling something about the unfairness of genetics, she sashayed over to the mic station for final adjustments. Within minutes, they were ready to begin. He joined her on the stage and waited for the lead cameraman to give them the signal. 

Beside him, Arden slipped easily into her on-air persona. “Looking for something to do over the long weekend? We’ve got a project that’s fun, easy, and good for the environment. It’s great to do by yourself, with friends, or even with your kids. Here to help demonstrate, we have a very special guest...” 

Jaime tried to look into the cameras as she completed the introduction, but it was difficult to drag his gaze away from her. Seeing her in her element like this -- getting to be a part of it -- was nothing short of amazing. 

“Thanks, Arden,” he took over, finally directing his attention toward the studio. I’m going to show you how to make a window box planter out of things you probably already have around the house...” the narration slipped from his tongue with the ease of practice. They’d been planning the segment for weeks, and he’d lost track of the number of rehearsals they’d put on in the garage. 

She followed the steps as he began the demonstration, and he caught her quiet giggle as she showed off the tools on her workspace. 

They’d worked on projects together dozens of times, yet this experience was something new. It was a true intersection of their interests: a sign of what the two of them could do when they pieced their talents together. And although it was his first appearance on The Ellen and Arden Show, he had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t going to be his last. 

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive? 

“What was the order you just tried?” Arden bellowed, popping her head out of the small coat closet. “3-1-5-7-8? Try 3-1-7-5-8 instead. I think the diagram shows that the third number is 5, not 7.”

With the flick of his wrist, Jaime tested the new series of numbers. Feeling the tension of Arden’s gaze, the thanked his lucky stars for the old rotary phone he’d found at Paula’s one summer. He’d never have guessed that his days of dialing fake numbers in the attic would come in so handy. 

As the dial returned to its original position, a mechanical click came from the door on the opposite side of the room. 

“C’mon! We’ve got to see what’s in the bathroom.” 

He’d just had a chance to complete a once-over of the tub before Arden burst in behind him, tossing open all the cupboards in her frenzy. In self preservation, he stepped back and flipped through the almost-familiar pages of the appointment book they’d started with half an hour before. Having noticed the prevalence of leaf-inspired last names, he started comparing entries against the trees he could see through the painted window. 

“We’re down to... 27 minutes,” she reminded after a brief pause to consult the digital readout above the main door. “If we fail this, that serial killer is coming for us with a hatchet. I refuse to die that way.” 

With an absent nod, he flicked through another few pages, grateful that she couldn’t see the way his eyes had rolled upward at her latest outburst. 

“Here, just let me do it,” she insisted, sliding behind him to trade places in the tiny room. “You go over to the sink and try to figure out the order on these medicine bottles.”

Sighing, he surrendered the book and made his way to the counter. Who decided escape rooms made for fun dates? This is awful. He craned his head out the door for a peek at the clock. Phew. Only 26 more minutes. 

Arden’s head spun over her shoulder. “This is fun, isn’t it? Why do you not sound like you’re enjoying it?”

Studying the labels on the bottles, he offered a distracted, “It’s fine. We can talk about it when we’re out of here.” 

She casually dropped the appointment book on the tank of the prop toilet, eyes locked on him as the cardboard hit porcelain. “This is no good if we’re not a team. What’s wrong?”

“It just feels like you’re coming on a little strong here,” he admitted, running a thumb along the lip of the glass bottle. “Like you’re trying to do all of this yourself because you think I can’t. I know I’m not as good at this stuff as you are, but I’d like to think we can work together.”

She sidled next to him again, but this time he had her entire focus. “My bossy side really comes out when I’m under pressure, doesn’t it?” 

Cocking his head to the side, he offered a reluctant nod. 

The next thing he knew, she’d hopped onto the tips of her toes for a kiss. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.” 

“I know,” he assured, feeling a new sense of confidence as her lips met his. “Ready to kick butt for the last 24 minutes?”

“Let’s make it twenty,” she challenged, reaching for the address book. 

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting? (See also OTP Prompt #25) 

Lukewarm coffee in hand, Arden extracted herself from the car and proceeded up the steps of the porch. As she’d come to expect on the days when Jaime worked from home, the front door was unlocked.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” her husband greeted as she latched it behind her. He appeared a moment later, his thoughts matching the warmth of his face. 

In spite of the splitting force between her temples, Arden grinned in return. Jaime wasn’t a cure for headaches, but he had quite a talent for making her forget about them.

“Come with me.” He hoisted the heavy briefcase off her shoulder and caught her fingers with his other hand. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” she giggled, allowing him to take the lead as they wound through the entryway and into her office.

“Tada!” he announced, pulling her onto the carpeted floor.

Beside her desk sat the cabinet she’d purchased a couple of weeks before. It looked even better in person than it had online, and it filled the space between her desk and window perfectly. But even so, the pressure in her head returned as a tidal wave. As she stepped closer, it crashed over her in a torrent of hot tears and shallow breaths. 

“It was on the front porch when I came home for lunch, so I decided to put it together as a...” His words fell short as he glanced back at her. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“I wanted to do it.” 

She knew the complaint sounded shallow and pathetic, but she’d been operating on a short fuse for the better part of the day and her patience had worn extraordinarily thin. 

“I had no idea,” he whispered, concern etched in his brow. 

“It’s such a stupid thing to be upset about, but I was looking forward to building it,” she admitted, plonking her travel mug on the desk in front of her.

“You’ve been working such late hours the past several weeks. I thought it would be nice for you to come home and have it done.” 

