#he comes back and is like okay i got my friend to join. and shizuku is like yay! i found this random mysterious girl at the park i like her

[hiddencircus]

H★NOR SOCIETY MOODBOARD! @sekaitransparents's event: shuffle unit

i made up honor society like years ago, the idea behind was just me remembering shizuku and tsukasa were childhood friends and i though it would be funny if they started an emo band in middle school. toya and mafuyu are there because kasa and shizu were like forget your problems. join my emo band.

[pharaohbean]

Hey, saw your Prsk Unit Shuffle AU and am very interested in seeing more.

In particular, I'm interested in hearing more about how the groups formed. It's always neat to see how these characters first meet and interact under different circumstances. And, as a little bonus, maybe what their "Untitled"/theme song is, because I feel like that's a very key part of a unit's identity that tends to be overlooked.

(Not sure if you're still interested in asks about this AU. If not, sorry for bugging you about it)

GASP HELLO I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY UNIT SHUFFLE AU im so sorry this too forever to get u back on!! schoolwork is a pain and then i went SHOPPING (which takes forever :sob:)

okok so i haven't really thought about all the details of how they get together? so bear with me this is a rough draft lol

SSS: the idea at the core of this group is that its a family with different strengths coming together to make music. so tsukasa is the scriptwriter, saki is the lyricist, toya is the choreographer, and kanade is the composer! the group is headed by tsukasa, who's actually been putting on these shows for all of them since he was a kid. as he got older, he started taking stardom more seriously (leading into canon), but an incident in middle school ended up with the tenmas legally adopting toya, so that definitely shook things up for tsukasa (in a good way!). so i think that (+ l/n not reforming, which does happen in the SSS main story) allowed tsukasa and saki to consider banding their strengths together, since tsukasa loved putting on shows and saki loved seeing them, but she would also help put them on for toya (and later kanade, when she joins them not long after toya does). the two of them very quickly realize that they need more hands, and although recruiting kanade as composer is easy (bc 25ji never forms- dont ask why im still figuring that out lol) toya is a lot harder bc he's still active under BAD DOGS with akito. however, with akito picking up AWR around the same time (+ hatsune freaking miku appearing to toya), toya does join under their choreographer as for their untitled, their song is Wonderland and the Sheep's Song by Hachi, but I worked out their line distributions to this lovely KYO cover! you can see my color-coded lyrics for them here if you're interested :)

R/l: im gonna be 100% honest with you SSS and AWR are the only ones with any semblance of a plot rn LOL but here's the base idea around R/l: mizuki and rui both congregate on the kami school rooftop bc, yknow, loners (mizuki is never reached out to by kanamafu, so not 25ji on their part. tsukasa doesnt end up applying for phoenix so wxs doesn't have a chance of forming). at some point, i imagine they got talking about music, but never did anything concrete. but not long into the main story (probably the very start) an also joins them, her dream of surpassing rad weekend getting weaker as she struggles to find a partner (koha will be explained later) so she goes to hang with her friend on the rooftop. at some point, mizu and an both accidentally enter sekai, where they meet miku and len. those two tell them that there's still two others they need to find because they also made the sekai. mizu and an get.... maybe a little too excited over this. an takes this chance to invite her friend haruka over to kami (so she transfers) and join the group, but in their search for their fourth member they end up accidentally alienating rui (ironic). they fix that tho-- although HOW i dont know lol their untitled was one i went back and forth on (tbh only SSS and AWR i didnt lol), but i eventually decided on Untitled Hymn by shaito! their color-coded lyrics are here (i just realized you can barely tell where an is in lines but ehhh)

ATD: okay so. ATD is the group thats given the most gosh-darn trouble. ive revised their cast motivations like, TWICE now. but basically it goes like this: shizuku and mafuyu are both members of the archery club, with mafuyu trusting shizuku so much that her public mask slips a couple of times (against her will). shizuku's not dumb, but she doesn't say anything bc i think she understands that mafu has her secrets. after shizuku quits being an idol (on more of her own terms), she still wants to find a way to share the light she had before that seemed to reach mafu a few times. enter: accidental sekai trip! this trip both gives shizu the idea for an online group (which could sorta count as MMJ but i think the big distinction is they do more streamer/vtuber stuff and less purely idol stuff?? im still working on that) and lets her see mafu with her mask fully off. eventually, shizu drags nene into the business (nene never attends kami here, workin on that) bc shizu and mafu have no idea how streaming works and nene does, but nene likes hiding behind the camera but is still a part of the group bc who can say no to shizu? and hona joins at shizu's request bc they're both beautification members (and apparently hona+mafu are both honors students so i wonder if they have some overlap?? can you tell ive never attended public school lol) their untitled gave me SO MUCH TROUBLE. because ATD is supposed to be a weird mix of 25ji and mmj? but all of their songs get swiped by either R/l, AWR, or even SSS, so it was hard to find something that i thought could be specifically them. eventually, i finally decided on Common World Domination by PinocchioP! Their color-coded lyrics can be found here :)

MxC: oh boy this one's a doozy. so the idea here is like... there are underground music rings? which sounds wild but like if music is vaguely the lifeblood of this world i DONT CARE it can happen! i don't wanna make it life-threatening tho so its more like... you get blacklisted from everything. which for shiho--who got sucked into this world in an attempt to find bandmates--is VERY BAD. but shiho's given a little bit to find a band before their first performance, but with l/n definitely gone their separate ways (and she never wanted to involve them in the first place) she's kinda stuck. enter: airi and ena! both of them had been watching the music battles, unsatisfied with their current lives (airi having just quit idol/tv work, ena just frustrated over her art), but airi knows shiho thru miya, and when she heard about shiho's impending doom, she resolved herself to very quickly learn guitar and join her group, roping ena (who has a little bit of drum experience from akito and mom) into it as well. meanwhile, while all of this is going on, kohane (being the sweet soul she is) has been trailing shiho out of concern, but then is entirely horrified at the underground battles bc shes still pre-canon meek. but she really wants to help shiho, so she agrees to try and learn keyboard. after clearing the first battle, shiho and her group are safe--for now. they'll have to clear a lot more battles if they want to escape the underground their untitled is Hello Builder by UtsuP since i wanted them to have harsher rock songs than l/n (bordering on metal-ish)! color-coded lyrics here :)

AWR: funny story--all of the above units were made in the order listed! so i got to AWR and... i have ichika, minori, emu, and akito. and im like "NONE OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON". and then i went. "WAIT. THATS IT!" so here's how AWR goes: ichika still tries to reform l/n, but fails; minori is still trying to become an idol; and emu is still trying to revive the wonder stage. all three of them, all attending miya ofc, end up bonding over this and they start thinking. is there a way to satisfy all three of their dreams (band, idol, and show) at once? and at FIRST the answer is "no lol" so they go exploring. and somehow someway (workin on that) word finds out about this and some guy on vivid street dares akito to try and fix em into shape in a week. akito--being akito--accepts quite hotheadedly, then quickly realizes that maybe this wasnt a good idea?? because EVERYONE has a different music taste and its almost impossible to keep up with them all!!! but eventually they do figure it all out, and by the end none of them wanted to split apart or anything. AWR is i think the group that has the least amount of direction which might be on purpose. i think (again im rambling rn so) part of their story is figuring out what their direction is going to be! their untitled is Lip Sync by DECO*27, written as a part of holo*27 (hi no im not rlly into vtubers i just like their music) but i count it bc its written by a voca producer and this would not be the first time a non-vocaloid sung a unit song (cough cough mafumafu and tuyu). you CAN find my color-coded lyrics here.... but i did the translations. which means they're pretty much 98% google translated then bonked around to make sense. i dont know japanese please dont sue me

i hope you enjoy my indepth explanation!!! im always happy to talk about these guys :D

[sweetchup]

💌Acting Naive (?)💌

Type: Shalnark x reader

Prompt: 14—Love potion + 7—Innocent/Corruption Kink

Author Note: Ah! @pastelbear12 I hope you like your request! I made sure it was really good for you! Especially as a fellow writer and Shalnark stan! Enjoy💕💕💕!!

