#felt kinda inspired once i figured out how to put custom photos in my game

[just-ornstein]

"Whenever she looked at that painting a feeling of discomfort shuddered throughout her body, it was hard to shake off. So many years passing by without his presence. Days of glory she would never know, her mother’s wishes being the closest she’d feel to those memories. Cold and distant, perhaps breaking the laws of the universe would gain her approval?"

Painting on the wall was a commission done by @microscotch .

[xellandria]

Zmija Yilan was a temporary character I played towards the end of our Tomb of Annihilation campaign after my boy Alexus got petrified by a beholder somewhere deep in the bowels of the tomb itself.  We were able to “salvage” both him and Amara (who had also gotten petrified in the same fight) by shoving them into the Bag of Holding, but short of having the two of us sit on the bench while the remaining two party members waddled back to town, we had to roll some new characters.

I spent most of the week between the petrification and the new characters appearing being mad at myself for not remembering I had Inspiration I could have used to reroll either of my failed dex saves and not being able to do much beyond that, but with less than 72 hours left until she had to debut, I finally pulled an idea out of my butt, ran it by the DM because it involved Shenanigans™, got the OK and started designing her. Thus was born Zmija Yilan, whose appearance was based partly on an old photo that was semi-viral on Tumblr several years prior and partly on Xelloss from Slayers because when I’m in a pinch, that’s always who I fall back on, and have been doing so for like, 20+ years at this point lmao.  Personality-wise, there was a post floating around Tumblr that week about proverbs in various languages that, when translated literally or without context, made very little sense so she got a lot of that (and associated misunderstandings based on language mix-ups) mixed in with—again—Xelloss from Slayers, because I am a hack.  I would probably never play her again because she was so firmly entrenched in that campaign and also there’s some parts of how I designed/played her that I look back on and am like “ehhh I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the optics of this,” but I enjoyed playing her a lot more than I expected, and I look back on the end of our Tomb campaign very fondly because of it.

I haven’t been able to talk about her in public both for a lack of reason to do so and because I didn’t want to “spoil” my group in case they found my various social media posts, but as it’s nearly a year since she was introduced and nine months since the campaign ended, I’m gonna absolutely wall of text the shit outta this bitch, rofl (that said there’s baby’s first nekkid pin-up under here so assuming Tumblr lets me actually post it, fair warning for that under the cut)

Zmija Yilan - level 8-10 Human* Warlock (Great Old Ones/Pact of the Tome) (usually this is where my D&D character posts put stats but I don’t actually have access to her character sheet anymore, so let’s just pretend she had something ridiculous like maxed Charisma because I remember my spell DC being ridiculously high)

Zmija Yilan is a traveler from the far-off land of Zemlya, and a disciple of Matrymriy, one of the "family" of five gods in the pantheon of that region.  Matrymriy came to Zmija in a dream one night and told her to travel across the seas because She had a task for her, and that she would learn more once she reached her destination.  She's been traveling around Faerun for seven or so years—reaching one place, being given hints to go to a specific location, and upon reaching it, being told to travel on without seeming to do much more than just Be There.  Upon reaching Chult sometime within the last few months, her patron's hints indicated that she should travel to a place called Shilku Bay; she hired a guide (named Salida) and a bodyguard (a Fort Belurian mook) with what little locally-acceptable currency she had; they got separated after being attacked by a band of undead, and after failing to reunite with them, she was wandering around lost, trusting that Matrymriy will guide her where She desires her to go.

Part of her wandering had her end up in the Tomb of the Nine Gods itself, where she encountered our adventuring party (down two player characters) desperately trying to find their way out of the tomb in the hopes of returning to Port Nyanzaru to depetrify their friends.  Our barbarian’s player immediately distrusted her because I’d drawn her tabletop token with her back to the camera, which was an awkward feeling almost immediately returned in-game because both the barbarian and paladin aren’t hardcore RPers but they had to carry all the RP weight as they were introduced to this new character and explain that they were there to destroy a lich (both because it was the source of all the bad undead in the area, and because they’d been promised a reward—a motivation Zmija understood, as “a hungry bear will not dance.”)  Beyond the usual RP awkwardness there was an additional layer of awkwardness between the characters IC as at the time, Thokk was barely wearing more than a breastplate and loincloth, while Zmija was covered neck-to-ankle despite the heat and humidity of the region.  She claimed that in the culture of Zemlya, having strangers see your skin was a mark of great shame and that modesty was of paramount importance, so seeing so much of him was very off-putting and threw her off-balance for much of their initial interactions. 

Getting off on the “wrong” foot with the party and pushing as hard as I could into Zmija’s quirks (the weird proverbs, sprinkling in her Zemlyan vocabulary and making a point of her being from Very Far Away with Very Different Customs) meant I went a little too hard on them at the beginning, which is partly what I’d do differently and partly why the whole thing ended up working, so it’s a weird retrospective balance.  If my partymates had ever shoved (almost) any of the names or places Zmija mentioned into google, they probably would have twigged to the scheme pretty dang fast.

In reality, Zmija is not a human traveler from Zemlya, because surprise! she's actually Zsaksatyi, a Chultian Yuan-Ti Pureblood under the command of Fenthaza.  She worked as a bit of a double agent/interrogator within the Fane prior to her current assignment (hence her spell list's focus on information gathering, silent communication, and manipulation); she's been fleshing out her alternate persona for years and would occasionally pretend to be a captive and be thrown in one of those cells the party was in to get relevant information from the other prisoners, or assist others that were interrogating prisoners by more direct means (via Detect Thoughts).  In-universe, the language she pretends to speak is mostly made up, and something she's been working on for years at this point—it's not a fully-fleshed conlang and she only has a couple hundred words and phrases but it's enough to be consistent and believable when she sprinkles it into regular speech.  Since there's no real risk of running into anyone else from Zemlya (because it doesn't actually exist), it mostly didn't matter, and since there's actual meaning behind the words she does have, in theory it would have held up to a spell like Comprehend Languages as well. Out of universe, the language she speaks is an amalgamation of my own conlang stuff (which, like the in-universe version, is very limited and not complete) and various words and phrases pulled mostly from real-world Slavic languages (russian, croatian, hungarian, etc) with a little bit of Turkish thrown in when my English-only ear felt that it fit or when I had already used a word and needed another word for the same thing.  Zsaksatyi (pronounced dzahk sot-YEE) is the only name/word in the whole mess that doesn’t actually mean something somewhere, and was a combination of syllables from an online Yuan-Ti name generator that I kinda liked together. If she had ever been outed, I would probably have come up with something a little less cumbersome for me and my (almost certainly wholly monolingual) D&D group to say... but she didn’t, so Zsaksatyi it stays!

