#i finished the leon mask and was like… ah i’m done!

[dovalore]

leon mask | ceramic leon mask

[nix-the-cryptid]

Actions Have Consequences

Professor AU! Heisenberg x Gender Neutral! AFAB! Reader

Part three of my series

WARNING!! 18+ NSFW

Tags: Punishment, misuse of rulers, praise, on top of a desk, minor overstimulation, minor orgasm denial

Summary: Y/n ends up getting punished for some avoidable mistakes. But, it may or may not end up working out in the end.  

During class, Y/n’s mind kept going back to what Mr. Heisenberg had said about “disciplinary actions” and having to work on Y/n’s “listening skills.” If they were honest, y/n was a little nervous. Heisenberg was known for being harsh on students who didn’t follow the rules or do their work properly. Getting yelled at by him was not something you admitted to freely. But, with how their relationship was working out, y/n realized that their “punishment” may end up being a bit different.

Thinking on their relationship over the past little while had y/n thinking about a lot of stuff. Ever since that first time together, almost two weeks ago, they almost always ended up having sex after class. Not that y/n minded, of course. But was that all there was between them? What would happen when classes were done for the year? Y/n graduated this year, too, so then what? The thought of never getting to spend time with Mr. Heisenberg like that made y/n’s heart sink harder than they realized. They enjoyed Professor Heisenberg’s company and it was becoming obvious they wanted more out of the relationship. But they doubted it would go over well if they brought this up with him. Y/n doubted that Mr. Heisenberg would want to commit himself to such a relationship with a student. The pain in y/n’s gut deepened at this thought, a lump catching in their throat as they felt like wanting to cry. Y/n quickly shook their head of the thought, coming back to reality.

Apparently, the class was meant to take some notes on whatever Mr. Heisenberg had presented but, just as y/n came to, it was over, and they hadn’t written down a single thing. Chances were Mr. Heisenberg most likely noticed at some point but didn’t say anything.

“Alright, now that we’ve gotten through that,” He exclaimed, grabbed his things from the desk. “Let’s head to the shop and work on those practical assignments. Maybe get them done today, yeah?” Y/n groaned as they began packing their things, noticing that there was still a whole 50 minutes left of class.  2pm simply could not come fast enough. They soon followed Mr. Heisenberg out the door and down to the lab, almost wanting to walk beside him but deciding against so as to not draw too much attention to themselves. Mr. Heisenberg was wearing a black t-shirt today, but like always, it was just a bit too tight on him. Y/n saw, just at the base of Heisenberg’s neck were some faint red marks. Squinting a bit to get a closer look, y/n soon realized that they had left those marks a couple days ago. They blushed furiously at this thought, wondering how many of the others might have noticed those marks at any point and if anyone had asked about them.

 “Hey, y/n!” One of the other students, Leon, called out. He was one of the better students in the class and was nice enough. His voice startled y/n out of their staring at Mr. Heisenberg. He and Y/n had been working together on the current assignment. “Do anything fun last night?” Y/n had to suppress a small noise at this question, a small blush forming on their face. ‘yeah, totally! I got railed by Professor Heisenberg in the shop after class!’ they thought to themselves.

 “Uh, no,” They laughed awkwardly, rubbing their neck. Leon’s face sank a bit at this. “Not really. I just went home and did some studying.” Leon just nodded. “I don’t go out much. And of course, by the time I get home and finish any work, I’m just too tired to really do anything.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Leon agreed. He then glanced at Professor Heisenberg for a bit before smirking. “Ya know, whoever left those scratch marks on his neck there,” He whispered to y/n making them blush deeply. “They’re one lucky fuckin bitch.”

 “Well, I’ll be sure to let them know, Leon.” Heisenberg smirked, making Leon let out a squeak of embarrassment. Y/n did their best to stifle their laughter as Heisenberg unlocked the doors to the shop, letting everyone else enter.

 “Well,” Leon exclaimed. “I can never look our Prof in the eye ever again!” y/n chuckled at this before blushing a bit more. ‘If only you knew,’ they thought. ‘If only you fucking knew.’

  “Yo, Sir!!” Another student exclaimed. “Whose car is that?!!” Y/n furrowed their brow before noticing the Cadillac at the back of the shop. ‘funny, wonder who’s that is. It kinda looks like- OH NO!’ y/n’s brows shot up and their eyes widened. That was Professor Heisenberg Series 62, uncovered meaning y/n had forgot to cover it the night before like they were supposed to. ‘shitshitshit’ They looked over to Mr. Heisenberg, who had also gone wide eyed at the sight. ‘Now I’m really in for it after class.’ Heisenberg shot them a hard glare, signaling his disappointment at the scene. However, he quickly masked it before turning to the student who had noticed it.

“Ah, that beauty?” Heisenberg sighed. “She’s all mine! Brought her to get her working again. Didn’t have the equipment needed back home.” Professor Heisenberg explained. “Bitch needed a whole new engine, practically.” Y/n could feel the jealousy building with each word. Heisenberg looked at them and must’ve noticed as his expression softened a little. Y/n then watched a number of students rush over. ‘They’re gonna ruin the paint!’ Now y/n was angry. Not just with their classmates but with themselves for not putting the cover back on. 

 “Uh sir,” A female student piped up. “There’s a dent in the hood…” y/n’s eyes went wide. They knew exactly what that dent was from. Seeing Heisenberg’s face showed that he also realized what it was from. 

 “I must’ve been so busy repairing the engine, I must not have fucking noticed!” He laughed nervously. Y/n watched as Heisenberg blushed at this, their own blush forming as they tried not to laugh.

  “Well, do you need any help with it, sir?” Leon asked.

“NO!” Heisenberg blurted out, rather fast and loud. Y/n let out a chuckle at this. “No, I’m close to being done. But you all could do better on your tests, I wouldn’t spend as much time having to mark them!” The class let out a collective groan, except for y/n. The pang of jealousy still sat heavy in their gut. And meeting Heisenberg’s gaze showed that they weren’t doing too well at hiding it. His stare was intense and dominating. Y/n lessened their pout a bit, but they were still upset with themselves over not covering the car and having everyone see it.

 ————————

 “Alright see you Monday, everyone!” Mr. Heisenberg called out as everyone got up to leave. Y/n hung back, taking their time to clean up. 

 “Hey, y/n!” Leon called out, as he threw his bag over his shoulder. “I was meant to ask you if you wanted to hang out. A few of us are getting together at my place for the afternoon.”  Y/n stammered a little, watching Professor Heisenberg pack up his own things. He glanced up, waiting for y/n’s answer. “I can give you a ride if you need. I know you walk to school and all so… It wouldn’t be any trouble.” As much as y/n knew they should socialize with their classmates, today was the absolute worst day to have been asked. They would’ve said yes but, they also didn’t want to be in anymore trouble with Mr. Heisenberg, no matter how enjoyable the punishment really would be.

        “Uh, actually,” y/n started. “I’ve got another class today, so I’ll pass.” They looked back to Heisenberg to see him give another glance before continuing packing his things. Leon must’ve noticed this because he cocked a brow at y/n.

      “I thought this was your last class,” He pondered.

        “One of my other classes had to be moved to the afternoons recently.” Y/n lied. Leon’s expression neutralized at this, meaning he accepted it.

“Oh, okay. Maybe next time.” The other student shrugged. He then headed out of the class. Y/n let out a shaky breath before they turned back to their things and finished packing, hearing Mr. Heisenberg approach. They stiffened a bit but continued what they were doing.

 “I’m disappointed, y/n,” he stated, coming to lean against y/n’s station. “First, you don’t listen before class. Then, I found out you didn’t cover the convertible?” Y/n hung their head in shame. 

“I’m sorry, sir.” They replied, keeping their head bowed but peeking up at their professor. “I completely forgot to cover the car last night.” They heard Heisenberg scoff.

“You know I was going to wait until we got back to the classroom but after this, well, shit.” Heisenberg grabbed a hold of y/n’s chin, forcing them to look at him, smirking. “It looks like we’ll just have to settle things right. Fucking. Here.” Y/n gulped, slightly nervous about what was coming. “Get in my office. Now.” Heisenberg let go y/n’s face roughly and pointed to the office. “Go on.” With that, Y/n quickly headed to the small room, Professor Heisenberg close behind. “You’re normally such a good student, too. I’m shocked that you’d let yourself slip like this.”

  “It won’t happen again, Mr. Heisenberg,” Y/n whined.

 “Apologies aren’t gonna get you out of trouble that fucking easily, y/n.” Heisenberg growled as they entered the office. He made a show of slamming the office door shut and locking it. He also closed the blinds to the door but not the other windows. “So, we need to work on those listening skills of yours.”

“How?” Y/n asked sheepishly. Heisenberg just grinned as he took a seat in his office chair and began piling the rest of his papers together on the desk.

“Well, first, you’re gonna strip.” He ordered. Y/n made quick work of their clothes, watching Professor Heisenberg clear everything off the desk. They hadn’t noticed before, but the desk was metal, which meant the cold air from the AC in the shop had chilled it, even with everything on top of it. When Heisenberg finished, he turned to y/n and simply stared for a moment, taking in their naked body. Y/n shifted slightly, keeping eye contact with their professor. “Eager to please, as always.” Mr. Heisenberg chuckled. “Bend over the desk. Now. And pass me that ruler while you’re at it.” Y/n looked to the wooden ruler hanging next to the desk. Their eyes went wide when they realized what Heisenberg was planning on doing. Y/n simply passed the ruler to the professor and slowly leaned themselves over the desk. They winced a bit at the cold metal against their skin. However, the shiver that down their spine was not from the cold. Heisenberg chuckled at this, bringing a hand to their ass and began massaging it a bit. “You know what, hands behind your back. C’mon.” Y/n complied with haste. As they did this, Heisenberg’s hand left their ass. But before y/n could make any sound to protest, they heard the sound of Heisenberg undoing his belt. Turning to see just what he was doing, Y/n watched as Mr. Heisenberg stood up, took the ruler in his teeth, and used his belt to tie y/n’s wrists together. The leather of the belt bit into their skin just a bit, making y/n hiss a bit. They then looked up at Heisenberg to see him take hold of the ruler again, smirking. “You look so fucking nice like this, y/n! Now, I want to hear you count, got it?” Y/n nodded, gulping.

“Understood, sir!” Y/n blurted out. SMACK! “AHH! ONE!!” Y/n cried out, both in pleasure and pain. The force was brutal and sent them forward a bit, which made their nipples rub against the cold metal of the desk. This intensified the pool of arousal in their gut. SMACK! “TWO!!” Y/n sobbed.

 “Ya know, maybe I should’ve let some of the other students help with the car,” Heisenberg mused, letting the ruler rest against the sore cheek. “Would’ve saved you some trouble.” He lifted the ruler up, waiting a bit.

 “But sir-“ SMACK! SMACK! “AAAHH! THREEEEEFFFFOUR!” Y/n felt tears stinging their eyes. The arousal building up from this was growing fast. SMACK! “FIVE! Fuuuccckkk!” They heard Heisenberg laugh behind them. He then grabbed their tied hands and bent over them.

 “Or would that have just pissed you off, kitten?” He growled in their ear. They whimpered as Professor Heisenberg pressed against their back, his hard cock rubbing up along their back. y/n let out a whine at the feeling. “All those students messing with your hard work, putting their fucking fingers all over the paint? I saw your face when everyone rushed over to it.” Heisenberg lifted himself back off of y/n, who groaned at the loss of contact. Suddenly, Heisenberg was rubbing the cheek slowly, as if trying to soothe the pain. “Ready to continue?” He asked, his voice somewhat gentle.

         “Yes Mr-“ SMACK! “HEISENBERG!! FUCK, SIX!!” Now he was focusing on the left cheek. The tears that had welled in y/n’s eyes fell, finally as they lurched forward from the force of the hit. SMACK! “JESUS!! SE-“ SMACK! “-VENNNNEIGHT!!!” Y/n was full on crying, the pained pleasure causing the arousal in their gut to become a bit too much. Y/n felt themselves clench around nothing, their slick just soaking their folds and the insides of their thighs. SMACK! “NINE! FFFUUUCCKK MEEEEE!!!” Y/n sobbed, feeling themselves right on the edge of their orgasm.

 “Oh?” Heisenberg purred, resting the ruler against their ass. “Is something wrong, Y/n?” Heisenberg knew exactly what was wrong. But watching y/n squirm and try to choke out an answer was too fun.

“Please sir, I’m so-“ SMACK!!! “CLLLOOSEEEFUCK!” Heisenberg slammed the ruler hard against both cheeks, with more force than the last ones. They screamed at this, so close to finishing and yet not close enough. It was almost torture. “TENNNNNNNN” Y/n sobbed, tears streaming down their face. They then heard the ruler be tossed to the side somewhere. Y/n then moved to push themselves off the desk as best they could when Mr. Heisenberg pushed their head back down. He then shoved his hand in between their legs, landing on y/n’s clit. “SIRRRRR” The screamed as he began to harshly rub the oversensitive bud. However, this only lasted a little bit, before Heisenberg pulled away. Y/n sobbed, merely wanting to come now.

 “Shit, you really did enjoy that, huh?”  Y/n could only whine in response “You did good, kitten.” He mused, untying their hands. “But we’re not done yet.” Y/n let out another whimper. “Sit up and face me.”  Y/n then braced themselves and pushed up off the desk, their legs barely able to keep them upright. They then shifted themselves around to face Professor Heisenberg. As they went to sit, the cold metal against their raw cheeks stung fiercely. They shrieked at the feeling, which then turned in to a pained whimper. “Aww, is it cold against your bruised ass? Well, you’ll just have to endure it for a bit longer.” With that, Y/n watched as Professor Heisenberg began stripping, his pace slow. It was like he was putting on a show for y/n, who could only squirm against the cold desk. “Damn, what a fucking sight you are.” He growled as he slowly removed his shirt. “I’m still reeling from Leon’s comment earlier too.” He joked. Y/n blushed as they remembering what their classmate had noticed. “Part of me, a very evil part me, wanted to implicate that it wasn’t just anyone who left those marks.” Y/n whined, squirming more. “Bet that would’ve been quite the punishment on its own.” Heisenberg slipped off his boxers, stepping out of them and approaching y/n. “Oh, you know I would never do that to you, Kitten.” He purred, moving close to y/n, leaning over them to kiss them. His hand then made its way down to y/n’s pubic mound, his fingers slipping between their folds. Y/n moaned loudly at this, bracing themselves against Mr. Heisenberg as he began to run his fingers up and down their cunt, just missing their clit. They were extremely sensitive down there, as they had yet to come still. Heisenberg made quick work of their folds and clit, rubbing fiercely. “Come for me y/n.” With that, Y/n screamed out in pure pleasure, coming hard and drenching Heisenberg’s hand in their juices. Once they had started to come down, Heisenberg gently grabbed their waist and brought them both over to the chair taking a seat, placing y/n in his lap facing him. Once they did, he gently grabbed their ass and began massaging them. “How do you feel, y/n?” He purred as y/n wrapped their arms around his neck and rested their head against his chest.

 “A bit sore,” Y/n whined slightly. "But, you seem to be in need of some relief.” Y/n purred as they attempted to push back against Heisenberg’s dick. The man groaned at this feeling, squeezing y/n’s ass a bit to keep them still. Heisenberg could see the exhaustion starting to take a hold of y/n but the feeling of their drenched cunt against his dick was hard to resist. 

 “I don’t want you to overexert yourself, Buttercup.” Heisenberg’s voice was soft as he went into kiss y/n’s neck. This made y/n hum in pleasure. “I was pretty fucking hard on you.”

 “I want to, sir.” Y/n repositioned themselves over top of him, taking a hold of his dick. They slowly lowered themselves, the slow push hitting every nerve in their cunt. Both y/n and Heisenberg. let out a long and loud moan as they sat themselves down, taking in his full length.

 “God, you feel so good, y/n” Heisenberg hissed, grabbing their waist, and gently lifting them up before pulling them back down, thrusting up a bit. Y/n gasped at the feeling, quickly wrapping their arms around Heisenberg’s neck again. Y/n then matched Heisenberg’s movements, lifting themselves up and coming back down. They felt themselves clench around his member, drawing a moan from his lips. “Fuck!” Suddenly, He grabbed Y/n’s legs and stood up. Y/n shrieked, tightening their hold on Mr. Heisenberg. He placed them back down on the desk, which was still cold, making y/n arch their back from the feeling. “Cold still?” Heisenberg joked, kissing their neck again.

 “Yesss,” Y/n hissed, trying to grind down on Heisenberg’s dick since he wasn’t moving. “Please, sir.” They whined. Heisenberg lifted his head from y/n neck and looked them in the eye before standing up and pulling y/n’s arm off. “Please fuck me.” They begged. Heisenberg smiled as he grabbed onto y/n thighs before pulling almost all the way out and thrusting back in hard. Y/n let out a small scream that quickly turned into a moan as Heisenberg continued slamming into them.

“Always so perfect like this,” Heisenberg grunted, squeezing y/n’s thighs tight enough where there was a slight sting. Y/n whined at the sensation, tossing their head to the side. “Oh no, look at me.” Mr. Heisenberg growled, grabbing a hold of y/n’s chin, and yanking it so they were facing him. This caused y/n to gasp, grabbing onto his wrist. “I want to see those beautiful eyes of yours while I fuck you senseless.” Y/n moaned again, quickly locking their legs around Heisenberg and bringing him closer. As they did this, he took a hold of their waist with his other hand and lifted them up, shifting the angle. This caused his thrusts to hit deeper into y/n, making the pleasure increase. “You love this, don’t you? When I fuck you like this?” He growled, leaning forward a bit and pulling y/n’s face closer.

 “Yes, sir!” Y/n moaned. Heisenberg gave a couple hard thrusts at this answer, drawing the moan out. “I love it when you fuck me, Sir!”

“That’s a good girl,” Heisenberg purred, letting out of y/n’s neck, and moving his hand down their side. “My good little kitten.” This drew another moan from Y/n, enjoying the praise. The hand that had snaked down y/n’s soon made itself known again as Heisenberg began rubbing their clit. The sudden feeling of his hand on their nub drew an incredibly loud gasp from them that then devolved into a whine, seeing as they were still somewhat sensitive there. “All the noises you make are. Just. Fucking. Perfect.” Heisenberg emphasized each of those words with a hard thrust. Y/n’s cunt then clenched hard around his length, making him moan as well, which turned into a small chuckle. “Do you like it when I praise you, Buttercup?” Y/n just nodded, unable to form a coherent enough thought to actually respond. Heisenberg just chuckled before leaning in for another kiss and picking up speed. Y/n mewled into the kiss, the sensation sending them right to the edge again. “Are you about to cum again, y/n?” Heisenberg asked softly, breaking the kiss. Y/n could only moan in response. “Well, then. Go on. Cum. But. Scream. My real name when. You do.” His hips stuttered as he spoke, making the words come out in moans. He then began thrusting even faster, bringing y/n over the edge.

“KAAAARLLL!” Y/n screamed, arching their back as they came. Heisenberg also came at this, thrusting as deep as he could and filling y/n. The warmth of his seed flooding y/n’s insides, making them moan even more. The two remained like that for several minutes as they came down and caught their breath.

“God, that was… shit” Heisenberg said, still somewhat breathless. He slowly pulled out and let go of y/n, pulling a whine from them at the loss. “Think you can stand, Buttercup?” He asked. Y/n lifted their head to look at him, nodding slightly. Heisenberg  offered his hands for them to take and use him as leverage. Y/n sat up with a groan, the feeling of Heisenberg’s seed dripping out being an odd sensation. Professor Heisenberg opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a small rag, which he then used to wipe up any cum dripping down y/n’s legs. They moaned softly at the feeling, biting their lip, and crossing their arms over their chest. Once he was done, Heisenberg  sat down in the office chair, beaming at y/n. “Come ‘ere, kitten.” Y/n pushed themselves off the desk and wobbled over into Heisenberg’s lap. “You did so well. Listened to everything I asked. A+ performance.” He purred, pulling y/n close to his chest, and stroking their hair.

“Thank you, sir.” They yawned, exhaustion filling their muscles now that the adrenaline from their arousal has subsided. Heisenberg let out a small chuckle, moving his hand down y/n’s back.

 “I told you,” He started, his voice low. “Use my name.” Suddenly, y/n was wide awake. They lifted themselves off of Heisenberg’s chest to look right at him. They were wide eyed, furrowing their brow at his comment. “What’s that fuckin look for, y/n?”

 “Sir, I-“ Y/n stammered. Heisenberg just hushed them, pulling them back to his chest.

 “Shhhh,” He hummed. “Just relax.” The two of them were silent for a good bit after this. It wasn’t tense, however. Simply reveling in each other’s presence. But this time felt different. Their relationship had shifted. Whether it was a good thing or not, only time would tell. Y/n felt the full extent of the exhaustion that had been piling on them, their eyelids growing too heavy to keep open. Another yawn slipped out of them as they snuggled into Heisenberg. He placed another kiss to the top of y/n head and muttered something else they couldn’t quite catch before y/n drifted off.

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

And there ya have it!! Again, if you have any requests for future chapters, feel free to leave it in my inbox!! And if you wanna be tagged for future fics, just lemme know!!

@stararch4ngell4dy @fredyria @kuronekopirate @weathur @1800shootmeplease

[goldenspecter]

Cosmo’s TMNT Masterpost

(Rise, 2003, 2012, and others)

Here’s where you can find pretty much everything I’ve ever made for the TMNT fandom! Fanfics here[haven’t gotten the courage to post fanart here yet], hope you guys enjoy my work. Reblogs are appreciated!

Fanfics

1. Finding my way home(and moving forward)

Out of sheer curiosity, Leonardo and Donatello looked up, and there it was.

A portal.

Had the Universe really taken pity on them? Had it really heard his desperate prayers for one more chance?

It was not like the ones they had seen before, it was an irregular circle made up of several shades of blue, completely different from the perfect and symmetrical pink triangles of the Kraang.

Leonardo and Donatello looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, "Should we go in?" Donatello asked, almost shouting, drawing the attention of the others, who quickly turned to the portal and to see each other, then the two brothers in question.

"It's our best bet, and our only chance," replied Leonardo.

Or rather, with the 2012 kids' home gone, they end up in the Rise verse after a strange portal shows up. Therapy is needed, and start the slow process of healing from their trauma.

(Rise/2012, Work in Progress, written with @keeryd​ )

2. Strawberry Cookies:

"Mikey here was just about to tell me what we could do to cheer Raph up while he's sick," Donnie says. "Mikey continue?"

Now that Mikey had both of his older brothers attention, he grins. "I was thinking we make strawberry cookies!" He does his jazz hands as he says this and is met with looks of something that he can only put as disapproval. "What?"

"You do know that everytime that we have tried to make it-" Donnie starts.

"We mess it up and Raph has to come in and save our butts from burning the cookies?" Leo finishes, "What would be different this time?"

Mikey huffs, "We are doing this so we can cheer him up and to prove that we can do something on our own!" he says, "That's what got Raph sick in the first place!"

Or rather, Raph gets sick after helping his brothers recover from the poisoned pizza puffs. Mikey, Donnie, and Leo take a shot at baking cookies for Raph while trying not to burn their kitchen down.

(One shot, complete)

 3. Chicken Fried Rice:

“I only poured in half a pot of rice,” Donnie complained.

Mikey stared at him, really stared at him before he spoke. “You do realize that rice expands when cooked right?” he said, “You do realize that?”

Donnie was silent, looking away from Mikey.

“Donnie!”

Donnie makes chicken fried rice. Mikey watches over. Shenanigans and brotherly fluff ensue.

one shot in which Donnie is in the kitchen, cooking rice and Mikey, Mikey is positive he should have gotten Donnies braincell. 

(One shot, complete)

 4. Tea Time with Hortense and Patty: 

"Sooo," Raph starts. She's always been weird with awkward silences. "Are these grandma kinning hours?"

"Grandma hours!" Mikey exclaims excitedly. "Grandma time!!!"

"Ah, if it isn't our favorite girl and her little brother!" Hortense tilts her head over in their direction slightly. "Are you going to join us? We were just about done arguing," she says.

---

Today is Tea Time. Two old ladies have a tea party, one of them forgets to bring the food, and they are joined by Mikey and Raph. A good time is still had.

(One Shot, Complete)

5. One of those Days

When Donnie woke up this morning, he woke up with the familiar thrum of anger and irritation running through his body with more intensity than normal. Rubbing the crust out of the corners of his sleep-addled eyes, he jerkily grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm. It's one of Those Days, Donnie noted. Those Days where Donnie isn't capable of handling Mikey's over-enthusiastic optimism or Leon's chaotic trickster nature. His safest bet is to hang out with Raph, his calm and mellow demeanor always helped calm down before Donnie went on a rage fest and say anything he couldn't take back.

Or, Donnie and Raph help each other out, balance each other, and make things a little less difficult.

(One Shot, Complete) 

 6. Gift Hunting: 

“It’s Leo. Tiny Leo,” the voice answers. “I need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t say until you say yes first,” Leo says. “It’s really important though.”

Angelo is silent, weighing his options. He could say no, he really could-

“Please, Angelo, you’re the only one who can really help me with this,” Leo pleads.

Rather, Angelo and Leonardo go out in the streets of New York to help the blue banded turtle find gifts for his brothers' sixteenth mutation day. Bonding and fluff ensues.

(One Shot, Complete)

 7. Aftermath:

“Raphie bear?” Mikey called out, gently tapping Raph, with relief washing him when Raph turned his head to face him. “What’s the matter teddy bear?”

“Th-thi-this doesn’t feel real.” Raph stuttered out, his voice cracking as a sob broke through. “I’m not really here. Neither are you and everyone else. I’m still alone with Draxum and his minions. No one’s coming to save me because I was stupid enough to get captured and no one wants such a worthless turtle like me.”

In which Raph was kidnapped and tortured by Baron Draxum and his family has to deal with the aftermath of it.

(One Shot, Complete)

 8. To Be the Eldest

Donnie, the second youngest in his family, wishes he was the eldest for once. Then one night, Donnie gets his wish granted and now he was three small turtles in his care.

Donnie adjusts to being the eldest, comes to some realizations, and makes a promise to his (now) younger brothers.

(Work In Progress)

 9. Wanted: Snaggletooth 

Dr. Noel bent down on his knees in front of Raph, a manic smile that showed too many teeth coming about on his face speaking of pain and suffering that has yet to come. He stretched out his hand towards Raph’s face, placing a thumb under his mouth, pressing into his snaggletooth. “Beautiful. Just as I expected,” he crooned, pulling out a syringe and injecting it into Raph’s neck, pushing the contents of the syringe into his system.

Raph’s eyes fluttered as he started losing consciousness, watching through hooded eyes as Dr. Noel's smile grew even wider, with his last thought right as darkness consumed him being that he hoped his family would find him before it was too late.

Post S2 Finale, Dr. Noel remembers Raphael, his snaggletooth, and manages to find and capture the red masked turtle. It doesn't end well for Raphael.

(Work In Progress)

 10. Dimensional Differences:

They bow. Not like one of those pretentious bows like she would do at Yokai parties and not like the ones she would do with her brothers when they hosted tea parties. They bowed deeply, heads stopping at her stomach, one hand closing around their fists. This spoke of respect and honor.

And that unnerved her a little bit. Why are they bowing so deeply?

“Thank you,” they said in unison. It’s unnerving to April and she felt the uneasiness coming from her brothers too.

“Why are you thanking me?” She said finally, voice sounding foreign to her.

“You saved my life?” Baby Leo said slowly, voice tinged with confusion. “That was an honorable thing to do?”

April blinked, “It shouldn’t be considered honorable for doing what any big sister would do,” she said. “That’s not honor, that’s just being a good older sibling.”

In which April, Sunita, Casey, and the turtles end up in the 2012 verse after a mishap with Leo's ōdachi and stay with the 2012 turtles until they can go home. They find out a lot of things that don't quite jive with them. Some things are the same, some things are different and they're not quite sure how to handle those differences.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

 11. Mind Meld Part Deux:

“Oh thank Galileo that you all are back to normal!”

“What do you mean we’re back to normal?” Raph questioned, pulling back from the hug. Mikey and Leo also pulled back to stare at Donnie. “We’ve-we’ve always been like this?”

Donnie went quiet. He shouldn’t have said that.

“Donnie, what did you do?”

The brothers found out about Donnie’s Mental Intelligence Reprogrammulator. Arguments are had, words are said, words that tear a rift between him and his family, and it’s up to Donnie to earn his brothers’ forgiveness. The only thing is, will he get it?

(Work In Progress)

 12. I'm a little kid and so are you(don't you go and grow up before I do):

The 2003 turtles somehow, someway ended up in the Rise verse, with Rise Splinter and his turtle tots, and stay with them while the boys try to figure out their way home. 2003 Raphael got attached to his tiny counterpart the moment he laid eyes on the tot. (Raph centric)

(Rise/2003, Work In Progress)

 13. Dimensional Self-Isolation

Post S2 Finale, Raph finds himself trapped in the 2012 universe and has a difficult time coping with all of the differences that this world has in store for him. From new villains, unfamiliar familiar faces, and the way the 2012 boys and Splinter treat each other and him, Raph has a heavy plate on his hands during his long term stay.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

14. A Collection of Turtle Thoughts

A collection of drabbles and ficlets about Turtles I've been writing since October 2020. Ranges from humor to hurt/comfort, I have it all.

Requests are open. SFW only though.

(All Iterations, Work in Progress)

If y’all reblog, read, and share my work, I’d really appreciate that! Anything and everything is appreciated, money or not! Thanks folks 🐢💕

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight)

“Alright, alright, is everyone here?” Blaze glanced around at the table of folks she’d gotten together at her usual bar. “Good. First things first: the Doctor, Bunny, and Kal’tsit can’t figure out what we’re up to, kapeesh?”

“Obviously. It’s pretty hard to surprise someone when they know something is coming,” Click agreed, messing with her camera settings as they talked. She wanted to be sure she was the first person to get the Doc’s face on camera.

