#In an animation however!! Nobody is going to say why didn’t you draw the whole skeleton wow so lazy

[janamensch]

Xiiki!!! She’s my favourite, is it obvious?

[secretbangtnn]

Best Of Me | One

Pairings : →ot7 x reader, poly!BTS x reader

Genre : → vampireau, yandere!au, age gap, gore, obsessive behavior, ddlg/caregiver, poly, fantasy, supernaturals

summary : It’s quite unusual to find a little baby on your doorstep, especially that their area was not of the poorest - you could say that a vampire town was efficient with money and snobby creatures. However over time the first idea of just giving back the little girl seems more and more radical and those moody vampires slowly start perceiving deeper feelings to human they even wanted to kill.

notes ~

So im not really as happy as i wanted to be with this chapter, but its the first one that i needed to translate. Suprisingly Its easier for me to write the whole thing myslef than translating it from my native language. + Remember to leave something and im happy to say that we can start an ask game with the characters from my books

next

Surprisingly this day was awfully ugly for such a beautiful season. Heavy rain was falling on the ground creating the big sheets of wall with those millions droplets that practically covered the whole view outside of the freshly cleaned window.

Tired sigh pierced the quiet, as for the household members, house only causing the weird tension to increase that was there from the early morning. Dark hair of the boy moved with him, now facing the cold, wet window.

Hyung…” Groaned the boy crashing on the couch closing the eyes in the process a little frustrated. Walking just next to him, a little taller man with bright yellow hair, looked at the dark haired one with a tired stare.

“I don’t have time Jungkook, go torture Yoongi or something.” A snort came out of the older one after the not so innocent proposition, as he kept carrying the big basket full of clothes.

And again he was alone. The youngest of the brothers, being the one who never knew what to do with his free time, wandering in the halls and every couch he could spot in their cosy house. His dark chocolate hair falling on his face, a little too long for his liking, but he was too lazy to actually do something with them.

Again that not happy groan left his lips, and wriggling similar to a child that did not get a toy he wanted, in the end forcing him to sit on the couch with a big pout. It was not normal in this household, the whole quiet and calm act, especially considering the residents he shared the home with.

They are more similar to animals than gentelems that appreciate a quiet time. So the weird atmosphere was definitely an unsettling thing for the youngest.

Again looking at the dark view outside the window, he tried to see the cause of all of this. Completely as if something was meant to happen, like the quiet before the storm.

And let me tell you, Jungkooks 6th sense never fails. Just as he thought that maybe just maybe this time he was wrong, a ring echoed in the whole household.

“Someone is gonna open it?!” He shouted being too irritated to even do it himself, despite being the closest to the doors.

Of course, nobody answered. So angry he was at this moment he got up from a nice cozy couch and with heavy steps he came to the big chunk of the wood.

He opened the door not that gently, mumbling an annoyed “what?”

So how irritated he got when he saw nothing, a void, the same doorstep and gate that stood there everyday, now with a big wall of rain to spice up the view. He looked around, now a little confused, while thinking that maybe someone was in the mood for jokes. But how stupid the idea of that was when he remebered, that for his hundreds years of living in this world the first time that actually someone managed to make fun of him was today.

And oh god he started to get so pissed.

So imagine how shocked he was when just before he closed the door he heard a really unusual sound coming from his feets. Unhappy sobs rang in the quiet afternoon immediately attracting his attention.

The young vampire was more than shocked, looking at the child in the pille of pastel colored blankets. Small sobs now increased in a big crocodile's tears with disturbing sounds of the kids crying.

“”No, no, no, please be quiet, we don’t want to wake up the old, ugly, moody grandpa. do we?” He panicked, whispering the words to the child that now laid in his arms. He just prayed that the actual old vampire really didn't take up because of the cries.

As the kid started to calm down, he stared at it with an unreadable emotion. It was a weird feeling, holding the delicate creature in his arm, knowing that just one wrong move, and the child would never cry again.

So what was that feeling that stirred down his stomach as the little creature grabbed his finger with a big open mouth. The sick emotion only made him panic even more, while looking back inside the house.

He decidied,. Sneaking was nothing new for his ninja move, and he strongly believed in his skills of not getting caught with a surprise in his arms. In the end the spiderman socks were a good choice, as their soft material made nearly no sound on the floor.

His stress level went higher with each step that brought him closer to the room that he knew he could not miss. The sound of a knife and cutting rung in his ears is similar to the music in horror music he likes to watch, now making him understand a feeling of pure fear.

Eyes closed while praying that the blonde man won’t turn around catching him in his act. But how wrong he was to believe in such a miracle. Nothing and absolutely gets past Kim Seokjin.

“Jeon Jungkook…” He died, completely freezing in place. Not opening his eyes he waited thinking that maybe it was just his head messing with him, and the blonde boy never actually turned to him. “What have you done again. If I need to clean the mess once again from the ketchup, I'm not going to…”

And as Jungkook thought that nothing can go worse, the little chil laughed a happy giggle while making the grabby hands for his bracelet.

“Jungkook?...What exactly are you holding?” The question like a knife cutted the heavy atmosphere in half. The silence just after that louder than everything he has heard before. He was even sure that he felt his nonexisting heart stopping. “Did you fucking steall a child?! I can’t be…”

“No! It’s not like that I swear I found it on our doorstep.”

“Do you really think think I am that stupid? How even the child could just appear there hm? Rolled there or better flyed on its plush unicorn?”

“Hyung, please you are going to wake up others.” He didn’t even hesitate to beg, looking at the blonde with such terrified eyes. The child in his arms happily munching on his bracelet completely unaware of the tension.

“Why would I care about others! You brought a child Jungkook, how can i be calm!?”

Dark haired unconsciously looked around with gritted teeth, now just waiting for the rest to appear. And he did not need to wait long, as just after he looked back at the blonde, someone came from the other side of the kitchen door.

Tall man with peachy hair and raspy voice, trying to get rid of the rest of his sleep, now scratching his head with confused expressions. Who wouldn’t be confused in this place, seeing a literal child in a house full of old vampires.

“What is this mess all about? You know what hour it is?” Said the tallest one. Blondie one only snorted as if offended while crossing his arms. “What?”

“Nothing.” Oldest mumbled irritated. The tallest only raised his brow, and repeated the question once again. Jungkook being now forgotten with the child trying to catch his attention with little sounds. “You dare to remind me of the hour?! Do you know how many nights I didn’t sleep because of you! If I just could silence you for good, you would have long ago ended like the voldemort, yes i'm talking about that nose of yours”

The taller one immediately touched his nose gasping not believing in what he just heard, now trying to silently disappear from the harash stare of his older brother.

As the peach hired one hid behind a counter, the attention now came back to the snaking Jungkook. More pairs of footsteps rang in the quietness of the home, slowly showing other people.

“Jin-hyung is angry again? What happened I want to see.” Announced the newcomer, sliding on his perfectly white socks.

“Who is angry here?! You want to see how angry I can be you...you…”

“You silly goose?”

“No that's to lame.”

“Dipshit?”

“You dipshit! Thank you Namjoon.” He finished with a red face. The newcomer only rolled his eyes, while making the shortest of the brothers that came with him laugh.

“Since everyone is here…” The tallest started.

“Wait, where is Yoongi.” Asked the red haired one, while leaning on the counter with a mysteriously made coffee.

“Here.” All of them shouted, hearing the sudden voice, and seeing the new person that appeared with a lightning of thunder. “So what’s this mess about?”

Everyone in the room simultaneously looked at the dark haired boy that immediately stopped in his tracks hoping for some power that could help him disappear. All the eyes slowly drifted down his arms, now staring at a bundle of blankets that started to move as if it knew of the attention.

“What is that?” Asked the tallest looking straight at the irritated blonde.

“Don’t ask me, I’m not the one that gives such a stupid example, making those idiots steal children.”

The kitchen is now again quiet, all the eyes on the little creature in the arms of the youngest. Only sound now being the child starting to sob again, making everyone tense.

“Shut it up you morons.” Said second oldest, annoyed at the loud cries. The blonde didn’t waste time, knowing how bad noise is for the black haired. Small body now shuddering because of the sobbing making the oldest coo at the little child.

His arms soon hold the bundle of blanket, trying to calm the kid down with his baby voice. It wasn’t hard to get lost in its eyes, them being mysterious and full of innocence, drawing up the blonde one. His big hand now on its red cheek, trying to feel the texture of the soft skin under his fingers.

And as the cries never happened, the child started giggling again trying to grab Seokjin hands with such a beautiful smile. It was a really soft sight to see making them all calm and giddy inside. But as the child opened its mouth Seokjin's smiles disappeared.

“What the matter?” Asked Namjoon a little bit taken aback by the change of his hyungs mood. The oldest only looked back at the rest of them with a terrified expression.

“It's a human.”

[renegadewangs]

Van Zieks - the Examination, part 11

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Bring on the game's credits! BRING IT! The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo part 2 is here!

Episode 2-5: The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo, part 2

This is the first time in a while that I actually want to try other options to see what happens. The 'accusation' leads to some witty banter with a frustrated Stronghart, but 'report' is one that gets a reaction from Van Zieks himself. Ryu theorizes that 'since Klint was a well-bred and fastidious man, and knowing the end was near, he might have wanted to tie up some loose ends in all of his outstanding business'. Van Zieks immediately replies that his brother had no outstanding business.

DID I JUST GET PENALIZED BY THE DEFENDANT??? Just for implying his brother might've had some loose ends to tie up? Van Zieks really hates it when people show his brother even the slightest bit of disrespect, huh? Well, it's about to get a whole lot worse. Let's go for the confession option! Van Zieks definitely doesn't take kindly to this one.

“What are you saying? Do you even realise?! A confession...about the true identity of the Professor... That, that would mean...”

He fumbled his speech, there. We've never heard him do that before. And he's gone back to that bobbing, unsteady animation halfway into the above dialogue. Ryu insists it's the only explanation that fits. The man who murdered those members of the aristocracy wasn't Genshin Asogi at all, it was the one believed to be the fifth victim, Klint van Zieks himself.

Welp. We broke him. Stronghart remarks that Pandora's box has opened at last, making it clear he already knew what we just revealed. The gallery is outraged.

We've gone from well-bred to thoroughbred, have we? Susato feels very bad for Van Zieks, but Ryu asks himself whether such a brilliant prosecutor never suspected “what his older brother really was”. To clear up doubt further, he asks whether Klint Van Zieks owned a dog. Barok doesn't intend to dodge the facts of the situation, it seems.

Not what the concept art says, but it's possible Klint owned a different, smaller dog before Balmung. Van Zieks talks about how loyal the dog was and how it wore a jewel-studded collar which was stolen from the house “some years ago now”. This implies it was less than ten years ago, and must've been kept in the house as a keepsake even after Balmung passed away. Ryu and Susato bring up that they've seen such a collar; it was Selden's loot in case 2-2. They note the fancy B emblem on it, and this is the first time we find out that Klint van Zieks was a married man. His widow's maiden name was Baskerville. It's a little odd to me that for someone who thought so highly of his brother, Van Zieks never mentioned his sister in law before now. Conveniently, it never came up for the sake of a twist, I suppose. Either way, the emblem confirms the collar they saw was Balmung's. Ryu notes there was a considerable amount of blood on the collar (nobody washed this thing?) and while it could've come from typical hunting trips, it could just as well have been human blood. With that, the gallery begins to lean towards the truth that Klint van Zieks really was the Professor himself. Stronghart seems to have realized there's no way out of this now and announces that 'they may have the truth'.

Here comes that 'true nature' thing again, just worded a bit differently. Van Zieks doesn't intend to shirk away from it, though. He's open to the insinuation that his brother was, in truth, something truly horrible. Stronghart explains that Klint attempted to fight the growing darkness in London, only to end up being consumed by it. He also admits that after the fourth victim fell, Genshin showed up at his office, putting forth the accusation that Klint was the Professor. He didn't have any evidence and needed a warrant to get some, but Stronghart refused to anger the aristocracy based on the accusation of a visiting student, so he sent Genshin away. As a result, the man headed over to the Van Zieks mansion and Klint perished. Stronghart continues to admit that he was responsible for pinning the Professor's crimes on Genshin, right down to ordering Gregson to fabricate evidence. Sure enough, the late inspector's earlier claims ring true: it seems he did genuinely believe Genshin to be the killer, but was reluctant to falsify anything until Stronghart strong-armed him into it. The jailbreak agreement was also part of Stronghart's plan; he manipulated Genshin into agreeing by proverbially dangling his 14 year old son in front of him. Van Zieks brings up one more point: that Stronghart was the mastermind behind the Reaper organization. Not only does he admit to it, he calls it a “brilliant idea” and even takes credit for how his “minions” worked tirelessly to ensure Van Zieks was never accused of being the Reaper himself. What a smarmy bumhole. He insists it was all for the preservation of law and order across the empire, and the gallery is actually suckered into falling for this ploy. It seems as if he's going to get away with his masterminding without decent consequences. Kazuma now has one more question for Van Zieks, and it's the exact one Ryu asked himself earlier; did he never have any doubts about his brother?

“My brother's sense of justice was extremely strong. Perhaps...too strong, I observed. […] During the time of the Professor killings, my brother did not appear to be himself. But it was only once. Not more. Klint wasn't the culprit. That was my conclusion at the time. And I still believe that now. […] The third victim...was the Lord Chief Justice at the time. It was he who had recognized my brother's potential and trained him as a prosecutor. No matter what the circumstances, it's unthinkable that my brother could have killed his friend and mentor!”

So here, we learn that Klint wasn't an infallible paragon of virtue in his brother's eyes. Simply by saying that his sense of justice was “perhaps too strong”, a flaw is being brought to light. Younger Barok saw that Klint's need to ensure justice was overpowering him, and he also saw that during the time of the killings, something was off about his behavior. Enough to have the younger Van Zieks consider, for a brief time, that perhaps the Professor was him. However, the death of the third victim was like a lifeline to him, a flotation device keep him from going under- or perhaps more like a straw to grasp. It offered a sort of justification to him; a firm belief that Klint would never kill his own mentor and therefore he couldn't possibly be the Professor, and Barok was wrong to ever doubt him. However, it was just a very meager excuse to put his suspicions at ease and blind him to the truth. There are, after all, plenty of reasons why Klint would kill that Lord Chief Justice if indeed he were the Professor.

So Stronghart now tries to wrap everything up with a neat little bow, saying that's all the truth they'll be able to get from this trial and he'll present himself at the Ministry of Justice for whatever sanctions are deemed necessary. Since he's the Lord Chief Justice, I can't imagine the Ministry of Justice will give him more than a slap on the wrist. However, he says just a bit too much in his closing statement and Ryu jumps on that immediately. A third page of Genshin's will was hidden from everyone! Turns out, it was a personal message to Kazuma that they never bothered to send to Japan. Governor Caidin conveniently brought it with him and the contents are read aloud after some pressuring. With this last secret message left behind by Genshin, Ryu manages to find Klint's last will and testament hidden inside the Asogi clan's sword. GASP.

Oblivious to the shenanigans playing out in the Court Record section of the game, Stronghart once again tries to end the trial and even goes so far as to say Klint was basically insane when he took his mentor's life (to which Van Zieks objects fiercely). Ryu interjects, saying he has one more piece of evidence to present. When Stronghart calls the very notion absurd, Van Zieks once again raises an objection, pointing out that “this gentleman has an uncanny habit of producing evidence at the final hour that had escaped everyone else's attention.” Which, y'know, is true. That's how Ace Attorney works. I do want to draw attention to the fact that he said “this gentleman” as opposed to “this Nipponese” or even something like “this barrister”. He considers Ryu a gentleman now! So with that, Ryu has the opportunity to shove Klint's will in everyone's face and things escalate very quickly.

Ooh, his speech faltered again. He is shook! And it gets even better when he gets a closer look at the document.

Stronghart panics and demands Ryu hands the document over to him at once. When that fails, he even tries to forcibly adjourn the trial and get everyone to clear the courtroom. If that isn't suspicious, we don't know what is. It sure is satisfying to watch him squirm. Naturally, he can't actually put an end to the trial now- not with so many people watching, so the document is read aloud. It's revealed that Genshin challenged Klint to a duel, so that he might “depart this world with honor”. Klint goes on to write that he finds himself undeserving of this honor and that “the Japanese are a truly merciful people”. So here, already, we get the final nail in the coffin for Van Zieks's entire motivation for racial prejudice and for hating Genshin in particular. Klint never thought ill of Genshin, not even in his final moments. If anything, he was grateful for being put out of his misery and being allowed to 'depart the world with honor'. Genshin's actions were not betrayal; not ever. They were merciful. (COOL MOTIVE, STILL MURDER.) What we also learn is that while Klint did indeed take the life of the first victim on his own accord, he was then immediately identified as the culprit and blackmailed into the next three killings by someone else. You guessed it, it was Stronghart! Despite his earlier panic, he now has a myriad of justification ready, talking about how sacrifices have to be made for the sake of justice and whatnot. He also explains that he was the one who pressured Jigoku into shooting Genshin in the graveyard when Drebber showed up there. He acts like Jigoku is the only one to blame, but considering Stronghart was basically screaming in Jigoku's ear, I wouldn't be surprised if this poor man pulled the trigger by accident simply because he was startled by the shouting. Stronghart was the one who decided that Genshin needed to die and forced Jigoku to act, so Stronghart is the one ultimately responsible. Naturally, Ryu and Kazuma both attempt to argue Stronghart's justifications into the ground. At one point, Stronghart plays the victim card and asks them to acknowledge his 'struggle', but Kazuma insists that this jerk has done nothing and:

WELL. Okay. Looks like we've finally convinced Kazuma that Van Zieks is a victim in this whole ordeal, as well as someone who 'acts justly'. That's a wonderful way forward. With all this out in the open, though, Stronghart offers a literal round of applause. It's true; he's “done nothing” and “merely been surrounded by fools who've acted very rashly indeed”, which means he can't be charged with any crimes. We can't even prove he threatened anyone into doing his bidding, as he says it might as well have been “bargaining”. Thing is, bargaining with someone to end a third party's life is known as “contract killing” and is, in fact, illegal. I can't find any sources to verify whether it was already illegal in 1900 England, but I can only assume so, or people would've gotten away with murders very easily. I guess the bottom line here is that we can't prove Stronghart really did extort or pay anyone to take a life, since there's no material evidence for that sort of thing, nor anyone who can testify on it. Stronghart claims that the minutes of the trial will be heavily redacted to remove matters not related to Gregson's death, in the interest of preserving law and order, as well as to protect the queen. The gallery has now turned against us as well, chanting Stronghart's name.

Here we have a singular opportunity to deviate into the closest thing to a bad ending this game series has. Anyone who remembers the iconic 'the miracle never happen' ending in AA2, or even the bad endings in AA5 where either Trucy or Athena is implied to be killed by Aura, will be sorely disappointed by this one. First, to compare... In the standard ending, no matter how far along you've gotten in the trial- including proving that Stronghart was the Reaper- Van Zieks will still be found guilty. Stronghart will utter the words that he “would like to think however misguided, [Van Zieks] acted out of a sense of justice nonetheless”, and then pronounces the poor man guilty of crimes we've already proven were never committed by him. Now, in this slightly different ending, if you run out of all your penalty points because you fail to present Harely, the dialogue is tweaked. Stronghart declares that for the sake of justice, “the only correct course of action has been unanimously acknowledged by the clear majority here present. All mention of that which has been discussed in this courtroom today will be struck from the records. Barok van Zieks – Or should I say, Reaper of the Bailey... The heinous crimes committed by your brother, Klint van Zieks, will be lost in obscurity, this time forever. May you also find peace now as you join your sibling in the eternal darkness.”

And then, just as in the standard ending, Van Zieks is pronounced guilty and the doors slam shut. So effectively, the only real difference here is that Stronghart really rubs it in our faces that Van Zieks is taking the fall as the Reaper in the eyes of the public. He knows Van Zieks isn't the Reaper- everyone present in the courtroom knows it. However, since the entirely gallery is siding with the real mastermind, the minutes of the trial will be confiscated and destroyed so that the truth will be lost forever. Neither Kazuma nor Ryu reacts to this turn of events on-screen, which is a shame. Van Zieks doesn't fight the adjudication either, he simply accepts the verdict in silence- Hang on, where have we heard that before? Genshin? And didn't Van Zieks say that so long as his death served a purpose, he wouldn't mind dying over being called the Reaper? Stronghart certainly seems to feel that Van Zieks ought to be thrown under the omnibus and sent to the gallows for the sake of minimizing crime in London.

But we're not going to let the true antagonist of this game get away with his bullshit! Time to pull Harely's ears! Cue another (S)Holmeus Ex-Machina where it turns out the entire secret trial has been livestreamed to the Queen of England through holograms. By royal decree, Stronghart is stripped of his title and will be prosecuted for his crimes at a later time. FINAL BOSS, DEFEATED.

With Stronghart out of the way, Van Zieks has some closing sentiments to offer.

“Is that my brother left this world without a word to me.”

I can see why that might bug him. Van Zieks always looked up to his brother and shielded him from disrespect even a decade after his death, but Klint in turn didn't seem to want to leave any parting sentiments for him, not even a simple farewell. That's not the case, though! Susato points out there's actually more to Klint's will than was read aloud, so let's hear it now.

“Barok, you have always looked up to me, and now, you follow in my footsteps to become a prosecutor. It is my fervent wish that my unspeakable deeds should not hinder your advancement. I ask not for understanding, for none could understand my depravity. I ask only for forgiveness. Asogi is a fine detective, and a hunter worthy of respect. He has agreed to honour my final two wishes. The first is that this document survives. The second... I cannot commit to paper. I have confessed my sins to my wife. May she find resolution in my death. With my eternal gratitude to my Japanese friend, I rest my quill.”

Imagine how different things would've ended if the will had found its way to Van Zieks shortly after Klint's death. It would've prevented so much grief and so much prejudice, because if Van Zieks had learned that Klint still regarded Genshin with so much respect and gratitude even in this situation, he would never have blamed him for Klint's death nor considered it too great a betrayal. Everything that happened was in line with Klint's wishes. As it stands now, the words in Klint's will basically serve to scold Van Zieks for his attitude and hatred these past ten years.

Yep, there we go. The final straw. He's been truly, utterly embarrassed and made to confront his mistakes. When Stronghart explains how his ambition to become Attorney General is what prompted him to silence people like Watson and Gregson. Van Zieks asks him whether he ever bothered to count the number of brilliant people he had killed. Kind of a questionable remark, since Stronghart mostly had criminals killed. We don't even know for sure whether Watson was a good person or not; he comes across as a cowardly skeeve. I guess Van Zieks is mostly talking about Genshin, but even that is... Uh...

I received an Ask a while back, bringing up the matter that Genshin appears to be exonerated of any wrongdoing when the truth of Klint's death is revealed. That despite duels being outlawed and it being literal murder, Kazuma seems to take this truth as his father's name being cleared. Indeed, going over everything we've learned so far, it feels as if the narrative has set up both Klint and Genshin, and even characters like Jigoku and Gregson, as victims of Stronghart's manipulation. The thing is, though... Both Genshin and Klint took at least one life of their own free will, Jigoku pulled a trigger twice for the sake of his own career (and recruited someone into an assassin plot), Gregson conspired with a notorious assassin to commit over a dozen murders just because his boss told him it was the right thing to do... Feeling bad about murder or resorting to it because 'the other person is even worse and needs to be stopped' doesn't change that it's murder. It doesn't seem as if Kazuma or anyone else outright says their loved ones are absolved of any responsibility/their names are cleared, but it does really come across as if the narrative wants you to forgive them. So uh... Yes. This is something the game should have properly addressed, instead of just going 'oh, these poor people, all used as puppets by the final boss'.

Anyway, (S)Holmes takes the time to remind Van Zieks that he's the defendant in this case, not the prosecutor. Our old friend Santa Judge returns for the adjudication! Turns out, he was in the gallery all along. (Was he chanting Stronghart's name too?) He talks about how the darkness of the past ten years has lifted, in part thanks to a bright young star from the East. Awww, we've completely won over the judge! Van Zieks now also has something to add.

“I had the faintest of intimations. That if British justice, so warped and twisted over its long history, was finally to know change... This might just be the man to do it. But at the time, I wouldn't allow myself to acknowledge the possibility. I couldn't overcome my hatred of the Japanese, after the circumstances of my brother's death. Mr. Naruhodo...”

He takes a flourishing bow here, an acknowledgment that Ryu is worthy of his respect and perhaps even that Ryu is superior to him, then stands up straight again for the final whammy.

