#Started full time and miss my old location and coworkers and the familiarity of it

[starversed]

having a crying day how bout yall

[labomi]

selfish | one (18+)

Summary: You're a former coworker of Kento Nanami back when he was just an office worker. You accidentally run into him at a bakery many years later which gives you a second chance at getting to know the man who had always caught your eye.

Pairing: Kento Nanami x f!Reader

Words: 11.1k+

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral sex, creampie, explicit language, attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, canon-typical violence, alcohol

Note: Read on ao3 here! I’ve been on tumblr on and off for about 10 years at this point (yikes), but I recently decided to start a new one as sort of a writing blog with a lot of anime gif reblogging on the side as well haha. Kind of nervous to post my first fic on tumblr for some reason, so I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading!

Index: [Part One] [Part Two]

“Nanami? Kento Nanami? Is that you?”

You couldn’t believe your eyes. It had been years! Was that really him?

---

The night you accidentally ran into Kento Nanami started off like any other night in your life. After an exhausting day of work, you decided to treat yourself to some sweets at a nearby bakery. The small chime on the door signaled your entrance with the lone employee warmly greeting you.

“Welcome!”

There was only one other customer in the small shop. A tall man stood at the cash register. 

Hmm.

There was something strangely familiar about the man’s demeanor. Curious, you drifted over to the display case next to the register to try and sneak a peek at his face. While admiring the delicious-looking pastries on the counter, you listened in on the conversation between him and the cashier.

“That will be 2000 yen,” the lady said.

“I’ll pay with card.”

You stiffened slightly, eyes widening in surprise. 

That voice!  

You recognized that voice!

The man shifted his face towards you as he reached to grab his wallet from his pocket. You were finally able to get a glimpse of his face. 

You gasped.

“It is you!” you exclaimed in surprise. “Nanami!”

He looked as prim and proper as ever. The man still wore a suit and tie with his hair neatly parted. The only major difference in his appearance was the sunglasses that now completely shielded his eyes.

“It’s good to see you again! How have you been?” you asked eagerly.

Nanami looked at you silently, trying to recall where he had seen your familiar face before.

Then he remembered.

A flood of memories from a different life overcame him. The man hesitantly said your name, like he couldn’t quite believe your unexpected appearance before him. You nodded enthusiastically while he absentmindedly handed his credit card to the cashier.

“Oh wow,” you breathed, feeling a little giddy. “I haven’t seen you since you quit all those years ago. What are you doing now?”

Nanami seemed to pause for a second, adjusting his sunglasses. “I work at a school.”

“Oh! As a teacher?” 

“No, just as staff.”

“That sounds nice. What school?”

“It’s a private religious school in the mountains. It’s not particularly well-known,” the man replied vaguely. 

“Oh, I see.”

A loud beep of a cell phone interrupted the conversation. Nanami reached into his other pocket and took out his phone. He frowned, looking at the device. “I apologize, but I have to go immediately.”

“Oh, uh, ok,” you said, feeling slightly disappointed. You barely had any time to catch up with your former coworker. Nanami grabbed the bag from the counter and swiftly exited the store. You watched him walk away with a sigh. What were the chances that you would bump into him again? You pouted, upset that the circumstances hadn’t exactly worked out in your favor.

“Oh no!” the cashier suddenly cried out. “He forgot his card!” She pointed at the blue credit card on the counter.

“Lemme see if I can catch him!” you responded, already running out of the bakery. You pushed open the door and ran in the direction you saw the man leave. “Nanami!” you shouted. Other pedestrians looked at you curiously, but you couldn’t see the tall man anywhere. You walked around a bit further out, continuing to call his name but to no avail. Sighing, you headed back to the bakery.

“No luck,” you said to the cashier. “He’s gone already. I have no idea how he disappeared so quickly.” Crossing your arms against your chest, you looked at the forgotten card in frustration. “What should we do now?” If only you had his number! 

“I guess I can keep it here in case he comes back,” the lady reasoned.

Hmm.  

An idea popped in your head. 

A selfish one.

“Wait! How about I take it and return it to him?” you asked. Then you realized that your request might come off as suspicious. “We used to work together, I promise I’m not trying to steal it or anything.”

The cashier smiled at you softly. “I trust you. You come in here quite a lot and that man did say your name, so I know you’re not lying.”

You sighed in relief.

Thank goodness.

After buying some pastries for yourself, you walked out of the bakery holding Nanami’s credit card in your hand. You carefully stored it in your bag before beginning the walk back to your apartment.

A private religious school in the mountains, huh?

It shouldn’t be too hard to find.

---

You groaned, fighting the urge to pull your hair in frustration. 

How hard was it to find this damn school?!

You were sitting at your desk in the dark. The only light in the bedroom came from your laptop screen which was full of search engine results for “tokyo private religious school”. You were on page 15. Not a promising sign.

Recalling your conversation with Nanami, you remembered the man said he worked at a religious school in the mountains. However, none of the private schools you had found so far were located in the mountains. You frowned. Had Nanami been lying?

You shook your head to yourself.

No. 

He’s not the type to lie. He did say it wasn’t well-known.

You scrolled further down and clicked on the next page. Quickly skimming the results, you finally found something that caught your eye. 

Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

Huh. What a strange name for a school.  

You clicked on the link. It brought you to a strange forum that looked somewhat sketchy and unreliable, but someone had at least posted an address for the school. You grabbed your phone and immediately plugged the address into the map app.

You punched the air in triumph.

“Yes!” The dot was located in the mountains by some Tokyo suburbs. 

This has to be the place!

Luckily, tomorrow was Friday which meant you had no classes, and you weren’t scheduled for a shift at work. You were free to find the school and return the card to Nanami in person. 

“Ok!” you said to yourself, rubbing your hands together. “Now to find out how to get there.”

---

You looked at the dot of your current location on your phone and then back at the vast empty woods in front of you.

This can’t be it!

You groaned out loud in frustration, stamping your feet in a little tantrum. 

Why is it still so hard to find this damn school?!  

Looking at your phone again, you double-checked the map to see that you were in fact at the exact location of the address you inputted, but nothing was here. It was just trees!

You sighed in disappointment but refused to give up right away. Maybe your phone’s GPS was off because you were so high up in the mountains and the signal was bad. You decided to follow the road that led up the mountain with the hope that you might accidentally stumble across the school. If there was a road, it had to lead somewhere! But strangely enough, you hadn’t seen any cars, buildings, or pedestrians since entering the area. 

After walking around for almost an hour, you decided to take a break. Sitting in the shade of some trees by the side of the road, you took your water bottle out of your bag for a quick sip. You admired the beautiful, quiet scenery in front of you.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

You were currently lost in the mountains of Tokyo looking for a school you weren’t quite sure actually existed. And it was all because you were selfish and wanted to see Nanami again. Your old coworker.

You hadn’t been particularly close to him at work, though he didn’t seem overly friendly with anyone in the office. Nanami was the stoic and serious type. He didn’t talk much with the team, but you could tell he worked hard. He was always one of the last people to leave the office for the night, if he did leave. On many occasions, you found him dozing at his desk in the morning when you arrived early to work before everyone else with the sneaking suspicion that he had spent the entire night in the office.

Unlike most of the other employees and especially your boss, Nanami seemed to still care about the clients instead of just the company’s profits, judging from the small snippets of conversations you overheard from him. You had always wanted to get to know him better, but he didn’t particularly have an approachable demeanor. At the time, you were just a young, newly graduated woman who was afraid of everything and everyone. So you often just kept to yourself.

You sighed, looking down at the ground. Taking Nanami’s credit card hostage was a pathetic way of trying to rekindle a relationship that never existed in the first place. You made up your mind. It was time to head back home and drop off the card at the bakery so he could pick it up himself. Today’s excursion was just a giant waste of time much to your disappointment.

“Excuse me, miss. What are you doing here?”

“Huh?” A man was hovering over you. You swore he hadn’t been there a second ago.

You screamed. “P-please don’t hurt me!” You put your arms out in front of you, shielding yourself from any potential harm. “I don’t have much money, but you can have it all!”

The man burst out laughing. You slowly lowered your arms, hoping that his laughter meant he wasn’t going to attack you.

“I’m not going to hurt you, and I especially don’t want your money.”

You let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.” No longer afraid, you took a closer look at the stranger. He was tall. Very tall. Wearing a black outfit and a matching blindfold that spiked up his white hair.

What a strange appearance.

“Well, I won’t hurt you as long as you tell me what you’re doing here.” You gulped, hearing the silent threat in his words.

“Umm, umm, well, you see I-I got a bit lost and w-was just taking a rest,” you stuttered nervously, fiddling with your hands. “I heard there’s a private school around here and I’m trying to find it, because I know someone who works there. His name is Kento Nanami and we used to work together many many years ago and I just happened to run into him last night at a bakery but he left his credit card there and I wanted to give it back to him in person, so I thought it was a good idea to deliver it at his workplace but this school is so hard to find I have no idea where I’m going and-and I think I’m just going to leave now actually.” You realized you were rambling, so you forcibly shut your mouth to stop yourself from looking like a complete fool in front of the stranger.

The man hummed in thought for several seconds before suddenly grinning and chuckling to himself. His demeanor no longer felt threatening.

“Kento Nanami, huh,” the man said, still smiling happily.

“Oh, you know him?” You perked up, suddenly hopeful.

Maybe they work together!

“Leave it to me!” the stranger cheered, giving you a thumbs up. “I’ll escort you to the school and make sure you hand-deliver that credit card to Nanami!”

You felt relieved, tears almost prickling your eyes. “Oh thank you so much!”

---

“Satoru.”

“Mm.”

“Can’t you tell there’s a human who has been wandering near the barrier for quite a while now? It looks like they’re trying to find a way in,” Yaga commented.

“Well, they can’t. Isn’t that the whole point of the barrier?”

“I know that!” the principal grunted angrily. “But since you’re just lounging here around doing nothing, go check it out.”

“Fine.” Gojo got off the couch and headed outside, wondering how a human accidentally wandered this close to the school so far up the mountains.

---

It only took several minutes before you and the strange man found a path leading to the school. You blinked in surprise. You felt like you had walked by this part of the road earlier but had seen nothing.

Walking alongside the man quietly, you suddenly realized you had completely forgotten your manners. Quickly bowing to your escort, you introduced yourself and thanked him for taking the time to safely bring you to the school.

“It’s no problem. Any friend of Nanami is a friend of mine. Oh, and I’m Satoru Gojo by the way. I’m the first-year teacher here.”

He was a teacher? This man wearing a blindfold in broad daylight? You swallowed nervously. You wondered what kind of school Nanami was working for exactly.

Once you finally reached the main school grounds, all of your reservations immediately melted away. “Wow!” you breathed. The campus was absolutely gorgeous with beautiful statues, shrines, and gates. You couldn’t help but stop and admire your surroundings. “This school is beautiful.”

Gojo brought you to the teacher’s lounge and gestured for you to sit down. “So, tell me again how you know our dear Nanami?”

---

Nanami had just finished a mission when his phone chimed, signaling a text. He finished wiping his blade clean before grabbing the device. The message was from Gojo.

Gojo: Come back to Jujutsu Tech. Your girlfriend is here ;)

The sorcerer stared at the message. 

Nanami: I have no idea what you mean.

Gojo: ( ˘ ³˘)♥

He angrily shoved his phone back in his pocket and walked over to the car where Ijichi was waiting. He entered the back seat before closing the door behind him. “Hurry up. I need to find a certain white-haired idiot and destroy him.”

---

Nanami was walking towards the teacher’s lounge when he heard your bright laughter. He froze for a couple of seconds.

What were you doing here?

He picked up the pace, quickly entering the lounge to see you giggling on the couch next to Gojo. For some reason, it bothered him to see how close the idiot was to you and how happy you looked in his presence.

“Nanami! You’re here!” Gojo exclaimed, immediately noticing the other sorcerer’s presence. 

You turned your head quickly towards the doorway with a bright grin. “Oh, Nanami! Hi again!”

Nanami observed the scene, trying to figure out what was going on, but he was drawing a blank. 

First of all, you weren’t a sorcerer. How did you enter the school grounds? 

Second, did you know Gojo? The two of you seemed quite friendly on the couch together. 

Third, was Gojo implying that you were his girlfriend? That was absolutely ridiculous.

“What are you doing here?” Nanami asked you cautiously, adjusting his sunglasses. 

“Oh!” You dug around in your bag, pulling out your wallet. You removed a blue credit card. “You left this behind at the bakery yesterday. I tried to chase after you, but you disappeared so quickly. I had the day off today, so I thought I would try to find your workplace and give your card back to you.” You got off the couch, approaching Nanami and handing him the card.

Nanami took the card from you before placing it back in his own wallet. “You didn’t have to do this. How did you even find your way here?”

“I found her wandering nearby!” Gojo jumped in, grinning at the other sorcerer. “Imagine my surprise when she said the two of you used to work together back when you were just a salaryman. I just had to invite her back here. You never mentioned you used to work with such a lovely lady.”

You visibly blushed at Gojo’s words which just bothered Nanami even more. “Thank you for returning my card, but I think it’s about time y—”

“Nanami. Nanami. Namami,” Gojo said in a singsong voice. “You’re all work and no fun. It’s been years since the two of you have seen each other, and you’re already trying to get rid of her? Don’t you want to catch up a little bit?”

You played with your hair, a little nervous. “I mean if you’re busy Nanami, I can go. But I was hoping we could talk a little bit.” You looked up at him with bright eyes. “I want to hear how you’ve been doing.”

Nanami took one look at your hopeful face and immediately gave in. “Alright.” He gestured for you to sit back down as he walked over to one of the armchairs. The sorcerer pretended like he didn’t see your little jump of excitement as you hurried back to the couch with Gojo.

Once the three of you were all seated comfortably, you brought up what you had been previously discussing with Gojo. “I didn’t know you’re teaching at the same high school you went to as a student. That’s pretty cool!”

“He was one of the few students who graduated and decided to leave the community,” Gojo pointed out. “Most of us stay here and continue working for the school.” Nanami subtly glared at the white-haired sorcerer, wondering how much he had told you about the jujutsu world.

“Why did you decide to come back then?” you asked curiously.

“I changed my mind,” Nanami simply stated. “I realized I would find my career slightly more rewarding if I worked for the school than that company.”

You nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. I’m glad we eventually both left that job.” You slightly grimaced, just thinking about your past. It didn’t go unnoticed by Nanami.

“When did you leave?” he asked.

You hummed, recalling the past. “It was probably a couple of months after you left. I, uh, messed up something really badly and I got fired.”

Nanami raised his eyebrows in surprise. You didn’t seem like the type to make big mistakes. He remembered you as quite the careful and diligent worker. He narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering if you were being deceitful.

“It’s ok though,” you continued. “I worked a couple of odd jobs afterward to keep up with the bills until I decided I wanted to become a nurse! So I’m actually back in school now and working part-time to help pay tuition.”

“A nurse, huh,” Gojo remarked. “What a noble career choice.”

“Ahh, I wouldn’t say I’m noble or anything. I just think I would find my life more fulfilling if I was actively helping people,” you explained. “Probably similar to how you felt when you switched careers, Nanami.”

He nodded at your words.

uThe three of you chatted amicably the rest of the day. Gojo and you mostly carried the conversation, but Nanami would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy listening to your voice. After he ran into you at the bakery last night, he couldn’t stop thinking about you. It was the first time he was confronted with his old life after deciding to become a sorcerer again. Part of Nanami wanted to never look back on that phase of his life again, but perhaps it wasn’t all bad. Sure, he hadn't particularly liked anyone from that office, but he didn’t mind you. You had always been quiet, polite, and hardworking. 

Nanami still remembered his last day at the office. You had organized a surprise farewell party just for him with a cake, balloons, and everything. After everyone had their fill of free food and left the conference room, you had shyly wished him luck in the future and said you would miss seeing him in the office. All those memories came rushing back after encountering you in that bakery.

The sun started to set when you finally noticed the time.

“Ah! I should probably go,” you announced, checking your phone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstay my welcome.”

“No, no,” Gojo assured. “You are very much welcome here. Like I said earlier, any friend of Nanami is a friend of mine and all my friends are welcome here!”

“How do you plan on getting home?” Nanami asked, mildly concerned.

“Don’t worry!” Gojo said. “I got it handled. Ijichi will drive her back.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine,” you tried to argue. “I can get back by myself. It’s not a problem.”

“What kind of gentlemen would we be if we didn’t ensure you got home safely? Ijichi is our finest chauffeur,” the blindfolded man insisted. “He will take care of you.”

You looked at Nanami who simply nodded at you, encouraging you to accept Gojo’s offer. Sighing, you crossed your arms over your chest with a pout. “Alright. Thank you.”

The two men waved goodbye as you left in Ijichi’s car to head back home.

“Was it really wise to have her on the school grounds?” Nanami asked.

Gojo hummed. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Normal humans aren’t allowed here for a reason.”

The blindfolded sorcerer didn’t reply. Instead, he took out his phone and started tapping on the screen. Nanami’s phone chimed. It was a text from Gojo. Opening it, he saw it was a string of numbers.

A phone number.

“You should call her sometime,” Gojo said. “She likes you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. What kind of woman travels to the mountains on her day off to try and find a publically non-existent school to return a credit card to someone she doesn’t like?”

Nanami remained silent.

“Just because we’re adults and jujutsu sorcerers doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to have some normal fun. It’s alright to be selfish every once in a while.”

How badly Nanami wanted to believe Gojo’s words.

---

You heard the door open and close.

“Hello! How many I help y—Gojo?”

You blinked in surprise, not expecting to see the teacher at your workplace. While taking classes to become a nurse, you worked part-time at a small boba tea shop. You had just finished serving the flurry of college students who needed a midday pick-me-up when Gojo appeared. Several of the seated patrons whispered and pointed at him, wondering why he was wearing a blindfold and how he could see.

“Thought I would drop by and say hi,” he said with an easy grin.

You returned his smile. “Is Nanami with you too?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

“No, not today, unfortunately,” he replied. You tried to ignore the flash of disappointment you felt. “I’ll bring him next time.”

You perked up at Gojo’s promise, nodding eagerly. “Sounds good. So, would you like something to drink?” 

The man ordered a large brown sugar milk tea with extra sugar. You looked at him, mildly concerned. “You sure you want 120% sugar? It’s pretty sweet to begin with. Trust me.”

Gojo nodded. “Yup!”

“Alright,” you said with a shrug. You did try to warn him. 

You finished preparing Gojo’s drink and handed it to him along with a straw.

“Hey, do you mind if I borrow your phone for a second?” the teacher asked.

“Oh, sure,” you said, grabbing your phone from your back pocket.

Gojo took the device and opened the camera app. “Smile!” That was the only warning you got. He had taken a selfie of the two of you together. You weren’t even smiling in the photo, completely caught off guard. But Gojo was at least prepared, grinning happily and showing off his milk tea in one hand. You watched as the man repeatedly tapped on your phone screen.

“What are you doing?” you asked hesitantly.

“Here!” Gojo handed the phone back to you. Looking at the screen, you saw that he had sent the selfie of the two of you to a random number with a text that said “Having fun without you!”

“Um. Who did you send this to Gojo?”

“Nanami, of course!”

“Oh,” you said quietly, feeling butterflies in your stomach.

Nanami’s number!

You finally had it! 

Gojo chuckled to himself as he saw the way your eyes lit up.

“Oh, by the way,” you said, looking up from the phone. “It’s my birthday next weekend. I’m going out with a couple of friends on Saturday at 8pm at the bar around the corner, and I was wondering if you and Nanami would like to join? You should bring Ijichi too and anyone else from the school! Only if you want though. It’s ok if you don’t want to come or you’re worried about being awkward with my other friends even though they’re super cool and encouraged me to invite you guys and I promise I won’t be upset if you can’t make it because this is kind of last minute and I—”

“Sounds great!” Gojo interrupted your rambling. “I’ll be sure to pass along the information. We'll be there.”

“Really?” You grinned at the teacher. “Awesome! I guess I’ll see you then!”

Gojo waved at you goodbye as you tried to compose yourself before the next wave of customers arrived.

---

“Ahh!! You guys actually came!” you squealed as a group of individuals approached your table in the bar. You stumbled out of the large booth where your other friends were seated, already several shots in for the night. You clumsily hugged Gojo without thinking. Releasing him, you took in his new appearance.

“You look so different!” you commented. “But not in a bad way!” The man had traded in his signature blindfold for a pair of sunglasses that still hid his eye. His hair was lying down flat instead of its usual spiked-up look.

Behind Gojo, you saw Ijichi with a woman you didn’t recognize. 

“That’s Shoko Ieiri,” Gojo said, following your gaze. “She’s the doctor at our school.”

You happily greeted both of them, thanking them for coming. 

And finally, you saw the person you were looking forward to seeing the most. Nanami looked good as always. He was dressed a little more casually for the night without his signature jacket, tie, and sunglasses. Instead, he wore a crisp, blue button-up shirt with the top few buttons undone. You tried not to stare too much at his revealed skin.

As you approached Nanami, you reached out to hug him but you managed to stop yourself in time. You were worried about coming on too strong and opted for a small wave instead.

“Thanks for coming, Nanami! I’m so glad you came!”

Sitting at the table altogether, your other friends immediately fawned over Gojo. One of them grabbed you and whispered in your ear.

“What the hell? You didn’t tell me one of your friends was incredibly hot?”

You shrugged and ordered another round of shots for the whole table. Gojo ended up passing because he didn’t drink, so you took it upon yourself to finish it for him.

Nanami quietly nursed a beer as he observed the scene. He didn’t typically like crowded, loud bars like this, but he would make an exception for you. Gojo had also been extremely intent on making sure everyone from the school attended your little celebration. He managed to get Ijichi to come along only after getting Shoko to agree by bribing her with free alcohol.

Nanami was currently sitting across the booth from you, watching as you chatted with your friends. You were wearing a dark red dress that perfectly showed off your curves. The left strap of your dress was a little loose and it kept falling down the entire night despite you constantly readjusting it, not that Nanami had noticed. 

You looked so carefree and lively in this atmosphere. Every once in a while, you caught Nanami’s gaze and beamed at him happily.

At some point during the night, you left the table to go to the bathroom. It was only once you tried walking back to everyone that you realized how drunk you were. Stumbling a bit in your high heels, you leaned against the wall by the bathrooms for stability.

“Excuse me miss, are you alright?”

A man approached you, but you instantly waved him off. “Mmm, I’m good,” you replied. “Thanks though.” You were determined to make it back to your friends on your own, but as soon as you took a step away from the wall, you tripped. The man caught you before you could hit the ground. He had a tight grip on your waist.

 “You don’t seem good,” he chuckled softly. “How about I help you?” You could feel his hands starting to go lower, and you quickly latched onto them and tried to pry them off you.

“I said no,” you said firmly, but the man ignored you and pressed you against the wall. “Get off!” You struggled against him but to no avail.

Suddenly, the weight of the man was lifted and you felt like you could breathe again.

“Are you alright?” a smooth voice asked. 

You looked up to see Nanami in front of you. You nodded silently and admired his strong jawline and sharp eyes in the bar’s dark lighting. 

“Can you walk?”

You nodded again. Taking a step away from the wall, you immediately staggered again much to your embarrassment. Nanami grabbed your arm and lifted you up until you were half leaning on him for support. Inhibitions suddenly gone from all the alcohol in your system, you wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders and gave him a hug. The man tried to ignore the shiver that went up his spine when he felt your warm, soft body pressed up against him. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was quite jealous that you had hugged Gojo when they first arrived. What was so special about that idiot anyway? Nanami slowly wrapped his arms around you, indulging himself for once and returning the hug.

“I’m so glad you came,” you mumbled against his chest. “I was so happy that I ran into you at the bakery that one night. But I was afraid I would never see you again.” You paused. “I really wanted to see you again.”

Nanami didn’t know how to respond to your words, so he gently rubbed your back instead. You leaned into his touch happily.

“Let’s get back to the others,” he said gently. You sighed and reluctantly removed yourself from the embrace. Nanami half-carried you back to the table and carefully deposited you next to your friends. To your disappointment, he didn’t sit down next to you and instead headed towards the front doors.

“Nanami? Where are you going?” Gojo asked, eyebrows raised.

“I’ll be back.”

When Nanami exited the bar, he was greeted by several couples who were taking a smoke break. He walked a bit further away, so he could be alone. The sorcerer leaned against a random building, taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself down. 

Nanami felt quite ashamed of himself. Acting like a hormonal teenage boy just because he briefly held you while you were wearing that damn dress. He tried to ignore the way his cock was straining in his pants. Gritting his teeth, he willed his body to relax. Nanami refused to let you see him so worked like this. He especially couldn’t let Gojo see. He could only imagine the endless teasing he would endure from the blindfolded idiot.

Inside the bar, you watched sadly as Nanami left. You wondered if it was something you did to scare him away.

Gojo sat next to you and handed you a glass of water. “Drink,” he commanded.

You did as you were told, keeping an eye on the doors to see if Nanami had come back in yet. “Does Nanami not like me?” you asked Gojo quietly with a pout.

The man chuckled. “I assure you that’s not the case.”

You turned to look at him. “How do you know?”

Gojo lowered his sunglasses slightly, and you were able to get a glimpse of his gorgeous blue eyes for the first time. “Trust me. I have good eyes.”

---

Nanami ended the call with Ijichi. He leaned against the wall of the bathroom with a grimace. He was still applying pressure to the wound he had received from Mahito. The sorcerer scrolled through the contacts list on his phone. He found himself hovering over your name.

Yes, he did save your number from Gojo’s text. Why wouldn’t he? It would be frivolous to ignore that kind of contact information.

Nanami grabbed another wad of paper towel to replace the one that was already drenched in blood. He grunted in pain.

A nurse, huh.

He wondered what you would do if you saw him right now. If you fuss over him and take care of his injuries yourself. Nanami sighed. He wouldn’t mind that. Would you carefully unbutton his shirt to get a better look at the wound? He could almost imagine the way your fingers would ghost over his stomach.

With a groan, Nanami banged his head against the wall. He couldn’t believe he was fantasizing about you while profusely bleeding in a public restroom.

The sorcerer cleaned up his blood all over the sink and threw out the dirty wads of paper towels. He went outside to wait for Ijichi to bring him back to school for proper treatment.

---

“I’m going to take my break!” you announced to your coworkers as you exited the bubble tea shop. You decided to go outside for a quick breather because it was such a nice, sunny day. Avoiding the crowds, you headed over to the alleyways near the shop to scroll through Twitter in peace.

You were so engrossed by your phone that you didn’t notice the presence of someone next to you. It was only when you heard them clear their throat that you looked next to you to see a man wearing sunglasses and a hat.

“Oh, sorry. Am I in your way? I can move.”

In the blink of an eye, he held a knife to your neck. You felt the cool blade lightly press into your skin. You held your breath, afraid to react in any way.

“Don’t scream. Don’t move,” he hissed.

Your eyes widened in shock.

That voice.

You recognized that voice.

The man grabbed you by the back of the neck and pulled you in the opposite direction of the busy street where unaware pedestrians were still walking by. He pressed the knife against your side now, digging it into the thin t-shirt you had to wear for work.

“Walk.”

He led you to an abandoned building several minutes away. Once you were inside and the door closed shut, he roughly shoved you to the ground.

You landed in a heap, groaning in pain. Turning around, you finally faced your captor.

“It’s you, isn’t you,” you said evenly. “Boss.”

The man chuckled, removing the hat and sunglasses. It was your former boss from the company where you and Nanami had once worked together. You dug your nails in the palms of your hands. If he was here, you knew you were in trouble.

“You called the cops, didn’t you!” he yelled at you, pointing the knife at you menacingly.

Cops? What was he talking about?

“No, I didn’t,” you replied honestly.

“You BITCH! Don’t lie to me.” He waved the knife closer at you.

“I promise! I didn’t tell anyone!”

With a shout, the man grabbed your hair and held the knife to your neck again. You squeezed your eyes shut and couldn’t help but let a small whimper leave your lips.

The truth was you weren't just fired from your job. You were threatened. When numbers weren’t adding up, you realized that your boss was embezzling money and had been doing so for a long time. He found out that you knew the truth and protected himself by forcibly ousting you from the company. As a young professional, you knew better than to fight against a big shot financial executive. When he warned you to stay quiet or face his wrath, you were wise enough to shut your mouth, clean your desk, and leave the building immediately. True to your word, you had never mentioned your boss’s crimes to anyone. You thought you were safe to move on with the rest of your life but apparently, that was not the case.

The man spat at you before roughly kicking you away. He started pacing as you wiped his spit off your cheek with a disgusted groan.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. I’m about to lose everything. EVERYTHING!”

As he muttered to himself, you tried to survey your surroundings and determine if there was a way you could safely escape. Before you could figure anything out, your old boss approached you again, knife still in hand. He seemed to have made up his mind about what he was going to do.

“You’re going to fix this. Yea. This is your fault. I’ll pin it all on you. You’ll go down for this, not me!”

As the man ranted and raved at you, something appeared in the shadows behind him. There was some movement. You blinked your eyes, wondering if it was just a trick of your imagination. But to your horror, a green creature grew larger and larger in the background. It had three heads, each with multiple eyes and giant drooling mouths with huge teeth. The monster raised its multiple arms, hovering over your boss with all eyes fixed on him like he was a piece of prey.

“Scared, aren’t you?” the man commented with a chuckle. He was misinterpreting the horrified look on your face. “This is what you get for messing with the wrong man.”

You shook your head slowly and lifted a shaky finger to point behind him.

He turned around, dropping the knife in shock.

The weapon clattered to the ground.

Your boss screamed. He immediately tried to run away, but one of the monster’s arms snatched him in a tight grip. The three heads fought with each other as if deciding which one of them would get to swallow the prize. You took that as a cue to start running.

The monster was blocking the way you entered, so you ran towards the only other door you saw, which led to a stairwell. You ran up a couple of floors before hiding in a small closet you found. It was cramped and dusty but you hoped it was enough to hide you from that creature.

Sitting on the ground, you took out your phone shakily and called the police.

“Hello, what is your emergency?”

“I’m trapped in an abandoned building, and there’s a monster here.” You realized it sounded ridiculous, but you didn’t know what else to say in the moment.

The dispatcher groaned. “This is the last time! You kids have to stop with the prank calls. This line is for emergencies only!”

They hung up on you.

You stared at your cell phone in disbelief.

Shit.

Instinctively, you scrolled through your contacts list until you found who you were looking for. You pressed the call button.

Please pick up. Please pick up.

It went to voicemail.

You cursed to yourself again.

“Nanami,” you whispered quietly, voice quivering. “I don’t know when you’ll listen to this, but you have to believe me. I’m in an abandoned building near my job, and I swear there’s a monster here. I-I think it might have killed our old boss. I don’t know what to do, I tri—”

There was a loud bang. You quickly hung up and pressed the phone into your chest while you covered your mouth and nose with your other hand to quiet your harsh breathing. The sounds got closer and closer until it sounded like it was right outside the closet door. Your heart was beating so loudly you were worried the monster would hear it. But luckily, the noises started to become fainter. Eventually, you heard nothing even after a long time of terrified waiting.

Once you were reasonably convinced the coast was clear, you quietly opened the closet door and peeked out. The hallway was empty. Maybe this was your chance to finally escape the building.

You carefully climbed to your feet and tiptoed your way back to the stairwell. 

Your phone loudly chimed. The noise echoed throughout the empty building. It was a text message from your coworker asking where you went. You had forgotten to turn your phone on silent.

Almost instantaneously, the monster started roaring from the floor beneath you. You barely caught a glimpse of it before running up the stairs again until you reached the top floor. Exiting the stairway, you ran through the hallways until you reached a dead end.

Back pressed up against the wall, you watched in horror as the monster let out a sharp laugh as it approached you. There was blood dripping out of the mouths of all three heads. You didn’t want to think about where it came from. With no other options left, you weakly held your arms up in front of your face and squeezed your eyes shut with a whimper.

Suddenly, there was an angry shout and a loud splat.

You felt some sort of liquid splash all over you. Lowering your arms, an unexpected sight greeted you. It was the body of the monster all chopped up into pieces. You realized you were covered in its blood.

Behind the monster’s corpse stood Nanami. He had a covered blade in his hand that was also stained with the creature’s purple blood.

“N-Nanami?” you whispered hoarsely.

You couldn’t believe your eyes. Did he take down that monster? With a sword?

Nanami wiped the blood off his weapon, putting it away in its holster. He approached you as you shuddered violently, still in shock.

“Are you hurt?” he asked gently.

You shook your head no, wrapping your arms around yourself.

He kneeled down in front of you, taking out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the droplets of blood from your face.

“What was that thing?” you whispered.

Nanami sighed, twisting the handkerchief in his hands once your face was relatively clean.

“A curse.”

You gave him a confused look.

“It’s a long explanation.”

“Yo!”

You flinched as Gojo suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the hallway. You instinctively grabbed onto Nanami’s arm in fear. He glared at the blindfolded sorcerer in anger for startling you.

“Oh, you’re already done here? I thought I’d check up on you two to make sure everything’s okay.”

First, your boss had threatened you with a knife. Then, a giant monster, no, curse appeared and attacked both of you. Nanami killed said curse. And now Gojo had appeared out of thin air. Your brain was officially broken. You just wanted to go to sleep. Surely this had to be a dream. You would wake up and everything would be normal again.

“We should probably bring her to Shoko just to make sure she’s fine and clean her up,” Gojo said, observing how your eyes were starting to glaze over.

Nanami nodded in agreement. He lightly touched your shoulder, but you hardly reacted. He said your name quietly. Blinking slowly, you finally turned to acknowledge him. “I’m tired,” you mumbled.

“I know,” Nanami said gently. He picked you up in his arms. “You can go to sleep. I’ll keep you safe.” With a sigh of relief, you closed your eyes and surrendered to the darkness.

You woke up in a small room, tucked under the covers in a warm bed. Nanami was silently sitting in a chair next to you. You let out a deep breath and turned towards the man. The rustling of the covers alerted him that you were finally awake.

“Why was the boss with you?” Nanami asked suddenly.

So it wasn't a dream.

“Oh. He was trying to threaten me,” you explained. “I didn’t lose my job because I made a mistake. I found out he was embezzling money. He said the cops were starting to question him, so he accused me of reporting him.”

Nanami clenched his fists in anger. That bastard.

“Is he alive?” you asked.

“No.”

“I figured.”

You quietly observed Nanami. He had taken off his sunglasses and blazer. You admired his wide shoulders and the way his tie was slightly loosened. 

“Nanami. What do you actually do?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to tell you.”

You gripped the covers. “Why not?”

“Because,” Nanami sighed. “It’s a dangerous profession. You don’t need to be dragged into this world for no good reason.”

“What do you mean?” You didn’t understand what he was saying. “I do have a reason. It’s you.”

The man didn’t respond.

You sat up in bed suddenly. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask Gojo.” You started to climb out of bed, but Nanami stopped you.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll tell you. Sit back down.” He let out of a deep breath, rubbing his face.

You silently listened as Nanami discussed the existence of curses, the theories behind cursed energy, and the role of jujutsu sorcerers. He explained how the school’s true purpose was to train the next generation of sorcerers and act as the main headquarters for all jujutsu-related activities. 

You only asked one question. “Why was I able to see that curse?”

“Regular humans can see them in life or death situations.”

“I see.”

Nanami was surprised at your reaction to learning about cursed spirits thus far. He expected you to ask more questions, to be more doubtful, to laugh and call him an idiot, or to scream and accuse him of being crazy. But you did none of those things. You just listened quietly and accepted everything he said as true. 

In your heart, you knew there was no reason to doubt Nanami. You were trying to wrap your brain around the existence of curses you couldn’t see, but you didn’t consider that the sorcerer was lying to you for a single second. He wasn’t that kind of person.

Nanami abruptly stood up. “Ijichi will drive you back home.” He started to walk away from you, but you quickly grabbed his wrist.

“Wait, don’t go,” you pleaded, eyes wide. “I haven’t thanked you for saving me yet. Thank you, Nanami.” You didn't want him to leave you. Not yet. You didn't want to be alone.

The sorcerer refused to look at you. “I think it’s best if you kept your distance from Gojo, me, and this school.”

“What?” you breathed. “What are you saying? I-I won’t tell anyone about curses or that you’re a sorcerer if that’s what you’re worried about. I promise.”

“That’s not it. I already told you. This world is dangerous. You should stay away.” He paused. “Stay away from me.”

You flinched, releasing Nanami’s wrist. The sorcerer walked out of the room without another word. You didn’t call out after him.

As Nanami walked away, he knew he made the right decision. There was no reason for you to get involved with the jujutsu world. He wanted you to live a normal life, not one plagued by constant death and despair. He was doing this for you. For your future and your safety.

“It’s alright to be selfish every once in a while.”

Gojo’s words echoed in his mind.

No. This wasn’t about him. It was about you. It wasn’t right for him to drag you into his world. He should be happy. Happy that you would eventually move on and live a long, successful life.

But why did he feel so sad instead?

---

Numerous opened textbooks and notebooks were scattered around you on your bed. You had an upcoming exam at the end of next week and were in the midst of cramming a semester’s worth of information in your head.

There was a knock on the door.

You frowned, carefully getting off the bed and walking over to the door. You weren’t expecting any visitors or a delivery today. Looking through the peephole, you gasped. You clutched your hands against your chest, trying to calm your frantically beating heart.

What was he doing here?

You hadn’t talked to or seen Nanami since your last conversation with him at Jujutsu Tech. And that hadn't ended well. You respected his request to stay away from him and Gojo, making no attempts to contact either of the two sorcerers. Instead, you had thrown yourself into your schoolwork and picked up some extra shifts at the boba shop. The less free time you had to think about your emotions, the better.

But now the man who still weighed heavily on your heart was at your doorstep. You wondered whether or not to pretend you weren’t home, but you couldn’t bring yourself to turn him away. He had clearly come here for a good reason and you wanted to know why, especially because he was the one that told you to keep your distance from him.

You unlocked the door and opened it slightly.

“Nanami.”

He said your name quietly.

The two of you looked at each other in complete silence. You waited for him to say something, but the man just continued to stand there without a word.

“Umm, well, I have an exam I need to study for, so if you have nothing to say I’m just going to g—”

Nanami suddenly pushed the door open wider, shoving you into your apartment. You stood there in shock as the door slammed shut behind the sorcerer. His unusually aggressive behavior had you baffled.

“What’s wrong with you?” you asked sharply. The man told you to leave him alone but then showed up at your apartment and invited himself inside without a word. You couldn’t help but feel a little irritated. “What are you do— mmph!”

Nanami had pushed you against the wall and kissed you.

You froze in surprise for a second before immediately kissing him back fervently.

One of his hands had settled on your waist while the other was pressed against the wall by your head. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed him closer to you, unable to get enough of this man. Nanami eventually left your lips, causing you to groan in frustration before he attacked your neck with wet kisses. You panted heavily, brain suddenly fuzzy as you tried to process that this was actually happening.

“W-what happened to staying away?” you breathed as Nanami sucked on a particularly sensitive spot that left you weak.

“I changed my mind,” he muttered against your skin before continuing to attack your neck.

After Itadori had saved him from Mahito’s domain, Nanami realized he had been given a second chance. He didn’t want to live a life without regret, especially as a sorcerer. So he decided to heed Gojo’s advice for once. 

He wanted to be a little selfish. 

He wanted you.

Nanami pressed his forehead against yours as he rubbed his hands up and down your soft curves. You breathed heavily, trying to catch your breath as you got lost in his dark gaze. 

“Bedroom,” you whispered. Nanami nodded and quickly released you, so you could guide him to your room. 

As soon as you entered the bedroom, you inwardly cursed. In the heat of the moment, you had completely forgotten what you had been doing before Nanami arrived. “Uh, sorry, let me clean up real quick.”

What a way to kill the mood!

Nanami didn’t seem to mind. He looked fairly amused as you swiftly closed all the books on your bed and haphazardly tossed them on the ground. Once the bed was finally cleared, you turned around to face Nanami, but he was already one step ahead of you. He gently pushed you on the bed, so you landed on your back as he hovered over you. Your breath caught in your throat as you admired the man in front of you. He was absolutely perfect. 

Nanami played with the hem of your shirt. Taking the hint, you sat up a little and swiftly removed your shirt and bra, throwing them in the corner of your room. Nanami let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as you took in your body. You fought the urge to cover yourself, feeling slightly embarrassed at how intensely the man was looking at you.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed as you flushed in response. He reached out with both his hands to start kneading your breasts. You moaned as he began playing with your nipples that were already hard from excitement. Nanami removed his hand from your left breast and replaced it with his mouth. You squirmed underneath him in pleasure as he lapped and sucked on your nipple. Once he was satisfied with his work, the sorcerer switched to your other breast to give it the same treatment. With every flick of his tongue, you could feel electricity run through your body. You only craved his touch more and more.