Nearl looked a little uneasy, sitting in her chair. “This all seems rather in poor taste, skulking about like criminals.”

“Hey, you’re here, too,” Rope commented. “Don’t get all high and mighty on us, ‘ma’am.’”

“Right, I apologize...Miss Blaze?”

The Feline came back to earth from her musing on the Doctor’s face. “Don’t worry about the Miss, Nearl. Alright, I’m really bad at plans, so does anyone have one?”

“Hmm...Where does our Doctor spend the most time?” Leonhardt asked, looking around the table. “In the office, right?”

“When not in her room, yes,” Gravel confirmed, a knowing smile on her face.

Rope raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure the Doctor’s a woman?”

“Oh, I’m quite sure~” Her smile spoke for itself. “It will be fun to see how you all go about this, though.”

“If they spend most of their time in their office, then maybe we can set up an ambush in the hallway. Trip them with one of Rope’s tethers, go to help them up and ‘accidentally’ slip the mask off their face?”

Blaze nodded. “Seems like a start to me. Leon, you came up with that idea, so you and Rope can work together on it. Let’s say that’s Plan A. Who’s got a second option?”

“Ooh, I think I have one.” Utage grinned. This plotting thing was pretty fun, it turned out. “They have to eat at some point, right? Get them talking while they’re having lunch, sneak some recording in while they do.”

“Yeah that seems fine. Nearl, you cook the best out of anyone here, so can you take care of that?”

The knight nodded. “That does seem to be one of the more honorable ways to participate in this quest.”

“I’ve got one.” Gravel raised her hand. “Why not just ask?”

“...Last resort. Alright, I think this takes care of our first meeting. Click, you know what to do, so just get in there and make some movie magic. The rest of us? We have our assignments.”

Rope cocked her head. “And what are you gonna be doing during all of this?”

“Me? I’m as subtle as a sledgehammer. You really want me helping out?”

“...Good point.” The Cautus sighed. “Alright, Leon, let’s talk about what kind of tethers you’re thinkin’...”

--- ----- ---

“And...action!” Click whispered from the shadows as the door to the Doctor’s office opened, allowing her to slip in as Utage brought in a lunch bag for them.

“Good morning, Doctor.” She set the bag on their desk. “It’s about time for lunch, isn’t it?”

They nodded, their voice - as usual - muffled by their mask but still perfectly audible. “Yes, it is. You brought this for me?”

“Miss Nearl would have brought it herself, but she’s busy with some other things, so I volunteered to bring it to you. Dig in!”

“Oh, I will.” The bag remained undisturbed as their hands ran up and down the keyboard in a hail of keystrokes. “Not at the moment, however. I have to finish this report before the words leave me.”

Utage sighed - she’d hoped to be there when the main event happened. “Very well. Have a good day, alright?”

“Oh, I plan to. It should be a film-worthy one.” Was it just Click, or did their head tilt ever-so-slightly her direction when they said that? Nah, probably just coincidence.

‘Man, they’re good,’ the record-keeper had to admit. ‘But I’ve got the fastest red-button hands this side of Higurashi, so good luck getting past me, Doctor. One way or another, I’m gonna see what’s behind that mask of yours. Believe it.’

Their report seemed to be quite a long one, however, as it was thirty or so minutes before they stopped typing and turned their attention to the bagged lunch. Slowly, they reached out, took hold of the bag, set their other hand to their face- and at that exact moment, her camera malfunctioned. ‘Sonuva- wait, are they…?’

“Ah...That was good.” The Doctor, in what couldn’t have been more than a minute, had already eaten their food and was rolling up the bag into a tube. Once they were done, they stretched, said to the corner where Click was hiding, “I’m going to take a walk,” and got up from their desk.

...The Zalak sighed, waited for a moment for the door to swing, and bolted after them.

Down the hall, Rope and Leonhardt waited around a corner, hidden from that direction by the shape of the walls. “You think Plan A failed?” The criminal wondered aloud.

“Probably. The first one almost always does.” He gave her a once-over. “Hey, are you busy later?”

“I’m doing this instead of working, if that’s any indicator.”

The folk hero smiled. “Cool. Wanna get drinks when we’re done here? I’ll buy.”

“Oh, you would one way or the other.” She giggled mischievously, messing with her bangs. “Still, nice to have someone ask for a change. Sure, let’s do it.”

“Morning, Rope, Leon,”  the Doctor said as they walked by, a yellow-and-grey blur walking in their shadow.

Once they’d walked by, Rope sighed. “Well, there goes Plan B.”

“Yeah...I don’t mind, though.”

“Me neither.” She shrugged. “Especially if Gravel’s right about them being a woman.”

Leonhardt nodded. “Honestly, any answer at this point would ruin things for me. So, how about that drink?”

With both plots foiled, Click at this point was simply chasing the Doctor out of habit; they had nothing else to do, nowhere to go, and she’d come this far, so she might as well keep going and see how deep this rabbit hole ends up. In the middle of an empty hallway, after a quick glance around, their subject stopped, turned faster than the Zalak could move, and nodded. “Gravel, have you shut off the camera in this hallway as requested?”

“Yes, Doctor~” The second Zalak practically materialized next to Click, whose eyes blinked several times in rapid succession.

“Excellent.” They turned their focus to the streamer. “Turn the recording off, please.”

She sighed and complied. “Sorry, Doc, it’s just-”

“Oh, I know. You’re curious, aren’t you? Curious why I wear the mask?” As they talked, the emergency quarantine walls shut off the hallway; anyone outside would see Blaze casually whistling from not too far away from a recently-pressed red button.

“C-curious?” The sudden set of twists spiked her adrenaline; her eyes turned crimson. “I’m a girl working for the public, Doctor. People wanna know, and I wanna be the one to tell them.”

They cocked their head. “You don’t want to know for yourself?”

“Honestly? A scoop’s a scoop, and at this point, the only way I’m getting the shot is if you give it to me...Still would be nice to have your face on camera.”

“Fair enough.” Without hesitation, they took off their mask...revealing a brown-haired Cautus with Originum-dyed sclera and piercing crimson irises. “Any questions?”

The Zalak hit record, and this time, her camera turned on without any issues. “People have been dying to know: how do you identify yourself, gender-wise?”

“A tactician.”

“...Interesting.” She scrapped the next question she had, and found she’d run out of questions. “Well, that’s all I can think of.”

The Doctor smiled. “That’s fine. I have a question for you, while I’ve got you here.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm.” Click blinked, and they were in front of her, the camera feed turning to static. “Why do you think I want to keep my appearance a secret?”

...There were two paths before her, and she chose the one less followed. “Because you save it for your friends?”

“Close. Gravel and Blaze are the only other two who’ve seen my face before. The latter forgot, as her witnessing it was an accident on the battlefield; the former...it’d be rather hard to avoid her seeing my face every night.”

“Ah.” The streamer nodded towards the Zalak in question. “That makes sense...So why show me?”

The Doctor’s grin went toothy; Click swore she could see flecks of Originum slug in their mouth, but that must’ve been her imagination. “Because if you say no, I can simply make you forget.”

“Say no to what?”

Gravel whispered something in her ear, and the red in her eyes faltered for a moment before flaring to the point of glowing. She turned off her camera as the Doctor redonned their mask,  isolation walls coming down around them.

A video was posted later that night. Click, eyes their usual color but hat off and hair somewhat frazzled, reported that out of respect for the Doctors’ privacy, she would not be able to release any videos of the Doctor’s face. Before the end, however, some of her keener viewers noticed something unusual: a hand beckoning to her from offscreen...

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 19 - “Just Friends”

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

NOTE: I am going on a break, I’m going to take some time off this story and relax. 

Rating: General/Teen

@marydragneell​ here is the latest update

"Just Friends"

…

…

[From: Jace

Text message

Wed, 14, 4.57PM.

Hey chuck!!! How r u? Wanna meet up tomorrow? let me know if you're free! there's someone I want you to meet :)]

…

…

You’re slowly getting the hang of waking up in the morning and Jace has asked you to meet him today but prior to that, you have a window of opportunity to visit your mentor for a good hour or so.

The Corviknight taxi deposits you at the gates of Greyon's Cemetery; it is far more comforting to the eyes during the day, with the lack of ghost pokemon lurking within and the steely, heavy mist that swamps the entire the vicinity during late night hours.

Without further ado, you push the gates open and stroll inside, leisurely venturing down the twisted, stony path that leads to the mausoleum, glancing at the faded gravestones sticking out of the cold ground and the decorative sculptures with the overgrown moss and faded writing until you spot your mentor sleeping on the steps, clutching an empty can of beer to his chest whilst Absol curls up by his feet.

“Ezra?” you say aloud, and the old man responds with a snort and rubs at his nose briefly with his fingerless gloves before he sluggishly opens his eyes.

His gaze does not concentrate on anything in particular, even when you hop over and seat yourself on the stone steps by his side.

Emitting a low groan, Ezra sits up, cracks a few bones in his neck and shoulders at the same time and yawns loudly.

“Hnrgh…you’re here,” he grumbles raspily under his breath as he tosses the beer can away.

“Yeah," you reply, and Absol wakes up too, stretching on her front paws. She joins her master to sit upright on the steps and licks at her paw.

“What’re you doing here so early? It’s morning.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Hn. Trying to integrate back into society, are you?”

“I guess… actually, I’m not gonna work on any cases for the time being so there’s no need for me to keep going out at night. And I’m meeting Jace later.”

“I see. Good for you, kid.”

“Have you been eating well?”

Ezra gestures to his pile of booze that has been messily laid in front of a gravestone near the fountain and nods. Flicking his empty gaze to you, he assesses you quietly, rubbing his chin with one hand.

“Somethin’ about you seems different,” he says with a grunt, his white eyes sweeping over your form.

“What is it??”

He narrows his eyes and Ezra breezily pinpoints the shimmering bright light that surrounds your silhouette, convulsing and coiling and emitting from your very core. You’ve always had it but it seems stronger.

“It’s so bright. I’ve never seen anything like it before. What happened to you when you were at Rose’s art gallery?”

You’ve informed him previously that you were taking Rose’s case and so you tell him everything and gesture to your bandaged arm and he listens, occasionally nodding and taking swigs of a new can of beer and harrumphing at random times until you finish.

And when he hears that you expelled an evil spirit out of your body, he nods to himself. “Well done."

“Thank Ezra, but Leon helped me. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“But you did, and that’s very impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who has the ability to do that.”

You look at him in confusion, tilting your head to the side and he chuckles.

“You know what I’m talking about. Hell, maybe you’ll start seeing them in broad daylight like I do. From now on, be on your guard at all times. You need to proceed with caution; you might be able to see an’ hear more of ‘em often than you want.”

“...Is this what Rosie had too?”

He nods.

“And that’s why spirits were always attracted to her, why she was so vulnerable?”

A brief nod is your answer.

If only you had met Ezra earlier. He’s the only one who truly understands you and the pain and agony you’ve suffered. And if you had met him earlier, you could’ve brought Rosie to see him, he would’ve known what to do. He could’ve saved her.

He could’ve saved them all and-

Ezra slides a gnarled hand into the holey pockets of his duster and pulls out a folded talisman, nudging it to you. “Keep this on you at all times. It will protect you.”

“Thanks,” you utter as you pocket the talisman safely into your bag, “Ezra, do you think I should start looking for Dusknoir now?”

“Heh. You don’t need to ask me. You know what to do, and you know it’s nothing to do with the pokemon,” he says, before he fumbles his pockets for a cigarette and lights it up. Sucking a deep drag, he exhales with a heavy sigh, filling the atmosphere with a crisp and acrid stench, “I won’t sugarcoat it for you… It’ll come for you one day but when that day comes, I know you’ll be ready.”

You say quietly, “Hey...Ezra?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He emits a soft hum under his breath. “…’welcome.”

“And uh, Spiritomb escaped too.”

He doesn’t appear surprised and waves his hand dismissively. “Yeah, I know. It’s fine, leave ‘im to me. I’ll take care of the bloody swirly bastard.”

As you nod, Ezra inhales another deep drag briefly before he splutters, hacking and heaving violently before a thin stream of red pools out from the corner of his cracked lips.

“Ah, fuck.”

Turning to the side, he spits some of the gunk out and wipes his chin whilst Absol begins purring loudly with concern.

“I’m fine,” he croaks out, coughing.

“No, you’re not. You need to go to hospital.”

When he’s finished coughing, he soaks up the rest of the cigarette and utters, “I’m going soon. Take a look at this.”

You are presented with a folded letter, you unfurl the paper to reveal an insignia of a hospital stamped at the top; you scan the remainder of the letter where there are several prevalent words along with some Braille.  

“Lung carcinoma??” you exclaim, eyes wide. "Cancer...?"

"Yeah."

Shaking your head in disbelief, you grow limp in your seat as you clutch the letter meekly in hands. It’s taunting you.

Everything is.

…

Ezra is dying.

He’s old and he’s aware he smokes and drinks like a degenerate.

It’s inevitable.

Laden with heavy thoughts, you arrive at Jace’s apartment in a dour mood; everything seems so insignificant as of now. Life is too short after all. You want to spend some more time with your mentor but he encouraged you to go and see your friend. So here you are.

And you certainly don’t reciprocate Jace’s huge grin when he opens the door after you’ve rung the doorbell.

“Chuck, you’re here!” he exclaims before he ushers you in.

He’s wearing his Ball Guy uniform, missing his mascot mask. The more you look at it, the more you just cannot get used to that red polo and shorts combo which is apparently an abomination to fashionistas.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, when he sees your darkened expression.

“N-nothing,” you say, forcing a smile.

He purses his lips but remains quiet when you reassure him once more that you’re fine. He’s not alone. There are two suitcases standing by his shoe rack and a huge Luxray snoozing on the couch. You recall he has a visitor from Sinnoh and he wants you to meet someone and so you spot this friend standing in the kitchen with his back to you and when he turns round, a pair of cerulean eyes meets yours and you grow still on the spot.

Jace is quick to get you back on the move, steering you towards his direction with hands planted on your shoulders.

“Yo Volkner, I want you to meet my friend!!!!”

When you’re finally in front of the young man, your gazes meet for a second time. The young man has blonde hair fashioned in a spiked style and you’re quite certain you have seen him before perhaps from a magazine or a website. He’s dressed in a black v-neck shirt and dark blue denims, with a light blue coat slung over one shoulder.

“Chuck, right?” he says. He has a smooth voice, deeper than Jace's. More mature.

“Noooo, that’s just my nickname for her. Her name is-”

As Jace speaks, he is drowned by the sounds of a horn blaring noisily from a truck that passes the flat.

Regardless, Volkner nods.

You look at Jace questioningly who merely grins at you and winks. For you to hear, he says, “Volkner can be a little aloof but he’s a great guy.”

Then he pats you on the shoulder and beams widely at the two of you.

“Let me fill you in. Chuck, I’m really sorry, but I need a favour from you. I asked if you were free today because my good buddy Volkner needs a grand tour of Wyndon and of course I was supposed to do it and it would've been nice if we all went together but my stupid boss just called me and demanded me to go to work right now.”

You blink sluggishly. “Oh…I’m so sorry, Jace.”

“It’s alright; Volkner understands and doesn’t mind; it would be great if you could show him around for the time being. He was the guest judge for the Beauty Pageant but he got this fancy ride to the stadium and back so he doesn't remember how to get there; you could quickly show him Wyndon Stadium, and he’s got a meeting at the Rose of the Rondelands too so if you could show him that and also the-“

“Jace,” Volkners says.

“Yeah?”

“….I can take it from here.”

“Okay, okay,” Jace nods and grabs his Ball Guy mask that was sitting on the floor, along with his bag, “Sorry chuck.”

“It’s okay, Jace. I don’t mind showing Volkner around.”

“Thanks chuck! Thank you so much!”

Flicking a quick glimpse to Volkner, you gulp inwardly when your heart appears to quicken as he levels your gaze once more.

Volkner is good-looking. Tall, blonde, handsome and lean, you cannot help but stare as he sets his mug down on the counter and offers you his hand. You slide your hand into his and as he shakes your hand, he says, “I’m Volkner. I’m the gym leader of Sunyshore City. Do you like electric type pokemon?”

Jace groans incoherently and Volkner throws him a sideways glance.

“What?” asks the gym leader.

Exasperated by his actions somehow, Jace can only shrug and shake his head whilst you reply, “I heard you constructed your gym puzzle out of sheer boredom. Is that true?”

“Yes, that's correct.”

“Oh, okay. That’s cool. I’m a ghost-type researcher. Here’s my card,” you delve into your bag and procure a nice and shiny card for him to take.

“Ghost-types, huh?” he murmurs as he twirls your business card front and back with his long fingers.

“Yeah.”

“What pokemon do you have?”

“I have a Gengar, Mimikyu and a Runerigus at hand right now.”

“Your Gengar,” Volkner says, “What moves does he know?”

“Shadow Ball, Confuse Ray….Dark Pulse…and he also knows this psychic move but I actually don’t know what it is. He used it when we were in this cave and we were getting attacked by snow but somehow he stopped all the snow particles in mid-air and reversed it.”

“It was probably ‘Psychic’.”

“Yeah, it probably was.”

“Did you know Gengar can learn Thunder Punch, Thunderbolt and Thunder via TM?”

“No, I did not.”

“Do you want him to learn? It could help vary his techniques so he can face off against various opponents.”

“That’s a good point but I don’t know, I’ll have to ask him.”

“Sure, let me know. I have some spares which I can share with you.”

“That would be very nice.”

“They’re powerful moves. One can say they’re shocking.”

Despite delivering that line with a straight face, Jace, who has been listening to your conversation silently, cannot help but grimace and tiredly rolls his eyes whilst you blink for a brief moment or so before you chuckle and Volkner cracks a smile at your response.

Jace ceases his wincing and gapes at you two in bewilderment, having witnessed your entire interaction.

“Oh.... my….Arceus,” he breathes, swapping alarmed glances between you and Volkner, “I was right. Holy Mudkip! Well, you two seem to get along great! I-I need to go to work right now!”

“Okay,” you reply, “Leave Volkner with me. He’ll be in good hands.”

“Thanks, chuck! See you around!”

“Bye Jace,” you and Volkner bid your friend farewell and Jace rushes out of his apartment with his Ball Guy mask and bag under one arm, whooping loudly.

“I wonder what that was all about,” you reply, before you glance up at the blonde and he throws his glimpse to you, “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Volkner replies, gently sliding his hands into his pockets, “So Miss Tour Guide, where shall we head to first?”

Volkner’s a pretty busy guy, you recall. He has a lot to do during his time here.

“I’ll take you to Wyndon Stadium first, we’ll walk along the promenade where you can see the river and the ferris wheel. We can visit Rose Tower if you’re interested, then we'll pop by Rose of the Rondelands and we can also grab a bite to eat if you get hungry. I know a good place.”

“Lead the way,” he replies, and he recalls Luxray after a brief introduction to the gleaming eyes pokemon, then lets you leave the apartment first. You both exit Jace’s apartment and onto the main street.

With Volkner lingering by your side, you make your way to the promenade, showing him the street signs should he ever find himself in Wyndon on his lonesome.

“It’s easy to get lost here,” you say, and Leon briefly pops up in your mind.

Ah, Leon.

You hadn’t heard from him since this morning.

You wonder how he’s doing.

You want to see him.

“It’s this way, right?” Volkner says, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Ah, yes, that’s correct.”

The streets are heavily populated today and many people stare as you stroll along. They can tell he’s not from Galar, possibly due to his hairstyle and fashion. However, he doesn’t respond to their staring and pads along you with his hands in his pockets, drinking in the scenery and the architecture.

“How did you become a ghost-type researcher?” he asks.

“My family specialises in ghost-types and I’ve always felt drawn to them.”

“If you ever visit Sinnoh, I’ll introduce you to Fantina. You would have a lot to talk about,” Volkner replies, and when he sees your clueless expression, he adds, “she’s the gym leader of Hearthome City. She uses ghost-types and she can see spirits, so I guess you can as well?”

Volkner does not beat around the bush.

Surprisingly enough, you don’t find yourself feeling too uncomfortable and so you nod, “…I can, yeah.”

You wonder what response you will elicit; maybe he’d laugh or shrug you off and tell you he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

But instead he says, “What do they look like?” and you gawk at him.

No-one has ever asked you this before.

“It depends. Sometimes they appear exactly the way they were when they died. Others appear polished and clean, looking as they did in a particular point of their life….usually when they were most happiest. They’re usually transparent….then there are evil spirits, who are so warped by evil they lose shape and form and appear as either a black mass or scrawling dark shadows.”

Now that you’re talking about ghosts again, you cannot seem to stop.

“Actually, before I came here to see you and Jace, I visited my mentor and he said I might begin to see them during broad daylight too, which is disturbing because usually entities are more active and make their presences known at night, and that’s why I’m always investigating at late hours and usually I’m not even awake during the day.”

Volkner absorbs it and you’re waiting for him to say something to you somewhere along the lines of you being a kook or whatnot but nothing of that sort happens and again, you’re astounded when you realise he has not come under the impression that you are unhinged.

“I see. That’s interesting. It must be tough for you right now to show me around at this time.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m actually on a break right now so I’m trying to come out more during the day.”

“Is that so?”

You nod. “Did Jace tell you?”

“What?”

“We just got discharged from hospital; I took a case and it ended up…well, I wouldn’t say it ended badly but me and Jace did get hurt.”

“Yes, he told me but he said he’s unharmed. Is that the reason why your arm is bandaged?”

“Yeah. I’ve got stitches.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

“Uh….”

You’re a little apprehensive but considering he’s been rather open with you, you decide to tell him about Rose’s case and the haunted art gallery.

You breeze along the promenade; there is a separate strip for cyclists who speed past you in their triathlon gear and runners jog together, chatting amiably about gym battles and the Beauty Pageant. Several passerbys walk with their Stoutlands and some ladies with prams huddle together in one corner under a lamppost whilst a poor boy up ahead is being dragged all over the place by his energetic Boltund as it dives headfirst into a group of Pidoves.

As you talk, Volkner is listening though his expression remains impassive and generally hard to read. You cannot help but think he is perhaps bored until he sees an old gentleman sitting on a bench playing an accordion.

A Mr Rime tap-dances with its cane in tune to the music whilst some people strolling by flip pennies into a hat on the ground near its feet.

A short distance away, a group of buskers stand inside a gazebo decorated with white and pink flowers, singing an old song with their instruments. Volkner observes before he heads towards the direction of the crowd.

“Wait up,” you say as you hurry after him. He walks fast.

Once you’re at the gazebo, you both find a good spot to listen; he stands stiffly beside you with his arms crossed though there’s a small smirk gracing his face. You’re not alone; there are many people standing and listening with their children and pokemon. When they finish their piece, the crowd cheer and whilst some stay, the majority disperses.

“You don’t see that often in Sinnoh.” Volkner mutters, before he tosses a coin for the buskers.

And the walk continues.

You inhale some crisp clear air and exhale contently. Wyndon is lively today and the weather is wonderful; the sky is blue and clear and the sunlight is warm but perfect, gently prickling on your skin. A flock of Wingull can be heard cawing as they soar through the air effortlessly on their elongated wings whilst a Pelipper or two eye a local fish and chip stall.

If only Leon was here, you think.

You pass an ice-cream stall which you ogle for longer than intended; you recall you haven’t had one for some time and suddenly Volkner says, “Would you like one?”

“...Sure.”

He asks you what flavour you want and when you tell him, he goes up and orders one for you but not for him. You offer to pay but he’s already handing over the amount. You thank him as the ice-cream is pressed into your hand, and he tells you to enjoy it but you feel strange.

If Leon was here, we’d both have one or we’d be sharing…

Your expression falls upon this thought.

Wyndon Stadium soon looms into view.

He hasn’t seen anything like it before and you allow Volkner a few moments to marvel the exterior during the daytime before heading inside.

You’re surrounded by images of Leon from all four corners whether it be from the electronic billboards, TV screens, posters and portraits, which makes your heart flutter and you spot the same kiosk you had purchased some Leon merchandise before except this time the line is even bigger and there’s a Leon body pillow on display as well as a life-sized Leon cardboard cut-out. Lots of girls are queuing up to take photos.

Jace is there in his Ball Guy persona, and you see his boss standing at the door so unfortunately he cannot talk to either of you but he does wave. You wave back and Volkner strolls up to the front desk where a Macro Cosmos employee greets him.

“Welcome to Wyndon Stadium! How may I help you?”

“I'm Volkner. I’m here to register for the exhibition match.”

“Oh! Mr Volkner, I should’ve known! Yes, of course. Wait right here, let me get the paperwork.”

Goddamnit, you really hate that word now. As you idle beside Volkner, you ask, “Who’s your opponent?”

“The Champion of Galar.”

You almost choke on your spit as you splutter out in disbelief, “Leon!?”

“Yeah,” Volkner replies, as the employee hands him a pen and the aforementioned papers which are collected inside a clear file which he proceeds to look over before he fills in the blanks.

The employee moves away to give him some space as he writes down his pokemon team and other useful information before he’s given a Dynamax band which he eyes a little warily.

“…..I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this but as a representative of Sinnoh, I’ll do my best," he murmurs.

“Of course.”

“Will you cheer for me?”

“HUH? Oh, uh…..um….but I don’t even have a ticket,” you babble out, but then you recall that Leon gave you a Wyndon stadium pass but before you can mention it, Volkner pulls out a flimsy sheet of paper from within the file and hands it to you.

“You do now.”

You gawk at the ticket that he’s presented. It’s a VIP ticket, reserved for the Sinnoh representative’s plus one. “Don’t waste it on me, Jace should get it-“

The employee returns and promptly talks over you. “Mr Volkner! The Champion is actually in the stadium and practising right now; I’m sure he’d love to meet you in person!”

"We've already met last night, but sure," Volkner nods in agreement and the employee lifts up the barricade, allowing entry. He passes and the Macro Cosmos guy looks at you with a brow raised. “She’s with me."

“Yes, of course, Mr Volkner. Do come in, both of you.”

You hope you don’t see Rose inside.

The Macro Cosmos employee guides you towards an elevator which takes you to a staff and contestants-only passageway that leads to a large corridor. Up ahead and you a see locker room. The corridor finishes with a large opening that reveals the spacious and grandiose pitch.

Volkner barely bats an eyelid to the ingenious architecture and once the employee guides you to the pitch, your breath closes up in your throat when you see Leon standing at one side of the gargantuan space, directing Charizard who is whirling around in the air, flapping his wings and zigzagging left to right.

The employee leads you over to the Champion who stops in mid-sentence and Charizard, with no further instructions, abruptly lands a short distance away.

Leon’s gaze lands on you and the surprise is evident on his handsome face; he prevents his jaw dropping in time and hastily glances between you and Volkner before ultimately tensing up on his spot. His fist clinches for a split second before relaxing, and he welcomes you both with a gentle smile.

“Hello Volkner.”

“Hi Leon.”

"It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise."

They shake hands as the employee leaves your group, slipping away quietly and unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Charizard appears elevated with your presence from out of the blue and bounds over, stomping on his bulky legs and huffing happily as he reaches your side and he begins to rub his snout all over the top of your head affectionately, messing up your hair.

“Hey Charizard,” you giggle with a huge smile on your face as you pet his leathery belly whilst Leon stares at you intently.

And then there’s Volkner and the Champion glances at the gym leader before his eyes flit back to you questioningly and it’s then you realise, oh crud I am with another guy what was I thinking? And Leon says, “Are you…?”

“She’s my tour guide,” Volkner replies, “You two know each other?”

It doesn’t sound like a question.

Leon nods. “We’re……...uh...” he struggles, “-friends.”

There is a brief silence.

Charizard does a double-huff, blinking wide-eyed and snorting in surprise at his best friend. Leon seems to have realised his mistake when he witnesses the happy expression on your face gradually dissolve and crumble.

“Ah, um….I mean, er…”

“Friends,” you say quickly, offering a thin and watery smile, “we’re just…friends. Um, I’ll wait for you at the elevator.”

“Sure,” says Volkner, before he adds, “We should go somewhere to eat after this.”

“Okay.”

Following your response, a look of devastation crosses Leon’s face but he is unable to say anything as you hastily make a beeline for the exit, nervously nibbling your bottom lip. Before you leave the pitch and head to the corridor however, a gorgeous young woman in a black dress and heels emerges from the elevator and breezes past you; it’s the beauty pageant winner from last night - Miss Hulbury, now affectionately crowned 'Miss Galar' by the public - and you watch as she rushes up to the pitch, stopping in front of Volkner and Leon.

You continue to observe as she greets them happily and they chat before her gaze lands on Leon and they are both smiling, laughing and chatting amicably together and you can only stare as they stand close and she keeps looking at him and suddenly your gut tightens up; you clench your fist before you turn round with a huff under your breath.

It's not like you to be jealous, but you can't seem to help it.

Beyond your control, you throw one final glance at the pitch where the Champion is; he’s talking to Miss Galar but then his gaze lands on you and you quickly look away and head for the lift.

Waiting for Volkner, you skulk around in the dark and shuffle your feet until he returns, which means Leon and Miss Galar are left alone together.

With no intent to pry into your relationship with Leon (which you are grateful for), you and Volkner make haste for the elevator but before either of you can take one step forwards, the sounds of rushing footsteps pervade the empty corridor and you both turn round to see Leon.

“Wait,” he calls your name as he stops shortly in front of you. He appears a little nervous as he adds, "can I talk to you, alone?"

Stunned, you nod mutely and he reaches for your hand, grasping it firmly with his and he leads you round an empty corner and away from Volkner.

You glance around awkwardly when he lets go of you, and he releases you rather hurriedly as though your hand was as hot as lava or whatnot, and you look up at him in confusion, your gazes meeting. He takes a step towards you and your back hits the wall as you automatically take a baby step back.

Leon's gaze is pinned on you, before he plants one hand by the side of your head and you quirk a brow at his action.