Ryu is shocked and Susato is brought to tears. We did it, y'all. We've secured the full, heartfelt apology. I'm not sure there's really anything to add to this, nor anything we could want from it at this point in time. Ryu doesn't say he forgives Van Zieks for his discourtesies, but considering how hard he worked to get this guy cleared of murder, that would feel kind of out of place. The forgiveness happened long before Van Zieks apologized, or so is the implication. (Is that the correct narrative path? Not at all, but I'll get back to that in the conclusion.) So after some more closing words from Ryu, Van Zieks gets his not-guilty verdict and court is adjourned.

In the defendant's lobby, Ryu feels a bit conflicted about how this whole thing went down. Susato tries to cheer him up by saying that everything will seem much better once he sees Van Zieks's smiling face. Indeed, in most other Ace Attorney games, this would be the point where at last, an emotionally distant defendant/witness drops their walls and allows themselves to smile (or cry). Just think of Gina, Lana Skye or even Athena Cykes when she cries tears of joy during AA5's ending. Hilariously enough, Van Zieks is not one of those characters.

This is a really fun subversion of expectations and Ace Attorney tropes. And I still believe his face got frozen like that. Even so, he's got something heartfelt to say.

“For you to have risen to the level of excellence you demonstrated today... Well, it's quite remarkable.”

Sounds like a hatchet job of a compliment at first glance, but the sentiment is there. It is extremely remarkable for a foreign exchange student who's only been in the country for about 9 months- and who only spent like 2 of those as an active lawyer- to rise to such a level that he not only uncovers the truth of the current case, but of a cold case from 10 years prior, which was part of a huge cover-up. Ryu points out that he exposed a most 'unpalatable truth' in court and that he feels as if he robbed Van Zieks of something precious. Van Zieks doesn't seem to agree. He reminisces on Stronghart's words.

“But that... That was just the feeble excuse of a coward. Only those with a steadfast eye for the truth have what it takes to fight the dark forces of crime. You made fine work of establishing that fact in court today.”

So once again, he's complimenting Ryu's courtroom performance. Not only that, but he's acknowledging (in different words) the earlier sentiment that the truth needs to come out, no matter how painful. Perhaps, indirectly, he's calling himself a feeble coward as well. Ryu and Susato are proud of Van Zieks's growth, with Susato saying that surely Kazuma would be smiling if he were here. Naturally, when he shows up at that very second, he isn't smiling at all. Like mentor, like disciple! Kazuma takes a polite bow before Van Zieks and congratulates him on his acquittal. Naturally, after watching Kazuma prosecute so ferociously for two whole episodes, that doesn't feel sincere. Van Zieks asks him whether he doesn't instead want to curse him. Kazuma apologizes for his earlier behavior, which does feel 100% sincere.

“Your father, Genshin... If I had been stronger, then perhaps... I made an unforgivable error of judgment. … I can offer no excuse.”

One more apology to add to the pile! And here we once again reach that question of whether the narrative is acting like Genshin should be absolved of all blame. In a technical sense, Van Zieks wasn't wrong to prosecute Genshin, since he did seriously murder Klint. That alone is already warranting of the death penalty, so the added crimes of the Professor on top of that don't change too much. However, I don't think Van Zieks's lines truly relate to the Professor trial itself. The error of judgment, in my eyes, can also be seen as the blind acceptance that Genshin betrayed him (as well as Klint) when there was actually far more at play. This notion that Genshin was a horrid traitor who abused their trust and hospitality was then allowed to grow into an irrational hatred which festered for a decade. Regardless of whether Genshin killed Klint, the insistence that the man's true nature was that of a monster was wrong, and I think that's what he's apologizing for. To be clear, he's not apologizing for racist sentiments uttered towards Kazuma or anyone else from Japan with these lines. This purely relates to his treatment of Genshin. However, he already apologized for his many discourtesies back in the courtroom and I think the racist outbursts were part of those discourtesies.

Kazuma says he can offer no forgiveness, which is totally fair. Kazuma isn't obligated to forgive this man. He does, however, admit that he has respect for Van Zieks, since he “fought for justice and the truth”.

Awww! Remember how in my very first 'strong thought about Barok' post, I pointed out that Barok almost appears to have been designed to be Kazuma's rival prosecutor instead of Ryu's? Yeah. Here we see it very clearly. The reconciliation conversation between these two feels like a much better resolution than the conversation between Van Zieks and Ryu.

So now Kazuma brings up that Genshin promised to do two things for Klint, but the second wasn't mentioned in the will. Mikotoba shows up to share a very heartbreaking tale about Klint's unnamed widow, the lady Zieks-Baskerville, who was hiding out in Dartmoor and passed away from childbirth very shortly after Genshin was executed. The newborn baby girl survived, though! Van Zieks blurts out that that makes no sense. “Why on Earth wouldn't Klint have entrusted the child to my care in that case?!” And that alone is already kind of tragic, but what really packs a wallop is this:

This means Klint and his wife deliberately kept the pregnancy from him. It's never explained why. Genshin showed up at the manor in the spur of the moment and Klint died that very same night, when his wife must've already been around 8 or 9 months pregnant. (she gives birth about a week or two later, after all.) Klint says that he 'confessed his sins to his wife', but that also must've been very recent, if not that very same night, since Stronghart was threatening to tell Klint's wife and brother of his misdeeds. Stronghart's hold on Klint would've weakened if he'd told her the truth months ago, which in turn implies the both of them decided not to tell Barok while she herself was still oblivious to the Professor truth. Honestly, it all feels like a vague plotconvenience.

What is explained is why the newborn baby wasn't entrusted to Van Zieks. It isn't because Klint had the amazing foresight to know his younger brother would become a salty, loner alcoholic; it's because he and his wife feared the truth of the Professor might come out. Heck, if Genshin had never been arrested for Klint's death, perhaps it would've come out for certain. “The girl would be forever branded as the daughter of the infamous mass murderer.” So the baby girl was distanced from the Van Zieks family as much as possible, with all of London unaware of her existence. This girl is, of course, Iris.

Right on cue, the Harely plushie activates to receive a call from (S)Holmes and Iris. She invites everyone over to 221B for a feast and makes sure to invite “Mr. Reaper” too. He very awkwardly declines the offer.

Humanization? Humanization! He does, however, give Iris his word that he'll present himself at 221B in the near future to express his gratitude. I think a big part of why he declined the offer was because he wouldn't feel at home during the big celebration when a whole group of people is there. He'd much rather visit Iris during a more quiet, private moment and that's sweet too. Plus, I don't think he's in the mood for a celebration, considering all the horrible truths he's learned in a single day.

So now Kazuma prepares to leave and asks Van Zieks to accompany him. The wording of “would you care to-” makes it very clear this isn't a demand, it's a very soft request that Van Zieks is free to decline. Not that he hesitates for even a second. Here's some more parting words.

“I believe... You saved my life.”

He takes a deep, flourishing bow and honestly I've lost track of how many times he's praised/thanked Ryu by now. More than Edgeworth thanked Phoenix, most likely. The prosecutor duo prepares to walk away, but Ryu calls after Van Zieks, asking him to wait. Which he does. Ryu asks him what he intends to do now.

... “Prosecutor van Zieks chooses death”??? In a way, he's thinking of pulling a similar move. He intends to publicize the full truth of the Professor, and I can only imagine that includes Stronghart's involvement in what went down 10 years ago. Maybe he'll even share the truth of the Reaper who's haunted the courtroom all these years. He believes that “once that's done, the Van Zieks family will be ostracised completely from London society.” (I don't think he means living family members, but rather, the legacy of the Van Zieks name and the rights associated with it.) So because of that, he intends to leave the capital as soon as he's free of his employment. Considering how easily this man took a five year sabbatical and adding in the fact that the Lord Chief Justice just got arrested, I expect his resignation could be as easy as packing his desk and leaving his office without saying a word. Kazuma, however, calls him a fool and a coward. He basically dares Van Zieks to keep going now that he's finally freed from the pseudonym of the Reaper. Van Zieks neither agrees with the sentiment nor shoots it down, instead saying it's unexpected to hear those words from Kazuma of all people. With that out in the open, they leave for realsies.

Just as Van Zieks doesn't attend the Baker Street party, he isn't there when Ryu's at the docks to return to Japan. I like to think Kazuma did bother to tell Van Zieks that Ryu is leaving the country, because withholding that information seems like a bit of a jerk move, but... Well. Not showing up at the docks to say some final farewells is even more of a jerk move on Van Zieks's part. Though it's possible he felt he wasn't wanted there, and may eventually ask for Ryu's address so he can write a letter (which is far less imposing than invading a heartfelt farewell with a scowling face). It's a shame, though. I would've liked to hear his thoughts on Ryu's departure.

We learn that Kazuma will “stay in Lord van Zieks's tutelage for the time being” to become a full-fledged prosecutor. Which is fine, I guess. It doesn't matter whether he's a defense attorney or a prosecutor; all that matters is the pursuit of the truth. What catches my interest is that even with all that bad blood and refusal to forgive Van Zieks, Kazuma still agrees to keep studying as his disciple. This implies to me that he sincerely doesn't believe Van Zieks to be a bad person anymore, and acknowledges he can learn a lot from this man. Which is not the same thing as being on friendly terms with him, but at the very least he's giving Van Zieks the benefit of the doubt when it comes to improving their... Well, their dynamic, I suppose I should call it.

On to the credits scenes we go! This time, Van Zieks legit does get a scene of his own, but before we address this one, I want to skip ahead real quick to Albert Harebrayne's scene.

“He sent me a very nice letter saying he'd like to show me around now that everything was settled. B-But what have I done? I was so excited, I picked this splendid hotel and now I can't afford the bill! Oh Barok! Come to my rescue again, please! I, I wish I could just vanish into thin air sometimes!”

Several things of note can be taken out of this little scene. First of all, with the Reaper nonsense behind them, Van Zieks seems to have wasted very little time with asking his best buddy to return to London for that sightseeing that was promised. Presumably, he even paid for the trip (again), since Albert still seems to be very low on money. This, coupled with the fact that Van Zieks was reading that letter with quite a bit of dedication in his jail cell, indicates to me that he's longing for the good old days, when he could smile and have friends. He's trying to return to a sense of normalcy and since Albert is still considered his closest friend, it makes sense he'd reach out to him instead of a relative stranger like Kazuma. Baby steps. Now, the fact that Albert says “come to my rescue again” sets the very clear tone that this guy believes Van Zieks has helped him before- during the trial, of course. It's another reinforcement of the notion that Albert is thankful Van Zieks chose the role of prosecutor in order to defend the teleportation theory, even if it meant that he himself would be branded a murderer. Despite his gruff exterior and blunt words, Albert thinks of Van Zieks as a sort of knight in shining armor who will come save him. … With cold hard cash, in this case, but it's the gesture that counts. Van Zieks might allow Albert to stay in his mansion instead, but it depends how high the risk of assassination is at this point in time. People are probably hating on the Van Zieks family now that the truth of the Professor is out.

On to credits scene of Van Zieks himself! We have confirmation by now that he hasn't retired as a prosecutor, since Kazuma already expressed his intent to keep studying under him. So we see Van Zieks in his office, addressing Klint's painting.

“In those days, when I was known as the Reaper, I felt your presence at my side. Once, unable to bear the burden of that grim pseudonym, I even retired from the courtroom. Despite everything, I still wear your prosecutor's badge with pride. But the darkness that beset me is no more. As you, too... Are no more.”

The first two sentences of this bit feel very disjointed and barely related to me, so I had a quick look at some fan translations. First is the sub translation on Youtube: “I could feel you standing by my side through the days in which I was called the Reaper. Yet there were times I could not bear the burden of that name, and left the courtroom far behind me.” The “yet” is very crucial, since it makes the insinuation that feeling his brother's presence was very important to Van Zieks, but the burden became so overwhelming that he retired anyway. Taisa the Gamer's script doesn't have a “yet” in it, nor any equivalent, but the sentence structure still flows well enough not to cast doubt on how he felt about Klint's supposed presence. Contrasting that, the localization's wording with “even” almost makes it seem like feeling Klint's presence was a negative thing- that he was overwhelmed by it and that this was the burden associated with the Reaper name, as opposed to the killings. Which can't possibly be right; he already admitted to us that the idea of his brother's ghost helping him was one of the main reasons he kept on being the Reaper. So long story short, the localization's take on these first two lines is a little off.

The prosecutor's badge thing, however, is spot on. Despite everything- despite the 'true nature' of Klint now exposed, Van Zieks still wears the badge with pride. We know the badge is symbolical, of course. He still believes in Klint's sense of justice and he's still going to openly admit to being Klint's brother- to being a Van Zieks. That's sweet. He goes on to say that the darkness within him is no more. To really grasp what that means, let's go back to the end of case 2-3 for a second. There, Van Zieks says that after his brother's death, he found himself in “a very dark place indeed”. In case 2-4, he mentions that he refuses to trust others to protect himself against betrayal, but has now sunk into a proverbial mire which makes it impossible to breathe. All of that is the same darkness he's referring to now, I'm sure. I don't believe depression can lift this easily; there's no way that darkness is no more. However, I think what he means to say is that it no longer has such a strong hold on him that it manifests in paranoia and irrational hatred. He has a chance now to start fresh and that's what he intends to do. He's striding away from that darkness, towards a brighter future. In order for a person to change for the better, they themselves have to want to change, and it looks like Van Zieks is all for that. Which at last brings us to the conclusion of this essay series! The conclusion, which looks back on the original query posed in Part 1, will once again include a load of screencaps. To keep the post size lighter, I'm going to put it in a separate post. I hope you'll look forward to it!

[disasterofastory]

Christian Girl Part 3 (Halfdan x Reader)

Christian Girl Part 3

Halfdan x Reader

Warning: mention of death, smut

Here it comes the last part of Christian Girl with Halfdan. I tried to write smut so please tell me, what do you think because I feel a little bit awkward about it.

You still don’t know why the God brought Halfdan into your life. He probably wanted to challenge your faith in him, but you failed miserably. You couldn’t resist the tall Viking with tattooed face and blonde hair.

In your dreams, you still see his brown eyes and cheeky smile.

He had to leave almost a year ago with the others to stop Ivar. You didn’t hear from him since then. Your heard news about The Boneless and Bjorn, but nobody talked about Halfdan.

At night in the privacy of your room, you prayed for the Gods. You knew your God wouldn't help a pagan, and you had no idea how to talk with the Viking gods, but you had to try. You needed someone to help him on his journeys. You continued to work in the castle. You cooked and cleaned, and if you had a chance, you went to the forest to practice. It seemed everybody moved on with their lives, but you couldn’t. You waited.

You start to clean up the kitchen after breakfast when one of the servant girls runs in almost breathlessly. She looks upset, leaning on the table in the middle of the room. Her light brown hair is messy, and her eyes fearful.

“Are you okay?” You ask her, confused. Your hands are wet from washing the dishes.

“The Vikings are coming,” she pants. “The King wants to fight against them, but he commands everyone to leave the castle.”

You heard gossips about the pagans for weeks. Someone said Bjorn is here to side with Alfred, while others said he is with Ivar. You didn't believe any of them.

“Oh!” This is the only thing you can say after her words. In your mind, you already make plans for how to escape into the forest. Nobody care for a servant girl, so probably it will be the easiest part of your journey.

“Then go and pack your things,” you tell her impatiently. You don’t have time to waste. After she leaves, you dry your hands and go to your room.

Everybody is in panic after the King’s order, so you take advantage of the chaos. You grab everything you need then go to the abandoned corridors to escape. You know this building like the back of your hands. You know where to go to nobody see you on your way out of the castle.

After you reach the trees, you sit down on a log to catch your breath and gather your thoughts. You know you have to stay out of the busy paths, but you have to keep close to them, so maybe you will hear news from the others, and you have to stay near the river. You have weapons to protect yourself and to kill small animals to eat. You have furs to keep you warm at night and clothes which are more suitable for the forest. You change out of your dress before you continue your way deeper into the woods.

You live like this for a few days. You hunt and walk, and at night you try to sleep. Sometimes you hear travelers talk about the news. They say Bjorn and Ubbe negotiate with Alfred against Ivar, but the battle is unavoidable.

You bathe in the cold river on your fifth morning after breakfast, then go to the place where you know the fight will be. It’s probably not your best idea, but you can’t control yourself. You will hide in the woods so nobody will see you.

You walk four days before you reach your destination. You feel tired after your long journey, but you arrive in time.

The forest overlooks a valley where the battle will be, so you see everything. You recognize the King’s army and Ivar’s camp. You make a small camp too for yourself out of sight, hoping nobody will found you.

Every time you see a blonde Viking, your heart skips a beat, but you are too far to see their faces. You still don’t know Halfdan is here or not.

On your fourteenth day living in the forest, the battle starts. You see the armies run to each other, you hear the swords and the screams. Everything happens so fast, but in reality, the battle lasts for hours.

Your lungs hurt because you always have to warn yourself to breathe.

Dead bodies are everywhere, and you pray for the Gods to none of them is Halfdan.

Of course, you are not just a lovesick idiot. In the back of your mind, you make a plan if Ivar wins, and you never see your tattooed Viking again.

Before you know it, the battle is over. At first glance, you don't know why, but then you see a man fall. The people near him stop fighting, and soon the whole crowd is frozen. The Heathen army lost.

The sky is dark when you arrive at the King's camp, and your legs are shaking. It would be safer to stay in the forest out of sight, but you can’t wait anymore. If they see you, you can tell them you came to help the wounded.

Everything calmer than a few hours before. There are torches and campfires to give some light in the night. A lot of men are wounded, but they seem happy. Ivar is dead. They have every reason to celebrate.

Nobody cares for you while you walk among them.

You see him near the forest. He looks out of the dark trees still in his battle wear. As you get close to him, you start to become insecure. What if he forgot you? Or changed his mind? Or find someone else? You almost turn to hide, but he is faster than you. Before you can move, he looks into your eyes. His face and hair are bloody, and there are new scars on his skin, but he didn’t change much. You stop before him a few meters away, staring at him.

“Christian girl,” he says softly with a widening smile.

Your whole body is shaking when you jump in his waiting arms. You don’t care about the mud or the blood, you hug him like your life depends on it.

“I missed you,” you whisper to him. Your legs around his waist, your arms cling to his neck.

“I told you to stay in the forest,” he argues, but it isn't serious.

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” you tell him. For long minutes you stand and hug each other with your face in his neck.

“Halfdan, you didn’t tell me you have a woman.”

You jump at the foreign voice, and you want to climb out of Halfdan’s arms, but he doesn’t let you. He holds you closer with a proud smile.

“These lands are full of treasures,” he jokes with you in his arms.

“I’m Harald, Halfdan’s brother,” he introduces himself.

“I’m Y/N,” you tell him. “Halfdan told me a lot about you.”

“I hope not just the bad things.”

“No, you are important to him,” you answer, and with newfound bravery, you continue. “And because of it, I want to ask you to don’t risk his life ever again.”

The brothers are silent. They seem surprised then both of them start to laugh. Halfdan's arms draw you closer to his body, and Harald pats your shoulder in a friendly way.

“I like her,” he tells his brother and goes back to the others.

“So from now on, I have to ask permission to fight?” Halfdan teases you.

“W-well… if it’s okay?” You reply. You know you can’t change the Viking, and you don’t want to, but it’s not a secret that you want him safe.

“I can live with it,” he smiles. He looks tired but happy.​

He tells you about his year while you eat after you help him wash down the dirt, and you tell him about your last few weeks.

“So… what happens now?” You ask him at the end.

“Ivar is dead. Nobody will avenge him. Harald gave up on his dream to be King of all Norway so Bjorn will take the throne with his remained brothers.”

“And…” you start but can’t find the bravery to finish your sentence. He smiles slyly at you but doesn’t do anything to help you out.

“What?” He asks, smirking.

“Come on!” You hit his arms. “I didn’t hide in the forest for nothing!” you argue.

“Wherever I go, you will come with me,” he answers finally. He doesn’t ask you about your opinion. In his mind, you are his woman, and that’s it.

Halfdan grabs a flask of ale before he shows you his tent.

You don’t know what to do with yourself, it’s weird to be alone with him again, but Halfdan doesn’t feel the same. He lays down on the furs and reaches out for you.

“Come,” he says, and you follow him on the makeshift bed.

For a while, you just lay next to each other silently. Your head is on his chest while your arm hugs his waist, and he pets your back. You sip the ale when Halfdan put it to your lips, and it helps you to relax.

Your life changed forever. Nothing will be the same ever again. You are Halfdan’s woman as he said, and you have to learn how to live like a Viking. You are not really afraid of the others, you know, you will prove yourself to be with Halfan.

“What do you thinking about?” He asks after a while.

“You can’t call me Christian girl anymore,” you tell him.

“Why not?” He asks, his chest moves up and down with laughter.

“Because I’m not Christian anymore, am I? I’m with you.”

“Are you ready to throw away your faith for me?” He asks teasingly.

“I think it was never my faith,” you tell him. “I think I just needed somebody to show me something I can believe.”

“And what do you believe now?” He asks. His fingers move up and down on your back. You almost shiver whenever he reaches your side.

“You,” you reply simply. “I prayed for the Gods to bring you back to me.”

“I love you,” he tells you quietly. You think you misheard him, but when you get up from his chest, you see the sincerity in his eyes. He means it. You know it’s a rear moment. Halfdan isn’t an emotional man, he prefers to show you his affection with actions, not with words.

“I love you too,” you smile at him and lean down to his lips.

The kiss is slow at first. He let you lead and decide how far you want to go with him. You leave his lips to kiss down on his face and neck. He smells like ash and ale and herbs.

“Take it off,” you tell him when you can’t go lower because of his tunic. You sit up to help him to get rid of the shirt. You saw his upper body before, but now you can touch him however you want. You kiss him again on his lips and start to go down on his chest. You lick his collarbone, and he answers you with a moan. You move lower and try to hide a smile before you kiss his nipple. He moans again, and his fingers grab your hair to bring your mouth back to him. Your scalp starts to burn in a delicious way.

“Stronger,” you tell him, your breath hits against his lips, and he pulls your hair with more force. When you whimper, he moves on his side, so you lay next to him on your back. He starts to take the lead, but his movements are still slow and steady. He tries to find your boundaries, what you like and what is too much for you.

He didn’t ask, but he is sure you didn’t have sex with other men since you last saw each other, and you definitely didn’t have sex with a Viking before.

After a few kisses, he bites your neck before he continues to kiss you everywhere he can reach with his lips. He takes off your shirt and grabs your arms when you try to hide your bare skin.

“Don’t,” he tells you. “You are beautiful,” he murmurs and licks down between your breast. Your chest moves faster when he takes one of your breasts in his hand and starts to massage it, and after he licks the other one, he bites on it. Your trace the tattoos on his head with your fingers. He pecks your ribs and looks up at you when he reaches your waistband. You lift your bottom so he can take off your pants and panties. He grabs your thigh and opens your legs a little bit.

“You can be rougher, you know? I will tell you if it’s too much,” you tell him when you feel he holds himself back. His fingers twitch on your skin.

“Are you sure?” He asks between two licks on your bellybutton.

“I’m inexperienced, so you have to show me things. You have to show me how do you like it, so we will know it works between us,” you explain breathlessly.

“You are perfect,” he tells you in awe. He almost forgot how easy it is to be with you.

He grabs your waist and turns you on your hands and knees. He pushes down your head and upper body on the pillows and opens your legs more for him. You feel exposed, but the only thing you can do is moan and wiggle your butt. He kneels behind you, grabbing your butt cheeks. He plays with them, slaps them, and at some point, he bites them too before he goes lower.

“What are you-” you start but can’t end your words because of his tongue between your folds. You moan and whimper, and he has to grab onto you, so you don’t move so much. His nails almost break your skin, and you feel the furs on your nipples.

“Halfdan!” You scream when your legs start to shake. Your lower belly is on fire, and your whole body is tense before you explore and almost fall on the bed.

“I love your pussy,” he says breathlessly. You would probably blush if your body wouldn’t already on fire. “Stay like this,” he tells you when you want to change position. You feel him move behind you, you hear him get rid of his pants, and not long after it, he puts his cock between your cheeks. Both of you moan at the sensation. You are sure he leaves marks on your hip with his rough touches when he pulls you closer. He positions himself at your opening and starts to go deeper. His moves are slow and steady. He gives you time to adjust his size.

“All in,” he tells you. His voice is almost a growl.

“Oh, Gods, Halfdan,” you moan. You feel full and so good. “You can move! Please! Move!”

So he moves. He pulls out and goes back in faster and faster. He leans over you and grabs your breast to haul you up against his chest. You almost sit on his knees with his cock inside you. Your nipple peaks between his fingers while he sucks on your neck.

“Halfdan, I’m going to…” you whimper. One of your hands grab his hair, and with the other, you hold his arm to steady yourself. You tighten around him, and he growls in your ear.