Nanami started kissing down the valley of your breasts to your stomach. He eventually reached the hem of your shorts. “May I?” he asked.

You nodded, unable to trust your voice at the moment.

As he started tugging down your shorts, you lifted your hips to assist him. The garment was carelessly tossed to the ground. Immediately, Nanami could see how soaked your underwear was with your own arousal. His dick twitched in his pants. The sight of you so wet and eager from his touch alone only heightened his lust for you.

You practically sighed in relief when Nanami removed your underwear, fully exposing yourself to him. The heat from your core was overwhelming. You needed him to touch you and relieve some of that pressure before you lost your mind. A single finger stroked your folds, already slick with arousal. You gasped while Nanami groaned, enjoying how wet you already were for him.

“I’ve barely touched you and you’re like this already,” Nanami teased. You panted, trying to grind yourself on his hand for more friction, more pressure, more anything. He chuckled seeing how desperate you were for his touch. The sorcerer finally reached your swollen nub and rubbed it leisurely. You immediately cried out, arching your hips into man’s touch.

“Fuck,” you cursed as pleasure surged throughout your veins. Your eyes were squeezed tight as Nanami continued to play with your clit. You were so distracted by his fingers that you barely registered the hot breath near your entrance. It was only when a wet tongue began to prod into you that you realized what was happening.

With a gasp, your eyes flew upon to see Nanami’s head comfortably settled between your legs as he licked at your cunt without restraint. The sight of him eating you out only stoked the raging fire inside you. You buried one of your hands in Nanami’s hair as he worked diligently to get you off. The way he lapped at your fluids and sucked at your entrance had you moaning and quivering uncontrollably. 

“You taste so good,” he groaned against your folds as you barely registered his words.

A familiar pressure was building in your body. As it got stronger and stronger, you couldn’t stop your legs from thrashing about. With a growl, Nanami locked his arms around your legs to keep them as still. It only took a gentle suck to your swollen clit for the tension in your body to finally snap. Mouth opened wide in a silent scream, you writhed around on the bed as you finally reached your peak. 

Your mind was completely emptied while white-hot pleasure overtook your entire body. You swore you could see stars behind your eyes. As you rode out the last waves of your orgasm, Nanami eagerly slurped up your release, refusing to let a single drop go to waste.

Once you came down from your high, you released Nanami’s hair and laid back on the bed with a sigh. He removed himself from between your legs. Your fluids still covered his face, and his normally styled hair was a complete mess from your grip. Just the sight of him was enough to cause another spark of desire to flare between your legs. This man was going to be the death of you.

“Holy fuck, Nanami,” you breathed.

“Kento,” he replied, wiping his mouth clean on his sleeve. “Call me Kento.”

You flushed. Saying his first name felt incredibly intimate. 

“Kento.” 

He grunted with approval and then began to unbutton his shirt. You licked your lips as his broad shoulders and wide chest were finally revealed to you. He was incredibly well-built with defined muscles and abs, but a number of scars littered his body. Some looked quite fresh while others were old and almost completely faded.

This was the body of a jujutsu sorcerer.

You now understood why Nanami warned you that the jujutsu world was unsafe. You couldn’t imagine the suffering behind all those wounds. Perhaps one day he would be willing to share his pain with you, so you could understand his world.

You wanted to rub your hands up and down Nanami’s bare chest, but he moved out of your reach to start fiddling with his belt. Eyes lowering, you swallowed nervously as you stared at the large bulge that greeted you. Nanami slid down his pants and underwear in one go, erect cock finally released from its confines and bobbing in the air slightly.

The sight of him was both mouthwatering and intimidating. You admired the bulging veins and the bits of pre-cum that were already leaking out from the tip. He wasn’t excessively long, but he was incredibly thick. You nervously wondered if you would be able to handle his impressive girth.

You wanted to touch and taste him, but Nanami wasn’t interested. He gently pushed away your eager hands and instead spread open your legs once again. At the moment, he was more concerned about prepping you than chasing after his own pleasure.

He pressed one finger into your entrance, groaning as your walls greedily sucked him inside. You gasped, clenching around him. With how easily you were able to take one finger, Nanami slipped a second into you. It didn’t hurt, but you could feel your cunt stretching around them as they thrust in and out of you. Nanami’s fingers were so thick and long that you already felt so full.

“You’re so tight,” Nanami hissed as you got lost in pleasure once again. He pushed those two fingers in and out of you, occasionally scissoring them to loosen you up. You could hear how wet you were as he continued prepping you to take his cock. Nanami moved his fingers at just the right angle to hit a spot that had you instantly moaning and clenching around him. But he suddenly removed himself from you which had you whining at the sudden loss of contact, feeling empty. However, you stopped complaining as you watched Nanami stroke his dick, spreading your fluids and his pre-cum all over himself.

“Are you on birth control or do I need a con—”

“I’m on birth control,” you cut him off impatiently. “Hurry up. I want you inside me.”

Nanami didn’t keep you waiting much longer. He lined himself at your entrance and slowly began to push in. It wasn’t painful, but you still gasped as your walls stretched to accommodate his girth. The sorcerer immediately cursed when his tip entered you. You were so hot and tight around his cock that it took all his self-restraint not to immediately ram his full length into you. With slow, shallow strokes, you were able to accommodate more and more until his entire cock was buried inside you.

You felt so incredibly full. Your hand gripped the blanket on your bed to anchor yourself as you tried to get used to the sensation of being stuffed with Nanami’s dick. He tried to remain still above you, waiting for your signal. Eventually, you met his gaze and gave a little nod. He sweetly kissed you on the lips before he started to move.

Nanami started at a slow pace afraid to hurt you at first, but he eventually settled into a rhythm that had you moaning his name over and over again. You were so wet that he slid in and out of you effortlessly, rubbing against your walls in a way that had you seeing stars again. You had wrapped your legs against his waist, allowing him to enter you even deeper. 

You were almost babbling nonsense at this point, unaware of exactly what you were saying as your mind was just consumed by pleasure. “Fuck. Kento. You’re so big,” you whined. “Faster. Harder. D-don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

Nanami adjusted the angle of his thrusts until he finally found the spot that had you gasping and clenching down on him again. He groaned, making sure to continue hitting the same exact spot with strong, fast thrusts at just the right tempo. “You’re so perfect. Looking at you, taking my cock so well,” he growled.

The pressure was building again. Everything was so overwhelming. The lewd, wet noises of your bodies moving together. The way Nanami growled praises of you in your ear. The muscles on his back rippling with exertion underneath your wandering hands. You just needed that one final push.

One of your hands sneaked down to rub your clit, but Nanami pushed it away and pressed his thumb against your swollen nub instead. Just a couple of strokes had you reaching your peak again. You clenched down so hard around Nanami that his hips stuttered, groaning loudly in your ear. You were completely consumed by wave after wave of pleasure. You couldn’t think. You couldn’t hear. You couldn’t see. All you could register was the pure bliss that racked your entire body, leaving you gasping and shuddering.

Nanami continued to fuck you through your orgasm, ramming his cock into you over and over again. His thrusts had become more frantic and uneven, chasing his own climax after you started to come down from yours.

“Where should I cum?” he groaned with gritted teeth.

You wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him down closer to you.

“Cum inside me,” you panted against his ear.

He groaned. You were perfect. Absolutely perfect.

With a couple of more thrusts, Nanami completely buried himself inside you when he flooded your cunt with his cum. He remained inside for several more moments to catch his breath before finally removing himself from you. You slightly winced as his cock brushed past your sensitive walls. Nanami couldn’t help but admire the way his cum slowly dribbled out of you.

He laid down next to you as you both began to calm down. No words were needed between the two of you. The silence was comfortable as you cuddled against his chest. Nanami rubbed your back absentmindedly as you hummed in delight.

Eventually, the two of you got out of bed and cleaned up. The textbooks and notebooks haphazardly thrown on your floor were ignored for the rest of the day. You thought you deserved a break anyways. The two of you ate dinner together, cuddled on the couch while watching a movie, and went at it again for another round before settling down to go to sleep.

You were passed out next to Nanami, completely worn out from the day’s activities and normal sleep deprivation you had as a student. Your heavy breathing was the only sound in the tiny apartment. It strangely calmed Nanami just listening to you. He turned towards you and stroked your hair affectionately. 

A part of Nanami still worried if he had made the right choice with you. He was still concerned about your safety and well-being. Would he only bring you more grief if you constantly agonized over his dangerous missions as a jujutsu sorcerer? 

He let out a quiet sigh. He knew he would have regretted it if he continued to push you away. And if he was going to be a sorcerer, he wanted to be a sorcerer with no regrets. 

Nanami only hoped that he would never cause you any pain and anguish because of his profession. It was rare for sorcerers and non-sorcerers to find happiness as a couple. But perhaps the two of you would be an exception.

He prayed the two of you would be an exception.

---

“Welcome! How may I help y—oh!” You blinked in surprise as three individuals walked into the small boba shop.

Gojo waved at you with an easy grin. Nanami stood next to him as handsome and stoic as ever, but there was a new face behind them. He looked like a high schooler.

The blindfolded teacher wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulder and pointed at him. “Meet Yuji Itadori! One of our first-year students!”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you,” you said introducing yourself.

The boy tilted his head, looking at you curiously. “How do you know Gojo-sensei and Nanamin?”

Nanamin?

You chuckled at the cute nickname. 

“I told you to stop calling me that, Itadori,” Nanami replied, clearly bothered.

“Well, I’m…” you hesitated. You didn’t know what to say. A friend? An ex-coworker? A normal person who couldn't see curses but knew about their existence?

“She’s Nanami’s girlfriend!” Gojo exclaimed to your horror. You immediately flushed and looked to Nanami for him to clarify, but he didn’t react. He glared at the blindfolded sorcerer as per usual but didn’t refute the statement. Your eyes widened in realization. 

“Uh, y-yeah,” you stammered. “I guess I am.”

“Nanamin has a girlfriend!?” Itadori gasped. He had even more respect for his mentor now.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Nanami growled much to your amusement.

You took their orders and began to prepare the drinks. Nanami and Idatori were talking in the corner while Gojo hung out at the counter near you. You had just finished sealing the drinks when the teacher explained something to you.

“Oh, by the way, Yuji is supposed to be dead so be sure to not mention his existence to anyone else.”

You almost dropped the drink you were holding. “Um, okay.” You thought it was better not to ask questions.

Gojo thanked you as he took his drink from your hand and grabbed a straw for himself. “Yo! Nanami! Yuji! Grab your drinks and let’s head out!”

Itadori followed Gojo out the door once he had his milk tea, but Nanami stayed behind.

“I meant it.”

“Huh?” you asked, cleaning the counter with a rag.

“I want you to be my girlfriend.”

You blinked, processing his words. A bright smile grew on your face. “Well, according to Gojo, I’m already your girlfriend.”

Nanami let out a rare chuckle and flashed you a small smile. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Goodbye!” You waved as he left the shop.

Your coworker came out of the back room, looking at you suspiciously. “Why are you so smiley?” She looked around the empty shop. “There’s no one here.”

“Oh, no reason," you replied with a hum.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Kickstart My Heart Pt.1 (Racer! Yeosang)

Next>>

Pairing: Racer! Kang Yeosang × Waitress/Fuckgirl! Reader (Female)

Genre: Fluff, Angst, 80s AU.

Summary: During an era known for its vibrant colors, eccentric fashion styles and rise of new yet unconventional genres of music, the young generation of that time was infamously known for their need to rebel and live their lives rather scandalously and Y/N is no exception. So when a new and attractive man moves into her town, she has her eyes set on making him her next boy toy.

Word Count: 4K+

Warnings: Dumb attempts at crackhead humor, reader is a cold hearted bitch, guy gets dumped in public, reader's friend is lowkey creepy.

█ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █

Throwing on the last article of clothing that had been discarded the night before, the young woman shook out her hair, still damp from the quick shower she just took. Picking up her bag, she looked over at the figure still sleeping soundly, the subtle hint of a smile on his face. With a pitied pout on her lips, she walked over to the edge where his face was. Taking out the lipstick tube from her bag, she applied it all over her lips, painting them in the dark burgundy color that she fancied so much and had practically become her signature hue. Bending over, she pressed her lips against the corners of his mouth, giving him the faintest whisper of a kiss before pulling away. A satisfied smirk was plastered on her pretty features as she stared at the lipstick mark on his face, the only memoir she'd leave him with as she had done with countless others.

Closing the front door behind her, she pulled her denim jacket tighter on her body, shivering slightly from the early dawn's breeze that blew across. It was always like that even though summer had just begun, the early morning hours still feeling obnoxiously cool and then transpiring into slightly uncomfortably warm afternoons that had more than one soul in that quaint town grumbling and fussing about the weather. But oh did the evenings feel absolutely refreshing, and that's when everything would start bustling to life.

Having finally made it out of that small residential area and finding one of the main roads that helped her locate where to go, she started heading south towards the all too familiar diner where she had been working in ever since her school days, first starting part time and eventually transpiring to full time when it came time for her to spread her wings and fly out on her own, a feat she had been most anxious to do to get away from the overly controlling nature of her parents. She knew they cared about her, but she herself cared very little about the morals and principles they had raised her with, a common trait all the young people in that town shared: their rebellious and headstrong nature to not conform and go against everything they had been taught thus far. Live their own lives as freely as they chose to do.

And she definitely lived as she wanted to, even if it ended up with a rather bad reputation and ugly labels that rather than infuriate her, she openly embraced, as others had come to as well.

The light twinkle of the bells above the glass door let the person at the register know someone came in and they immediately plastered on their business smile, which quickly faded when they saw who it was.

"You're late Y/N." The minuscule raven haired waitress informed her, eyes never leaving her coworker's figure that came behind the counter and started punching in her number.

"Only by like 7 minutes." She waved her slip at the nonchalant looking girl before placing it back in its respective slot.

"One day it wouldn't surprise me if you just didn't show up because you got too caught up in.... something else."

Chuckling softly, Y/N walked up behind her coworker, hands coming up to ruffle the cheekbone level bob cut hair framing her unusually small face.

"Awww come on Lynn, you know I'd never leave you hanging here to attend customers by yourself. You're my bestie." Y/N assured her, playfully poking her lips out as she tried to place a kiss on her friend, the poor girl craning her neck away as she tended to dislike physical affection.

"I will squirt ketchup on you." Lynn threatened as she picked up the cherry red bottle as a last resort to get her attacker to back away. A rather noisy struggle ensued between both girls, catching the attention of the owner and cook behind the two doors, prompting her to come out and see what was the cause of such ruckus.

"Well I'll be darned. I don't remember paying you youngsters to simply slack off and behave like the hooligans you are." The middle aged woman spoke up, her thick accent becoming more prominent. Although she had a stern look and hands placed at her hips, the girls knew she was not in reality angry at them.

Looking over at the recently arrived girl, the owner closed her eyes and sighed deeply when she took in the attire she was wearing: low cut white tank, ripped denim shorts that left little to the imagination if she bent down, fishnet tights with a few holes in them, and her beloved denim jacket that was almost always on Y/N's body.

"I swear to god, Y/N , everytime I see you wear them rags you call clothes, I feel like my body is about to collapse. Why must you insist on dressing like a common street worker?"

Y/N wasn't at all offended by her words, having grown used to and becoming fond of her boss's abrupt, direct and honest manner of speaking.

"Gotta start looking the part if I'm going to dedicate my life to the occupation." She giggled at her own joke, resulting in the older woman taking the rag off her apron and smacking her with it.

"This little runt, talking nonsense like that- get your ass back in there and change into your uniform. Can't have you prancing around here in those skimpy clothes and have all these men that come here say disrespectful things about you. Nuh uh, not to my girls." She shook her head.

"Yes Miss Audrey." Complying with the woman's wishes, she pushed open the swing doors leading to the back and quickly made her way to the corner where all the employee's cubicles were located. Grabbing the necessary items, she turned and went inside the bathroom to change into her uniform, consisting of a knee length crimson red dress, which she had actually altered so it would be shorter and display her thighs more, the cap sleeves slightly puffed up and the torso part had a trail of white buttons going all the way up to the modest v-neckline, usually most buttons were left undone so her cleavage would shamelessly peak out. Exchanging her black Doc Martens in favor of her white Nike sneakers, Y/N tied her apron around her waist, making sure it was as tight as possible so it would accentuate her curves and give her body a more flattering appearance. As she made her way out, she quickly piled her hair up before securing it with one of the many elastics she kept around her wrists, leaving out a few tendrils to fall on her temples.

Coming back out to start her daily work, she stood in front of Lynn, who merely spared her an unamused glance.

"How do I look?" Y/N asked.

"Like a total slut." Her friend answered in her usually rude way.

Rolling her eyes, Y/N grabbed a spray bottle and a rag. Making her way over to the table that had just finished being used, she quickly picked up the plates and glass, bringing them back over to where Lynn was, who took them so she could wash them in the sink. Spraying the top of the marble piece, she had began her task of wiping down the table when the ringing of the bell signaled new customers had arrived, and rowdy ones at that too.

"Damn! Is today's special fluffy sponge cake? Cause I would sure love a piece of that ass."

Y/N recognized that annoying voice even from miles away, belonging to none other than one of her old classmates, Jung Wooyoung, whom she considered a friend, if he didn't manage to irk her too much. Turning around, she of course wasn't surprised to see him surrounded by his crew of equally idiotic and adrenaline junkie friends, whom she had to admit were pleasant and fun to hang out with.

"Sit your asses down already, I'll be over in a minute to take your order." She told them before resuming her previous task, earning a scoff from the most dramatic of the group.

"Fine customer service! Don't think you'll be getting a tip from me." His words made her nearly burst into a fit of giggles.

"Wooyoung please, you never ever tip whenever you come. None of you, except Yunho." It kinda saddened her that said male unfortunately wasn't there with them at the moment.

"He doesn't tip you, he tips short stack over there." His friend with cat like eyes pointed towards Lynn, who upon overhearing him held up a rather explicit finger in his direction.

"I'll poison your food San." She threatened with a sing song tone.

"Like I wouldn't know that you already spit on it." San spat back, sticking his tongue out in his immature and infantile fashion.

"Can you guys hurry up and order already? I'm starving and we gotta head to the tracks as early as possible." The fiery red haired male known as Song Mingi blurted out, fingers tapping impatiently against the top of the table.

"If little miss g-string would care to hop her luscious ass over here, maybe we could."

Strutting over to where they sat, Y/N harshly threw the dirty rag on Wooyoung's face, causing a faint grunt to come out of his mouth.

"No matter how many times you mention my ass, I'm still not letting you tap it." She firmly stated, making Wooyoung slightly purse his lips outwards in a disappointed grimace.

"So anygays-" Mingi began.

"Umm I think you mean anyways." San corrected him.

Leaning in towards him, Mingi locked eyes on the shorter male and stared him down with an intimidating glare.

"Did I stutter Choi?"

San immediately shook his head rapidly. With a victory smile, Mingi reclined back in his seat.

"I'm just going to get the breakfast platter with some orange juice."

Y/N couldn't stifle her snort when he said his choice of drink, the other two men looking away in embarrassment.

"You've been drinking orange juice since you were in grade school Mingles, don't you think you outta start taking something more grown up? Like coffee?" San suggested and Mingi did not appreciate it.

"Coming from the one who still brings a plushie to sleep with him, your suggestion holds no value or power." He retorted.

"OK SHIBER IS NOT A PLUSHIE, HE'S FAMILY YOU JACKASS!" San sprinted up from his seat, nearly leaning across to grab Mingi by the color, but he was held back by Wooyoung.

Lynn, who had thus far stayed quiet, promptly came up with a spray bottle and consequently doused the untamed boy on his face.

"Bad kitty, bad kitty." She reprimanded him, unable to resist the opportunity to attack her long time frenemy.

"Lynn!" Y/N looked at her with surprise.

"You're welcome." Lynn replied rather monotone before going back to her place behind the counter like she didn't just spray San with disinfecting water.

"There's too many germs going around anyways..." She muttered under her breath.

Without any further interruptions, aside from the rumbling coming out of the boys' stomachs, they finished ordering what they wanted and Y/N sent it over so they could be prepared. Not wanting to be near their loud asses, Y/N went back over to where Lynn was, peeking over to see what she was currently reading in the magazine she held.

"What you reading?" She casually inquired.

"Horoscope section." Y/N wasn't surprised, her friend tended to be into more mystical, eccentric and rather.....extreme with her taste in fashion and music. If Y/N was the one who turned heads for her scandalous attire, Lynn was the one people turned away from in fear when they saw how she dressed. It was a sight that truly made both of them laugh at people's foolishness, well at least made Y/N laugh. Her friend rarely had any other expression plastered on that wasn't utter disdain for society and life.

Unexpectedly, another customer came in. Both girls looked at each other in confusion when neither of them recognized him. Their town was rather small with few people living there, so they deduced that he must be a traveler who probably got lost on his route. He himself looked around nervously, eyes barely lifting up. Y/N couldn't help herself as she took in his perfect face. Big, round eyes with crystal clear orbs, small face with a V-line jaw, perfectly sculpted nose with no sign of defects, skin smooth and blemish free, he looked like a prince out of a fairytale. He was incredibly pretty, yet stood there so awkwardly that it was almost comical.

"Hey Yeosang! You made it! Sit down! I ordered for you in advanced!" Wooyoung surprised both girls when it seemed he knew the stranger and even waved him over to where they sat. The other two boys also seem familiarized with him and welcomed him to sit with them, chatting up a storm already with him.

"Who's that?" Lynn was the one to finally ask out loud.

"Beats me.....but he sure is adorable."

Noticing the way her lips curled upwards, Lynn could already see the wheels inside Y/N's head turning.

"And I bet you're going to go over there and find out- aaand there you go." She ended up answering her own deduction as she watched Y/N happily walked over with a more bright expression on her face, that soon soured when her boss came out of the kitchen and beat her over to the table, laying down several plates of food.

"I knew as soon as I saw the orders that it had to be the lot of you." She scoffed softly as she looked at the boys' grinning faces.

"You know us Miss Audrey, we wouldn't ever think of eating anywhere else but here. You're the best cook in all of town." Wooyoung praised her with a sparkling charm that could have fooled anyone else but not the robust woman in front of him.

"Boy stop trying to tickle my ears, I've known you since you were in your soiled diapers being carried around by your mama, running around and creating chaos anywhere you went. Flattery may work on them poor girls you play with but me? I can see right through ruffians like you."

Turning her head to finally notice the new addition to the group, she looked him up and down.

"Boy who might you be?" She questioned him, earning the ears of the girls nearby to listen in for any valuable information.

"I'm..... Yeosang Kang, nice to meet you." He introduced himself, tilting his head slightly down when he said that.

"He just moved into town this week! He's the new guy who is going to work with us down at the car shop and help on the race track!" San enthusiastically shouted, making the older woman cringe.

"I may be old, but I still haven't gone deaf for you to yell in such a way boy. So...." She crossed her arms and looked at Yeosang again.

"You a racer too?"

Now the girls, particularly Y/N, were more interested in what his response would be.

"I- yes. So it seems." The poor boy looked so flustered, obviously being more of a soft spoken individual, contrasting starkly to the other 3 boys.

Miss Audrey let out a seemingly displeased hum at his answer.

"As if we needed anymore hooligans running wild. We already got enough with the 3 Stooges over here."

The girls couldn't help but snicker at their boss's words, always having a blast whenever she put the boys back in their place. They however looked displeased, glaring at them intensely.

"Shouldn't you both be off somewhere cleaning dishes or making sandwiches?"

Snatching one of the knifes, Lynn held it up and was about to jump over, but Y/N came up in front of her.

"Lynn, no. Just calm down ok? You know they're just being idiots." Y/N reminded her.

Grumbling something in a foreign language no one knew for sure if it was real or not, Lynn put the knife back, squinting her eyes at them before turning around to not look at them again. Y/N giggled softly, finding it absolutely cute whenever her friend lost her cool and collected form cause it reminded her of a chihuahua, barking and yelping at anything larger than itself trying to establish dominance.

Noticing that in her display of aggression, Lynn had inadvertently knocked over a few of the brochures that were on display for people to take, Y/N stooped down and proceeded to pick them up in a casual manner. Standing up, she neatly arranged them properly, making sure they all faced the same direction and the sides weren't poking out anywhere. Feeling as though someone had been watching her all along, she looked at the table of boys, half expecting Wooyoung's smug grin to greet her, but she was completely wrong as it was none other than the new guy who seemed unable to keep his eyes off her figure, staring intently at the length of her skirt. When he realized she noticed, his eyes went wide, cheeks burning up with utter embarrassment. Y/N however seemed unbothered by this. Wanting to test something, she pretended to accidentally drop one of the pamphlets. Bending over, she made sure he could get a perfect glimpse of her cleavage, if he payed enough attention, he'd be able to see that she was in fact, not wearing any bra. Coming back up, Y/N looked over to see the results, smirking when the agape mouth of Yeosang confirmed to her that he had indeed noticed everything.

"Oh sweetheart, you're gonna be too easy..." She had already made up in her mind that Yeosang would be her next target, and she had to put her plan in action. Placing the brochures down, she was about to go over and start flirting with him, until a familiar voice called for her.

"Y/N! There you are!"

She internally groaned when she heard him, wondering why on earth did he not get the hint of ditching him like that, especially when he very well knew about the reputation she had. She tried ignoring him, but of course, he had had to be the persistent type, no doubt thinking he was going to have a different ending than the rest before him.

"I thought you'd be here. You could have told me you were going to be gone early. I would have made you breakfast."

Knowing she had to say something, Y/N grabbed her pad and gave him the fakest smile she was capable of donning.

"Hi, what can we get started for you today? Waffles? Eggs and bacon? Coffee to start off with?"

The trio of friends, having no choice but to witness the interaction due to it happening right in front of them, snickered amongst themselves.

"Oh shit. He's in for it." San whispered lowly.

The boy obviously looked extremely confused, his smile lightly falling off, but then returning to its hopeful state.

"Why are you acting like this candy bear? Pretending like you don't know me?" When he tried to reach a hand to pull her close, the girl simply pushed him away with one of her fingers.

"Look, clearly you're too stupid to understand so let me spell it out in a language you can understand." Letting out a tired sigh, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, a sour look displaying on her pretty face.

"We had a nice time together, and last night was... average to put it nicely."

"Oh man. That was a total burn." Mingi couldn't help but snort, some of the orange juice being spit back into his glass.

"But that was all it was and all it's ever going to be. So why don't you do yourself a favor and just go back home to your Star Trek figurines and watch the latest episode of Thunder Cats?"

The not so discreet snickering coming from the table behind them only made the humiliation for the man multiply significantly. Turning red with utter despair and rage, he quickly brushed past Y/N rather brusquely.

"Fucking bitch." She heard him mutter under his breath, a phrase she had grown accustomed to hearing among many others.

"Oh god. Homegirl struck again." Wooyoung laughed, swirling his milkshake in his hand.

"Ayo why you gotta do Thunder Cats like that? It's actually pretty entertaining." San commented.

Looking over at the time, the guys quickly stood up, dropping their share of bills onto the table.

"You guys get paid today too right? Come meet up with us at the track." Wooyoung suggested.

"Why on earth would we want to go see your greasy, oil smelling ass after dealing for nearly an hour with you already?" Lynn questioned him, eyes never peering up from her magazine.

"Because Yunho would be there?"

Still she didn't respond, the only movement made was her finger turning the page.

"Bro we been knew she don't give two shits about him." Mingi reminded them.

"Because we're going to the drive in theater after work, they're playing a horror movie."

Lifting her gaze, Lynn closed the magazine, although still stone faced, her eyes seemed to brighten up.

"My interest has been greatly piqued." Her lips showed the faintest whisper of a smile that gave a rather eerie and chilling feel down the people's spines.

"Maybe we should rethink inviting Satan's offspring." San leaned in towards Mingi, shivering significantly.

"Great! So we'll catch you gals later."

The boys quickly dispersed themselves, save Yeosang who still sat quietly, keeping mostly to himself. His fingers fidgeted with the half drunk cup he was holding, gaze fixed on the table in front of him. Looking up, he was attempting to work up the courage to talk to Y/N, but before he could even get the chance to gather strength, the owner came out from the back, whispering a few orders to her and gesturing for her to go tend to a situation in the kitchen. With a defeated sigh, he got up to go join the rest of the gang outside who were waiting for him. Slumping his hands in the pockets of his pants, he moved out of the booth with a solemn gaze.

"Hey."

His steps came to a screeching halt when he heard Y/N call out to him. Looking over, she smiled sweetly in his direction.

"Hope I see you later." With a flirtatious wink, she bid him goodbye as she disappeared into the back.

Yeosang stood there stunned momentarily, replaying her words over and over again in his mind, pondering endlessly at their meaning.

"Little pussy cat sure got you brain dead, didn't she?"

Startled by the unexpected voice next to him, he jumped when the face of the kind yet stern old lady studied him carefully. With a disapproving shake of her head, she decided it'd be best to warn him before he started getting ideas in his head.

"Listen, you seem like a sweet and sensible young man, so it's best for you to listen to me and stay away from that darn girl. Don't let them sugar coated lips of hers sweet talk themselves into your heart. You'll just end up heart broken like all the lovers she's had."

Picking up some of the plates, she gave him one last look, pointing an accusatory finger at him to get her point across.

"She's dangerous." Finally saying what she needed to say, Miss Audrey headed back with plates in her arms, slapping away Lynn's hands when they attempted to pry them off her, barking instructions at her to watch the counter and leave her be.

"Dangerous....." Yeosang thought to himself, the warning the good intended woman gave him sinking deep in his mind. Although he took her words to heart, something about the way she glanced at him pulled at the strings in his chest, taking his breath away when he remembered the risque position she was in that purposely allowed him to view more than he should have. That memory tinted his cheeks pink, lips unable to suppress a small smile. He knew that he should heed the old woman's advice.

But he had to admit that he loved danger and the thrill it came with.........

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Taglist: @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers @brie02 @galaxteez @multidreams-and-desires @deja-vux @hanatiny @couchpotatoaniki @daniblogs164 @a-soft-hornytiny @yunsangoveryonder @minhyukmyluv @nanamarkie @ateezbabysitters @mingismoon @rainteez02

[katie-writes24]

Say It Don’t Spray It

Pairing: John Laurens x reader

Warnings: Language, alcohol, suggestive material, FUCK TON OF ANGST KIDS, kinda sad, John doesn’t know when to shut up :,)

Part 2

Request: hey! my request was a laurens x reader where they're frenemies, n one day they get into this huge fight that stems from nothing, angst angst angst, and then he comes to her house to apologize. they simultaneously realize they have feelings for one another, and fluff fluff fluff...idek know after that lol - @notebookgirl30

Okay....WAYYYY OVERDUE I TOTALLY APOLOGIZE! Ngl this was a bit of a struggle to write because I just wanted to get a good feel of their “relationship/friendship” but I think I got it. Maybe? But I built a bigger storyline than expected so there’ll be a part 2. But yeah, hope you enjoy! Thank you @tinywhim for the title (you’re a real one, you don’t even know). Let me know if you want to be tagged! Leave me some feedback PLEASE!! And yeah! Enjoy!

“Has anyone ever told you you’re super boring?”

Y/N scoffed, “I’ve always loved your compliments, Angelica.”

She rolled her eyes, giving her coworker an exaggerated look. “You have nothing better to do on a Friday night. Normal people go out, and party and have fun! It’s the weekend, Y/N, you don’t have to worry about anything!”

That was an overstatement. Y/N actually did have lots to do, like finish her report and pay her bills and visit her parents and do actual adult things. Her partying days were over in college, and she knew that nothing good could come from a night surrounded by all of Angelica’s friends, some who happen to be their coworkers.

This was different though, in a way. Yes, it was Angelica’s birthday, but she was never good at social interaction, especially not at a club. These days she’ll go out with the Schuyler’s for a couple of drinks and go home and call it a day. That was enough for her, and she was okay with it. She was perfectly fine with her own friends telling her how she’s a buzzkill when it comes to partying. She was fine with not putting herself out there to guys because she didn’t think it was necessary right now.

She was comfortable at this point in her life, and she wasn’t going to ruin that over a drunken night at the club.

“Aren’t you two like best friends? You’re gonna miss your best friend’s birthday party?” Y/N turned to find John tutting in mock disapproval, swaying slightly on his chair.

“Will you butt out?” Y/N glared hard but it didn’t have the proper effect when he only laughed.

That’s the other problem. John is going to be there, which could only mean chaos. She’s been to enough office parties over the last two years to notice that he can’t hold his liquor and is incredibly loud. Not only were his obnoxious traits an issue, but there was something about him that got under her skin, not totally in a good way.

Eliza would never make her forget her little crush that sparked at the beginning of her job, when John was always nice to her and would give her this blinding smile. That sailed long ago, but apparently, a drunken night full of shared secrets was enough for the Schuyler to remember. Now, maybe there were some things that Y/N could pick out to prove to herself that he was an actual decent human being, but the John Laurens that had been sitting beside her for years was still John Laurens.

“I’m sitting three feet away from you,” He gestured at their desks that were only separated by a couple of inches. “I can literally hear everything you’re saying.”

“And he’s right!” Angelica reached over her desk and grabbed her hand. “It wouldn’t feel right if you weren’t there. Please, Y/N, it’s just a couple of hours. I promise if you really get uncomfortable you can leave, but I know you won’t because it is going to be amazing!”

Rolling her eyes yet again, Y/N did feel a little guilty. Angelica has always been there for her, through all the ups and downs, she’s been her biggest support system. It wouldn’t be fair to not celebrate her birthday with her.

“Fine,” Angelica practically squealed at her grumble. “But don’t count on me as your designated driver, because I might really dip out if it gets too rowdy for me.”

“Might as well not go then. Put me and Alex together, pshhh, you’ll be walking out the door as soon as you step in.” John winked, like he just knew how to get Y/N fired up and ready to argue back. Angelica knew too, as she pulled her hands toward her again, gaining her attention.

“Ignore him, I swear we will all have a good time! Plus, who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone there.”

She looked hopeful, almost as if this was her intention all along. But Y/N knew better, no matter how many times Angelica tried to set her up, she wouldn’t invite her somewhere only to be mislead and be set on a blind date.

“I am not interested, I am perfectly capable of finding someone on my own, if I choose.” She made sure to point out the last part so her friend would drop the subject.

“I’m just saying,” Angelica put her hands in up in defense, but still had that knowing look on her face like she didn’t believe her. Y/N sighed and got up from her chair, heading towards the break room for another coffee.

Upon entering, she noticed Thomas was already by the coffee machine, pouring his own cup. He looked up and raised a brow. “Long day?”

“And it’s only getting started,” Y/N rubbed a hand over her face and motioned towards the machine. “Are you done hogging that now?”

“Woah, woah, what did I do to be treated with such attitude?” Thomas chuckled and grabbed a cup for her.

“Sorry, I’m just...kind of stressed, not really looking forward to the weekend?”

“You mean Angelica’s party?” Thomas handed the cup over to her, nodding at her thanks and watched her add cream into the liquid.

“Yes, actually. I’m not really good at parties, I think they’re too exciting for me. Go on, say it, I’m a boring buzzkill.” It’s not like she’s ever heard anything different before when trying to explain how she’d rather stay at home and unwind while reading a book or watching tv and just relaxing, instead of being surrounded by sweaty bodies and drinking till she grows numb.

“Now why are you putting words in my mouth? I was actually going to say I agree with you.” Y/N looked up in shock, not believing that Thomas Jefferson was one to refuse a party invitation.

“Really? You don’t like parties?”

“Not that I don’t like them, sometimes they grow old. It’s the same scene over and over again and I’d rather switch it up a bit, change the location, you know?” He had a small smile on his face, looking like he was fonding over some memory.

“You’re right, it must be so hard being invited to parties all the time!” Y/N smirked as he gasped dramatically in mock offense. It only lead to them giggling to each other, only stopping when someone else cleared their throat from the doorway.

Y/N found John standing, his usual smile gone and replaced with a frown and furrowed brows. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, no, I was just leaving actually,” Thomas made way to the exit before hesitating, turning back to look at Y/N. “I’ll see you at the party, Y/N.”

She waved shyly, watching him walk away. It was comforting talking to Thomas, in a way. They didn’t do it very often, but when they did Y/N felt relaxed.