He's not caging you or anything, but he's still cut off one means of exit though you're not inclined to retreat in any way. His face is growing red as he scans you from head and toe, seemingly taken off guard by your appearance; you've put a strong effort into your looks and outfit today and it's rather obvious he's not used to seeing you during daylight hours and in nicer garb, and he clears his throat into his fist and nervously slides his gaze to the side.

"How's your head?" he asks firstly, and you unconsciously lift a hand and trace a finger over the healing wound on the side of your head.

"I'm alright."

"That's good," he says before he jumps right into it: "Are you really Volkner's tour guide?" he adds, a little sheepishly.

You nod. "He's Jace's friend. Jace asked me to meet him today, we were supposed to show Volkner around together but Jace got called into work at last minute so I'm helping out."

"Oh."

He sounds relieved and emits a sigh.

"For a moment, I really thought-" he pauses himself in time. "...Never mind. Forget it."

You resist the urge to grin because the thought of a potentially jealous Leon is rather entertaining and endearing.

"I'm sorry," he adds, flicking his honeyed eyes to you before he attempts to reach for your hand but somehow stops himself in time, choosing to curl his fist into a ball instead. "Please forgive me for what I said back there."

"Leon, it's fine," you reply, "I'm not angry. It'll take more than that to offend me."

But you think Charizard is, and you believe he could be thinking the same thing because he smiles awkwardly at you and rubs the back of his neck.

He's finally relaxing and proceeds to lower his glance to his feet but in fact, he's inching his hand closer to you as though he's hoping to hold it; you watch as he appears to mentally debate with himself before he eventually reaches for you and picks up your hand. You resist the urge to laugh out loud as Leon holds your hand gingerly before he shifts his gaze to you once more for your reaction although his gaze has become pinned onto your lips.

A reassuring smile is his answer which prompts him to grin and lean off the wall to slap his other hand over your entwined hands, casually bringing your hand against his chest. Your smile grows, cheeks growing pink and Leon's face grows ten shades redder, his pulse soaring.

He starts to lean in, your noses nudging together which makes you smile as you contemplate that Leon is attempting to kiss you yet the warmth of his lips continue to elude you as he tries to angle his face to the side in an effort to meet your lips better. The sounds of his thudding heart can be heard but what you really want right now is to feel the strong press of his mouth against yours yet he grows still.

And he doesn't move.

You say, a little expectantly, "Leon?"

"Y-yes?"

"What's the matter?"

"...Um..."

"Don't you want to k-"

Unfortunately you don't get the chance to finish because a tannoy goes off, announcing that Rose is looking for Leon and needs him to return to the pitch.

And so you sigh. He does not fail to notice your look of disappointment and he too, mirrors your expression.

"I should go," you say. Besides, this is probably not the best place to be smooching. Maybe he's thought of the same thing too and that's why he stopped.

"...Alright," he sounds reluctant and disappointed.

To your utmost astonishment, Leon does not release you just yet and instead, gives your fingers a light squeeze and leans over, his warm lips gently brush the shell of your ear as he murmurs, “Meet me at Wyndon Central Gardens, near the riverbank. I finish at seven.”

Then he lets go of you and sprints away.

It happened very quickly and quietly.

Your heart beats frantically but you manage to waddle back to the foyer where Volkner is. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

“No problem. Shall we go?” Volkner asks and you nod limply.

“Y-yeah, let’s go,” is your shaky response.

The employee is waiting for you; he takes you to the main lobby and to the counter where you are let through and you’re back in the eye of the public.

However, a pair of kids rushing with lemonades and soda pops in hands bumps into you from seemingly nowhere and their cold beverages spills all over your front from the impact.

“Sorry!” the kids exclaim as you stand limply, the front of your outfit completely soaked.

“Are you alright?” Volkner asks.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I-I’m fine, it’s-“

The temperature drops. Your heartbeat spikes, your pulse begins to race. A bead of cold sweat drips down your forehead and you look up, startled.

“What’s wrong?”

His voice grows distant as he speaks, fading into a quiet echo in the background as you blink numbly.

The lobby is packed with people, yet you can sense a bizarre presence nearby….a presence that does not belong there.

Eyes narrowing, you filter through the traffic, sifting through the crowds and crowds of bustling, bumbling people until a young girl with pink hair perusing a random kiosk with a Sylveon grabs your attention.

Behind her, a dark figure skulks.

This unsightly individual hovers uncomfortably close to the oblivious girl with her head lazily bent to the right although the more you look, the more you realise her neck is in fact, broken. The spirit is donned in torn clothing and drenched in blood, with deep and long gashes that strains the fabric. The face cannot be seen, covered by long and matted hair that reaches her elbows, with a floral hairclip clinging lifelessly to a thin group of strands.

It’s her.

She doesn’t belong here.

Ezra was right.

You can now see them in broad daylight.

Aware you are looking at her, the ghostly figure twitches and slowly lifts her head up and it’s then you see the extent of her injuries. You have never seen such an atrocity before; she has been bludgeoned beyond recognition. Her eyes are watery and pained gaze meets yours and her bluish lips curl into a smile for a moment, before she vanishes.

…

[drakrite]

30    DOING BEAUTY TREATMENTS, LIKE FACIALS / MANICURES, HAIR DRYING / FACE MASKS.

❛  leon, i know it’s hard for you to sit still, but i promise i’m almost done if you hold on for a moment longer.  ❜  his voice is gentle when he addresses leon’s fidgety nature,  ❛  the moment i finish tyin’ your hair up you can have fun with the face masks, alright?  ❜  raihan chuckles moments after hearing his boyfriend huff  &  grow silent from his previous complaints. though, they were more like childish excitement mixed with impatience, he’d been like this for most of their time in the bathroom. the moment raihan had mentioned the new products, leon was more than eager to see  &  sift through the packages raihan had delivered to his home. with his cooperation, raihan was able to tie leon’s hair back into a ponytail  &  clip his bangs back so they’re kept out of his face.

❛  there, now you can have at it.  ❜  the dragon tamer states  &  laughs when leon is already poking through the labeled packages, some bright colors, others filled with charcoal based masks. raihan is already plucking one made with oran berry extract from leon’s hands the moment he took it out of the box of many other products. hey! leon says but it’s with a laugh as he continued to look through.  ❛  ah, ah. you already know this one is one - hundred percent, mine.  ❜  raihan teased. it was an average sized container, the product itself a soft blue with a gentle shine to it. the light scent of oran berries wafting through the air the very moment he opened the lid. leon peaked over with curiosity.  ❛  don’t tell me you haven’t used this one before.  ❜

leon shrugged in response, well, i have my own routine that i stick to so i normally use what i know works for me. which causes raihan to roll his eyes,  ❛  yeah, yeah. don’t let me get in the way of your twenty - four karat face masks, dearest.  ❜  &  leon laughs the moment he says it, i don’t even use those! he retorts,  ❛  could’ve fooled me.  ❜  &  raihan’s snapping a hair tie around thick locs  &  leon’s laughter dies after he’s pressed a kiss to raihan’s shoulder  &  hums ever so softly against his skin. it leaves a gentle smile on raihan’s face before he’s raising his arm  &  moving it around leon to pull him to place a kiss to his forehead.  ❛  now, come on. you’ve been pesterin’ me to do this all day.  ❜  he chuckles lowly which is matched by the other  &  they settle into their own rhythm with their routines. 

❛  need help?  ❜  he asks when he’s looking over towards leon. so picky, he was still trying to find something to his liking. but safe to say, the moment raihan plucked one out of the box, leon seemed to enjoy the product chosen,  ❛  i’m warning you ahead of time. this one has leppa berry extract, so it may burn a little, but thankfully this one washes off easily.  ❜  with a nod from leon, raihan opens the container  &  he dips his fingers into the cool serum.  ❛  sit still so i don’t mess up.  ❜  &  witnessing leon sit  &  wait expectantly, raihan couldn’t help but smile at the sight, now, he’s carefully applying it to smooth skin.

❛  careful now,  ❜  raihan comments, smoothing his thumbs against leon’s face  &  leon’s trying desperately to not let out a giggle at raihan’s touch. he wouldn’t know why, it’s not like he was doing anything specific ...  ❛  why’re you gigglin’?  ❜  he finally asks, pulling away with a big smile on his face  &  leon’s laugh finally escapes him, half his face covered with the mask’s serum. sorry, you just seem so focused, i couldn’t help it. he responds, now, to that, the dragon tamer’s laughing too  &  he’s leaning back in,  ❛  you’re lucky i have a mask on, i’d kiss you otherwise.  ❜     

@glrchmp​​  sent  a  prompt!

[ferrethyun]

He’s my soulmate, unfortunately | Pt 12

{Requests are open!}

Summary | Previously | You are here | Next

Warnings: None, it’s another long chapter tho,, like 2.4k. Also,, Shinwa is soft for his hyung,,,

Previously: M/n couldn’t help but sneak a glance at his phones clock before he drifted off to sleep.

 2:45 am.

Day one complete. 

It was the following day. Surprisingly it wasn’t as hot as it was the day before, which was lucky for the members due to there being no way of cooling down in the manor they were recording in. This day was the final day of recording; it was dedicated to mostly single person shots and pairs. Although Canvas suspected that the director would want a small group shot somewhere due to the immense beauty of the manor.

It was early morning when the group arrived, everyone else, the stylists, director and cameramen, were already there. There was a temporary styling trailer set up in the front area of the manor; so that’s where the whole group went first. There was a row of three chairs in front of mirrors and three stylists waiting at the chairs. After a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors, with the camera lingering to capture the moment, the first 3 members to go were Lee, Taewoo and Ren. This would leave M/n and Shinwa to do what they wanted for a while. The two left the styling trailer to explore the manor and all its secrets with a hand-held camera in their hands.

M/n couldn’t help but stare at the ancient architecture of the manor and how well preserved it had been through the years, pointing his camera everywhere he looked. Meanwhile, Shinwa had his camera pointed at his leader showing the range of expressions that would take over his face every time they went into a new room “looking good M/n-hyung” Shinwa teased causing the older male to spin to face the younger.

A look of embarrassment took over M/n’s face as he went to pull up his mask in order to cover his face that bore no makeup “Yaaah, you know better than to film me when I have no makeup on Shin-ie” M/n grumbled out moving his hand to cover his eyes when the camera in the maknaes hand moved closer. The younger simply let out a small laugh before moving his camera to face himself. “You always look beautiful hyung.” Shinwa grinned shyly, “I’m sure our artists would agree!” The leader simply let out a soft huff and smile before walking over to the large french bay doors, that were wide open, to have a look at the garden at a distance. Shinwa grinned once again before pulling out his phone from his pocket and waving it at the camera; he quickly turned the camera and opened his phone's camera so that they were both pointed at M/n, who was standing in the large doorway. The vocalist quickly snapped a picture and shoved his phone back in his pocket as M/n turned around.

“Shin-ah!” M/n called, not realising that the mentioned was already looking at him, “We need to go to the styling trailer!” This earned a quick ‘Yes!’ called back from the youngest before they made their way back to the trailer.

As the two entered, they didn’t see Lee standing on the sofa near the door waiting for them. So as soon as they entered, Lee let out a scream to scare them as he recorded the whole thing. The two reacted differently, M/n jumped and slammed his shoulder into the door while Shinwa grabbed onto the fabric of his leader's hoodie to hide behind him. “Yah! Leon Wright! I could have dropped this camera!” M/n almost yelled out. Small ‘oo’s from the other members could be heard as the two faced off. M/n could hear a small ‘Oo he used your English name. You’re in trouble’ from behind him, from a clearly amused Shinwa. M/n drew a deep breath and let it out before simply walking over to the station where his almost petrified stylist stood. He nodded a quick apology to here before sitting down to have his makeup and hair done.

As his makeup was being done, his stylist explained his look for the days shooting. She explained that she would be doing a slight dramatic smokey eye in grey with a dull red by his waterline for his makeup and then for his hair they would be sweeping it back but keeping the side parting and also making it a bit messy. Once she was done, she swivelled the chair around and handed the clothes set up on the rack over to M/n. From what he could see it would be a pair of black jeans and a white button up with a jewelled choker, there wasn’t a harness in sight which shocked him. 

After getting dressed, M/n stared at himself in the floor length mirror; he was right about the outfit for the most part. He wore black jeans, a white button up that had rose embroidery on the collar and cuffs, the choker and simple suit shoes. An elegantly simple outfit in his mind. He left the changing room and as soon as he as back in the styling trailer, his stylist was on him. She slid a belt through the loops of the jeans and rolled the sleeves of his button up so that they were just above elbow height. She stared him down causing M/n to shuffle due to her intense gaze; the stylist motioned the rapper to turn and after he did the stylist un-hooked the choker and barely pulled the shirt out of his jeans so that it was looser. M/n turned back and she did the same to the front before gazing at him again; with a small nod of approval, M/n shot out of that room as fast as he could to the first recording place. It was a group shot of the part when the group spins out leaving M/n in the middle in the main entrance room of the manor.

The recording of that scene went quickly and so began the single scenes and pair scenes. 

M/n stayed in the entrance room as the director instructed him; the director explained that they wanted him to do the same group scene by himself but simply lip syncing while sat on the same wooden chair from the photo shoot; the prop team brought out the chair and the oh so familiar set of handcuffs from the photo shoot. M/n situated himself on the chair and grabbed the handcuffs and gave a nod to the director to start the music.

The music started from a point just before M/n’s verse but once his line hit M/n started lip syncing and spinning the handcuffs on one finger, looking away from the camera then looking directly at it on his last line. After hearing the ‘Cut’ from the director, M/n slumped in the chair then quickly sat up for the next bit; this part was relatively simple, they just wanted him to look away from the camera and lock the handcuff on to his left wrist and then look directly at the camera. It was fairly easy to shoot but the director wanted a few more of the same scenes to make sure he could get the best one. He headed over to the camera to hopefully see what the scene looked like “Wow! I really don’t know how you make me look so good” M/n said astounded. This earned a laugh from the director and a hand wave of dismissal. Once they were finished, the director explained that M/n was needed in the library for his next scene and then the gardens.

So, the red-nett made his way to the library, bumping into Ren on the way. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to have a conversation due to the tight schedule they were both running on but they did each give a nod of acknowledgement to each other as a silent greeting. 

Once M/n was at the library he greeted the workers there and got the briefing for this scene. It was a wonderfully simple scene once again. They merely wanted him to walk down the hallway outside of the library while they filmed from behind and then look directly at the camera as they panned around him into the library. They mentioned it would be used to help transition to Ren’s library scene and was important they get it right. 

On the first take, M/n tripped on a cable as he was walking causing him to fall face first into the rug on the wooden floor; he quickly pushed himself up and locked eyes with the camera recording for the behind the scenes and pouted “I’m fine! I’m fine!” He responded to the extremely worried staff. Once M/n was up and dusted off, they started the second take; this time it worked out perfectly, M/n didn’t trip on anything and didn’t bump into anything. When he heard the ‘Cut’ from the director of this scene, M/n let out a cheer and started clapping his hands while thanking the staff as they thanked him.

The next scene and last scene, from the leader's memory, was the one that would be shot in the gardens. The gardens of the manor were especially beautiful; there were roses everywhere for the most part but there were a few other species of flora but it was mostly roses. The rapper could now see the similarity between his outfit for the day and the garden, as he realised this he couldn’t help but think of how the fans would attempt to come up with theories and explanations to the music video. M/n loved reading the theories that fans came up with and would like every single one he read. 

When M/n got over to the director of the scene, he found a throne of sorts made out of fake roses and a marble top end table next to the throne. On top of that end table sat a single rose, at first glance, it looked incredibly realistic until he realised that the stem, thorns and leaves were painted a metallic gold. M/n greeted the director and listened to the explanation of the scene the director was giving; the director wanted him to sit on the throne, which he said was free of thorns, and play around with the rose for a bit before offering it to the camera. He then added on that they’d do small scenes of him just sitting or walking near the throne.

With a nod, M/n sat himself on the throne and crossed one leg on top of the other “Keep your legs uncrossed,” The director called, “It gives a more threatening feel” M/n nodded once more and uncrossed his legs and spread them slightly.

“Is this better?” He asked slightly embarrassed about how he was sat.

“Yes, that’s perfect!” The director responded, “Can you pick up the rose and get ready to act please” M/n did as the director asked and picked the rose up gently then posed with his elbow on one of the armrests and his head resting against his hand. With the cue of the music, the red-nett started twirling the rose, looking unimpressed, and when he heard a ‘Now!’ he leaned forward and offered the rose to the camera with a smirk. When he heard the resounding ‘Cut!’ for the umpteenth time, M/n relaxed. 

“Is that good?” He called to the man looking at the preview of the scene. This earned a thumbs up from the man and the leader let out a sigh of relief. The day quickly went on with M/n finishing up the rest of his scenes in the garden and then meeting with the photographer to take some photos for the cards that would go in the album. 

Eventually, it was time to go home and M/n met up with the rest of his members in front of a camera to say their goodbyes; when m/n saw each member, he gave them a big hug and a quick ‘I missed you’ as he hadn’t seen them most of the day. Once all the members were composed and in front of the camera they began to say their final messages “And it’s a wrap!” M/n started earning whoops from the members along with clapping, “It’s been two tiring days of photo shoots and recording but it’s done! I hope our artists can appreciate our work on ‘Lust for lust’ and we thank you for your continued support!” All of the members then bowed and said their thanks before going and changing out of their outfits and into their travelling clothes.

As their manager said, their comeback was announced a few days later and soon after the preorders were opened. Throughout that month gap, all the concept photos were released which earned more than a few theories from their fans and many an excited text from Hoseok and other BTS members. One thing that surprised M/n was when he received a text from his dear soulmate saying that he looked good in the concept photos and that he could tell this would be musically outstanding. Of course, M/ns heart almost flatlined and he sent his thanks back, the two continued their conversation in the dream room later on which ended with M/n being allowed to call Yoongi ‘-hyung’ instead of ‘-sii’. Yoongi’s reasoning? “It just doesn’t sound right anymore…” Once more, M/n almost flat-lined.

Anxiety began to set in when they had to pre-record their shows and release the comeback trailer. In reality, M/n had nothing to worry about, he felt at ease seeing a sea of bright paint brush lightsticks and the comeback trailer was received extremely well, even though some netizens disapproved of the obviously sexy concept. Unfortunately, M/n heard nothing from Yoongi when the trailer released but a message from Hoseok confirmed that he had nothing to fear as Yoongi, in his own words, ‘Liked it a lot. Like. A lot’.

A few days later, Yoongi was sat in his studio working on something when he heard his phone go off. Confused at what it could be, he picked his phone up and clicked the lock button to illuminate the screen. There was a single notification that read:

New From jypentertainment: Canvas “Lust for Lust” M/V

[teefa85]

Title: First Holiday Fandom: Tales of Destiny 2 Characters: Kyle and Judas mostly, but the others do appear (especially at the start) Genre: Family fluff Rating: PG Warning: None Summary: The team is spending Christmas in Cresta, and Judas doesn’t seem all that excited.  Kyle wants to give his friend the best Christmas of his life! Notes: Secret Santa for @minonott. I wanted to do something with Kyle, Judas, and Christmas, since the prompts just meshed.  I love the thought of Kyle helping to make up for Judas’ inadequate childhood.

           A massive snowstorm hit Cresta, just as Kyle and his allies were getting ready to leave for their final battle against Elraine and Fortuna.  While it prevented the team from taking off, that was actually a blessing in disguise.  What Kyle hadn’t realized, being so busy dealing with his conflicted emotions, was that Christmas was the next day!  He would be able to spend the holiday with his mother before they headed off into battle.

           Soon, however, Reala asked a surprising question.  “Umm…Kyle?  What’s…Christmas?”

           “Ah! That’s right!” he exclaimed.  “You wouldn’t know.  Well…it’s a time to spend with family.  We give each other gifts to show just how much we care, and Mom cooks enough food to feed an army!  Oh! And Santa Clause will visit overnight, bringing presents to all the good children in the world!”

           She seemed quite curious about every part of the holiday.  And Kyle was grateful for the snow delaying their mission. Since Reala was going to vanish after they defeated Fortuna…this was her only chance to experience Christmas.

           Kyle exclaimed, “Okay then!  We’re all going to have an amazing holiday!  I’m sure Mom won’t mind the additional guests…”

           “Maybe I could help with the cooking, due to all the extra mouths to feed,” Nanaly offered.

           Loni added, “I’ll go get some stuff from the store since we’ll need more food.”

           “And I am going to set a trap for this…Santa Clause!” Harold stated.  “We had a very similar holiday back in my day, but there was no person like that around.  If he has the power to visit everyone in the world in a single night…I want to study how he does it!”

           She rushed off with purpose before anyone could stop her.  Loni thought it better to just warn Rutee about their friend’s crazy idea…talking Harold down was a fruitless endeavor.  Nanaly decided she could do that when she was helping with the meal preparations.  They both left, as did Reala.  

           Through it all, Judas remained his position leaning against the wall.  As out of sight as he could manage, Kyle thought. Which he didn’t blame his friend for. After all…his mother was someone who might actually recognize the masked swordsman as Leon Magnus.  That might not be the best of reunions, considering what their last encounter had been…

           “I don’t need to be involved in these festivities,” commented Judas. “It’s not like I’ve really ever cared about them before.”

           Confused, Kyle asked, “What about when you were a kid?  Didn’t you ever stay up late waiting for Santa, or write letters to him?”

           “Never.  I didn’t exactly have the most normal of upbringings,” was his reply.

           Judas left his answer at that and left the room.  However, the lack of details only made Kyle all the more curious. What kind of heartless situation would rob a child of Christmas?  If Judas wasn’t going to answer that…well, there was little Kyle could do about that.

           However, there was one thing in his power to do!  And that was to give his friend the best Christmas any person ever had!

* * *

           “Let’s see…new earrings for Reala, new arrowheads for Nanaly, some of Loni’s favorite cologne, and some of those little bottles Harold uses for science.”

           Kyle left the store, large bag in his hand.  He had wanted to get each of his friends something for the holidays, just to show his appreciation.  Thankfully, most of the group was easy to shop for, knowing what they like.  But that still left Judas…someone who didn’t talk about himself a whole lot.  Besides his desire for atonement and to help Kyle out…the youth didn’t really know what sort of things he liked!

           “Maybe I could ask Mom…no!  She’d get suspicious if I took a sudden interest in the historical traitor.  And if Judas doesn’t want to tell her, or anyone else, then I can’t tell them…”

           Lost in thought, Kyle ended up at the weapon shop.  Was there something in there he could give to Judas?  Sure, he had a good sword already.  But…something else relating to weapons…?

           “Mom always had that battered old sheath that she kept in memory of Atwight. Could Judas want an extra sheath to remember his Swordian with?  It’s the best thing I can think of, and yet it doesn’t even feel like a good present. Still…it’s the thought that counts…right?  Even Mom loved it when all I could do was color her a picture!”

           He entered the store, his eyes soon falling upon a wide brimmed purple sheath. Silver lining adorned both the opening and the bottom, with small vine-like tendrils twirling outward. There was even an attached chain with a tiny pewter wolf on the end…

           “That would look great with Judas’ outfit!  I’m going to get it for him!”

* * *

           Judas sighed as he headed upstairs to the room he was sharing with Kyle and Loni. The whole house was abuzz with this stupid holiday!  What had Christmas ever done for him?  It was just another day for him growing up.  Okay…Marian had given him a present every year.  But she could easily pick any other day of the year and it would be the same thing!

           “I’m just going to go to sleep and not leave the room all day tomorrow.  All those kids yelling about presents is just going to give me a major headache…”

           Kyle was already asleep by that point, mumbling something about pie and his mother’s strawberry cake!  Judas was torn between drooling at the thought and worrying about how horrible anything Rutee made could be.  Then again…Kyle and his many adoptive siblings hadn’t been poisoned by her cooking yet, so she probably did know how to…

           “No…I am not going down this train of thought!  I’ll quietly bring some food upstairs and not risk her getting a closer look at me.  The last thing I need is for Rutee to know I’m alive!”

           But what in the world was all that paper doing strewn about the room?  Or the pieces of ribbon, for that matter? Must be more Christmas stuff for his adoptive siblings.  Certainly, there wasn’t anything for himself in there!  It wasn’t as if he was a child who needed a present, or someone Kyle knew well enough to actually buy something for…

           …still, it would have been nice…

* * *

           Judas awoke to the loud sounds of pans banging together.  Or…a ladle and frying pan!  Accompanied by Rutee yelling for Kyle to get out of bed.  The young swordsman quickly threw his covers over his head, using the distraction to put his mask back on before he was seen.

           “Mooom…this is earlier than normal…,” groaned the teen.

           Rutee snapped, “You said you wanted to give your friends their Christmas presents. And you know once the kids wake up they’ll be all over the place.  So, if you want to do this in peace, you have to get up even before them.”

           It was then that she noticed Judas, throwing his blankets off of his head. Unfortunately, the fabric caught itself on the spike on the left side of his mask.  Kyle was struggling not to giggle, since it was a rare thing to see Judas so undignified.

           “Do you need help with that?” Rutee inquired.

           “I’m fine!” Judas grumbled, trying to muffle his voice with the blanket. “Just not awake yet!”

           She gave a knowing smile.  “Well, you two better hurry downstairs if you want any breakfast!  Once the kids get up…they’ll eat all the crumb cake!”

           Judas hid his smile at the thought of a cake he could eat for breakfast. Hopefully he wasn’t being too obvious about the whole thing.  Rutee could be quite perceptive…when she wanted to be!  It didn’t help that, being her brother, he looked a hell of a lot like her!

           As Rutee left the room, Kyle let out a small yawn.  But he got out of bed, and helped Judas too his feet.  “C’mon!  I got gifts for everyone, so we need to go downstairs…”

           “You didn’t have to do that…,” Judas muttered.

           “Of course I did!” was Kyle’s excited reply.  “You’re my friend too!  And if nobody ever gave you a real Christmas before, that means I need to make up for it now!”

           The young fencer’s stoic face hid his true emotions.  Thankfully, Kyle took it as Judas just trying to process everything. He held his friend’s hand and walked with him to the common area downstairs.  Where they found the rest of their friends already waiting…

           “Everyone!” Kyle called, helping Judas sit on one of the cushions.  “I just wanted to say how happy I am to have you all as friends!  I’m grateful for the support you gave me on my journey…I would never truly understand what being a hero was all about if I didn’t have you.  So, since we’re spending this Christmas together, I just wanted to give each of you a present…”

           He went under the tree, pulling gifts out one by one.  Judas was numb with shock as a long cylindrical object was put into his hands.  He slowly ripped into the paper, noting that so much of it hung loose upon the package. Not that it surprised Judas that Kyle wasn’t the best at wrapping gifts.  But it wasn’t as if the paper was important.

           “Kyle!  They’re beautiful!” Reala shrieked out, throwing Judas from his reverie.

           Sighing, Judas muttered, “It’s just amazing what something so simple can…”

           It was then that he finished peeling away the paper, seeing just what it was that Kyle had got him.  A sheath, roughly about the size as the one he used to carry Chaltier in.  The same shade of purple as his cloak.  Silver lining like vines.  While it wouldn’t really fit the sword he used currently, he could still tell where Kyle was coming from.

           “Ah! I hope that works,” the younger boy cried out.  “I mean…I don’t know what size Chaltier was.  But Mom still keeps the sheath she used to hold Atwight in, to keep her memory. And since you didn’t seem to have one for him when you had to let him go…”

           Judas whispered his thanks, so low they could barely hear him.  Kyle might have intelligence that could be politely described as clumsy, and be impossible to wake up in the morning.  However, no one could deny that he had a big heart. That he would do anything for his friends.  And his mind worked best when it was finding out ways to do something nice for other people.

           At that point, Loni exclaimed, “Wow!  Looks like Judas has another present here.  And this wrapping job is way too nice to be Kyle’s!”

           “That’s not funny, Loni!” cried his little brother.  “But…wow!  I know I only got one gift for each of my friends.  Did any of you guys buy something?”

           One by one, the rest of the team denied involvement.  Though they were all clearly interested in seeing Judas open it. Maybe they could figure it out after opening the box.  Each of the five looked in closely, causing their irritable friend to groan.

           “Okay!  I’ll see what’s in the box if it’ll make you all back off!”

           They gave him space, watching as Judas slowly ripped paper away from the container it held.  With that out of the way, he pulled off the top.  And let out a very uncharacteristic gasp!  There were home made cookies, pieces of chocolate cake, chocolate dipped strawberries.  Not only that…but a tiny pie tin held wat appeared to be a flan!

           “Whoa!  Judas! I didn’t know you liked sweets like this!” Kyle cried out.  “I should have gotten you some snacks in addition to the sheath!”

           He stated, voice shaky, “None of you are supposed to know about this!  Who in the world would have even thought to buy something like this for me?!”

           “Maybe Santa wanted to wish you a very merry Christmas,” suggested his younger friend.

           As Judas denied that Santa would be getting anything for him, he was unaware of Rutee watching the whole scene from the top of the stairs.  She smiled, letting out a low giggle.  It was quite unusual to see her son’s serious and brooding friend so flustered.  No…it was extremely unusual to see her fool of a brother as anything but composed!

           “If he doesn’t want to cut out the act and tell me that it’s him, then Leon can spend his time being confused as to who might have got him such treats! He thinks that silly mask can actually hide his face well enough that I wouldn’t recognize him.  I just haven’t said anything because I don’t feel like fighting with him over it.  Not when I’m sure he’s doing his best to protect my son…”

           She took one look back, noticing Judas was eating one of the cookies.  And that Kyle was presenting him with some of her breakfast cakes.  He looked so…well she didn’t see close enough to know if he was happy.  But comfortable being around the others.

           And as his sister…that was enough to put a big smile upon Rutee’s face!

[jackcarson-foxfutureworks]

Creative Writing - The Monkey Wrench Tapes #3

I put a lot of consideration into even making this post due to what I’m about to explain and it pains me deeply to be writing this about my creative writing project so I’ll just cut to the chase.