(Valentine’s Day Masterlist)

Blue, Pink, Purple, Green, Blue…

…Round, cylinder, was that a square?

You just couldn’t fathom all the potions this clan of witches had hidden in their basement. Hell, You bet your boss, Chrollo, didn’t even realize there was this much when he sent you guys out to steal them.

“Hey (y/n). How many do you exactly think there are?” Phinks questions, gobsmacked at the amount just as much as you are.  

“I don’t know…” You mumble out, looking around the room, “Honestly, Phinks… I’m not even sure how we are going to transport them out of here…”

“Wel—“ “Oh wow! That’s a lot more than expected.”

You flinch as a familiar happy go lucky voice is heard by the doorway. You thought the boss put him on another mission.

“Oh hey Shal!” Phinks shouts out, just as surprised as you were, “What are you doing here?”

“The boss wanted me to come join you guys since I finished gathering information for him early.” Shalnark explains, walking up to you two. However, even as Shalnark begins to chat with Phinks, you could still feel his eyes flicker to your figure ever so often.

It wasn’t that you hated Shalnark, you just… particularly didn’t like him. Mostly due to the fact, he didn’t give you the best impression when you showed up as a replacement number 4.

According to him, he didn’t understand why you should be the replacement member. You were “cute” and “naive”, not the best fit to replace the former number 4. He also thought your ability wouldn’t work well with the members you were designated to work with.

Honestly, You could have understood where he was coming from, all Shalnark wanted was to make sure the Troupe succeeded. But, you also believed he didn’t have to say all this in front of the whole group with you in the room. It embarrassed you so much, you nearly stormed out of there.

Naturally, of course, this event created a rift between you two. A general dislikeness to the other person.

“(Y/n),” Phinks suddenly calls out, catching your attention, “What did you think of the plan?”

“What plan?” You questioned. Slightly scowling as you see Shalnark’s lip slightly twitch up a little as Phink responds with a sigh. Cheeky Bastard…

“The plan is that I’m going to go grab Fei’s group to come help us. But, In the meantime, You and Shalnark can start taking count of the potions.” Phinks explains, already putting on his pharaoh helmet to get ready to leave.

“Wait. Wouldn’t it make more sense to grab Machi’s group? Feitan’s group is a traveling distance of 3 days away while Machi’s is only 1 day away.” You question out, thinking it was a logical conclusion. However, you were only met with Shalnark letting out a small chuckle. Almost as if what you said was a hilarious joke to him, “What’s so funny?”

“Well, I find it so funny that you are practically rushing to try to get the mission over with. What’s with that? Do you have some sort of date you have to get to for Valentine’s Day?” You slightly flinch as Shalnark happy expression turns much darker; mockingly in a way, “That’s pretty irresponsible of you. You do realize troupe activities come first? Oh wait… You likely don’t care because—“

“Shal,” Phinks barks out, stopping his friend from finishing his sentence. As Phinks comes closer to stand in front of you, you now notice Shalnark has gotten much closer to you than before, “Fighting or attacking troupe members isn’t allowed. You should know this.”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t going to,” Shalnark responds with a lighthearted pout. However, you see a ever so slight twitch in his fingers that contradicts his previous statement. It seemed that he was practically just itching at the chance to stab you with his antenna.

Woah, that’s new….

Shalnark has never before given a hint that he hated you that much. Sure, he messed with your missions or denied helping you sometimes but even that was never enough that could possibly hurt or kill you.

However, that seemed to be the least of your worries right now. With Phinks being here, you could at least avoid Shalnark insults or possible attempts to attack you, especially since Phinks can step in to interfere as an older member as well. But if Phinks is still set with trying to leave to go grab Feitan’s group then… you are in big trouble.

“Hey Phinks. How about I just go grab Feitan’s group?” You ask cautiously as you interrupt their conversation (Well, more like bickering). About to explain your reasoning when Phinks cuts you off.

“No, neither of you two are going anywhere. This little feud between you two has escalated way too much. We are going to solve this problem right here and now.” Phinks grumbles out, sending a slight glare Shalnark's way to tell him not to even try to rebut. “Also Meaning, you two are going to allow each other to talk in order to solve this.”

After Phinks stops speaking, a thick silence settles over the room. Neither of you attempted to start to talk to the either and it seemed, from your perspective, that Shalnark wasn’t happy about being forced to participate in this bonding event at all. Well technically you shouldn’t judge as you weren’t happy about this either but, at the very least, you were willing to participate if it solved this petty problem of you two.

“Well…,” You started, breaking the thick silence, “I first wanna know what I did to get you to dislike me so much.”

You watch as Shalnark rolls his eyes in slight annoyance. He wasn’t planning on answering you but a hard swift slap to the back by Phinks makes him think twice about that decision.

“It’s that fake act you do.” Shalnark grumbles out, winching slightly as Phinks puts his hand up again, “I-I mean I don’t like how you act towards us.”

“Pardon?” You let out, accidently. Quite confused at what he was referring to. You’ve never acted a certain way specifically towards Shalnark or any of the members in that matter.

“Don’t act stupid—“ “Shal…” Phinks warns out, cutting Shalnark off. However instead of backing off like before, Shalnark continues.

“You know it. The one where you act all ‘I’m miss innocent and cute, I don’t know things~’. That stupid ass one.”

However instead of understanding what he was saying, you get even more confused. You will admit you can be a little naive at times but you’ve never acted or played into it.

“I still don’t get it. I don’t specifically act—“

“There it is! That.” Shalnark shouts out suddenly as he points his finger accusingly at you, taking a step forward also. “You just titled your head to the side slightly as if you were some confused puppy!”

You can’t help but feel heat suddenly bloom up to your face. You hadn’t even realized you did that sort of thing. God, you must have looked like a fool, an idiot—

“And there’s another one! You just tried to hide your face behind your hands.” Shalnark exclaims again, pulling your hands down and away from your face.

“H-hey. I-I don’t get why all this matt— Oof.”

Suddenly, as you take a step back to keep some space between you and Shalnark, You don’t realize how close you are to the shelves and hit your back hard against one. It creaks for a second and you think nothing of the sound. Well, nothing of it until something hard shatters on top of your head, dosing you in some sort of strange sticky liquid.

“Shit.” Phinks curse out, both his and Shalnark’s eyes blown out wide as they look at you. “(Y/n) are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Just my head hurts a little…” You mumble out, pulling your hand away from your head to see it was covered in a little bit of blood. Uh oh…, that wasn’t good. That could only mean the potion got absorb into your bloodstream…

“Welp…, it seems like she’s going to die.” Shalnark says matter of factly, making you snap your head up to look at him. However, instead of yelling at him, your words suddenly felt stuck and clogged up in your throat. Ever so slowly as if a fog came over you, your mind starts to grow fuzzy, unable to make you think clearly. What was going on? Was the potion only now taking effect?

However, unaware of your current predicament, Phinks had started bickering with Shalnark. Angry at not only his bitterness towards you but also his unwillingness to help you out just as a fellow teammate.

“Shal, Dude. Her thing isn’t an act. The boss has been over this. She acts this way even towards Kortopi, who, I’m sure you can understand, wouldn’t benefit her in any way.”

“Well, she might be still trying to get on his good side so she—“

Phinks cuts Shalnark off by grabbing him by the collar. Pulling his friend so they were face to face, Phinks speaks again. This time in an extremely serious tone that tells Shalnark there isn’t going to be any more of these ‘if’s’ or ‘buts’ from out of him.

“Shal. Just stop. If she had the choice to attack or use one of us, she would have done it by now. Chrollo has allowed her to guard him alone more times than I can count, just to see if your suspicions were correct. And, in all those times, she didn’t show the slightest bit of desire to get information out of him or attempt to try to fight him. So, Cut. It. Out. This is not only hindering our mission no— Shit.“

Phinks suddenly let go of Shalnark to grab you, who from the corner of his vision was wobbling slightly.

“(Y/n). Sit down.” Phinks mumbles out as he helps you to the ground. As he crouches down to look at you, he can’t help but grow even more worried. You didn’t look good, at all.