Lost in her thoughts, a cough startled her and she realized she was standing in John’s way. Y/N stepped to the side, muttering an apology and thinking how Friday night might not be so bad.

~~~

It’s not that Y/N doubted that Angelica would not settle for less than a full out, top quality club. But she didn’t think that it would include a private floor, filled with a bunch of people that Y/N didn’t know. Luckily, she spotted the birthday girl herself from across the room.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Angelica screamed over the music that was blasting from the floor below. She was well passed tipsy already, but she knew that Angelica would want to sober up before the night was over. She was never one to purposefully forget her birthday. “Come on, let’s get you a drink!”

She pulled her over towards the overcrowded bar, pushing passed drunks and couples dancing, Y/N even got stumbled into and turned to find a familiar head of curls.

“Watch it, Laurens!” The glare sent his way was enough to make him sheepishly smile.

“My bad,” John walked off towards a booth in the corner, surrounded by a few other men, one who she had recognized as a friend of Thomas.

A shot was shoved into her hand and soon enough, so were two more. Once a proper drink was in her hold, Angelica invited her to a game of pool with her sisters. 

Somehow, Y/N got surrounded by a bunch of people that she didn’t know. Angelica had been dragged over by a short man, which meant Y/N was dragged as well. It was the booth full of John’s friends, and they had made their impression, that was for sure.

“Ah, and who do we have here?” Thomas’s friend came over and smiled, making Angelica smirk and push his chest.

“Laf, this is Y/N,” Even though they had never met before, Lafayette beamed at the mention of her name.

“So, this is the famous Y/N we have heard so much about, heh?” He grinned devilishly, like he knew something that she didn’t. It was strange, what would Angelica have said about her?

“Nice to meet you,” Y/N stuck out her hand politely.

“Oh please, the pleasure is all mine, cherie!” He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss in her knuckles. She giggled at his performance, looking to see if anyone else was buying the act. But when she looked around to see if anyone else knew something, she only saw John glaring at his friend while sipping on his drink.

Her coworker’s odd behavior was enough for her to move herself to the bar, ordering another drink for herself. As the bartender handed her the cup, he told her that it was already paid for, pointing her in the direction to a man across the room. He was cute, and if the look in his eye told her anything, it was the words Angelica had said.

You don’t have to worry about anything.

Maybe you’ll meet someone.

Perhaps she was right.

She was tired of everyone telling her how boring she was.

Y/N found herself dancing with the guy, not bothering to learn his name and more focused on her hips moving with his. The lips on her neck gave her a rush, like she was finally doing something fun and risky.

His hands were pulling at the hem of her dress when she was jolted forward. The guy had bumped into her hard, and when she turned around she found out it wasn’t the guys fault, but John’s.

“What the hell man?” The guy got up in his face. Y/N couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but it looked like it was something threatening. Laf, the short man and another one of John’s friends appeared, trying to pull him back and tell him to just leave it alone. John wasn’t having it, took to pushing the guy hard once more.

It was a giant commotion that got security involved, and Y/N was over it. She ran out of the club, tears brimming her eyes as she thought about what exactly just happened.

John always had to ruin the night. John always had a problem with her.

John also stopped her from calling a cab, grabbing her hand just as she reached the sidewalk and calling her name.

“What the fuck, John? What the hell was that for?” Y/N screamed, wide eyed and wondering why when she was finally having a good time, he had to fuck it up.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry! I just- I couldn’t let him-”

“Couldn’t let him what? Touch me? Dance with me? Why? How does that have anything to do with you, John?” Nothing was connecting, there was never a time she could recall where John cared about her love life.

“He was an asshole anyways, alright? Was he really all that to you? Okay, if anything I was helping you!” If he could actually believe that, John was growing angry, too. He had no right to be, but his kept spitting out words that only made Y/N fill with rage.

“What did I ever do to you? Why? Why do you have such a problem with me?” While furious was an understatement, she seemed to be more confused as to why John got involved anyways. She was finally inching out of her shell and he just had to give her a reason to want to never leave her apartment again. 

“I don’t have a problem with you, Y/N. I’m drunk, I’m-I didn’t mean to do that, I just-”

“Just what?” While John was stumbling with his words, she knew better. “Being drunk is not an excuse against your actions!”

"I was just trying to make a point! He was all over you, I thought you were uncomfortable!” He narrowed his eyes, and he’d grown more angry than regretful only a few seconds before.

“Well, I wasn’t! I am a grown woman, John, I’m allowed to have fun and meet guys! I was having a good time until you had to ruin it!” 

“Jesus- I was just looking out for you! It’s not my fault you’re such a whore-”

The world seemed to stop as the two screaming voices died instantly at the sharp sound of the hit. John locked his jaw before he lifted his hand to rub his cheek. When he finally lifted his eyes, he saw Y/N pursing her lips in pure rage, a single tear streak ran down her cheek. She looked so small, fragile in a way that made him want to wrap her in his arms and promise that he would make sure that nothing ever hurt her.

He had already proven that he could never do such a thing. 

“Fuck you, John.” Y/N whispered and turned, leaving him standing alone, full of regret. 

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Laurens taglist: @alievans007 @etjt1821 @dontblinkumightmiss @hj-creates

[tsipasce]

Same Difference, ch.01

Summary: When Chronostasis is almost crushed by a falling beam, a passerby, Nanami, saves him. In an instant, she disassembles and reassembles it into harmless bits of metal. There are no other witnesses, but after she leaves, he makes an urgent call. "Overhaul, we need to talk. Now."

A/N: As you can see, I am terrible at summaries, but this is a multichapter fic that began as a plain reader insert but morphed into a beast all its own. Anybutts, I’ll be putting out chapters every week because Overhaul is a dick, but I just can’t help myself. Let me know what y’all think~

Chapter links:  02

AO3 | Fanfic

It was a picturesque late summer day, the sun was shining brighter than All Might’s smile and the clouds were fluffier than Fat Gum— Man I should really.. not get into poetry. That was terrible. Nanami thought to herself as she began daydreaming. She’d been cooped up in her office for what felt like ages and the temptation to escape from her office was palpable. She’d call it an escape, but in her defense, she’d chipped away rather efficiently at her mountain of paperwork and her last appointment of the day wasn’t for another couple hours. Before the mental argument for frolicking over to the nearby café could be made, she’d already grabbed her keys and purse and was out the door of her office. Walking down the hall, she made small talk and greeted her colleagues and coworkers in passing. It had only been a year and a half since graduating, but she was confident that hearing her name with Dr. in front of it would never get old.  

“Well look who decided to leave their cave today…” a distant voice called from behind. The figure coming towards her was waving a bit too enthusiastically for someone who’d just worked 12 hours straight.

“ Ha. Ha. How very original ~” she replied dryly.

He stopped at a comfortable distance in front of her and smiled. Forgetting how nice it was to see a friendly face after being cooped up in her office, she reflexively returned a tired smile of her own.

Dr. Tanaka was one of those colleagues who was just cool enough to be considered an actual friend outside of work and after her own, long shift she could use a casual chat with a friend.

“Headed out for a break?” He continued.

“Finally, yes. It’s just too nice outside and mama needs a sugar rush. Want to come with?”

“No thanks, I think I’m going to finish my rounds and head home, but if you’re looking for sugar, I’d avoid the usual spot. Some petty criminals were caught there earlier so it’s cordoned off for the rest of the day.”

“Really?” She sighed, annoyed at the inconvenience.

“Yes, really. But, there is a place I passed by this morning that had one of the best mochas I’ve had in a while, you should try it out and let me know what you think.” He replied seeing her perk up at the mention of anything related to chocolate.

“Well, I’m down to do a little coffee shop research,” she replied having already made her order in her head.” I’ll give it a try.”

“There’s a good sport. What’s the worst that could happen? Here’s the address” he texted her the location and an adorable café with way too many sweets popped up—Tanaka was definitely a good friend.

Mentally already at the café, she said her goodbyes and headed out the door, determined to seize what was left of the day and some pastries.

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 On her way, Nanami decided to take the scenic route. It was about the same distance as her usual spot, just in a different direction. Having already mentally noted the directions, she took the opportunity to really appreciate what she’d been missing. All the sounds and sights of a peaceful Friday afternoon. People walking about on errands, the sound of kids playing in the park nearby, and the smell of something amazing letting her know she was headed in the right direction. A creaking noise broke her out of her reverie and she looked up to see a load of large steel beams being moved by a crane. It seemed way too risky to be moving such large materials in a place that densely populated, but she figured they had to build it somehow and continued on her journey.

After another block she turned the corner, spotting her destination. Walking in, she was thankful the atmosphere matched the photos and had already planned on thanking Tanaka for such a solid recommendation. The barista actually looked like she was enjoying her job and cheerily informed her that the pastry she’d picked was baked fresh every day in-house to complement their homemade syrups. Could this day get any better?

While waiting for her order, Nanami got a text that her appointment needed to come in earlier, and she’d need to return to the office soon. Eh, that’s alright, I’ll still have 30 minutes to enjoy the food on the walk back. The barista called her name and she hurriedly picked up her order, assuring them she’d be back again.

One foot already in another daydream, she leisurely made the walk back to the hospital, taking in the sights. The people eating in the bistro, the smell of flowers in the local shop, the sound of the wires creaking and buckling above the strange man in the alley… Hold up.

Oh shit. Nanami thought to herself, already exasperated.

As much as people called doctors heroes, she wasn’t that type of hero. Her quirk just wasn’t meant for that kind of work. However, judging by how precariously the beam was dangling above his head, she thought she might need to reconsider. Before she could finish her internal conflict, her feet were moving. If I could just get in range to yell at him, he might be able to get out of the way in time. Maybe. Did she really want to take that gamble with a stranger’s life though? She knew the answer before it was asked, pressing forward towards the site.

He was across the street and she hopped over the guard rails, thanking her lucky stars she took a passing interest in parkour that one year in college. Just as she cleared the rail, the cord holding the beam snapped. Her heart sunk, knowing what she’d have to do. Unless he had a speed quirk, she was his only chance. She and her quirk...

Revamp? No, that sounds lame. Renovate? Okay well now I just sound like I have some weird home improvement power—but enough of that. Focus, girl.

He heard the beam falling and glanced upwards, his expression making it clear that he knew it was too late to use whatever quirk he had to get out of it. Right before the look of acceptance could settle onto his face, she jumped beside him, her hand stretched upwards towards the beam. Her fingertip and the metal made contact for a split second and then… “clink”. A thousand more tiny clinking noises followed soon after. She’d done it.

Though disassembling the beam into a thousand tiny nuts wasn’t amazing per se, it beat turning it into a plume of toxic dust for passerby’s to inhale or disassembling the beam into two and risking the halves falling onto another street or a nearby building. Judging by the very alive man next to her, she’d say she did a pretty good job for a not-hero.

It seemed as if the alley was closed off enough that thankfully no one else on the street had noticed the commotion, and the construction workers would take a few minutes to get down to where they assumed the beam would have landed. Now came the hard part: Making sure no one knew exactly what happened and that I was ever here.

Nanami was very secretive of her quirk. She used it sparingly to help people and perform everyday tasks with a bit of convenience, but deep down she knew it had the potential to be something else. She’d learned the hard way to keep it in check and avoided overindulging. Only her parents and her closest friends knew what it was and even then, she did her best to downplay it. Especially after the incident.

She snapped out of her inner monologue to see a very shocked man standing next to her, staring at her as if he’d seen something that was both extraordinary, yet familiar. He was a little taller than her but seemed close to her in age. He was wearing what appeared to be a stark white raincoat and had distinctive, pointy hair—not just pointy, she noted, there’s whole arrows at the end. Quirks really produce some interesting phenotypes…

Remembering that she needed to remedy the situation and get back to the office as soon as humanly possible, she broke the silence.

“Uhhhm, hi. Are you alright?” she began nervously.

“How did you ...” He still looked like he had seen a ghost, but she needed this interaction to end before the construction workers came and started asking questions.

“Look, I know this must be a bit jarring, but I really need to go. Will you be alright until someone else arrives?” She quickly realized being both direct and smooth was more difficult than she’d imagined.

An emotion she couldn’t put a name to flashed across his face and he recomposed himself.

“Could I at least know your name to thank you?” He asked innocently.

“Oh no, you don’t have to thank me. But if you really want to—just do me a solid and promise me you’ll keep this between the two of us, please?” She said antsy and almost pleading, knowing the workers and passerby’s curious about the missing giant beam and metal rain could come by at any second.

He paused and she could tell he wanted to say more but didn’t. “Of course, thank you for you hel—”

With the verbal confirmation that her secret was seemingly safe, she ran like the wind out of the vicinity and back to the safety of her office. After recollecting herself, she realized her treats had gotten lost in the melee and her pockets were now full of various nuts and bolts. No wonder why it was so hard to run... she thought to herself, emptying out 10-15lbs of bolts from her coat pockets.  Looks like I won’t need to go to the hardware store for a while…

She quickly shrugged it off and walked into her appointment, already plotting to do nothing but sip some wine at home and chastise herself for not being more discreet about using her quirk.

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 As Chronostasis was inspecting the sight of the Hassakai’s latest development, he had lost himself completely in thought. By the time he realized his error he was sure it was too late. He had never used his quirk on an object that large and in that moment of hesitation he feared the worst. Then in an instant, a woman stood beside him under the falling beam and did what he’d only seen one other person do before: Overhaul. With a single touch she disassembled the object and reformed it into something else. Perhaps it was a fluke, he considered, but if so, why did she seem so desperate to keep it a secret? As she bolted before he could finish his sentence, he followed her silently a few blocks before she entered a nearby hospital.

After reconfirming with himself what he’d seen, he made a prompt call, forgoing the usual formality in his calm urgency.

“We need to talk. Now.”

[ayonde]

My journey beyond MBA into Canada (Blog#10)

After graduation we went to Orlando to see Disney/Universal. That trip burned a hole in my pocket. Washington DC was the last leg and luckily the museums in DC are free to public unlike New York. We survived on McDonald's for couple of days as I simply ran out of money.

Signing bonus was a new concept. I had assumed that I would get that money the moment I accept the offer letter. Only to realize that I would actually get it 45 days after joining. I was running dangerously low on cash so I requested Cartesian to give me 50% of my signing bonus upfront which they trustingly did.

Location: Cartesian also gave me options for my location. Boston was too far up north and cold. Philadelphia was tough. New York was costly. Washington DC has nice summer and I was familiar with Northern Virginia due to its proximity to Williamsburg. So I selected DC.

My friend Vipul helped me get a lease at his apartment complex in Herndon, VA. My wife joined me in US to join me while rest of my family left for India. Doing grocery was a problem. Walking to the store and carrying big bags was too laborious. Ever since I drove Chris’s car I wanted to buy a Subaru Forester but as I had no credit history and my income hasn’t come yet no one was ready to give me auto loan. I approached Bank of America but they declined – even though I showed my offer letter with salary information they wouldn’t lend me a single cent unless I agree for 20% APR.

Once again, Vipul introduced me to Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU). DCU gave me the full $20,000 at competitive 2.29% APR. I searched online to shortlist few cars. Hilariously changed 3 buses and a Metro with my wife and traveled to Manassas, VA to buy my Forester. Now I could reach places within minutes – such a big relief!

2015: Luckily my first project was with Time Warner Cable and their office was a mile away from my apartment. I would come back home to have lunch or walk to office. 

Life was good. 

It became better as I got news from Larry that USCIS cleared my RFE and my H1-B was approved. Huge sigh of relief! The H1-B came into effect in October. I noticed that my take home pay decreased as now I had to pay into Social Security and Medicare.

I felt that this system was unfair. As foreign national working in US I was a non-resident alien but for tax purposes I was a resident alien. I could not benefit from SSN or Medicare but I had to contribute into those programs. Additionally, every time I exit US, I had to get my passport stamped and answer lot of questions at port of entry. Cartesian also had to file paperwork to USCIS whenever I changed apartments as my address of residence was listed in my petition.

2016: Having money felt great but my wife couldn’t work in US. We thought of starting a family but I wanted her to earn and be financially independent. I thought “If I can come to US and get work after US education, my wife and sister can do that as well”. We put our family plans on hold. Raising kids would mean a gap of 5+ years for my wife which could prove insurmountable in rejoining workforce.

She liked William & Mary’s Masters of Accounting. She enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College to get prerequisite credits. My wife and sister took the GMAT/TOEFL and applied to schools.

My wife got admits from George Mason, American University and W&M. My sister got admits from CUNY Baruch, Fordham, Johns Hopkins, American and Bentley for Masters in Marketing Analytics. Even though CUNY was 1/3rd the cost of Fordham and Johns Hopkins is a huge brand name, I advised my sister to enroll in Fordham as it is STEM certified. STEM allows international students to be eligible for 2 years of extended OPT in addition to the initial 1. This provides 3 years to find an employer who would file for H-1B.

For obvious reasons, my wife selected W&M. Since I could work from home, I decided to move back to Williamsburg to lower our living cost and be together. I did not have sufficient money for my wife’s education. Luckily I learned about Mpower Finance. They provided $25,000 without collateral at 11.99% APR both to my wife and my sister. This was a game changer. I took a personal loan from DCU for the remainder amount. I paid my sister’s monthly rent in NYC. By fall both enrolled in their respective schools. I asked Cartesian to apply for my Green Card (GC) but they asked to revisit in 2017

2017: I visited India in Oct and that’s when my mother fell and broke her shoulder. It became clear to me that I need to live together with my parents. I asked Cartesian again for GC but they refused to apply. To be fair I still had another year on my H-1B and could renew it for 3 more years. Usually companies exhaust 6 years of H-1B before sponsoring for GC. The problem is that USCIS puts a cap on number of GC applications per country. Which means that India with a population of 1.3 Billion gets the same number of GC slots as Lithuania – a country of 3 million. This cap puts a wait time of 10 to 15 years for Indians and Chinese to get GC in best case estimate. Worst case puts the waiting period at 45 years!

Even if I received GC, I still couldn’t stay with my parents. I started exploring other options and learned about Canadian Permanent Residency. My wife and I applied to Canada’s point based PR. During application I got to know another Indian applicant. He was 38 years old, had two kids. Worked in US on H-1B for 7 years. (2 renewals + 1 extended year) His company exploited him and gave him $138,000 while his American coworkers made $200,000+ He couldn’t leave his job as his company was filing for his GC, because of his age he scored less points in the Canadian PR process. He was in a pickle.

I decided I didn’t want to be in his shoes after 5 years. By mid-2017, my wife faced rejections at interviews due to companies unwilling to sponsor H-1B. Luckily she contacted Tim who owns La Tienda at Toano, VA and is a W&M Alumni. They hired her for a yearlong internship during the course of her OPT. My sister also found a job at NYC but the hours were killing her. Rampant racism existed in her company. English Hons fresh out of school American citizens are fast tracked into Managers while  Indian employees who had considerable experience in SPSS, SAS etc. and had a MS in Marketing / Analytics were made to work at grassroots. I decided to leave US when my wife’s internship and her OPT would conclude in July 2018. By December we had received our Canadian PR.

I owed my parents $80,000 for my MBA. I had little money saved. So I decided to buy a property in India. I would pay the mortgage on it and my parents would rent it out. The rent would provide them additional income to support cost of living.

2018: I was bleeding money from all ends – rent, auto loan, mortgage, education loan and taxes. Additionally, I couldn’t plan for retirement or invest in a property while in US.

Since both of us were earning and our cost of living was low. I decided to use snowball effect. First, paid off my wife’s education loan by making lump sum payments every month. That freed up the money going towards that loan. We used that additional money and attacked the next – auto loan was now repaid. Only mortgage remained as we moved to Canada in July 2018.

In September my H-1B expired. I resigned from Cartesian as a full-time employee and rejoined as independent contractor. This worked in my favour as I was able to get a 20% hike. I was promoted to Manager. I did not miss forgoing benefits like medical etc. as those are provided in Canada under universal healthcare.

We setup base in Toronto and my wife landed a job soon. We used the snowball effect once more to pay off my mortgage in India. After 4 years or so I recouped my Return on Investment on my MBA.

2019/2020: I was debt free and started saving money. Paying rent in the Greater Toronto Area was expensive and paying the same amount in mortgage made more sense. We bought a house and started a family. My sister also applied for her PR and joined us. I applied for my parent’s Super Visa – which allowed them to stay up to 2 years in Canada at each entry. After 6 long years we all were together again.

In conclusion, I feel lucky that I was able to successfully use my MBA to transition into consulting, change geography and attain higher purchasing power.

[oh-ahn-blog]

amare - chapter one

sehun x reader x chanyeol

6.2k words

a/n: This is my first attempt at posting and writing a full fic so any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Also, Chanyeol doesn’t come in until the next chapter so please anticipate his story next time.

In stories, books, and fairytales, there’s always a catalyst. There’s always that something that pushes words on a page into something worth being told. It’s what turns a regular old story into an adventure.

And it was never something you experienced. You supposed it was because you were never searching for something like that. You went to school, you got a job, and now you worked and took classes online. That was that. You weren’t unhappy, but you always wondered if there could be something more to what you did. Had you missed your call to action? Or had it yet to come?

“Come with me,” Bora said, reaching for your arm.

You followed her without question, away from the office party and down the stairs to empty office. The lights were off until you both walked in, straight to the break room where the fridge was located.

“Why are we down here?”

She rolled her eyes, the answer obvious as she pulled a multitude of champagne bottles from the fridge. Those weren’t normally there. It was a drink run.

You and Bora worked as interns in the same office- this office. She had started working there a few months after you, and she was your only friend there since you were the only two at the same level. You wouldn’t admit it to her, the ever social butterfly, but sometimes she was your only friend. You saw her every day and talked to her about every little detail in your life, even if they were only tiny and insignificant. Someone like her was bound to have more than just office friends, but between making coffee runs during the day and making champagne runs at office parties, she was the person you spent most of your time with.

“Isn’t this ridiculous?”

“What is?” You asked.

“This,” she said, precariously balancing four bottles of champagne into your arms as she went to grab the others. “It’s a Christmas party and we’re still doing all the grunt work.”

“It’s a holiday party,” you corrected, earning a weary sideways glance from her. “But, you’re right. I’m surprised we weren’t asked to make the snacks for everyone.”

Bora nodded but her mind wasn't completely there. You could tell. Her hands moved at a much slower pace than before, while her mind spun in circles. She grabbed the last three bottles, shutting the fridge with her hip. She looked at you with a near glassy look in her eyes. You were cautious to ask. She asked instead.

“What if we just left?” She asked.

“Where are we going?” You laughed, wondering if she was serious or if she had just had too much to drink already.

“I don’t know,” she said, a smile on her face that was still confident when her words weren’t. It was a dangerous combination for a friend to have. “But we could do it. They don’t need us here and they don’t treat us like they do. I’m almost done with school and your classes are all online. We don’t have to stay here.”

You thought about it. Bora always seemed so put together while you were working. It had been established that neither of you hated your jobs, so you couldn’t figure out what brought this on now. It was true that you didn’t like being treated as a servant instead of an employee, but the pay was more than decent for intern work and the benefits outweighed the cost of a few six-day work weeks. You thought you should say something to her, but you didn’t know what. She was driven. Agreeing with her if she was serious might put you out of a job if she really didn’t have a plan. Disagreeing with her would mean you’d have no one, at the office or otherwise. You laughed to yourself and she looked at you, eyes wide as she pulled herself from a daze.

“I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?” She laughed, though her voice was distant.

“No,” you said, leading the way out of the break room and back to the party that was taking place on the rooftop. “I just think we should have more of a plan before we jump from a ship that isn’t sinking.”

“It might be better than jumping too late,” she mused. “Just look at the Titanic.”

You shook your head in amusement, moving up the stairs further. Upon reaching the refreshments table, Bora was immediately flocked by someone hunched in worry as they struggled to take all three bottles from her. They left you with the four, but that was to be expected of Bora’s boyfriend.

“Where did you go?” He asked, his voice soft and fragile as if he had been searching for her for hours. It might as well have felt like that with the rest of their coworkers around.

“My boss sent me to get drinks,” she laughed at his excessive concern while he put the drinks down. “Did you miss me or something?”

“That, and your boss’s secretary was getting a little too close for comfort,” he said. He moved out of the way, facing Bora and allowing you to try to place the remaining bottles on the table.

“Isn’t she, like, seventy?”

“Sixty-three,” you corrected. “But I talked to Ms. Choi while she was drunk at the last company party and Sehun is definitely her type.”

He would be anybody’s type, you thought to yourself. You had first heard about Sehun the day after Bora met him eight months ago, when she had described him as “a god amongst men with the shoulders of an American football player.” That had piqued your curiosity more than a little, so you listened to Bora ramble on and on about Sehun and how amazing he was. It took only a few months for you to meet him after then, and you could only agree with Bora: he was amazing. He was soft-spoken at times and maybe even a little dim if you asked him the wrong questions, but he was charismatic and charming. It made sense that Bora and even Ms. Choi would be in love with him.

Sehun greeted you with a hug and a smile that was enough to make anyone swoon. You hadn’t met him many times- the downside to only being the office friend to your own best friend- so you really didn’t have much to say to each other. You didn’t really trust yourself with words while he was around anyway. You pinched yourself: a reminder that Sehun was Bora’s boyfriend and you could only call him an acquaintance at best.

Bora’s eyes went wide, turning to you. “Did you grab the plastic champagne flutes?”

“I had four bottles of champagne in my arms; do you think I grabbed them?”

“I need to get those. Will you keep Sehun company?”

You didn’t have a chance to respond before she was on her way to the staircase again. You glanced at Sehun who stood nervously by you, ready to flee at the next opportunity without his anchor to keep him there. There was no reason you couldn’t keep him company now.

“On the lookout for Ms. Choi?” You asked.

He looked at you and breathed out a sheepish laugh. He looked more nervous than you felt, even with your hands shaking. “Yeah. She’s kind of intense.”

“She’s a sweet old lady, but she could so much as look at a bottle of alcohol and lose all inhibitions.”

“Kinda like you,” he mused, pointing an inquisitive finger in your direction.

“Me?”

He nodded. “Bora talks about you all the time but you only ever talk to me when you’re tipsy.”

Was that true? There was normally a drink in hand when you spoke to him, but you only ever saw Sehun at the few company events that had been held in the last few months, when Bora started bringing him. The only time you hadn’t seen him on the rooftop had been at Bora’s birthday party, but even then it wasn’t for long. You didn’t know any of Bora’s real friends and you only came because Bora had invited you. There was some truth to what he was saying, but your cheeks flushed at the realization. How did he care to know?

“I’m talking to you right now, aren’t I?”

He smiled, settling your nerves a little more, but that was quickly undone as his eyes set on you. He wasn’t doing it on purpose. He did the same thing that Bora did when she was thinking, but with Sehun it was less endearing and more worrying. The slight draw of his already angular brows intensified his apparent focus, looking at you with scrutiny that wasn’t totally directed at you. His tongue poked out from between his lips as he reached the end of his thinking and then… he was still looking at you. His brows narrowed more and he met your eyes. His were brown and dark, swirling in a mystery that you would never expect to see in a set of plain brown eyes. It was startling, to say the least.

“Can I ask you something?”

It felt like he had already asked you a million questions in the span of a second with that one look. What more could he possibly want? Still- and maybe against your better judgement- you nodded.

“You know Bora pretty well, right?” You nodded again, more caught up in his gaze than really hearing him. “How does she like it here?”

“What?”

“You guys have been working here together for almost two years now, right? Does Bora still like it here or is she planning to do something else?”

You thought back to only moments before. It couldn’t be coincidence that Sehun was asking this right after Bora had voiced her disdain for the company that you both worked for. They were really a force to be reckoned with. They must be meant for each other. You blinked a few times, realizing that Sehun was still watching you carefully, as if any movement on your face would lead to the answer he needed.

If he could really read you, you hoped he couldn’t see the gears turning in your mind as they searched for an answer that somehow made sense. Over the last two years, Bora had become a face that you looked forward to seeing every day. She was your closest friend without realizing it, and you knew that her leaving with Sehun now would mean that you might not see her again. You didn’t want that. You wanted to be selfish and keep that familiar face as close as you could for as long as you could. But you knew that that wouldn’t be the case. From what you could tell and from what your heart insisted on telling you, Bora and Sehun were well suited for each other. This could very well be her call to action, and you wouldn’t be a good friend if you stopped her from going wherever Sehun had planned. You let out a breath. Sehun seemed to straighten out, still watching carefully, but not as intently.

“She doesn’t like how she’s treated here,” you confessed. “She was just talking about how badly she wanted to leave a while earlier… Why do you ask?”

“She doesn’t like it,” he repeated to himself quietly. He smiled, but it didn’t reach you. It wasn’t for you like the narrowed eyes had been. It was for himself, and for Bora. Even when he was looking at you again, you couldn’t share in his splendor. “Do you really want to know why I asked?”

Truthfully, you didn’t. Not now, anyway. The less you knew about Bora leaving, the less you would try to stop it. Still, looking at Sehun now made your head nod again.

“I’m opening a cafe in the countryside,” he said. “It’s almost an hour away, so I’d feel bad if either of us had to go back and forth that way, but if she doesn’t like it here then she can just come with me.”

“A cafe?”

He nodded quickly, his eyes disappearing into crescents as he confirmed his plans. “One of those pretty ones that people go to for Instagram photos. It’s already being renovated. I even have a name: Amare. Do you want to see?”

You nodded again. It must have been true that you could only talk to Sehun with alcohol in your system. You hadn’t formed a thought that was clearly your own in the last ten minutes. But, you couldn’t stop him now. He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping on it a few times before shoving it almost directly under your nose. He scrolled slowly so that you could see. It was very detailed. From blueprints and paint swatches to custom furniture and specific lamp shades, he hadn’t missed a single detail. You didn’t know Sehun well beyond his social personality, but he seemed to have a knack for business too. There was no way he could be more perfect for someone like Bora.

Something itched at the back of your mind. It was the slow and sensible part of your brain, the same part of the brain that told Bora to stay on the Titanic earlier. All the things he had put into his dream cafe seemed expensive. Even if he threw all his assets into it to make something great, was a cafe in the countryside the wisest way to invest his money? Bora seemed restless earlier, but would she really follow him if he wasn’t stable?

“It’s really nice,” you said, mouth moving before you could really think about it more. “But that seems really expensive. Isn’t it too much to leave and do that?”

“Yes… and no,” he said. Then, he leaned in closer to you, his eyes meeting yours once more. He shook his head and backed off. “But it’s a secret.”

“A secret?”

He nodded. “Bora doesn’t even know.”

That made you uneasy. What could Sehun do with money that he’d keep from his girlfriend of almost a year? It couldn’t be that bad if he were to even mention it to someone else, but it didn’t sit well with you. You eyed him warily. Maybe telling him the truth was a bad idea.

“What doesn’t Bora know?”

She came around Sehun’s shoulder from out of nowhere, smiling sweetly as she hooked her arm around his. Sehun smiled down at her almost the same. He leaned into her touch as if he had been expecting her the entire time. Which was more than could be said for you who jumped at her sudden appearance. Your heart was racing. What had she heard before saying anything? Did she know that Sehun would be taking her away? Had she already made up her mind about going?

“It’s a secret,” Sehun repeated.

Bora looked at you pointedly, searching for an answer in her friend rather than her boyfriend. You breathed a sigh of relief, but your hands were still shaking. You couldn’t decide if it was because of the close call or if it was your ever growing fear that Sehun would actually succeed in taking Bora away.

“Where are those cups you were supposed to get?” Sehun asked.

“Mr. Kim had to talk to me so he just took them from me.”

“What did he have to talk to you about?”

“I have my secrets too,” Bora grinned. Then, she pulled on your sleeve, her other arm firmly wrapped around Sehun’s. That was her way of dismissing the conversation and telling the two of you to just have fun for now. While she pushed you toward who knows where, she let go of Sehun, pulling you close so that only you could hear her words. “You’ll find out next week.”

You looked at her. She winked. You didn’t know what she meant.

The weekend and the holiday after seemed to come and go too quickly for your liking. It was strange. Normally the holidays lasted too long. You’d receive a gift from your family back home and maybe even a few cards from some old friends, but since coming to this company, you truly had no one. Not even Bora messaged you this time when she normally did, but you expected it this time. She was probably busy packing her bags and writing a resignation letter so that she could leave with Sehun by the end of the new year. It wouldn’t surprise you if she left without doing any of those things. She was driven, and with that came an impulsiveness that was unmatched. She was smart, but once she set her mind to something, there wasn’t much to stop her. Reality would set in as soon as you went back to work later on.

It set in quickly. You came into work as usual, keeping your head down until you were able to get to your desk and clock in. When you sat down, you expected- or more-so hoped- to see Bora sitting across from you. By now, she would be ready to go to the break room for a second cup of coffee and she’d ask you to come with. Instead, there was nothing there. Across from you, there was no Bora. Not even a single one of her desk decorations was in sight. It seemed like she was really gone. You sighed, taking a moment to collapse onto your desk. There was a distinct tapping of heels on linoleum that approached your desk, causing you to shoot up in your seat. Depending on which senior it was would determine how strict they were about using company time for personal things like devastation. You sat with your back flat against the back of your chair, clicking away at any files and emails that looked like they needed to be open that day. They wouldn’t notice that you had been slacking off, right?

The sound stopped somewhere near your desk, but you were too afraid to look. There was nothing good that would come out of that. Then, there was a mug of coffee being thrust into your line of sight- the mug that normally sat on your desk. It was then that you tentatively looked up to see Bora’s bright smile and crescent like eyes. You jumped, nearly knocking the mug of coffee out of her hands if she hadn’t anticipated it enough to keep it away from your path of destruction.

“Bora! You’re here!”

She laughed. “Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”

“Nowhere, I guess,” you said. You could feel Bora’s unwavering gaze before you looked back up at her. You put on a smile, hoping the genuine feeling behind it masked the nerves from before. You gestured to her desk. “Your stuff wasn’t there so I just thought you might have left or moved somewhere over the holidays.”

Bora still seemed unsure of whether or not to believe you, but what else could she do? You hadn’t lied to her before. She smiled, sure that it was nothing.

“I did move, but not away.”

“A new apartment?”

She shook her head. “Up.”

Before you could even question it, Bora was pulling at the lanyard around her neck. You hadn’t noticed that before. She stuck it right under your nose, enthusiasm causing her clenched fist to just narrowly miss your face entirely. You rolled your chair back, needing some space in order to read it properly. You wished you had just pushed off with your feet and launched yourself backwards. Junior Editor.

“When did this happen?”

Bora grinned. She dropped her lanyard away from your face, but held onto it firmly, almost as if she were protecting it. “Just before the long weekend. Remember when I said Mr. Kim had talked to me at the party? It was about this!”

You stared blankly, a smiling forcing its way onto your face as you attempted to be happy for your friend. You were happy for her. In all the time that you had known Bora, she never wanted anything more than to move out of the intern type job that you both shared there. At the same time, you had been working there for longer than Bora had, even if only by a few months. You worked just hard as she did. It didn’t make sense that she would get a promotion before you.

Then, something else caused your smile falter. Sehun. As far as you were concerned, Bora should have been an hour away making pastries and coffee. Instead, she was standing in front of you, smiling fondly at her new plastic badge as if it had replaced her boyfriend. Your curiosity was burning; it was a heat that was growing rapidly and was urgently trying to escape. You couldn’t let it get the best of you. Bora had a reason for being here instead of there, for being by your side instead of his. All you could do was trust that she would tell you eventually.

“Bora!” It was a voice that hadn’t come from you. Bora looked around, finding someone over her shoulder that she waved to. You recognized her as a senior at the company, but you were just an intern still. You weren’t on a first name basis with her like Bora was.

“I have to get back to work, but we’ll definitely catch up later, okay?”

You hadn’t agreed, but Bora was gone before you could say anything else. You just had to believe that you would have the chance to talk to each other again.

However, that chance didn’t come soon. Now that Bora worked in a different department, you hardly had a chance to talk to her. It was almost as if she had actually left with Sehun after the holiday party. Occasionally her name would come across your desk on paperwork or on a sticky note asking for copies, but you hadn’t heard from her in any of the days leading up to the end of the year. That is, until the last day of the year. The next day was a holiday so many of the other staff members in the building had taken off early to begin the year-end festivities early, but you two had stayed. Of course, you were at your sad excuse of a desk in the back corner of the office while Bora was at her new cubicle. The two of you didn’t know that your boss was even there until he poked his head out of his office, looking around wearily before sighing to himself.

“You two should go home,” Mr. Kim said, waving his hand dismissively. He thought everyone had left over an hour ago. “There’s no need to work late for the rest of the year.”

He laughed at his own joke as he disappeared back into his office. You finished up the last email you were meant to send that day and began packing your bag slowly. Bora had different work from you now, so she was at your desk before you could even power down your computer. You hadn’t shared more than a few words with her since that first day back from the holidays, so you weren’t sure what you could to say to her now. Luckily, she spoke first.

“Any plans for tonight?” She asked.

“I was just gonna head home and catch up on some sleep,” you admitted. More than likely, she knew that you were going to do that anyway.

“That’s no fun,” she whined, as if your social life suddenly mattered to her more than it had in the past few years of knowing her. “We should go get drinks together and then you can crash at my place.”

“Don’t you and Sehun have plans?”

Bora looked down, chewing at her lip nervously. You had never gotten around to asking about Sehun before or admitting that you knew that he had plans that Bora was supposed to be a part of. You had just assumed that Sehun had made the move on his own and that he and Bora were working out a not-so long distance relationship for now. Bora shook her head at herself, but it helped to answer you before she even spoke.

“Sehun and I broke up a week ago.”

“But he was at the holiday party with you… What happened?”

“We just had different plans,” she shrugged. “After the party, we went home and I told him about the promotion Mr. Kim mentioned and how it was a really big step for me. He didn’t really seem all that excited, but he didn’t say anything so I just assumed he was tired. The next day he sat me down and asked me to leave town with him. He said he had plans for a new cafe or some other stupid destination spot and he wanted me to come with. He must have been putting money into it before I got my promotion because he was so set on me leaving with him because I didn’t like my job. Part of me feels bad because he seemed to really need the help with the cafe, but I couldn’t just turn down a promotion like this. I told him we’d talk about it, but by the next day, all of his things were packed.”

“I’m sorry,” you said, unsure of what other words could help comfort her. To your dismay, she smiled.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault this happened. We just had different expectations of each other. But consider your apology accepted if you come out to drink with me tonight.”

You nodded, mouth feeling dry. Words caught on your tongue and lips in an attempt to get out to her. “Let me just finish up here and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She beamed, shrugging her bag higher up on her shoulder before turning to leave. Your mind was racing. She said that it wasn’t your fault, but she didn’t know the whole story. She didn’t know that Sehun had confided his plans to you in an attempt to get a read on Bora’s reaction. She was right to assume he had been planning it for a long time- you had seen proof of that- but it still felt like you could have intervened somehow.

