#going to forcibly put myself in there. get fucked idiots!!!!!!!! now you have to talk to ME!!)

[saltinesinsoup]

lmaoooo love using tumblr as a way to process shit about what i need to do

[dr-spectre]

Hello everyone, I got some announcements to share and some plans for the future of this blog now that the Grand Fest is over and the news drought begins.

(LONG POST AHEAD!!!!)

I think going forward I'm gonna change how I approach myself acting online and be less "OH MY GOD HOLY SHITENWIOEDISIWIEOE GUYYS!!!"

Because to be honest with you all... I've been feeling very self conscious about the way that I've been acting online and I feel like I gotta channel my passion for Splatoon in a much more healthy and less EXTREMEEEEE way.

I am aware that um.... people have blocked me... and you know, that's to be expected of course when you are online and you're slowly building a following. Still really stings, though, and I think it's due to the fact that sometimes I can be sorta- "This is what happened, and if you disagree with me, you're an idiot and you're wrong!!!!!" When I make posts. And I don't wanna do that, and I don't want to come off as a gatekeeping fan that thinks lower of other people who might not know my stances very well. I wanna educate people and present my stuff as more of "Hey guys, this is what I think actually happened in this event. Feel free to take a look! I think this is really cool and I wonder what you guys think of this perspective that i have?"

And sometimes I can be pretty loud mouthed and stuff and I have talked shit towards certain characters. I remember one time I made a post where I said "what the fuck is wrong with Marie?" And said some stuff... I probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with that post... and other posts. I'm so sorry if I have made some of you upset in the past or have said some awful things about your favourite characters in the series...

As you guys probably know, I am passionate about Hypno Callie and I have very strong stances and opinions on her. And that leads to me get a bit... out of control. Callie is my biggest comfort character and to see certain people try and push this vile and disgusting event that happened to her... that she was kidnapped by Octavio and the Octarians when she was alone, and that he brainwashed her and forcibly put the shades on her, or he tricked her and he removed her memories too...

and I try to see the same event in a completely different lens... I see it as more of Octavio manipulating her in a more subtle way and due to Callie's poor mental state and desperation, she heard him out. Octavio used the shades as a way to control her more easily but he doesnt have full direct control over her because her influence helped motivate the Octarians. Octavio still wanted Callie to be... well... Callie. Plus, Callie was more than willing to help the Octarians as well, as she thinks they are cute. I do have evidence to back it up as well as articles and definitions explaining how hypnosis actually works and its limitations.

But this perspective gets compromised and put into question in my head when people keep pushing and pushing and PUSHING the other thing. Then it feels like I have to yell and get mad.... I've seen it as recently as when Blushing Tide came out and I looked at the YouTube comment section on one of the uploads and I just kept seeing people say "oh it's like Tidal Rush but without the brainwashing" or some shit like that idk. I dont remember it well but i know I saw the word floating around. (Don't look at YouTube comment sections. You won't get anything of value from them.)

Anyways, I also wanna cut back on swearing too because sometimes I border on being a hazbin hotel character and I DO NOT want myself to get to that level LMAO!

So what shall I be doing now that Splatoon 3 is officially wrapped up? Well... I wanna do more creative projects and fun stuff like that. I got good reception from my haikus for the Grand Fest and I think doing more stuff like that sounds really really fun!!! And it might actually give me a reason to finish stuff as well lol...

Like I have a God damn Splatoon 2 hero mode finale rewrite that's nearly done and it's been sitting on my Google docs since JULY!!!! I have also made plans to do a fan sequel to the Squid Sisters Stories that takes place in between Splatoon 2 and 3 because that time frame for the Squid Sisters has been barely touched upon. I'm also doing a personal project where it's basically what I want to see out of a Splatoon 4 and I've been really enjoying making that. I dont know if I would ever share it but... it's something to do for me at least.

I also wanna involve myself in the community more, I received an ask where someone said (I forgot who asked I'm so sorry) if I could do a thing where I receive Splatoon OCs and critique them. That sounds really fun!!!

Maybe i can do photo mode competitions or showcases!!! Where I choose a theme (Callie, water, Splatsville, etc) and people submit their photos and I critique them and showcase them to everyone!!! Does that sound like something people would be interested in?! I would love to know as virtual photography is a hobby I love to partake in and I wanna encourage more people to try it!

There is also other stuff i can do like going over the Idols outfits and rating them, but I don't have the motivation to do that at the moment and I know it's not gonna be as in-depth as the one I did for Callie.

Anyhow, that's basically what I have so far. I think im gonna slow down on posting and I'm gonna chill out. Or at least I'll try to chill out.

I've just been feeling incredibly guilty and kinda... sad that I've been acting in a certain way for a while. And I really wanna change that. I dont like making people upset and I don't wanna be the kind of Splatoon fan that puts down others who don't even know any better and don't know who I am....

But enough being sad, I wanna focus on the present and make sure that my future on here is bright!!!

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

my danganronpa v3 chapter 4 investigation and trial running commentary:

so it seems like i was correct to be worried about the fate of miu. man this is such a bummer this is the first time one of my faves has died i'm so upset. and i really thought miu would make it to the end tbh

i love having two purple boys fighting for my affections

did kokichi bring a bottle of poison from my lab as a red herring? wouldn't put it past him. big "byakuya altering chihiro's murder scene in DR1" vibes

i can't believe they would tell me that the poison can cause eyes to look bloodshot and then wouldn't let me investigate miu's eyes to see if they were bloodshot or not what the fuck

man i really just beamed kaito outta there with that cell phone huh

so someone was either trying to frame kaito, remove his ass from the equation, or clear out the rooftop area, yeah?

after more investigating it seems "clear out the rooftop area" is probably the right answer, given that miu and kokichi were supposed to have a secret meeting there

bro why won't shuichi investigate the very obvious lattice???? at miu's virtual body he was like "idk what this is doing here." and it was obviously in the storage room i looked at earlier but he didn't mention that. and then when i went back to the storage room he was like "something feels different from before. idk what tho. oh well" and i'm just screaming SHUICHI YOU IDIOT IT'S THE LATTICE bro wtf

i know they're setting up kaito to look super suspicious, but i actually think he's the least suspicious. sure, he could've done something to her real body, but i think miu died in-game. it said she had no visible injuries. miu died at 6:30, but kaito was forcibly logged out over an hour before that at 5:17. so he could not have killed her in-game, and i think she died in-game, so therefore i don't think kaito is the culprit. i think kokichi is gonna try VERY hard in the trial to convince me he is, though

when they said "there was a user error upon login" i immediately thought to myself "alright who didn't plug their cords in the right way?"

gonta has been very quiet through this whole investigation process. and i'm actually suspicious of himiko, who at the start was very vocal about not wanting to go in the virtual world, and then at the end was VERYYY vocal about not wanting to LEAVE the virtual world. what's going on there?

i'm still so fucking suspicious and confused about the creation of the virtual world in the first place. miu set it up, but kokichi has been talking behind the scenes and also to our faces about setting up some kind of trap? like what's happening here????

idk what kokichi was planning, but i honestly think miu was trying to murder kokichi. maybe that was the setup for this world the whole time. they were planning to meet up, and she edited his avatar so that he'd be paralyzed if she touched him. i think that was the plan and obviously something went wrong

is it possible that miu killed herself accidentally? himiko said there was a big crashing sound like something running into the wall of the chapel or something? maybe miu rammed herself against the wall of the chapel? idk that feels far-fetched but not out of the question

unrelated to the murder, but there's very clearly something going on with kaito health-wise, and he mentioned not being able to feel whatever that was in his avatar body. do you think whatever it is will get revealed in the trial? or next chapter, maybe?

so now that i think about it, i really didn't see a lot of gonta in the virtual world. he was either off on his own or with kokichi. if it turns out that gonta killed her or kokichi manipulated him into killing her, i'm fucking ending my own life

also bro why was there toilet paper just sitting outside

alright so miu added a wall that let non-human objects pass through and then classified herself as a non-human object - this was how she was able to get through to the mansion side without the bridge, right???

i still don't know about the scream they heard from keebo, that's still a mystery

and why are some people's visors still connected and some unplugged?

everyone is suddenly putting a LOT of pressure on me as a detective, this is weird. not just the members of my trio, but like himiko and tsumugi especially. this is strange

oh hey we kind of forgot about that motive key card right?? what happened with that?? does kokichi have it in his pocket?? i'm convinced it goes to the door behind the library bookcase

oh the VERY first thing in the trial, we establish her eyes weren't bloodshot, but you wouldn't tell me while i was investigating? oh come on, game

bro miu was strangled to death by toilet paper?? it's how she would've wanted to go tbh

and himiko agrees lol

lol i KNEW miu was trying to kill kokichi lol

oh MIU planted the poison? interesting

"people you trust and defend will ultimately betray you" kokichi i wanna know who hurt you in the past

bro is this gonna be strawberry tower/grape tower all over again with the weird placement mystery shit?

me to kokichi during this entire trial:

lmao were there billboards of miu in the taxi game? hilarious. wait but why were there then later billboards of tsumugi?

i would like to say i suspected the looping thing for awhile, and that the mansion and chapel were actually near each other in space

WAIT hang on hang on. did the culprit kill her on the locked rooftop and then CHUCK her body off what they thought was the edge of the world, but since her body can pass through the wall she actually slammed against the side of the chapel??

man i was pretty close, putting her on the lattice as a sled off the roof instead of throwing her

i don't like how this is turning out, the suspect list is really starting to point toward gonta and i do NOT like that

man tsumugi was this close to destroying my lie trap

i would just like to say.......i am VERY upset but how this trial is going

this is the most evil and unforgivable thing danganronpa has ever done wtf why would they do this i am SO upset

i'm sorry, alter ego gonta???????? the references to the previous games are becoming much too blatant to brush off, what's happening here

"don't blame kokichi anymore" i'm sorry gonta i will continue to blame kokichi as much as i fucking want

"wait please, i don't want this! don't go, gonta!" kokichi YOU were the one who fucking did this YOU are responsible for this don't act all sad now

i can't believe he was responsible for both deaths that happened this chapter and he still gets to stick around

kokichi i hope you suffer endlessly for what you did to gonta. in fact, i am going to MAKE you suffer endlessly, and i will never ever ever EVER fucking forgive you

evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil boy

i once saw a post or something that listed the three "antagonists" of the DR games as byakuya, nagito, and kokichi. first of all, putting byakuya in the same category as the others feels laughable. byakuya was simply an arrogant douchebag that had trouble thinking about others. nagito...well, he was insane, and he sort of had a bit of logic, albeit very VERY twisted, like i can kind of see his thought process and what he's aiming for even though it's kind of fucked up. kokichi, though. that boy is just straightup evil and i don't understand

oof kokichi really exposed kaito's illness and maki's crush in one fell swoop huh

man everyone rushing to kaito's side has got to just be a slap in the face for kokichi. and kokichi deserves it

sooo next chapter is finally when keebo and kokichi are gonna have a showdown and beat each other up, right? it feels like the time. that rivalry has been building up and i need payoff

oh no i got gonta's empty insect cage??! oh that's just hurtful

guys, this chapter hurt me and it hurt my feelings, quite a lot. it took out two of my favorites in one fell swoop. why would they do that to gonta??? that's just mean. i am hugging keebo TIGHT to my goddam CHEST i cannot bear it if i lost him as well

and i have to say: i'm not sure in all of media i have ever consumed there has ever been a character i have understood less than kokichi oma. i will never be able to figure him out. his actions and motivations don't make sense to me. there have been certainly been characters i've hated more (square UP, dolores umbridge and holden caulfield), but none that have confused me more. and man i want some due comeuppance. get punched by a robot, you evil little shit

probably won't have time to continue the game until sunday at the earliest, but on to chapter 5! (eventually)

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 12

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 12: Communication is Key

A soft melodic noise was playing in the air as Yanyu and Bohai entered the open clearing. Both blinked for a moment and then a grim expression overtook them as they saw the rest of their friends with the same nervous looks.

“Okay, what the fuck happened with Makkie and whose head do I need to bust open?” Yanyu asked everyone as they watched him play the Dizi as he sat down crossed legged on a tree branch with his tail lazily hanging.

“I don’t know,” Minsheng whispered as they peaked out from behind the tree.

“He’s been like this since we got in an hour ago,” Ahmed continued as his tail swished behind him.

“He didn’t react once,” Mei hissed as her fingers clenched her arm.

“Really?” The jellyfish looked astonished.

“Other than the flicker of his ears when he arrived, nothing,” Daiyu commented as her feathers puffed up.

“He only play this sad shit when he’s feels absolutely terrible and no one knows what the fuck happened?” The bluenette looked at everyone, only to get shakes of heads and denial again. “Damn.”

“I do,” their heads snapped towards a wincing MK as he held a pair of headphones in hand. “But it’s kinda a long story.”

“Last time he got like this was when he blacked out cause a literal firework got shot right next to his ear,” the bunny demon deadpanned, “and that was after already coming close to a breakdown when he thought he lost the two of you when you guys set off that curse.”

“So what they're trying to say MK,” Mei dragged her brother by the shirt and brought him close, “is telling us whose ass do we need to kick?”

“Don’t think you can fight against an immortal,” he winced.

It was Ahmed who got it first as he too winced, “I take it that it went very badly.”

“So much yelling and fighting,” he groaned.

“Wait who-fuck,” Mei eyes narrowed, “Macaque and Monkey King met didn’t they.” At the clarification, everyone winced. They might not have been there to see the fight go down but they have known the black furred monkey long enough for him to trust them on telling the two relationships with each other.

“Yeahhh.”

“Tell us everything,” the bunny demon said.

“Everything?”

“Everything.” They all said together.

“Then you might want to sit down for this, it’s gonna be a long story.”

“That no good little-”

“Of course they're both idiots,” Bohai sighed as he rubbed his head.

“-how dare he even say that!”

“Two monkeys, both immortal, both friends for a long time, and yet neither of them have developed proper communication,” Yanyu groaned as she too felt a headache coming along.

“I swear I’m gonna grab that head and-”

“Should just be glad that the mountain is still standing,” the lion tried to look on the brighter side despite his claws slowly emerging and retreating.

“It’s kinda sad that this is the best side of all of this,” the vulture said.

“-then after I shave all the fur I will use that razor and-”

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” MK wrung his hands together.

“I think bad is an understatement kiddy,” the rabbit demon then looked back at a fuming Mei. “You thinking of stopping anytime soon?”

“No!” The group can almost see the faintest of green in her eyes as it twitched. “There will be a skinned immortal monkey before the month ends!”

“Easy there breezy,” she felt her head forcibly, but gently, lowered by a warm fuzzy hand. “Don’t need to plot the demise of Wukong just yet.”

“Why nottt,” she whined as he looked up at Macaque. “He should learn that nobody messes with you without facing some consequences.”

“And I can do that myself,” he emphasized as he ruffled her hair, but she fondly slapped it away. “But do remember that I also said some things unwarranted too and I also didn’t try to deescalate the fight, so he's not at total fault here.”

“Still was part of the problem,” Minsheng pointed out.

“And also said some things he shouldn’t have said,” Yanyu couldn't help but say.

“True, but some of those things do hold some truth.”

“What part are you talking about?” MK blurted out in confusion.

“I know that I have changed, I can truthfully admit that, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still have a lot of issues in general.” Back then he would have never admitted this to anyone, not even on his deathbed, but as the years pass and as the seasons go on, he knows that he can comfortably say all this to them without fear.

“There are many times where I still question myself and whether or not if this is me or if I wear a facade for so long that I became it, especially if I even deserve to be called a father,” he said that last part lowly to himself, but everyone heard it. But he didn’t take any notice of it as he continued. “Regardless though, I do know one thing for certain, I appreciate you trying to look out for me.” He smirked as he ruffled his two kids' hair.

They begrudgingly let him with a small smile on their face.

“We always do,” Bohai grinned.

“You do the same for us doc,” the bluenette slapped his shoulder. “Like that one time where you forced us to rest after that little incident.”

“You mean the time where you all decided it was a good idea to have a little fight in a bunch of unknown plants and then you all got sick?” He raised his eyebrow.

“That’s the one!” Both rabbit and vulture said with matching grins.

“Why did I become friends with you guys again?” He uttered for the nth time since he met them.

“For our glowing personality,” the big cat gave a deep chuckle as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and nuzzled his fur as he gave a few long licks to Macaque long mane.

The first time he had ever done this to the monkey, he had chucked him clean across the treetops before it was properly explained to him. This is apparently done with not just cubs, but other lions or demons in the pride to form a closer connection and to provide comfort and affection. After that he begrudgingly let him continue the process, though he couldn’t help but cringe at the first few times.

“Alright, alright I get it,” he gently pushed the muzzle away from him. “Imma whip up some food, didn’t even realize how hungry I was until now. Does a hotpot sound good to you all.”

“I can already feel myself drooling,” Yanyu licked her lips.

“You should probably get that checked out then,” Mei jokes.

“That’s why we have the old man here for.”

“I don’t get paid enough for that,” he deadpanned.

“You don’t get paid at all,” MK supplied.

“No I do not,” was the last thing he said before he climbed up a tree and headed over back to the oversized treehouse.

“So we are gonna take down the Monkey King or at least plan some vengeance upon him, yes,” Bohai mused as he slightly glowed.

“Ohohoho, like you wouldn’t believe it,” Daiyu puffed up her feathers. “Imma about to hurt a monkey.”

“Count me in,” Mei said with an eerie twitching smile.

“May not be the strongest, but I know a few ways to immobilize a simian,” Minsheng muttered.

“I’ll get the hot glue and tacks. Nobody fucks with my teacher and gets away with it alive,” Yanyu took out her phone and began furiously typing.

“At ease everyone, try not to let your anger fester. We’re here for Mac right now,” Ahmed said with a low growl.

“Says the one growling,” MK inputted as his own hands twitched violently as he clutched onto the staff.

“Touché.”

Both Tang and Pigsy were watching Mei moodily chomp down on her noodles as she was furiously typing something down. They look to the other side and see that MK, who was on break, was steadfastly ignoring his cooling noodles as he was drawing something down in his notebook.

“Did they get into a fight?” The historian asked as he slurped down his food.

“Not that I know of,” the chef shook his head, “all I know is that MK came in like this and a little later girlie came in with the same mood.”

“We aren’t fighting,” Mei grumbled as she stabbed the chopsticks down onto the counter. “There is just an…issue that has occured.”

“Issue, that’s one word,” MK muttered.

“Just be glad I’m putting it lightly.”

“So, no fight?” Tang asked.

“No,” they both replied.

“Well that’s good at least…does it have to do with Red Son? I know that both of you were worried about him when he didn’t show, he called back yet?”

This brought the two back from their anger filled mind as the two twenty year old looked at each other, then back to Pigsy and shook his head.

“Nothing,” he sighed as he looked through his phone.

“Not even a text back,” Mei included.

“That’s weird, the three of you have been basically stuck by the hip since you all knew each other, wonder what could have happened?” Tang went into a questioning pose.

Mei leaned over to MK as the two other adults talked and quietly whispered, “you think it has something to do with his parents?”

“No doubt in my mind,” he whispered back. The two of them knew some things about his home situation, but that was all they needed to know that his parents were absolute garbage. “I’ll give him two more weeks, if we still don’t get a reply back then we bust in there and grab him.”

“And we should definitely phone the old man about this, at least this would take his mind off…well that,” the Dragon heiress said.

“How about we put that idea on hold for now,” he winced as she shot him an incredulous expression, “I think we can handle it.”

“Okay, you are so spilling why you don’t want to ask Macaque for help,” this isn’t the first time he tried to avoid asking the monkey for help. It’s been a slow gradual thing, but she had just now begun to pick up that MK was hiding something.

“Uhhhh well look at the time,” he nervously swallowed down his food in one gulp, after choking for a bit, and grabbed his keys and a few orders that were just made. “My break is over, no time to talk!”

“MK!” She yelled out as he rushed out of the store. “You will talk one way or another!”

“Oh I can’t hear you! Call you later!” He yelled out as he dived into the car, with the food still safely placed, and quickly drove onto the street.

“You little-!”

“Byeee!”

“I’m back!” He announced as soon as he landed on the mountain. He had taken a few days away from training and while he was still upset at Monkey King, he didn’t truly hate him nor was he even held a grudge against him. Though it probably didn’t help that Mei would evilly chuckle whenever she was typing or scraping another plan, he still winced at her seventh one. That one looked almost painfully brutal and humiliating.

Small frustration and irritation, yes. But not the kind that would overwhelm him and let it take absolute control. Besides he knew that wasn’t who the monkey really was, arguments can bring out the worst in someone, whether it’s true or not. But he still optimistically believes that those two can become friends again.

“Monkey Ki-WHOA!” He managed to brace for impact as he was almost knocked over as a bunch of monkeys came barreling into him from above. “Hey! Hey! It's good to see you all too.” He laughed as he tried to carry as many as he could.

“They missed you kiddo,” he looked to the voice behind him and saw the Monkey King sporting a wide grin as he sat upon his cloud. “They wouldn’t stop talking about missing their playmate.”

“Awww,” he cooed as he hugged the ones in his arms, “I missed you guys too.”

“We all did kiddo,” he smirked, but it did soften when he saw that there was no hostility or resentment in his student eyes.

“Well I guess I missed you too,” he gave an exaggerated sigh.

“I’m just a bit surprised that you came back, not that I didn’t think that you wouldn’t, but more along the lines of not wanting to see me again. But I mean who wouldn’t want to train with the great Monkey King,” he let a bit of his nerves leak out unintentionally.

“Well Dad always advocates for my choice, so I just chose to be here. Besides I just needed to cool off for a few days after all that,” he grinned widely as he bared his teeth. “I’m not giving up just yet.”

Wukong, who can now clearly tell that MK did share the same grin as Mac, couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm. “Well let’s freshen up your knowledge of the basics, I’m afraid you might have forgotten it all these past days.”

“I did not just sit around and do nothing these past couple of days, for your information!”

“What’s the problem with being lazy?” He smirked as he jumped off his cloud. “Nothing is wrong with that.”

“Oh there isn’t, it’s just that when you have a whole entire forest to watch out for when Dad is taking care of his patients, it gets a little crazy. Especially since the one who usually keeps an eye on things had to focus on another problem entirely or was not even there, except for BaBa. She’s the only reason why I haven’t tied all those idiots together in a knot,” he grumbled in the last part. It does get more than a little hectic in the forest, especially when there are so many creatures and demons all living in that same area no matter how big the boundaries may be. There will always be some sort of dispute between the clans and it’s usually the more neutral group, like Macaque, Ní, BaBa, Kappa, and even some of the faeries, to keep the relative peace. Will true harmony ever be attained? Ha! No, but the way they are living now is just perfectly fine to all of them. Despite the chaos, fights, and craziness in general, no one is truly upset over their homes.

“Oh, so he has patients,” he curiously prodded, “I didn’t think moo-Macaque would willingly subject himself to interacting with people.”

Before MK could tell him that he is technically true, he can tolerate them at best, they both were startled when multitudes of loud screeches burst their ears wide open as all the monkeys were howling and jumping either on the Monkey King or back on MK.

“What the-” Wukong was fast enough to dodge their grapple, but he thought best if he just waited for now as they didn’t seem to be angry from what he could tell from all their voices talking at once, rather…surprised?

“Yeah, I know Macaque?” MK answered one of the monkeys, who managed to stuff fruit in her sibling's mouth to shut them up. “He’s my dad.”

It was silent for only a moment before they all went wild as the ones that were previously on Wukong jumped over to him and began to screech.

“AHHHH!”

“AHHHH?!” He confusedly screamed as well as he couldn’t understand them all when they yelled like this and, well, he was sorely unprepared for what was happening and just decided to copy them.

“Why are you screaming!” Wukong turned to him in confusion.

“I don’t know! Wait!” He looked down to the bunch that were still screeching wildly, “Are you the same ones that took in my Dad back then?!”

He received violent nodding of heads and/or a screech in afrimation.

“AWESOME!” His eyes sparkled as he gained a mischievous grin, “Then that must mean you know all types of embarrassing things he did back then.”

They all shared the same grin as him. It has been a long time since they have seen their missing tribe member, intellectually they knew that he wasn’t around because of a dispute with their King. But they instinctively knew that their King had missed their mate for a long time now, and while some are a bit miffed that he has left, they all have deeply missed a member of their own. And now they have confirmation that not only is he alive, but he has taken in a new infant of his own?! This is a cause for a celebration.

One of the monkeys does turn to Wukong and gives him the stink eye as she glared at him for not telling them.

“Okay to be fair, I didn’t really expect it to happen,” he held up his hands in apology.

The stink eye intensified.

“And I’m sorry.”

The stare remained.

“And I’ll give you some of the sweet peaches.”

She was satisfied as she went back to picking through the child's hair. Maybe that would teach their King twice before not saying anything again…though she highly doubts it.

“But I’m surprised MK,” he casually watched the cute scene of all of the monkeys snuggling, playing, or just hanging all over his student body. “I didn’t know you could understand them.”

“Well I do have a demon monkey for a dad and I frequently talk to the ones in the forest,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah that makes sense,” he stretched his arms as he casually sat down next to him. “Speaking of forest he-you guys really live in the Plum Blossom Forest?”

“Yep!” He grinned as most of the monkeys finally decided to get off him and play around the area, the only one left was the one who glared at Wukong.

“Can you tell me more about it? I never visited there despite it popping up a couple hundred years ago.”

