#i think the plan is one more trip after the halloween event

[tomwaterbabies]

yeaaah also. gonna be away from disneyland for a bit i think. friends and i are excited about their halloween party- ive been wanting to be able to go for years- but after that we're just gonna. let our passes expire or whatever. i know it doesnt really have an effect on what the company does but. it feels bad man lol

[mrsjellymunson]

Hey, Boss

A prequel to Hello, Stranger

Characters: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Jim Hopper, Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington, Mr Kaplan, Dembe Zuma

Pairing: None until the next part (where it becomes Eddie Munson x gn!reader)

AU: Stranger Things AU with elements of The Blacklist

Summary: Eddie falls into a new line of work…

WC: ~3.9k

CW: 18+ MDNI. This miniseries is SFW, depending on your tolerance for dark/violent themes, but most of my blog is 18+ so minors please be aware of this and DNI. Dark humour, black comedy. Allusions to drug use, alcohol consumption, violence, crime and murder. Weapons, bodies and death are discussed. No smut, no reader in this part. This is a Stranger Things AU, the upside down is very briefly alluded to but Eddie doesn’t know about it. No time period mentioned, so if events or technology don’t track that’s why that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The characters don’t know each other like they do in ST.

A/N: This is the prequel to ‘Hello, Stranger’. The two parts can be read in either order. As in the original part, there are some Easter eggs in here, this time from The Blacklist (obvs), Stargate, and a deliciously niche one from John Wick. Let me know if you spot any!

A/N additional: I would never have believed that I’d be revisiting this story a year after publishing it to add a fun little prologue, but here we are! 😃 The original part was written for a Halloween prompt event last year and was the first lengthy thing I’d shared; I was SO ridiculously nervous about posting it, you have no idea 🫣 Reading it again now, would I change things in the original? Yes. But mainly things like punctuation and formatting, because I think over the last year my writing has become clearer, so I’m kinda pleased that I’d leave the story exactly how it is. For anyone discovering this for the first time, I hope you enjoy!! Please let me know with a comment/reblog/feral spewings in my inbox, I’d love it, srsly 😉🖤

I have an Easter egg reveal post planned for this miniseries, if you’d like to hear about it just ask to be added to my general taglist where you can get notified about all my writing posts ☺️🖤

My masterlist

It’s a chilly October night, close to Halloween, and Eddie’s blasted out of his mind. Gareth got hold of some super strong skunk from a cousin who was visiting from out of state, and that combined with a few cool beers has left him even more buzzed than usual.

Forgoing his van on the insistence of his friends, and wanting to get home to the relative warmth of the trailer sooner rather than later, he’s decided to take a shortcut across Merrill Wright’s fields.

High as all hell, he's staggering as he navigates the pumpkins, managing to avoid most of the obvious orange orbs but forgetting that their tendrils need looking out for too.

He’s already tripped a couple of times, and curses out the vines for both being invisible at night and clearly conspiring with each other to sabotage his journey home. He swears that at least twice he’s seen them move...

Pushing through a thin layer of trees separating one field from the next, he stumbles forwards as an impeding branch snaps and gives way. Moving too quickly to stop himself, he totters forwards, hoping to regain his balance once he’s free of the spindly foliage.

But surprisingly, his feet fail to connect with anything at all, the ground disappears, and Eddie falls face first into… nothing.

Though it doesn’t remain nothing for long, swiftly becoming the harsh smack of hard, and very cold, dirt against his knees, torso and face.

Shocked, confused and more than a little winded, Eddie grunts and rolls onto his side, groaning. 

“Oooooohhhhhh fuuuuuuuckk…. What the hell—?”

He spits out a few clods of mud, and possibly part of a worm (sorry, dude), and tries to work out what just happened.

His hair has fallen over his face, and he pushes the waves, now bedecked with a sprinkling of leaves and soil, out of his eyes and looks upwards. 

Instead of the expected expanse of the clear night sky, perhaps even a few constellations if he cared to look carefully, his vision seems to have tunnelled, a significant proportion of it now a deep black. 

Sitting upright, he briefly wonders whether he’s concussed, or worse, but then the sound of someone speaking garners his undivided attention.

A light, high voice cuts through the night. 

“Hey, do you hear something?”

Eddie freezes, eyes wide. He’s not sure whether he’s comforted or more freaked out to discover he’s not the only one in this field at this time of night. This dark, isolated, middle-of-nowhere, nobody-within-screaming-distance field.

Another voice, deeper than the first, replies, 

“Like what?”

“I dunno, a grunt maybe?”

“A grunt? Uhh, no.”

“Why am I asking you anyway? Your ears are shot after one too many sportsball encounters…”

“Hey, shut up.”

Eddie hears some shuffling and a chortle, like two people jostling each other, before the deeper voice speaks again, but it’s in no way comforting.

“Uh, this guy’s definitely dead, right?”

There’s a noise that sounds like thick plastic being prodded with something.

“Yeah, yeah, this guy definitely. But I’m sure I heard something from over there.”

“Are you trying to spook me? You know how much I hate Halloween.”

Eddie hears an overly dramatic brrr and the rustling of clothing, and he imagines the guy shivering, like he’s shaking off a covering of non-existent snow.

Eddie, terrified but with a new sense of urgency, and eyes adjusting to the new level of darkness, glances more fully around his environment, figuring out that he’s definitely below ground level and in some kind of a hole. He spreads his arms wide, moving them around, and notices he can feel the edges on two sides, but not all four, meaning it’s a long hole. Long enough for him to lay down in. A hole, long enough to fit a human being in, but not much else. Okay, so… 

Wait, this is a fucking grave! Fuck, he’s in a goddamn motherfucking grave!!

Eddie stands, wobbling a little, and notices his eyeline is still below ground level. He reaches up, grabbing at the soil at the edge of the hole, but it’s dry and loose and crumbles in his hands. He tries to jump, grabbing at anything he can find on the ground, but to no avail. It’s tilled earth and there are no branches or roots, not even grass, that he can grab to pull himself out. He mentally takes back everything he said about pumpkin vines…

Suddenly he hears a dull thud, the sound of dragging, muttering, and two people grunting. 

Shit, they’re getting closer. And now there’s a large package wrapped in blue plastic at the edge of the hole, and they’ve just dropped two shovels, and—

Feigning nonchalance, Eddie leans a muddy shoulder against the raw earth, one hand on his hip and the other swiping through his hair as two faces, backlit by moonlight, hove into view. His voice cracks with,

“Hee-eeey guys, how’s it goin’?”

What the hell?? He’s literally standing in an open grave, that these two have probably just dug, and that’s the best he can come up with?

The figures regard Eddie, then turn to each other, then look back at Eddie. They both frown and in unison cock their heads sideways in the same direction, and Eddie, stoned and in shock as he is, has to suppress a giggle. 

Fuck, that weed really was strong… Damn you, Gareth’s cousin!

One of the figures, the slighter of the two, gestures into the hole with a muddy, gloved hand, asking, 

“Is he one of yours?”

The other guy looks both startled and mildly offended.

“What? No! Of course not!”

“Well, there was that one time where you, y’know, missed the mark, and we had to spend an hour chasing the guy before we put him down.”

The taller of the two flaps his arms exasperatedly, trying to point an index finger in the air but failing, the heavy duty gloves he’s wearing making him look more like he’s holding up a fist.

“One time! The one time I miss a goddamn artery and you’ve never let me live it down. Jeez man, gimme a goddamn break!”

“Okay, okay, I’m just sayin’”

“Well don’t! I don’t appreciate it when you criticise my abilities and undermine my self esteem.”

The slimmer figure speaks again, resting the knuckles of one gloved hand against their waist.

“Did your therapist tell you to say that?”

“Hey, don’t knock it. She’s helping me process my intergenerational trauma and internalised lack of self-worth.” 

The tall figure says the words like he’s reciting from a book, but he says them with conviction. Eddie briefly wonders whether he should ask the guy for the title. He finishes with, 

“Anyway, I don’t know who the fuck this asshole is.”

Hands now on his hips, he turns his attention back to Eddie, who, whilst they’d been talking, had been surreptitiously clawing at the back edge of the hole, trying desperately to lever himself out.

The figure with the higher voice turns to their compatriot, and with a somewhat sardonic tone to their voice remarks,

“Well, I suppose we’d better try and find out who this asshole is, and where he came from, huh?”

They lean forwards into the hole and brace themselves with their hands against their knees.

The skinnier figure begins the interrogation with,

“Did Andrea send you? Was it Annie?”

The taller guy continues,

“Wait, was it Red? Cuz if it was Red you can tell him it’s not fuckin’ funny…”

Eddie stammers,

“N-n-o, man, no. I don’t know who any of those people are. I’m, uh, I’m nobody, literally! I was just stoned, and walkin’ home and I, uh, just kinda, fell into this… whatever this delightful arrangement is.”

He gestures around him, attempting to convey that he neither knows, nor cares, exactly what this is.

Tall guy regards him down his nose.

“So, if nobody sent you, then nobody knows you’re here. But now you know we’re here. And I’m guessing that you’re guessing what we’re about to do here. So, I’m guessing the best thing all the way around is if you, y’know, stay here…”

Eddie, in his inebriated state, didn’t completely follow what this guy just said, but when the guy reaches behind him into his belt, and Eddie hears the unmistakable metallic clink of a gun being retrieved, he gets the message pretty damn quickly. 

The shovels, the ‘package’, the gun… oh god!

“Nonononono! Waitwaitwait!!”

He extends his arms and frantically waves his filthy hands in front of him in supplication. 

Think, Eddie, think!! What would you encourage the sheep to do in such an impossible campaign situation? Thiiiiiiink!

The guy levels the gun at Eddie’s head. He still can’t see their faces clearly, but he can most certainly make out the end of the barrel as it glints in the moonlight.

Eddie scrunches his eyes up tight, grimacing, every muscle in his body tensing in expectation of the horror to come.

Abruptly, his mind fills with the most bizarre and inspired creative idea that he thinks he’s ever had.

Fuck, that weed really was strong… Thank you, Gareth’s cousin!

“What if I told you I could help make your job easier? Maybe more enjoyable? Or, at the very least, more interesting?”

He sees the barrel of the gun lower ever so slightly. 

Oh good, now it’s not aimed at his head. Just at his chest. Progress?

He presses on.

“Your bosses want you to make people disappear, right? Boring, efficient, sure. But not that interesting. Probably doesn’t pay all that well either, huh?”

The two figures look at each other again, frowning, and Eddie’s pretty sure they're deciding whether they should let the guy in the hole keep talking, or just shut him up for good, drop the other package in and cover them both over.

“How about we give ‘em a little something extra first? Like a show? A demonstration. An exhibition, if you will.”

Eddie’s got into his stride now, and is walking up and down the length of the six foot hole waving his arms in wide arcs, as if he’s delivering one of his lunchtime diatribes on a canteen table.

“Say there’s some guy who’s been messin’ with your patch. Goods are goin’ missing, or his funds are coming up short. Sure, you could just pop a cap in him and stick him in the ground,” 

He glances nervously at the tarp-wrapped bundle, 

“But wouldn’t it be more satisfying to really teach him a lesson. Bury him at the four corners of the state? Spray him all over this field? Dissolve him ‘til there’s nothing left? Now that really sends a message, don’tcha think? Plus, it’d sure be entertaining for your bosses to watch. Must get pretty boring for them. Y’know, pop a guy, wrap a guy, pop a guy, wrap a guy…”

He regards the two heavies carefully, trying to judge whether he’s made any impression on them whatsoever. They’re looking at each other and then back at Eddie.

Eventually the bigger figure speaks.

“Whaddaya think, Rob? Shall we take him back to talk to—“

“Fuckssake Steve, don’t tell him my name! Ah, fuck, Jeez…”

Sighing, the figure turns back towards Eddie.

“Yeah, okay, if this is as revelatory as you say it is, then fine. But it better be. Don’t make us come back out here for a second time tonight.”

Eddie takes this threat very, very seriously. 

“Okay, okay, whatever you say. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, I swear.”

The figure pauses for a moment, contemplative, before puffing out a long breath from between their lips.

“Well, for a start you can help us finish up with this guy. Steve, get him out of that hole and pass him my shovel...”

Eddie’s only thought is, great, I’m not gonna die! At least, not right now…

———

An hour later, freezing, muddy, exhausted, still terrified and, incongruously, still a little stoned, Eddie walks between Rob and Steve back to their vehicle, an SUV that he notices has “Buckley & Harrington, Landscaping Services & Specialised Waste Disposal” emblazoned on the side. 

‘Specialised waste disposal’ indeed… 

They bundle Eddie into the back, Rob grousing the whole way, and make him lie under yet another blue tarp so he can’t see where they’re going. He doesn’t much like being on this side of the plastic, and dearly hopes it’s the only time he has to experience it.

After some time, and a number of bruises acquired from sliding around the truck bed, the truck stops and the two figures start to bundle Eddie out of the back.

Still partially under the tarp, Eddie sees the lower half of a large, heavy set man in military fatigues and combat boots join them outside. Still shaken from the evening’s events and disoriented from the uncomfortable journey, Eddie can’t quite make out their entire conversation. He does hear what the hell and let me explain, plus a lot of grumbling in what could be a West African accent.

Finally freed from the tarp, Eddie is grabbed by the shoulders from behind by a pair of very strong hands, dragged off the truck bed and shoved, stumbling, forwards.

The three figures walk him into an old warehouse, the huge shutters open to the night and the entire place brightly lit and remarkably active given the hour. It’s crammed with pallets, shelves, crates, people and machinery. There are forklifts lifting things in and out of trucks and people carrying paperwork and speaking on phones. Many seem to have ominous-looking bulges in their waistbands and jackets that Eddie really doesn’t want to become any more closely acquainted with.

A large man is barking orders and holding a mug that says coffee and contemplation on the side, but judging by the subtle wince that happens each time he takes a swig, Eddie suspects it contains something stronger than his favourite Java. His voice is gruff, and to his great surprise, Eddie recognises it. 

“Uh, Hopper, is that you?”

The man turns, frowning at first, but as he clocks Eddie his free hand flaps dejectedly at his side and his eyes roll up into his skull. 

“Oh Jeez. What the hell is he doing here? What have you two idiots done now?”

Eddie's new acquaintances look sheepishly at each other. The one named Rob ventures,

“Uh, he has a proposal for Red, something about a novel business idea?”

“Goddamnit, I know this guy! And now, thanks to you two bozos, he knows me too!”

Steve interjects this time,

“Just give him five minutes with Mr Kaplan, boss! Honestly, I think Red’s gonna love this.”

Hopper doesn’t look convinced, but he grabs a guy with a clipboard as he scurries past and asks him to find whoever Mr Kaplan is. Eddie doesn’t like the sound of this. The dude sounds pretty scary.

After no more than a minute, a small, tweed-clad lady appears. She’s older than everyone here, and her face is pinched, but somehow also looks kind. Eddie imagines she’d look far more at home in a library than… whateverthisis. He wonders if she’s Mr Kaplan’s secretary, or something.

“Come on then you two, spit it out. I don’t have all day.”

The two stammer and splutter their way through an explanation, trying to justify why they not only spared this guy, but also brought him back to their base of operations. Eddie finally comprehends that this is Mr Kaplan. He doesn’t know whether to be relieved, or even more terrified.

At various points Mr Kaplan sucks in her cheeks, tilts her head and folds her arms, reminding Eddie of every disapproving teacher he ever had, and more than once he considers how far he might get if he hightailed it through those large doors and made off into the night. But then he remembers how he got here, who he’s with, the amount of hardware everyone appears to be carrying, how often he skipped PT at school, how much he’s smoked this evening (not to mention over the last however many years), and, not least, the fact that he has less than no clue about where he actually is. 

Finally, the two cronies stop talking, and Mr Kaplan’s focus turns entirely to Eddie. Despite being significantly taller than she is, he feels about two feet high under her gaze, and that this moment could be about to define his future, his fate.

“Well, dearie, it’s certainly a unique proposition. And one I’m intrigued to see if you can pull off. But ultimately, it’s not my decision. All I can do is get you a meeting with Red, and then you’re on your own.”

Steve seems thrilled by this outcome, his eyes wide and a grin on his lips. He shifts in place excitedly and jovially taps his elbow against Eddie’s upper arm. Eddie side-eyes him, guessing the guy is pleased that he isn’t going to suffer any repercussions for going ‘off script’ by bringing Eddie here like this, but he does wonder what on earth makes him think they’re ever going to be friends.

Mr Kaplan nods to Hopper, who takes this as his cue and disappears out of sight. Mr Kaplan doesn’t see it, but Eddie notices his weary-looking eye roll.