Honestly, your seemingly unnecessary apology had really been for Sehun. You had taken Bora’s ramblings to heart and given him the wrong advice. You hadn’t known that Bora would have gotten a promotion, but you knew her office personality well enough to say that even if she hated it there, she was really just trying to get to the next best thing. Because of you, Sehun was sitting at his cafe in the countryside, alone and to his own devices. He and Bora could have worked something out. She could be there with him. If she were there with him, then maybe you would have gotten that promotion instead. You sighed, slumping into your chair. It wasn’t right to think that way, but you couldn’t help it. It was all true. You felt sorry toward Sehun because it was partially your fault that he was in this situation now. There was no way you could really fix anything. You fiddled with the mouse to your computer, hovering over the search bar for a long while.

What had Sehun said his cafe was called? Your fingers hovered over the keyboard.

A - M - A - R - E

Thanks to the the technological advancements of Google’s search, you were able to find the address to Sehun’s cafe. This was stupid, right? There was no way that you could fix things the way you wanted to but… you had to try.

You decided to print the address. Then, you clicked through a few more times and found the file you weren’t sure you would ever print before that day. You had written it the night of the holiday party as a promise to yourself. Was this the time to act on that promise?

If you didn’t think about it, you wouldn’t be able to tell yourself no and, right now, that blind and reckless impulse was what you needed. You printed both sheets of paper, grabbing your bag and your mug from your desk before retrieving the the papers from the printer. This is stupid, you reminded yourself, but that didn’t stop your pen from gliding across the bottom of the second page in an effortless signature. There was no stability in this plan, no certainty, but you had to give it a shot. You just hoped Sehun was foolish enough to forgive you. You tucked the address to the cafe into your bag and held the other form close to your chest, afraid that someone who wasn’t even there would see it. You marched straight into Mr. Kim’s office, placed the paper face down on his desk, and marched right back out before he could even pick it up. Your heart was pounding as you made your way downstairs.

You saw Bora at the entrance of the building, waiting on the curb to hail a cab for when you met up with her. For a second, you had forgotten that your next step took place after these plans with her. The guilt at the pit of your stomach grew. No matter what you did, you’d feel guilty. You knew that more than anything. But something felt right about trying to apologize to Sehun for something he knew instead of apologizing to Bora for something she was unaware of. Pushing past the unsettling and nauseous feeling in your stomach, you walked outside to great Bora with a smile. She asked why you had your mug in hand and you laughed it off, saying you wanted to have a cozy day in come the new year tomorrow.

The evening out with Bora ended earlier than you had anticipated, sending your already rapid heartbeat into a frenzy. You two had gone out for drinks as Bora wished, but she had ordered a few things more for herself while you were in the bathroom and ended up crying her eyes out as she desperately tried to grab her phone from you in an attempt to text Sehun. You knew you couldn’t keep her phone forever, but you held onto it until you dropped her off at her place.

When you got home, you immediately started packing. Most of the furniture in your apartment had come with the place, so anything that was yours fell into necessities- clothes, toiletries, and important items- and trash- food, knick-knacks, and anything you could couldn’t leave without your landlord getting upset. You didn’t want to slow down to think that this was a bad idea or that you had just paid the next month’s rent before the year had started. Your frenzied mind couldn’t stop to process that you had handed your boss your resignation letter as you packed your bags. This was better for you. It was your only way out and it was now or never.

After you had packed your things into a few bags and done one last, quick scan of your apartment- you figured you’d have to come back to leave your key anyway- you were out the door. You didn’t care that the fare to the countryside would cost more than the bus ticket you could buy the next morning. You had to to this now. There was no going back now.

The cab driver who picked you up dropped his jaw in disbelief when you told him the address and your heart skipped a beat, threatening to stop altogether, but you offered to pay him the estimated fare upfront so that he knew you were serious. He probably didn’t like it. He probably didn’t want to drive into the country on the one night where he could make more than what you had to offer in the hour it took taking you there, but your livelihood was at stake.

Your heart was able to calm down on the cab ride there and you could finally breathe. Your cab driver didn’t say much. You couldn’t blame him for not walking to someone who was legitimately crazy. Still, even when you had time to doubt it now, this still felt right. You weren’t a righteous person. It was honestly selfish of you to even think of doing this at all, but you rationalized it knowing that you could set things straight and maybe fix what you had inadvertently broken. Whatever was awaiting you in the next few miles had to be better than the shell of an existence that you had lived before.

The cab came to a halt some time later. You knew from the time on the dashboard clock that an hour had passed since you had gotten into the cab, but you didn’t want to believe it. It was as if time had sped up again, just as it had done that weekend after the holiday party. The driver charged you for anything that had gone over what you paid him before. Then, he stepped out to get your bags from the trunk. You followed suit.

The air outside was beyond chilling. It wasn’t until that moment that you realized how close to the coast the cafe was. Your cabbie was right: you were crazy. For a moment on the ride there, you had worried that you wouldn’t be able to find the cafe that evening and that you’d have to find a hotel and wait for the next day, but you hadn’t realized how big the cafe was planned to be. It had been converted from an abandoned barn, with most of the shabby wooden walls revamped to sport large glass windows and a purposely rustic metal roof. Above the large windows was a second floor that wasn’t visible from the street, but you knew what was up there after having seen the plans from before. Lucky for you, some of the lights in the main part of the building were on and you could see every detail inside. Every color, fabric, and lamp shade welcomed you with a soft yellow light. It was more stunning than you could have put together in your head.

There was a loud thud as the cab driver dropped your bag beside you. He looked hesitant.

“This place looks like it’s closed,” he said, gesturing to the small sign that hung on the door. It was glass too and you almost hadn’t seen it amongst the windows. “If you want, I can take you to a hotel nearby free of charge.”

You shook your head, wishing him farewell but not saying much more for fear that you’d ask him to take you back to square one. You were here now. There really was no going back.

It was cold, so you made your way to the door as quickly as you could. The ground beneath your feet was soft, almost entirely dirt, which made you stop in your tracks to look around. The cafe was really close to the shore, but incredibly far from the hub of the town it was located in. You wondered how busy it could possibly get being so far on the outskirts of town, but that was a problem for another day. For now, you had to get to the door. There were lights on inside, but it was still dark enough that you feared he wouldn’t see you before he got to the door. Still, you knocked, tentatively at first, and then once more with a little more force in case he hadn’t heard it the first time.

You tried to come up with a script while you waited. Nothing felt right. It would be better if you could see his face first to gauge his reaction. Your heartbeat quickened as you heard quick footsteps coming downstairs from inside. The least you could do was come up with a way to greet him.

Hi, Sehun. No, too casual.

Hello, Sehun. A little too formal for disrupting his evening at half past eleven on New Year’s Eve.

Sehun.

That was simple enough. You’d elaborate if he asked any more questions, but starting out with that seemed good enough. It was not before long that the footsteps came closer to the door and you could make out Sehun’s figure from the lights that were on. You sucked in a breath, ready to greet him as you had rehearsed. The door flung open.

“Se-”

“You’re here.”

Your breath was caught on your lips as he cut you off. The door opened at an alarming rate for any door, especially one that was entirely glass, and you didn’t have time to process what he said before his lips were on yours. You knew that you hadn’t prepared a script, but never in your attempts to do so did you plan for him to kiss you. Your next breath was stuck in your throat was he pulled you closer by the waist. The bag on your shoulder shifted and your mug fell to the ground, but you couldn’t hear its fate as the blood in your head rushed to your ears. You didn’t want to close your eyes and let it happen, but you did. The guilt at the pit of your stomach became heavier as you let him kiss you.

You didn’t know how you were going to fix things now, but you did know one thing from the way Sehun’s lips feverishly pushed into yours:

He didn’t know he was kissing you.

[liljoonie]

BTS Kim Namjoon | Mafia AU | My Perfect Love Ch. 9 | Holding Secrets

*A/N: Note if you missed me. I’m back from hiatus and I’ll be updating weekly, and don’t be silent readers, leave questions and suggestions for more chapters to come.*

The car ride home was weird as fuck. I don’t even know if it was the fact that Namjoon still had his own cum inside of his pants, or the fact that I actually enjoyed it. Bottom line is, I’m confused. Have I just not fucked someone for so long that I’ve become this needy?

“Y/N are you okay?” Namjoon’s silky voice quickly snapped me out of my somewhat trance. I quickly realized that we were already parked in Namjoon’s driveway.

“Y-yeah I’m just tired is all.” 

Namjoon stared deeply at me with concern. “Are you sure that’s all? Because you don’t have to come with me to the dinner if you’re too tired, I much rather have you rest.” 

“No, I’m okay” I replied.

“Are you sure, becau-”

“I’m fine.” I said sternly. Wait, why am I even pissed off?

Namjoon looked at me with a pained expression, then smiled. “ I get it baby, thanks for agreeing to come along with me anyways.”

Shit. Here I am acting like an asshole, and Namjoon is still treating me like a princess. He grabs my bag and gets out of the car, as I do the same. We step into the house, only to be greeted by Suga and Jungkook sprawled lazily on the couch.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked.

“Sleeping, Working, Bitching, the usual.” Suga replies. 

“You coming?” Namjoon asks the the two.

“Nope, I’m okay.” Jungkook replies.

Suga scoffs. “I’m not in the mood to see a fucking traitor right now.” 

The room goes silent. What was he even talking about? Then it dawned on me, Jackson Wang. The one and only person that can rustle Suga’s jimmies in record time. He was going to be there.

“Okay well, Y/N and I will get ready and then we’ll be leaving in a bit.” 

Namjoon hands me the bag and flashes a dimply grin at me, to which I return a smile as well. I head up the stairs and get ready. I attempted my hair, which looked like shit so I gave up and just kept it straight. And, my makeup, which was light and subtle but still elegant. I slipped on the champagne colored dress, and some nude heels, and then headed back down stairs. Namjoon was already prepared, and ready to go. 

“You look stunning” He said.

I smirked. “You said that already.” 

“So what? You look stunning either way.” 

“Ehem” A voice interrupts. “You’ll be needing this Y/N”

Suga hands me a small handgun.

“You never know what retarded shit will go down at a gang related event.” 

“Thanks!” I reply, and Suga looks at me confused and grins his gummy smile.

Namjoon sighs. “Okay, enough chit chat, we gotta go Y/N” 

I smiled back at Suga and follow Namjoon out the front door and back into his car. As I’m getting seated Namjoon draws my attention.

“Baby, I don’t know how to address this, but could you not call me Namjoon when we’re there? I have a reputation to uphold, and the name ‘Namjoon’ isn’t the best name for a gang leader.”

I chuckle at his forwardness. “Of course daddy.” Out of nowhere, I just decided to kiss his cheek to reassure him, which made him blush the entire ride there. 

                                 *TIME SKIP TO THE LOCATION*

 After about an hour, we finally arrived at an extravagant hotel. 

“Okay baby, we’re just going to talk, have dinner, and make a few negotiations.” Namjoon explained. 

I nodded. As I got out of the car, and was bombarded by the extreme sophistication of the entire place. Namjoon and I walked into the hotel, and into the dining hall. There stood an assortment of familiar gang leaders, people that I have seen only in pictures at the police station. 

“Namjoon!” 

I turned around to see an older man walking towards us. 

“I see you’ve brought your beautiful girlfriend with you.” The man bends down to kiss my hand, then comes back into eye contact with Namjoon. 

“Thank you, Mr. Shil, Y/N is definitely-” Namjoon pauses. “My perfect love.”

Pfft. ‘My perfect love’, you gotta be fucking with me.

The man continues talking to Namjoon about some non-gang related information, which I really didn’t give two shits about. As I began to zone out, something had caught my eye. 

“Jackson” I faintly whisper. The two men stare down at me.

“What was that Y/N?” Namjoon asks.

“Nam- ... RM can I go see what’s over there?” 

Namjoon looks at me, confused. “What’s wrong with here baby? Why do you want to go over there?”

Before I can reply, Mr. Shil replies for me. 

“Just let the pretty woman go, RM” 

I look up at Namjoon and he looks down at me. 

He just sighs. “Okay, just because I love you.” He kisses the top of my nose as Mr. Shil chuckles at my now bright red face. 

In a pissy mood, I turn around and start walking towards Jackson.

“That little virgin, I make him cum once and he thinks he can do whatever now.” As I vent out my frustration to myself there stands Jackson, talking to another man. I approach them, and the other man looks at me.

“Wow! Jackson is she yours? She’s gorgeous.” The man proclaims.

Jackson looks at me with a surprised face and replies. “No she isn’t. She is with RM, and can you excuse us please?” 

The other man nods, as I follow Jackson outside the dining hall. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask him.

He hesitates, then starts talking. “I’m on a mission”

From then on, I knew he was spouting bullshit. Jackson never hesitates, unless he’s lying, because he is a slow ass thinker. 

“What mission? Because as far as I know, you couldn’t come with me because two people cant infiltrate the Mafia at once.”

“Listen, this is just a small, extra thing that they assigned me to, I didn’t know you were going to be here whatsoever.” he replied. 

“Don’t try to bullshit me Jackson.” I say in a cold tone.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I saw gang files with your full name on them Jackson Wang.”

Jackson grins then chuckles. “Don’t be stupid Y/N. People can have the same name.”

I scoff. “Okay, so how does this sound? Jackson Wang, an arrogant, selfish, dick, who betrayed his own gang, ran away to another gang, and goes undercover as an officer. Does that sound fucking familiar to you?” 

Jackson gulps, he grabs my shoulders and leans into my face. 

“I don’t know what you found out these past couple of days, but I can tell you one thing-” 

“Could you let go of my girlfriend?” 

Startled, Jackson and I turn around to see Namjoon with an aggravated look on his face. 

“Baby, could you go inside to see Mr. Shil, he wants you to meet his wife.” Namjoon says. 

I nod and walk inside, leaving Namjoon and Jackson alone together.

*Namjoon POV*

“Hello old friend.” Jackson says, looking straight at me.

“Listen, I’ll cut to the chase, how do you know Y/N?” I say sternly.

Jackson smirks. “Well let’s just say, Y/N and I are coworkers.” 

“You’re a damn officer? Why the hell are you working as an officer when you’re a gang leader yourself?” I ask.

“That’s none of your damn business, Joon.” 

 Jackson then turns around to leave, as I firmly say.

“Stay away from Y/N or else.” 

He turns to look back at me. “Or else what Namjoon?”

I smirk. “Well you don’t want to Y/N to know that her closest friend has actually been lying to her this whole time, I know more about you than anyone else.”

Jackson chuckles. “You know what’s ironic? Y/N became a police officer, in order to find her damn sister, who was kidnapped by your father. I’m sure that she’ll be happy to hear that information as well.” 

Out of frustration I grab him by his collar. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Then don’t test me either.” Jackson sighs, then continues talking.

“I’m your friend too Namjoon, and to tell you the truth, Y/N is using you.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean? How could someone like Y/N use me?

“She loves me Jackson.” I reply.

“We’ll see about that my friend.” 

Jackson leaves, as I stay frozen in my place. Soon after I walk into the dining hall only to be greeted by Y/N. The mere sight of her makes me smile.

“What did you guys talk about?” She asked.

I chuckle. “Why is my baby so nosy?” I asked as I look back down at her, cuddling her slim body with my arms.

Everything about her drives me insane. Her deep brown eyes, the subtle pink hue of her lips, her long straight hair, her gorgeous figure. Everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl is right in front of me. I am completely hers, but is she even mine?

~ “Y/N, do you really love me?” ~

- Kim Namjoon

[never-not-ever]

a nice long update:

Tuesday

I relapsed. It could have and should have gotten stitches. I got “supplies” from work, took them home and used them that night.

Wednesday 

I came clean and told my girlfriend about how badly I’ve been struggling lately and told her about the night before.  I wore a hydrocolloid bandaid at work which somewhat blended in with my skin so it wasn’t that obvious.

Thursday

I worked at a different location with new people and it was fun and made me feel better. “Babe I feel so much better mentally today. I really hope I didn’t scare you last night. I’ll tell you more about my day in person. The girls I worked with today were AMAZING!!”

Friday

Work was insanely busy. I went to my new store after work to introduce myself to my new coworkers. (I’ve been in one store since the beginning of May. Then I came back to my home store last week and this week and starting in July I’m supposed to be in this new store til September.) I talked to the manager there (who I’m filling in for) and everyone thinks I’m starting there July 1st and I probably will be there but not for long. Later Friday night I went to a friends house and there were six of us and we drank and played board games. At one point I was very drunk and it was annoying my girlfriend. I knew before going to our friends house that I probably shouldn't be drinking when I feel this depressed. I drank anyway... “Everyone else is drinking to have fun and I’m drinking to escape the madness in my head. If only they knew of the mess on my wrist and the shitstorm in my head.” On the ride home I got into a fight with my girlfriend and got out of the car and ordered a Lyft home. When I got home I immediately started cutting on my right arm because I was beyond drunk and didn't really care anymore. My girlfriend then showed up at my bedroom door (we have a spare key) cause she wanted to make sure I was okay but it was too late. After she left I continued cutting. Because I was drunk it wasn’t as deep as I would have liked it and thus am left with scratches that just scream pathetic.

Saturday

I went to work hungover as fuck, ate saltines and drank ginger ale cause I felt sick to my stomach and was forced to wear long sleeves for the first time since January. Everyone saw my scars before and I think it’s pretty obvious if the girl who had scars used to wear short sleeves and now doesn’t in 80° weather is obviously self harming again. I was supposed to work 7-4 but left at 12. I talked to a coworker who used to be one of my best friends and she even teared up as I explained the chaos of the past couple weeks and the downward spiral I’m now on. I told her my fears of ending up back in the hospital and disappointing my managers if that happens. I told her I was worried I’d have to step down from full timer manager to part time clerk. After talking to her I felt a little better but I still left early, went home and slept for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday

I worked 7-1 today and still felt like I needed to talk to management about my uncertainty with going to a new store as a manager. After work I got to talk to my favorite manager who I felt like I could talk about anything and I did. She told me that a different option instead of stepping down would be to take a leave of absence. “Remember so and so from the meat department had to take a leave for his finger?” just hearing her compare mental illness to a physical ailment relieved so much anxiety. I got information about this leave- I would keep my benefits and my management position. I wouldn’t have to step down to part time and I’d still have my job after this whole mess gets fixed. I feel like now I don’t have to worry about disappointing everyone if I need time off to take care of myself. She said my health comes first and if I need to take time off that’s okay. I have her number and if anything happens and I need to take the leave I can talk to her and she’ll help me with HR.

So now tomorrow I’m going to get my health insurance squared away, and I’m going to hopefully be able to see my psychiatrist after work. Even though I’m not supposed to see her for another two weeks I don’t think I can go that long without talking to someone familiar. I’m going to create a crisis plan with her and ask about my meds getting up’d or changed one last time. I’m going to finish this week in my old store and next week I’m going to start in the new one and if things are still spiraling I’m going to check myself into the hospital. 

I don’t know what happened. I used to love my job. I used to love waking up and going to the florist. Working with flowers and balloons and making people happy. I used to be happy. I used to see my future. I don’t anymore. I feel empty and numb. I don’t know how to explain what my emotions are cause they are constantly going back and forth. I hate this with every ounce of my being. I wouldn’t choose this. I wouldn’t choose this despair and longing for a place that no one wants to be.

I miss the old me but I’m afraid she’s gone.

[daredo]

Passing on the torch

I’m passing on the torch as Group CEO for The Creators Community and stepping into a non-executive board member role. 

I’m stepping down for personal and timing reasons. When we raised 30m DKK earlier this year, my baby daughter was only four months old. The investment means we have now embarked on a very ambitious expansion plan; and nailing that requires a CEO who can put in serious hours. More than I want to right now. 

I have worked 60 to 80 hours a week for the past 15 years, and I know many strong women who have continued to do that with a baby. I know it’s possible and it can be the best option. I am fortunate, however, to be in a position where I can choose, and I have chosen not to. On the business side, I subscribe to the leadership philosophy of being “first among equals”, so asking my colleagues to work harder and longer hours than I would be able to, is not viable for me.    

I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far. Group-wide, we run 24,000m2 of space out of seven individual companies in two countries. We are a formidable team of 100 employees who power a serious business that will cross the 100m turnover line this year. 

From startup to ‘a real business’ 

The company has become a business of significant size. Along with offices, desks and work lounges, we have a hospitality division with three cafes, our own catering service, a private membership club, and we arrange hundreds of events annually. Running our large sites is more like running a hotel than a typical coworking space. For example, we serve 5,500 monthly lunches. I’m not allowed to talk much about the financial side of things, but it’s my proudest achievement that we have managed to grow the business to the substantial size it is today; multiplying revenue, membership and products severalfold. 

Back when I co-founded Founders House in 2011 as the first tech coworking space in the Nordics, it was tiny, with only a part-time employee. Then we started Startup Village in 2014, and merged with MESH in Norway in 2016. Together, we created The Creators Community as an umbrella brand that connects members across the Nordics, and is the holding company that owns the individual sites. We acquired Digs in Trondheim, and built a brand-new 5,000m2 home for them while branching into construction and architecture. We opened Matrikel1 on the corner of Frederiksholm canal and Højbro Plads, bringing entrepreneurs to the best address in Copenhagen, and expanded with 7,000m2 soon after. We raised a debt round from the highest profile tech entrepreneurs and investors in Denmark, and an equity round from Norwegian real estate billionaires. Along the way, we experienced many bumps as well, all part of the journey!

100 employees 

The Creators Community is now a family of 100 employees. Working with these talented colleagues, scaling the team and building the culture, are what I will miss most from leaving operations. It has been a fascinating journey to professionalise operations, such as creating processes and specialised roles including our eight full-time chefs, construction unit, two architects and an army of hospitality staff. I believe that people create a business, and I am thrilled that I get to continue to mentor the executives, and stay close to the ‘human side’ of the business. 

60,000 visitors 

One of my proudest achievements is that our workspaces have become epicentres; a place where founders meet investors, talent meets companies, and where everyone is welcome. When you walk around in our spaces you run into well-known entrepreneurs and familiar faces from the local and international startup scene. And that’s exactly what I had hoped to create. A place where people can learn, be inspired, do business, and meet people in the same boat. My colleagues will continue to expand this. 

Last year we had 60,000 visitors, and given that we’ve doubled capacity with Digs and Matrikel1 expansions, that number is likely to reach 80,000 in 2019. These visitors are entrepreneurs, creators and business people who host their own events, come to our spaces to be inspired and learn, to network and to eat and drink. 

Often, they are there as guests of the 2,000 businesses that have an office or a desk with us, and who are the heart of the community. I call this element ‘community for creators’ (Danish/Norwegian: ‘moderne forsamlingshus for entreprenante sjæle’). It’s a deliberate part of our business, and it’s achieved largely by having three cafes open to the public and 600 annual events at our sites (projected to 700 in 2019). 

We have gone from 800m2 to 24,000m2 of workspace. While I am no longer painting all of it myself, I’m absolutely loving the work with buildings, design and architecture, and blowing life and soul into buildings. It matters how your office looks. 

The right time to step down 

Stepping down is also a question of leaving responsibly. The company has a big bag of investor money in the bank now, and business is solid and growing. So, it’s a perfect time to step down and hand over the reins without any disruption to members or business. The new CEO is our previous COO Karl Kristian Wickström who has been second in command, and knows the business inside out. He works closely with co-founder Anders Mjåset and our executive team. 

I’m still involved, especially with strategic projects, expansion, and high-level network. Freeing me up from operational duties to be able to work on these things is a strategic benefit for the company. I’ll be chairman of the board of the Danish company and a board member of the Norwegian board that I used to report to. I’ll also continue to be the face of the business. 

What’s next? 

For me personally. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this board role. But I’m also excited about the freedom to be able to do more writing, speak at more events, sit on more external boards of directors, and engage in new, exciting projects which I now have time for.

Imagee above: Early days, 2011 in Founders House & The opening of Startup Village in 2014.

Above: The centrally located Mesh Oslo has a backyard cafe and bar open for everyone, as well as being the informal meeting venue and food provider for the 1000+ people that work from Mesh every day. 

Above: At Mesh during the expansion with the T2 building, 6000m2 which we added to operations around 6 months after I stepped in as CEO. Pictured with Anders Mjåset, the founder of Mesh, and Karl Kristian Wickstrom, the new group CEO. 

Above: 2019, with Matrikel1 GM Zenia W Francker at the expansion that doubled the size of the work space. Zenia was the first GM in Founders House and plays an important role in the ecosystem. 

[carleyjuel-blog]

I Know Racism Like the Back of My White Hand In regard to what occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend, I am deeply saddened and angered. I am very sorry for the loss of a young woman who was killed because she was standing up against hatred and bigotry. I refuse to turn a blind eye to these incidents; which would be easy for me to do. I am white and progressive and I know that the polo clad, tiki torch toting neo-nazis do not represent the America that I stand for, however, I refuse to remain silent in this situation. I am very lucky. I sit on a throne of white privilege. I never get denied a job because of my name; hell, I even included a small headshot on one job application. No one has ever crossed the street while encountering me on the sidewalk because they fear for their safety. I glide through airport security receiving nothing but nods and the occasional toiletry inspection. I know that I am not the target of police brutality. I have been in situations where I certainly could, perhaps should, have been arrested and I have not. I walk away with a slap on the wrist, a warning. In Charleston, SC a twenty-five dollar parking ticket is one of the worst of my white grievances. Today I will not say, “This is not my problem.” The men that gathered with swastikas and confederate flags over the weekend shouting hate slogans, such as “You will not replace us” and “White lives matter” are not foreign enemies. They are not even masked! And perhaps if they weren’t enraged, their mouths twisted into snarls, you may even think they looked like your brother, son, coworker, classmate, or one of your more iffy Tinder matches. The terrorist who decided to plow through a group of protesters on Saturday, killing one and injuring many, is a white American man. He had a mother, he had been employed, and he had been educated in the same system as myself. Again these are not foreign enemies. Yet this scene was extremely familiar. Similar attacks have occurred around the world in recent years. In this case, the allegiance was white supremacy and neo-nazism fueled by the same fragile entitlement that led another terrorist to walk into a church and murder nine innocent people just a few years ago. Like the Emauel AME attack, the Charlottesville attack was an act of domestic terrorism, yet the president decided to forgo that definition and describe it as an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence that’s on many sides.” This is not surprising given his own history of hateful rhetoric that kept him afloat through his election, as well as the fact that there is hesitation to acknowledge that these young, white men are terrorist because of their appearance and the fact that they do not pledge allegiance to Allah. The president missed an important opportunity to speak up against this hatred. Instead he chose to maintain his neutrality. He has, and is, enabling these men to act this way. Now is not the time to be silent. It is very important for me to speak out because I am racist (but I am working on it). I was born and raised on an old tobacco farm in South Carolina. I was exposed to different levels of covert and overt racism in my community. I saw confederate flags proudly waving in front yards, stickered to the bumper of pick-up trucks, and proudly displayed in gun cases. I heard slogans like “the south will rise again” and comments such as, “I never owned a slave, I am tired of being punished for it.” The N word was just another slang word that could be used after briefly glancing around to make sure no “blacks” were close enough to hear. People scoffed about the recognition of Black History Month, they made racist jokes, some would reference the bible to justify their supremacy, and saying things such as “Birds of a feather flock together.” Once at a party, while I was making out with a young black man, someone grabbed a fist full of my hair, jerked me away, and said “Ew Carley, he is black!” No one in my community ever said, “I am a racist” or “I hate black people/Asians/Jews/Mexicans/etc.” I was never the witness to any race related violence, but other than these (hopefully) rare occasions like we saw on Saturday and on web sites where computer screens are used in place of white domed hats, people are not this overt. They mask their racism in ways that are appropriate to their own group, community, and/or family. Their racism may be very subtle- they may laugh at a joke or not condemn a friend or a family member for making an inappropriate remark, or they may be like the little pricks we saw Saturday who are just waiting to pick up their flags and fight. This is where the danger lies in remaining silent- you never know what fire you are fueling, what tiki torch you may be lighting. It is this covert racism, along with the Eurocentric view of the world that has allowed me to be a subtle racist for so long. It is why, in the past I have caught myself thinking when I see an interracial couple, she is so lucky to have married someone white. It is why I have made insensitive jokes. It is why I have feared that every black man I passed on a dark street was going to rape and rob me. It is why I have to continually watch my thinking, correct myself. It is why I work so hard to break down the prejudice in my own mind. Speaking the truth about these matters is the only way to actively work on myself and to change my ways of thinking. It is the personal work that we all have to be doing now! To condemn your white friend, relative, or community member for kissing or dating someone because they are non-white is a form of white supremacy. This condemnation comes from wanting to “keep your race pure.” If there is some way that is not accurate, please explain it to me. To make insensitive jokes, or to laugh when others do so, is just fueling racism. If you want to fly your confederate flag because it is your “heritage” know that now hate is also your heritage. This flag does not only represent your regret for the abolition of slavery but it now identifies you with a terrorist group. If you can argue for these things so strongly you should be able to question them as well. That is what I am asking you to do. I understand these views because for so long they were my truth. And it isn’t easy for the ego to question our views and beliefs. In college I took a Dialogue on Racism course and it changed the way I view the world. On the first day of class I had to participate in a mock debate supporting the right to display the Confederate flag at the South Carolina state house. I breezed through it because I had heard this argument, and at the time I even believed it. My opponent quickly destroyed my privileged view of the topic. After two hours of debating on multiple topics, I realized that I only knew one side of the issues surrounding racism. Several people dropped the class after this first day, most of them being blonde, white, and dressed similar to myself. This class taught me the importance of speaking up, of showing up, and it made me much more comfortable crying in a group setting. These are difficult conversations and realizations but it is necessary that we discuss these things. The easiest thing for white people to do right now would be to sit back and be silent. You have the privilege of turning off the news, your safety is not in jeopardy, you can tuck your children into their beds at night and sleep soundly, because it is very unlikely that they will be victim to a racially fueled hate crime. I fantasize everyday about moving to Portugal and removing myself from the blatant racial injustice of our society, but I know that now is not the time for me to turn away. If one person is oppressed, we all are. We must speak up against racism, we must initiate these conversations, and we must show up. I am angry, but I am hopeful. I was exposed to racism, and for so long I saw it as the norm, but I was also taught to love. It is this love that makes me feel convicted to share my truth with you. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr also said, “"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." I am much too young for my life to end. We have to start where we are. Writing about these issues is obligatory for me. It is not an option, but I know that I must show up as well. I am part of a local group called Showing Up for Social Justice in Charleston, SC, chapters of these groups are located throughout the states. If you want to talk about any of these issues you can contact me.

[the314anoman]

2018 sucked

it was probably the shittiest year of my life, and that’s not an easy title to claim. let’s recap:

it all started way back in early january, when our subway came under new ownership and we got a new manager, who had worked there for a shorter period than i had (yeah, i was part-time working during college, she was full-time, but w/e) and it all went downhill fast. our manager wasn’t bad, she just was just trying to deal with all the new regulations we were facing and the fact that we were Massively Understaffed™ for being located in a fucking mall. like, for contrast, our old managers let us get away with not turning the line coolers off at night if we were really busy, but under the new owners, we had to clean the legs of tables to get the salt of them. i decided to quit in march after having minors stay and help me close even though they were off the clock since they were required to punch out at 9:30 and still getting yelled at for staying too long and not making everything Perfect. it was so stressful trying to work both faster and harder, so i quit. then, college got out in april and i was looking for internships all over and applying everywhere, but i never got even so much as an interview request. so, june came and i just said “fuck it” and applied to other subways closer to home. ended up getting an interview the next day at a different subway, 2 miles from the old one. i got the job and starting working to find out the subway was also Massively Understaffed™ but the manager was more chill, so it seemed fine. turns out the reason the manager was chill is that he was high. like, all the time. this resulted in him having the memory of a goldfish. like, i specifically told him and his assistant manager that i couldn’t work one day and yet he still called asking where i was when i very plainly explained it twice. and he also scheduled a meeting on the day i request off for my niece’s baptism. at 8am. on a sunday. at the same time, i managed to get an interview at a local factory. it wasn’t really an internship nor in my field, but it was a job and it paid $12/hr so i was like, hell yeah, why not. i managed to get the job and started july 1st, which was great, buuuuuut... the job was super boring; it was pretty much doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again for 7.5 hours a day while ~~listening~~ being subjected to country music. BUT, we got 3 breaks a day and it was nice having a chill job. i came up with a lot of really good writing ideas for a novel that’s been a super long wip because my mind was mostly free during work since it was so repetitive. at this time, i’m still working at subway, mostly weekends and some 5-close shifts. i’m not getting a whole lot of sleep and so that probably explains what happens on july 25th, probably the single shittiest day of my life. i get into the factory and the normal manager is gone on vacation and one of my coworkers is taking over. she tells me that i’ve been missing the least important step in the process of making some parts that i’ve been doing for days now. so naturally, i mess it up a couple more times, but only when she’s watching, because ofc. this happens 3 times and the third time i kind of chuckle to myself because i’m literally only doing it when she’s watching. she takes this to mean i’m laughing at her and yells at me about how i think it’s a joke and blah blah blah, like that’s not what i meant at all but she won’t let me explain. THEN, i get out of work and i’m already on the verge of tears because i have a migraine from lack of sleep and i hate getting yelled at, and i see a text i got while at work (we’re not allowed phones on our person at all at the factory. national security stuff apparently) that my grandma is in the hospital and not going to make it. i just... lose it. i go home and just sit outside on a chair, cuddling my cat and gross sobbing for the first time i can recall. i’m supposed to work a 5-9 shift at subway tonight, but i am not in any state to work. i call them through tears saying i can’t work tonight, i’m visiting my grandma in the hospital in muskegon, an hour away. she’s unconscious when i get there. she dies an hour later, while me and my family are eating dinner downstairs in the basement where there’s no signal. eventually tomorrow comes. it’s now july 26th, which if you know me, is my birthday. my 21st birthday, in fact. you know how for most people, their 21st is the best day of your life? yeah, it was one of the worst for me. i still had to get up at 6am for the factory work, then run home, get changed, and work 5-9 at subway. the only bright spot were two helpful coworkers. one from the factory gave me a butterscotch shot, saying you should still try and enjoy your birthday and my subway coworker bought a hershey pie for me and gave me a hug and some helpful advice. (she had been through a similar experience with her mom passing, so she knew a lot about grief.) i took her advice on letting yourself be happy and decided to go to my friends’ meetup that weekend, which i had requested off from subway previously. it’s a while away, but this was planned a long time ago and i don’t get to see my college friends in the summer other than this, so i’m not missing this. but, when i’m almost there i get a call from subway insisting that i work this weekend to make up for missing my 4 hour shift yesterday. i’m furious because i missed it for legitimate reasons and i was already over 2 hours away and i was NOT driving back. (the reason they’re insisting is because they don’t want to pay my coworker overtime, despite the fact she’s living in a trailer park only off her subway income, too.) they say they might have to fire me and i’m like, sure, i have another job and i already put in my 2 weeks lol. so i go there and try to forget this whole week ever happened. the funeral is on monday, the factory gives me it off so i can attend. there’s lots of tears. lots and lots. my grandma touched a lot of people’s lives; she’s one of the kindest people i’ve ever known. she probably would have supported my sexuality if i ever told her, i regret not doing so earlier. i come back to my factory job on tuesday, and as if the universe is answering some unanswered “could things get any worse?” the hiring manager informs me i’m fired, as if it had to be july 31st, to add to the shithole that july 2018 was. this was a temp position to begin with, and i was leaving in a couple weeks anyway, but this is just another blow to an already grieving 21-year-old. i may have just lost both my jobs and my grandmother in the span of 7 days. i leave the factory and get in my car and just. scream. time passes. the pain of july slowly fades from a roaring inferno all over my body to a dull pulsing. good things start to happen again. i move into an apartment with 3 friends, get a job at the theatre after a lot of paperwork issues, i make the cut for an a capella group and find new friends, develop a crush on someone (something i haven’t really had since high school - but that’s a story for another time), and actually start getting my shit together. things are definitely looking up, despite the fact i had the worst month of life a couple months ago. ...and then comes december, as if it’s trying to challenge july to a battle for shittiest month ever. final exams are coming up, i spend a lot of the previous week leading up to exams rehearsing for performances (i had 4 performances in a week’s span), not much studying could be done. not that studying would help that much, as we would see, but w/e. i ended up forgetting my book with all the important formulas and relationships in it that are too complex to memorize, so i completely bombed that final, and therefore failed the whole class. i’m already having to take an extra semester, failing this class does NOT help. i barely stayed above a 3.0 gpa, a requirement for most internships. on the same day we got final grades back, my mom got a call saying my grandpa had died, only a week before christmas. my whole family went back up to do the whole funeral thing again. we are getting awfully familiar with this nursing home (my mom lost both her parents and an uncle in 5 months). finally, on new year’s eve i decide it’s either now or never to admit my feelings, so i ask my crush out. i get rejected, which is mostly what i expected, but it still knocks the wind out of me. so yeah, 2018 was super extra shitty for me. but at the same time, i feel like i’ve grown a lot as a person. i’ve made a bunch of new friends, gained a niece, learned a lot about pain, and done a lot of things i never thought i’d do. hell, i had the balls to ask a guy out, which was something that frightened me to my core. i went on a trip to dc and learned more about the injustices happening here, i went camping/hiking with friends, and went tubing behind a boat. so, i’m not gonna pretend it’s all bad.

[lostinbrooklyn]

airports .

One of my favorite places in all of the world is a place that causes most people stress. A chaotic hollow building full of hurry and the familiar sound of luggage rolling on shiny linoleum. I’ve never been more inspired anywhere than I am in an airport.

A few years ago, I visited my friend who lives in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks. When my trip was over, I left LAX with a quick stop in Dallas on my way home. I’d seen movies with people running past gates in panic of missing their flight, I never thought I’d be one of them. Face red, a subtle run-walk, worry buried in my eyes. I didn’t make it in time. It seems as though the Dallas airport is nearly as big as the state it’s nestled in. The next flight home to the Charlotte airport wasn’t until the following day. This was the first time I had traveled alone, I was nineteen. I called my mom, in tears, not wanting to sleep at the airport. I went to Chili’s near my gate while my mom helped me book a room at a nearby motel over the phone. It turned out, staying in the motel was kind of liberating. I felt like a real adult until I couldn’t figure out how to work the coffee machine, so instead I called my best friend and then fell asleep.

The next morning, I took a bus back to the airport and to my not-so-surprise, my flight was delayed for a few hours due to a thunderstorm. Of course. Still not as annoyed as most people would have been, I waited. I was in no hurry. While waiting, I met a girl around my age or a little older who had missed the same flight the previous night back to Charlotte. To this day, this encounter remains one of the biggest coincidences to ever happen to me and one of my favorite stories to tell.

