#i find imagining his voice so hard cus no way in hell he actually has a *real* german accent so half the time i just hear him as like.

[crypt1dcorv1dae]

Stupid headcanon: the Gavin's ARE German but both very much grew up in America, klavier got the idea for his whole schtick because his favorite x man is nightcrawler and he was like this is going to be my entire personality from now on. I too will be the dramatic flirty German dude who throws little german-isms into regular conversation

But unfortunately he does often do it incorrectly which is part of why I don't think he was actually raised speaking German (but of course this is just from a laymen's perspective, I have a very limited knowledge of German language so I could be wrong)

I just think it's funnier if he's a born and raised little valley boy who decided to do this because of his favorite superhero cus it's cute and dorky

[coffee-writesthings]

I may or may not have been feeling inspired-- might try to expand it into a proper fic later but this is more of a refined-ish idea dump. A fic of a fic (Taking Running Blind by @thetriggeredhappy and having a similar plot with different main characters. Congrats, your peer pressure worked! :))

Summary: Spy is blinded, and after an earnest attempt to hide it, Engineer and Sniper notice (not crossteam btw, tho that would be another cool angle). They try to help him as best they can. (It's those 3 being shipped together, since I have trio relationships on my mind lately cus i read this rly good book with one in it it's called Iron Widow you should go read it rn)

At the moment it's more like an organized-ish infodump that I might turn into a proper fic at some point

Okay so Spy going blind, I think he would still be able to see light but nothing else. It'd happen because of some sort of injury that Respawn couldn't cover for some reason and that leads to Medic and Engineer getting anxious as all hell about Respawn. Medic would make Engineer take breaks, and it's during these breaks that he is trying to help Spy deal with day-to-day stuff.

I think the first to notice would've been Sniper, honestly. Looking through a scope it's not hard to assume that his sorta-friend is struggling with backstabs for a reason he can't place. What's going on with the Spook?

It gets even more obvious when Spy's knife lands, not into someone's spine, but their shoulder. it still does damage, but it's not a backstab. he's killed immediately by Pyro who was nearby and he's still blind. He thought maybe respawn would fix it but no nothing was fixed. Fuck.

Since he can only perceive light, he has to hide out for the rest of the match, using his Cloak and Dagger to remain alive and make an excuse as to why he wasn't seen on the field. I think he would hide out with Sniper, trying his damndest to not give the game away.

It's in this next half-hour that he starts getting used to how loud everything else is, without the visual clutter to distract him. For some reason he hears the other team's Heavy nearby, and it tips him off that that's actually the other Spy, using a new tactic.

The knife sinks into Sniper's back easily, but he never expected the second spy (our pov spy) to pin him down and start stabbing wildly, finishing him off with a carefully aimed gunshot before returning to the shadows.

Once the match is over, he makes his way back to the base, using the light and large colored arrows he can process as a guide. All of this is under the guise of his cloak, so nobody notices.

Or, at least that was the plan. He manages to fall into the Engineer, knocking both of them over.

"Spy what the hell are you trying to pull?"

"That's not your business." is the lousy attempt at a coverup he gives. If he knew the only way he could tell who he was talking to was by the sound of his voice... that would be bad for him.

"Then get off me, will ya?"

He does so without making eye contact, he couldn't imagine what his eyes looked like at the moment but it couldn't be good (they probs look normal, if the research i've done is correct)

There isn't another battle for two weeks, so during that time he rests up and figures out some very basic echolocation so he can make his way around the base. it's better, in his mind, to look competent than it is to be hidden. So long as nobody can tell he has a problem, that's fine by him.

~~~

Engineer and Sniper get to talking, and find they both think something's up.

"You think his sight's gotten worse?"

"I can only tell ya what I saw mate, and I saw him swinging blindly. You've seen how his stabs usually are, they're point-perfect on that specific spot on everybody's spines! Just doesn't make any sense."

"He did trip over me... Kinda thought it was some short joke but, now that'cha bring it up, it's kinda suspicious."

"He'd never want us to notice."

Engie snorts, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'd rather die than admit he needs help."

"What do we do then?"

"We help him, whether he admits he needs it or not."

~~~

The first way they try to help him is subtle, reaaaaal subtle. Sniper asks to take him on a walk, holds his hand and tries to talk to him about that day's battle-- he's a bit blunt but he's got the spirit. Spy complains some, but doesn't really say anything substantial. He's actually surprisingly good at not getting off-track (i've been doing things with my eyes closed as an experiment and your steps can legit get wobbly), using sniper's voice as an anchor of sorts

~~~

Engineer takes the next attempt at getting him to open up, just sort of chilling together though. It's a normal thing they do every couple of weeks to de-stress after battles. Today he thought that it would be nice to watch a tv show together, and it's some history thing idk. He describes some of the images to him, which makes Spy feel a mix of thankful and scared about-- Did he notice something? And he confronts Engie on it, asking what's going on?

"It's been both you and Sniper, what do you think happened?"

"There's no think to it. He pointed it out to me-- you botched a buncha backstabs and it looked like somethin' happened.

"This stays between the two of you and me..." he proceeds to explain what he knows about what happened. He does admit that he is, in fact, blind. He explains that he can perceive changes in light but nothing else. "It's... something like closing your eyes, permanently."

Engie is conflicted, having very little of an idea how to care for someone having vision in a state like that. He's especially not sure what to do in terms of telling Medic for instance (since respawn didn't fix it like expected)

~~~

Still though, he tells Sniper about it after staying up all night doing research on like a million specifics about vision loss (causes, treatment, what to do if it can't be fixed, etc etc)

"Huh, so what can we do right now?"

"He's gonna be real concerned about visibility, so honestly our best bet might be teaching him echolocation."

"You're kidding me!" he lets out a wheeze of a laugh, "Spy, echolocating? Yeah right. By the way when was the last time you slept?"

Engineer responds, "uh, yesterday."

Sniper proceeds to herd him into bed like a border collie, doing everything up to and including a brief attempt to pick him up over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Engineer blushes, maybe makes some joke about being a princess

~~~

So anyway they teach Spy how to echolocate (Sniper does, specifically, since he just forced Engineer to get some sleep).

Spy: 'this is a joke, right?"

Sniper: "do you want to do this without help or not? I don't see you being willing to get a white cane" (note: it's super good actually for figuring out ur surroundings and materials, i didn't think it would be as good as it looks but the way it works sounds really damn useful)

Over the next hour or so they do echolocation together, starting with simpler sets of noises (snapping, clicking of tongue, things like that) and then just walking and talking around the base. After a little bit, Spy is able to get a general idea (hehe i misstyped that at first to be gender. Spy is certainly able to get a gender alright) a general idea of the layout of the base. He can't really figure out the rooms without touch and counting the individual doors, and stairs are his worst enemy, but he can do the base mostly.