Eddie finally gets a good look at the guy who ‘helped’ him off the truck and brought him inside. He’s tall, huge, shaven-headed and intimidating. Eddie doesn’t look for long.

After a few minutes, the shaven-headed heavy motions for Eddie to step into a somewhat more private area of the warehouse, sectioned off by some disturbing-looking medical curtains on rusting rails that offer visual, if not much auditory, privacy. Eddie figures the noise of vehicles and machinery elsewhere likely drown out any talking that goes on in here anyway.

There’s a screen set up that’s displaying a fuzzy, low quality image of a man sitting in what appears to be a lavish sitting room. There’s a picture of a landscape, or maybe sky, hanging to his left, and the audio quality is marred by a low rumble. Eventually, Eddie’s brain catches up and he realises it’s not a picture at all but a window, and what Eddie can see is clouds and what he can hear is the roar of an engine - the guy’s on a plane. All he can think is, Jeezus, this guy must be loaded.

As the image comes into better focus the figure looks oddly familiar. Eddie’s vaguely reminded of a sci-fi film he saw that had Kirt Russell in it and something about pyramids, but he brushes it aside, more important things on his mind. 

The man is clad in a fedora and an exquisitely tailored suit, and as Eddie is positioned in front of what he presumes is a camera the figure removes his hat and lifts a crystal tumbler containing a deep brown liquid to his lips.

Hopper fills Eddie in.

“This is Mr Reddington. You can speak when he says you can.”

The well-dressed man speaks first, in a voice that’s even more imposing than that of the tall heavy who brought Eddie in here. 

“I understand you have a business proposition for me, young man. I’d like to hear it directly from you, if I may?”

Eddie thinks quickly, describing possible scenarios that he’s come up with. He reiterates the ideas he had earlier, and adds a few more, getting inspiration from horror movies, comics, and even some of his D&D campaigns.

“That does all sound very interesting. And heaven knows we need some levity in this business. But I do need to confer with my colleagues. Chief, what do you think? Does this kid’s idea have legs?”

Hopper and Red have a moment of eye contact, before Hopper sighs loudly and admits, reluctantly,

“It is kinda novel. And he’s basically a good kid, don’t kill him yet, huh? He can be annoying as fuck, but goddamnit if he goes missing we’d have to do at least some kind of an investigation. The amount of people I’d have to interview, the press… The paperwork alone would be hell…”

He pinches the top of his nose, and Red purses his lips, apparently conceding that Hopper’s time would be much better spent doing whatever it is that he does for him rather than wasting it on unimportant matters such as police work. His expression suddenly brightens, and the formerly imposing figure on the screen turns disconcertingly jovial.

“Well, I think it sounds like fun. I’ll tell you what, we’ll try him out for a couple of months and see how he does.”

Hopper turns to look at Eddie.

“Okay, Munson, we’re gonna give you a try. You’d better keep it interesting though, or so help me…”

He makes a small but unsubtle slicing motion across his neck with his thumb. Eddie takes it at face value, knowing he means it.

Red addresses the whole group now.

“You know, this reminds me of the time I was playing miniature golf in Andalucia with the Sultan of Brunei and Jimmy Hoffer. Richard Pryor walked up and asked if any of us knew anything about llama farming. We all looked at him askance, I mean, do any of us look like we did? But then, to my great surprise and delight, the Sultan said…”

The burly dude holds Eddie around the shoulders again, but more gently than before. At least, Eddie assumes it’s gentle. The guy’s stature suggests significantly more physical ‘prowess’, which Eddie’s grateful he's not been on the receiving end of. He’s steered away from the screen and back towards the main area of the warehouse.

Nervously, just before they leave the curtained off area and afraid this might be seen as an offense, Eddie stammers,

“Where’re we- Shouldn’t I…?”

The man’s deep, caramel voice carries easily to Eddie’s ears, as he remarks,

“Trust me, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of any more of Raymond’s epic tales than you absolutely have to be. You can thank me later.”

Eddie looks back over his shoulder, just in time to see Chief Hopper’s brow crinkle and raise in what looks to be a poor facsimile of engagement, and he takes another, deep, swig from his coffee mug. He, apparently, knew he was in it for the duration.

They reach the area where Steve and Rob are still standing, apparently playing some kind of thumb war game. The big guy extends a powerful-looking hand towards Eddie, clasping his own in an iron grip. There’s a soft smile on his face as he looks down and says,

“Welcome to the team. I’m Dembe, by the way.”

Mr Kaplan finishes up a conversation she’s having nearby with another pair of guys with clipboards and conspicuous gun holsters, and as she’s making her way out, she remarks to Eddie,

“You’re in luck, you can start tonight. We’re expecting another package, so you can help these two clowns. God knows they need it.”

Steve frowns, and Rob emits a quiet,

“Hey—”

Mr Kaplan continues,

“No need for anything elaborate right now dearie, save that for next time. But we do need some supplies. Dembe, get him some cash from the office.”

Eddie’s conflicted. He’s confused, excited, relieved, and, yep, still a little wasted.

He does have his typical nervousness about how well he’s actually gonna be able to “perform”, and how long he can keep up the interest in what he’s suggested. Following a brief discussion with Steve and Rob, a few crumpled bills are shoved into his overly-sweaty palm.

Of course, his main thought is, great, I’m not gonna die! At least, not tonight… 

But his overriding concern soon becomes:

Where the hell is he going to find rope, duct tape and a shovel at this time of night??

Next part, ‘Hello, Stranger’

My masterlist

I really hope you enjoyed this little prologue! Please reblog and leave comments, your support means everything to writers 🖤🙏

Tagging my ‘everything’ list, ILY @joejoequinnquinn @jamdoughnutmagician @guiltyasquinn @madaboutmunson @airen256 @sunshinepeachx @the-unforgivenn @skrzydlak @comeonatmebruh @jamiecb66 @80s-addict @abellmunsonmovie @definitionwanderlust @sheneedsrocknroll92 @munson-blurbs @wonderlanddreamer @daisy-munson @maedesculpaeusoubi @kurdtbean @mediocredreams @in2tswft @micheledawn1975 @littlebebebunny @12thatsanumber @alastorssimp @the-baby-angel @eddie-is-a-god @wolfqueenxxx @sassidykassidy @richter-raccoon @1deverland

Also tagging those who commented on/reblogged the first one, just lemme know if you’d rather not be! @bakusquadobsessed @mewchiili @bettyfrommars @pedroschka @transparent-enemy @ali-r3n @fracturedarkness @tinytyphooncloud @alverdekote @elegantkoalapaper @ddaydreamdelusionss @ramona-thorns @vitzi9 @lurkingprincess @cherrysabbath @pullingattheroots

[the-starry-seas]

what's one of your fics i could binge tonight?

hmmm, what are you in the mood for?

running with the wolves to get to you, 10k, rated G

Jango and Obi-Wan have been keeping an important secret as their relationship develops, which is that they’re both werewolves. Besides that minor detail, things are going great – at least until their car breaks down on a road trip and the only place they have to stay is an abandoned hotel. The day before Halloween. Which is on a full moon. No way this could go wrong, right?

who you are makes me who i am, 10k, rated G

Boba isn’t the kind of person who forms connections with people. ‘Friends’ are a foreign concept, and the idea of love is even more confusing. Then he saves a woman’s life, and she saves his, and he starts to wonder if it’s all as strange to him as he thinks.

the arms of the ocean delivered me, 11k, rated G

Two years ago, Echo was badly injured by humans, and taken to the Skako Minor aquarium. It's only after he's lost all hope that he finally has a chance to get home, thanks to meeting the Batch - the only other merpeople he's seen since losing his family. When the Batch drops everything to protect him and get him home, is it really any surprise that he wants them to stay?

ghosts have voices, 16k, rated T

Still reeling from Order 66, Obi-Wan finds an even bigger problem on Mustafar: a powerful Dark Side entity that feeds on the life force of Jedi. He’s lucky to escape with baby Luke and Leia, but his regret at their parents’ deaths isn’t the only thing that follows him from the lava moon. The entity is on the hunt. Stranded on a poisonous planet, the odds of surviving aren’t in Obi-Wan’s favour. At least he has an ally in Cody – but even if they manage to escape, Obi-Wan doesn’t know how to ask the man he secretly loves to stay.

if i don't make it back from where i've gone, just know i loved you all along, 23k, rated T

A movie AU where Leonardo travels back in time with Casey. Because even though Leonardo doesn’t want to live any more, Casey doesn’t want to give up on him, and maybe, just maybe, Casey has enough hope for both of them. Or, from my rambling while planning this fic: “future Leo is just so much fun because he's spent the past 22 years demonising his past self for starting the apocalypse but then when he travels back in time to the day it happened so he can stop it, he realises his past self was just a dumb naive kid who had no idea of the potential consequences, so future Leo decides to be gentle with him and it's the only self-love he's ever had because he's always hated himself a little”. As well as “Leonardo trying to break the cycle by being kind to his past self (while still hating his current self) makes me want to put him in therapy and I think makes Dr Delicate Touch want to use him as a piñata”.

this family can bear any weather, 30k, rated G

When Donnie gets his hands on the Arc Capacitor after the events of Out of the Shadows, he decides to repurpose the tech for his own use. Unfortunately the first test run doesn't go well, and he's accidentally transported to a different dimension. His first thought is to find the new reality's version of Donnie, so they can work together to find him a way back home, but while trying to find their lair, he finds a much different version of his brothers instead. At eight, nine, and ten years old, the young turtles are hopelessly lost in the sewers beneath the city, and their only chance at getting home is Donnie. Between finding a way to get four lost turtle kids back to their dad, and finding a way to get himself back to his own reality, he's got a lot to do. AKA the Rise/Bayverse crossover that exactly nobody asked for but I'm writing all the same. Updating Fridays.

Clever Girl, 50k, rated T

A year after defeating Commander Krang, the turtles discover that the Foot Clan intends to bring Shredder back to life. Hoping to stop this plan before it begins, they travel to a secret base, looking for the intended project head, Baxter Stockman. They find the base, they don't find Stockman, and more important than either of those things, they find dinosaurs. Four turtles, four Utahraptors - what could go wrong?

or if you really want a long read, one of my favourites:

two's company, three's a crowd, four's a love story, 91k, rated T

post-BOBF canon Din Djarin/Omera/Cobb Vanth/Paz Vizsla

There’s some BOBF spoilers/references in here, and it's set post-show, but tbh you probably won’t be able to tell canon from headcanon unless you’ve seen the show and know the difference already. Boba, Fennec, the Armorer, and Luke Skywalker make brief appearances in a few scenes. Anyway this is just me in denial of Paz’s BOBF characterization and the fact that Cobb and Omera have only existed for like 15 minutes total in live action. Welcome to my immense amount of headcanons! The majority of this fic is from Din's POV, but there's also a few chapters each from Paz's, Omera's, and Cobb's POV.

[halloweenhuh]

Halloween, Huh? Day 7 Reveals

Save A Horse, Ride a Princess - Rated E - 8603 words

“I have to say, this is all quite literal, don’t you think?”

Alex wouldn’t know literal right now if it hit him in the head. “Huh?”

Henry points at Alex: “Pillow Princess,” and then to himself: “Cowboy. Ready to ride and all that.”

Alex nods dumbly. “Right.”

-

Or, Alex and Henry dress up as the ultimate couples costume for Halloween — themselves — and they both feel some kind of way about it

.🎃🎃🎃.

Baby, it's Halloween and we can be anything - Rated E - 6394 words Alex is furious. More furious than he should be about the whole thing, but still. Plans were made. Money was spent. Costumes were purchased—not even rented—purchased!

.🎃🎃🎃.

With magic soakin' my spine, can you read my mind? - Rated T - 4629 words What happened after Alex, June, and Nora played their little HRH Prince Henry Fact Sheet drinking game? Well, in this version of events, Alex finds a mysterious bottle containing what appears to be a magic spell for "Clarity of Mind." As dumb as it seems, he does the ritual and reads the incantation and moves on, flying to London for damage control. But when he shakes Henry's hand, suddenly things change, and Alex realizes that maybe magic is real after all.

.🎃🎃🎃.

Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo - Rated E - 3706 words

Henry takes Alex on a trip to visit...a couple of old feathered friends.

(fic with podfic also included)

.🎃🎃🎃.

we were born to be suburban legends - Rated E - 3303 words Oh yay, it is either a reunion of Nora’s past, or the thirst has gone long enough she has started to hallucinate.

.🎃🎃🎃.

you knew what it was (he is in love) - Rated M - 3253 words

“I’ll text you later.”

“You’d better,” Henry murmurs, pulling him in from the waist. One hand comes up to pull back the hat off his head, and Henry leans down to kiss him, and the entire thing feels painfully romantic and Alex fucking loves it.

----

Alex and Henry halloween/trick-or-treating meetcute. Henry has a daughter, Alex is babysitting his niece, and the girls know each other.

.🎃🎃🎃.

It's autumn in New York; it's good to live it again - Rated T - 1649 words It's the first day of fall in New York, and Alex comes home from class with a special surprise for Henry.

.🎃🎃🎃.

A little note for all of our wonderful creators: if your work was revealed by the Palace today, please be sure to update your publication date to today’s date so it shows up fresh in the AO3 feed.

[tanthamoretober]

Here we have the horror prompt inspired fics that were posted in the final days of the Tanthamoretober collection on AO3

Day 5: Monsters

The Laughing Whale p1 by Geek_and_Nina for lowkeyed1 Rating: General Summary: jade is a siren, kit is a pirate double length drabble Part 1 of The Laughing Whale

Day 8: Witchcraft/magic

Our Souls Collide (We Are One) by ThisIsHelvetica Rating: Mature Summary: Kit and Jade do a spell that they've been thinking about for a long time, but Jade has some reservations.

One Night in October, Chapter 6: The Seed in the Earth by TheLateNightStoryTeller Rating: Teen and Up Summary: On their way back from a family visit, a turn of events leaves Kit and Jade stranded in the wild. As night falls and the weather grows colder, the pair soon realize that someone in the woods is hunting them.

Day 11: Cursed item

under the sea by Geek_and_Nina for lowkeyed1 Rating: General Summary: kit jumped off the ship, jade makes it right this time an even 400 words Part 2 of The Laughing Whale

Day 20: Mistaken identity

feeling good by Anarik Rating: Explicit Summary: Meet me at 7:30 at the back of your house? K. Continuation of Festival Ideas. (also hits the prompts 'voyeurism', 'wet' and 'mistaken identity')

Day 22: Found footage

seeing stars by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: that thing Jade found comes up and it's wonderful and then other wonderful things happen Part 22 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘kissing in the rain’ and ‘rough sex’)

Day 23: Open window

messy by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: Kit and Jade pack up camp and head home, newly engaged... and nothing bad happens (sarcasm) Part 23 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the tag ‘baking pies’)

Day 24: Creepy setting (town, etc)

Zombie Crack: Night of the Living Dental Dam by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Jade and Kit try a little Halloween roleplay… Part 1 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under prompts ‘cemetery’ and ’role play’)

once more with feeling by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Teen and up Summary: kit and jade go on a stupid walk for their stupid mental health Part 24 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ’cemetery’’ and ‘roleplay’)

Day 25: “I’ll be right back”

Halloween Crack: Kiss of the Cat Woman by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Kit and Jade are on their way to a Halloween party when their car breaks down… Part 2 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under ‘black cat’ and ‘leather’)

leather lips and lights by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: jade has a revenge plan for kit's teasing while she was on her conference but it really didn't go the way she planned Part 25 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts and ‘black cat’ and ‘leather’)

Day 26: Mirrors

Funhouse Crack: Mirror Maze by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Jade and Kit go on their first date. On Halloween. To the carnival Part 3 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under the prompts ‘dead-end’ and ‘lingerie’)

vengeance by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: day after the bathtub fic! when i tell you jade got home as fast as possible Part 26 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘lingerie’ and dead end’)

Day 27: Campfire story/urban myth

The List by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: definitely not making fun of acre's naming protocols jade is on a trip and she leaves a list Part 27 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘underneath the sky’ and ‘dominance/submission’

Shattered Sea Crack: It Came From Beneath the Mud by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: An evening on the Shattered Sea, and the gang takes turns telling campfire stories Part 4 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics

Day 28: Came back wrong

Perpetual Embrace into the Endless Night by sofys37 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Jade wakes up in a dark room without any memories of the past day. It doesn't take long for her to realize something is really wrong. Part 2 of Andowyne by Night

Werewolf Crack: A Galladoornian Werewolf in Tir Asleen by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Boorman and Graydon were all set to have a little fun in the woods -- until the full moons rose Part 5 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under the prompts ‘sadism/masochism’ and ‘full moon’)

wake up by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: kit makes jade watch movies again, but she keeps falling asleep and jade keeps her awake

very different from their last movie binge... but also not different at all Part 28 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘full moon’ and ‘sadism/masochism’)

Day 29: Cult

Little Shop Crack: Mean Orange Bad by lowkeyed1 for LuckypupsMama Rating: Teen and up Summary: Graydon Krelborn is working at Mr. Willownik's flower shop, when he finds a strange and unusual pumpkin plant… Part 6 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under the prompts ‘carving jack o’lanterns’ and ‘long distance’)

pumpkins by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Teen and up Teen and up: kit and jade are moving in together two years ago there's a whoopsie Part 29 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘carving jack o’lanterns’ and ‘long distance’)

Day 30: Horror movies

Costume Party Crack: Children of the Corn Cob by lowkeyed1 Rating: Teen and up Summary: Airk and Kit wear a costume to Boorman's party that Airk regrets, at first… Part 7 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (Also appears under the prompts ‘nipple play’ and ‘costume party’)

lost in wanting her to win by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: kit and jade have some fun at gray's party Part 30 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompts ‘nipple play’ and ‘costume party’)

Day 31: Something in the woods

Corny Crack: Children of the Corn Cob II: The Final Crack by lowkeyed1 for GravityAlex Rating: Explicit Summary: Elora and Airk had so much fun at Boorman's party, they decide to meet up again… Part 8 of Tanthamoretober Crack Fics (also appears under the prompts ‘trick or treat’ and ‘sensation play’)

Salad by sofys37 Rating: Mature Summary: Lili gets caught off guard, she didn’t see Jade coming but she recovers and smiles. “I only take appointments in my office, you can come back tomorrow when we are open.”