“Well I can tell you some, but dad knows that place like the back of his hand. He made it after all,” he absentmindedly said as he scratched the back of the monkey's head.

“He made it?” He emphasized his last point, “Are you talking about the forest?”

“Yup!”

“Why?!” And just when he thought he couldn’t be more shocked about his friend, life apparently throws him in for another loop.

“Well Ping-,” he paused and decided otherwise, “actually it’s kinda personal, way above my level.You should just ask dad about it when you have the chance.”

“Ping again,” he couldn’t help but mutter the name, “he must have been real special to Mac if you keep bringing it up.”

“Well I don’t know about special, but dad always says that he is just a regular human that just somehow doesn’t even blink at the most abnormal things that come his way, no matter how bizarre and crazy it may be,” he summarized.

“Must be some human then if he became so interested in him,” the Monkey King casually said as his tail silently moved back and forth just a bit quicker.

“Yup! Dad may never say it, but he really looks up to him and really is grateful for taking him in when he needed it the most,” he unknowingly blurted out, because right after he began to curse himself in his head over this as he froze. But before he could stutter out a flimsy question to redirect the focus away from the mess up he just created, he stilled once more as he felt a furry hand ruffle his head.

“I’m glad,” Wukong let a small grin envelop his face and he said nothing more.

MK took a few moments to process this and just nodded his head.

“Well I think we sat down for long enough,” the sage commented as he began to stand up. “I think it’s time we get to training. Are you ready?”

MK smiled as he let go of the monkey on his lap and jumped up. “I always am!”

“Mmmm I don’t think so I mean,” he held out a purple headband in his grasp, “you obviously forgot to keep watch of your surroundings.”

“My headband! Why is it always my headband!” He fumed and readied his stance for the chase.

“Like I always say, you can’t let your guard down,” and with that he jumped up and began to rapidly climb the mountain. “No matter what the situation may be.”

“We were having a moment!” He yelled out as he quickly followed behind him.

“With emotions? Ew, I’m allergic to that.”

“That’s not a thing!”

“Says you, I for one have been alive for far longer and I can see some things and experienced just as many, so obviously this is totally a thing that can happen.”

“I am a literal physician in training, I am literally learning under the same monkey who has seen and done just as much shit as you have!”

“And he would agree,” he chirped.

“No he would not!”

“Thanks again for the meal,” Pigsy said as he took a sip of his drink as he gently scratched Tang's head on his lap, “I may love to cook, but it’s nice not having to cook once in a while.”

“I feel you there,” Macaque gave a grin as he laid a blanket on both Mei and MK, who were passed out asleep on the couch. “When I am just swamped with work, I would just order some takeout and have one of my clones bring it here.”

“Don’t forget the tea,” Sandy added as he sipped his cup. “Also, are you sure you don’t mind us staying the night?”

“Please, I have more than enough rooms for everyone here and then some,” he waved him off as he spotted another letter on the counter and promptly tore it up and threw it in the trash after he saw what it was, “it’s no problem.”

“Junk mail,” the blue giant absentmindedly said.

“Heh, yeah it is,” he snorted in amusement for some reason as he sat down on the couch.

“So you really just helped the travelers out of spite cause of who they were running from?” Tang couldn’t help but jump back to their previous conversation they had on some of the stories Macaque had shared during his travels.

“Yep.”

“And not out of some benevolent goodwill to them?”

“Not really, I know first hand just how annoying a Yuki-onna, especially that bitch in particular,” he couldn’t stop the disgust in his tone.

“You know her?” Sandy asked.

“Unfortunately, let’s just say I was in the area one time during a snowstorm, cold and starving, did I meet her. She lulled into a false sense of security until I realized that I didn’t hear and then saw that I was half frozen. I got out of there so fast that I didn’t even contemplate my revenge until I could finally feel my feet again.”

“And what happened when you did meet again?” Tang questioned then raised his brow at the monkey's malicious grin.

“Well let’s just say that she dares not to show her face for a long time.”

“Meaning?” Pigsy was almost afraid to ask.

“I made her bald and used a special type of paint to make her skin purple, permanently,” he bluntly stated.

That actually made Sandy choke on his tea as both Tang and Pigsy busted out laughing at the image, though the historian did seem to be leaning more on the hysterical side.

“It shouldn’t be possible to leave a mark on a spirit skin unless it has dealt with tools to banish them, let alone ridding someone of their hair unless they can shapeshift?!”

“Goes to show what you know, I’ve been around quite a bit longer than you and trust me, we are well past the stage of simple banishing.”

“When did that happen? Who even thought of the idea?!”

He opted to say nothing, he wasn’t about to tell anyone that both he and Wukong created this after this one river spirit was getting on both of their nerves. They didn’t want to outright kill them, but to humiliate them enough to make them regret even showing their faces to the sky.

“Back to the merchants,” Sandy redirected the attention, “I know you also briefly mentioned that you helped heal them, have you been a physician for that long?”

“Give or take a couple of years.”

“So you really did go around healing others,” the historian amusedly said as he had broken from his previous hysteria.

Macaque rolled his eyes, “Just when I feel like it.”

“Now I’m curious, how did you decide to become a doctor in the first place?” Pigsy asked.

“Is it cause I sometimes look like either a teenager in their emo phase or too feminine?” He curiously asked. He had been mistaken for both before, though he guess it sometimes doesn’t help that he likes to paint his nails black or keep his mane long and wear feminine style clothing. He’s not complaining though, he didn’t really care about anyone opinion in the way he dress, clothing should not be biased to one gender and he feels good when he can wear whatever the fuck he want.

“No? Just curious,” though that does bring up some more questions on why he asked that.

“Just happened to learn it off of a human a few centuries back and it just didn’t stop,” he shrugged.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Well that’s a bit anticlimactic,” Tang pouted.

“Sucks to suck, but I can truthfully say that I have no regrets learning medicine.”

“Really? Even when things go sideways?” The gentle giant gently prodded.

“Those times are hard, but no no regrets. Especially since it helped bring MK to me,” he nostalgically smiled.

“How so?”

“Well I was actually out of bandages one day and went to the city to pick up some more and I decided to take my time walking back and then I saw him and the rest is history.” He can still remember just how small starlight was and just how tired, both physically and mentally, he was. If he closes his eyes, he can still draw out every scar, bump, bruise or rib that looked too harsh on his bright child. “He really brought a new spark in my life.”

“And you to him as well,” Sandy smiled.

Mac snorted and shook his head, “He would have still been his same kind, bright and enthusiastic self even without me.”

“Maybe, but I’m glad that he didn’t have to suffer for it,” the pig demon added. It may not be obvious at first glance, but there is a spark in both, hell even Mei, eyes whenever they see the other. He couldn’t tell if it was from relief, safety, comfort or all of the above, but just when they are with each other, everything seems to fall into place. “And besides, I think you did a damn good job raising him.”

Both demon and human nodded in agreement.

The monkey demon couldn’t help the small smile forming on his lips. Pigsy words may have been brief, but for some reason, he felt his lingering doubts and dread, that has been flooding his mind since the confrontation, ease up.

They all continued to quietly talk to one another as the night continued on as one by one they all slowly let the night air drift them off to sleep.

“It seems rather slow today,” Tang mentioned as he looked around the empty shop.

“You're telling me,” Pigsy muttered as he wiped down the already clean counter. “Not a single person nor demon stepped in since the lunch rush.”

“Which means less work for me,” the MK clone said as he lounged on the booth.

“Why I outta,” he said before Tang continued.

“That is a bit strange, but it’s not quite so bad,” he said with a coy smile.

“What is that supposed to me-” he was once more cut off as the historian surprised him with a long kiss on the lips. “Oh, I guess that’s not so bad,” he muttered when they came back for air and leaned in once more.

Unfortunately they were rudely interrupted when Mei and Sandy burst through the doors and closed it with a loud bang.

“GUYS! HE’S BACK!”

“GHA!” Tang was startled enough to fall out of his chair.

“What the-what's the big idea you guys!” Pigsy gripped the counter as he glared at them, but then it turned to confusion as he saw that both human and demon were strangely in disarray with their clothes torn and scratched on their bodies.

“Are you guys okay?” The historian asked when he too saw a good look at them.

“We have a huge problem!” Mei paused as she quickly closed the blinds and glanced out the window.

“Big problem!”

“What happened?! What’s going on?”

“Demon Bull King is back,” the pigtailed girl continued.

“What!”

“And his clones have been terrorizing everyone and destroying the city!” The blue giant continued as he patted the frazzled cat on his shoulder.

“WHAT!”

“It’s mad chaos out there,” she dramatically said, “even Mac is out there blowing those machines to bits, and trying to get people to safety, but it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop. Wait-,” she eyed the relaxed clone and her eyes twitched. “Please don’t tell me-”

“Training with the Monkey King,” Tang and Pigsy simultaneously said.

“Damn it!” She facepalm, “well we’re just gonna have to hold them off until he gets here.”

Everyone, except the clone, nodded in determination as they got prepared for the coming battle.

“I think we need a little wardrobe change, some of us more than others,” Tang said as he eyed both Mei and Sandy clothes.

“Tang, do you really think we have time for this?” The pink demon questioned.

“Oh honey,” his glasses glinted as he held up a needle and thread, “there is always time for a wardrobe change.”

“Eh why not,” Sandy shrugged.

“I’m done for it,” she grinned, “but make sure it’s cool.”

“One apocalyptic style clothes coming right up,” he eagerly said as he made quick work of all their clothing.

“We’re gonna die,” clone MK boredly said as he flipped through the magazine.

Pigsy couldn’t say anything as he sighed and continued to get the weapons.

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Subaru Sakamaki– (Chapter 4)

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3]

Place: Hotel • Mortstein,Guest room / ホテル•モーントシュタイン客室 

Yui: (I feel like tiredness is still left on my body but...I must refresh myself.)

(Umm...Subaru kun is…)

Subaru: nh...nnn…

Yui: (He’s still sleeping…)

Subaru kun, good morning.

...Time to get up already!

Subaru: ……

Yui: (Oh no, he’s not in the mood to get up…)

Subaru ku一

Subaru: Nnh...whatta disgusting pillow…

Yui: Eh…!?

*Holds her*

Yui: (...kh…!)

(He’s misunderstanding me by thinking that I’m his pillow or something…!)

Subaru: Nnnh…

(On the first day, he was the one to say “Do not cross over on his bed-part…!”, but now he’s…!)

Subaru: ……

Yui: (What shall I do?)

→  Selection

Forcibly rub / 無理矢起理こす 

Let him just sleep quietly / そっと寝かせておく(+Correct)

Yui: (But…)

(He was more exhausted than I was, so it should be okay to let him sleep a little bit more.)

(...Aight, it’s decided.)

Subaru: Zzz….

Yui: (Fufu...looks like he’s having a peaceful time while sleeping.)

(May it’s good that he didn’t wake up….!)

*After a moment*

Subaru: Nng…?

*Fades to CG*

Subaru: ……

Yui: (H- he woke up…?)

Subaru: …...Yui?

Yui: Eh...Err...good morning…

Subaru: ...kh!

Wha...What are you doing here!?

This was my bed-part! Do ye’ think it’s alright to enter my bed-side like this!?

Yui: (He’s saying the same thing he said on the 1st day…)

Yo- you’re wrong…! When I was about to wake you up, then you did this while sleeping…!

Subaru: HAAH!? ME!?

kh...I see.

Yui: (Uuh...this situation is embarrassing…)

A- anyways! You have to wake up already!

Subaru: Tch...I have to huh. I’m gonna wake up…

*CG Fades*

Yui: (Last day of the parade…)

(If we complete the orders of the antique art-dealer, we can properly apologize to Earl Walter afterwards…)

(I must get back my heart from him…!)

Place: Aizen Stahl, Antique Art Store / アイゼン シュタール古美術商店 

Yui: Hello, good morning!

Antique Art Dealer: Ooh, you two! I have been waiting. How’s your condition?

Yui: We’re already fine. Thank you for carrying us all the way up to the hotel yesterday.

Antique Art Dealer: Nope, don’t worry about that.

Subaru: If so, then don’t leave such notes which reach my nerves.

Yui: Wai- Subaru kun…!

Subaru: Hmph. And...What’s the last task?

We aren’t gonn’ have a leisure time today after all.

Antique Art Dealer: That’s right. Well then, I shall present today’s mission for you.

I want two of you to search…

My pet.

Yui: Ehh…!?

Subaru: Your pet!?

Antique Art Dealer: Mhm. When I took my pet to the Saint Honore Park today, it escaped away.

Yui: Escaped away...Err, by the way, what kind of pet…?

Antique Art Dealer: A parrot.

Subaru: Haah!? Is there any idiot to ever exist who’ll take a parrot outside!?

Antique Art Dealer: You can see, right in front of you.

Subaru: Don’t ye’ talk back!

Yui: Th- there, there...we’ve got no other options since it ran away…

Let’s go searching?

Subaru: Aah...right…

Yui: (Parrot huuuh...I hope we can find that out without any troubles…)

Place: サントノレパーク通り/ Saint Honoré Park, Street

Yui: (We’ve come here but…)

...It’s unbelievably crowded compared to the first day…

Subaru: ...Haah...earsore…

Yui: If there’s so many people, then we can’t ask around one by one.

Where should we get started…

???: Oh my? Could it be you two are…

Yui: (Hm…?)

Clown A: Yeah, looks like so! We’ve also met before!

Yui: Ah…!

Subaru: You are…!

Yui: (He’s the Mr Clown that we had met on the first day…!)

Clown A: Seems like you are being in trouble in this amusement park this time too~

Oh, plus did you find the head-mask?

Yui: Ah, yes! Thank you for helping us that time!

Clown A: Don’t mention it. By the way, are you trying to find something today as well?

Subaru: Yeah...we’re searching a parrot around.

Clown A: Parrot? ...Could it be that belongs to the person who was screaming today saying his pet escaped away?

Subaru: That’s right. We must gotta find out that old guy’s parrot.

Yui: Have you seen it somewhere?

Clown A: Umm...I’ve seen that today, but I don’t know where it is now…

Yui: I get you…

Clown A: Ah, that’s right! What if we distribute everyone a notice-poster?

Subaru: Poster?

Clown A: Exactly! Since there are so many visitors here today and,

If we pass out posters about this everyone, then you may find that pet out quickly.

Of course, we will support you in delivering those posters.

Yui: No kidding!?

Clown A: Sure thing! We also have a debt of gratitude for your show-performance.

Yui: What should we do? Subaru kun

Subaru: It can't be any help just by asking four or five. If it’s the case then I’ll agree on passing out posters or whatever it takes.

Yui: Aight, let’s start making posters right away!

*After a while*

Yui: (It’ll be better if it has an illustration which is easier to understand and helpful to find out.)

(Drawing a parrot is difficult but...I can count on the photo that they’ve shown us a while ago…)

Subaru: ………

Yui: ...Alright, it’s done!

I’ve drawn it this way, how’s it!?

(I’m thinking it looks good even someone like me has drawn it…)

Subaru: ……

...Isn’t that a crumbled cake?

Yui: Eeeh!? You’re wrong, it’s a parrot!?

Subaru: ...My bad, but whatever it’s looking like, it doesn’t look like a parrot…

Yui: N- no way…

Subaru: Parrot...hm...I also don’t know that much though…

*he starts drawing*

Subaru: ...Shouldn’t it...pretty much look like this?

Yui: Wah...cool…! It’s a parrot…!

You’re unexpectedly good at painting!

Subaru: Surprisingly you say, but it’s needless. By the way...you’re awfully unskilled.

Yui: Uuh…

(I can’t say anything back about it…)

...Anyway, I think we should now scatter so many copies of it.

Clown A: Leave it to me!

I’m gonna distribute in the middle of this park, soI bet you can get some kind of information!

Yui: W- we’re looking forward to that!

(I hope we’ll get a little bit of information by doing it…)

*After a while*

Clown A: Heyy!

Subaru: What’s up?

Clown A: Looks like we’ve come up to know something at once! That pet it possibly in the street over there!

Yui: (Looks like it was effective to make posters!)

Let’s go there!

Place: サントノレパーク通り/ Saint Honoré Park, Street

Subaru: Fuck, where did that damn parrot go!?

Yui: ーAh! Look, Subaru kun! It’s on the roof of the attraction box office!!

Subaru: Tch...this guy playing stupid with us arround…!

Yui: (...It has reached such a place like in the roof huuh…)

*parrot screeches*

Yui: What now, if we just wait here then it’s gonna fly away…!

Subaru: ...I’m gonna fly there and get that.

Yui: Eh!? You can’t! That parrot is pretty big plus...

Subaru: If I take a lot of time just climbing on the roof, it’s gonna run away.

Yui: But…

Subaru: Just be quiet and wait ‘re.

….gh…

*Footsteps*

Yui: (Hm…? Ah, the child is…!)

Subaru kun, waitー

*Screen shakes*

Subaru: ...kh, haa?

Vampire Children C: Ah...I’m so sorrー

Ah...my ice-cream is…

Yui: (It fell off when he collided…?)

Subaru: Oi! Look front while walking! It’s dangerous!

Yui: Su- Subaru kun, calm down…

Err...are you okay?

Vampire Children C: Uuh...my ice-cream...it fell…*crying*

Yui: (He’s crying…!? Oh no!?)

Subaru: Tch...stop it…

Anyway, I am gonna get the parrー

*Parrot flies away*

Subaru: Oii!! Wait up!!

Yui: (It escaped…)

Subaru: Of shit...I was very close…

Vampire Children C: Uuuh….uuuh…

Subaru: ...che.

Yui: (I’m Subaru kun is very angry?)

I- I am sure...this child didn’t get bumped onto you willinー

Subaru: Yeah...I’m aware of that.

Oi, brat.

Vampire Children C: ….Big brother, I’m so sorry...it was my fault…

Subaru: That doesn’t matter now. Above that...you dropped your ice cream huh.

Vampire Children C: Y- yes…

Subaru: ...Which shop is selling it? I’m gonna buy you a new one in exchange.

Yui: Subaru kun…!

Subaru: Even though it’s just an ice-cream to me...but to this brat, maybe it’s something more than that.

Yui: (I see...so that’s why…)

Vampire Children C: Thank you, Oniichan, Oneechan!

|| Oniichan means big brother and Oneechan means big sister in Japanese.

The shop is right over there! I’ll lead you the way.

Monologue  

After this, the boy take us to the shop but一

We were too late, so the ice-creams were already sold out.

This child who was tearing up Subaru kun bought him a pudding from a different shop. For that, somehow he stopped crying.

For a moment, I thought what bad could come up, but the boy returned to his parents while waving his hand to us putting on a smiling face at last 一

End of Monologue

Yui: At the end, that boy was having a happy face right….!

Subaru: Aah...with this, finally it got settled.

Yui: Yes. Thanks for working hard.

Subaru: Well...time to go back for the main task. We’ve lost so much time for sure but 一

*Parrot screeches*

Yui: Eh...that sound of a bird…! It means…!

*Flies*

Yui: Kyaa…!

(Now, it just flies though in front of us!?)

Subaru: That bastard...found it…! This time I ain’t let ‘em escape for sure!

Place: Gardening Shop / 園芸店 

Yui: Haah….kh...haah…

(We had to run quite a bit...this place...a granening shop…?)

*Parrot screeches*

Subaru: Tch...where is it planning to go…!

Place: Garnering Shop, Glasshouse/ 園芸店 温室

Yui: (It’s taking us in such kind of places…)

(Ah...it has stopped on this tree…!)

Subaru kun, it’s the right chance, yes?

Subaru: 一Hold it. Don’t go now.

Yui: Eh...but why…?

Subaru: The tree where the parrot standing is...the Devil’s Tree.

Yui: Devil’s Tree…?

Subaru: This is a tree which reacts to a small stimulus and aimlessly attacks the ones who will go nearby it...

Once you get entwined with it’s branches, it won’t be easy to escape away from it.

Yui: Such a tree is…

Subaru: Yeah...that’s why the only way is to secretly go near it and wait for the perfect chance…

Do ye’ even try to make noises that much.

Yui: Yes…

(I’ll do my best…)

Subaru: ...Aight, just a bit一

Clown A: Oooi~! You two!

Yui: Eh?

Subaru: Aah!?

Clown A: That’s good! I’ve been searching for you!

Subaru: Oi, ye’ dummy! Be quiet!

Clown A: Eh? What do you just say?

Subaru: I said...SHUT UP!!

*Slightly hit the tree*

Yui: Ah, Subaru kun, if you do so, then the tree will…!

Subaru: Ah, oh no…!

*The tree starts attacking*

Yui: Kyaaa!?

(The branch is...wrapped around my body…!)

Subaru: Che…! Let go!!

*Punch*

Yui: Oh no, if you do so then, again…!

*Screen shakes*

Subaru: Uwaa!?

Yui: Kyaaaa!?

*After a while*

Place: Diamante Fountain / ディアマンテ泉

Subaru: Haah...oh shit, we had to face something terrible…

Yui: Yes...you’re right…

(In the conclusion, when一)

(We couldn’t move at all, then we were somehow saved…)

Clown A: I’m sorry...I thought to give you the information about the parrot right away and…

Subaru: Even if so, there was a Devil Tree out there

You knew that, no!?

Yui: W- well, well...but he didn’t have any bad-intention and also…

If Mr. Clown wouldn’t help us then I don’t know what bad could happen…

Subaru: Tch…

...It’s fine. Chasing after that parrot comes first over anything now.

Yui: (Exactly...Before a while, the parrot escaped away when we couldn’t move ourselves for that tree…)

Clown A: If it runs away even if you chase after that then,

What about luring out that parrot instead?

Yui: Luring…? Even if you say that, but how 一

Subaru: No, wait. There’s a way I guess.

Yui: Eh…?

Subaru: You see, that Old-Uncle mentioned before. The tarts which is selling out in the Tart • Tatan. Tarts are it’s favorite dish.

Yui: So, if we lure the parrot using tarts…

Subaru: ...We’ll be able to catch that for sure.

Clown A: Tart • Tatan is nearby this place, however一

Subaru: Near? Then we’re on our way.

Yui: Yes…!

(Let’s do our best so it’ll go smoothly…!)

*They walks away*

Clown A: ...However, tarts may have gotten sold out since today’s the last day of the Parade, I wanted to say.

I hope everything’s gonna be okay…

Place:Tart Tatan,Glimmer Street Shops /タルト• タタングリンマーストリート店

Yui: ...kh…!

Subaru: Aah? What’s up with this crowding…!

Yui: An- anyway, let’s ask the people whether this shop’s selling out tarts or not.

Err, excuse me! We want to take-out some well-known tarts from this shop…

Tart • Tatan Clerk: My sincere apologies. We’ve served too many customers today so,

So the tarts which were for take-out have already sold out…

Yui: So- sold out…!?

Subaru: Then, it’s okay even if we don’t take-out that. We can get the tarts by using the reserving-food method.

Yui: Oh, that’s right. Sorry for that, then we’re gonna reserve tarts for 2 person一

Tart • Tatan Clerk: Actually...the reservation is not available since the customers have already filled that over…

Subaru: What!?

Yui: S-such…!

(We had come this far but…)

Subaru: ...At the end, the only way is to chase after that huh…?

Yui: As you see, it’s the only way I think…?

???: Ah! Oniichan! Oneechan!

Yui: Eh, this voice…

Ah, look Subaru kun! The child who’s waving his hand to us is….

Subaru: Ah? ...It’s the kid from the before.

Yui: (Ne-nevertheless, the food that’s decorated like a mountain on their table is...Tart…!)

Vampire Child C: What are you doing here?

Yui: Umm…

Subaru: Honestly, I don’t wanna ask for the tart to a kid but...we got no other choices…

Yui: Looks like...so…

(I don’t know if he can give us one or two tarts but...let’s try it by asking him…)

Well, you see…

*After the conversation*

Yui: ...that’s what happened.

Vampire Children C: That parrot, it’s the bird that I saw while I collided with Oniichan?

Subaru: Yup, that one.

Vampire Children C: I see. Then I’ll ofcourse give you! It will do, right?

Father: You two were the ones who gave my son pudding, huh.

I am sorry that earlier my child has burdened you with unreasonable things. If this tart will come out handy then take as much as you want.

Yui: Eh, really!?

Father: Ofcourse. You were the one who took care of my child earlier.

Mother: Yeah, we’re really grateful for that.

Yui: Thank you so much!

Subaru: No kidding…?

Your kindness has come out as a huge help…

Yui: Y-yeah….?

(It makes me happy that he said it but…)

(But we don’t have time for that.)

Yui: Then, let’s use this tart and lure out the parrot!

Thank you so much!

Vampire Children C: Mhm, do your best!

Place: Onyx Tower, Inside Hall / オーニュクスタワー内部ホール

Yui: Phew...is it okay to arrange these like this?

Subaru: Yeah...all we can do now is to just wait.

Yui: (I spread it here, from where the smell should get spread the most but…)

(I really hope it’ll come, please…!)

*Wind blows + parrot comes*

Subaru: ….Hm?

Yui: Ah!

(It comes…!)

*parrot(s) screech*

...here, they go!?

(For some reason, so many of them have come!?)

Subaru: Oi, oi, what’s going on!? Where did they come from!

*Parrot(s) screech*

Yui: (Wah...they all have started to eat these all at once…)

Subaru, what can we do!? I am not that sure which one of them is the parrot that we’ve been searching…

Subaru: Me neither! By the way, the fastest way will be to get the Old-Uncle for conforming.