~~~

The next day is a CTF battle (completely spontaneous for some unknown reason) and Spy hangs out with the intel with Engineer (yknow what fuck it i'm being fancy this isn't 2fort it's Landfall, the foresty one), hoping that the administrator will just think he's having a bad day. They chat while Engie builds and tinkers, about all manner of things. Probably more about what Engie found and remembered in his research.

~~~

Anyway I've been sitting on this a few days, felt like sharing a collection of vibes which may someday be expanded. Btw writing this actually inspired me to take a different direction in an original work lol, I might try to share some of that in the future when I have proper snippets to share

[bulletproofscales]

wrote a wg-dysphoria fic for comfort purpouses

it is very cliche and kind of a word dump and kinda has no plot

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32177632

Tags: FtM hobi, trans man hoseok , insecurities , weight gain and gender disphoria , gender discomfort , hurt comfort , chubby jung hoseok , namseok , literally pure fluff

1.8k

Hoseok doesn't understand himself most times. Or more specifically, on days like this. Where the mere thought of feeling his body resting against the mattress is cringe inducing. But not as bad as the idea of leaving his bed, starting his day, going outside.

He and Namjoon had plans. Plans that they've been looking forward to for weeks, waiting until they both had a completely free day all to themselves. Hoseok can't just stop everything because he woke up feeling like a gross sack of skin, meat and bones. The entire day was planned to their liking too: favorite restaurants, hiding spots in the city, places to shop, and ending the day probably going back to Namjoon's just to hold each other until the next morning. Nothing too special, really.

They loved the domesticity of days like this.

Hoseok should feel excited right now.

He musters to stand up, and just pushes through normally. Yes, he is a responsible adult and doesn't have to stop his entire life because of some mental turbulence. It's easy for the most part, these days he always wakes up hungry. It's all good until he has to get dressed…

See? It was Hoseok's idea after a few months of dating, to start gaining weight. Thinking, if he grew enough, the parts of his body where weight settled the most would become less noticeable. No matter how slim he was before, there was no escaping the personalized curse that seemed to settle all of his weight at his hips and thighs.

And gaining weight worked! Namjoon was on board with any idea that would help his boyfriend feel more comfortable, and Hoseok found himself feeling genuinely better in his own skin.

Yet... he could barely have the courage to undress right now. Let alone try on something to wear for today, knowing everyone was going to see him on it. Today, it felt as though the plumpness did nothing to hide his body the way Hoseok wanted it to. All he could focus on now, was the fact that if he left with Namjoon today, everyone was going to think Hoseok was his girlfriend.

The thought alone makes it harder to swallow. The roundness all over his body whIch he had come to love, the thickness of his legs that hid his butt. The fat that piled on his torso hiding the curve of his waist and taking attention away from his chest. Even his hands, which had grown a little chubby, were perfect to hide the daintiness in them. All of that on a day like this, just seemed to amplify the pear form that his body grudgingly took in spite of him.

His hands rub at his hips, soft and squishy to the touch, but Hoseok wouldn't dare touch. Only Namjoon gets to touch them without making the older tense up in discomfort; the only thing that makes the squishing of the fat bearable is the deep voice that always comes after it, pouring praise to Hoseok's ear making his shiver in the best of ways.

He doesn't know how he'd react if Namjoon was to touch him now, though. Hell, he didn't know how the younger would react to Hoseok's poor excuse. That's a lie, he knows Namjoon will be nothing but accepting if he so much as suspects his boyfriend is having a bad dysphoria day.

But it doesn't make the guilt go away.

So he pushes it down, rather grabbing something that will cover his body at all, even if it won't hide the parts he doesn't want to see. At least it won't show so much skin.

Hoseok is trying outfit number 6 by the time the doorbell rings. Absolutely not prepared to greet his boyfriend, Hoseok takes one last disgusted look at himself in the mirror before rushing to the door.

"Hey." Namjoon tries to say subtly, but the grin on his face is so wide and eager, it grips at Hoseok's heart. Guilty as he smiles back. "You ready?" He has to slightly look up to meet Namjoon's face; brain unhelpfully reminding him of just how tall his boyfriend is, how masculine he is without even trying.

Ugh, there's no way he is getting through today, is there?

"About that..." Hoseok's smile turns sad, apologetic. Heart breaking at the way Namjoon's expressions drops. "I don't think I feel like I can handle going out today..." He fiddles with his own hands.

"Oh...'' That's Namjoon's own response, and Hoseok understands the disappointment. Can only imagine how tiring it must be to have to cut not only their daily life, but plans they've been looking forward to for weeks, just because Hoseok doesn't feel good about himself that day. He probably thinks the only way for him to progress is to push himself to go out and live despite the dysphoria, to suck it up; maybe even doing that would be the masculine thing to do.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Seok-ah." The voice that speaks is so gentle, though. Warm hands cupping at his soft cheeks. He doesn't manage to answer, rather looking at Namjoon with wide, anxious eyes. "Lets go inside, yeah?" He smiles softly, hands settling at his shoulders before guiding Hoseok back into his own house.

It definitely feels like Namjoon isn't as upset as he should be, being unfair to himself and too kind to Hoseok's dysphoric taunturm. But the older doesn't know if he wants to bring it up, just in case he changes Namjoon's mind. He has to, though.

"It's not that big of a deal J-Joon, we can still go out, I just need to find something to wear." He tries to reassure as Namjoon guides him to the couch. However, the younger has known Hoseok for far too long to buy that.

"If you start feeling better, then we can go out." He smiles innocently, gentle; but knowing fully well that Hoseok was just trying to belittle his experiences.

A weak smile shapes Hoseok's lips into a heart. "It's not fair how you use your knowledge of me against me." He complains, though it has absolutely no bite to it.

"You can't stop me." Namjoon grins back smugly, sitting beside Hoseok and leaning for their lips to meet. The older sighs in defeat; he's lost.

Yet it feels absolutely nothing like losing. At all.

"Fine, but I want your hoodie." He demands, bratty. Hoseok would feel guilty about it if Namjoon didn’t immediately comply with all his commands. Eagerly pushing his hoodie off, silver of tan skin showing as his shirt rides up along with it; which Hoseok absolutely does Not stare at. An quickly snatches it off his hands, before sliding it on his own.

Probably, stealing your boyfriend’s hoodie which fits significantly bigger on him, would be considered a femenine thing to do. But Hoseok will be damned if he doesn't let his nose sink into the fabric and immediately melt at Namjoon’s scent. Only enhanced by Namjoon’s arms, wrapping around his shoulders.

Hoseok never told him to do it, but on days like this Namjoon makes sure to keep his hands off the parts he knows his boyfriend is insecure about. He appreciates it, even if the idea of wrapping his chubby arms around Namjoon’s thick waist seems silly considering their different bodies. But it does make him feel masculine, so he guesses the younger’s strategy works perfectly; as they cuddle closer on Hoseok's couch.

The silence is comfortable for a while, Namjoon tucks his head into Hoseok’s shoulder, as the older gets to caress the warm skin at Namjoon’s lower back.

But oh, Hoseok could never be so lucky.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Namjoon’s voice whispers into the older’s soft neck. And he can only sigh, parly endeared, and partly annoyed.

His boyfriend is so caring. Too caring

“Do I have to?” He groans, and Namjoon takes it as his cue to tangle his fingers gently through the hairs of Hoseok’s nape; soothing.

“I’m asking if you want to, silly.” The older doesn't have to look to know Namjoon is rolling his eyes.

“Nothing happened in particular, cus I know you are worrying about that.” Hoseok grins at the way he feels his boyfriend's body sigh relaxed at that reassurance. “I just woke up feeling this.”

“You better not be using the fact that ‘nothing happened’ as a way to invalidate your feelings.” He scolds gently.

“And you better not be using your knowledge of me against me!” Hoseok whines in an attempt to lighten the mood, and pats his own back when he hears Namjoon’s laughter against his neck.

“I mean it, hyung.” He raises his head from the safe space of Hoseok’s neck; who’s still trying to get past the flips of his stomach at the sound of Namjoon calling him ‘hyung’. “I wouldn’t spend our free day any other way.” And as if to seal the deal, he lands a gentle peck onto Hoseok's nose.

He feels it in his chest, the bursting love he feels for this man. How his body doesn’t feel squirmy at the feeling of his body against Namjoon, just from having him close, having him be treated with such...normality.

It feels like he is broken out of a transe with the movements of Namjoon’s hands at his shoulders. “Y-you know… You don’t have to avoid touching me.” He chuckles a bit nervously.

“O-oh.” His expression grows bashful. “I don’t actually know like--I don’t want to make you uncomfortable!” He whines.

“Namjoon you’re like three times my height, it is not comfortable. You can touch my hips.” It even manages to burst giggles out of Hoseok’s chest.

“Okay, okay.” The younger chuckles as well, as he begins to untangle his arms off Hoseok’s shoulders. And they rather find a comfier route settled at the plush of his hips. And it always feels unfamiliar the first time; as if Hoseok avoids and ignores them so much that they only exist with Namjoon’s gentle squeezing.

His eyes close, as the younger kneads the pillowy skin. Hoseok doesn't realize he is humming until a chuckle bubbles out of Namjoon’s chest. Soft body entirely melted against Namjoon’s firmer one. “You should’ve just told me you needed this.”

“It's hard to admit I need it sometimes, the gentler touches.” The older speaks softly, as Namjoon’s hands rub up and down the curve of Hoseok’s waist, thumbs caressing at the sides of his belly.

“Aish, you speak like I’m not gentle with you ever.” Namjoon groans quietly, rolling his eyes. His hands squeeze at Hoseok’s waist unaware. And okay, he does not mind this.

“I know I know. But I overthink everything when I get like this, you know that.” He cups the younger’s face, whining softly. “I like it though.. I just feel like I might not deserve it sometimes.” He confesses with an apologetic smile.

But Namjoon doesn’t falter, still grinning with so much love. “That’s alright, I love reminding you.” He leans to Hoseok’s hand still cupping his cheek, kissing it.

[adventuresinwonderlust]

Title: Serious Inquiries Only: PART 2 

*FOR PART 1 CLICK HERE or SEE MASTERLIST*

Pairing: dom! yoongi x reader ft. Hobi

Warnings: Talk of sexual favors, flirting, crack, humor, Solo Masturbation (M) (F).

Rating: 18 and over

Yoongi:

Yoongi sits at his computer browsing through his ‘SIO' page when a notification pops up. A new subscriber has signed up for a yearly membership but didn’t submit a request for their welcome gift. “Hmm, strange.” He clicks on the new subscriber’s user name ‘WildGoddess11'. He hums again. “OK wild Goddess, let’s get you set up shall we.” He shoots a private message to the user.

‘Hello WildGoddess11,

Welcome to my page. I hope you find everything you’re looking for here. I noticed however that you didn’t send in a request for your personal gift. Please be sure to choose from one of the two categories I work in and submit before midnight. I look forward to creating content for you.

All the best,

Gloss93'

Yoongi waits a moment to see if he gets a response. Just as he is about to sign off, his computer pings with a new message.

‘Hello Gloss93,

Thank you for the warm welcome. I imagine though, that you do this for all your customers. I know I was supposed to submit a request but honestly, I had a bit of an unconventional one. I was hoping you would accommodate me. I don’t normally surf these sites but you come highly recommended from a very close friend who says you are someone who is incredibly trustworthy. I’ll gladly pay extra. Please let me know if you’re interested. Thanks.

WildGoddess11'

Yoongi chuckles at the message. “Unconventional. What the hell does that mean?” He mumbles to himself. He hums again, sending a message back.

‘WildGoddess11,

I don’t normally take special request. I prefer to stay within the realm of what I normally offer. I am however, intrigued and willing to hear what you have to offer.

Gloss93’

He sits back in his chair, waiting, the anticipation killing him. He shakes his leg frantically, looking at his phone, then putting it down, then picking it up again. Finally, after what feels like forever, his notifications rings. He clicks it immediately.

‘Gloss,

I want, nay, need you to feed a darker side of me. Complete anonymity, 1000 dollars a month for sexual asks. Photos, videos, and phone calls. We don’t need to show our faces, since I can see that’s not your thing and honestly, I prefer that as well. I also ask that you not provide this service to any other clients. I can be a little jealous lol. Like I said you came highly recommended so I trust that we can work together. It won’t change my subscribing to your page if you say no. I understand if this isn’t for you. So, if you do say no, I am down to just submit a normal request. Let me know if you need time to think it over. Thanks.

WildGoddess'

Yoongi’s eyes widen as he reads and re-reads the message in front of him. He doesn’t know how to respond. He has never wanted to delve into this type of thing. Feeling confused, he picks up his phone and calls Hobi. “Hey, I need your advice.” “Sure. What’s up?” “I got a new subscriber today and they are making an unconventional request and I don’t know what to do because I mean, I’m intrigued. No one has ever come to me with something like this before.” “What was the request?” “Sexual asks. 1000 bucks a month.” “Get the fuck out of here! Are you serious? I didn’t think... I mean… I… that’s nuts!” Yoongi’s brow furrows. “Hobi, something I should know? Did you give out my code?” “Uh, no, it’s just that’s a lot of money, I was taken aback. You should just do it.” Yoongi sighs. “I don’t know. I don’t want to get caught up in this type of shit.” “Look, you wouldn’t have called me if you weren’t thinking about it already. Just trust me, you won’t regret this.” Yoongi grunts in frustration. “I better not.” “I’m excited for you.” Yoongi chuckles at Hobi’s comment. “What does that mean Hobi?” “Uh…. nothing…. just that it’s cool you know. 1000 bucks, I don’t even make that much!” Yoongi decides not to question further, instead thinking about Y/N. “Hey, how did the gift go over with Y/N?” “Aw man, she thought it was a prank from me. She freaked! Then she comes out of her room wearing it! Anyway, great choice because she looks great in it.” “She put them on for you?!? What the fuck?” Yoongi whines. “Not for me. In spite of me. Anyway, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.” “Yeah alright.” Yoongi hangs up and types a response. “Here goes nothing.”

Y/N:

Your computer pings with a notification and you jump out of your bed and to your computer. It’s finally a response from Gloss.

‘WildGoddess11,

Let’s do this as a one-month trial period. Like I said before I don’t like to do this type of thing but I have to admit you are the first person to really pique my interest. I’ll allow you to submit me a special request and I’ll send it back to you via private messaging. I encourage you to review some of my past videos, perhaps it’ll motivate you. Happy hunting.

Gloss93'

You squeal, excited that he accepted your request. You had already been looking over his page, making yourself horny watching his hand kink videos and ASMR. He was hot and you had never even seen his face. You had already known exactly what you wanted to ask for. You bite you lip, typing your request.

‘Gloss,

Now that we are nice and established, let’s move past the niceties. I would like to request a dual hand kink/ASMR of you masturbating, I want to hear you moan my name while watching you grasp your sheets for me. Please send soon. My greedy little cunt can hardly contain herself. Also, please send me your information so I may transfer your extra funds. Happy stroking.

WildGoddess'