So bad, he knew they needed to race to go find Shizuku right at that very moment. And it didn’t reassure him any better that he was the fastest one out of you three at the moment.

“Shal.” Phinks calls out, making Shalnark snap his head to him, “We need to go grab Shizuku from Machi’s group now and since I’m the fastest I need to go. Don’t give (y/n) a hard time and you better try to help.”

Without attempting to hear Shalnark’s response or possible rebuttal, Phinks has already raced out the door. Leaving Shalnark alone to try and take care of you. Something he honestly has never imagined doing.

“S-Shal…” You suddenly stutter out, breaking the man’s attention from staring at the door. Shit, you seriously didn’t look good.

“Yeah?” He questions, still apprehensive to try and help you as he crouched down. Shalnark can’t help but feel a shiver go up his spine as you looked up at him. A hand hiding the front of your mouth told him you were embarrassed. A thing he’s seen you do many times before when you weren’t sick.

Perhaps,... Phinks was correct and the cute things you do aren’t actually an act. You would have definitely dropped it by now with the horrible condition you were in.

“C-can…Can you kiss me?” You suddenly beg out, nearly making Shalnark have to do a double take.

“What…?” Shalnark lets out, unable to stop his surprise at what you were saying—suggesting—for him to do. Have you gone fucking insane?

“P-please.” You mumble out, your words slightly slurred and incoherent as you move yourself, “I’ll do anything.”

Shalnark goes to speak again to quickly deny your request but suddenly feels himself choke on his own words. Slowly, He had to put a hand up to his mouth to check his jaw hadn’t dropped and he hadn’t started drooling. Especially with the position you had moved to because, Holy shit…

With your arms stretched out forward, hands slightly opening and closing to urge him to come near, it looked like you were innocently begging him for a hug. Well, it would have been considered innocent if your legs weren’t opened up as well. With you wearing just a skirt, it gave him a clear view of your underwear that was already dripping in your arousal.

Oh, all the things he was imagining to do to you right now…

“S-see. I’ll do anything you want. I just need you close to me-e.” You beg out, seeing how Shalnark’s gaze was trained on your lower half. Your pleas clearly worked on Shalnark as he can feel himself starting to harden more in his pants. “I-I love you. I need you. Please—“

You can’t help but let out a little gasp as you are suddenly tugged forward by your ankles. The cold feeling of the cement basement ground leaks through your sweaty skin and clothes as you fall backwards, making you also unconsciously arch your back closer to Shalnark.

However, your attention towards the uncomfortable cold stinging the ground produced is short-lived as you feel one of Shalnark’s hands push your underwear away. You let out a small whine as Shalnark rubs your clit, the intense pleasure shooting like fireworks throughout your whole body. It was so much for you, almost painful in a way, making you quickly wiggle away from his touch.

“What’s wrong?” Shalnark mumbles out, his words hardly heard as he presses small wet kisses to the sensitive skin of your neck. Trying to hold himself back from completely and utterly wrecking you once he sees how you were helplessly trying to escape from him. Why did he hate your cuteness again?

“I-I’ve never been touched there,” You answer back, making Shalnark’s hand freeze in his ministrations, “Too much-h.”

“Have you ever been touched…?” Shalnark finally asks out after a long pause.

“N-no. Never.” You whine out, gasping as Shalnark snaps your soaked panties back into place. Using the back of his knuckles to rub the fabric against your sensitive folds, only to drag them down and off your ankles seconds later. You are confused as to why he doesn’t choose to throw them to the side until you hear a zipper being undone, “Shal…”

You can’t help but cross and rub your thighs together as you look down to the thing that was between his legs. It sounded childish but you couldn’t help but wonder how that was even supposed to fit inside you.

“(Y/n)... Come here...” Your attention snaps away from your thighs to Shalnark at his sudden call. Oh, so that's what he was using them for…

You gulp as you slowly crawl over to Shalnark, your eyes trained on his hand that was smothering the wetness of your panties onto his dick. As you sat in front of him, you can’t help but shakily reach one of your hands out. As your hand touches the warm flesh, you feel it twitch under your touch. You hesitate for a second before enveloping your hand around it. Unconsciously gulping as you realized you were unable to wrap your hand fully around the shaft due to how thick it was.

“G-good.” Shalnark moans out, his body slightly shaking as he attempts to keep his cool as you add your second hand. Fuck, Your hands were unimaginably soft, driving him insane as they worked their way around his length. And the pure fact you clearly had no idea what you were doing and was clumsy trying to give him pleasure, for some odd reason, turned him on even more.

Damn, you were so cute and innocent. Naive to the point you didn’t understand what he could possibly do to you at a moment's notice. How much he could easily just slip inside of you and turn you into his whiny little thing. Slobbering and drugged up on the pleasure he would continuously induce upon you. Making you beg for his every touch and word until your throat hurts. Begging for him to pump his load in you, to be his pretty little obedient toy.

“Fuck.” Shalnark murmurs out, catching you off guard as he pulls your hand off his length by your wrist. You let out a small whine in rebuttal, wanting to touch him more, until you see that ever so slight lustful haze over his eyes.

Happily you allowed the blonde man to move you around so you were positioned on your hands and knees; your back arched and butt stuck up in the air just for him to see. Honestly if he wasn’t craving to be inside you right now, he would have definitely taken a picture. The sight would have made a perfect new background for his home screen.

As he lines himself up at your entrance, he hears your breath suddenly hitch. Testing to see how you do, he slowly slips only the head of his length in. Woah. Instantly a shiver goes up his spine as he feels your walls squeeze and unsqueeze around his tip, your body struggling to accommodate the sudden intrusion.

He really wanted to go slow. After all, he truly felt bad for how he had been treating you before all this. But once you tilted your head to the side to look up at him with those doe-like eyes of yours, it was as if all his patience had suddenly snapped.

“Shal!” You yell out, your hands balled into fist as you had nothing to hold onto, to possibly ground yourself.

“It will feel g-good. I promise.” Shalnark mumbles out incoherently. Lost in pleasure as he continues to piston in and out of you. His top half eventually draping over yours as he attempts to get even deeper inside you; pressing small encouraging kisses to the back of your shoulder blades as you continued to take every inch of him.

Eventually, Shalnark was right. It was as if things suddenly clicked and everything felt just oh so good. You thought you were in heaven with the amount of pleasure you felt rushing through your body. Even though the man inducing these feelings upon you could hardly be considered a heavenly being. Then again, with what you have done, you weren't much better than him.

“Ah! R-Right there. Please, Please, please!” You cry out, feeling an even intenser flash of pleasure come upon you as he hits a specific spot. “S-Shal!”

It only took a couple more hits to that pleasurable spot to push you over the edge. Turning you into a dazed and drooling mess as you couldn’t stop yourself from whining out how good Shalnark made you feel and how you loved him ever so much.

“S-shit.” Shalnark groans out, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist as he suddenly feels a hot flash of pleasure come over him as well. His hips methodically grinding against your hole as he works his way through his high. Slightly overstimulating you in a way as his ever so warm white ropes of his cum start to fill you up. You never thought you would enjoy such a primal feeling of being filled up by someone’s cum. Honestly, you could have cummed again from just that alone.

As you feel Shalnark lean his forehead against your back to catch his breath, you slowly feel your mind becoming clearer. As if a strange fog has been lifted off of your senses. However, you honestly wished it stayed as everything that has happened while under that strange potion has suddenly come crashing down on you.

You didn’t know what to do, what to think. Actually, would anyone know what to do if they suddenly realized they had sex on Valentine’s Day with a teammate that hated their guts and couldn’t even stand being in the same room before now?

Then again you should have known that, even in a situation like this, Shalnark doesn’t exactly fall into the category of the average person.

“H-hey!” You choke out in surprise as you feel Shalnark suddenly lift one of your legs over his shoulder, forcing you to lay on your side as he starts to move his hips again. His dick already hardening back up to where it was before.

You wanted to rebut. Wanted to tell him to calm down and to talk this whole strange situation out. But, then again, why would you?

With him already plowing into you deeper than before, mixing and pushing his cum deeper inside you and creating this dangerous cocktail of pleasure. How could you possibly tell him to stop when you wanted to continue?