“Oh, it’s ok, I’m not here for an appointment.” Jade gets a glock she had in the pocket of her hoodie and smiles. “I’m here to kill you, bitch!”

(also appears under the prompts ‘fireside’ and ‘wet’)

peace by Geek_and_Nina Rating: Explicit Summary: A wedding Part 31 of Show Don't Tell (also appears under the prompt ‘sensation play’)

Multi day prompts

Days 6 & 18: Possession/exorcism and haunted house

A romantic, haunted getaway. by Nunspringa for lowkeyed1 Rating: Mature Summary: Kit and Jade have a romantic weekend at a haunted cabin on the Oregon coast where they encounter a lesbian ghost, Mary.

Days 22 & 24: Found footage and creepy setting

One Night in October, chapter 7, The Cabin in the Woods by TheLateNightStoryTeller Rating: Teen and up Summary: On their way back from a family visit, a turn of events leaves Kit and Jade stranded in the wild. As night falls and the weather grows colder, the pair soon realize that someone in the woods is hunting them.

Thank you to everyone who joined in, writers and readers alike!

And remember, since it’s Never Not Commenting November now, to show your appreciation!

[thesugarhole]

sanrio?? hello??

violin* and obsessed with money???? since when??? i mean. alright. i can give the violin to him AND cherry but its like, very barely there violin??

me to the sanrio ceo: "berry is violin" shut up if youve seen the stuff kuromi circa 2006 used to do youd hurl

also i dont think wallet status has ever been mentioned about these guys... in any media/franchise. they live in an abandoned looking mansion for the halloween aesthetic, not because of money. i can believe 'obsessed with money' but not 'poor'

hoping its either just google mistranslations or some recent developments ive been blissfully unaware of

>cinnamon

>her

its mistranslations. also this is personal headcanoning time based on how often the confusion happens but man you cant do this to cinnamon notorious trans man icon cinnamon. if he doesnt mind it then ill mind it for him djkhfdksj 'cherry is competitive and selfish' is correct btw this has always been her description. well maybe not competitive but definitely selfish. iirc it was always around "berry is stubborn cherry is selfish and theyre both tsundere" genuinely dont know where violin came from its gotta be a mistranslation on the nuisanse/stubborn aspect. i also dunno where 'weakness is strong-willed girls' came from, it might be talking about his friendship with cherry and how he might given in easier to what she tells him (at least i choose to think so) so i got no comment on it

all the pronouns being mismatched is so funny man come on shjfhdgfdsjvfdsjv is this profile using some sort of neutral language that left google confused as hell?

i. uh? should i be worried about espresso?

this ones... correct? espresso is more of a culture savant than a celebrity.... anyway berry if you kick him out there will be no one there to make you the food you love

nope! its magic and mirror manipulation. pranking is their hobby and favorite pass time but their magic is not limited to just the -its joke- context (sorry to once again quote the worst season ever of OMM, but they both tried to help out bakus family by making a photo of food they had emit scent, so the family would have an easier time eating plain rice. no jokering no jestering no clowning no malicious behavior whatsoever).

i remember being mentioned in older descriptions that berry had some potion making proficiency but they havent focused in that in years so who cares now amirite. i dont remember if cherry had any sort of distinction like this, theyve always overfocused on her crush on espresso :pensive:

"what about cherry"

"who? oh idk write smth about espresso again"

(hobbies include PRANKS, attempting to make friends (a general trait) making music (2018 rankings), having ballroom parties (cinnamon trip!! by oster project) and watching sentai/magical girl anime (onegai my melody). berrys particular hobby is to mess with cinnamon, cherrys particular hobby is to go after espresso. i guess.) (but again most of these are old one offs, and currently unfocused aspects of theirs so. whatever)

also i really would like to know the plans about the alt designs for them that are technically their true form and always show in their shadows and (sometimes?) in mirror reflections. it hasnt been completely dropped but, its never been hard defined either so idk. i guess i feel a bit bummed that its also been attempted to be forgotten to time because (to me feel at least) it feels very obviously based on the episode kuromi turned herself into a human and it could be something they were trying to establish to devil inspired characters back then.

thanks for coming to the lloromannic autism hour its nice to think about something else other than current personal events sometimes

*censorship

[thelocalmuffin]

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my accomplishments in 2023 before the year ends with a little bit of self reflection notes. You can enjoy everything in the read below.

Some fandoms highlighted include DGS, nintendo, and pokemon.

First off, this year has been hard for me. It's been a lot of self reflection and figuring my goals out after some became unattainable.

With that being said, I did accomplish a lot this year. I published my first recipe in a zine, finishing my first zine, improved my writing a lot, and picked up drawing once again. I also was able to get some actual help with some issues I have struggled with for years.

I want thank you all for your support. It means a lot that you enjoyed my artworks, writing, and ambition. Now here are my highlights for each month.

January: Foxtrot - An Asoryuu kitsune AU. One of the stories I took in when I was at my lowest last year and sparked a lot of my interest to keep writing. Plus Kitsune Kazuma.

February: Encore - A hassius story about motivation and being patient about the creation process. Though this was more or less my thoughts on this topic in general, this story literally inspired me to take my own advice and pick up drawing again.

March: The Memories that Lie - This was one I actually finished, but am glad I did. It's an asoryuu vampire story I was actually planning on scrapping, but ended up finishing anyway out of sheer stubbornness. To finish it, it took me completely restarting five chapters, but it came out a lot better than the original draft had mapped out.

April: This is when I took my hiatus and started to draw again in my free time. I was worn out, stressed, and collapsing under the pressure. This was my first piece that I posted.

May: Was a huge month for me. I launched the @blossominglovezine that you can enjoy here and published my first recipe in The Grand Adventure to Make the Perfect Cake for the @tgaacspringzine

June: I made my first icon! I was really busy this month planning for the trip of my dreams and doing some irl side work that ended up being permanent employment.

July: So I went to Las Vegas for a foodie tour. When I had a moment, I decided to draw the lovely Unicorn Goddess outfit.

August: This is when I did the Timmverse art study. This month was more of finishing up some logistics of zine work and getting a story out in the wild.

September: Goes to the Princess Peach Showtime piece I did! This piece really cemented my current style. And yes, I keep calling it Princess Peach Spotlight. Also wanted to mention I helped successfully launch the @dgscrimezine

October: Goes to my OC piece. CW for blood, but this piece was made for Halloween and the shading was really on point. I love this design for this OC.

November: I'm going with the fact I completed a ship week, asoryuu week. I got everything done at a reasonable time and was able to create so many fun pieces. 1 2 3 4 5 7. I had to skip day 6 because I ended up having an emergency. I also started pre-orders for my first for purchase zine, @desire-asoryuu-zine. This is still in pre-orders, so I wasn't sure if I was going to add it, but this is a big accomplishment for me.

December: I actually haven't been able to do much this month due to the holidays and getting distracted by Pokemon DLC, but I did draw this super cute Yuma!

Other highlights do include being accepted to multiple zine projects as a mod and contributor, which has been very exciting for me. You can check out that list here.

This upcoming year, I'll be helping with more projects and the @aawlwminibang events! I really want to do a personal project that I've been building up my skills for before pursuing, but now I think I'll be able to handle it. I won't announce it yet since it's still very much in development, but I hope I can in 2024.

Thank you all for your support this year. It has meant a ton.

[lightlycareless]

Pillow Fort — Valentine's day special.

A/N: Hello everyone!

As I stated before, I was working on a small (heh) valentine's day special one-shot for Naoya just because :> I got the prompt from a list here in tumblr, unfortunately, I don't remember where...

Anyways, this is intended to be quite fluffy, sweet, and a bit fun. Just something different from the usual things I post x.x soooo no major warnings here, asides from the fact that:

This is and AU and both reader and Naoya are kids here. There are OC's, intended to be reader's siblings, their mother, father, as well as Naoya's siblings and mother. It's mainly a one-sided crush from Naoya, he's silly and he's really trying lol that is until... 👀

Also, this is kind of set in the same universe as the Halloween prompt I wrote a while ago (if you'd like to read it, you can find it here) I can't believe I already want to write a sequel to this hahahah I guess you'll know about what when you read it.

Now, without any further ado, happy reading!

It all started with a "Would you like to do something fun this weekend, Naoya?" from his mother to set off the chain of events that lead him to where he was in this precise moment: standing before the entrance of the L/N estate, carrying his belongings (a change of clothes for 2 days, pajamas, gifts, and everything else that pertained to a hygienic care) while anxiously waiting for someone to receive him after ringing the bell.

Naoya was first unable to put his finger down on the possible reason behind her question, or admit that he was uninterested, for he already had plans for said weekend: Since most of his brothers were going to be away due to some camping trip endorsed by their school, it meant that he was going to have the entirety of his home for himself to do whatever he wanted, seemingly without scrutiny or repercussions.

He believed he was getting the best deal he could’ve with his circumstances, that is, until Tomoko (his mother) informed him of a sleepover set to occur at the home of the L/N’s—it’s until then that he realizes he’d been conforming for less all this time.

To not say that he was very excited about it, of course—because ever since he first met you back then at that Halloween outing both your families had arranged, you’re all he thinks about. 

Through school, lunch, homework, even when hanging out with his favorite cousin Toji, or his best friend Ranta, you’re somehow pulled into the conversation. 

The youngest of the two didn’t think much of it, outside of being jealous, since he didn’t like the thought of having to compete for his friend’s attention that you were clearly (unknowingly) hoarding—although that would only be short-lasting, for he’d then realize that the relationship Naoya wanted from you was different than his, and soon became all supportive of it.

The other, however, couldn’t be any more irritated by the frequency of it. He didn’t enjoy partaking in a conversation where a little girl he didn’t even know was to be the center of attention, leading him to wonder if his upcoming baby was going to be as annoying as Naoya is when he’s old enough… or maybe this was solely his cousin’s doing.

Most of Naoya’s conversation circled the same topics: finding ways to get to spend more time with you. Get to know the kind girl that shared his good tastes a bit better—because recognizing his Halloween costume was enough to set you on a pedestal— as well as keeping your (and might as well his) siblings away from foiling his plans once set in motion…

A bothersome obstacle that reminds him to not celebrate his victories before time, not until he gets the definite answer to this important question… 

“Will Hinata and Ren be there too?” Naoya asks, justifying it as simply trying to anticipate what to do once there, if he should bring more toys, for example, to share.

But Tomoko, being his mother all of his life and having raised more children before him, had developed a 6th sense that allowed her to see right through him and was able to identify the true reason behind his inquisitiveness: he was trying to ensure the sole attention of the girl he likes, as well as hoping to keep some distance from the kids he thought to be his natural competition (whom he unsurprisingly, didn’t get along with… much to her dismay)

And in a way, she was excited about the whole ordeal too—she just couldn’t help it! Ever since she caught wind of his sudden interest towards Y/N, she had done nothing but gush about it with Minako, your mother.

The endless possibilities of their youngests getting along, spending time together, and who knows…? Maybe something more down the road! Was something that made them coo at the young children whenever they were around.

It was undeniable that you and Naoya were a cute pair before their eyes, and oh… wouldn’t it be wonderful to dress them up in matching outfits?

Either way, after rightfully perceiving his intentions, she decides to provide him with a big, warm smile on her lips and a cheerful voice, the announcement she knows is to make the rest of his week enjoyable:

“No, they’re going on the same trip as your brothers—it’s just Y/N and you for the whole weekend”

To say that he was over the moon would be an understatement.

He was ecstatic!

But Naoya had to play it cool, even going as far as appearing seemingly disappointed by the affirmation of your sibling’s absence —he had to be careful with his cards, of course! He doesn’t want to wear his heart on his sleeve just yet, not when there’s a possibility he could be made fun of for them… or confirm if you even felt the same way as him.

And Tomoko understood his worries and shyness all too well. 

After all, Naoya had never been the kind of kid to open up with others, at least not unprompted. And when he does, it is usually to show his annoyance either towards his siblings or father.

Yet, even with his reserved nature, she could still see the glint in his eye which truly reflected how thrilled he was for the weekend to arrive.

This was to be in a way, without question, a happy ordeal for everyone involved.

Aside from acknowledging Naoya’s feelings towards you, she was also cognisant of the poor relationship he had with the rest of Minako's kids, which had often led to many awkward, shameful apologies between the two mothers for their respective children’s behavior… ones that they tried their hardest to stop, but just never seemed to catch a break.

And it was amusing to see how they attempted to keep their troubled relationship a secret from them, putting on the act of “getting along” whenever approaching them, as if they hadn’t been quite spiteful towards one another seconds before, or that they wouldn’t figure it out with time!

They gave them the benefit of the doubt at first, thinking their behavior to be nothing more than a phase due to a rocky beginning, but the longer it went on and they continued to act the same, the mothers began to worry that perhaps…  Perhaps this was a much more serious manner, one that would grow into their adulthood, and regretfully,  continue on with you.

It’s why they were so elated to see that you and Naoya got along regardless of the evidence set before them!

Because Naoya giving up all of his sweets to you to seemingly cheer you up after an unfortunate prank was something one would only do if the other person was of their fondness, right?

Besides, Minako was even willing to confide that in the days after you last saw him, you’d voice a want to see him again, wondering what he’s been up to, or when would the next “outing” be with the Zen’in, completely different from your siblings, whom only seem to abhor his presence, wishing nothing more than to leave from whatever arrangement their parents pulled them into as soon as possible. There’s no denying that the two represented a long-awaited omen of change in this ongoing conflict: the dawning of a friendship between the two and hopefully an inspiring event for all involved. Even if it doesn’t lead to anything more down the road, it’s something that both mothers would either way enjoy watching grow, especially after confiding to one another that they always wanted their kids to be best friends, just as they were.

And in a more personal note, directly from Tomoko herself, she also wished her kids would behave a bit more like Ren and Hinata—their relationship was far more amicable, not like the ones her son’s had, whim by some strange reason, always managed to find a way to antagonize each other: either for the simplest of reasons like eating the last cherry on a cake, to the most outrageous ones such as stealing the other’s allowance. It’s always free for all in the Zen’in estate.

But if she had to pick the two worst, it would have to be Naoya and Naoaki. The youngest, and the oldest.

Naoaki eventually, thankfully, outgrown this part of his life upon entering his teenage years, forcing Naoya to carry on with the torch of irritating the other. Still, it would be a lie if he didn’t admit to occasionally entertaining his old habits from time to time.

The reason behind their actions eluded Tomoko, although she eventually came to the conclusion that it was more of a case of jealousy (still inexcusable, but the poor mother had to rationalize something!) more than anything else— with their altercations curiously growing more and more frequent after joining the L/N family on halloween…

Which leads to another question popping up inside Naoya's mind:

“Is Naoaki going too?”