Which’s why...we gotta catch all of ‘em right now…!

*After a moment*

Yui: Haah...hah...kh…haah…

Subaru: ....kh...with this...we’re done catching each of them…?

Yui: Pr- probably…

(We’ve caught all of them when they’ve gone crazy eating the tarts but…)

(But I’m tired beyond my imagination…)

Subaru: ...Haah...now, we gotta call out that old-uncle for confirming in one of these一

Antique Art Dealer: 一Oh my, oh my...you have caught unexpected number of them.

Subaru: kh...you…!

Antique Art Dealer: Yeaah, I’ve come here to visit when I heard that so many parrots are gathered on the top of the tower…

I didn't think you’d catch so many of them.

Subaru: I think yer’ parrot in one of them! Check out!

Antique Art Dealer: Mhm, I will.

Subaru: ……

Yui: ……

(God please…! I hope his parrot is one of these…!)

Antique Art Dealer: ...Yup! This one!

*Parrot screeches*

Yui: Eh...It means…

Antique Art Dealer: Yeah, your mission is complete!

Subaru: OH YAAAAY!!

Yui: (That’s great…! Finally we’re done with these…!)

Subaru: Oi, you’re satisfied now I guess. Then hurry up and handover the things that ya’ promised us.

Antique Art Dealer: Ofcourse, I am aware of that.

Look, I’ve brought those with me.

Yui: (Ah...that’s right...it’s not over yet.)

(We have to go to the place where Earl Walter is.)

Subaru: Finally we’ve got to the starting point…

Yui: (Subaru kun had to face so many difficult things till now, yet…)

(He’s still dealing with these …)

Yui: Umm...Subaru kun, I am sorry...you’re having so much trouble for me…

Subaru: Ah? What are you saying such things, don’t worry.

It was originally my fault starting with and…

...I am gonna go to meet Earl Walter. You wait here.

Yui: Eh...But…

Subaru: I’ll...hurry up and get back your heart at once.

Who can be silent to a guy who’s doing whatever he wants to with any kind of people around.

Yui: Subaru kun…

Subaru: Ah...which is why...you should just be silent and listen to what I say. *blushing*

Yui: Yes…

But, I can’t make you feel hurt all by yourself.

That’s why I also want to go and apologize with you.

Subaru: ...Tch, do as you wish.

Antique Art Dealer: ...Hehehe. You don’t have to go there.

Subaru: Ah? What? What’s so funny?

*BG blurred to white*

Subaru: ...kh…!?

Yui: Wh- what!?

(Smoke is getting filled here…! I can’t see the front…!)

Antique Art Dealer?: ...You two did well.

Yui: (Eh...this voice…)

Subaru: ...kh, this bastard is, Walter!?

Earl Walter: Kukuku...Hahaha…!

*BG is back*

Yui: (Ah...the smoke disappeared一)

*Clothing sound*

Earl Walter: ...Is it the first time to see me in this appearance?

Yui: You are...Earl Walter…?

Earl Walter: Certainly. I have been observing your actions very closely.

Subaru: Closely you say...you mean by distinguishing yourself to an old-man!?

What was that...it means we’ve been rushing around for abiding your orders all these times…

Earl Walter: I think that I was a little bit mean with you. However, you were the one to break the goods of my castle to begin with.

This is why I wanted you to feel grief by doing these tasks.

Subaru: ...Hmph.

Earl Walter: ...Then, we shall move onto the main issue. Yui Komori, I’m talking about your heart.

Yui: ...Yes.

Earl Walter: The fact that you’re the one and only person who’s worthy to possess this treasure,

I have gotten the proof of this claim clearly with my own eyes.

...Therefore, I shall give your heart back.

*Heart’s pounding*

Yui: ...kh…

*Screen’s white for an instant*

Yui: (...kh...for a moment, I felt something strange in my body…)

(My heart is...back…?)

Subaru: ...Oi, you alright?

Yui: I- I think so…?

Subaru: ...ngh…

*Subaru gets closer + loses her dress*

Subaru: Kyaa…!?

Subaru: ...I’m gonna confirm it. ….nnnh...mnn…!

Yui: ...eek…!

(His fangs are…)

Subaru: ...Haah...mnn…!

...Haah...the taste is the same as always…

(Eh...it means…!)

Earl Walter: Heh...told you right? “I’ll give her heart back.”

Yui: ...Thank you very much!

(I’m relieved now…!)

Earl Walter: From here on, walk on your life by being worthy of having this heart.

Yui: Yes…!

Subaru: We'd know it even if you wouldn’t say!

Earl Walter: ...Fufu, good.

Well then...the finale of the parade is coming soon…

Enjoy that till the end upto your heart's content.

With this, I am going to take my leave.

Earl Walter: Kukuku...Hahaha!

*Sound*

Yui: (Ah...he disappeared…)

Subaru: Jeez, what was wrong with that guy…

Yui: Yes...he’s a very mysterious person.

(But…)

(I feel like he has taught us a very important lesson.)

The END of Chapter O 4 一

[molnlycke]

100 DAYS OF SUNLIGHT BY ABBIE EMMONS REVIEW

As a disclaimer I want to say that I found the Youtube channel of Abbie Emmons by one of her ‘write with me’ videos. Following that I watched some of her WritersLifeWednesdays vlogs and thought, this woman has tremendous passion and work put into her craft. She actually gives valuable advice, and the themes of her videos are pretty good. So when I saw that she has a novel of her own published, I wanted to see how she incorporates the stuff she talks about into practical work. This is how I started reading her debut novel: 100 Days of Sunlight.

I was curious, okay?

But oh man, what is this?

This book… I’m sorry it’s just so bad. The mess of glaring problems, plotholes, the …characterisation. Abbie Emmons says every good story is character driven (which I wholeheartedly stand by if it is executed well!!!) but what should I get from this, honestly?

There are too many things screaming PROBLEMATIC here.

But let’s start at the beginning.

The exposition––the first chapter’s building don’t make no sense. It has a twist in it alright, but why start with something that turns out to be a dream (or a scrap of a memory in this case) of the actual past, only to get dumped with everything else that also happened following that scene? All of this is told from the protagonist’s reminiscing of said happening.

- To be clear the book starts with the scene of an accident–the accident in which the protagonist, Tessa loses her sight. A drunk driver with a pickup truck runs the red light crashing into the car Tessa and her grandmother are in. Soon it turns out that’s only a recurring nightmare and she’s been home for one or two weeks (maybe? I don’t remember precisely). By this time she has already lost her sight. Tessa runs the audience over all that happened after the accident (basically in those weeks she got discharged from the hospital etc. etc.) Now my question is why not start the book from the accident itself? It all gets narrated either way.

The next problem is the way first Tessa’s grandparents, and then the WHOLE BOOK just downplays consent. Why? Why would you do that?

- Tessa’s grandparents “know better what’s good for her than she does”–that’s an actual quote from the novel btw. Nothing glaringly alerting in that, I mean adults often have this way of thinking about children. Until… they try to arrange a stranger to help Tessa with transcribing her work. Tessa is a poet with a blog where she posts her work on schedule. Ever since the accident, she doesn’t feel like writing (or blogging for that matter). She’s shut herself off from the virtual world, doesn’t touch her laptop, nor speaks with her internet friends. (Because ofc she’s homeschooled, doesn’t like to go out at all and only has internet friends in the first place.) She’s in her room for most of the day, cries a lot and tries to cope. Whether her coping is good or bad I’m not qualified to say, but she thinks of herself as selfish, lazy, cynical, and depressed most of the time––everything she never wanted to be, things hates with every fibre of her being. She blames herself and basically detests life for beating her down to the ground. She feels she can’t get up even though she’s told, her blindness is a condition that can go away in ninety-something days’ time. I think feeling these emotions are pretty reasonable for a teenager. It’s been like three weeks since the accident, and her newfound blind perspective of life. That can’t be easy. BUT her grandparents know this isn’t healthy, Tessa needs to write. “I haven’t written one verse, one line, one word of poetry. I have no desire to. I have no inspiration, no joy. It’s all gone.” - Tessa from ch.1 So what do Granny and Gramps do following their infinite wisdom? Play the girl. And I’m like, sure dude, harass the child into doing what you want. Sure, don’t try to get her professional help or a psychotherapeutist or something if you think she’s faring so terribly. Sure, run an ad for hiring some part timer to transcribe for the poet who doesn’t want to write anymore. Sure, do it all behind her back. I mean she has PTSD and is blind for now, but yeah, this will most definitely help. Good job! For goodness’ sake they treat the girl like she’s been locked inside her room for months?!

When they share this brilliant plan with Tessa, she freaks out so much the elderly retract the ad. But not before the son of the newspaper’s owner gets a scrap of this new, possible past time activity and decides to be a creep and essentially stalk Tessa. But that’s for later.

Tessa explicitly tells her grandparents she doesn’t want to meet new people, doesn’t want to write, what she needs is time. So the next thing Granny does is pushes an unknown, teenage boy into her blind granddaughter’s room for a chat. Against Tessa’s repeated objections! There’s so much nonsense going on in the sequence of the story. Like one day there comes a boy–a stranger, knocking on the door, saying he’s this and this’ son and wants to help. And because, at a glance, he has prosthetic legs, you invite him first into the house then into your blind teenage granddaughter’s room? Without actually knowing if he is who he says he is? Without knowing the first thing about him? But even if that part is true, and he is who he says–the son of the newspaper’s owner, let’s not forget the mildly stalkerish way the guy’s been acting.

Granny shares a shit load about Tessa’s problems, then flat out tells her to meet Weston. “I told you I don’t want help. And I certainly don’t want anyone touching my laptop. I don’t want to write. I don’t want some stranger coming into my house and feeling sorry for me!” That’s Tessa speaking with Granny prior to the meeting. I mean it’s no biggie if she’s against the whole idea because he could help, right? Is this the American way of handling things? Someone give me a spoon that I can boink myself in the head with to get around this type of mentality.

At the first meeting Tessa has meltdown, screams at Weston and cries. Tells him she doesn’t need help. Tells him not to bother. Tells him she wants him OUT OF HER ROOM. Weston leaves before telling her he’ll be back the next day. And Granny and everyone else is fine with that. So in the following days the nuisance has the audacity to come over, small-talk the grandparents into loving him because he’s so charming everyone is in love with him a little. (That’s another thing from the book, I shit you not, the dude straight up thinks things like this. Yes, I know it’s self-deceit.) Weston forcibly takes over Tessa’s room which is basically the last place she feels comfortable at? Never mind, now someone’s popping in randomly when they think it’s cool, telling her what to do––“I know you don’t need me. But you need to write.” Bitch I think you need to fuck off from people’s lives who don’t want you in it. Just an advice.

One time Tessa wakes up to Weston barging into her room (“...he walks into my room without knocking, at 9.00 a.m., when I’m still in my pajamas”). Granny’s off to do her things leaving the boy to stay and make himself at home. Huh, quite reasonable.

Weston forces Tessa to accept there’s no fleeing this situation––one, the three of them (him and the oldies) constructed for her. Because it’s helping.

That’s basically the question of: where’s the line between wanting to help someone and pushing them even deeper when they’re already at a bad place. But since this is a YA romance everything is nice and good and sorted at the end so Tessa can thank her loving family for forcing their volition on her.

- Here’s another lovely example of consent portrayed in the novel: “I told you I don’t want to go outside.” Weston laughs. “You also told me to get out of your house and never come back.” “And you directly disobeyed my wishes.” “And you’ve been enjoying it...” Please tell me I’m not the only one seeing what’s wrong with this whole dialogue. It’s so disappointing and frankly, discouraging, to see an attitude like this written by a woman, targeted at a young, female audience.

- Oh, there’s their first kiss as well. It’s really really romantic. Weston asks for permission then doesn’t wait for the answer! “I’m gonna kiss you. Is that okay?” It’s not fair, because I don’t give her any time to reply. Instead, I press my lips against hers. Without permission.” ...So why did he even bother to ask? To seem nice? Well, as the saying goes it’s the thought that counts… So is this how consent works? NO! But consent never stood a chance in this book at the first place.

Next up; Characters.

*not @me side-eyeing Abbie’s video about how to craft a strong female protagonist* - I’m not gonna say a lot about Tessa. For me she falls flat like a cut-out. She’s paper thin, and dumb, although she’s the novel’s protagonist. Funny though, I feel she has less to give to the story than Weston, and it’s not just the length of their respective chapters. There’s like 600-700 words from Tessa’s POV (mainly about Weston 80% of the times), then we get a 4k word count chapter from Weston (mainly about his own journey and overcoming his struggles). Tessa’s chapters are either shallow or about her time spent with Weston. Opposed to this Weston has a full arc of him getting over the loss of his legs and standing up from it (quite literally). See what I’m talking about? All I get from Tessa before the accident is that she’s a writer, homeschooled, likes her colour coordinated books, and waffles (like Abbie ha!) (*whispers* and she wears her hair in a messy bun, ofc she does). Oh and she can’t live without WiFi. All I get after the accident is that she’s hurting, angry and blind. And now she has Weston. So her backstory is…..?

- Weston. Oh man where to start. Now he has a backstory. From it we can conclude how idiotic he is. That’s not recklessness or being a teenage boy. I’m sorry but his behaviour is simply idiotic. Sometimes he’s really grown up (taking care of his baby brothers and all) other times he has like 1 (one) braincell operating in his head. Bearing weeks of pain, and not saying anything about it to anyone because that’s not superhero like? WHAT??? He experienced, at the least, three weeks of torturous pain and several days of fever and dizziness, popping Advil like it’s candy. Still, the only one who realised this is his best friend at school and his 10 year old brother who was at the scene of Weston injuring his legs in the first place. What about the parents one might ask. Well Idk. Obviously a 13 year old is so good at deception and sneaking around that adults can’t catch on! On this note I want to gift Parents of the Year Award to Mamma and Pappa Ludovico. With parental supervision like that I’m baffled the child lived up to the age 13.

Weston is the nightmare male lead people usually salivate after in k-dramas stuffed into the body of a 16 year old American boy. Now I’ve never understood those people and their preferences of the bratty, entitled, but oh-so-handsome males and I still don’t understand to this day. Where’s the appeal? Don’t ask me.

I’ll just put down some quotes: “It’s the first time in three years anyone has ever met me without that look of pity on their face. The first time anyone has ever looked at me and not seen me. The first time anyone has stood before me—with perfectly normal legs—and complained about their own problem. The feeling is exhilarating.” So basically this is the so called ‘No one has ever treated me like this. Except this girl, my God, she’s intriguing’. Weston enjoys Tessa’s rude behaviour. “So she’s stubborn. She’s rude. She’s a spitfire wallflower who lost her sight and now hates anyone who tries to help her. Game on.” ...Are you five? “Tessa is the only Dickinson who doesn’t like me.” I have no idea why that could be. But, listen, listen: “I turn around in the desk chair, throwing her a hard look over my shoulder. She’s still sitting rigid and stoic on her bed, staring at nothing. She’s actually really pretty. Her eyes are bluer than mine—the enhanced kind of blue you see in contact lens commercials. She has freckles, too. Just a few, thrown across her nose and cheeks. Her hair is braided today, less messy. She looks so serious. I liked it better when she was screaming and crying.” Idk somehow this sounds like every badly composed romance I’ve ever seen. Let’s just say the progression of the relationship between Weston and Tessa infuriated me 90% of the story. You can help others without being an ass. You can also help others without being a horrible love interest, but that’s for another day. YA contemporaries don’t work like that.

Oh Weston, what a knight in shining armour. Three years prior, he had this thing with Clara Hernandez–a girl from school. It wasn’t real dating but they spent some time together (he walked her to class ooooh~~~) so she became “at the time, my unofficial girlfriend”. Things change after Weston’s accident, of course. He tells her he doesn’t want to continue their ambiguous relationship. And that’s alright, it’s his choice, BUT he then kind of passes the girl to his best friend, so she won’t annoy him anymore? The way he narrates the whole thing is...ugh. “But she wasn’t even dumping me, and we weren’t even dating. We were thirteen years old, for crying out loud.” See, this is Weston thinking about what happened. And this is him telling Rudy about it: “What were you talking to Clara about?” he (Rudy) asked. “I dumped her.” Following in another chapter they talk about how now that the coast is clear––Weston and Clara are through, Rudy should hit on Clara: “He wanted to resist the whole thing and deny his obvious crush on Clara Hernandez. But he couldn’t do anything except laugh and shake his head. He knew I was the best friend he could ever ask for.” Such a kind and caring person for handing out the girl he doesn’t really want to his best friend. Give him a medal for that one. Idk this whole business irked me to no end, like Clara was his possession or something. (Yeah, and the poor girl eventually ended up with Rudy, not like she had any other choice…)

- Downplaying female friendship. Yeah, that one happens as well. When Tessa talks with her friends (her blogging circle) the only thing we as readers can glimpse about their conversation is “Tell us more about the boy,” like... really? Because once again that’s the only thing a group of friends can talk about when one of them suffers an accident resulting in trauma. And Tessa’s answer? “At first, I didn’t like him. I thought he didn’t understand anything about me—even though he acted like he did. And I’m not sure that he understands much, even now. But he’s kind. And patient. And he kept coming back to type poetry for me, so I’ve kind of been forced to make friends with him.” The reply of her friends… “Aw ... He sounds really cute.” Yeah, really cute, forcing you to be friends with him. “How can you not be in love with a boy who makes you waffles?” Well, friend no.5, it’s not that hard… But there’s more. After Tessa gets her sight back the only thing we get from this supporting bubble of warm friends is as follows: “LIV: TESSA HOW ARE YOU FEELING ME: a lot better actually ME: my headache FINALLY went away MARIA: yayy!! ALLISON: PRAISE THE LORD ME: yeah fr KATE: So glad to hear you’re doing better, Tessa! It must be quite a transition omg… GRACIE: I can’t even imagine ME: it’s been pretty crazy ME: but good ME: I guess ME: ugh idk mixed emotions LIV: ???? LIV: TELL US EVERYTHING LIV: if u want to lol ME: ahhh well ME: Weston is kind of not talking to me anymore,” That is it my friends. Two to three sentences about her condition and it’s time to talk about the boy. Is this really how shallow anyone would want to describe the protagonist and her close-knit group of friends talking for the first time after one of them lost their sight? Then again, talking for the first time after she got her sight back? I’m disappointed to say the least.

- I didn’t care for any other character enough to jot down my observations. They were bland, they were there to help the main couple, nothing more, nothing less. Weston’s kid brothers were cute and Rudy seemed like a normal, sane character (I applaud him for that). All I can say is the families in this novel are something else.

The romance.

Okay, let me state before anything else: I like romance if there’s balance. I like romance when the people involved are equals. I believe a relationship, and a good one at that, should have cornerstones. One of them has to be that equality. It also doesn’t hurt if none of the involved parties are assholes. The romance can be of any trope as long as the happy ending is tied to said relationship being healthy. And I don’t mean sorely the end product; the way that relationship is constructed step by step should resemble these things. If not, at least call them out for it. I’m not the advocate of perfect characters or relationships (any kind, not just romance) because that would be really unrealistic. It can be bad, yeah, it can be toxic, or a little messed up in the middle. But for crying out loud reflect that in the storytelling! Do it especially if the story is planned for a younger audience! Now let me make another statement: What I don’t like is that in mostly American YA het-romances there are rarely any of these things.

- This one here is probably supposed to be the writer’s well liked trope of hate-to-love romance, but I feel the concept of kindergarteners is more fitting. The boy forces, the girl yields. But it’s okay because he likes her and wants to help.

There are some cases of harassment sprinkled in, as in one party objecting the other’s closeness or presence and the latter not giving a damn about this. Real respectful; but, hey, that’s part of consent too so I guess it simply flew over our heads in this particular story. A fresh and original concept on romance, wholesome and healthy. And the thing is, Weston actually knows these things. He literally says so in the book, “...until I intruded on Tessa’s life, however it happened.”

And of course Tessa is more pure than fresh snow on white lillies; she’s basically a lotus. Weston is the first boy stepping into her room. Give me a second to freak out about that. It’s so exciting! (Mostly by knowing the circumstances in which he did that.)

The other thing that annoyed me was Weston’s entitlement and holier-than-thou attitude. He knows everything better than Tessa. He knows Tessa better than she herself does WHEN HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT HER. That’s the moral of the story. No, but I’m not kidding, some of his thoughts set me on fire. “She wrote about sunlight and oceans and falling in love, when I’m pretty sure she has no idea what it feels like to fall in love.” I’m sorry, but do you know Tessa? (besides stalking her via the grandparents)???? The audacity, I’m cackling.

- Can someone tell me why Tessa speaks with Weston if she doesn’t want to? I mean besides that this way the story can go on. She actually starts their conversation on the second day. Me, personally, don’t talk to people whose presence I can barely tolerate. How silly, I know.

- Weston annoys the shit put of Tessa for like five minutes but he talks to her, (for his own selfish reasons may I add––Weston, honey, if you want people not to pity you try helping blind little kids who actually want your help) and brings her flowers, and chocolate so I guess it’s reasonable that approximately four days later Tessa’s attitude shifts to comparing him to sunlight. “Weston is everything And all at once. Weston is gentle And harsh. Weston can be blindingly bright But then he can also be Delicately soft. Weston is a paradox.” – Oof girl.

- Let me tell you kids just because someone annoys or teases you and you tolerate it––that’s not the get-go to life changing love. Even though he’s the first real life boy whom you’ve ever spent casual time with. But he’s the first boy who ever showed you real attention, you say. Well then, that’s a grace girls have to accept. Or so this book and so many others try to make us believe. The sad thing is, there actually could’ve been a conflict––if one wants to write about opposites attracting each other so much––without making the story so cliched and weak.

Plot-holes.

- Maybe it’s nitpicking for some, BUT… why was Weston in his dad’s office in the first place? I never got around to the reason of that. He loiters around there once a week, that’s what the book states. Well, okay, he is there inspecting the motivational quotes collection on the wall while his father just works away. And am I supposed to believe the man is all cool with this? What is Weston doing there? For what reason? The answer is easy: he simply had to hear the phone call of Tessa’s grandfather retracting the ad.

- Now why does his father–the owner of the newspaper–accept calls regarding ads in the first place? Is this really how things work? Other employees do nothing? I’ve worked at a small printing company in the past. The management only accepted calls regarding ads if there wasn’t a single soul anywhere near the perimeter of the office. There’s a department for jobs like this. Bosses don’t qualify.

- About the already mentioned beautiful first meeting, where sparks fly, and the lovely couple can roll off a great start... If Tessa didn’t want to meet anyone why didn’t she lock her door? That’s a pretty easy task. At first I thought maybe there’s no lock on the door. But wait; after the disastrous meeting she locks herself away. “The door is locked, and Grandma has stopped trying to open it.” Sooo there was a lock after all…...okay…….

- Why is almost everyone in this book freckled with blonde hair and blue eyes? Okay, this really is just nitpicking, but like, is there some symbolism in that? *bounces eyebrows* Ehem, if you know what I mean.

- I’m not sure if this is an actual plot-hole but I was really surprised by the lack of anxiety Weston’s approach triggered in Tessa. Essentially, Weston is a stranger at the start of the book, with whom she gets locked into a room, without anyone else in there, when she’s still adjusting to the fact she can’t see. I especially looked out for it; Weston closes her door every time he’s over at their house to speak with her. I mean the first time she’s angry; but what about later? She doesn’t even seem nervous or affected by this at a time when her blindness is still fresh. Yet, when they go to Barnes & Noble, a public space with people around, Tessa is anxious the minute Weston leaves for a bathroom break. Like okay, some strange dude tries to pick her up and she’s rightfully terrified, but all she has to do is call out. Now both of these scenes are pressuring and scary, but where’s the difference? Tessa is nervous when the stranger approaches her in the book store, a big and open space with people around even before said stranger tries to initiate skinship. She tells him to leave her alone. But she did just that when Weston first went to see her. And Weston didn’t give a shit about it, much like the high schooler at the book store. And I’m supposed to believe with Weston she wasn’t apprehensive at all? Of course she wasn’t… he’s the love interest.

The whole book store scene makes me so uncomfortable and NOT because of what you’d think. It’s simply distasteful to create a scenario like that only to draw it back to… yes, you guessed it, Weston. He’s the saviour sweeping Tessa off her feet with “Get your hands off my girl” and chasing away that jerk. Why is it that still, in the year of *looks at smudged handwriting on hand* sometime past the 1890s there’s the need to use The Jerk™ hitting on the girl and The Nice Guy™ saving her by making her seem like his property? Oh did I forgot to mention the jerk smelled like cigarettes, and his pants were falling off his ass. I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing a leather jacket or had piercings just to fit the look to a T. That usage of my girl ...ugrghgh I can already feel white hairs sprouting from this. Look, I’m not against the idea of belonging to your beloved. If you want to say it, cool, do it. But when it’s not consensual, and you’re not a couple who already expressed to one another the wish to be viewed that way maybe DON’T FUCKING USE IT. Not to one up another guy trying scare the baddie away. Man, don’t do that. *channelling my inner LE to rap the last line really loud* What’s even better than this? Tessa’s reaction: “Despite the gravity of the situation, I can’t help but smile and get butterflies all over again.” REALLY???? Please donate braincells to this girl. She really needs it.

The dynamic of relationships.