Especially when he had just referred to you as his good little girl.

[dcbbw]

Sneak Peek Sunday (8-23-2020)

I know for certain I was tagged by @sophie-and-shizuku​, and I think I may have been tagged by @bebepac​. Honestly, I have not had a lot of time to work on anything because of work obligations but I do have a fic ready to post and a handful of almost-there WIPs; fics that if I just sat down and added one more section, or did a final read-through on, I could post.

For Sneak Peek Sunday, I present to you my They’re Almost Ready list.

Boomerang (Un-Romance AU):

Maxwell.

I wonder what he is doing here. Then I hear his voice carry over my partition.

“Hey, Reebee,” he says, using his nickname for me.

“Max!” I say a little too loudly and a lot too cheerfully.

He steps to my ‘doorway’. “I come bearing treats,” he announces as he holds out a brown paper bag in one hand and my pink drink in the other.

I tell him to come in, and he plops in the guest chair before handing me my drink and cookies. I place them on my desk and roll my chair around so I’m facing him. I eye him appraisingly: Maxwell looks good. He’s still slim with a head full of gelled hair; his face is still handsome in an odd way. Maxwell is the type that is always animated: eyes flashing and sparkling, a permanent half smile lifting one corner of his mouth, hands moving.

A man in motion.

Right now, his leg is jiggling while his fingers tap and dance against his pant-covered thigh.

“What brings you here?” I ask curiously.

“I dropped Pen off this morning and walking her to the elevator, we ran into Lynn going on a coffee run.”

I freeze momentarily. Maxwell dropped Penelope off? “You and Pen?” I ask in what I hope is a casual tone.

He nods happily. “I ran into her at a pet shelter a couple of weekends ago. We talked some, grabbed some lunch, and we’ve been … hanging out ever since.”

“He was looking for a peacock!” Penelope offered helpfully from her cubicle.

I nod slowly. “Hanging out,” I repeat.

Max’s eyes grow wide as he takes in my expression. “It’s not like that.”

We stare at each other. The yet is unspoken. 

Ghosts (Damien/Kai/Hayden ):

We were eating dinner in the living room. America’s Most Eligible was on, and for whatever reason, Kai and Hayden absolutely love that show. There were shrieks of laughter and finger pointing at the television set while I watched them absently, barely tasting my dinner.

Hayden noticed my lack of scoffing and reprimand and looked at me quizzically. “Are you okay, love?”

Kai put down her forkful of food to look at me through narrowed eyes. “Does this have to do with that client? What’s the job, Damien?”

She is neither suspicious nor jealous, just protective. Kai doesn’t love deeply or passionately; she loves fiercely.

I sip some cold beer. “I don’t know the job yet. I have to meet with them to find out.”

They both look at me skeptically. I shrug. “I just … I don’t know. I feel disconnected and I don’t know why.”

Except I do. I’m lying to the two most important people in my life, after mom and siblings, because of a man who left me three years ago. Over a phone call. I didn’t hear from him when I was heartbroken. I didn’t hear from him when robot assassins and a crazy man were trying to kill me and my friends.

No, he waits until I’m happy again to call. And I answered.

Love in a Time of Betrayal:

The light in the room was muted as the late afternoon sun filtered in through the closed window blinds. The heavy damask curtains were pulled open, tied back with cords of silk rope. They reminded her of an opera box.

Her hands ran down the front of his shirt, frantically pulling buttons through their holes; the diamond on her finger sparkled in the muted light of the room. The fabric was soft beneath her fingertips. Silk? Often washed cotton? It didn’t matter as she pulled the shirt from his broad shoulders. He let out a low laugh at her eagerness, his hair falling across his forehead in an endearing way.

She couldn’t wait to run her fingers through it.

The man pulled her closer to his bare chest, his short curly hairs matted to his skin. She breathed him in: pinecones, green grass, cognac. A hint of leather. Her lips found the crook of his neck and placed a kiss on his collarbone. He responded by planting a kiss in her hair.

They were star-crossed lovers, their hearts and their fates always at odds. The very Universe telling them constantly that they were not to be together, yet their bodies spoke differently.

Their love spoke differently.

She wondered if what they shared was lust or love, and always decided love. Lust could be sated, but her feelings for him never were.

He knew he loved her, with every fiber of his being. But he saw the signs: every chance they had at happiness was snatched away; sometimes cruelly, sometimes subtly. Either way, the pain was the same:

Deep. Hurtful. So intense not even the sweet release of death would alleviate it.

But here they were again, under the most trying of circumstances, attempting to right their world the only way they knew how.

The Queen’s Friendship:

The woman and Veronica were sitting in a dive bar, eating burgers and drinking beers. It had been five years since high school graduation, and their group of friends had disbanded:

Brenda’s mother had died soon after graduation, and she and her siblings had sold the house and divided the money. Brenda moved to Richmond, VA and had gotten a job with the state government. She was expecting her first child any day.

James had gotten a football scholarship from Auburn University. He played well, but not well enough to be noticed by the NFL. He was working as an accountant in Birmingham.

Michael D. had joined the Army.

Michael B. had moved to DC to attend Howard University and was applying to the police academy.

Shirley was in nursing school, and roommates with Rosalind, who was now a cosmetologist.

Ryan had gotten a degree in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching. He had always liked sports, but not playing them. He was waiting to hear back from the school board about a coaching position.

Veronica had gotten her meeting planning certification and was now looking to get into real estate.

The woman had her degree in Office Administration, along with the rest of the world. She had applied to several places but had yet to hear back.

Veronica dipped her French fry in ketchup as she studied the woman’s face. “I need you to be there! We’ve been friends forever and I want you to be my maid of honor!”

“You and Ryan are getting married?” The woman repeated her friend’s earlier statement, feeling foolish. Why, she wasn’t sure.

Veronica leaned back, tapping her nail against her chin. “I thought you were over Ryan?”

“I am! I am!” the woman hurriedly reassured her lifelong friend. “I just … wow, life is moving fast.”

Veronica nodded as she sat up straight. “It is, but it’s right, ya know?”

The woman nodded, but she didn’t know. She didn’t know how right felt. The two friends finished their meal, and on their way out, the woman saw a sign hanging on the wall: Now hiring waitresses, all shifts.

How I Met Your Wife:

The Duchess stopped fussing long enough to allow Yu to greet her deferentially; Riley smiled at the pretty, slim waitress and asked if there were a more private dining area she and her friends could enjoy their lunch. Yu arched an eyebrow; already the waitress held resentment against the Duchess. Of course she would want to lord her power and position over everyone else.

With a grunt, Yu led them to the private dining area reserved for large and/or private parties. Once the group was seated, Riley grasped Yu’s hand. “Thank you so much for accommodating my request. My appreciation will be reflected in your gratuity.”

Yu looked at the Duchess with a touch of incredulity before saying, “It’s the least I can do given that the King is offering the orchard workers some relief. I have family members who are affected.”

Riley looked at the waitress with concerned eyes before rummaging in her purse. “What are their names?”

Yu gave her the names before leaving the table with menus. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, but at least the new Duchess gave good lip service. She returned with the tea service in time to hear the Duchess on her phone arguing with someone who had to be the King.

“NO, you CANNOT return to the manor, Liam! And NO ONE is coming to the Palace! How in the HELL are you going to suggest WE use the SAME BAKER you and Madeleine were going to use?”

Silence as the Duchess listened to whatever the King was saying.

“I DO NOT CARE THAT THEY ARE THE ROYAL BAKERS! DO I LOOK ROYAL TO YOU?”

Yu hung back, not sure what to do. Riley smiled, and waved her over. “I am going to find a local Valtorian baker for the cake.” Brief silence. “IT ISN’T OUR WEDDING CAKE! I have three people, possibly four, with me RIGHT NOW who would LOVE to be the Duke of Valtoria! Don’t worry about who they are!’

More silence, then the Duchess hung up the phone. She looked at Yu. “The King will be joining us. Please send him here when he arrives.”

Coronation:

I run my hand through my hair while keeping the other on the steering wheel. The car is quiet, too quiet. I turn on the radio and a melancholy song fills the sedan.