“Cum!” He orders, and you do as you are told. You start cumming with him at the same time. His cum fills you and flows out of you into his lap when you stay like this for a few deep breaths. He hugs you close against him, his hands still on your tits. The world slows down, and everything goes quiet.

“You are perfect,” he pants, kissing your shoulder. You can’t move, so you just let him lay you down on the furs properly and draw you onto his chest.

You put your legs between his thighs and hug his waist closer to you.

“So what do you think?” He asks after a while when both of you catch your breaths. “Are we good together?”

“So good,” you murmur in his warm skin.

You fall asleep in his arms for a few hours to wake up in the middle of the night to him between your legs.

Your soul is still full of sins, but now you enjoy every minute of it.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LUNATIC PARADE ;; Ayato Route ー Chapter 3

ー The scene starts in the hotel room

Yui: ( Ayato-kun still hasn’t returned it seems... )

( I wonder where he went? Should I go look for him...? )

*Rustle rustle*

ー She goes down to the lobby

Yui: ( Ah, I recognize that back... )

Ayato-kun!

ー She runs up to him

Ayato: ...Chichinashi...

Yui: Where were you? I was worri...ーー

( ...Huh...? )

Hey, what’s wrong? You seem kind of tired...

Ayato: Shut up. I’m fine.

More importantly, are you well enough to be up and running again?

Yui: I’m fine, but...

Ayato: Mmh. Let’s go look for the locksmith together then.

Yui: Yeah...We have to find some sort of lead first though...

Ayato: I’ve got one. Seems like he’s hanging out in Saint Nore Park.

I found this person who spotted him there, you see...

Yui: Eh...?

( Then, could he have been looking around for the locksmith on his own this whole time...? )

Ayato: We might lose track of him again if we sit around too long. Let’s go.

Yui: Gotcha.

( ... )

ー She reaches for his hand

Ayato: ...Why did you grab my hand all of a sudden...?

Yui: S-Sorry...But...

( I was thinking of a way to say thank you and suddenly felt like doing this... )

Ayato: Hm, whatever. Anyway, let’s hurry.

Yui: Yeah!

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Saint Nore Park’s venue

Yui: It’s still as crowded as ever...

Ayato: Yeah, you’re right...

Yui: ( What to do? Even if we know he’s here, with this many people around... )

Ayato: Well then. Guess it’s time for these bad boys to make an appearance.

Yui: ...? Ayato-kun, are those...?

Ayato: Hehe. I figured out what the dude looks like while I was gatherin’ information on him.

I drew this portrait of him. Whatcha think? There’s just no way we won’t find him with this, right?

Yui: ( ...I thought it was an animal of some sorts...But it’s actually a portrait... )

( Ayato-kun seems very confident but...I’m honestly a little worried... )

Ayato: ...What? Got a problem with my drawing?

Yui: Eh? ...No, that’s not it, but...

Ayato: ...? But, what?

Yui: Well...

Selection

→ Beg the question

Yui: ...No, it’s nothing...

Ayato: ...Hmm. Well, whatever.

→ Praise him (☾)

Yui: ...No, it’s nothing. I just thought your art style is very distinctive...

Ayato: Hah, right? You’ve got a good eye!

Yui: ( Either way...I feel as if I’ve seen this face somewhere before... )

( ...Am I just imagining things...? )

Ayato: ‘Kay! Let’s go ‘round the whole park showin’ people this portrait!

*TIMESKIP*

Ayato: Che, fuck...We’re not havin’ any luck...

Yui: Yeah...You’re right...

( We’ve been walking around the park asking others for information, but we haven’t even gotten any clues... )

( I guess it’s impossible with just a single portrait... )

Ayato: Hm? ...Ah!

Yui: ...What?

Ayato: Oi, take a look over there...!

Yui: Eh...?

???: Hahaha, then afterwards...

Yui: ( For some reason...That man vaguely looks like...the portrait drawn by Ayato-kun...? )

Ayato: It’s definitely him! Oi, let’s go!

Yui: Y-Yeah...!

( Way to go, Ayato-kun! ...I guess? )

ー They run up to the man

Ayato: Hey, Old Geezer! You’re the locksmith, right?

???: ...I can’t deny I’m the one and only but... ...! You’re that guy from yesterday...!

Yui: Eh? ...Ah! You’re...!

ー A flashback ensues

Vampire gentleman: I was shocked to find you passed out here! Did you come with someon...ーー

ー Ayato runs up to them

Ayato: ...Oi! What are you doin’ to her!? Back off at once!!

*THUD*

Vampire gentleman: Uguh!?

Yui: ...! Ayato-kun!?

ー The flashback ends

Yui: ( The guy who helped me yesterday...And who was kicked by Ayato-kun...! )

( Who would have thought he was actually the locksmith...! )

Locksmith: What do you want? I didn’t think I would run into you two again here...

Just when I was enjoying the Parade too...

Take a look! My smile has been turned upside down because of you!

Yui: W-We’re so sorry...!

Ayato: Che...For real? No wonder the guy struck me as familiar when I was drawin’ his portrait...

Listen, dude. I’m sorry for what I did yesterday...I was convinced you were...

Yui: Um, we truly feel sorry. It’s just, Ayato-kun honestly didn’t mean any harm. 

He just got the wrong idea and...Well...

Locksmith: Hmhp! A little late for those excuses now. Besides, I’m enjoying my vacation right now.

I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t disturb me. Now leave.

Yui: ...But...!

Ayato: Listen up. There’s somethin’ we wanna ask of you.

Locksmith: ...Of me?

*Cling*

Ayato: ...It’s this. We have to fix this key by the end of today, no matter what...

I’m beggin’ you. Can’t you please help us out?

Locksmith: ...And give me one good reason to do that!? The answer is no.

Ayato: Didn’t I say ‘please!?’ If not, she’ll...Yui will...

Yui: ...Ayato-kun...

Locksmith: What does she have to do with it?

Ayato: ...Long story short, we need your skill to be able to save her!

So stop complainin’ and help us out!

*Thud*

Yui: ...Ayato-kun! C-Calm down...!

Locksmith: Hmph! You should probably do something about that short temper of yours.

...Anyway, if I don’t fix that key, something bad will happen to the young lady over here, correct?

...I suppose I have no other choice then. Let me make you an offer then.

Ayato: An offer?

Locksmith: Exactly. I challenge you to a game of go-cart. If you win, I will help you out.

Yui: ...! Really?

Locksmith: Yes, I mean it. Hey, you. This is how you negotiate with someone. Take mental note.

Ayato: Che, the fuck? This locksmith thinks he’s the shit...I don’t like him.

But fine. I just need to beat you in a go-cart race, right? Challenge accepted! You better brace yourself!

Oi, watch me, Chichinashi. I’m takin’ this victory home for sure.

Yui: Yeah...!

( Good luck, Ayato-kun...! )

Explanation: The player controls the go-cart of the character. Hitting the obstacles will slow you down. By touching the arrow, you can speed up. Use the D-pad to alternate lanes and reach the finish before time runs out.

You can play this game in EASY, NORMAL or HARD mode.

Ayato: Awesome, I win!

Locksmith: I didn’t think you could win against me in a go-cart race. ...As to be expected of Karlheinz’s son.

Yui: Eh? You knew...?

Locksmith: ...Guess so. That’s exactly why I wanted to beat him.

Ayato: Anyway, you’ll fix this key as you promised, right?

Locksmith: Yeah, of course. You won fair and square after all.

Ayato: I did it, Yui!

ー He scoops her up in his arms

*Rustle*

Yui: Kyah!

( Gosh, Ayato-kun...! )

Ayato: Heh! Didn’t I tell you? Yours Truly never loses...

There’s nobody out there who can beat me. I’m always number one!

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the locksmith’s shop

Locksmith: Well then, come on in.

*Thud*

Yui: ( Wow. There’s many keys I’ve never seen before... )

Locksmith: ...Well then, show me the broken key.

Ayato: Yeah. It’s this bad boy.

*Cling*

Locksmith: ...Hm, this is...

...

Yui: ( ...He went quiet. He looks a little troubled... )

Ayato: Oi, what do you say? You can fix it, right?

Locksmith: ...I can. However...I will need a special mineral to do so.

Yui: A special...mineral?

Ayato: You just have to attach one side to the other, right!? Then why not use whatever you have laying ‘round to glue it together!?

Locksmith: ...No, that won’t work. Well, let me just show you. For example, if I try to use this metal...

*Cling cling*

*Thud*

Ayato: ...!?

Yui: ( ...The metal bounced off...? )

Locksmith: ...See? This key has been manufactured in a special way and can only be fixed by using an identical material.

It’ll be difficult to repair the key without the right mineral.

Yui: No way...

Ayato: Then we just gotta dig up that mineral from somewhere, right!? Where can we find it?

Locksmith: Even here in the Demon World, you can only find it in a select few locations.

The closest site would be...Right. The abandoned mine on Smaragd Volcano...

That place used to be a goldmine for all sorts of minerals. I’m sure you could still dig some up to this day.

Ayato: The volcano, right? ‘Kay, gotcha! Oi, Chichinashi! We’re leavin’ right away. Follow me!

*Rustle*

Yui: Ah! Ayato-kun!

ー The scene shifts to Diamante Fountain

Ayato: That bein’ said, how are we gonna get to this abandoned mine...?

It can’t be helped...The Four-Eyes might just know a good way.

Okay, I’m gonna send him a message through my Familiar.

*Flap flap flap*

Yui: ( ...Ayato-kun’s trying his very best... )

( He barely got any sleep last night either, did he...? I feel kind of bad... )

( For one, I wonder if this stuff we’re doing right now is really what the Count expects from us...? )

( I won’t deny that we broke into his house and broke the key, but... )

ー A flashback ensues

???: ...Exactly. While everyone else is too preoccupied with the Parade.

???: ...I will act as the decoy. ...As for the location, is Zartan’s Mouth okay?

???: Yes, I do not mind. However, there’s a few issues...

ー The flashback ends

Yui: ( They were being kind of suspicious, right...? )

( I wonder what exactly that key is for...? )

( If those guys are trying to commit a crime using that key... )

( We basically aided them in that, no...? )

( In that case, the Count will... )

Ayato: Oi, what’s wrong? You’ve got a frown on your face...

Yui: ...Ayato-kun...

Ayato: I got a response from Reiji. That bastard really knows all the weird shit, huh?

But it saved our ass this time. It seems like we’ll need some tools, so let’s go collect them right away.

Yui: Y-Yeah...But...

Ayato: ...? What?

Yui: Shouldn’t you take a little break first?

You know...You haven’t been able to rest at all since yesterday, right?

Ayato: ...That’s what you’re worried about? I’m totally fine.

Besides, it’s my fault all of this happened in the first place, right?

You really think I can sit still and rest now...?

Yui: ( Ayato-kun... )

Ayato: The quickest route to the volcano is to take a gondola and go up the canal.

I’m sure you’re tired as well, but let’s push through a lil’ longer and rest on the journey there, ‘kay?

Yui: ...I’m fine. I’m much more worried about you...

Ayato: Didn’t you hear me when I said I’m fine? You weirdo. ...Let’s go.

Yui: Yeah...

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Rubien Canal

Ayato: Accordin’ to Reiji’s message, there’s a lake at the end of this canal.

And the entrance to the mountain should be somewhere in the nearby forest.

Yui: ...

Ayato: ...? Oi, what’s wrong? You’ve been actin’ off this whole time, you know?

...You’re not feeling sick again, are you?

Yui: ...I’m not! There’s just been something on my mind...

Ayato: On your mind? What is it? Tell me.  You shouldn’t keep secrets from me.

Yui: ...It’s about that key...

Ayato: ...The key?

Yui: ...Yeah. I was just wondering what they’d use that key for...

Ayato: ...Well, it didn’t seem like they’re up to any good.

Yui: ...! You think so too?

Ayato: I mean, those dudes in the basements were obviously actin’ suspicious, no?

They were hella pissed we listened in on their conversation as well. I’m sure they’re up to something.

Yui: ...In that case, what we’re doing right now is...

Ayato: ...Hmph. But you know, what’s the point in worryin’ ‘bout that?

Anyway, it’s my fault the key broke...

If they won’t forgive me unless I get it fixed, then I have no other choice.

That’s all the Count told us. We don’t exactly have the time to worry ‘bout what comes after, right?

Yui: You’re not wrong but...

Ayato: Oh, seems like we’re here.

ー The scene shifts to Tilkeys Falls

Yui: ( Waah...What a beautiful place. )

Ayato: ‘Kay, let’s keep goin’. Here, gimme your hand.

Yui: Yeah.

*Rustle*

( Swan-shaped boats...Everyone seems to having a lot of fun... )

( I would have loved to come here on a date with Ayato-kun instead... )

( However, now’s not the time for that. )

Ayato: ...

*Rustle*

Yui: ...Kyah!

( Ayato-kun, out of nowhere...! )

Ayato: Why do you keep makin’ those gloomy expressions?

Don’t worry. Once we find the right mineral real quick and get the key repaired...

I’ll for sure retrieve your heart from the Count, okay?

Then afterwards, let’s enjoy ourselves here to the fullest before headin’ home. How does that sound?

Yui: Ayato-kun...

( Could it be, he’s trying to cheer me up...Right? )

Fufu. You’re right. We better hurry then.

Ayato: Yeah!

ー The scene shifts to the mine site

Ayato: Che, this place’s pretty slippery...Oi. Watch your step, ‘kay?

Yui: Yeah...

( It’s pretty creepy in here...It looks rather worn out as well... )

( It won’t collapse, right...? I’m a little worried... )

*Thud*

Ayato: There we go...Guess ‘round here should do. Let’s try diggin’ into the ground.

Yui: I’ll start over here then...

Ayato: No, you don’t need to help out. I’d rather not have you collapse on me again. Just sit there and watch, ‘kay?

Yui: ...But...!

Ayato: I just said it’s fine, right? Anyway, let’s get started! Heave...hoh!

*THUD*

*Rustle*

Ayato: Uwah!

Yui: Kyaah!

Ayato: Che, bats...? Don’t give me a scare...There...!

*THUD THUD*

Ayato: Reiji knew more ‘bout the mineral.

It’s some kind of magic crystal about the size of a fist which gives off a silver shine.

Yui: Silver...? 

Ayato: Yeah. That’s why the dark will work to our advantage! If it shimmers, we should be able to spot it right away!

*THUD*

*Rustle*

Yui: Kyah!

( Again...! Is something lurking around...? )

Ayato: Hah, whatcha pissin’ your pants for? I bet it’s some lower class Familiar again?

*Flap flap*

Ayato: Che, it’s hella noisy though. It keeps on distractin’ me. I’ll chase it away!

*Thud*

Ayato: Imma go take a look up ahead so you stay here, ‘kay?

ー Ayato walks away

Yui: A-Ayato-kun...

( He left...Will he be okay...? )

Ayato: Hm? The fuck’s this? ...Wait. Uwah!? 

*CAW*

Ayato: Uwaahーー!!

Yui: ...!? Ayato-kun!?

( O-Oh no...! )

ー She rushes to his side

Yui: Ayato-kun, what’s wrong!?

( ...He’s gone...? )

Ayato-kunーー!?

*Flap*

Ayato: Chichinashiーー!!

*CAW*

Yui: Kyaah!!

( Ayato-kun...! He’s been caught by a giant eagle!! )

( W-What should I do...!? I have to save him...! )

Ayato-kun! I’ll be right thereーー!

Ayato: Forget that! Look! Inside its nest!

Yui: Eh?

Ayato: You can see it right!? There’s a silver light! Couldn’t that be the crystal!?

Yui: Ah...!

( He’s right...! There’s various silver crystals inside the eagle’s nest...! )

Ayato: Hurry up and take one! Make haste!!

Yui: ( B-But... )

*Chirp chirp chirp*

T-The chicks have got their wings wrapped around them...If I get close, I’m sure... 

( The Mother bird will get upset...! )

*Flap flap*

*CAW*

Ayato: Like we have the time to worry ‘bout that! Hurry up while I keep the big one busy!

Yui: O-Okay...

ー Yui runs over to the nest

*Chirp chirp chirp*

Yui: I-I’m sorry...I only need one, okay...

*Rustle*

( Those crystals seem very dear to them...Right, I’m pretty sure birds are known to like sparkly things... )

...

*Flap flap*

*CAW*

Yui: ...Kyaah!

Ayato: Fuck! Seems like she noticed you!

What are you takin’ your sweet time for!? Just snatch one already! ...Uwah!?

*THUD*

Ayato: ...Ow...

*Flap flap*

*CAW*

Ayato: You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me! Look! The eagle returned to her nest. Now it won’t be easy to get close to it.

That was our chance! What are you doin’...!? 

Yui: B-But...!

( I just can’t...! Even if it’s from an eagle, it’d still make us thieves...! )

*Flap flap*

*CAW*

Yui: ( ...She’s wary of us... )

Ayato-kun, let’s go outside for now...

Ayato: Haah? Are you givin’ up? But why...!?

ー Yui walks away

Ayato: Oi, wait! Chichinashi!

ー The scene shifts to the entrance of the mine

Ayato: ...God, what are you playin’ at!? We were so close!

Yui: I’m sorry...But listen...

Those chicks were holding the stones so very dearly...

I just couldn’t bring myself to take them away...

Ayato: Haah? They’re eagles, remember? The fuck you sayin’...!?

Yui: B-But you know...We’re going around trying to clear our name so...

So don’t you think that by stealing something valuable from those eagles, we’d just be committing another misduct? 

Ayato: ...

Yui: Besides, when dealing with a human, we can always apologize and explain the situation to them.

However, when it’s an eagle, we would never be able to get their forgiveness, right...?

Once I realized that, I just couldn’t bring myself to steal the crystal...

Ayato: ...Haah. You really love to overthink stuff, don’t you...?

But well, whatever. No point in crying over spilled milk.

Let’s look for a different way for now. We still have to get our hands on one of those crystals no matter what after all.

Yui: ( Ayato-kun...He understood... )

Want to move locations and try digging along the tunnel? I’ll help this time too...

Ayato: Mmh. Well...Guess we have no other choice...

Monologue

In what followed, the two of us went on our way,

digging around the entire mining site,

but we were unable,

to find the magic crystal.

With both of us completely exhausted,

we had no other choice but to return to the city empty-handed.

ー The scene shifts to café Tarte Tatin

*Cling*

Ayato: ...So what are we gonna do now...?

Yui: ...Yeah...

( For real, what should we do? )

( We have to get the key repaired by the end of today...Yet, we weren’t able to find the crystal in the end... )

Ayato: Say, I’ve been thinkin’. Don’t you think that Count might have one of those crystals in his possession?

He’s been goin’ ‘round stealing treasures from all ‘round the Demon World, so he’s bound to have one or two magical crystals amongst his collection...

Yui: ...I can definitely picture it...

( We had no other choice but to steal from the eagle to repair the key...I’m sure the Count watched all of that go down as well... )

( He might just be able to give us some advice at least... )

...Good point. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask

Ayato: We don’t exactly have much other choice. With that settled, let’s quickly finish our meal and get goin’.

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Rubien Canal

Ayato: Oh, oi! Check that out!

Yui: Eh?

Waah...!

Ayato: It’s the Water Parade. Seems like we got here just on time.

Yui: Yeah, you’re right. It’s really pretty...

Ayato: ...

Say, listen...

Yui: Eh?

Ayato: ‘Bout the eagle’s nest from earlier...I’m sorry.

You actually weighed your options, didn’t you? Yet I kept on givin’ you crap for it...

Yui: ...

It’s fine. I should apologize as well. 

Even though...You tried so hard to get that crystal...

Ayato: ...Hey, Yui. Lift your face.

ー He steps closer

Yui: Eh? ...Nn...

Ayato: Nn...

*Smooch*

Yui: ( ...What a gentle kiss... )

( It’s always as if his kindness is being conveyed to me... )

Ayato: ...Nn...

*Smooch*

Yui: ( I can tell even if he doesn’t say it out loud. That deep down... )

( He’s really thinking of what’s best for me... )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

← RETURN TO CHAPTER 2

→ PROCEED WITH MAIN STORY [CHAPTER 4]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #1 [W/ SUBARU]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #2 [W/ RUKI]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #3 [W/ KOU]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #4 [W/ YUMA]

→ SUB-SCENARIO #5 [W/ SHIN]

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 65

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Link to ongoing Taida Translations

Chapter 65: Doctor

Lin Qiushi could tell Ruan Nanzhu was furious, and typed: calm down, they're not worth it.

Ruan Nanzhu went silent, but then flashed a cold smile. He didn't reply to Lin Qiushi. It seemed he'd thoroughly taken down these people's names in red—come the appropriate opportunity, he'd be ruthless about getting revenge.

Feng Yongle stood beside them, looking at the 502 door tag in Ruan Nanzhu's hand with a look of fright. He stammered, "are we keeping that thing here?"

Ruan Nanzhu, coolly, "of course we can't keep it here." The tag would probably draw something over; though it wasn't on their door, it still wasn't safe.

"Then what do we do?" Feng Yongle asked. "It's almost eight." Once it was eight, they couldn't go out.

Without speaking, Ruan Nanzhu left the room with the door tag in hand. He went across the hall.

It was an empty room across from them. Nobody was staying inside. It was locked, but Ruan Nanzhu easily opened the lock on the door. After putting the door tag inside, he closed the door again.

"We'll keep it there temporarily," Ruan Nanzhu said. "And get it out when it's useful."

Feng Yongle let out a breath of relief. "Those people were too much. How could they think to do something like this?"

If it hadn't been for Lin Qiuqiu's sharp hearing, they'd likely have been a goner here.

Ruan Nanzhu eyed the dawning night outside, and said, "let's sleep."

It was eight; though it was still early, the sky was already completely dark.

There wasn't a single rustle in the entire sanatorium, as if even the patients who were so restless by day had grown afraid of this darkening night.

Lin Qiushi lied in bed playing on his phone. Ruan Nanzhu, in the bunk above, was quiet—it sounded like he was asleep already.

After playing for a while, Lin Qiushi grew drowsy. Just as he set his phone aside to get some sleep, he jumped, whole-bodied—he’d heard the sound of knocking.

Feng Yongle wasn't asleep either, looking frightened. Clearly, he'd heard it too.

Dong, dong, dong. The knocks were loud, coming from the door across from theirs.

Lin Qiushi and Feng Yongle's gazes met. They both saw relief in each other's eyes… Good thing they'd put the door tag back. Whatever was stood there knocking, it definitely wasn't human.

Dong, dong, dong! The knocks grew fiercer and fiercer, before finally, there was the sound of the door breaking. Lin Qiushi very clearly heard the door across from theirs open, and then—perhaps after discovering there was nobody inside the room—three or four minutes later, the sound of high heels sharply clacking along the hallway floor.

These noises came near from afar, then gradually disappeared. Lin Qiushi's heart in his throat also slowly lowered.

Sleep, sleep… Lin Qiushi didn't dawdle this time, shutting his eyes to force himself to bed. But no matter how he turned he just couldn't sleep. Maybe his tossing and turning disturbed Ruan Nanzhu in the bunk above, because Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke: "can't sleep?"

Lin Qiushi looked at the upper bunk, not knowing how to respond.

A moment later, Ruan Nanzhu climbed down in his night clothes. Then he very naturally lied down in Lin Qiushi's bed.

He wore a long sleep shirt, and seemed a bit pale. When he lied down, his waterfall of black hair fanned out over the pillow. He turned his head, black eyes silently watching Lin Qiushi. This look made Lin Qiushi's heart skip a beat.

The Ruan Nanzhu in this moment seemed, at a glance, perfumed with fragility. But closer observation would reveal that fragility to be nothing but a hoax.

In those dark eyes was a profundity like a deep, serene lake, as if just by meeting his gaze, the heart was calmed.

Lin Qiushi felt a pair of hands hook around his waist. As he was still self-consciously shifting about, Ruan Nanzhu's face was already buried in the nape of his neck.

"Stop moving," Ruan Nanzhu said. "And sleep."

Lin Qiushi thought for a second, and stopped struggling. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

Three minutes later, the two slipped to sleep in succession, leaving Feng Yongle alone with a woebegone expression… He wanted to squeeze in with them as well.

But squeezing in was impossible; if Feng Yongle really dared a squeeze he'd likely not survive the night. Though he had to note that the sight of the two young women entwined in sleep was lovely to behold.

Ruan Baijie had a sophisticated air, and seemed the mature type. But despite her pretty face, that air of hers made her seem hard to get along with. Lin Qiuqiu, on the other hand, was the completely opposite type. Her appearance wasn't top notch, but was still plenty eye-catching. Feng Yongle thought for a while for the adjectives: Lin Qiuqiu carried on her an aura of delicacy and worldly compassion. Her face was very small, and looked like a cute little animal. Compared to the dazzling Ruan Nanzhu, she was obviously harmless at a glance. Plus, with her disability, she couldn't help but attract some people with particular agendas.