She very much looks up to Fenthaza and almost idolizes and worships her—if she ever had to choose between Fenthaza or Dendar, things might have gotten a little bit rough for her (possibly no matter which way she ultimately jumped, though I imagine Dendar's vengeance would be more immediate, if Dendar's a hands-on sort of patron).  Thankfully (for her), there was very little risk of that given that the party had left Fenthaza on reasonably neutral terms (having already helped her oust Ras Nsi from his position of power in the Fane and the party having essentially marked that dungeon as “cleared”). Fenthaza had sent her to scout the Tomb of the Nine Gods and locate (or steal) an artifact known as the Black Opal Crown, which will allow the Night Mother to emerge into the world.  The group actually came across the crown pretty soon after Zmija (and our other new character, a firbolg druid named Mei Ren who replaced our cleric, Amara) joined them, but the party couldn’t figure out how to get it out of the room it was in and Zsaksatyi was content that it would be safe from both our group and other adventurers there while she found her way back to the Fane (though she Sent the location to Fenthaza in case she wasn’t able to make it back).  That was actually like, halfway through the session right after she’d been introduced so having her sneak off that fast would have been absolutely wild, so I kept playing her as Zmija and while there were myriad opportunities for her to be discovered—including a hallway where any non-magical non-living thing got evaporated, up to and including clothing—she never was.  The fact that the only spells she ever used spell slots on were Hex, Counterspell, and Identify never really got commented upon, because prior to her joining the party we didn’t have a source for any sort of utility magic and we’d been feeling the lack for a while.  She was a lot of fun to play just as Zmija once I got the hang of her, but the hidden agenda that only our DM & I knew about was an extra layer of fun, too. It would have been neat to see how the party reacted to a reveal, but unless Jim wants to take us back to Chult to actually deal with the Night Mother’s return (because without having to keep up appearances and alignments, I’m pretty sure I could have gotten that crown out of there even before the weird teleport-defying magic of the Tomb got turned off), her story is over for us—taking her outside of the setting she was designed for would be weird... plus we already have two warlocks (well, one and a half) in a party of four PCs; adding a third would be a little bit bizarre, I think.

Her more Yuan-ti features include scales down her spine and across her shoulderblades, on the backs of her hands, and on her hips and thighs—mostly in reds, oranges, and browns, but as she increases in power and connection with the Night Mother, more of them are darkening to Her blue-black; it started right at that spot between the shoulderblades where you always picture being stabbed in the back, and has expanded from there; I imagine by level 20 all of her scales would be that blue-black and may have encroached further on the more human-y leather bits, probably encroaching on her face at the last, which would make being a spy a lot more difficult (even moreso than wearing as much clothing as she already does) but I guess at level 20, do you really need to be sneaking around pretending to be human?

In direct sunlight or other very bright light, her pupils constrict to slits, which is the real reason for her heavy eye makeup—between the distraction of it and the (somewhat exaggerated) squinting that such light induces, it often goes unnoticed, as it did with her character portrait (although to be fair to my party, Alexus also has slit eyes because that’s one of the traits of elves and half elves in D&D, and also I’m not sure if they ever saw her portrait any larger than 150x150 or whatever Roll20 shows them at). Both her top and bottom canine teeth are sharper, longer, and narrower than is typical for humans, and she is careful not to grin too widely and will cover her mouth when she laughs or yawns, whether she is in disguise or not.  That part I’ve never drawn though, so I can’t really point to that as something the party overlooked, heh.  In hindsight, I wish I'd given her more/heavier snake features but even the official art for Yuan-Ti player characters are very light on them and getting around the differences between human and yuan-ti racials without tipping off the party was hard enough as it was—I took the 120 feet of magic-ignoring darkvision invocation to disguise the fact that she innately had darkvision, I never used my racial spells and abilities unless I was willing to “use” a spell slot on them and had another plausible way to have obtained them, the one time I got hit with a poison ability (which she was immune to) I spent a lot of time “figuring out the math” on how much HP I had to drop, etc.  I also wish I’d given her darker skin, as she is supposed to be Chultian but she is significantly lighter than all the NPCs we came across.  Then again, I’m as white as a sheet soaked in bleach so there’s something weird about me RPing folks of colour regardless (especially given her fake backstory, agh agh agh) so yeah.  Really enjoyed her, don’t regret her, will not ever play her again rofl

In our very last session of Tomb of Annhiliation, the party—fresh off the victory over the big bad lich whose name I can never spell and his weird world-eating fetus—headed back to Port Nyanzaru via the Aarakocra village of Kir Sabal, which the previous variant of the party (of whom only Thokk remained alive and mobile enough to talk to them) had helped out significantly earlier in the campaign, unlocking a flying ritual that we were like “man we’re not coming back here if we’re gonna use it we gotta do it now” to get us the rest of the way to the port.  En route, Zmija tried to leave the group and rolled a secret 15 Stealth roll... contested by 17 and 18 perception rolls from Mei Ren and Thokk, but as she wasn’t carrying much of the party’s stuff and it was the end of the campaign, they kinda just let her give some line about seeing them again in the future maybe, the Mother’s will is unknowable, etc etc.  I think if Duf and Kattii didn’t know that I wanted Alexus back as badly as I did and that we were like twenty minutes (real time) away from actually getting him back, they might have considered that more suspicious than they did.

Pronunciations (and translations): (mostly C&Ped from her bio, which is the only part of her character sheet I can still access on Roll20)

Zmija Yilan: zMEE-ah yee-LAHN.  Because I'm subtle as hell, that's Croatian/Russian/Ukranian (first name) and Turkish (last name) for "snake/serpent," according to the internet.  What do you mean Remus Lupin is a werewolf?!