With his explanation, it was easy to see how he’d come to such a conclusion. “True,” she conceded. “But sometimes it’s nice to work on something that has an actual, finished product.” 

His full lips teased a smile before he opened them to speak. “If that’s what you’re looking for, I have a suggestion.” 

“Hmm?”

“You remember those brownies I was telling you about last week? The ones Kyle brought to the worksite?” 

“Yeah?”

“I got the recipe from him today, and we have all of the ingredients we need  in the cupboard. Maybe we could test them out together? We’d have a finished product.”

“And we’d get to eat the finished product,” she highlighted, eyes widening at the prospect. “I think that’s exactly what I need. You’re brilliant, Jaime.” 

Beaming, he tossed the hair out of his eyes. “Meet me in the kitchen once you’ve changed?”

“You’ve got a deal,” she agreed, already making a beeline for the upstairs bedroom. 

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

“I received an email from Tara Simpson yesterday afternoon, out of the blue,” Jaime began, breaking the post-breakfast Saturday lull. 

“Who?” Arden gave her coffee a vigorous stir until she was satisfied with the rich caramel color.  

“The Northbridge Parks and Recreation Director,” he clarified, pouring himself another mug. “She’s interested in getting my feedback about a trail project for Memorial Park. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” 

Cup already on its way to her mouth, Arden took an extra-long drink to buy herself some time. Her eyes narrowed as she leaned a hip against the countertop. “She's probably heard that youv’e been helping clean the mountain trails outside the city.” 

Jaime’s eyebrow dipped with suspicion. “That park is owned by the state. It’s outside of her jurisdiction.” 

“Eh, she must have heard people talk about it.” With a shrug, she pulled open the dishwasher and slotted her spoon into the plastic basket. ”There are a lot of people who love what you did out there.”

Brooding over his still-steaming mug, he watched her behavior curiously. “I know you had something to do with this, even if you won’t admit it.”

Arden knew her husband was smart and capable, but sometimes she managed to forget just how clever he was in addition to everything else. She wasn’t sure how he’d found out about her involvement, but denying it further wasn’t any use. 

“I might brag about your work from time to time. If people hear that bragging and decide to contact you for services...” her voice rose as she let the implication linger. 

“Then thank you for being my cheerleader, even when I don’t know it.” 

“You’re welcome.” With an impulsive sigh, she returned attention to her mug. Hopefully his cleverness wouldn’t extend to finding out about the hints she’d been dropping in the governor’s ear during the last soirée they’d attended together. She never meant to meddle, but he was the perfect solution to so many of the community’s needs. She couldn’t help wanting to hype him up as much as possible. 

“You’re looking pretty shifty over there. Am I about to get a call from the mayor too?”

Arden nearly choked on the sip she’d just poured into her mouth. “Something like that,” was the only reply she could eke out. 

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Basket of clothes perched on her hip, Arden stared after her husband’s retreating figure as he passed by the laundry room. Jaime was acting suspicious. 

He’d fallen into many of the same patterns he had at Christmastime: trying to keep his distance when they were both home at the same time, working for hours inside the freezing garage instead of coming inside to use the table, having sneaky conversations with Opie when he didn’t think she was within range to hear...

He was trying to plan a surprise again. She just knew it. 

Not knowing anything else was starting to drive her wild. 

Just like Christmas, she was certain to overhear details sooner or later, but she wasn’t sure she had the patience for happenstance. Readjusting her hold on the basket, she followed him up the stairs to their bedroom. 

“So...” she drew out in an inviting tone as she dumped the warm clothes on their bed. “Our anniversary is only a month away. Have you thought at all about how you want to celebrate?”

He took a step toward the bed and snatched the collar of a T-shirt to begin folding. “I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing solid.” Technically, that’s true. 

“Technically?” Arden asked, scrutinizing every movement as he tucked in the sleeves and set the folded square on the mattress.

Don’t think about it. Nope! I’m thinking about...fire engines. And walruses. Totally random things. 

She was right! His thoughts were only this evasive if there was something he was trying to hide. Arden got his attention by tossing a pair of socks at his shoulder. “Are you trying to keep something from me?”

“No...” he attempted feebly, returning the sock roll to the small pile she’d started. 

“You’re such an awful liar, Jaime. Even before my powers, you were never any good at getting things past me.”

“I’m not lying, but I’m not going to tell you everything right now either. You’ll find out eventually.” With that, he kissed her cheek and vacated the room before she could overhear anything else. 

A little put out by his abrupt manner, she couldn’t resist asking, “What happened to being an open book?” 

“I’m not keeping you from reading it,” he called back from the stairway. “I’m just making sure you do it in the right order to avoid spoilers!”

She turned back to the laundry with a grumble. It looked like she’d have to wait for happenstance after all. 

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

“...then I’d like to get some ajuga for this big patch over here. I’ll get plenty so we have it for...”

Jaime’s words were interrupted as she caught the motion of her father’s front door swinging open. “Hey, dad!” she waved through the fence. Harry ambled to the near side of the porch to survey their work in the flowerbeds. 

“Hi, pumpkin. Your yard sure is looking good.”

“We’re coming for yours next weekend,” Jaime promised with a smile. “I was just telling Arden about what I’m planning to use for ground cover by the stairs. How’s your morning going?”

“Can’t complain. But my remote died and the channel is stuck on the news. Do you happen to have any spare AAA batteries? It’s almost 11:00, and I wanted to watch that new show on the History channel.”

He’s getting a whole crate of batteries for Christmas. 