I was working on my project a couple of hours away from deadline hand-in, and everything was going great. I was about half an hour away from completing and submitting. However, an unfortunate incident suddenly occurred where a fellow class mate inadvertently shut down my PC mid-work. Upon rebooting, I discovered over 10 hours of work done that day had been lost. Luckily, I hadn’t lost it all. To summarise, the project I submitted is not even close to my original concept, nor is it something close to what it was prior to the incident. This post aims to clarify what was lost and what my project was ultimately supposed to finish as.

To start off, my lost work picked up where the last post left off as I was setting up for Leon’s Vice case beyond the initial crime scene investigation. This included calculating the potential choices a player could make and creating multiple potential responses to those choices. An example of this can be seen in the previous post. Now, like in many detective stories, the protagonist needed leads, places to go in order to gather more evidence. I planned out one or two potential orders in which the player could approach this, with each order changing the narrative. For example, if you went to the Apartments or Convention first then a possible suspect will no longer be at the Warehouse location, meaning extra detective work.

I also aimed to pull apart character personalities in these moments, in an attempt to present clear distinctions in their character and responses that felt somewhat more dynamic to these characters while still pertaining to some detective cliches. The straight-shooting protagonist who has some hidden demons, the cynical sidekick who mask his inferiority with comic relief, and the hot shot rival who might not be as bad as he seems. Of course just giving them a personality is far from the reality of being human, it requires other things too. Things like Kingsley’s love for the band The Police and vintage cars, Ray’s tendency to use the phrase “you dig?” and the overall history between them. Knowing that these characters have interacted with one another and lived in this world definitely makes it more believable.

So where was all this heading before the incident? Well, I was on the cusp of setting up a chase sequence for the player that would present several obstacles that would eventually calculate the outcome of that chase. Then there’d be the expansion of the other locations and the interactions within them, then the all important continuity aspect of tying them all together, creating a cohesive case story of choices, exploration and interaction. Beyond that, the player would then experience a second chapter of Kingsley’s time undercover, where the gameplay focus would shift from playing detective by gathering evidence and solving conundrums to espionage and the concept of morality where Kingsley has less black or white decisions to make. Eventually, I would’ve ended the story with a big decision for Kingsley to make which you can find the canon answer to in my 1500 linear story which I’ll add to this post for your reading pleasure at some point. Then a short epilogue returning the player back to the interview tapes would close out the entire Twine aspect.

Ah, what could have been.

Overall, the project was enjoyable, I found that writing creatively with Twine, a foreign software to me, was a fun new challenge that I’d like to do again at some point. I believe my original concept transferred well into the two separate formats of choose your own adventure and linear story, and although it wasn’t 100% the same as I progressed, the changes I had to make were necessary in keeping a good level of quality. I’d be lying if I said that I was happy and proud of the “finished” project that I submitted but the submitted project was both unfinished in functionality and in the story I aimed to tell all thanks to a most unfortunate and disastrous incident that was no fault of my own. I was hoping to share it with you all as part of the assignment’s conclusion but I don’t feel comfortable releasing something right now that in my eyes is basically unfinished. What have I learned from this? The functionality of a new writing software for a start. Oh, and that you should always work alone in a solitary hut somewhere in the Desert, thousands of miles away from any possible evidence of humanity, with all windows and doors boarded up and nothing but bubble wrap to keep your PC safe from harm...and to keep you mildly entertained.

[wipdfic]

Crystal’s Call (Revision)

So a loooong time ago, I did the Paper Legends Merlin Big Bang and started this series. I participated for two years and then decided I could finish the third and final part of the story without the aid of a timed challenge. Ah, how young and naive I was. Anyway, I basically never got around to it, but keep creeping towards the goal in the form of editing the existing story hoping to get back into it. I kind of fell off the Merlin fandom after that series ending. 

Anyway, I’ve managed to edit the first story and post it successfully. That was like…2 years ago. I’ve finished most of the edit for the second story and once that’s done I’m going to start on the last part. That’s the plan anyway. The first part is posted to AO3 here. The second part is also posted, but I’ll be posting the cleaned up revised chapters to this blog until it’s all done. Weee!

Chapter 1

“Fang Two to Fang Leader. We have visual. Target is on second level with three others. AE levels positive on all spectra ranging from red to amber.”

Arthur’s jaw clenched as he heard the confirmation, pulse increasing in anticipation. He sat monitoring communications from their make-shift command center in a van a couple of blocks away from the building they were surveilling. This could finally be the break they’d been waiting for. The man they were tracking, Alvarr, was a known associate of Morgause Gorlois, and the closest thing they had to a lead on Morgana’s whereabouts. Six months had passed since the two women had vanished from the grounds of Arthur’s university. Six months of searching and praying, knowing that every moment that Morgana was missing made it all the more likely that she would never be found. Morgause had gone to ground, and she was not making herself easy to find.

Arthur quickly took note of the information that had been given, mind working on the best way to approach the situation. They would be dealing with four sorcerers. Four relatively powerful sorcerers if the Arcane Energy levels were accurate. It was rare enough to find sorcerers with enough magic to even register on their aurameters anymore, and those who did were usually in the weaker end of the spectrum; red, occasionally orange, but almost never anything brighter. Before meeting Merlin, Arthur hadn’t even known that sorcerers could register in the white-gold range reserved for magic in its purest form, and he was pretty sure that Merlin was the only living soul who had come by that much power through natural means.

In the wake of the continued depletion of magic in the world, seeing an AE reading of amber or brighter meant augmentation of some kind. For the general public, PendraCor enhancers were becoming more and more common, the public unaware of their sinister origins. But on the streets, in darker circles that would rather avoid supporting the likes of Uther Pendragon, another form of augmentation had begun cropping up. Tales of magic theft were becoming more and more common, and with four sorcerers with that much power, Arthur had a sinking suspicion that they were in for more than just a snatch and grab on this one.

Arthur shared a look with Leon and knew that his commanding officer had drawn the same conclusion. They were more likely than not looking at a ‘Charging Station’, the euphemism used to describe the places were magic was stolen from some in order to “charge up” others. This meant not only facing stronger sorcerers, but also the likelihood of civilians in peril. They’d come across places like this a couple of times before and learned some valuable lessons. Like the fact that stolen magic was more unstable, less predictable, and generally harder for its wielder to control. Between this and the potential victims underfoot, they would have to tread very carefully.

“Signs of shields or wards?” Leon asked Lance over the comm.

“Affirmative. Can’t get a read on how strong, but the building schematics show that there is a basement and subbasement level, and I can’t get anything from those areas. Only one of our sensors is picking up anything at all.”

Translation: Their standard issue equipment wasn’t cutting it so Lance had pulled out the “trick” equipment that Arthur had provided him; equipment that had appeared in Arthur’s room one morning with no indication of where it had come from, but had a warm familiar tingle that pulled at his heart and a spot just beyond his navel. That feeling had been answer enough and reason enough for Arthur to know the equipment could be trusted.

He’d received a few such deliveries over the past several months, all with the same familiar warmth. But despite knowing that Merlin was the source, he’d never heard from the man himself. He didn’t know how Merlin knew that his team would need the help; didn’t know why the other man made no attempts to contact him, but he was grateful. Especially now when it looked like Merlin’s gifts would make all the difference in whether or not they’d be able to attain their objective and get one step closer to getting Morgana back.

The van that was serving as their command center was silent as Leon considered their options. As much as he hated to admit it, Arthur was glad that it was not up to him to make the decision in this situation. It had been one thing to lead a team through drills and mock combat scenarios, even some of the simpler recon missions, but this was different. Lives were at stake. His team’s lives, the lives of the people who were likely held prisoner in that building. Morgana’s. Much as there was part of him that wanted to be the one to bring these bastards to justice, he lacked the proper experience to pull off an operation of this magnitude. He was man enough to admit that.

“Alright Arthur, break it down. What are our considerations?” Arthur started slightly at being addressed. Leon did this often, but he wasn’t expecting a command drill on a mission like this. He wasted a precious few seconds blinking in confusion.

“You have less than a minute, soldier. Considerations!” That snapped Arthur’s brain and mouth into gear.

“Four sorcerers on the second level. Heavy shielding on the lower levels. Target is in sight, but we don’t know what reinforcements might be in the lower levels. If we go in, we’ll be going in blind. The entire building is probably shielded so we’ll have to find a way through the shield first. We need this target alive and there are likely civilians. We don’t want to use lethal force. Stun charges, shock grenades. Inhibitor rounds if we have to.”

“Suggested course of action?”

Arthur paused at this. What would be the best way to get in and out with as little risk as possible? Surprise was their best advantage at this point. There was no indication that the people in the building were at all aware that their location had been compromised. But with shields and wards, anyone with magic in the building would be alerted as soon as the team got close enough. They had to be careful how they played this.

“We need to get past the shields. We have a couple of tricks for shield cracking, but the target will be alerted as soon as we use them. We’d have to move fast.”

“Strike points?”

“We split the team. Half goes high, half goes low. We hit both the upper and lower levels at the same time. Break the shields and break in. Speed and surprise will be our edge.”

“Good, Arthur. You’re getting better at calling these things. You matched my thoughts almost exactly with the exception of a few details.”

Rather than explaining further, Leon puled his facemask down hiding all features and activating the AE goggles built into the mask. That was Arthur’s cue to do the same. He followed Leon out of the van even as the older man began issuing orders to the team.

“Listen up Dragons, here’s the play. We’re going in fast and hard. Bravo and Charlie will take the high ground. Alpha and Delta go low. Delta, you’re out back, Fang One and I will come in through the front. Echo will split and take Over-watch. Make sure no one gets out of that building. Fang Three, I know you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve. You’re to hit the second level shield first, long distance, and get in the moment the shield is down. We’ll wait for your signal before attacking the shield on the first level. With any luck, anyone downstairs will be distracted enough from the first attack that they won’t see us coming. Confirm.”

Arthur listened as each member of the team checked in to confirm that they understood their role in the mission, counting down from Fang Nine. Arthur was last to add his confirmation after which Leon gave a firm nod.

“Alright then gentlemen. Take your positions. We go live in five.”

Even as the order was being given, Arthur was reaching into one of the many pockets in his strike gear to find the small satchel of Merlin’s gifts. There were not many; a few very special bullets, a personal shielding device, a few emergency teleportation beads, a pair of spelled handcuffs that could bind magic, and some very special coins designed as protection for sorcerers who might need to hide. And, of course the shield-cracker. He’d received four in total, little glass marbles that had a core of light at their center when closely observed. He handed three out to his men from Camelot University; the junior division of the Dragon Corps that he had been responsible for training. They were friends and brothers all, and though he did keep some of the special item for himself, he did his best to make sure the advantage was shared out to the entire unit. Well…almost the entire until.

Although there had only been rare occasions when the trick tech came into play, the other members of the Dragon Corps, those who had trained under Leon away from the university and had never been under Arthur’s command, were aware that Arthur had some slightly different tools at his disposal, but he’d never shared the source of said tools. They assumed that he had access to improved technomancy through his father, and Arthur never made any attempt to dissuade them of that assumption. Leon was the only one he had told, as his commanding officer and someone who was like a brother to him, and Leon had made the call to keep the origin of the enhanced devices under wraps for the time being.

Arthur palmed the little ball of light in preparation for their attack. Most of the team had already checked in that they were in position. There was only a bit of roof hopping to be made for most of the unit, the biggest shift probably being for the two men of Echo Team to get into Over-watch positions. Arthur was with Leon, moving out of the covered alley where their van was hidden, sticking to the shadows as they made their way to the building on foot. It was only a block away and took them seconds to get into position in an alley across the street. Final checks came in. The team was in position. Leon gave the order, (“Fang Three, if you would”) and everything went, immediately, sideways.

The moment the shield cracker made contact with the shield, Arthur knew. He and Leon were already rushing forwards, but even as they did he could tell that something was wrong. It was a feeling that he recognized, had experienced a few times. Magic building too fast with unpredictable and often disastrous results. He was never sure why it was that he could feel it the way he could. It hadn’t taken him long when growing up to understand that it wasn’t something that everyone could feel, especially those without magic, but he had learned to use it as a tool; was particularly grateful for it in times like this.

“Brace!” he shouted over the comm, grabbing Leon and pulling him to the ground just before the power broke. Arthur felt it as a steadily growing pressure in the air, tingling over his nerves. But with this kind of power, there were other effects on their surroundings. He could feel a low thrum moving through the ground, almost a sound, but not quite. The world went silent just before a brilliant flash of light as the shield shattered, taking every window in the building with it.

“Fucking shite!” someone shouted over the comm as the blast receded. Glass was raining down into the street and Arthur was grateful, not for the first time, for the thick material that protected every inch of his body. Leon was shouting over the comm for the team to Go! Go! Go! He heard the confirmation that Bravo and Charlie were in. He and Leon were steps away from the main entrance, the doors looking as though they were barely hanging on. Arthur pocketed the other shield cracker seeing as they wouldn’t need it after all, took hold of his assault rifle and prepared as best he could for what was to come.

He sprinted for the entrance, hot on Leon’s heels as the team fed terse updates over their channel. The sorcerers had scattered the moment they saw the team of masked men swing through the shattered windows. As Arthur and Leon neared the main door, Owaine’s cheery voice offered over the comm: “Allow me, lads” just before the lock on the door was shot clean through. That was all it took for the doors to finally give in and fall completely from their hinges. Impressed as he was, Arthur kept it to himself, instead focusing on getting in and making sure their target didn’t escape.

He entered the building behind Leon, eyes and gun scanning the area for threats. There were a couple of figures on the floor, dazed from the unleashing of power and making little effort to get back to their feet. From the looks of them, they were in no shape to be putting up much of a defense; bodies thin and clothes tattered. He wasn’t picking up any AE fields from them through his goggles, but he could see Marks on at least one other, the seals of magic that formed when a sorcerer came of age, indicating that there were other sorcerers amongst the people hiding in this building other than the four on the upper levels.

“Stay down and do not move,” Leon commanded, sweeping the room with his weapon. “The authorities will be here shortly. We have no desire to harm you.”

Even as the words were spoken, there was the sound of heavy footsteps from above, loud thumps and sounds of magic and weapons fire being exchanged. Arthur could hear what was happening over his comm. The sorcerers had scattered. The team had lost track of one of them, but their primary target was still in sight. Percival had taken a hit, two of the sorcerers were down. Alvarr was trying to make his escape.

All of this had happened in a matter of seconds. Delta Team was just making it into the front section of the building when Arthur felt a familiar tingle which was the only warning they got before they were attacked from above.

“Down!” Arthur shouted, just as a barrage of glass shards peppered the space where he and Leon had been standing. Tristan and Gareth fell back into a rear room and he knew that they were seeking out the attackers, same as he was, same as Leon. The woman was making her way across a landing that would lead to the stairs to the front exit. Arthur knew that even if she made it that far, Owain would see to it that she didn’t get any further, but Arthur had no intention of allowing her even that much. He rolled to a kneeling position, ignoring the sting of cuts from glass that had made it through his armor as he raised his rifle, loaded with shock-charge rounds; bullets augmented by magic to disintegrate once ignited and stun a target without inflicting a wound. They had the added bonus of temporarily scrambling a sorcerer’s magic.

He didn’t have a chance to even attempt a shot, however, because the moment he moved, the woman was on him, raising a had with fingers curled into a claw. He felt the hold of her magic as it lifted him and flung him across the room. He managed to turn his body midair to prevent a head-first impact with a wall, but he knew that his shoulder would be smarting for a while after taking the brunt of his weight when he crashed. There was a small battle waged against the woman in the front of the building, magic buzzing through the air. She was clearly a formidable opponent, but the outcome was clear. Even she had to know that she was hopelessly outnumbered.

There was something wrong with this picture.

Arthur chose not to make his way into the fray, staying down for a moment as he tried to figure out what it was he was missing. The outcome of this mission was clearly falling in their favor. They would be shutting down another magic-theft facility and taking in a group of criminals. That was what they were here for wasn’t it? To take down a circle of…

…the slight brush of magic tingling over his skin was what gave it away. Arthur would have completely missed it if not for the advantage his sensitivity gave him and the fact that he had a good amount of experience with just the spell that was at play. He thought of it as the “Ignore Me” spell, because that is essentially what it was. Subtle, careful magic that relied largely on misdirection and only marginally on magic at all.

In this case, it was allowing their target to make his escape. It was at this point that Arthur realized that the comm had been silent for far too long.

“Does anyone have eyes on the target?” he snapped into his receiver. He was greeted by silence. Great. Something had taken down their comms. Radio silence would make this operation much easier.

He pulled himself to his feet as carefully and quietly as he could, thinking through the schematics of the building that he had memorized and trying to predict where Alvarr would go if he were attempting to make a quiet escape. The two main entrances were blocked, and there weren’t any other easy ways out, unless he planned to climb through jagged windows.

Arthur was a bit stumped until he realized something else. The sounds of fighting were moving closer and closer to the front of the building, leaving the back door largely ignored. He could not have asked for a more blatant declaration of intent. Making his way to the back of the building, he reached a small kitchen with a door leading to an alley behind the building where the dumpsters were kept. It was here that Arthur confronted Alvarr Quaid strolling towards the exit, calm as could be.

Arthur didn’t bother will calling out a warning to the man. He had no delusions that the sorcerer would surrender to him willingly, so he took the only logical course of action. He fired. Of course, as it turned out, Alvarr was the most powerful of the sorcerers present, made clear when he lifted a hand and deflected the stun-charge away with a shield that shone amber through the eyes of his AE goggles. Arthur dropped his rifle and pulled his handgun instead. It was loaded with inhibitor rounds; bullets for binding.

Static sounded in his ear for a moment before the radio chatter returned. Arthur could only assume that Alvarr had been the source of the disruption and had dropped the spell in favor of defending himself. He was a wise man. He would need all the help he could get if he thought Arthur would let him walk away from this.

“Step away from the door,” he ordered with a steady voice and steady hand.

“Or what?” Alvarr sneered. “You’ll shoot me? Go ahead. I’d rather die than become further fuel for Uther’s war against my kind.”

He didn’t bother repeating himself, choosing to fire instead. The command had been more for his team’s benefit anyway, informing the others that they were being misled. Alvarr returned the attack in kind, raising a shield and sending a blast of magic at him as the bullet deflected. Arthur dodged, diving to the left and rolling into a kneeled position, gun up and firing. He could hear the others responding, footfalls coming his way, but they were not coming fast enough. He wasn’t counting on the others however. He was counting on their Over-watch doing their job. All Arthur needed to do was keep Alvarr’s attention focused on what was happening inside the house to keep him from thinking about what was outside. He fired a couple more rounds at the man as he made his way for the door again, and just as Leon and Gwaine came rushing into the kitchen, a single shot was fired and Alvarr hit the ground with a startled cry. Arthur was there not a moment later with his binding cuffs, ensuring that there would be no further use of magic from the sorcerer.

“Target acquired,” Arthur announced over the comm. “Nice shot, Fang Nine.”

“Easy pickings, your highness.”

Arthur scowled at the nickname but kept his focus on the task at hand. Now that they had Alvarr, they needed to get him back to their transport and then get out of there. Fast.

“Dragon’s rendezvous at the back exit on level one. We’re getting out of–”

Before Leon could complete the command, there it was again, the feel of magic charging the air. Arthur didn’t have a chance to issue a warning before they were hit by a wall of power that shoved them all down and away. Arthur pulled his rifle up and fired a round in the direction the attack had come from, quick to pursue when he heard the sound of stumbling coming from the hall.

“Fang Three, cover!” Leon snapped, sending Gwaine after Arthur as they chased their assailant. It had taken maybe five minutes or less for the operation from start to finish, though with all that had happened, it felt like hours. In the aftermath of so much violence it was almost disturbing how quiet the building was now. The stumbling sounds that Arthur had been following seemed to be absorbed by the silence, leaving the lower level of the building dark and too quiet for his liking.

Arthur could hear his own breathing, and the oh-so-quiet shift of his feet as he took another step, but there was something else. He stepped forward, Gwaine at his back, moving along a wall towards what appeared to be a hallway. He pulled a small torch from his pocket and positioned it high while crouching low. He turned the corner and flipped the torch on in one swift movement, only to find an empty hallway and several doors to greet him. But wait… There was that sound again. Just for a brief moment. Like…shifting or breathing. He couldn’t quite place it.

There was something there, though. He could feel it as a slight tingle in the air. Someone was hiding. Someone with magic they had recently used.

“Fang One, report,” Leon’s voice spoke in his ear. It had been a good chunk of radio silence since he’d set off to follow the potential threat, but they were low on time. They needed to vanish very soon.

“Standby,” he returned, taking a couple of strides to the second door in the hallway. He felt Gwaine come up behind him as he reached the door, a reassuring presence at his back. He glanced over his shoulder, and wordlessly, the other man pulled out a torch of his own and raised his weapon at the door. Arthur lifted a hand with three fingers raise, and began counting down. When he got to one, he yanked the door open, aiming his light, along with Gwaine’s, into the opening.

There was a scream, a tangle of dirty limbs, then broken sobbing mixed with pleas.

“He didn’t mean it! Please! He didn’t know! He was just trying to protect me; to get us out! Just let us go! Please…”

The door had led to a supply closet of sorts, filled with buckets and towels and other cleaning tools. But huddled on the floor of the closet was a girl, pale with long dark hair, no older than sixteen. She was clutching the largely unresponsive body of a boy, similarly pale and dark-haired but several years younger, maybe twelve or thirteen. Children. Both thin and filthy, and the girl at least, was clearly terrified. Arthur was left reeling and feeling more than a little ill. Children. He’d fired on children.

Arthur turned to Gwaine. He could imagine the look on the other man’s face under the mask. Things just got a bit more complicated.

“We should go,” Gwaine said into the quiet of the building. It was the obvious course of action. They didn’t have much time before the local fuzz arrived, and every moment wasted was one moment closer to ruining their mission. Arthur didn’t know these children, had no obligation to do anything for them. But he had fired on children who, while not defenseless, were clearly terrified. He’d seen what was done to others with magic in places like these; the sick depravity of those so desperate to hold on to what was being lost that they turned to the most vulnerable of their kind to take what did not belong to them. Arthur would not abandon these children to that fate. He couldn’t.

Without another thought, he knelt beside the hysterical girl, puling off a glove and touching her hair in a calming manner.

“Fang One,” Gwaine warned.

“Join the others,” Arthur hissed at him. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Like hell I will,” came the predictable response, leaving Arthur with even less time to do what he wanted to do.

“Hey,” he said in a soothing voice to the girl who had finally calmed some. “Hey, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”

“You’re taking them away?”

Arthur assumed she was referring to the other sorcerers who were likely responsible for the theft of magic that was clearly taking place.

“We are. They can’t hurt you anymore. What’re your names?” Arthur gestured at the still-dazed boy.

“I’m Freya,” she said. “And he’s Mordred.”

Arthur nodded and reached into another pocket of his gear.

“We haven’t all day, Fang One.” Leon’s voice was insistent in his ear. “What’s the bloody hold up?!”

“Copy Fang Leader. We’ll rejoin you shortly.” He switched the receiver off again so that his voice didn’t carry to the entire unit.

“Freya, I’m going to give you something, okay? It’s a gift from a friend of mine, designed for people like you and Mordred; to keep you safe.”

He held out his hand and offered her two gold coins. She eyed him warily as she took them, examining each closely in the dim light from their torches.

“Feed a bit of your power into the charm and it will conceal your magic from anyone looking to take it from you.”

Freya looked doubtful, but she closed her hands around the coins before looking up at him. “Why are you helping us? Why would you care?”

Arthur was caught a bit flatfooted by the question. The situation was far more complicated than he even wanted to think about, let alone attempt to explain to a scared teen. “I have a very good friend who would be cross with me if I left you two without helping,” he said, smiling behind the mask at the thought of what Merlin would actually do to him if he’d turned his back on these children. ‘Cross’ was a bit of an understatement.

He also pulled a card from his pocket, handing it to her.

“If you need a safe place to stay, go to this address. You’ll find friends there.”

“We really have to go now,” Gwaine was pulling on his shoulder firmly and Arthur finally gave in. He could hear the sirens approaching. He was halted suddenly by an icy grip clamping onto his bare wrist and holding him in place. The boy’s magic was like orange mist through the goggles and it crawled over Arthur’s skin like a current of electricity, immediately calling Arthur’s attention to Mordred. Mordred, with eyes far older than his physical age, watching and seeing and knowing Arthur in ways that were too disturbing to think on properly.

“She said you would come,” he said; voice a whisper, a breath. “She said you would come, and that you would know. Follow the snake that circles the world. It will lead you to her. She will be waiting.”

The grip released and Arthur stumbled. If his nerves had been crawling before, they were full well sprinting now, climbing over each other in an attempt to escape the feeling of the boy’s magic as it lifted from him, fading like mist in the wind. Mordred lay still in Freya’s arms, as if the encounter had not happened at all. Arthur was beginning to think that he had imagined the whole thing. Then Mordred’s eyes opened and locked with his, a single word forcing its way into his thoughts.

Go.

Gwaine was pulling him and Arthur was running. The sorcerers had already been bound and loaded into the team’s vans, and the rest of the Dragons were loaded and waiting. As they hurried towards the exit, something caught Arthur’s eye in the debris left after their operation. A bit of stone that was giving off strange readings through his goggles. He wasn’t sure why he paused to grab it. It was likely just a bit of masonry laced with residual power from the explosion. Nothing unheard of. But something about it…

He pocketed the stone and joined the rest of his team in the command van. They pulled smoothly into the back alleys as sirens finally screeched to halt at the front of the building. There would be no trace of the Dragons left, aside from the chaos and missing sorcerers. Their target had been acquired, and Arthur was fairly certain that he’d received a message from Morgana through young Mordred. All things considered, he felt that their evening had gone rather well.

Wait for me, Morgana, he thought, working his thumb over the odd bit of stone. I’m coming. I’ll find you.

[elliotthezubat]

DEATH CITY DAYS 124

[[cont from part 123]]

 Justin: *rubbing his arm* *he looks uneasy*

oriko: is everything alright?

Justin: "Just considering something from today's meeting..." *forces a smile*

oriko:....

Justin: "I can start dinner prep if you want? Or did you need something?" *He reaches for his glass--and accidentally knocks it over*

oriko: ah!

Justin: "Oh no..." *reaches down for the glass...his hand shakes...he falls on his knees*

oriko: justin! *runs over to him*

Justin: *pulls off his earbuds, throwing them away*

oriko: !!

Justin: *holding his head* "My faith is being tested..."

oriko:..............*hugs him*

Justin: "..." *starts tearing up*

oriko: im here.....

Justin: *slight wheeze* "...Ever since I saw that...clone or doppleganger or whatever it was..."

oriko:....*holding his hand* why dont i make dinner tonight? you should rest...

Justin: "O-Okay...Could you do me a favor? There's a recipe book from the Church..."

-elsewhere-

ruby: hey commander, do you ever smile?

Burns: "...The last time I did, a baby started crying."

ruby: can i see? pleeeeease?

Burns: "..." *sighs* "..." *super awkward smile*

ruby: o.o;;;;;;;;;; o____o;;;;;

dia: erm.....

Burns: "D-Don't cry, please."

dia: commander, did something happen?

Burns: "..."

{Burns, 8 years old: *reading his Bible*}

{child: if you keep frowning like that, your face is gonna get stuck like that. FOREEEVERRRRR! hehe!}

{Burns: -_- "Shut up--I'm trying to enlighten myself..."}

{child 2: you're so boring, leon. its like you were born an old man!}

{Burns: "Just because I'm serious about this and you aren't just means I'm mature."}

{child 2: whatever!}

Burns: "Serious people get things done. That's all."

ruby: =n= well that's no fun at all! all work and no play isnt any good for anyone.

Burns: "I can have fun! I do fun things..."

ruby: then let's all go to the park! it'll be awesome, right dia?

dia: um...well...

Burns: "Very well--I have finished all scheduled tasks before this evening."

ruby: yay! i'll go see if anyone else wants to join! *runs off*

dia: sir....i do apologize about her...

Burns: "What do you expect--she's a child, after all."

dia:...actually, she's a year older than pearl...

Burns: "Hard to tell. As well, at my age, everyone looks like a child..."

dia: myself included...

Burns: "...I suppose so."

dia:....well, we should be going, then.

Burns: "Hmph." *follows*

-elsewhere-

Saria: "Now measure out another cup of flour..."

lzumi: *doing so*

Saria: "Oh, Zarya, that recipe doesn't need lemon--"

Zarya: "It helps speed up the yeast."

izumi: really?

Zarya: "Yeah, Mom does it all the time..."

Saria: "...I don't think--"

Axel: "Oh, it smells so good, bully girl!" *holds up a high five for Zarya*

Zarya: "..." *ignores him*

zeke: i dont think calling her 'bully girl' helped much, bro.

Axel: "She did help beat the crap out of Izumi."

Duncan: "And me!"

izumi: i-it's fine, really.

stephanie: woow thats loootsa sugar!

Kanin: ._.;;; "This may be a mistake...Maybe less sugar on that one--"

stephanie: usually mommy keeps sugar in baggies in her panty drawer.

Asher: "...That's not sugar. At all. AT. ALL."

stephanie:...........so it's flour?

Asher: "...It's dr--"

Monica: "Shut up and let Zarya do her thing--she's a whiz at this shit."

Zarya: "..." =\\\=;

stephanie: ooh! cherries!

Duncan: "This is a trainwreck waiting to happen--not least of which because I see only two people who know how to cook."

Kanin: "I can cook."

Duncan: "Two people."

Kanin: -_-#

lei-lei: *CHOP* i can help! i used to help mom and dad with the restaurant all the time!

Saria: "O-Oh, you can...?" *looks back down at her plate...sighs*

lukas: could i try some?

Saria: "S-Sure!" *offers one to Lukas* "Let me know what you think!" *smiles*

lukas: *nom* !!! this is really good!