You bite your lip, excited to see what he has in store for you. “Y/N, I ordered Chinese. You hungry?” Hobi calls to you from behind the door. “Coming.” You respond, closing your laptop and walking out to have dinner with Hobi. “So, did you use that code I gave you?” Hobi ask. “Uh, yeah actually I did.” Hobi’s brows shoot up. “And, how did it go?” “I don’t know what you mean. It’s pretty basic honestly, although not having to pay the yearly membership frees up my funds. Who is this guy anyway? Why do I feel like you’re up to something?” Hobi shrugs. “No one special. Someone I know from the site. Trust that I always have your best interest in mind.” You nod. “Well, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.” You inform him. He smiles wide, shoving food in his mouth. Your phone vibrates and you look to see a notification from ‘SIO'. You hop in excitement and click it to see a message from Gloss.

‘WildGoddess,

I think that’s the hottest thing I’ve ever read. I’m hard just imagining what your greedy little cunt looks like. You can send me money to my PayMo account, same username, Gloss93. I look forward to working with you. Look for me in your inbox soon enough. Goodnight.

Gloss'

“Good news?” Hobi wiggles his brows at you. “Shut up Hobi. Why don’t you explain to me why you bought that lingerie?” Hobi chews quickly. “Woah, woah, woah. That wasn’t me. I am not your secret admirer ok, I actually voted against you getting that gift.” Your eyes pop open. “Yoongi, that piece of shit!” “What,” Hobi chuckles nervously, “No, who said anything about Yoongi. I didn’t say anything about Yoongi.” Hobi turns pale, eating quickly. “You know Hoseok, you’re a terrible liar. I’m going to kill your friend.” “Come on Y/N, he really likes you. He may be a little, I don’t know, bad, with his approach but he has the best intentions. Give him a chance.” You roll your eyes. You did have a huge crush on him but giving in now would be bad. You just weren’t ready. “Hey, since you’re now a part of ‘SIO’ you wanna come to the annual meet and greet bash they throw?” “Hell no. Isn’t that just some orgy fest?” Hobi laughs loudly. “Well, it can be don’t get me wrong but it’s more so to gain more subscribers and get to know creators you already follow.” “Will Gloss be there? Like does he go?” Hobi’s eyes light up. “Gosh Y/N, you’ve only been subscribed an hour and already you’re addicted huh? He has that effect on people. It’s his voice, I think. Unfortunately, he doesn’t go to any events, he likes anonymity.” You pout a bit. “Well, then, no. I’m good thanks.” “Suit yourself.” You both finish dinner, helping each other clean up. You head off to your room, your phone vibrating. You look to see a notification from ‘SIO’, you plop onto your bed, hands shaking as you open the message.

‘WildGoddess,

This is my first time doing this so I hope it’s good. I must admit I rather enjoyed myself. I hope you will too. Again, welcome to my page. I look forward to working with you. Talk soon.

Gloss’

You grab your headphones, plug them into your phone, and click on the video attached to the note. The camera is pointed at what you imagine is his bed. The sheets are a crisp white. You swallow, your eyes frantically scanning your phone screen when his hand suddenly appears, gliding up the sheet, followed by strained sigh. You feel yourself strain a bit, trying to hear every little thing. Soon, you can hear the sounds of his stroking, the lurid fapping filling your ears, followed by his soft pants. The fingers on his left hand spread wide across the sheet. “Fuck, this feels so good.” You moan at the deep silky sound of his voice filling your right ear. He chuckles into the left ear and you feel a chill travel down your spine causing your back to arch. You focus heavily on the wet sounds filling his room and your ears. He’s stroking so fast now, his breath quickening, pants becoming more desperate. He is sure to move between mics, stimulating both of your ears.

You don’t know when but your hand has made its way into your panties and you whimper touching your swollen bud. “God, I hope you’re touching yourself,” He soon says into your left ear, “filling your tight little cunt up, pretending it’s me. I bet your pussy is so wet right now.” He sniffs into the right ear and you moan loudly into your room. “I bet that cunt smell delicious.” “Fuck!” You cry out, shoving two fingers into your clenching core. You begin to thrust in and out of yourself in conjunction with the delicious sounds of his stroking. He growls into your left ear. “I’m going to cum soon.” Moving to the right ear. “Is that what my greedy WildGoddess wants, my hot cum all over her?” “Yes, yes,” You pant, swirling circles around your bud before returning to your sopping hole, “Please come for me Gloss, please.” You watch as he grips the sheets hard, his veins bulging wildly from the top of his fist. His breath quickens and a relieved groan escapes his throat “Fuuuuuck!” He moans. His climax shooting from off camera onto his clenched fist. The sight causing your cunt to seize wildly around your fingers, your orgasm hits you in a hard crash. You cry his name into the room, your eyes tightly shut, only white bubbles floating in your vision. You soon open your eyes, coming down from your high, the sounds of him giggling gorgeously into the right mic. You look at your phone to see him release his messy fist from around his sheet. “Till next time my WildGoddess.” He declares, shutting the camera off.

Yoongi:

Yoongi rubs his eyes, exhausted from staying up late, hoping to hear from his “WildGoddess” about his video. She never replied, leaving him stuck in his own head all night, tossing and turning. “ICED AMERICANO.” The Barista shouts. Yoongi walks over grabbing his drink with a nod and heads over towards campus kicking himself for agreeing to meet Hobi this early. “Wow! You look like shit.” “Thanks, Hoseok. Not all of us can be a ray of sunshine like you.” “How was last night?” Hobi inquires, wiggling his brows. Yoongi shrugs. “What are you talking about?” “Oh, uh, nothing. Just seeing what you were up to.” Yoongi chuckles, sipping from his drink. “Nothing, I stood up all night, thinking about that goddamn subscriber. She never responded to her video.” Hobi looks at Yoongi with wide eyes. “You sent her a video?” “Yeah, like I do all my subscribers. A welcome video but hers was a little more tailor made if you will. Anyway, she never responded if she liked it or not. I guess I shouldn’t care. She would’ve complained if she didn’t like it.” Hobi nods, then tilts his head, then shrugs. “She liked it.” Yoongi eyes him suspiciously. “Yeah, I guess. Like they say, no news is good news.” “Hey, are you going to go to the Annual meet and greet for ‘SIO' this year.” Hobi asks. Yoongi scoff. “No, I never go to that shit.” “Well, maybe now that you got this mysterious stranger, you know, you would be more interested in it.” “No, we are keeping things anonymous. Just like I like it.” Yoongi clips.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’m going to be going this year.” “You go every year Hoseok, nothing has changed.” Yoongi says. “So, did you happen to take any pictures of Y/N in her gift?” Yoongi asks now. Hobi laughs heartily. “I was in shock at how amazing she looked to be honest. I mean, her ass, AMAZING!” Hobi shakes his head. Yoongi groans, jealous that he wasn’t there to witness her in all her glory. “Why didn’t you drag her along with you today to collect your schedules and pay your school tab off.” “Honestly I don’t know how I can face her after last night.” Yoongi’s ears perk up. “Why? What happened?” Hobi freezes in place, “Uh because of the lingerie thing of course. Why? What did you think?” Yoongi licks his lips, watching Hobi shuffle into the office of the main building. “Hobi, you’re a terrible liar. Did something happen?” “No, of course not. Honestly, it was that. I’ve never seen her so, uh, nude. Yeah, that’s it.” He walks to the secretary at the front desk and asks to pays his student fees. “Cash please and may I have a receipt?” “Sure thing.” She takes his money and prints him a receipt. “Where to now? Breakfast?” Hobi turns to face Yoongi. “How about your place?” He drawls. Hobi chuckles nervously but nods.

Y/N:

You were a panting mess after your third time getting off to the video Gloss sent you. You had been happy when you heard Hobi leave this morning, knowing you could be as loud as you wanted to be. Now, however, you dropped down on your side unable to moved, your battered pussy throbbing, finally allowing your eyes to flutter shut. You feel the edge of your bed shift and you moan unhappily. “You look spent, one would assume you had company last night.” Your eyes pop open to find Yoongi smirking at you from the foot of your bed. You jump up suddenly, tucking your phone and headphones away. “What the fuck are you doing in my room Yoongi?” You seethe, watching him as he eyeballs everything in his surroundings.

“I brought you lunch. Thought you might be hungry.” “OK well, you don’t need to be in here for that so please go.” You wave him off. He smiles seductively, looking at your exposed legs, then up your oversized shirt to your face. “Do you always wear a garter to sleep?” He tilts his head to the side, biting his lip. You look down and quickly tuck the belt under your shirt. “Is that your business Min Yoongi?” He shrugs, dropping his eyes to the ground, bending forward with a suck of his teeth. “They look better with these on.” He whispers, licking his lips. You yank your thong from his fingers, and shove him away. He chuckles, getting up now and moving towards the door. “Has anyone ever told you that you are the most beautiful woman in the world?” “Get the fuck out Yoongi!! HOBI! Come get your friend.” He pouts at you and walks out of your room. You release a sigh, moaning into your hand as you feel your juices coat your cunt. “Fucking Min Yoongi.” You whisper to yourself.

Yoongi:

Yoongi hits refresh for what feels like a hundred times on his ‘SIO' account and nothing. He releases a sigh, whining when Hobi comes around and punches him in the arm. “What was that for?” “Why do you insist on torturing her?” Yoongi can’t help but smile. “She was still wearing the lingerie, well some of it anyhow. Did she have someone over last night? She looked…I don’t know. Satisfied.” Hobi scoffs and shakes his head nervously. “She hasn’t been with someone in a long time. Now please let’s eat.” “I mean you’d tell me, right? If I was wasting my time?” “Oh, so are we now admitting that we have feelings for her and are actively pursuing her?” Hobi snips. Yoongi shrugs. “I’ve always said I had feelings for her. I just never thought I was her type. Not being the point, I don’t want to get involved if she’s involved already.” Hobi shakes his head again. “She’s not. I’d tell you.”

Yoongi sighs in relief, standing straight when Y/N exits her room to join them. She is fully dressed now causing Yoongi to chuckle. “You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me you know. I am all for oversized shirts and no panties.” Yoongi comments. She flips him the bird and walks over to fridge for a beverage. She joins them at the table and they begin to dig into the food. Yoongi watches as Y/N pulls out her phone, stretching a bit as she types, trying to see who she could be texting. “Did you have company last night?” Yoongi inquires. She looks up from her phone at him and smirks. “And what if I did Yoongi?” He shrugs. “Then they are lucky.” She simply laughs but Yoongi feels the sting of jealousy at the thought. He watches as she looks down at her phone. “He would’ve had to crawl up the side of the building because I was right in the living room the whole night.” Hobi interjects. Yoongi’s phone buzzes suddenly and he pulls it out of his pocket. He sits up straight, seeing a notification from SIO.

‘Gloss,

My god! That may have been the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Is it possible for me to think you are so fucking hot without me ever having seen your face? You may or may not have me sprung. I mean, if beating this pussy 3 times can be considered sprung…. what do you think? Sprung off you?

WildGoddess.’

Yoongi chuckles in shock at the message, looking up suddenly at Y/N. She munches away at her lunch and soon realization hits Yoongi. His heart races and he takes to writing a response to confirm his theory.

WildGoddess,

3 times huh? Someone must be spent today. I’m honored. You should be too; They say third time is the charm. I look forward to making all your filthy dreams come true. Sprung on you too?

Gloss.  

Yoongi hits send, waiting anxiously. Suddenly, Y/N’s phone buzzes and he feels the bile rise in his stomach. He shoots a look at Hobi who locks eyes with him in confusion. Yoongi gives him an angered look and Hobi’s face drops. Yoongi turns to face Y/N when he hears her giggle. “Thanks for lunch guys. I gotta go.” She walks off to her room staring at her phone. Once out of ear shot, Yoongi slams his fist on the table making Hobi jump. “What did you do Hoseok?” “I…. I don’t know what you mean?” “Don’t fuck with me. Is it her? The new user? Is it Y/N?” Hobi drops his fork, looking to her bedroom to ensure the door is closed. “She needed a distraction Yoongi.” Yoongi growls at Hobi’s confirmation, dropping his head in his hands. “I didn’t want to connect with her this way. We have to tell her.” Yoongi gets up and walks towards her room. “No, no, no,” Hobi almost shrieks, yanking Yoongi back to the table, “Look you said you like her. She likes you. She’s just scared ok. This is the perfect opportunity for the two of you to get to know one another without any pressure involved.” “No, only the pressure of a 1000-dollar payment every month.” “Ok, I didn’t anticipate that. Just don’t accept the money. She doesn’t know it’s you she’s talking to. Take her on some dates, then spill the beans but don’t do it now. She’ll kill us both!” “The longer I wait the worse this is Hobi. It’s betraying her trust.” “No, no. Look you’re getting caught up on semantics. I know her best ok. It’s better if she slowly comes out of her shell and this is the perfect way to do that. Trust me. I know what I am doing.” “If this goes south Hobi and believe me it will. I’m throwing you under the bus, better yet, driving it over you.” Yoongi declares in a huff, storming out of the apartment before he changes his mind.

[rainbowtransform]

Anon who asked about Foolish here's the prompt. Foolish just has enough of the server and breaks Dream out of prison with Micheal. They take him, Michelle, Punz whose is their brother to another server. Foolish takes Purpled too cus he is not leaving the boy where Quackity can manipulate him. He also yells at Puffy telling her that when she remembers she has her own children and actually wants to be in their lives to come find them cus right now they're done being neglected by her.

:) all /rp

The note he’s left for his mother is simple: this is your choice.

He once asked, years ago when his powers were just coming in again (and that’s the problem with dealing yourself, if that you’ve got to wait for the little things) who she’d choose if it came down to between her family and her job.

“You,” she said, gently pulling Dream’s arms through his pajama shirt. “It will always be my family first.”

(But then, Foolish wants to protest, why did you leave for months on end? Why do you leave Niki alone? But he refrains. He loves his family, has a brother who is close to how he is, and two mothers who love him very much. His mothers are trying their best.)

But they’re not right this time. Foolish knows this and his mother has chosen her pathway. (He’ll miss her, he’ll admit. But his brother needs to be safe.)

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Purpled is a kid. He’s a kid who saw his home get blown up by TNT by Quackity, to try and build a nation that will eventually be torn down by its Own citizens. Foolish sends a calling card, and gives him coordinates. Asks him to take care of someone else.

Michael McChill is an amazingly energetic person, who has broken three blocks into the prison and is raring for more.

Michelle is hard to pull out of Puffy’s home. Puffy’s trying to keep her happy; but she’s not Michael. Michelle is not okay with staying inside and no other kids to play with.

Punz doesn’t answer, but Foolish keeps him in the back of his mind. If he ever gets back to him, Michael will be the one who deal with him.

But now, Foolish and Michael wait. They’re watching the prison. Foolish sees Quackity March in, all righteous air and chin high.

(Foolish sees him leave with blood on his clothes, cheery and waving goodbye.

Foolish sees red.)

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

They’re waiting at the cords when Foolish rides up, mindful of Dream in his arms. “He’s hurt.” He tells the teenager and Michelle. “But he’ll be okay.”

(There’s a brother who is most like him, laying on the floor of a prison cell crying.

There is a brother like him, who holds onto Foolish’s hands like a lifeline.)