Hearing Jaime’s thought, Arden had to avoid his face to hold in her laughter. 

“Lemme check,” Jaime volunteered, slipping off his gloves before making a quick trip into the house. Wasting no time upon his return, Arden watched from the flowerbed as Jaime vaulted himself over the fence and sprinted to pass the box to her father through the porch railing. Smothering her giggles under her gardening glove, she almost managed to go undetected. 

“Here you are, Harry. If you’ll excuse the sound behind me, I think your daughter is laughing at me.” 

“It’s better than laughing at me, I suppose. Thanks!” 

“Enjoy your show. See you for dinner!”

Returning to the fence, Jaime propped his arms on the pickets and stared down at her. “What’s so funny over there?”

“You’ve always given me so much crap for scaling the fence to come and see you that first day.” 

“You were right: it was a lot faster than going to the gate.” As if to demonstrate, he hitched his leg over the fence and dropped back into their yard.

“I’m glad we finally agree. Looks like I’ve rubbed off on you after all.” 

Approaching, he squatted down in front of her and brushed the errant strands of hair back under her bandana. “And where’d you pick up this sudden love of gardening?”

Though he posed the question in jest, his brown eyes were tender as well as teasing. 

“Touché.” Weed pulling had become unaccountably satisfying once it was their flowerbed she was tending. “I guess we’re both rubbing off on each other.” 

“Funny how that’s still inevitable after all this time.” 

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Opie rolled to face him on the area rug, staring up at Jaime with soulful eyes. He gave the dog a good scratch behind the ears, increasing his speed as the animal’s tongue lolled out one side of his open mouth. 

Arden snickered from the end of the couch. 

“Are you laughing at Opie’s tongue action?” Jaime rubbed the dog’s muzzle, letting out a chuckle of his own as the creature wriggled closer. 

“No, look at what Maggie just sent me.” 

He did as instructed, his fingers brushing her calf as he took the device from her hands. “Is this on ClickIt?”

“Yeah. They’re writing cringy listicles about us now. Guess that means we’ve made it big.”  

“23 Reasons We All Love Arden Gale,” Jaime read aloud, though the words felt almost foreign in his mouth. He was used to reading Arden’s writing, but reading what other people wrote about her was an entirely different matter.  Feeling his hackles rise, he thumbed through the entries with trepidation. 

Her hair, her smile, her puns... Not even halfway through the list, his head was spinning at the bizarre sensation of seeing his wife’s image on the familiar site. 

#14. Her pencil skirts. Seriously, have you seen her hips? 

His finger slowed before reversing course. 

“The one about my hips?” she asked knowingly.

“Yeah. I mean, they’re not wrong. You know how i feel about them. It’s just... I can’t believe people are posting stuff like that.” 

“Does it make you jealous?” Slipping off the couch, she sat cross legged beside him on the rug. Jaime accepted the hand she placed in his lap, sighing contentedly as she wove their fingers.

“Nah, jealous isn’t the right word. I think it’s just a little strange to see people say that stuff about you online. You’re gorgeous, Arden. That’s not a secret. But it feels like they’ve turned you into an object. They’re missing the essence of what makes you amazing.” 

She squeezed his hand gently. “It’s part of being in the public eye. Most of them will never know me for real, so they’re just writing about what they can see. Not everyone knows me the way you do, babe.” 

“Thank goodness for that.” 

Arden giggled against his lips before pressing forward in a kiss. 

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

“I choose...Arden.” 

“it’s your turn, birthday girl.”

Determined as she was to ignore her mom’s singsong voice, the flash from her disposable camera caught Arden off guard. She blinked quickly to erase the impression of light from the back of her eyelids, then pivoted on the carpet to stare the freckled boy. The giant red square floated above one of his ears.

“Truth or dare?” he asked. 

“Dare,” she announced, jutting out her chin to show that she wasn’t afraid of whatever he had to offer. Frank didn’t scare her. She’d bested him in last year’s spelling bee, after all. This was her chance to prove that she had guts as well as brains. 

Tucking her flyaway hairs behind both ears, she ignored the pounding in her chest that was almost certain to develop into a heart attack. 

“I dare you to kiss Jaime. On the lips.”

Her whole face turned to fire. Across the circle, the Atterly twins started snickering. A glance at her mother confirmed that her eyebrows had all-but disappeared beneath her feathered bangs. And Jaime? She couldn’t even bear to look in his direction.

“For five whole seconds,” Frank added with a smirk.

“Hey!” Olivia shrieked, “You already said the dare. It’s against the rules to add something else.” Maddie nodded solemnly at her sister’s intervention.  

“Fine.” he sat back against the couch cushion and folded his arms. “One second.” 

“Fine,” she agreed, feeling a surge of pride at how normal she’d managed to make the word sound. She hopped up from the floor and took a pair of steps to where Jaime was perched on a barstool. By the time she reached him, he’d hopped down to the floor. 

“It’s okay,” he promised, though his nerves were evident in his tone. “It’s just a dare.” 

“Yeah, just a dare.” Better get it over with, she thought as her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips. 

Leaning forward, Arden tried to pucker, but she was wincing too hard for the effort to be very convincing. With a deep breath, she pushed herself until her skin brushed his, chanted a silent Mississippi, and jerked away with enough force to incur whiplash.

She knew Jaime’s cheeks were tomato red, but she couldn’t stand to look at anything other than the floor during the journey back to her seat.