Matrymriy: mah-tRRuh mRREE (Rs are rolled).  Matrymriy is Zmija's claimed patron—one of five major Zemlyashan dieties—but she'll state that she doesn't know the name that she goes by in the local dialect.  That's only partly true, of course—мати мрій is Ukranian for "Mother of Dreams" (at least according to google translate), which is close enough to her patron's actual names and titles (Dendar, the Night Mother) that she can get away with it without actually raising suspicions about the true source of her powers.  She'll also do that thing where if someone tries to say the name back to her she'll "correct" them by saying it exactly the same four or five times and then "give up" and accept whatever "butchered" version the speaker comes up with, except she'll do it even if they're actually saying it perfectly correctly.  She may do this with her own name as well (sorry, Jim. And Duf. And Dustin. And Kattii. And Kattii's coworker, if he ever joins us and I'm still playing this character by then, lmao.) (2021 addition: and literally everyone who has a name that isn’t typically pronounced by us English-only plebians, I am so sorry I’m not better at your language)

Zsaksatyi: dzahk sot-YEE.  Zmija's real name, when she isn't pretending to be a human.  That doesn't mean anything as far as I know, it was just a combination of some of the syllables the random Yuan-Ti name generator was coming up with that I liked (which is also where "Itszella" was from), lol.  I may end up changing it to be less cumbersome at some point, unless it comes up before then and ends up written in stone, but I'm on a bit of a time crunch for the moment.

Zemlya: zem-lyah.  If pressed for more detail on where in Zemlya she's from (e.g. by someone pretending to know details about her country), her home town is Fal'shyva (fall-sheh-VAH), southeast of the capital of Hayali (HI-yah-LEE) and just north of the port city of Farazi (fah-ra-DZI), which is where she originally sailed from seven years ago. фальшива земля is Ukranian for "fake land," Hayali is Turkish for "imaginary," and Farazi is Turkish for "hypothetical," lol.

Proverbs & (approximate) Pronounciations: (if I recall correctly, asterisks indicate ones I had used, so I didn’t repeat myself too frequently)

Wziąć się w garść (zvun shih garsch): lit. take the self into the fist (polish), pull yourself together Галопом по Zemlya (gal-OH-pohm poe zem-lyah): lit. galloping across Zemlya (russian), to be hasty/haphazard. * У кого немає собаки, полює з котом (Ooh koe-hoe meh-MIGH-eh soe-BAH-kay, poe-LOO-yay koh-tome): lit. who does not have dog, hunts with cat (ukranian, original proverb is portugese), make do with what you have. Z choinki się urwałaś? (dzi hoink-E she urr-vahl-wash): lit. did you fall from a Candlenights(aka Christmas) tree? (polish), you are obviously not well-informed; are you dumb? * Mi o vuku (MEE oh voo-koo): lit. to talk of the wolf (croatian), speak of the devil. * Thalai muzhuguthal (tha-LIE MOOz-GOO-thal): lit. pour water over someone's head (tamil), cut off a relationship. * Хоть кол на голове теши (coat-coal nah gohl-ehvee teh-SHEE): lit. you can sharpen an axe on this head (russian), a very stubborn person.

Other Languages Are Hard Today, Let’s Just Proverb It In English:

Cat's Forehead (japanese): a tiny space, usually used humbly to refer to owned land. It fell between chairs (swedish): group work that everyone assumed someone else would do, and didn't get done as a result * It gives me a beautiful leg (french): fat lot of good that'll do me Drown the fish (french): avoid a subject by talking about anything and everything else, confuse the issue In a river with piranhas, the alligator swims backstroke (brazil): protect your weaknesses * Accusation always follows the cat (iraqi): it's easy to blame someone who can't defend themselves The honey only sticks to the mustache of he who licked it (arabic): he who smelt it, dealt it * A hungry bear does not dance (greek): the reward must be worth the cost (or at least exist) * The crayfish sides with the crab (korean): people who have a lot in common stay friends * If you can't live longer, live deeper (italian): get the most of your time * A spoon does not know the taste of soup (welsh): intelligence is not wisdom Examine what is said, not who speaks (arab): don't take things at face value * Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you (new zealand): have a positive outlook He who does not travel, does not know the value of men (moorish): wide experience is gr8 Do good and throw it in the sea (arab): don't expect anything back from kindness * Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is halved (swedish): friends make things better If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together (african): strength in numbers, speed on your own.

[headcrossed]

A/N: no one asked for this, but I can’t stop thinking about it so here goes. Also still taking requests for these guys, if anyone’s interested!

THE RFA PLAYS DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS FOR THE FIRST TIME

SEVEN

We all know he’s the one that suggested it. Call it a team building exercise, if you will. Besides, since they’re going to be having more parties now in the future, they gotta make sure they stay strong as an organization. What better way than this?

Since no one else is experienced with this game, Seven also takes it upon himself to DM.

Even though oddly enough, he’s never really played it either... at least, not officially.

He found a rulebook when he was younger at the library, and it inspired him, but he knew he couldn’t take it home where his mom might find it.

So instead he memorized it, and when Saeran was sick he would make up a story and roleplay with him. No stats, character sheets, or anything. Just two lonely kids getting enraptured in pure imagination for a little while. It’s one of the fondest memories he has from his childhood.

I’mma be honest: Seven’s DM-ing style is basically the same as Griffin McElroy’s in TAZ.

He keeps things pretty well-balanced. Plenty of humor and shenanigans, but the more serious and emotional moments are really moving, and everyone’s surprised by this.

Zen and Yoosung and even Jaehee and V probably shed some tears over the way the story unfolds. 

He also does really good voice acting for his characters. Nowhere near on Zen’s level, like you could still kinda tell it’s him doing the voices if you couldn’t see his face, but he gets into character really easy (even Zen thinks he should audition to voice act for a game or something... ;) )

Yoosung

Aside from the obvious previous experience he might have, he probably played some one-shot campaigns with some D&D clubs on campus before. 

The first character he makes is probably a literal recreation of his LOLOL character, since it’s familiar to him, and is a good place to start with since he’s not very experienced. Besides, he’s built like a tank in LOLOL, and if he knows anything about these kinds of games, it’s that balance is key, and they need at least someone who can soak up all the damage of whatever Seven throws at them (is he afraid that he’ll make them face bosses way to big for any of them to handle and they’ll all die in the process? GOD YES)

And it turns out that concern was legit. He dies like 5 minutes in.

Scrapping that strategy, he probably will end up making a half-orc , and he ends up really enjoying this character a lot more.

Plays him... surprisingly chivalrous, probably ends up saving a princess at some point in the game.

Seven lets him romance her and... wait... HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND NOW!!!

The game doesn’t count, my sweet summer child

It’s a little awkward that she’s voiced by Seven,and even though he teases Yoosung about it (both in-game and out), quite often it’s really sweet, actually.