- This is mind bogging for me. Almost all relations (excluding the most fundamental ones) serve a sole reason: cheer on and make the main couple happen. This book is promoted as a love story, one, not limited to romance. It’s a love story of family bonds, love between brothers, and grandparents, and friends. And that’s true for Weston… but for Tessa??? I don’t think so. But maybe that stems from how underdeveloped Tessa’s character is.

- The main couple’s dynamic is so stilted. Weston basically caused the state he is in, Tessa suffered an accident caused by outer circumstances. She’s the victim of a drunk driver, while quite frankly, Weston’s the victim of his own stupidity. And yet, since Weston decided to fight for himself he expects Tessa to do the same. Now that’s a nice thought, even if it’s about someone you barely know and met maybe two times in your life. Is that a reason to harass the other and tell them what to do, not taking no for an answer? I highly doubt it. Weston wanted to get better so he pressed himself, but he made that choice himself. It’s beautifully written down not once, not twice, but multiple times; how hard it was for him to choose between 1, the easy way––the flat grounded desert and 2, the hard scaling and rocky mountain range. He chose the mountain range and that’s admirable. What’s not admirable is, that from what I get from this book, Tessa never had the luxury of a choice. Because other’s never gave her time or let her decide for herself. Tessa says Weston is stubborn and obnoxiously optimistic. I think he’s just obnoxious, period.

- At the end of the book Tessa narrates how ashamed she feels and how her heart is breaking “Because of what Life has done to Weston.” For one, is Life responsible for what happened to Weston? I’d liked to read about how Weston tells the story of losing his legs to Tessa with a straight face, because all thorough the book he never once did that. To anyone. If that happened, he ought to admit how incredibly stupid he had been. As well as the consequences of his own decisions, every time he went on without saying a word or asking for help. That stubbornness is his character trait. Yes, it is, but we never get to see how that affected his family, there wasn’t one paragraph about his parents talking about it with him.

- On this note why is Tessa always so ashamed, feeling like she’s the brute, saying sorry to everyone at every chance? It’s not like others apologised to her once. This character trait only perpetuates the notion how everything others impose on her is fair trade because they only want to help. And either way, she only feels apologetic about standing up for herself.

Mentions of notable things that annoyed me.

- The judgement if a girl need makeup or not, because *banging pots and pans* she’s beautiful no matter what in the boy’s eyes. And he tells her just that. “Are you wearing makeup?” I ask, without thinking. Tessa smiles just a little. “Yeah,” she says. “Grandma helped me with it. This feels like… a special occasion.” “You don’t need it, you know. You look beautiful without it. But you look beautiful with it, too. You always look beautiful. Even when you’re crying.” Tessa really needed to know your opinion about her wearing makeup Weston. Kudos for you for telling her she doesn’t need it because she looks beautiful without it, but it’s okay to wear it as she looks beautiful with it too. Great input man!

- At this point I’m not even surprised, but there really was the girl staring at something, asking if it’s pretty. (Okay, Tessa couldn’t stare but she was probably imagining––here it’s the sundown, bc of the whole sunlight theme). Then the boy answering, “Yeah, it’s pretty.” Not as pretty as you, he thinks while staring straight at her. Hello, is this a Disney production?

Conclusion.

All in all is this the worst book ever? No. Are there unforgivable problems with it? Not explicitly.

My biggest problem is what message it sends about relationship patterns, patterns I hate with a fiery passion. It’s the same old shit I grew up with, and it’s the same old shit that doesn’t seem to change after twenty years. Not even now when,––with the help of the era of internet––everyone is suddenly so woke. But are they, really? All I saw about this novel is the raving reviews praising it to heavens. And there are themes in it that deserve praise––the acceptance of one’s self, the loss, the forgiveness, the overcoming of hardships of life––but what about all that’s left? What about the execution?

Bottom line is, because this is a book, everything gets resolved and all is happy and fine at the end. However in real life, coercing others to do things against their will isn’t a glorious idea. Disregarding consent isn’t acceptable. Helping with the stubbornness of a mule isn’t really helping. And last but not least, perpetuating a mindset and a budding relationship like the one presented in this book––for a young audience shouldn’t be okay.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 138 prt 1

138

Keith watched Lance sleeping. His shirt hiked up with his belly showing as he cuddled a pillow instead of Keith. Lance was an awkward mess of cuteness Keith could have watched forever if his bladder didn’t exist. Heading to the bathroom, he’d wished he could have peed faster, but peeing with a boner was an Olympic effort. Making himself a coffee, he made it more milk than coffee, sculling it down so he’d have caffeine in his system when Lance woke up. As he climbed back into bed, Lance was still sleeping soundly in the same position. Morning sun poured through the open balcony door, heat and humidity already smacking him in the face. Cuba was not Rome... nor was it Vatican City. The weather killer after months in Europe. Smiling to himself, he laid by his boyfriend, hand sliding over Lance’s bump. He loved the bump. But his love was tinged with the sadness of missing watching it grow.

Whimpering in his sleep, Lance’s body tensed, kicking out before he sucked in a breath. Keith cuddling around Lance, sliding his hand up his boyfriend chest as he kissed his shoulder

“I’m here. I’m here, babe. Breathe. It was a dream”

“Mami?”

Lance sounded so sleepy as he asked his for his mother. This wasn’t fair

“It’s Keith, babe. I’m here”

“Keith?”

“Yeah, babe. It was a nightmare. It was just a bad dream”

“Fuck...”

Pretty much.

Lance did an almost three point turn as he rolled over, pulling his shirt down to hide his belly away. One coffee wasn’t as good as two, but better than none. Brushing Lance’s fringe back, his boyfriend didn’t look like he’d slept as solid as he’d appeared to

“Wanna tell me?”

“I haven’t been sleeping well”

“I gathered that... you seemed really out of it”

“Haven’t been to sleep through the nights...”

“Yeah?”

Slowly Lance wrapped his arm around him, like he had to ease himself into the touch. Kissing his boyfriend’s forehead he wondered how many sleepless nights he’d had because of him

“I usually walk around the beach at night... it helps”

The night was cold. Lance shouldn’t be out at night. It couldn’t be good health wise or for the twins... but Lance had to do what he had to do to keep going

“What about during the day?”

“I nap if I can... drink, eat, throw up, wallow, think to much and sleep”

“You don’t go out during the day?”

“I did with Mami... but it’s hard to look like this”

“There’s nothing wrong with how you look”

Lance hummed. The last of his tension sliding away

“You’ve had coffee”

He’d humaned. It was an accomplishment... which he could have said if his brain wasn’t broke

“I had to pee”

“I didn’t think you’d be here when I woke up”

Ouch. That hurt more than it should have. He wasn’t about to “root and run”. He’d busted his arse to get back to Lance

“I’m sorry. But you’re stuck with me...”

“I don’t want you to be stuck”

“I’m not. I’m where I want to be”

“Still doesn’t feel real”

“I’m real”

“My dreams feel real too. Mami... Mami copped a few nightmares”

“Mami loved you. I’m sure she was just relieved she was there for you”

“I hate waking up and knowing she’s gone. I hate it...”

Keith hushed him. How was he supposed to explain everything to Lance when he was dealing with so much as it was

“I know. It’s not fair”

“She loved you so much... her son... she was so proud of Keith. So proud”

“I loved her too. She felt like the first mum I ever had”

Lance hiccuped, before Keith was shoved aside as Lance scrambled off the bed, running for the bathroom. Lance didn’t mean to hurt him, but damn he got him with his hand against his ribs.

Slowly Keith followed Lance into the bathroom, Lance throwing in the toilet, hand in his swell as he did. Keith had the impression morning sickness would have gone by now. Settling behind Lance, Keith placed his hand over his boyfriend’s. His fingers felt thinner, Lance felt thinner. His hips had widened a little, a little more curvy than he had been... but Keith only knew that because he knew Lance’s body so well. Gagging, Lance wasn’t having a fun time

“Let it out, babe”

“S-sorry...”

“Idiot. It’s fine”

“Ca... can... you call Coran? He usually...”

The sentence was lost to Lance vomiting. Coran usually wha... oh. Coran and Lance talked in the morning. Lance had someone there now, so he didn’t have to face the man on his own

“He can wait. Should I get you some water?”

Lance groaned at him. Keith guessed that meant he wasn’t feeling fond of any form of fluids...

“What about some blood?”

Catching his breath, Lance groaned at him again

“Just... go call Coran... please. I’ll be there soon... and no... water...”

This morning sickness thing was beyond a joke.

Keith headed into the kitchen, opening and booting up Lance’s laptop. He smiled as he found himself as the background, Kosmo making a pest of himself licking his cheek as Lance took the photo. Pin locked, he knew Lance too well as his birthday unlocked the laptop. It’d barely got past the loading screen before Coran was ringing. Was he so untrustworthy that he’d suspected he wouldn’t be able to get through to Lance? Accepting the call, the screen was filled with Coran’s teeth, the fae using the laptop to floss in, coughing and throwing the floss aside, Coran not fooling anyone as he pretended that never happened

“Keith, my boy! We were worried! We hadn’t heard from you!”

Whoops. Okay. Yeah. He’d promised that he’d call as soon as he knew what was happening with Lance

“Is that Keith?! Where is that arsehole!?”

Double whoops. He’d upset Pidge. Coran was bumped out the way by her

“Keith! You said you’d call! We’ve been going crazy!”

He was in for it now

“Hey, Pidge. Sorry. Lance and I were talking... uh, he’s here. He’s kind of okay...”

“Can we see him?! I want to see him!”

“Yes, well, excuse me... I did tell you I would be calling him”

Coran nudged his way back into view. Keith felt he’d probably been putting up with Pidge and Hunk freaking out all night now. He didn’t even know where his phone was...

“Guys. That’s enough. Lance is in the bathroom. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call last night. We had some stuff to talk about”

Coran must have regretted his wheelie chair, moved out the way by Pidge again

“Is he okay? Can we see him?”

“He’s mostly okay. Look, we’ve only just got up. I can either show you him throwing up or I can call back later”

“Don’t you dare bring that laptop in here!”

Whelp. Okay

“What was that?”

“Lance. He doesn’t want you guys seeing him throw up”

“What’s vomit between friends?”

Coran rather forcibly butted Pidge back out the way, looking grouchy as he did

“Keith, how is he?”

“Throwing up. He’s... we’re gonna stay a few days. He really needs this right now”

“Okay, my boy. Make sure you keep him hydrated. Don’t forget his shots. Make sure he’s eating too... I tell him everyday...”

Keith started tuning Coran out. It was amazingly easy when you’d listened to nothing but Blade bullshit. No wonder Lance took the chance to have someone else listen to his nagging...

Pidge yelling as Coran held her back

“Tell him to show us proof of undead life! I want photos! Don’t you hold out on us, Keith Kogane! We wanna see Lance and we wanna see that bump! And we want to see Lance smiling or your lose you balls, buster!”

Oh lord. Well that was Coran’s problem to deal with. Better Coran than him and Lance. Maybe he could con Lance into taking a photo with him? Maybe play along... No. He couldn’t say he’d kidnapped Lance. That felt too raw still... ugh. Why was he happy about Pidge being demanding? And why was he so annoyed at Coran? Right. Nagging... he didn’t want to hear more nagging. He had Shiro to nag... fuck... he hadn’t called him. Whoops. Hopefully Matt did. On the other side of the screen Coran opened his mouth, Keith fearing more nagging

“Coran, I’ve got it. We’ve only just got up. I’ll call you later when Lance is up for it”

He’d hung up on Coran, closed the laptop, and made it back to Lance before he felt bad. Their friends cared and he’d cut things short

“Miss me?”

Lance sighed at him. Resting against the toilet with his arm between his head and the seat

“You hung up on Coran”

“Maybe?”

“I heard you”

“In my defence, I didn’t think about the fact he’d start nagging quite so soon”

Lance groaned at him, his boyfriend reaching his free hand out blindly, Keith taking it, not completely sure why or what to do with it

“What are you doing?”

“Just reminding myself you’re real. He’s been at me like that for weeks...”

No thanks. Coran should have known his nagging wouldn’t help

“You’ve got more patience than I do”

“It gets repetitive. If I don’t answer he calls all day until I do”

“I think he misses you”

“I think I honestly can’t take the nagging”

Maybe Coran’s plan was to nag Lance into returning home? He was going the right way to make Lance stay in Cuba forever. Sitting down behind his boyfriend, Keith coaxed Lance into leaning back against him. Lance looked wiped out... so maybe that meant it was really justified nagging?

“You good?”

“For now... sorry, I know how gross it is”

More concerning than gross

“You can’t help it. Do you want to do something today?”

“Sleep?”

Keith snorted, kissing Lance cheek

“Other than sleep?”

“There’s not that much to do...”

“I’ve never been to Cuba before”

Lance fell silent for a bit, Keith kind of hoping his boyfriend would suggest what he was hinting at, without really hinting. He needed to work on his hinting skills

“Do you want to see Cuba? I haven’t gone out much... since...”

Yep. He got there. This was why Lance was pretty much the smartest person he knew

“I’d like that. You can show me around. Tell me about what you and Mami did...”

“We mostly visited family... and did tourist stuff”

“Then show me around?”

Keith didn’t know the socially acceptable way to help his boyfriend through this, but if Lance was talking, he’d be able to understand what it was like for him and Mami as they waited. This was different from when he lost his dad. Lance had a life of loving memories with his Mami. Mami had lived a long and good life. She’d been happy. She’d thanked him so many times for loving Lance. So many times she’d said she was reassured that she was leaving Lance in safe hands.

Keith was sent to have his coffee while Lance showered. His boyfriend going white and rushing to the kitchen sink. Keith glad he’d managed another two cups before Lance threw up. He was most definitely awake now

“Babe?”

Lance groaned out

“Coffeeeeee”

“You want some?”

Lance throwing up again said “no”. Was it the smell? But he’d seemed okay last night?

“Should I air... I’m just going to air the room...”

Opening the doors to the balcony, Keith blinked at Rieva and Matt. Matt waving at him

“Hey, balcony buddy!”

Okay. So he knew Coran organised Matt and Rieva being there...

“What... the fuck?”

There was like a metre between balconies. Keith could literally climb over to them. What the hell was this

“Nice to see you, Keith. How was your night?”

Rieva was messing with him. Matt was messing with him. Coran was messing with him. What the hell?!

Keith backed away from the door, looking to Lance, then back to their friends

“Uh... I’m going to go back inside now”

Rieva waved at him

“Say hi to Lance for us, and tell him we miss him!”

Keith looked back to Lance who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, shaking. Okay. Closing the doors he pulled the blinds across... nope. Not dealing with that right now. With neighbours like that, he’d be going out in the streets to get five minutes of quiet time.

Moving back to his boyfriend, Lance sighed, expecting some kind of nagging. Scratching the back of his head, Keith nearly tripped as he cast a glance back at the balcony, feeling slightly violated

“I didn’t know they were right there”

“Try figuring out what to do with yourself when they want to talk”

“They missed you”

Lance shook his head, turning away from to organise his injection

“It’s not about missing me. I know people care and don’t want me to be alone, but no one asked if I was ready to see them again”

Keith bit down his comment about this being like after Sendak had taken Lance and Lance had barely been up to seeing anyone before Keith had to leave. Not having friends was lonely. Lance needed his friends

“That’s because we all missed you. Shiro and Curtis are coming home next week. They’re bringing Kosmo because I couldn’t bring him on the plane with me”

“They’re coming back?”

Keith wrinkled his brow. Why wouldn’t his brother be coming home? Rome was done. Done and both he and Shiro really liked Platt’s quietness. Being able to help but being able to be themselves, it was some kind of gift

“Yeah. Oh, I totally have to tell you Curtis has two horns now...”

“He has two?”

“And my mother decided she wants to date”

“She is hot”

Maybe mentioning Krolia was too soon? God. How was he going to tell his mother that Miriam passed away? He wasn’t okay with Miriam passing away. His mouth decided he needed to try and cover his “slip up”

“Yeah. I suppose. Anyway, when Shiro and Curtis come back I was thinking I could move to Garrison properly and we could live together and... we can decorate the nursery. I actually picked up a few things in Rome, but my stuff is coming with Shiro and Curtis because they’re coming back via private jet. Can’t put Curtis on a plane with two horns. He’s twice as horny as he was. But his feet don’t smell as bad any more and fuck, I left my shoes on the beach last night”

Lance let him talk himself out. How could he forget about his shoes? He liked those shoes. Rieva drew smiley faces on the heels and he’d thought Lance would get a laugh out of it. Someone out there scored a nice new pair of red converses. He really liked them... so much...

“Oh, babe. How many cups did you have this morning?”

Did the first cup of milk coffee count? He supposed it did as there was coffee in it...

“Three”

Lance wrinkled his nose. How could anyone wrinkle their nose at the life giving nectar that was coffee?!?

“Babe?”

“It’s nothing”

Right. He knew now that that meant the opposite

“You can tell me. I won’t get mad”

Lance sighed at him

“I know. Like logically. But... fine. Coffee seems to make me want to puke. The smell. Just thinking about drinking it makes me feel gross”

Keith gaped. How?! How could coffee make anyone sick!?

“See. I knew you weren’t going to be happy”

“It’s not that. I... why do you have coffee? If it’s making you feel sick...?”

“You. I got some because of you. It reminded me of you...”

Keith’s cheeks reddened. That was kind of really Lance...

“But, last night?”

“I was drinking blood. It didn’t bother me because... I was so... so fucking relieved to see you”

Lance’s voice wobbled. Keith sensing incoming tears and he pulled his boyfriend into a hug

“If you can’t handle coffee, then I’ll stop drinking it”

“No. No. An uncaffinated Keith is... no. I don’t want you to give up coffee. I just... yeah. The smell...”

He could maybe at least try to cut down on the coffee... his would hurt to even have those thoughts

“I don’t want you throwing up because I like coffee”

“And I need you to be you. Seriously. It’s been four months of nothing but people worrying about me. I heard Mami on the phone more than once, I’m pretty sure she was calling up Coran to ask what to do”

“Mami loved you. You were her pride and joy”

Lance let out a shaky breath

“I... I planned this thinking we’d make happy memories. Then you’d come and it’d be like a real family holiday before the twins came. I felt so much better when I saw her with her family. I couldn’t call you, but, like, she came alive again. She told me all about what it was like here before we went to America. Where dad taught Luis to surf. Where Veronica snuck out one night and papi had to come pick her up because she forgot how to get home again She only about 7. She told me how Marco used to pick his nose and wipe his boogas on the pews at church. Aunt Sarah caught him once and spanked his butt until he was screaming she was the she devil... it was like I could breathe again. I wasn’t in Platt and I wasn’t handling missing you very well, but I wasn’t in Platt putting everyone in danger. None of my family here hated me. They were so kind to me when Mami passed. It took Coran a bit to get things organised, then he came down and picked me and her up...”

Keith nodded as Lance spoke, Lance seemed to be more in his memories than in the hotel room with him

“She sounded happy”

“Yeah. I... told her I felt like... like it was coming and she told me she was okay. She slept next to me a lot... before you... she was the last person to kiss my stomach. I told her the twins couldn’t hear her, but she told me to shut up. Then she’d tell them all about their daddy Keith... When I started feeling down she’d... she just... she’s everything I want to be as a parent”

“She set the bar super high”

“Yeah. Oh... that reminds me, I have a present from her to you... and a gift for the twins... and some other things like that. I told her to wait until they were born but we went to these beach markets and she... she pretty much bossed me into giving her most of the money I had on me. Got herself the most ridiculous hat... then she found one of those badly translated shirts that said “Backdoor Gramma”... spelt “G-r-a-m-m-a” with this cartoon old woman in a bikini and fluffy bits. She laughed so hard at it that I thought she was going to collapse”

He and Mami talked two or three times while Lance had slept and Keith was being gored alive over his regret for not being. Mami hated that there were so many things on the screen she could accident press. She had some very unkind words for Sendak that would have made Lance blush, but most of all it was like a check in. When Lance had been too sick to talk on Christmas Day, Mami was there to tell him Lance was going to be okay. He felt okay about Lance being with Mami, because they loved each other so much and Lance really needed that love that only came from her. Mami had her pride and her sense of self was strong. She could be quite and reserved, but for the most part she lived as freely as she liked.

“I don’t think I want to imagine that”

Mami would have rocked it. Keith imagined her sneaking her chocolates with a bottle of vodka giving the double finger to Sendak if she could have. Chocolates and her abundant supply of love were the only two things she zero self control over. Lance nodded, sucking down a breath, tone slightly dejected before levelling then growing wobbly

“Probably safer... but, yeah. I... the family gave me a lot of things that she’d left behind when we moved. I tried to go to the nursing home, you know, to thank them, but Coran made me stay in for observation. Luis cleaned her room out and took her things. He had the nerve to lose it at me for paying for her funeral...”

[pandoraborn]

16 - A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. || forced to beg. ||

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

He’d been sitting in the same spot for a couple days now, in complete isolation and darkness. He knew Cian had planned things to go a certain way, but Vin wonders if he’d forgotten about Vin completely. The plan was to keep Vin out of the way while Cian toyed with everyone else, but leaving the magician alone means Vin has time to make his own plans.

He knew that Jason had Jackie and Marvin hostage, and he knew that Cian had done something with their kids. Anything after that, Vin’s in the dark about. He does have one advantage that he’s sure Cian didn’t take into account: and that’s the fact that Iron doesn’t exactly work the same way on him than it does on Cian.

Marvin lets the cuffs slide effortlessly to the floor. For all of Cian’s planning and manipulations, he’s not very intelligent in some cases. Vin is able to get up now and stretch his numb limbs, jolting his body back to life.

Vin doesn’t stay in the room he’s in for long. He’d heard voices down the hall somewhere, and he’s very inclined to check it out. From the area around him, he can guess he’s in some mansion, or at least a large house. He doesn’t know, or even care, who’s house it is, the important thing is Vin is sure-

He throws open the door he’s sure he heard voices in. It’s a bare, blank room with concrete walls as opposed to drywall. There’s blood everywhere already, and Vin winces, realizing he’d been in the same house as Marvin and Jackie the whole time.

There’s clearly no one here anymore; the house is empty, dark, and chilly. It also screams creepy, so Vin just walks back to the room he was held prisoner in, gathers his things, and leaves. He has some idea of where he’s going and who his target is, so he steps outside, looking around. Large yard, driveway the size of the yard, and the street not too far away. Vin can see the city skyscrapers in the distance, even in the dark, so he focuses.

She would be in the city right now. Luckily, Vin knows exactly where her hideout is.

Conjuring up a small portal, Vin hops through, popping out just outside the intended building. He approaches the nearest door, testing to see if it’s locked. Of course it is. She’d have the place locked up with as much security as she can coerce. Vin isn’t deterred in the slightest. 

He knocks.

Of course, someone is stupid enough to crack open the door, gun out before Vin can catch a glimpse of a face. With his most charming grin, Vin lifts a hand, bright green magic swirling around his hand. “Pardon me,” Vin says, watching as the magic envelops the gun. “But I’m a wee lost and have nowhere else to go.”

The man drops his gun in surprise. In his shock, he jumps back, bumping the door open wider. “What the- wait. What do you mean you’re lost? This isn’t a shelter.”

“See, I was dead, and now I’m not. Well, technically, I haven’t been dead for awhile, but I never did find a home previous to now.” He continues with his same, soothing tone of voice as he uses his magic again, taking advantage of the full view of this lackey. Vin conjures up a spiral, swirling colors of purples and blues that seem to stretch out toward the man. 

It’s so predictable, the way the man stares into the center of the spiral. Vin’s almost bored with how easily taken he is, but it works to his advantage. Moving closer, Vin taps the side of the man’s head, whispering in his ear. With a slow blink after a long minute, the man turns around, beckoning for Vin to follow him inside the building. 

Vin follows down a hallway, before the pair stops at a stairway that leads up. The man says nothing, just dazedly lifts his hand to point up. With a grin, Vin pats him on the shoulder before heading up the flight, breaking the trance. 

Vin doesn’t walk the whole way up. He uses a portal to skip flights of stairs, stopping every other floor to check for his target. It’d be too cliche for her to be up at the very top but- 

-that’s, in fact, where she is. The entire top floor is decorated with a lavish style, furs and prints as carpet and wallpaper, all clashing to look as tacky as possible. Vin wrinkles his nose as he tip-toes in, using his magic to locate her.

She’s sleeping. Why she’d be sleeping when there would be people after her is beyond him. Or maybe she’s dumb enough to let her guard down, trusting in her foolish lackeys to keep her protected. Regardless, it’s easy access for Vin. He rummages through the things closest to her ‘bed’ (which is really a bunch of couches pushed together with a mattress on top) until he finds a pistol. Vin already knows he won’t find her drugs out in the open, but a gun?

She really is foolish. 

He crouches down next to the bed, staring her down as he rotates the pistol around in his hands. She seems to be a light sleeper, because she’s stirring only moments later, rolling over to her back and cracking a single eye open. It takes another few seconds for her to bolt upright, scrambling back when Vin aims the pistol at her face.

“Good morning, Danielle. Did I wake you?” He grins politely as he tests the gun’s weight. There’s no clip in it, but he’s hoping she isn’t awake enough to realize it.

“How did you get in? How the hell did you get through my security?” 

“The sad thing about most humans,” Vin begins as he stands up to move closer. He sits down on the edge of the bed and presses the barrel right against her temple. “Is that they’re incredibly easy to influence. I just need to use a little bit of magic, and your flimsy security was eager to please.”