Her mother’s exaggerated retching noises, the mingled chorus of “Ewwww”s, and the inevitable “Jaime and Arden sitting in a tree...” were all interrupted by the sound of her best friend scurrying out of the living room. 

“Uh, I’ll be right back,” he explained before bolting out the front door. 

Rattled, but victorious, she reclaimed her spot on the carpet and tried to remember the dare she’d been keeping in the back of her mind for this turn. Unfortunately, all thoughts were centered around a single truth:

For as long as she lived, she was never going to forgive Frank Lipscomb.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Arden? Ar-dennn? 

Her typing slowed as she strained to hear the tenor of Jaime’s thoughts. As they grew louder, she could just make out the tune. 

Arrrrr-den. Arden, Arden, Arden.

Wiping her palm over her face, she marveled at the man’s antics and tried to refocus on the message in front of her. It was a game they played at least once a week. He’d think up a grand declaration of love and move closer and closer, testing how long it took for her to hear it. 

I love you. I love you even though I just tripped over the shoes that you left by the door. Again. 

“Sorry!” she hollered into the hall. “I’ll move them when I’m done with this email.”

He was close enough for her to make out his footsteps now, and it wasn’t long before he appeared in the doorway to her office. 

"Were you singing my name to the tune of that insurance jingle?” Question posed, she rolled away from the desk to get a better look at him. 

Opie’s leash dangled loose from his hands, but the dog was still firmly attached to his heel. “I was. He loved it,” Jaime added, gesturing to the animal beside him. “And that was from all the way in the backyard, too. I think that’s the farthest yet.” 

“It’s like our own personal homing system,” she considered, stretching out a hand to beckon Opie toward her. She heard the faint tinkle of a bell as Jinx abandoned her perch and made her way forward for some attention of her own. Arden lowered her other hand to accommodate both animals. “As long as you’re thinking, I can’t lose you. You thinking nice things about me is just a bonus.” 

“I’m married to a superhero,” Jaime reminded, “How could I ever think anything else?”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic.” Retrieving the hand from Jinx’s back, she prodded his chest with a pointed finger. “But I love you so much,” she admitted, eyes giddy with humor. 

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like? (See also The Girl Next Door and OTP Prompt #10)

The mattress dipped as Jaime climbed back into bed. Arden rolled onto her side while he closed the distance, and they met somewhere in the middle in a tangle of limbs. He’d been away long enough for his legs to be cold, yet the feeling of his skin against her own was still a comfort. 

“It’s pouring down rain,” he informed, the words somewhat muffled by her pillow. “I had to follow Opie around with the umbrella.”

“Poor little guy.” She traced a hand across his shoulder blades, trying to transfer her warmth to him. “And poor you. Thanks for taking him out.”

Jaime kissed her forehead and tugged her leg around his waist. 

They fell into comfortable silence, content in the ebb and flow as their breaths synchronized. Arden could just hear Jinx padding back up the stairs for a post-breakfast nap under their bed. 

“This is nice,” she hummed into his chest. 

“It is.” 

“It’s just a shame our first Saturday as a married couple is so rainy and gross.” 

His chest shook with quiet laughter. “Like you wanted to do something outside in the middle of March.” 

"I’m just saying. It seems like an ill omen or something.” 

Jaime shifted his weight, separating from her just enough to meet her eyes in the muted light. “I think it’s a sign that we need to spend the day testing out all of the blankets people gave us as wedding presents.”

“And drinking coffee.” 

“Of course. With pancakes?”

She huffed in surprise. “I’m offended you even have to ask. Pancakes are a must. We keep that stash of frozen blueberries for a reason.” 

Jaime nuzzled into her cheek, his breath heavy at her throat as he spoke, “I know we’re only a week in, but marriage so far? It’s pretty great.” 

[lorei-writes]

Masamune x Polish!MC

Thanks a lot to @datenoriko​ for suggesting this and for @nad-zeta​ for writing hers (VERY INSPIRING, SERIOUSLY, GO CHECK THOSE OUT) headcanons :D Here’s my version. I wrote for Polish MC in particular, because I didn’t want to be disrespectful and there’s a lot of historical nuance that I could butcher otherwise.

[Note from future Lorei: This is honestly very stupid and I cannot believe I didn’t write it when I was 15, geez.]

Content Warnings: profanities, kidnapping, pain, injuries

Background information & notes:

Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was partitioned by Habsburg Austria, Kingdom of Prussia and Russian Empire. As the result of annexations, the country disappeared from the world maps for 123 years. I will not go into detail about how the situation of Polish people was different in each of the parts, since that’s besides the point, but well - keep in mind that it did differ greatly. One can argue that the marks of it are still visible today, both in infrastructure, architecture and language. 

I was born in the South-Eastern region of Poland and as such, that’s where I’d like my MC to be brought up. 

MC is in no way representative of how each and every woman from Poland is. I tried to write her based on the women of my family, my friends, classmates, basically - the people I’ve seen and spent my time with. 

I will not include anything religion-related, although it is a thing that’s present in lives of everybody (even atheists) here (to be more precise, Catholicism). Why? Because it is a very controversial topic, one of huge complexity.

... There will be profanities, because I love my Polish swearwords - and CURSE YOU ENGLISH. WHEN I YELL THE CURSE I WANT TO SOUND LIKE A FREAKING FERAL ANIMAL

Broken English in italics = broken Japanese.

There will be a dictionary at the end, so don’t worry. 

Masamune

Upon meeting her, he did not understand anything she said - well, none of them did. However, she did rescue lord Nobunaga - a funnily dressed foreigner that seemingly didn’t speak Japanese couldn’t be that bad, could she?