He really, REALLY wishes he could commission someone to do fan art of them, but he has no money T_T

Might ask V if he gets desperate enough... might

Believe it or not, Yoosung will actually ditch playing LOLOL for this.

He likes being able to see all his best friends gathered in one place, laughing and just having a good time. It warms his poor college student heart. 

ZEN

He’s not really sure how he was convinced to do this, but somehow he’s very into it 

He’s not very good at the numbers part of the game (and he usually has to ask Yoosung or Jaehee to help him with it), but he really shines in the roleplay department (I mean he’s an actor! If nothing else it’s a really good opportunity to work on his improv skills) 

Plays an high-elf bard, with a VERY high charisma stat. 

“Not very original, huh Zen? Trying to make life imitate art?” “Shut up, mistah trust-fund kid!”

AND HE PLAYS THEM EXACTLY HOW YOU WOULD EXPECT.

Flirts with EVERY ENEMY. To the point that Seven has to make his character have near-death experiences MANY TIMES to get him to stop. 

Still, somehow, by the end of the game he has amassed a harem of enemies who worship him for his god-like beauty. 

VOICE ACTS FOR HIS CHARACTER AND SINGS ACTUAL BARD SONGS HE’S MEMORIZED BEFORE-HAND (rest in peace, Jaehee)

Oh but he doesn’t stop there.

He COSPLAYS HIS CHARACTER, AND HIS WHOLE FANBASE GOES INSANE 

His bard now has a whole fandom and following irl too. He even made a separate social media account where he shares all the amazing fan art that people have drawn for his character. He even thinks that maybe they should start broadcasting their sessions or do a podcast. 

JAEHEE

Jaehee is an absolute beast at this game.

She’s read over the rulebook at least 20 times and knows it inside and out. 

Probably gets into arguments with Seven and maybe accidentally metagames once or twice. 

She should be dm-ing not seven what the hell are they all thinking? She knows the stats better, anyways 

She plays a rowdy dwarven paladin, and no one expected it.

Her logic is: it’s a fantasy-world. She can be whatever she wants, and she wants to smash things, be as rowdy as she likes, and be blunt and tell things like it is. 

Also she’s semi-intentionally trying to recreate a gimli and legolas style relationship with Zen’s character, go figure ;) it’s actually really sweet at the end of the day though they make a great fucking team.

Has her own special routine for dice-rolls that she believes will increase her odds of getting a better roll.

They all laugh at her for varying degrees for it but FOR SOME REASON IT WORKS AND SHE HAS CRAZY NAT 20 STREAKS SOMETIMES.

She ends up stealing a lot of Jumin’s kills, but she’s just roleplaying, after all. (Seven gives her bonus xp for good roleplaying too like yeah good for her for using this as an outlet) 

Frequents D&D forums a lot now. Thinking up new strategies and probably makes like a million new characters based on them that she may never play (but she hopes to, someday)

JUMIN

He’s heard of it before, and that’s no surprise with his extensive interest in small specialty businesses and the fact that the RFA has at least two members who have played it before. 

But alas, he has never played it himself.

He agrees because the level of spectacle that he’s seen around playing this game is astounding, and he’s intrigued. Thinks maybe he’ll get a new business idea out of it.

“So Jumin, what race are you going to play as?” Seven asks, innocently, as though he doesn’t know the answer.

“... you’ll see.” 

Everyone gets suspicious, but he keeps his poker-face as cool as ever. 

When they go around the table introducing their characters, he puts on his most serious face, puts his hands up in front of his face like paws, and introduces himself as his character: Elizabeth the 4th, Tabaxi Ranger

Zen has to leave the room to get over a sneezing fit, Jaehee’s glasses shatter, Seven straight up dies laughing on the floor. None of it matters to Jumin. He’s living the fucking dream.

All that being said, Jumin is definitely tries to take a more methodical approach to the game. He carefully plans out his strategies for the best strategical outcome. 

Although 

He actually ends up really enjoying it, at the end of the day.

You know he’s looking into premium gear for future sessions. Buys all the rulebooks and lorebooks, buys a bunch of really cool-looking handmade dice (that he personally tests himself for balance, to make sure they all roll true). He probably even commissions someone to make custom mini figurines for their characters. 

V

Like Zen, he’s also not quite sure how he got roped into doing this.

He’s never played, or ever really even HEARD of this game before, let alone understand how it works, but given an opportunity to hang out with the rest of the RFA and relax, he takes it. It sounds like fun to him anyway. 

He has to spend a lot of time making his character (this poor boy, he sees everyone else with their faces stuffed in the character stat books and he doesn’t wanna ask if he can borrow it ‘cause they need it to make their characters too and doesn’t want to interrupt them) 

When he finally DOES make a character, however. He goes with a Tiefling Druid. Not only do they look aesthetically pleasing and unique, but also he empathizes with how they’re treated by society as a whole. It’s kinda the perfect fit. 

He’s super clueless when they first start playing. 

Seven says “Roll for initiative” and he sits there like “wait... what do I do? ^^; ”

Jaehee, Jumin and Seven usually help him out and explain things as they go along.

As the game progresses he picks things up bit by bit. Turns out, he’s actually really good at roleplaying.

In the beginning, he plays his character as this cold and distant,  not really caring about anyone in the team, but over time that dissolves into unerring loyalty to the rest of the party. Probably created an elaborate backstory involving a long lost love, too.

Everyone gets super attached to V’s character.

But of course, OF COURSE

When they face the final boss of the arc, someone has to sacrifice themselves to defeat it.

V immediately volunteers, and is dealt a killing blow before any of the rest of them can so much as talk it through. 

As he dies, he says “My people only know hatred because they have been so hated. But... I’ve never felt that. Not with all of you. Thank you, for showing me that there’s hope for all of us!” and his character dies, with a smile on his face.

DAMNIT V NO

EVERYONE’S FUCKING CRYING NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID

All-in-all though, he had a really great time. 10/10 would play again. Maybe even starts constructing a story-based campaign in his head and wants to try DM-ing next time!

He’s always snapping super aesthetic photos of the sessions, and probably does a painting of all their characters together to commemorate their first campaign. 

SAERAN

Saeyoung invited him to play, but he says no. 

It’s childish and he has other things he wants to do.

Saeyoung doesn’t pressure him, and honestly he thought that would be the last he’d hear of it. 