And I bruise when you leave the room I never liked the way it felt Keepin' my hands to myself, mmm

Like some magic moment of which I'm not quite sure I wonder if you've ever been in love like this before You'll be scared when I possess you But you'll want me all the more

The music doesn’t help because my brain is filled with questions and images. There’s not enough room for the music and I impatiently turn the radio off. My phone rings; my hand fumbles on the passenger seat and I pull my eyes from the nearly empty road long enough to see it’s Beaumont calling and press the speaker button to answer.

“Yeah?” I growl as I check the speedometer and press a little harder on the gas pedal.

“Drake! We got Little Blossom! She’s going to stay!” he babbles excitedly in my ear.

I am quiet for a moment before I respond. “That’s great. Liam will be happy to hear it.” I don’t bother to ask Maxwell why he convinced Brooks to stay.

Liam made a choice. It wasn’t her.

“I thought you’d be more excited,” Maxwell says with some confusion in his voice.

“Olivia showed up at the Coronation, talked to Liam, and left. Then the pictures of Brooks came out. Wondering if there’s a connection.”

“You think Liv sent the pictures?”

I roll my eyes in annoyance. I try to keep the irritation out of my response. “No, Beaumont. I’m wondering if whoever did this to Brooks is behind Liv’s leaving.”

Desperate Measures:

Blinking back tears, Bertrand glanced at his watch. He raised an eyebrow as he realized it was almost time for his visitors. They were coming to meet with the stoic, confident Duke of Ramsford, not some maudlin, lovesick fool whose bank account was dangerously close to being overdrawn.

He pulled his papers together in neat stack and centered them precisely in the middle of the desk. He opened a drawer, and retrieved his lint brush, rolling it in brisk strokes over his suit jacket and sweater vest. Before leaving the study, he reached in a candy dish; he plucked a breath mint, which he popped in his mouth.

The Duke strode down the hall, ignoring the paintings and photos that lined the walls. He needed to check on lunch; the cook had been with the Beaumont family for decades; she still came in twice a week to do the grocery shopping and prepare dinner for the Duke and Lord. The rest of the staff had been let go; Bertrand could not afford to pay them, and people needed to make a living.  

Bertrand trusted the chef implicitly, and normally wouldn’t micromanage, but today was important.

This meeting could put House Beaumont back on the road to riches.

Crown Prince Liam’s social season was starting in two days’ time; Maxwell had accompanied the Prince and some friends to New York City. Bertrand had tasked him with finding a wealthy American socialite who may be willing to sponsor herself in the season. It was a long shot, but Bertrand was desperate. Nothing seemed too farfetched at this point.

House Beaumont could not afford to sponsor anyone; however, every house who entered a suitor received a stipend to cover expenses such as clothing, food, and transportation. The House with the winning suitor received press coverage and a check to be split with the suitor.

Bertrand needed a winning suitor.

But the noblewomen of Cordonia did not need House Beaumont; they had their own houses, and no need to come out of pocket. However, there was one suitor who was entering the season who came from a minor noble house. A suitor whose name was unknown despite her mother having strong ties to Cordonia.

A suitor who had money, and lots of it.

Lady Hana Lee of Shanghai.

What are you working on @ao719​ @bobasheebaby​ @katedrakeohd​ @glaimtruelovealways​ @burnsoslow​ @thecordoniandiaries​ @bbrandy2002​

[miss-smrxtiee]

-Forgetfulness-

Ch.2- The Forgotten and the Lost.

The Elementalists AU

Beckett Harrington x f!MC (Ellie Valentine)

Summary: An incident causes Ellie to loose her memory, what lengths will Beckett and the Pend Pals go to to ensure her saftey?

Warnings: none really, memory loss and “kidnappin’”

A/N: Memory loss AU

Tag list:

@vampireblissblog @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @holystxne @oofchoices @kinkypot @choicesstan1 @sophie-and-shizuku @herarmoredheart if you would like to be added just lmk!

I unfortunately do not own these characters I only own Ellie, my MC.

Masterlist -series masterlist there as well.

——————————————-

Beckett’s POV.

Panic settles as Beckett frantically searches the room, not even Alma and/or The Dean are here.

W-what?!? Where did she go? Did they take her? They promised not to keep secrets but this doesn’t seem okay...

Becket speed walks to the desk and asks the nurse about the situation.

“I’m sorry sir but we can’t give out information unless you are specifically in her emergency contact list.” The nurse replied. Beckett sighed, running a hand through his hair before nodding and going back to the lounge room where the Pend Pals where waiting for updates.

“Sh-she’s gone.” Beckett says, panting from running up the stairs. They all look at him with confused looks.

“Whose gone?” Atlas asks standing up narrowing her eyes.

“...Ellie?” She guessed. Beckett could only nod.

“Where the hell is she?!?” Zeph said, putting the ping pong paddles that he and Griffin where playing with away.

“I just knocked on the door and I heard nothing and walked in to absolutely nobody there, the lights where on and the covers where thrown over so something must’ve taken her.” Beckett explained, still in shock himself. He ran a hand through his hair again before speaking.

“I asked the nurse and she said only emergency contacts could be given information.” He explained further while Atlas perked up.

“I’m on the list, she had me put on during the summer.” Atlas quickly said before walking out to the stairwell. The others just shrug and follow behind.

They reach the desk and the nurse turns her attention to the group.

“Hello, how can I help you?” The nurse politely asked.

“Can you tell me any news on my sister? I’m on the emergency list.” Atlas said briefly before the nurse checked and nodded.

“It looks like Ms. Valentine was admitted roughly an hour and a half ago and the Dean requested the equipment for their procedure” the nurse flipped the chart, her eyes scanning over the page before continuing. “And ithe Dean requested more equipment once again about 10 minutes before she was discharged. but it’s strange, it’s not the equipment they would use for the spell the Dean informed us on. They had no help from the nurses per request.”

That’s not strange at all.... Beckett sarcastically said in his head.

“Did they say where they where going?” Atlas’ brows furrowed and you could tell she was starting to get worried.

“I’m afraid not, they didn’t leave through the doors though, they walked to our mirror room down the hall with her over that strange ladies’ shoulder. They also called a code Blue. During that 10 minutes before hand but it seems as though they had it under control.”The nurse answered before resting the chart down.

Wait... code blue? Beckett thought back to that chart in the hallway.

Life Threatening?!?!?

“Did that lady have a red cloak and short brown hair?” Atlas asked tapping her fingers against the flat surface of the front desk.

The nurse nodded and Atlas thanked her before walking away, clearly lost in thought.

“Should we go to the mirror room? Surly you know a spell that could track their magick.” Griffin said while walking up next to her.

“Usually I would say yes but these mirrors are more commonly used by doctors and paitents and it would be harder to track because the magick would be drowned out.” Atlas answered tapping her chin in thought.

Everyone looked up at Beckett who was practically shaking from worry.

“Man, you okay?” Zeph asked clapping his hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, you look like you need a spa day.” Shreya said checking her nails.

Beckett couldn’t believe how calm they where about everything. “Code blue means life threatening! Something could’ve happened to her!” Beckett said. They all looked at him with worried expressions.

“ Alma and Swan rolled her out and discharged her then that means she’s okay.” Griffin stated gesturing to the mirror room.

“How are you guys not worried about this?!? Ellie could be in danger! And how could we trust Sawn after last years ‘incident’ where she didn’t tell us anything for our ‘saftey’” Beckett wasn’t pleased with his friends way of looking at the situation.

“Swan promised us she wouldn’t play anymore games since the whole Raife thing, and she wouldn’t let Alma do anything.” Atlas says back.

“Well wouldn’t they tell us that they where taking us?”

Before any of them could respond...

“ribbit.”

“What was that?”

“blorg.”

Suddenly, Zeph feels a cold goo settle into is scalp and they look to find Tim contently lying atop his head.

“Wait... why isn’t Tim with Ellie?”Shreya asked walking over to stroke the frogs back.

“I’m not sure...” Atlas said deep in thought.