Saria: OwO "Th-Thank you, Lukas!"

lukas: o-of course. 7//7;

*a cough is heard in the doorway*

Kazue: "..." *shambles inside*

amelia: !!

Asher: "Yo. You're supposed to be resting."

Kazue: *holds up a sign* <I needed the walk. What're you doing?>

Duncan: ("For crying out loud, they're still doing the sign thing...")

-izumi explains-

Kazue: "..." <Did you add the lemon juice?>

Zarya: *nods*

-elsewhere-

Kilik: *whistles* "Yeah, you did some damage to the house..."

Black Star: -_-# "I know, I know..."

tsubaki: *sigh* i just got off the phone with the insurance company...

Black Star: "Do they cover acts of God?"

-elsewhere-

-in a small town, a young woman places flowers by two graves-

woman: hi mom, hi dad....it's me again.......i've been fine......amanda and her friends have been hassling me as usual......im ok, really.....

*behind her is an old church...then it sounds like part of it falls down*

woman: !! *looks* ........(im probably imagining things....) well.....im going to head back home now.....i'll be back soon.....i miss you both so much.....*walking away*

*eyes follow her*

creature: *observing her*

Pumpkin: *pushes the Creature's head down* *watching the woman leave*

-elsewhere-

Tezca: *checking his map*

-in the distance seems to be an old temple-

Tezca: "Jeez, that's seen better days..." *walks up*

-a shadow seems to follow him-

Tezca: *singing softly to himself* "And they go bitty-bounce-bounce..."

-loooooom-

Tezca: o___o "My early warning system is tingling..." *looks around*

-HUG-

???: <LIL MAN! GOOD TO SEE YA! GRAHAHA!>

Tezca: *eyes bulging* "GAK! H-Hey, yourself!"

-a very tall woman with dark skin is hugging him-

???: <you got a bit taller than when i last saw ya! how've ya been?>

Tezca: *wheeze* <Oh, you know, doing the Death Scythe thing, going on a walk-about, looking for leads on an investigation-->

???: oho? <is that right?>

Tezca: *nods* <Yeah, we had some Kishin Worshippers pop up in Death City--real mess. I swear, that city is like a magnet for crap luck.>

-elsewhere-

Monica: -_-# "We don't need a freaking escort home..."

yolanda: i know, but there's not much we can do about it, im afraid.

Lorenzo: "Just be thankful they had us do it and not some weirdo." *nudges Monica's head*

Youta: .~.; "Y-You really shouldn't poke a student--"

Monica: *swings at Lorenzo*

yolanda: this is a frequent occurrence between them, trust us.

Lorenzo: *ducks--and slams Monica down onto the pavement*

Youta: D8> "This is normal?!"

Zarya: "Wait for it..."

Monica: *flips Lorenzo over, tossing him into a car*

Youta: Q~Q *hides behind Stephanie*

stephanie: i dont think the car is too happy.

Monica: "Ha! Getting slow in your old age, bro?!"

Lorenzo: *gets up--and pushes the car along the street at Monica--*

Monica: O_O "WAIT--"

*CRASH*

Endeavor: *steps out of a nearby cafe--* "..." *pulls out his phone* "Hello, auto insurance? Yeah. Again."

-elsewhere-

Cho: *escorting Lei-Lei, Hibiki, and others* "Hmm...Your grandmother was DWMA, right?"

hibiki: yes.

Cho: *nods* "She was a fierce fighter. Many of us wish we could be so polished and driven." *touches the facial burn marks*

hibiki: yeah....

Axel: "How did you get burned?"

zeke: *hushed* dude!

Cho: "No, it's fine. I was on a mission and was infected by a combination of spontaneous human combustion and venomous magic."

hibiki: yikes....

Cho: "I had to play dead for awhile in the hope of finding the co-conspirator, but she's fallen off the radar."

-elsewhere-

Spirit: *driving back Izumi, Asher...and Amelia, Kanin, and Duncan*

Duncan: *squished in the back-seat* >n<

amelia: thank you for driving us home, mr albarn…

Spirit: "You're welcome--can't have you all out on the streets without some additional supervision."

izumi:...

Asher: *looks out the window* "This kind of crap keeps happening around here..."

amelia: makes you wonder if this really is a safe place to live....

Kanin: "...Sometimes it's the only place you got."

izumi:.....why dont we listen to some music?

Spirit: "Good idea!" *turns on the radio--*

*loud heavy metal starts*

-elsewhere-

Giriko: *carrying Anna--and knocks on Justin's door* "Yo, priest!" *he's also holding a plastic bag*

oriko: yes?

Giriko: "Oh--hey there." *holds up a bag* "Got those ingredients."

oriko: ah, do come in. justin...isnt feeling that well, and he's resting right now.

Giriko: "Jeez--he sick or something?" *sets down the groceries, then sets down Anna*

oriko:....would you like some tea? something to eat, perhaps? ^^

Giriko: "You got any juice for Anna? I can start chopping up the vegetables..."

-elsewhere-

Yafeu: "DON'T OVER-EXERT YOURSELF--YOU'RE NOT DOING ANY ROOFTOP HOPPING FOR A BIT!"

Kazue: <Please stop yelling--my family will be here shortly.>

preston: oh~?

*the lights go out*

lukas: eh?

Saria: "EEP!"

*footsteps are heard, darting around*

lukas: saria!

Saria: "Right!" *transforms*

Yafeu: *transforms as well*

lukas: ... !!!

*a masked figure is in front of Lukas, swinging an arm whose sleeve hides their hand*

lukas: who are- !!! KYA!

???: <hey! whos pants are these?>

lukas: >////~////<;;

???: *tosses the ring from a kyoketsu-shoge at Preston's hand, landing it around Yafeu's barrel*

Saria: ._.; "Lukas! On your left!"

lukas: !!

???: *is attacking with...an umbrella?*

lukas: what's going on?!

Kazue: *claps their hands, and the lights come back on*

*the ninja-esque figures all have kabuki masks on*

lukas: !!! G-GIVE MY PANTS BACK! >///<;

???: *looks* "... ... ..." *small squeak, looks away*

'old man mask': oh? these are yours? sorry dude!

Saria: =\\\\=;

Yafeu: "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU JERKS?!"

Kazue: <Family...>

'onna mask': we're the Kotori Family Kabuki Troupe.

Saria: "Kabuki? Kazue, you're from a kabuki troupe! That's so cool!"

Kazue: =\\\\=;

Yafeu: *transforms back...and reaches for one of their masks*

young boy: ehehe. ^^;

-onna mask removes said mask-

girl: really kazue, you make us worry with these endeavours of yours...

Yafeu: *looks back and forth* "...Okay, I can see it."

'fox mask': .......

Kazue: <I merely am applying my skills to actual combat and the safety of the innocent...>

young boy: hey, big bro, is kazue in trouble?

Oni mask: *arms crossed* "Big time."

Kazue: "..." *throws a smoke bomb*

'fox mask': oh no you dont.

Kazue: *already reaching for the window*

Yafeu: *coughs*

-something grabs their leg-

Kazue: O_o "Uh--"

-'fox mask drags them back with....their own arm??-

Saria: "Oh! The fox is a whip?!"

Kazue: <LET GO, SADAKO!> >~<

Sadako: *GLARE* you know what father would do if you got yourself killed, dont you?

Kazue: "Wouldn't be my problem if I was dead already!"

Sadako: *GETS RIGHT IN THEIR FACE* He would cry. that's what.

Young lady: ara-ara, Sacchan. you're quite spirited, arent you? ^^

Kazue: "..." *frowns, looks away* "I never asked you to come here. Family is nothing but a nuisance--"

*SLAP*

Kazue: "?!!!"

Yafeu: *LOOKS PISSED...MORE THAN USUAL*

preston: !!!!

lukas: y-yafeu!

Kazue: "Who even told you that you could touch me--"

Yafeu: "DO YOU KNOW WHAT SOME PEOPLE WOULD GIVE FOR FAMILY, YOU LITTLE CRAP?!"

Saria: "..."

girl: please, lets calm down everyone.

Kazue: *grunts* <In case you haven't noticed, I'm injured, so it's not like I can travel back easily...>

young lady: we're not forcing you to come home, you know.

girl: right, we just want you to be safe.

Kazue: "I'm alive, aren't I?"

girl: well, yes.....

lukas: yafeu, are you alright?

Yafeu: *wipes his eyes* "I'M FINE!"

lukas:.....

preston:.....hmm...

Saria: "M-Maybe we should all take a deep breath and pause? Um, if your family came all this way, I'm sure they're tired and could use a rest and maybe something to eat?"

girl: well, we're staying at the white water inn, why dont you come with us?

preston: why that sounds just lovely, but i need to make a call first.

Saria: "Y-Yes, and we were supposed to get an escort first due to the Kishin Worshippers..."

*the door opens*

Akane: "Apologies--Clay got us lost again."

clay: =~=;

Akane: "...Did we come at a bad time?"

young lady: oh my~ such a handsome man.

-elsewhere-

tsugumi:......for some reason, im feeling jealous.

mio:....huh?

Anya: =u= "Well, given the luxury you are experiencing, I'm not surprised~"

mio: *sweatdrop* (these freaking rich people....)

ao: i see your ego is gaining weight like your calves.

Anya: (ʘ言ʘ╬) "HOW ABOUT I SHOVE MY FOOT UP YOUR BACKSIDE?!!!" *rolling up a sleeve*

tsugumi: come on now, dont fight!

-elsewhere-

Duncan: "The corner is fine..." *grabs his bag*

-elsewhere-

stephanie: hey moni, can i stay the night? mommy said she's going to be at a party tonight. ^^

Monica: "Just need to ask the 'rents first...Hey, could you distract them? If they saw Lorenzo and I like this, they'd drop a brick."

yolanda: i'll make sure to wear protective headgear.

Monica: -_-# "Just keep them occupied before Mama sees us, or she's going to--"

-LA CHANCLA'D-

Lorenzo: OwO; *tries to run--*

-LA CHANCLA'D x2-

Zarya: "Yikes."

Lorenzo: X___X

Monica: @~@

-elsewhere-

Blair: *riding an airborne pumpkin home* ^w^ *lands--only to be surrounded by more hooded figures* OwO; "Nya?"

guard: good afternoon, ma'am.

Blair: "Hi? Can I help you?" ._.;

guard: just checking on things here.

Blair: "Oooooooh, because of the nasty Kishin worshippers hanging about?"

guard: aye. *hands her a list* by the way, lady maaba recently updated the list of rogues to be on the look out for.

Blair: "Eh?" *looks over it* "Oh, no--this just keeps getting longer...I could check the club again."

-elsewhere-

Kid: *sips water* "..."

shiori: is kid better?

Kid: *weak smile* "A bit--thank you. How are you feeling, Shiori?"

shiori: *hug*

Kid: "..." *wipes his eyes, hugs her*

shiori: kid get better soon?

Kid: *nods* "I will--promise."

-elsewhere-

Tezca: "Then Enrique said, 'The only thing I don't swing on are vines, so you're on your own!' BWA HA HA HA HA!"

Quetzal: GRAHAHA! <oh man, still the same old jokester, eh, lil man?>

Tezca: <You know it!> *opens another bottle* <You should see his stand-up routine! Shame he didn't come--but he saw the hotel and just crashed.>

Quetzal: <his loss.>

Tezca: *looks at the treetops* <Things been quiet here, or you having problems?>

Quetzal: <eh, same old problems a god can have, y'know?>

Tezca: <I hear ya. I mean, I don't know from experience, but secondhand. Those slash-and-burn jackals giving you any trouble?>

Quetzal: <now and then, but nothing a good ol' snake eyed glare to scare 'em off. and of course theres those land developers....>

Tezca: <??? Still? You got a name of one of them?> *sips his beer*

-elsewhere-

Bellhop: *pushing a food service cart* =_= ("Damn Death Scythes get to live the high life...I hope this one at least tips...") *knocks on the door*

*the door opens...revealing Enrique in the jacuzzi*

Enrique: "GOH!"

Bellhop: O_o; <The Death Scythe is a monkey?!>

-elsewhere-

DWMA Engineer: *stretches* "Why'd the boss call us in? I want to get home--Frank's said he was making chicken mole tonight!"

worker 2: i'unno.

*footsteps are heard descending down the hanger's steps...*

worker 2: ??

???: "OKAY, YOU GRUNTS! JUST BECAUSE THE SUN IS SETTING DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T STOP WORKING! WE--"

*then he trips, as the giant H-beam he is carrying gets stuck in the stairs, knocking him down, each step, one after the next...*

Engineer 1: ._____.;

'H-Beam': -A-;

*and the tall boss lands on his face*

???: "..." *groans* "You could've told me I missed that step..."

Engineer 3: "Oh, God, he's delirious--he's talking to his hentai beam..."

Engineer 4: "Is that like his 'body pillow' or something?"

-the beam then transforms-

'beam': well maybe you should watch where you're going! >n<#

???: *grunts, sits up* "Why you got to be so mean? I'm the one running this outfit!"

Engineer 1: "D'aw, she's not a beam--she's a weapon! She's so tiny and cute like my niece!"

'beam': O__O## *throttling engineer 1* I'M A _GUY_ YOU BEEFBRAINED SACK OF DICKS!!

Gen: D8< "HEY! No punching them in the head--we need their brains!" *pulling 'Beam' loose*

Engineer 3: D8> "GET A MEDIC!"

'beam': *flailing and growling*

Engineer 1: Q~Q "Ow...Am I still pretty...?"

Gen: "Hakuno! Do I have to put you back in the smelting pit?!"

hakuno: 7n7 *grumble grumble*

Gen: *groans* "I guess the meeting will have to wait until morning for Sora to get to the infirmary--BUT I WANT YOU ALL HERE BRIGHT AND EARLY TOMORROW MORNING TO START DIGGING THE TUNNEL!"

Everyone: "..." ._.; (" 'Tunnel'?")

Sora (Engineer 1): >~< "I feel something leaking in my brain..."

-elsewhere-

*it's getting dark out...*

Hyde: *sneezes* *wipes his nose* "Ugh...Is it getting colder out?"

Ragnarok: "No, moron--it's summer."

ochako: maybe you're feeling sick?

Hyde: *sniffles* "How can _I_ get sick when I'm a va--va--va--...vivacious darling?" ^^;;;

ochako: .....*shrug*

Ragnarok: "..." *grabs a thermometer off the convenience store rack* "Bend over."

kyouko: dude!

-elsewhere-

Master: *wiping the counter* *spots a customer in the corner* "??? We're closing up..."

*someone is outside, staring in...*

miranda:....*reaches for the phone*

Customer: *seated, not looking up...looks nervous*

Master: "...Hey, you okay--" *reaches for the customer--*

*a brick is thrown through the window*

miranda: !! uncle!

Master: *grabs a tissue box from the table--and throws it out the window, beaning the person outside in the face*

Assailant: "ARG!" *falls back*

Master: "Miranda, call the pol--"

*SMASH*

miranda: !!!!

Customer: *breaks a chair over Master's head*

miranda: *grabs a broom and attacks the customer*

Customer: *twirls a butterfly knife before stabbing at Miranda*

miranda: *dodge*

Customer: *keeps attacking...their hand has three eyes on it...*

Person Outside: *rubs their face, a huge tissue box-mark on their face* "Bastard..." *grabs another brick, walks inside...*

miranda: shit!

Person Outside: "Hee hee...Language!" *aims the brick--*

*grab*

Person Outside: "???" *looks down*

Master: *has them by the ankle--and flings them into the wall*

miranda: *jabs the customer in the gut with the broom handle*

Customer: "UMPH!" *drops the knife*

-WHAM-

Master: *picks up the broken leg of the chair, aims at the Person Outside*

Customer: @~@

miranda: kishin worshippers, are you? well you can kish-my ass. *POW*

Customer: X____X

Person Outside: *dazed* "Lahngeege--"

Master: *bashes the Person with the chair leg upside the head*

-elsewhere-

Yafeu: *sulking, looking out the window*

dormmate: hey, you ok, man?

Yafeu: *suddenly shouting* "HUH? OH, JUST THINKING ABOUT A DUMB ARGUMENT TODAY!"

dormmate: oh, you want to talk about it?

Yafeu: "...ONE OF MY CLASSMATES' FAMILY CAME TO SEE THEM."

dormmate: ah.

Yafeu: "BUT THEY WERE ALL TICKED OFF ABOUT IT LIKE THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO SEE THEM? CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?"

dormmate: well, maybe their relationship with their family isnt that good.

Yafeu: "IT DIDN'T SEEM BAD! THEY SEEMED WORRIED ABOUT THEM. IF THAT WAS ME, I WOULDN'T BE SO RUDE."

dormmate: hmm...

Yafeu: "I GUESS I GOT ANGRY AND TOOK IT OUT ON THEM..."

dormmate: how bad was it?

Yafeu: "I SLAPPED THEM."

dormmate: jeez.

Yafeu: "...DO I SEND THEM A FRUIT BASKET OR SOMETHING?"

-elsewhere-

Monica: *lying in bed...then tosses and turns with a grunt* "URG!" *tosses off the sheets*

-sounds like mom is cleaning up downstairs-

*the room has some rock posters, a guitar on its stand in the corner...*

Monica: *listens...* "Pst. Steph?"

stephanie: yeahsies?

Monica: "We're breaking out."

stephanie: oooh! sounds fun!

Monica: *opens the window* "Just be quiet heading down."

stephanie: ok.

*the fire escape is below...Monica carefully heads down the ladder...*

yolanda: zzzz....

Monica: "...Wake her ass up."

stephanie: *inhales*

Monica: "???"

stephanie: hey yola-

Zarya: *groans, holding the pillow over her head* <Too loud...>

yolanda: hnn? *rubs her eyes*

-footsteps coming up the stairs-

Monica: "Me? Never! Steph just woke us all up with her snoring!"

stephanie: but you said we were busting out?

Monica: *throws a pillow at her head*

mrz ramirez:......two weeks.

Monica: "SHIT!"

mrs ramirez: *opens the door*

-la chancla'd-

Monica: X___X *falls back*

Zarya: O_O;

-morning-

shinra: =~= what day is it?

maki: according to the calendar, July 8th.

shinra: it feels like it's been over a month already...*yaaawn*

Arthur: *has a long Merlin-style beard*

shinra:......im not even gonna ask.

-elsewhere-

Kid: *sits up in bed* "..."

stocking: *still sleeping*

Kid: "..." *strokes her cheek*

stocking: nnn... =///=

Kid: "H-Hey..."

stocking: mmm? *rubs her eyes* hey kiddo.

Kid: "..." *hug*

stocking: morning.

Kid: *shaking a bit*

stocking:...*holds him*

Kid: *nods* "Really..."

stocking:.....*holds him close to her chest*

Kid: *closes his eyes, relaxing a bit*

-elsewhere-

Akane: *looking around Deathbucks* "So the two just started attacking?"

Master: *head bandaged, ice on his head*

miranda: yeah. the one had this as a tattoo....*shows her drawing of the kishin emblem*

Akane: "I see...We've had similar reports from last night."

miranda:....

Akane: "It may be best to take the day off for repairs while we investigate--"

Master: "We don't close."

miranda: uncle...

Master: "We have customers waiting for us, and we can't let some punks intimidate regular people..."

Akane: "...We can find someone to take over the shop while you rest."

-elsewhere-

Tezca: *yawns...he's somehow on top of a palm tree*

quetzal: <hey lil man! sleep ok?>

Tezca: "..." *looks down* "..." <I don't know--how did you get so small now?>

quetzal: <hang on a sec...> *she transforms into a snake like creature with wings and flies up to him*

Tezca: ^w^ "Hello." QwQ "Can you help me down?"

quetzal: <yep, hop on!>

Tezca: *carefully gets on* >~< <I hate these heights...>

-elsewhere-

-at a certain community collage-

student: hey, did you see all those crows hanging around the church this morning? so creepy!

student 2: i bet amakusa had something to do with it, her parents are buried near there after all.

-the young woman sits at a desk-

student 3: well speak of the devil. literally!

woman: .....

*a professor walks in*

Professor: "Okay, okay, settle down--we got a minute before class starts."

woman:.....

*alarm goes off on the Professor's phone*

classmate: hey, misaki, dont let tiffany and her cronies get you down.

*the tree branches outside the window sway a bit...*

misaki: im fine, really...

Professor: "And we now begin. Amakusa, please collect homework in your row."

misaki: yes, sir.

girl: careful, sis, she might put a hex on you!

girl 2: lol! good one penny!

classmate:....

Professor: "Are you in high school or college? Focus on classwork, or I'll mark you as absent."

-elsewhere-

Kazue: =n=

Death the Kid: Asher: *looks behind Kazue* "...You know your family is still following you--"

Kazue: "I KNOW!" *smashes their sign against the wall*

sadako:...no we're not. im a tree.

Kazue: "YOU'RE NOT SCARLET JOHANSSON!"

Asher: "...I am finding this way too amusing."

lukas: -_-;

Saria: *has her sweater pulled up over her face* *groans*

lukas: hey, are you alright?

Saria: "...I made a mess in the kitchen. Again."

hibiki: want us to help?

Saria: "...Do you have a mop?" TT~TT

Zarya: *noms on a muffin*

Monica: *has a footprint on her face* -_-#

-elsewhere-

Chuuya: "Oh, Tolstoy--surprised to see you here."

leo: good morning, mr nakahara.

Chuuya: "Hey. I was just dropping off Sonia and Miyuri--" *turns--and they are gone* "..." D8

sonia: hello, uncle pushkin.

miyuri: *HUG* HIYA!! ^^

Pushkin: "UMPH! Aren't you getting stronger..." ^^; *trying to pry Miyuri loose* >~<

katya: i take it your dad's nearby? he still owes me a drink-off.

Pushkin: "Ha! He's so tiny the beer would go to his head immediately--"

Chuuya: OnO# *staaaaaaaare*

ayako: and makarov's even smaller than him!

katya: *GLAAAAAAAAAAAARE*

leo: please dont cause a fuss.

Motojiro: *spins by in a chair* "Hey, Chuuya! Good to see you--"

*the chair disappears down the hall--before a crash is heard*

leo: D8> motovya! are you alright?!

Motojiro: *rolls back into the room...like, literally rolling* "Just dandy!" *bounces up* "I fixed it!" *hands Katya a gun magazine*

katya: nice.

Motojiro: "Oh, hey, girls!" *holds up a hand to Miyuri* "High five?"

miyuri: *head tilt* *holds her own hand up* hi! ^^

leo: *sigh* <honestly, you should really be more careful, i worry...>

Motojiro: *taps his hand to hers* ^^; <I mean, I was in a rush. It's not like anything blew up this time-->

*BOOM*

ayako: aw the fucking coffee machine blew up again!

Pushkin: "Language! We say 'the freaking coffee machine blew up again'..."

Motojiro: "Darn--I should have known we weren't ready for unstable molecules in the brew...Chuuya, I'm going to need a hand."

Chuuya: "What, for a coffee machine?"

*something slithers out of the kitchen*

Motojiro: "No, that." *picks up a broom*

-elsewhere-

Vampa: *looking through the newspaper* <It's getting so you can't even burglar in peace!> *slaps the paper* <Now we have...'Kee-shas'? ...The hell? I love her music! Why would she have a cult?!>

peppino: *squints* <i think it's 'kee-shin. not sure what that is, either.>

Vampa: <It's like you need to speak another language to understand this...>

*BUMP*

Vampa: "???" *looks around--then down*

peppino: ??

Youta: >~< "Ow...S-Sorry!"

Cho: "..."

-elsewhere-

*...is that an airship floating over the suburbs?*

hermine: *shaking*

*it looks like a rope is lowering...*

Valentine: "Get behind me, Hermine. You too, kids..."

eugenie: big sis val? what's going on?

Valentine: "I don't know..."

*the person is descending down the rope--then falls on the last bit of it in front of Eugenie*

eugenie: ??

Lucien: *face-plants into the garden* "..." *muffled* <Owie...>

eugenie: !!!!!!! <UNCLE LUCI!!> *HUGS*

hermine: *sigh of relief*

Lucien: *sits up, a bunch of flowers stuck in his mouth* "PHOEEY!" *looks* <EUGENIE!> *hug*

Benedetto: *already has a stick* <Should I attack?>

hermine: <lucian, it's so good to see you, at first i thought you were-...>

Lucien: <What? ...Oh, no, no! Mr. Fitzgerald told me to bring the newest model over, and, well...Surprise?> ^^;;;

hermine: <i see. well, do come inside. i'll get something for you to drink.>

edouard: <would you please keep it down! im trying to finish reading this chapter!>

Lucien: <Good--> *coughs* <Ugh, my tongue tastes like dirt now...> *spits*

Valentine: ^^; <Edouard, we have a guest...>

edouard: *looks up*

Lucien: ._.

edouard:....*small grunt of acknowledgement before his eyes return to the page*

Lucien: "Fair. I'm not sure we ever really met before...I was sent abroad when--"

Valentine: *pat pat* "He wouldn't care if you explained anyway."

-elsewhere-

*a VW van drives along a dusty road...behind the wheel is a rather hippie-ish looking woman...in the passenger seat is a woman whose style looks, for lack of a better description, Louisiana*

hippie: *humming along to the radio*

"Louisiana": =n= "Ugh, why the desert...I was fine with that little Great Isle bungalow..." *nudges the driver* "Come on, Sarah--why Death City? Why can't we stay near the water~?"

sarah: hnn? hey come on, kate, i was in the zone.

Kate: "Yeah, and then you get another 'vibe' and suddenly it's, 'Pack up, Kate--we're on the road again!" Pfft!" *pouts*

sarah: hey, this 'margaret' said she needs our help. she kinda reminds me of you, honestly.

Kate: >\\\\>; "Fine...Wait, reminds you of me because I'm precious and adorable, or because she's got money?"

sarah:.....*shrug*

Kate: "GAH! You're no help!"

*her seat then falls back, knocking Kate backwards*

Kate: "...I thought you fixed this seat."

sarah: .....im gonna need to pick up more duct tape, then.

Kate: *points up a finger* "You're getting me a new bathing suit! And finding us a pool!"

sarah: that's fair.

*they pass a sign: 'Now entering Death City Limits'*

-elsewhere-

Kamui: *sneezes* "Ugh..." *he looks really uncomfortable before shivering*

mt lady: you better not get me sick!

Kamui: "It's not my fault--I thought it was supposed to get warmer in summer, but I swear, I keep getting chills."

-elsewhere-

Rin: "What's up, Unagi?" *waves*

unagi: good morning, okumura-san. i was going to deliver some textbooks to your brother, but apperantly he's not in yet.

Rin: "??? Weird--he wasn't home this morning. I thought he left early..."

-elsewhere-

Patty: "And this is the fountain. And that's the art gallery. And that's where we tilt the painting to make Kid come running."

mrs noto: i....see... ^^;

Yumi: "I'm sorry, Mrs. Noto--I'm sure this can be overwhelming. But things are a lot more cozy than appearances suggest."

mrs noto: <it's fine, just a bit different than what im used to.>

Yumi: *nods* <If there is anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let us know.>

*children can be heard playing behind the corner*

mrs noto: ??

Patty: "Hey, kiddos! Say hi to Takeru's mom!"

shiori: *looks up*

Yumi: *picks up Shiori* <This is my youngest, Shiori.>

shiori: bah!

mrs noto: <oh, she's precious!>

Yumi: <Thank you.> *smiles* <She's so smart and such a happy baby.> *bounces Shiori*

shiori: *giggles*

Patty: OwO; *does not understand the language...*

mrs noto: so how old is she?

Yumi: "Almost 2 and a half."

-elsewhere-

*a soccer ball flies towards Iris*

iris: *dodge* EEP!

-it lands in the net-

Vulcan: "Good try, Iris!"

iris: sorry, im not really good at this 'goalie' thing. ^^;

Relan: "You're still doing better than Arthur-- ??? Where did he--"

Arthur: *in a suit of armor at the other goalie net*

lisa: -_-;

Relan: "You're up, Shinra." *passes the ball*

shinra: hup!

Arthur: *standing still*

tamaki: *looking from the window*

Akitaru: "Looks like they're having fun out there."

tamaki: mm...

Akitaru: "Hey, you up for something to eat? I needed some help with the tacos."

tamaki:....maybe later....

Akitaru: "A'ight. Holler if you need anything."

tamaki:...ok.....

-elsewhere-

*Deathbucks looks a little busier...but all the employees look...super-serious?*

*a bunch of CIA agents are serving the drinks*

ox: wow, this is, um....

Harvar: "It's a bunch of cops."

DWMA CIA Agent 1: "Order up for...'Hugs and Kisses'?"

ox: ??

DWMA CIA Agent 2: "That says 'Qx,' Adrian."

Adrian: "What the hell is 'Qx'?"

ox: wait a sec- *raises hand* it's 'Ox' actually.

Agent 2: "...Like the big blue one?"

agent 3: paul bunyan has nothing to do with this. -_-;

Harvar: "Can we just have our orders already? Mine was the--"

Agent 3: "Hiver? Someone named Hiver?"

-elsewhere-

Kunikida: *walking down the stairs* "Don't dawdle--we can't be late for this appointment." *pulls out his car keys*

dazai: oooh, can i drive? owo

Kunikida: "I don't know--can you?" *rolls his eyes, opens the door* "Now hurry: I made sure to park here last night so we wouldn't be delayed--"

*there's Kunikida's van across the street...and there's Kunikida's van's bumper on the sidewalk in front of them...and Kunikida's van side mirror in the road...and there's bits of glass from Kunikida's van's window*

dazai: .....new paintjob?

Kunikida: D8 "WHAT THE FUCK?!!!"

*there's a VW Van that is parked in front of Kunikida's van...or, rather, rammed into it and stayed there parked*

dazai: !!!!! dear god......look at how cute this stick figure family looks!

Kunikida: *SCREAMS, before marching up to the VW Van* "When I trace their tags, I'm going to wring their neck-- ...This van has no tag." *looks it over--then spots two people sleeping in it* "HEY!" *slams his fist on the side of their van*

???: zzzzz....