However, Seven’s house is usually where they end up meeting to play (since no one else really has the room for it, and playing at Jumin’s house is ruled outright due to level of c-hair)

He’s a little annoyed, and thus stays in his room for most of the night, figuring he can wait the session out in his room.

But alas, the one thing he didn’t factor in was wanting some ice cream at 1 am.  

After a deep internal debate, he ultimately decides to leave his room to satisfy the craving, and unlocks his door. 

He wanders into the kitchen, surprisingly unnoticed, silently grabbing a spoon from the drawer and taking the carton of ice-cream out of the freezer, when he overhears something... familiar.

“BOOM! BOOM! Drums sound in the deep. A mighty roar soon follows, as the chamber rumbles with the sound, pieces of the construction tumbling to the floor of the ancient hall in its wake...” 

Seven roars, for effect. 

“Oh shit...” Zen says.

“Louder and louder, the sound draws nearer, until the sound stops at the foot of the barricaded door. Large shadows overcome what little faint light shone from beneath the door...”

*pushes up his glasses* “Roll for initiative”

“WHAT?!”, screams Yoosung, “WE JUST FOUGHT A CAVE TROLL! WE HAVEN’T EVEN HAD THE TIME TO RECOVER!”

“Shame...” Seven says, “If only there was one more party member... then you might have a chance...” 

Seven then looks over to the doorway, locking eyes with Saeran briefly.

Memories prickle at the back of his head. Memories of those same eyes lighting up as he told the same stories to him. He remembers getting lost in those stories, feeling happy deep down as he figured out what he would do next. He even remembers... smiling? 

He runs back into his room, and slams the door. 

And that’s the last the RFA sees of him...

Or so they think.

Half an hour later, he comes out of his room, pulls out one of the kitchen chairs, sits down and slams a hastily-printed character sheet. 

“Looks like you’re running into some trouble with that Balrog... tch. Amateurs.”

He made a Kenku Monk, chaotic neutral alignment.

And he completely destroys the boss that Seven had planned for them. 

DID SOMEONE SAY EDGELORD?

Probably splits from the party a bunch, but Saeyoung planned for that, so there’s usually a bunch of story-heavy side-quests waiting for him anyway, and they all eventually lead him back to the party somehow.

But truth be told, he’s not that mad about it.

Every opportunity he gets to describe exactly the kind of moves he’s exacting on the enemies they face, he takes. He explains it in creative, gory detail, and it shocks some of the other party members, but Seven seems cool with it.

That’s right kiddo, harness all that repressed rage. Let it out. 

He’s helping clean the kitchen after everyone’s gone when Seven asks,

“So? You going to play with us next session too?”

He pauses washing the snack dishes for a beat, and the corners of his lips start to twitch, just a little.

“Y-yeah, I-... I actually had a lot of fun.”

His brother pats him on the back, his hand still on his shoulder when he says “I’m glad! That’s what I was hoping to hear.”

“... Wait... you planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

The sly smirk on Seven’s face says it all. Bih you know he did

“... you little shit.”

[mistymins]

torn by clouds | Pt.1

➢ Taehyung x Reader

➢ genre/au: fluff-ish, prince au + modern au

➢ word count: 4871

➢ A/N: honestly so many inspirations. Like wut. From Game of Thrones to the old 80s music video, Take on Me, which is still such a bop. Also inspired by @minnochu‘s wonderful Cursed series which is one of my faves. This is the first to a mini series because yea, I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing and this is a mess lol

The prince evaded yet another potentially devastating blow from the Blood King, he knew his strength is waning but nevertheless, his will remained firm. He tightly grasped the hilt of the Sword of Aesir, sweat beading and flashes of the distinct faces of the people back in Roston giving him a sharp purpose.

“A shame that the young prince will soon be slain by my hands. Lay down your arms and maybe I’ll spare you.”

He stared at him blankly, then uttered a scoff of disbelief as his lips gave way to a smirk. “Heh, you ought to watch who you’re speaking to.” The prince raised a fist to the side, never once removing his gaze from the Blood King whom seemed to be intrigued just as Taehyung is hopeful of what he is scheming.

The heat in his palm began to swell until steam quickly seeped through his fingers, rising and dissipating into the air. Any man would writhe under the pain of a torch under their fingertips but not Taehyung; trained under a Master Sorcerer, he could only feel a tingle of sensation. He slowly uncurled his fingers, a spark generating in the center and a fire began to visibly take shape like the first spark of a campfire that gradually grew in height from it’s host of heated coals; a bright blue flame that soon engulfed the whole of his hand as it expanded into a small inferno.

“I am the Prince of Roston, son of Kyong Song-Jin. Also known as the heir to the throne and light be damned, if I give myself up by someone as hideous as you.”

Setting down the comic, you sighed and reeled back slightly in your chair, absorbing the detail of the event outlined in the pages. Painting a picture of the witty yet hot tempered Prince in your mind as you took a sip of morning coffee. It was laughable, you admit, that the most excitement you’ve received for awhile and the one thing your focus has been mainly fixated on is a fictitious Prince in a fictitious story. Nothing had changed apparently all these years, you were still a reflection of yourself, whom thought more about the welfare of characters than reality itself. To be truthful, it honestly wasn’t all that bad.

It was the incessant blinking of ‘one new message’ and new notices from the school arriving in the mailbox that brought that feeling. If you had a dime for every time anxiety bubbled up again, you would have the ability to buy yourself something really refine.

You just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. You were tired, though still strangely thankful, of the frequent calls from your parents asking how things were and if any more thoughts were given to your future career. You bit your lip softly and slightly fiddled with your hands. The steam wafting from the coffee that sat near the thick novel invited you again for a sip. A resigned sigh followed it.

Its all so mundane… 

 Why couldn’t life be the kind of spectacle that Taehyung had in his stories? You thought of all the things you’d pursue if you lived under their kingdoms. Of going to wide open market places where foreign traders from different sides of the world intermingled; eavesdropping on a mercenary’s so called ‘legendary’ experience during one of his missions; visiting ruins torched by dragons. Even gazing upon the castle dwelling where Taehyung lived—where apparently, the bridge was made out mined gold—would be enough for your naiive eyes. More importantly, meeting the Prince himself, hearing him speak of the timeless adventures of rebellion he had before ultimately settling down with his princely status to travel the world in diplomacy.

But the thought reminded you again, that was fiction and the world you lived in, was reality. There were no Taehyungs, no magic, no fire breathing dragons. Instead, you had college, bills, and a career to think about pursuing for the rest of your life.