Yet she still was thrown into the dungeon. In his mind, that was the perfect opportunity to investigate on his own. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Masamune sneaked into her cell. Soon, his blade was on her throat.  “ Who are...?” he started, but was instantly cut off by her yelling: “ Czy was tu wszystkich kurwa do reszty pojebało?!” He stood there, staring at her. Seeing his confusion, she pointed at him and then tapped on her temple a couple of times, an unimpressed look on her face. 

Was she suggesting that he was insane? Hah, that certainly was some lass. He laughed loudly and gestured for her to follow him.

Well, it certainly took some explaining, but in the end, she got a job as one of the maids. After all, you hardly need to understand language to sweep the floors and do the cleaning. 

However, she... Didn’t exactly fit in. Not just because of her weird mother tongue - she was taller than most women and not exactly petite. Appearance wise, she resembled the Portuguese missionaries, but that wasn’t exactly this either. 

Masamune came around to “bother” her at times. To his surprise, she started to picking up the basic words by herself. Sometimes, she’d point an object, say something (presumably the name of it in her language) and wait for him to do so as well.

 One day, she did just that while cleaning the floor of a veranda.  “ Chrząszcz.” It took a second to register. Was that really a word? “ Chrząszcz,” she repeated, staring at him. Right, he had to reply, otherwise she’d never stop. “ A beetle.” 

Later that day, he tried to pronounce the word. He couldn’t do it. Actually, he started thinking that she was making it all up. 

That, however, changed once he heard her sing. Unaware of his presence, she continued working, the song filling the air: “Gdy swe oczy otworzyłem Wielki żal ogarnął mnie Po policzkach łzy spłynęły Zrozumiałem wtedy, że Czarny chleb i czarna kawa Opętani samotnością Myślą swą szukają szczęścia Które zwie się wolnością”

To his delight, she started speaking broken Japanese within a couple of months of her stay at Azuchi. Finally, he could satiate his curiosity - or at least he planned to. 

She went out to do the shopping in the afternoon, but didn’t return after the dusk. Thinking something bad must have happened to her, Nobunaga issued a search. Masamune volunteered to lead it. 

She woke up with a start, her head throbbing. She looked around - where was she? It seemed to be a tiny hut of sorts. She got up, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was happening outside through the crack in the door. A man was guarding it. Did she hear a river? Whinny of horses? She had to escape - she search for cracks in the walls, until she found one. She recognized that armour. They were looking for her! She had to make some noise! 

She yanked at the door, but it didn’t want to give out. She banged at it with her fists, yelling: “ Tutaj! Ratunku!”

The kidnapper didn’t understand the weird language, so he didn’t react at first. However, once the heard the approaching horses, he decided he had to silence her. He got inside the hut and gripped her by the wrists, telling her to shut up.

To his surprise, she struggled against him, breaking free of his hold on her.

He pinned her arms to the wall of the hut, threatening to hurt her if she even squeaked.  “ A weźże ty mnie kurwa w nos pocałuj!” she yelled, before headbutting him. 

Surprised, the man didn’t react instantly. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she kicked him hard.

It didn’t exactly work, though. Infuriated, the man wanted to punch her - yet, he didn’t notice the rescue that had just arrived. Masamune stopped his fist in the air. 

Masamune didn’t see her in the couple of the following days, as they all worked to find out who was the person behind her kidnapping - and why was she even considered a target in the first place. 

When he finally met her, he was stunned. Her entire forearms were covered in bruises in the shade of deep purple, almost black. He lifted her hands up, saying: “ I’ll check you up for wounds. Wounds. Check. You.” To his surprise, she shook her head and smiled brightly. “ Boli, znaczy że żyje. Hurt mean alive.”

It dawned on him then - he never really saw her smile before. They were complete strangers, but he wanted to know more.

With the language barier in place, it wasn’t exactly an easy task. Granted, she could understand simple sentences - yet, it wasn’t enough. Masamune was up to the challenge and so, he asked her to teach him her language. 

Given the grammatical cases that influenced form of both nouns, adjectives and numerals, he soon started regretting his choice. The nouns had gender? Two future tenses? And what was up with all those ch-h, rz-ż, u-ó pairs that sounded exactly the same, but somehow weren’t interchangeable? Not to mention how some words seemed to consists exclusively of consonants. Rybołówstwo? -wstwo? 

“ Okay. Your turn.  Na wyścigach wyścigowych wyścigówek wyścigowych wyścigówka wyścigowa wyścignęła wyścigówkę wyścigową numer sześć.” Masamune blinked fast.  “ It was the same word over and over again, right?” “ Nope. Maybe  w Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie?”

It seemed she tried to torture him. Though, having her laugh, even if at him, made him feel warm. 

 One day, he was taking a stroll and heard her voice. This time, however, he understood the words she hummed to herself.  “ Raz i dwa, raz i dwa, Dziewczynka Wojenka na imię ma. Trzy i cztery, trzy i cztery, Dziwne ona ma maniery. Pięć i sześć, pięć i sześć, Wcale lodów nie chce jeść. Siedem, osiem, siedem, osiem, Wciąż o kości tylko prosi. “

“Where do you come from, if you sign about war like that?” he asked. “ Can’t tell you. You’ll think I’m mad.” “ Try it either way.” “ You see, future. But I can’t say wars aren’t a thing anymore. Sadly.”

After that, they spoke for a while. Apparently, her grandparents were both in partisan army. She grew up hearing their stories - or much rather, what little was said about the horrors of the war. What surprised him, though, was her request.