As an antisocial person who doesn’t talk to strangers often, the fact that we started speaking at all still bewilders me, but we did and somehow we got to talking about our lives, jobs, families. I told her I was visiting a friend, she told me she was training for a new job. She was a new mom and she showed me her suitcase full of baby clothes, diapers, and bottles. Confused because she was alone, I asked why she had it all with her. She explained that when she landed in Charlotte, she had to go home immediately to her daughter because her husband had to work. Home, however, puzzled me. I asked where she was from and she said the name of my hometown. North Carolina isn’t exactly a small place, but in that moment I realized that the world certainly is. Both of us still perplexed, we ended up discussing things we both knew about. How we wished our mall was bigger, how jobs were hard to find, cheap gas and where to find it, how delicious a local restaurant is.

Meanwhile I kept thinking about how we had both missed the same flight in the middle of Texas and we were from the same town. What a small world, until it got smaller. She continued to tell me some of the reasons she needed this new job and one of those reasons was because her husband had recently been involved in a car accident. She told me how he had been visiting his grandmother in the hospital, and as he turned right out of the parking lot, an elderly woman driving an Oldsmobile struck the side of his car so hard that it knocked his car sideways and into the middle of a busy road. The entire scene played out in my head as if I had seen it… because I had. I asked her if the car was silver, if her daughters black car seat was in the back of the car, and if his grandmother was staying at Grace Hospital. Confused and I’m sure a bit disturbed that I knew the details she hadn’t provided, she nodded and looked at me as if I were crazy.

A few months before meeting this girl, I had been working as an employee at an Arby’s. It was located on a busy road right off of the main highway, and right next to a hospital, the same one I was born in. One day, while cleaning, I looked out the window and in an instant saw a silver car get hit from the side, pushing it sideways and into the middle lane. I froze. I’d never seen anything occur so quickly. It happened so close to the store that no one could come into our parking lot, it being blocked by police cars and an ambulance. People had stopped to help, there were so many people. So my coworkers and I watched, we watched people help a man crawl out of the window facing the sky, and then we saw a policeman hastily pull a black car seat from the back, but we couldn’t tell if it was occupied or not. The only thing on my mind was if the baby that could be in that car seat was okay, because the wreck was so bad. This is when we stopped watching, not wanting to see anything we shouldn’t. At the time, it just got us out of work for a few hours, and we forgot about it.

Now, three months later, I had met the wife of this man I witnessed wreck his car, in the middle of an airport and in the middle of the country. I was able to ask her if the baby I had worried about that day was okay, and thankfully she told me the baby wasn’t in the car at all, but she was at a daycare safe and sound. A relief I didn’t know I needed exited my body. I wish we had stayed in touch; I don’t even remember her name. I still can’t fully comprehend how strangely the world works and how it even turns at all. From that moment on, airports have been my favorite place that isn’t a destination. It’s like that old saying, “it isn’t the destination but the journey that gets your there,” and for many people, besides the crowed airplanes and complimentary stale chips, the airport is the journey. Stepping through the doors to check in, dawdling to security where you strategically plan which hand will hold your bag and which will hold your shoes. Bare feet on cold floors and the moderately terrifying spinning x-ray machine. Being cleared of anything dangerous and quickly collecting your belongings, shoving your bag of three ounce liquids back into your suitcase while simultaneously pulling your shoes back on. Leisurely lingering in the part-snack part-magazine shops to find something to read, buying things you don’t really need out of boredom. Searching for a seat close enough to the wall of phone chargers, but far enough away from other people so you have the privacy to read your magazine. Then not reading it at all because you’re too busy people-watching.

You look around and notice a soldier in full uniform appear through the doors of the airplane tunnel and wonder why no one is there to greet him, and the compassion you feel when someone walks up to him and shakes his hand, thanking him. Spotting separated parents handing their children off to one another, questioning what makes love run dry sometimes. To the right, hearing a businessman shouting into his Blackberry about stats and stocks. To your left, an entire team of football players looking exhausted in their khakis, asleep with their heads on their helmets, and wondering if they won or not.

Airports are a strange middle ground where people may be in a hurry but it’s also where life is lived in a way that it isn’t lived elsewhere, you see existence here for what it truly is. You see the good parents reading their kids stories, you see the bad ones glued to their phones ignoring theirs. It’s exhilarating, upsetting, and inspiring. There’s something about knowing that everyone is trying to get somewhere and waiting on an escape of sorts. And that without this one place, it would be significantly more challenging. 

Whether the destination is the vacation someone has been happily anticipating or a trip someone else has been desperately dreading. Realizing how easy it is to meet new people from every walk of life and thinking about how great of a story can come of it, how enlightened you are from their stories. But mostly, my favorite part about airports is knowing that home is on the other side of it all, or maybe even somewhere better.

[dcmissionaries]

...Of the Dead III: Revelations

After the catastrophic events that took place on the off-shore Lethocs base, the Angels' struggle to accomplish their sacred duty was getting increasingly difficult. The public began expressing their lack of trust in them and blamed them for outrageous rumors that held no merit. Many speculated that, not only are they protecting a potential serial killer, but that Angels are their accomplices in blowing up the base they were locked up in. Catching wind of these rumors, the Ophirs acted upon them only adding fire to the flame. They validated the public's worst fears and the slandering soon made it impossible for Angels to leave the Abbey at all because of protesters. This was diminishing what little morale the former Templar had and he had no one to confide in, wanting to spare others of burdening them with his insecurities. The Seraph was of no help, either. He was far more concerned with his image and upkeep, thinking the situation more as a mere inconvenience. It was beginning to grate on Strappon with old suspicions resurfacing concerning the Seraph. As his hope dwindled, Strappon occupied most of his free time by keeping up to date with current events. He felt like there may be an answer by just watching the news, an opportunity to fix everything and make it go back to the way it was. An opportunity that didn't endanger everybody's lives like their little trip to Europe. During his contemplation did such an opportunity arise. A week had passed after the Lethocs base was assaulted and the news had turned its attention to a new scandal. The story was over an Ophir that went missing. At first, Strappon thought (and hoped) it was the old hag that one of the regulars kept calling Zombie Hands. He was never a man to think ill of others, but that woman shook him to his core. His outlook changed when the missing Ophir was shown. "We bring you this emergency broadcast: An Ophir has recently gone missing. Pleats Ophir, daughter of the astute Swing Coat Ophir, was last seen by the outskirts of Daten City. Rumors have surfaced stating that she was seen entering prohibited territory once overseen by Lethocs before its closing, on of the Grimm District's towns, Shelles Harbor. We are taking this lead with a grain of salt as the thought of a normal girl getting past security seems unlikely, but we'll keep you informed as to her fate."

Shelles Harbor...that sounded familiar. If he remembered correctly, Strappon heard that name being tossed around by former Lethocs personnel like the late Commander and how it was infested with...zombies... Oh. Upon the realization did Strappon's stress began building up. How is city personnel going to clean up the infestation effectively to look for this girl? Especially now considering that zombies are now immune to human weapons and with Lethocs gone, city officials have no means of defending themselves. The search for the girl will be a disaster story ready to be covered and Strappon felt that he and his Angels needed to be there and help out. At first, he went about it as civilized as possible. He tried to gain permissions from the city to have access to the infestation zone but was denied when officials realized his association with the Angels. He then turned to less honest methods through bribery, but even the security outside the zone's perimeter didn't budge. He was starting to feel frantic. Seeing Strappon's current state of mind, Hot Pants felt pity for the man and tried to think of a few ways to get him and the Angels in. For a fact, he knew security wouldn't even let him in if he donned the Lethocs uniform. The uniform held no significance anymore, his authority was gone and this made him doubt his other options. That was until he recognized a familiar face. As Hot Pants became acquainted with the perimeter to lead a simple break-in, he came across a former coworker that definitely took a fancy to him. The guy was being a huge flirt with Hot Pants and while it was off-putting at first, he got the idea to use this to his advantage. He was going to pretend and reciprocate this guy's advances much to Duster's dismay. Despite being vocal about going that route, Hot Pants went and secured entry into Shelles Harbor through seduction...if he could even call it that. Their next plan was clear, they were to strike under the cover of darkness. 

Even though the Heavenbents have prior experience in dealing with the zombie epidemic ever since Romero and Carpen Town, will they be prepared enough with a zombie threat they never encountered before?

The grungy ruins of the harbor city almost seemed to have an energy of t

heir own, and boy was it oppressive. As the crew of Angels and Leon "Leon" Leonhart mosied into Shelles Harbo r, the atmosphere was akin to some sort of survival horror video game. T here was nothing seen around, only vague sounds and some environmental s cuffling, a low, inaudible rumble almost from the depths of the earth, a nd a mist from the nearby body of water. The smell was salty and heavy, like a damp basement, and the chill from the air settled on them like ra in. Strappon walked forward without fear in his eyes, his face stone-cold ev en with his hair sticking to his face slightly from the dampness in the air. There was no rain, no storm, but the mist was enough to make it awf ully humid. "It's dark, but we'll be able to work our way through. We remember what the girl looks like, right?" He asked, turning to the group. There was d etermination in his eyes.

BRIT:  "Burned into my brain!" Jacket replied with an enthusiastic swing of h  is arm and his trademark grin.  Cowlneck snorted, taking his sunglasses off and flipping his hair out  of his face.  "Just find the girl so we can get the hell out of here, it's disgustin  g and the air is making my hair frizz. There's not enough product in t  he world to keep this mosture from ruining my hard work." He griped.  Duster was inordinately close to Hot Pants, nearly in his clothes and  practically clipping through him. His eyes were fixated on Leon, watch  ing his moves. Anytime he would come anywhere near Hot Pants, he shift  ed in a way that would suggest he was ready to strike.

TORIBIRDSEED:  The day for Collier was just starting, as he had only woken up a few h  ours ago to hear the news of the missing Ophir and some thing or other   about locations, He didint really bother to think too much of it. He  decided that he would drop by and see what all the fuss was about, as  he figured that the other angels and humans would probably be at the s  cene before him. Stretching his wings he took off. He had missed work  that day, and as such had to hope that his subordinates could handle m  anaging things on their own, if not he would have to scold them when h  e got back.  Without an escort, Collier soon saw where the others had congested to,   and he swooped in graceful landing with a jog and swooping his hair b  ackwards with his hand before stopping. He put his hand on his shoulde  r, stretching it gently as he look around, his eyes gently piercing th  rough people to look behind them, and than into their eyes. Not litera  lly of course, he just had that look about him. Yawning he spoke up.  “So what's going on this time? You angels fuck something up again.” As   always he was speaking to nobody in particular. It was just his way o  f getting attention, somebody was sure to answer him. He didn't unders  tand the full grasp of the situation he had got himself into, and was  particularly uninterested in being cooperative with the other angels,  especially not Strapon. He had a particularly strong distaste for doin  g anything Strapon would tell him to do, perhaps that's why he was whe  re he was no in life. Regardless, he was just going to do his own thin  g. To hell if anybody was gonna stop him.  Licking his lips he waited to see what would happen next.  Along with the others who had arrived, Cloak was one of a few humans w  ho often went out of his way to see to it that things went well. His c  reepiness and gross behavior aside, he was somebody who was quite fond   of making sure that plans were followed. Not that he knew what the pl  an was. Cloak had been in the middle of some research when he found ou  t people were going out, and so he had decided that he would do the sa  me, leaving his research partner behind for however long this took. Mu  mbling to himself he spoke gently, his voice shaky as always.  “Uuhh… I really hope we find a ghost or this is gonna be a waste… Uuuh  .”  He wasn't too interested unless a ghost was involved, and came with on  ly the hope of finding one he had not seen before in his head. That wa  s his sole motivation when doing anything, ghosts… it was all that he  thought about in his day to day life, and it was the focus of his enti  re world view. He considered them to be something spectacular, as well   as utterly disgusting. Perhaps he related to that somewhat. Walking s  lowly he scratched his head before grabbing his hair and pulling it ba  ck into a ponytail, sick of it being in his face for once. He fixed hi  s rather tall collar and smiled.  “Would somebody care to tell me why exactly we are even here? I mean…  If one would not mind… I simply was not paying attention.”  That was usual for him.  Finally, there was Goggles. Goggles was loud, obnoxious, and never got   along with angels too well, not being able to control her emotions ma  de things rather difficult for her, as many people, especially those w  ith virtue, did not like her rather straight to the point way of think  ing. Her day was already going bad in her eyes, as she approached the  area that many of the others were finding themselves. Cracking her knu  ckles and takling to herself.  “Fucking peice of shit fucking asshole motherfucker-”  Something along those lines. She had a few encounters with people on h  er way here, and she was particularly pissed off. Today was not a good   day for her. Her eyes had the very definition of fury in them, and sh  e honestly just wanted to go home. She started to question why she eve  n came out to this place, perhaps she was bored. Or maybe part of her  actually wanted to, but after the day she had been having, that was no   more. Hands behind her back she spoke up to herself once again, after   her swearing had subsided.  “Can anybody tell me why the fuck I'm here… before I snap all y’all’s  necks? I fucking hate this stupid bullshit, who the fuck convinced me  that this was a good idea. Huh?” She pointed at one of the higher up a  ngels, nobody in particular.  “Was it you tough guy!? You wanna fucking throw down?”

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Indeed Brother Strappon" Father Crucifix said as he looked at him wit  h a determine face. Raincoat had her weapon out and was filling it up  with bullets though she looked at Boxer who looked tried a bit. "Boxer  , you okay?" Raincoat said as she looks at kind of worried for her fri  end. Boxer looked at her with a tried like smile. "I'm fine, Rain. Jus  t my run took a lot out of me..." Boxer chuckled a little though it wa  s a weak chuckle. "Boxer, you know you can stay home, Father Crucifix  would understand" She said as she was worried for as she tries to put  a hand on his shoulder. "Like i said, I'm Fine" He said as he looked a  t her with no smile but with a straight face. "Okay..." Raincoat said  as she still worries but continues to get her weapon ready.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Headphones was fanning himself with a much too fancy fan with lace and   jewels as he walked with the click of his heels. Sighing,  "While I like a sauna this is just a bit much."  Surprisingly, he didn't mind the fishy smell from the harbor. In fact,   it reminded him of the time he fell asleep in a tide pool. It might a  lso be that Headphone's sense of smell was either so damaged or backwa  rd that he enjoyed really any smell. He raised his eyebrow,  "You're asking a man without his left eye to see something. Good j o b  ."  He gave a sarcastic slow clap as he widened the only functioning eye h  e has to stare in the fog to exemplify his point.  Knittens was in the same boat, itching at the patches on his right arm  . It's been several days and his home life had been stressful. Not tha  t anything happened it was just a very strange series of events that d  idn't really make sense. Honestly, he did want to get out of the house   even if it meant this insanity. Stretching his neck,  "Shouldn't we try getting flashlights or something to at least see?"

DJ:  "My mind is a steel trap, Brother Strappon!" Helmet exclaimed, eager t  o recuse the damsel in distress like a true knight.  Loincloth was adjusting the strap to his plaudron. It had been a long  time since he wore this armor. Hell, he didn't think he was never goin  g to have to wear it again since he fell from heaven. But here he was,   attempting to rescue some likely dead woman in a zombie-infested harb  or with a bunch of other angels. He could only hope it this venture do  esn't go to complete shit.

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong was in a particularly enthusiastic mood that day, he had once aga  in gone alone into town and done some shopping, all on his own. Which  was a big achievement considering how much his dads loved to baby him.   Still, he managed to slip away. Mostly by using his wings which were  admittedly underdeveloped as he had never been allowed or taught to us  e them. With that though, the boy had picked up his wheelchair and flo  wn off for the day, only placing the chair back down when he was far e  nough away. But now he was in the middle of zooming over to the meetin  g place, wheeling himself as fast as possible, which was probably way  too fast a speed for a wheelchair, and he wasn’t alone. There was a gi  rl who was slightly taller than him, sitting on his lap, holding on fo  r dear life. He saw the group of familiar people in the distance, and  came to a screeching halt, which sent the poor girl flying out of his  lap.  Pointe Shoes was stuck in a peculiar situation. Peculiar being an ange  l, who she had only really had interactions with on twitter, wheeling  her off to lord knows where. She held on as tight as she could. The wh  ole situation was extremely uncomfortable considering she had a sword  that was bigger than she was strapped to her back. When the chair came   to a halt, she flew out of there as if she had been a Frisbee that wa  s tossed into traffic never to be seen again. Except the traffic in th  is particular situation was an unsuspecting Goggles. As pointe was fly  ing through the air and into Goggles it almost looked as if she had be  en T-posing.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  As Raincoat was reloading her Weapon, she see her best big friend; Loi  ncloth! "Loin!" She called out as she runs to him and hops on his back  . "It's good to see you again, Big Buddy" Raincoat said as she smiles  at him. "You here to kill some, Zombies? Word of advice aim for the he  ad" She whisper as she smiles at him. Father Crucifix saw Helmet came  and he smile as he walk to him. "Ah, Brother Helmet. It's nice to see  you again." Father Crucifix said with hands behind his back as he appr  oaches him though extends hand out for a shake. "Hope you are ready to   smite the living dead?" Father Crucifix said with a chuckle as he loo  ks at him with a smile. Meanwhile Boxer was by himself looking at down   at the ground closing eyes but keeping himself awake.

EMI:  Dermal shot a very short, disinterested look at Goggles, who was point  ing and yelling some garbage at him. He walked up behind Cowlneck and  flicked his hair as well, his usual "tail" following him around (hint:   it's Veil.)  "Then you should do your best, right? Don't want these other Angels ou  tshining my star, after all." He said with a smile, lightly patting hi  s shoulder.

KRO:  "It's okay, we'll get a hair treatment that makes you bald so you don'  t /have/ to deal with hair," said Sukajan, following closely behind Co  wlneck.  "Wigs are easier to maintain, anyways. You know it's true."  Hot Pants slung his pulse rifle over his shoulder and stretched, takin  g in the smell of the atmosphere. He ended up hacking up a lung from t  he rancid smell. He tried, he was just trying to feel nostalgic after  losing his job. But what he didn't appreciate was how close Duster was  . Every five seconds he was pushing his boyfriend away.  "Babe, it's humid as all hell. At least give me some space or I'm not  showering when we get home so you deal with this stank ass smell."  Leon was a little mesmerized by Hot Pants before snapping back into re  ality, a dreadful feeling pulling him back in. It felt like someone wa  s ready to murder him but he couldn't put his finger on who. Shrugging   it off, he opened the fence door and gesturing for everybody to come  through, only to stop Knittens on his tracks.  "Flash light? That's probably not a good idea. We're still on the peri  meter and this operation is /not/ authorized by the city. What we're a  ll doing here is illegal, but you're our best bet to find this girl re  gardless if she's alive or not regardless of what the city thinks of y  ou all..."  Spur came up behind Knittens and went in to pat Leon on the shoulder.  "The guards around the perimeter are the least of our worries. You cou  ld say they're...taking a little nap."  "Nap...?" There was concern in Leon's voice. He squinted at the myster  y person before coming to the realization that they either knocked out   the security or killed them. He hoped for the former.  "Yes, nap," Spur reaffirmed, "We still gotta act quick, they won't sta  y down the entire night."  Oh thank fuck, Leon thought. They didn't kill them.  Archer, meanwhile, was mourning his feathers which were being affected   by whatever was causing the air to feel oppressive.  "Tch, they're losing...oil? Fuck."  Guess he's staying grounded.

OWLIE:  Monocle stood alongside with Polo among the other angels. Monocle shiv  ered as he adjusted his scarf, looking around in worry. Sneakers would  've come but he's out sick and Cardigan's taking care of him and Henle  y doesn't want to.

DJ:  “Ready and eager!” Helmet said, pulling out his stick, “I shall send t  his vile undead back into their grave!”  Loincloth was caught off guard and was about to rip whatever hopped on  to his back apart before he realized it was only Raincoat and relaxed.   “Raincoat, I’m over 900 years old. I’ve fought plenty of zombies in m  y day.”

TORIBIRDSEED:  Goggles looked at the other who was flying at her, nearly about to hit   her. She was not about that life, her day was already going bad as is  . Before the other could hit her Goggles stepped backwards and ducked,   letting the other fly past them before speaking up in her usual loud  tone of voice.  “Hey! Watch where the fuck youre going asshat! You want to fucking die  !? I'll fucking kill ya!”  She was probably serious too. Grabbing her goggles in her hands and cr  ushing them as it turned into her weapon. Pointing it at the other, ki  nd of. Everything was always blurry to goggles so she was more pointin  g it at Pointe number 2.  “I'll fucking blow you the fuck up!”

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Knittens pursed his lips at the stranger, obviously very uncomfortable   that a stranger talked to him. He became very defensive recently but  he nodded slowly. It made sense that they wanted to lay low. He still  muttered,  "Yeah, but it'll be like look for a needle in a haystack."  He shrugged, usually, things worked out and he was just here for the r  ide. At the same time, he didn't want to admit the aspect they're look  ing for a dead girl was disturbing. Gulping, he just hoped that she wa  s still moving. Knittens flinched at the sight of the stranger coming  from behind but immediately relaxed. The suit the person was wearing v  aguely reminded him of his mother, in fact, he started feeling nostalg  ia from seeing Spur. It was barely similar, most likely the colors but   it made him realize how long it had been since the last time he's eve  n spoken to his mom. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he shuffled fo  rward, keeping his head down. He didn't feel like talking anymore.  Headphones sighs as he tied his long hair into a messy bun just to exp  erience some sort of cooling. It was like adding 5 pounds of hair on h  is head but it was worth it for the tiny breeze on the back of his nec  k. Of course, it looked like he had a white fluffy creature on the top   of his head and his head was being tilted back because of it. But wor  ht it.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Glad to hear that" Father Crucifix said with a smile on his face."Int  eresting fact to know, Buddy" Raincoat said with a giggle as she looks   at him with a smile. "This is my first time slaying Zombies!" She sai  d as she was excited to headshot some Zombies. "It looks like you got  some good gear for the Mission" Raincoat said as she pokes at his new  armor he had on.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar was on the ground watching the two forms fly around on  the air. He was currently under his umbrella applying globs of sunbloc  k to his skin to keep it nice and safe. He was not fucking with the su  n.     Another rather tall individual walked close by, she knew no one   so this would be fun. Dzilla tied up her long hair in a bun and she l  ooked around, wow, only one person as tall as her. Well close enough.  She walked over to Loincloth and she picked him up,"Hello."

BRIT:  "I'm glad we're ready, then." Strappon said, looking around at the Ang  els once again before nodding succinctly. "We can move on, then. Now t  hat this... Nice, mysterious man has incapacitated our barrier."  "I appreciate it." Cowlneck said, flashing a smirk at Dermal. He whipp  ed his head around to glare at Sukajan, "Rude. You don't like my hair?   You make me bald, I tear what's left of your skin off."  Blazer approached the group, sipping a latte. How did they get in? Who   fuckin knows.  "Oh, hey. It's the stud." They said, pointing toward Spurs. "Let's get   moving."

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe T posed right into the ground. She soon got back on her feet an  d glared back at Goggles who seemed to want to throw the fuck down. Sh  e unsheathed Starfury and pointed the massive sword at Goggles, before   looking back over at Jong who seemed concerned at the whole thing. "L  isten here Captain cum waffle, you're lucky wheelchair kid is here or  else your ass would have been on fire by now. I have better shit to do   than to fight with shitty wanna be shounen protagonist." Pointe put t  he sword back in its holding unit, and walked over to Jong, ignoring G  oggles. "Okay wheelchair kid. I'm guessing you wanted me to help you w  ith this? If something happens to me i just want you to know that my s  isters ___WILL___ fuck you up."  Jong simply nodded at the whole encounter and started to wheel himself   along with the crowd.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Goggles was not about this life, not at all. Stomping her foot she yel  led.  “Cum...CUM WAFFle? YOU WANNA GO YOU FUCKING PIG SLUT?”  She shot a round off from her grenade launcher into the distance, a la  rge explosion going off as usual. “I'll end your fucking life! And you  r sisters you hear me!?”  She stomped around some more before Collier flew over and put a hand o  n Goggles  shoulders, smiling at Pointe. “My appologies. My friend is  not the type to take well to insults. He guided her away to calm down  before flying back over. “Would you like to become a prostitite?” He w  as getting straight to the point wasn't he.

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe was clearly not pleased at this whole thing " I WASN'T TALKING  TO YOU YOU SNOT NOSED COCK GOBLIN" Pointe turned back to Collier and s  miled, "Sorry mister, a self respecting young woman such as myself wou  ld never become a prostitute while it's illegal. If there were unions  for this and I was of age then maybe, but its a career choice I would  have to talk over with someone. Thank you for your offer."  Jong shook his head. This was dumb.

DJ:  "Right! Let us go then. FOR GOD AND GLORY!" Helmet cried out as he ran   headlong into certain death, as per usual.  "Not really new. I stopped wearing this armor centuires ago when I beg  an learning mag-WOAH, WHAT THE HELL?!" Loincloth exclaimed as he was l  ifted up into the air and just stared at Dzilla. Not only was this wom  an taller than him, she could also lift him up effortlessly. To say he   was surprised would be an understatement. "Uhhhhh....Hi there."

OWLIE:  "Let's move then," Monocle said, looking around the the place as he wa  lked, he approached in Boxer and gave him a gentle punch on the should  er. "Heya Box," He said, his voice dipping in a bit of excitement.  Polo walked near Raincoat and Loincloth and flashed them both with a g  rin. "Hi, Raincoat, hi, Loincloth," Polo said, then stared up at Dzill  a with awe, "Ooh, hey there, tall and pretty stranger~"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "You have very unique spirit, Helmet" Father Crucifix said as he pats  on the back with a smile on his face. Raincoat looked at new angel tha  t appeared before her and Loincloth. "Hello there new person" Raincoat   said as she waved to Dzilla. Then she saw Polo coming, man looks like   a big welcoming party was coming along. "Hey Polo!" She said as she w  aved to him with a smile on her face.  As Boxer was seating alone he felt a little punch on his shoulder and  he turn around to see Mono. "Hey Mono" Boxer said as he gave him a gen  tle hug which was strange. Boxer usually excited and full of energy bu  t he looks like he is all tried out. This was strange.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar binked before leaning down,"Darling why does it smell l  ike dead people here?" He licked his little lovers cheek.    Dzilla ch  uckled and put him down,"My apologies, it has just been a while since  I have seen someone my size." She hears Polo and her cheeks redden. Sh  e turns to him,"H-hello there." She almost shrunk at the attention, sh  e waved to Boxer.

KRO:  Spur held up a hand, about to address Strappon that he didn't need the   praise until he heard Blazer's voice.  No, let's not get distracted by their beauty, there's a little girl to   find. That was more important at the moment.  Spur walked past Leon who was running after him.  "Uh, sir! Hold on-"  Leon stopped in his tracts as Spur turned around. There was something  menacing about it.  "It's fine, I know my way around. Could say I worked here for a while.   I believe these Zombies can be repented through holy weapons, so thos  e with firearms better shoot them before they get close. It's imperati  ve that they /do not/ get close to you."  Hots quirked a brow as he listened in on Spur. This guy must have work  ed for Lethocs before it was shut down if he knew this much, but it co  uld be the spy as well. Who knows. He can't exactly prosecute right no  w, not with who they have to rescue.  Sukajan fitted a helmet as Cowlneck spoke, looking directly at the man  .  "Sure, you can do that if you don't mind punching in the helmet's glas  s."

OWLIE:  Monocle was surprised at the gentle hug, strange, but he shrugged it o  ff. Meanwhile Polo was bouncing about, smiling at Dzilla, "You're soo  tall," He said, "You should've seen my boyfriend, he's so-" He stopped   himself before he can say short with Monocle within earshot. He reall  y don't want Mono ignoring him. Again.

DJ:  "R-Right." Loincloth said, still taking in how tall (and strong) this  woman was before turning his attention to Raincoat. "Can you please ge  t off my back now?"

SOPHIE:  After receiving a text from her sister about some rather creepy people  , Pumps had sprung into action, hopping on her bicycle and PUMPIN THOS  E THIGHS AMIRITE. Not really up to date on current events she just wen  t to the address Pointe had texted her on her phone. Upon ariving she  brought her bike to a screeching hault and took off her helmet.  "WHICH ONE OF YOU'S CREEPIN ON MY BABY SISTER" she shouted, seemingly  towards no one. Guess they left. She got up and sighed, placing the he  lmet on her sister's head. "Use this for protection-" she mumbled, fol  ding her arms. "Anyways, the heck's going on here sis? Sorry I was a b  it late. _I can't believe you swore._ "

BRIT:  Blazer watched Hot Spur closely, their lips sort of pouted. Something  about him was so familiar... But they had to concentrate on getting ev  eryone motivated.  "Alright, folks. Nice to meet you, glad you could come, let's get movi  ng, already." They said, waving everyone down, "Hot Stuff is going to  guide us in, let's not disappoint."  Duster was still practically up Hot Pants' ass. He starting moving for  ward with the group, basically dragging Hot Pants with him.  "I guess we have more to lose sticking around here with Jacket out in  the open." Cowlneck commented almost apathetically.  "Don't worry, I got a disguise!" Jacket said, putting a paper bag over   his head.  Cowlneck stared at him for a good solid minute before moving on.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "So, how are you doing?" Boxer ask Monocle as he looked at him with a  tried smile. "I'm doing great, starting to run for my hobby and stuff"   He said as he looked at the ground as he yawned a bit. he looked like   he was going to sleep anytime soon though he did notice Vampire Colla  r wave to him and he wave back. Raincoat looked at Loincloth with her  puppy dog eyes. "But i like back, it gives me the advantage to shot th  ings. The High Ground is the best ground" Raincoat said with her puppy   dog eyes and puppy dog giggle as she looks at Loincloth.

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong blushed a little at his boyfriend licking his cheek, but he was u  sed to it. He chuckled a little, before pulling the other one onto his   lap for a kiss. “Something about zombies babe.” Jong was so happy to  have his boyfriend there. But also a little concerned because the boy  wanted to do a protecc. “We should be really careful here, okay? I don  ’t want you to get hurt by zombies. I also don’t wanna get hurt by Zom  bies. Lets both not get hurt by zombies.”  Pointe practically jumped out of her skin when she heard her sister’s  voice. She loved her dearly but god was she good at catching her off g  uard. “something about Zombies. I really have no idea what’s up.” I ki  nda got dragged out here by a wheelchair kid who seems to be making ou  t with his vampire boyfriend?” Pointe locked arms with her sister. She   was glad to not be there alone.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Dzilla giggles and she covers her mouth. "I have been made aware my de  ar." She turns to Mono and she looks back at Polo,"Awww..you're both r  ather small." Vampire wiggled and whispered,"That guy saw my junk when   he broke in and it scares me." He squeaked and chilled in his lap,"I  promise I'll keep you safe. You're not being a meal on wheels today. M  aybe when we go home though.." He kissed him happily.

SOPHIE:  Pumps loves her sister dearly, but she can't seem to fathom the inform  ation her sister had just given her. "Oh, so you're telling me a cripp  led individual _kidnapped_ you and now there's _zombies_ "  She looked around and tapped her foot for a moment, pulling out some k  neepads and shoulderpads from her backpack, shoving them towards Point  e.  "Put this on for protection, if the zombies get you at least you'll ha  ve your shins and wenis..es.." Why was her sense of humor so morbid?

OWLIE:  Monocle smiled warmly at Boxer, "I'm mostly doing okay, that guy's shi  t of a brother just ruined my garden." He pointed at Polo and sighed,  remembering when he and Henley argued about Polo and things quickly tu  rned physical. Polo shrugged and smiled, grinning at Dzilla's statemen  t "Yeah, pretty much, I'm still taller than him though,"

DJ:  Loincloth quickly shut his eyes as he had grown wise to Raincoat's pup  py eyes. "If you want a vantage point, climb up a building or somethin  g. I need my back to be unburdened of any unnecessary weight if we end   up fighting a horde of those zombies." He said as he picked up Rainco  at and placed her down beside him.  "OI!" Flat Cap yelled out as he ran towards the group, "Oh shite...oh  fuck...sorry i'm late. I was smoking a blunt and....then i remember we   were....heading to....the harbor...and shite...." What he wouldn't gi  ve to have a car or even a bike.

KRO:  Archer cupped his ears when Pumps began shouting, holding a finger in  fron of his lips and shushing her.  "We probably shouldn't make too much noise if we're in a zombie infest  ed zone. Now come on before you all fall behind."  He gestured for them to follow, then summoned his bow, drawing the str  ing which summoned arrows.  "Luckily for everybody, I'm an amazing shot, so we should be safe."  His tone was so matter-of-fact. In before he ends up cowering consider  ing he can't fly.  Hots tried to dig his heels into the ground to get Duster to stop but  instead he just ran a distance and tried to keep it that way. Leon saw   how much they were both straying and grabbed on to Hots' arm.  "Hey, I don't know what's going on, but seperating is probably not bes  t right now. I heard the zombies do weird things to you just getting c  lose to them..."  "Yeah, I know what they do. We worked for the same organization, you k  now," Hots said, retreiving his arm back from Leon. What, did this guy   think he was a damsel?  "If you don't mind me asking, what /do/ they do?" Sukajan asked Leon.  Leon turned around to answer before he was caught off by an odd noise  and Hots yelling.  Two zombies had appeared out of nowhere, circling the human who was co  vering his eyes or acting as if there was too much light in them. Inst  inctively, Spur drew his rifle, shooting the heads off both zombies, a  llowing Hots to have his vision back.  "They blind you," Spur said, "We don't know why, but being in close pr  oximity to them blinds you with light."  "And I still fell for it like a damn fOOL!" Hots yelled. He was visibl  y upset.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "I'm sorry to hear that Mono, i could come over and help you out fixin  g your Garden" Boxer said very calmly as he looked at Mono with still  a tried smile. He was so tried but he need to stay up for this Mission  , he wasn't going to miss this one.  "Alright Loin, i'll take you advice sense your 900 years old" Raincoat   said as he gentle punches his side because he couldn't reach his shou  lder. Though it hit a little because of the armor. "Ouch! My Hand!" Sh  e said as she waved her hand to let pain go away. "Man, that's some to  ugh Armor, Loin" Raincoat said as she puts hand behind her head with a   calm look.

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe sighed in disappointment but complied. She knew better than to  argue with her sister on safety precautions, even /if/ she was gonna e  nd up with burnt plastic. In that moment she noticed a stanger walking   over to them and essentially shooshing them for safety. "Well, I gues  s thats what we're doing here. You can blame the wheelchair boy whoms'  d've kidnapped me."  Jong waved at Flat Cap. Despite the coke in the sugar bowl debacle he  was glad he was at least taking the drugs out of the abbey. "hey dude  maybe be a little more careful with the shouting. You wouldn't wanna g  et any attention drawn to yourself."

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Dzilla smiled and nodded,"I will give you the credit where it is due.  What are your names?" She smells the weed. "Why..the.."   Vampire Coll  ar's practically visibly boiled. He kept close to Jong and he started  hissing. He was like a cat, not having any of it.

SOPHIE:  Pumps blinked and took the cue to lower her voice, nodding along. I me  an, nobody said there'd be medusa-zombies lurking about. "Man if only  Papa Pantaloni was here he'd have himself a field day if you know what   I mean" She said, nudging her sister.  With that said, Pumps had no idea what she meant.  She fished around in her bag and pulled out an entire wooden chair, pl  acing it down on the ground, before picking up her bicycle, folding it   up and shoving it in her bag as if it were paper. Gosh, you'd think h  er bag belonged to Hermione Granger with how much stuff she could fit  in it and utterly defy the laws of physics.  She sat down in the chair and pulled out one of her daggers, spinning  it around on her finger. "Say, how'd that date go with  you and that b  oy.. uhh.. PBJ?"  _She meant PTJ but the point was made._

BRIT:  Duster held his hand out helplessly to stop Hot Pants but he was too l  ate. What a dumbass. Why was he trying to kill this kid, he was easily   going to get himself murdered. He sighed. He wanted to kill him to pu  t him out of his misery. But not now.  Soon.  But not now.  "Oh, hey Jong!" Jacket chirped, taking his bag off his head, "Ready fo  r some cool shenanigans? I haven't seen people much since I was at tha  t mulitary base. Mom took my phone away."  He looked at the newer people crowded around the wheelchair with awe.  "Hey, we should head in before the feds find me!" He said, thumbing to  ward the crowd that had headed toward the... Zombies.  "What a dumb fuck." Cowlneck said, crossing his arms as he watched Hot   Pants get blinded.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Headphones spotted Knittens moping and sighs, not in his house. Walkin  g over, the beanpole slides right in and with his caterpillar eyes bro  ws, wiggles them as he cheerfully sings,  "If you're gonna be sad then use that sadness productively."  Headphones that's not how you cheer anyone up.  Knittens sighs as the old family friend slid next to himas he retorts,  "Like how mint cruncher?"  The angel spun around the kid as he hums,  "You could use it for exercise, or cry naturally as an actor, weaponiz  e it somehow. I don't know but don't just sit down and elt your own em  otions beat you up."  Knittens glared at him as he drawls out,  "thaaaaaaaaaaanks."

DJ:  "Yea, that's why i wear it." Loincloth said then turned to Dzilla to a  nswer her question, "I'm Loincloth. Now let's get going and find Pleat  s, or what's left of her." He then proceeded to go and begin searching   for the possibly-dead Ophir.  Flat simply nodded in acknowledgement to Jong's statement. He was too  busy catching his breath after that long run to the harbor.

SOPHIE:  PTJ was rather bored this fine evening and found himself on a scooter  riding around town when he noticed a bunch of people crowded around in   one area. He looked to see if he could find any familiar faces among  the crowd and instead of seeing, you know, his brother for example, hi  s eyes landed upon the girl who used to sit next to him in history cla  ss. He walked on over to the two sisters and smiled, waving ever so sl  ightly.  "H-Hey-what's goin' on guys?" He asked.  Pumps couldn't help but smile and side eye her sister. Ohohoho. A boy.   _A boyfriend? Maybe? Yes? Who knew. But as an older sister it was her   job-no, her DUTY, to be a shit head._

BRIT:  Strappon shuddered at what Loincloth has said. 'What's left of her?' H  e began moving forward quicker.  "I'd rather find her before she meets a terrible end. She's not that w  eak." He said. He seemed to catch himself, clearing his throat, "At le  ast, that's what I assume."  Blazer quirked a brow at Strappon's addressing of Pleated Skirt. Did h  e... Nah, they must be hearing things.  "Hey, quick dragging your asses!" Blazer called to the further people,   "We're in a zombie town. You get bit, you get hit! That means you, to  o, PTJ!"  As they moved forward, they began encountering more of the shambling,  light-bearing beings in their wake. It was best to proceed with cautio  n from that point on. In the distance, there was a body of water that  was pitch-black at a glance.

OWLIE:  "I'm Polo Buttondown," Polo said, aswering Dzilla then pointed to Mono  cle, who was talking to Boxer, "That guy's name is Monocle, he's my wo  nderful and moody boyfriend," then he walked next to Loincloth, "Be po  sitive Loincloth, we'll find her, safe and sound,"  Monocle twisted his clutching around his finger as he began to search  around the zombie infested town. He slipped his namesake off and summo  ned Eyesore.

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong smiled at Jacket, it had been a while since he had seen him. “Hey  ! This time around I /am/ ready.” Jong laughed a little, he was glad t  o see him. “I think it’d be a great idea to start going inside.” Jong  started to wheel himself alongside Jacket.  Pointe looked over at PTJ who had just gotten there. “Hey! What are yo  u doing here?” Pointe smiled, she was clearly excited to have him ther  e, so much so that she didn’t really notice her sister side eyeing her  . Pointe unsheathed Starfury and held it almost resting on her shoulde  r with one hand, which was impressive as the sword was almost 6’ tall.   C’mon! let’s not split up. She grabbed PTJ by the hand and started to   walk more into the town, she didn’t really know what the hell she was   doing but she was excited to have a friend there. “Sis hurry up! Don’  t fall behind!”

OWLIE:  *clutch ring

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Sorry to say this, Father. But Loincloth got a point" Raincoat said a  s he looked at Strappon with a chill look. "These are Zombies and well   Zombies are Zombies, it's all about survival" She pointed out as she  looked at him. "He not trying to be negative or anything, he just poin  ting out something" Raincoat said as she was beside him. Meanwhile Box  er was just setting by himself in daze as everything around felt like  silent. He was all alone as he wasn't paying any attention.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  A small bean bikes all the way there. Panting he hops off his bike and   he runs over to Knittens. Mary Janes gives him a little hug,"Made it.  ."               Dzilla raises a brow at the small child. She was gett  ing a small feeling in her gut but she shook her head. It was nothing.   She turns to Loin, Mono and Polo "It is nice to meet you all, my name   is Dzilla." She waves and walks close to the little group. Vampire Co  llar chilled on Jong's lap and hugged him close, kissing the top of hi  s head. He waves to Jacket.

KRO:  Hots huffed, stuffing  his face into Duster's chest to muffle his scre  aming before realizing they're both sweaty messes. With disgust writte  n all over his face, Hots seperates from Duster, wiping his face clean  .  "Anyway, from what I remember reading, these zombies have supernatural   agility, so they can sneak up on you without you knowing until it's t  oo late. You'd only know they're close until you're blinded," Hots sai  d.  Sukajan heard PTJ's name being mentioned and he scanned the area for v  isual of the child. His neck snapped and quickly grabbed both of PTJ's   hands, his helmet retreating to show his face. He was ready to voice  his concerns but noticed he was next to an equally young girl. He arch  ed his brows in confusion. Now he wasn't sure if he should call the ki  d out to make him go back home or not.  "Uuuh.. Just. Stay close... I guess," he said, keeping pace with every  one else.  Spur kept an eye out for any potential zombies. It was quieter than us  ual and that put them on edge. Usually, you'd see multitudes of them w  alking the street. Were they smart and planned an ambush? No, that cou  ldn't be it. Their attention was caught by a distant body of water. Th  ey tapped Strappon's shoulder, pointing to it.  "If you don't mind, could we make a little detour to the water? I've h  eard rumors that Demons have been interested in the water here for som  e reason and I think it would benefit us to know why. I know the girl  is of high priority, but we could take out two birds with one stone."