With a head full of sudden frustration, you smoothed over your unkempt i-just-rolled-out-of-bed hair and attempted to have a more positive, on the bright side kind of thinking; you were meeting Jisoo today. The nutcase whose personality is in juxtaposition against your own and a bestfriend you didn’t ask for but also didn’t realize you needed. You were reserved, preferably spending your free days at home. She was forceful, assertive, an extroverted spirit that fiercely answered the solitude in you.

Just when you’ve put your head in the clouds, the ringtone emitting from your cell startles you out of your thinking. It was a sure fire way to make your heart drop into the shadows, reading the ID and discovering it was from your boss, presumably asking you to come in for work, dropping plans in substitution for the hours. Of course, every time, you urged yourself to take it. More moolah, you figured.

Taking the call, it was just as you assumed. “Yes, I’m able to do it today. No it’s no hassle at all. ”

You smoothed your polo shirt and the apron imprinted with the logo of the café you worked for; You combed your fingers over the strands of hair that stood in opposition from the ponytail and made sure the makeup had done it’s job; the dark circles no longer visible.

Afternoon began to pour into the windows and the sound of birds and of the accompanying rustle of wind mixed with the mechanical jet of vehicles made you feel that empty feeling again. An emotion that sent your gaze at the familiar photo that hung warmly on the refrigerator door, maybe a reminder of simpler times that made you both sad and happy; your two closest friends, with you cheerfully snug in the middle–beaming smiles as if it told the world that it had conquered it. Life after highschool graduation didn’t prepare you for this, the separation; knowing those two are as far away as gone, living their own lives. 

Then for some odd reason, a flash of Taehyung, the audacious and lightharded man, the fictional man, appeared in your mind with eyes as fiery as the sun.

At this time, the café usually stopped sitting customers but there were always the leftover ones that mingled about and conversed; the ones who arrived just before the signs closed and most likely gave the cooks (who were preoccupied with cleaning up their stations and preparing with the next day) a hard time. The folks who also needed to be reminded that a café needed its sleep time; that was part of your work too.

You weren’t locking up, though. Thank god. There were others for that.

So after a bit of tidying, with wiping the counter tops, sweeping the floor and whatnot, you were relieved to grab your belongings from the locker area, even removing the tie to let your mane loose was a freeing feeling. Ugh I need a haircut. So eager to make your leave, the phone that rang in your pocket almost went unnoticed; if it wasn’t for its steady vibration.

Jisoo, it read.

“what’s up?” you answered.

“hey, so I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a drink with me. You know, since it’s going to be the weekend and all.”

“Thanks but I’m not up for it today. I just kinda wanted to head home tonight.” You rubbed your nape and laughed apologetically.

“Aww ok. Well, head home safe! Hugs and kisses!.”

You hung up the call but kept a steady grip on your phone; It never feels good to turn people down, you’ve always been known as sort of the “yes man” but honestly, you were ready to dig into the rest of that comic book issue while basking in the quiet and quaint place that was home. That prospect certainly put you in eager haste.

It was true, nothing beats a misty, soothing shower to evaporate the day’s worries. The feeling of warmth gently cascading down your back, the droplets pooling and trickling down your hair was both pleasant and .

By the time you tip toed out of the bathtub, steam became your fog as you fumbled your hair dry with a towel–proceeding to make little silly drawings against the misty mirrors. One application of the fruit-scented lotion, a number of tedious skincare prep later, you quickly reached over for the change of clothes that you instinctively, usually, perch on the nearby handle.

“What the-“ you groaned, deeply as your eyes rolled heavily over such realization.

You had forgotten to grab the fresh change of clothes you whipped out for yourself; recalling and assuming that your mind must’ve been preoccupied enough to leave them in place.

So you proceeded to wrap the moist towel around your body, bracing yourself before stepping out of the confines of the warm and comforting sauna that is your bathroom and into the harsh changes of your apartment. Cold…Cold! You shivered as the chill hit your shoulders, hastily tip toeing into your room, not even bothering to turn on the lights as you fumble your hand in the dark wooden drawers of the dresser. Come on!

Clack…

Freezing, petrified like stone for a second, the sound was distinct; the sound of an object colliding against the floor, judging from displacement, you could deduce what it probably was.

But also, there was something else very faint.

Your heart tells you that something was off, but you continued to “search” the drawers of the dresser to feign awareness. It was faint like something your ears could’ve deceived you with, something maybe your mind conjured in the night. But it was no question, you heard a gasp.

There was a metal bar that leaned against the dresser from the side, you knew because you remembered and because you were too paranoid to be defenseless for situations like these. Keeping a weapon for protection was a way of easing your fear of the situations you hear of happening in the night–now it was definitely your haven. Inching ever so carefully, you blindly felt about in the abyss for the cold metal, hearing the acceleration of your heart as intense drumbeats. All that invaded your thoughts were all those days, snuggled under a warm blanket in the dead of night, watching crime documentaries of the unsolved cases that made your hair stand stiff. You were sorely regretting it.

You flip the light switch on nearby and surely enough a brief glimpse of a man, maybe a little bit taller, came into sight, though unable to clearly witness his face, that fact didn’t matter nor so much as concern you as you close yours eyes and initiate a full swing powered by all the strength you could conjure up at the moment.

“Hey, hey, is that anyway to treat your hostage?” his voice crisp.

You stared at him all wide eyed, dismayed to see his fist grasp the bar, putting your attack in a complete halt, more so, he inched his face closer with that taunting expression of his (towards your own that was) full of disbelief. Just what was this nutcase blabbering about?

“Tell me girl, you’re in collusion with the witch aren’t you? Or maybe, you’re the old hag yourself!” he demanded.

What the heck was he talking about? Whatever the case was, you began a power struggle which itself was proving to be difficult considering the amidst it all, the towel: you could feel it loosening from its tight wounding. “I’m not a witch and I-I don’t know one either! How’d you get into my apartment, you crazy sicko?!” you react back. You kept up with the struggle but it was obvious, the losing side of the battle was you. Unable to persist against his constant demonstration of strength, it was the final straw of prevalence when he abruptly pulled the bar towards him, reeling your body forward to stumble against his and undoing the towel all in the same frame of time.