“What did you do to them?” She asks, voice utterly calm in spite of her trembling.

“Just one, no idea how many you actually had, and he’s fine now. Probably doesn’t remember the homeless stranger who knocked on the door asking for a place to stay.” Vin leans closer, using his free hand to grip her wrist to lock her in place. “Nevermind all that. You’re an idiot, Danielle. One man to guard an entire building while you sleep? Shame, Cian could have come back for you. Though, I suspect you could have the entire FBI protecting you; if Cian wants someone, he finds them.”

“Vin, I-”

“No no, I’m in charge now. Do you have any wine, by the way? No need to get up, I can help myself.”

“...yes. Over there. I have a fridge filled with...glasses on the side.”

“Perfect.” Vin gets back to his feet and moves away, helping himself to her most expensive wine. “So, I have some inside information. I know that Cian is probably with the kids right now, seeing as he hasn’t come back for me. He also seems to have forgotten I’m not fae myself.”

“I swear-”

“No no. I’m talking sweetheart.” Vin takes a large sip of the wine as he moves back toward her. “I also know Jason had the married couple in his clutches, and Merlin was probably involved somehow. What would you like to tell me about that?”

“I swear I don’t know where anyone is Vin. Cian hired me to kidnap the kids, I don’t know what happened to them after that, I don’t know where your friends are, I swear. I’m just here, minding my own business.” 

“You’re not minding your own business though.” Vin takes another sip, now using his telekinesis to bring the magazine to him. “You’re involved in a pretty fucked up situation. I’d like to know what the endgame is for all this. Cian didn’t feel the need to tell me.”

“I don’t-”

“I’m not asking you. You’re smart, in your own way. Crafty, even. But you’re no match for Cian. He wouldn’t give away his secrets to even me, what makes you think he’d talk to you? You’re no better than one of your drugged lackeys.”

“I resent that.”

“Oh, and one more thing before I take you with me?” Vin finishes off his wine.” 

“Before you continue that, I can drug you and make you mine.” 

“I have magic and a loaded gun, Danielle. I’d highly reconsider your actions.” Vin jabs the gun against her temple again, this time roughly. He ignores her cry of pain as he continues his original thought. “Only my friends can call me Vin, by the way. You haven’t earned that privilege, so quit trying to be chummy.”

“Sorry, Marvin. Where are you taking me?”

“The only one I can reasonably call is Chase, and he’s in a different timeline currently. The one we both left behind. How did you even cross over by the way?”

“I have secrets of my own, Vin, er. Marvin. As we are not working together, I don’t have to tell you anything.” She scowls.

“Fair enough. So, since I can’t call Chase, I’m going to give Amon a call. Maybe he’s at Jackie’s and Marvin’s place, I don’t know.”

“I saw him the other day,” Danielle says quietly. “He was trailing me, somehow he knew I had something to do with the kids.”

“Amon’s the smartest of all of us, I wouldn’t put it past him to have everything figured out already.” Vin chuckles as he beckons her with the gun. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re going on a walk.”

“You expect me to walk all the way through the city?” Her expression turns icy.

“Of course I don’t. I have to walk too.” He rolls his eyes as he walks toward one of the large windows, tapping on it with the gun. “We’re going to jump though.”

“Are you out of your god damned mind?” She jumps to her feet, flailing in a panic. “I am not jumping out of a fifteen story window for your god damned amusement!”

Vin turns and fires a warning shot right at her bed.

“You’re crazy, Marvin, you know that? You’re fucking crazy!” She approaches the window slowly, quaking in fear.

“Tell me about it. That leshy must’ve done some permanent damage to me.” He grins.

“Do I at least get to get dressed first?” She waves frantically at herself. Vin takes notice for the first time, seeing she’s wearing only a camisole and a pair of boxers. Definitely not appropriate attire for a midnight adventure.

He waves his hand, forcibly changing her boxers into a pair of jeans.He leaves her top as is, seeing nothing wrong with it. “There, dressed. Now, quit bitching and jump.” Vin turns and fires at the window, watching it crack and shatter in an explosion of glass. He may have used his magic to aid in the display, not that he’d admit it to her aloud, but he’s giggling anyway.

“I fucking hate you.” Danielle gripes as she walks right up to the ledge, then stops. “How do I know you’re not trying to kill me?”

“You don’t.” Vin shoves her roughly, watching her fall out the window. She’s screaming, too, thrashing wildly as if trying to grab a ledge and cling on for dear life. If he wasn’t so worried for the others, he’d probably watch her suffer a little longer. Vin tosses the gun back over his shoulder as he follows suit, letting himself fall forward toward the ground.

The portal waiting for them on the road swallows them both, leading them back into Jackie’s apartment’s living room.

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

TAG LIST:

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[dfcfanfics]

And now, a word from our sponsor

Old man checking in to say, yes, I am still plugging away at both Delicate (NSFW!) and Throw Me Around Like One Of Your French Girls (tooth-rotting fluff).  Election season is a major distraction for a political junkie like myself in normal times.

These are not normal times.

I would encourage those of us here in America to be wary going through the next two months.  Not paranoid, not accusatory, not fearful... but wary.

We have a Presidential election in which events unfolded largely as predicted (record turnout due to ease of voting, a ‘red mirage’ on Election Night)... and a chunk of America screamed fraud.  Republican election officials stated flatly “there was no fraud,” forty court hearings produced no evidence of fraud, many allegations of fraud on social media were soundly debunked, even Bill fucking Barr declared “we have found no evidence of fraud.”  And yet the drumbeat continues, spurred on by a POTUS who seems intent on poisoning the well on his way out.

We have legal fraud being perpetuated by Trump’s team (who, however, have been VERY careful not to actually allege fraud in court; there are penalties for perjury), and by a pair of dingbats looking to cash in on the QAnon gravy train.  Lin Wood and Sidney Powell are trying to become Q-A and Q-B going forward, so to speak; they are submitting preposterously amateur lawsuits alleging conspiracy-theory plotlines with “we have a witness who’s SURE this is true” as their “evidence.”

We have rabble-rousers in state legislatures in swing states organizing “hearings” that are closed events, one-party affairs, where nuts and flakes and the confused spout “evidence” (conveniently, none of which has ever wound up under oath) that do nothing but anger the Trumpoid base further.

And today, in Georgia, Q-A and Q-B stood in front of a crowd and encouraged them to surround the Governor’s house, intimidate him into calling a special session of the legislature, and then “lock him up.”  Q-A deleted his tweet from this morning openly calling for martial law, suspension of the Constitution and a military-run election.  They declared that the upcoming Georgia runoff elections were fraudulent and that those in attendance “should not vote.”

Madness.

Well, if they don’t want to win at the ballot box... and they are laughably unable to win in the courts, how do they plan on winning?

This is a wave of escalating fraud, of rage, of incitement to violent action, of rejecting the legitimacy of any vote that doesn’t go their way that I don’t think I’ve seen in my lifetime.  It’s hardly un-American, mind; we have a long and sad history of such behavior, particularly in our Southern states, particularly amongst the kinds of people who’ve bought in wholeheartedly into Trump’s authoritarianism.  Who are buying in wholeheartedly _now_ into unfounded accusations of election theft, “evidence” without corroboration or sanity, and a pair of yahoos slowly ruling out the non-violent options.

This is not to say “we’ll all be murdered in our beds.”  The nice thing about domestic terrorism is that those insane enough to engage in it are rarely sane enough to come close to succeeding at it.  The targets that they’d want the most are among the best protected.  But it is a mistake to believe that these people will act in any rational or predictable manner, that they will not settle for smaller targets of opportunity, or that random acts of shitheadery will not occur.

So... that is what I am saying.  If you are here in America, be careful.  Be aware.  Check on that weird relative whose Facebook wall is full of insanity, make sure he or she sounds stable these days, and maybe slip away with the key to their gun cabinet.  Talk down those who are on the edge if you can; fight lies with truth.  Provide links to many sources of information -- not just the ones they’re pre-programmed not to trust.  Use logic, not force.  Sever contact if there’s simply no turning back.  I have a relative whose next words to me will be “I’ve been a fucking idiot and I’m sorry” or the phone’s getting hung up, myself.

And if you’re not American... we’re sorry about all of this.  We really are.  We lost our way as a nation decades ago and we are harvesting the results right now.  But many, many, many of us are trying.

And if you do believe in the fairy tale, that George Soros and Hugo Chavez and the Clintons and Brian Kemp and Bill Barr and thousands of poll workers and Communist China and AOC and Pee-Wee Herman and the Reverse Vampires and Robert DeNiro and Alvin and the Chipmunks are all engaged in a massive conspiracy to defraud America, steal the Presidency, ban Christianity, forcibly marry everyone to same-sex migrant invaders and attack and dethrone God... lose my account, lose my stories and lose my inbox.  Because I truly hate to put it this way, but you are too fucking stupid to spend your time reading about lovesick fictional teenagers and you should seek some help.

End rant.  Normal service of Miraculous prompts and story links will resume shortly.

[devilgirl101]

My Dirty Angel–reader x Yourboyfriend fanfic by devilgirl101

Author:Your boyfriend belong to @invertedmindinc/@yOurb0yfriend Also

Warning:this fanfic contains graphic Themes as suicide,stalking and sexual content noncon/con if you are tiggered by the following or you're underage do not read viewer Discretion is advised!

Chapter 1: my hell is a virtual novel nightmare/follow the light of...the tv?/hhhhuuuuhhh!?

Part:2

and then like i wakeing from a dream i got yanked forcibly backwards causeing me to fall right on my ass on the grassy curb i then heard a loud honk of a bus and the babel of people " THE FUCK ARE YOU CRAZY" the one that pulled out of the street yelled followed by "are they alright ?" and " should we call somebody?" i was preoccupied catatonicly shell shocked, dead ? Angel of death? Key, key to what? And who's 'they'? What do they want , And what do they plan to do to me?

"Oh my god....(y/n)? (y/n) is that you?" said a brown haired man interrupting my internal questoning he was faceless as well except he wore a dark green apron it had some kind og logo of a coffee cup followed by the words 'woke up' and a tag that said 'manager' he rused over to and crouched down

"are you okay (y/n)"

"y-yeah i-i-i'm fine"

and that was roughly my first day of purgatory at least i think it was, depends on how souls are processed i guess cause i really don't remember

fun fact time here runs really slowly to where the months feel like years so i guess technically i've been here for three years

for the first mouth i work on blending in and not sticking out cause trying not to notice that the people around you are faceless, is hard specially when they kept asking you what's wrong like you're the crazy one i'm happy to say now i'm some what numb to the faceless

"Hey (y/n) are you alright, you look more surly then usual"

"i'm fine sir,and what ya mean surly?" i said feeling a little indignant

"i wish you'd call me Jess , and you do, quit being a grumpy face" and if he had a face i'm pretty sure he'd wiggle his eyebrows at me This is Jess my boss essentially for a guy who is without a face he's rather expressive

i rolled my eyes and sighed and before i know it he got behind he began tickling me "s-s-stop ha ha ha i---it i ha ha c-can't ha b-breath"

he hands finally ceased their movement releasing me i fall forward on the counter panting "w-what a-are you five?"

"Aha my plan was a success" puffing his chest out triumphant i could punch him right now "are you really okay those circles under your are more noticeable today" his voice sounds worried

"I'm fine really i just ain't sleeping well" i lied, my wild goose chase is the reason for my sorry state who know trying to find a angel would be such hard work for last couple of weeks or so every time i was so close to finding that angel just missing him by a hair i thought i might have better luck at night so i started sneaking out when sally falls asleep but it proved to be fruitless i'm up shit creek and i've got to go on is a stupid two toned heart, thanks for nothing fuckin' glowing girl, stupid convoluted hearts, hearts are now my least favorite thing right now

"hey how about you take off early" patting my back comfortingly

"you sure?" tilting my head at him

"yeah i got, this but you so owe me" with a playful tone for a guy who lacks a face he really is a sweetheart

i nod at him and walk to the changing room after i changed i powered walk to the door and waved goodbye

"take care of yourself (y/n)"

i walk along the walkway to the park i didn't feel like going 'home' just yet i went passed the popular areas that were littered with faimilies of faceless to my favorite secluded spot it's the only place that doesn't feel artificial and it's the only place where that damn box can't follow me i think it's cause there's less reception here i'm not too sure

i flop right on to the bench and leaned my head back close my eyes and just let my mind drift and i listen to the sounds around me and for a moment i can pretend that everything's alright and i'm at peace and that tiny piece of tranquilly is enough at least for right now

I nearly fall asleep till i felt a weight shift on the bench and a hand touch my shoulder i sanp my eyes open and whacked the unknown hand away nearly jump outta my skin "the fuck?!"

"whoa! Hey, take it easy, it's just me." holding his large four fingered hand up defensively, the unknown individual was definitely male he was skinny really skinny lanky even he had grey skin not just grey either but the literal color maybe he's sickly and oddities didn't stop there, his face or rather his head it was as round as a vollyball he had two large expressive eyes a large mouth with very sharp canines but no nose to speak of his voice and expression gave off the impression being timid or docile he was wearing a vest like hoodie a dark blue half sleeved shirt and black pants and black shoes to match

"you're a jumpy one, aren't ya?" a slight worried smile crosses his features,

how the fuck did i not hear him coming i would have at least heard foot steps, i kept my eyes on him unsure of his intentions he seemed to have a simpiler idea,his eyes not once not straying a inch from me i noticed his eyes had such dark circles around his eyes jeez does this guy not sleep or something maybe it's eyeliner

he continued to stare at me for what felt like hours, not standing for this deafening silence anymore

"sorry you uh startled me" sitting myself up right so i wasn't dangling on the edge

He gave a relieved smile "soo" he drawled out as he casuallly inched a little closer

"Are you waiting for a family member or a friend?" he asked scooting even closer

Is he getting closer to me, and why is he talking to me like he knows me i forced myself to remain calm, it's okay (y/n) calm down i'm sure there's perfectly reasonable explanation for this over friendliness from a complete stranger

"seems kind of odd for you to be sitting here all alone like this and far away from the jogging track."

i rise my eyebrow at him, is this 'normal'? i've been in this virtual novel version of afterlife so long i can't tell anymore

"no, just relaxing, got off work early"

my tiredness has been replaced by paranoia, he doensn't seemed to have any malicious intentions but i've been proven wrong before my dear 'darling brother' taught me that the hard way, maybe it's a little unfair to judge him right off the bat, he hasn't even done anything.....yet

"hey are you okay? you look really tried."

Look who's talking

"i'm fine, *sigh* it's been a couple disappointing weeks" Stupid wild goose chase i use to be great at finding people

he gaves me a pitiful look like he's sorry for my troubles

i give him a slight smile to put him at ease it seemed to have worked as his shulders relaxed and a sweet sincere and real smile crosses his face.

My heart slightly fluttered Ok he's kinda cute for a guy who's head could pass for a beach ball, a grey beach ball

"L-look i know this is sudden, very sudden but if your free time extends through out tonight, can i have the pleasure in takeing you out to dinner?"

he scoots himself right next to me now our hands practically touching, nope this is weird, he is weird.

"huh? What, why?" i stammered out i don't know what kind of explantion i would get for this blod yet idiotic request, he doesn't even know me.

"Well i'm your boyfriend ." he said matter a factly looking more bold all that timidness that was there seemed to disappear a wide smile on his face giving me a better look at his fangs

Boyfriend?! My eyes wide as dinner plates

"isn't that why you're here?" looking at me like i was the one confusing him

i had a good feeling that things were about to get even more complicated from here on out

Side note: i did it i did it yay if someone could give me some feedback that would be wonderful

Yourboyfriend belongs to @invertedmindinc cheack her other @y0urb0yfriend

[foxyseok-blog]

Codename

genre: smut

pairing: hoseok x reader

words: 6.2k

warnings: spanking, dom/sub undertones, choking

summary:  “From the moment I stepped inside the fancy building I knew this job would be different. I was sent to steal a ring from an empty apartment and ended up with the owner himself demanding an explanation from me. Hoseok is far from being just another target and I had to learn it the hard way.”

From the moment I stepped inside the fancy building I knew this job would be different. As I climbed the stairs, getting tired after the third floor, I felt uneasy and like something just wasn't right. My black boots matched the whole black outfit I always wore to these kinds of jobs; it was sticking to my frame, not even one millimeter of fabric more than necessary. Someone could say I was an agent or a government spy, but I ain't such thing. My job's description way less heroic than that. Well, to be honest, there's nothing heroic on being a thief but that's where life got me so that's where I stand now.

Literally. I stand in front of the door with an opening kit – as my boss calls it – in my hands. I get on my knees to look better at the door handle, opening it after barely one minute. All these years of robbing made me good at it and, even though I shouldn't be, I'm proud of it.

The apartment is silent, as I predicted, the owner doesn't live in here since it's just another property with his name on it. Imagine having so much money you need to buy patrimony to hide it, now that's the life this guy lives, apparently. I don't know much about him but I look at the picture frames hanging on the light colored walls, a young man with a fluffy looking dog stares back at me.

Damn, he is really beautiful. It should be forbidden to look like this while having so much money.

I shake my head and try not to let anything get in my mind anymore. I need to focus on finding the ring my boss so desperately wants. The living room is big, just like the kitchen and, apparently, all the rooms. They all have furniture inside that indicates someone could live in here very comfortably.

But he doesn't, does he?

I stop breathing as I hear the sounds around me, there's nothing but the calming rain hitting the windows. My boss wouldn't just send me to a house with people inside, he's not that dumb, I guess.

I go to the master bedroom still without turning on a single lamp, can't afford to let anyone outside know I'm in here. I rummage through his absurdly big closet – there are so many coats and hoodies, shoes that costs hundreds of dollars, pieces of clothing that could probably buy me a car. I wonder if I should just put them all in this bag, a very expensive one I notice, and leave without the ring.

But no, my boss would kill me. He's been talking about it the whole week. This guy bought it from a person my boss was hunting down, now I need to rob it from him as we can't kill him, don't know why exactly.

Now that I think of it, I'm happy to know I won't put an end to such a beautiful existence like him. His eyes were glowing even in a picture, his soft features smiling at the lenses with a dog in his arms.

I finally open a drawer of all his jewelries and holy shit, he's got a lot of them. I take my phone out, finding the picture of the ring I need to get, and start looking for it.

After twenty minutes, I give up on the drawer and start searching the whole room. I'm getting desperate, I can't go back empty-handed. All the information we got is that the ring would be here, in this apartment, in his room, in his drawer.

Why isn't it then?

My trained ears pick up a sound it shouldn't be hearing; the front door is opening. I remember the short amount of time it took me to come from the door to the room and realize I have no time to hide outside of this master bedroom. I end up squeezing myself in the middle of two coats inside the closet.

It's not the first time something like this happens to me, to be honest. There's so much you can predict of someone's steps and, sometimes, I make mistakes. I don't let myself think too much about it now, I have to plan how to leave this place without letting him see me because if he does, I'll have to bruise up his pretty face.

I let the closet door slightly open so I can see what he's doing but it's completely yanked open by him. My heart finally starts to beat fast, even knowing I could just punch him and run I still get that adrenaline running inside my veins. But he doesn't see me. The way I'm completely squeezed between two of his dark coats blend my existence and his eyes never meet my frame.

My eyes, though, see him very well. His face is so much more than what that picture could portrait. He's so much hotter, a jawline that could cut, a pointy nose sculpted by the most talented artist, sharp eyes with that hint of a mysterious glow, heart shaped lips with a soft pale pink color to it. His black hair parted to the side to reveal a bit of forehead shines with the soft light of his room. He takes off his long reddish brown coat and I see the dainty body underneath it. It's all proportioned, long legs and small waist, his chest filling the white button up so prettily. He hangs the coat in the closet, still completely unaware of my shaking existence, and leaves without closing the door again.

I see him unbuttoning the wrists of his dress shirt and pulling it up his arms, my eyes are completely lost in the veins of his forearms when I notice the rings on his fingers. A total of three just in one hand and voilá! There is the precious little thing I need to rob.

In his fucking hands!

My whole escaping plan is instantly deleted from my mind as I see I can still save this whole operation. He can't sleep with rings on, who's the idiot that does that anyways? I pray that it isn't him. And as my brain starts to work on another way to get out after actually getting the ring, he starts to open the first two buttons of the dress shirt, revealing the soft golden skin of his chest.

- Any particular reason you're in my closet right now, little one? – his sharp eyes meet mine for the first time.

If my mind hadn't gone completely numb, I'd bathe myself in his honey like voice, deep, calm but firm, demanding.

But I was trained for this, my instincts are stronger than my hormones, I jump out of my hiding spot and try to get to the door before he can get me, trusting my legs to be as fast as they have always been.

Once again, there's so much I can predict. I didn't even think this guy would be faster than me. My legs are long enough so I can always get myself out of this type of situation but oh he's faster.

As my clothes are strategically sticking to my whole body, he grabs me by my ponytail, yanking me backwards until my back painfully hits the floor. When I look up, I see him smirking at me, I get hot all over wanting to punch the faint smile out of his stupidly handsome face.

Did I really say I didn't want to bruise him? Well, can't remember any of that right now.

I rise to my feet getting in position to smash my fist on his nose and bring him down. When I launch forward, he stops all my moves easily. During the ridiculously small amount of time I fail to punch him, my mind realizes that I'm fucked. He's much more than I actually seized up and thought he would to be. I obviously saw he's taller and a bit broader than me but I'm always stronger and faster than my opponents, my boss never gives me a target I can't handle.

But this fight wasn't supposed to be happening; he wasn't supposed to be here.

He grabs my arm twisting it to my back and shoves my chest onto the nearest wall, snatching my other free hand and locking it behind me. I could easily stop such movement – I swear I know how to defend myself properly – but he did it so fast and efficiently that my mind processed everything too late.

- I asked you a question, didn't I? – his breath is on my ear, I feel his whole body encaging me on the wall.

I don't say anything, that's how we're supposed to be when we encounter with our opponents: no talking so they won't have anything against us.

- You're the quiet type. I see. – he's containing the anger inside this velvety voice.

I feel the pressure of his hold loosen a bit and start to think he'll let me go, but he shoves me harder against the wall, the pain in my breasts making it almost impossible for me to breathe.

- But I think I can make you talk.

He pulls me back and starts walking towards his closet, I try to get free but his grip on me is strong enough to bruise even though he holds with only one hand now. I walk backwards hearing when he grabs something inside the closet. A soft sound of clicking and the cold feeling of metal around my wrists let me know he got them handcuffed.

I'm fucked.

- Here's how it's gonna be. – he says as he pushes my shoulders down and I forcibly kneel on the floor. – You'll tell me why you're in my apartment and if it's a reasonable explanation I'll set you free.

He locks the bedroom door putting the key inside the front pocket of his black slacks. God, why did I end up here? This guy came straight out of my wettest dream and probably wants to send me to jail, or kill me.

He crouches in front of me, I can feel the delicious sweet perfume he wears, masculine but soft. His sharp eyes gaze at me, curious and angry at the same time.

- W-what's your name? – the first words I say are choked out, maybe because I shouldn't be engaging a conversation with him.

He gets up, a lazy smile showing up on his features, and slowly disappears behind me.

- My name? – I feel the tug of my hair being pulled harshly, he takes off my scrunchy and lets my locks free as I look up to see his face staring down at me. – You broke into my house and you think you have the right to know my name?

I'm so stupid. I'm being manhandled by the guy I should be stealing from and my whole body seems to sing every time he touches me.

- But I'll give it to you so you'll have something to scream for later. – his hand softens its grip on my hair. – Hoseok.

I let my mind savour this new information, finally giving the handsome face a name just as pretty. And the more I think about it, more I feel like I've heard it before, maybe during conversations of my boss with some of our clients that I probably shouldn't be hearing but I let the curiosity get the best of me.

I hear the sound of a slap before feeling the pain across my right cheek.

- Focus on me. – I look up to see Hoseok staring back at me angrily. – Or is there anything else more interesting in here?

Did he just slap me on the face? How am I letting a man do this to me so easily?

I fight against the handcuffs, eyeing the door once again, thinking of a way to get the hell out of here, just to feel another slap, way more painful, across my left cheek. The cold feeling of his rings still lingers on my bruised skin.

- You're not leaving until I say so. – he tells me.

- Fuck off. – I mutter under my breath, different feelings running through my body; excitement, fear, arousal, anger.

- If you're gonna be disrespectful I prefer when you're with that dirty mouth shut.

- You slapped me and I'm the disrespectful one? – I yell back at him.

He's so calm, standing with one hand in his pocket, looking at me fiercely.

- I'm teaching you manners, little thief.

Oh. So either he knows I'm here to rob him or it's a shot in the dark. But, to be honest, if you see someone with an all black outfit inside your closet it's only suitable to call them thief. If he knows what I'm here for why didn't he call the police?

- You're late for that. – I reply looking straight into his dark eyes. – I'm too old to be taught anything.

- You're not that old, Shadowcat.

My eyes widen in shock. Hoseok knows my codename. Only my boss and the people I work with know about it. It was given to me as I entered this underground world. Since I always have black clothes on and move like a shadow behind my opponents, coming in and out without being seen, they say I'm a shadow that can move like a cat. The realization that I might be in a situation much worse than I previously thought is finally sinking into my bones.