“Oh, no” Tomoko says as she lightly shakes her head “He’s not going—he’s… a bit too old for these things” It’s what she comes up with to essentially avoid saying they're going to create trouble at the L/N estate is placed together, because being completely honest, it's the only thing that could come out of their relationship at this moment.

Besides,  she also doesn’t think it’s right for him to be spending the night over at a house with kids much younger than him, unwittingly forcing him with the burden of looking after them, less when he could be doing something much more fun with his own friends.

However, this is something that Naoya doesn’t deduce at the moment (and might never do), instead, he opts to believe that his mother is doing his annoying older brother a huge favor by saving him the humiliation of disclosing that he doesn’t have any friends to hang out with because nobody likes him—his mother was just compassionate like that.

Well, once the situation with Naoaki was set, so was the one with the rest of his brothers, because just as it was stated before, they would be out of the house for the weekend.

With the exception of Naofumi, of course, who was both too young to partake in their excursion, as well as falling victim to a cold which bound him to his bed until he got better.

Naoya couldn’t help but feel bad for the constant misfortune his not-so-older brother always seemed to be riddled with, which is why he was more than willing to keep up the promise he made with his mother as they made their way to your home.

“Promise me to have fun, for you and Naofumi, ok?” Tomoko said as she softly grabbed his hand and guided him towards the entrance to the L/N estate “Also, don’t forget to give Y/N-mama the food Auntie Junko made for her as a thanks for the gifts, because it has to be refrigerated as soon as possible”

Tomoko wishes she was able to personally give the thank you gift to Minako, however, she knew that as soon as she stepped inside she would be tempted to stay and chat, and that’s something she’s not able to afford as of this moment since she left the newly mother-of-two to temporarily care for her sick boy while she brings Naoya over.

It’s not that she considered Junko to be her first option to help her out, in fact, she had already anticipated and prepared one of the staff members to take on her role while away so she could have a bit of time with your mother, but her sister-in-law is the kind of person to believe that if she’s not doing something, she’s wasting her time, and there’s no swaying her out of it once her mind is set.

Not the two beautiful twin babies she now has to take care of was enough to convince her, but if that’s what she wants to keep on doing to not feel as she’s slacking off, then she’ll leave her to it.

Aside from wanting to chat with Minako for a few minutes, Tomoko also wanted to inform her of the small envelope inside it…

Well, she just hopes that Minako is able to notice it before storing the contents away.

So fast forward to the greatly anticipated night, to the moment Tomoko left Naoya by the entrance—not without kissing and hugging him goodbye, much to the kid’s embarrassment—before going back home to her other beloved child as soon as possible.

Naoya quickly turned into a wide-eyed, anxious young boy with a thundering heart while intently staring at the wooden door before him, awaiting for the moment someone would come to receive him.

He didn’t know who was to greet him—you, perhaps? Oh, his heart skips a beat at the mere thought of seeing you already! Were you as excited as him too?

If that were the case, Naoya can’t help but also wonder what you’d think of his attire for the day, the black sentai ranger hoodie he got for christmas, the same one he’s been holding on from wearing just so you’d be the first one to see him in it —outside of his mom, of course, who like any doting parent asked him to model it for her.

But if he was to be greeted by your mother, then he guesses he wouldn’t mind it either. He needs to get along with her after all! Especially after allowing him to come over, but above all, because she’s your mother and he needs to make a good impression with her, as well as your father.

Naoya’s thoughts are promptly interrupted by the soft click coming from the other side of the door.

His heart, which has done nothing more but to beat strongly and steadily against his chest, begins to resound in his ears as he swallows down his growing anticipation, the consequence of the thrilling prospect of his introduction.

Any second now, the door will swing open and with it, revealing the person behind it.

He’s already been here before, seen you and your mother countless times as well, yet, he can’t help but nervously wonder who it will be? Who will be the one to receive him?

Fortunately for him, that’s an answer that comes not so long after as the entrance begins to unfurl, the light from inside falling on his eyes, forcing him to blink a few times to adjust his vision onto the dark silhouette of the person before him, and then… she appears.

Your mother.

“Naoya-kun!” Minako chirps, a wide smile on her face, as soon her eyes fall on the short black-haired boy standing before her.  “Welcome! We were expecting you, I hope I didn’t make you wait that long!”

“N-no, I just… got here” he murmurs. Naoya is elated to be received in such a positive manner from your manner, yet, a sting of disappointment manages to make way into his chest as he secretly attempts to lean his head to the side, observing past your mother and into the hallway, undeniably hoping to catch a glimpse of you just a few feet away—sadly, you were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, I don’t intend on keeping you out here in the cold any longer! Come on in” Minako steps to the side, gesturing him inside, which he obliges to after giving her a quick nod.

Once inside and after your mother closes the door, she turns around and refers to Naoya once more.

“Well, welcome officially to my home. Now, let me help you with your things” She says as she attempts to reach for his backpack, only for him to step back before she even moved more than a few inches.

"N-no… I'm fine" he shakes his head, clenching his belongings tighter to him. After watching such a demonstration, Minako didn’t need to be told to not insist again. Taking his reaction as being overprotective over his belongings, and that, she’ll respect.

Yet, things don’t always seem to be what they are with Naoya, and this was to be another one of those cases.

Naoya wanted to appear strong and independent before her, to give her the impression that he's capable of taking care of himself, and subsequently, you—he truly intended to be meticulous when it came to showing off he was a good influence for your life during his stay at the L/N home.

If only he knew Minako already thought so…

"But my mom wanted me to give you this" he informs as he hands over the brown paper bag, Minako carefully grabbing it and taking a quick peek inside: it’s nothing more than a glass rectangle container filled with what she assumed to be pastries, and a white envelope on top. "It's from auntie Junko. She says thank you for the gifts"

"Oh! That? Ah, she shouldn't have… it's nothing really" Minako says as a light pink color flusters her cheeks.

And it really was nothing, the gifts she gave Junko were the minimum of what Eiichi and she thought she deserved, after going through so many difficult pregnancies… She finally obtained what she wanted the most: children.

And not just any child, but two! «What a blessing» is all that Minako could think of the whole ordeal, wishing her nothing more but prosperity in this new stage in her life.

However, the fact that she hasn’t been able to visit and wish it in person is a sorrow for her, but is able to console herself by remembering that the first weeks after giving birth are the important when it comes to the mother’s recovery and the development of the babies, it’s why she instead, as a way to make up for her absence, decided to send her gifts.

Either way, she knows very well there’s no use in reeling in her remorse when it was only a matter of time before she’ll be able to visit the new family, and oh, she can’t wait but to dote on Junko’s adorable baby daughters! 

Will they have her distinguishable scowl? Maybe, maybe not. All that she knows is that they have Ogi’s hair color, or somewhat similar to it, that they were healthy in every sense of the word, and that their names were Maki, the oldest, and Mai, the youngest.

Still, seeing a miniature version of her trademark frown was enough to make her giggle, and that’s something she can’t miss.

But until then, she’ll worry about the adorable kid before her.

"Well, now I think I've kept you at the entrance long enough, let's head back to the kitchen and put this in the fridge, hm?" Minako says as she softly pats his head. A gesture that has Naoya’s cheeks slightly burning before giving her a nod and following her lead into their new destination.

“Are you excited for tonight? Because I know Y/N-chan is" she begins as they walk deeper into the estate.

“She is?? —Err, I mean, yeah… I am” Naoya blurted, before immediately composing himself and putting on his cool act back on. Your quick mention is enough to have him filled with the same excitement he imagines you to have, to the point he falters with his words. “Thank you for having me”

“Oh, it was nothing” she responds “I like it when my children have friends over! Besides, don’t tell Y/N that I told you this, but she’s been wanting to have a sleepover with you for a while now”

“Re—really?” There’s no hiding it now, Naoya’s heart was soaring.

“Yes, but this has to be a secret just between the two of us, ok?” Minako winks with a smile as Naoya nods. “She didn’t want to make her other friends, or siblings, jealous”

“I promise!” he reassures her, and your mother only chuckles.

As they went deeper into the estate, a sweet smell began to permeate the air, set to indicate the closeness to their destination—It was such a potent aroma that at one point it became all Naoya could think of as he continued to walk behind your mother.

It was a combination of scents, each one complimenting each other perfectly, and yet, no matter how much he tried to isolate each smell, he was still unable to distinguish what they were… outside of mouth watering meals that he couldn’t wait to see (and hopefully) taste if your mother so permitted it.

Thankfully, it wouldn’t take long before they finally arrived at the kitchen, which by that point, Naoya's curiosity—and hunger—were past its limits, to the point that he didn’t even notice the figure on the deep end of the kitchen waiting for him.

That is, until his conscience is pulled back to reality thanks to the interjection of a familiar shrill voice calling out for him… one that has his heart pounding loudly against his chest once more, after identifying the one behind it.

"Noya-kun!" 

It was you, with big sparkly eyes, and a grin on your lips, waving at him.

"You're here!" You excitedly cheered from your spot, just beside the wooden dining table, stepping on a small stool which allowed you to loom over said table and work on the mix inside the bowl before you— or at least that’s what he assumed due to the small purple apron you were wearing, as well as  the wooden spoon on your right hand covered with said brown mixture.

You don’t let more than a few seconds to pass before you jump down the stool, leaving the spoon back into the bowl, and rush to his side, wrapping your arms around him—as much as you could, for he was still carrying his things— as soon as you’re nothing more than a few inches away and pulling him into a welcoming hug.

The first thing that he notices at your closeness, besides how happy you seem to receive him in your home as well as the weight of your mother’s eyes glued on him which causes him to be nothing more than embarrassed, is the small smudge of chocolate at the corner of your lips. Evidence of a sneaky tasting from the brownie mix your mother asked you to look after while she left to pick him up—he knew of your affinity for sweets, so to see you like this wasn't a surprise, if anything, he found it both cute and relieving, for it meant that he’d done the right decision by bringing mochi instead of overwhelming you by gifting you more chocolate.

The second thing he notices, and perhaps what makes his heart sing the most outside of your mere presence, is your hairstyle: specifically your 2 ponytails, styled from the lower part of your head and falling on each side of your neck. Sure, he thought you looked cute—always did, no matter what— but that wasn't what caught his interest or his elation.

What made his heart skip a beat were the scrunchies you were wearing, because those were the same ones he got you as a gift a while ago!

In fact, Naoya still recalls the moment he got them. 

It was during one of the (rare) occasions his mother goes grocery shopping. And for some strange reason, perhaps fate wanted it that way, Naoya decided to tag along for the day.

While they passed through one of the many aisles pertaining to the beauty section, he saw them. 

At first he didn’t think much of them, outside of how they looked soft to the touch and that their pastel colors were much better than the bright, harsh on the eyes, fluorescent ones next to them, with his interest soon returning onto finding the next item on the grocery list.

But that wasn’t to be the end of it, and when Tomoko caught his gaze on them at the corner of her eye, a plan was quick to form in her mind. One that made him realize his mother was on the same side as him, and the uncountable doors of possibilities this new alliance brought him.

"Y/N would look cute with them, wouldn't she?"

And look cute you did, his mother was never wrong after all.

"Oh, Y/N… did you eat from the mix?" Minako said upon noticing the smudges on your face, pressing her lips into a thin line as she slightly frowns.

"...no" you murmur back with a telltale pout, completely unaware of the evidence on your cheeks. "I didn't!"

"Of course not" she giggles, taking a napkin from a nearby counter and walking over to you, crimson in your cheeks upon realizing what gave you away. "I hope you didn't eat it from the same spoon you were blending the mix with, or too much for that matter…"

"No! I got my own spoon!" you corrected, embracing the fact that you’ve been caught. "So I wouldn’t con-ta-mi-nate!"  You sing and Minako chuckles at the familiar jingle. It seems that whatever Ren has been learning at school began to rub off on you because he’d been singing the same tune for the past few days now. "Mama, can I play with Noya-kun now that he’s here?"

"Sure, just be sure to take his items to your room before playing" At that, Naoya blinks. Wait, is he staying in your room? 

"Ok!" You nod before turning over to him with a grin "Follow me, Noya-kun! I want to show you my room!"

Naoya doesn't need to be told twice to do as instructed, less when he didn’t have much of an option to choose from since you grabbed his hand and swiftly guided him through the halls and onto your bedroom, not even giving him the chance to dismiss your mother appropriately, worrying him that this might leave a bad impression.

Well, Minako didn’t really care much, not when she still had dinner to prepare.

This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been at your house, however, this was to be the first time he’d seen your room, and that thought alone was enough to ignite his curiosity and excitement.

Not even when you visited him at the Zen’in estate (which he both enjoyed and suffered, for it meant that sometimes you’d be playing with his brothers) could compare to the joy this chain of events brought him.

Eventually both you and Naoya arrive at the door he figures to be the entrance to your bedroom due to the Pokémon stickers plastered all over it, alongside the small sunflower sticker and a lotus flower which only made him roll his eyes upon realizing whom they represented.

Still, he doesn't allow their implicit presence ruin his mood as he goes on to wonder if the next time he's here, you’ll allow him to place a sticker of his own. If so… which one? 

Well, that's something he'll have plenty of time to decide once he's back home, for now, he wants to take advantage of this opportunity and get to know you better through seeing your bedroom for the first time.

Thus, his mind begins to machinate all kinds of scenarios regarding the contents inside: What would he find? What would you show him? Did you have posters all over the walls? He doesn’t because his dad doesn’t let him put up posters in his room, saying that it will “ruin the value” of the home, maybe your parents aren’t as irritating as his and allowed you to put up whatever you wanted.

Or perhaps he’ll finally get to see the so famed plushies you always talk about, ones he has to be very attentive to just so he could guess which ones weren’t from your collection, and subsequently, give them to you as a gift.

Well, any assumptions would soon be cleared and cemented when you slide the door open, finally revealing your room.

The first word that Naoya thinks describes your room the best is cozy.

It’s decently sized, not as big as his, but with enough space to fill it up with whatever you wanted.

There's a window at the far end of the room which provides you the calming view of one of the many gardens inside the estate, as well as the impressive bright full moon in the sky.

From there, the second most noticeable thing was the absence of posters… which he really thought you’d have, but now that he thought about it, you probably would’ve made better use of something a bit more practical, like toys… or the hard-to-ignore mountain of plushies found in the corner of your room.

He already estimated quite a large number from the conversations you had with him pertaining to the subject, but he never expected this many! Do your parents get you a new one whenever you go out?! Do you perhaps have a plushie tree in the backyard?? How—how is he going to compete with that??

Guess he'll have to figure out which ones are your favorite and work from there.

Beyond that, his attention falls back onto the first thing that actually caught his attention, the elephant in the room.

A large…blanket tent-like encasement held up by various chairs, illuminated by small golden string lights, in the middle of your bedroom.

Naoya doesn't believe to have seen something like this in the past, outside of when he goes camping with his family, and considering this was indoors… he's naturally prompted to inquire:

"Is this your bed?"

"Nope! It's a pillow fort! Papa made it for me" you explain matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world—and for a sleepover, it just might— while you went ahead and closed the window curtains. "He said he used to do them with his friends when he was little, and that they were fun, so he wanted to do the same with me for my sleepover!"

"I see…” Naoya murmurs, still somewhat… confused.  “So you don't usually sleep like this?"

"Mmhmm" You hum back, shaking your head "But it would be cool though! Papa even set my t.v. in there, look!" 

You rush to the pillow fort, where you'd be dropping to your knees and subsequently crawling past the entrance and deep into it, as Naoya, who had yet to put down his things, simply limited himself to look at you from where he was.

He'd glimpse through the fabric door and finally observed the mentioned T.V., which was past another hill of pillows and plushies (Naoya rightfully assumed to be your favorites due to their location) mounted on a small wooden box, as well plugged to a Nintendo 64.

It seems Eiichi had not only shared with you a piece of his childhood, but also, done it in a way where it also combined the things you liked.

And for that, Naoya can't help but feel a little bit jealous, silently wishing his father was as attentive as yours. 

"This way we can play games while laying on the futon! Oh, and because papa knew you were coming, he also got me an extra controller!" You announced, reaching over to the left side of the T.V and pulling out two controllers, waving them at Naoya "Mine is the purple one, and yours is black! Because of black Sentai,  your favorite , right??"

Your assumption hit the mark yet again as his eyes widened and his cheeks warm up. If he already thought of you as kind, he now adores you.

"Yeah…" he nods, a small smile on his face "and yours is purple because of Gengar, right?"

"Yep! Everything I have is purple! Except for my Gameboy. I wanted the purple one, but got the gray one instead. But I saw you can paint it, but my mama doesn't let me because she says I'll ruin it, but I saw you can have it painted by someone else! But she says I shouldn't do that either, because I don't really need it…" you continue to ramble on as Naoya's mind takes him to another seizable opportunity.