Perhaps this was the one moment that gave you two a chance to collect your thoughts, ironically with the space between each other a little too close for comfort. With a disheveled towel acting as a disconcerting barrier between bodies. You lifted your head from what you realized was the firmness of his chest, earning yourself a good look at his face once more but in a more detailed fashion. And it finally dawned on you why his face gave you a familiar feeling, you stepped back hastily and grabbed your towel in a helter-skelter fashion, the realization of you almost, entirely, naked on top of a man feeling insignificant despite the fact your cheeks were still tinted.

No way, gotta be a joke. It’s gotta be…!

Maybe it was a crazy thought but it made you feel like a kid who believed too much into her fantasies. 

Dark blue and white apparel…you skimmed him from head to toe. It glinted pronouncedly, the symbol intricately carved in a circular pin that held his silk capes together. “A white hawk?” you unknowingly mutter aloud.

He briefly glances at the pin to which you seem to be mesmerized by, “Supposed to represent the role of ‘Protector of the Realm’; a great strength they say. Well, leave it to my ancestors to create something unoriginal. ”

There was only one person whom that symbol belonged to; the man from the books. He wore an apparel almost identical to Taehyung’s–no it is identical. A hooded cape with the same design, and the way it bunched up on one shoulder like a scarf, reminded you that it was the same one drawn on him in the comics whenever he left his kingdom on another adventure. And the pin, it was right where it should and looked how it should be.  

You emitted a breathy laugh, feeling yourself buy into this reality. But no doubt, he looks too much like him: the hair, the getup, his manner of speaking. It was no question. But still, you shook your head vigorously and slightly furrowed your brows together. Are you crazy? Are you really gonna believe that it’s him? Get it together, he’s not even real. 

 It was restless until you couldn’t stand wondering anymore and blurted, “Just who are you?”

He crossed his arms, “Prince Taehyung of Roston and so on and so forth whatever titles that follow my name.”

A shiver engulfs you, sending out signals to carry out a thousand goosebumps, making your heart skip at the utterance of his name. Taehyung…

“The one and only.” 

A low gasp comes out of you when he answers what you thought was your own conscience; must’ve spoken aloud again. He bows, with one arm in extension and the other nestled on him, hugging his rib cage, not very Prince-like but more as if he was a showman acknowledging his audience at the end of a performance.

In the back of your mind, the skepticism ran, insistent that this was indeed a dream, that you took a tumble, slipped out of the bathtub and bruised your head or something along the lines of that nature. And now you were in some kind of dream sequence, albeit a very life like one. Gulping and hesitant, you placed a flat palm above your chest. “ —, I’m —-. And this is my home.” 

He stood and paced a bit in place. “Strange accent…” he mutters. “Listen, that’s good to know but I would really like to get back to Roston. It’s not really in my plans to be a hostage so if you would kindly tell the witch to–”

All of a sudden, three knocks maybe four echoed from the front door and it put a an interlude to the current conversation. A little bit bothered, you silently questioned who would go knocking at your door so well into the evening especially after having dealt with an “intruder” who, as it turned out, wasn’t exactly your conventional criminal; of all people it was someone you knew—well sort of. Having to juggle the visible facts that you were having a conversation with a fictional character from your comic book; you couldn’t believe it. I need a drink after this.

A muffled voice came from behind the door. “Hey —-. You didn’t think you could avoid me all day, did ya? Come on open up, I got a bottle of champagne and some new movie rentals.”

You quickly recognized the voice. Jisoo.

Instantaneously snatching whatever clothes that was sufficient enough, you speedily dressed and mouthed Taehyung to hide in the bedroom, even if he gave a confused expression and wasn’t quick to comply, you were going to do everything in your ability to get that man out of sight. You pushed him without thought back into the room, flicked the lights off , and left the door only slightly ajar for his own good. “Don’t leave this room!” You loudly whispered to him.

An evening pretty well off into the night and a mysterious man whom no one has any knowledge of, alone with you in your own apartment, to anyone bursting into the scene, it would come off as one of your secret hookups or secret boyfriends. And it wouldn’t even be as bad as it seemed if only people didn’t know your personality to be in polarity with the notion; you didn’t want people blowing this up into a big fuss. What kind of story would you even attempt to conjure up for the misconstrued situation? You rolled your shoulders attempting to calm yourself, repeating ‘she’s not going to see him’ like a mantra before twisting the knob and unlocking the front door.

“What took you so long, Y/N?” usually it didn’t bother you when she let herself in of her own accord but this time was different. It wasn’t exactly a desirable time for her to go snooping around.

She placed the champagne on the coffee table in front of the couch. Knowing exactly where the wineglasses were, she grabbed them from their cupboards before plopping down and sorting quickly through the movies on her lap; reading their titles.

Instead of giving Jisoo your choice, you blankly stared her way, faintly realizing that you had not paid any attention to her question.

“Earth to Y/N, you okay?”

You shook your head and chuckled to obscure your awkward behavior but you knew it wasn’t going to fool anyone, especially Jisoo. You only needed to try and detract her attention into a reason believable enough. “Yeah, it’s just, it wasn’t a good day at work today. I have a massive headache so I think we’re gonna have to put a raincheck on movie night.” You feigned frustration and rubbed the sides of your temples.

She sighed as if she was the one affected, “God, it’s that one coworker again, isn’t it? I told you, you only need to tell me the way he walks home and I’ll scare him for you. Guarantee the dude will think twice about what he’s doing.” 

Jisoo stood, and began to walk to the one place you wished her not to be, intensely hoping that she not take the room on the right of the hallway, where the bedroom lay. But thankfully, as 50% of you assumed, she walks into the left corridor leading to the bathroom; you were able to swallow the nervousness down.

Shut and click.

 A sigh of instant relief leaves you, until gazing up, you spot Taehyung widening the gap of the door, peeking out at first and then gradually sticking his head out in the open.

‘What are you doing?’ you mouthed at him. ‘Get back in there!’

He raised his brows, ‘If I recall, we just met, why should I give heed to what you say?’ he whispered back

Oh the audacity. You would’ve given him a reply to that if only you didn’t notice the faucet from the bathroom becoming inaudible and a click sound of the door following in succession. ‘I swear to god if you don’t–’ you pointed at him as quickly as you settled down the moment Jisoo swings the door open.

“Hey remember that shirt I lent you last week?” Jisoo emerges and you quickly sit back down in your seat, pretending that Taehyung almost being discovered didn’t happen.

“Yeah.”

“Well since I’m here, I might as well take it so you don’t have to go through the hassle.” Your eyes widen as she once more, takes the steps towards your bedroom, pushing the door slightly further agape this time.