- What? You think I don't know who you are or who you work for? – he crouches down in front of me again, keeping eye level with me. – You'd be dead if I didn't know you.

- Why did you ask then? Why are you keeping me in here like this?

- I didn't ask your name, now did I? I wanna know what you're here for. Certainly not to kill me, Yuyi wouldn't send someone so weak for that.

My boss's real name is something not even I can say out loud, he goes by the codename of Key and that's how we all call him.

- So I assume you're here to steal something. – he reaches forward and sticks his hand inside the only pocket in my pants, taking out the opening doors kit and my phone.

Hoseok looks at the kit, probably knowing what it is already, and lets it fall to the floor along with my phone in a silent thud. His hands travel around my waist, back on my ass where he found the kit, down to my thighs, squeezing and searching for hidden pockets. But my outfit leaves nothing to imagination, there's nothing that could be successfully hidden in it and, because of that, I can feel the heat coming from his palms making me hot.

- And you didn't find it. – he breathes out next to my face and, for the first time, I don't see only anger in his eyes.

There's lust mixed with hate in them.

- I'm not weak. – I respond to his earlier statement since it's the only thing my mind could hold on to when he's so close.

- Yeah? – he chuckled darkly. – Bet you wanna punch me right now but your weak little hands couldn't handle me.

- Asshole. – my heart starts beating fast but for a completely different reason.

Hoseok's hand closes around my throat, squeezing it enough for me to be uncomfortable but not enough for me to stop breathing.

- If you act like a bad girl you'll be treated like one. – he tightens his grip on me. – Why the fuck are you here, brat?

- Y-you know I'm a thief. – I say weakly with the short amount of oxygen entering my lungs.

- I'm not dumb, I wanna know what you need to steal. – his words make me frown a bit, Hoseok says as if I didn't have a choice but to rob him.

I stay quiet, my eyes focusing on the mole on his top lip, his long lashes flutter when he blinks his eyes. Fuck, he's the prettiest man I've seen.

- Aren't you ashamed of looking at me like this? – Hoseok says with a disgusted tone but his eyes give away that he's as affected as me, his pupils completely blown out.

- No. – I say licking my dry lips, knowing damn well I'm throwing away any precaution and plans I thought I had.

Since the very first moment I laid eyes on him, I should have known this operation was lost. He looks like and does all the things I didn't even know I liked.

Hoseok's hand leaves my throat and he closes his fist in my hair but this time around he doesn't pull it to growl at me, he brings my face close to his and smashes his lips on mine.

Finally. One of his hands remains tugging at the roots of my hair while the other rests on my waist. I feel his tongue licking the seam of my lips, asking for entrance. I don't comply and he bites my bottom lip harshly. I whine feeling the metallic taste of blood and open my eyes to see Hoseok smirking at me. He's still so close, our noses touching.

- Open up for me. – he whispers in my mouth, his hands coming to grab my chin.

- Make me.

I see a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes before he manhandles me out of the floor and throws me on his huge black bed. I can't even balance myself on my elbows because of the handcuffs but I see him grabbing my kit and phone from the floor and placing it on the top of a white desk before coming back to me. Hoseok's body towers above mine, his dark hair falling prettily around his face.

- Since you wanna make this harder I'll give it to you hard. – he says before nipping at my jawline.

His hot tongue meets the pulsating poing of my neck, sucking it deliciously and making the skin sensitive.

- You really broke into my house... – he growls on my neck. – ...wearing this tight little thing you call outfit.

His hands slide down my thighs, tugging at the fabric of my pants and opening my legs so he can slam his hips down on my core. I gasp out a strained moan and he takes the opportunity to finally glide his tongue on mine, exploring my mouth, licking my teeth and nipping my lips so expertly that my knees would buckle if I was standing.

My whole body is electrified and we're still fully clothed. I can feel the ends of his soft hair touching my face and I wanna run my fingers through it so badly, my arms restrained behind me are a hurtful reminder that I can't.

- Open the handcuffs. – I mumble inside his mouth. – I wanna touch you.

- Don't trust you yet, little thief. You'll have to earn that. – he rolls his hips on me before I can reply anything, my mind getting lost in the feeling of his bulge smashed against my core.

- Fuck. – I moan out loud, trying hard not to close my eyes so I can see every expression he makes.

- You have such a filthy mouth. – Hoseok bites my lip again, licking the bruise right after, making me squirm under him. – But I have a better use to it.

He gets off of me and I instantly make a complaining noise that is picked up by him.

- Shut up and get on the floor again. – Hoseok commands.

He doesn't help me out of the bed, instead he watches me struggle rolling on my side to get up with a defying smirk on his face.

- Can't you be a fucking gentleman for once? – I say as I stand in front of him, his taller figure looking a bit scary to me now.

- You're not deserving of that, you filthy thing. – he shoves me down again, making my knees hit the carpeted floor. – But I'll give you a chance to show me you can be a good girl. Understood?

- Yes. – I reply submissively, without even thinking twice, because I just can't ignore the constant throbbing between my legs.

- Yes what? – he caresses my hair giving me the chance to make up for the little mistake.

- Yes, sir.

- That's what I thought. – his long fingers open the zipper but he doesn't pull down his pants.

I see the black boxers underneath it before he grabs his dick and pulls it out. I'm not gonna lie, I don't find this part of the male anatomy to be very charming. But oh my God how I love this specific one. It has a soft golden color like his skin, it's pretty, long, thick and a vein going from the bottom to the tip catches my attention. I feel saliva pooling inside my mouth.

- Get to it, you have drool on your chin already. – his words may be degrading but his voice is not even a bit near that, the lust and need in it making him sound a bit weaker.

I stick my tongue out to lick his tip testing the waters, Hoseok makes a restrained noise instantly grabbing my hair and forcing me to take more of him. I try my best not to choke but he hits the back of my throat so easily, I clench my thighs to try and ease the growing need of relief.

Giving blowjobs is not usually an activity I enjoy but Hoseok makes it so good that I probably moan on his dick more than he does. His voice gets deeper, grunting when I swirl my tongue around his tip, he throws his head back closing his eyes exposing the delicious looking neck. I have saliva dripping down my chin like the Nicaragua Falls, since I can't use my hands, but I don't even care. All I do is watch his expressions; the furrowed brows, the hooded eyes looking at me, the plump lips caught in his teeth. I feel like I could come untouched just by watching Hoseok like this.

- Fuck. – he grunts pulling his dick covered in spit away from me. – Seems like you're a talented little thief after all.

- Please. – I beg without even knowing what for, I just feel my core screaming for attention, my panties sticking to it.

His hands, that were tugging painfully at my roots, now pet my hair softly while a lazy smile spreads on his face.

- Yeah, baby. You deserve a reward. – he pulls me up and holds my waist, carefully walking me backwards. – I'll give you what you need.

His words obviously have a double meaning behind but I pay no mind to it as I'm finally gonna get my end of this deal. The back of my legs hit the bed and I sit on it, watching Hoseok put his dick back in the black boxers, leaving the zipper open.

- What are you doing? – my voice is raspier with all the times his tip hit my throat way too deep.

- Didn't you want me to be a gentleman? – he looks down at me before placing one knee between my thighs, his body leaning close until my back hits the mattress. – I have to stretch you open first so I can fuck you properly later.

A strong shiver runs down my whole body when I hear his words being whispered in my ears, his sharp teeth nip on my earlobe before Hoseok looks at my face again. My pupils are blown out, hairs sprawled around the sheets, bruised lips parted so I can breathe better, completely lost in my own hormones. He seems satisfied with that, though.

- You look so hot like this, all needy and fucked out. – his fingertips gently slide between my breasts, going down to my bellybutton.

He tugs at my blouse and lifts it up revealing a simple black bra underneath it. His long fingers pull down the fabric covering my breasts, a knowing smirk showing up when he sees my hard nipples responding to him without even being touched.

Hoseok keeps his eyes locked with mine when he lowers his head and captures a nipple in his mouth. I throw my head back letting my ragged breath come out. The feeling of his hot tongue around my nipple is enough to make me wanna scream. When he's satisfied with the first one, he goes to the other one, giving the same unrelenting attention, sucking, licking and bitting.

- J-just fuck me already. – I whimper, my arms getting more and more uncomfortable just like the need between my legs.

He lets my nipple go with an obscene "pop" and gives it a little lick that makes my eyes roll behind my back. As if he's not hot enough, he's also a tease in bed.

- I barely started, ungrateful thing. – the hand that was holding me still by my hips starts a slow trip from my stomach to the elastic band of my pants.

- Please. – I say softly trying to clench my legs together, completely forgetting the way his thigh is keeping them apart.

He catches the movement and chuckles with amusement.

- So impatient. – Hoseok says but finally starts to drag down my pants along with my panties.

My boots are yanked off and thrown out somewhere in the room just like my pants. When he comes back to tower above me I feel exposed, he's fully dressed while I'm undressed to his sharp eyes. He doesn't pay attention to my sudden reddened cheeks, just snakes one arm under me, lifting me by my waist and plopping me down, my head hitting his soft pillow.

Fucking hell, Hoseok's eyes are so absurdly hot, they travel around my body devouring me inch by inch slowly.

- Good thing I installed hidden movement sensors and cameras in this apartment. – his hand is on my stomach, caressing it gently. – Imagine the surprise I had seeing your pretty ass on the screen of my phone when you were looking for something on the floor of my room.

Cameras? Who the fuck installs cameras inside their own bedroom? Besides, that's something my boss should have known way before me coming in here. How did this job turned out to be so wrong?

Two harsh slaps on both of my thighs get me out of my thoughts really fast.

- Focus on me. – Hoseok growls, he opens my legs delivering more painfull slaps while he kneels between them.

- Hoseok! – I yelp opening them to try to get rid of the punishing hands.

He runs his palms on the insides of my opened thighs, making me quiver with desire as his eyes are focused on my exposed and glistened core.

- I prefer you like this; red, needy and panting my name. – he says darkly, lifting his eye to my face. – Aren't you ashamed of how disgustingly wet you are when I barely touched you?

- You've been manhandling me around since the very first minute though. – I whisper back.

- Didn't know someone could get aroused by being mistreated. – he mocks me but his blown out pupils and the tent inside his pants tell me otherwise. – What a slut.

He delivers two hard slaps on my thighs again, I scream loudly at the pain but he just glides his hands up, keeping me opened and exposed to his eyes. At this point I know I'm dripping down on the sheets.

- You're making such a mess. – his fingertips finally slide softly on my lower lips, I feel my whole body tense in anticipation.

Hoseok buries his face on my neck, licking the skin before pulling it between his teeth, and looks at my face again.

- Keep your eyes open or I'll punish you again. – he says as I feel two of his fingers being pushed inside of me.

I'm so wet that they slide right in, the feeling of his rings against my lower lips makes me release a soft moan when he's knuckles deep. Hoseok starts pumping his fingers in and out immediately, scissoring them inside me, literally stretching my walls the best he can. To keep my eyes open reveals to be a very hard task when he's fingering me so good.

- Keep looking at me, baby. – his other hand brushes the hairs sticking to my forehead, a sweat that I wasn't even aware of dripping down my temples.

His thumb finds my clit and I arch my back, my hands grip the sheets wishing they could grip on his hair.

- You have a tight little pussy, don't you? – he says in a husky voice.

I can't help but to close my eyes feeling my walls clenching around his skillful fingers. Hoseok slowly slides them out, opening my folds and gliding them up and down, missing my clit on purpose. He plunges the same two fingers into me again, making me cry out loud with the teasing, just to repeat the same process again, spreading my wetness all over. By the fourth time I'm begging for him to fuck me with tears running down my face.

- Look at you, falling apart when I have only two fingers inside you. – his voice diminishes me.

Hoseok slides his fingers out of my walls, bringing them to his mouth, and I see the ring I should rob covered in my own juices. He licks one of them, keeping his eyes locked on me, then offers me the middle finger with the fucking ring on. I open my mouth letting him do whatever he wants, feeling myself on my tongue. When Hoseok is satisfied, he lets me eye his beautiful skin being revealed while his hands work on the buttons of the white dress shirt still covering his chest. His faint abs make me wanna lick every line of it.

- But I'll take mercy on you. – he suddenly grabs my waist and flips me over, forcing me to get on my knees while my face is pressed down against the pillow.

- Please. – I beg for what it seems to be the millionth time tonight.

Hoseok opens my lower lips again, tapping my clit two times, making me squirm in desire.

- I want your little clit to get slapped every time I fuck into you, baby.

I moan so loud that any neighbor sleeping at this time will probably wake up. His words are so filthy, they send me into a frenzy and he isn't even touching me.

When I think I can't wait anymore, the painful throbbing between my legs becoming unbearable, I feel the tip of his member pushing inside me. Hoseok doesn't even let my walls adjust around his girthy length, his hips pound me incessantly since the beginning. He could have spent hours fingering me and I still wouldn't be ready to take him like this, the stretch is an addicting mix of pain and pleasure. I bite the pillow trying to muffle the ridiculously loud moans that form in my throat but Hoseok's hands start spanking my ass.

- Don't keep your sounds in unless you want me to force them out. – he growls at me.

- I'm sorry. – I manage to choke out.

- Sorry what? – his palms come down again even harder and I know I won't be able to sit tomorrow.

- I'm sorry, sir! – I cry out loud.

His pace never falters, just gets more and more punishing, his balls slap on my exposed clit every time, making me lift my chest a bit and look down on my body. I see him pounding in and out of me, a little droplet of a mix of our wetness slides through my folds and drips on the sheets. The scene is so overwhelmingly pleasurable that I'm instantly ready to combust.

- I'm so c-close. – I mutter under my breath.

- You're not allowed to cum yet. – even when making so much effort to practically rearrange my insides with his cock, he still has a controlled voice.

- No, sir, p-please. I-

My voice gets lost in the middle of a sentence when my hair gets pulled back. Hoseok brings me flush against his chest, my palms opening to feel the tensed skin of his abs. This angle makes him hit my sweet spot directly and he knows it, because he starts hammering that place unmercifully. I feel my orgasm so close that it's almost painful.

- I said no. Learn to hold that shit in, slut. – he whispers darkly in my ear.

My walls instantly clench around him with the way he talks to me, making it so much harder for him to move. I hear a soft moan leaving his mouth.

- Of course you'd like being called slut. I should have had my fingers in you when I slapped your face, I bet you'd clench on them too. – he slips one of his hands down my stomach while the other one keeps me in place by my hips. – Cum.

With that command, he slaps my pussy. And that's when I lose it. My whole body spams, he lets go of my hips and I fall on the pillow, his hips are still moving, not as hard as before, fucking me through my first orgasm.

- Fuck, you take me so good, baby girl.

The new petname makes me smile faintly against the pillow. My clenching walls are probably making him feel so good he forgot the harsh façade for a while.

- Come here, I wanna look at your face. – he slides out of me and when I start moving to get on my back he holds me still. – Wait a bit, little thief.

I feel the handcuffs being tugged and then I'm finally free. I bring my hands down, supporting my weight and looking at the red marks around my wrists.

- You won your freedom for now. Do anything stupid and I'll tie your four limbs to the bed. – he says unmercifully before twisting me, putting me on my back again.

Hoseok helps me to get out of my blouse, his hands not wasting any time in feeling my whole body again like I was fully dressed until now.

This time around I make sure to drag my fingertips on his abs. He looks at the scene under him, my legs opened and thighs all glistened, hands savouring the feeling of his soft skin.

- Fuck. – Hoseok curses making me look up at him.

The ends of his hair are wet with sweat, it's still parted letting me see the forehead, his hooded eyes are ready to eat me whole, lips red with our bruising kisses. He's still wearing the pants that hang low on his hips with the visible V line going down to his dick.

Hoseok is the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on.

And he fucks me all over again. But slowly, with languid strokes that make my toes curl, dragging every inch of his length inside of me, making me feel full. I drag my hands on his soft hair, pulling at it, bringing his lips to mine, drag my nails down his strong back, leaving red marks. I feel his teeth doing the same with my neck, marking me so I'll see him when I look at the mirror again.

But I'd see him on me even without the marks. The feeling of his skin on mine is too remarkable to ever forget, the drag of his girthy length inside me too fucking good to let it go.

He seems to notice my mind is away and delivers a punishing thrust in me that makes my eyes widen.

- What did I say about not focusing on me? – he whispers on my lips.

Before I can even think of anything else, he's sneaking a hand between us to play with my swollen bud, making sure I'm feeling the maximum pleasure that he can give.

After what it feels like the third time I'm cumming, he finally slips out of my heat and lies down besides me. Our laboured breathing mixing with the constant sound of the rain outside.

- You can have this. – Hoseok finally speaks, taking off the ring on his middle finger and placing it on my belly.

- How did you know? – I frown looking at the beautiful ring closely.

- I saw it on your phone

My phone? The only time he had alone with it was in those small seconds when he got it from the floor and placed on his desk. Hoseok is way more skilled than I thought and now I wonder who exactly I just fucked for the past hour.

- Listen to me, Shadowcat. – Hoseok gets up on his elbow, cupping my face with one of his elegant hands. – Take it to Yuyi.

For the first time I don't see lust or hate in his eyes, he looks at me fondly, making my heart ache for affection.

- And come back to me if you wanna change the life you live.

[theateared]

You Look Great. ❜

Summary:  Everybody makes mistakes.  Some can’t be forgiven.  Others can, but only under certain circumstances. 

    “I’m surprised you came to meet me after everything.”

    All things considered, so was he.

    After he’d been forced to enter Arthur’s territory in order to retrieve her, killing a lot of his creed single-handedly in a desperate effort to reach her before the opposing Alpha did god-knows-what to her, he’d told himself that he was finished with Grace Adler.  Not only had she been foolish, she’d been reckless and selfish, putting both Moxie and him in grave danger.  For what? The sake of jealousy?

    The church filled with the sound of her footsteps as she bridged the distance between them. Suddenly, she was right in front of him  -  closer than she’d ever been  -  and he felt his heart trip. You’re not finished with her, you fool.  You can’t be.

    “... I’m so sorry, Edgar.”

    The Alpha barked out a cold laugh:     “Oh.  You’re ‘sorry’.”

    He witnessed her bite down on her tongue to keep a smart comment from slipping out.  It was just as well - he wasn’t in the mood to play with her.

    “... I was an idiot.  I let my pride get in the way and it cost you and Moxie a lot of time and effort.  I’m sorry that you had to spill so much blood over me.  I never meant for it to turn out this way.”

    “What exactly did you intend?”     He couldn’t stop it;  his temper was slipping.  That usual grin had been wiped from his face the moment they’d made eye contact from across the aisle, that hot, heavy burden unfurling in his chest like a phoenix.     “Hm?  What did you THINK would happen?”     He rose both hands, intent on grabbing her shoulders with them, though he shovelled them into his pockets after a moment of thought.  I can’t touch you right now.  I’ll hurt you.  And then it’s game over.     “Let me ask you something, Grace.  Is this all a big joke to you?  Do you think it wise to reach inside me and meddle with my feelings?  Do you think my jealousy is anything other than murderous?  No matter how you played your hand with Arthur against me, he would have wound up dead.”

    “...”

    Grace bowed her head, resigning herself to his words.  He no doubt had a lot of them for her after the stunt she’d pulled, and she couldn’t say that she blamed him.  Had she known that Arthur possessed wickedness that outranked even Edgar’s, she never would have pretended to join his creed.  She had wanted to see Edgar come back to her, not start war with a vicious clan for her return.  Thinking about it now, it was a silly move on her behalf from the get-go;  a classic case of playground politics, and she couldn’t quite believe what her hunger for him had made her do.  She was far from stupid.  She knew that was why he was so angry with her:  had he expected idiocy, it wouldn’t have been as big a deal.

    “You were reckless, and spiteful, and stupid.”     He exploded all at once, though she was surprised that his foot didn’t connect with her once;  instead, he kicked the pew beside them for all it was worth, its harsh thud echoing like thunder.  Though she flinched, she remained still, knowing that she deserved it if he decided to hurt her.  His rage was always so well-hidden. Sometimes, she forgot that it sat there just beneath the surface.     “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, GRACE?!”

    In a shaken voice:     “I… wanted you to look at me.”

    He made a noise, one that she was certain she would see transcribed beside the word ‘feral’ in a dictionary.     “I’ve been looking at you since day one.  DAY.  ONE.”

    “I was hungry…”

    “Don’t talk to ME about hunger.”     He did touch her then;  his thumb and forefinger reaching up with lightning speed to seize her chin, forcing her head up to look at him.  Before she had seen him with a serious expression, she had sworn to Raku that there was nothing more disconcerting than a smiling Edgar.  She had learned that that assessment had been wrong only after witnessing his frustration for herself.  In a hiss, Edgar continued:     “I have starved for your sake, Grace Adler.  You don’t know how many nights I’ve spent laying awake, entertained only by thoughts of you.  You have no clue how deep my lust for you runs.  I have spent centuries fantasising about you.  About us.  About our children.  And you do this.  You fill me with repulsion;  with disappointment.  I was a fool to think of you as perfect--”

    “Whose fault is that?”     Her hand wrapped around his wrist, pushing his hand away from her face.     “I never pretended to be perfect, Edgar.  I do stupid things sometimes.  Guess what!  Your perfect little princess MAKES MISTAKES.  The same as EVERYONE ELSE.”     She felt his arm tense.  Her own fingers tightened, free index finger jabbed close to his face.     “Stop projecting your impossible standards onto me.  I am not your angel.”     She released him then, genuinely terrified by the thought of him overpowering her.  After a deep breath, she took a calculated step away from him.     “... I messed up.  I’m not trying to shift blame.  I accept responsibility for this mess, and by extension, the punishment.”

    “The ‘punishment’.”

    “Yes, the punishment.  Are you a parrot?”     Old habits died hard;  she suspected, if she continued to slip in comment after comment like that, she would die harder.

    He scoffed.     “The punishment is the fracture in our relationship.  Though I suspect you’re too concerned with yourself to consider that a bad thing.”     Whilst shoving his hands into his pockets, Edgar turned his back on her and began to make his way out.  He was brought to a stop by a tug of his coat.    “... let go.”

    “I won’t…”

    Edgar closed his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath before levelling his gaze on the door.  In a quiet but fierce hiss:     “Let.  Go.”

    He’d been so prepared for her to do as she was told that he was thrown off kilter when she pulled him backwards.  He stumbled, though it took only a single misstep to correct his stance before he whirled around and seized her shirt collar, forcibly dragging her to him.  She had to stand on her tiptoes to keep from being suspended.  His eyes flickered from huro to lye’s, that obsidian emptiness stealing the breath from her throat.  He’s so angry with me.

    Seethed:     “Do not test my patience, Grace.  We are done.”

    Fear filled her face as he squeezed.  The applied pressure sent blood rushing to her head, though a curious heat pooled in her stomach simultaneously.  You can’t be done with me.  You came back for me.  You could’ve let me die but you came back for me.  I need you.  

    Before she could think about it, she reached a hand towards him, gaining a firm grip on his tie and tugging him towards her with all of her might.  Their lips met hard.  She felt his hand loosen around her throat, taken completely by surprise.  Only when she felt the need to breathe did she pull away, drinking in his stunned expression.

    In a soft voice, one he had longed to hear since the beginning:     “... forgive me, Alpha, but we can’t be done.”     After taking a moment to gather her courage, she continued:     “... I have too many feelings for you to let you go.  So I’m sorry, but I won’t.”     Despite her fear, she looked her superior in the face.  When he didn’t stop her, she leaned close once more, pressing the softest of kisses to the corner of his mouth.     “... I understand that it’s too little too late for you, but the truth is that I’m in love with you, Edgar…  and I wanted to hold your attention.  I didn’t want you to get bored with me just because I was difficult, because I wouldn’t give myself to you.  This was the wrong thing to do but you came for me…  you could’ve left me.  You’ve always come for me...”     Though she hated it intensely, she could feel herself becoming emotional.  She wasn’t someone that was known for her sentiment nor her gentle heart, but the truth was that it was impossible for her to give up on somebody that she had let in.  Despite all odds, despite all of the fighting and the bloodshed and the frustration, Edgar had stayed.     “... so even though you’re angry…”     One shaking hand raised until she could touch his face.  His skin was soft and warm despite the things that he did.     “... I don’t think you’re done with me, either.”

    His stare became hazy, clouded by something she couldn’t place.  It wasn’t lust, that she knew, though she couldn’t see it being rage either.  In truth, he was angry, though it was being redirected towards himself.  I promised myself that I wouldn’t do this again.  I promised myself that I wouldn’t get involved with anybody else the way I got involved with my previous wives in my previous life, and yet here I stand, unable to leave, because Grace Adler is right.

    Walk away.

    Do not admit your feelings for her.

    Cut.  This.  Cord.

    When their lips met properly for a second time, it was a mutual effort.  She didn’t stop him as he pressed her up against the nearest pew, even as the wood dug into the backs of her thighs. His body against hers made her whimper with need, her fingers dragging from his tie to his chest.  His heartbeat drummed mercilessly against her tingling fingers, its heavy rhythm setting the example for her pulse as he pushed his tongue into her mouth.  The taste of him was like an omen, dreary and serious, though with an intoxicating hint of blood.

    Her head spun as she felt his claws rake along her thigh, sharp tips catching in the material of her skirt as he clung to her with a hunger so wild she felt fit to drown in it.  She tore away from him panting, though only to breathe a desperate request.