“Maybe Tim can bring us to Ellie!” Beckett said and walked up lifting the slimey pet into his hand

“hey bud, can you find Ellie for us?” Beckett asked the Gorge.

“blug” the frog blinked slowly at the student and looked at him with confusion.

“Here lemmie try and get him to go to the either to find her.” Griffin replied taking Beckett’s place with the frog in his own hand this time.

“Come on little guy, can you go to the either to check on Ellie for us?” Griffin asked

The only response they got was...

“Blurged” Tim’s eyes slowly flutter asleep and they all sigh.

Every instinct in Beckett’s body told him something was wrong but he couldn’t tell what. Ellie was with Alma and the Dean and they all knew they could trust them.

They where on her side after all.

Atlas takes Tim in her hand and starts to examine him and Beckett notices Tim isn’t like himself. He’s more stoic and he’s usually very cheery and bubbly like Ellie but something was off.

“We should go to Professor Kontos...” She says briefly, only to be met by confused faces.

“Why? Professor Kontos doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Shreya exclaimed, clearly starting to worry more.

“Professor Kontos’ class is where Ellie got Tim, right?”

They all nod.

“Well Tim isn’t being himself and if anyone knows how to figure out what’s wrong, it’s him.”

“She has a point” Beckett said tapping his chin and the others agree it was a solid plan and walk towards his office.

Atlas frantically knocks on the greenhouse door to the Professor’s office and the door swings open.

“What on earth is wrong here Ms. Erndhart?” He looks around at your group before turning back to Atlas.

“I need you to check on Tim, he doesn’t seem like himself and I’m worried.” Atlas replied.

“Where is Ellie? It’s her Familiar after al-“

A gasp escapes his mouth before he could finish his sentence.

“What?” They all say in usion as he continues to search the small animal.

He motions you with his finger to join him inside, not breaking his gaze from the frog.

You all walk inside to the various plants and herbs growing inside.

“...Do you mind telling me where Ellie is.”

“She’s uh... with the Dean right now.” Shreya replied trying to avoid the plant that’s attempting to sniff her hair.

“That’s strange...”

“What?”

“It seems as though Ellie has completely lost her emotional and spiritual connection to Tim.”

What??!! Beckett’s confusion and worry skyrocket as he explains.

“This sort of thing only happens if the Owner loses any recognition of the familiar or...”

“Or what?” Griffin demands.

“...or the owner is dead.” He finishes.

“Are you kidding me?!? Ellie isn’t dead, we know that much.” Zeph said walking up and taking Tim to pet his cold skin.

“I’m terribly sorry, but if you so desire, one of you can take Tim as your own until if or when Ellie is able to regain her connection with him.”

“I will.” Beckett said without hesitation.

I will?!

Zeph hands Tim to Beckett and he just stares up at him.

“Blurh.”

Don’t worry buddy, we’ll get Ellie back very soon.

A few minutes prior

Alma & Swan

“Hurry!”

“I’m trying!!”

Alma rushes The Dean to carry Ellie out of her room. Ellie was still unconscious and was completely limp as Swan struggled to carry her.

“Oh here I’ll do it.” Alma doesn’t wait for a response and picks up Ellie and lifts her over her shoulder and starts walking towards the mirror room of the hospital.

“Ok then..” Swan follows, still nervous and clammy. She didn’t know how the Pend Pals would react to this. Alma had convinced her this was for her safety but she didn’t know how this would effect her happiness. The amount of growth she saw in Ellie from the first day to now was a sight for sore eyes. She watched Ellie make wonderful friends and save the world, she didn’t want to make Ellie leave that all but Alma said otherwise. They had preformed that spell last minute and quickly rushed to cover it up. Alma apparently had a plan and now Swan would have to tell everyone a lie to also cover it up.

And who am I to go up against the source of all Blood Magick...

“Evelyn? Did you hear me?” Alma said quirking an eyebrow at her as they stood in front of the mirror.

“Huh?!” She snapped her head towards Alma. “Oh sorry, can you repeat that?”

She sighed.

“I need you to use metal magick to open this to Ellie’s childhood home, I know you’ve been there to check on her as a kid so you should have no problem.” She said.

“Oh, okay.” She answered, to afraid to go against her orders.

Swan walks up to the mirror and starts making small hand gestures to conjure the metal magick into the mirror. Her hands softly glow with a faint grey shine to them as the mirror starts to turn into a picture of Ellie’s bedroom. Swan tests the mirror by placing her index finger on the surface of it. Her finger slightly sinks into it and she nods at Alma before walking through.

The room was quite nice, it had fairy lights hung around the room and the bed laid neatly made in the center of the room with a nice window and desk off to the side. The walls where a pale yellow and there where several pictures and plants decorated around the room. Alma swiftly walks over to the bed and lays Ellie down while Swan closes the mirror.

“Whose there?!” They heard Ellie’s foster mother, Mrs. Valentine calling from outside her door.

“It’s Evelyn.” She answered not wanting to scare her. Swan and Ellie’s foster mother where mutual friends through Theia during their college years and became closer when she and her husband took Ellie in. “We have Ellie in here on her bed and her, uh... friend accompanied us.” She added as Ellie’s foster mother walked in.

“Oh my!” She said at the sight of Ellie. “What happened?!”

“Well, you see Ellie was at a tea par-“

“She got hurt during battle and lost her memory, we need you to keep her here and treat her as if she never went to Pendergast. If she starts to remember things, tell Evelyn.” Alma briefly said.

“Way to be subtle about it...” Swan murmured to Alma while Ms. Valentine looks sadly at her daughter.

“What? She’ll remember us right?” They nodded. “Why can’t you retrieve her memories?? There has to be something!” Mrs. Valentine said walking over to sit on the bed and stroke Ellie’s hair.

“We could, but it would take a week or so for her to fully recover from the side effects and the effects of the spell she was attacked with. That’s why I need her here to heal.” She replied.

“Evelyn?” Her mother quirked a brow at her trying to get a second opinion.

“Uh. Yes, she’s right. It’s for the best.”

The group goes over more details of what she needs to do while Ellie is there and to contact them when she wakes up and how she is feeling. Ms. Valentine nods sadly and they open the mirror to walk back to the hospital.

“What will we tell Atlas and the rest of the group?” Swan questions trying to keep up with Alma’s brisk pace.

“Simply tell them she’s recovering and that they don’t need to worry, it’s none of their business anyway.”

“No you don’t understand, Atlas especially won’t stop there. The rest of her friends are just as concerned to and they won’t stop at ‘it’s not their business.’”

Alma sighed.

“Just figure it out, I blocked the mirrors in Ellie’s house and area after we left so they can’t find her, just tell them she’s safe and don’t say another word.” Alma replied.

Guess I can do that.

“Even though I won’t tell them anything I’m going to avoid them so I-“

“Swan!!” She heard Atlas yell from behind her.

Just lovely...

Beckett, Zeph, And Atlas jog up to the pair with worried expressions.

“Where’s Ellie?” Zeph asked.

“Yeah, you left!” Atlas added.

“Is Ellie safe?” Beckett’s forehead creased as he looked at them.

“I’m uh- I just- she!- I mean.” Swan stutterd

Oh boy, this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought...

Phew! Thank you for reading this weeks chapter, I was in writers block for a few days but it’s here and I’ve started on the next chapter for my mini series Vacationing With Distance so I hope you guys enjoy that as well!

-Sol💖

[zoffra]

Chapter 2 - Wedy

'You're angry?' Sharnalk asked in a soft voice. He leaned over Kortopi's shoulder as this once watched clouds from the window of their hotel room.

The latter nodded timidly, 'I wanted to go with Shizu and Franky.'

The young blond pated his head, 'They left to join Bono at the play circle. You're too young at the moment, but when you're older we'll go together and rob the slot machines! '

In front of Kortopi's pout who woudn't open one's mouth, he sighed and knelt front of him 'Listen, if you stop sulking I take you out to dinner and then we'll go to the cinema, what do you say that?'

This time Shalnark's words had hit the mark and Kortopi cheerfully looked up.