In the middle of his thoughts, Feng Yongle grew sleepy as well. He closed his eyes, and his breathing evened out.

At midnight, the sound of heavy falling once again came.

But they'd learned their lesson from the night before; after everybody had been woken up, they lied calmly in bed without much movement. Lin Qiushi woke for a bit, then closed his eyes again and returned to sleep. Ruan Nanzhu the Sleeping Pill Fairy was indeed impressively effective—there was no concern of sleeplessness at all.

They slept all the way until the next morning, when Lin Qiushi got up refreshed and energetic.

As soon as he got up he was met with Feng Yongle's plaintive gaze, and startled.

"Good morning," Feng Yongle said. "Didn't you hear anything last night?"

Lin Qiushi nodded to signal he did.

"Then why didn't you two wake up?" Feng Yongle asked. "That thing was scary as shit. It just kept jumping, I couldn't sleep at all."

Lin Qiushi was silent. Really, his hearing ought to be better than Feng Yongle's. But if he'd been fine with something Feng Yongle had been woken up by, the credit had to go to Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu lazily said, "it's enough to be alive isn't it? You're asking for too much." He cuddled over and kissed the shell of Lin Qiushi's ear. "Time to get up, baby."

He kissed Lin Qiushi into shivers. Lin Qiushi's ears were very sensitive—a single touch made his whole body tense up. But Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have discovered this, and just got worse in his teasing.

Lin Qiushi condemned with his eyes: you're taking advantage of me not being able to speak.

Ruan Nanzhu replied with his eyes too: you're wrong. I'd do this to you even if you could speak.

Lin Qiushi: …

He was speechless. Ruan Nanzhu beamed as he got up to wash.

Feng Yongle couldn't tell the turbulent interchange between them, and was currently feeling moved by their "deep sisterly love."

Lin Qiushi sighed, and gave up on pursuing the matter.

As the three ate breakfast in the dining hall, they began to discuss the sounds from yesterday.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu both expressed they hadn't heard, so only Feng Yongle, grimacing, could say, "I think I know what's the deal with that door tag."

"What is it?" Ruan Nanzhu took a bite of a hard-boiled egg.

"The jumping sounds came from across the hall," Feng Yongle said. "So I'm guessing, maybe the nurse will jump once from whichever room that has that number." As for what happened before she jumped… It didn't take much thought to know it would be nothing good.

Ruan Nanzhu, "oh, I see."

Feng Yongle, "aren't you shocked at all?"

Ruan Nanzhu, oddly, "we already know you'd die, it's just a different way of dying… Why be shocked?"

Feng Yongle was speechless.

Indeed, that 502 door tag clearly meant death. As for how you died, that did seem less important.

Leaving after their meal, they bumped into Jiang Yingrui and his team. Among them was the trembling Xue Zhiyun, who'd been caught red-handed yesterday doing something nasty.

Lin Qiushi thought he'd be a bit awkward—but unexpectedly, he still greeted them with a shameless grin.

But this time, all three of them ignored him, just passing him by like air.

Considering Ruan Nanzhu's expression however, Lin Qiushi had cause to believe that were it not for the fact that murders made ghosts here, Jiang Yingrui would already be dead by Ruan Nanzhu's hands many times over.

Feng Yongle muttered under his breath about these shameless fucking bastards…

Faintly, Ruan Nanzhu smiled. But there was no humor in his eyes. "There's no rush. Plenty of days ahead of us yet."

The sanatorium was too big. Yesterday, they'd only roughly browsed a few floors, and hadn't managed a detailed search. They planned to continue that today.

But after walking into the sanatorium, Ruan Nanzhu stood on the first floor and contemplated a while. "Have you guys discovered this sanatorium is missing something?"

Lin Qiushi: missing what?

Ruan Nanzhu, "we didn't see a single doctor all of yesterday, did we?"

As soon as Ruan Nanzhu said this, Feng Yongle clapped in realization. "That's right, we really didn't see any doctors, only a few nurses—" And those had all been indifferent, looking to have not seen them in return at all.

"So what about the doctors," Ruan Nanzhu said.

Lin Qiushi thought over the building's zone map they saw on the first floor yesterday, and typed: I remember the sixth floor's the doctors' offices, right?

Ruan Nanzhu, "yes."

Lin Qiushi: they'd seemed to be all locked. We'll take a look upstairs again?

"Sure," Ruan Nanzhu agreed with Lin Qiushi's suggestion.

The truth was a large majority of the rooms in this sanatorium were locked. Wanting to search room-by-room was pretty much impossible. So they could only look for a targeted room, then unlock it for inspection.

Lin Qiushi counted himself lucky to have Ruan Nanzhu at his side, and began to seriously contemplate learning the art of lock-picking once he was out…

Most of the other floors were populated by patients. They wore hospital gowns, some wandering idly through the halls, some sitting silently in the corners. Some mumbled to themselves, as if in conversation with something nonexistent. A place that was meant to treat lung diseases seemed more like one large mental hospital.

But the sixth floor was quiet. There were no patients and no nurses. The entire hallway was steeped in a kind of dim lighting, like a reel from an old movie.

Once he reached the sixth floor, Ruan Nanzhu first found the Dean's office.

The Dean's office was in the center of the hallway. The door was closed, and they couldn't see inside.

Ruan Nanzhu, "move."

Lin Qiushi and Feng Yongle both turned their shoulders to let Ruan Nanzhu open the door.

Two to three minutes later, the lock before them opened with a click. Ruan Nanzhu didn't immediately push the door open, instead very carefully cracked it to inspect the situation inside.

The room was quiet, and seemed harmless.

He searched the wall beside the door and found the room's light switch. With a soft clack, a ghastly pale light illuminated the entire office.

Lin Qiushi followed Ruan Nanzhu inside. Once inside, his gaze was immediately caught by the wall.

The wall before him was packed with a constellation of memorial portraits. Every figure in the portraits looked cold and rigid, their chilly gazes shooting right out the frames. And they all seemed to have one thing in common: they were all wearing doctors' scrubs.

Lin Qiushi very quickly noticed that on the highest point above the wall of portraits, there was an empty photo frame.

The three stared at that frame and sank into silence.

"Who's it left for?" Feng Yongle laughed humorlessly.

Nobody knew the answer to that question.

After examining the picture wall for a while, Ruan Nanzhu turned his gaze elsewhere. The three began searching inside the room. It quickly yielded results. In the corner of a drawer, Lin Qiushi discovered a photograph. In the photograph was a middle-aged man, handsome enough, with a head of short blond hair. He had on a calm smile. Most notably, he wore a doctor's scrubs.

Lin Qiushi held this photo, searched the wall, and indeed, couldn't find this person's portrait.

"It's not here," Ruan Nanzhu concluded.

"So the empty one was left for him then…" Feng Yongle said. "What if the key's in the frame?"

Ruan Nanzhu thought this over. "Take the frame down and see."

Feng Yongle nodded, found a chair, and climbed on. He reached up, took the frame, and lifted it off the nail.

"It's just an empty frame," Feng Yongle said. "Doesn't seem anything special." He turned it over, back and forth, and didn't see anything noteworthy on the frame.

Lin Qiushi had been looking down at the frame as well, but all of a sudden felt a buzz in his body—he'd sensed a strange line of sight. He looked up in suspicion, following the sightline. When he got a good look at its source, a chill ran down his back.

Because what was staring at him was the memorial portraits on the wall.

The gaze of these portraits went from looking ahead to peering askance. Practically every portrait was staring at them out of the corners of their eyes. With their stiff pallor and lifeless gazes, Lin Qiushi got an unpleasant feeling. He immediately reached out and gave Ruan Nanzhu's sleeve a tug.

Ruan Nanzhu noticed the change in Lin Qiushi's expression, and looked where he was looking, immediately noticing the change in the portraits.

And that change was intensifying as well.

The eyes of the portraits slowly began to move, like the dead inside the frames were coming back to life. The frames had begun to shake as well. Lin Qiushi stared with wide eyes—he could see a person in a portrait slowly lifting its hand, looking like it wanted to climb right out of the photograph.

For a normal person, a sight like this would definitely cause panic.

But Ruan Nanzhu was very experienced. He glanced at the frame in his hands—and then his next move was to climb up on the chair and return the empty frame to its original spot.

Once the frame was back in place, all the changes stopped.

The people in the portraits returned to those indifferent expressions, eyes gazing lifelessly forward. It was as if everything they'd just seen had been an illusion.

Feng Yongle wiped at the cold sweat on his brow, and swore, "fuck, that scared me."

Fright lingered in Lin Qiushi's heart as well.

Ruan Nanzhu, "the key might be in the frame."

"But didn't we just check?" Feng Yongle huffed. "There's nothing in the frame at all..."

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at him. "Isn’t the frame's missing something thought?"

Feng Yongle startled.

Lin Qiushi knew what Ruan Nanzhu meant. The frame was indeed missing something—missing the portrait that should be in it.

"It's missing the portrait?" Feng Yongle figured out as well.

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

"Then where are we going to find the portrait?" Feng Yongle's chuckle was pained. "The sanatorium's so big…"

"We'll find it," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Let's get out of here first."

They left the Dean's office, and Ruan Nanzhu closed the lock behind them.

They seemed to have a clue about the key, but still none for the door. They browsed through the entire floor, searching in every corner, but they didn't find any hint of any tunnel.

Just as Lin Qiushi thought they weren't going to have a breakthrough, Feng Yongle made a new discovery: he found a room.

That room had been locked, but somebody had broken that lock. And so Feng Yongle pushed the door right open.

That push was enough to terrify him—in that big wide room were piles and piles of black bags. From the shape of the bags, they were clearly body bags for holding corpses.

"Fuck—" Feng Yongle called for Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu in a hushed shout. "Come look, hurry!"

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu came to the room door, and saw also these piles of stacked bodies.

"Don't they take care of these bodies?" Feng Yongle mumbled.

Ruan Nanzhu frowned. "What did you just say?"

"I said, don't they take care of these bodies at all—" The stench of rot had already permeated the room, and smelled particularly nauseating. "What is it?"

Ruan Nanzhu said, "maybe this is a way out. If they have to clear out the bodies…"

Lin Qiushi understood: you mean what that tunnel's for?

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

Lin Qiushi: there's a thought.

In the background from the hint, the tunnel was where bodies were gotten rid of. If the stacks of body bags before them had to be taken care of, then they'd have to be brought to the tunnel. All the humans would have to do was follow.

Though this was now a possibility, it wasn't easily implemented, since they didn't know when the bodies would be cleared out.

Ruan Nanzhu continued his analysis: "The lock here's been broken, so it's likely somebody else has also found this location. If they're smart enough, they'd have figured out the hint here as well."

There were lots of ways to take care of bodies, primarily burial or cremation. There was no crematory here, so it was likely the former.

But there were no grave sites around the sanatorium, so anybody smart enough was apt to understand there was another site for corpse disposal here.

And if anybody had figured that out, they were competition.

"I'll go ask the patients around here first, see if they know anything," Feng Yongle said. "We can't just wait around, after all…"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded in agreement with Feng Yongle's line of thought.

Then Lin Qiushi signaled that if they needed, he could guard this place on his own. He couldn't talk after all, and couldn't question anybody.

Ruan Nanzhu, "alright. We'll be around. If anything happens, make some noise and we'll come right over."

Lin Qiushi nodded in understanding.

The two went off nearby, while Lin Qiushi stayed put in a corner to see anybody else coming. After standing there for a while, Lin Qiushi saw the unexpected approach of a familiar figure. It was the one who'd tried to trip them up earlier, Jiang Yingrui.

Lin Qiushi froze a bit upon seeing him. Just as he tried to hide, Jiang Yingrui had already seen him from afar.

"Miss Mute." Jiang Yingrui approached Lin Qiushi, wearing a peculiar smile. "Is it just you here?"

Lin Qiushi watched him back in silence.

"Where are your friends?" Jiang Yingrui asked, standing in front of Lin Qiushi. "They're not with you? Leaving you alone in a world like this is very dangerous, you know."

If Lin Qiushi was truly a helpless mute woman, perhaps he'd feel fear, even terror when faced with Jiang Yingrui.

But Lin Qiushi wasn't, so against what were practically threats, his only reaction for Jiang Yingrui was a few blinks of the eyes.

"You're not scared?" Jiang Yingrui asked softly.

Lin Qiushi still wasn't reacting.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Jiang Yingrui was getting closer and closer to Lin Qiushi. The lack of space between them felt invasive, and Lin Qiushi's expression went cold. He pulled out his phone and typed: I don't have anything to say to you.

"You guys also saw that room?" Jiang Yingrui said. "It's all corpses inside you know…"

Lin Qiushi's expression: And? Fuck off.

"Say—" Jiang Yingrui's voice suddenly dropped in register. "—if I put you in a bag and throw you in that room right now, do you think they'd notice?"

This was over the line. Lin Qiushi stared coolly at Jiang Yingrui, contemplating beating him up for good riddance, when Jiang Yingrui switched to a smile. "Of course I'm only kidding. Miss Mute here is so cute after all, I couldn't possibly."

Lin Qiushi thought, you couldn't, but I could.

Jiang Yingrui kept up that smile. "You guys just came down from the top floor, didn't you? What did you find?"

Lin Qiushi watched Jiang Yingrui, expressionless.

"That's fine, don't tell me. We're about to go check it out ourselves anyways," Jiang Yingrui said. "I'll leave you to stand guard here then."

He waved at Lin Qiushi, turned, and walked away.

Lin Qiushi dashed forward and socked him right in the back. Lin Qiushi held nothing back; his kick sent Jiang Yingrui stumbling straight onto the floor.

"What the—" Jiang Yingrui was utterly shocked by Lin Qiushi's actions. He probably hadn't supposed that, with such a gentle appearance, Lin Qiushi could so something so rough.

Lin Qiushi just brusquely spat in Jiang Yingrui's direction, and held up a middle finger.

Jiang Yingrui, "…"

Seeing Jiang Yingrui stare, mouth agape, Lin Qiushi felt much more satisfied. He was thinking how mute people really weren't so well-off, since typing was all words and no presence—might as well shut up and just throw hands.

Angered, Jiang Yingrui began to laugh. "Don't think I won't hit a girl—"

Just as he got up off the ground, Ruan Nanzhu, who'd heard the noises, arrived. Lin Qiushi immediately threw himself into Ruan Nanzhu's arms with an ill-treated expression.

Ruan Nanzhu, "what the fuck did you do to my Qiuqiu?!"

Jiang Yingrui, "…" I'm the one who got kicked, why are you acting the victim?!

[Ch. 64] | [Ch. 66]

[nagitolovebug]

About the komahina kids death, its bebi isnt it :(? If you can spoil it howndoes the parents react to this?

:) it actually isn't bebi! as the "mastermind" of their respective killing game, it wouldn't serve for them to die prematurely,,before the ultimate showdown between hope and despair! as for komahina reaction,,,it's definitely hard. even knowing it's just the neo world program and that their child is (physically) ok,,, I feel like they'd both force themselves to watch. as penance, for letting this happen at all. nagito says after the fact that he "didn't want her to be alone". I think, they watch as much as they can but...they probably collapse onto each other, holding each other on the floor and sob...nagito's health had been worsening due to stress and hajime refused to let himself be vulnerable at all but watching their child die in such a brutal manner....they just let it all out. I wouldn't discount the notion of one or both of them being physically ill, either. they are probably dragged from the room and forced to stop watching and rest, but I doubt either of them would be able to sleep for a very, very long time. anyway, spoilers for this hypothetical killing game!

it is actually their little sister, kiko, who dies- or rather, is executed- during bebi's game. kiko would actually be the "protagonist" of this game and as their class size dwindles down, she becomes increasingly desperate to get her twin brother (haruki) home to their family (the twins have lost their memories of bebi- a cruelty of junko's design). truly her father's daughter, kiko designs a murder plot in which haruki would be the blackened by her murder set-up- much like chiaki with nagito. however...kiko isn't the ultimately lucky student. she messes up, she's the real killer, but the way she designed the murder, she doesn't know that. at the trial they're gonna convict haru (which would've been wrong and kiko would've survived! but she doesn't know that) and that's when kiko manipulates and convinces the class to convict her instead, thinking she's saving haru. but when she's voted and revealed the blackened....it's a shock to them all. haru is shocked and confused, tearing up as they take half of his soul away,,,but he turns to the side and sees bebi, this random kid who barely spoke to kiko, sobbing inconsolably. "kiki-nii, please, y-you can't leave! please don't leave me.." and kiko clenches her fists and smiles. "it'll be ok, kurakura-chan..it'll be over soon. you're crying harder than my own brother, haha. .....haruki. take care of bebi. you guys..need to get out of here. together. get back to papa, haru. we can't....he can't lose us both." she's still smiling at them when the collar cinches around her neck and she's dragged away. the music that plays while she's killed is an eerie rendition of a lullaby hajime used to sing to her. after she's died, with haruki standing there numb, dried tears on his face, and bebi crumpled on the ground, monokuma decides to instigate further tension between the remaining siblings (half of which don't know they're siblings) "you killed her." "I...killed kiko?" "you killed them all." "no, I..I didn't. I didn't. I wouldn't. it's not possible." "your father did the same. orchestrate a killing game." "you're ..lying...daddy never hurt anyone." "hinata didn't. but he's not your dad, is he?" "shut up.." "you wanted so desperately to show them the despair in your heart that you killed them all!" "shut up ..!" "what kind of monster kills their own sister?" "SHUT UP! I DIDNT..I DIDNT..my ..iko...I just wanted them to stay.." haruki just wipes his eyes. "what..are you talking about?" ":) I'll let your sibling explain!" "kiko is dead." he spits it out. "good thing you have an extra one!" "kamukura, what is he talking about?" "I..I.." "kamukura. my sister..she just...you have to tell me. please." "she was my sister too." "what?" "I'm. you're. you're my brother, haru." "how is that possible??? no, no, I'd remember having another fucking sibling! my whole life, it's just been me and kiko and now she's dead and this..this fucking bear says its your fault! it's me and kiko, it's always been me and

kiko, and you took her away from me!" "I didn't! haruki, please, I, I didn't, I'd never hurt her-" "YOU DID! YOU HURT US BOTH! BECAUSE NOW SHE'S GONE, AND SHE LEFT ME TO CLEAN UP AFTER HER MESS! AGAIN! LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES! FUCK! fuck. kiko. kiko. why couldn't you..why do you always have to rely on me. why am I the one who's left. you were better, and stronger, and talented, and im nobody, so why am I alone," "s-stop..." "you have some nerve to still be able to look me in the eye." "papa ...never wanted you to feel inferior for your lack of talent..so stop it. stop it. you can't.." "..what?" "he tried to make you do a billion hobbies..I remember gardening with you, and swimming, and drawing, and playing with..with uncle gundham's animals..you always hated the ducks for some reason..a-and papa would get so anxious and frantic and it'd make daddy worry terribly..I think papa was just scared for you...he never wanted you to be like him.. but he. he got better. he'd do everything with you, and tell you how special you were every day and how much he loved you, and if you say this now, you're spitting in his face." "..they used to bite you." ".....w-" "I didnt like the ducks because the mom bit you. when you picked up the little black duckling. I watched you cry for so long and you were my big sibling and you were so strong and it made you cry and it scared me. and it made me angry." "haru.." "I- I thought it was kiko. but..she would never cry like that. and the more I think about it, the more..I remember...you would...crawl into my bed when you had nightmares...because you were the least scared of me." "...." "bebi...I.." and then they crush him in a hug and start sobbing. if they're going to make it out, they're going to make it out together. for their family. for kiko.

[apparitionism]

Why

I want to wish a very happy Gift Exchange Day to @mysensitiveside ​ ! This gift, a short and sweet AU, will keep on giving for a while, in that I wasn’t able to fling the whole thing across the finish line for you today. (No surprise, I’m sure, given my posting pace over the past... um... some time.) A second part will appear sooner rather than later, however, and I hope that the whole thing will be to your liking. Thanks of course go to @kla1991 for the organization of the whole  @bering-and-wells-exchange extravaganza... and I do just want to say that, as for my own reasons (reasons as such being quite relevant to this story), I still love Myka and Helena, and everybody in this bar, very much.

Why

“Why are you here?” Myka Bering asked of the dog she discovered in the hallway, gazing up at her, when she opened the door of her apartment one Saturday morning.

The dog blinked.

“Aren’t you Sam’s dog?”

The dog blinked again.

Things happen for a reason.

Myka had always been sure of that. So much so that it had shaped her idea of heaven: surely, the experience of paradise was nothing more, less, or other than finally being in possession of all the reasons.

When she was small, her “WHY?” refrain hadn’t distinguished her from her peers, but while most other children eventually gave up the incessant repetitions of that question, she never did. She discovered early on, however, that knowing whom to ask made an enormous difference in the quality of the answers she received: her mother’s exasperated “Because” was endlessly frustrating, as was her father’s equally unsatisfying “It’s magic.”

Which was why she became a research chemist, her choice of career happening for just that reason: it was always going to be a science of some sort, for the “why” questions—which she tended to ask internally now—had answers, if she put enough effort into finding them.

So it struck her as strange, that morning, to find herself asking “why” of a neighbor’s dog, out loud. The quality of any answer she got wasn’t likely to be high.

She had never seen the dog this dirty before. He... was it a he? maybe? she thought she’d heard “boy” at some point... had always seemed a little disheveled, his coat fluffed but lopsided, like he always slept on it wrong and nobody bothered with a comb. But never like this. Never with actual dirt.

She picked up the dog—he weighed less than she expected; she hadn’t realized how much of him was fur—and with some trepidation went to knock on Sam’s door.

No answer.

Myka took the dog back to her apartment. “Are you hungry?” she asked him. He blinked.

She had no idea what dogs ate, other than dog food, and she had no dog food.

She discovered that dogs ate several slices of cheese, a ham sandwich, a peanut butter sandwich, and a corn tortilla. Then dogs took a nap, no doubt exhausted from all the eating.

After numerous fruitless attempts at Sam’s door throughout the day, Myka called Mr. Nielsen, the super. “Sam moved out,” she was told. “Couple weeks ago. No forwarding address.”

“But I have his dog.”

“That’s nice of you,” Mr. Nielsen said.

“You don’t understand. I didn’t intend to have his dog.”

“Then maybe it isn’t nice. It’s not my problem either way.” He hung up.

Myka hadn’t liked Sam. He had asked her out, and she had said no, because he made her nervous. Anyone asking her out made her nervous, but this felt... different. She sensed she’d been right to turn him down, for he got visibly offended, in a way that made her even more nervous, such that she avoided him as much as possible afterward. He didn’t seem like a good person. But to move away and leave his dog behind?

She considered taking the dog to the animal shelter. What was she going to do with a dog? “What am I going to do with a dog?” she asked the dog in question. He blinked.

“I guess it’s you and me, dog,” she said after that Saturday turned into a weekend, the weekend into a week, one week into two.

And he looked at her as if to ask not “why?” but “what took you so long?”

She bought a leash. A bed. Actual dog food. So many products. “I’ve never shopped this much for myself,” she told him. She couldn’t decipher his blink in response to that information. Was it “But of course you should buy more for me” or “You should buy more for yourself”?

As it happened, he was a responsibility in ways she had not expected to enjoy. She had to leave work at midday, every day, to go home and walk him. She had that thing to do, and she did it. Her lab neighbor Abigail teased her about the dog being just an excuse to escape the lab, an excuse who probably didn’t even exist. “He’s real,” Myka protested. “I even had to come up with a name for him.”

Abigail laughed. “Sure you did.”

“Leukotriene.”

Pause. “Okay, now I’m convinced. Mostly. But I still want photo evidence.”

It hadn’t occurred to Myka to take a picture of the newly named Leukotriene, but she did so that night. She included a ruler in the photo for scale, lest Abigail mistake him for a Pomeranian, which was the breed—as far as Myka could tell, given her limited dog knowledge—he most resembled. The next day, “That’s him,” she said.

“Your dog.”

“I guess so.”

“He’s really... pretty.”

At home that night, she told him, “Abigail thinks you’re pretty.” He did the blink. “Yes,” she affirmed, “I do too.”

She shortened his name to “Leuko.” He didn’t seem to hate it. Then again, he wasn’t very vocal, positively or negatively.

She took him on walks, increasingly long ones, on the winding trails of the city’s largest park. She had never been a walker, but Leuko was... well, no: he was a trotter. A delighted, peppy trotter. Myka tried to match his bright energy, but she didn’t ever feel the same shine. It made her unaccountably happy, though, to see him that happy.