Sure, this opening sets him going against your mother's wishes, but at the same time, if done correctly this could place him in a more positive light in your eyes, and I'd he thought about it, your parents too! For he'd also be showing how attentive he is.

It's set then. Just as with the scrunchies, he'll ask his parents for a purple Gameboy to give you on your birthday. The cost of something like that holds no influence in swaying his mind away from the idea, because affording something like that is nothing but spare change for someone like his father.

"I'm sure you'll get it" Naoya says in an effort to reassure you, without giving out much details… if not to build up anticipation.

"What do you mean, Noya-kun?" You ask, leaning your head to the side as you watch him shrug, feigning ignorance.

Even after all this time getting to know each other, you still hadn't said his name correctly. However, that’s not something he intends on correcting anytime soon, since he’s already grown fond of it. It's a special nickname only he gets, and the one only you are allowed to say, no one else! 

In fact he even prepared a nickname for you too, one that he believes fits you very well due to the roundness of your cheeks and your affinity for such sweets…

"You'll see, mochi-chan" he says and your mouth widens in surprise. The secrecy behind surprises always excites you, so you decide to not ponder any further. "Talking about mochi, I got you some"

He takes off his backpack and places it on the ground to begin searching for your gift, swiftly and carefully pulling them out—2 boxes, one of assorted flavors and taro, your favorites.

"For me?!" You cry as he hands you the boxes, Naoya nods and you squeal once more , jumping in the spot out of happiness "Thank you so much! I'll place them next to the ones papa gave me today so we can eat them later… or not! Mama is making brownies so I want to try them first, oh, and she's also making your favorite!" 

"My… favorite?" Naoya carefully repeats, wanting to make sure if he heard you right before fully diving into enjoying the fact that he might eat his favorite meal that day.

"Yeah! I think Naoya-mama said your nii-chan was sick and was giving him miso soup, but because you ate all of it she had to do more, so mama thought she would make some for you!" 

"She—she said that?" Naoya nervously stammers, shame taking a hold of his feelings by his mother’s merit, yet again. His cheeks now fully ruby-red as he wonders what were the intentions of his mom relaying that information?! 

"I'm sorry about your nii-chan" you say as you walk over to the nearest closet, opening the door and placing his gift alongside the other…  immeasurable amount of mochi boxes inside.

Had Naoya not been too busy dealing with the shame of mother's betrayal, he would've felt intimidated by your father's doting. He once more finds himself inwardly asking how can he compete with that?!

But before Naoya is able to do much answering, he's pulled back to the conversation by the following words.

"Is Naoaki-kun ok?"

Naoya chokes.

"He's… he's not sick" Naoya whines, a scowl on his face "although I wish he was…"

"Don't say that, Noya-kun!" You protest, crossing your arms "He's your nii-chan, and he's really cool! He knows alot about Pokémon and he's really tall too, I wish I had a brother like that"

Naoya wants to say that you don't really mean that, or that you'll change your mind after getting to know him better, but instead of allowing him to ruin his night any more, he decided to redirect the conversation onto another topic.

"I know about Pokémon too" he counters, and you raise your eyebrows.

"You do?" You ask, tilting your head. Last thing you remembered about him and Pokémon… was nothing really. He doesn’t speak much when you’re talking about it.

"Yeah, I recently got a Gameboy and started playing it"

"Oooh! Which one are you playing? Did you already beat the elite four?" You enthusiastically wonder as you rush back to him, and here is where Naoya realizes he might've miscalculated the lengths of your interest.

"Y-yeah… just beat the first one" he falters as he looks away from your intense gaze in hopes of avoiding further interrogation. Luckily for him, it seems you don't notice (or care) as you simply continue on.

"My favorite one is Agatha because she has a Gengar. But she looks really mean…" you sigh "I want to become a trainer one day"

"I'm sure you can do it…" he murmurs along.

"Really? Because I already know what I want for my team! First I want a Gengar, from there I want a Rapidash because my mom likes horses, I want a Porygon too because Ren-nii likes that one, whenever he plays he just spends all his time in the casino trying to get it… and maybe a Meowth for my sister she likes cats, papa said he likes plants so I'm giving him an Oddish. That's what I have until now, but I still need one more…" you frown, pressing your lips together, hand underneath your chin, as you momentarily plunge into deep thought, figuring just which one would be the perfect match for your set… "oh! I know, what's your favorite pokemon? I'll have it in my team!"

Naoya would've felt honored for your suggestion, had it not been evident he lied his way to this point.

Truth to be told, his father didn't buy him the Gameboy he promised to get after that Halloween night because he didn’t think it necessary for a kid his age to have one in the first place.

Naobito believed he should be playing outside, spending time with his brothers or making new friends, since apparently he was having issues socializing with the rest of the kids at school—exactly the type of symptom he expected to see due to his already poor relationship with his brothers and his lack of interest for anyone else but you. The reason behind his fixation and arrogance eluded him, almost as if he were completely unaware that Naoya was simply replicating what he saw at home.

However, because of Naoya’s insistence, Naobito eventually relented to his request and ended up buying… or so that’s what the youngest of his children expected to happen when his father handed him the sealed box of the new video game device… he did not ask for. 

The mere thought of his indifference and subsequent mistake is enough to anger Naoya, but not enough to cease his efforts.

To overcome this obstacle, Naoya decided to acquire the knowledge he needed through his brother's Gameboy, the one he had long discarded because he found it boring, and the same one he couldn't find the day he finally decided to rummage through his room—only to later find out that it had actually been sold in order to get this favorite group's newest album. 

Always the explosive one towards his brothers, Naoya was quick to demonstrate his exasperation through his selective choice of vocabulary, but his brother —who was not in the mood to entertain him that particular day— dismissed him by suggesting he could just watch the anime instead if he was so desperate to know about it.

And that’s what Naoya (reluctantly, cause he’s never going to admit Naoaki actually had a good idea) did at first… that is, until he realized it overlapped with the airtime of his favorite anime. Thus, he was forced to quit the idea altogether.

Oh, but now… now he wishes he'd powered through this conflict, at least for a few more episodes, because now that you’re asking him questions about the franchise is when he realizes he barely saw, or remembered any of it—Aside from this one episode where a round, small pink creature with big blue eyes sang people to sleep, was the protagonist of…

"Jigglypuff?" You ask once he described the Pokémon "You like that one?"

"...yeah" Naoya lies "they're… cool"

"Yeah, they are! I like how she puts them to sleep and that’s very useful when you want to catch a Pokémon you don’t have! And it’s funny how it gets angry too and marks their faces!" You giggle "Alright, I'll get a Jigglypuff for my team since you like them! Oh, I know! What about your team? What would you like to have as a trainer?"

"I—I haven't thought about it, really… how about we talk about something else?" He nervously suggests "like… um…what are we gonna play today?"

"I have many games!” you admit proudly before starting to list them “Mario Kart, Smash, Zelda, Kirby… But we can only play Mario Kart or Smash brothers because it's for multiplayer, the other ones you'll have to watch me" you grin.

"Do you play Digimon?" Naoya innocently asks, and the way your face contorts into a frown immediately after has him feeling remorseful. Did he… say something he shouldn't have?

"Wha—what's wrong?" He stammers, blinking as he sees you twist your lips even more.

"I don't like Digimon. Pokémon is better" you say that, and nothing more.

Your sudden animosity for the franchise (or anything, really, since he always thought you as eternally unaffected… asides from that one prank he hates even mentioning) makes him wonder where this disdain came from, but ever the talkative child it's only a matter of seconds before you offer the answer yourself "Satoru-kun makes fun of me because I like Pokémon and he likes Digimon, and he's really annoying so I promised to never play it!"

Naoya blinks, processing your words for a few moments before starting to feel further ashamed. He feels bad that he brought the topic in the first place, had he known your distaste for it he would've ignored it completely, and secondly… because it turns out that's the device his father got him instead of the prized Gameboy he sought.

It's a "2 step forward, 1 step backwards" kind of situation that makes him want to move on from it as soon as possible.

Your natural inquisitiveness, however, wasn’t about to allow that just yet, and Naoya is forced to root himself at the present to answer your question—or partially, that is.

"Why do you ask?" you look up to him and his guilt only weighs heavier on his shoulders.

“Just because” he shrugs, brushing off his initial wondering as nothing more than good ol’ plain curiosity, but you knew better than that—grew better than that thanks to your less-than-discreet father and his doting ways. Besides, you already gave him the opportunity to keep one secret earlier, he shouldn't be greedy with two!

“That’s not true!” you giggle, placing your small hands on his shoulders, slightly shaking him to egg him on “Tell me, Noya-kun!! Pleaaaaaseeeeee”

“Fine, fine!” He says, managing to escape from your surprisingly tough grasp with a swift move, alongside the quickening of his heart for your closeness“...I wanted a Gameboy but my dad ended up getting me a Digivice, I mean, it’s not even similar! I don’t know how he got confused”

“Oh, so you have one?” you chirp interestedly, a completely different reaction from the one Naoya expected, that being disappointment “Hinata-nee has one too, let me show you!”

And with that, you turn towards the exit and sprint past the door, decidedly heading over to your sister’s bedroom. 

Naoya wasn't sure if you wanted him to follow you, but that's what he ends up doing anyways since he didn’t feel comfortable enough to stay in your room without you, catching up to you just a few steps behind, only to come to a screeching halt upon seeing you enter the bedroom he presumes to be Hinata's, deduced from the sunflower stickers decorating the entrance.

It’s no mystery that he and your sister did not get along, and might’ve already planned how to get back at her, however, he still knew it was in his best intentions to stay away from her things, lest he wants to run the risk of retaliation from her when she inevitably learns about it, specially when he still has the element of surprise to his advantage… and his mother’s warning to behave lingering in the back of his mind.

But you, who has yet to catch on to their turbid relationship, couldn’t rationalize his reaction as anything but odd, more so upon noticing the distress on his face, prompting you to ask.

“What’s wrong, Noya-kun?”

“I—uh, I don’t think I should be going to your sister’s room” he responds, shaking his head.

“Why not?” you counter back, and for the first time in his life, he condemns your curiosity as much as he found it endearing when directed towards him and his interests, it sometimes unwittingly dug him into a hole.

“I don’t want her to feel like I went in without permission…” he goes on. He really cared less about what your sister thought, he just didn’t want to get into trouble at your house… and get his mom angry to the point where he’d never allow him to see you again.

“Hmmm, well” you take a step closer to him, at first your face serious and pensive almost as if you were considering his words, before throwing him a mischievous smirk and raising your pinky finger to him. “I won’t tell if you don’t!”

Naoya’s affliction disappears as a wave of emotions paint his face: first it's surprise, and then… amusement.

It's only the first time he sees this side of yours, but he can already tell he likes it. It opens a new door of possibilities, both literally when he intertwined his finger with yours before entering Hinata’s room just behind you, and metaphorically when he imagines the kinds of pranks you two could pull off on Naoaki if you ever want to scratch your mischievous bone. The two of you could literally be unstoppable!

But until then, he stands by as he watches you go ahead and rummage through the many drawers of her vanity table, the place you assumed most of her items to be stored in, attentive enough to not leave any unnoticed, but careful to not give the impression you were there.

And once you eventually find the object of your search, you take it out, giving yourself a mental pat in the back as you turn around and cheer.

“Look, I told you Hinata-nee had one!” you say as you walk over to Naoya, showing it off to him as you pressed on the buttons to turn it on.

A few seconds later and the device beeps, initiating its system. However, once the Digimon appears on the screen, your smile fades. “Agh, but she never takes care of it! She forgets to feed them and let them sleep too! If I had one, that would never happen, but I can’t because papa said I play too many video games at the house and I already have a gameboy so…” you shrug.

“Would you like one?” Naoya is quick to offer, unsure if the soft, sad undertone in your voice is a reflection of wanting the device, or simply your sadness for the poor digital monster.

“No, not really… I mean, maybe! We could play together like that too, right?” you assume, Naoya nods. “But I really don’t like Digimon, and if I get one Satoru-kun is just going to find a way to make fun of me too and I don’t want that either”

“Well, mom always said that if it’s something you don’t like, you don’t have to do it” Naoya reassures and you smile, happy to know you could always count on his wisdom to help you out.

“Yeah, you're right! I want to play Pokémon instead, Mario Kart, or even Smash! I want to try out this new thing I saw the other day on T.V!” With the talk of Digimon and Digivice tossed to the side, you grab Naoya by the hand once more and rush back to your bedroom, wasting no second to throwing yourself into the pillow fort, crawl on the futon towards your designated spot, and start setting up everything for a long night of video games…

“Oh! Wait, we have to change into our pijamas first!" you gasp, crawling past Naoya, who had just joined you inside the pillow fort, and going to your closet, taking out your light green warm nightwear, frog themed and looking back at Naoya  “you can change here, I’ll go to the bathroom!”

“Wait, isn’t it better if you stay—” Naoya attempts to stop you, but once again, you prove too quick for him to keep up and before he’s able to continue with the rest of his sentence, you're already gone.

Left with the underlying and awkward sensation that he’s stuck in this situation with nowhere else to go, he decides to adapt to the circumstances and change into his pajamas, a black Sentai themed set per usual, just in time before you return.

“Ready Noya-kun?!” you make your grandiose return with a resounding announcement, tossing your clothes onto a nearby chair stashed away in the corner, making way back into the pillow fort and to your spot just before the t.v. “You can sit here next to me, it’s a good spot, promise” you gently pat on the empty area beside you, and like an eager puppy, Naoya does as you request and follows you inside.

Once seated, you hand him over the black controller, (perhaps not) unwittingly brushing his fingers against yours, before glancing up to the loading screen that has been on repeat for the past minutes. 

And thus, the night begins. 

The two begin by playing a few rounds of Smash Brothers, first together against a team of CPU’s, and then against one another. With you choosing Samus and Naoya, Captain Falcon. 

The young boy found it quite hard—no, impossible to beat the veteran you turned out to be in this game, a clear statement evident by winning 10 times in a row, before eventually growing tired of the game and moving over to Mario Party.

Here he seemed to have somewhat of a better time due to the relatively easier nature of the mini games there, that is, until he realizes he's yet again, no match for your expertise.

But even as competitive and humiliated as he was by his consecutive defeats, he was still able to push all that aside in favor of genuinely enjoying his time with you.

Naoya rejoiced in how giddily reacted at your victories, with the cheeky grin on your lips as you looked over to him, almost as if you were telling him “did you see that?”

Or how you weren’t afraid of ruining your winning streak in favor of giving him a bit of an advantage, either by skipping on buying the necessary stars to win the game, or not doing anything during the minigames, although this would be for naught since you’d end up winning one way or the other.

These small things were the ones that made his night amazing, but most of all, made him feel appreciated, carefree.

A sentiment that doubled down when it was time to take a break, one which came in the form of someone knocking on your door accompanied by the delicious smell of recently made miso soup and brownies.

“Heard you two were having fun so I decided to let you have dinner here” Said your mother as she walked past the door, tray in hand, and towards the children. “Just be sure to return the plates to the kitchen after you’re done, pumpkin”

She crouches down and leaves the tray on the floor.

“That was one time, mama…” you respond with a frown and a pout as you crawl out of the tent, Naoya right behind you, before silently mouthing her to “don’t embarrass me infront of Noya…”

Minako, unable to hold back her amusement at your adorable reaction, chuckles as she ruffles your hair. You take the gesture with a bit of irritation at first, still embarrassed by your exposure however, never one to hold onto grudges, it wouldn't be long before you fall victim to her doting and start giggling alongside her, solely stopping when the smell of homemade food is too much for your stomach to ignore any longer.

Wanting to quench your hunger, you peel away from her and head over to the tray, reaching for the utensils before giving a cheerful thank you for the meal and start to eat.

Once Minako deems you appropriately cared for, she decides to see her attention on the young kid besides you, who now mirrored your actions.

“How’s my daughter treating you so far? I hope she's been well behaved, I know she can be a bit overwhelming, so don’t be afraid to let her know if she’s being so”

“Mama!” you whine, blush on your cheeks, mid-bite. “Don’t say that!” Minako laughs once more, she was just teasing you after all.

“She’s been very good to me, L/N-san!” Naoya comes to your rescue as he proudly admits his experience so far. To him, this was a test from your mother to evaluate his courteous nature… as well as a good way to express his genuine appreciation for everything your family has given him. “Thank you for your hospitality”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s nice for Y/N’s friends to come over” she says, softly ruffling his hair as well “I hope you like the soup, I made it specially for you upon hearing it's your favorite!"