???: *grunts* *sleep-talk* "No, Armand, it's not my bundle..." *snores*

Kunikida: "Dazai, pick this lock."

dazai: *cracks knuckles and finger waggles* you got a hairpin?

Kunikida: "..." *opens his journal, pulls one out*

dazai: thank you~ *click*

???: *yawns...opens her eyes and looks up at Dazai* "... ... ..." *nudges the other one* "Sarah, we got company. Cute company."

sarah: wuzzuh?

dazai: en chante, madame~<3

Kate: "Bonjour, mon brave homme. Vous avez des cheveux uniques - un nageur, peut-être~?"

Kunikida: "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY VAN?!!"

sarah: too loud....*yaaaaawn*

Kunikida: "..." *grabs Sarah by the arms, starts shaking*

Kate: "...Say, you ever tried swimming as far as your arms can go, then get so tired you think you'd end up drowning?"

sarah: =~= hey, easy, my leg hurts.

Kunikida: "YOU BACK UP INTO MY VAN! HOW DID PARALLEL PARKING BREAK MY VAN LIKE THIS?!"

dazai: if i could drown with such a lovely lady, i wouldnt mind at all~<3

Kate: =\\\w\\\= "You charmer." *then she opens her eyes* OwO "LET'S DO IT RIGHT NOW! DROWN WITH ME!"

dazai: OwO erm...

sarah: um, kate, my leg?

Kate: "One sec, buddy--I'm making the score here."

Yosano: "What's all the commotion-- ...Kunikida, why are you shaking a woman with an injured leg?"

Kunikida: "... ... ..." *wicked grin*

sarah: wha?

Kunikida: "Doctor...This woman needs healing."

Yosano: "..." *pulls out a meat cleaver*

Kate: "--then we get pulled down by the undertow and become like Prospero, one with the sea, for all eternity, FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER."

dazai:.........(ohfuckwhatdoidoidreamedofthismomentbutnowthatitsactuallyhappeningimgettingcoldfeetHALP)

-later-

sarah: soooo...is this, like, gonna be covered by my insurance?

Kate: "That's what the university said. But they're kind of pissed you drove off--I didn't know you were teaching summer classes."

sarah: i kinda forgot.

-meanwhile...-

Student: -_-# "It's been 15 minutes, Katrina--let's leave."

Student 2: "How did Professor Ossoli get tenure?!"

student 3: i dunno, she's just weird like that.

Student 4: "I'M NEVER GOING TO PASS THIS SUMMER!" *headdesk*

-elsewhere-

Yosano: "Well, you're back in decent condition." *hands Sarah her bag--when some books fall out* "Ah, nuts--sorry." *picks one up* "??? 'The Dial'? You read Sarah Ossoli?"

sarah: oh yeah. that's me.

Yosano: "... ... ...YOU'RE _THE_ SARAH OSSOLI?!" O\\\\O "AUTOGRAPH THIS!"

sarah: ok. *does so*

Kate: "... ... ..." *holds out a hand* "That'll be 20 bucks."

Kunikida: "YOU WRECKED MY VAN!"

 -elsewhere-

*a paper airplane hits Shiemi in the forehead*

shiemi: >,<

*seems to be a message on it*

shiemi: *looks*

Message: "Can we talk on the rooftop?" *it has an arrow pointing to the door*

shiemi: *looks around*

Amaimon: *STAAAAAARE*

shiemi: ._.;

Amaimon: *points up*

stocking: *aHEM*

Amaimon: "...HELLO, MRS DEATH-PHELES. I AM BEING NORMAL IN THE HALLWAY."

stocking: *GLARE*

Amaimon: "...Upstairs at lunch." *runs*

stocking: -~-; you ok, shiemi?

shiemi: y-yeah. thank you, ma'am.

Rin: "I don't trust that little crap--you want me to follow him?"

shiemi: i suppose if it would make you feel better. ^^;

Rin: "Definitely--better than letting him try to kidnap you again."

shiemi: ...say, have you seen yuki at all?

Rin: =n= "No--and it's ticking me off!"

shiemi: i just hope he's alright...

Rin: "Yeah...He doesn't even have his phone on--goes right to voicemail."

shiemi: you dont think...something terrible happened to him, do you?

Rin: "..." *raises his hand*

LK: shiemi: ??

Rin: "May I be excused?"

stocking: um, sure, just be back before class, ok?

Rin: "Thank you! Come on, Shiemi!"

-elsewhere-

Yukio: *staring down*

*he has blood samples in front of him*

{Todo: "We're not so different, are we?"}

Yukio: "I'm nothing like that...I'm not..." *clutches his eye, groaning in pain*

-knocks on the door-

Yukio: "?!!" *covers the vials with a tarp* "Y-Yes?"

voice: you ok in there?

Yukio: "Fine--just busy testing something."

-elsewhere-

*in Class A, at the teacher's desk, is what is obviously an Aizawa robot...*

Aizawa-Bot: O___O *buzz* "You all disappoint me. F's for everyone."

mina:....teach? are you....ok?

Aizawa-Bot: *buzz* "SHUT UP, PRESENT MIC."

Izuku: D8> "I CAN'T FAIL! PLEASE, RE-CONSIDER!"

Bakugo: "...Are you really this stupid?"

jirou: hey teach, what's 420 divided by 0?

Aizawa-Bot: *beeps* "ERROR. DOES NOT COMPUTE--DOES NOT--DO-DO-DO-DAMN IT, MINETA--"

*its head blows up*

jirou: heh, paradoxes, works every time.

Aizawa: *watching from the hallway* "...It was a valiant effort."

Mei: OwO; "Sorry about that...The next one will be super-better, promise!"

*an eyeball lands at Momo's desk*

momo: .___.;

ochako: *playing amazing grace on a kazoo*

Aizawa: *re-enters* "Well, so much for my 'snooze button.'" *brushes the remains of robo-him away* "Okay, pop quiz."

kaminari: *raises his hand*

Aizawa: "What?"

kaminari: when's camp?

Aizawa: "WE'RE GETTING THERE, JUST WAIT ALREADY."

mina: *raises hand* shouldnt we be on vacation? it's july after all.

Aizawa: "In light of the increased number of villain incidents globally, numerous Quirk-based Pro Hero schools have been using a year-long school structure. If you don't like it, go transfer to the exorcist or meister-weapon classes."

sero: dont they also have summer classes too?

Aizawa: "Yes, because there has also been a global increase in demon attacks, Kishin attacks, curses, economic downturn--...You're all just asking questions to take up the rest of class time to avoid this quiz, aren't you?"

-silence-

kaminari:...........how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

ochako: *stiffling laughter*

Aizawa: "Kaminari and Uraraka, go stand in the hallway."

-elsewhere-

Rin: "Have you seen this glasses man?" *holds up his phone, with a photo of Yukio caught mid-bite eating his sandwich*

woman: um... ._.;

Rin: "His name is Yukio, and he tends to have a fan club of really persistent fangirls after him. Also, he likes reading and taking care of the sick and infirm. He kind of looks like me, only with glasses and more handsome. You seen him?"

woman: im just....waiting on my coffee. ^-^;

Rin: "Did you see him ordering coffee?"

-elsewhere-

Stein: "Okay, that'll be all for today. Miss Mjolnir is still out of town, but she left homework for you to finish. And don't forget my policy for next time when I say 'no talking in the back row.'"

*the back row is full of scalpels*

student: Q_Q;;;;;;

Axel: "...I miss Miss Marie already."

Saria: *reading through another recipe book*

-elsewhere-

janine: ah! you must be marie mjolnir, ay?

Marie: "I am, yes?"

janine: pleasure to meet ya, the name's Janine McBride. *extends hand*

Marie: "Likewise." *shakes her hand* "Is there somewhere to get something to eat and talk first about the mission?"

-elsewhere-

*alarms go off at a bank*

thief: COME ON FELLAZ, LEZ GO! LEZ GO GO!!

Guard: "Freeze!" *aims their gun*

thief: ok. *shoots an icicle at the gun*

Guard: "AH!" *drops the gun as it sparks in their hands*

Thief 2: *in the van* "MOVE YOUR ASSES!"

thief 3: *jumps onto the van* LET'S MOVE!

Thief 2: *hits the gas* "Did you get it all?"

thief: yeah, this is gonna keep us supplied for years, hehe.

Thief 2: "It better--you wasted all that cash on gacha already..."

thief: shut your ass, frank!

*up ahead, in the middle of the road, someone short stands there, just staring*

thief 3: dafuck?

Thief 2: "Meh, sucks to be them..." *honks the horn*

*the person in the middle of the road isn't moving...*

thief 3: good thing im wearing goggles, haha!

*the person holds up a hand and--it expands*

thief 3: eh? owo;

*CRAAAAAAAAAAASH*

Thief 2: *slams into the airbag, drooling* X_______X

thief: FUCK!

*the person walks quickly on short legs to the back of the van--then rips the back doors loose*

thief 3: oooowwww....bad time....to be on the truck...

Person: "Excuse me? I don't think this belongs to you." *tosses the door*

thief: ?!

Person: *steps in* "I'm making a citizen's arrest. Come along quietly, please, mister?" *holds out a hand*

thief: how about go fuck yourself?

Person: "..." *grabs Thief 1 by the nose, pulling them down to eye-level* "You know what? Now I'm angry..."

thief: ovo;;

Bank President: *catches up to the van* "There's their van, officer! Go get--"

*BANG BANG THUMP THUMP--*

*Thief goes flying out the back of the van, sliding along the asphalt*

thief: *SCREAMS IN PAIN* FUCK! FUCKING SHIT!!

Person: *exits with the bags of money--and dumps the bags on top of the Thief* "The others are in the van. Well, one is on the van. I think. They may be dead."

*loud footsteps are heard running up*

???: "THERE YOU WENT!"

thief 3: help....please?

???: "See? You left another thief up there!" *picks up Thief 3--and shoves them into his gut*

thief 3: *SCREAMS*

Person: *fast walks on tiny legs* "I'm sorry, Mr. Fat Gum. But the Bank President seemed super-worried about his money!"

-elsewhere-

atsushi: dazai, i think they left, you can come out of the trash bin now...

Dazai: "No, I'm fine. I live here now."

atsushi: dazai.....

Dazai: *pops up, a banana peel on his forehead* QwQ "Don't make me go."

kirako: ^^;

-elsewhere-

*a bird is chirping in a tree--before what looks like a tree branch clutches it, dragging it down*

Pumpkin: *stares at the bird*

-footsteps are heard-

Pumpkin: "!!!" *hides in the bushes*

misaki: *walking home*

Pumpkin: *staaaaaaaaaaare...still clutching the bird*

misaki: ....

{classmate: hey misaki! want to hang out after class?}

{misaki: um.. s-sorry, not today...}

{Classmate 2: "Got a job or something?"}

{classmate 3: yeah, a job putting curses on people maybe.}

{misaki:......}

misaki:........*sigh*

Pumpkin: "..." *pushes closer in the bushes--*

Bird: OnO# *BITE*

misaki: ?? *turns* h-hello?

Pumpkin: "Ow!"

misaki: !!! h-hello??

Bird: *flies loose--at Misaki's face*

Pumpkin: "?!" *falls back*

misaki: AH!! *falls back*

Pumpkin: "... ... ..." ("Coincidental...") *stares through the bushes*

misaki:....*gets up, brushing herself off*

Bird: *has flown away*

Pumpkin: ("Damn...Now I got to find something else for that beast to eat...") *stares at Misaki* "... ..."

misaki: ...i should probably head home now.....*continues walking*

Pumpkin: "..." *when her back is turned, reaches out...*

misaki: ......

Pumpkin: "..." *hesitates* ("What is wrong with me...")

-elsewhere-

Amaimon: *has set out a blanket, a picnic basket, various foods--and a bucket full of worms*

-the door opens-

shiemi: ....

stocking: hey.

Amaimon: "Oh. Hello, Mrs. Niece. I thought the veggie girl was coming alone?"

Rin: -_-#

stocking: we're here to make sure you dont try anything stupid.

Amaimon: "I never would--after all, I'm in your classes now, right?"

*something is slithering from the picnic basket, reaching for Stocking's shoe*

stocking: ?!?!? what's in the basket?

Rin: "Why do you have questions for her?"

Amaimon: "Because of those super-power plant attacks. Are you a fairy?"

shiemi: um...no?

nee: *pokes head out from her bag* nee?

Amaimon: *stares at Nee* "No, see, that thing? How are you keeping that thing around that long?"

shiemi: well, nee is my friend.

Amaimon: "I think you got some super-power mojo. Let me take a sample--stick out your tongue." *holds up a tongue depresser*

shiemi: ._.;;

Rin: "Permission to punch him?"

stocking: *gives amaimon a look*

Amaimon: "I'm serious. There's something different about her summoning than the others." *twirls a hand around* "Whole kind of aura off of her or something."

shiemi: well, i do work with plants a lot...maybe it's that??

Amaimon: "Or maybe you charm the plants." *holds up a potted plant* "Talk to Henrietta here."

shiemi: ok...hello, henrietta.

Henrietta: *doesn't say anything, because Henrietta is a plant*

Amaimon: "...Well, so much for that--I guess I got that wrong." *hands Henrietta to Stocking*

stocking: -_-;;

*The "dessert" is gnawing on Rin's head*

Rin: "...Shiemi, I'm glad he's not stalking you anymore, because otherwise, I would kill him."

shiemi: ._. um....rin?

Rin: "I KNOW." *tugging on "dessert"*

-elsewhere-

Axel: *stabbing into his meal--with a kunai-hand*

Asher: "..." *pushes their lunch tray away* "That's just gross."

zeke: you think that's bad? you should have seen when we first discovered our abilities.

Kanin: "??? What happened?"

Axel: "Well, we were playing in the vacant lot behind our family's garage, throwing rocks at each other..."

zeke: i think i may have thrown a liiiittle bit hard.

Axel: "No kidding! The rock hit me, and my arm starting hurting--but I looked down, and instead of an arm, it was this weird metal-knife thingie!"

{zeke: .....MOOOOOOOM!!! I THINK SOMETHING WENT SERIOUSLY BAD!}

{Axel: *has now turned completely into a kunai* .w.; "...DUDE! YOU COULD TOTALLY THROW ME!"}

{zeke: HOLY CRAP YOU'RE STILL ALIVE?!}

{Mom: *calls out, not looking away from repairing a motor* "Put some ice on it."}

Axel: "We threw each other into the trees for an hour before Dad found us."

zeke: he wasnt too amused.

lei-lei: wow!

Saria: "??? You weren't scared at all? I had a bad reaction to transforming..."

{*it sounds like someone fell down the stairs*}

{greg: ?? sweetie? is everything alright?}

{Saria: "Ow..." *tries to get up--and keeps falling down* "..." *looks down...* "... ... ..." *SCREAMS* "MY HANDS!"}

{*even her legs look transformed*}

{saria's dad: !!! *calling a doctor*}

{Saria: *rolls over, crying*}

{greg: easy, bugbear, *picks her up* you're going to be fine!}

{Saria: *sobbing wildly, swinging nothingness--before a leg re-forms...and ends up kicking Greg in the knee*}

{greg: -RK- >~< i-it's ok. *places her on the couch* ok, breathe, iiiin, and out...}

{Saria: *panting, trying to calm her breath--then the whips start glowing, and turn back into limbs* "Wh...What’s happening?"}

Saria: *looks down* "I-I didn't handle that well..."

lukas: ....

genny: i couldnt even imagine how scary that must have been.

Monica: "Ha! That's just some pansy-ass wimpy shit. 'Oh, no, my hand transformed!' You never saw nothing as bad as what I saw."

zarya:...

{Teacher: "I said 'Sit down'!" *slams Monica down into her chair* "You're not excused!"}

{Monica: "GRK!" *looks up, glaring*}

{classmate: criminy, ramirez...}

{classmate 2: someone should put a muzzle on her.}

{Monica: "Let go of me! I'm done sitting here!" *struggles to get up--before she swings at the teacher--*}

{Teacher: *dodges--and slaps Monica across the face*}

{classmate 3: yoooo holy fuck!}

{classmate 4: *starts filming*}

{Monica: "... ... ..." *tenses up, holding back tears--before she tackles the teacher, brings up an arm--and slams it down--*}

{Teacher: *dodges--as a blade just cuts the side of his face*}

{-several classmates are screaming-}

{Monica: *staring, as her entire arm is a machete* "... ... ..." *griiiiiiiins* "I got it...I finally got it!"}

{classmate 5: *passes out*}

{Teacher: *SCREAMS, crawls away*}

hibiki: good lord, ramirez...did you kill the guy?

Monica: "Did I say Mr. O'Hara died? No? Then he ain't dead--...unfortunately. But I got expelled and got to transfer to the DWMA."

izumi: i bet your mom wasnt very happy about that... ^^;

Monica: "... ... ...You always know what to say to get me to shut up, Albarn..." *nervously sips her tea...*

zarya:.....

preston: and you, miss zarya?

zarya:............*transforms her fist into a nailbat* they had it coming........

Axel: OwO;

Monica: "..." *slight shrug*

Stephanie: *pats Zarya's shoulders* "And look how good it turned out! We're all together here like one big dysfunctional class!"

yolanda: *sweatdrop* <-<;;;;

Asher: "...Huh."

{*there's a tonfa lying in Asher's bed...Asher should've been at school an hour ago*}

{-knock knock-}

{cassidy: asher, are you in there? this is the third time this week you've been late, you know.}

{Asher: *silent* "..."}

Asher: "I skipped school that day...and was 'missing.' Easier than explaining it to the parental unit."

-elsewhere-

cassidy: and as you could imagine, i was quite livid afterwards...

Spirit: "Ha! That takes me back...This one time I used my weapon ability to--" *stops, realizing who he's talking in front of* .w.;;;; "...I was a young stupid kid. Emphasis on 'stupid.'"

cassidy: ??

Spirit: "That was before I moved to Death City and started at the DWMA...Then met...him."

cassidy: him being....?

Stein: "May I borrow a cup of sugar?"

Spirit: *LOUD SHRIEK, falls back in his chair*

sachiko: how did you-

Stein: *holds up a spare key* "Thanks for letting me borrow one."

-elsewhere-

lukas: ...saria? are you feeling alright?

Saria: >~< "I-I can't get this recipe right. I've been racking my brain over it--" *head-desk*

lukas:.......are you sure that's the only thing bothering you?

Saria: "...You mean the weapon thing? Or...What?"

lukas: well....i-i dont know, but if you want to talk about anything, you can talk to me. we're partners, right?

Saria: "..." *wipes her eyes* "S-Sorry, I know. Thank you..." *forces a smile*

lukas: of course. now, for the recipe, it's important to determine the key ingredients.

Saria: "Right. Um...Souffle needs cheese...That's a lot of options, though."

-elsewhere-

Yafeu: *thumbing through mail* "???" *opens an envelope, pulling out photos*

preston: ??

Yafeu: "...HOLY MOLEY, JORGE GOT TALL!" *holds up a photo of some children in front of the orphanage*

preston: ah, i see.

Yafeu: "YEP! I HAVEN'T GONE BACK SINCE MR. TLIPOCA PICKED ME UP--TIME FLIES!"

-meanwhile-

Tezca: <Then he fired a shot--right at my head.>

quetzal: <yeowza!> *takes a sip of her yerba mate*

Tezca: <Yep. Of course, I wasn't in it--I used a spare for target practice with him.> *slices up a mango* <Ugh--this always makes my hands break out in hives...>

quetzal: <then why are you still eating it?>

Tezca: <Life is full of suffering to get to things you enjoy...> *nom* <...Thank goodness I wear a mask.>

quetzal: GYAHAHA! <you crack me up, lil man!>

Tezca: <That's one of my many talents--one reason they haven't fired my ass yet...If another Kishin Worshipper gets loose, I think I'll be--> *draws a finger across his neck, imitating slicing off his head*

-elsewhere-

Yukio: *holding a key...shakes a bit before he opens the door, revealing--*

Pheles Manor Maid: "???"

lilum: ....siiiir? you have a visitor.

Mephisto: "Oh, is the mail carrier? I have been waiting days for that delivery of the rare Asakusa variant and-- ..." *chuckles* "My, my, my, this is unexpected~"

Yukio: "...Sir Pheles. I would like a word. Alone."

-elsewhere-

Rin: *dialing* "...Damn it, he's still not answering." *hangs up*

shiemi:....

Rin: "...Shiemi, how about I walk you home--then I can call whenever he gets back to the church or the dorms..."

shiemi:....ok...

Rin: *walks with her* "...I know it's been a weird day, but you've known Yukio long enough--I'm sure he can take care of himself on this..."

shiemi: yeah......

Rin: "...Has he said anything about what he's working on? He keeps running off for lab work."

-elsewhere-

*Deathbucks looks pretty busy...despite the glass window being shattered*

Jacqueline: ._. "Oh, gosh, what happened?"

kim: probably some rude customer or something.

Master: "Welcome." *his arm is bandaged*

DWMA CIA Agent: *staring at Kim*

kim: ..... haha, wow golly, i just LOVE abiding by the law! dont you? ^^;;;;

Jacqueline: ^^; "Yes, indeed..." *awkward shift to a chair*

Harvar: *walks in* "??? What happened--"

CIA Agent: "FREEZE!" *body-slams Harvar*

ox: D8 DUDE! NOT COOL!

Master: -_-# *picks up the Agent by the collar*

Agent: "I HAVEN'T FINISHED INTERRO--"

Master: *throws the Agent out the door*

ox: um...... ._.;;;

Master: "...How about free fries?"

Harvar: @~@ "With ketchup...?"

ox: ok, what in sam hill is going on?!

Master: "We had an upset customer that the DWMA says is related to the Kishin."

kim: !!!

ox: s-seriously?

Jacqueline: "Are you okay? I mean, your arm is injured, but..."

Master: "Just stubbornly refuse to close for the day, so they sent the cops over to 'help.'"

kim: ....screw it, we'll help too.

Jacqueline: *nods*

Harvar: @~@ "Why..."

ox: we'll help too, but first i should get some ice for harvar and make sure he doesnt have a concussion.

Master: "The freezer in the back has some."

-elsewhere-

Amaimon: "Big bro, we're home. Rui came over for snacks."

*looks empty inside*

rui: ??

Amaimon: "Huh...They must be out or something..." *opens a cabinet* "This is where he hides his special cookies...Dig in."

*sounds like murmuring in another room--then a door slam*

rui: !!

Yukio: *storms out, covering his eyes*

Mephisto: "Don't be a stranger, Yu-Yu~"

rui: um....mr okumura?

Yukio: "???" *looks through his fingers* "Oh, Rui...Hello." *looks away from Amaimon* "I-I have an appointment..."

rui: ??

Amaimon: "Why were you visiting Big Bro, little guy?" *nom* "Workplace complaint?"

Yukio: "...Does Stocking know you two are here?"

rui: i dont think she does? why?

Yukio: "...Then you shouldn't be here--leave, before she finds out you came."

rui: um-

Amaimon: "Hey. I invited Rui--this is my home, too." *taps his staff on the ground* *staaaaaaaaares*

Yukio: "...I'll remember this in class." *turns to leave*

rui: oh jeez. .~.;;

Amaimon: "He probably just has low blood sugar." *offers a cookie to Rui*

-elsewhere-

Sansa: *tapping his fingers on the desk, staring at a map* "...I just got a bad feeling about that building, ever since the bar was shown in the city blueprints..."

takigi: hmm....

Tsukauchi: "Then there are the reports about that 'stapled' man." *shows a photo...his skin looks discolored*

officer: freaky.

Sansa: "But lately there has been little action in that building. We even tried thermo readings: if there is anything left in the building, it's likely roaches."

-elsewhere-

*the phone rings at Patchwork Labs*

valentine: hello? patchwork labs, nurse valentine speaking.

Spirit: "GET HIM OUT OF MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW."

Stein: *sitting at Spirit's dinner table*

valentine: -_-;

Spirit: "He's been here all afternoon, flipping through photo albums, taking our snacks--"

Asher: "...What the hell is our teacher doing here?"

Stein: *waves at the kids* "Yo."

izumi: hello dr stein.

Stein: "Hi. I was catching up with your father about the old days. He ever tell you how he got the nickname 'Puddles'?"

izumi: um.... ._.

Asher: "...Go on."

Spirit: "VAL, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND GET HIM OUT."

-elsewhere-

Master: "I appreciate all your help--the customers responded well, especially in light of all the chaos the last day."

*Ox has a set of phone numbers on a notecard*

kim: no problem!

Harvar: *nods*

Jacqueline: "If you need anything, please call us--we're happy to help!"

Master: *nods*

-elsewhere-

Inka: *walking around--and spots Assault* "...Okay, Ritsu, what's his deal? He's been staring at the wall for an hour. Is he still stupid after the head injury?"

ritsu: *shrugs*

Assault: *staaaaaaaare*

{girl: *locked into a steel cage* LET ME OUT! PLEASE! I'LL DO BETTER! REALLY!!}

{Hood: *holds a stick to a fire nearby...walks up to the cage*}

{Boy: *doubled over, freaking out, looking more animal than human...*}

{girl: *sobbing* BROTHER! PLEASE! TELL THEM TO STOP!!}

{Boy: *pant..pant...* "..." *covers his head*}

{Hood: *shoves the stick into the cage--*}

{girl: please! i'll get stronger!! i will! just give me more time!!}

{*her clothes catch on fire*}

{girl: *SCREAMS*}

{Boy: *covers his ears, presses his head into the ground--and lets out an animalistic roar*}

{Hood: *to the others* "Let this be the example. And let us welcome our new brother...Assault."}

{girl: *sobbing* PLEASE DONT LET ME DIE!!}

{*the boy's screaming dies off...he stands...Assault stares blankly at the girl*}

{girl: *SCREAMING*}

Assault: "..." *gets up, walks past Inka--bumps into Ritsu* "...Sorry."

ritsu: it's fine.

Inka: -.- "Still trying to bump into pretty ladies, perv?"

Assault: "..." *keeps walking*

-elsewhere-

Tachihara: *sits at diner table* "Ugh, that could've gone better..." *his sleeve is ripped, he has a black eye* "Dad, can you order me some ice?"

hirotsu: already taken care of.

Waitress: "Okay, some ice, a cola, and some tea for the father and son. And you, ma'am?" *looks at Gin*

gin: raspberry iced tea and a steak.

Tachihara: "Oh, and chicken tenders and onion rings-- ...'Father and son'? Wha?"

hirotsu: thank you, ma'am. *sips his tea*

Waitress: ^^ "You're welcome, handsome. I'll be back with your orders." *leaves*

Tachihara: *thinking...thinking...light bulb!* "I DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY THAT! That was a 'dad' slip!"

gin: sure tachihara, sure.

Tachihara: "SHUT UP, GIN!"

hirotsu: try not to slouch, its bad for your posture.

Tachihara: "Yes, sir." *sits up...then headdesks* "FUCK!"

hirotsu: language.

-elsewhere-

shinra:...huh, apperantly there's been sightings of some kind of creature hiding out near vulcan's place.

Akitaru: "Since he left, he's been trying to update security around the junkyard." *sets out a plate of cookies*

shinra: do you think we should investigate it?

Akitaru: "I would ask Vulcan--he's taking this personally. But he's also exhausting himself, so I think some gentle insistence will be key."

Vulcan: *loud bear snore*

lisa:.....i'll go with.

Akitaru: "You and Shinra will definitely provide muscle. I think you should bring someone else too, though."

shinra: how about viktor? or petra?

Akitaru: *imagine spot...*

{Viktor: *looking through mushrooms while someone jumps Shinra and Lisa from behind*}

{shinra + lisa: ack!}

{Petra: *yelling angrily while Shinra and Lisa cover their ears--and get attacked from behind*}

Akitaru: "...Take Petra."

-elsewhere-

*the sun is setting*

Harvar: *looks over at Ox* "You okay?"

ox: y-yeah...just a bit uneasy...

Harvar: "Was it about what happened at Deathbucks, or something else going on?"

ox: a bit of both i guess.

Harvar: "..." *sighs* "You think maybe you are moving on from Kim or..."

ox:...*sigh* i dont know...

Harvar: *looks at the phone numbers* "You got a lot of digits back there...Maybe you need to get your feet wet."

ox: i guess.

Shinoda: *jogs back into the house* "Hello--guess who just jogged around town? Oh, and I have the mail." *hands it to Setsuna*

setsuna: *looks*

*looks like mail for Mana, Mono, Shotaro, Emine, and Nea*

setsuna: mail call!

nea: oh goodie~!

Shotaro: *runs in on all fours like a dog*

Emine: *shoves Mono aside*

mono: ah! grr, you jerk!!

Shotaro: *rips open his envelope--and a kunai falls out* "???" *picks it up* *sniffs* "?!!"

*Nea's seems to be a box*

nea: oooh~

Shinoda: "Expecting something?"

*Mana also received a box*

mana: *looks*

*looks like a tacky Coney Island photo album with pics of Yoh in it--and a "I Heart LA" shirt*

mana: -_-;

*Mono has an envelope*

mono: *opens it*

*it's...military-style dog-tags?*

mono: !!

{???: "Yohei, Mono--you're on patrol."}

{mono: yes sir!}

{Yohei: "Sure you can see over the fences, squirt?" *hair tussle*}

{mono: >n< of course i can!}

{???: *smiles* "Yeah, yeah, get going, goofballs." *their dog-tags flash in the light* "I'll be back after the R&D meeting."}

Shotaro: "??? Mono? You there? Emine just asked you a question..."

mono: eh?

Emine: *aims a water cannon at Mono* "My new toy arrived in the mail."

mono: >n<##

Tool: *grabs it* "Nope." *tosses it into the backyard* "Take it outside..."

Yohei: *already looking at the dog tags* "..."

chie: .....

Yohei: "...Mono...These numbers..."

mono:.........