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Knittens chokes out in shock as he felt something wrap around him and  he was so ready to punch whatever it was. But before he could, he noti  ced it was Mary Janes. Refraining he sighed,  "Jesus mary you scared the shit out of me."  Cursing without thinking, he covered his mouth, ears turning red. He w  as embarrassed about his loss of composure as well as saying a swear.  He was never supposed to do that without getting his mouth cleaned wit  h soap.  Headphones just lost his mind. It was the mixture of horror and hilari  ty of the surreal situation. He wheezed hard, being brought to his kne  es as he tried to breathe or choke out any words but he was speechless  . He hasn't heard Knittens cursed once, it was like hearing hello kitt  y say "Fuck".

SOPHIE:  PTJ blew a raspberry towards blazer and mumbled _'at least I have good   taste in emo music'_ he ranted before being tugged along by Pointe. "  H-Hey hold up I don't got my baseba-"  Pump's exhaled, standing up and packing her chair back into her bag an  d holding PTJ's baseball bat out to him. "You left it at our shop"  PTJ just stared in confusion, trying to triangulate just how in gods n  ame a 4 foot baseball bat came out of a 2 and a half foot tall backpac  k. He took his bat and stared confused at pumps before turning back fo  rward and walking alongside Pointe. _He squeezed Pointe's hand ever so   gently as they drudged forward into the unknown, god knows this was "  slightly" worrisome.  _"First I find out mom fucks ghosts then zombies, what's next"_ he exh  aled to himself.  CREEPING OVER HIS SHOULDER, PUMPS WHISPERED _"What's wrong with fuckin  ' ghosts?"_ and PTJ silently screamed, his voice failed him. He turned   his head to look to Pumps, wide eyed. _"Nothing"_ he whispered, squee  zing Pointe's hand a BIT TIGHER.  Pumps patted him on the head and laughed "I'm just pulling your leg. C  ome on, don't be so stressed out!" She laughed, ruffling his hair.  Just as she was patting his head, Sukajan had appeared, grabbing PTJ's   hands.  "Uh-- yeah-" He mumbled, looking up at Sukajan.  _"I'm sorry if I shoulda stayed home-"_ he mumbled, dragging his baseb  all bat aside himself.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Mary let's go and his cheeks go red. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to." He h  olds his teddy close and its eyes kinda just stare into Knittens' soul  s. Creepy. Mary saw Headphones fall out and he covered his face. Two s  econds in and he was already a mess. Yup. Knittens was totally Aggrett  suko.

SOUP-KITTY:  Summer somehow gravitated to the exact spot where headphones is becaus  e he's a needy gay bitch. He takes off his sunglasses to reveal his re  gular glasses, and takes a sip of a Starbucks green tea frapp. He snak  es his arm around his man's waist, pulling him close. "Hi there love,  I missed you. And was bored. What are we doing?"  Jong just kept wheeling along the town, he summoned his weapon, which  he Totally Has Always Had Its Totally Always Been A Cool Lazer Harpoon   Gun For Sure, and he held it with one hand. before fluttering his win  gs and getting up, basically hovering along because His Legs Aint Work  . "babe can you take care of the chair for me?"  Pointe just kinda went along with everything, and made sure to squeeze   PTJ's hand back in a reassuring way. This whole thing was definitely  creepy, and there was definitely something...wrong... with the atmosph  ere. but she needed to be brave.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Headphones grabbed Summer's hair, pulling him close, his frantic eyes  searching for god as he wheezed,  "He said shit, holy shit he said shit."  He clamored for Summer for both emotional and physical support as he s  tared into the sky. He was ready to be raptured God.  Knittens stared back at Mary's teddy and honestly? He was kinda ready  to fight it. Throw down with a stuffed toy because no one gives him a  dirty look. He's already ashamed of himself he doesn't need soemthing  telling him mentally that he should be ashamed. He coughs, trying to c  hange the subject,  "W-What's up, why're you here?"

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar nods and he wheels it. "I mean, you can sit in it and I   can push you. I promise its fine." He messed with his namesake a litt  le bit. Poor beans. Mothers Love blinks at Knittens and continues to j  udge without a conscious. Its eye lights look up at Mary. "N-nothing m  uch i..I I'm wanted to face a fear..therapy isn't really helping so..c  losest thing right? ...how about you?" He rubbed the back of his neck  a little.

SOPHIE:  PTJ, who had been engaged in a very in depth twitter conversation in t  he past minute or so, looked over to Pumps with wide eyes. Pumps just  laughed nervously, pulling out her daggers just in case anything came  up out of nowhere. Why they gotta kink shame her like this.

DJ:  Helmet began searching high and low for Pleats all by his lonesome lik  e the foolhardy man that he was, his head popping out of barrels, wind  ows, the sides of buildings, and even under the docks.  "I'm just being realistic here. The odds of a human surviving alone in   a zombie-infested harbor without any weapons that can harm them, i wo  uld assume, is unlikely." Loincloth as he walked beside Polo.  After he regain his breath, Flat Cap went to catch with the others the  n overheard Spurs. Curious, he walked up to them. "So what, ya want on  e of us to swim down there and a peek?"

BRIT:  "If the water looks suspicious, it makes sense to examine it. Maybe we   could figure out what's causing these zombies to exist." Strappon rep  lied to Spurs, examining the area quietly, "We'll have to rush past th  em..."  Jacket gave Jong an energetic thumbs-up. He was happy they were all to  gether! It was just a matter of keeping out of sight of the zombies.  Of course, Jacket was not the master of stealth with his red-ass jacke  t, as he explored the area around Jong's wheelchair, almost like an or  bit, one of them began speeding toward him.  "OH FUCK. SORRY, I'LL LEAD IT AWAY!" He called to Jong as he immediate  ly began running the opposite direction. He zoomed past Strappon, Blaz  er, Spurs, and just about everyone else that had been observing quietl  y. Straight toward the water.  "I wouldn't suggest swimming." Strappon added, as Jacket went speeding   past them. He seemed to collect a zombie conga line.  There was their distraction.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Dzilla kept hearing the word. "What is a..som..zombie.?" She looked ar  ound and summoned her War Bringers. The two large axes chilled in her  hands as she looked about. She'd keep an eye on Mary as well.

OWLIE:  "Lovely," Monocle muttered to himself, frowning after hearing Loinclot  h say those words, He narrowed his eyes at Jacket. Polo turned to look   at Dzilla, "They're this undead thingies that can turn you into one o  f them if they bit ya," He tried to explain, "At least, that's what I  think they do,"

SOUP-KITTY:  Summer gently kissed Headphone's forehead while quietly chuckling. "I  can see why that would be really funny" Summer held on to headphones.  the man is clearly in love. Its kinda cute.  Jong looked over at vamp and smiled. "I can be a little more useful li  ke this." Jong keeps fluttering his little humming bird like wings and   hovering along. Jong just looked at Jacket who zoomed away wide eyed.   "Rest in peace Jacket, will be missed." Jong hovered just a little cl  oser to his boyfriend for safety.  Pointe sighed. She didnt condone the ghost fuckin.

EMI:  "...What an idiot..." Dermal commented, slightly irritated.  Out of the sky, like a lightning bolt from Heaven, came a bright blue  boomerang, landing like a dead weight just a hair away from Jacket, bu  t missing the first Zombie in the line. Right behind it landed the rav  en-haired Trenchcoat, probably only visible (practically glowing) by h  is pastey complexion.  "HEY JACKASS, where the FUCK are you going?!" He shouted. "It's about  time I found you!"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Father Crucifix was beside Brother Strappon though keeping his guard i  n case any Zombies came at them. Raincoat was beside looking Loincloth   because he was her best big buddy and he was cool. Though Boxer on th  e other hand he was way behind the group like all the way in back. He  was just so tried and so sleepy. 'I'm so tried...my must keep going.."   Boxer said as he slowly walks behind the group.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Knittens gasped as he pointed at Mary Jane's teddy bear,  "DUDE IT BLINKED??"  Sighing as he heard why Mary Janes was here, he patted on his back sup  portively but kept a really good eye on that teddy bear as he comforte  d,  "Hey listen, if it gets really bad, then we should leave as soon as we   can alright?"  Headphones kept wheezing, why did his boyfriend forsake him. Why could  n't he understand the level of shattering this was for him. Feigning b  etrayal, he slwoly leaned over to Summer's drink and took a sip as he  whines,  "Why don't you undesrtand me?"  He was just being a shit for the sake of being a shit as he almost tri  ed climbing his boyfriend. This man is 5'10", he shouldn't being climb  ing anyone.

KRO:  Sukajan sighed, "I would have preferred you stayed home. Ghosts are on  e thing, but zombies?"  He cut himself off before he could finish his thought.  "Just make sure to stay with them, me, or your brother. He's...somewhe  re."  "Swim?" Hots said, looking quizzically at Flat Cap.  "Swimming in that is the last thing you want to do. Shit's infected. L  ast time something organic fell in there, it melted-"  Hots stared at Jacket, Spurs bumping into him. Leon screamed, hiding b  ehind Strappon.  "My time to shine!" Archer called out but his thunder was stolen immed  iately as Spurs dispatched the line of zombies. Good to know they were  n't actually that bright.  "The water is contaminated with something, anything living dies within   seconds of contact. Who knows what it'll do to Immortals so I just do  n't recommend taking a dip unless you have a death wish," Spurs replie  d to Flat Cap.  "Besides," he continued, "Like I said, Demons have taken an interest i  n that body of water. It'd be nice to know why..."  Archer huffed, lowering his bow, "Show off."

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar raises a finger as if to ask about Jacket but slowly pu  ts it down as he sees the nyooming conga line. He takes out his byoogo  ng and he just hugs his bean close. "Sure you don't want to go on my b  ack?" Dzilla just casually stabs one to see what the fuck it is. She b  acks away slowly before clicking the equivalent of fuck. Jeezums.    M  ary Janes looked at his bear and it looked away just in time. "Nahhhh.  " Mary Janes let out a squeak at the back pat and he shivered a little  . Oh boy. "G-got it..thank you..w..wait you'd go with me..?"

BRIT:  In awe, Jacket stared at Trenchcoat for a moment before shaking his he  ad, pulling himself off the ground and dusting himself off. The zombie  s piled up behind Duel Belter.  "Where the fuck were you when I was being chased by the feds!?" Jacket   yelled at Trench, "That woulda come super in handy!"  Strappon came out of his hiding spot, brushing sand off his pants.  "Well, we're free to examine the water for now." He pointed out, "The  Angels can take care of the zombies, I feel the need to see what this  is before continuing on, myself."  Duster peered over at Leon after he slammed into his boyfriend and all   but yanked him away from the other man.

SOPHIE:  PTJ was anxious, he looked around frantically, whispering "Poncho's he  re?" He blinked-before realizing, no, his _biological_ brother. Right.   With all that was going on and his stress at an all time high he made   a very, very poor choice and called out rather loudly for his brother  .  "HEY HOTS- WHERE YA AT-" He hollered, before attracting the attention  of some zomb zombs. Oh good fucking god. He quickly let go of Pointe's   hand and waved his arms, almost following jacket's poor example. "HEY   LOOK AT ME NOT THEM-" attracting the attention of countless zombies,  now chasing after him. He ran up next to Jacket.  "H-hey dude w-what's up?" he cried. God, this poor dumb kid.

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe looked visibly shook. What the hell just happened. She started  running after him, holding her sword with both hands and taking swings   at some of the Zombies. Thank fuck shes a mercer. "pLEASE STOP SHOUTI  - /oh fuck mE/ " Pointe stood in place swinging her sword and avoiding   zombies as best as she could "fUCK"

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong softly shook his head "I'm okay for now." He then noiced the girl   he had brought here shouting. "Rest in peace glasses girl. Will be mi  ssed."  Summer picked up headphones and carried him around bridal style, letti  ng him have the rest of the drink.

DJ:  "Well, how the fuck we supposed to what's down there if we can't swim  the shite?" Flat Cap asked crossing his arms.  Helmet meanwhile was going full whack-a-hole with some zombies that ke  pt popping out of holes in the dock.  Loincloth was just casual searching for the girl, picking off any zomb  ies that weren't attracted by Jacket's ruckus.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Raincoat was helping Loincloth search for the Girl, so was Father Cruc  ifix. "Guys...Wait up..." Boxer tried to call out but he was tried out  .

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar watches them get chased,"Should I jump in to help or do   you think they got it?" He raises a perfectly shaped brow. Yeah he to  ok pride in them. Dzilla was casually inspecting the zombies, slicing  many like deli meat. "So that is what they are..they're very smelly.."

OWLIE:  Polo slipped his namesake, morphing it into his weapon as he stabbed a   zombie through the gut. He turned his head and saw Monocle having way   too much fun attacking the zombies, he sliced a zombie's head clean t  hen chopped off another zombie's legs. He noticed Polo staring and fla  shed him a wide grin before hacking the zombies in his wake.  "God, I love him," Polo muttered, then snapped out of his thoughts, tu  rning to Dzilla, chuckling, "I know, right?"

SOPHIE:  "PoINTE DON'T FOLLOW-" He turned to see her getting her own crowd of z  ombies chasing after her. In an attempt to be valiant, he hit one comi  ng up behind Pointe with his baseball bat, right upside the head. When   he got the attention of the zombie he realized he done goofed. He did  n't have a mercer weapon on him and he had no magic to use.  That was when said zombie went rag-dolling into the air and Pumps spru  ng into action, leaping over to her sister and her friend. One could s  ay Pumps was one with the wind, in that she practiced wind-based magic  .  She held out one of her twin daggers to PTJ and whispered. _"It's shor  t range but effective, be careful for fucks sake you guys."_ she said,   knocking back a small crowd of the zombies chasing after the two of t  hem with wind and repenting those close enough to her.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Dzilla places a severed head on a fence post, angling it much like an  artist with a painting. "There we are.. They're smelly but fun to shre  ad. They remind me of the queen's men" she smiled nostalgically.

EMI:  "How about not getting myself into LEGAL TROUBLE." Trenchcoat hissed,  turning Dual Belter back into his coat and pulling it on roughly. He a  ctually took a good look around them.  "Looks like you found some friends, though." He said, as a group of zo  mbies approached around them. "You really attract trouble, you moron."

BRIT:  Suddenly there was chaos around him, and Jacket was very confused. He  turned to PTJ with a shitton of question marks forming above his head.  "Bro, are you good?" He asked, "You gonna be aight?"  He looked back at Trenchcoat and laughed. So damn innocent. Or was he?  "Well, we can kick these guys' asses! Just, uh, don't get close I gues  s! Let's wreck 'em!"  Cowlneck was having a grand old time tossing things at these zombies c  onsidering he couldn't use his damn //magic// like he wanted to. He wa  s pissed, but it was effective.  "Just do you damn business with the water so we can get the fuck out o  f this monster nest!" He yelled at them.  Blazer held their hands up defensively, but followed Spurs away from C  owlneck.  "Once we figure what this is, we might find it easier to get past thes  e shitbag, ya feel?"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Father Crucifix starts to slash at Zombies while Raincoat was putting  Holy Bullets into their head. "Headshot, Headshot, Headshot" She repea  ted as she gets a Headshot on the Zombies from left to right. "Loin, d  id you see those Headshots. I'm the best Sniper in all of Heaven" Rain  coat said with a smile as she keeps shooting Zombies in the head. Mean  while Boxer was punching some Zombies though he was wildly punching th  em he was in his defense stance as just punch them as they came toward  s. "Guys...Help..." Boxer tried to call out as he keeps punching the Z  ombies trying to back them off.

SOPHIE:  PTJ hesitated, going through Pumps bag and finding some duct tape in i  t, securing the dagger onto the end of his baseball bat as Pumps kept  the zombies at bay with her magic.  The blinding feeling they kept experiencing was enough to make PTJ wan  na be sick. He handed his stupid elongated dagger to Pumps. She took n  ote of what he was doing and slid off her back pack for him, handing h  im her other dagger as well.  "Kiddo, pull out my lance" She responded, playing a game of fencing wi  th these ghosts.  As PTJ questioned his sanity and shuffled around this girls bag, he di  d indeed find a lance, pulling it out, he took the spare dagger and ta  ped it onto the end of the long pole.  "Yea bro I'm gucci!" He hollered back at jacket, jousting zombies left   and right.

KRO:  Leon practically yelled out his little lungs as Duster yanked him away  , thinking he was a zombie. He sighed in relief as he saw that it was  simply an Angel but the more oppressive, lingering aura still bothered   him.  "Phew! You gave me a good scare there, buddy."  Hot Pants hand to pry Duster's hands off Leon, looking at his boyfrien  d like he was going to chastise the man. Before he could, though, he h  eard PTJ's voice calling out. Both his and Sukajan's heads turned to t  he child now being chased around by zombies.  Sukajan was about to jump into action to off a few, but was quickly re  strained by Hots.  "Before you lunge in, I'll cover you with my gun. You're gonna be blin  ded trying to slice and dice them."  Nodding, Sukajan went in and sliced a few in his wake as Hots dispatch  ed the rest.  "Hopefully," Spur said as he approached the water. Archer peeked over  the dock himself, shooting zombies coming out of pipes as they slowly  climbed out.  "Interesting," he murmmured, "Malice? I thought this was only a Europe  an thing."  "Apparently not," Spur responded, "That must mean a Hell's Gate is ope  ned somewhere nearby, though."

SOPHIE:  This was it. Her moment to shine. She missed the trip to Europe and sh  e wasn't about to miss this. Sure she was missing her shift at her cou  sins bar but Zombies? Who could pass up Zombies. Scrunchy steadied her   aim, closing one eye and letting her slingshot fire right through a z  ombie that was giving Boxer some trouble. She sniped through a few oth  ers and sauntered in as if nothing had happened. Here she was, 2 years   late with starbucks.

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong sighed a little "Babe, I dont think itd be very helpful. Im prett  y sure only immortal weapons work on them." Jong peered through the sc  ope and started picking off zombies one by one from a safe distance. h  e protecc.  Pointe kept swinging Starfury around with deadly pressition. She was o  n fire. Literally. as her hands were starting to engulf her sword in f  lames. She was clearly having some sort of emotion on this or else tha  t wouldn't be happening. But now there were extra dead charred zombies  . She was panting and mildly sweaty now. Her glasses had fogged over a   little.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Thank you!" Boxer called out to the person who saved him as he keep p  unching the Zombies that were still coming at him. He was getting so t  ried, why was he tried he had energy why wasn't he using it!? Boxer th  ought in his mind as he keep punching the Zombies not holding back.

DJ:  Loincloth clearly forgot about the whole 'zombie will blind you' thing   and ended up getting blinded by one of the zombies. Thankfully, Rainc  oat sniped the zombie that blinded him and rubbed his eyes before givi  ng her a thumbs up. Girl wasn't a bad shot. He then noticed more zombi  es coming at him. Knowing fighting close range wasn't the smartest ide  a, he grabbed a nearby barrel and tossed it at them Donkey Kong style.  Helmet, whether he remembered what he was supposed to be doing or was  just done playing whack-a-mole, went to searching for the girl. This t  ime in one of the warehouses. "Pleats Ophir? Are thou hidden amongest  these boxes?!"  "Malice? Fuck's that and what does it have to do with a Hell's Gate?"  Flat Cap asked, seeing as how his previous question was utterly ignore  d.

SOPHIE:  As they fought back to back, PTJ, Pumps and Pointe, they had to fight  through the blindness just to stay in one piece. And that's when it ha  ppened. PTJ turned his head over to try and check on his friend, Point  e, and that's when he felt his lips touch hers for a brief moment. In  that moment, everything stopped, including his heart.  Like actually he might need CPR.  But not really. He stood there in shock, Pumps had just caught a glimp  se of what had happened but chose not to say anything, instead she kep  t the closer zombies at bay with her wind to allow these two to.. _hav  e a moment_ if you will.  Scrunchy gave a small salute and shot at various zombies in the area,  until one seemed to come up out of nowhere to rush her. In the heat of   the moment she slammed her frappe into the zombies face, confusing it  , then shooting it with her slingshot. That was close.  But she did however mourn the loss of her double choco chip frappe. It   was a sad day indeed.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "I got you back buddy" Raincoat said as she was shouting at the Zombie  s that were coming at Loincloth. She then spotted explosive barrels an  d she got a smart idea. "Loincloth! I think those Barrels need a bit o  f fire Power!" She shouted as she points to the explosive barrels. "Yo  u Throw and I will shot!" Raincoat said as she keeps shooting at Zombi  es waiting for Loincloth to throw the Barrels. Meanwhile Father Crucif  ix was holding off the Zombies that were coming after Strappon these Z  ombies lay a hand on his Templar Brother in arms.

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe froze for a moment. She didn't realize what has happening until   it finally hit her. She felt her sword start to drop out of her hands   but for a moment that didnt matter. She kinda just forgot her surroun  dings and let it happen. Her heart felt as if it were that of a hummin  g bird, and she closed her eyes. Her feet were visibly starting to cat  ch on fire too.

OWLIE:  Monocle flew upwards and gathered water particles in the air, once he'  s gathered enough water he willed it to freeze into a pointed icicle.  with a jab, the icicle launched and impaled three zombies at once. Mea  nwhile, Polo fell back to avoid getting blinded.

BRIT:  Duster was filled with enough rage that he was about ready to toss Leo  n into the abyss behind them. But he stopped himself.  "Heyyy, Scrunch-a-much! What's cookin'?!" Jacket called over to Scrunc  hy, waving at her. A zombie had begun to approach him, but he flung hi  s namesake off and threw Dual Pride at it, catching it as it miraculou  sly came back. "Oi, Trench. We gotta get outta here."  "I'd love to know what this has to do with Hell's Gate, also." Strappo  n said, referencing Flat Cap as Spurs explained some of the are to the  m, far from the chaos within the hoard of zombies, "Is this another Eu  ropean problem cropping up here? Last time we dealt with that, everyon  e got their arses handed to them."

SOPHIE:  Pumps sighed, blasting Pointe's feet with a strong enough wind to put  the fire out before it even spread. PTJ still couldn't quite take in w  hat had just happened, his face was red as all hell. As he looked towa  rds Pointe, he noticed a zombie coming up behind her, and he embraced  her, taking her sword from her hands and rotating them around so he wa  s now on the side Pointe was once on. He turned out towards the zombie   and sliced it in two with Pointe's sword, before returning to his emb  race with the girl. His hand wrapped around her back ever so gently, h  e held the sword out to the side for her to take back.  _"S-Sorry about that"_ he whispered, laughing softly.  Pumps couldn't help but be a bit awe'd but in the meantime she was fli  nging back ghosts so that these two could carry on you know. AS IF THE  Y WEREN'T SURROUNDED BY MONSTERS ABOUT READY TO TRY AND EAT THEM. ITS  NOT LIKE THIS WAS A DIRE SITUATION. NOOOO.  Scrunchy waved back at Jacket, holding up her empty Starbucks cup and  frowning. She knew better than to go yelling at least.

EMI:  Trenchcoat rubbed his eyes as he kept kicking the shit out of the thin  gs. He couldn't fucking see, so his legs were just flailing with surpr  ising accuracy and force.  "WHAT? I can't see you!"  In the meantime, on the other side of a warehouse, a small group of de  mons approached the viscus water. Mankini held a napkin over his nose.  "Ugh, I dread this task..." He groaned. "Let's try to make it quick th  is time..."  He shot a warning look at HP. "So hurry UP."

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Vampire Collar pouts,"But mine are all blessed. Though I will listen t  o you." He kissed his baby's cheek. He was glad the other could protec  c. Twas hawt. The giant woman was currently at the end of a conga line   of zombies. Dzilla was chasing them with her axes taking them down on  e by one. If they could scream they would. Mary James was spilling wat  er on the ground in a circle around himself. He lets his teddy poke it   and it paralazes the zombies by giving them spasms. He sneaks out fro  m their legs to join his brother of sorts, Jong. "Hi mister Vampire hi   mister Jong." He chirped. The boy tried.

DJ:  Loincloth looked over at the explosive barrels and nodded to Raincoat  then grabbed one of the barrels and threw it at a group of zombies.  Unforunately for Helmet, his shout caused quite a few zombies to come  crawling out of the woodwork in the warehouse and began surround him.  Even Helmet knew that was probably not a good idea, but it mattered no  t. With the zeal of 100 crusaders, he began swinging his stick around  like an absolute madman, bonking and thwacking any zombie dumb enough  to get close to this idiot, which in this case was all of them. "I SHA  LL SMACKTH ALL OF THY BOOTIES WITH UTMOST ZEAL AND HOLY FURY!" Good go  ing Helmet, now even more zombies are coming into the warehouse.

KRO:  "No, it's not like that," Spurs said, "Malice in Europe's been around  since a historic event. It resulted from a gate being left open. Accor  ding to sources, there's a small Hell's Gate here in this town."

  They shook their head slightly, "If this was link to European affairs  , this town would of been wiped off the map a long time ago."

  Hots tapped his chin in suspicion as he rejoined the small group Spur   was in. This guy knew too much but it would compromise their search o  f the girl if he called out Spur to be the spy that took down Lethocs.

  Archer rested a hand on his hip as he looked back at the water.   "Thankfully that isn't the case..."

  "Don't rush the boy," Swing Coat said, coming up behind both Hairpin  and Mankini, "Keep complaining and I'm not afraid to report back to Sh  roud that you /tripped/ into the water."

  Hairpin simply glanced at the two as he lowered a tube to collect a w  ater sample, "It /would/ be a shame if we suddenly lost one of our bes  t ghost technicians."

  Swing Coat smiled as Hairpin played along.

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe was clearly blushing the whole situation. It was her first kiss   after all. She didn't really expect it to have been like that, but sh  e wasn't complaining either. She was a bit surprised at the hug but th  en quickly realized what was happening. When PTJ handed her sword back   to her, she put her arm around him and spun around, almost as if they   were dancing, to get a zombie that was coming up behind him.She smile  d at him and focused "We're still surrounded by zombies, so we can tal  k about this later." She giggled a little, and in an act of bravery, k  issed his cheek before turning to face the other direction. "you got m  y back, right?"  Jong leaned over and kissed vamp on the cheek. "They also seem to make   people blind if they get too close to them. Better safe than sorry..  Oh hey Mary."

OWLIE:  "Nicely done," Monocle commented as he landed next to Polo and Dzilla,   He sent a sphere of water to push back some of the zombies, Polo grin  ned as he sliced one zombie in half, then leaped back and threw the ne  arest thing he could find- a rock the size of a baseball. It lodged in  to a zombie's face before crumpling and falling down.

BRIT:  "Trench, you have a //fucking boomerang!//" Jacket said to Trench as h  e threw his weapon once again, "Can't you swing that shit around? It's   long!"  Blazer had been watching Spurs with unwavering interest and they walke  d closer to him as he explained further what he had meant. They got aw  fully close.  "Oh, you're studly, have a nice voice, //and// you're smart. You got q  uite a package there, papi."  Strappon looked up from his contemplation at Spurs, then tilted slight  ly to one side to try to see behind him. He squinted.  "Are those... Demons?" He asked, pointing behind Spurs.  "Looks like them." Cowlneck said, fixing his hair in a compact he had  on his person. He snapped it shut, "They're taking what seems to be wa  ter samples."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  As Loincloth thrown the explosive barrels, Raincoat took the shoot, ai  med, and fired at the barrel causing a great explosion! "Hell Yes!" Ra  incoat said as she smiles and keeps shooting at the explosive barrels  that Loincloth thrown. Soon the Zombies were cleared on Loincloths and   Raincoat side. "Loin! We should go help the others out with their Zom  bie problem!" Raincoat called out to him.  Meanwhile Father Crucifix got done with his Zombies probably. "Hell Ga  te!?" Father Crucifix said as he was shocked to hear that. "How do we  close or is there one?" He ask as he looked at Brother Strappon wantin  g a answer to this. If there was a Hell Gate then they would be Demons   nearby.  Boxer keeps fighting the Horde that he was having trouble with though  he could hold them off anymore, so he ran away. He separated himself f  rom the group who knows where he was going but he was tried out from a  ll of those punches. "Need to rest..." Boxer said as he keeps breathin  g heavily as he runs from the Horde that was going after him.

EMI:  Trenchcoat stumbled backward just in time for Jacket's weapon to miss  him. He turned to behind him, which was actually really not where Jack  et was.  "IT'S HEAVY! DO you not SEE these terrible vegetables attached to my s  houlders!? As far as I'm concerned, I HAVE no weapon! You... You CLOD!  !" He shouted right into a confused zombie's face. The zombie, though  it had no visible face, ran away crying.  Mankini squinted at the human disdainfully, but held his nose and turn  ed his heel back to watch HP, holding up a clipboard.  "Keep up that attitude, Glasses McBookworm, and I'm sure the Absolute  wouldn't mind us coming back with YOU as the sample. Precious resource  , after all." He tried to figure out how to hold a pen and his handker  chief at the same time.

DJ:  Loincloth nodded to Raincoat and went off to clear off more zombies. I  f he had his magic, this shit would be a lot easier.  Flat Cap looked over at the demons as well. "Samples?" He then looked  down back at the water. "Wait....Puttin' all what Spurs said together  with this Malice shite that i can only assume is what's infectin' the  water, wouldn't it be logical to assume that the Hell Gate's....in the   water?"

SOPHIE:  PTJ nodded, turning to face outwards as well. He kicked the lance up a  nd into his hand and shyly smirked. _"I got your back."_  Of course, this was his first kiss too. Needless to say he was sorta f  labbergasted about it taking place in the middle of a fight for their  lives but I mean. Maybe next time it'll be under better conditions. As   they fought side by side, PTJ could feel his kokoro go doki doki.  "S-So like. Maybe after we get out of this-Wanna go to the movies?"  graceful as ever you funky little gladion expy.  Scrunchy meanwhile was off in wonderland, gracefully walking among the   zombies as if she were one, but maintaining a decent radius.  She walked on over next to Strappon and placed an arm around his shoul  der and leaned into the conversation.  _"Hey. The heck's happening."_ She whispered, squinting and looking at   everyone with confusion.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Mary gives Jong a hug and he smiles. "You're doing awesome by the way!  " He pewpewed.  Vampire Collar smiles a little bit at the kiss and he  ruffles Mary Janes' fluff. "Ahh I see I see. Hmm. Maybe if I just clos  e my eyes? Bad idea but an idea no less." Dzilla held her axes near he  r and she smirked,"And the same to you both."  The giant was flattered  . Dzilla raised her brow at the demon thing they were fine right?

SOUP-KITTY:  Pointe's face was red at this point, and her sword was just completely   engulfed in flames. "I-I'd like that." She was feeling herself get a  little tired, but she had to have PTJ's back. So she kept at it, she e  ven threw off her blazer.  Jong smiled at Mary. "I think its best if we hang back, unless you're  cool with being bait. Which would require you attracting a bunch of th  e zombies to you so i can pick them off. You can get ones that get too   close, but try keeping a safe distance, okay?" Jong was concerned and   really didnt want this to backfire.

KRO:  Spur shook their head again, "No, it's not in the water. Malice is an  energy that can corrupt its surroundings. Just that it coagulates when   it comes in contact with the water," they explained.

  "You'll know where the gate is, that's where most of the zombies are.  "

  if it

SOPHIE:  Pumps looked back at the two lovebirds and doubletook.  _"Hey, guys if you needa take a bit, I can handle this-"_  She said, and in that moment she found herself caught off guard by a z  ombie. She grabbed it by the wrists, ignoring the blinding light in he  r eyes, she yelled through the pain __"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO TO ME  YOU LIL SHIT? ILL HAVE YOU KNOW I GRADUATED TOP OF MY CLASS"__ she bel  ted, kicking them back, regaining her vision and ripping her dagger of  f the baseball bat and throwing it right at the zombie. __"IN THE NAVY   SEALS"__ she panted, exhaling and looking around. Fucking hell she ha  d to be dramatic. That's what she got for taking theater.  She exhaled. "Backpack, second pocket from the left, near the top, my  wallet, I have a few 20's in there, go see jurrassic world or some shi  t, I don't know" she continued.  PTJ just stared in awe but shook his head. "We're not leaving you!"  Pumps sighed. Kids these days.

KRO:  Spur shook their head again, "No, I can tell you for certain it's not  in the water. Malice is simply an energy that radiates from gates, jus  t that when it comes into contact with water that it coagulates," they   explained.  "You'll know where an open gate is. It's always covered in ghosts or w  hatever it ends up corrupting."  They stiffened as Blazer came closer. If it was possible to see their  face, it would be beet red about now.  "Uh, well... You're quite beautiful as well..!"  They didn't exactly know how to respond but Hots rolled his eyes at th  e fact that there were people flirting in a zombie infested town of al  l places.  Spur's head snapped behind them as soon as Strappon pointed out Demons  . Holy shit, those were Demons.  Hairpin stared back at Mankini with an offended expression. As he brou  ght the tube back, it looked like he was almost going to dump all of t  he water on the man but decided against it.  "You throw me in the water and my father, who's an Absolute, mind you,   will personally see to your punishment."  "Boys, boys," Swing Coat said, "Please no fighting or else I'll throw  you /both/ in."

BRIT:  "Oh, hey! That's pretty great, Trench! Use your pent-up emotions to sc  are them away!" Jacket cheered him on from behind him.  "Why don't we ask them, then?" Cowlneck sneered, "Instead of making as  sumptions."  "We're looking for a missing girl, she happens to be in the viscinity,   or so it's said. As far as we're concerned, these demons are up to no   good." Strappon explained to Scrunchy.  His gaze was locked on Swing Coat with absolute intensity, and without   another word he stormed forward toward the demons.  "Hey! Demons!" Strappon called at them. He was aware Swing Coat was th  ere, but he wasn't about to refer to her as a human.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Mary Jane's gulps, last time he was chased by zombies, they happened t  o be his parents. "U-uh sure!" The bean hated to disappoint. He takes  out his phone and he runs around playing the gummy bears song. "IM A T  ASTY TEEN PLEASE COME HERE AND NIBBLE. HAVE I MENTIONED I'M GAY?" Smh.   Vampire shakes his head, "Same honestly."

SOPHIE:  Scrunchy wrinkled her nose and looked at the rest of the gang. "A miss  ing girl?" She blinked, looking around as Strap stormed off. _"I hate  coming in late to parties.."_ she sighed, subtly contemplating if this   was just some kinda cover up. I mean. Demons were there. The whole Le  thocs thing and now this. It didn't bode well with her.

OWLIE:  Monocle snapped his head at the Strappon's direction. Demons? Well fuc  k. He turned his attention back to the zombies, releasing three more i  cy spikes their way. Polo picked up a crate and lobbed it towards an i  ncoming group of zombies.  "What the hell are you doing, kid?" Polo called out as he saw Mary Jan  es ran around, playing a song on his phone, and zombies at his heels.  Either the kid was stupid or brave. maybe both.

SOUP-KITTY:  Jong facepalmed "I didnt mean you-fUCK!" Jong didn't have time to dwel  l on this, he refused let someone get hurt. "Babe, watch my back." and   with that, he flew up a little higher and started sniping zombies tha  t got too close to Mary.  Pointe shook her head "Yeet. We're not leaving you." And she went back   to kicking zombie ass.

DJ:  "Really? Huh." Damn, Flat Cap thought he was really on to something bu  t whatever. The more ya know.  Loincloth continued throwing barrels at zombies. Fuck all these barrel  s.  Helmet meanwhile was spinning around with his dic--I MEAN, stick out,  whacking half a dozen zombies at a time. "TASTE ME, THOTS!"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "I knew it and she here..." Father Crucifix said as he glared at Swing   Coat remembering what she did to those innocent people. The Demons he  re just made him angry. "What are you doing here, Witch!" He shouted a  t Swing Coat wanting to know what was her business for being here.  Meanwhile Raincoat was helping Loincloth clean some Zombies, they make   a great team. Loincloth's Strength and Her sharp eyes. She smiles as  she keeps shooting at Zombies from left to right at the head.  Boxer didn't know where he was, he had just realizes that he separated   him from the group. Damn it...

KRO:  Swing Coat shot Strappon a glare, not even letting Hairpin speak when  he opened his mouth.  "What are /you/ doing here. This area's restricted. Nobody aside autho  rized personnel's allowed inside unless..."  It was then that she saw Leon coming up behind Strappon. She gritted h  er teeth as she lunged toward the man, grabbing him by the collar and  suspending him in the air.  "Unless /someone/ snuck you in."  Leon was picked up so fast that he couldn't even scream, just kinda st  are at Swing Coat in pure terror. Seeing the poor man in distress, Hot  s ran up to Swing Coat, pulling on her namesake.  "Ay auntie. Cut the kid slack, I asked him to get us all inside to loo  k for my niece, okay? Not like you're making an effort to look for her  ."  Swing Coat stared at Hot Pants before releasing Leon, letting him fall   flat on his ass.  "Fine. I'll let you all go on that account. I am a busy woman after al  l."  "What's she doing here? She's one of our research partners," Hairpin r  esponded to Crucifix, "And what it is, well that's classified informat  ion."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "This is because the Hell Gate isn't, well we will close that Gate up  before it causes anymore chaos, Demon" Father Crucifix said as he glar  ed at Hairpin.

KRO:  /LAST TIME ON DCM:/  Soon after the fall of Lethocs, a missing person report was broadcaste  d regarding a young Ophir girl. Strappon saw this as an opportunity to   repair the reputation of his Angels and jumped into action. At least,   that's the reason he was trying to convince himself with.  Despite his efforts to gain entry into a zombie infested town, it was  Hot Pants who gained the Angels entry thanks to his quick smooth talki  ng of a certain security guard. On their look for the young Ophir, the  y encountered a new breed of zombie, one that blinded their prey based   on proximity. Keeping that threat in mind, they go deeper into the ha  rbor until their attention is caught by the neighboring body of water.   Inspecting it, they come to find that Demons (plus Swing Coat) was th  ere as well. Seeing as they have nothing to lose, Strappon directly co  nfronts Demons.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier had zoned out, he had decided that things got boring really fa  st and kept questioning why he even followed angels anywhere. But with   time he decided to join back with the rest of everybody, flying back  in and running a hand through his hair as the wind caught it as always  .Landing next to the group of angels he spoke gently.  “What I miss? Can somebody fill me in?” He stretched his arm as he spo  ke, unsure if fighting was happening or what.  Along with him slithered Cloak, chewing at his nails and looking aroun  d frantically. He had gotten lost and just finally made his way back t  o everybody. He wasn't having a panic attack anymore so… that was nice  .  Taking a deep breath he looked around for something to do.

DJ:  Flat Cap transformed his namesake to New High as Strappon went to conf  ront the demons and Miss Zombie Hands, knowing that things could get a   bit intense.  Loincloth continued throwing barrels at zombies. It was starting to be   pretty fun until a zombie some-fucking-how dodged a barrel and it hit   Collier instead.  Whether they were scared of the guy or just didn't want to get bonked  in the head again, the massive group of zombies once surrounding Helme  t left the warehouse in droves. "That is right, you breathless bonesac  ks! Flee before the holy fury of Helmet and his sword, LINCINIUS!" He  exclaimed with righteous.....righteousness.

SAIYAN:  Tuxedo Jacket arrived late to the situation. He took too long getting  ready and ended up missing the convoy. Which meant that he had to walk   the whole damn way there. And walking that far in dress shoes was wor  se than walking on hot coals. He could already feel the blisters formi  ng on his heels and his feet were really starting to hurt.  “This…. sucks….” he said between breaths.  This was the hardest he’d physically worked in his entire life. But fi  nally, after an eternity he made it to where the rest of the angels ha  d converged. He stumbled over to the group and face planted onto the g  round.  “Never…. again!” he yelled as his face was still in the dirt.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Raincoat was shooting the Barrels that Loincloth thrown causing a lot  of explosion that would clear out a lot of Zombies. "Keep going, Loin!  " Raincoat said as she keeps shooting at the barrels along with shooti  ng some Zombies head. As she slowly was feeling lazy but having fun an  d being more active.  Boxer was lose, he didn't know where he was...

BRIT:  "Too busy to go find your daughter?" Strappon snapped at Swing Coat, t  rying to keep his composure, "Funny, you didn't seem too busy the last   time she went missing. You were fairly quick to try and find her, pre  ss coverage and everything."  Cowlneck scoffed at Father Crucifix and flipped his hair.  "You want to close it so bad, take a fucking swim." He said, jerking h  is thumb toward the dark water, "I bet you'd melt if you walked close  to the water. His holiness isn't strong enough, methinks."  As Collier likely hit the floor, a weapon that seemed completely unfit   to be tossed like a boomerang whooshed past his head.  "Watch out, we're in the middle of a zombie infestation!" Jacket yelle  d to him, "You almost got yote by that zombie!"  He looked around and sighed. There were so many, and people like Boxer   were walking around as if they were in a crowd at a con.

OSCARK9:  Seeing one of the zombies burnt from afar for any eyes to see, Gloves  use his __Fire Orb__ magic to burn them and Sapphire was with him with   her Glaive out. They where warn from hearing Hot Spur advice that if  one of the zombies get too close to them, they'll go blind. For safe s  tance and far away from the zombies as possible, Gloves use his __Pyro  mancy Magic__ to burn them.  "Stay close, Sapphire." Gloves said as he lunch another __Fire Orb__ a  t it.  "Okay!" Sapphire said as she squeeze her Glaive.  She can't believe that she's fighting actual zombies. Sure, she saw zo  mbies that's in halloween costume, but not like this. They hope that t  hey can find the Ophir girl A.S.A.P! Otherwise, they'll be goners with   the dead.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Oof, Collier just got hit in the head with a barrel… the zombies were  a thing too. Holding his head he squinted at Loincloth… what a brute o  f a man is all he could think. Fixing his glasses he rested his elbow  on his arm and scoffed at him. “Watch where you’re throwing things you   mongrel…”  He was clearly mad but apparently not mad enough to not do a seductive   pose, considering that was all he did in his spare time.  Slipping his hands into his pockets Collier was not in the mood to fig  ht a zombie and get his nails dirty. So he just dodged and weaved arou  nd them as he waited for his answers as to what was meant to be done h  ere.  And than another weapon went by his head, and he looked at whoever thr  ew that, sighing and crossing his arms.  “You think i'm going to waste my time killing these disgusting creatur  es… and risk my beautiful nails? No thanks.” He wasn't about that life   at all.  Cloak in the meantime had stabbed a zombie and was now on top of it, h  olding it down, looking in it's mouth… licking it… just doing gerneal  unsanitary things that Cloak does. Smiling he looked up around at his  surroundings, speaking ot himself.  “Ah this is so wonderfully disgusting… they are so… occultic… I mean i  t's not often you get to sSEE a zombie”  He quivered, his eyes shaking as he looked down at the creature. “I'll   half to take this one home with me!” He smiled nodding. “Is that what   you want? It is isnt it?” He was domesticating it.

EMI:  When Crucifix mentioned a "Hell Gate", Mankini's head snapped in his d  irection.  "Wait... A Hell's Gate? Here? " Mankini flipped through his clipboard  and looked over his notes. "Oh, that would make sense. What useful inf  ormation... Definitely a possibility. We would have never known."  Trenchcoat literally stopped Jacket by gently placing his hand on his  sternum. He looked at him, deadass.  "Did you just... say 'Yote?' You fucking??? TrOGLODITE???"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Do you got a better idea Angel?" Father Crucifix ask as he looked at  Cowlneck with a glare. "This is a Hell Gate! You think it is nothing b  ut it is something to us Humans!" He said as he was getting angry thou  gh slowly calms down. "It's important we close it or more people will  turn into the Undead" Father Crucifix said calmly as he looked back at   the Demons.