    “Sign me again…”

    Her breath hitched when she felt his hand in her hair, pulling her head to the side with a fierce tug.  After a moment of hesitation:     “Did he mark you…?”

    “No,”     she heaved, clinging to his coat like her life depended on it.     “I wouldn’t let him…”

    The growl he gave in response was equal parts irritated and proud as he reached up to wrestle with the buttons on her collar.  He pulled too hard, sending them scattering across the floor, and her gasp of shock fed a sliver of his appetite so feral and dark that he didn’t want to think about it too much.  He moved clothing out of his way until he could find her mark.  The pattern of his teeth sat firmly ingrained into her collar, even all these centuries later, and he found himself attached to her with something more than business in mind.

    Grace whimpered for a second time as she drank in the sensation of his teeth puncturing her soft skin, body growing hot as she thought about how happy she was.  My Alpha didn’t leave me behind, even though he should have…  his marking is all I need.  She was blissed out, euphoric, quivering like an arrow post-shot, and when he finally pulled away she met his eyes with her lack of focus plain as day.

    “... you love me, huh?”

    There was no use in playing the proud fool now.  With her cheeks flushed and her eyes half-lidded, Grace nodded slowly.     “... and I’m sorry I was too afraid to tell you until I’d ruined it all.”

    The Alpha cleared his throat quietly.  It wasn’t as if all was forgotten.  He was still pissed off, bluntly put, but he was unable to deny how he felt about her.  It was funny to him.  At this point in time, he thought that he would have walked away.  Instead, he stood there just as in love with her as he was before she’d pulled this ridiculous stunt.  This has never happened before.  My image of her isn’t ruined.  How could that be?

    “You’re an incredibly fortunate woman, Grace,”     he told her while sighing deeply.  I was so prepared to walk away, to cut you out of my life, but now you’ve confessed I can’t tell what’s what.  The only thing I know is that--     “... fortunate in that I feel the same.  Even in spite of all this.”     He took a breath, running a hand through his hair before it dropped to his side, leaving his usually side-swept bangs ruffled and uneven.     “And fortunate in that, even when I want to hurt you, you look great.  Great enough for me to stop and consider what it is I’ve got.”

    The smile that gradually lit up her face was heaven-sent.  It made him feel as if his heart had dropped to his feet, then rocketed straight to his brain in the space of a second.  Dizzying, maddening, and all he could think about was her, her, her--

                                          I’m going mad.  I’m going absolutely, irrevocably, irretrievably mad.

[reading-hub]

Dandy And The Jet 🚀 [2] Bar Fights, Baby!

- Space Dandy x reader -

[part 1] [part 3]

- - - - - - -

After transported from Dr. Gel's ship, I finally reached the targets next location. Looking around my surroundings, apparently, this Dandy guy was on his way to some sleazy alien bar.

Walking straight to the front door, the locals surrounding the place here were as shady as they come. Cheeky con aliens looking for their next sucker, prostitutes out in the open without a care in the world, muscular alien bikers that were almost seven feet tall who meant business and I mean really mean it!

The inside of the bar was warm but almost lack oxygen with so many creatures inside because of the insane amount huddled together like sardines, a human-like me wouldn't be noticed right off the bat. Unless I tried to engage in conversation with anyone. The floor was sticky - I swore some large blue alien got knocked over and couldn't get his face off the tile when he landed face first.

Luckily, a few seats in front of the bar itself weren't taken. I sat down. Once I did, a tall slim pink alien woman with three tentacles came to my seat. She was friendly but frightening to look at first glance. She brightly smiled at me with multiple small sharp rows of dark yellow teeth.

I ask for a simple Flaming Indigo, it was this purple colored alcoholic beverage that I kinda enjoyed to pass the time. It tasted of grape soda and coke and a hint of strong cinnamon from the fire that lit up before you drank it.

The barista served my drink in a matter of seconds. I stared down at the purple fizzles inside the cup and gulped it down. I asked to keep them coming while waiting for this Space Dandy.

What felt like hours, I told the alien barista to cut it with the drinks for a bit. A couple of people left the bar, so it was down to a fair few, no more crowds bumping into.

I heard the door sway open, I saw what it appeared to be him. Large slicked back pompadour, sideburns, varsity jacket, metal soles that clink. Just like Dr. Gel described.

The others were I'm guessing his group, a Betelgeusian and a small two-wheeled robot.

I tried to lay low, not seem like I'm staring at them so closely. Instead, I tried to stare down at my half-empty glass. I heard footsteps approach next to me unexpectedly, it was him and his crew. Dandy sat next to me, unaware I was next to him.

"I can't believe that the alien we caught was just some shape-shifter!" hearing the alien cat groan in stress. Dandy shook off his complaint. "Eh, it happens. Hey waitress! How about a drink for my pet over here!" Dandy cried out. "Hey! I'm not your pet!" I heard right after.

Dandy laughed it off and stopped suddenly. "Hey, do you by any chance have a locator with ya, mine kinda broke." I almost choked on my drink.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked, puzzled."Yeah, sorry for scaring you like that, hun." Did he just call me hun? Oh well, just play along.

"Than yeah, I have one."

"Oh sweet! See Meow, our luck is turning after all!" He moved his excitement to his cat friend. His friend named Meow just rolled his eyes in response.

"Any drinks your interested in this afternoon, sir?" The waitress from early asked. "Uhh, yeah.." Dandy was looking around until he spotted my drink.

"I'll have what she's having!" He pointed at me. I looked at him as though he was crazy. He saw my reaction, "You don't mind, right?"

Keeping my cool all I can say was, "Not at all." Showing a warm smile. "Cool." He said simply right after.

Before the waitress passed his drink, I felt a large figure approaching us. Stomps were vibrating the ground and our drinks. I was hesitating on fighting whoever was asking for it...

The stomps stopped right behind Dandy. My eyes cornered seeing a large red-orange alien, their hair was in a Mohawk, cliche I know but true. And judging by the black leather coat, he was one of the fearsome, tough bikers from outside.

"Excuse me, but your sitting in my seat.."

I heard Dandy's crew were freaking out in the sidelines, praying for Dandy not to die. I'm guessing they were thinking of either running away to the ship or stay and watch their leader get beaten to a pulp. Either way, something bad was about to unfold.

Dandy didn't even look back at the guy, he just sipped his drink without care! He probably thought he was some alien, but I think the logic would judge by the raspy voice that this large guy had was no one to fuck with. I'm gonna take a short wild guess that Dandy isn't exactly the smartest in the crew.

Crap.

"Sorry, but I took this seat first." Dandy, not sure if this is the time to act high and mighty. If he saw who he was talking to, he probably would've given up his seat in a matter of seconds.

The biker alien grabbed Dandy by the shoulders, hoisted him up like it was nothing. Turn his small form around to see a close up of his face. And being the few people who got a front-row seat, that was a face only a mother could love...

I couldn’t let Dandy die. I had to bring him to Dr. Gel or Admiral Perry alive. But that would mean I would have to break my nice, human attitude loose now if I really wanted him alive at the end of this task. Oh, fuck this.

I looked at my drink and saw it was empty now. Right on time.

I stood from my seat, smashed the rim of the glass on the hard bar counter. I took the now open sharp glass and used it to stab the alien biker on its thick skull. A bit over the top and extreme but punches wouldn’t get this guy to loosen Dandy.

It winced in pain and let go of Dandy, dropping him on the floor. As the large alien was crying in pain and trying to yank off the glass cup off his skull, I kicked as hard as I could on his side and made him fall onto the three tables that were next to him. Making it hard to get back up, and giving me some time to drag Dandy and his crew to safety.

"Come on you idiot!" He looked at me shocked, so did his friends but I didn't care. Getting impatient, I just grabbed both his hands to get him up faster. Pulling him away from the bar, his crew followed along by his cat friend holding that small robot from earlier and running behind me.

I quickly turn to Dandy as we were running. "Where’s your ship!" I urgently asked him. He was studdering at first but quickly regained his composure. "It's over there!" He pointed a few feet away which looked like a lot when running away from a huge biker alien that was capable of whatever the fuck, which I did not plan on finding out!

It was the large yellow canoe ship of some sort. I immediately pushed all three inside the ship and went straight to the now-closed front window, seeing the alien running toward us with that a glass shard still in his skull. How the hell is he still able to walk after that?!

I immediately turned my head to Dandy, seeing him still lounging on the floor. "We gotta move!" He and his crew looked at me in question. I jumped onto the main seat, good thing I at least knew the basics of piloting a ship, like when to go fast as you can as a huge alien is chasing us down as we speak!!

"Listen, lady, I--!" Before Dandy could finish his sentence, the front of the ship was forcibly grabbed suddenly. I saw that the biker from earlier was holding a grudge and wouldn't give up on it.

"Oh geez! He caught us like we're fish or something!" The alien cat cried out. “EEEE!!" The tiny robot cried after in autotune.

"Relax, I got this!" I immediately tried engaging the boosters as much as I can so this guy can let go as we rocket the fuck outta here. I concentrated until it was the right the time to let go and having all the booster bars full. Hearing Dandy and his crew telling me to hurry up because the alien was trying to break the glass frame.

Two bars, Meow was crying out and holding the robot.

Three bars, Dandy was crying out and tried to force me to start the ship now.

Four

Five, I blasted the ship right into the billboard sign, where that alien got impacted onto in seconds. We finally made it through. I heard silence now, guess it was lecture time. I put the ship on autopilot and faced Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

"What?" I asked them. Dandy seemed more offended than the other two. "What'ya mean what? No stranger is allowed to use the ship unless it's QT our robot here."

"You do remember that I saved you, right? You know, thanks for saving me from a seven feet tall alien that could've beaten me in juices." I defended myself.

"See Meow, this is exactly why I rarely take women in my crew unless I'm doing them in the behind." Meow and QT were looking back and forth to each other, back to Dandy.

"I don't know man, I mean she did save you, we saw it," Meow said simply. "Adding on, she has sharp and quick combat skills that none of us have in this group." QT agreed.

Dandy looked at them as though they were entirely different people. "Crew meeting now!"

Meow, QT and Dandy went to a different room. You were still standing in the pilot room, looking where the ship will take next.

"What exactly are you two saying by 'group' and 'adding'?" Dandy asked, directly at QT who he quoted said line. QT responded. “I'm saying she would be a great addition to the crew, no offense Dandy, but when was the last time you shot anything with that ray gun of yours?" Dandy felt offended. How can QT bring up his poor marksmanship like that, especially since he would assume that she would be better at shooting than he would!

But, that robot is right. She would be a good use for the team for a little while... Dandy thought.

"Yeah, I like her!" Meow jumped in. "She seems cool and did you see how badass she was when she saved you from that guy! We thought you were gonna die this time."

It's so nice to know that my crew did not think I would live today.

"Alright, alright, cool it!" Dandy said to pipe them down. They looked at Dandy, waiting for what he was gonna say next.

Maybe it was time to finally have a female member in the group. Meow and QT seemed esthetic about her being here already, Other than Dandy kind of. Dandy just looked back in the small window seeing her.

She was good at starting Aloha Ole with no hesitation, and she saved my ass back there, and hot while doing it.

Although now that I'm looking at her backside a bit, she does have a body that she's comfortable with having. I'd give her booty a 7/10 at most. Something that I wouldn't mind looking at when bored but also wouldn't get too distracted by in a serious and tough situation.

What felt like painstaking minutes for Dandy to respond, he finally spoke.

“She...she can stay."

All three of them finally left the other room and went to where she was. Hands in Dandy’s pocket, sucking up with what he had to say but needed to!

"I'm sorry." Her eyebrows rose a little but not too much. "Miss, would you like to be apart of the Space Dandy crew?" Meow and QT were silently pleading in the sidelines.

Her face lit up a little bit. She mentally check-marked the first step of the mission. She never thought she’d get this far already, she mainly expected to stealthily east drop places to see them. But hey, crazy luck. Realizing they were waiting for a response, she spoke. "Alright, I always did wanted to be part of a crew." She shrugged.

Both Meow and QT wanted to celebrate that a new member was finally accepted.

Meow and QT cheered on and quickly had the idea of celebrating a new member for a 'celebration snack'?

They left soon after, meanwhile, she was left with Dandy alone, standing a few feet away from each other. Let awkward silence ensue.

"I'm sorry for saying that your a stranger and taking you from... behind." Dandy looked down, a little bit ashamed for what he said earlier. Not expecting Meow and QT to leave that fast.

"It's fine, I mean, I technically am a stranger to you guys and that last part is none of my business and I shouldn't judge you for that as a person." Someone that understands his pervy tendencies and is hot! Dandy actually doesn’t regret letting her stay now...

Before they can end this awkward back and forth conversation and calling it a night. Dandy forgot the crucial part of getting to know someone.

“By the way, I didn't catch your name?"

[jinterlude]

My Own Special Heaven

↳ header is made by yours truly. I do not own the rights to the image used.

➳ Pairing: Park Chanyeol x Reader (female OC)

➳ Genre(s): Superhero!AU,Romance, Angst, Slight-Fluff, & Slight-Humor

➳ Words: 1.6K

➳ Summary: You have once again saved the city, so your team decides to celebrate. In amidst the celebration, you sneak away towards the beach, wanting a moment of peace of quiet. Well, for a certain someone, he saw that as an opportunity to lay everything out there. But will you do the same? 

Soft waves crash against the boulder. The cool breeze brushes your hair as well as fanning your face. The corners of your lips lift slightly as the memories of today’s events flood your mind. Pulling your legs towards your chest, you rest your chin on top of your knees as you continue to stare absentmindedly at the ocean. Watching the waves form one right after the other as they close in on their destination.

You honestly feel at ease with how tranquil the scenery is. The moon nice and full, illuminating everything and anything on this Earth. The stars taking turns twinkling as if it’s a fun little game that’s to be played. Sounds of lively chatter can be heard in the background but to be honest, you’re too lost in your thoughts to focus. Too busy enjoying your own slice of heaven.

Moments like these are ones to cherish – especially as the country’s number one protector. You always find yourself caught up in rescuing every single civilian or figuring out ways to keep the city safe that never once have you given yourself some downtime. A moment to relax and just simply breathe.

That’s a luxury you aren’t allowed to have.

Depressing, huh?

Slowly, your eyes flutter shut, inhaling the soothing salty air and exhaling. Before heading back to the gang, you decide to enjoy the peace and quiet for a few more seconds. Or – that’s until someone decides to join you.

           “Penny for your thoughts?”

You glance up, humming in response. You register the deep voice, questioning why your dear friend, Park Chanyeol, is doing all the way out here.

           “You didn’t have to leave the celebration on my account.” You say as you notice him taking a seat on the cold sand right next to you.

He flashes his signature 100-watt smile as he begins to speak. But you don’t really pay attention. That one smile is enough for you to be distracted. Oh, God how you have grown to love it. His endless amount of optimism. His odd but amusing sense of humor. How his eyes light up like fireworks on a major celebration whenever he passionately talks about his hobbies. Oh, how you love him. But, sadly, being in love is something that’s not written in the stars for you.

The last time you’ve fallen in love, his soul has been taken away from you too soon. That heartache…that brokenness…is something you refuse to feel again.

And you will keep burying all your pent up adoration towards Chanyeol until the day you die.

           “Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” You hear him ask, forcibly removing you

           “Huh? I’m sorry. What was that?”

           “Oh, I was asking if you wanted to elope and have three of my kids.”

           “Why only three of your kids? Do you plan on having more with other women?”

           “Fuck no. I want my own soccer team, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. Hence, me only saying three kids.”

You gawk, deciphering if he’s being serious or not. Scratch that. You know he’s being serious because he’s – well – he’s him. Since day one, he has dropped “subtle” hints of the two of you becoming a thing. An item. A couple. And every time he does, you turn him down. Though, you’re starting to run out of reasons for rejection. You could tell him that you don’t love him, but that would be a big fucking lie.

So…

You just don’t say anything anymore or you indulge in his little fantasies.

Maybe in your fantasies you can be together with him…

Rolling your eyes, you give him a slight nudge, unaware that he isn’t well-balanced, causing the poor man to topple over.

Chanyeol feels the cold impact from the damp sand. He silently thanks the fact that he’s wearing jeans instead of shorts. He honestly doesn’t want to spend his precious time with you looking like a gigantic idiot and shaking his leg to get the annoying sand out. No. He’ll save that if his original plan fails miserably.

Speaking of which…

He stands up, dusting himself off, and offers his hand to you.

You lift an eyebrow, eyeing his hand confusedly.

           “What? Do you want a high-five or something?”

           “Actually, I want your hand in marriage, but I’ll save that after we save the world and go on a few more dates after this one.”

You fight back the smile that threatens to form. This kid is really testing your resolve. But you know he’ll win in the end. He’s stubborn like that.t

           “What makes you think that this is a date? Huh, Park Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol smiles softly, “Because…” He trails on, reaching towards your hand, “Something tells me that you’ll think it is one after I do this.” He finishes, purposely causing more confusion in you. But before you can demand him to explain himself, your body is forced into the standing position. Then, you feel his left hand grasping your right hand while his other hand is placed on your lower back. Your eyes widen; a faint gasp leaves your lips.

Suddenly, your bodies start to sway slowly. Your eyes remain glued onto each other’s.

A pinkish hue appears on your cheeks as does this warm sensation the more the two of you remain close like this.

Your mind screams at you to push him away and run back to the others. Yet your heart demands that you allow yourself to enjoy this intimate moment.      

           “Just submit to your happiness” It tells you.

And so you shall.

           “You do realize that we look silly slow dancing on the beach with no music whatsoever.” You point out as Chanyeol starts to turn your bodies.

           “Or we look rather magnificent dancing with no music and people are jealous that only us geniuses can do this.” He playfully argues with a teasing grin.

You scoff, shaking your head.

           “What are we doing, Chanyeol?” You ask after moments of silence went by.

Chanyeol, surprised by your comment, peers down at you. His lips thin as a tiny hum emits from his lips.

           “Well, I’m here to tell you that I’m absolutely in love with you, and I hope after tonight, you’ll finally tell me that you feel the same.” He says seriously. His gaze pierces your own. The intensity of his stare makes you feel vulnerable. It’s as if he’s taking a hammer and getting ready to break down your walls.

Out of panic, you forcibly untangle yourselves and create some distance between your bodies. Though—you already miss his touch—his warmth.

           “You can’t do that.”

           “Do what? Pour my feelings out to you for the hundredth time? Honestly, he would want you to move on. He would want you to be happy, Y/N.”

You scoff and just as you open your mouth to retaliate, Chanyeol silences you…with a kiss. You feel his hands cupping your cheeks as he presses his sweet lips against yours. At first, your eyes widen from it. Then, as the two of you continue to indulge in this innocent yet loving kiss, you eyes flutter shut. You hands raise up to his neck and lock around him as if you want him closer than he already is.

You can feel all of his pent up romantic feelings for you in this kiss. And quite frankly it both frightens and excites you. Which side do you allow to win? Your fears or your happiness?

Slowly, you break the kiss, but you feel his forehead rest against yours as you look into his eyes. Sparkles of love and happiness are displayed along side another emotion. Fear? But he has no reason to be afraid.

Well…not anymore…

He’s right. Your deceased lover would want you want to move on. He would want you to be happy.

So…

Happy you will be…

           “I love you too, Chanyeol” You say softly, finally returning the love he has for you.

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. His heart pounds against his chest as the corners of his lips curve upward.

He’s heard correctly, right? You saying that you love him. Oh, my God.

Without a second thought, he lifts you up and twirls you around, causing you to squeal, as he utters the phrase, “thank you”, repeatedly.

           “Put me down!”

           “Sorry! Sorry!”

He gently sets you down, though, his arms remain encircle around your waist. If this is a dream, he doesn’t want to wake up.

Wait, is this a dream?

He peppers your face with kisses, causing to you to laugh and push his face away.

           “What are you doing?”

           “I’m making sure this isn’t a dream.”

You shake your head with an amused smile on your face. Then, a devious idea pops into your mind. You hold up your right hand and focus your attention into gathering the moisture from the air.

Chanyeol eyes you strangely, wondering what you’re doing. Though, he has an inkling.

After all, you’re graced with the power of lunar manipulation and all things associated with it.

           “At least give me the chance to brace myself before you—” But before he can finish his sentence, he sputters. His tastes a huge amount of salt. Yup. You’ve thrown an ocean water bubble at him.

Why does he love you again?

           “Now, are you sure that this isn’t a dream?”

Chanyeol nods, “Crystal.”

You practically beam, “Good.” You then reach up placing your thumb against his lips to wipe away any remaining drops of sea water.

           “You’re lucky that I love you.”

           “Or else what?”

           “Nothing. I would probably just fall in love with you even more and enjoy your constant tormenting.”            “I didn’t know you were secretly a masochist.”

           “If I’m a masochist, then you’re a sadist. Which means we complete each other!”

           “How about no, and that the fact that you’re you is the reason why we complete each other.”

Chanyeol laughs softly and pulls you closer; you find relaxation from the steadiness of his heartbeat.

           “I like that. You’re you and I’m me, and that’s why we complete each other.”

           “Now, you get it.”

A/N: I’m amazed with how fast I whipped this out and now I can’t wait to expand this and make it longer! Originally, this was meant to be @yeoltidecarol, Kat’s, Christmas present, but today is her birthday, I honestly in good conscience not do anything for her! So, Kat, MRS. PCY, I hope you like this small one shot, and I will upgrade this into something more soon! I hope you that you got everything you’ve asked for on the day of your birth. I also hope that your husband finally allowed you to wreck him ;) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT! I WISH YOU ALL THE LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD! 

[seungmic]

kangaroo mistletoe- (a minchan ficlet)

rating: t+ (mildly spicy kissing) 

genre: canon compliant, fluff, mistletoe discourse

wc: 2,067

summary: Chan slowly looks upwards- and yup, there’s the mistletoe, hanging lopsidedly above him and Minho like a green harbinger of doom. He stares at it for a few long moments before looking over at Minho, and then back up at the dangling green plant again. 

“Uh,” He says, suddenly feeling very hot in his winter clothing.

When Chan gets back from getting takeout, he immediately notices that something is off. The other eight boys are all lounging in the common area in what seems to be a tranquil state of laziness- but something isn’t quite right, he thinks. 

The biggest tip-off is that Seungmin is holding his Nintendo upside down, his gaze not even fixed on the flickering screen. Chan winces at the acrid scent of smoke lingering in the air.

  If they lit another piece of furniture on fire again, I swear to god I’m retiring.

“Hey, I’m back,” He calls, kicking off his shoes as best he can without jostling the bags in his hands too much. “The regular fried chicken place was closed today, so I tried out a new place. Still smells good, though.”

Seungmin, Jeongin, and Hyunjin whip their heads around to stare at him with wide eyes before bursting into a bout of extremely suspicious giggles. Felix and Jisung peer over the back of the big worn couch, eyes glimmering with barely restrained mirth. Jisung’s hair is full of lopsided little braids- Felix’s’ doing, no doubt.

Minho saunters up, all feline grace and fluid movement. A dancer’s walk. He’s changed out of his practice clothing into something looser- a faded blue t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. 

Chan’s eyes lock in on the smooth curve of the other man’s collarbone before he forcibly tears his eyes away.

Not in front of the children, Christopher.

Minho lifts up one of Chan’s mitten clad hands, peering into the plastic bag with narrowed eyes. “Did this new place have the salt and vinegar stuff?” He flicks his eyes up to meet Chan’s, his long eyelashes brushing up against his brow.

“Yeah,” Chan stammers, feeling a little pinned by the dancer’s gaze, “I knew you like that flavour the most, so I made sure I went to one that had that.”

From the kitchen, Changbin cackles loudly, and Woojin whacks him on the shoulder to shut him up. Chan narrows his eyes. Something is definitely going on. “What happened while I left? You guys are acting weird.”

Jisung shrugs nonchalantly and crosses his arms, leaning his head back against Felix’s’ leg so the younger boy can add another braid into his hair. “Nothing much. We put up some Christmas stuff, I finally cleaned my part of the room, and Seungmin and Hyunjin tried to make sugar cookies.”

So that’s why the air smells like smoke.

“And,” Jisung adds with a toothy grin, “We put up mistletoe.”

Chan’s stomach drops. “Mistletoe?” He squeaks, nearly dropping the bags of chicken. “Why on earth would you put that up?”

Felix hums mildly, fingers clumsily piecing together Jisung’s hair. “Oh, you know. Australian tradition and all that.”

“Hanging up mistletoe is not Australian tradition!” Chan hisses, shooting a baleful glare in the other Aussie’s direction. “Not once did my family ever put up mistletoe!”

“Shouldn’t you be asking where the mistletoe is?” Seungmin says, button smashing keys on the Nintendo with one hand while he pats Hyunjin’s head with the other. 

Chan growls quietly before giving in. “Fine. Where’s the mistletoe?”

Everyone bursts into snickers. Minho smiles, close lipped and satisfied. “Look above you.”

With a resigned sigh, Chan slowly looks upwards- and yup, there it is, hanging lopsidedly above him and Minho like a green harbinger of doom. He stares at it for a few long moments before looking over at Minho, and then back up at the dangling green plant again. 

“Uh,” He says, suddenly feeling very hot in his winter clothing.

Minho grins at him innocently, his eyes dark.

“Kiss!” Jeongin screeches joyfully, slapping his hands against the ratty fabric of the couch. “You have to!” Changbin peeks around the kitchen entrance, a smirk on his face, and Woojin peers out grinning as well.