They ride out further, away from the SMP and the blasting alarms. Sam’s lost his canon life and Foolish almost growls before he remembers the person still with him.

They go hundreds of blocks away. They Zig zag and sometimes Michael even steers his horse a different way to confuse others. Purpled is more lively the more they get away from the SMP and Michelle sniffles.

“It’ll be okay,” Foolish says quietly to her. “Papa’s… not good right now.”

Michelle nods, and keeps her eyes straight forward. She’s a brave girl, Foolish knows. Brought to the Overworld to be a friend, just to be trapped a second time without one. Foolish locks his pinkies with one of her own hooves. Michelle smiles and Foolish looks ahead.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Dream heals. Foolish coaxes him out of the house sometimes, let’s him stay outside for as long as he wants and takes him back in when it gets too loud or overwhelming.

When Dream doesn’t flinch at the tiniest movement anymore, Michelle sticks with them. She presses little kisses onto Dream’s forehead when he’s leaning down, and then kisses her fingers and pats them around his legs and arms.

“To keep you safe.” She says.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Purpled ends up rebuilding his UFO, looking up proudly at it and wiping sweat off his forehead. “I’m not going to go home just yet,” he tells them at dinner. “But I’m thinking of it soon.”

There’s a brief moment of silence before Dream says “don’t get caught in the SMP. There’s a bunch of things you need there, right?”

Purpled shrugs. “My fuel’s just there. Nothing else really. I’ve got some bread and stuff that I can eat on my journey. It won’t take long. Probably two or three weeks at best.”

“Be careful. Quackity’s still looking.” Michael says, shrugging off a coat.

“It’s been like three months,” Purpled says, annoyed. “Really?”

Michael sits down next to Dream’s seat, nudges his arm away a little bit, and then takes a porkchop. “Two people he wanted to be with Las Nevadas, one of the strongest growing nations up and disappear with a prisoner and a daughter of Puffy’s? He’s probably going to be looking for a long time. It’s only the fact that we’re so far away and that we’d basically destroyed the way up here that we haven’t moved on yet.”

“We need to, though,” Foolish says. “The UFO can move right?”

“Yeah it just can’t go to space,” Purpled reassures. “And we’re moving?”

“We were waiting until Dream feels up to it, and healed enough. We shouldn’t be going far, but we’ve got to take down anything that even makes people think we lived here.”

Michael shrugs. “The Warden won’t rest easy either. Dream was his only prisoner, and he is ready to get him back at any cost. This isn’t your fault Dream, we’re not turning you back in, don’t even think about it.”

There’s a quiet moment before Michelle asks to be excused so she can go play outside.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

You whisper to FoolishGamers: we need to talk.

FoolishGamers whispers to you: no

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The trees look lovely today. Sometimes Foolish remembers he was a millennial younger and when his first family took him to the park, or whatever was considered a park back then. 

Foolish is older now. He knows enough about what you must do in order to satisfy the voices in your head and how to help others. He almost lost his brother. A brother who holds more power than they can imagine together.

He watches Puffy walk out of the trees. Her hair is vibrant and colorful and Foolish remembers when he was younger and she used to live she used to let them braid it. But there’s only so much that memories can allow.

“Foolish, my son,” she says. “Will you please tell me what have you been doing.”

“I’ve been taking care of my family papa. You wouldn’t get it you abandoned Dream when he was in the prison.”

“He hurt children.”

“He did,” Foolish acknowledged. “He did. But he didn’t deserve torture. And he sure as hell didn’t deserve what the prison did.”

“It’s best for us if he goes back in.”

“I thought that you wanted to talk because you were going to apologize. But if you’re not going to wear down here you we all love you and we are your children. When you decide to love us back, when you understand why we had to do what we did. Then you can come and see us and you can stay with us.”

“Foolish,” she starts and he shakes his head.

“No. I’m not going to listen to anything anymore. I’m keeping my siblings safe. And I’m keeping Purpled safe because he does not deserve to be in Las Nevadas being manipulated by the man who let my death happened.”

And with that, he turns away.



[the-peak-of-despair]

Mastermind! Chihiro Fujisaki - The Sixth Trial

This wasn’t exactly an old request, just a suggestion to write whatever I felt like. And I love mastermind AUs so fucking much, please, flood my inbox asking about them, I just wanna talk about our lord and savior mastermind chihiro - Mod Akane

“And that would mean..” Makoto begins, the realization striking him as he turns to Chihiro, staring fearfully back at him. “Y-You’re the mastermind, Chihiro!” 

There’s doubt in his voice. He doesn’t want to believe it. His friend, who’d opened up to him, who shares his deepest secrets, in his most vulnerable state… he’d orchestrated all of this? From the outside, he looked like he would burst into tears if he killed a bee. Suppose that’s the trick behind it…

“C-Chihiro..? I-It was you..?” Asahina stutters, looking at him horrified.

“I-I-” Chihiro begins to stutter. He looks like he’s on the verge of bursting into tears. No one in the courtroom believes this claim, how could they? But the evidence was stacked against him.. 

It’s before anyone can argue that Chihiro snaps into an entirely new persona, and the tears are gone. “Yep! That’s me! I’m the mastermind!” 

Everyone takes a step back. Chihiro’s face contorted in a way no one had ever imagined. In an instant, his entire personality changed. His tears evaporated into thin air and despair seemed to wash over his face, seeping down to his very core as his eyes lost all sign of true emotion.

“Gosh, you’re so smart, Makoto!” Chihiro says, clapping his hands like a child. “I can’t believe you found me out!” 

“No. There’s simply no way this is possible.” Byakuya interrupts, crossing his arms. “Chihiro, stop playing games. There’s no way you are the mastermind.”

“Oh no, I really am!” Chihiro smiles. With a snap of his fingers, Monokuma shut down, almost like he was playing dead where he stood on the ground. Chihiro left his podium and approached the robot, standing next to it and humming while he examined it.

..And then, in a sudden instant, he slammed his foot into the robot, kicking it as hard as he could. Monokuma flew into a distant wall, shattering into a million black and white pieces as Chihiro didn’t even blink. Everyone in the courtroom drew back, even Byakuya and Kirigri, unable to hide their shock.

“H-Holy shit!” Yashuiro screams in fear as Chihiro turns back towards the circle of survivors. The room begins to fill with smoke, making most people cough and wave it away from their faces. In a second, it clears, revealing Chihiro in a new outfit, with a Monokuma-esq color palette to boot.

“Da-dun-dun! That’s right, the mastermind all along was Chihiro Fujisaki!” He smiles wildly, throwing his arms out in a grand gesture. Standing between Asahina and Yashuiro at his new podium, he seems so small, but he’s so.. Terrifying. The sudden switch in personalities shook everyone to the very core.

“This doesn’t make sense..” Kirigiri mutters. “How could you control Monokuma and almost never leave our sight?” 

Chihiro backs up until he’s sat on top of the ‘throne’ Monokuma used to always sit on top of. He crosses his legs and leans back, getting comfortable in his seat above everyone else. “Pfffffffft! He’s an AI, come on Kirigiri, aren’t you smarter than this?” Chihiro mocks Kirigiri. “I’ve been living under your noses as the Ultimate Programmer, Monokuma wasn’t even my best work!” 

“That doesn’t make sense. His movements and conversations with us.. They’re nothing like any AI I’ve ever seen.” Byakuya argues.

“Clean your glasses, Byakuya! Didn’t you see Alter Ego?” Chihiro poses the question as he sits up and leans over the arm of his chair towards Byakuya. “They’re all easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!~ I’ve got an iron grip on the technology production from here to Towa City!”

“Speaking of Alter Ego..” Kirgiri interrupts, halting Byakuya’s personal slander. “What was the point of presenting him to us?” 

Chihiro lets out a giggle. “Yeaah, Alter Ego was a bit of a mistake on my part! You weren’t supposed to find it. But since you did I thought it wouldn’t hurt to spin you in the wrong direction a bit!” 

“And his execution?”

“Oh, that was Monokuma’s decision! Spur of the moment thing. I didn’t really mind, it was collateral damage!” Chihiro shrugs. “Collateral damage.. Kinda like Mondo and Kiyotaka!” He smiles, and as he watches everyone in the room come to a full stop before looking at Chihiro with disgust.

“C-Collateral d-damage..?” Makoto stutters. “T-Those were our friends, Chihiro! What the.. What the hell!? They were your friends!”

“Huh, were they?” Chihiro asks sarcastically, tapping a finger to his chin. “Huh. If they were, I just used them!” 

“Y-You what…?” Asahina stutters.

“I used them! I mean, Mondo and Taka were like a package deal! I needed Mondo to make me stronger, and Taka only played by my rules! Let me tell you, it was s-”

“S-Shut up!” Makoto interrupts Chihiro, who perks up, interested in his sudden boldness. “W-We still need to talk about what happened in the last trial!”

“Oooh, you mean where I killed Sakura and framed Toko ‘cus I got bored? What’s there to talk about?” Chihiro asks, excited. “...Aha, did I let that slip?” 

“R-Repeat that.” Asahina suddenly becomes cold, her fists balled tight at her sides. 

“I’m sure you heard me, Asahina!” Chihiro smiles, standing from his throne and once again approaching the podium. “I killed Sakua and framed Toko!”

Asahina begins to breathe heavy, doing  everything in her power to contain her anger as Chihiro continues to talk. “I mean, really, do you think Toko could actually kill Sakura? I don’t even think her wacky double-personality could’ve taken her down! So I worked a bit of magic, aaand..!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” Asahina screams, slamming her hands on her podium. “Y-You- You bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you Chihiro?!” She screams, turning and grabbing him by the collar, dragging him close to her face, so close that his feet barely grazed the ground. “I- You fucking killed her! Y-You killed Sakura! I-I- I loved her, you...you..!”

Chihiro doesn’t even look phased as Asahina spits venom in his face. “Hey, Hina! You remember what happened to Junko? Right?” He grins sadistically as the fear begins to strike Asahina, who drops him and takes a step back. 

There’s a familiar whirring noise, and out of nowhere there's a spear that shoots from the middle of the room towards Asahina, almost identical to what happened to Junko. Asahina flinches and draws back violently, forcing the spear to only grace her cheek before slamming into the wall behind her. She opens her eyes, breathing heavy with fear as she held her hand to her cheek. “O-Oh my god..”  

“Gah, I missed!” Chihiro pouts. “I need to get better at shooting games.” 

“G-Games?! Y-You could’ve killed me!” Asahina yells, still holding a hand to her cheek. 

“That’s the fun in it!” Chihiro grins. Once upon a time, this was a wide, innocent grin. Now, it was nothing but evil. Full of despair and agony. And that’s probably exactly what Chihiro wanted. 

Makoto could only wonder- what could possibly push this poor boy to the breaking point..?

If you looked close enough, the answer was laid out in plain sight. 

“Well!” Chihiro claps his hands. “What is there to talk about now? Surely the trial won’t come to a close so easily!” Chihiro scans the room, taking in every facial expression of pure disgust and pain around him. 

“Why..? Why did you do all this?” Makoto asks, basically gripping his podium for dear life. He couldn’t just take all of this in easily. One of his best friends, through this entire hellhole, a person he’d protected with his fucking life and would follow into battle blindly… he was the mastermind? Chihiro, a boy who no one would suspect, he was pulling the strings, he’d orchestrated every death, he’d warped Hope’s Peak into a place of despair..? 

He recalls the moment in the bathhouse when he told Kirigiri: “I’d follow you into battle if I had to!” 

And her response.. “Not such a wise choice, is it?”

Chihiro’s face falls. “Do you know what it’s like, Makoto..?” His tone changes, it’s low and unlike anything anyone had heard from Chihiro before. “To be bullied, every single day, pummeled into the fucking dirt?!” Despair overwhelms his entire face, but he starts to laugh.. “Every.. Goddamn day! Until the point where you.. Hahaa.. You’ve gotta change your whole identity, just to be safe!”  

“Chihiro.. I-” Yasuhiro looks like he’s about to set a hand on his shoulder. Forgetting for just a moment that this was a boy who’d killed his friends, and possibly even thousands, just remembering that once upon a time they were friends.  

Chihiro smacks his hand away with alarming strength, still laughing all as tears gather in his eyes. “NO!” He screams, almost like it was a reflex. “I don’t need.. Ahahaha.. I don’t need anyone’s help anymore! That despair..it only.. It only made me stronger! AhahaAHAHAHA! A-And I- I’ve basked this entire world in despair!” Chihiro hugs himself, breaking into boisterous, manic laughter. 

“What do you mean, the entire world?” Byakuya asks, seemingly unphased by Chihiro’s manic breakdown. Of course, Byakuya wasn’t ever ‘friends’ with the boy… though part of him couldn’t help but reflect on the.. Choice words he’d used against him before. 

Chihiro doesn’t even stop laughing. “Oh, ah..ahaha! I forgot all about that! While you were all locked up in here, the entire world has plunged into despair!” He claps his hands twice, before throwing his arms out wide, gesturing towards the monitors on every corner of the room. The monitors flicker, then turn on, showing a repeating news broadcast.

The broadcast was simple, a repetitive broadcast of a red sky overtop of war and destruction, all with the face of Monokuma plastered all over.  It shakes everyone in the room to the core, except for Chihiro, who gleefully watches his handiwork as he wipes his tears away. “Isn’t it lovely!? Everything destroyed.. Right down to your very bloodlines!”

“No. I simply won’t believe this.” Byakuya starts again. “This is foolish. A highschool boy couldn’t just take down the world.”

“Ahaha, I didn’t work alone, silly Byakuya!” Chihiro grins. “Despair spreads like a plague! And that plague even took down your precious Togami family!” 

“Wh-What..?” Fear seems to take over  Byakuya, if only for a split second. “Th-The Togami family doesn’t just lay down and die! Who the hell backs you!?”

Chihiro laughs. “Despair, dummy! How many times do I gotta repeat myself!?” The words send Byakuya down a spiral, even without evidence.. The very thought shook him to the core.

“H-Hey!” Makoto argues. “This can’t be true! Last I remember, the world was just fine! We’ve been here a month, tops, there’s no way you could’ve done this in all that time!” 

“Weren’t we already over this?” Chihiro asks. “You lost your memories! If I whack ya hard enough, you might get ‘em back! But we’ve all been cooped up, shielded from the outside world! And now you’ve spent your days trying to crawl out of this home we all built together! Isn’t that just a tad hypocritical?” 

“W-Wait, you mean..?” Asahina catches what Chihiro means first- the world had crumbled, and they’d all been here for two years, and then they… 

“W-What was the point of all of this!?” Makoto asks, cutting off any other thought processes about how they’d been gone for two whole years. 

“Huh? Well, I kept you alive, hijacked the airwaves, and displayed you murdering each other for the world to see because I wanted to spread despair to the last dying shreds of hope in the world!” Chihiro explains casually. “I mean, I’ve laid this all out in plain sight for you.” 

“W-” Byakuya begins to speak.

Chihiro interrupts. “Yeah, yeah, be quiet, we’ve had enough of you. Now!” He claps his hands together, excited. “Since this is a trial, I give you one last vote. You can vote for despair- vote to give me the punishment I deserve- or, vote for hope, and stay here for the rest of your golden days!”

“L-Let me get this straight..” Asahina starts. “If we just vote for hope, none of us die..?” 

Chihiro hums. “Well, I suppose, but.. That doesn’t sound as fun! So how about this: vote for hope, and I’ll only execute one of you! The rest of you get to live out the rest of your lives with moi.” He folds his hands under his chin, in an oh-so familiar way. Was he mocking Celeste..? 

“W-Who’ll get executed..?” Yasuhiro stutters.