“ Will you teach me how to use a sword?” “ A sword? Why?” “ I can’t be helpless. I have to adapt.” “ That’s the spirit,” he laughed. 

She certainly was a curious creature, one with a will to survive. She was amusing... Although sometimes she did find a way to get on his nerves. 

“ I am NOT cute.” “ You are. You have lisp and can’t say “r” like little child that can’t speak good yet.”

Dictionary & Notes:

“ Czy was tu wszystkich kurwa do reszty pojebało?!” - “Are you all fucked in the damn head here?”, although not exactly. The Polish version doesn’t entail anything that could indicate any connection to psychological disorder or madness. Both “kurwa” and “pojebało”(pojebać) are swear words that would be translated to “fuck”. Recently those words lost a bit of their shocking effect, but if you ask me - you still don’t want your mother to hear you saying those. Under any circumstances. Direct translation would be “Are you all fucking fucked up here?”

“Chrząszcz” - a beetle. However, can we appreciate the nasal “ą” sound and the fact that it’s the only vowel in the entire word? Apparently, it’s hard to pronounce for foreigners :D 

“Gdy swe oczy otworzyłem /Wielki żal ogarnął mnie /Po policzkach łzy spłynęły /Zrozumiałem wtedy, że //Czarny chleb i czarna kawa /Opętani samotnością / Myślą swą szukają szczęścia /Które zwie się wolnością”  - lyrics from song, you can listen to it here. “ When I opened my eyes/ a grief overwhelmed me /Tears run down my cheeks/ Then I understood that // Black bread and black coffee / Possessed by loneliness / Keep searching with their thoughts for happiness/ name of which is freedom” (excuse the translation, I wrote it myself). I don’t listen much to Polish music, but this was somewhere around ever since I remember - I think many people would recognize it? Plus, the theme of freedom seems to be rather common one.

“ Tutaj! Ratunku!”  - “Here! Rescue me!”

“ A weźże ty mnie kurwa w nos pocałuj!” - “ Fuck, kiss my nose.”; There’s another version of with, “pocałuj mnie w dupę” (kiss my ass). This one is more polite? Less crude? Either way, it means “I’m fed up with your bullshit.” Note: weźże is an verb derived from “weź” (to take) by adding a particle “że” at the end. Said particle indicated irritation and frustration. Construction weź + do something (weź idź na spacer - go on a walk!) is basically an order/ a request said with some level of irritation. 

“ Boli, znaczy że żyje. “ - “If it hurts, it’s alive.”/ “If you’re hurting, you’re alive.” ; that one isn’t exactly universal, but it was a huge one for me. I always heard it from my grandparents and aunts. 

Rybołówstwo - ... Fishing. When pronounced, it’s “rybołóstwo” - we still have a cluster of consonants here, but it’s easier to deal with. 

“ Na wyścigach wyścigowych wyścigówek wyścigowych wyścigówka wyścigowa wyścignęła wyścigówkę wyścigową numer sześć. “ - “During the racing event the racing car got ahead of the racing car number six.”; tongue-twister If you were wondering,the adjectives are in bold. The crossed out word is the predicate of the sentence (the verb).

  w Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie  - in Szczebrzeszyn a beetle can be heard from the reed; tongue-twister. 

“ Raz i dwa, raz i dwa, /Dziewczynka Wojenka na imię ma. /Trzy i cztery, trzy i cztery, /Dziwne ona ma maniery. /Pięć i sześć, pięć i sześć, /Wcale lodów nie chce jeść. /Siedem, osiem, siedem, osiem, /Wciąż o kości tylko prosi. “ - song lyrics you can listen to here. Lao Che is a band that I think plenty of younger people interested in rock music will know. “One and two, one and two / The girls is named little war / Three and four, three and four / Strange are her manners / Five and six, five and six / She doesn’t want to eat ice-cream at all / Seven, eight, seven, eight/ She just keeps begging for bones.” ; All the songs from this particular album (Dzieciom - For Children; yes, it’s for adults that used to be children) are stylized to resemble a rhyme for children - at least in the lyrics and at first glance. 

A note: Japanese and Polish “r” are extremely different. Japanese “r” resembles Polish “l” sound a lot - and many children can’t pronounce “r” at first, exchanging it for the “l” sound. In other words, Masamune speaking Polish would have a really hard time due to his slight lisp... And he’d sound like a little child that tries, but fails. :) IT WOULD BE SO CUTE! 

When MC says her grandparents were in partisan army, she means they were part of AK - Armia Krajowa, during WWII. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll let you decide for yourself. I don’t want to make this post any longer. 

“ Seeing his confusion, she pointed at him and then tapped on her temple a couple of times, an unimpressed look on her face. “ -  That’s basically how I’d show somebody another Polish saying “A puknij się w głowę” (Tap yourself on the head), which means “are you nuts”. 

O, yeah. I don’t know if you can find the translation of the entire lyrics online, but if you were curious... You know, hit me up. I can translate them.

... I got too excited.  Would you be mad if I wrote another one of those? I kinda want to... 

Tag list: @datenoriko , @nad-zeta , @tsubaki3192 , @choi-jiyu If you want to be tagged under my future works, let me know (any way works)!^^ Also, if you have some preferences (for example: you’d rather not be tagged under some series, etc.), please, tell me.