Naoya blushes, whether because of the warmth of the soup, or your mother's attentive nature… let's call it a combination of both.

"It's delicious" he says while his mind scrambles to formulate more compliments… "more… more than my mom's!"

"Ah, well I thank you for your compliment! Just promise me to not tell your mother you said that, after all, I'm sure she makes a delicious soup as well"  Minako clarified.

And in that, she was right. To Naoya there was no better food than the one his mom made. 

If anything, him saying that her food was equally as good as his mother’s (or more) was to be a good compliment! 

But if that's what she wants, he'll comply, besides, he wouldn't like his mom feeling sad about him liking someone else's soup. At the end of the day, his heart knows there's no competition!

"Well, I'll let you two eat. If you need anything else, I’ll be in my bedroom just a few doors away”

“Thank you” Naoya says once again as he nods, you humming alongside, and then, your mother exits the room.

And once their stomach is full with the delicious food your mother prepared —which Naoya could only delight on, after all, it was his favorite— alongside the brownies you'd proudly announced to have done yourself, even though less than a quarter of the process was handed by you, abandoning the job immediately after Naoya turned up at your house (he doesn't care, he still eats them excitedly as ever)—the two continue on with their long night of gaming

The next game in your entourage was to be Pokémon Stadium—and your personal favorite for obvious reasons. 

The game seemed to pass undetected for Naoya (outside of absorbing as much information as he could for future reference) since he didn't find it as fun as the previous ones due to the new mechanics, but he was bound to remember it because whenever a pink colored Pokémon appeared on the screen, you’d say:

“Look! It’s your favorite Pokémon!” 

It was far from the truth, of course, but he didn’t have the heart to tell you no, or the information to give you an alternative.

By playing the game, however, he realized he liked Abra in particular, something about its psychokinetic powers resonated inside him… making him wonder if you liked the Pokémon too (no, you didn’t, you’d tell him later—because you hated how difficult it was to capture a Pokémon who would teleport away from the battle as soon as they could!)

From there, the next game that set the tone for the rest of the night: Mario Kart—and not because he liked the game in particular, if anything, this is where he realized that the infamy following the game was well earned. 

The video game was unreasonably harder than the others (whether for your configurations or default, it was irrelevant to him) and no matter what he did, he just would never catch up! 

He tried to get a head start by pressing the designated accelerator button, only for the car to stall instead because he’d apparently “pressed the button too early” or so you attempted to justify, and by the time he regained control over the vehicle he was already behind all of the other racers!

But if that was already pretty bad, the items scattered around the track was the metaphorical cherry on top of his demise: while most of them held the intention of providing the upper hand to whoever manages to catch them, it seems he’d gotten the uncommon bug that only allowed him to use his items incorrectly and subsequently lose.

Far different from your usual outcome, which you were all aware of thanks to the confident yet focused look on your face.

How was it possible that you were just good at every single game that you played?! You must have a talent that eludes him, or perhaps your dad was right in saying that you played a lot in your free time.

Well, whatever the reasons didn’t matter to him, and his frustration wasn’t going to last that long either, not after you gifted him the words that would make up for all of his defeats.

“What?” you ask upon noticing the stillness of his car, as well as catching him staring at you through the corner of your eye “Just because I like you doesn't mean I’m going to let you win!”

“You—you what?” Naoya is only left to stammer as a consequence of the rattling statement you've thrown into the conversation. Such was his shock, that even his controller fell off his hand and to his lap, followed by a gentle thud that was deafened by the thundering of his heart echoing in his ears. 

He couldn't believe what you'd just said, and denied wanting to accept it so easily without being completely sure, so he swallowed, preparing himself to work through the knot in his throat and squeak "Wh—what did you say?" hoping to obtain a reiteration from your part…

“Noya-kun, you dropped your controller! How do you plan to win like that?” is what you decide to respond to instead, completely ignoring his question as you reach for his controller and hand it back to him, much to his disappointment.

But even then, it wouldn't matter to him that much, not when he decided to convince himself that he heard you correctly the first time.

Your words were like honey to his ears, no, much more sweeter than anything he could imagine! And if this wasn't a sign that he was on the right path, then he didn't know what it was! 

Well, either way, he can't say he's not excited to figure out what he meant to you through his own merit....

The kids eventually grow tired of playing, and wanting to do something different and less stimulating, they decided to relax by watching a movie and snack on a few more of those brownies they managed to sneakily steal from the kitchen on their way back to return the used plates… 

A plan that was proving to be successful, that is, until they bumped into your mother just a few feet away from your bedroom, an unexpected presence that froze them on the spot, but who could do nothing more than smile and chuckle at how suspicious they looked with their wide eyes and rosy cheeks as they attempted to hide all evidence by placing the brownies behind their backs, and it would've worked, had there not been any lingering clues on the corners of their mouths—Only realizing so when one saw the other.

“I’m sorry” Keeping his promise to his mother, Naoya is the first to speak, looking down to the ground in embarrassment as he attempts to wipe the chocolate out of his face with his free hand.

“Ah, no, it's not that, I’m not upset” she said, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket and helping clean up Naoya “I’m honored really, it’s the first time I made brownies so you two getting second servings is the highest of compliments”

“But I made them mama!” you interject with a cry and she blinks, before nodding.

“Oh, yes, of course! How could I forget my little baker?” Minako apologizes, patting your head. You smile back at her in a way that lets her know you accepted her apology, and she proceeds to clean you up as well. “Well, I’m still glad that you liked Y/N-chan’s work. Maybe she can even bake you a cake on your birthday, it’s soon, isn’t it? In March if I recall correctly…”

“Your birthday is in March?” you gasp, startled by this new information you were ignorant about just a few moments ago, as your head swirls into his direction, earning a subtle sigh from your mother due to her interrupted work. "When??”

“March 27” he reveals. A date that he greatly anticipates as soon as the year starts, or any day of the year really, since his mother organized the greatest birthday parties ever without fail: He gets to open all the presents he wants, and eat nothing more than food that he likes—but now, he has one more thing he was looking forward to the most, and that was your attendance! 

Maybe he can finally introduce you to his best friend? Or even his favorite cousin! 

“Are you gonna have a party? Am I invited?!” you urged before turning back to your mother, jumping to get her attention “Oh, mama, can I go? Can I go, pleaseeee?”

“I’ll think about it” she winks at you before looking at Naoya. 

She already had made her decision though, for the envelope Tomoko placed alongside Junko’s food earlier that day turned out to be nothing more than the invitation to his birthday party, set to be on the weekend of his birthday. 

“I’ll be waiting for our invitation, Naoya-kun” she teases, and Naoya flushes.

“I—I promise to bring one!” He blurts out “And Y/N-chan will be a special guest too, I promise!”

“I’m sure Y/N-chan will be happy to attend as a normal guest” Minako says “Now, I’ll let you continue on with your slumber party, but also, don’t eat any more than those brownies, too much sugar at this hour will just force you to stay up at night and you have to rest well” she reminds, but you shake your head in rejection of her idea.

“But a slumber party is meant to be all night!” you protest, a pout on your lips.

“Well, he’s going to be here tomorrow too, you don’t have to do everything tonight” Minako explains and you stare at her for a few seconds, as if analyzing her words before giving her a nod.

“You’re right!” you concede, giving her a thumbs up, which she mirrors almost immediately after “Ok! Goodnight mama!”

The two eventually return back to your room, resuming their new plan.

“What do you want to watch Noya-kun?” you say as you reach out for the T.V. controller and begin to surf through channels.

Naoya seems to ponder on the mental list of possible movies to watch, he could suggest his favorites, or maybe the ones he hadn’t seen… that is, until an interesting idea crosses his mind, one that if it's planned correctly… 

Yeah, he definitely knows what he wants to do now.

“Let’s watch a horror movie” he suggests, glancing at you in hopes of finding the typical enthusiasm a kid has for tasting the prohibited…

But “No, thank you” is what you respond with, without hesitation and whilst intently shaking your head. You didn't even bother to give it a second thought as you continued “Papa and mama say I can’t watch horror movies”

Naoya is faced with a difficult position yet again: he wants to obey your parents and earn brownie points with them, however, he’s seen (or heard more likely) how people tend to clutch at their partners when seeing a horror movie, and he wants to try if you’d do that with him, so…

“Just the first minutes” he insists, going against his better judgment as he doubles down in a high risk gamble. “And if it’s too scary we can just watch something else”

And at his insistence you decide to finally give in and consider his alternative, assuming by your furrowed brows, before coming to terms with your decision with a nod.

“Ok! But no more than a few minutes!” you say as you hand him over the controller, sealing the deal. 

Naoya takes it and immediately presses in the numbers of the channel he'd seen his brother waste his life in watch horror movies in his free time.

And luckily for him, there was already a horror movie playing on the channel when it finally changed, so it meant they didn’t have to wait much for one to get one.

After you come to the same realization, you rush to hide yourself under the covers, pulling them up just below your eyes with hopes that this setup will offer you some kind of protection, as well as allowing you to peek back at the T.V, just enough to anticipate for the moment you’re bound to be inevitably scared and hopefully act accordingly.

Naoya can’t help but gush at your sight, rushing to do the same by joining you underneath the covers and lying beside you as close as he could.

“You better protect me if something happens!” you say upon noticing his closeness, which you don’t mind at all, for it turns out, he’s quite warm and that’s a plus for someone as cold prone as you. “This was your idea!”

“I will” he says with a smile, glad that step one of his plan is already in motion as a sudden urge of guardianship engulfs him “I’ll protect you!”

“Okay…” you whisper and you push yourself deeper into the futon upon hearing somewhat of an unsettling, screeching noise from the T.V, which turned out to be nothing more than a fake jumpscare, intending to lower the guard of the viewer, that is, until the true scare came out.

The first time it happened you were less than enthusiastic about it, squirming and crying underneath the covers when it first transpired. 

The second time you inadvertently took cover at Naoya’s arm, pressing your face against it as you tried to run away from the horrifying sight, his small heart pounded loudly against his chest for having you that close to him—although when did it not beat like that when you were around?

But by the third time, it stopped being fun. The way you squealed and looked away was turning to be quite… unsettling to him. He thought that by this point you would’ve realized this was nothing more than a cheap horror movie made to fill the blank spaces between the good emissions, even laugh at the cheesiness of it, however, the more you cowered, the more he realized this was a bad decision and no amount of reassurance from his part could pacify your fright.

So he ends up doing the right thing by taking the controller, switching the channel into something he’d thought you’d like better and hopefully relaxing you—his go-to anime channel.

At the sudden interruption, you peek from underneath the covers, glancing up at him wide-eyed as you continue.

“Why did you change it…?” You asked, softly and hesitantly. You were confused, and rightfully so, for you perceived him to be quite enthusiastic about seeing a horror movie in the first place. Why the sudden change of heart?

"Because… uh, it was pretty boring” he responds nervously, briefly glancing at you before looking away, riddled with shame for having distressed you. “and… you didn’t seem like you were having fun”

“It wasn’t fun” you admit, looking back at the T.V. “...thank you”

His heart squeezes with something he describes as a combination of happiness and regret, the first for your admiration and recognition, and the second for having pushed you through all that just because he wanted to replicate something he overheard Naoaki wanting to try out.

He was already having a good time with you, regardless if he was close to you or not,  so it was stupid to ruin it for something that was probably fake either way…

So instead, he decided to rescue their night before it was ruined any further and share with you what he liked the most, watching anime. With a series he thought would be much more enjoyable (or at least that's what he hopes): Cardcaptor Sakura.

It’s certainly a bit out of his usual watches, but through the small glimpses he's gotten here and there, he can still admit it's interesting all together. And with that notion, both kids begin to watch the anime, slowly becoming enraptured by the somewhat soft-spaced story, yet adventurous and creative storytelling. 

But more than admiring the interesting show on the screen before them, he was more elated to see that this show had effectively lulled you into a more peaceful state of mind: you were no longer attempting to hide underneath the covers, instead, your arms are now out, head slightly lifted thanks to the new adjustment in your pillow, and completely focused on admiring the protagonist and the adventures she’s inadvertently roped into.

A peaceful, contrasting sight that leads him to ruminate on his regret for having attempted to ruin it by his senseless imagination, as well as realizing just… how much he likes to be with you, and how he's excited to spend the rest of the weekend with you.

It’s now become an undeniable fact that he's the happiest when he’s by your side, and when he’s apart, all that he wants to do is be with you. He likes how you laugh, and how you smile. 

How you’re so focused and competitive on your video games, but at the same time, patient with him, who is nothing more than a complete failure at them.

He likes how you even remembered the things that he likes, whether them being food, anime, or even his favorite color.

Naoya is happy to be with you. And his feelings for you have grown so big since the first time he met you, that he begins to feel this overwhelming need of telling you about them starting to inundate his mind.

Thus… it begins..

Taking a deep breath, he takes the first step with what he considers to be his most excruciating, but satisfying, endeavor yet.

“Y/N” he calls. No nickname, no honorifics, nothing, just your name, a way for him to show how serious he’s approaching this matter.

There’s a slight tremble on his voice, as he awaits for confirmation that he has your attention, which it comes when you hum as a response. “I… want to tell you something”

“What is it, Noya-kun?” you respond, moving your head to glance at him.

He never thought he could be taken aback by the sight of your big round e/c eyes, but he’s proven wrong at this moment; and if anything, he's happy to be wrong, because it just lets him know he needs to do this.

“It’s many things actually” he begins “First… I want to tell you that I’m sorry for putting on that horror movie. I… thought it would be fun since I’m not that scared of them, and it was a cheap movie too but, well, I just ended up scaring you and I didn’t want that, so… I’m sorry”

“It’s ok, Noya-kun. Ren-nii likes horror movies too, I think…” you say, a yawn suddenly escaping your lips which makes you instinctively rub your eyes as well. "So maybe you could watch them with him next time!”

“I’ll see…” he frowns, mentally taking Ren, your brother, out of the equation before continuing “But still, it was wrong to scare you”

“Don’t worry about it… you can make it up to me with sweets…” you cheekily suggest.

Naoya huffs in amusement before relaxing his head back to the pillow, eyes now on the fabric ceiling. “You like sweets very much, huh?”

“Yeah…” you nod, and he hears shuffling coming from your side. Naoya presumes it must be you doing the same as him.

“I’ll see if I can get you more next time I see you… at my birthday party!” he says “I’ll make sure to ask for a cake you like too, that way you can eat as many slices as you want”

“Chocolate?” you ask and he nods.

“Yeah! Just that?”

“I like chocolate…”

“I know, I saw that today!” He smiles before taking a deep breath and placing his hands over his abdomen, intertwining his fingers together as a way to ease his nerves—his heart beginning to torment him yet again. Now… onto the hard part. “... also, there’s something else I want you to know”

You don’t respond this time, and he takes your silence as if you were signaling him to proceed. 

He takes another deep breath, attempting to ease his poor heart from beating too hard, before continuing.

“I… I had fun with you. I always do actually, I can't think of a time I don't! But… What I meant to say is that  I was the happiest today… 

Ever since I met you at the halloween night mom planned… you’re the only person I want to be with!. And who doesn’t? You’re funny, fun, and you like the same things I do! Or most of them anyways… kind too, even with my annoying brothers… and you’re cute too… the cutest girl I’ve ever seen in my life” Naoya admits as well, though he seems to falter a bit there since he’s not used to calling anyone cute after all, always feeling ashamed to do so—there’s something about his siblings making fun of him for their mother calling him cute that completely derails him from using it.

But if he’s ever tasked to appoint a definition, he’s sure you’d be the perfect example.

“I—I guess what I mean to say is… It… it felt nice to hear that you liked me back then when we were playing and I…” he pauses, heartbeats in his throat as he musters all the courage he can for the following words “I want you to know that I like you too! I like you, Y/N-chan. And… I hope you like me the same way”

It’s done.

He’d placed all his cards on the table, wore his heart on his sleeve with nothing more than pure intentions, and from this point forward, it was a matter of seeing if you’d correspond to them… if you felt the same for him.

God, he doesn’t recall ever being this nervous in his life, not even when he got to meet his favorite actor from his favorite show.

He’s so nervous to hear your response, that he doesn’t even feel capable of looking at you.

Naoya’s going through a layered turmoil of emotions he’s having a hard time dissecting, it’s like a combination of excitement, nerves, fear, and relief…

And yet, it’s the moment he’s been looking forward to the most in the past few weeks—he’s sure of it now—the moment he’ll know if his feelings are reciprocated, and be happy!