SAIYAN:  “It’s fucking yeeted” Tuxedo Jacket said as his face was still in the  ground.  He slowly pushed himself off of the ground and on to his knees. He loo  ked down at his clothes and saw that his clothes were all dirty.  "Guess that’s what I get for trying to look nice and being late” he sa  id with a sigh as he stood back up.  He took the time to brush off as much of the dirt as he could off his  nice clothes and tried as much as he could to get the rest of the dirt   off of his face and hair. All of that work, down the drain.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier was filing his nails as he summoned his wings and flew into th  e air, essentially standing in mid air. “Honestly why do we care exact  ly if people turn to zombie freaks? Just let em suffer no big deal… le  ss gum on my shoe.”  He clearly stepped in some gum recently.  Holding his hand infront of his face he sort of just.. .sat down in mi  d air, above the fight and watched everybody below do the hard work. H  e was about ready to swoop in and claim some kills if not for the fact   that he figured he would get messy. So he didint. He had no real reas  on to fight so he simply watched, and if people got overwhelmed by the   creatures he laughed at them and clapped, cheering on the zombies.  Cloak was now blind and laying down on top of a zombie super confused…   somebody please help him.

KRO:  Swing Coat furrowed her brow in annoyance to Strappon's response. Her  hands lunged for him, ready to wrangle his neck but restrained herself  . Instead she caressed the man's cheeks, forcing a smile.  "Looks like you haven't lost your wit since we last met, /little man/.  "  Her attention turned to the Demons behind her who seemed interested in   the mention of a Hell's gate. Hairpin ran up to Mankini, leaving the  tube unattended, to take the clipboard and rummage through the documen  ts.  "That explains why the water's so fucking rank..." Hairpin muttered.  Within seconds, both Demons surrounded Father Crucifix showing keen in  terest in what the human had to say.  "Tell us," Hairpin began, "Since you know of this gate, care to tell u  s where it is?"  "NO, HE'S FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK NOW," Hots called out, dragging Crucifix  away from the two Demons. He gave Crucifix a glare.  "Keep your mouth shut next time."

OSCARK9:  Seeing zombies getting dissipate one after another by Gloves __Fire Or  bs__, Gloves and Sapphire saw more zombies coming out of their hiding.   While seeing more and more of them, Sapphire saw Cloak laying down an  d was about to be bitten by the zombies. Risking it, Sapphire summon h  er wings and flew over to him and jab her Glaive into the zombies' bra  in.  Sapphire look down at Cloak and help him up. "Are you okay?" She ask.  Gloves did turn around for a brief second to see that she help one of  it comrades. Smiling, he face back at the zombies and keep using its _  _Fire Orbs__.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Father Crucifix tries to say something but keeps his mouth shut and li  stens to Hot just giving him a nod like "I will keep my mouth shut" wi  thout speaking at all. He just stand beside Hot Pants as he stays quie  t.

DJ:  "Man, for a former templar, he sure likes to flap them gums." Flat Cap   commented then turned back to the demons, "So now, now that ya bastar  ds know what's here, are ye gonna leave now and let us find the girl o  r we are gonna have with you and those nasty lookin' hands of yer's?"  "Sorry about that!" Loincloth said as Collier went up in the air then  noticed he was out of barrels. Damn. Maybe there was something else ar  ound here he could throw at the zombies.  With the zombies gone, Helmet began searching for Pleats once more in  the warehouse. "MADAM  PLEATS, ARE THOU HERE?! IF SO, PLEASE CLAP!"

BRIT:  Strappon stood completely still, his expression unwavering as Swing Co  at caressed his face. His eyes were locked on her with the same intens  ity as before.  "Why are you collecting this gunk? What are you using it for?" He aske  d pointedly.  "Can someone please get the weird guy off the zombie? He's gonna get z  ombified, holy shit." Jacket grumbled before turning to Tuxedo Jacket  and Trenchcoat, "Hey! I don't fucking care what the past tense of YEET   is, just do shit other than correct me!"  He was pouting, he wanted to get shit done, and there were demons over   there arguing with their leader. The fuck was even going on???  He turned back to Collier with the same pout on his face.  "Uh, we're supposed to be protecting humans. That's /kinda/ our job, b  roski." He called over to him.  Cowlneck's face turned to a grimace as Crucifix had spoken.  "Augh. They didn't know? This is Northern standard, the pools of malic  e. Hell gates are generally the cause of these."

Somewhere in the distance by where Helmet was calling, there was a clap or two in response.

SAIYAN:  Tuxedo was taken a back a bit by Jacket’s sudden mood shift. He really   hadn’t been around Jacket all that much, but from what he usually dis  played, he thought he was always happy and stupid.  “Jesus what’s gotten into you man?” he said before looking out at the  group of zombies.  “But fine, have it your way” he said getting into his fighting stance.  He walked all this way here and he sure as hell didn’t want it all to  be for nothing. Especially now that his clothes had gotten dirty!

EMI:  Mankini's face dropped from his toothy grin to a bored, unamused look.

 "Oh. Of course. We'll... 'Interview' the holy man later on then." He c  licked his pen closed, turning back around to their other research, an  noyed. He noticed the abandoned vial and his eye twitched. He pushed H  P toward it aggressively.  "Don't forget that, it's important."  Trenchcoat scoffed at Tuxedo Jacket. "Looks like you're in great shape  , buddy."

KRO:  "What we're doing here is none of your business. It's.../classified/ i  nformation anyways," Swing Coat said.  She gestured to the group, as if shooing them away.  "Now leave us. We're not doing anything that will compromise your miss  ion. Just make sure she doesn't miss dinner."  Hairpin nearly hissed as Mankini pushed him, grabbing the vial and han  ding it, uncleaned mind you, to him.  "You heard the lady," Leon said, "If we stay around here, it'll attrac  t zombies but that'll be the least of our worries with /them/ around."

 Hots nodded, tugging at Duster to get  his attention, "Babe stop clipp  ing inside of me, we gotta move out."  Archer had left the group as soon as he was made aware of Demons. As h  e wandered, he found Helmet when he was asking for a sign of the girl  and getting a response back. Tapping his chin, he approached Helmet.  "The clap is certainly hopeful, but be vigilant in case it's a zombie  being a smartass," he said.

SAIYAN:  Tuxedo turned his head to Trenchcoat and relaxed into a normal standin  g position.  “Yeah, I know, and it totally made me late to get a ride. I had to wal  k over her, so yeah not worth at all. Next time I’m bringing a change  of clothes” he said to him.  He really regretted not doing that. Maybe he would even dress casually  …no that wouldn’t work at all.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Loin!" Raincoat shouted to get his attention and she points to some r  uin cars. "Those look like something to throw" She said as she goes ba  ck to shooting at Zombies in the head with a smile on her face.

JAY:  Biretta grunted as his vision slowly regained focus. He was rudely awo  ken by the yelling of one of his compatriots, and given that the voice   sounded like it was screaming through a tin can, Biretta guessed it h  ad to have been Helment, the rather loud fellow he saw around the abbe  y a few times.  Biretta sat up, forgetting when exactly he snuck away from the group t  o take a nap in an open crate in a warehouse, but it must've been hour  s ago. It was also quickly apparent that he had no idea what Helmet wa  s yelling about. "Y-Yes, I am here! I am awake!"

BRIT:  "I dunno man, I'm just having a hard time, I guess." Jacket sighed, "I  'm really fucking hungry."  There was a bit of a whine in that. What a baby.  Strappon made a motion to stop Swing Coat from leaving, but stopped hi  mself and groaned under his breath. He turned to the group that pooled   behind him.  "Let them leave. We'll get our answers again at some point, let's just   find Miss Pleats." He said, giving a definitive nod.  "You seem awfully concerned for this girl." Cowlneck said, looking in  a compact seemingly more concerned about his greying hair than the los  t child, "Almost as if you have a personal motive."  Strappon scoffed and walked past him, almost bumping him as he walked  by.  "Where did Blazer go?" He asked suddenly, "And the masked man, Spurs?"  Duster shrugged as he stepped a little away from Hot Pants. He took a  peer around only to notice Blazer and Spurs walking out of one of the  buildings... Together.  "Oh, Strap." Blazer said, fixing their hair and clothes a bit, "We did  n't find anything over there. Must have had fun talking to those demon  s. Anyway, let's head over that way, I heard clapping."  They pointed in the direction of where Helmet had disappeared to.

DJ:  "Uhhh....that might be a bit too big to throw around in a habor." Loin  cloth said noticed a chain anchor attach to one of the boats. That'll  work. He grabbed the anchor and pulled until thw whole chain was rippe  d out of the boat and began swinging it at zombies. Thanks to the chai  n, he wouldn't have to get too close them as he swung.  Holy shit, someone actually clapped. To Helmet, that was no suprise, b  ut God's Will that there would be claps. He heard Archer's voice and t  urned to face him. "Fear not, odd-looking birdman! For I am always vig  ilaint!" With that, he then ran off with the speed of ham. After runni  ng some distance through the warehouse, he stopped and called out once   more. "Madam Pleats, I require more claps to determine thou location!  " There was a brief moment of silence before heard Biretta and saw him   in one of the open crates. The guy looked a bit....demony to him and  he had his 'sword' ready to bonk him in the head. "Who are thou? Speak   quickly before I smite you!"

TORIBIRDSEED:  Jacket hovered down and looked at Jacket dead in the eye, his glasses  reflecting the sun at the other. “Listen here, you don't tell me what  my job is! My job is managing my business! I do help humans! I help so  me relieve stress, and I help others get off the streets, it's a win w  in.” He than  rips his collar off and summons his weapons, two brass k  nuckles with knifes coming off of them. “I aint gonna play nicie with  every human though, why should I!” He smiled and than punched one of t  he zombies approaching in the face, before shaking his hand in disgust  . “But fine… i'll kill a few disgusting heaps of flesh if it _amuses y  ou_”  Cracking his neck he turned to some of the zombies and licked his lips  . “Shame I don't have any rope.”  Cloak was now vomiting bubbles onto the zombie… hes fine.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier hovered down and look at Jacket..*

JAY:  Biretta found himself still half-asleep and couldn't process exactly w  hat Helmet was saying. Instead replying with a bit of a drone to start  . Helmet's demand to speak quickly was quickly overwhelming the older  man.  "Uuh... I'm the, uh, the new one. Er..." Closing his eyes in frustrati  on before he snapped his fingers a few times. "B... Biretta! You're- *  Yaaawn* You're Helmet, right?"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "GO LOIN!" Raincoat said as she jumps around and cheers but then reali  zes what she was doing and blushes. As Zombies started to surround but   as she saw, Raincoat jumped in the air and pose with a smile on her f  ace as she sends down a storm of bullets. When she jumps back down she   blows the barrel that had smoke coming out of it. Raincoat was a Dead  ly Shot.  Father Crucifix ran to go find Helmet and Boxer still lose...

SAIYAN:  Tuxedo rolled his eyes a bit at Jacket but he took pity on the guy a l  ittle bit. Something suddenly came over him and he felt something that   he had never felt in his entire life. Was this…compassion? It felt re  ally weird to him. He sighed.  “How about after this I’ll buy you something to eat…or whatever” he sa  id to Jacket.  He wasn’t gay or anything, he was just trying to be nice or whatever.

BRIT:  Jacket made a face at Collier's immediate reaction.  "Bro, what the actual fuck." He said, "Buddy, pal, amigo. You wanna go   back to Heaven, right? It's literally way better than Earth. Sure, th  ere's a few rules, but it's just trying to keep us being nice people."

 He didn't know why he had to lecture another Angel, he wasn't even sur  e if he was going to listen to him. He was wanted for manslaughter, fo  r God's sake. He shook the sour look off his face and beamed at Tuxedo   Jacket.  "Aw man, that would be radical!" He piped up, "You're the fucking bomb  . I wish my boyfriend would do that."  He turned to see the rest of the group's leaving the viscinity and til  ted his head.  "Uh, hey guys. The group's headed off without us. We're here to find a   girl, not to fight the neverending wave of zombies." He called to his   companions in the area, pointing toward the rest of them.

KRO:  Sukajan squinted at Blazer as they walked back towards the group, grow  ing suspect of the pair as Spur walked out just a bit behind Blazer cl  utching his chest. Sukajan rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.  "Right, let's go before we're surrounded."  The group caught up with Archer once Demons left the vacinity, seeing  how Helmet sped off into the distance, where he filled in everybody as   to what happened.  "Apparently mister knight heard a clap in response. I'm thinking it's  just a zombie trying to lure him in, so I wouldn't take the clap as an   method of finding the girl," he said.  Hots thought for a moment, his first initial thought being that zombie  s weren't that smart, but then again... He did see one running off cry  ing after someone else called it a clod.  Spur tried to keep Crucifix from running off but gave up. If the man w  as on a suicide mission, that's his prerogative. The girl was more imp  ortant.  "Anyway... There should be a safe zone somewhere around here. It's pro  bably where the girl's holed up."  Leon piped up, his eyes full of enthusiasm because he knew where that  was! He can be helpful too!  "Right! That's in the middle of the town but. While it's a safe /zone/  , it is surrounded by the obvious danger. Kind of like that."  Archer turned around to where Leon pointed at and blinked.  "Fog walls, huh? So those are here too?"

OSCARK9:  Sapphire take two steps back a was a little disgust of the vomit that  Cloak did at the zombie, but at least he's not bitten. Looking where C  loak stance, few more zombies are coming their way. "We should get out   of this area and return to our group." She said to Cloak.  Turning to Gloves, "Gloves!" She shouted. "We're moving back to our gr  oup! It's not safe here!"  Meanwhile, Gloves continues to burn the undead with __FIRE!__ While he   was doing that, he heard Sapphire voice. Probably not the best move t  o shout, but what choice to they have to make. "Okay!" He shouted back  . Now Gloves, Sapphire, and Cloak are moving back as fast as possible  while Gloves use __Flamethrower__ to make a path for all of them.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier squinted at Jacket. And unsummoned his weapons his hands now g  ross and dirty. Walking up to the other he just kinda… wipes his hands   on the others namesake and smiles. “Earth is plenty fine for me, I ha  ve no desire to go back to heaven… Ive been fallen for 120 years you t  hink I'm gonna change that now?” He scoffs and turns around. “Lead the   way, I don't know where i'm going.”  Cloak was now… very angry… who would kill such a wonderful creature. H  e stood up and looked at Saphire, and than back down at the Zombie.  “LOOK What you DID!” He coughed and choked as he spoke. “Why WOULd you   KILL IT!?”  He was scratching at his neck and pulling at his hair, his eyes wide a  nd bloodshot. “I Was perfectly fine where I Was! I was making real pro  gress! I could have had it tamed in another hour!! You imbecile!”  He held his stomach before puking again and spitting to the side. “Why   does nobody understand my work!” He started talking to himself mumbli  ng as he walked away with the rest of the group.

SAIYAN:  Tuxedo looked at Jacket inquisitively.  “Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend? Who is he?” He asked him.  He felt like it was probably common knowledge but since he was around  Jacket much but still he was trying to make conversation and he was in   fact a bit curious about it too. His train of thought was broken by S  pur suggesting that the group begin to move towards the safe area wher  e the girl was.  “I guess that’s our queue to start moving then, huh?” he said to Jacke  t.

OWLIE:  "No offense, I don't think you could. I would've bitten your ass and t  urn you into a zombie," Monocle said bluntly as he walked over to Cloa  k, then decapitated a few more zombies on his path, Polo happily trail  ing behind him as they regrouped with the others.

OWLIE:  *It

DJ:  Flat Cap had a bad feeling about the leaving the demons to do whatever   the fuck they were doing, especially now that they know there's a Hel  l Gate around here, but Pleats had to come first. He then saw Polo and   ran to him. "Eeeeey, Polo. My main minty man, how ya doin'?"  Loincloth turned to Jacket and nodded after he had whacked another zom  bie in the water then went to regroup with the others.  The new one. New to what? The Abbey or prehaps.....HELL'S FORCES?! Jus  t be safe, Helmet gripped his sword tightly and swung at Biretta's hea  d. "YES I AM!"

OSCARK9:  Sapphire turn his head at Cloak and was a little angry at him. She was   about tell him about the zombie bitten, but surprisingly, Monocle was   their at the right place at the right time.  "I agree with Monocle." Sapphire said to Cloak. "It's our job to prote  ct you people and we'll be damn if one of those zombies bitten you."  Turning to Monocle with a slight smile, "Also! Hey, Monocle!" She said  , happily.

BRIT:  Jacket wiped the whatever off his jacket, giving Collier another kind  of pout before flagging everyone down to follow him.  "Hey, guys, we're headed this way!" He called to the rest of them. "Le  t's head to a full regroup!"  Jacket lead those who would follow him to the rest of the group, mostl  y hoping people would follow him on their own volition. He didn't real  ly want to have to collect stragglers, because this place was pretty d  angerous- he was worried there would be people already taken by the un  dead.  They found everyone where they had all been standing and staring at...   A fog wall?  "What the fresh hell is that thing?" He asked as he walked up beside S  trappon, hands stuffed into his pockets.  "A safe zone, seemingly." Strappon answered simply, "I certainly hope  miss Pleats is here."

OWLIE:  "Eyyy, Flat Cap," Polo grinned as Flat Cap approached him. "Doing grea  t, I've been taking out Monocle more often cause his pissed that Sneak  ers' is hanging out with that kid."  "I don't like that kid, he's a smartass," Monocle said, rolling his ey  es, then turned to Sapphire's direction and gave her a little wave, "H  ello Sapphire,"

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak looked at Monocle and squints. “Don't doubt me… i'll feed you to   a ghost.” he said, his tongue slithering. “I know what i'm doing..” H  olding his hands together he reached into his cloak and pulled out his   spear, as it unfolded into a towering weapon. “Even creatures like th  is are tameable… you just have to know how.” He than heard the somethi  ng or other about them protecting them and Cloak got even more upset.  “Protect… me? I am Cloak! Harbinger of Darkness, and professional occu  ltic researcher! I do not need protection from you from these… petty c  reatures of darkness!”  He than walked over to a zombie and… shoved his hand int it's mouth, l  eft it there for a bout a second while pushing on it's neck with his o  ther hand and shoving it to the ground, and than tearing out it's tong  ue. “They will not bite if you do not let it… imbecile.”  After that he followed the rest of the group to the fog wall. And…. tr  ied to just walk in. “A wall of fog is nothing.”  Collier followed as well, swooping down while on the phone and checkin  g his watch, talking to himself.  “What do you mean theirs a fire?... Well put the god damn thing out??   Okay well thats just idotic… listen it's my day off… deal with it ple  ase.” He hung up the phone.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Wait for me!" Raincoat said as she runs to Loincloth following where  he was going. She was carrying her rifle though as she runs she shoots   at some Zombies for fun. "I LOVE BEING A ZOMBIE HUNTER!" She cheered  as she follows Loincloth with a smile on her face.  "Sir Helmet!" Father Crucifix called out as he keeps running with the  group to find Helmet. He just hopes that Demons don't get there first.  Boxer is still lose very lose...

JAY:  SMAAAASH!!  Before Biretta even had the chance to answer, he was slumped over, sec  urely unconcious in the crate he had been sleeping in all this time. H  is last vision being of Helmet's namesake and the echoing shout coming   from it, screaming "YES I AM!"

EMI:  Trenchcoat squinted at Jacket before following him.  Arriving at the fog wall, he stood next to the group.  "So... we just gonna stare at it?"  He watched at his brunette partner walked up next to some of the zombi  es, and he stared into the void with them. You almost couldn't tell th  e difference between Jacket and the zombies. Same face, devoid of inte  lligence and thought. He couldn't even try to mask his tired and irrit  ated expression.

OSCARK9:  Listening to Strappons' voice, they follow him and all of the Angels a  nd Heavenbents. Gather in one spot, Gloves and Sapphire stare at a fog   wall and was curious like the rest of the group

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak walks into the fog wall and... hits it... and falls onto his ass  .

SAIYAN:  "This is like some hunger games level shit right here. It's like there  's a force field here or something" Tuxedo Jacket said out loud.  He was trying to figure out a way to get past it. He put his hand to h  is chin and tried to analyze the fog wall. There had to be something t  hey were missing.  "There's gotta be some sort of trick to it" he said continuing to thin  k.

BRIT:  "H-huh?? Well, it's just a fog wall, right? Why can't we walk in? Do w  e have to destroy the enemies in the area?" Jacket asked as he backed  away from it and shrugged, "That's how it works in games."  Duster blinked and crossed his arms, staring at it at a safe distance  from the zombies.  "It is a bit out-of-the ordinary, even for a place like this. If it's  'safe,' then how would one get in or out?"  "Ah, a mystery." Cowlneck commented with a snort, "Have we /tried/ wal  king through it?"  Strappon watched as Cloak ran straight into the wall.  "Now we did." He answered simply, obtaining a grimace from Cowlneck.  "Try hittin that shit." Blazer answered, pulling their namesake off an  d swinging straight for it. The sword went straight through the fog as   if nothing was there. They furrowed their brow. "The actual fuck?"

DJ:  Flat Cap chuckled. "Well, can't say that isn't a normal thing for a pa  rent to do when their kid finds that potential special someone."  "Eh, they're good practice. Only wish these ones didn't blind people.  Just be careful and don't get cocky." Loincloth said as he watched Rai  ncoat shoot at the zombie before he caught up with the others and saw  Blazer hitting the fog wall. "Having trouble here?"  Biretta was knocked out, but he did not poof or bleed foul demon blood   when struck with his holy weapon, so in Helmet's mind, he passed the  test. He noticed Father Crucfix and waved to him. "Greetings, Brother  Crucfix! Have thou come to aid me in the search for Madam Pleats?"

KRO:  The fog wall made ripples as Blazer swung their sword through it, tiny   whispers coming from it. Suddenly, it began to bubble before arms wen  t in and grabbed Loincloth, dragging the large Angel in and onto the o  therside. He was fine aside from the pontential heart attack he may ge  t from the sudden dragging.  "You literally have to tell the wall you're walking through, you dunce  s..." Archer scoffed as he reached out to the wall and gaining entry a  s well. The small hands from before guiding Archer inside.  "Guess we better teach these Westeners a few things if European anomol  ies are popping up," he said as he was going through the fog.  Leon sniffed a little as he saw the two that had already crossed over,   hesitantly reaching out before being dragged through Spur and Sukajan   followed as well.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Oh Helmet...That's not a Demon that's a Angel" Father Crucifix said a  s he goes over to Biretta and help him up. "Brother Helmet, next time  wait for me or Brother Strappon before you attack" He said as he looke  d at then looked back at Biretta. "You Okay?" Father Crucifix ask the  angel as he looked at him.  "Don't worry i won't get cocky!" Raincoat said as she keeps shooting a  t the Zombies getting lots and lots of headshots.

OWLIE:  "S-special someone?" Monocle squawked, he looked at Flat Cap with disb  elief, "He's only 13!"  Polo laughed, earning him a glare from Monocle. They saw the others ge  t the to other side of the fog wall and decided to follow.

BRIT:  "Well, yeah. We can't fuckin pass through but our weapons can. It's a  hot load, lemme tell you." Blazer scoffed, tapping their shoulder with   their sword with a scrunched-up grimace-pout. They were done with thi  s mission already, even if they got fuckin laid. They wanted to find t  he poor chick already. She must be terrified.  Then Loincloth was literally sucked in and they dropped their sword.  "And then there's /this/ asshole!" They yelled, gesturing at the wall.   "Alright, fuck this. Let's go, open fuckin sesame."  They walked toward the fog wall and let the void take them.  Jacket blinked as he watched other people walking into the wall and ga  sped.  "That's absolutely fucking rightchous!" He yelled, "I'm comin in!"  He ran towards it, bumped right into the wall, then was dragged in by  the misty hands.  "It would be lovely if Norther Angels would share this lore with us /b  efore/ they treat us like we're idiots for not knowing." Strappon sigh  ed, turning to look at the rest of the group, "Let's head in and hope  we can find Miss Pleats."  "Lead the way." Cowlneck said simply.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak and Collier both walk through the wall via being pulled in.  Cloak thinks this way is cooler.

OSCARK9:  Gloves and Sapphire eyes widen to see that Loincloth has been taken in   by bunch of arms and drag him to the other side.  "HOLY SHIT!" They shout, simultaneously.  As they saw others going into the fog, so did they.

SAIYAN:  TJ just looked in awe at what Archer had just done. It was almost as i  f the barrier wasn’t there for him. It just seemed really stupid!  “So, wait! You literally must tell a wall that you’re going in and it  will let you? Why is that a thing?” he said slightly angry and annoyed  .  Of all things that would work, it would be that. Deciding not to quest  ion it anymore, he walked up to the wall.  “I’m coming in!” he said before effortlessly walking through the other   side.

EMI:  Trenchcoat walked up to the wall and bumped into it. He kept walking i  nto it, feet moving but not going anywhere. Eventually, he was noclipp  ed past it.  Dermal, who was indeed with the group, pet Veil's head.  "You can stay here and look out."  She attempted to argue, but he placed a finger over her lips and hushe  d. His eyes gazed at the body of water in the distance again before he   turned around and walked casually towards the wall.  He bumped into it. He blinked and attempted to enter again. No budge.  The seraph, irritated, tried once again, pushing much harder.  No go. In fact, he felt like it pushed him back.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Raincoat jumps into Fog. "CANON BALL!" Raincoat shouted as she went in  to the Fog with excitement.

KRO:  Considering it was a safe zone, what lied beyond the fog wall was a le  ss dank, yet ruined town. Leon walked ahead of everybody else, scannin  g the area.  "Now if I was a young, rich girl...where would I be..."  "That's one way to put it," Hots commented. Yeah he totally also walke  d into the wall like everyone else did and wasn't skimmed over.  Archer looked back at Strappon, almost offended.  "Well, /now/ you all know. It's how we keep some ghosts locked up back   in Europe, after all."  "You can sass each other as  much as you want, but keep your voices do  wn," Spur said, pointing at the distance, "Just because it's a safe zo  ne, it doesn't mean there aren't other things inside the walls."

DJ:  "Oh shi-" Was all Loincloth could say before he got sucked into the wa  ll. When he got out the otherside, he fell on his chest and got back u  p on his feet. "Damn, fog wall. I didn't even tell it I was going thro  ugh. Guess it just wanted be funny." He mumbled to himself.  "13 is when hormornes start kickin' in and the kid's body begins to wa  nna date and fuck. Don't be suprised when they start holdin' hands and   wantin' alone time together." Flat Cap said before turning to the wal  l. "Open them legs, ya foggy beauty!" With that, he proceeded through  the wall.  "He's an Angel?" Helmet asked, both suprised and confused, "But those  eyes looked so....unnatural."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "I can't explain it but it's for accessory or something like that, Bro  ther" Father Crucifix said as he looked at the Angel then looked at hi  m. "Where are the others?" He asked as he looked around for Brother St  rappon.

BRIT:  Strappon looked around at the environment, seeing a few of the zombies   here and there. He crossed his arms at the chill in the air- it was m  uch cloder in here than it was outside. The air was at least a little  more on the dry side.  "Miss Pleats is a curious girl." He said in reply to Leon, "I mean, sh  e's an Ophir. She can't be stupid."  Cowlneck squinted at the Templar.  "You keep talking like you know her." He said suspiciously, but seemed   to be distracted by someone's lack of presence, "Where did Dermal go.  ..?"  "Didn't you hear him? Shut the fuck up, guys!" Blazer hissed, "We've s  till got undead dickwads wandering."  It was a harsh librarian shush that followed afterward.  "Where do we go... Now?" Jacket asked as he watched Trenchcoat get pus  hed in by the seemingly sentient fog.

KRO:  Going off from Cowlneck's initially train of thought, Leon also looked   suspiciously at the Templar.  "Yeah, you have such familiarty when it comes to her..."  "Whatever that entails, we'll have to leave it for another time," Suka  jan said, "But tell us, where do you think she'd hide when confronted  with a zombie infestation?"

EMI:  Now pissed, Dermal backed up and ran for the fog wall with a vicious m  ight. The wall opened up and he came barreling through the group of An  gels. The momentum had him tripping, until his foot caught something s  ticking out of the ground a little distance away from the other Angels   and he landed flat on his chin, sliding a bit.  The seraph simply groaned and glared back at the wall.  "Stupid... Cloud of... Garbage..."

DJ:  "A locked room, maybe?" Loincloth suggested as he observed the area.  Helmet looked around and the fog wall. "Prehaps through that fog." He  said then approached the wall and walked straight through it. When he  reached the other side, he looked around the area for a brief moment.  "Please clap!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands twice, obviously not k  nowing he had to keep his voice down. Not that he really would've.

BRIT:  "It's a personal matter." Strappon answered their prying shortly, turn  ing to see Dermal slide into view. He had been about to answer, but wa  tched as a latch had switched and a door opened on the ground out of n  owhere.  "Oh, Dermal. Thanks for sliding in." Jacket called over to the Seraph.  "That's... Dumbly convenient." Cowlneck pointed out, flipping his hair   in annoyance.  In response to Helmet's clapping, there was a clap coming from the und  erground way that had opened. Strappon ran straight for the entrance.  "She must be in here!" He called over to everyone, "She's smart enough   to know these dumb undead don't clap."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Wait up Brother Helmet..." Father Crucifix sighs as he picks up Biret  ta in Bridal-Style mode and walks in the fog wall while doing a Clap.  "Now where is the others?" He ask himself as he looked around holding  Biretta in his arms.

BRIT:  "If you wanna be saved from zombies, clap your hands!" Jacket began si  nging, there was a clap in response from the tunnel below, "If you wan  na be saved from zombies clap your hands!"  There was another set of claps in reponse. Cowlneck snagged Jacket by  the shoulder with concern.  "Jacket no-"  "If you wanna be saved from zombies and you're scared they're gonna fi  nd you- If you wanna be saved from zombies, clap your hands--!"

JAY:  Slowly begins to stir from his extended nap, so gratefully granted to  him by the loud crusader of the abbey. Biretta's mind is quickly confu  sed by his dangling limbs, but he quickly realized he was floating thr  ough the air. Before he was fully aware of what was happening, he let  out a yelp and squirmed out Crucifix's arms.  Well, next thing he knew, his face kind of, sort of, clapped against t  he floor.  "Gggh..." he gurgled, holding his now-bruised head. "Fffuck!"

KRO:  Before Jacket could finish his little skit, there were two slow claps  coming behind the Heavenbents. It was a zombie that had been staring a  t the group for a while. Its hands were extended over it.  While the moment was comical, given the comment from the Templar, this   was a signal.  Zombies started to rise through debris and others were tearing through   the fog wall.  With this scene unfolding, Leon simply yelled "RUN!" and pushed those  surrounding the latch away as he went inside it first.

BRIT:  Jacket looked up and his grin disappeared into a face of sheer horror  as he realized just /what/ he had done.  "Bitches, RUN LIKE YOUR ASS ON FIRE." Blazer yelled, pushing other mem  bers of the group into the open tunnel as if they were herding sheep.  Strappon assisted in dragging other people down to get them away from  the encrouching zombies. He was literally shoving Loincloth and Archer  , as well as a slew of other Angels. Cowlneck simply side-stepped and  entered as his own pace.

KRO:  "Shit!" Hots spat, taking out his pulse rifle.  Spur took out his weapon as well and both began to shoot as the rest w  ere being herded in.  "We'll hold them off!" Spur said, popping the head off one that came i  n too close for comfort, "Just find the girl."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Are you okay?" Father Crucifix ask Biretta then seeing people run. He   grabbed Biretta and carrying him Bridal Style once again.  Raincoat run too

OSCARK9:  As Gloves and Sapphire went into the fog and on the other side with th  e rest of the group, they saw that Loincloth was alright and no harm c  ome to him. Except some dirt that got to him, but alright. Relieve, th  ey scan the area of the ruin town and was little uncomfortable and it  made Sapphire spins shivers. Is it the fog or the environment? Maybe b  oth.  Listening to Strappon, both of them rush over and enter as well, findi  ng the Ophir with claps, and __MAN__ They have company behind their ba  cks.  "LIKE YOU HAVE TO TELL US TWICE!" Gloves yelled. Both of the Angels ar  e running like theirs no tomorrow and they're not turning back at all.

 "SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" Sapphire cures, repeatedly.

JAY:  Biretta found himself once again being unable to properly respond befo  re he's picked up and carried, Father Crucifix following along with th  e mass of other angels fleeing from the zombie menace that was closing   in on them.  Holding his namesake tight to his head, he looked up at the male carry  ing him about. "Wh... What is even happening!? Did the mission just go   horribly wrong or something?"

OWLIE:  "Well fuck," Monocle said, grabbing his boyfriend with his free hand w  hile he's running as fast as his legs could. "We're going to die," He  took his phone and dialed Cardigan's number.  "Hey Cardigan, if I died, tell Sneakers I love him and tell him to sto  p hanging out with that kid." He dropped the line before Cardigan coul  d even respond. and stuffed the phone back into his pocket and dragged   Polo along the other angels.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak was not going to run, why would he when he was so fond of these  occultic creatures. Smiling he whipped out his sythe and swung it arro  und.  "Why run? Ill die happily in their arms!"  He was absoloutly insane it seemed. He took a deep breath and laughed  a little, coughing up ink as he did, he clearly enjoyed this.  Collier on the other hand was less willing to stay and he... simply sh  ot up into the air with his wings and waved at the others. "You all ca  n enjoy dying but I have people that need me so... I aint about that l  ife."  Hes going to stay in the air for now.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Nope! Mission is still going but we are running from a Zombie horde!"   Father Crucifix quickly said as he old guy he was strong and fast. "D  on't worry, i got you" He said as he keeps running with Biretta in his   arms.  Raincoat keeps running while shooting Zombies in the Head.

EMI:  Trenchcoat shrieked like a 5-year-old and ran. He ran fast and far int  o the tunnel, not even considering stopping.  Dermal lifted his torso off the ground and rubbed his chin, looking ag  itatedly back at the- well, it was the group of Angels. Now it was zom  bies, and they were disgustingly close to him. He stood his ass up and   dusted himself off as a few of them were shot by his comrad's bullets  , seemingly more concerned about the staining on his outfit.

DJ:  “HOOOOly shite!” Flat Cap yelled before he made a break for the latch.   These were risks and odds even he wasn’t willing to take.  Loincloth meanwhile, was a tad bit surprised when Strappon was able to   muster the strength to push not only him, but other angels as well in  to the underground way.  “I shall aid thee in the defense!” Helmet said as he slid in front of  Spurs and Hots and began whacking at zombies. Brave or foolish? You de  cide, folks.

KRO:  As Hots kept a steady pace of downing zombies, he saw Cloak not even b  udging.  "FUCK'S SAKE," he growled in frustration as he grabbed Cloak by the co  llar and dragged the man down into the tunnel.  "You're on your own for now, guy!" He called to Spur as he shoved Cloa  k downstairs.  Seeing Hots exit stage left and Helmet coming in for the substitution,   it's probably best they just lock the door.  Still, he was surprised the guy wasn't being affected by the zombies'  ability.  He then looked up at Collier, "Are you gonna leave or what? The door n  eeds to be shut."

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak did not appreciate getting dragged, and he nearly dropped his sp  ear. As the other was pulling him along he grabbed his weapon with bot  h hands and began to swing it at Hots. "Let go of me mortal scum!" He  was clearly in his own world at this point.  However soon enough he was in the tunnel and... figured that it would  be a pain to go back up so he just sort of... followed along.  Collier looked down at the dirty earth below and winced. "I didint par  ticularly want to no."  He than looked at the hoard of zombies before sighing. "But its better   than that I suppose." And he flew in. He wasnt going to touch the gro  und though... hovering lightly above the ground.

BRIT:  Strappon turned to make sure the rest of the group was able to get the  mselves down into the tunnel. He watched as the rest of them piled in  and looked up at Spurs from below.  "Don't get yourself killed, chap!" He called up, "Take Helmet and get  yourself in here before they swarm!"  "Please get your ass down here, I need that in my life!" Blazer called   up like the desperate, dirty ho that they were.

EMI:  Leaping like a fucking majestic gazelle over some of the other Angels  and parkouring off of walls, Trenchcoat booked it as far in as possibl  e. Literally. He slammed right into a door at the end of the hall.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Raincoat and Father Crucifix holding Biretta keep running from the Hor  de of the Zombies.

KRO:  "Right!" Spur responded as he grabbed Helmet by the collar of his shir  t and pulled him down. He quickly grabbed the open latch and closed it   shut but not before wondering about another Angel who was just outsid  e. He shook his head, he couldn't think about them now. If they're dea  d, they're dead.  He locked the latch just in time as there was now countless hands tryi  ng to pry it open, but the door seemed sturdy enough... For now at lea  st.  "There..." he said, a bit winded, "We should move. Don't know how long   that'll keep them out."  Not wanting to waste any time, he took the lead or rather, he went up  to where Trenchcoat crashed.  "Oh good, you found us a door," he said as he began to open it.

BRIT:  There was a scream from the room behind the door at the end of the hal  lway. Then there was complete silence.  Strappon walked down the hall and checked on the present Angels to see   if they were already.  "Anyone hurt?" He asked, pulling his gloves on to ready his healing po  wers, "I know we're about to enter another area. We're not sure if the  re's even anything on the other side of the door, but if you're ailing   speak now or forever hold your peace."  Jacket poked his head out from the group to see Trenchcoat.  "Geez, like a sack a' bricks." He muttered.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier spoke up and titled his head, he never was fond of strappon bu  t now he was just annoyed. "This aint a fucking marriage pinky..." He  shoved his hands in his pockets and scoffed at the other, cearly unimp  ressed as usual. "Nobodies fuckin' hurt, except maybe that guys feelin  gs." He pointed at Cloak, who currently was on all fours vomiting on t  he ground.  "Aaah! I could have had so many zombie slaves! It would have been wond  erful! I could have become the occultic lord I always dreamt of being!  "  He puked some more and slammed his face into the ground a few times, c  learly upset.

JAY:  Once they were safe, Biretta once again let himself down from Father C  rucifix's arms, albeit a little more carefully this time. After dustin  g off his dark cloak, he nodded towards Crucifix, "Thank you, I apprec  iate the aid and the update.  Looking around, Biretta's stoic face scanned the crowd carefully. He w  as silent for a little while, before speaking.  "I'm not convinced that the situation here's under control."

OSCARK9:  Gloves and Sapphire breath heavily for running like crazy maniacs and  look at Strappon with exhausting eyes and sweating a little.  "I'm good...Stra...ppon." Gloves said in his tiring voice.  "Same...here." Sapphire said in her tiring voice.

DJ:  I'm fine." Flat Cap said, sitting against the wall, "Just a bit winded  ."  "You could've become zombie chow more than anything else, boy." Loincl  oth said, standing over the puking ink boy.  Helmet sat on his butt, wishing he could whack just one more foul zomb  ie.

OWLIE:  "Yeah... We're good," Polo said, panting and wiping the sweat off his  forehead as he gave Strappon a thumbs up. Monocle rested an arm agains  t Polo's shoulder, looking tired, but he managed to nod.

BRIT:  "Bro..." Jacket said in the most sincerely worried voice at Cloak, "Br  o, it's okay. You'll figure something out. Maybe we can find you some  nice little ghosts like that there Mr. Petter all those years ago?"  He gave Cloak a couple soft pats to the back. Gingerly.  "Unfortunately, I can't recover people's energy." Strappon said with a   sigh, "But we can sit here for a moment to catch our breath."

TORIBIRDSEED:  Cloak puked like a lot more when Jacket patted his back before looking   up at him with a horribly disgusting ink covered face... whell mostly   his lower jaw and lip.  "RealLLY?" He had tears in his eyes as he held the others cheeks with  sparkles in his eyes. "That... Sounds wonderful."

KRO:  The scream that was followed by silence actually happened to be Spur h  aving one entire crowbar denting his helmet. He didn't say anything, s  taying silent from the pure shock. He tried to get it off but it appea  red to be stuck...very stuck.  He was having difficulty trying to get it off and Archer took this opp  rotunity to show off his strength, but he too failed.  Sukajan snorted as he pushed Archer aside. He had cybernetic strength  on his side, how hard could this be? Extremely so, even he couldn't ge  t it off. Hots rallied the two and then the three of them tried to yan  k it off the helmet but their combined strength still wasn't enough.  "What the fUCK!?" Hots yelled. This was ridiculous.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "You can say that..." Father Crucifix said as he looked at Biretta bre  athing heavily as he looked at the Angel. "My name is Father Crucifix  and the man that hit was Brother Helmet, I'm sorry that he did that to   you" He said as he calms down and dust himself off.  "Loincloth, you okay?" Raincoat ask as she goes over to him worried ab  out her big buddy. "Don't worry! I got a few headshots at the Horde!"  She said with a smile as she looked up at him.

BRIT:  Strappon looked up from his actions of healing, whipping his head to s  ee what the commotion was.  "Holy shit, Spurs." Blazer whispered. "You can take the fucking lumps.  "  Standing in the doorway, there was a girl who seemed to understand wha  t was finally going on around her.  "O-oh! I'm so terribly sorry!" The girl spouted, pattering over to sna  g the crowbar off Spurs' helmet with relative ease. "It's just that I'  ve been hiding out here for so long that I've grown a tad paranoid. I  had a fellow drop in here about an hour ago looking quite winded, but  that was the only sign of life I've seen now for days. And now...There  's... So many of you..."  She looked around at the motley crew of Angels around her.  "I'm... Um. I'm Pleated Skirt." She cleared her throat and curtsied.

JAY:  "I figured the one that attacked me was Helmet. He's loud enough to be   quite distinguishable." Biretta gave a slight chuckle, though he had  to rub his head under his namesake, where he had received the blow fro  m his compatriot.  After taking care of that, he extended his gloved hand to Crucifix's a  nd too caught up in his greeting to notice the entrance of the mission  's goal. "I am Biretta. Former Cardinal of Naples. It's good to meet y  ou."

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Boxer was beside her and waves with a weak smile. "Hey Guys, look at w  ho i found..." Boxer said with a weak smile as he looks at everyone. W  hen Boxer go lose he found Pleated Skirt and Protected her until they  found his Angel friend, he also explain to her what is going as well.  "Well, She found me" He said with a smile as he scratched his head.  "He believes he is a Crusader" Father Crucifix whisper to Biretta as h  e didn't want Helmet to hear it. "Wait Cardinal? I know see it! It's H  onor to meet" He said with a smile as he shakes his hand.

DJ:  "I'm good." Loincloth responded to Raincoat then heard Hots yell and w  ent to investigate. Upon seeing Spurs, Hots, and Archer trying to pull   out the crowbar, his first thought was how stupid they look trying to   pull it out and decided to help out. "Move." He said, pushing Hots an  d Archer aside before grabbing the crowbar with his big, meaty hand an  d pulled hard.

KRO:  Hots eyes welled up with tears as he saw that Pleats was okay, going i  n for a hug.  Spur sighed, feeling the dent on his helmet. He wanted to see how bad  the damage was, but couldn't risk showing his identity. He already sho  wed one person too many today.  "You're telling me," he told Blazer.

BRIT:  At the mere mention of her name, Strappon shoved past Hot Pants and gr  abbed Pleats' shoulders, giving her a serious look over before hugging   her.  "Miss Pleats, I'm so glad you're alive. I was so worried about you!" H  e managed, his voice cracking slightly.  Pleats pat his back with a soft laugh.  "Oh, Father Strap, it's alright! I roughed it out very well, actually!   Perhaps I could have gone without needing to eat spiders and other su  ch pests, but I've done well for myself. Boxer did well to keep me in  high spirits!" She explained, breathing better whe Strappon let his ir  on grip loosen. "Oh, my. I've grown quite a bit since we last saw each   other in person. It seems we're the same... Height."  "Whoa, Strap found a lady friend." Jacket pointed out.  "He's gay, dummy." Blazer said, giving Jacket a small shove.