“Actually!” you blurt out which successfully stops her. “It’s in the washer right now. So don’t worry about it, I’ll get it to you like tomorrow or something.” You waved your hand dismissively.

She squinted her eyes at you, making you conclude that she must’ve realize that you’re up to no good, but surprisingly, she casually shrugs and makes her way towards you. “Well if you say so. You know, you seem kind of off today, you sure you’re okay.” She asks

Though, your heart skips, you manage to keep a consistently believable act even though underneath, your heart is slightly thumping—to the point of thinking she hears it. “Yeah, I’m good. I just need some sleep.” That’s an honest truth, actually.

Barely a short time elapsed before you were seeing Jisoo out: fine, I guess I’ll hang out with myself tonight were the last words she imprinted on you. Despite that, the way she eyed the bottle of champagne tells you that she wasn’t at all that sad. Her departure alleviated the sudden anxiety that had arisen but the second the door shuts was a cue for Taehyung, bringing back the stress level to your ears.

Just what were you to do with him?

Besides that, taking him seriously proved to be a challenge as he was draped in that over the top medieval garb that looked extremely prize worthy in professional cosplaying. 

He brushed the dust off his shoulders and trousers, “Wasn’t that just lovely.”

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry but I really needed you out of sight.”

“You look like a nice girl, but witches often use nice girls to do the dirty deed, if their not masking themselves as one already. Luring gentlemen like” he gestures at himself. “bet that haggard witch is laughing herself to her deathbed. Transporting me into some foreign land. Well why don’t you tell her to go–.” 

“I told you, I don’t know anything. I don’t know any witches, if they even exist. All I know is that this is my home and you’re in it.” the tone in your voice raised a bit at some point hearing him accuse you of some travesty when in actuality you feel as if your mind had ceased to function trying to wrap its thoughts around what’s happened; you were badly as lost as him.  

He scratched his head, “So, no clue at all.”

Just then, the cogs in his mind turned the inner workings of his thoughts. The throne. The lifeline of his family’s reputation and where was he? Definitely not doing a very ordained job at guarding it; back then, he was easily pardoned for being irresponsible but he believes he would not fare well this time if he broke another vow. But then—he pondered that if he was here then you must also be here for a reason. If fate is real. 

His hazel brown eyes twinkled, the corner of his lids curling up like a smile as firm hands pressed the sides of your shoulder. “You must know the way back!”

Taken aback by his eager and sudden approach, with an expression that filled the world’s hopes, but the best you could give was the way you shook your head apologetically, “Listen, I really, don’t know. I’m just as confused as you.” You admit.

“But then, how did you know who I am? The way you gazed at me, I don’t think– I would’ve recognized you at this point.”

Eyeing the comic, a simple and thinly bound piece of work laying on the table that now held more significance than it did previous. Where his life lay public, where every detail, complex or minor, penned down, drawn, and predetermined before he knew himself. Was this a revelation you wanted to tell him at nearly 10 in the evening? Maybe it can wait another day.

Inevitably, your voice quivered. “I-I’ve read about you.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together, “huh, I didn’t know the scholars had my name penned down. Didn’t even wait till I was dead. In any case, it doesn’t seem like you know the hag, you look as if you were dragged along into my problem. So! Help me here, what does it take to return to the kingdom’s capital.  A horse? A ship?”

Your eyes suddenly began to take in the sight of him as if the past hour hadn’t happened. It brought this otherworldly feeling and you couldn’t quite believe that it was him, Taehyung in the flesh, alive and real; more significantly, standing in your own living room. How was it even possible to begin with? Magic. Absurd, It was nonsensical that you even conceived such a notion but well—nothing about this situation made sense in the first place. It was like seeing a portrait come to life only those features of his that you knew in the books: the caramel hair, layered to fall just above his ears and precisely to frame his face, befitting the stature of a prince; his eyes that curved in a way that defined coolness but not haughtiness; and lips that seem to know when to smart talk the next egotistical fool. They were more defined, nothing what any artist could create with a pencil.

You must’ve been gawking at him, mouth agape, as the hazy vision of him moving his mouth made you realize that he was trying to converse with you. Uncontrollably, the embarrassment began to settle in your cheeks and you ripped your eyes away. Fine, he was handsome, you get it.

“Look girl, I pay well. Just—show me the way and we’ll forget that we had anything to do with each other.”

It occurred to you that he was far from home; so far that it wasn’t even in the same world or dimension. How were YOU going to break that to him. If he steps out that door, it was no telling how long he’ll fare, sure there weren’t fire breathing dragons or forest monsters but the real world could be just as dangerous.

“I-I’m sure things are confusing for you. But it’s the middle of the night right now, I can’t do anything to help you.”

“Then you wouldn’t have to. I’ve been in worse situations before.” he sidesteps you, headed towards the front door.

“No wait! You don’t understand. You’re far, FAR, away from where you need to be.” You gestured. “I mean you don’t even know. And it’s no use to you if you go out at night.” 

You were itching to take a step back when his boots begin to march forward, hands to his hips, and a cocked head that makes you blink away as you failingly make eye contact. “Are you suggesting I spend the night?” he says

You inhaled deeply, sensing those amber orbs of his looking directly at you. Taehyung then flipped his sight at the front door that lead to the darkness beyond before leaning in a tad bit too close for comfort within your personal bubble, “It looked like an ink blot.” He emitted a wry smile. ”A birthmark is it?”

Crap, he saw?!? A rosy heat quickly ascends to settle on your cheeks upon realizing with that noggin of yours what he meant as you snapped your hand over the side of your stomach, even though knowing it was unnecessary since clothing masked what was underneath, still…when he said that, it felt like your shirt was only a shear veil and it gave you clear evidence, this was Taehyung, alright. Unafraid of talking things up; with merchants, the lords of the kingdom, and of course, the beautiful women who sparked an interest enough to chat with. These were the comics at least.

You were flushed to have received a taste of his personality in its actual form; embarrassed and a little put off.

“your words are definitely something you’re going to regret someday.“ you mumbled.

“Wait, what did you say?” something in his tone suddenly flipped a switch, turning to look at him just as his brow melded into a slight crease, an aura of thoughtfulness like something had suddenly plagued his mind.

“it’s nothing, I was talking to myself. What, why?”

His eyes skimmed the floorboards in emptiness, thinking, then he promptly met your eyes and you could see the moment that he must’ve ascertained something significant for himself. “She said those words to me. The witch.”