[mysmediscord]

Hallows Entry

HALLOWS WRITING CONTEST ENTRY #6 Written by: Someonespecialokay#6844 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───            It was the night of Halloween and the RFA had planned the night full of fun festivities. MC had suggested they all go to a horror house and end the night by watching a movie. The others agreed, of course, knowing it would be fun. Zen scoffed at how Jumin did not know the so-called “horror house,” MC however in this situation smiled her usual gentle smile and bravely told him she'd lead him through it. Zen said that he would be one to MC’s knight in shining armor while Jaehee sighed at the usual chaos. Seven bribed Yoosung into sticking with him, telling him he’d offer him Honey Buddah Chips and had allowed him to play on his fancy computers.  The bunch walked into the Halloween event center, each splitting up into groups, Jaehee tagging along with Zen of course; as the group walked they noticed the haunted maze and decided to give that a try first. “I recommend splitting up for this one, it’ll be more fun~” Seven had suggested. “So you mean we’d be all alone?!” Yoosung reclaimed. “Hm, seems interesting, I’m sure I’ll make it out first of course,” Jumin stated confidently. “Why you?! Why are you so high on your horse, obviously I’ll be the one to finish first!” Zen exclaimed. “Hm, I think Jaehee will be first to make it out!” MC remarked, “She’s so cool and composed and used to hike so this will be easy for her!” Jaehee turned a bit flustered at MC’s remark and thanked the girl. “Don’t forget that it’s a haunted maze everyone!” Seven recalled, peering at Yoosung. The group then split up saying their own remarks and head confidently or somewhat confidently forward. Yoosung was slowly walking, his guard was on  for anything that was about to pop out. As he walked he felt something creep on his back before noticing a fake spider, he quickly brushed it off in a state of panic. As he turned a zombie popped up and had screamed in front of him in the dark maze. Yoosung let out a yelp and tripped over his feet and had fallen. He got up and noticed a tall slender figure run into the distance. Something struck inside of him, and deep in his heart, he knew that figure meant danger. His sixth sense kicked in as he ran from the area continuing into the maze. Jaehee was not phased at all by the pop-ups and monsters, she quickly shrugged everything off and confident in her martial arts she knew she would win this, after all, MC was the one who had faith in her, nothing can be more precious than that. She could easily tell and see the people behind the costumes and found the spooky decoration rather cute so to speak. It was very festive indeed and she mentally made note of tips for a future C and R Halloween-themed project. She quickly walked through the maze remembering where she came from and avoided most dead ends when an eerie vibe came over her. She quickly turned and saw a shadow leave the path she was on and decided to not pursue the figure, whatever it was, it was trouble alright. Zen was pouncing and mumbling curses of Jumin under his breath as he walked through the maze, in the moment he was so angry that he barely noticed the “monsters” trying to scare him at the turns. He continued vowing he would win when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see who it was and noticed a Tall silhouette dressed in all black and a mask standing there silently. “Hey sorry man but right now I’m not in the mood! Look! I’m not scared so just leave please,” however the figure didn’t listen and stood there silently with his hand on Zen’s shoulder. The person seemed to be slightly shorter than Zen as he felt a bad feeling overcome him. He simply brushed off the man’s hand and walked off. However the figure didn’t stop and started to follow Zen, and as Zen started to pace so did the man, and as Zen started to run so did the man.  “Look! This goes far beyond trying to scare someone!” Zen yelled as he ran out of the maze. “Hey we’re out of the maze, so stop following me and do what you were paid for!” The figure simply stood there for a bit, then slowly walked away back into the maze. Zen let out a sigh of relief and went to sit on a bench before encountering Yoosung, the both reunited and talked about the same thing, the figure they had seen. As they spoke laughing at the situation the others were still in the maze.  Jumin strode through the maze with confidence finding the “monsters” interesting, “Hm so this is what the commoners label as scary, I see,” the CEO in line thought. His thoughts were interrupted when a slender man dressed in all black and mask approached him. The figure stood right in front of Jumin not budging an inch. “Pardon, but can you move,” Jumin ordered. The figure still had not moved a muscle. Annoyed at this Jumin walked forward towards the figure turning to complete the maze when the man grabbed his arm, as Jumin tried to yank his arm away the figure let go, and before Jumin could balance himself the figure had runoff. Jumin stood in confusion and slight anger at the situation before continuing the maze. Seven had already known about this maze and had known exactly which way to go but took his time going through every corner to see if he could get frightened by anything. As he strolled a tall figure approached him. He felt as if this presence was familiar . . . however he could not recall where from at the moment. The figure didn’t let off a good vibe and Seven raised his guard, keeping in mind the self-defense training he learned from the agency. Seven decided to not continue through the maze and walked out checking to see if the figure would follow. To his suspicion, the figure did in fact follow him out of the maze. Seven then decided to head for the nearby woods and the figure was still trailing behind him, he now knew that this was far more than someone in a costume trying to scare him. He ran into the woods now hurrying and hid, ready to see the man’s reaction. He hid beneath a rock, after a while he then heard the sound of crumbling leaves. It was dark out and Seven had no light source other than the moon and what little light gleamed from the event center. He crept down and waited in silence, hoping the figure would leave . . . However he then felt a tap on his shoulder, “Found you,” said the voice, the voice of one he knew very well. Miss Vanderwood the 3rd. Seven was bewildered at the sudden turn of events. Why was Vanderwood following him? Why wasn’t he at the agency? His thoughts were