But those thoughts begin to hinder when he realizes that seconds have gone by and you’re yet to give him an answer.

A hum, a word, even a gesture with your hands, anything to signal him that you’ve at least heard his words… but he receives nothing instead.

“Y/N?” he calls, no answer. And his heart which was soaring with anticipation, threatening to escape the confines of his chest, now begins to sink into something he can only identify as rejection—no, this was worse than that, something he didn’t think existed, but your silence made it possible for him to learn otherwise.

Did he… miscalculate what you meant? And now… you’re grossed out by him?!

Oh, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle this situation if it becomes his reality.

 “Y/N?” He repeats once more, and it’s at this moment that he realizes there is no other path for him to take than to face the lights and the possibility of a grimace of antipathy against him resting in your usually cheerful face, marking the painful end of his friendship with you.

He doesn’t think himself capable of seeing such an image, but pushes through as he turns his head to face you, just as he’s been taught to do so in the face of uncertainty.

So Naoya holds his breath, tightly closes his eyes as he gathers up courage, before opening them and glancing back at you, expecting to be received with an image that would only fuel his nightmares…

Or perhaps, drowsiness?

Because when he finally sees you is when he realizes that your silence wasn't of indecision, uninterest, or even rejection—no, nothing like that.

It had been because you’d incidentally fallen asleep.

With your softly eyes shut, mouth slightly agape, and chest slowly rising and falling to the sound of your relaxed breathing, you were the epitome of slumber—and a completely different sight he’d drearily created in his mind.

At the whiplash of this revelation, Naoya can’t help but sigh as the weight of his worries is suddenly lifted from his shoulders; it wasn’t what he was expecting, but at least he can find comfort in the fact that it was nothing bad, more so when his mind pushes him to recall the words his mother imparted him with on the night of halloween:

A few minutes after the L/N family had departed, the Zen’in’s ride home arrived, with the same chauffeur that had driven them at first, and just in time before the night got any colder.

The group scurried to get into the car, and once everyone was seated and appropriately secured, with the heater in just the right temperature, their ride home started. 

It must’ve been the combination of the warm temperature and the continuous rocking movement of the car that has Naoaki falling first to the clutches of slumber, eventually surrendering himself completely into sleep as he rested his head on their mother’s shoulder.

And Naoya, ever the one to keep up first with his brother before anyone else, was quick to voice his opinion on the matter.

“Why do you let him rest on your shoulder?” Naoya asks “Wouldn't it be better if he waited till home? I mean, that’s what I would do—That way he could rest better in his bed than on you!”

Tomoko holds back the urge to chuckle at his irony, because she’s more than capable of listing a few occasions where Naoya has fallen asleep after picking him up from his extra-curricular classes, having to carry him to bed… well, that’s just in the nature of two conflicting siblings, she supposes.

“Ah, well, if you put it that way I would definitely prefer Naoaki-kun to rest on his bed in the long run, he is quite heavy after all” she begins to explain, a smile on her lips, as she wraps her freed arm around Naoya and pulls him closer, a gesture that has him immediately basking on her warmth by hugging her back “But I like it when my children do that, it makes me feel… how do I put it… happy. Happy that they’re comfortable and safe with me. Besides, it also reminds me of when he was an adorable little baby, just like you!”

She pinches Naoya’s cheek and the young kid can’t do anything but to twist his mouth out of disgust at the mental image of Naoaki being “cute”, as well as fluster up due to the embarrassment of his mother’s cheesy, yet welcomed, gesture.

Back then, he didn’t understand it. Thinking his mom to be the usual doting self she always is.

But now that he’s living it, he gets it. That must be what he’s feeling when he sees you resting besides him, falling victim to the consumption of all of your energy. 

It seems that not even the brownies were enough to refill your stamina and help you stay up throughout the night, just as you told your mother you were planning to do.

At the end of the day… he was ok with you not answering his feelings at the moment.

If anything, it just gave him more opportunities to impress you and your family into liking him more! (Outside of Ren and Hinata, of course, they were… different)

And with his birthday coming up, there couldn’t be any better timing.

Seeing your current status inspires Naoya to yawn, signaling it was also time for him to go to sleep. So, he does. But not before he pulls your side of the covers a few inches more, resting just at the base of your neck.

Once that’s set, he reaches over for the T.V. and lights controller—the one your father had set to turn off the line lights around the pillow fort—and turns them off.

In the deep silence of the night he carefully moves to his side and starts getting ready to lay back into the futon, fixing the pillow just how he thought it more comfortable before leaning the back of his head into it.

He begins to blink slowly, drowsiness weightening down his lids, but before he plunges into morpheus’ arms he gives you one last look—or whatever features he’s able to make out through the adjustment of his eyes— smiles, and thinks:

«This has been the best day ever»

He closes his eyes, falling asleep.

Deep into the late hours of the night, a gust of wind begins to take its path. First, by passing through the branches of the many trees in your garden, rattling the leaves and waking whatever animal is resting there. Continuing on its way by squeezing into the smallest of gaps of windows forgotten to be sealed for the night, mandating a shiver from the poor unsuspecting person that is to be resting inside, coincidentally, the one to be the most cold prone out of the whole estate—you.

Your body initially retaliates from being awakened by making you curl up against yourself in hopes of harborging the warmth of the covers, with a subtle whimper here and there, tightly squeezing your eyes together, before another shiver erupts from your body, making you grunt and eventually, wake you up.

The first thing that your eyes notice is the complete darkness that immerses your room, it’s such an eerie environment that doesn't fail on freezing you on the spot, considering that most of the time you had the light of the moon to accompany you.

Even then, you were more than ready to scurry out of your chambers and into your mother’s room, that is, until memories of moments before your sleep flood your mind: you were watching T.V. a horror movie to be more precise, and then, you started watching anime, someone was telling you something, you can’t recall—

Oh, right! How could you forget? You were with Naoya!

Well, in your defense, you usually lose track of what you are doing, or were doing, immediately upon awakening, only regaining it either through patience or eating. (Hinata begs to differ on that last one)

Now that you remembered what happened, or partially, you move forward to try and put the pieces together of who remembered to turn all of the lights off (since you… ah, let’s say that this subject quickly became your mother’s bane after a while) as well as when was the moment you actually fell asleep.

But before you could even scramble through your memories, a sudden sigh rupturing the calmness of the night gives you the answer.

Your head swirls in its direction and then, through your now adjusted vision to the darkness, you see him: Naoya lying with his body downwards, his face directed towards you, hair disheveled, but over all completely and fully deep into his sleep.

The revelation is enough to let you know he must’ve been the one to do what you often fail, as well as reminding you to keep quiet as to not wake him up; just the thing you start to do as you continue on trying to figure out how you’d fallen asleep in the first place—you recall Naoya telling you something about how sorry he was for putting the horror movie, and how you told him that if he wanted to make it up to you, you were accepting sweets as an apology…

From there on out, everything seems to turn into a blur, memories mixed between scenes of the anime you were watching and Naoya’s words, making it difficult to distinguish which one came from him, and which one from the t.v…

You eventually grow tired of going around in circles, deciding to instead go back to sleep and think about it in the morning, perhaps even ask Naoya about it if it keeps bothering you by then—although you were sure you wouldn’t have time for that, after all, your mom promised earlier that she would take you to the park!

The excitement is enough to push you back down to the bed, but not before reaching over for one of your favorite plushies (which you’ve unknowingly tossed aside while asleep) with the intentions of cuddling with it for the rest of the night, that is, until you’re abruptly stopped by another of Naoya’s sigh’s.

Something inside you convinces you instead to place it beside him, believing he could benefit much more from the fluffy companion and get a good night's sleep than you, who could just get another cuddle buddy if you so desired.

You carefully inch the plushie as close as you can towards him, avoiding making any rough movements that could wake him up, and once in the desired placement, you let it go.

You then return to your usual spot, stretching your pillow a few times before resting on it, moving to your side just to get a quick glance at Naoya, wishing him good night, and subsequently diving back into your dreams.

But just as you were opening your mouth to do so, something flashes across your mind, and a sudden wave of heat invades your cheeks, one that ignites the thundering of your heart the longer you keep staring at him, effectively stopping you.

You continue to silently observe him, breath quickening the harsher your heart pounds against your chest, eventually overwhelming you with the urge to move closer to him.

And that’s what you do. You carefully scoot over to him, as close as you could without taking much of his personal space and attempt to get a good look at the face of the kid you shared quite the enjoyable evening with, and wouldn’t mind doing so tomorrow, or any other occasion.

However, as much as you wished to keep looking at him to make sense of what your mind was telling you at the moment, it doesn’t take much longer for your eyelids to begin weighing down on you, signaling you that it was time to go back to sleep.

Something that doesn’t give you much space to retaliate once your body forces you to prepare for rest, starting by slowing down the intermittence of your blinks, the speed of your breathing—the general introduction of laxness in your body and the starting process of recuperating your energy.

But even in this resting moment, when your body is mobilizing all of your remaining energy for nothing more than getting you to sleep, you’re still able to gather enough stamina to formulate and mumble the conclusion of your thoughts:

“I like you too”

And then, everything goes dark.

[chruper]

Halloween movie marathon

Another one of my one shots, I guess. Do y'all even remember that I posted some in the past? Lmao.

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

One day you just have to come to the conclusion that you are too old for trick-or-treating. That's usually the age of 16-17 when people realise that they're not kids anymore and they think they can't participate in such childish events. That's the time you start going to Halloween parties instead of going for candy. That was the case for Nick and Matt too, but they weren't really made for parties. Especially Matt. He was a massive introvert, and unlike Nick, who was one of the more popular people in class, Matt sucked at social relations and just wasn't made for meeting new people. And well, at big parties of this kind, it was basically impossible not to run into a stranger.

That's why they chose to spend this Halloween together at Nick's house. His parents were often away for business trips, so it was more spacious than Matt's place and most importantly, they would be alone. They were planning to watch some horrors and just generally hang out, so nothing special. There was only one problem- Matt hated scary movies. However, he didn't want to ruin the night for his boyfriend, so he decided to play along. After all, what could go wrong, right?

The two boys met at 9 PM and started their evening with something not too scary for a warmup. They've decided to watch one of the "Final Destination" movies. It was, in fact, more disturbing than scary, but it was enough to make Matt scoot over closer to his boyfriend. Nick didn't really notice it, since he was absorbed in the movie. He has loved the whole franchise since childhood and Matt thought it was kind of cute how Nick kept his interests for so long.

As the movie finished, they moved on to the next one, which was "The Ring". Of course, out of all things, it just had to be it. Matt thought it was one of the worst things he's ever seen in terms of scariness. Sure, he didn't watch that many horrors, but out of these that he did, it was on top of the list. About halfway through the movie Nick noticed his boyfriend's unusual behavior. Frequent trips to the bathroom and constant looking away from the screen were giving it away. "I can see something's wrong. What's up?" he said, turning his head to Matt.

"No, nothing, really. Everything's fine." Matt replied, trying to lie. Although Nick knew him too well to fall for this "Let's watch something you'll enjoy too" he said, turning the current movie off and reaching for a laptop "What do you think? It doesn't have to be Halloween themed" Matt stayed silent for a while and then asked "Avatar?" Nick smiled "Do you mean the blue aliens or-"

"What? No, of course I don't. The one and only true Avatar is Aang."

"Well, Atla it is then" said Nick, searching up the series on Netflix. Boys spent the rest of the night watching their childhood cartoon and cuddling in cozy blankets. It was way better than these dumb horror movies.

[darling-archeron]

Hello again! 🧑🏻‍🎄

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween full of candy and fun! I ended up not doing anything much beyond dressing in black and orange at work bc I was so tired by the time I got home, but I did do a little more prepping before midnight kicked off and I started writing your fic for nanowrimo! Two days ago while writing, despite following the outline, Feyre and Rhys still managed to take control and change something right at the beginning😔 but honestly I love it and how it’ll enhance some of the plot and I hope you will too!

Any plans this coming week? I’m flying to visit a friend tomorrow night so will be busy probably until late next week, but I’ll still be tapping away those keys as best I can in my down hours.

Also - I know it’s a bit late but re the favorite fic post - i just adore Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon! Feyre drawing those cute little puns makes me smile so much☺️ and for the wip post feysand fake dating au?👀

And for your first snippet, a line I literally wrote five minutes ago:

“I’ll trip you,” she admitted blatantly. “If a wolf decides to show its face to us? I don’t have to outrun it. I’ll just have to outrun you.”

And Rhys just laughed at that, loud and carefree, either unaware or unbothered by the looks it earned from the other townspeople out and about on market day.

Have a great week!!!

Hi Santa!! I have had so much Halloween candy the past couple weeks, it's been great haha. My actual Halloween was pretty uneventful, I dressed up and went out with a few friends!

I personally always love it when the characters run away with the story, it's usually when I end up getting most inspired and writing in big streaks.

Hot Chocolate Cinnamon is one of my older favorites! One of the few times I don't make anyone suffer 😅I'm so glad you enjoyed it, I want to keep writing more aus like that in the future :)

I'm having so much fun with the fake dating AU! I'm forcing myself not to post it until I have the majority done because I'm notorious for leaving multichapters unfinished, which is a habit I'm trying to break. The premise is that Feyre and Rhys are partners for a class project in college, and Feyre ends up needing a fake date to a work event because Tamlin will be there...and the whole thing goes from there! Here's a little snippet for fun :)

-

Feyre narrowed her brow. “This better not be some elaborate scheme to sleep with me, Rhysand.”  

“It’s not, and I’m a little offended that you think so little of me.”

“What then? You’re just really bored? Between the two of us, I’m the one who was home alone last Friday night.”

“I already told you, I can’t have you slacking on our group project! Is that not a good enough reason?”

Hardly, Feyre thought, but bit back the remark.

He was helping her, after all.

-

I hope you have a great flight and a great time with your friend! Last week I got to see some friends I haven't seen in forever.

Omg this snippet has me so excited. Soft/domestic vibes? Chef's kiss!! Thank you for sharing!!

I hope you are doing well, have a fantastic week!

[pbandjesse]

Happy Halloween!! Today was kind of a wild day? I did not expect that. I'm pretty exhausted emotionally. But like in a good way. Like in a way where I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I slept better last night. I woke up when my alarm went off and I actually felt good. I felt better. I was still winded quickly but I wasnt having as bad of a time.

James had packed me a little lunch. I was trying to get dressed and accidently ripped my necklace off and got really sad. I had to take a moment to fix it. But I was still able to leave on time.

I got to camp at 8. And spent the first half hour or so setting up in the art building. I didn't have as many tubes as I expected but it would all work out. Though I kept getting very very winded. I would not be able to go on the hike and I'm really glad Elizabeth backed me up on that one. It was not a good idea. Despite some protests from our group.

It was strange. Gabe was just like. We need you. And I'm like I can't. And I think once he saw how winded I got just just walking to the council ring he would take over and lead one of the hikes so I could go sit in the office and not fall apart.

It was a beautiful day though. After I helped walk the group to the council ring and we went through their whole morning intro, I walked with Elizabeth back to the office. I stopped to take a few pictures of some beautiful mushrooms. And then went to work on some research.

I had wanted to start working on a program about homesteading. But it became research all about the homestead act. Which turns out it takes place over a much longer time then I expected. So I needed to give context. So I started listing major events. From the first homestead in 1883. To the last one, which was finished in 1988. Crazy!

It was fun doing the research though. And as I finished my timeline it was time for lunch. I made Alexi and Elizabeth laugh when I told them just to much history has happened and listed all of the things that I decided to put on my chart.

After lunch we had our 5, 15 minutes rotations. Which was just way to short. But the kids were super sweet. I think they really liked the shaker music maker project and I also think Gabe saw how short 15 minutes with no transition is and how we need more time. We'll see if he changes his preferred schedule in the future. We have their group one more time on thursday and then again they will be with us in the spring. And I do really like the group, I just wish we were being given more time with them!

It was fun seeing the few kids who wore costumes. Celia had a thor costume on. Everyone liked my horns. It was a good day.

I did have fun though even if it was a bit chaotic. We used toilet paper tubes and construction paper to make some really fun shakers and everyone got to chose how many beads and such to fill them with for different sounds. It was great. And then it was done.

I cleaned up and started collecting my materials for my feild trip tomorrow. This took a while but not as long as it sometimes does. Mostly because some of the stuff was already out.

I drove around camp out my stuff out. And headed to the office to finish the last bit of the day.

This is where things got a little emotionally crazy. I got an email for a house that has hair gotten listed. Near Patterson Park. Just a little weird. But in the best way. And I sent it to James. And Jess. And my parents. I really liked this one. And it is in our budget.