Of all the members, Shalnark was the one who best knew Kortopi. Sharnalk took care of him when Chrollo wasn't available. Brigade leader had taken the child under his wing by bringing him into the spider, and when the troupe wasn't on mission, they lived together. He had taught him the four main Nen principles, but it was with Sharnalk that he'd developed his Hatsu.

* BZZZ BZZZZ BZZZ *

Sharnalk was interrupted by his phone ringing, he locked himself in the bathroom to take the call. 'I listening to you Shizuku... I see... He gave you an address?.. What, so far?!... I'm not screaming! I'm just surprised that...'

Behind the door, Kortopi who listened attentively to the conversation, watched helpless his evening with his friend soar.

The young manipulator came out of the bathroom, scratching his head uncomfortably 'Topi, I'm sorry but we'll have to postpone our evening until later.' He rummaged in his pocket and handed him his wallet, 'Take my card and make deliver you what you want.'

Before slamming the door, he gave him a last wave, 'Be a good boy until I get back, okay? I don't be long.'

Over three hours had passed and Kortopi was fuming.

'I dOn'T bE LoNg', shitty liar

At this thought, a new motivation spread in Kortopi who felt even more frustrated and upset. In answer, he looked for bars, clubs, and other places not recommended for a child his age, when he came across an advert that caught his attention.

Thrilled, he quickly folded down PC screen, put on the brand new trench coat that Shizuku'd bought him the day before and took care to create a copy of himself which he placed under his duvet.

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

After taking wrong bus route and making the wrong path twice, Kortopi finally arrived across from what should have been a bar. He approached storefront and tiptoed, sticking his little hands against the glass to inspect interior. He took the piece of paper from his pocket, on which he'd scribbled address. Apprehensively, he decided to push the door open when a young woman about to go out pushed him.

She was tall, her blond hair down to her shoulders. She wore a pencil skirt split on the side and an elegant black suit which let glimpse her generous chest. A fur cap finalized her outfit which suited her wonderfully.

Pretty

'It's not a place for brats. Clear out.' She closed the door behind her, spitting that stinging reply Kortopi's face.

As the mortified child walked away from the bar, he heard the young woman shout to him, an amusement's hint in her voice, 'Materialization?'

The fact that she guessed his aura's type at one glance put him on guard. He quickly turned around, activated his Ren and positioned himself in front of her. She roared with laughter and activated her Nen in turn, 'Come on kid, stop it'.

At her aura's sight, Kortopi'd immediately knew that she'd have upper hand if she attacked him. He was several tens of meters away, but he could feel her aura's pressure, it was as if thousands of needles hit his face.

She walked slowly towards him, two hands raised to the sky showing she'd no evil intentions, and took out a cigarette from her package with her teeth. She stopped at his height and scanned the child from head to toe, 'There are bouncers in the basement. I suggest you a deal. You give me a hand and I'll get you in. '

Kortopi still listened her suspiciously.

The young woman lit her cigarette, 'I need this key's copy, you can do it, don't you?'

it's not just intuition, it's bad...

In front of a more powerful adversary who knew his abilities, Kortopi's victory chances just gone up in smoke. Having one's back to the wall, he choosed the wisest decision and complied.

'Up to fifty no problem. My copies aren't forever but I guess you already know that.' He replied bitterly.

Young woman noded, notifiying him he'd made the right decision, and blew smoke into his face. Kortopi wanted to make eat her cig.

'I only need one copy.' She handed him the key, and the child sat cross-legged out of sight.

Left hand of God, right hand of Devil

A small key appeared in his right hand, he returned the original to the young woman and put the copy in his pocket, 'Let me get in first.'

'A promise is a promise,' she smiled to him, 'by the way, I'm Wedy.'

Wedy had kept her promise. They'd discreetly entered through a small emergency door, leading them to the room's back, close to the stage.

'I held my promise. The key.' Wedy held out her hand, palm in the air towards Kortopi. She observed the key from all angles with meticulousness and invited him to dinner as a thank you, 'Good job, the copy is perfect'.

Kortopi ordered a plate of homemade fries and Wedy a lobster bisque as a starter. The waiter put down the dishes, served in a magnificent fine porcelain with gold leaf patterns.

The young woman devoured her dish with appetite, 'I'm looking for a book which contains a special power. When a person's name is written inside, that person dies.'

Kortopi smirked before bust of laughing, 'Don't make fun of me, it's impossible. Even a Nen Master could'nt obtain such an ability.'

'That's right, it's something else. This book contains a visibly less restrictive power than Nen, the user doesn't seem to need oaths and conditions to use it.'

The waiter came back with Wedy's truffle veal, she brought her nose to few inches to smell the scent, 'A few years ago, a Treasure-hunter brought this notebook from the dark continent. Three months later, this asshole got caught. I'll pass details but during his interrogation he admitted writing nearly 50 names a day. Only women, regardless of age. '

Her eyes flashed, 'He committed suicide just before his judgment.' She grabbed her glass and took a big sip, 'Unfortunately, the notebook wasn't found, he apparently would have given it to someone else, just before his arrest.'

'So you're looking for the new owner, do you have any leads? '

'Not on his identity, but his motivations are clearer. More than 10,000 criminals have been killed in Jappon since the notebook changed hands. Apparently, the new owner doesn't really like villains,' she pours herself a glass of wine, 'He has a lot of fans among the population, to the point that the Jappanese have given him the Kira's nickname.'

Wedy smiles mischievously, 'Class A bandits would have reason to worry, for example.' She rummaged through her bag and handed him a piece of paper, 'Look.'

Kortopi felt himself melt in his chair when he saw the photo, 'Ah, it's the phantom troupe. I heard a little about it, they got killed by the York-Shin Mafia, I saw it on TV.'

Wedy laughed loudly, 'Bullshits. Corpses were false. York-Shin Mafia has a good intelligence service but they can't work miracles,' She paused, probing the child's gaze, 'For example, if in administration eyes people doesn't exist, they'll not be able to find data concerning them.'

Korutopi felt a sweat drop bead on his forehead.

'I'm 99% sure they're alive. And I know names of 7 of them.' Wedy soaking up sauce from her plate. 'I plan to sell their identity to the press. If they're dead as everyone thinks, they'll just stay in the ground.' Her lips curved in a carnivorous smile. 'But, if they're living somewhere in this world, it will only be a matter of time before Kira writes their names in his little notebook.'

On the verge of faint, Kortopi asked in a weak voice, 'Why haven't you done it already?'

Wedy's eyes shone like sapphires, 'I figured maybe we could do another deal.'

Korutopi didn't reply. Tears began to bead in his eyes corner uncontrollably, he knew she wasn't bluffing.

Front of the child crestfallen looks, Wedy felt a little remorse, 'Listen, little brat. If you'll do what I tell you, we'll leave you alone.

[beautality]

Fears & Ferris Wheels

Series: Hunter x Hunter with original character(s) Ships: Implied Chrollo x Malachi (OC) Warnings: Internal minor anxiety Extra Notes: Much love and credit to @terminallydepraved for helping me! Thank you! ♥ This is my first piece of writing so it’s fairly short. Malachi’s art is also by me. Please ask permission before you start to critique!

Summary: The summer fair has arrived in town and being the charmer he is, Malachi convinces the troupe that they need to go. The bad news is that a certain magician is also inviting himself, determined to cause a little trouble as he always does. Fortunately, Chrollo knows how to get under Hisoka's skin just right so that he can steal Malachi away for a special ferris wheel ride.

He didn’t think it could ever be this way. It never played out in his mind that he could be here, at a dusty county fair with its trademark flashy amusement rides and sinfully greasy eats, feeling like he had his place in the world figured out among people who never failed to win his heart over again and again. The colorful lights of the fairgrounds strobed to a song Malachi knew all too well, but his thoughts were too preoccupied to focus on the lyrics.

These are the people who love me. Accept me. They might not always understand, but they try.

He gazed around at each and every person, his left hand propping up his chin and a bite of scone drenched with honey butter in his right. Most of them were laughing and talking with each other, boasting little to no cares about the world tonight other than keeping their hands from getting sticky with the syrup and grease on their deep fried treats, but two certain people were watching him. Hisoka scooted closer on Malachi’s left, a faint but musical hum coming from his throat.