Chan has been the leader of this group for almost a year now. He’s performed elaborate songs and dances in front of thousands of people and composed dozens of tracks- but right now, in this moment, he feels more nervous than he ever has.

“Well,” Minho says quietly, eyes dancing, “Are you going to give me a kiss or not?”

Traitors, Chan thinks vengefully, doing his best to disintegrate the seven other members with the force of his gaze before replying to Minho.  

“Fine.”

Everyone bursts into cheers and shouts. Seungmin throws his Nintendo aggressively against the opposite couch and fist pumps wildly. Chan closes his eyes and gathers up the last scraps of his dignity. “On the cheek,” He says firmly. The room fills with disappointed groans. Felix drops his face into his hands.

“I thought for sure this would work,” He thinks he hears Hyunjin mutter to Seungmin.

Chan can feel Minho staring at him, can feel the brunette’s gaze burning holes into the side of his face, but he chooses to ignore it. Best not to make a total fool of myself in front of him.

He doesn’t know when he started to become painfully aware of the younger man’s presence- maybe it was somewhere in between sweat-soaked dance practices and quiet, fleeting moments that Chan can’t stop thinking about. It’s kept him up late into the early hours of the morning, staring blankly at his notebook. 

He’s always known that he’s found men attractive; however, he’s only ever dated women. There’s something about Minho, though. He’s the loveliest, oddest person that he’s ever met.

Minho likes oversized sweaters and the smell of new shoes, refuses to open umbrellas inside, and makes sure to pet every cat he sees. Lee Minho is beautiful and strange, and Chan itches to reach out and touch him, aches to wrap him up in his arms and kiss him senseless.

But he can’t make himself do it.

“Chan?” Minho says softly, eyes sad and a little disappointed. Chan steels himself and leans in to drop a quick and chaste kiss onto the brunette’s cheek. Minho smells like cedar and clean sweat; it makes Chan’s head spin. He averts his eyes, draws back quickly, and clears his throat.

The room is quiet.

“There. You guys want to eat now?”

Minho makes an irritated noise and spins on his heel, stalking into the kitchen. A brief silence fills the common area, broken first by Jisung. The copper haired teenager carefully gets up and heads to the kitchen with a quiet “I’ll set the table.” The rest of the group follows behind him, each member giving Chan a disappointed look.

Woojin appears out of nowhere to take a bag from one of Chan’s hands. “Why am I always the bad guy?” He says, frustrated. Woojin shoots him a pitying look. 

“You’re not a bad guy, dude. You’re just really oblivious.”

“Oblivious?” Chan echoes, but Woojin has already disappeared into the kitchen. With a heavy sigh, Chan follows suit.

Dinner is chaos as usual, but both Minho and Chan are noticeably subdued, both picking at their plates.

“Jesus,” Changbin mutters around a mouthful of chicken. “I knew Chan was bad at picking up on stuff like this, but I didn’t know that he was this bad.”

Jisung shakes his head in agreement, giving their leader a side-eye.  “He’s an idiot.”

Chan knows that he’s fucked up. Somehow. Minho refuses to so much as breathe in his direction, and he disappears to his room right after dinner. He knows he’s going to have to apologize to Minho eventually, but he procrastinates, sticking around to help Jeongin and Hyunjin do the dishes and clean the kitchen.

Eventually Seungmin kicks him out with a slap to the ass and a low “You better go talk to him.”

Chan just nods, wipes his sweaty palms on his sweatpants, and makes his way down the dimly lit hallway, his heart racing. He must have made Minho uncomfortable somehow- maybe Minho knew Chan liked him- was he disgusted? Did Chan make him uncomfortable?

The door to Minho’s room is closed, but when Chan tentatively raps against the wood, a muffled voice answers almost immediately. “Come in.” Breath caught in his throat, Chan slowly opens the door. The room is dark, the only source of light coming from the window, and Minho is lying curled up on the bed, the blanket pulled tight over him.

 Chan awkwardly sits on the edge of the bed, hands folded tightly in his lap. He’s nervous.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Chan murmurs, peeking over to the still, Minho shaped mass of blankets. “I wasn’t trying to- I won’t do it again.” The sheets rustle as Minho sits up, pulling the blankets off of his face. His hair is disheveled, cowlicks sticking up. Chan wants to touch them.  

“What do you mean, uncomfortable? You kissed me on the cheek.”

Chan folds his arms. “Then what did you want?”

Minho throws his hands upwards, the textbook definition of exasperation. “I wanted you to kiss me on the mouth, you fool! Not a cowardly kiss on the cheek!”

“What?” Chan says faintly, hearing the words as through from a very great distance. Minho lets out a little shriek and buries his face in his hands.

“I like you! You like me! I don’t understand why you’ve been skirting around this for literal months- it’s driving me insane,” Minho hisses, dropping his hands to glare at Chan. Minho likes him?

“You like me?” Chan repeats aloud, looking as though he’s been hit over the head with a very heavy object. Minho lets out a wet laugh and nods his head violently.

“Yes, Chan. I like you. I like you like you. I would very much like to kiss you now, if you don’t have any objections.”

“No- Nope. No objections from me,” Chan says, squeaking a little as Minho reaches over to fist a hand in his hoodie and pull him into a kiss. Oh, this is nice, Chan thinks, closing his eyes. Minho is a very good kisser- it’s maybe the best kiss Chan has ever experienced and he’s kissed a lot of people. Minho’s lips are soft and warm, and when he licks into Chan’s mouth, he melts a little bit. 

One of Minho’s hands snakes around Chan’s waist, the other reaching up to tug gently on his curls. Hands shaking, Chan brings his own hands to rest on Minho’s hips, pulling him closer.

It’s less chaste, now; a little wetter, a lot hotter, and with a flush of embarrassment Chan realizes that he’s making tiny little gasping noises. He digs his hands into the muscle of Minho’s lower back, drawing a low whine from the younger man. It’s dizzying, and Chan presses himself close and tight against Minho’s chest, biting gently at his lower lip. Minho breaks away to mouth at the column of Chan’s neck, breath puffing hot and fast against the skin there.

“Oh wow, that was fast. They’re really going at it.”

Sputtering, Chan and Minho leap apart as if on fire. Hyunjin and Felix are standing there, laughing into their arms and making obnoxious kissing noises. Chan can feel his face turning tomato red, and is silently grateful for the darkness of the room.

“Hyunjin, Felix,” Minho says tiredly, his fists clenched, “I am going to fucking tear you from limb to limb.” Hyunjin shrieks with equal parts fear and delight as the brunette leaps off of the bed to chase him.

Chan sits in the dark room in a shocked silence. Seungmin pokes his head into the room and flashes him a brief thumbs up before moving on.

Chan touches his kiss swollen lips softly, a little grin creeping across his face. The door creaks, and he looks up as Minho steps back inside the room, looking for all intents and purposes as though he’s just won Olympic gold.

“Hey,” Chan says, smiling crookedly up at Minho. The other man smiles back, eyes lidded. “Where were we, again?”

Minho throws himself into Chan’s lap, letting out a contented sigh. “I think we were right about here.” He nips at Chan’s neck, letting out a little huff of amusement as the blonde shivers.

Well, then, Chan thinks hazily, hands reaching up to card through Minho’s hair, It looks as though this is going to be a very good Christmas.

[continuouscalamity]

CHAPTER 5 - EVENT

Byakuya gathered people at the Elsinore Stream after sending out a message in the group chat. Makoto, Rantaro, Mahiru, and Taeko arrive.

"Alright, so... to begin, I'll precipice now that the things I need to discuss will... violently impair your vision of me." Togami says, but pauses. "Well-- I do know that I'm not well respected, so I'm not concerned."

"I'm also curious on why you think I gathered you here. Any theories before I say it?" Togami puts his hands on his hips. He shoots Mahiru a look though. Not you.

“Uhm, well....” Rantaro makes sure to stretch that well as he exchanges glances between Togami and Mahiru. Okay. Keep your secrets. He puts on a coy smile. “You and Naegi wanna get married and want Mahiru to be the priest. And I’m the best man.” He chuckled.

"What-- no," Togami shakes his head.

"It's actually quite the opposite in... tone, I suppose." Togami says with a hum, rubbing at his chin and averting his eyes. "It's not something most people would want to hear coming out of somebody's mouth-- someone who they've been surviving with for the weeks we've been here."

He pauses, taking a deep breath, before looking at the others with a steely expression. "I'm not the Ultimate Swordsman." Togami confesses, fists clutched to his sides. "In fact, I'm proficient in most, if not all, weapons."

"My true talent is an assassin."

Naegi only frowns, tightening his grip around his rabbit. He stares at the ground with a sullen expression; supposes he's heard it before.

“...Assassin, huh?” 

Rantaro swallows hard and tries not to make that scary face that’s really begging to come out right now.

“I can see why you didn’t want to be upfront about it.” Togami is his friend. Maybe he was just doing it for money’s sake or for the sake of his family. In that degree he can understand.

Togami nods. 

"It's... complicated. But is is for my family." Togami says, pressing his lips into a thin line, hand nervously resting at the hilt of his sword. Not a very great place to put your hand after admitting something so deadly. 

 "They-- I was trained, since childhood. To be their killer."

Mahiru frowns, but it's concerned, worried. She has a big mouth, but she's ready to jump in if Togami needs, but...she probably shouldn't.

Togami licks his lips nervously. "I've told Koizumi and Makoto about it already." 

"But it's a shock for... the rest of you."   

Mahiru ducks her head. Sorry, Rantaro. Wasn't her secret to tell. 

“Right. Right...To say that it’s a shock is really an understatement.” 

Rantaro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The private eye shook his head but he couldn’t be mad at them. He  had a couple of secrets of his own, he understood the pressure of keeping them. “But why come out as Ultimate Assassin now? I’m sorry, but you look like the type to keep this to yourself until it’s really dire.” 

"The motive," Mahiru says quietly, grimacing. Fuck them puppets.

He nods. "Truthfully, it is dire." Togami says with a shrug. "But... seeing as we're in a killing game, my survival rate has always been close to nothing-- even for someone with my caliber, and the--" Being cut off with Mahiru's voice, he nods. "Yes, the motive."

"I spoke to miss Traitor about the... motives. That they could be targeting specific people brought here." He says. "I suspected this one could be targeting me, in specific." "And I also suspected that because of the rooms in Elsinore Castle-- there's no possible explanation for them knowing who'd still be alive by now unless... they arranged it."

Mahiru visibly flinches at the 'nickname,' panicked for a moment as she hasn't actually told everyone yet. Thankfully, most of the people here already do know, but...Well. Maybe Togami told Naegi already. Maybe she doesn't have to explain herself a third time. 

Togami did not, when they were talking, bring up the castle rooms thing.

 "So...it's scripted?" She says, voice rising in slight hysteria before she forcibly lowers it.

Well, great. Taeko’s face scrunches, almost unconsciously.

“I’m surprised you waited this long,” She pauses. It lingers for a beat too long. “To tell everyone about this, I mean. That’s quite the talent. Honestly, I feel like finding that out would make people too intimidated to try killing you. Not the opposite,”

The words coming out of her mouth are more impartial than she had thought they’d be, and fiddles with the leather of her gloves. She hadn’t particularly thought that he was clean of bloodshed, with how he spoke of his talent. The fact that he was an assassin was..something of a shock, though.

There’s a tiny part of her brain that makes Taeko wonder why Byakuya wouldn’t tell her something like this, but almost makes her scoff. They’ve only been speaking to each other a month or so. This isn’t the sort of information you share with someone that distant.

Or maybe not, considering how Makoto and Mahiru don’t seem surprised at all.

“Well, why tell us now? I’d say this motive is optimal for you, considering him,” Taeko gestures vaguely to Makoto, “But you also aren’t the type to stoop to such a level,” Or is he? She’s not sure she knows anymore.

If her nails were exposed, she’d be inspecting them. As it is, though, Taeko just crosses her arms and sends Byakuya a raised eyebrow.

"I... am not." Togami shakes his head a bit hesitantly. "But considering the motive, it nearly hit me enough to do so, but... now I suspect they've scripted it on purpose." He gestures to Mahiru. As she said.

"A mere hunch-- It isn't like anyone else could've taken advantage of a motive aside from the ones who did, but perhaps that's the thing. Some people could've, but didn't. The ones who did... well, with all the preparation for those executions, it makes me wonder."

"I'm not here to start a conspiracy though-- I'm here to admit my secret. And I have." He says, picking at the end of his sword handle idly. "Truly, I didn't have a choice of telling you earlier, nonetheless."

He glances at Taeko. "My family knows by now-- they find out somehow, and it always happens. They always know when someone in the family has said too much, and that person is found dead quickly. Surely, now that I've admitted it to you all, I don't really..."

Ah, he remembers what Mahiru told him. "I just-- simply know that... even if they come for me, I won't allow myself to die on their whims." He says. "And if I succumbed to this motive, I'd either escape with a plus one and be killed, or... be executed by the puppets."

“....” Oh fuck, he’s going to kill one of us isn’t he. Rantaro bites his tongue. No. It’s wrong to think of that...But that’s the message he’s trying to convey isn’t it.

"We're not going to let you die on their whims," Mahiru corrects, looking at him seriously. "You're not alone in this. If we're breaking the script, we're breaking it together."

She crosses her arms, trying remain unaffected by the growing tension around the group.

"None of us are going to die on the game maker's terms or anyone else's." Bold of a traitor to say, but okay.

Byakuya just nods.

He hates hearing him say it; he's doomed to death, but Naegi doesn't want to accept it... he just can't accept it. He pulls his bunny up to his chest, frown etched onto his face.

"Exactly what Koizumi-san said... Byakuya, I know we're gonna figure something out..." His voice is weak, and embarrassingly enough, unsure-- but he has the faith... surely, he does.

Rantaro looked at the ground and sighed. He’d take a bullet for the people- no, friends around him. He knows he’ll be okay but they’re all he’s got to lose.  Amami takes a deep breath, digging his foot into the ground. “We’ll...We’ll be fine.”

“If you know that much about your family’s methods, I’m sure you could find a way to avoid it. Better to fight than perish like a dog at the hands of the puppets.” Because as much as Taeko cares about him, she’s not going to let him kill the rest of them just to escape. Sorry buddy.

"And-- you will be fine. Everyone here is going to be fine, I just supposed it'd be better to... let it be done. I am going to fight."

He grips his sword handle, pulling it from it's sheath-- that's not the bamboo sword he typically held, that was... it had to have been taken from his room in the castle.

"To the very last breath."

He turns the sword on himself.

SHNK--!!

He collapses to his knees as it spears through his abdomen.

"Byakuya-" Mahiru is over by the swordsman's side before she realizes where her feet are taking her. She's holding back something like a scream, like a sob, but what really comes out is a half-anguished, half-angry "What the fuck?"

“You idiot,” Taeko hisses, running to his side. “What are you- you-“ She’s panicking. Oh boy.

"BYAKUYA!--"

Naegi screams, dropping his stupid rabbit and he rushes to his side, eyes wide in a horrified expression. He drops to his knees next to him, hands shaking and he wants to do something, but he doesn't know what-- how to--

There are tears streaming down his cheeks, he didn't even notice when they had started to overflow, but they aren't stopping. "W-What do I--"

“T- TOGAMI!” Rantaro is too in shock to move at first but he quickly shakes out of it once the others are surrounding him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck- “We need to take him-“ Oh fuck the nurse is dead.

“W-we can’t take it out. The. The blood loss—“ Taeko’s mouth is barely forming words, and her hands are fluttering. “Do you think Iruma-san’s room has medical supplies in it?”

Togami coughs, blood spilling from his chin and splattering droplets onto the grass below. He's basically keeling over by now- shaking as he grips the sword handle with all his might-- fuck, the blade is pierced straight through him,

"I-It hurts--"

“Y-Yeah! But were going to have to be quick about it!” Rantaro pushes Naegi out of the way and tries to carry Togami, arms wrapped under his armpits. “Someone take this feet! Now!”

"You said-" Mahiru hiccups, and oh, she is crying, isn't she? She's absentmindedly holding onto Byakuya's shoulder, as if that would do anything. "You said... you'd try to survive. We'd help you."

This dumbass, this fucking dumbass—

Taeko pathetically tries to grab under his like. Leg. She’s not really strong enough. “Naegi-san, please—“

He's gritting his teeth, eyes squeezed shut as the pain becomes unbearable-- this is what dying feels like, doesn't it? Except he's not cold, his body feels like it's on fire.

"N-No," He grunts out, blood abstracting his speech. "Just let me-- let me just, I want to die here,"

He can barely move, but he has to do something, doesn't he? Even though his limbs feel like stone, moving hurts, he can barely breathe-- he does as he's asked, blinded with tears, he goes to Taeko's side to grab his legs.

"Byakuya, please--"

Rantaro gritted his teeth and started lifting him. If he’s talking that means he’s still alive.

He's kicking and struggling-- he doesn't want to be carried. 

 "LET ME DOWN," He shouts.

Taeko yelps.

“Koizumi-san, I feel as if we’ll need your help—“

He's using all the strength he can to hold him down-- he hates it, hates hearing his shouting and feeling him struggle like that, it hurts but he...

"PLEASE, l-live for me, please--" His voice wavers into a soft sob, begging and shivering... he can hardly think.

"Just let me--" He lets out a yelp of pain, more blood spilling from his lips as he grits his teeth. He slaps weakly at the hand in his hair, tears and blood staining his face.

Mahiru's brain is racing, as she tries to reconcile their conversation the other day with what's happening right now.

"P-" She starts, and stops. "Put him down. Put him back down. Gently."

The tears are flowing freely now, but she doesn't bother to wipe at them.

"If you- If he keeps struggling in your grip he'll fade faster."

Taeko lowers him, slowly. “Should I— go back to Iruma-san’s room? See if there’s anything there?”

Mahiru nods roughly.

Well. She hasn’t run in a while, but now is probably a good time.

"Don't leave," He orders Taeko weakly.

“Oh Jesus Christ-“ Rantaro groaned and was about to go faster when Mahiru came into frame. He follows along with Taeko. “Y-Yeah...” God, he’s not ready for this. Oh god. Oh fuck.

Taeko lets out a huff, but it’s strained.

“I have half the mind to ignore you, Byakuya-san,”

"I want you here when I--" he grunts in pain, breathing becoming weak as he lies down against the grass.

No, he doesn't get to lie down. Mahiru won't let him. He has a FUCKING SWORD IN HIS MIDDLE!

Taeko glanced back at Rantaro, then back at Byakuya. She..

“Amami-san, you go on ahead. I’d just slow you down anyway.” She’s still kinda pissed at Byakuya, and she refuses to let him die but. Just...just in case.

Mahiru, with touch as light as a feather and as frantic as a bird, tries to position Togami so that the fucking sword in his abdomen doesn't move anymore. As long as they don't take it out, he shouldn't...bleed out, probably. But he can't leave it in there forever.

He's hesitant, before lowering him as well-- but he still stays right at his side, shoulders shaking as he sobbed over him; he feels utterly useless, useless, but he doesn't know what he can do... what he possibly could do, his love is fading so quickly right in front of him and all he can do is--

"Please," it comes out wretched, tearful and miserable. "Byakuya, p-please..." Please what, he doesn't quite know, but all he can do is beg for him to stay with him...

Togami makes an annoyed noise, somehow, when Mahiru pushes him back up to a better position. Fine, then.

"It's fine," He says slowly. "I'm dying th'way I want to..." Togami says, hand moving up to wipe at Naegi's tears-- it only smears blood on his face. Ah...

He rests his own hand over Togami's, tears speeding up-- no, no, this wasn't meant to happen, they were gonna get out together and be happy together, show Togami he can live independently...

"It's not fine, it's n-not..." He sobs louder, leaning forward and nearly curling in on himself. His grip around Togami's hand tightens.

“Amami-san I swear to— Go. Now.”

"Don't,"

"GO!"

Rantaro grits his teeth, refusing to give up. “Im going.” He tosses his coat and Teako and ducking sprints for it.

"'s not going to help," Togami breathes heavily. "N-No--"

"You said you'd stay with us." Actually, that's not what he said, you just assumed.

Mahiru's voice is pathetically small. "You're dying the way you want to, but."

She balls her fists in the fabric of her shirt.

"What about what we want? What if we wanted to get to know you more? What if we wanted to protect you? You ever think of that?" It's selfish, but her voice rises with each question, fresh tears making it almost hard to see.

"You're always- deciding what's best for everyone, you stupid, stupid man." She chokes out a sob. There's no bite in her insult. Just despair.

"Why? We need you."

"I know," Togami speaks up weakly. "I know." There's nothing he can say now.

He just listens to Mahiru, ugly sobbing clashing with Togami's ragged breathing as he slips away... the noise is grating on his ears. Why did this have to happen? He just wants to go back; he wants to go back, if he could have done anything to stop this... but nothing is enough, is it?

He feels as if his heart is twisting in his chest as Mahiru speaks on, saying exactly everything that Naegi wanted to say, but was never strong enough to, never strong enough-- not enough to help Togami, to stop him, to...

"I... need you," he whimpers out wretchedly after Mahiru finishes... he wants to look away, to run away, but he can't do that now. He can't do anything.

"I-I'm sorry," He mumbles, unable to speak clearly anymore, eyelids heavy as he looks at Naegi with glossy eyes, before turning his gaze to Taeko. "F-For, for doin' this, for... 's for the best, I..."

Taeko’s hands hover uselessly, and the words wont unstick from her throat. The most she can do is grip Byakuya’s hand tightly.

“Don’t you dare say things like this— You’re not going to die, you’re not—“

Rantaro’s hair is all over his face and he’s pretty sure he’s lost a shoe on his sprint back to the Elsinore. He trips and fumbles as he reaches closer. “Hey! HEY!”

"Even if it's despite what people want of me..." He says, growing weaker by the second. "Knowin' people... loved me in th' end was... nice..."

Togami begins to flutter his eyes shut, color draining from his face. He doesn't have much time.

A little more. Just a little more. Rantaro screams as he throws the bag over his shoulder and chucks it across to where they are before plummeting and eating dirt.

Mahiru could beg for Togami to stay, could call him an idiot some more, but what's the point?

"What do you want, Byakuya?" She asks quietly. "Anything. Anything and we'll do it."

...

...

There's the response of his ragged breathing growing quieter and quieter, until his eyes open a sliver to reveal foggy blue eyes to the remaining graduates-- the people he knew as his friends.

"Don't die..." He says quietly, lips hardly moving as they stain with his blood. "No more... turnin' on evr'yone. Remember th' humanity others have." He chuckles weakly. "It took m' ages t'refute that..."

"I don't regret to say that... I love you all." ...

His grip on Naegi's hand loosens, head tilting back as he goes limp.

Togami has left them.

Ah.

All he can do at this point... is grit his teeth, lower his head, and scream.

At the top of his lungs, all his sorrow and grief bubbling out with his voice... shaky with tears, an ugly sob, he can't do anything but scream. The noise hurts to hear, he hates hearing himself like this, but he can hardly think-- can hardly move, can't do anything but this.

Not again, not again—

Taeko can’t help it, when she starts to cry again.

To make matters worse, the duo shows up.

Sock is stomping to the scene as Buskin trails behind, the red fellow muttering "He just had to set this up, just had to...!" under his breath.

They're both at a distance away from the body, Sock's eyebrows furrowed in a fashion.

”You!” Rantaro takes off his other shoe and raises it over his head as he gets closer to them.

"Ah ah ah." Sock waggles a finger.

"S-Sock... We can't possibly start a trial with this many witnesses..."

Instead of smacking Sock as he expects, he laughs harder than he’s ever had and waves it in front of him. “You know what’s in here! Give me one fucking good reason I shouldn’t end your fucking game right now! Come on! I wanna hear it!”

"And we won't- unfortunately." Sock strains out, ignoring Rantaro.

"Sir Byakuya and his public suicide... Unexpected, but such a shame it's merely this simple!"

They’re not going to— with the body—

“Can we not bury it here? It was a suicide, not a murder. There’s— there’s no need for an execution.” Taeko’s words sound a bit nasally, but she’s holding back her tears surprisingly well.

Rantaro glares daggers into Sock. Say something stupid. Come on.

"Believe me, I would've executed him if I wanted to!"

"But I'm just tired to do so! It would be redundant, anyways!" Sock sighs out.

"No trial for him, boo to the hoo."

Taeko exhales a bit, the relief palpable. Sock and Buskin are still shitty, and she still hates them, but at least they’re allowing them this.

It hurts, but she’s still thankful that Byakuya decided to do it in front of all of them. The circumstances around his death are clear.

“Boo to the hoo-“ Rantaro points his shoe at the puppet like Togami would have with his sword. “I can fucking end your career right now and give your game a shitty boo to the hoo ending, fucker!”

"Amami-san, not now." Mahiru raises her voice just loudly enough to be heard, not moving from Naegi's side and Togami's...corpse. "Please just come...help us with him. So we can bury him." She's not actually sure how they're gonna do that, but...

"Ah, you're burying him? Less work for I!"

"I'll let you do whatever for the night. Mourn, cry, bury, whatever. If his body is still here, we shall deal."

"Just. Yeah." Sock says in an exasperated tone.

Mahiru makes a mental note of how flustered Sock seems to be by this situation, but lets it go for now.

"Just go." She says to the puppets, not even bothering to look at them.

The both of them leave on your command.

SURVIVING STUDENTS GRADUATES

18