“Hm..” Chihiro hums as he looks around the room. He starts pointing from person to person. “Eenie.. Meanie… minie… you!” He lands on Makoto, who exhibits a fearful look in return.

“Y-You’ll execute me…?” Makoto stutters, fearful. Somewhere inside him, this felt familiar. 

“Well of course! You seem to be the obvious answer.” Chihiro smiles gleefully, as if he didn’t just imply that with ease he would slaughter his friend. “Why, you used to be my closest friend! You.. were the first person I trusted! What better despair than for you to die at my own hands?” 

Makoto takes a deep breath as he turns to his friends, full of despair and pain. Their hands hovering over their levers, obvious that they would seem.. Almost willing to put Makoto’s life on the line. He looks back at Chihiro, with a devilish grin paired with despair-filled eyes. He starts to laugh, like a loud symphony, bouncing off the walls and into everyone’s ears in an inescapable manner. He laughs so hard he almost starts crying once more, laughing so much it hurt.

Laughing like someone who’d been torn up inside and out and loved every fucking minute of it.

[lo-55]

Shattered Chains or Fate Ch. 6

Isle of Towers, Glass, and Stone

     The answers might lie within.  

   Great. Now the problem is, how does he find those answers at all? How does he go ‘within’ when most of the time he’s going ‘outside’ of his body. Projecting his soul was one thing. He’d done it a dozen times, if not more. Going inside of it? Or his mind? Or whatever within the cryptic asshole of a mage had suggested, was a totally different matter.

   “Fucking everyone’s so damn cryptic all the time,” Ichigo scowled, pacing around the house. The cat was still there, watching him with her tail twitching back and forth.

 Ichigo still doesn’t know who she’s working for.

   There’s about three mage families in the country that are prominent. Tohsaka’s work with gems, the Matou are mostly fallen, and he doesn’t know anything about the other one. Ichigo should probably be more concerned, but he’s got bigger things to worry about right now.

   Mainly, figuring out how to find his answers on the inside.

   Inside.

   Ichigo kept walking in circles, trying to figure it out. Over and over, he walked around and around. In a spiral.

   Finally he sat hard on the floor and leaned back.

   Jeanne would pray. But she was guided by a god, and an Agent of Counterforce (or some approximation of it).  Sanzang followed the voice of buddha/her future self. And Ichigo…

   Ichigo has an ever cryptic sage telling him to look inside himself for answers, like something out of a bad movie. Hell, his life at this point might as well be just that. Who else gets into these kinds of situations constantly?

   Just him, that’s who.

   Ichigo tilts his head back. He’s spent time outside his body. How will he get inside it?

   “A backwards… Rayshift?”

   Is that even possible? It’s the best idea he has. Ichigo closes his eyes and thinks of Rashifting. The first time it had happened, he had been on the verge of death. Mash had been all but a corpse at his side. Fire had licked across them and CHALDEAS had glowed bloody above their heads. It had vanished, the red turned blue and bright and the fire clearing for a few brief seconds between Chaldea and Fuyuki.

   Ichigo breathes, focusing on that.

   On the blue, the soft light and the feeling of being weightless. On the knowledge that someone, even if it wasn’t Roman anymore, was out there looking after the integrity of his soul. He breathed in, tasting the air, tasting no ash.

   Ichigo breathed out.

   He thought of the feeling of Rukia’s gloved hand pushing him out with a rough pop. He thought of the feeling of Kon, sliding into his limbs and chest and head until he was squeezed with no room and no place to go but out.  

   Ichigo felt the swirl of the shift, the gravity, the whirlpool of energy.

   The swirl to the halo of the past. Out, out, out.

   Ichigo breathed in and pulled the whirlpool with him. He inverted the spiral of blue and white and light and gravity and twisted it not out of himself but      in    .  

   It was the feeling of falling. It was the feeling of flying. It was a pull that he didn’t quite understand, the tug of his instinct dragging him out of danger.

   It was the feeling of cement under his feet. It was the feeling of glass against his cheek.

   It was a pale blue sky, with smokey puffs of rain clouds floating high above him.

   *

   “The fact that you are not more afraid of this man really only leads credibility to my idea that you are insane . He’s at least ten times stronger than all of your companions.”

   Ichigo glances sideways, and Kyo. He leans against the wall, watching Karna with something like respect, or maybe admiration in his gaze. Ichigo can understand. Even from as far away as they are, he can feel the heat radiating off of the son of the sun god. It blooms against his skin, but doesn’t scorch him. Not yet, in any case.

   It feels strange. This Karna is not the Karna that Ichigo had met and fought against and within his dream of Trifas. They were the same, at their core, but this one didn’t know him. This one wasn’t his friend. This one hadn’t fought a vampire and a near endless supply of false Servants with him.

   Instead, this one was here to stop him from going to Edison. To stop him from forcibly beating sense into the insane american presi-king.

   It would have been intimidating, but even now Ichigo can tell that Karna doesn’t actually want to kill them.

   Like all of those heroes born in the Age of Gods, Karna is insanely powerful. Before him Ichigo is little more than an ant to be stepped on. This Hero of Charity is a legend in every sense, and his reputation is earned. The spikes on his collar speak of danger and death. The spear in his hands pulses with the power and radiates heat like pavement on a summer day.

   Karna is the child of a god, and they are, in the end, little more than human.

   Kyo isn’t. He’s strong, Ichigo knows that too. He’s at least as strong as some Servants, and Ichigo is certain he’s stronger than he’s letting them think he is. Not only is he strong, he’s smart, and good as playing at being harmless. Even if Ichigo is the only one who can see him regularly, he won’t drop the fake smile on his lips.

   How annoying.

   “You should withdraw at once!” Nightingale calls to their foe. Ichigo has no intention of letting him stay an enemy, but for now he can’t do anything. They have to beat him first, and then beat Edison over the head.

   “Perhaps you’re right. I am infected by an illness called ‘loyalty’. Figuring that out so fast, is it because you’re a nurse?” his head cocks just so.

   Nightingale huffs. “No. You’re just easy to understand.”

   Ichigo watches Karna deflate, looking upset. “Oh no, we ruined his mystery,” Ichgo couldn’t help teasing.

   Mash looked equally put off. “He seems somewhat depressed…”

   “Thank you for pointing that out. But no matter. He asked for my help first, and that is all I need to know. The king of inventions knelt before a worthless man like me and asked my help. Besides,” A smile, as warm as his magic, spread across Karna’s face. “He reminds me of a friend. And I am only human, don’t forget.”

   “‘Only      human’    says the demigod,” Ichigo mutters to Kyo, who snorts elegantly. “We should get this over with.”

   “You can’t hope to win,” Kyo argues, but he’s clearly getting used to ichigo’s stubborn nature.

   “Fucking watch us.”

   Ichigo draws up, prepared to fight-

   And Karna turns and walks back down the hallway, called away by Edison.

   “Huh. So it’s going to be a trap?” Ichigo muses.

   “ ‘ow can is be a trap, if ya know i’s gonna happen?” Cu asks, propping his elbow on Ichigo’s shoulder and leaning on his master. Ichigo scowls at him and shoves him off, but it’s more playful than anything else.

   “If it is a trap, it’s wiser for you not to spring it,” Kyo ads.

   “Okay, fine. You’re invisible. Go in there and see what we’re up against.” Ichigo points towards the high door to the throne room, at the end of the hall. Kyo just gives him a look.

   “Do I look like a servant?” Kyo arches a brow at him regally, and Ichigo shoots him a baleful glare. “Fine. But I expect you to do something for me, in return.”

   “Oh joy,” Ichigo rolls his eyes as Kyo walks through the walls, towards the presi-kings throne room. Now he owed a dead man a debt. Just once in his life couldn't one of these people be cooperative? He’d kill to have Chad here with him, even if it was just as emotional support in all this madness.

   “Poor master,” Mash mourns. “You look rather mad when you stand there talking at thin air.”

   “Hmm?” Medusa cocks her head. “I don’t know, the longer I’m attached to him, the more I think I see faint shadows about where he’s talking at. But that could be my imagination…:

   “It could make sense,” Ichigo admitted, “I have poison resistance thanks to Mash. Maybe you guys get to see dead people.”

   “Master,” she says slowly, “      We     are dead people.”

   Ichigo scowls. “Don’t be a smart ass.”

   “It’s better than a dumb ass.”

   He jumps when Kyo’s voice comes from behind him, smooth and full of amusement. Ichigo turns to scowl at him, but the man is unphased.

   “It does seem like it will be a straightforward confrontation. My, you must all be terrible at assassinations.”

   Ichigo smacks his arm when Robin winces, missing the fact that Robin must have been able to hear the jibe at his failure. With a frown at Kyo, he leads the way to battle.

   * *

   He’s laying on a building. Sideways on a building, if he wants to be picky about it.

   Ichigo sits up, slowly, looking down at the streets. It’s not the weirdest thing to ever happen. But still weird. Below him looks like a small Karakura town, and outwards are other skyscrapers, and towers of stone and glass. He can recognize turrets of castles that crash haphazardly into pillars of a familiar roman theatre. A flag with a fleur de lis floats in the distance, small atop a dusty building of the Old West. Between some wind long mountain roads that hitch into the metal and stone unnaturally. He can’t see the street, it’s flooded with water and dark shapes move beneath the surface.

   Ichigo stands, slowly, trying to focus on staying attached to the building he’s on. He doesn’t dare jump. He might die.

   He might actually be dead for all he knows. Did he just accidentally kill himself? This doesn’t look like any afterlife he’s ever heard of…

   It was certainly not Kur. Ichigo hopes he hasn’t died. He has promises he needs to keep, and dying would be a conflict of interests right now.

   All around him are remnants of places he’s known, of his home and the lands he’s seen. The sky scrapers reach high into the sky, like the fingers of some great giant trying to grasp the clouds themselves.

   Ichigo turns his face to the sky. There’s no sun, and far off in the horizon storm clouds brew in dark, angry shades of grey.

   “Okay. This is not great,” he says at last. “Where am I?”

   Something ruffles the back of his neck, like wind only the air is still and he spins around on his heel, until he sees something dark and flicking behind him. A person. A man, in a black coak that billows around his ankles. It’s edged in red.

   “Hey, old man!” Ichigo spins to face him fully. “Who are you?”

   “Who am I? I am _____”

   Ichigo stares. He couldn’t hear him. He heard every word but his name. Why? What cut it off? There’s no wind, no sound, nothing that would do that.

   Even though the strangers face is largely impassive, Ichigo can still see the slightest slanting of his eyes. His disappointment.

   “I see. How sad, even now you can’t hear my voice. You, who knows me better than anyone else.”

   “What are you talking about?” Ichigo crosses his arms over his chest as the man walks down the pole he’d been standing on and onto the side of the building in front of Ichigo. The distance between them feels like a chasm. “I’ve never met you before.”

   Snow flutters around them, small flakes that stick to nothing. It’s just a playful flurry, flickering cold across his skin before it disappears again.

   “You’ve known me all your life, even if you don’t know it. And I have known you. I know why you’re here. You’re looking to become another Shinigami, aren’t you?”

   Ichigo pauses, but nods in the end. Who is this man? How does he know this? He does feel familiar. More familiar than Chad. More familiar than Mash, even. Why…?

   “The old man in the hat said it’s possible, but I have to die. And I can’t do that. I have a promise to keep, so I have to stay alive and save Rukia before I fulfill it. And to do that, I need power I don’t have. Rukia lent me hers, but that’s gone now. There’s no one else anymore.”

   No Rukia. No Mash. No Medusa, or Cu. No Romani.

   Just him.

   “I have no one else to rely on. I have to stand on my own two feet. I have to fight with my own two hands.”

   “That’s not true.”

   The man walks towards him slow, his heels clicking on the glass of the building.

   “Rukia’s power may be gone, but Urahara Kisuke was no wrong when he declared that you have your own Shinigami powers. And you do not fight alone, Ichigo. I fight with you. I always have.”

   There’s a vicious vow somewhere in his level voice. A yearning that Ichigo almost misses.

   “I don’t understand. Who are you?” Ichigo shakes his head, trying to make sense of everything that’s happening.

   The man looks at him, and opens his mouth to repeat his name.

   “I am _____”

   * * *

   They’re the only ones awake.

   Ichigo is used to late nights. Sleep is hard to come by these days, and he usually only gets it when he’s too tired to even think, or when Mash’s solid shield lays beside him. The others are doing better than he is. They’re heroes and legends and myths. They have stronger hearts than he does.

   Ichigo walks quietly, not so far from the camp that he’ll get himself killed, but far enough that his movements won’t disturb his friends. Medusa is on watch at the perimeter, and she tosses him a somewhat concerned look, but doesn’t try to interrupt him when he sits beside Kyo.

   He’s got questions. About a million of them about the afterlife, but he doesn’t really have time for all of them at one time.

   And one top of questions about the afterlife, he has just as many about Kyo himself. He’s a mystery. He’s not a heroic spirit. And really, he has no reason to be following Ichigo around besides the fact that Ichigo has forcefully dragged him along.

   Not that Kyo couldn’t get away if he wanted to. Ichigo is no fool. Everyone here could kill him with a napkin.

   Kyo doesn’t acknowledge him when he sits beside him. Instead he keeps his eyes on the sky. On the stars haloed by the light in the sky. Even with it, there’s a thousand stars in the sky that Ichigo would never be able to see in Karakura. There’s too much light, even in a small city to be able to see this many stars.

   The whole milky way stretched across the sky, a painted band of blue and white and pink towards the edge of the horizon.

   “Is it the same?” he finds himself asking. Kyo makes a sound of question in the back of his throat, so he elaborates. “The sky. Is it the same where you’ve come from?”

   “Seireitei,” Kyo says the words slowly. “The stars are the same, but that’s about it.”

   “How do you mean? Isn’t it supposed to be a paradise? Like, Heaven? Elysium? Tian? Valhallah?”

   “Are you going to keep listing off afterlifes until I give you a real answer?” Kyo cocks his head, looking somewhat amused.

   Ichigo shoots him a crooked grin. “I absolutely will.”

   “My, you’re a pest.”

   “And you’re rude. Fields of Yula, asphodel, f      olkvangr-    ”

   Kyo claps his hand over ichigo’s mouth to finally shut him up, and Ichigo scowls at him without heat and with smugness.

   “Soul Society isn’t exactly like those stories,” Kyo’s smile is somehow soft and bitter and sad at once. Ichigo doesn’t know what to make of it.

   “So it’s no paradise,” Ichigo surmises.

   Kyo’s brow pinches and his mouth twists. “No. Not quite.”

   “Is there some rule saying that you’re not allowed to tell me?”

   “No,” Kyo says slowly,” But it is, ill advised. We are taught to tell the souls to pass on that they will find a good place in the next world. A paradise. So they don’t fight us going into a world not so unlike their own. “

   “Wow you make death sound inviting,” Ichigo says dryly. He manages to startle a laugh out of Kyo before he sobers again, looking to the stars.

   “The closer to the seireitei you get, the better the quality of life. In the first few districts people generally want for nothing, and are elbow to elbow with nobility and their retainers, if they aren’t one of those things already. Most nobles live in Seireitei itself, safe in their walls. But further away…”

   “Further away you find the poor, the downtrodden. Poverty is prevalent. Rukongai is separated into districts. Past the fifty ninth districts, most people can’t even afford sandals.It’s violent and bloody out there, and the people who have the most power are the ones least likely to help.”  