“Are you going to eat that?”

Hisoka teased with his usual saccharine tone, pointing a sharp, neon purple nail at the sticky sweet snack between Malachi’s fingers. It took Mal a moment to snap back to reality before he looked Hisoka straight in the face and stuck the scone in his mouth. The silly reaction made Hisoka laugh as he crossed his arms on the table and leaned on them.

“Hm, I suppose that’s your answer. You seem distracted... Is there something wrong?”

Sharp golden eyes were fixated on Malachi as Hisoka awaited an answer. It wasn’t easy to give him one; Malachi had always struggled to convey his feelings in the form of spoken words.

Hisoka, why do you always put me on the spot? I almost think you want to see me flustered. No, I know you do. You’ve always been like that.

“I just... Was thinking about stuff? I mean like... Uh...”

He didn’t have to flounder for long before a warm, lilted voice interrupted and saved him from needing to reply.

“Malachi, what’s your favorite part of the fair?”

Chrollo was watching Malachi with a curious smile from his seat across the table, seeming to completely ignore Hisoka. From the look on the magician’s face, it was obvious that he was displeased, but he kept his lips pursed tight. It appeared that even he didn’t want to cause too much tension when everyone was having fun.

Malachi pretended to think about it momentarily, tapping a finger to his lips before grinning over at Chrollo. His heart felt like it was going to burst, but after all this time around the beloved head of the troupe, he’d started to expect it whenever they talked. Hell, it happened just when Chrollo looked at him, but he wasn’t complaining.

It’s usually the rides I look forward to every year. Right now though, it’s him. I want to see him have fun and experience the things he never got to as a kid. I want to see him smile. Not the one he does to fool people or the one he does when he’s curious, but the one he does when he’s enjoying himself.

“I love the rides ‘cause of the thrill. Maybe it’s different for you guys but I always enjoy the rush of excitement I get from them.”

He paused with a soft squeak, glancing away as his face reddened.

“My favorite is the ferris wheel though.”

“That’s not very thrilling, Malachi!”

Shalnark laughed off to the side with a lighthearted tease, earning a nervous glance from Malachi. Even though he wanted to explain himself, Mal just couldn’t do it when words continuously failed him. The feeling of anxiety started to get the better of him and he looked down at his hands to stay calm as his chest tightened.

No no no, don’t do this to yourself. Shal isn’t actually judging you, you need to stop. Please. This is a night for relaxing. There’s nothing to be upset about. Please, stop freaking out, you’re okay. You’re going to be fine.

Seeing Malachi start to panic, Chrollo spoke up again. This time he had that light in his eyes like he did when there was something new and interesting right in front of him.

“Let’s go ride then! I want to see what makes it your favorite. It‘ll be just you and me.”

For a brief moment, Chrollo glared at Hisoka, who had opened his mouth with the intent to invite himself. The other’s eyes narrowed in disdain and he dug his nails into his arms.

“I suppose I’ll have to steal Malachi later then. Enjoy yourselves.”

“I appreciate it, Hisoka! You’re so nice, sharing your friend with me.”

Chrollo clapped his hands together gleefully, a triumphant smile crossing his face as he stood to leave. Malachi’s eyes darted between the two as he slowly rose to follow.

I wonder if they’ll always be this way? It’s... It’s almost as if they might literally kill each other at any moment, but they manage to still get along fine at the same time somehow. I’m so glad that’s not the case between us.

Malachi joined Chrollo in a casual stride towards the ferris wheel, taking deep breaths and looking straight ahead as he matched steps with the man beside him. Chrollo noticed how stiff Mal looked and gently grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers together as they entered the waiting line.

“You’re important to all of us, you know.”

Chrollo... Is holding my hand?

“You bring a lot of happiness to my spiders.”

He is. He’s trying to comfort me again. But it feels... Genuine. It’s not like when people tell me I’ll be fine, that things will get better.

“You struggle a lot but you still put your heart into all that you do. Thank you for being you.”

This is too much, this is...

Malachi stared at Chrollo for a couple moments, a strange feeling overcoming him, and he realized what it was when tears threatened to pour over his cheeks. Chrollo’s smile was soft, warm, and completely real, one Malachi didn’t consider as a possibility before. If he had to pick a word to describe the emotion behind that look, it would probably be adoration.

This is love. I can’t help it, I truly love him.

After taking one more deep breath to compose himself, Malachi grinned back at Chrollo sheepishly. His cheeks were on fire but he paid no mind, instead squeezing the other’s hand. The touch was electrifying and he craved it.

“I’m so grateful to have all of you... Even Hisoka, I guess.”

He laughed softly, his ears perking up to show his mood lifting.

“But I should be thanking you too, Chrollo. You mean a lot to me and I--”

Before Malachi could confess his newly recognized feelings, the girl taking tickets cleared her throat and reached out for theirs. He hadn’t even noticed the line moving but Chrollo had it covered, lifting their entwined hands to show their bracelets for unlimited rides.

Wow, he’s on top of things and smooth as always. But... I should rethink telling him how I feel. That was close... And I don’t want to ruin things right now.

As Chrollo pulled him towards the open car excitedly, Mal bit his lip but managed to keep his anxiety at bay for the moment. Even though the car was big enough for six people or so, he took a spot nearest the door so he could look out over the fair. Chrollo claimed the seat next to him and inspected the inside with wide eyes.

“It’s a wonder that these old machines don’t just fall apart.”

He murmured as he stared up at the ceiling, although he didn’t seem at all nervous. Then again, Chrollo didn’t seem to worry too much about anything. That was something Malachi found amazing about him.

“They have inspections and procedures, but I think it adds to the thrill in a way!”

Malachi’s tail curled up high and wagged furiously as the cars started to move. Chrollo jolted just a bit at the sudden jerk and Mal couldn’t help but giggle.

“Well, since you mentioned thrills...”

Chrollo looked over with an unamused pout, crossing his arms as if he were about to chastise Malachi. A mischievous grin crossed the younger’s face as he tried to quiet his giggling.

“What makes the ferris wheel your favorite? It’s not fast and it doesn’t flip you upside-down like many of the other rides.”

The pout eased back into Chrollo’s intrigued smile as he moved his hands to settle in his lap. Looking out over the wall of the car, Mal waited to answer until they were near the top, the ride stopping for more people to get on.

“It’s not the same rush of adrenaline I get from the other rides. I’m so scared of heights, scared of feeling like I’m going to fall. But what makes it worth the fear is seeing down below.”

As Malachi spoke, Chrollo peered over the wall behind him. He saw the darkness of the parking field, barely lit by the carnival next to it. For a moment he was a little lost, but Mal gently pulled him over to look at the fairgrounds below.

“You can see Fei shoving a pie in Phinks’s face at the table. Bonolenov and Franklin are over at the game booths, watching Shizuku win countless prizes. Uvo, Paku, Machi, and Shal are doubled over laughing at Nobu, who just ran straight into a front window of the fun house.”

Mal’s eyes were lit up with joy as he pointed out the other troupe members from above. Chrollo watched him with fascination but still wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at.

“Even though I’m scared to be here, I can see how happy everyone is so clearly. Not just the troupe but other families, groups of friends, and... You know, couples.”

He laughed slightly in embarrassment but kept his eyes looking down below. The two sat in silence for a brief moment before Chrollo broke it.

“You don’t just mean the ferris wheel anymore, do you?”

He leaned over and rested his shoulder against Malachi’s. The motion startled Mal for a split second but he reciprocated it, happy to be this close to Chrollo. They both knew the answer and the silence returned again, this time warm and comforting.

He’s right, I don’t mean the ferris wheel anymore. I’m scared to be here, to be alive, but seeing people smile makes it worth facing those fears. Chrollo’s here with me though. He’s the one who keeps me from falling. I think I’ll be fine.

The two of them stayed quiet and soaked in the blissful moment before it was their turn to get off. Neither of them had to say anything as they clasped hands again either. They just walked back towards the rest of the troupe with knowing smiles on their faces.

No, I know I’ll be fine. That’s because I’m loved.