When she bathed him, he suffered it (no bright energy there), but she had a sense that he knew how impressive he looked when he was clean. His fluffy tan coat expanded into even greater glossy magnificence, an invitation to sink fingers in, and it rewarded the venture.

The best part, though, was when she would sit on the sofa, reading a journal or, less frequently, a novel, and he would lie against her, sighing as she rested her hand against his soft, warm body.

It was easy to forget that Sam had ever existed. Easy to sink into the belief that she and Leuko had always been a team. That this new texture of her life—this sneaky, responsibility-laden velvet—was a reality that had simply been held in abeyance until the right time. And now was that time.

One Saturday, as they walked in a nearly empty park, enjoying an early cold snap, Myka heard from a great distance an exclamation: “Monty!” She wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but suddenly her leash hand was empty, and Leuko was tearing across an open field, toward a solitary female figure, barking, making noise like he’d finally learned, or just remembered, that he had a voice.

Myka took off after him, drawing near at the moment he leapt—yes, leapt—into the woman’s arms.

She was striking, with dark eyes that rhymed with Leuko’s... in fact, she rhymed entirely with him, with his beauty. She looked up from him to Myka, those dark eyes widening, seemingly shocked to find another person present. “This is my dog,” she said, a little halting, as if she were trying the words out. Or as if she were coaxing them back into her mouth from far away.

Myka’s breath seized. “No,” she said, forcing the word out. “He’s my dog.”

“He is not. He’s mine. You can see it.”

Myka could see it. It drove ice in her heart to see it, to see him so ecstatic to see someone else, but it was there to be seen. It was there to be heard, too: Myka would never, she was sure, forget that declarative bark.

“He was lost for so long. How did you come to have him?” the woman asked, and Myka, trying to hide that heart-ice, explained about Sam. The woman said, shortly and with pain, “So that’s what happened.” She didn’t offer anything more, and while Myka wasn’t the most sensitive of souls, she could tell that this was not the sort of thing a stranger could ask any question about, not why or wherefore or anything at all.

A stranger. She was a stranger to both of them now, this woman and her dog, a stranger in their way, on the path in front of them—on a path she never should have been on in the first place. And if there was one thing Myka knew how to do, it was get out of the way.

She tried, mightily, to tell herself that that was what she should do: just step away. Let them carry on down the path. You didn’t have a dog before, and you were fine.

Leuko—Monty—looked at her from his perch in the woman’s arms. He blinked.

In response to that, Myka found herself babbling, “Can I... I mean, would you maybe let me... walk him sometime? Because he and I. I mean, or maybe just me. I. I’ll miss... it all.”

“I’m disinclined to let him out of my sight,” the woman said, with seeming care.

Myka didn’t have to ask why. “I don’t mean alone,” she said. “Just to see him.”

The woman looked at the dog in her arms. Did he blink? Whatever he showed her, it was enough. “All right,” she said. “Next week?” At Myka’s nod, she continued, “I should introduce myself. I’m Helena Wells.”

Myka understood even that was a matter of trust. “I’m Myka Bering,” she said, “and let me give you my number so you—”

“I’d rather not,” Helena Wells said, with the same care.

Not overmuch trust. “I can bring you what I bought for him,” Myka said, and maybe it was a flail to show that Helena Wells did not need to doubt her intentions. “If you want.”

“Thank you, but I still have all his things. Always holding out hope.” She said that with a quirk of her lip that Myka envied. Hope—what was it?

But of course Helena Wells had held out hope. Even after Myka’s own short time with Leuko—Monty—she would have done the same thing. Had he suddenly been gone, had she not known why.

The next Saturday morning, Myka spent some time pondering a very strange question: what do you wear to walk your ex-dog with someone who probably wants to forget that you exist?

The relief Myka felt when Helena and Leuko—Monty—appeared... it nearly felled her. There he is, she thought, and he’s all right. Not that she had expected anything different, but it was a relief. After a week she had not understood as a ratcheting up of anxiety, she at last felt relief.

They walked, side by side, Leuko—no, Monty—leading the way, shining even more brightly than Myka had known he could. “I didn’t intend to have your dog,” Myka started. “I didn’t mean to keep him... I mean, to keep him from you. The super can testify to the timeline, and I—”

“It’s all right,” Helena said. “I see that.”

“But I’m trying to tell you why this happened.”

“It doesn’t matter why. He’s here, and I told you, it’s all right.”

“Of course it matters! You’d care if I did try to steal him.”

“But you didn’t,” Helena said, and her words were gentle. “You cared for him. You didn’t have to.”

That left Myka strangely perplexed, because now, in retrospect, what else could have happened? “Of course I did.”

And Leuko—no, Monty—looked up at her, and he did the blink, and Myka knew what it meant: “Of course you did.”

Meeting, walking. They fell into a regular Saturday-walk schedule. As the weeks progressed, Myka’s anxiety gave way to, made room for, anticipation. Leuko—Monty—never barked when he saw Myka, but he did pull on the leash as she approached and gave her a nuzzle when she knelt to greet him.

“Why did you name him Monty?” Myka asked, one Saturday.

That made Helena smile. “I didn’t. His breeder did.”

“His breeder?”

“He’s a Mittelspitz.”

“He’s... a medium? A medium spitz?” Well, that explained his looking like a Pomeranian.

“Precisely.”

Myka felt dim. “But what does that have to do with being called Monty?”

“Nothing, as far as I know. The breeder named his litter after the stars of A Place in the Sun; he’s Montgomery Clift. His sister is Shelley Winters, and his brother is Elizabeth Taylor.”

“His brother? Why?” Myka really did try to limit the asking of that question out loud, but this seemed extra-justified.

“He’s even more beautiful than Monty.”

Did Monty the Mittelspitz turn his head and harrumph at such blasphemy? Myka surely was imagining that. He must have just seen a squirrel. “Poor Shelley Winters, though,” Myka said.

Helena laughed... and Myka felt that she should name that laugh “Elizabeth Taylor” as well. Helena said, “No, no, she’s pretty too. A remarkably lovely litter, and in fact Shelley was the only one who was show quality. If beauty were all it took, Liz would have ruled the circuit.” Another harrumph. “Don’t pout, darling,” Helena said to the dog, then to Myka, “Why did you name him Leuko?”

“After a peptide,” Myka admitted. “Well, a group of peptides.”

“A peptide.”

That was an implicit “why,” and Myka was strangely comforted. “I’m a chemist,” she said.

“A chemist.” Helena furrowed her brow. “How funny that I didn’t know that. How have we not got around to professions?”

Myka wanted to say, “Because when we get close to anything about our real lives, one or both of us backs away.” They still had no contact outside the park, and even as they shared and deepened this strange long-walk familiarity, Myka did not know where the line was. Had it shifted? If not, would it ever? She tried, very cautiously, “I don’t know. Will you... will you tell me yours?”

“I teach writing.”

For some reason, Myka couldn’t hold back her next question, even though it was not justified: “Why?”

“I have knowledge and expertise to impart. Due to having studied writing. And having made a living in the past as a writer myself.”

“That’s a good reason,” Myka said, and she thought, That’s more than you’ve said about yourself in weeks of walks. Was something different about this day?

“Thank you. Though I may not need your imprimatur, I’m pleased to have it.”

Was she... teasing? “I like good reasons,” Myka tried to explain.

“Good reasons. Recognizing them is not inapplicable to the craft of writing.” Helena said this with a funny little bow of her head.

Myka’s facial capillaries flooded with blood.

She knew why, but she hid the answer in her heart, for she remembered all too well Helena’s desolate “So that’s what happened.”

On one of their earlier walks, they had run into Abigail. “How’s little Leukotriene?” she asked. “Or I guess he’s not so little. That’s weird; I thought he was a Pom.”

Myka resisted the impulse to remind her of the ruler in the photo.

The next day, “Who’s your girlfriend?” Abigail asked.

It was the first time Myka really registered that she had continued her habit of going home in the middle of the day. To no purpose at all, she went home, stood in her kitchen, ate a sandwich that no one else wanted any of, and then went back to the lab. It was not a responsibility anymore, and it did nothing for her. She resolved to stop.

“Not my girlfriend,” Myka said, but she was appalled at herself: for a rash moment, she had wanted to let Abigail believe otherwise.

“Walking your dog with her?”

“Not my dog.” On that point, of course, Myka wished she could let herself believe otherwise.

“Pretty sure the dog matched that picture you showed me.”

“He’s her dog.”

“You were trying to pass your girlfriend’s dog off as yours?”

“She’s not my girlfriend. And he was my dog... for a minute.”

Walking in the park every week was not a responsibility. It was a reward.

And as Myka enjoyed her reward, each week, she studied Helena’s face, listened to her words. She tried to tell herself she was merely continuing to assess Helena’s relationship with Leuko. No: Monty. And she was doing that... but she was doing so much more.

How much could Myka continue to hide in her heart? And for how long?

As if in answer, the Saturday following their “professions” discussion, Helena (and Leuko—no, Monty) failed to appear. Myka, desolate at the absence of them both, walked by herself. It was terrible.

The park was empty of them the following week as well. Still, Myka walked, taking the isolation as her punishment for having misunderstood lines and crossing them, for having been so foolish as to let any part of her secret heart show on her face.

The aftermath of that second lonely walk left Myka restless, anxious. Should she try to find Helena and ask her why she had so abruptly decided against... whatever they were doing? Could she then beg her to reconsider walking a dog together to no purpose? “I’ll stop wanting anything more than that,” Myka thought to tell her. “I promise.”

But of course trying to find her was out of the question; if Helena didn’t want even to walk with Myka, she surely didn’t want to be stalked by her.

So Myka did the only thing she could do: the next Saturday, she returned again to the park. And she hoped.

TBC

[accioecho]

Tkem novel 13

Chapter 17 “A joint investigation”

Tae-Eul’s grand plans for the two of them that night consisted of dropping by the shooting range, winning the biggest prize there and walking through the quiet city streets.

The soft stuffed lion was definitely bigger than something that fit the palm of a hand. Tae-Eul successfully hit all seven targets and gave Gon the bulky plush toy.

Tae-Eul’s shooting abilities were incomparable. Gon was no match for her. Sure, when he saw Tae-Eul’s remarkable skills he had first felt a little embarrassed by his poor performance. However that feeling had quickly been replaced by pride.

Gon held the toy against his chest, dimples crinkling, a content expression adorning his face.

“Why do you like that stuffed animal anyway?” Tae-Eul asked when she saw his proud smile.

“Because it’s a lion. It resembles you. Lions are fierce, courageous. And impressive.”

“Ah, I see.”

Her shoulders shook with mirth. They had barely spent half a day together and she had laughed several times already.

Gon put his arm around her. They were walking side by side, like any other regular couple. Spending time together like this… It would be really easy to fall into the quiet comfort of daily life.

As they neared her house, Tae-Eul finally broached the subject she had avoided until then. She  had initially planned to bring up the subject as soon as she saw him but she had also really wanted to spend the precious time they had without any interference. Just her and him.

“Answer me without letting me go.”

“I won’t.”

“I want to ask as soon as I saw you but I was holding back. I waited for you as a detective but also as myself all this time.”

Gon halted his steps and turned to her. Eyes slightly widening, lips forming an uncharacteristic grim line, he grabbed her shoulders. Truth be told, there were a lot of things he had wished to discuss with Tae-Eul as well.

“Has something happened? Were you threatened by someone? Because of me?”

“I guess that means it will happen. That’s why you came.”

So much for a quiet daily life together. The idea of a regular life would have to wait some more.

Their eyes locked. Tae-Eul held Gon’s sharp, worried gaze.

“What is it?” Gon asked.

“Is there a dome stadium named K Stadium in the northern region there? With a capacity of 16,890 seats?”

“How do you know that? Did you look that up too?”

So she was right. Tae-Eul’s face tinged with concern. She had a lot to explain. Her hands slid inside her pocket and pulled out the usb key, the tiny item held tightly between her fingers.

Without waiting any further, Tae-Eul hastily ushered Gon to her place.

Gon, who had mostly hung around Tae-Eul’s now very familiar courtyard, who had never gone further than the Taekwondo Dojang, suddenly found himself stepping into the intimacy of her bedroom. Although he was there for a very specific purpose and not in the context of a romantic date.

Gon briefly looked around his surroundings. Her room was sprinkled with countless pictures from her childhood. A few shelves were pushed against the wall and were filled with books she had probably all read. A multitude of other belongings littered the small space.

Slowly approaching her bed, Gon carefully placed the stuffed lion next to her pillow.

They both sat down by the desk. Tae-Eul turned on her laptop, slid the USB key in its slot and played the audio file.

Gon didn’t need to listen for long. He recognized the news anchor’s voice. This was a piece of broadcast from the Kingdom.

“Is it?” Tae-Eul asked.

“Yes, it’s news from my world. But you found it here?” His mind was sent reeling at the thought of Tae-Eul’s discovery. “Who else knows about this?”

“Just me for now. I can’t really tell anyone about this. Nobody will believe it anyway.”

“What are you thinking of doing?”

“I need to investigate further and figure this out. This was my case, before I even met you.”

He respected, no— liked her bravery. This trait was one of the things that made Tae-Eul inherently her. But just this one time, he wished she was less courageous.

“It could be more dangerous than you think.” Gon swallowed the lump in his throat.

“That’s why I thought about just covering it up. But… if I cover it up, then no one will ever find out about this, since there would be only two people who know about this. Me. And the culprit.”

He was wrong.

She was braver than he thought.

She was brave and amazing.

“The two worlds shouldn’t get mixed up like this. They’re supposed to stay on their respective paths. But the two worlds are already colliding, and I’ve discovered it. So what else can I do? That’s why I decided to investigate. I’m a police officer in the Republic of Korea.”

He couldn’t stop anything then. Changes were already in motion, there was nothing he could do to prevent danger from reaching Tae-Eul.

She was in danger the moment she met him, yet she showed no fear, her sense of justice unwavering.

As the King of a nation, responsibilities weighed heavily on his shoulders. Tae-Eul equally felt the same responsibilities as a government officer of the Republic of Korea.

For a tiny second, Tae-Eul had worried Gon would perhaps hold this against her. She was wrong from the start.

Gon still seemed to be lost in thought, his mind going over the recent events. His posture was stiff, eyes unfocused and looking into the distance. As an attempt to distract him, Tae-Eul forced out a shaky laugh.  

She also shared his sentiments. What were the odds that the one case she had been investigating for the past few weeks turned out to be tied to another universe. This was bigger than simply the two of them. She had no idea what she was getting into and she felt apprehensive by the sheer unknown that lay ahead of them.

Despite all this, there was one thing that she was sure about.

Gon probably didn’t know this.

Yes, she had always been courageous. But in that instant, the reason that gave her strength, the reason why she felt she could be braver was because of him. Because he was by her side.

“So tell me everything you know about this. This is a cooperative operation that only we can do.”

“How goes the order of command?”

“I’m your superior of course. I give the orders here.” Tae-Eul answered without hesitation.

Gon let out a small chuckle and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a neatly folded enveloppe that contained a copy of Lee Lim’s death certificate and fingerprints confirmation. With shaky fingers, Tae-Eul grabbed the document.

“Lee Lim? That’s…”

“Yes, the traitor. If he’s alive, he’ll be 69 right now. You should find someone who matches his age, blood type and fingerprints. In my world, his body was found the year after he committed treason. But the body… was someone else’s.”

Something was definitely strange. Staring at the file, Tae-Eul sat still, all muscles in her body tensing up. This was beyond their imagination. That a dead person could somehow still be alive.

Tae-Eul knew this was possible though. Because out there stood a gate leading to another universe. A parallel world, where individuals that looked exactly the same as in the Republic existed.

“If Lee Lim is alive… He’s here, using that body’s identity.”

“That’s right. We have to figure out what he’s done here for the past 24 years.”

“I’ll look into it. But until I figure it out, do just 17 things. Stay quiet, don’t draw people’s attention, don’t tell anyone you’re a king, keep Jo Yeong out of trouble, don’t use any guns, contact me whenever you go somewhere. And I’ll tell you the rest when I think of any.”

“I’ll do as you order. Just do two things for me.”

Wondering what he would say, Tae-Eul turned her face towards Gon. He wore an unreadable expression and wouldn’t meet her gaze.

Gon pursed his lips. He hesitated for a moment, and then finally spoke his mind.

“Don’t tell me not to come. And don’t tell me not to leave.”

“…”

“I have to go back sometimes, and when I do, I want to come back soon. Whichever it is, if you tell me not to come or leave, I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything.”

Even in normal circumstances, people easily got tired of their partner when they stayed apart for a short time. In their case, a whole universe stood between the two of them, like a wall standing firm and tall. Gon deeply hoped Tae-Eul wouldn’t experience any difficulties or become weary.

This was the very first time he felt this way. He knew this was selfish of him. In all his life as a King, ever since he was born, he never once harbored any selfish interests.

“So I’m asking you not to get exhausted. I feel like a lousy man after saying that. Am I?”

Still staring at Gon, Tae-Eul slightly nodded.

“I’m confused about which part you were nodding to.”

Tae-Eul let out a small giggle and started tidying up the desk. There was a time not so long ago when Tae-Eul thought she would never understand him. That was when he first came to the Republic, babbling about parallel universes, quantum mechanics and what not. She thought he was just a crazy guy and they would never be on the same page.

Before she knew it, she found herself understanding Gon’s way of thinking and perfectly being able to read his feelings. Because she was the same.

“You should go now. Yeong must be sick with worry since he doesn’t know where you are. He must be waiting for you.”

“Why would you think Yeong doesn’t know where I am?”

Tae-Eul abruptly stood up and went to the window to look outside. Seeing the empty courtyard, she looked around her surroundings.

“He’s following us around here too?”

“I guess I’ve made you curious. I’ll be off now.”

“There’s something else I’m curious about. Am I really not in your world?”

Gon who was about to open her bedroom’s door, stopped in his tracks.

“Eun-Sup and Jo Yeong. Nari and that palace worker. Even this person has the same face. Do I really not exist there?”

Gon stood still, unable to confirm or deny. His silence was answer enough.

“I do, don’t I?” Tae-Eul didn’t know what to think. This felt strange.

“I wanted to wait until I was sure before I told you. But it looks like it. There seems to be a person that looks like you, yes.”

Long after Gon was gone, Tae-Eul couldn’t shake the image of her double existing somewhere in another world.

—

“Your Majesty. You must return to the palace. I can’t protect you here, your Majesty. What is this place, and how long have you been coming here? Your Majesty, we don’t have a life here.”

Unable to hold back, Yeong let out all the things he’d been thinking about but couldn’t say aloud when they were with Tae-Eul and Eun-Sup.  

Always looking out for him. Always defending his best interests. Gon was proud of him.

And he was about to relieve him of these daunting, heavy responsibilities.

Ever since their first meeting when Gon was eight years old, not once did Yeong disappoint or upset him. Yeong had become his most loyal subject, his best friend, his brother.

He felt guilty and sorry. But he was the only person who could carry out the task he was about to give him.

“You’ve endured a lot, Captain Jo. Yeong-ah. I can’t leave the palace permanently or give up coming here altogether. So you have to help me.”

[lovetenya]

𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧

pairing: tamaki amajiki x gn! reader

warnings: pretty angsty, relationship anxiety, fear of abandonment, descriptions/imaginations of choking (it’s figurative and imaginary, it’s demonstrated with snakes), hurt/comfort, reassurance, worrying, ???, ENDS IN FLUFF I PROMISE!!

word count: 1.7k 

author’s note: okay OKAY I’m sorry this took so long, i’m now onto the ones that i’m coming up with completely from scratch, because i’m not writing them from outlines. as always, this is all over the place bc i love inserting 294848 different scenarios into one work. someday, maybe, i will focus on one plot line. today is not that day. ALTHOUGH THIS ISN’T THAT BAD BY MY STANDARDS, I’M SORRY TAMAKI, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

being in love with tamaki amajiki is green.

it’s the small, fragile beansprouts he grew from the tips of his fingers at lunch time when you were kids, and he was trying to show you that his quirk was nothing to be afraid of. the other kids didn’t talk to him because they thought his tentacles were scary, but you just thought they were neat. 

he knew you before he knew mirio, and you were the reason he even considered talking to the loud, sunshine boy in the first place. you gave him the confidence to try to make new friends, to try to choke down the green of the nausea that comes with uncertainty.

“maybe not everyone is going to be mean to me,” he thought, slightly emboldened at the fact that he had a friend now. ‘y/n,” he thought. “they’re my friend now...”

it all started years ago in primary school when you noticed how he sat alone at his desk, drawing pictures of animals while the other kids played. his crayons never seemed to stop moving, and the green jungles he colored were detailed with a wide variety of wildlife and plants. 

he liked to be alone, where it was quiet and safe, and nobody would pick on him or ask too much of him. everyone knew that the tears that formed on his lashes were a common occurrence, so they tried to avoid pressing him too much. his peace usually remained undisturbed, until there was you. 

you walked up to show him a drawing you made of a spider. he jumped in fear, both at the drawing of a weirdly-realistic spider, but also the fact that someone was talking to him. 

“why don’t they know to just leave me alone?” he thought, already shaking in his seat. his blood ran cold, spit filled his mouth, and a bright green nausea overtook all of his senses. he looked up at your face, wincing and bracing himself for a playground insult. kids were creative, and he knew that all too well. 

“hi.. amajiki. i like your drawing. do you like animals too?”

“mm-hm..” he softly replied. this was new.

“what’s your favorite one?” you knew to keep it simple, because he clearly wasn’t comfortable speaking. he never raised his hand, even when his favorite subjects were brought up in class or when everyone was encouraged to participate. this time, however, was different. this time, there was you.

where mirio was his sun, you were his stars.

where mirio loudly encouraged him, you provided your gentle, guiding support, and always proved to be a perfect shoulder to lean a head into.

“i.. i like butterflies a lot.”

and so it began.

—

since you met, there were many periods of closeness and distance between you and tamaki, which is typical of childhood friends. you could go weeks without talking and then come right back together, making each other giggle with your newest ideas about the funniest things tamaki could do with his quirk. 

one day, you joked, “what if you ate a clam, manifested the shell, and then just knocked somebody over the head with it??? the guy would fall down like blehhh and that would be so funny!!!”

he laughed a little, before deadpanning. “wait a minute.... i think.. i think you might be onto something.”

—

tamaki remembers that the most nervous he’s ever been was while your relationship was still green. the two of you took a walk through a community garden after grabbing a quick dinner with mirio and nejire, and the two of them mysteriously had to leave at the same time, leaving the two of you alone. (the return of ultimate wingmen, mirio and nejire!) 

normally, he’d feel anxious about being in public, but he was okay because you were right there with him. you were here, walking shoulder to shoulder with him, through a garden full of butterflies. what more could he ask for? 

he didn’t have to worry about being judged or being teased, because it was you. the leaves surrounding you felt like nothing more than company. as you made your way through the beautiful maze of plants, flowers, and stone statues, it was just you two in the whole wide world, taking it all in and enjoying each other’s company.

although he hadn’t always known what his feelings meant, he now realized that he’s a crush on you for as long as he could remember. while mirio had several different flings, tamaki always had his eyes on you. nobody was as understanding, as considerate, and as perfect as you. he didn’t want to be like this with anyone but you.

his hand twitched toward yours, but he didn’t dare. he couldn’t risk the pain of rejection, he wouldn’t risk it. if it meant he could possibly lose you, it wasn’t worth it. luckily for tamaki, you didn’t share the same fear, and slowly took his hand in yours. he harshly avoided eye contact, desperate to not let you see his crimson red blush. you knew he had a hard time telling people what he really felt, but he wasn’t usually this quiet with you. 

“tamaki, is this okay?” you questioned.

“yeah. it’s.. good. i like it.”

—

green is the matcha-flavored boba tea that tamaki sips on while you’re on a date. he asks, “y/n, do you like seafood?” before he balances a boba pearl on the tip of his tongue and laughs. what a dork, you think, and then balance a pearl on yours. this is what tamaki needed sometimes, normal moments of relaxation, and you’re more than happy to provide him with it.

—

however, being in love with tamaki is also loving him through the moments that are hard, and when you can’t lean on each other, because it’s all too much. the moments where the problem is between you, and isn’t easily defined and solved. these are the moments when he’s green with envy, or sick to his stomach with worry, or overrun with anxiety at the most simple things. 

these are the moments where you’re tired, or overwhelmed, or you just can’t handle his emotional intensity today, even though you wish you could. you love him, of course you do, there would never be a moment in time where your heart wasn’t bursting for him, but every person has their limits.

these breaking moments are the ones where one of you blurts something you don’t mean in a moment of anger, cracking the meticulously constructed façade, which is in place to spare the other’s feelings.

they’re the moments where your mind goes blank, and all you can think of is, “i’m sorry. i’m sorry. i’m sorry. i’m sorry. i’m sorry. i’m sorry.”

they’re the moments spent frantically comforting, speaking through tears, words spilling out. they’re the moments where his head lays sobbing in your lap, and his arms circle your waist, desperate to hold onto something, anything. desperate to hold onto you, so that you don’t leave him. your words come out shaky, because even they aren’t really sure how to make this all better. how can you fix what was never meant to be broken? it’s uncertain, but you can’t ever finish if you never begin. you reassure him as many times as he needs to hear it.