   Kyo’s hands curl and his mouth twists.

   Ichigo leans back on his hands. “You should get tips from Robin for overthrowing governments.”

   “I couldn’t do that,” Kyo shakes his head, but there’s a light in his eyes that makes Ichigo think that the idea has already crossed his mind at least once. “This is actually my first trip to the human world. I was supposed to arrive in Kyoto, but something went wrong, and now I’m here.”

   “It’s probably because Kyoto no longer exists,” Ichigo figures, solemnly, “The only land that exists at this time is here. The United States. Everywhere else has been completely obliterated.”

   They had to reverse that. They had to stop this war.

   * * * *

 They’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Literally.

   Ichigo and his Servants, minus Scathach who’s gone ahead of them, are cornered by monsters only Ichigo and Kyo can see and touch.

   Kyo is strong. Incredibly strong. He’s already cut down more of the swarm that Ichigo would have ever imagined, and blasted even more with fierce spells of blue and red energy. Yellow chains, and dark crescents. But they just keep coming, and now there’s even stronger ones ripping their way through the sky. They’re smaller and more distinct than the first wave, and as powerful as fifty of them combined.

   Even Kyo is struggling against the dozens of them that rip through the sky.

   Then it happens.

   One of them targets Ichigo and Kyo appears in front of him, striking it down. A second comes screaming in from the side and tears into Kyo’s sword arm.

   Blood splatters against Ichigo's cheek.

   “Kyo!” Ichigo lunges for him, but Kyo puts up his good hand, stopping him.

   “Stay where you are! You’ll only get in the way if you can’t fight. Damn, why are they all here at once?” Kyo grits his teeth and lifts his left arm, shooting off more spells, but without his sword, he’s struggling more to keep up.

   Ichigo burns with the feeling of being helpless. He can’t stay there and do nothing.

   So he does the only thing he can do.

   He shoots forwards, to Kyo’s back, and claps his hand on Kyo’s shoulder. He pours all the spirit energy he possible can into Kyo’s body, until he’s glow with it, blue and white. Kyo looks back at him, stunned.

   “Don’t just stand there!” Ichigo barks. “Hit them!”

   Kyo nods, once, looking dazed, and lifts his arm at the monsters closing in on them.

   “      Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens.”  

   Blue swirls in front of him, a ball of raw power that flashes and lashes out at the edges, dragging burn scars into the ground and drawing blood off of Kyo’s arms.

   “      Hado seventy three! Soren Sokatsui!”  

   It tears away from Kyo and Ichigo in a devastating force, ripping through the ground and shredding all the monsters in front of them into nothing more than burnt husks.

   Ichigo has time enough to register Kyo looking at him with a new light in his eyes before he falls to the ground, the world going black.

   * * * * *

 “I see.”

   The disappointment is back in the man’s face, and it makes Ichigo’s skin crawl. He doesn’t know why. This is a perfect stranger, he shouldn’t care so much what he thinks about him. But he does. It feels gross, a bur under his skin that he just can’t shake.

   “You still cannot hear me. Very well then. Perhaps you will hear my voice once you have unlocked your Shinigami powers.”

   “Uh huh. I don’t suppose you have a key for that, do you old man?” Ichigo asks, crossing his arms over his chest. The man cocks his head ever so slightly. His hair waves in time with his coat and he taps the window beneath him with the toe of his shoe.

   “This world exists inside of you. Inside of your mind. Inside of your very soul. Somewhere in here, somewhere in all these windows and bricks and everything else you’ve ever made a home for in here, you will find what you seak. You will find your shinigami powers somewhere here. Somewhere within.”

   “Just like that man said…”

   Ichigo is glad for the opportunity, but he doesn’t want to be the one to tell Merlin he was right. The Mage of Flowers will be even more smug than he already is, and Ichigo does not need that at all.

   “Fine. I just have to find it then.”

   He had no idea how he would do that. If this was inside of him, what would happen if he broke something? What would a shattered window do to he himself? He could only speculate, and he didn’t like any of the things he thought of. So he’d have to go by it delicately.

   Was that possible? The only way into the buildings would be through doors that are now thoroughly covered in water.

   Needle in a haystack much?

   Ichigo runs his fingers through his hair and tilts his head, closing his eyes in thought.

   If he was shinigami powers, where would he hide?

   Nowhere in the brackets of mountains. Nor in the theatre, or the tall castle towers. Nowhere that he was a Mage.

   That ruled out a lot.

   This guy said he’d always been with him. Did that mean he was a shinigami this whole time? Why hadn’t they come to him earlier? During the wars? In Kur?

   On the banks of the Karakura river.

   Ichigo shook his head and opened his eyes again. The old man was staring at him. Waiting. Watching. It was a little creepy. Ichigo’s hair brushed his shoulders when he turned his head to the side, looking down at the water.

   Somehow, he had to find his Shinigami powers.

   It had to be somewhere in these blue buildings. Maybe…

   Ichigo knelt down, knocking at the window under his feet curiously. It was totally solid. There didn’t seem to be so much as a hinge to open it. But inside, there, something white fluttered around.

   “...fuck it.”

   Ichigo punched his hand through the glass, ignoring the way the shards bit into his arm, and grabbed it. When he pulled his hand back he found a ribbon in his grasp.

   White ribbons. Like the ones Uryu had shown him before.

       That's it!  

   Ichigo jumped back, as high up as he could. He landed on the air, the way he had as a shinigami. This was it. This was how he could find it. He scoured the building, the windows, looking for anything that wasn’t blue and white. Anything. It had to be somewhere.

       C’mon. Red, red, red-  

   Ichigo drops back onto the building, understanding dawning. He makes his way over to the strange man and reaches out, grasping the straight sword he’d been standing on before. He pulls, and in his hand comes away a red ribbon that wraps around his wrist. As he pulls the sword from its sheath it flashes with pale blue light, until he’s holding a massive sword almost as long as his body.  

   Ichigo grins sharply at the old man, a name blossoming on his lips. They speak as one, voices merging.

   “Zangetsu.”

   Ichigo swings the sword to the side. It feels effortlessly light despite how large it is. It isn’t the foreign feeling of Rukia's power. This is his, and his alone.

   When he looks down, he’s wearing Shinigami clothes again. If Kyo could see him now.

   “Congratulations, Ichigo. You are, again, a Shinigami.” His voice is low and even. Ichigo glances at his eyes, half hidden by sunglasses.

   “Thanks. Although to be honest…. I was kind of hoping I’d be a Quincy, like my mother.”

   He doesn’t miss the startled jerk of Zangetsu’s head.

* * * * * *

[harrieatthemet]

Okay so I got this idea the first time I listened to this song so bear with me. If you’ve ever heard “Over Now” by Post Malone then you’ll know what I’m talking about, but imagine Harry and y/n breaking up and they’re both really hurt about it but Harry puts up a front and that front becomes like really noticeable when they see each other at an awards show or something and Harry acts like he’s with another girl and y/n confronts him afterwards and they fight like scream but end up back together

LOVED THIS!! Took me THREE DAYS to get this done!! Worked so hard on this and I really hope it’s exactly how you wanted it babe. My fav blurb yet.

He’d see you. No, actually he’d heard you first. He’d never mistaken that laugh, and when he first heard it he’d subconsciously smile to himself. It didn’t matter how many weeks had gone by (21, he’d been counting), he could never not be able to hear your laugh over the clanking of glasses or obnoxiously loud chattering. He’d be mid conversation with someone, a drink in his hand as he’d partake in aimless banter, when he’d hear it again. So he’d subtly peer across the room, overlooking all the people that were jammed into the restaurant, just to see if he could catch a glimpse of you. That’s all he needed, he’d tell himself, just a quick peek at you. And when he did, when he’d finally catch a glance at your face as you’d turn your head around, he’d feel a few butterflies start up in the pit of his stomach. You’d look beautiful, even more so since the last time he’d seen you. 

“Harry,” Jeff would chirp from behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder, “you okay?”

“Great, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” He’d reply curiously, even though he knew why Jeff was asking.

“Oh,” Jeff would wipe the concerned look from his face, “was just asking, ‘cus, just ran into (Y/N) here and-alright, good.” 

Harry’d have to withhold himself from asking Jeff about you. He’d wanna ask to see if Jeff knew how you were doing, how you’d been since the last time he’d seen you. He’d be itching to ask if you’d told Jeff if you were seeing anyone, but even if he had the balls to ask he didn’t think he’d want an answer. 

Jeff would nod, kinda sorry he brought you up and a little surprised that Harry’d be so unbothered by it, before slinking back into the sea of people. Everyone was a little shocked when news broke that the two of you had went your different ways, and it really wasn’t plausible until Harry’d confirm with close family or friends that you had taken all your stuff and moved out. In the beginning, people would call or text and sometimes even swing by his house, just to see if he was coping alright. What seemed to be more shocking than the break up, was how suspiciously well he’d been taking things. He’d play it cool, and assure to all that asked that it ‘wasn’t a big deal’ or ‘I don’t really care about it’. But he did, he did care, and it absolutely was a big deal to him. It’s just that he’d put up a front, a good one at that, and had tricked everyone around him into thinking that the whole ordeal hadn’t affected him at all. 

A few people would quiet down the lull of chatter, to give a speech for the engaged couple that everyone was here celebrating. At first, Harry was a little surprised to see you here. It then dawned on him that the two of you still shared mutual friends, and that it was you who had introduced him to the bride-to-be. It made him feel sort of guilty, that he’d come, because he didn’t know if you’d even want to see him here. She was your friend first, after all. He’d wonder if you’d even noticed him here, if you were stealing secret glances of him like he wad been doing with you. And when he’d see you, talking to a different person each time, he’d realize that you probably didn’t even know he was here.

You’d have to push through and sandwich yourself between a few people before you’d finally get to the bar. The alcohol seemed to be the only thing getting you through this engagement party, and as you realized your glass had been empty you’d b line it to the bar. And Harry would do the same, leaning against the wood of the bar stool as he waited for the bartender to refill his drink. Unintentionally, you’d walk up right beside him, swirling around your empty glass at the bartender to let him know you needed another of whatever you’d been drinking for most of the night. It wasn’t until Harry’d hear a familiar voice utter the words Margarita that he’d turn his head to the left. His palms would get a little sweaty when he’d lay eyes on your side profile, your hair tucked sweetly behind your ear and your earring catching the light. You’d be fidgeting with your straw, poking the bottom of the glass as you waited for a new one. His teeth would find their place on his bottom lip, nibbling on it nervously. Sure, he’d been good at keeping up the careless act, but he didn’t know if he could keep it up as well when he was standing right in front of you. And he’d be ready to kick himself for staring so long, when you’d turn your head towards his direction and his eyes would meet yours.

“Harry, hi!” Your voice was like honey, thick and sweet, “Thought I saw you earlier.” and the soft smile you’d have tugging at the corners of your mouth made his chest ache.  

“S’nice t’ see yeh.” He’d force an exaggerated smile, leaning in as you roped him into a hug. 

He’d let out a content breath amidst the hug, happy that all the little things he adored about you still remained the same. Your hair still smelled like citrus, and he figured it was because you always had to use the same shampoo. And he could still smell the faint smell of vanilla, your signature smell that came from your favorite perfume. He’d pull back, and you’d chuckle, because his rings would have the tendency to get stuck in the ends of your hair after a hug. 

“Been good?” You’d sigh contently, before taking your drink from the bartender.

“Yeah,” he’d lie, “been great.”

He’d lied through his teeth, sugarcoating it with a smile and a nod of the head. He couldn’t have brought himself to tell you how awful he really felt. He wouldn’t tell you that’d he kept one of your sweaters you’d left behind, that he’d hung it up in between a few of his suit jackets in the closet so he’d have a little reminder of you when he was getting dressed. He wouldn’t tell you that he’d still watch your favorite show, every Thursday night at 9, regardless of where he was or what he was doing. He’d choose to keep to himself about how, up until recently, it’d take him hours to fall asleep because he’d grown accustomed to the little dip on the opposite side of the bed. 5 months had gone by and he still hadn’t washed your pillow case, because sometimes when he’d roll over in the morning and he could smell what was left of your perfume, he’d open his eyes thinking you were there. And as strange as it sounded, it was comforting for him. 

“How’ve yeh been?” He’d ask genuinely, studying you as you sipped your drink.

“Good,” you’d answer happily, “yeah, work has been crazy but- I’m good.” 

Good, he’d think to himself. Not great, just good. He wondered if you had taken the breakup as bad as he had. You wouldn’t tell him that he’d cross your mind constantly, or that you’d stay up late at night and replay the breakup in your head. You’d keep to yourself about how you’d sleep in one of his old shirts sometimes, when you missed him a little extra. If he knew that you were just as miserable as he was, maybe he wouldn’t be acting so cocky and unbothered. 

And maybe if you knew how upset he was, you wouldn’t be so put off by the leggy brunette that would come up behind him. Her hand would slide onto his shoulder, smiling politely at you before going on her tippy toes to murmur discreetly in his ear. He’d bow his head, nodding as she finished up whatever she was telling him. She’d disappear into the crowd, heading over to the table where a few people had sat down with their drinks.

“Oh, I didn’t- you’re here with someone.” Your tone would be brittle, as it was disheartening and a little maddening to see that he’d moved on so quickly. 

“Christine, yeah,” he’d lie, again, “been seein’ her for a little.” 

He didn’t mean to say it. He had only thought of it just before he blurted it out, in attempt to deflect the fact that he’d been moping about his house for weeks since you left. Watching your smile disappear, your face falling as you tilted your body away from him a little, he’d immediately wish he hadn’t said what he did. Nodding your head slowly, trying to get an understanding on how he had moved on so quickly, you’d suddenly feel the urge to b line for the door and get the hell out. 

“S’good,” you’d exhale shakily, “you know what, I think they need me to do a toast.” 

“Sure, yeah.” He’d nod, disappointment washing over him as you headed away from him.

You’d slink off, towards the opposite end of the room, settling into a chair. And he’d watch as you sat there, knowing you were uncomfortable as you would shift awkwardly in your chair a few minutes. Your shoulders would hang, sad and just a bit annoyed, your face stoic and reserved as you stared blankly at the newly engaged couple. He’d retreat to bis table too, sitting beside the brunette and contributing very little to the conversation being had by the people who sat around the table. And as the night would go on, and he wouldn’t see you go up to do a toast at all, he’d realize that you used it as a way to get away from. So he’d feel a little guilty, especially when you’d peer at him from your seat and see how his arm was placed, resting his arm on the back of the girl’s chair. And her body would be leaned into his a little, unintentionally because the table was so crowded. You’d be quick to snap your head back forward, a long sigh leaving your lips as your stomach would start to twirl just at the sight of them seeming to be cozied up.