interrupted when Vanderwood had pulled out something from behind him, a knife. “WOWOW, Miss Vanderwood aren’t you going a bit too far! If this is about work I’ll go just please let me have a fun Halloween just for tonight,”  “Do you seriously think that would work on me? Hah, you have to be joking; you do realize if it’s between you and me, then I of course excel in combat.” Vanderwood plunged forward to stab Seven, Seven swiftly dodged however Vanderwood then swayed down and used his long legs to hit Seven’s ankle and pinned the redhead down. He breathed as he spoke, “I’ve had enough with you . . . people like us aren’t supposed to think of having an easy life. Yet here you are, thinking of having a Halloween party and enjoying it with friends . . . . And enjoying it with the one you love. Seven looked up at Vanderwood’s face and saw what he understood as loneliness. “Vanderwood I-,” “Shut up!” The brunette yelled, and with a thrust, he then stabbed Seven’s shoulder. “SHUT UP! You wouldn’t understand because now you have people who you care for as they care for you!” The sudden stab to the shoulder made the hacker cough of blood as he tried to make out words in hopes of having the brunette stop this, “V-Vanderwood, please . . . just let me have this, and-” He was stopped by Vanderwood getting up and thrusting a kick to his side, before he could stab Seven again a helicopter flew over them with the label of C and R. Vanderwood was smart of enough to know that this wasn’t good for him and quickly used his skills of stealth to leave to the scene, he had already planned a place ready to stay in case he failed “taking care” of 707, he was in the agency, after all, running from these kinds of situations was what Vanderwood has excelled at. Jumin and his forces found Seven and wanted to rush him to a hospital when he quickly declined, he had to keep his identity a secret after all. It took much arguing before the two decided on heading to Jumin’s penthouse where he would get treatment there and only there. Meanwhile, Jaehee made it out of the maze first of course, MC coming in second; they were the only two who actually completed the maze. “Jaehee! I knew you would win!” MC gushed as she ran over and gave her a friendly hug, Jaehee returned the hug and gave MC patted MC saying how she wouldn’t have won had the girl not believed in her. The two girls met up with Yoosung and Zen on the benches, as they did Jaehee had gotten a call from Jumin and the group was then aware of Seven’s situation. They would rendezvous at Jumin’s penthouse to finish the night with a horror movie for the Halloween spirit. Zen scoffed at having to stay in the CEO-In-Line’s penthouse and declared that he would only stay for the movie and he’s only doing it to help his hurt friend. The rest of the RFA finally made it to Jumin’s home and rushed to see Seven, he was bandaged up and looked a bit hurt. MC calmly walked towards the boy and gave him a warm hug; the others came in as well and surrounded the boy bombarding him with questions. Yoosung was crying in relief that his friend was okay and he rushed to hug him, “Ouch- Yoosung please don’t squeeze too hard!” “Ahh sorry, Seven!” The group settled everything and prepared the Halloween movie to end the night; the penthouse was surprisingly decorated just like the Haunted maze and event center as if a certain someone was fascinated enough to have preparations made for the penthouse to look befitting for the movie. They gathered around to finally watch the movie, Jumin sat in his own chair stroking Elizabeth the 3rd while Zen and Yoosung sat together on one couch, MC sat in between Seven and Jaehee, Seven and Jaehee both rested their heads on each of her shoulders as she held both their hands. The movie was scary at times with the occasional jump scares and such, and each time Jaehee would be afraid she would nuzzle into MC’s shoulder. Jumin found certain aspects of the movie as a learning experience, while Zen enjoyed it; Yoosung declared that he wasn’t afraid the entire time while 707 was glad that things were much more normal than the beginning of the night. The movie was about a young girl who lived alone in the forest, she lived in a shack promised to her by her witch on one condition, she was to never leave the forest nor make any encounter with anyone. The witch said she’d tend to all the girl's needs so she eagerly agreed to it. As soon as the girl had walked into the dark shack that reeked and was tattered she had instantly regretted it, in the hope to make the girl feel better she gave her a glass of milk to drink. The girl drank the milk, as it was her favorite drink, and then . . . she started to transform into something unheard of, green ooze and slime came from her arms and as she shrieked she fully transformed into a giant sinister green frog. She was covered in warts and hiccupped acid, the witch screamed in joy, “Hah! It worked, ahh you poor fool, couldn’t you see you lay victim to my plan. You are now the Swamp Gas!” The girl couldn’t speak and now was a monster, a monster that was capable of harming others, she was hideous and there was no turning back. The girl then thought, “If there’s no turning back, then sure I’ll be a monster that will be put down into history,” She then stuck her frog tongue out and gobbled the witch. It was payback for ruining her life, she then went on to haunt the forest and scare those who come near it, gobbling many of them. To this day no one knows of the end of Swamp Gas, some say the girl is still there in the woods . . . still in anger about her transformation waiting for innocent people to walk by and gobble them up. The RFA enjoyed the movie; however, MC in particular seemed a bit nervous whenever Yoosung would bring up how silly the Swamp Gas was, bragging about how he wasn’t scared at all. Jaehee had brought some brownies she had made that were decorated with gummy worms for the spirit of Halloween. “Ah before we eat the brownies, everyone knows that we need milk to go with it!” Seven excitedly proclaimed. The help of the penthouse poured each member of the RFA a glass of milk, “Cheers!” Zen started, “Cheers!” Everyone chimed in, even Jumin. As soon as MC drank her milk she walked off to the balcony, a trail of green slime following her. Jaehee took note of this and asked MC about it, “MC- what is that,” “Hmmm what is that you ask,” MC continued to speak, could be what you’re thinking of right now . . . . who knows, maybe I am just a monster.”  ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───