“god, i’m so sorry, tamaki, i didn’t mean it, i promise i didn’t mean it.”

even though he says he forgives you, that it’s over with, you know he’s replaying every lilt of your voice, where it broke when you were angry. 

you know he’s feeling more than he lets on, but doesn’t share those intensities because he doesn’t want to come on too strong. you know better than to trust a simple “i’m fine, y/n. really.”

he’s not lying just to lie, because he’s never felt anything truer than his love for you. he’s doing it because he doesn’t want you to understand the heartbreak that often comes with love. he doesn’t want you to feel suffocated, or like you’re being strangled by thousands of emerald green scaled snakes. 

he doesn’t want you to feel their bodies coiled around your throat, like he does. 

he doesn’t want you to feel their scales: cool yet burning, smooth yet slicing, glide across your skin gently, intending to strangle. 

he doesn’t want you to feel their eyes boring into you, threatening under the ruse of being calculating. 

he doesn’t want you to feel what he does, so he hides it. even though he knows he shouldn’t, he can’t help it.

he can’t help how much he loves you, how afraid he is to lose you, how scared he gets whenever mirio and you are paired up together for a class.

he can’t help that he feels like time is running out, your life together is wilting away, and that you’re slipping through his fingers like fine sand.

but you know, truly and wholeheartedly, that his insecurity didn’t deem him invaluable or unworthy of love. his fear and his worries didn’t take away your love, and they never would. every moment spent reminding him that i’m not going anywhere, was worth it. because he’s worth it, and this was something worth fighting for. he’s worth the fighting and the courage it all takes, because he is what makes you whole. he, and everything he is, is worth loving, because there’s value to the things that break us.

--

being in love with tamaki is grassy green countrysides and wildflower stems, and finding little adventures in every single day. it’s reassurance through the irrational, it’s validation through the pain. it’s not loving despite, it’s loving because.

loving tamaki is green in its youth, in its freshness, in its refreshing reminder that you are loved. you are loved so vividly, so intensely, so naturally. 

tamaki loves you, and you know that, because he wouldn’t be able to muster the courage to let those words spill unless he really, truly meant it.

with you, tamaki can let a little loose, a little bit wild. he can let the vines restraining him wilt away into nothing.

because no matter what, it’s all worth it in the end.

—

thanks for reading! love, tj 🪶

color series masterlist

main masterlist

[athrialuxegna]

Stronger than she thinks Part 5

Triggers warning: mental and physical abuse, violence, swearing

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Fanfiction  | Archiveofourown | Wattpad

Hi guys, I updated the last chapters so they seem nicer to read, tell me what you think about it in the comments. I also edited the links to the previous and next chapters as they were a total mess, sorry about that! I hope that you like this story so far, I try my best to readproof it, but some mistakes remain, my bad if it’s bothering you.

Thanks for those who lived a note on the previous chapters, it means at lot! -Lys

What was I doing? That question rang in my head as I made my way to the Child Care Service. I was not a fan of kids, they bothered me more than anything else. Their cries, tears, and temper tantrums were stress-inducing for me. They made me uneasy and self-conscious with their bluntness. As we all say, "truth always comes from a child's mouth" and that's what put me on edge. I didn't know what to expect of my babysitting day. Why did I accept such a thing? Eric, of course. I wanted to know if it was his idea or if it was just a sick joke on Max's part. One can never be so sure about others' intentions and hidden agendas. The leaders had the power to make everything possible within the walls of the headquarters. Why would they want me near orphans? That's what I intended to discover.

I played with my fingers, eyes fixated on the door decorated with drawings, tiny handprints, and a whole bunch of names. How many children find themselves alone every year? No idea, but it seemed that numerous of them had gone through that door to find a new home. It was not really surprising when we knew that their parents took risks on a daily basis.

Patrols in the factionless territory could turn bad pretty fast. The homeless didn't have anything to lose, they were determined to seek their revenge on the system that shut them down without any possibility to be part of it. I understood where they came from. They had to fight to live whereas all the other factions would sustain themselves without thinking twice about them. Except for the selfless Abnegation faction that helped them the best they could by providing them supplies, clothes, and from time to time, food. However, their violence had dire consequences in the Dauntless faction.

As the soldiers of the city, we were to protect and maintain peace in the streets. We were the first to suffer from the conflicts between Factionless and the system. These children were proof of that. I sighed deeply, my fingers caressing the weird painted animals.

" I'm glad you came here, they're really excited to meet you. "

Startled by Eric's deep voice, I turned around to find him, arms crossed, shoulder pressed against the wall a few feet away from me. A small smile stretched my lips, although I could tell that it didn't match my eyes. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of taking care of children. I have never done it before because I was always afraid to make something wrong and being an only child didn't help either. I swallowed thickly, trying my best to keep my cool in front of the young leader.

"Hey, I didn't know I was coming until now," I admitted in a whisper. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Don't be so tense, they're not that bad. I promise everything will be alright, they gave their word to behave." He reassured, eyes locked in mine.

"I'm not afraid of the children," I snorted softly. "I'm more nervous about me being around them..." I shifted my weight on my other foot before adding: "How do you do? I mean, with the initiates and… kids? " I asked, curious about his answer.

Eric snickered, I didn't expect him to be so confident and relaxed, it was as if he had done it his whole life. Which wasn't far from the truth, he had taken care of the initiates since he became a leader five years ago, if not more. I didn't keep track of time as often as I should considering my job but days were pretty much the same since I've been hired to be Harrison's assistant. I felt my cheeks burn and I looked at my feet, defeated that he mocked me for being a pansycake. Which I was, but still, it hurt.

"If I can do it, you certainly can, Chris. Come on, they won't eat you."

Before I could respond, Eric opened the door and made a sign for me to enter. I heard shuffling and whispers, all noises died down as soon as I was inside. The children lined up obediently, aware of Eric's presence behind my back. I felt intimidated under the scrutiny of their innocent eyes. They were of all different ages and sizes, some were almost teenagers.

"Hi," I waved, almost shy. "I'm Christine but you can call me Chris, it's nice to meet you all."

"Hi Chris." They exclaimed in unison.

One of the oldest stepped forward, his shaggy blond hair falling in his chocolate eyes. His joyful smile was contagious, I couldn't help but return it. However, his expression changed suddenly as he seemed to think about his next words. The younger ones kept gawking at me as if I was an alien coming from another dimension. I felt the tension rising in the room as the blond hair boy opened his mouth. Was he the leader of the group or something? Is this some sort of secret children cult?

It looked like it, and this boy gave me a lot of Eric's vibes. He held his head high, his torso pumped, shoulders behind. A future leader for sure... or another Brent. That thought made me frown. How could I compare him with this asshole without even knowing his name? It wasn't fair for the teen. I pushed away any unwanted images. Having a mental breakdown in front of the kids wouldn't do me any good. No doubt that Eric would report it to Max and I was good for an endless "vacation". The other kids looked at him with mixed expressions, some seemed about to explode from excitement or take a run at any moment to come back to their games, and some were tapping their foot impatiently as if waiting for a signal to be able to speak.

"Before we introduce ourselves and let you join us, you have to pass the test." The boy sounded much older than he looked at that moment.

My jaw clenched as I pictured Brent in his place. It was so easy to see the similarities between them. Were they related? If that's the case, I'll make sure to keep my distance. My eyes widened and I stole a glance at Eric who was smirking. He only shrugged his shoulders when he met my eyes. Damn him, he should have warned me beforehand.

"Depends on what this… test is."

What would they want me to do or say? The blond boy made a sign and all children moved in sync to gather around him, whispering between them to come to an agreement. What was that? After several seconds of heated debates, they finally took their original place. Mini soldiers, perfect future initiates, are already programmed to fulfill the faction's goals. Was it Eric's doing? All these questions drove me insane, I wanted to turn around and talk to the leader alone.

I needed some clarification on what's going on and the rules of this Child Care Service. While I was thinking of it, I didn't see any worker or nurse on my way here. Did nobody care about these kids? Was it a wicked way to push me to take the job? I was so lost that I didn't register that the teenager had taken another step forward, standing right in front of me. He was almost eye level to me, he had to be at least fifteen if not more.

"So, Chris. If you want to become one of us, you have to answer one question." The boy paused to look me dead in the eyes. "What do you think of Eric?"

I blinked a few times, unable to comprehend his question. He curled an eyebrow in defiance, a smirk playing on his lips. His expression matched Brent's perfectly, so much that I shuddered. Heat rose in my cheeks, coloring my skin a deep red, I felt hot and cold, shivers running down my spine. I gathered all my courage to not react when I caught a glimpse of satisfaction in his irises. I won't let this brat get to me that easily. In truth, I was a complete wreck Brent and the boy morphed into the same person in my mind, that same wolfish grin on their lips. I slapped myself mentally to snap out of it. I needed to answer that stupid question or else they'll consider me weak and that wasn't an option.

"Cat got your tongue?" Teased the teenager, arms now crossed over his chest, surely imitating Eric's posture, but lacking his charisma.

" No, I… I didn't expect that kind of question, that's all." I felt Eric's eyes boring into my skull from behind. "We don't work a lot together so I don't think I know him as well as you do, but I trust him, he's a good person, even though he's almost always in a bad mood. I also like his jokes." I added more quieter so that the leader couldn't hear me properly. "Don't tell him that I said that but, sometimes, he's not funny but I laugh anyway to not make him feel bad."

I think I gained some extra points with my remark because the kids burst into laughter, clutching their sides as if recalling the infamous jokes of Eric. I tried my best to smile when the blond boy extended his hand to shake mine. His hold was strong and confident, showing me clearly that I just entered his territory.

"Congratulations, Chris, you're welcomed in the CCS." He bent over to whisper softly in my ear. "Eric didn't lie, you truly are beautiful."

Stunned by his boldness, I stared at him, fear evident in my eyes. Wrong move. Something flickered in his eyes, a malicious glint that made me want to run for my life. What he said took time to reach my mind. Eric told him that I was beautiful? I blushed uncontrollably, his smile grew wider, believing that he was the one to have this effect on me. I opened my mouth to retaliate but he beat me to it.

"I'm Aidan by the way. I'm sure we'll get along very well." He called over his shoulder as he turned on his heels and joined the older ones.

Petrified, I jumped out of my skin when Eric's hand found my shoulder. He put it back right away as if I just burned him. His worried eyes plunged into mine and I knew that I was screwed again. Eric was able to pick up that something was wrong. Something that we couldn't discuss in front of the kids.

"Don't let Aidan get to your head, he just likes to mess with everyone. He's a good boy when you get to know him."

"Yeah, I'm sure." I replied dryly, unconvinced.

One by one, the children came to introduce themselves. There were so many names to remember and faces to attach them to, I started to feel a pounding headache making its way into my brain. At least, it helped me get my mind off Aidan and Brent. I already had a fan club following me like lost puppies around the room. Everytime I turned around they would hide behind furniture, playing innocent. This routine kept going for some time before I got tired of walking aimlessly. The only one following me without even hiding it was a little girl who hasn't said a word since my entrance. I crouched down to her level, a reassuring smile on my lips as she cowered a little from me.

"You didn't tell me your name before," I said gently.

She just looked at me, clutching a stuffed bunny in her tiny arms. Her emerald eyes were mesmerizing, I could almost drown into these pools of rich greenery, they were gradually lighter from the center to turn into a deep olive green on the outer ring.. She looked so small and frail compared to the others, I wondered what her story was. Seconds passed and she didn't try to make a sound. I finally gave up, it will take time for her to warm up to me that's all. I brushed her hair out of her eyes, revealing her porcelain skin.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, it doesn't matter."

To my surprise, she jumped into my arms and clung to me even when others wanted my attention. I sat in a chair, humming softly an old song from before the war. I didn't remember the lyrics nor the title clearly, but I could recall the melody anytime. The mute little girl was snoring in my neck as I rocked her back and forth. She dozed off minutes prior, lulled by my voice. I didn't realize that many children were sitting around us, listening and daydreaming.

Eric was sitting in a chair nearby, his hands behind his neck, eyes closed. He seemed different among the kids, less nervous and on edge, he didn't even have to raise his voice to make his point clear. The children surely respected him. The peacefulness lasted another twenty minutes before a knocking on the door stirred awake the few ones who had fallen asleep. I came back to reality, my hand entangled in the girl's brown hair. When did I begin to stroke her head? She looked comfortable on me, her hands held my shirt as if to prevent me from abandoning her. My heart ached painfully for her, she wanted affection and attention, as any of these kids.

"Chris." I looked up to see Eric towering above me, a knowing smile on his face. I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. "It's time for us to go, the next team is here to take over."

I admitted that I enjoyed my day here, as long as we forgot about Aidan. The girl in my arms shook her head, realizing that we were about to leave. Her fingers curled around my shirt, preventing me from putting her back down. I felt bad so bad that I hugged her back and whispered in her ear.

"I'll come back, I promise."

She refused to let me go as I tried to pry her off. I kept murmuring sweet nothings to ease her pain to no avail, she was stubborn as a honk. Eric approached and tried to take her with him but she fought back, crying silently. I didn't know what to do so I let the leader take matters in his hands.

"Violette, look at me." The brunette looked at him with teary eyes, he gently wiped her tears away. "You know that we can't stay all the time here, we have to eat, work and sleep, too." Violette nodded slightly. "We'll come back before you know it, now Martha will take care of you. I heard that she has a gift for you, one that you wanted for a long time."

Violette's face brightens at the prospect of a new toy. She kissed my cheek then wriggled in my grasp. I put her down and she ran straight to Martha who was ushering the elders towards the bathroom. A contented smile crept upon my lips, kids were so fast to change their minds. I envied their ability to forget about their problems as long as they had anything to play with.

"Fear of abandonment, a hard one to fight against at such a young age." Commented Eric beside me. "They're stronger than most of the initiates that I've trained so far."

"That's not right, they're still kids, Eric."

"I know. I don't like it either, but it's their way of processing what they've been through. They grow up faster than the other kids, they have to look after themselves because they know no one will do that for them. I try to be there whenever I can, it's obviously not enough, you know how a leader's agenda is full."

"I can help." I blurted out before I could think of it.

"That's not why I brought you here." He replied without explaining further as we made our way out of the room.

"Thanks, that was… interesting and surprisingly calming."

"I knew you'd like it. So, you'll come back?"

"Sure, I don't have anything better to do anyway."

"Right."

A casual silence followed our little conversation. My thoughts were drifting away when he spoke again.

"What did Aidan say to you?"

"Nothing to worry about, he was just being a teenager." I dismissed with a flick of my hand.

"Don't lie to me, Chris. I saw the fear in your eyes." His tone grew cold. "What did he say?'

"That's not what he said," I whispered. "He kind of reminds me of Brent. I don't know why but I don't feel safe around him. Damn, I'm ten years older, I shouldn't feel like this." I ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to keep my composure.

Eric remained silent as I stopped dead in my tracks before we came close to a more crowded walkway. He turned his head with an eyebrow raised in question. I sighed, debating whether I should talk to him or simply keep my struggles to myself. He must have sensed my hesitation, he tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing to read into my soul.

"Stop doing this."

"Doing what?" He retorted, genuinely clueless.

"Your "I'm reading your mind look", it's quite annoying." Eric rolled his eyes.

"Then stop thinking that I'll report to Max whatever you say or do, and talk to me instead of overthinking. "

That was my turn to fall into silence, his face softened ever so slightly and I felt guilty. He helped me before I even was aware of it, I should be grateful and trust him, but I couldn't because I didn't trust myself anymore. At least, not for now.

"Chris, I've already told you that seeking help doesn't make you weak nor unworthy. "

My heart skipped a beat, was this his way of saying to let him help me? His cerulean eyes screamed sincerity. Why was he caring so much about my well-being?

"Thank you, Eric. I'll keep that in mind." He nodded curtly. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Meet me here at four, we'll go together."

"Sounds good. " We shared one last look, then we parted ways.

[pridewhatpride]

I like Higurashi a lot too! Did you like Gou? I liked the opening and the animation but didn't really like Gou overall. But I know people have varied heavily on Gou so I'd love to know your thoughts. My personal favorite season od Higurashi is the first tho or Rei.

Long post alert. Putting a cut right here so people don't have to scroll if they don't care.

Personally I wasn't a fan of the style initially- it's... too pretty and neat? I did change my mind because I rewatched the Studio Deen one recently enough and... well. The polish in the animation does give off the wrong vibe, but not in a 'it's cool because it's jarring' kind of way. In a 'this shouldn't look like pretty candy in a box' way. We all know what Higurashi is. Luckily enough, they managed to make some scenes work- pretty animation oftentimes cancels out the drama because you can't distort it without making it look off (reasons why I love the art direction of Masaaki Yuasa, but that's a different topic). In general I get why people might say that it looks better than it actually is- however.

I could go on about the opening, its meaning and its visuals for like... actual ages. I'll spare you that or save it for another post.

I liked Gou a lot and it's all because of the character drama between Rika and Satoko. I know that apparently there is a strong connection with the gods of Umineko, but honestly I haven't played that (it's... long. Really long). Overall, what makes Higurashi enjoyable for me is the character tension, not the horror per se. I loved the Mion-Shion bits in the original, the big question mark that Rena was throughout the whole first season. Keiichi is there (I don't hate him, he makes the series work, but he's absolutely the least interesting one). Rika turned out to be the protagonist when I thought it would always be Keiichi Maebara... In general, it's the characters. The plot is pretty good, too, you never have a clue what is going on and sometimes nobody tells you outright- I think that's great.

People will shit on Gou and the beginning of Sotsu a lot, I can see why- to some what we had was satisfying and the sequel feels like a glorified remake. Yes. I get it. But Satoko. Try and tell me Satoko didn't come off as the most useless character, with the only nuance to her being that she has a brother and her uncle is trash. Like- that is an hyperbole- I loved the arcs that covered her backstory and her feelings towards Keiichi. But I watched Gou and I thought... hey. She isn't just a child who had bad things happen to her. She is the trickster of the story, the joker. Satoko Hojo is a cool character and I understand her motivations. It's warped and wrong, but it's so human. She doesn't want Rika to leave, as simple as that. Who would want to be left alone? After all that? There is nothing worse to me than the idea of a neverending nightmare that just keeps looping. And from Rika's perspective it's so fucking terrifying. She's been in control, always, all the time. She always knew what was up, or at least more than everyone else. And all of sudden that isn't the case anymore.

... Imagine a bad addiction- one you struggled to get out of. It's been years. You've stopped. You're happy. Then you wake up one morning and your progress is gone. You relapse. You drown in everything that the addiction was to you once more- but you can't do anything to stop, because you're not the one actively acting, you're subject to the course of events. Rika has never been a pawn, but now she is- the pawn Satoko wants so desperately to bring under her command. And she's alone. Hanyuu is gone, because Hanyuu was a mistake that was never meant to happen- Featherine is her real identity and she's the real Oyashiro. She's the one who's to be feared. The powers Rika had were nothing, they didn't mean anything at all.

I love stories of twisted love like that. Satorika isn't and will never be a healthy relationship, but it's the star of the show in Gou and Sotsu. Rika was trying to solve things, she still is. Satoko is a calculating force of chaos who is forcing the hand of fate and is backed by a goddess who will simply giggle at all the misfortune she has to cause.

It's... kinda beautiful, to me. It's all wrong, it's all desperate and absolutely sick. That's what I look for in Higurashi. The first few series were about Rika's hope in escaping Hinamizawa. Gou and Sotsu are about the desperation that comes when the carefully crafted hope born from a shared effort are torn apart by the person you trust the most.

I can see why maybe the execution isn't perfect. I can see why people would dislike it. Maybe I think about it too much. Maybe if I rewatched it I would talk about missed opportunities and bad scenes. Who knows. What I do know is that if I draw art for a series, it's because it's left a mark and has left me thinking about it. Gou reawakened my love for Higurashi and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I am going to enjoy the hell out of Sotsu, too, I think.

[razorblade180]

Venqua Week:Music

“When you-gah! No, that’s not right. When- ugh! Come on Ventus, you can do this!” The boy said, frustratingly tuning a guitar. He had been at this for months now. It all started when Namine moved into the Land of Departure with him, Terra, and Aqua. The boy had stumbled upon her drawings and by extension, the arts itself. He was completely hooked. Outside of fighting, Ventus didn’t have much time to explore possible talents. He was determined to find a hobby he was good at! It took all of ten minutes of Namine teaching him about color theory for him to realize that maybe literal art wasn’t his calling.

That’s when Namine recommended music. Seemed like a good idea. He didn’t want to brag, but Ventus always thought he was a bit musically inclined. Between dancing and the ice cream beat machine, he thought learning an actual instrument would come easy. Wrong! It was critically difficult! Three months into learning guitar and his confidence was was fading like the golden sunset that washed over him as he sat at the edge of the trio’s stargazing spot. Ventus played a few more strings and sighed. It didn’t sound off. Honestly it never was. The problem was his nerves. Ventus was trying to be a perfectionist with the only song he’s been able to learn so far. All for a special someone, Aqua.

He had always had certain feelings for his friend, but expressing them was beyond impossible. Any time he tried to show her a cooler, more mature side of himself it never worked out. He’d either screw up really hard, or Aqua would do her pretty little giggle while patting his head like he was some sort of puppy. He was not a puppy darn it! Ventus wanted to at least be a cooler, older anime. Something like a fox or a leopard. Just once, he wanted to leave Aqua speechless. He thought a singing to her would be his best bet. His face face grew redder at the thought of her listening to the song in awe, her deep blue eyes captivated by his feelings.

“Geez, I’m so hopeless.” He said, covering his face. Ventus turned his head towards his master’s keyblade that rested peacefully just several feet away. He wondered if Master Eraqus had any hidden talents? No way keyblade wielding was his only gift. If Aqua’s fighting style was any indication, the old man was probably a bunch of fun on the dance floor. The thought of him doing even half the moves Aqua did was enough to make Ventus laugh lightly. Once again he strummed his guitar. “Oh master, you think I stand a chance?”

“Stand a chance at what?” A voice asked from behind. Ven’s face went bright red, then pale in a less than a second when he realized it was Aqua. She smiled her beautiful smile like she always did and held a crown of flowers in her hand.

“A-Aqua!?” He stammered, “W-What brings you up here....!?” He wanted to hit himself right now. The answer to that was quite literally in front of him.

“Changing out Master Eraqus’s flowers” she answered anyways. Aqua walked over to the memorial and did just that. The old ones weren’t dead yet, but their color was obviously starting to fade. Still, they looked rather pretty. So pretty in fact, Aqua took it upon herself to sat right next to ventus and hang it around neck. “Wow, I’m a little surprised it passed your hair so easily. I thought it would sit on top.” She teased, ruffling the wild dew.

“Hey! It’s not that spiky! Also my head would have to massive for it to sit on top!” He pouted. Why is always a head rub!? This time he was minding his own business and still wound up like this. “Do you have a thing with my hair or something? You’re always doing stuff like this.”

“Of course. You always pout and turn red. It’s cute.” She answered, watching him get redder. Aqua couldn’t help herself. Teasing Ven like this was just irresistible. “So, what is it that you were trying to stand a chance in? Maybe I can help?”

“What? Oh! Umm it was nothing! Just talking aloud is all.” Lying was not a strength Ventus had.

“Really?” Aqua said sarcastically. She reached over to the guitar in his arms and ran her fingers across the strings, making a subtle but pleasant sound from it. “Nothing to do with the acoustic currently in your hands?” She looked at the blue eyes that were inches away and avoiding contact. Aqua tilted her head, a bit confused by Ven’s shyness. “Ven, I’m not a mind reader. Tell me what’s up?”

“If you read minds then you know mine only has you in it.” He thought to himself. “I’m just having a little trouble with a song I wanna sing. I learned all the notes and everything, but I get anxious anytime it comes to playing the whole thing.”

“How come?”

“I’m...self conscious is all.” It wasn’t a lie but it was certainly vague. “Any time I think about singing it the way I intend to, I get worried if it sounds bad or if I look like an idiot.” Ven could feel his heart beating so loudly that he was afraid Aqua might here it. Here being this close was nothing new, yet it too much to deal with.m right now moved back a little by pretending to readjust how he was sitting.