-meanwhile...-

Dr. Sasaki: *washing dishes at the cabin*

ManBearFix: *tied to a chair, a bowl of porridge in front of him* -n-

*and someone is outside, looking through the window at Mimeca...*

mimeca:...~?

*they seem to be bleeding...oil?*

mimeca: owo;

*they come to the door--and break through it*

mimeca: OxO;;

ManBearFix: "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Dr. Sasaki: "..." *wipes her hands, approaches...*

???: *twitching* "Help..."

Dr. Sasaki: *spots robotic limbs on them* "...Bring them to the lab."

mimeca: .w.;;;

ManBearFix: "WHAT?! You're probably just going to rip 'em apart!"

Dr. Sasaki: "Better than a slow death..." *uses an extra arm to grab her med-kit from a shelf*

-elsewhere-

Viktor: *looking at the junkyard from afar with infrared binoculars*

shinra: -_-;

Petra: "...When you said you lived in a junkyard, I didn't realize it would be this level of 'junky.'"

lisa: let's just get this done with...

Viktor: *steps forward--*

*SWIIIIIIIING*

shinra: WOAH!

Petra: "?!!! DUCK!"

*a giant log swinging on ropes is coming towards them*

lisa: almost forgot about that one!

Viktor: "Forgot what--" *standing up with a mushroom--*

*CRACK*

Viktor: *goes flying*

shinra: *winces*

-CRASH-

???: WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?

Petra: "?! I thought the junkyard would be abandoned..."

Viktor: *stuck in the tree, George of the Jungle style*

???: criminy, cant a guy scavenge in peace?!

-it looks to be some sort of possum man?-

shinra: welp, seems we found what we were looking for.

Petra: "??? Huh? Shinra, did you have those talking animals from China follow you?"

shinra: i dont think so.

???: *notices lisa and petra* *ahem* ladies~ *wink*

lisa: -_-#

Petra: "..." *grabs a stick, rolls up a sleeve, aims...*

lisa: alright you sonic the hedgehog looking motherfucker, who the hell are you and why are you here?

???: yikes, hostile much?

Petra: "You better talk fast--you're on someone else's property, and stealing is a sin."

???: alright alright! jeez miss snooty-pants! the names argit, and im just looking for anything worth selling down in sewertown.

shinra: sewertown?

Viktor: *dazed* "Ugh, that place...I hate that shortcut..."

shinra: ??

Petra: "You're not from the Nether, are you?" *tenses up on the stick*

lisa: alright then, 'argit', what exactly do we do with you now?

argit: well i can think of a few things~ hehe~

lisa:..... *TENTACLE SLAP*

argit: YEOW!!

Petra: -_-# "Let's just tie him up and check for other traps."

argit: for the record, no, i dont go near that place. place gives me the willies...

shinra: well this was a waste of time.

argit: rude.

Petra: "Are there others, though? A perimeter search may be worth it."

argit: lady, if there were others here, i would have sniffed them out by now.

Petra: "Really? That nose actually good at sniffing things out? Too bad it didn't clue you in on your own stench, sewer dweller."

argit: HEY! i'll have you know that im not just a pretty face. im also something of a 'dealer' and 'info broker'.

Viktor: *snaps back to attention* O_O; ("AW, CRUD.")

argit: ?? oh, hey vik.

Viktor: OnO#

Petra: "..."

*everyone turns and stares at Viktor*

shinra: how do you know his name? we didnt tell you any of our names!

argit: like i said, im an info broker, i know stuff, shinji.

shinra: it's shinra.

argit: yeah whatever.

Petra: "Yes, real reliable information." *eyeroll*

argit: *to lisa* so sweetcheeks, you related to that octopus girl that was with that creepy bird man?

lisa: ..............

shinra: GIOVANNI?!

argit: yeah, that guy.

Petra: "...I say we torture him."

Viktor: "For information?"

Petra: "That too."

argit: OwO;; aw fuck.

-elsewhere-

"Zack": *hanging up Christmas lights in the old Mafia storehouse* "That look pretty enough?"

hachi: it looks dumb.

riko: it really brightens things up.

"Zack": *sticks out his tongue at Hachi* "I think they're neat!" *grabs one of the poles from the second floor and slides down* "How's the kitchen looking?"

Sheep: *dragging a pressure cooker*

girl: still in progress. *looking at a checklist*

boy: we got the pulley system set up!

*someone's approaching the back door...*

Sentry: *looking through binoculars outside* "!!! We got company..."

girl: !!! *her arms become katana blades*

*the door opens, revealing someone carrying...grocery bags?*

*they pull down a hoodie, revealing a dorky hat and...lifts in their shoes?*

Chuuya: "..."

girl: oh, its just dad. *her arms change back to normal*

Chuuya: -_-# "Stop calling me that."

Sentry: "Did you bring soda, Pops?"

"Zack": "Did you make sure to get gluten-free snacks?"

Chuuya: *hands a bag to Hachi*

boy: thanks for bringing that grammer-phone.

Chuuya: *pulls out a record* " 'Gramophone.' And you're welcome." *hands it over* "Keep the volume low--can't draw more attention here."

boy: oh cool, van halen!

Chuuya: *opens his bookbag, emptying some books and toys* "And I got the medicine."

riko: thanks. we've finished putting the blackout curtains over the windows...

Chuuya: "What about the power generators? They working?"

riko: yeah, tink's been working nonstop.

'tink': *flashes a peace sign*

Chuuya: "Um, right...That just leaves finishing the plumbing."

-elsewhere-

Tachihara: *scribbles something in a notepad, pockets it...* ("...What are you doing, man...") *passes a run-down playground*

boy: pass the ball over here, bro!

Bro: "Here it comes--" *kick*

boy: haha!

Tachihara: "...Hmph." *walks--and the ball hits him in the back of the head, knocking him face-first into the grass*

boy: oh shi- dang!

Bro: ._.; "That one was too hard...Sorry, mister!"

Tachihara: *lifts his head up, bruised* *GROWLS...*

boy: WAH! RUN!! *grabs the ball and makes a break for it*

Bro: *follows*

Tachihara: =n=# *brushes himself off...sits on a swing*

-elsewhere-

Gin: "Kuniko? Have a moment?"

kuniko: yeah? whats up?

Gin: "This may be awkward, but..."

kuniko: ??

Gin: "I...never had a sister growing up, so, um..."

kuniko: and?

Gin: "Umm...DOYOUWANTTOGOOUTFORAGIRLSDAY?" >\\\\<

kuniko: um...ok sure.

Gin: "GREAT! ...What do you like to do?"

kuniko: well, there's a comic and game store i like to hang out at.

Gin: "Oh, that sounds fun. I'd like that."

-elsewhere-

Dr. Sasaki: *speaking into a recorder* "The subject seems to be bionic...I see some damage to the ribcage. Even with self-repairing parameters in his programming, whatever did this to him must have been quite powerful."

*the "subject" is lying in Mimeca's bed*

mimeca: *staaaaaaare*

ManBearFix: *still tied to a chair, rocking himself down the hall, up the stairs--and falls on his bear face* "FUCKING CRAP-APPLES!"

Subject: *bolts up awake, reaches out--and grabs Sasaki by the neck, eyes red*

Sasaki: *CHOKED*

mimeca: D8

Subject: *panting...calms down, releasing his grip* "Wh-Where am I?"

Sasaki: *collapses to her knees, gasping for air*

ManBearFix: *drags himself by the teeth into the room* "Yo, Mimeca! Who's Optimus Prime there?"

mimeca: *goes over to him*

ManBearFix: *looks at Mimeca* "This son of a bitch hurt you?"

mimeca: *shakes head*

ManBearFix: "Good. The doc dead yet?"

Sasaki: *GLARES*

Sasaki: "I was rebooting the subject. He seems to be techno-organic. I was about to log into the prison database to ascertain his identity and see what international police records show--"

ManBearFix: "Oh. It's Luke."

mimeca: *nod nod*

Luke: "...Yes? I'm Luke. I only just learned that after having my memories wiped--"

Sasaki: "How do you know him?"

ManBearFix: "I smashed his ass with a giant robot! I even broke his motherfucking spine!"

mimeca: <w<;;

Luke: "..." *AIMS ALL THE WEAPONS AT MANBEARFIX'S SKULL*

ManBearFix: *covered in red laser dots* .w.;

mimeca: *stands in front of manbearfix, taking on mana's appearance*

Luke: "!!!"

{A series of flashbacks from the Robo Tournament and the I-Island Confrontation}

Sasaki: "...I'm lost."

Luke: "I-I know that feeling..."

ManBearFix: ^^;;;; *picks up Mimeca* "Let's chat--maybe you can tell us what Fear Factory is up to since you left..."

-elsewhere-

*past a bamboo forest is a facility...someone with a distinctive collar around their neck looks at the surroundings*

Scientist with the Collar: "..." *passes a hand over some bamboo*

*guards are patrolling*

"Collar": *gestures to one guard* "I'm just going to the waterfall. Or is that not allowed anymore?"

guard: ??

Guard 2: *shrugs* *speaking Mandarin* <I don't see a problem. She gets too far, and she'll be--> *imitates a head exploding*

guard: <right...>

Guard 2: *speaking English* "Go ahead. Be back by the time of your meeting with the Boss."

"Collar": *nods...* *walking away...*

{*Collar is choking on her own blood...*}

{*feathers fall...a toothy grin and mad eyes stare out through the darkness*}

{*a hand is offered to her...*}

Collar: *looking at the waterfall...and a village behind it* "..."

-children are playing with an older gentleman supervising-

Child 1: <I got another letter!> *waves it*

child 2: <oh cool! let me see!>

*inside are some photos of palm trees and beaches*

Child 1: <I hope teacher gets back soon...>

-elsewhere-

Kafka: *looking over files with a calculator*

Walter: *playing a game of checkers with the kids*

goethe: *staring up at the ceiling*

Hans: "??? What's wrong?"

goethe:....bored.

Hans: "Oh. S-Sorry. ... I could read to you, if...that would help?"

goethe:....i'd like that.

Hans: "..." *pulls his head to her lap, takes up her book* "'The Chrysanthemum Robe would be resplendent...'"

goethe: =w= *nod nod*

Hans: "'Or so the princess thought. Really, she has never seen the robe, only heard the sweet words of her tailor...'"

goethe: *closes his eyes and smiles, just listening to her speak*

Hans: "'She always wanted to be seen as beautiful, but she was failing to see her own beauty within...'" *strokes his head*

-elsewhere-

iris: *looking out the window*

{sakura: look what i found! *holds up a photo album*}

{Hibana: "Been exploring again, Sakura?"}

{sakura: mhm! and look! *opens the book*}

{rose: is that sumire? she looked so young!}

{Hibana: "HA! Her eyes are still the same!"}

{sumire: oh? ah yes, that takes me back. *smile*}

{rose: who's this next to you?}

{sumire: that's sister Plumeria.}

{Hibana: "???" *looks at Plumeria's face* "...Huh."}

{sumire: she...returned to the flames, a long time ago...}

{Hibana: "..." *frowns* *picks up her chemistry books* *looks down* "???"}

{iris: *staaare*}

{rose: ?? who is this?}

{sumire: this is sister iris. she'll be living with us from now on.}

{iris: ....*looks at the floor*}

{Hibana: "... ... ...OH MY GOSH SHE IS SO ADORBS!" *glomp*}

{iris: !!!! OAO }

{Hibana: "HELLO, NEW SISTER!"}

iris:....*small smile*

shinra: you arent asleep yet?

iris: !! oh!

maki: hey, you're ba- ._.

argit: -__-#

maki: what the fuck is that?

shinra: long story.

Viktor: "I got new chemistry books!" *they are covered in garbage*

Relan: "...I knew it--rat people do exist."

argit: i aint no fuckin rat!

Relan: "EEK!" *pulls back*

Akitaru: "What's all the yelling after curfew?"

maki: looks more like a possum mixed with a porcupine.

argit: you got any booze here?

Takehisa: "Depends on who is asking."

-lisa explains-

nozomi: well, i suppose that solves the mystery then.

argit: yeah yeah, woo-hoo. seriously, is there no fuckin alcohol?

Vulcan: "Checks out, what with the sewer pipeline nearby." *sets out a can in front of Argit--a can of root beer*

argit:.... -_-# what do i look like, a 5 year old?

lisa: you said you had info on giovanni, right? so start talking.

argit: hey, i dont just give out info for free, toots. y'gotta pay up. usually i take cash, but i can think of...hehe...other, payment methods~ *wink*

lisa:..........*PUNCH*

argit: X_< OW!

Vulcan: *takes back the root beer* "Well, you're not getting any of this, you perverted jackass!"

-morning-

Saria: *seated for breakfast, reading through books*

greg: morning, bugbear. ^^

Saria: *small grunt, still reading through the books* "..."

saria's dad: ??? you feeling ok?

Saria: "Hmm?" *looks up* "Oh! ...Sorry. Just trying to read..." *yawns* =-=

greg:....if there's anything bothering you, you can tell us.

Saria: "I-I know...Sorry. I didn't sleep well, and I'm worried about the cooking contest at school, and I can't find the right recipe..."

saria's dad: hey now, even if you dont win, whats important is that you at least tried and had fun, right?

Saria: "I-I worry I'm not trying hard enough..."

greg: oh, saria...*hug* whatever happens, your father and i love you, no matter what.

Saria: "..." *hug* TT~TT

-elsewhere-

shinra: *adjusting his tie*

Akitaru: "We're going to be short on people, and he is one of the few who isn't usually out in the field."

maki:....

Viktor: "Not to worry--if there's an emergency, I know how to call you." *holds up a 1980s cell phone*

-and so…-

Pan: *carrying the casket* "..."

foien:......

juria:......

Takeru: *seated in a wheelchair, his leg stump elevated*

Arthur: *looking serious*

asako: *weeping*

Huang: *pats her shoulder*

Ogun: *inhales* *announces* "Soldiers...Salute." *leads the salute*

gwen: *does so*

shinra: *salutes*

juria:....

Arthur: *salutes*

Takeru: *struggling to lift his arm*

Pan: *holding back tears as he and others carry the casket*

iris: *praying*

Hibana: *watching*

honda: cant believe shinmon didnt show up to at least pay respects. disgraceful.

Hibana: "Typical...I don't think he ever liked Arg recruiting the 7th."

gabriella: commander tennouji isnt here either...although given the current reputation of the 3rd...

Hibana: "...Can't really throw stones about that, either."

honda: in any case, i have a bad feeling about all of this.....

*the pallbearers set the casket down, ready to be lowered...*

shinra:.....*looks around*

*it looks like a lot of Shinra's former classmates are also present for the funeral...quite a gathering from people outside of Death City*

shinra: .....*spots burns and dia*

Burns: *watching the casket...approaches*

shinra: *looks away*

dia:....i see kotatsu isnt here....

Burns: "I'm not surprised."

shinra: *grips fist* (screw you, she's having a tough time enough as it is.......)

Burns: "It's already hard enough for members of the 4th to hold it together...It's time to let him pass."

*someone has set out the dirt to take to toss into the ground*

-elsewhere-

argit: *taps foot* uuuugh, booooring! hey vic, got anything to kill the time?

Viktor: "Want to see my new spores?"

argit: ...i meant something actually fun. what're ya even doing with these bozos anyway?

Viktor: "I was assigned here by Haijima Industries to monitor the 8th in hopes that they could acquire the supernatural power coursing through the feet of Shinra, at which point I could extend my research to the limits of human knowledge to undercover the truth behind SPH and thereby determine how to reverse the potential apocalypses approaching our world as planned by a group of white-cloaked weirdos that plan to turn the Earth into a second sun, killing us all in the glory of their imaginary god. ..." *holds out a bag* "Jelly bean?"

argit: .....sounds like a bunch of loonies.

Viktor: "No kidding." *pulls down a welder mask, grabs a torch*

argit: this is why i dont buy into that crap...you still work with that eyepatch guy?

Viktor: *slaps a hand over Argit's mouth*

argit: !?!?!

Viktor: "Ix-nay on the Oker-jay!"

argit: *muffled* <how come?>

Viktor: "No one here knows I know that guy!"

argit: <so? you and i are the only ones here!>

Viktor: "So the walls can have ears! And what if Tamaki heard?"

argit: who?

Viktor: "The girl in the bedroom?"

argit: oh.

Viktor: "Yeah--so button your...are these technically lips?"

argit: ..more of a snout, really.

Viktor: "Then button your snout." *lets go*

-elsewhere-

Haumea: *crosses out a photo of Arg*

ritsu: what's our next move?

Haumea: *holds up photos of Burns and Akitaru* "Tease out the next Pillar..."

-elsewhere-

Benedetto: *picks up a stick swings it* "En garde!"

edouard: >~<;;

Cervantes: "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" *runs up, leans down...and adjusts Bene's posture* "Like this. That is how to strike the enemy!"

Dumas: -_-# *sets out a children's book*

marquis: they seem to be having fun. ^^

Dumas: "I wish it was quieter..." *looking through the books* "How about this one?"

-elsewhere-

Axel: "--then I heard he threw up."

preston: heavens!

Asher: "Hmph. What'd he think would happen?"

Yafeu: "IT WAS FOR PRIDE! HE COULD HAVE WON THAT CONTEST!"

izumi: what's going on?

Asher: "Zeke started talking about worst 'go to the infirmary' stories."

izumi: oh jeez.

Yafeu: "YOU EVER SEE SOMEONE'S THUMB BEND THE WRONG WAY?"

izumi: ._.

-elsewhere-

Akitaru: *sits down...*

Death the Kid: ((Honda, pouring drinks for the commanders))

honda: *pours him a drink*

Akitaru: "Th-Thanks..."

Burns: *studying Akitaru*

Hibana: *holds out her glass* "Think Ko Paat can handle the commander job?"

honda: i think so. he sure knows how to keep his students in line, thats for sure.

Hibana: "...Was Arg in his right mind towards the end? I mean, the talk about seeing Hell and all..."

honda: hard to say....

Huang: "If the school is to continue to function, it will need support from the other brigades. Those present, anyway."

-in another room-

nozomi: h-hey ogun....how are you holding up?

Ogun: "...Just trying to keep it together, you know?"

nozomi: that's understandable.....i-if there's anything i can do to help at all....

Ogun: *nods* *forces a smile* "Th-Thanks...Glad to know there's someone to talk to."

shinra: we're here for you, man. *offers fist bump*

Ogun: "..." *bump*

Arthur: *spots someone*

iris:......!! i know! we should have a party!

shinra: a party?

iris: *nods*

shinra: good idea! we could watch movies, play games, eat snacks!

Ogun: "Heh...That could help..."

Arthur: *approaches Gwen*

gwen: ..........

Arthur: "Hey."

selim:.....hiiiiiiii.....*griiiiiiin*

gwen:.....*tearing up*

Arthur: *offers a tissue*

gwen: *hugs him* i dont want to do this anymore!! *sobbing*

Carin: *glaring at Selim* "Can you not wipe that stupid grin off your face..."

Arthur: "..." *hug, pat pat*

selim:.....*head tilt*

Carin: "The Commander is dead, and the Captain--er, new Commander--Feh, whatever. What a shitshow..."

gwen: so many people keep dying! morgan....the commander....im so scared! i dont want anyone else to die!!

Arthur: "..." *nods* "I know. It's a reality of life..."

juria: *leaning against a wall, away from everyone else*

Kishiri: *standing with Vivian* "Asako is really taking it hard."

vivian: hnnn~ i really wish i knew how to help! maybe trip to the hot springs?

tao: warm food always helps me feel better!

Kishiri: "Sound good...When my granny died, it was a family trip we took..."

vivian: awww, torry!

juria: tch- i dont get why everyone's being all weepy about this. the old fart was gonna kick the bucket sooner or later.

Kishiri: *frowns* "He was murdered--that's pretty tragic, though.”

juria: ....

*seems Pan is not here...*

tao: ?? where is your new commander, miss oni?

juria: how the fuck would i know?

Yumi: *walking through a hall...spots Pan alone in his office* "???"

pan: ....oh, mrs death. salutations...

Yumi: "Hello. I wanted to thank you for the eulogy you delivered today."

pan: of course...*sigh*

Yumi: "...I also wanted to say that you have Death City's full support. The 4th has been an important institution for up and coming firefighters."

pan: right....im glad the DWMA has helped us out as well.

Yumi: "If you need anything, you have our number...I am sorry for your loss. I know it can't be easy."

pan:...you know, a part of me has always wanted to be a commander...i just didnt think it would be like this.

Yumi: "..." *takes a seat* "He was commander for a long time. Since you joined the 4th?"

-elsewhere-

tamaki:.........*stomach gurgles* .....*sits up and exits her room, with the blanket around her*

Viktor: *talking in the kitchen* "--then the watermelon went--" *moves his hand like a rocket flying through the air* "--SPLAT!"

argit: ha!

Viktor: *opens the fridge* "Want another one?" *looks into the hall* "Oh, hey, Tamaki."

tamaki:...hungry....*goes to get some cereal*

Viktor: *pulls out the milk carton* " 'Kay. Argit and I are going to work on something in the backyard."

argit:....so is he like a hikky-somethin?

tamaki: *walks over to the table....but trips on the blanket and falls, hitting her head on the edge of the table and gashing herself a bit* ......*whimpers*

argit: HA!

Viktor: "??? Oh boy..." *helps her up*

tamaki:....*her forehead is bleeding*

Komori: *walks in* "..."

argit:.....how many people you got hiding here, vic?

Viktor: "Quite a bit--we got a lot of space here."

Komori: *writes* <Tamaki, your forehead is bleeding. Let's bandage you up.>

tamaki:...*whimpers and nods, weeping*

Komori: *stares at Argit* "..."

argit: jeez, what a fuckin crybaby.....the fuck you lookin at?

Komori: <An asshole.>

argit: D8<

Viktor: ^^; "Let's all take a deep breath and calm down..."

Komori: <Is that your nose, or did a truck run over your face?>

argit: you callin' me roadkill, bitch?!

Komori: <I'm calling you a bitch, bitch.>

argit: OH THAT DOES IT! *fires quills at her*

*SWOOSH*

*quills diverted--and pin Viktor by the shirt into the wall*

Komori: "..."

Viktor: Q_Q;

argit: ...well shit.

Komori: <Insult my patient again, and the damage will be so severe you'll be thankful I am your doctor.>

argit:...*crosses arms and pouts* *grumble grumble*

Komori: *nod* *guides Tamaki*

-elsewhere-

misaki: *walking through the graveyard* .....

*a crow has landed in a tree behind*

misaki:......*takes a seat*

Crow: "CAW!"

misaki:....why hello. *pulls something from her bag* would you like some bread? i was going to have this for lunch, but i probably dont need it.

Crow: "..." *flies down, lands at her feet* "..." *head tilt* *small caw*

misaki: *small smile* it must be nice to be a bird. you dont have to worry about things like fitting in or social status....you probably have plenty of friends with similar interests as you, so you probably never feel lonely......look at me, talking to animals about my problems. ^^;

Crow: *pecking at the bread*

*SNAP*

misaki:...!!

*it sounded like a twig being stepped on...*

misaki: h-hello?

Crow: "...CAW!" *flies at something behind the tree*

misaki: ah-

*CRACK*

Crow: *flies away...with a very long stick*

misaki: .....you probably have a family to go back to.....*sad smile* maybe they're right about me....im not meant to fit in with regular people....

Pumpkin: *behind the tree--missing an arm now* -_-### *holds his fingers in his other hand...and snaps them*

Crow: "ACK--"

*the arm swings back, knocking the Crow down*

misaki: ah!! *runs over*

Crow: *lands in the grass, dazed* @^@ "CAW?"

misaki: you poor thing. you arent hurt, are you?

Pumpkin: *the arm-stick is attracted back to his other hand, as he re-attaches it* "Damn winged monstrosities..."

Crow: *stands up, wobbling slightly...looks dazed*

misaki: *checking for any injuries*

*seems to be fine*

Crow: *flaps wings while on the ground*

misaki: *sigh*

Crow: "...CAW!" *flies at the tree again...*

Pumpkin: "Pain in the--?!!!"

Crow: "CAW!" *claws at Pumpkin's face*

misaki: ah! *runs over* wait!

Pumpkin: *knocked down* "AH!!" *swinging his arms*

misaki: !!! oh goodness!

Pumpkin: *freezes* ._.

Crow: *freezes* "..." *pecks once more at Pumpkin, before landing on Misaki's shoulder*

misaki: *reaches a hand out* are you alright?

Pumpkin: "..." *backs up*

misaki: i-it's alright, im not going to hurt you.

Pumpkin: "..." *silent, just staring*

misaki: *smiles* my name is misaki. what's yours?

Pumpkin: "What? Wait for what?"

misaki: i- uh..um.. w-well...

Pumpkin: "...Hmph." *he looks worse for wear after the crow attack*

misaki: i-if i said or did anything to upset you at all, im very sorry. im not...very good at talking to others.

Pumpkin: "...I've noticed."

misaki:....im sorry. i'll just go home now...

Pumpkin: "Wait!"

misaki: *looks back*

Pumpkin: "...Pumpkin."

misaki: ??

Pumpkin: "...Lord Pumpkin."

misaki: i see....it's nice to meet you, lord pumpkin. *smiles*

Pumpkin: "...You are by yourself."

misaki: ??

Pumpkin: "I've seen you...alone..."

misaki: oh....well, i dont have many friends. i mean, yes, i do talk to some people at school, but i dont feel particularly close to any of them...

Pumpkin: "You're here often. Because..."

misaki: ...my parents are buried here...

Pumpkin: "...I gathered as much...How..."

misaki:...they died in a car crash.

Pumpkin: "...I see."

misaki:.....

Pumpkin: "I'm...sorry."

misaki: i-it's fine. im used to it.

Pumpkin: "It's not..."

misaki: ??

Pumpkin: "...fair."

misaki:.....are you alone?

Pumpkin: "?! What?"

misaki: s-sorry! i-i mean- w-what i was trying to say was-

Pumpkin: "I-I'm--"

misaki: do you have a family?

Pumpkin: "...No longer."

misaki: ....oh...

Pumpkin: "..." *nods*

misaki:.....do you have anywhere to stay?

Pumpkin: "And you...?"

misaki: i live not too far from here. *points toward the woods* my family's home is that way....

Pumpkin: "...So, a neighbor of sort."

misaki: are you staying somewhere close by?

Pumpkin: "..." *nods*

-elsewhere-

*in the DWMA library*

Saria: >~< *carrying a tall stack of books*

*looks like someone else is also walking with books, coming from the other direction...*

genny: you sure you dont need extra help with that?

Saria: "No, no, I'm okay... *grunt* Just need one more book around the corner--"

*bump*

Saria: "EEK!"

*books go flying*

genny: YIPE!!

Poe: "EEP!" *his stack of books falls, one hitting him on the head*

genny: s-sorry!

Poe: "I-I'm sorry!"

Saria: "No, I am! I wasn't looking!" .~.; *gathering her books* "Sorry, Mr. Poe..."

Poe: *gathers his books* "Quite alright...I have to hurry and get these to the Occult Club." *runs off with his books...including one cookbook*

Saria: *picks up books, including one by Sterling Rodgers: 'Serving Others'*

genny: um...

Saria: "Huh...This wasn't on my list?" *flips through* "Oh! Look at this recipe!" *it looks like a cheesecake dish*

genny: *looks*

*the table of contents show quiche, muffins, an appendix of herbs*

genny: hmm.....

Saria: "..." *smiles* "I got a good feeling about this one!" *gathers the stack* "I can't wait to try it! Let's go!" *runs to the check-out desk*

-elsewhere-

Poe: "Hello! Sorry! I was late--all that paperwork for the rare volumes." *sets them down* "I think this is all of them. Let's see...'Bohme's Masonry,' 'Lesser Key of Solomon,' 'Mrs Kiel's Rustic Home Cooking'-- ... ... ..." ._. *flips through the last one* "...Jeepers. This _is_ spooky..."

rowena: *looks* ._. oh...oh dear....i think there might have been a slight error. ^^;

Poe: *flips through his notepad* "Let's see...Yes, this one was not on the list. Hmm...Which one is missing?"

alice:.....i am kind of hungry...

-elsewhere-

asako:.............

Goldie: "..." *hops onto the bed*

asako:....*hug*

Goldie: *nuzzle, sympathetic growl*

-elsewhere-

Meme: "It is so easy getting lost around here--it's like Death City, only more European."

mio: no kidding. even japan felt like a labyrinth to get through...

Meme: "Yeah! But we got through it, and we'll get through this!"

*ZOOM OUT, revealing they are lost in an alley*

Meme: "...Soon enough."

-elsewhere-

[xpwewarchive]

XPWEW Friday Night Pyro 9/4/2020

XPWEW Friday Night Pyro Date: September 4th, 2020 Episode: 442 Channel: VICE TV @ 10PM EST

-Intro song plays- and both participants are in the ring already and boom the Number 1 Contendership Match for Leonard McGraw's XPWEW World Title is on! The undefeated El Demonio (3-0) and Joe Gacy (6-9-1) with 4 of those wins being in the last month, Upward trajectory. (Leonard is the world champion and his record is spotty)

Number 1 contedendership Match 1 on 1 M1: El Demonio def. Joe Gacy (w/ Audrey Carbine) ***MATCH OF THE NIGHT***

(Amazing back and forth battle with two clashing styles, Ultimately a Pedrigree Package Piledriver from Demonio put away the death machine for the 1-2-3 and Carbine can't control herself from defending her fellow partner, Gacy (who burned her in a 'Ring of Fire' match just two weeks ago, they gained some mutual respect in that match) - Carbine locks on 'The Art of Ballistics' chicken wing on Demonio to which XPWEW World Heavyweight Champion: Leonard McGraw runs down to the ring and runs at rapid speed with his Buckshot clothesline from hell, Demonio while being choked by Carbine, McGraw clotheslines both of them with a wicked lariat. Leonard is unhinged, However Gacy has the title and he's about to whack McGraw with it from behind, McGraw turns around and has a stardown with Joe Gacy who is holding his world title, McGraw stares into Gacy's soul. Gacy then lets his guard down, holds McGraw's belt out from him and then spits a gigantic loogie on McGraw's World Title and then drops it on the ground. McGraw starts swining wildly and him and Gacy trade punches until Gacy verbally submits with an "okay okay okay" Gacy slides out of the ring in congruence with a stunned Audrey Carbine as they walk backward up the ramp, McGraw helps El Demonio up from the canvas and Demonio grabs a microphone. El Demonio: "LADDER MATCH!!!!!!!!!" ESCALA DE LA MURETA!!!!!!!!!!! McGraw: *extends handshake* Demonio: accepts handshake, McGraw tightens his grip and aggressively pulls Demonio nose to nose with him. McGraw: "I don't speak spanish but..I'm not a afraid of heights but son I'll shove that God damn Ladder up your ass. And Joe Gacy, you big crooked nose bastard! Look at me! You like to spit huh? Next week come on down, spit on these ladders, lube it up so I can stick it up both y'all's asses" - McGraws music plays....What a segment.