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier looked at the newcomer and a devilish smile crept onto his fac  e. "Ah!" He hovered over to the other and smiled, extending his hand t  o the other. "A pleasure to meet your aquanitance madam, I do not know   much about you but I must say you are quite striking!" He smiled and  leaned backward in the air sort of as if he were lounging in a hammock  . "I would like to offer you the chance of a lifetime! The chance to w  ork at one of my fine establishments! Perhaps you have heard of them,  many of them go by the name "The Collar Club" here in Daten, Others go   by various other names, but that is the most common... there are a fe  w around."  Yes he was trying to recruit her into his buisness. Stop him please.  "However if you are comfortable living your boring life as is... That  is fine as well." At least he was nice about it.

JAY:  "To think, a mere 900 years or so ago and I'm sure Helmet and I would  have gotten along famously." Biretta smirked at the quip, but then smi  rked even wider at the recognition he got from Crucifix. "Of course, o  f course. I cannot thank you enough for your help today."  He turned his attention back to the revelation of Pleats, who he vague  ly remembered they were supposed to be looking for. Squinting, he smil  ed, as if confirming to himself that indeed, they had found her. "Ah,  good, guess that's been sorted out."

EMI:  Trenchcoat stood up wearily until he was shoved roughly by Strappon an  d any other Angel that entered the room. He stood back up and Collier  roughly aside.  "You're in the way, weirdo."  His eyes met the gorgeous wonder in front of him, and he felt his hear  t flutter and color flush to his visage.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Group Hug!" Boxer said as he hugs Pleats and Hots. "I did Father Stra  ppon, i even told her what's been happening too" He said as he looked  over at Strappon with a smile. "Fun thing, i was like her Guardian Ang  el" Boxer said calmly as he keep hugging the two then fall asleep on P  leats.  Raincoat smiled as she gives Loincloth a hug.

DJ:  "I hate to intrerupt this touching moment but" Loincloth began, tossin  g the crowbar aside before Raincoat came in for a hug, "Now that we've   found her, how are we going to get out of here? Our only exit's block  ed by all the zombies."  Flat Cap was smoking some weed.  Helmet watched the latch, listening the sound of zombies trying to pry   it open.

OWLIE:  "Yay! Mission accomplished" Polo said happily, clapping his arms like  a kid. Monocle nodded in agreement, "I would like to know that as well  ,"

KRO:  Hots felt offended that Strappon denied him getting hugs from Pleats b  ut he was ready to eviscerate Collier. But let's not do that in front  of the girl. Instead he tried to calm himself with breathing exercises   before just leaning on Pleats.  "Ya mum said she wanted you back before today's dinner, by the way-"  He wasn't expecting the hug from Boxer and he shoved the Angel away.  "Oi mate, we didn't ask."

OSCARK9:  As they regain some energy, they're breathing normally and wave at Ple  ated Skirt with their own right hands.  "Nice to meet you, Pleated Skirt." Gloves said with a smile. "I'm Glov  es Stone, Virtue of Diligence. This here is my good friend, Sapphire N  ecklace."  "Pleasure to meet you." Sapphire said, smiling also.  "We're so happy that you're okay, no harm come to you, and well done p  rotecting her and keeping her in high spirit, Boxer." Gloves smile at  them.  Sapphire listen to Loincloth and Monocle voices, "Same here,"

OSCARK9:  "How can we get out of here." Sapphire said to them.

OSCARK9:  *"How can we get out of here?"

TORIBIRDSEED:  Collier looked at Trenchcoat and crossed his arms, still not wanting t  o touch the ground. "In the- says you! Im simply offering the lovley l  ady a buisness opportunity! She doenst have to take it!" Flapping his  wings once he pushed up his glasses and reached into his pocket pullin  g out his phone. He was gonna go make some phone calls and get updates   on that fire. Looks like he cant take a day off after all.  Cloak was sitting in a corner brooding

KRO:  "There's gotta be some other way out of here," Sukajan said in respons  e to Loincloth.  "Better yet. /Where/ are we?"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Boxer jolt up and as he heard that they were trapped. "I have a plan!"   Boxer said as he holds up a finger and grabs his phone from his Pocke  t. Boxer went into the Lab and grabbed a bunch of Speakers, as he look  ed at Strappon with a serious look. "When the Music starts you guys ru  n as fast as you can" He said as he starts to make Armor made out of S  peakers. He goes over to Pleats and hugs. "Thank you" Boxer said as he   goes one of the exit and plays...  Thriller by Michael Jackson  "I AM A HERO!" Boxer said as he runs down the hallways trying to get a  ll the Zombies to hear the Music as he used himself as bait to save ev  eryone.  Raincoat and Crucifix just facepalm as they watch him leave.

BRIT:  Pleats laughed at the welcoming party, everyone was so happy to see he  r.  "I'm quite flattered to hear all of you are so happy to find me!" She  said, starting to play with her hair a little. She perked up at the me  ntion of an exit, "Oh, there's plenty of ways out. That was one of sev  eral entrances. I just chose not to leave for a myriad of reasons."  She gave the group a sheepish smile.  "This place seemed safe... Why was that?" Strappon asked, "I would exp  ect this place to have been swarmed."  "Oh, this is an active laboratory." Pleats explained, "I can't quite e  xplain it myself, but if we go back into the lab I can show you all wh  y I've holed up in here."  She scuttered toward the labs again, Strappon in tow.  "Is he gonna explain why he's so chummy with her?" Cowlneck asked with   little interest.

KRO:  "A lab, huh?" Spur muttered to himself.  That was an interesting development, but it made sense as to why the o  utside was relatively safe compared to the rest of the town.  Poor Leon was just confused. Was any of this normal? Is this how Calif  ornia just is? Man, he needed a new job. Or maybe move back home where   the only thing he dealt with was Mothman back in good ol'West Virgini  a.  He followed closely behind Hots who was following both Pleats and Stra  ppon, pondering the same thing Cowlneck was asking. Guess he had a few   questions to ask his aunt later on.

EMI:  Trenchcoat simply followed the crowd. Well, more followed Pleats. He w  as absolutely twitter-patted. She was so sweet and cute and raw as fuc  k and he needed to protect her.

DJ:  Loincloth followed the crowd, wondering what could be in the lab that  was keeping the zombies away. Was it a repellent of some kind or somet  hing else?  Helmet and Flat Cap followed as well eventually, though Flat Cap was a   bit stoned.

BRIT:  Jacket followed after Trenchcoat with a curious expression, sighing an  d stepping on his coat so he couldn't walk any further.  "Hey, bub. I thought you were /my/ boyfriend?" He asked, "What's the d  ealio?"  In the labs, there were clear signs Pleats had been there a while. Mor  e interestingly, there were signs that everything had been used fairly   recently, albiet a few days ago at best. Pleats lead them further int  o the labs where she rummaged through her bags.  She pulled out a large, glowing white orb and held it in her hands, ho  lding it up for everyone to see.  "I found this here orb sitting in the middle of the labs. It seems it'  s what's been producing the mist, I think." She explained, "I haven't  looked much into it, really. I'm not that well-versed in the ethereal.  "

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Should i go get him?" Raincoat ask Father Crucifix as she looked at t  he Exit he went down.  "I got the boy" Father Crucifix said as he goes down the Hallway and d  rags Boxer back as he fell asleep halfway in the Hallway. Father Cruci  fix slapped him across the face and pointed to Pleat.  Boxer nodded and went to Pleat Side again as Father Crucifix told hims   silently, He also took off that stupid Armor he made and put his phon  e back in his pocket.

KRO:  Spur was close to removing his helmet in pure awe but stopped himself  before his hands touched the bottom of it. Right.  "They did say there was a treasure in this town keeping an area safe s  oon after it feel to the Malice. Maybe this is it?"  "Yeah, I've heard about this- You know too much for someone who's new  in town..." Hots said, squinting at the man.  "I have my sources," Spur responded.  "May I?" He asked Pleats, holding his hands out.

OWLIE:  Polo began looking around the labs in awe then looked at the glowing o  rb on Pleat's hands "Ooh, pretty," Polo's eyes lit up with interest as   he attempted to touch the orb. Monocle sighed and swatted his boyfrie  nd's arm, grabbing Polo's hand and holding it with his.

DJ:  Flat Cap was looking around the lab, observing the equipment and any w  ritten notes that he could see as he smoked his joint.  Helmet was staring at the orb. It looked pretty and he wanted it.  Loincloth was just watching this shit from the sidelines.

BRIT:  Pleats saw everyone trying to touch the orb and giggled.  "I suppose it is rather mesmerizing." She said, handing it off to Spur  s, "It doesn't seem to be toxic to humans, but I wonder if it has anyt  hing to do with the strange zombie-like creatures."  "It would be a fair explanation." Cowlneck offered, peering at his ref  lection in one of the monitors, "Not sure how, but considering it's no  t human tech..."  "Oh, how wonderful. Something that's foreign to the Northern Sect." St  rappon answered sarcastically.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "You know you didn't need to slap him..." Raincoat said as she looked  at Father Crucifix.  "It was a wake up slap, back in my Templar Day if we didn't wake up we   got slap" Father Crucifix said as he looked at Raincoat.  "You and that Old Day stuff, you know the past is the past" Raincoat s  aid as she goes over to Loincloth to help him out.

EMI:  Trenchcoat's coat tails tugged and he blinked. He looked back at Jacke  t.  "So what, I can't look?!" He snapped. He stopped and blinked again. Th  e gears were turning.  "WAIT. WAIT WHAT. NO." He shrieked. He spun around to look at the pret  ty orb, trying to hide his blazing red face.

OWLIE:  Monocle strode over to Father Crucifix and Raincoat, his eyes narrowed   and a hand on his hip, "Yeah, I agree with miss Raincoat here, I don'  t think that's appropriate Father Crucifix, You don't need to slap him  ,"

OMEGAPSYCHO:  "Well..." Father Crucifix was about to say something then he realize h  is fault. "Your right, it's Boxer has been acting weird lately and i j  ust want to help him..." Father Crucifix said as he looked at Monocle  then at Boxer who was with Pleats.

OWLIE:  "Well, you're helping him plenty," Monocle said sarcastically, meanwhi  le Polo just kept staring at the the orb.

DJ:  "Okay, so maybe we assume this thing is some kind of zombie repellent.   So let's head to the nearest exit and test it. If it is a repellent,  great. If not, we'll just fight our way out and study this thing back  at the Abbey." Loincloth said, crossing his arms.

KRO:  As pretty as the orb was and everything else that was irrelevant to Le  on, he figured his task was done and he was ready to go home and sleep   for a week.  "Hate to break it to you all, but we gotta move before those zombies o  ut there break the other exit open. I don't really feel keen on testin  g out if this orb is a repellent. We've had too many close calls tonig  ht."  "Right, of course," Spur said, putting the orb under his arm.  "Miss Ophir, care to lead the way?" Spur asked, handing the orb back t  o Pleats.

BRIT:  "Unfortunately, Miss Pleats, we have to return you to your home." Stra  ppon explained, almost sorrowfully.  Pleated Skirt made a face, then sighed, nodding her head.  "You're right. It was foolish for me to run away again, but the things   mother says about Angels, and the way my family has treated you all..  . It's not fair! I wanted to help you." She said giving a slight stomp  . She wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye and put on a smile,   "Sadly, it reminds me of the first time we met... When you helped me  and kept me safe for a time."  "It's a fond memory." Strappon said, rubbing Pleats' shoulder. "And we  'll likely have many more. You're free to visit the Abbey any time you   please. Hopefully, your mother won't be able to stop you this time. B  ut you have to stop running away."  Pleats gave a tough nod, giving another sigh and looking around at eve  ryone and offering them a sweet smile.  "Let's all get out of here, then! I'll lead everyone to the way out, b  ut I hope we can plough through those horrible monsters." She said.  "Heck, yeah!" Jacket said, swinging his arm enthusiastically, "Many mo  re memories, right? And lots of busting heads!"  "Jacket, you're still a wanted man." Cowlneck reminded him, causing th  e boy to droop.  "Well, everyone. Let's head out of here." Strappon said, gesturing for   everyone to follow.

OMEGAPSYCHO:  Father Crucifix nod as he follows Hot Pants.  Boxer stays beside Pleats to keep her safe and protected even though s  he healed him and keep him safe.  Raincoat reloads her Rifle ready to shoot some Zombies heads.

JAY:  Biretta remained relatively silent while observing the revealed labora  tory, though when the odd ball of light was brought out, he found hims  elf quite fixated on it through the entire conversation.  He snapped out of being lost in thought with the command to head out,  following his first order for the night and following along to leave t  his awful place.

DJ:  "Finally." Loincloth said, rolling his eyes as he followed Pleats.  Flat Cap finished his joint and tossed away the butt. "Right behind ye  , Strap." He said, readying his weapon ready.  Helmet followed the orb more than anyone else as he was still transfix  ed in it's beauty. One could see drool drip out of his namesake.

OWLIE:  Polo tore his gaze away from the orb. He held Monocle's hand as they q  uietly followed Pleats and Strappon, Polo looked at him and said, "Wan  na go get tea after this?"  Monocle blinked, and then he gave Polo a small smile smile. He's fucki  ng tired but he won't refuse tea, "Of course,"

OSCARK9:  With a nod, Gloves and Sapphire follow with the rest of the group and  __man__they're gonna fight more of the zombies outside.  Squeezing their namesakes tightly, they're ready to rumble again.

OSCARK9:  *__man__

And so, having found Pleated Skirt, the Angels and Heavenbents made thei r way out of the laboratory to find many of the zombies had just... disa ppeared. Dermal sat in a lawn chair as Veil served him iced tea. He lowered his s unglasses. "Oh, you made it out. Look at that." He said simply, getting up and stre tching. "Good, this place is awful. Let's get out of here." As the rest of the group fully emerged, Leon's phone rang and he answere d with a less than enthusiasic expression. "What? They're waking up? And... There's a sudden increase in activity? Huh. Okay. Alright." He said, hanging up. He turned to the group and dro pped his phone on the ground. "We're fucked. And I quit." Strappon sputtered for a second. "Y-You can't just /quit/ how the hell are we getting out of here??" He m anaged to yell. "It's your /job/!" "Not anymore." Leon laughed, turning and walking out, "This is how you l eave, Pinky." Bereft and beside himself with rage, Strappon pulled at his hair for a s econd before looking up to the sky for help. And help was recieved. Above them, a large white UFO lowered itself to a few feet above the cre w. A light shone down, and in it appeared Ovr'kot with a welcoming smile . "Greetings, Earthlings! We recieved a call that you may require some ass istence to come back home. Need a lift?" He asked, clasping his hands to gether. Leon looked upon the spaceman with awe. He tossed off his shirt and ran into the distance, sputtering something about forums. "Yes, thank you..." Strappon sighed, giving the Original a genuine, but tired, smile. "Though, I'm not sure how Dermal got my number. Oh, well." The Original laughed as they were all beamed up into the Angelic Spacecraft and carte d back to the Abbey.

[scottielambchop]

My Review of The Summer Set Festival (1/2)

You know, as a 32-year old man, I don’t really feel like I’m all that old. I’m hip, I still have that old devil-may-care attitude, I’m in pretty good shape, I play video games and don’t have many responsibilities. I love music, and I certainly feel that I’m more than open listening to new music and giving it an honest shot.

Then I started my security job at a Minneapolis bar called Psycho Suzi’s and got to know (and befriend) many people in their early 20s. Now, I’ve now come to realize that I don’t know shit. One such coworker recently posted the flyer for Summer Set (a local EDM festival), and only three names sounded familiar to me: Run the Jewels, Die Antwoord, and Zeds Dead—and that last one was only because it’s a Pulp Fiction quote.

So, as an attempt to fit in with these wacky youths, I’ve decided to listen to one song by each band (group) in the order it was written on the flyer and post my initial thoughts on each. It’s like a stream of conscience from hell. Let’s see how this one goes.

Zeds Dead - Frontlines (ft. GG Magree): This girl’s voice is okay, but musically who gives a shit? Oh, never mind; now it’s turned into a goddamn dubstep song. What in the holy fuck have I gotten myself into? It would be a lot cooler if this featured G.G. Allin — and I really hate G.G. Allin

Zedd – Clarity (ft. Foxes): This song sounds like every song played at my gym. It’s fine. I probably would have liked it in, like, 2001 when I went through a bullshit Paul Oakenfold phase. Do you think this guy has a beef with that Zeds Dead group? I guess that would make this festival kinda neat to see how they hash that shit out.

GRiZ – Hard Times: I’m really hoping this is about Dusty Rhodes, but I think I need to get that out of my head right away. This song starts off kinda cool, like a hip hop version of a Reservoir Dogs-type movie intro. Oh, now the dumb bullshit dubstep kicked in and ruined it — should have figured that nothing stays gold in the context of this miserablelittle adventure I’m on. Also, watching this video, you need to understand this this dude is the most stereotypical white guy trying to be a hip hop DJ. It’s like if Edward Snowden put on a hockey jersey and shitty glasses.

Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels: I’ve heard this before. These guys are cool. But then again, I’m a white guy who casually listens to NPR, so of course I like Run the Jewels. My only problem with this song is that I think only Angel Witch and Minor Threat should have titular songs.

Die Antwoord – Ugly Boy: I don’t know how two people can look so much like juggalos but not be lumped into that group. Instead they’re like the best thing to happen to graphic designers since the Adobe Creative Suite. I used to really like these guys but, then again, I used to be really fucking stupid.

RL Grime – Core: This is building up to something that I’m probably gonna hate. Not to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but holy shit was I right. It has buildups that I felt like will have a significant payoff, but then it just does fucking nothing. It’s like audio edging. For fuck’s sake, this song goes nowhere. Well, at least I can say that I also really hate their name.

Datsik – Redemption (ft. Excision):  Oh great, I found the official background music to every YouTube vape video. When they inevitably remake the Matrix movies, I fear this is all they’re going to sound like. The track says it features another artist, but the only thing I can hear is some random audio clips. But then I did some research to find out it took TWO separate DJs to make this bullshit.

Post Malone – White Iverson: First of all, this guy needs to land on his basketball references. Second of all, this video has 276,473,194 views—a number I wish I were joking about. This song just sounds like every other modern hip hop song, minimal beat and some dude inaudibly saying dumb shit without a rhyme. Now that I’ve established how milquetoast this song is, I’d really like to comment on how this guy looks. He’s the missing link from Riff Raff and James Franco’s character in Spring Breakers. Seriously, if they were to make a reboot of Malibu’s Most Wanted, casting had better snatch this honkey up QUICK! He seems like an exaggeration of someone trying to appropriate black culture, and it’s heartbreaking no one is calling him on this shit. I can’t wait until we’re in a time of post-Post Malone.

Seven Lions – Worlds Apart (feat. Kerli): Honestly, this starts out okay. Kerli has a pretty voice, the electronic beat isn’t overbearing and the video features bloated images of outer space that you’d probably find on the wall of a “worldly” teenage stoner. I’ve heard way worse. Granted, this could also be my old “techno” fan coming out. There’s a middle dubsteppy part that I could do without, but whatever. Yeah, I didn’t mind this one.

Zomboy – Like A Bitch: Right from the get-go I’m told to, “stop acting like a (woop) and get my hands up.” Here’s the deal, Zomboy: you only get one chance to make a first impression. And you insulting me for not doing what you want isn’t going to make friends with anyone. So, no, I won’t stop acting like a bitch.  The mere fact that you keep repeating it, isn’t going to motivate me to do it any faster—if at all. With that said, musically, this also sucks.

Audien – Something Better (ft. Lady Antebellum): Hey! This has a structure of a legit pop song! I don’t know if this project has been beating me down, or if this is actually decent. Don’t get me wrong, it has the really annoying electronic hooks that most modern music has, but compared to some of the garbage I’ve already put in my ears, it’s pretty alright.

Bakermat – One Day: Man, what a progressive song. Nothing says, “heartstring cash grab” better than mixing samples of MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech and sexy saxophone with generic dancy electronic beats. It honestly sounds like the backing beats to Marky Mark’s “Good Vibrations.” Oh well, at least it was short.

Big Wild – Aftergold: This song sounds like it was tailor-made to be used in the opening narrative of an “inspirational” teen movie. Imagine an opening shot of an urban high school with the main character doing a voice over explaining his life and school, now think of the music that is playing in the background. Yeah, you’ve got it. It’s light and floaty with an array of unique instruments (strings, Taiko drums, etc.) and then sample in some record scratches and electronic noise and that’s it. It’s not offensive. It’s not anything. It’s just a thing.

Bleep Bloop – Slippin: Before I start, I want you to know that it was THIS band that made me venture into this masochistic assignment. It all started when a group of younger coworkers posted the flyer for this festival on social media and expressed their sincere excitement. Now, being the complete asshole I am, decided to shit all over their good time by stating that it sounds like the worst time imaginable. (I was essentially being facetious because I really don’t care what they listen to. But for the record: I’m right). Anyway, after skimming through the names, my eyes caught the name “Bleep Bloop” and everything in me laughed and cried all at the same time. I voiced my opinion about this band without ever hearing them, stating that this just sounds like a generic EDM placeholder until these assholes can figure out something dumber to call themselves.

Cut to a few days later. It’s a Saturday and once we were finished closing up, I decided to invite some coworkers over for drinks. While everyone is over, I take it upon myself to throw on a record that I figured would appeal to many. So I put on my copy of T-Swift’s 1989 (it’s solid pop-gold, fight me). I throw on the record, and it’s mostly well received. At this moment, the person I was giving shit to about Bleep Bloop made his opinion heard by stating that he can’t believe that I would listen to/enjoy 1989, but refuse to open myself up to Bleep Bloop. Now once he said “Bleep Bloop” out loud, I couldn’t help by throw myself into maniacal laughter. I mean, just think about how goddamn stupid that sounds. Imagine your favorite band of all time. Then imagine their name is fucking Bleep Bloop. Now try and defend that band to someone who hasn’t heard them before. It turns into the biggest, most useless uphill battle you’ve ever waged upon someone else. It’s also just really funny for the other person, if you’re dead serious about them.

Okay, now that I’ve got the backstory of this shit-ass band, it’s time to dive into the music.

This is just a series of dumb sound effects. It honestly sounds like it was created on the Playstation version of MTV Music Generator. Then they have remixed versions of a guy saying the same damn thing. It’s seriously giving me a headache. I don’t know why anyone would want to listen to this for enjoyment. It’s really fucking confusing. All in all, it’s exactly what I expected out of a band named Bleep Bloop.

Destructo – Higher: Have you ever seen an action movie from the late 90’s/early 00’s where the protagonist has to kill a mafia boss in the middle of a douchey club? You know, those scenes where in which shit really escalates into a full-blown gun fight and the fire alarm goes off making everything wet creating a unique aesthetic? Yeah, this is the shitty music playing at the beginning of the scene that lets the viewer know that the location really sucks. The video is blatantly alluding to straight-up heroin/sex addiction—it’s pretty glamorous. And then she dies at the end from a broken heart while some guy repeats, “get higher, baby.” All in all, better than other stuff already reviewed on this godforsaken list.

Ghastly – We Might Fall (ft. Matthew Koma): This video started out by saying “Dubstep Electro House” which is weird because I can almost guarantee it should just say “whiny dude singing over bullshit.” It started off slow with dumb vocals, then it slowly built up to a techno climax (which is also a medical term for when you ejaculate lasers) with a high-pitched autotune. And then it repeats. Whatever, it sucks, but it’s fine.

Well folks, that’s it for the first half. I’m currently waiting on edits for the second. I’m sure you’re waiting with baited breath. Trust me, it fucking sucks.

[nofomoartworld]

Art F City: L.A. Art Diary: The Final Entry

Doug Crocco

This is my last entry from L.A. I’ll explain why later, but basically I realized it was not the city for me, despite the past month+ of adventures I’ve had: Week One, Week Two: Part One, Week Two: Part Two, Week Three, Week Four.

Monday 7/17

#spiritual #technology #LA

A post shared by Michael Anthony Farley (@ellende666enerate) on Jul 17, 2017 at 6:04pm PDT

I realize I really miss walking, and that I have spent very little of the last month outside of a car/bus/train actually experiencing the city. I decide to take a semi-urban hike to the Hollywood Hills from Echo Park, roughly nine miles and an elevation climb of about 1,200 feet (an Empire State Building!). It takes a little over 3 hours, and along the way I fancy myself on a Situationist dérive.

A post shared by Michael Anthony Farley (@ellende666enerate) on Jul 17, 2017 at 6:32pm PDT

I pass Scientology compounds, mansions, slums, mini malls, beautiful old art deco buildings,  most of Sunset Boulevard’s eastern leg, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and plenty of weird sights. It occurs to me that L.A. seems so surreal and familiar at the same time because it’s an unlikely pastiche of different urbanisms. The scattered pockets of dense eclectic pre-war architecture (themselves mostly referent to other places’ vernaculars) don’t quite coherently connect to one another so much as they float in a sea of postwar sprawl and car-centric infrastructure. But bits of big-city reality end up accumulating in all the wasted space of the suburban dream—the dead sidewalk space fronting big blank side walls of supermarkets become tent cities, highway medians host street preachers shouting at passing cars futily, and those odd islands between boulevards and parking lots get occupied by food trucks and other vendors. People sleep and conduct a shadow economy in the grassy areas between the street and gated parks.1950s motels have been converted into studio apartments with businesses below.  L.A. feels like the not-so-distant future of so much of America.

At one point my sidewalk ends and I’m forced onto a steep hillside between a freeway onramp and a walled-off neighborhood of mansions patrolled by private security. I stumble upon an entire impermanent shanty town, hidden from the highway by scrub and the wealthy residents above by an impossibly high concrete wall topped with barbed wire. Los Angeles might have one of the worst housing shortages and income disparities I’ve ever seen in an industrialized nation. It’s a thought that sticks with me on my ascent past single-family mansions the size of office parks.  

Tuesday 7/18

I temporarily move onto the futon of artists Meghan Gordon and Manny Prieres in Koreatown. (Coincidentally, I’d written about Meghan’s work and Manny’s work, respectively, before I became friends with either or knew they were roommates). Staying with them is awesome. Their apartment is huge, full of windows, one adorable cat, and is walking distance to roughly 2,000 businesses and two subway lines. Their rent is maybe half of what a comparable spot in a convenient New York neighborhood would be. If they had a third bedroom, I would be seriously tempted to sign on as a permanent roommate.

Wednesday 7/19

A friend from Baltimore lives close-ish to Meghan and Manny, and we meet up to check out The Faultline, a gay bar that hosts a crazy drag competition on Wednesdays. Someone is dressed as Ursula the sea witch lipsynching to Divine and it’s a show-stopper. It feels appropriate that it’s hump-day and we find this very NSFW GIF-able neon sign. It’s a good night so far.

We leave the club to grab a drink at a quieter spot to catch up, but after 30 minutes of wandering, can’t find another bar. Although it’s before midnight, the streets are almost entirely empty. On our walk, we pass exactly three other people, all of whom are men who catcall her. She says that’s not uncommon. Street harassment is obviously a problem in every city, but it’s usually tempered by having positive or neutral experiences with the vast majority of the thousands of people one encounters in public space in other cities. The lack of pedestrian culture in 90% of L.A.’s surface area (excepting commercial strips in a handful of older neighborhoods) makes public space intimidating. It also emboldens creeps. Basically, in vast swaths of the city, the only people you see on sidewalks are either batshit crazy or scurrying from a car to an indoor space. We both admit we’re slowly becoming more misanthropic the longer we’re here. That thought really bothers me.

We both take Ubers home. I decide it might be time to book a flight out of L.A.

Thursday 7/20

Marcel Alcalá is having an informal showing of his recent drawings at Club Pro, an art space in a loft downtown. The pastel works on paper are really nice—they’re humorous, direct sketches that play with body image and sexuality in the age of dystopic-fake-cheery late capitalism. My favorite depicts an ambiguously-gendered person running gleefully with an erection—wearing only a tube top and go-go boots, one of which bears the acronyms: “DNA YSL NBA STD TSA”—between a house labelled “WELLS FARGO” and another “THE MALL”. In others, the imperfect figures seem to be posing for “sexy” selfies, but end up endearingly goofy.

After the opening, my former roommate from Baltimore invites me to her friend’s loft for a drink. It’s several stories above the eerily-dead-at-night Fashion District with sweeping views of the skyline. We can’t tell if it’s an apartment, coworking space, or event space. We’re both too embarrassed to ask, but joke that it looks remarkably like our old illegal warehouse apartment in Baltimore with several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of renovations.

I end the night at General Lee’s, a Chinatown cocktail lounge that’s become my favorite L.A. art people hang out. Aria Dean, assistant curator of net art at Rhizome, is DJing. Again, I run into multiple people I’ve known in different cities at different time who all ended up here. Between that and the movie-set-like vibe of Chinatown’s pedestrian passages, L.A. starts to feel more and more like a dream.

Friday 7/21

The post punk proto goth neo noir sci fi half robot half man anti hero Los Angeles has been waiting for. Pickle dog is VERY impressed.

A post shared by ManyDistantCities (@nolizzie) on Jul 21, 2017 at 5:58pm PDT

I’ve spent the night on Liz’s couch to avoid Uber surge pricing, and we take her dogs for a walk along the L.A. River. The L.A. River is basically a concrete drainage ditch full of abandoned objects that the dogs love playing with. We discover that the concrete “river banks” are actually the perfect angle to lay upon in the sun while hungover. She describes the river as “either a triumph of urban planning or a really big urban planning mistake?” We decide L.A. needs a museum dedicated to the history of its divisive built environment. Liz’s bulldog Pickle gifts us with a tire full of potentially-toxic river slime in our laps and our art-viewing plans take a backseat to laundry and showering as a priority for the day.

By the time I get back to Koreatown, Manny and several of his artist friends are heading out to the Bigfoot Lodge. It’s a kitschy bar that looks like a Wes Anderson set where a DJ is spinning the best set of obscure-ish old vinyl I’ve ever heard. The music is so good we don’t even realize we’ve stayed until last call. We all end up chatting at a nearby diner (that looks equally like a Wes Anderson location) until sunrise, when we notice Coyotes have encircled the parking lot looking for easy drunk prey.

Only in Los Angeles.

Saturday 7/22

Manny and I are having some much-needed coffee with one of our mutual friends, artist/curator Jacqueline Falcone. To varying degrees, we all think of Miami as “home” despite the fact that none of us were born there nor live there presently. Jacqueline moved here from Miami about a year ago, and the three of us start talking about the similarities and differences between the two cities. Both have beaches, palm trees, tourists, endless traffic jams, glamour, and the bad urban planning that seems endemic to places with perfect weather in this country.

We all concur that the biggest adjustment is the isolation one can feel in Los Angeles. South Florida is spread out, but nothing like the scale of L.A. But mostly the art scene in Caribbean Miami feels like one big loud family you’re immediately welcomed into with cheek-besitos and all-night parties. There, our friends would ride a bike across a causeway in a tropical storm or sit in gridlock for hours to not miss your opening. Everyone shows up absurdly late for everything, but there’s a sense of ironclad dependability. Meanwhile in L.A., people will sometimes cancel lunch plans if it’s overcast (really) or they just don’t feel like dealing with the logistics (constantly feeling pressured to look your best in public, moving a car or paying for Uber, the vast distances, expensive valet parking everywhere) of leaving the house that day.

I admit that L.A. is starting to feel oppressively lonely when I’m not with friends. In most East Coast or Latin American cities, for example, it’s not considered creepy to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a coffee shop or bar if you’re alone. It’s a lot harder to meet people in L.A.

Manny thinks that’s not such a bad thing—the isolation of L.A. forces you to be more independent. You drink less here, care more about your health, and have less distractions from studio time. Knowing his labor-intensive process (he precisely recreates things such as book and album covers in delicate graphite on black enamel) that makes sense. I, on the other hand, might be too much of an extrovert to deal with the creepiness of all the times I’ve walked for 15+ blocks without passing another human (and in the rare cases I have, been regarded suspiciously for being a pedestrian without the excuse of a dog to walk).

I’m struggling to remember a quote I think I read somewhere (or maybe made up?) as an angsty, wander-lusty teenager. It goes something like “The world’s great megacities always attract lonely people, where they can hide in a teeming crowd, like crying in the rain.” It doesn’t matter, though, because Los Angeles seldom has “teeming crowds” per se. And it certainly doesn’t have rain.

One thing I love about both Los Angeles and Miami is that art openings, to quote Whitney Kimball, have “replaced stuff to do” in a dearth of opportunities for chance encounters. She was writing about New York, but I always think her description is much more appropriate to the sprawly Sunbelt cities: “Non-art friends sometimes ask if I can take them to openings to meet people, which I thought was weird, until I stopped going to art events for a year and realized there aren’t a lot of scenarios in this city where you’re allowed to just stand in a room and mingle for free.”

I can’t think of a better example of this phenomenon than BBQLA, a tiny gallery in the back of a studio building that celebrates openings by roasting an entire pig in the parking lot outside. We arrive and all concur it feels very Miami—down to the side dishes of platanos and arroz y habichuelas served in the lot of a one-story warehouse covered in street art. After about two hours chatting with friends outside, I feel guilty I have spent less than ten minutes actually looking at the small show, Cabin Pressure, curated by Quinn Harrelson.

Janeva Ellis, “Bloodlust Hero”

That’s not to say it’s uninteresting. I revisit the exhibition text and realize it’s eerily in synch with what I’d been thinking about the past few days:

“The year is 2017 and over the vast urban sprawl of Los Angeles, the world has just ended, like a cracked egg. Many are taking post-apocalyptic selfies with the remaining minutes of their batteries.

But here, the crust of the peopled desert springs open, and something else crawls out from the earth’s core. It is possibly just a sentient silence, and yet an oasis germinates. Here lives a swamp, a jungle, a digestive system flipped inside out, a white cube of humidity transported from Southern Florida to Southern California.

To what extent does a group of works construct an environment? an ecosystem?

To what extent are they truncated into mechanisms of the jungle? into a single human body?

Like crocodile tears are artificial tears, this is an artificial rainforest, a simulacrum of the swamp. Constructed to push mutability to limits. Here alchemy transmutes mud to matter and nothingness to mud.”

Purvis Young

The most-discussed piece in the show is undoubtedly a small Don Quixote on a found metal panel by the late self-taught artist Purvis Young. Young has somewhat of a cult following, and there’s something nice about the un-precious (but also revered) quality of some of the objects he left behind. I’m mostly drawn to Janiva Ellis’s portrait of a melancholy demon, “Bloodlust Halo”. It’s a weird painting, one that elicits unlikely empathy. Most people don’t want to linger with me in the tiny exhibition space, though, because there’s an installation of handmade dirt-and-paper bricks that smells overwhelmingly like pee. For a show with only six or seven artworks, it sure packs a sensory punch.

Sunday 2/23

Organizer Phil Davis makes shirts for the participating MINIBAR artists. I love these.

File this under the “stuff to do” category of art happenings: I’m on my way to a miniature golf course in South Pasadena. I think this was a “Suggested Event” for me on Facebook, but I can’t remember the name or find the information about it anywhere and I suspect the friends I’ve dragged along are beginning to think I made it up as our Uber winds through a suburban park.

We arrive, though, and lo and behold there’s a small group of art-looking people hanging out in the snack bar of the golf course. We ask them if we’re in the right place, and they explain that Phil Davis has been curating a series of monthly group shows, called MINIBAR, in the club. The work is all small and kind of easy to miss, which is actually a nice layer to enjoying the overall unlikeliness of the idiosyncratic setting. Los Angeles has become known for art shows in small, strange places, but this one might take the cake. There are 2D works scattered around the walls above booths, and a video by Tyler Finnie loops on the TV behind the bar.

Tyler Finnie

I’m a big fan of Finnie’s “Liza Six Pack,”  which comprises simply a plastic six-pack holder superimposed over a Polaroid of Liza Minnelli in a brass frame. Other highlights include Jessica Williams’ “Keep on Dancing Til The World Ends,” a washy watercolor of a girl looking over her shoulders while walking her bike. She’s wearing booty shorts that say “BABY” on the ass and, like Liza, is a little funny/sad/creepy.

I bum a cigarette from someone I’m convinced I’ve met somewhere before—another art opening perhaps? A friend-of-a-friend’s dinner party? But they don’t remember me. This has happened to me three times in L.A. Later, someone will whisper in my ear that I recognize these people because they had supporting roles on the type of T.V. shows you lovingly binge-watch on Netflix when you’re sick. My urge to facepalm never wears off.

We end the night by walking through (but not playing) the miniature golf course, and fantasize about which structures would make the best tiny house squats.

Monday 2/24

I’m leaving a gym on Wilshire Boulevard at dusk and realize I’m across the street from LACMA. The sun is setting, and Chris Burden’s epic public sculpture “Urban Light” has just been illuminated. It’s really, really beautiful. From this distance, the gaggle of selfie-takers doesn’t even seem annoying. I’m struck with a sense of regret that I probably don’t have time to make it to all the museums I wanted to see. I debate pushing back my flight when I get back to my computer.

On the walk home, though, I pass through the dark dead space between Miracle Mile and Koreatown. There, two inhabitants of a tent village that’s sprung up in the yard of an abandoned brutalist office building follow me for several blocks, shouting alternately homophobic and (incorrectly-assigned) racial slurs until I cross into the bright neon and peopled-sidewalks of Koreatown. I’m beginning to feel like Los Angeles is hell-bent on reminding me that it hates me every time I start to love it.

Wednesday 7/26

I’m at a taco cookout at Big Pictures Los Angeles, an art space run by artist Doug Crocco about a 10 minute drive south of Koreatown. The space has several rooms, one of which is functioning like an open studio of Doug’s own recent work, and another showing excerpts of Steve Gladstone: The End of Pictures alongside works from the group show Polaroid Black. BPLA also has the coolest toilet seat I’ve ever seen in a gallery, made from colored pencils in resin. It’s a really nice space that strikes one of the best balances I’ve seen here between professional and casual.

Excerpts from “Polaroid Black” (R) and “Steve Gladstone: The End of Pictures” (L)

Manny Prieres has a piece in Polaroid Black, a detail from the cover of the Joy Division album Closer, enlarged and rendered in hand-drawn graphite. Until you’re right on top of it, you’d swear it was a silkscreen. It occurs to me that Manny feels like an old friend because his work would’ve appealed as much to my younger, more punk-rock self as it does to me today.

Manny Prieres

Doug Crocco’s colored pencil drawings are just as meticulous and lovingly crafted. At first, I mistake them for oil paintings or collage. The appeal of the distraction-free studio life is starting to reveal itself to me.

Doug Crocco

Thursday 7/27

It’s my last night in the United States for the foreseeable future, and I want to gorge myself on Ethiopian before heading to Mexico City (it’s oddly my one comfort food you can’t find in the world’s second biggest city). Liz, ever the obliging tour guide, takes me to Little Ethiopia to meet up with a friend at a vegan spot and it’s amazing. We end the night miles away at Hop Louie, a Chinatown dive bar known as a go-to spot for drinks after openings and a fantastic juke box. Tonight though, it’s kinda dead.

I step outside with a friend and realize the things I’m really going to miss about L.A. Chiefly, all my friends who keep trickling out here for the promises of big-ish houses, careers, and endless sunshine. Sometimes those dreams are actually fulfilled! Sometimes though, people end up endlessly stressed over car payments and the dead-end jobs they necessitate. L.A. seems singularly magnetic to the best (and sadly, many of the worst) people of the 25-45 demographic. Maybe I’m either too immature or prematurely crotchety for the appeal?

At any rate, I could see myself living in Chinatown. Ironically, its faux-pagoda-lined pedestrian malls are likely one of the earliest examples of “Disneyland Urbanism” I can think of—a genre of made-for-tourists architecture that usually makes my cold, modernist eyes roll. But this kitschy simulacrum of a neighborhood has somehow accrued a lived-in vibe of a real place that L.A.’s far older fake chateaus haven’t quite. There are people on the “street” here, and even if they’re just outside for a smoke, that’s a world of comfort.

L.A., this isn’t goodbye forever, just a “see you later”. To quote your former governor, I’ll be back. But definitely as just another tourist. 

Postscript 7/31

I am publishing this from Mexico City. I really wanted to fall in love with Los Angeles, but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t. I really wanted to. The art scene is great. The weather is usually amazing. Mostly, I wanted to love L.A. because so many of my favorite people in the world have made the city home for various reasons. Their hospitality (and that of their friends) has been so humbling.

But that warmth stands in contrast to a city whose culture, in general, is at times pretty unfriendly. I realized L.A. can be a very lonely place when you’re by yourself with unstructured time. Being a human body moving through space outside of a car can be downright depressing, if not dangerous. It’s not really the kind of city for wandering around and people watching or spur-of-the-moment unplanned encounters. I know that those things aren’t important to everyone, but since being back in a more conventional “city” city, I have to admit that they are to me.

It dawned on me that I was neurotically starting to feel like a second-class citizen on account of not having a car, a buttload of disposable income, nor a face/body/wardrobe worthy of 100k+ Instagram followers (there were literally times people cropped me out of photos, because I suppose I was “off brand”). I found myself becoming a little vain, self-conscious, suspicious, and resentful—qualities I don’t like to see. A lot of that has to do with money. The myth that L.A. is “affordable” only holds water when housing is compared to San Francisco, London, New York or a handful of other global financial centers. Indeed, it seems like a substantial chunk of the “affection” a lot of transplant artists have for L.A. is rooted in resentment toward New York—as if those were the only two cities on the planet.  When one accounts for transportation costs and the obsessive commodification of “health culture” (example: eating vegetarian in Los Angeles is more expensive than any other city I’ve ever lived in) L.A. ends up being pretty damn pricey.

I’ll definitely be back in Los Angeles at some point—as I mentioned, it’s home to so many of my best friends. And I never made it to the beach! But I don’t think I can live there. My first night back in Mexico City, I actually teared-up a few times because I realized I wasn’t crazy for feeling isolated in L.A. I missed walking in crowded streets, and strangers being nice to me, cheap food, and dancing not just for the sake of an Instagram story (it’s noticeable how much less time people spend on their phones outside of the Los Angeles bubble).

Honestly, I am probably just personally incompatible with the L.A. lifestyle. I’m sharing this because I suspect a lot of other people tempted to relocate there might be too. I have plenty of friends who are super happy living there, but also met plenty of people who weren’t. I guess I just fall into the latter category.

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