Aqua could the boys hand fidget a little. He wasn’t kidding at all about feeling anxious. She had never seen him so flustered when it came to things like this. Aqua had caught him a few times over the past few months really putting an effort into learning when nobody was around. She had even secretly caught him sneaking off early in the morning to find a place to practice. Learning this song must’ve been really important. For Aqua, that only left one response to this.

“Can I hear it?”

Ven was going to have a heart attack. “What!?”

“I wanna hear it.” She repeated, “We’re often our own worst critics. If you only play with no one around then you might always think it needs improvement, so let me hear it. I’ll give my honest opinion!” She said, excited to listen.

“That’s the one thing that scares me!!!” Ventus could not believe this was happening. How was he supposed to explain to her that she couldn’t listen because he was doing it all for her!? She even gave a valid reason for helping! “Oh, no I uh- you don’t have to do all that! Hehe, I just-” he stopped when he saw Aqua move to sit on her knees. His crush sat patiently with her hands resting her hands on her lap, a heart stealing smile still on her face. Here she was. Here they were. Two people bathed in the golden light of a sunset. Warm air and breath stealing views anywhere you looked. A gentle breeze made Aqua run a finger across her face. All attention was on him. Well, no time like the present right? Ven stood no chance of resisting with a face like that.

He sat facing her, legs crossed. He new his face was still red and the sound of his beating heart hadn’t gotten any calmer. However, a comfort came from that with a mix of excitement. An honest truth about his feelings. He really had fallen for her and wanting nothing more to express his feelings with all of his heart.

“Aqua...can I ask a favor?” He somehow managed to say. “Can you...close you eyes while I sing to you?”

The request was surprising but understandable. This was more about sound then sight anyways. “Okay.” She closed her eyes in earnest. “Ready...” For some reason Aqua felt herself get a little embarrassed as well. She hoped it didn’t show on her face.

Ventus took the deepest breath he could. Mustering his resolve and composing himself, Ventus began to strum.

🎶When you walk away, you don't hear me say

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean

Is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go....🎶

Yeah, Aqua could totally feel herself starting to blush. Ven was only a few lyrics in, but she couldn’t think of a time she heard a more stunning voice.

🎶You're giving me, too many things, lately

You're all I need, oh~

You smiled at me and said...

"Don't get me wrong, I love you

But does that mean I have to meet your father?"

When we are older, you'll understand what I meant when I said

"No, I don't think life is quite that simple"

When you walk away, you don't hear me say

"Please, oh baby, don't go."

Simple and clean

Is the way that you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let it go🎶

Ventus felt his nerves melt away as he kept playing. His mind was too focused on the notes to worry. Too focused on the girl in front of him. He was starting to find his stride.

The daily things, Like this and that and what is what

That keep us all... busy are confusing me~

That's when you came to me and said

"Wish I could prove I love you but does that mean I have to walk on water?"

When we are older, you'll understand it's enough when I say so

And maybe some things are that simple.

When-🎶

His serenade was unexpectedly cut short. Aqua had reached for his hand and stopped him from playing. Ven’s heart skipped a beat. For a moment, nothing but dread filled his thoughts. Did she hate it? Why else would he stop him midway. He would’ve asked, but Ventus couldn’t find the words. Not out of fear, but because of the look on Aqua’s face. Her calm demeanor was entirely gone. A the warmest smile Ven has ever laid eyes on was on her face with rose red cheeks. “A-Aqua...?” He finally spoke.

“S...sorry.” She spoke, “it’s just...well....” finding the words was a little difficult. Aqua couldn’t help but laugh at her own skittishness. “You confessing to me like this might be a little more than my heart can handle.” There, she said it. She watched a Ven’s eyes start getting bigger and bigger while his face tried rivaling hers in terms of red.

“Y...You knew I-”

“Of course.” Aqua giggled, “I watch you just as much as you watch me you know? Because...I like you...too. A lot.”

Ventus must’ve been dreaming. Chirithy has to have put him in a special dream. It’s the only way this made sense. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Like he was one to talk.

Aqua rubbed the back of her neck, “I’m not very good with this kind of stuff. Even though I had a feeling you liked me, I just couldn’t find the nerve. Then I started thinking about how I could be wrong and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I kept finding reasons to keep quiet. But next thing I know is I started thinking more and more about these feelings sense we got back home and I-” Aqua jumped at the touch of Ven’s hand grab hers. She’s glad he did it, or else she might’ve rambled for hours.

A pressure weighed on their chest. One that was slowly pulling them together. The two of them couldn’t speak, only lean closer. They wanted the same thing. They knew it buy all the blushing moments and not so secret glances. Aqua moved the guitar away from Ven to get even closer. Ven invited the approach by tugging her hand closer to him. Her face had to be only inches away. Way to far for his liking. Aqua finally spoke.

“I think we should both close our eyes this time.” She said, flustered by her own suggestion. She was glad she managed to say it though. The moment his eyes closed, Aqua understood why he asked before. Filled with ease and courage, Aqua pressed her lips against the ones that had just serenaded her moments ago. Neither kept track how long they remained like this and neither cared. The only thing that mattered was it had finally happened; and it was only going to keep happening for many days to come.

[many thanks to @venquaweek because fun fact, I’ve had this music idea for three years and never wrote it 😂]

[so-nightmary-ul]

Y/N is eight-year-old Julius’s ward.

Y/N is a twenty-year-old girl from our world who died. Her soul moved into the girl’s deceased body (it looks exactly like hers in childhood), from which, as a result of an illegal experiment, magic was taken away and thereby killed her in the world of the Black Clover. Y/N retained all her memories, including the plot of the anime. Julius took custody of her (let's be honest, Y/N just had no choice).

---

How it actually happened:

You were brought to the Clover castle almost at night. Supposedly secretly.

Marx met you, and then you both went to Julius.

Surprisingly, your conversation with him wasn't in his office, but in some room with a fireplace.

You were seated in one of the armchairs. Julius was sitting in the exactly same armchair opposite you.

In short, it all happened somehow like this:

You, in your thoughts: 'Perhaps I can replay this situation in my direction. It is only necessary to invent a story, how I–'

Julius: «You have the magic seal of reincarnation on you, so I know that you most likely don't belong here. You can tell me everything.»

You:

You, worried, still in your thoughts: 'oh,  s h i–'

Apparently, he understood everything from your face, so he just laughed and offered to calm down and drink some tea.

Your bare feet, and in principle whole of you, were cold (you were in one tattered dress, in which you woke up in this world). You agreed.

During the conversation, you told him about yourself, and how did you die. You even accidentally blabbed that you know some things about their world. And only God knows why you told him all this at all. You could simply be stubbornly silent, well, or at least lie.

Maybe there was something in this tea. Maybe.

By the way, Julius even used Marx, who had been standing at the door all this time, so that he would use his Memory Magic on you. With your consent, of course.

After all this, Julius offered to stay here. By «here» he most likely meant both «in this world» and «in this castle».

Marx, in the background: «Wha– Lord Julius!»

It's not like you were paranoid, but for some reason it seemed very suspicious to you. Too good option. Too tempting offer to refuse.

But since you also weren't too stupid and understood that you don't and will not have any other shelter (besides, a child not trained in magic, there is no place safer than under the wing of the Wizard King, right?), you agreed.

Although you had a growing feeling that you had just, like a nice little girl, been wrapped around little finger.

But it was necessary to come up with a story of how the hell a poor eight-year-old girl settled in the Clover castle (and not by order of someone, but by the Wizard King!).

What options just didn't sound! And the niece, and the extramarital daughter (Marx: «Lord Julius, PLEASE, everything but not THIS!»     You: «Extramarital? So you have children from marriage?»     Julius: «WAIT, THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT–»), and the goddaughter, and the student, and the adopted daughter.

You all agreed on a ward, who was left alone after the death of one of Julius’s close friends, and over whom he took custody in memory of this friend.

You mentally apologized to Zora and his father.

After that you all parted. Marx took you to the guest room, wished you a good night, and left.

In this way, you turned out to be the ward of Julius Novachrono, the 28th Wizard King.

Being in the world of the Black Clover:

The next morning, you were PRETTY sure that you were simply wrapped around little finger, without even a choice.

Therefore, the first thing you did when Julius took custody of you was making a deal with him. He works for at least a couple of hours, and you tell him a little about magic from other worlds (anime, manga, TV shows, and etc) for twenty minutes. And then everything repeats.

So that he doesn't think that life is sweet, and Marx has less stress. After all, it’s can't be just only one Julius who's being cunning, right?

But then you realized that this deal was even profitable for him. Because Julius was ready to do a lot for the knowledge about magic. And given the fact that now he knows that you know what kind of person he is…

You realized that you had been wrapped around little finger by the same person twice already.

After that, you gave up trying to somehow outwit the Wizard King. Mission is impossible.

However, now, even though earlier Marx didn't agree with the idea of ​​leaving you in the Clover castle, he is ready to take his words back. Your new ally in this world.

---

Sometime later, you already began to curse your little body. Because with such height it was very difficult to reach something. And you didn't want to call someone and ask to reach it, because

You: «EVEN IF I AM IN A CHILDREN’S BODY, IN THE SOUL I AM ALMOST TWENTY ONE YEAR! I AM A PROUD INDEPENDENT WOMAN!»

You:

You: «…and this proud independent woman is a little ashamed.»

In addition, you considered yourself smart enough to build a stable construction and reach something by yourself. And when you finally took the thing you needed in your hands, you realized that you weren’t smart enough to think about how to get down from this construction before climbing on it. And there was nobody around.

In this way, you met Owen, the royal healer. Because jumping from four large and tall chairs onto a slippery tiled floor with a scream «BANZAI!» was definitely not your best idea.

Marx, who came at the call of the servants: «Y/N! How did this even happen?! I understand that you might need a chair to reach something, if nobody is around, but…»

You: «It was a bookcase.»

Marx: «…FOUR chairs?!»

You: «It was a HIGH bookcase, and the book was almost on the top shelf.»

Marx:

Owen:

You:

You: «I'm sorry, this will not happen again…»

In general, you were remembered by the royal healer as a quite smart little troublemaker.

---

At first you were afraid to leave the room once again, and if you left, you tried not to encounter people. But then you sent everything to the devi– hell. They can't blame you for anything.

We all know that Julius is 42 years old. Men at this age are usually tend to splashing out their paternal instinct on someone small, like a child (even if the body of this child contains the soul of a deceased and reincarnated twenty-year-old girl from another world, yeah). In general, that's why Julius gives out some EXTRA attention to you.

And even if, when he pampers you or has some baby-talk with you, your gaze literally told «what the hell are you doing». It breaks his little, poor, fatherly heart a little.

By the way, after Julius heard about your healing from Owen, he asked the servants to collect, according to your instructions, the books that you would like to read. A mini library in your room.

In general, you suspected that a child’s body sometimes still somehow affects your mind. Like «child mod». Because the former you would think twice– no, three times before doing something like that. You haven't seen another explanation.

Since there was absolutely nothing for you to do in this world, everything you did around the clock was walking around the territory of the Clover castle, reading, and sometimes talking with Julius outside his working hours.

By the way, the first time you opened a book, you realized that you don't understand almost a single letter. And you were surprised to find a book with the alphabet and basic grammar rules in the royal library (exhale, Marx, it was at an accessible height). Apparently, there is really everything in this all-praised royal library.

Julius was really upset that you didn't give him a chance to teach you how to read and write, since you did it by yourself.

But then you discovered drawing, and that was all.

DrAwInG fOr EvErYoNe

Yes, Marx, and for you.

Yes, Julius, and for you too. Don't make such a sad look.

By the way, about one of the consequences of Owen’s healing. You were ashamed of such childish rash behavior. Especially in front of Marx. Therefore, since then, sometimes you ask him for some work for yourself to at least help him a little with his work. Usually it's just taking something to someone, that is, the work of a messenger.

+1000 to Marx’s respect

There are days when Julius’s fatherly instinct pierces the sky. On such days, he comes to wake you up, although you usually wake up on your own. Then you have breakfast together (and Novachrono will not miss the chance to softly joke on you for something). You go to his office, where he works, and you either sit on his lap or draw or read while sitting next to him. Have lunch and dinner together. Then, by nightfall, Julius reads something out loud to you, like fairy tales, and can even kiss you on the forehead.

This is very kind of you, Julius.

But please don't do this anymore.

Julius doesn't hear your thoughts and sometimes continues to do so.

Once you got a little sick, and it was a  c h a o s.

Then was your Birthday. Just a few months later. And there are two options for the development of event: 1) you don't tell them about it, and they somehow know about it themselves (it's impossible to hide something from the Wizard King)  —>  Julius’s fatherly instinct is sounding an alarm  —> literally the best Birthday; 2) you tell them about it  —>  Julius’s fatherly instinct is sounding the alarm  —> literally the best Birthday. In the end, it all ends the same way.

At some point, it dawned on you that you feel like Asta, looking at people using their magic.

SORRY, JULIUS, BUT WE NEED TO TALK

SAY NO MORE, HE WAS BORN READY FOR THIS

Although the body of the girl, which was occupied by your soul, was emptied of magic, apparently, this didn't apply to your soul.

No matter what your type of magic is, this man is THRILLED.

Then the holy  c a n o n  and the intrigues of the Eye of the Midnight Sun began, during which you, singing a quiet melody, painted «Licht» and his three-eyed gang. Then, with a sweet smile on your face and a creepy chuckle, painted over the whole sheet with black paint. And then burned this sheet in the fireplace.

Even knowing what would happen with Julius during the insurrection of the elves, it was painful.

Well, Julius’s fatherly instinct was now more like the older brother’s instinct. It bothered you a lot less. It, obviously, suited you more.

Now you and Julius are a team. Team We-do-not-look-at-our-chronological-age LOL

The captains of the Orders of the Magic Knights:

You didn't plan to meet with the captains of the orders for at least some more time, but then they had a meeting, and at the same time you mistaken the door, and here we are.

Frightened, when all eyes turned sharply on you, you wanted to apologize and quickly get out, but then Julius said cheerfully: «Oh, Y/N, it's you! Feel free to come in! Oh yes, you are not familiar. This is Y/N. She is my ward.»

Novachrono (the cunning, as he is) didn't even try to conceal you.

The first phrase, which instantly ended the dead silence in the room, belonged to the captain of the Black Bull.

Yami: «Damn, old man, when did you have time?»

Hearing «ward», they ALL thought not about what Julius really meant. But Sukehiro voiced this idea first and only.

You almost started to make excuses, but Julius spoke first in time. He explained the situation to them, and for some reason almost all the captains exhaled synchronously with relief.

The meeting could be officially considered interrupted, because c'mon, guys, this is the ward of the Wizard King.

If you are an introvert and don't like large crowds, then RIP

---

Rill was the first to come, as, apparently, the youngest of them. He began to chatter quickly and indistinctly, at the same time shaking your hands. From his monologue, you only understood that he was the captain of the Azure Deer, that he was nineteen, and that he was very glad to see you. Upon knowing that you like to draw (You, in your thoughts: 'It's not like I like it, I just don't even have much to do'), he began to speak even more merrily and to shake hands more intensely. Charlotte saved you from a dislocation of both arms. Stepping closer, she told Rill to stop, after what he, upset, fell behind.

You and Charlotte just stared at each other for a while. But then you had the urge to poke a finger into her cloak and say: «This is my favorite color.» After that, her face twitched for a second, and then she smiled a little. Charlotte gave you a blue rose created by her magic. When, having accepted the flower, you smiled broadly at the woman (you really like blue roses), the sound of a cracked heart was heard by you. But you still don't understand who it was coming from: Julius or Charlotte.

«Oh God, queen of thorns, what kind of expression that was now? Is your nerve pinched?» it was that phrase with which Yami came up to the two of you. Charlotte blushed, you looked at Sukehiro’s formidable face (he was your favorite character in the anime because of his jokes). When you coughed because of tobacco smoke, someone instantly exclaimed: «YAMI, PUT OUT THE CIGARETTE.» He was dissatisfied, but didn't put it out, but just moved away. This upset you a little.

Jack is creepy by himself, and now that you are standing right in front of him, and he, with his enormous height, hangs over you, you were scared three times more. You really froze, thinking that if Jack confuses you with a statue, he will lose interest in you. You could well have passed out because of fear, but Fuegoleon saved the situation.

He greeted you fairly adequately, asked for your name, and then called his. You thought that he was raising Leopold, so he has some communication skills with children. But Fuegoleon was strangely curious (which you thought was especially unusual for him). He asked about your hobbies, magic, and how do you generally live in the Clover castle. You liked to communicate with him.

Nozel didn't even get up from his place, content with what he was observing from the side. He only said (quite proudly) his name and then asked about your past parents. Julius answered him for you, on the go inventing that they were not from the nobility and other. Knowing that you're not from the nobility, he seems to have quickly lost interest.

William was the last to come. He squatted in front of you (the only one, by the way) and, smiling, called his name. Julius whispered to you: «William loves kids.» Knowing the plot of the Black Clover, you also smiled awkwardly at him, clutching Charlotte’s rose more tightly in your hands. You looked intently into his eyes, apparently trying to find something of Patri’s soul, but failed. And then you realized that for a long time you was indecently staring at a person and hastened to make excuses, blurting out the first thing that came to mind: «You have beautiful eyes.» William was surprised at first, but then again smiled only somehow differently. You thought you would die because of shame.

Dorothy and Gueldre didn't talk to you much. Well, that is, Unsworth snuffle something, but you didn't understand anything. And Poizot silently looked at you somehow strange, because of what you quickly looked away. These were the eyes of a crook merchant.

A few headcanons about the captains:

If you think Julius’s fatherly care is the most awkward care you ever received, then take your words back immediately.

One of the captains could well lend you one of their Magic Knights, if you need to go, for example, to the city.

Sometimes you and Rill draw together. Honestly, you're a little depressed by the fact that he draws 100 times better than you. And if you suddenly get the opportunity to be with him when he uses his magic, the «child mod» is switched-on in you, and you start to advise him what to draw in order to win. There is no need to say that he likes you very much, right?

At one point, Charlotte realized that you looked a bit like Yami. She, you and Yami appeared in her head. F A M I L Y. Charlotte’s heart cracked a second time.

At first, Sukehiro for some reason didn't like you too much. But then, when you became interested in his katana and muscles, perhaps he became more favorable a little. Perhaps.

You still stare a little suspiciously at William when you see him. Absolutely unaware of what was going on in his head.

Patri, don't make such face. Yes, she has the magic seal of reincarnation on her. Patri?.. PATRI, DON'T YOU DARE–

But William knows how to make good wood figures.

If one day someone decides to kidnap you or something, he is better off using all the luck he has. Because when he blunders, no one will ever see him again.

You really like spending time in the World of Dreams with Dorothy.

At some point, you became aware of yourself braiding Fuegoleon’s hair. You wanted to pinch yourself to make sure that it was just a dream, but decided to still watch this fascinating dream, while there is a chance.

Soon you realized that you were not sleeping.

You gave almost all of them a drawing of themselves.

[thetravelerwrites]

Monster Match #26: Duamutef (Lemon)

The Traveler's Masterlist

For @one-halloween: “My pronouns are she/her and my orientation is pan. I'm small (like 4'9") with waist length brown hair that's bleached in an ombre style. I dress in a kind of retro style (so like 80s acid washed jeans and crop tops). Uhh I love reading, writing and gaming as well as hiking and working on a car or something like that. I'm often quiet but around people I like I can be the jokester of the group.

Cliché but I like partners who are taller than me, and those I can joke around with. Someone who is also loyal and honest as well as loving and will take interest in hobbies. The things I dislike are dishonesty and secrets. As well as someone who takes life way too seriously and won't crack a joke here or there. Also someone who doesn't take interest in what others do. I was thinking if you could make it NSFW that would be great.”

You’ve been matched with Duamutef!

Duamutef is one of the four sons of Horus and one of the protection gods of the four canopic burial jars, specifically the jar which contains the stomach. In war, the most frequent cause of death was from injuries in the torso and stomach, and Duamutef protects this organ, both in life and in death.

Duamutef was originally represented as a man wrapped in mummy bandages; however, from the New Kingdom onwards, he is shown with the head of a jackal and is an example of cynocephaly which, in Greek mythology, is a creature with a human body and a canid head, specifically a jackal.

What gives a god their power was the belief of their followers; however, many of the ancient religions had either died completely or were far less worshiped during modern times, affording the gods of those pantheons less power. While some gods lamented this decline in their abilities, others found it freeing, and delighted in the opportunity of roaming the earth as they wished. One such deity was Duamutef.

As a lesser god, even people who followed the revival religion Khemetism didn’t tend to worship him as much as Anubis or Ma’at or his father Horus, so he decided to come to earth and travel the world, learning about an era with which he was unfamiliar.

Of course, you didn’t know all that when you met him. He introduced himself as Tua, an exchange student from Egypt. He was a mysterious figure and his age indecipherable to you. Sometimes he seemed young and boyish, easily a full foot taller than you, always smiling and laughing. However, there was this ageless look in his eye that told the story of a very old soul. He was tall and dark, just like in fairy tales, and already very popular on campus.

It surprised you when he took notice of you. You were a quiet girl, unassuming and not the type to draw attention, so his sudden interest in you was a little startling.

“Excuse me,” He said one day, coming up to you suddenly. “I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

“That’s probably because we’ve never spoken before,” You said. “And I don’t think you know any of my friends.”

“An oversight. My apologies,” He said, smiling. “I make it my aim to know everyone in every place I go.”

You looked at him in alarm. “There are hundreds of people attending this college.”

“I am aware,” He said, still smiling. He had those deep, dark type of bottomless black eyes one could get lost in. “I’ve managed to at least introduce myself to most of the people, but it seems I have missed you. Forgive me.”

“Honestly, it’s not a big deal,” You said. “I’m nobody, really.”

“That’s not true,” He said. “Everybody is somebody to someone, and I’d like to be a friend to you. My name is Tua. May I ask yours?” He offered his hand to shake and you shook it, telling him your name. “Will you walk with me? The cafeteria is offering something called a corndog I’m eager to try.”

You laughed. “Don’t get too excited about that. It’s not exactly a culinary masterpiece.”

“But it’ll be new. I like new. I spent a very long time in one place, and now that I’m out in the world, I want to experience as much as I can.”

“Were you homeschooled as a kid or something?” You asked.

He laughed again. “Or something. My family had a lot of responsibilities many years ago, you could say. After working my whole life in the service of others, I think I’ve earned a vacation.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” You said. “It can be tough when your parents expect a lot from you.”

“That’s the truth,” He replied. “So, corndog? I’ll treat you.” He extended his hand toward the cafeteria.

You echoed his laughter. “I don’t know if I’d call it a treat, but sure. That sounds nice.”

From then on, Tua spent a lot of time with you. He seemed to go out of his way to seek you out. He said he enjoyed listening to you talk about things, saying that your perspective was entertaining. You didn’t mind his presence. He was earnest and funny and he always wanted to hear your opinion on things. He’d often come to the bookstore where you worked to get your recommendation for new books to read. He seemed confused by a lot of western culture’s practices and often asked you for advice or to explain things to him. His open curiosity and wonder with the world around him was very endearing.

You weren’t sure why he chose you to help him navigate life in the western world. Surely there were better candidates in the large pool of people who followed him around. He had a legion of fans who hung on his every word and shadowed him like love-struck puppies, but he dodged them consistently to spend time with you. There were more attractive people of several genders that he could have had his pick of, but he decided on you, and you were slightly baffled by it.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” He asked you one day while you were ringing up his new purchases. He must have a significant library by this point. “There’s something called a farmer’s market I’d like to go see.”

“I can’t go tomorrow,” You said. “My friend’s car is acting up and he wants me to take a look at it. From what he’s telling me, it sounds like his alternator is shot, and if that’s the case, that’s a full day’s work.”

“You can fix cars?” He asked. If he had animal ears, you’d swear they had perked up when he said that. “How interesting. I don’t know anything about cars. Can I observe?”

You shrugged. “If you want to. Make sure to wear stuff you don’t mind getting dirty. It is very hard to get motor oil out of clothes, trust me.”

“Of course,” He said.

“Here,” You said, taking out a pen and running out a length of receipt paper to write on. “Here’s my address. He’ll be dropping it off around 9 A.M. and picking it back up after his shift at work.”

“Excellent. I won’t be late.”

“If you say so,” You said, handing him his purchases. “Here you go. That D&D book is a classic. I think you’ll really like it.”

“Much appreciated,” He said with a smile, nodding politely as he left.

He arrived the next morning carrying a sack of donuts and coffee. You were glad he already knew what kind of coffee you liked, because he drank his very strong and you wouldn’t be able to stomach it. You had to do a double take when he took off his jacket and revealed a v-neck black shirt and tight black jeans. Normally he wore a pair of slacks and a button-up, so this look was quite a change and you were having trouble not staring. He was skinny, but he had a lot more muscle definition than you would have suspected.