His eyes would be on you, focus completely zeroed in, as you’d stand yourself up from the chair. His brow would furrow in confusion as you’d give the couple of the hour a kiss on the cheek, and he assumed it was you saying your goodbyes. His assumptions would be confirmed, watching you politely maneuver your way through the packed restaurant, as he’d realize you were heading to the coat rack to grab your things and head out. 

He’d politely excuse himself from the table, abandoning his drink that sat on the little napkin, as his arm would retreat back to him and fall along his side. It’d take him a minute just to get through a few groups of people, getting frustrated as he’d have to give a little shove between a pack of men just to get to the other side of the bar. He’d frown when he’d see you fumbling with your coat, jamming your sweater sleeve into the long black coat. Maybe he should’ve let you leave, because it was obvious you were a little overwhelmed and flustered. Not to mention a little annoyed, he could tell by the way your eyebrows were binding and your lips were faintly pursed. 

“Where yeh goin’ in such a hurry?” He’d ask casually, waiting for you to turn and look at him.

“Home.” You’d answer flatly, keeping your back to him as you wrapped your scarf around your neck.

He’d let out a nervous breath, trying to convince himself to walk back to his table and let you be. But he couldn’t, he didn’t think he could get his body to move. Seeing you, for the first time in 5 months, had brought him some comfort. And on top of that, it even made him a little happy. Putting up this front was getting tiring, and even a little hard at times. He was sick of acting like he didn’t care that you left. 

“Didn’t even give y’toast yet and-”

“I don’t get it,” you’d interject, finally turning to look at him, “I really- it’s barely been 5 months. You’re already seeing people?”

“I,” he’d get flustered a little, stumbling over his thoughts and trying to figure out what to say, “m’not supposed to?”

“You can do whatever you want.” You’d laugh coldly, buttoning up your coat.

“Can I?” He’d hiss, “M’not allowed t’move on?”

“2 years,” you’d rebuke, “we broke up after two years and you’re already seeing people! After 5 months!” 

“(Y/N),” he’d start, biting back on his lip as he tried to restrain himself.

“Two years, I mean, did it even mean anything to-”

“Yeh left!” He’d bellow, earning a few head turns from people. 

Your eyes would flicker upon a few of the faces that were now staring at the two of you, cheeks getting hot as people sent you bewildered looks. Harry’d run a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to collect himself. The coat boy would stand still, clearly uncomfortable and feeling a little awkward. You’d mumble an apology to him, shifting all your weight onto one leg as you stared at Harry in disbelief. 

“Harry..” You’d sigh, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. 

“M’not-” he’d exhale, voice quieter now, “Christine, she’s just a friend. Kinda a loose term, friend. Don’t know ‘er tha’ well.” 

“Oh,” you’d nod, extremely relieved, “okay.”

“Been pretty shitty.” He’d laugh, relieved to finally have admitted it.

“Yeah,” you’d sigh, “me too.”

“Really?” He’d perk up a little, taking comfort in the fact that maybe you really were as bad off as he was.

“Yes,” you’d chuckle at his demeanor, “miss you all the time. Sleep in your tee some nights, well, most nights I guess.”

“M’so glad.” He’d breath, a puzzled look on your face, “no no I mean- no, that yeh been missin’ me. Been missin’ yeh too.”

“Like to hear that.” And you’d smile again, making him smile too.

“Let me take y’home.” He’d offer generously, before asking the coat checker for his coat as well.

“Home?” You’d smirk, watching him swiftly stuff his arms into the sleeves of his jacket, hoping home was his house. 

“Our home.”

[softtm]

Boyfriend! Cai Xukun

listen I’m so soft for this boy, someone send help and maybe the Yuehua boys

first of all oof, can we just appreciate his visuals like god damn

I want to snuggle you and drench you in holy water at the same

onto the meeting

you’re our dear Lay PD’s little sister like wow, must be nice to have an angel for a brother

when you heard he was gonna be the host/judge/pd for a show with 100 cute ass boys you were like ‘sign me the fuck up’

big bro Lay chips just laughed and was like ‘ha ya wish, I wouldn’t introduce you to Nct what makes you think I’ll let you scar my other pure children’

rip you

but like nah homie, you still plan on going to the idol producer show live so you can support your brother and our Yuehua boys plus Cai Xukun

cue final episode where you actually show up and get everyone food cus you a nice sis who uses her brother’s money to buy him + his children food

might sound a bit shady but you over here living as a poor student so using your rich ass bro might be a good thing this one time

Don’t steal kids

so you’re backstage handing out food and trying to find out where tf Yixing was when this one dude slightly bumps into you making you ALMOST drop the snacks

you’re here like ‘it’s fine my dude’

then you hear Cai Xukun’s voice and HOLY SHIT HE WAS MORE BEAUTIFUL IN REAL LIFE

WHAT HAS YOUR BROTHER BEEN DOING NOT INTRODUCING YOU TO THIS GORGEOUS ASS GUY

but you’re like chill y/n

Xukun is still apologizing cus he’s an angel with very good manners and oof I love him sm

so you’re like

why not seize the opportunity

‘can you help me find where my brother is then?’

he’s like sure who is it

‘Zhang Yixing’

cue shook Xukun

y’all ignore the task at hand cus you somehow get side tracked and eventually Lay comes and finds you and he’s really not surprised

‘damn there goes another one of my favorites, y/n stealing my sons from me’

you smacked him lightly while Xukun is embarrassed/happy about being one of Yixing’s favorite sons

after Yixing leaves cus my mans is a busy man you and Xukun get to talking and damn y’all hit it off pretty well

you exchanged numbers and that eventually leads to feelings and that led to him asking you out on ft at 2am

now actual boyfriend! Xukun

HOE MIGHT LOOK LIKE AN FBOI BUT IS LITERALLY THE SWEETEST LIL BEAN EVER AND WANTS TO PROTECT YOU FROM EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD

I mean

yeah he’s very protective but not the over baring way, just he doesn’t want to see you getting your feels hurt or go through anything too stressful

and you’re like “then you can take college for me” and this boi turned from that sweetheart to a tiger mom real quick

helps you study for all your tests and quiz’s even if he doesn’t know what’s happening

still wants to help so he reads flash cards

you appreciate it a lot especially when he gives you tiny little kisses everytime you’re right

cuddling is a must

has his arms around you anytime he can and makes you surprised most of the time

like you could be doing yoga and a wild Xukun shows up back hugging you and scaring you outta your mind

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT MAN”

cue giggles from Xukun

you sharing your mans with Ziyi

not that you mind but sometimes you get third wheeled

like if you’re at a fair and Ziyi suddenly shows up (spoiler, he checked sc map) you bet your ass that Xukun is spending at least 10 minutes chatting with him while you wonder off to go get some food

he was so surprised when he turned and saw you gone that he went on worried mode

probably almost cried in relief when he saw you stuffing your face with churros

listen he is a big softie even when he acts hard

so sometimes you’re gonna have to squeeze it outta him

if it’s like 2am and he’s not home, you can almost bet your ass he’s a the studio either practicing or writing

on those days you know that if you go try to drag him out that it would take a long ass time so you kinda just go there and drag him to a near by couch to sleep

don’t drive when you’re sleepy kids

and really y’all are just right for each other

I don’t think he would get really jealous but you could definitely see his change in moods when you get a little too close to someone he doesn’t personally know

since he’s also good at sending your emotions, he knows when you get jealous too and does this thing where he holds you hand even tighter and starts drawing circles on your palm as a little sign to signify that he’s only yours

oof im getting too into this

STORY TIME !!!

so remember how I mentioned Lay being your big bro?

yeah you and Xukun (ONE OF HIS FAVS) were dating so the news would have to get to him somehow right?

YA YEET

boy didn’t even know

at least he didn’t show any signs of knowing

you and Xukun on the other hand didn’t know that he didn’t know about your relationship making you guys think you got the okay

lmao it was not okay

so like he didn’t actually find out until y’all were in the move in phase together like wow that’s a long ass time

not his fault because in this universe he reunited with the rest of Exo and wows the world with their comeback and OT9 for life man

I mean yeah, he’s busy

so of course being the nice and caring brother he is he comes back to China, aka where you are, for vacation and decides to pay a visit with gifts cus he’s an angel and no one can convince he otherwise

he even made plans for a family dinner and bonding time like oof wish my brother was like that

so he comes and surprises you cus he wants to see how his precious little sister was doing

lmao he gets surprised instead

imagine the look on his face when Xukun opens the door instead of you cus you were showering or smth

“...”

“...”

“... hi gege”

“what the actual fuck man”

so now you have a confused/angry/hurt Yixing in your living room along with your scared boyfriend

wow whatta mess

so you come outta the bathroom and look at the situation and slowly backed up into the bathroom

“ZHANG Y/N”

lmao someone is in trouble

cue you and Xukun getting the talk from Lay

during the whole thing Xukun and you have a silent convo with your eyes cus y’all are THAT close

‘bitch wtf I thought he knew’

‘oops I guess not’

‘am I going to die’

‘I hope not’

Yixing catches one and is like oh hell nah

“ANYWAYS DO NOT FUCK WITHOUT CONDOMS AND MAKE ME AN UNCLE, I HAVE TOO MANY KIDS TO TAKE CARE OF ALREADY, BYE”

wow there Lay

what is he on

so Lay leaves and it’s just you and Xukun in the living room still confused about the situation

then he’s like

“Netflix and Chill?”

“hell yeah”

wow that was a long ass ride, more Lay-centric then anything

I’m so sorry this was more crack then fluff

oops

[osmw1]

Dimension Wave   Chapter 5—Recycling

“Phew…”

I slept remarkably well. It’s been years since I’ve felt this good waking up. People have been talking about virtual drugs recently but seeing how well I can sleep in a game, that’s more than enough reason for them to start selling them.

How long was I out for? I opened up the menu to check the in-game clock, which read 10:07 PM. I’ve been asleep for about six hours then. I take a look out the window and see that the sun has already set.

“Let’s go get that Fishing Mastery then.”

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 2,820 Mana/ 70 Serin/ 1,850

Skills/ Energy Production III, Mana Production II

Energy Production II → Energy Production III Generates 200 Energy per hour → Generates 400 Energy per hour Costs 50 Mana to upgrade.

Fishing Mastery I All actions with a fishing rod receives a 10% buff. Consumes 100 Energy per hour. Costs 30 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Obtain 10 items or more with a fishing rod. Upgrade requirement: Obtain 100 or more items with a fishing rod.

I acquire Fishing Mastery I. Doing so consumes 100 Energy, leaving me with 2,720. Upgrading it to rank II will cost me 60 Mana. With only 40 left, I don’t have enough for it. In any case, I’ve got Fishing Master I now. I’ve been waiting to see what it can do. Well, still, I don’t think I can catch The Big One so easily though.

“… sure am hungry.”

I feel like I just ate before I went to bed. Thinking about it, that was already six hours ago, so maybe it’s time for another meal. I’ll eat the leftover fish I had grilled for me. I take out the Grilled Herring from my inventory.

“It’s turned cold. This game even has temperature, eh?”

When I had it earlier, it was fresh off the grill and piping hot. In that case, if someone were to make stuff like ice cream, it’d probably melt too. Well, who knows? Maybe there’s dry ice or something like that as well. It’s a bit miserable but if I don’t eat this, it’d be going to waste. I can make do.

“Now that my belly’s full, let’s go catch a fish or two. Where did I leave my clothes again?”

Here they are. I just tossed them over by my shoes. Right after I get dressed, I take out my Wooden Rod +2 and I’m ready to go. I leave the inn. Passing by the front desk cued a “Take care!” from the NPC. I step out to a town of darkness. A soulless scene. Maybe everybody’s hit the sack already or they’re still working hard at leveling up.

“It really is dark. I can barely see where I’m going.”

Of course, there are no streetlights, but there aren’t even torches around. It’s nigh pitch black. I open up the map from the menu and head towards that same bridge I was on yesterday. I even dropped by the general store since I had forgotten to buy more bait. I can’t believe that they’re still open though. If this were a real person running the store, they’d probably wouldn’t be too chipper at this time of hour. Imagine a clerk working in a convenience store or something…

Anyway, I get to the bridge. Unfortunately though, the moon is covered by clouds. I wouldn’t know I’m facing the sea if not for the briny breeze and the gentle crashing of the waves. Perhaps I need a carbide lamp or something of the sort. For now, I’m happy with my big pile of bait as I stick it onto my copper fishhook. I poked my finger three times, causing 10 damage. Then after casting my line into the sea, I feel a weird tug that I’ve never felt before. It’s… rather strong. But this dull bite is just odd. Whatever, though. I power through it and fish it out of the water.

—××× obtained.

Hmm? It’s too dark to read the text. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I put it into my inventory. I’ll know when the sun rises. I bait my hook and cast my rod again.

—××× obtained.

Whoa! I caught something the moment the hook touched the water. They’re really biting. I bought 300 pieces of bait, but now it looks like it might not be enough. Alright! It’s an all-you-can-catch!

—

———

—————

… finally, morning. I keel over with my hands and knees on the ground, exactly like the orz emoticon. As for results though, I caught nearly 200. But if felt more like they were looking for me, rather than me actively trying to catch them.

I take a look at my spoils. 137 Empty Cans 2 Rubber Boots Crystallization (Unidentified) 40 Herrings 25 Sardines 12 Seabasses 4 Common Darkfish 3 Zombiefish

“What?!”

What the hell? I got more Empty Cans than anything. Oh, the disappointment! Gimme back the happiness I had! Why are there even cans in this world in the first place? … but I guess it’s not too surprising after all.

What I intended to do was to find out whether I can catch different fish at night, so I can chalk it up as a success. “How much trash are you guys throwing into the ocean anyway?” is what I want to say, but I don’t wanna be rude. And not to mention that last thing on the list is totally undead. I bet I can get some good materials from trimming it. It better be good. I begin to gut and trim the fish while clinging on to that glimmer of hope. Probably not the cans though.

It took me two hours to finish up. I’m still not getting a gutting skill though. I wonder what the requirement is. Maybe I have to fight with it as a weapon? I plan to keep on fishing though, so I don’t think I’ll go and try that out. But, naturally, the amount of fish I had was proportional to the amount of time needed to trim them. I’m glad I have this convenient gutting knife. It’s just a hunch, but I think I can use it to gut monsters as well. I’ll try it if I ever get the chance to fight monsters.

“Alright, now let’s sell it all.”

I check the clock again to see it read 9:27 AM. I bet someone as diligent as Alto is would be up already. I’ll try and send a chat. What’s his actual name? Altorese, was it? I remember him saying something about Altorese’s Emporium or something. And just like before, a dialing sound effect plays as I wait for Alto to pick up.

“Hi, this is Alto.”

He sounds like he’s full of energy. He’ll be trading all day too, I’d say.

“Yo, it’s me.” “You sound like you’re the girl from yesterday. No, wait, the guy who’s playing as a girl, right?” “Right. Kizuna.” “Is that your name? I don’t think I caught it yesterday.”

Oh, now that he mentions it. I asked him for his name, but I was too embarrassed to let him know “Kizuna†Exceed” is my name. Rather, I think I deliberately didn’t tell him.

“So? What’s up today?” “Ah, I wanted to sell you some items. They’re all fish though, if that’s okay.” “Of course. Where are you now?” “On the map, I’m to the right of the bridge—”