In ring segment: Mr. Case Your Luck Romeo Roselli with his new protegé Doxy Deity (Romeo speaks on the importance of his briefcase and that at any time he can become the world champion, Who's to say I don't climb that ladder next week!) - Jake Awesome (c) enters with Myron Reed, Kotto Brazil & Jordan Oliver (c) (Jake speaks on his recent run-in with Milwaukee Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmp and how he is still the INTERNATIONAL champion and Giannis is still not a champion. You wouldn't dare cash in on me, So I'll do one better. Next week. I'll defend the International Title. But if I win you gotta hand your briefcase over to a member of The Set that I feel has earned it. (Myron, Kotto & Jordan stand confidently) Jake: and Romeo, I doubt you'll pass the test Doxy Deity: Jake, I doubt you could pass a piss test, you are on more gas than Citgo..So bring those Spongebob Squarepants blow up muscles next week and my man will become the new International Champion Jake: *chuckles* that's cute, Doxy, is that your name? Doxy? Speak ill on my name and I'll dox you and your whole family. I myself will find every member of your family and kick their f****** teeth down their throat, So watch your mouth (Myron, Kotto & Jordan jawjacking at Romeo however the subtitles can't process it)

The Tessa Blanchard XPWEW Women's Title Open Challenge 1 on 1 M2: Tessa Blanchard (c) def. Kiera Hogan * Lotus' music plays as if to cash in her CYL briefcase, nothing happens. Tessa mouths off, Open Challenge bitch! Open challenge for a reason! I ain't scared of you little girl!

Backstage: Locker room we see Garrett Thompson at a locker looking through his gym bag; when former XPWEW Champion Champagne Clausen waltzes up pretending as if he just bumped into him Garrett: Can I help you? Champagne: Oh.....well I can help myself. Last year in October I was in a sea full of hicks and I won the world title, and Garrett: I said can I help you not can I listen to you, I'm not interested in hearing your bull**** today Champagne: Ah, I see GT. Is it because you've never been a world champion? Hmm Sure 2013 you main evented Lockdown 5 in a what, multi man 4 way dance. And wait you lost, as a matter of fact Garrett you were the first man eliminated. Garrett: stares intensely Champagne: In this industry I am here and you are...right here. You don't measure up.. Garrett decks Champagne and they start slugging it out in the locker room with fiery fists until Ethan Bedlam and 3M3 break them up, Champagne has a bloody lip Champagne: You wanna box? You wanna bare knuckle box boy huh, This ain't Rocky huh, jobbers....... Ethan Bedlam: You got a death wish? Champagne: If he wants to box, then let's box...

- Jacques Dudley enters - Masato Tanaka enters

1 on 1 M3: Masato Tanaka def. Jacques Dudley in a hard fought win between these veterans, Jacques walks off looking defeated... James Westerbeck holds a post match interview with Tanaka at ringside, Tanaka says I am striving to win the world title before I call it a career, I'm far from done. ( Joe Gacy comes out and spits in Tanaka's face, Tanaka goes to retaliate and Gacy just irish whips him into the ringpost, Audrey Carbine holds Tanaka still and Gacy takes a steel chair, scares away James Westerbeck with it then with Tanaka's head of the steel steps, Gacy smashes the chair over Tanaka's head and walks away and when Tanaka rolls over he's covered in a bloody crimson mask. Gruesome attack on Masato Tanaka from The Death Machines

- Anarchy Rules 2020 PPV ad - 16 days away!!!! - VICE TV is free to stream ALL SEPTEMBER ad!!!

Tag Team Match M4: The Set (Myron Reed & Kotto Brazil) w/ Jordan Oliver (c) def. The Vaudevillains of The Marauder Simon Gotch & Drama King Aiden English w/ Mandy Leon - Myron picked up the win over Gotch in the finish after hitting the clout cutter, Jake Awesome walks out on stage and applauds The Set and then has a chat with Myron (possibly because he picked up the win for the team, If Awesome defeats Roselli next week maybe Myron is who 'deserves' the Case Your Luck briefcase PENDING IF AWESOME successfully defeats Romeo Roselli next week)

- 1/2 of the XPWEW Tag Team Champions: Golden Bryce enters (We see Alveno watching on a monitor backstage, rooting his cousin on) - Former World Champion: Ruckus enters with Siaka Lexoni and Chrissy Rivera of The SET

1 on 1 Lockdown Seven Rematch M5: Ruckus def. Golden Bryce (c)

After the match 1/2 of the XPWEW Tag Team Champions: Alveno La Flare comes down the ramp to console Bryce on his loss, Ruckus and Lexoni with Rivera mock Alveno doing 'crybaby' faces as they laugh up the ramp. The Set is victorious as Pyro comes to a close. Alveno extends his hand and helps Bryce to his feet, As it appears they might be defending those Tag Titles against The Set on the 20th at Anarchy Rules

Show Ends

[ashroseevans]

Kingdom Hearts Cinderella 3

I panted, running as fast as I could, but I could never get any farther in the darkness. It was so dark I couldn’t see where I was or how far or fast I was running. When ever I would stop to try to catch my breath, I started to sink into the ground. I couldn’t stop, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t find an end to my hopelessness.

Just when I started to sink in to despair, a bright light shone, blinding me. I shielded my eyes as I started to run towards it again, determined to get out of here. As I got closer, the light got brighter until it engulfed me completely. When it cleared, I looked over a scene I saw every night in my dreams.

Roxas cutting down my father.

I screamed but no sound escaped my mouth. I was forced to watch as my father faded into nonexistence like all Nobodies do. I watched as he spoke to Roxas, words I couldn’t hear and would never know. I stood frozen until my fathers body faced completely and a voice filtered through my nightmare.

“WAKE UP”

I groaned and swatted at whoever it was that was shaking me. I heard them hiss in annoyance.

“Get up!” she growled and opened my eyes to see Kairi. “You have breakfast to make!”

I sat up and rolled my eyes. “Alright, already,” I said. “I’ll be right down.”

“Hurry up or we’ll be late,” she glared before she left my room, slamming the door behind her.

I stood up and sighed. I quickly brushed my hair and changed into my uniform, being mindful not to look in the mirror. I knew how I looked. Beyond tired with messy hair. The nightmare was always the same, every night. Every morning, I would always ask myself the same question.

When would it end?

Grabbing my backpack, I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. I looked at the clock and realized I had no time to actually make breakfast. Or well, a proper one in her highness Tifa’s eyes. I scrambled around the kitchen and grabbed bowls of cereal and arranged them on the table before pouring the mi. Within seconds of me putting away the milk, the other three members of the household sat down at the table.

“What is this?” Tifa sneered.

I walked back into the dining room. “Uh, it’s cereal and milk. I didn’t have enough time to many anything else.”

She scoffed. “If you had gotten up earlier you would have.”

That’s it. She’s getting leeches for dinner tonight. “I’m very sorry, it won’t happen again,” I gritted out.

“Andi, how is my paper coming along? It’s due tomorrow,” Kairi piped up.

“Almost done,” I answered. “It’ll be finished before dinner.”

“It had better be.”

I sighed and cleaned the kitchen while everyone was eating. Stupid step family, making me do everything they couldn’t be bothered with. They would fall apart when I left. I wonder if they would even try to stop me.

When I was finished cleaning, I grabbed my bag and the car keys and walked to the front door. Kairi and Leon were already there, waiting. I walked passed them and they followed.

“You better hurry up. I can’t be late meeting up with Riku,” she said and I could almost feel the smug vibes radiating off of her.

I ignored her, refusing to let her try and bait me. Instead, I just opened the car door. Kairi and Leon slid in and I put my backpack on the seat before I slid into the drivers side. Once I did, I jerked up. The seat felt strangely slimy and sticky and I heard Leon snickering. I looked down and saw what he did. Ink stained the seat and my uniform. I growled and sat down, having no time to clean it up.

“If you think a little ink is going to stop me, you have another thing coming,” I said.

“It’s more then just ink,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes and just drove to school. It wasn’t long before we arrived and I found a parking spot. Kairi and Leon hopped out and headed into the building. I hung back and tied my hair up to keep it out of the ink. Then I grabbed my school bag and walked inside to my locker. Hatori was there waiting for me.

“Well? What happened?” she squealed.

I didn’t say anything at first and focused on looking for my spare uniform. I usually kept one in there because of Leon’s pranks but I couldn’t find it this morning. Mother of…

“Tell you what?” I said.

“Tell me what happened when Riku was in your house!”

“How’s you know about that?”

“I saw him walk out when I walked home,” she answered.

“Oh. Well, he and Kairi broke up. Kairi threw something at him.”

Her face lit up. “What did he say to her? What he all like,” she made her voice sound deeper and scowled. “I need someone who’s less of a bitch or I need someone more like me?”

“Nothing like that. He just said that he didn’t want to be with her anymore,” I said and closed my locker.

“That means you have a shot!” she squealed.

“Ah, not really. He said he had feelings for someone else,” I sighed.

“But he didn’t tell you who, right? So it could be you!”

“I doubt that. I’m the town pariah. There’s no way. He probably wouldn’t want me hanging around him. He’s just friendly.”

“Well, the Masquerade Valentine’s Dance is coming up. Maybe you could find out then,” she said. “Everyone will be wearing masks.”

“I’d still stick out like a sore thumb. Can’t hide my eyes behind a mask. Or my hair. It’s hard to blend in when my most defining features aren’t my face.”

“Contacts. And you’ve always been saying you want to cut your hair.”

I hissed. I hated it when she said things like that. “Fine. I’ll go,” I sighed. “I’ll meet you at class. I have to go to the locker room.”

“Leon?”

“Leon.” I answered and walked down the hall.

Hatori walked the other way and I navigated the halls until I neared the gym. As I got closer to the locker room door, I noticed some girls standing near it and Riku was at the other end of the gym, shooting some early morning hoops. He spotted me as he dribbled the ball back to the free throw line and waved. As I waved politely back, I saw the group of girls glaring at me before I felt two of them come up behind me and grab my arms.

“You have some nerve being all chummy with Riku,” one hissed as they forcefully led me into the locker room.

The two girls at the door held it open as the two behind me pushed me through. I struggled as they led me towards the bathroom stalls and forced me on my knees in front of one of the toilets.

“Do you really think someone like you is worthy of him?” One said as she grabbed my head and tried forcing my head into the bowl.

I grabbed the sides of it to try to stop myself as the two others grabbed onto my shoulders and started pushing.

“You’re a degenerate! Scum of the earth!”

“You should disappear, just like your father did!” they said and pushed harder.

“You know,” said the fourth girl, the leader. “This can all stop if you say one simple thing.”

I didn’t have the strength to hold them back and talk. My arms burned and it was all I could do to remember to breathe while I held myself up.

“Tell us that your father means nothing to you. Tell us that he’s worthless scum and we’ll stop.”

“That’s enough,” came a male voice behind all of us. I recognized it immediately.

“R-Riku!” the girls shrieked almost in perfect unison and let go of me.

I took a deep breath and sat back on my legs.

“Get out of here,” he said, his voice hard. Even I was a little afraid of him in that moment.

The four girls screamed and ran out. I didn’t move, but I felt Riku walk up behind me. I turned my head and looked at him. He held out his hand to me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded. And took his hand, standing up. “Why did you come in here? This is the girls locker room.”

“You know, a thank you would have been just fine,” he said. “I saw the girls drag you here and came to help.”

“I… um… thank you, then.”

He put a hand on my head. “So did you come here for something in particular?”

“Yeah. My brother put ink on the car seat and I came here to get my spare uniform but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be in here,” I said.

Riku frowned a moment. “Hold on a sec. I’ll be right back.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but he was already gone. I sighed and sat down on one of the benches. What was Riku thinking, coming to my rescue? I didn’t need his help. I didn’t want it. Not if it meant he went out of his way to do it. If he kept associating with me, it would only bring his reputation down. I would end up hurting him and I didn’t want that.

Something flopped on my lap, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Riku standing in front of me again.

“It’ll be a little too big, but it’s better then walking around in an inked up uniform,” he said and shrugged.

I picked up the clothes. He was letting me borrow his spare uniform? “Um… thank you, Riku,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” he said and coughed.

I stared at him, waiting for him to leave. He seemed so much gentler now. I stared for a few more heartbeats before he noticed.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m not changing while you’re in here,” I said and gave him a bored look.

He blinked. “Oh, right, sorry,” he said and turned to leave. He paused at the door. “You know, not everyone cares who your father was.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. Name one person other then Hatori who doesn’t care.”

Riku gave me a small secret smile. “I don’t.” He said before he left.

I stared at the door for a few more moments before I shook myself out of my trance. I picked up the clothes and started to change into them. They smelled like him. I sighed. Why was he doing this for me?

He wasn’t kidding when he said the clothes would be too big for me. I could have worn his shirt like a dress if I really wanted to. Thankfully he brought a belt for the pants. I half tucked his shirt into the pants because it would look weird if I tucked it in completely or if I left it completely untucked. Better to look like a slob then a freak. I rolled up the sleeves up to my elbows and the pant legs to my ankles so I wouldn’t step on them. Then I put on my tie.

I stuffed my dirty uniform into my backpack before I slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the locker room. Riku was standing there leaning against the locker room. Riku was standing there, leaning against the wall. He looked at me.

“Better?” he asked.

I bowed my head slightly. “Yes, thank you. I’ll return it to you tomorrow.”

“All right. I’d better get to class, then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” I said and looked Riku in the eyes. “And really, thank you Riku,” I added before turning and walking away.

“Don’t mention it,” he called after me. “That’s what friends are for!”

“He was more like a White Knight to me.

After classes let out, I walked to my locker to find Sora standing there waiting for me.

“Wanna go to the island?” He asked.

“Yeah, sure. Let me drop off my books,” I said.

He nodded. “So did you hear that announcement about the Valentine’s Masquerade?” he asked as I unloaded my backpack into my locker.

“Yeah. I’m guessing you want me to go?”

“Oh, come on. You could try to find that girl you like and ask her to dance,” he said.

“I’m not sure she’d even go to the dance,” I said and closed my locker. We started walking out of the school towards the beach.

“What? Is she too good for school functions or something?” he asked. I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to figure out who the girl was.

“No. It’s nothing like that,” I said, not wanting to give too much away.

“Then what is it?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. Forget it. I’ll go to the dance. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong about her.”

Sora just shrugged and we walked the rest of the way in silence. As we neared the beach, I started to notice two figures on the beach, one with over sized clothes and long black hair. She was swinging a wooden sword at her sparing partner, Hatori. I’m surprised they still kept the wooden swords that I had given to them years ago.

We walked closer to the two sparing girls. Even with the baggy clothes she wasn’t used to, Andi was kicking Hatori’s ass. Hatori jabbed at Andi who performed a perfect  parry, causing Hatori’s sword to fly up into the air. Andi jumped up and grabbed it, flipping over Hatori and pointed one sword at her back and the other was pressed across the front of her neck. Hatori let out a breath, slumping forward.

“You win,” she said.

Andi dropped her arms and the swords, hanging Hatori hers back. I clapped slowly and the girls snapped their heads up and looked at Sora and I. They looked shocked and surprised and Andi breathed my name.

“You’re pretty good with a sword, Andi,” I said.

She stared at me, breathing hard. “What are you doing here, Riku?”

“I came to see you,” I smirked.

I saw her relax a bit. “Mhm, why are you really here?”

“Cutting to the chase as usual, I see,” I chuckled. “Sora,” I saw her jaw clench, “and I were going to go to the island, but when we saw you two sparring, we decided to watch,” I said. “You certainly know your way around a sword fight. I’ve taught you well. How about we find out if the student can best the master?”

“Ha! You never trained me. Before my father left, I only ever watched you and Roxas play with these things. After…” she looked to the side. “Well, after, I practiced on my own. You, Roxas, and Kairi were to busy to pay me any mind anymore,” she sounded kind of sad and dejected as she said that. I frowned. I couldn’t blame her at all because she was right. It just hurt me. I was such an ass to her back then.

I forced myself to seem unaffected. “Well then, how about we cut a deal. You try to defeat me and Sora. If you can’t, I’ll teach you how to fight. If you can, well, I’ll let you try to use a keyblade,” I said and summoned my Way to Dawn keyblade. “That is, if you’re ready for one.”

“I al—” she stopped talking when she caught Hatori’s eye. I raised an eyebrow but I decided not to question it. Yet. Instead of finishing what she was saying, she shot a glance at Sora and then looked at me. “Is that a challenge?”

I smirked. “Only if you accept,” I said and let my keyblade vanish.

Sora put his hand on my shoulder. “Riku, this isn’t a good idea. We should just go to the island.”

I ignored him and shrugged off his hand. I kept a challenging gaze on Andi. “Well?”

“I accept,” she smirked, but it vanished when a witches laugh caught her attention. She sighed. “Hang on. I need to take that.”

I watched as she grabbed her phone, opened it, and put it to her ear. I might have been staring a bit too much as she walked down the beach. I wondered who she was talking too. Hopefully not a boyfriend. I shook those thoughts out of my head and looked at Hatori. She was Andi’s best friend and I had some questions.

“What’s up with Leonheart?” Sora asked.

Hatori looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Sora rolled his eyes. “I don’t. Just tell me why she looked ready to kill me? Or why she calls me Roxas? That’s not even my name,” he said as he shoved his hands on his pockets.

“I figured you would know!” She snapped. “It’s because of you that she’s treated the way she is, bulling more now then she was when the two of you blew up this world,” she glared at me kind of accusingly, but I knew she was just trying to make a point. I raised my hands in surrender but didn’t say anything. Sora wasn’t that smart.”

“What did I—” I covered his mouth before he could finish his question.

“Just shut up,” I said.

He crossed his arms and looked away. I removed my hand and sighed.

“I just don’t know why she doesn’t like me,” he muttered. “I saved the worlds, twice.”

I groaned and slapped my forehead.

Hatori let out a loud “HA!” band we both looked at her. “Why don’t you ask Xaldin why she hates you.”

Andi walked back up to us before Sora could say anything even more stupid. She looked at me. “I can’t fight you today. I have to go home. Rain check?”

I nodded. “Sure. How’s a week from Friday, after school, right here?”

She nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. Later, Riku. Goodbye Roxas,” she regarded Sora and looked at Hatori. “Come on.”

“My name is Sora,” he muttered as Hatori and Andi grabbed their things and walked off. When they were gone, he spoke again. “How the hell am I supposed to ask Xaldin why Andi hates me? He’s dead.”

I whacked him upside the head. “You idiot. Try and put two and two together.”

“I don’t see how his death affects her! It’s not like they were related or anything. Her father was Dil—oh,” Sora grimaced as realization hit “if she’s his daughter then there’s something I need to tell her.”

I sighed and shook my head. “You idiot.”

“Tifa is going out so she’ll be gone by the time we get there. She wants me to make sure all the rooms are clean. So do you want to hang out there while she’s gone?” I asked Hatori.

“Sure. I’ll help out. And we can talk dance stuff,” she giggled. “I think you would look best in black.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. We can talk when we get there. Leon and Kairi are probably out with friends. “

She nodded and we walked the rest of the way to my house in silence. We quickly walked in and made our way to my room so I could change clothes before we checked the rooms. Once all of my menial chores were done, we walked to my attic room to talk dress details.

“Hey, Andi,” Hatori said.

“Hm? What is it?”

"I dare you to ask Riku to dance with you."

Read more Kingdom Hearts Stories (and others) here

[the-apocryphal-one]

I don’t know if the last one ever submitted since I got an error message so just to be safe, I’ll send it again.  You can delete this if you got it anyway.

For the “Leon thing being written upside-down”, it was the same in the Japanese version?  That definitely works more there, but couldn’t the localizers have changed it or something?  Make it so part of the blood was wiped away, or smeared, and it would be harder to tell?  That might have been able to fix up the problem easily enough.  Ah, well.  There are definitely some people who hadn’t picked up on it.  Not because they’re dumb or anything of course, but because they think differently.

I’m going to kind of skim through the second, third, and fourth case because they’re not very interesting to talk about.  It was mostly the mid-game stuff so it would probably be the most boring part of the game if I ever decided to replay DR for whatever reason that might be.  I'm not saying it was bad–in fact, I was very invested in what happened to Chihiro, and the double-murders was a really fun aspect to everything.  

Sakura’s death had the most emotional investment–especially since I had been talking to her a little more on my free time periods, and I like how the ideas for the culprits were flying all over the place, complete with three different confessions.  I thought what happened was kind of obvious but it was still pretty neat, and I liked it.  Hina wanting to kill everyone as punishment for “killing” her best friend was an interesting take too.  I could definitely see where she was coming from.  When Hina confessed, my first thought was that Sakura had gotten Hina to poison her protein drink so Hina’d have “murdered” her, Sakura would write a suicide note, everyone would think it was a suicide, vote Sakura, and Hina would be able to escape the school.  Hina confessed because she wouldn’t be able to handle herself with the knowledge that she’d helped Sakura to kill herself, then killed everyone else in the school in the process.  It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as that, but that would have flown, right?

The gameplay for the trials was as fun, as always.  I like being able to use other people’s statements as truth bullets.  That always manages to spice up the gameplay.  The rhythm mini-game is probably the most fun.  Whenever I’m firing the truth bullets, I usually end up applying Ace Attorney logic to things and that sometimes screws me up.  The Hangman’s Gambit is kind of lame.  I still haven’t forgiven it for calling DID “schizo”.  I get why they couldn’t make the player spell out the entire thing, or DID, but why did they use Hangman’s Gambit for it at all?  I’m going to just say this is something that was really hard to localize/translate and it worked at least a little better in the Japanese version of the game.

I just don’t have much else to say about this portion of the game, except Celeste’s execution was so suiting to her character; it was very elegant, but just as brutal as I expected from this game.  The creators have done such a great job on putting together these creative executions which is…worrying, but I’ll just not think about it and just enjoy them for what they are.

Anyway, I’ve gotten to the first free time period after the fourth trial and I’m pretty sure this is where the game’s story starts to pick up.  Things are moving a lot faster, and there’s a lot more stuff being introduced.  Like the sixteenth student, Sakura hinting that the Mastermind probably did something to us, sneaking into locked areas with Kyoko, etc..  

The sixteenth student was pretty easy to guess (an extra stand in the courtroom “just for decoration”?  Yeah, okay, game) but it’s a neat idea and I really want to know were the game’s going with it.  I don’t have any idea what they might do, but I’m thinking the sixteenth student was the same person who attacked Makoto in the secret room?  On the other hand I’m not sure, because they apparently get killed in chapter five.  I don’t think they’d kill off a character that quickly, would they?  Sayaka and Leon were kind of necessary, and Junko was to demonstrate that anyone could die so don’t mess around with us.  Unless, of course, chapter six is actually the final chapter and “chapter seven” is just an epilogue or something.

Something that was introduced in in between the second and third trials was “The Tragedy”, I think it was?  Talked about something horrible that happened a year ago, and the school had to shut down about it.  It was dropped until we were able to find that nightmare fuel bloody classroom, complete with body outlines.  Interestingly, the blood is red and not pink.  I’ve thought up until now that the artists did the pink blood for artsy reasons, but now that I’ve seen actual red blood, I’m starting to think that’s not the case.  Byakuya brought up how the blood changed color but since it’s been hinting at that the Mastermind might have done something to the students’ memories/bodies, that could just be one of the things he/she did.  Is the students’ blood somehow different than normal blood?  Are these characters already dead or something and stuck in purgatory?  Cyborgs?  Is that why their blood doesn’t look red like blood’s supposed to?  Questions, questions.  If they are in fact altered in some way, the body outlines might be the characters that we’ve seen thus far.  Someone cracked, then went on a rampage, killing what could possibly be some of the characters in the game.  Most specifically, Kyoko, Makoto, and possibly the mystery sixteenth student.  Whatever her name was.  That is, of course, if Kyoko isn’t the sixteenth student herself and is acting in as one of the students that didn’t miraculously survive the slaughter.

That’s all I can remember what I wanted to speculate about, so I’ll talk about the characters next.

I like Makoto a fudge more.  I don’t dislike him, but I don’t really like him, either.  He’s not as dense as he was in the first trial so that’s probably the main reason.  I remember he said that neither of the killers in trial three were entirely innocent, which is a good change of pace from last time.  I can’t really tell if it’s inconsistent writing, or him growing as a character because he hasn’t really changed all that much.  He’s still a little personality-less, but like I said before, I don’t dislike him at all.  The player’s mostly here to experience the ride with him and that’s fine.  The other characters are zany enough to keep me interested so everything won’t get stale.

Kyoko’s interesting, and probably my favorite of the students so far.  She seems to be the female lead next to Makoto.  I don’t have much to say about her.  I’m glad she’s not giving me the answers to everything anymore but still helpful.  I have a star next to her name in my character profile thing so I guess that means I’ve talked to her to the maximum amount?

Genocide Jill’s…fun, I guess?  Seeing her murder victims and how brutal she was to them really makes her a little too psychotic to entirely enjoy the brand of humor she’s supposed to be bringing to the table.  She can still be pretty funny sometimes though.  Her random spouting of a website during a “testimony” was really funny.  Still, though, she’s still pretty entertaining a lot of the time.

Byakuya’s a Grade A Asshole although I’d rather him not die soon because we’re running low on students.  The potential murderer will always have him to kill and not me.

I like Hina.  She has a fun personality.

Hiro’s dumb.  There’s nothing I have to say on him.  He’s just so useless and pointless to the plot.  …But he’s also another person that someone can kill that isn’t me.  I take back what I said about him being pointless.  He still has his uses.

And Monokuma is still the most entertaining character in the game.  I liked the advertisement he shoved in my face during the theater thing.  His emoticons, fourth wall leaning, and sometimes outright fourth wall breaking make him that much more entertaining.  Yeah, I just said it was hard for me to swallow Genocide Jill’s brand of humor because of how psychotic she was, but her brand of psycho is very different than Monokuma’s.  Also, he pulled the Censored for Comedy trope.  How can I not love him forever?

This is as long as I want to go.  I probably made a bunch of typos and run-on sentences so I apologize.  In my defense, it’s late and I want to be able to write all this down before I forget.  Yeesh,  I can only imagine how much I’ll want to talk about everything once I finish the game. XD

Meanwhile… must…resist…from…going…to…TV…Tropes…

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It was the exact same. I’m not sure why they didn’t change it, maybe censorship laws or something...but then again it is the first case, so it’s probably not all too bad to have it easy for the audience. The real mystery comes from figuring out Sayaka’s role in it, in my opinion.

Personally I found case 2 the hardest, and cases 3 and 4 easy to guess the culprit--though Aoi claiming to have killed Sakura did throw me off, and I started wondering whether she had or why. I like the idea you came up with, though, my best was “maybe she was way more gutted over her being the mole than anyone else? and killed her for ‘betraying’ her?” Either way it was still very emotional. Chihiro’s trial still sticks as my favorite though, the little guy was so fascinating and important and had some real depth.

Hangman’s Gambit is a bane on all players, haha. Like I guess they did “schizo” for convenience (since DID would be really easy), but from what I hear it was more accurate in the original Japanese version.

I liked Celeste’s execution a lot, too. Monokuma setting it up to be the grand death she’d love, only to switch out by having her die a common death she’d hate, is very trollish and clever of him. Not to mention the visuals are probably my favorite.

Yep, this is the part of the story where everything really starts rolling towards the climax!

Chapter six is the last chapter. As for the sixteenth student and the masked attacker...that’s one of the grand mysteries of the school!

No, the blood being pink is just a stylistic choice--I think the blood there is red there to signify that it’s dried. They were going to go with all red blood originally, but had to change it to avoid a higher rating. That said...there is something wrong with the students, that Monokuma has done. You’ll find out what eventually :)

Makoto is kind of vanilla, but I like him because genuinely nice, male characters are kind of rare. He is a bit static, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a problem since it lets him be a “normal” point for the audience.

Yep, that’s what it means. And yes, Kyoko’s one of my favs too. I really liked her argument with Makoto in Chapter 4, it was petty and hypocritical and really humanized her. Her mentor/friend relationship with him works really well, and they play off each other’s weakness.

Toko and Jill are also favorites of mine, for reasons I can’t say. But they are a set of the most interesting characters in the game.

Byakuya’s still a giant dick, but I was actually kinda warming up to him at the end, if only because Toko/Jill’s stalking brought some needed levity.

I never took that much of a liking to Aoi, for some reason. She’s sweet, but just didn’t interest me as much as everyone else around her, I guess.

LOL, you’re not alone in your thoughts on Hiro. I was sick to death of him by the time Chapter 5 rolled around, like “YOU’RE alive but Kiyotaka and Chihiro aren’t?!” At least Byakuya contributes to trials.

Monokuma will always be one of the best characters in the franchise. Always.

Again, it’s no problem, and I still love hearing people’s thoughts on it! Seeing everyone’s speculations and guesses is a lot of fun, and it makes me happy to know you’re enjoying this great game so much :)

Resist! It’s worth it! (Especially since TvTropes doesn’t hide spoilers for any of the DR entries except the newest one)