“I hope I’m not late,” He said. “There was an accident on the way here. No one seemed to be hurt, but there was quite a backup on the highway.”

“No, you’re fine,” You said. “My friend hasn’t even shown up yet. Let’s eat before he gets here. Eating with grease on your hands is a bad idea.”

Your friend pulled up as you were inhaling a bear claw. You introduced him to Tua, they exchanged brief pleasantries, and your friend took off for the bus stop down the road.

“He seemed nice,” Tua said.

“He’s gay and single, if you want his number,” You laughed as you popped the hood of his Honda Accord.

Tua laughed as well. “I appreciate the offer, but he’s not my cup of tea. Or coffee, if you will.” He took a big gulp, and you shuddered.

“I can’t believe you take that black. It’s got to be so bitter.”

“We didn’t have sugar where I grew up, so I’m used to it.”

Your head rocked back. “Where did you live that you didn’t have sugar.”

“Near Cairo,” He replied. “It was called something different when I was born, though.”

You made a face. “Cairo was founded in 969 AD. You’re not that old.”

He smirked. “How old do I look?”

You stared at him, trying to gauge his age, but blanked. “Let’s just get to work.”

The alternator was indeed going out, and while changing it out wasn’t rocket science, it was labor intensive work for someone as small as you were. You were actually glad to have an extra set of hands to help. In addition to the alternator, you also found a crack in one of the hoses that was also going to have to be replaced, as it was leaking coolant.

Both of you were elbow deep in grease by the time you decided to take a break for lunch. You went to order a pizza as he went in to wash his… self. He somehow managed to get grease all over his face. You had a sneaking suspicion he just liked getting dirty.

After putting in your order, you went back outside to clean up the area around the car and put away the tools you didn’t need anymore in their rightful place in the toolbox when you happened to look up to the bathroom window. You had to squint and blink, because something was… off.

Tua had taken his shirt off to clean up, but something was odd about his head. It was larger, darker, and blurry almost. It almost looked like an animal’s head. Maybe it was just how the frosted glass reflected the color of his hair, but it didn’t look… normal. Something on the top of his head resembling ears flicked back and forth. Something that looked like a snout opened and shut, as if inspecting its teeth. The head shook like a dog slinging water from its fur. You blinked, and he had put his shirt back on and his head looked completely normal again.

Were you going insane?

Tua came back out of the house, the water from washing his face and neck glistening on his skin. You didn’t realize how bug-eyed you were until he tilted his head in concern.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

You shook your head to clear it. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I thought I saw… nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Pizza’s on it’s way.”

“What did you see?” He asked neutrally.

“It doesn’t matter,” You said. “It was probably a trick of the light.”

“What if it wasn’t?” He asked in the same neutral tone, watching your face. “Hypothetically.”

“What are you talking about?” You asked.

He sighed, shook his head, and his usual smile was back in place. “No matter. What kind of pizza did you get?”

You let the matter drop, but it nagged in the back of your mind for the rest of the day.

That night, your dreams were unusual. You dreamt of a dry place, of women in soft, sheer gowns and men in short skirted garments. Shaved heads and wigs.

In one of the dreams, a woman led you to a huge, grand hall made of stone. There, sitting on a throne of ebony inlaid with gold and jewels, was a man. He had a falcon’s head on a fit human’s body. He held a staff in his hand, and on his head perched a red and white pschent, the crown of Pharaohs. Behind him were four gigantic statutes of other men and women. He sat at their feet, surrounded by attendants.

The woman gestured for you to walk forward, and the man on the throne waved a hand. All of the attendants left him, leaving you standing there alone with him.

“My son has shown you interest,” The man said, his voice booming throughout the chamber, though his mouth never moved. “That is unusual. He and his wife have divorced millennia ago, and he has not taken interest in anyone for many, many years.”

“Your son?” You repeated. “Who is your son?”

“Know you not who I am?” He asked, standing and laying his staff against the armrest. “The god of the sky above and kingdom below. The wisest of my siblings, the most benevolent. Am I a stranger to you?”

“I’m sorry,” You said hesitantly. “I’m not really religious.”

He sighed. “I suppose that’s to be expected. The power of our pantheon has declined dramatically. I must be grateful that the revival in modern times has allowed us to rise from our sleep and reclaim any sort of rule.” He stood to his full height, which had to be at least seven foot. “I am Horus. You are a friend to my son, Duamutef, blessed with the head of a jackal, the animal of death, guidance, and protection.”

“The head of a jackal?” You asked. “Like a dog? So I wasn’t hallucinating? Tua really has the head of a dog?”

“In so many terms, yes. Tua, as you know him, asked for my permission to travel the world, and I granted it to him, hoping he would stop pining and bring his knowledge of the new world back to his peers.”

“How long is he allowed to explore?”

“Not that long,” Horus said. “A few centuries.”

You gaped at him. “You realize that since the industrial age, humanity and its technology is advancing very quickly. The world isn’t the same as it was ten years ago, and it will be different in another ten years.”

“Oh,” Horus said, seemingly baffled. “That’s alarming. In the ancient kingdom, it was as if time stood still. Once we gave humans the knowledge they needed to live and create, things carried on as it always did for over three millennia.”

“Things are different now,” You said, perhaps too boldly considering you were speaking to a god.

“It would seem so,” He replied thoughtfully. “Duamutef is eager to learn, however. As long as he sends back a report, I suppose he can stay in the mortal plane as long as he wishes.”

“I’m sure that would make him happy,” You said.

“I think you would, too,” Horus said, looking down at you. A falcon can’t smile, but you felt kind approval radiating from Horus’s body.

“I would?” You said. “I’m his friend, just a girl he follows around because I explain things to him. I’m not special. Besides, I don’t even think he likes me that way.”

“Aren’t you?” Horus asked patiently. “Doesn’t he?”

You flushed. You hadn’t really considered it. He seemed way out of your league. “Well… even if he did, how can I be worthy of a god?”

“You are worthy. You do not need me to tell you so, nor do you need him to. But he has chosen you, and I am pleased that he is happy and moving on. He has been alone for a very long time.”

“This is a lot to process, you know that?”

“Indeed,” Horus agreed. He turned and went back to the throne, sitting in it. “Take some time to think it over, but do not make him wait long. My son’s happiness is important to me.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

You woke covered in sweat and gasping. That… that couldn’t have been real, could it? Thank god… or gods… that tomorrow was Sunday. You needed a full day to just… deal.

Monday, you returned to school, both confused and… a little excited. There was something innately fascinating knowing an actual god was walking around campus, acting like a human. While you weren’t a fan of the fact that he was hiding it from you, you were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just this once.

You saw him in the courtyard surrounded by his usual fans. His magnetism suddenly made a lot more sense. You wondered why you were so resistant to it.

“Tua!” You called. He looked up, caught your eye and smiled, walking over. His gaggle of… worshipers?… followed behind him.

“I need to talk to you privately,” You told him in a terse undertone.

“That sounds serious,” He said, still smiling, though he looked concerned. “What about?”

“Your father came to visit me,” You replied.

The smile slipped and the color drained from his face. “Uh…” He said to his group, trying to laugh lightly. “Sorry, friends. Family business.”

They groaned in disappointment but thankfully dispersed. He took you by the hand and led you to the side of the Sciences building.

“What did he say to you? Was he angry?”

“No,” You said. “He told me he was pleased.”

Tua sighed in relief. “I’m glad. I was worried he was annoyed with my decisions. He said he wouldn’t interfere, but I’ve been concerned because I hadn’t heard from him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You asked, folding your arms.

“What, that I’m a lesser god of an ancient religion that had almost died out, until the recent revival?” He said shrewdly. “Would you have believed me.”

“Your real head might have convinced me,” You replied. “The jackal?”

“Ah, yes,” He said. “I figured you had seen it the other day, but you didn’t press the issue, so I hoped you’d think it was a figment of your imagination.”

“Why didn’t you want me to know?” You asked.

“I did,” He said. “But I wanted to tell you myself, when the time was right.”

“When would the right time have been?”

He shrugged and looked at the ground. “I don’t know, I guess. I almost did, the other day, but I was nervous.”

“Your father told me something else,” You said carefully. “That you had been alone a long time. That your wife divorced you and that you had been pining for a long time. He also said…” You cleared your throat and swallowed. “That you had chosen me.”

He looked at you through his lashes, looking apprehensive. “Can… can we discuss this later? Somewhere private?”

“Come to my house after school. We’ll talk, okay?”

He nodded, looking self-conscious, turned, and jogged away, dodging his fan club and ducking into the Arts building.

Later that night, you paced in your living room, waiting for him to arrive. When you heard his car pull up, it took every ounce of willpower to not dash outside.

When he knocked, you opened the door to find him holding flowers and a gift bag.

Oh god.

“I figured if the cat was out of the bag, I might as well try,” He said. “Here.” He handed you the flowers, which were your favorites, and the bag. Inside was a book.

“Someone wrote a book about me,” He said. “Well, about me and my brothers. It was written while we were sleeping, so there’s a little missing, but I’m happy to fill in the blanks.”

“I don’t like that you hid this from me,” You said as you moved aside to let him in.

“I’m sorry,” He said. “I didn’t mean to hide it. Most people don’t look that closely. You’re the first person to see my true self.”

“That’s not entirely true,” You said. “I only saw an outline, a shadow.” You folded your arms. “So show me the real you. I want to take a good look.”

He took a deep, calming breath, and his body shimmered. His head elongated, black fur sprouted from his neck up, trailing down his spine and the middle of his chest. His normal modern clothes disappeared and the traditional gathered skirt of ancient Egypt appeared around his waist, ending at the knee. His eyes were silver and had markings around them. He wore no crown, but there were markings where a crown might have once sat.

“Is this what you saw?” He asked. Like his father, his mouth did not move when he spoke. Instead, his voice came from all around you.

“Something like it, yes,” You confirmed.

“Are you frightened?” He asked hesitantly.

“No,” You replied. “I’ve had time to come to terms with it. I think I’d be more freaked out if you had sprung it on me out of nowhere, maybe.”

“See? What else was I to do but keep it to myself?” He said in exasperation.

“I guess I see your point,” You admitted. “But no more secrets, okay? There’s nothing I hate more than people keeping secrets from me.”

“If that’s so, then… there’s one more thing I must confess,” He said slowly.

“I think I know what it is,” You said, bracing yourself. “But I’d like to hear you say it.”

He cleared his throat and stood tall. “I have become… enamored with you. I don’t know when it started, but it came to me quickly. Perhaps it was because you didn’t fall into worship of me, as others have done. As gods, it is humankind’s natural inclination to bend the knee to us, but you did not. Perhaps it was your patience with me and my multitude of questions. Perhaps it was the extent of your knowledge. Perhaps it was all of those things. But I care for you. I do not expect you to return my feelings, but I would wish to remain close to you, in whatever form you desire. Friend, companion, lover. It is your decision.”

You laughed a little. “That’s a hell of a declaration. I mean, you haven’t even kissed me yet.”

He looked startled. “Is that something you wish?”

“I don’t know.” You moved closer, considering him. “Are you any good at it?”

He took your hands. “Well… it has been some time. I may be out of practice.”

“Give it your best shot,” You challenged.

His lips curled into a smile, and he pulled you into an embrace. Tall as he was, he had to bend to reach your lips. His kiss was light, but experienced, and he lingered for many minutes. When he pulled away, you were seeing stars.

“How was my technique?” He asked playfully.

You shook your head to stop it from spinning. “More than adequate,” You chuckled. “You’re not quite as rusty as you claim.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear,” He said, and kissed you again.

You weren’t sure how the two of you made it into your bedroom, but suddenly there you were, the bed right next to you. You began shedding clothes and pulled at the belt that gathered the skirt at his waist. It fell into a pile at his feet, and he stepped out of it, lifting you into the air and setting you gently down onto the bed.

You began to shake a little. You hadn’t had a serious partner before and while this wasn’t your first time, the sex you’d had before hadn’t been as… significant as this was turning out to be. Were you going to fast? You’d known him for months but it was only in the last few days that you’d known he was carrying a torch for you. It had been a lot to process, and still was. Were you rushing into it?

He seemed to feel you tense. “Are you alright?”

“I…” You struggled to find the right words and not sound insulting. “I feel like we’re moving to quickly? I’m not even sure how I feel, and we’re already in bed with each other. I just… feel…”

“Rushed?” He said. “It’s alright, I understand. This was a lot to lay on you at once. We can stop.”

“That’s just it, I don’t know if I want to stop. I don’t know if I want to keep going. I don’t even know for sure how I feel about you, or the situation. I feel really overwhelmed.”

“It’s alright,” He said. “Why don’t we just lay here for a while and be still and give you some time to find your bearings. I can leave you to think for a while, if you’d like.”

“No. No, stay,” You said. “Just turn off the light and let’s be quiet for a little while. I just want to think.”

“Of course,” He said, reaching for the lamp switch. The two of you were bathed in darkness. He lay next to you, and you allowed him to put his arm around you. You put your head on his chest and listened to his slow heartbeat. It was strangely reassuring: you almost expected him to not have a heartbeat at all.

At some point you must have fallen asleep. He still lay with you, his body illuminated in the moonlight, slightly propped up on the pillows, watching you sleep. He smiled when he saw you rouse.

“Good evening,” He said quietly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to doze off,” You said.

“It’s no problem. I actually rather enjoyed it. You’re very cute when you’re asleep.”

“Don’t be silly,” You said, smacking his chest.

“I’m not!” He chuckled. “You make very adorable noises.”

“Hush, you!” You said, tickling his side.

“Hey, hey!” He exclaimed, squirming away. “Don’t do that!”

“Oh, is the big, bad god ticklish?” You asked playfully, dodging his arms and going in for more tickles. “Is he? Is he ticklish?”

“No!” He cried, trying to wiggle out of your grasp, whimpering like a puppy. “I shall retaliate if you don’t cease!”

“Oh yeah?” You taunted. “Whatcha gonna do about it, big man? Sniff me to death?”

“I may just!” He said, putting his muzzle in your ear and sniffling.

“Ah!” You squealed. “It’s so cold!”

“You like that?!” He said, tickling you back and pressing his nose to your neck. “Have some more, then!” He licked at your neck and shoulders. He grabbed your hands and held them above your head as you wiggled underneath him.

At some point, the mood shifted. The weight of his naked body on top of your naked body was exhilarating and made your heart race. His licks slowed and went from playful to deliberate and were interspersed with open mouthed kisses. He let go of your hands and touched your body. You instinctively pulled your knees up and wrapped them around his waist, holding him close by the back of his head and petting down the fur of his spine.

“Is this alright?” He asked heavily, breathing hard.

“Yes,” You whispered in reply. “Yes.”

Some more minutes of touching and kissing and licking later, he reached between the two of you and rubbed his knuckles on your clit, making you moan against his lips. He rubbed himself and you at the same time, then pushed the tip against your entrance, gently pushing himself inside of you. Your head fell back onto the pillow, your mouth wide open, your brows furrowing. He was thick and long, but no so that it was painful. You whimpered as he inched all the way inside and pulled out slowly, thrusting inward and pulling outward.

Slowly, but with gaining speed, your bodies moved together. Wordlessly, he flipped you so that you were on your stomach and pulled you toward him, reentering you and thrusting vigorously, while you gripped the sheets desperately, crying out in pleasure. You bit the pillow and shut your eyes as you felt the ecstasy well up in you, your inside walls clenching and contracting. He huffed and grunted above you, gripping your hips as your bodies smacked together over and over.

You could feel beads of his sweat dripping onto your back as he sped up again, groaned loudly, and spilled himself into you, gushing out with each jerk of his hips against your body. When he was spent, he withdrew and fell sideways as to not crush you. You lay on your stomach for a few moments, allowing yourself to catch your breath and cool down, before turning over and sliding into his arms. You’d change the sheets tomorrow.

“I hope this means you accept me,” He said sleepily.

“I always accepted you,” You said. “I just wasn’t sure what I wanted my role to be in all this. I’m still not sure. I think starting with a date might be nice.”

“Of course,” He said. “Anything you want. I am your humble servant, at your beck and call.”

“You’re not my servant,” You said firmly. “And I’m not yours. We’re partners or we’re nothing at all.”

“I understand,” He said, turning on his side. “So, my partner, where would you like to go for this date?”

“I don’t know,” You said. “This’ll be your first date on the mortal plane, won’t it? Do what you love to do: research it.”

He laughed. “That sounds like fun.”

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[charlthotte]

Breaking Through the Iron Wall - Aone Takanobu x Reader

Chapter 6

By the end of practice after school had ended, I started to understand the basics of volleyball. The premise was rather simple, however the strategy required a state of mind only pure geniuses possessed. Just from observing, you could understand how you need to have all of the cogs in your brain churning - but you couldn't understand just how much of the game was impacted by it. Sure, some aspects relied on just instinct, but the winner would always be the one to strategise. The practice was intense, not even our own team could get past the iron wall half of the time. 'Iron wall' seemed like such an intimidating name, blocking everything in its path and crushing down all who tried to get past - when it was truly just a measure of protection for our field of grass behind it. The wall was a sneering enemy to our opposition but a great protector to us.

As I was packing up the chairs, Futakuchi sneaked around behind me, "Your highness..." He whispered into the air.

"What is it this time, Futakuchi?" I didn't turn around - trying my best to ignore him and his antics.

"What's the deal with you and Aone?" He snickered.

"Nothing."

"Your highness... I don't really believe that. Why are you always with each other? Could it be something interesting?" He leered over my shoulder, though I couldn't see his face - I could still see his grimace.

"We just catch the same train. Nothing more." I replied curtly, quickly scurrying away from him.

His pace matched mine, trailing behind me at the same rhythm, "I don't think that's very believable. Aone's not that kind of person, you know."

"How am I meant to know that, I only met all of you yesterday." I finally turned around to face him; my arms folded in a very annoyed manner.

"The thing is your highness, Aone is the type of person to shy away from everyone, like he's somehow scared of what people will think." Futakuchi sneered, moving to match his height to mine.

I understood that feeling all to well, and I understood why Aone felt that way too. One person could tell you that your true nature was too much to handle, you were told that people would think badly of you if you didn't mask yourself. So you began to act how you presumed people wanted you to act, never raise a hand in objection, never praise yourself - for people will think of you as narcissistic. Along with many other things. Those teachings were partly to blame as to why crowds were such a problem to me, there would always be someone looking at me, and judging me... And I wouldn't even know. Maybe somehow, Aone thought that very way too, but only sometimes of course.

I cockily raised my eyebrow, "Maybe he's just like that with you, I doubt anyone would feel comfortable with you around." That didn't make sense at all. I had no clue why I just said that.

"Good point there, your highness. I bid you farewell." He bowed elegantly, one arm flourished to the side. When he rose, he looked behind me and nodded as the smirk on his face rose again. Once he had became a comfortable distance away from me, I swivelled around to meet the sight behind me - Aone. Who knew how long he had been standing there and how much of our conversation he had listened to.

"Hey, Aone..." My voice slightly cracking as I said that, "Have you been standing there for long, sorry if I didn't notice you." In return - he shook his head. It was relieving to say that he didn't listen in on that rather out of the blue conversation, even if it carried little meaning to him. Would I have felt differently if he did hear it? Was there really any difference at all, nothing had been revealed during our conversation.

After that, I headed to the club room, the only place where I knew nobody would disturb me - I took my time to get changed, hoping everyone would have cleared out before I left. In a swift click, the key turned in the lock, closing the club room for the day. Descending the stairs, I didn't look up from my feet - I habit I had learned years ago in order to draw attention away from me. The last step was then behind me, and something else stood in front of me. Aone. As silent as ever. No other team member was here, so he had no purpose in staying at practice a second longer - even for me. "Aone..." I calmly spoke, in a tone close to a whisper, "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

Once again, he shook his head and we set off in the direction of the train station. Side by side in silence. Compared to yesterday, the scenery still struck me with a beautiful sight, somehow better than the day before. Nothing there was new, but to me - it was still as new as it had been. Weirdly, the streets were devoid of human presence, we didn't see a single person the entire team. It probably should have struck me as weird. Instead, the atmosphere was much more peaceful and rather comforting. Titling my head up to the sky, clouds the pallor of monotonicity shrouded the heavens - at that very moment, they began releasing their wrath onto the world, pelting icy pellets onto the ground. This slightly explaining why no one was outside. Had they all been warned about the weather? And how come I hadn't noticed the sky until now? Its appearance was blatantly obvious.

My hands quickly shot upwards to protect my head from the hail, the only viable protection I had at the time. Down the road, there was a black pine tree - a sanctuary for the time being. Upon seeing it, I started pelting towards the tree, Aone next to me the whole time having no problem at all with keeping my pace. Even though the tree wasn't kilometres away, we were still thoroughly drenched by the time we found our shelter. The tree didn't completely cover us, but little drops of ice were much more tolerable than the merciless storm not so far away. It definitely wouldn't be clever to leave our shelter before the storm had subsided, drenched school clothes and supplies wouldn't put us in the best situation either.

I rifled through my bag to find my volleyball jersey, and covered my head with it. It wasn't completely waterproof but the dire situation called for those very measures. There was nothing else we could do, I didn't dare read my book for the fact that I'd ruin the pages beyond recognition. All we could do was just sit there, nothing to do and nothing to say.

A few minutes passed before one of us tried to spark up a conversation, "Hey Aone, are you okay?" I attempted to turn my head towards him just to see him sat there, his knees up to his chest with his head resting upon them - he had nothing over his head to protect it. The only thing on his face besides the melted ice was a worried expression and a pallor, ghostlier than it normally was. My question didn't really need a verbal answer. Tenderly, I placed my hand upon his shoulder, to comfort him - just like he had done for me. He too, jumped at the touch, his body was so tense, it was almost statuesque. A drop of melted ice drip down onto his nose - causing him to scrunch it up like a cute little animal. Feeling almost sorry for him - I transferred my jacket over onto his head, he was the one who really needed it. As soon as I did that, he placed the jacket back onto my head - and I wasn't having any of that and plonked it straight back onto him. Trying to be chivalrous; he once again let the jacket fall onto my head, but I wasn't going to settle for that. I shifted my body just inches closer to his and draped the jacket over the both of us, and when I did that, he let his tense stature fall into one that was slightly more relaxed.

Who knew how long we sat there under my jacket, but the colour of the sky did seem to darken. However, the hailstorm never faltered for a second - there wasn't a moment where it had calmed down. As the time flew by, my body began to grow more and more numb from the weather, there wasn't anything I could do to ameliorate that. For all I knew we would be sat there for hours longer.

Abruptly, a car horn honked, sending its soundwaves scattering through the air. The car was all to familiar to me, my dad's. Finally feeling some sort of relief; I dashed towards it, leaving Aone behind. "Aone! Come here!" I shouted towards the tree, and he simply shook his head. He wasn't going to move. So, I had no choice but to run back to him, grab him by the arm and lead him towards my father's car, I couldn't let him wait outside for what seemed to be forever. "Get in, we'll drive you home." I stated in a very stern tone - he was going to get in that car. He seemingly gave in to me and slumped in the back seat of the car, his expression however, turning back into what could be mistaken for a glare. Hopping in beside him, I noticed how absolutely waterlogged we were. After all, the tree did very little to shelter us. I slammed the door shut, finally away from the hail storm.

My father did not seem surprised by the extra passenger in his car, even though he had never met them previously. He was even quick to start conversation by creating small talk, and I tried to answer every question for him as he wouldn't do it himself. There was one question that I couldn't answer. His address. What Aone answered with was quite the interesting piece of information, he lived at a house barely 5 minutes away from mine, just one train stop away. 

After turning the radio on, I rested my head on the side of the car, just craving the warm embrace of my bed. When Aone walked up to his front door, a lively beagle jumped up at his legs - Aone's face morphed into a large smile, however, the smile wasn't large per say, but for him - it was the biggest smile I had seen on him. Smiling and waving as we drove away, my dad cheerily started chatting again. "You seem to get along with him well don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, my eyes wandering around the world outside.

"Does he not speak much normally?" He inquired.

"Not really," I replied, "I guess we can talk in different ways though."

"That's interesting, other than that he seems quite nice."

"Yeah." My mind drifted from the present, focusing on nothing - I was just... There.

After we had arrived home, I jumped straight into the shower - wanting to wash the scent of the outside off of me. Warm water was such a pleasant feeling against my skin, I would have stayed in there all night if it wasn't for the water going cold and I wasn't feeling very welcoming towards the cold at that very moment in time. I took my time drying myself and my hair, before just rolling myself up in my covers, feeling secure, feeling safe. I fell asleep in that very same position, dreaming about nothing, nothing but a bridge overlooking a lily-endowed river.