After exchanging our locations, we ended up deciding to rendezvous at the same place as yesterday. I was gonna hurry on over, but Alto was there already.” He has different equipment on compared to yesterday. Looks like he’s doing well for himself.

“Yo, Kizuna. You said you had fish, but how much do you have?” “Oh, this much.”

I hit accept on his trade request. According to Alto, we can just trade it over by hand, but since we’re trading in such large amounts, it’s better to do it this way. I place the scales, bones, meat, heads, teeth, fin, and everything else in the trade window.

“It seems like you’ve prepped all of them for cooking already, but you still have so much. What a shock.” “Prepped for cooking?”

“I didn’t do that though?” was what I was about to say, but Alto continues.

“Yeah, after parting ways yesterday, I found out that if you use a kitchen knife to prep your fish, you get a lot more items that way.” “Huh.” “And so you have the cooking skill, right, Kizuna? If you need any ingredients, I can sell you some.”

No, I don’t have a single cooking skill pop up. But I’ll keep that to myself. Since he has so many connections, he’s gotta know somebody that uses a gutting-type weapon, right?

“Hey, Alto, this is completely unrelated, but what do gutting weapons do?” “Hmm? I’m pretty sure they do extra damage to certain races. But since their base damage is low, not many people use them.” “I see…” “And sometimes, when you kill the right monsters, they drop different items too.”

… don’t tell me I’ve misunderstood my gutting knife this whole time. As far as I know, if I’m being really careful, I can gut and trim fish to get their scales and meat. But it seems like I can use the cooking skill instead. Maybe it’s even more effective that way. In that case, I can probably even earn more money. Naturally, it’ll become common knowledge sooner or later. But before everyone knows about it, maybe I can make tons of money like this. It’s not exactly uncommon for a new game.

“What about gutting weapons anyway?” “Ah, I’m using one right now. So that’s it? A peculiar weapon used against certain races…” “I see. You really like unusual things, don’t you, Kizuna?” “Guess so.” “Anyway, how does a total of 6,000 serin sound?” “That much?”

Alto says it as if it were obvious. If all he had yesterday was 8,000 serin, that means he’s been making lots while I’ve been chilling.

“It takes time to raise your cooking skill, so factor in how much an hour is worth. It’s also quite a lot and then I put it a little below market value.”

Buy low, sell low. That’s how he resells stuff, he mentioned yesterday. That’s fine then. It’s a lot more than what the NPCs will give me anyway. I accept the trade, hit OK, and received 6,000 serin.

“Thank you for your patronage. Let me know if you have anything else to sell.” “Alright, I’ll holler next time.”

I take a look at my inventory to see only empty cans left. Having 137 of them is actually kind of a bother. NPCs will give me either 1 or 5 serin for each. The difference being aluminum and steel. Wait, hold on. Aluminum and steel, huh?

“Hey, Alto? I have another question. How much do Empty Cans sell for?” “Empty Cans? Unfortunately, dirt cheap. You’re better off selling it to a store.” “Is that right? It’s caught my attention that these cans are aluminum and steel though.”

I lower my voice as if I’m letting him onto a secret and his face lights up.

“… I see. With a blast furnace, they might be able to turn into ingots!” “There are blast furnaces, huh?” “Yeah. There are people working on their craft skills who are smelting ores into ingots.” “Then can I get you to take a look whether they can do the same with these cans? Of course, I’ve got a lot more, so if it works.”

We open up our trade windows again and I give him five each of aluminum and steel. It’ll be easy money if I can turn trash into something useful. Even if it doesn’t work out, I can still sell it for some change.

“Thank you, Kizuna! Maybe we’ll make a lot with this!” “Yeah, if it pans out, get me a slice of the action.” “Of course! I’ll hurry and find out then!”

This being right in his element, Alto rushes off while waving goodbye. It probably won’t even take him an hour.

“I’ve got quite a good stack of money now. Maybe I should get some equipment.”

If I can turn cans into steel, then maybe I can get someone to make me a weapon. But since I don’t even have a single combat skill, I think it’d be better to stick to my light clothing. And for shoes… can I wear these rubber boots? I take them out of my inventory, take off my default shoes, and stick my feet into the boots.

“Looks like I really can equip them…”

If I had a raincoat and a yellow umbrella, it’ll complete my little girl getup. Leaving the jokes aside, I should look for an armor shop or a player selling clothes. I take my first steps in my rubber boots.

Let me tell you what happened after. My hunch was dead on. Those Empty Cans really can be turned into aluminum and steel ingots. While keeping it a secret from Alto and the smith, I keep on quietly fishing up empty cans and repeatedly hand them over. The three of us made a killing for about five days until players found a source of iron ore. Of course, the ingots made from cans aren’t all that high quality, so we started losing business. After discussing our strategy with Alto, we decided to put it to an end. In any case, we came in hot with out Empty Can method and made a good chunk of cash. With fate bringing us together, I added Alto to my friends list.

“I’ll be counting on you for another brilliant idea to make money.”

I hope he feels the same way. Furthermore, for some odd reason, I can only catch Empty Cans at night. Afterwards, with iron prices going down, Alto made the information public. In the end, pairing the unprofitable fishing skill with smelting and smithing made for a popular money-making strategy.

previously: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /next/

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(check out the other title I’m translating—written by the same author!)

[the-awoken-crusader-blog]

Trouble is Brewing in Hanara City

[PoV: Dycae]

[Location: Hanara City Police Station]

I wasn’t surprised when I found myself back here in this place, since the files these folks possess have done me more good than any of them newspaper articles back in the library.

However what DID surprise me was when one of the cops called me in, saying something about their chief wanting to speak with me.

Was I nervous? Not really, didn’t do anything wrong here and I seriously doubt some of my past ‘deeds’ reached very far. So why did they want me? The hell if I know, best I go with them anyways to see what’s wrong.

I find myself sitting on a chair before the guy, who’s a very tough looking Granbull. The fella has the whole getup when it comes to cops, such as the vest and pants and even a shiny badge that says ‘Police Chief’ on it. The guy looks very tired though, making him much less intimidating than he would’ve been.

“So, what’s up chief?” I ask, leaning back slightly as I cross my arms over my chest.

He takes a quiet breath before beginning. “I’ve been hearing word that you’ve been going through our files.” The guy didn’t look mad or anything, so my first thought was that I wasn’t in trouble for that. “Our officers have informed that you said that these recent killings were not in fact by ‘The Rhapsodist’, correct?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, they don’t match up with ‘em.”

The fella’s face wrinkles slightly as he rests his hands on his desk. “I’m rather curious on that, so could you elaborate?”

“Well,” I start. “I’d hate ta’ admit it, but the Rhapsodist fella got class. He’s very clean with his kills, ‘cus he’s all about tryin’ ta’ make his work...beautiful.” My face twists into a frown when I say those words. “Those recent killin’s? They ain’t like anythin’ tha’ guy has done. All of 'em are brutal and incredibly messy, can’t imagine the guy suddenly changin’ his mind on how he kills things.”

I tap my chin. “If I remember correctly, there are three ways the Rhapsodist kills folks. He either stabs ‘em in the heart with a poisoned claw, beheads ‘em, or shoots a bullet inta’ their skulls.” I notice the Granbull’s eyes narrow at the mentioning of ‘bullet’. “But them other killin’s? It’s nothin’ like those three, I’ve seen limbs sliced off and faces torn apart. Whatever did that to those folks is an animal compared to tha’ Rhapsodist.”

“Then it appears we have another killer on our hands.” The Police Chief sighs, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

“Yep.” I agree grimly. “However even though I plan ta’ hunt the Rhapsodist down, I ain’t gonna leave you folks hanging. If there’s a killer on the loose here, I plan ta’ deal with her just as much as the other fella.”

Upon hearing my words the Granbull relaxes slightly, a thankful smile spreading on his face. “Shadowjack, I’m happy to hear that you’re willing to help this city of ours.”

I wave him off. “Ain’t no problem, chief. I’m a bounty hunter, even though I make a livin’ off of huntin’ down bounties...I ain’t gonna leave folks in danger when there’s other trouble roamin’ around.”

“Very well.” The Granbull nods. “However, I have a proposition for you.”

This catches my interest, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “Yeah? What proposition ya talkin’ here?”

“The city of Hanara wants to collaborate with you in bringing this criminal to justice.” He says firmly. “Many families have lost their loved ones to this killer and we do not want many more to suffer. So in order to find them, we want you to work with us.”

Work with them? I ain’t too much of a big fan with reporting to folks, but I think I can make an exceptio-

“But we do not want to risk drawing too much attention.” He continues, interrupting my train of thought. “So we wish to assign one of our best to work beside you.”

Now that causes my thought process to hit a screeching halt.

Oh HELL no!

My eyes narrow in irritation. “Chief, I mean no offense.” I growl. “But I work alone. I got my own way of workin’, so I don’t want other folks ta’ get in my way.”

He nods his head slowly. “That’s understandable, from what I’ve heard you do indeed wish to work alone. So this asking a great deal from you.”

No shit.

“However,” He chuckles. “We plan to pay you for your efforts, since it’s only expected. So if you work with the city of Hanara, we will pay you $500,000 if you assist us in bringing the killer in through any means possible.”

At this point my jaw drops, just hearing that much made cash registers go ringing in my ears. That’s a very large number, never had a bounty ever reached that high.

Now this makes me reconsider my stance. Sure I work alone, but...that’s a great deal of money I’d be passing up there. Yeah I was planning on bringing dealing with the killer myself, but if the price for working with someone is that much money...then I’d be set for a good long while.

Eventually I crack a grin. “Well, ya make a hard bargain.” I chuckle, extending a gloved hand to him. “Ya got ya’self a deal, chief.”

He smiles as well and shakes my hand firmly. “We are glad have your assistance, Shadowjack.”

Releasing his hand I lean back in my chair again. “So,” I start. “Who’s the one that’ll be my partner?”

The Granbull reaches for one of them hand-radios and speaks a few words into them. A few moments later the door to the office opens.

“Police Detective Angelina Shade will be the one working with you.” He answers.

I turn my head to look at said cop only for me to pause.

Now, the first thing that pops into my mind is that she’s definitely rather stunning. She’s a Zoroark, but not an ordinary one. Seeing the grays and blacks on her form makes me assume that she also has Mightyena genes, making her a hybrid.

Another thing I notice is that her her mane is actually cut rather short and tied into a ponytail, I’m not too surprised though since having long hair would kinda work against ya when ya work for the force. She has the same navy uniform like the rest of the cops and even a shiny badge. However what also strikes my attention are her bright red claws and face markings as well as her sky blue eyes. She has a cool smile on her face and holds her head high, giving herself a confident air.

Yeah, now I’m starting to think I made the right choice.

Suddenly another thought crosses my mind on what the chief said earlier.

“Detective?” I repeat, looking at the Granbull questioningly.

Angelina however was the one that answered me. “I’m more 'involved’ than you think.” She grins.

The Granbull nods. “Indeed, Angelina may be one of our Police Detectives...but she’s also one of our best Under-Covers. Since we don’t wish to draw attention to ourselves and her skills are also some of the highest in our ranks, she is the one we will be assigning to work with you.”

I stand up from my chair and approach the gal, I open my mouth to properly introduce myself before a loud ringing sound is heard. I turn my head to see it’s the chief’s phone on the table, his face grows more serious upon seeing the name on the screen of the phone.

“I am sorry for this but I must ask you to leave my office, this is an important call.” He apologizes, his expression slowly softening back to its normal self. “However, I would like to wish you two the best of luck.”

I give a two-fingered salute. “Thanks chief, greatly appreciate it. We’ll do our best and bring her in.”

He nods his head at me thankfully. Heeding his wishes the two of us turn and make our way out of his office.

When the door closes I turn to face the gal, putting on my most charming smile. “So even though we probably already know each other’s names, we still haven’t technically properly introduced each other.” I chuckle.

Her cool smile widens somewhat at this, although she doesn’t really look impressed by my charming attempts. “That is quite true, however I want you to call me Trixie.” She lets out a very short chuckle. “It’s the name I go by when out in the field, since I don’t want people going around knowing who I truly am.”

I nod my head. “No worries here, I’ll be callin’ ya that from here on out.” I respond with a wink. “But even though ya probably know my name, I think I should still say it anyways. I’m-”

“Dycae Brask.” Trixie interrupts me, causing me to freeze. “I’ve read your files, so there’s no further need for that.” She shakes her head slightly, more in amusement than anything.

Now, at this point my whole ‘charm’ switch has been flipped. Now I’m feeling INCREDIBLY pissed. Why?

She said my actual name...in public...where everyone can hear...

My lips morph into a scowl as I glare daggers at her. “Do not...say...my name...again...” I hiss.

She tilts her head slightly, her face looking more unimpressed than confused. “What? Not proud of it?”

My hands clench together as I feel my blood boil. “Ya don’t deserve ta’ speak it.” I growl. “To ya, I’m Shadowjack and Shadowjack only.” I lean forward, my eyes narrowing. “Got it?”

Her own eyes narrow in response. “Deserve? I don’t know about you, but a name is a name. But if you want to feel better, fine.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m going to be calling you ‘Shadowjack’ anyways while we’re out there, but if you want to hang onto that name like that even when we’re in a place like this...fine. Be that way, not that it matters.” Her own claws clench as her voice grows an edge. “However I’m going to give you a warning, don’t talk to an officer that way. You could’ve caused a lot of trouble, but since this is first impressions...I’ll let it slide.” Her smile returns. “So don’t do that again, got it?”

I swear, I want to punch her in the face. The way she smiles...now it seems like I’m just some sort of kid who’s throwing a temper tantrum, as if she’s above me.

I take it all back, I regret my decision. Fuck this gal, I want nothing to do with her.

At this point I’m gonna denounce the whole thing and stomp right inside the chief’s office to call the ‘collaboration’ off, however before I could even begin I hear some chatter coming from the girl’s radio.

I don’t know what the hell they said but apparently the damn fox knows, seeing that her eyes widened. She quickly unclips the ‘speakie-bit’ from her vest and brings it to her mouth. “We’re on our way.” She speaks into it. The gal clips it back onto her vest before looking at me, her expression now serious. “Look,” She begins. “Bad start or no, we’re going to be working with each other.”

Like hell we are.

“I’ve just received a call, apparently another body was found.” Now this causes me to pause, my anger faltering for a moment. This didn’t leave Trixie’s notice. “Yeah, so we both need to head there immediately to check out the scene.”

She turns and starts walking out, only to stop at the end of the room to look back at me when I didn’t follow. “You coming?” She asks in annoyance.

I shake my head and growl softly. “Yeah yeah, I’m goin’.” I growl before following after her. “This better be worth it...” I mutter under my breath as we leave the station.