Mom said we should go see it. I told James that and they said yes. I was vibrating with nerves. But also calm. I felt like we were doing it backwards. We don't have any paperwork together! We aren't pre-approved! We don't have anything to do with anything! I didn't want my hope to get up.

But also. Things work out for me. I am smart and rational but also. Things just go my way a lot of the time. I'm lucky, I'm blessed. Things work out for me! So James made an appointment. And I talked to my parents on the phone. We came up with a plan.

I talked through it with my coworkers too. Everyone seemed like not being approved yet was fine. But from what Jess has told me that isn't true. So I decided I would solve this myself.

I drove home and as soon as I got back I started looking to get pre-approved online. Just so I could have an idea of what we could be approved for. And it took most of the next hour but I got us pre-approved.

The man I spoke to with the mortgage company, Joe, was very nice. But in the end we probably won't go with them, instead we'll go with someone local. But he was super nice and made me feel like we are in a good place. It was fun but also stressful! This is like when we bought the car. I'm a good negotiator when needed but mostly I'm level headed and always looking for a deal. So when I'm got us a pre-approval letter literally 20 minutes before we went to see our first house just felt really awesome.

We did get stuck in a little traffic. James had gotten a little stressed in a moment when I asked them to get me an email but we were a team and they trust me to handle things. Which is great but I also worry I am running over them, but they just tell me that they know I have us both in mind so they aren't worried about that.

When we arrived at the house I was already like. Wow. Like it's not much outside. It's on a block with a few empty houses. But it has stained glass in the front windows. And I was very excited.

And who knows if this will be the one but I did really like it and I absolutely can see us living there. The thing that I think was the most interesting was that it was broken into two units at one point. So it has features I really wanted. Like a foyer. And separation between the kitchen and living spaces. It has a finished basement! It has a sky light! It has goofy features like the original stairs sticking out of the wall! It has 2 true bedrooms, and a landing that could be a second living room or library space. It's just super cool.

The realtor was super nice too. He suggested a local mortgage company that can get us more Baltimore specific grants. And he was pretty honest with us about the goofy elements both of the neighborhood and the house. But like. I feel good about this! So we told him to put us in contact with his guy, and we see what happens. Terrifying. Like. We might be buying a house? So much quicker then I expected.

But also it might not work out. It might not be the right one. But that is okay. I'm excited to see what happens.

We were kind of wound up after going through the house. It was time to go home.

When we got back here emotionally I was in a weird space. We sat in the car and talked it through. James is for it. I had called my mom and we talked the whole drive back. Just trying to work through the whole plan. But I needed to talk it out with just my husband. And we think it would be good. We thought about what we would change. What would stay. What rooms were for where. Putting in a balcony. How long it might take us to move out of this apartment. It is a weird feeling.

When we finally went inside we would start working on our Halloween pictures. This did not work out amazing. I got really upset. James looked like an angel and I felt very ugly. The backdrop kept falling down. I was struggling from the drop in emotions. But after a break, and a third costume change, we got a few shots I liked. And things would be okay.

James and me would do a little cleaning. While we were doing that people were absolutely screaming at each other outside over candy?? It was very bizarre. But once it calmed down out there we felt a little more normal.

I took a shower. James made some dinner. And we have been in bed day dreaming since then. I am going to have to figure out how to tell the pre-approval mortgage people were going with someone local. And that makes me anxious. But it will be okay. If that's the worst thing I have to deal with I'll live. Even if it makes me uncomfortable because I feel a little bad. They are a major company though and will be fine.

Tomorrow is another day. Who knows what it'll hold. I hope my feildtrip is fun. And then I have my ceramic class. I hope it's a good day.

I love you all. Take care of yourself!!

[boozuru]

Ghostic - Exorcism 2

⇠  chapter select  ⇢

(NOT JP PROOFED)

Season: Autumn

Keito: Alright you two, got your flashlights?

Tatsumi: Yes, with no problems.

Tori: Yeah, I also have mine.

Tori: I get that the room deep inside has its lights bugged out still, but... I'm afraid of ghosts, duh, but a dark room is also scary in its own right, it freaks me out...

Tatsumi: We could hold hands then?

Tatsumi: The reason why walking alone in the dark scares someone is because their body feels like its in danger. If you have a familiar person with you, it should help you calm down a little.

Tori: Y-yeah, that would help.

Tori: Be careful not to trip, Kazehaya-senpai. You have a bad leg, right?

Tatsumi: Oh, no, that's a thing of the past. I barely notice any aches anymore, so you'll be fine to depend on me.

Tori: Hehehe. You're so nice, just like you would expect from the most popular person at Reimei Academy ♪

Tori: Okay, gimme your hand, aaand there... ♪

Keito: Okay. We are done with our preparations. Let's follow the route.

Keito: Once this door opens, we will officially be in the haunted house. Everyone, prepare yourselves.

Keito: ...It's dark as expected. I'll turn on my flashlight and see if that helps.

Keito: Hmm. Works worse than I thought. Is there a light-absorbing material on the walls...?

Tatsumi: I noticed it too. While I can barely see the path ahead, it seems like there's luminescent paint here and there. I suppose we are supposed to use them to guide ourselves?

Tori: Ugh, I got chills just now! I just want to get out of here!

Tori: Ugh, so so cold...! I end up rubbing my arms without thinking...!

Tatsumi: That could be because an air conditioner has lowered the room temperature. This paired with the classic western-style furniture used for decor really sets the mood for a ghastly encounter. 

Keito: They really went all out with making it as bizarre as possible since it'll be here for just this year.

Keito: That damned Eichi... Unnecessarily buzzing all over the place just because of Halloween.

Keito: Even if it's difficult to start moving, let's just keep going and stay careful.

Tori: Y-yeah...!

Tori: H-huh? I don't know why, but Kazehaya-senpai's hand feels different in size now...

Tatsumi: Oh? But Tori-san, you let go of my hand when you said you felt cold, yes? I thought that you hadn't held onto my hand since then...

Tori: Eh? So this hand is--

Tori: UWAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Eichi: Fufufu. Seems like Tori has received his first proper taste of ES Haunted House ♪

Eichi: "Send the beloved child on a journey", is what they say. His newfound reliable form after overcoming his fears will be a sight for sure.

Wataru: I think you're jumping too far ahead, talking about overcoming such and such already. I see that you're taking on enough challenges to rival Mr. Butler.

Wataru: Actually, you say that it's for monitoring purposes, but no one has a clue about the night vision cameras spread throughout the area. It's because you're a devil, Eichi.

Eichi: Oh. A devil, how upsetting.

Eichi: I'm Tenshouin Eichi, so "tenshi", "angel", makes up the beginning of my name with its letters, you know? I could be even crueler than a devil, who knows ♪

Wataru: Fufufu. Admittedly, you're more of an angel than a devil. A role befitting you is that of an outrageous someone who could sound out the trumpet that spells the end of humanity.

Wataru: Regardless, this should be of some help to Mr. Butler and his troubles. Once he returns in prime health for the event, he should surely be able to comfortable focus on the live performance.

Wataru: You too, Eichi. Up till now you have had to tirelessly work with planning for Halloween and negotations with ES, but after this it's just one final push with practicing the new song.

Eichi: Fufu. That sadly isn't the case. There's actually still things that require fixing in the haunted house.

Wataru: Oh? Is that so?

Eichi: Yeah. You saw the haunted hourse course, didn't you? I don't know if it's because the construction was done in a rush, but installation of the electrical system didn't go to plan.

Eichi: We gave directions to take the electricity from the ES property, but doing so caused a short blackout all the way in Starmony Dorm.

Eichi: It's like the haunted house has started its own chain of psychic phenomena.

Wataru: Ah, so that's why you told Himegimi and company to take flashlights?

Wataru: I should have joined them too. I could have illuminated the way with my magic...!

Eichi: Fufu. I think the ghosts would get scared away by such a shiny Wataru.

Eichi: Anyway. There's loads of things to do, but we are getting them done little by little. It would be nice if Yuzuru could recover, following this positive string of events.

Eichi: Halloween comes only once a year. Even if it's been a slow start, let's do what we can and run to the finish line.

Eichi: Aah, there's still too much I want to do. I have no time to lose.

Eichi: Life is short. And that's why we need to live without regrets... ♪

[cryptidsurveys]

Monday, October 28th, 2024.

Do you have any big plans for November? I don't have any big plans. It's pretty much just gonna be "the usual." Animal shelter. Trips to the Mountain Park (I want to get in as many as I can before it gets too snowy). I might go see a movie or do something for Thanksgiving with my mom. Oh, and even though I'm not much of a political person these days, I am curious to see the upcoming election results.

What upcoming event are you most looking forward to? I'm trying to hype myself up for Halloween night because I'm actually going to be handing out candy this year. The morning will most likely be spent at the shelter.

What was the last song you heard? Something classical.

Quote something from last night: I can't think of anything quotable. I can hardly even remember what I said.

What time did you wake up today? I woke up around 5:00am, but I didn't get out of bed and start getting ready until around 5:30am.

What does your last incoming text say? It was a cattery group text from Natasha saying, "Oops okay thank you." Two women came in again today after I left and were under the impression that we give cat carriers to adopters, which we do not do. Natasha was the one who told them that, based on her training from Alex. It all got cleared up, though!

Is there a vase in the room you’re in? I think there might be a couple on the counter in the master bathroom, but I don't pay much attention to what's in there because it's basically just a junk storage area at the moment. There aren't any on display in my actual room, though.

Any plans for today/this evening? I was at the shelter from 7:40am-12:00pm. Came home, showered, ate lunch, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, and now I'm here. I don't have any plans for the rest of the night.

Have you recently been insulted? No.

What is the radio in your car tuned to at this exact moment? CPR classical.

Compared to someone else of your age and gender; do you feel that you have a lot to offer someone? Uhhhm…I guess that depends on what you're looking for.

How many days a week do you work? Typically five. Friday-Tuesday.

Are there people you feel more connected to than others? Yeah. I feel the most connected to my dad. I also feel like I'm finally starting to connect more with people at the animal shelter. It's nice because I spent the past year or so feeling like a fringe outsider.

Is there ONE person you feel more connected to than others? Oh, I already answered this.

Are you more like your mother or your father? I'm more like my dad. I'm not completely unlike my mom, though. Sometimes I'll catch myself saying or doing something and I'll be like, "That was very mom of me." I can see some of her mannerisms, ect, coming out in my own self-expression.

Where did your eye color come from? My mom.

Describe the pants you are wearing: They're swishy black sweatpants with a pink and white stripe up the side. There's also a hole in the left knee area.

Have you ever been in a recording studio? No.

The myspace picture you’ve had up the longest? I have no idea. It's been years since I was last on Myspace. I still miss it and I'm still not over it. :'(

Are any of your myspace pictures alcohol related?

What is your worst relationship quality? It's been so long since I was last in a relationship that it's hard to say, but based on my interactions with other people, it's probably my tendency to be hurt by little things or to feel ostracized for no good reason. I take things too much to heart, assume I can't trust someone or be myself around them, clam up, and ultimately push them away (sometimes quietly, sometimes messily).

What was your most recent serious injury? I've never had a serious injury.

What were you most recently happy about? Becoming the designated spider bouncer at the shelter. There was a big'un in the bathroom this morning. Not as big as the one we saw on the laundry room wall a few months ago, but probably the second biggest I've encountered there so far. Paris was even like, "I don't mean to sound pathetic, but could you please check cat ISO for me and make sure there are no spiders in there?" ;D

Are you happy with the way the Yankees are playing?

Are you a fan of cake? Yesss. I'm a fan of desserts and baked goods in general.

What shirt have you not worn in a while that you would like to? I have this orange one with a cat sitting on a crescent moon that I might wear for Halloween.

When was the last time you were hit on? No idea.

What is the next concert you are going to and where are you seeing it?

Name someone you know who is most likely to be found at a bar on Wednesday night? Paris…? Maybe not on a Wednesday night because I don't know her schedule, but in addition to working as a vet tech, she's also a bartender.

[twatkcox]

[2023 Is A Curse]

Just as I was about to consider 2020 the worst year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like there's something worse.

xxxxxxxxxx

Don't get me wrong about this. At least some good things happened, including the three-day Pinoy Otaku Festival: Shizen event last May, the Best Of Anime 2023 and the Manila International Book Fair last September, and the Ozine Fest Halloween Special last October. I also get to enjoy most weekends at my favorite hangout place, at the three cafes near my high school. I finally got to buy some cool stuff (in-store and online), especially the anime shirts and a pair of black sneakers. I should be happy about these great things that happened in my life, right? Well, not at all.

I'm gonna be frank on this one since I really need to get all of my frustrations out before the end of this cursed year. First of all, I was starting to get anxious and depressed being unable to enjoy my weekends due to personal reasons. Back then, I had no issue going out on both Saturdays and Sundays, since these were the only times I got to go out of the house, but nowadays I can only choose one. Also, I never get to do much of the mall-hopping trips like before. That damn COVID-19 pandemic totally wrecked my plans, my weekly rituals, and my well-being.

I had a feeling that God was behind all of these, for just one purpose: to ruin my life. That ultimately made me become a misotheist, though I didn't feel like telling this to my family, since no one would take me seriously. I've briefly considered atheism but thought better of it. After all, he somewhat makes things work for my sake, probably as a way to make me trust him once again. Nice try, but no. It just doesn't work that way.

My life was already crumbling, I was on the path to self-destruction. I had a hard time thinking things clearly. I was clearly losing motivation in almost everything. I don't know if I'll ever get to enjoy my life once again.

xxxxxxxxxx

I'm starting to hate birthdays ever since that pandemic started, but I couldn't tell anyone about it. I don't want to offend anyone, but I would be lying if I told them how much I enjoyed birthdays when in fact I'm not. Oh well, I suppose it's hard to find anyone who's gonna agree with me on this one. Anyway, birthdays feel like a ticking time bomb to me. The more I celebrate, the older I get. I also hate birthday greetings. They're pretty much unnecessary. And more importantly, birthday celebrations are incredibly costly. I just don't see the reason why they're always doing this when others can't even afford a simple birthday party.

For this year, even if I did celebrate a simple birthday celebration, I tried my best to keep my friends and relatives from posting birthday greetings on my FB wall. Well, at least, during my not-so-special day. I mean, thirty-three years is basically a number (as with the rest of the possible numbers), but I see it quite differently. Age serves as a reminder that I'll never get any younger again.

xxxxxxxxxx

I don't know if I'll ever celebrate Christmas or New Year with a smile on my face, but because a lot of bad and upsetting things happened in my life, I don't think I'll ever be grateful for this year. No thanks to God for making me go through this unnecessary anxiety, he doesn't deserve my gratitude.

That's it. I can't wait for this cursed year to end, the year that caused a great deal of anxiety and depression in my life. Just turn things back to the way it was before the pandemic. 2023 sucks.

[kimbap-r0ll]

Need some Halloween requests in this inbox, could you do a scenario with the dorm leaders where the S/O asks them trick or treat and doesn’t matter what the dorm leaders say but the S/O gives them a kiss either on lips or cheek as the trick/treat? Thank you

Aw this is cute, thank you for the ask! It is Halloween today so happy Halloween everyone!

Dorm Leaders receive a Halloween kiss from their s/o

Riddle

He knows that Halloween is big in the school and all the students are excited to go around trick or treating in the school. He, on the other hand, can't go have fun because he's busy with studying

But you decide to go and give him some Halloween spirit. Showing up in a simple ghost costume to fit Ramshackle's theme, you knock on his door and ask him trick or treat

Opening the door, Riddle smiles and greets you. But he notices that you're holding a small basket with some candy inside, seems you were going around trick or treating. He sadly says he's busy and didn't plan on getting visitors, which means he'll just have to entertain your trick.

You smile and decide to quickly peck him on the lips, before Riddle can chase you down for the sudden move you run away and say that it wasn't a trick. Riddle smiles to himself, the treat wasn't that bad

Leona

He was too lazy to bother with Halloween that he decided to sleep in. Meanwhile with you, you were busy with the first years running around and grabbing candy

You knock on his door near the end of your trip. At first everyone was against it because who knows how pissed he might be! But you reassured them that you had a plan and it would be alright

Leona opened the door, looking a bit tired and asked what you wanted. He saw the others around you, all in costumes, and you thrusted a bucket in his face with the question "trick or treat"

Rolling his eyes, he chuckled and said he didn't have anything for you, but you would have to think twice before deciding to trick him. To his surprise however, you just quickly peck his lips and run off, making the first years all freeze up for a second and quickly run after you shouting "WHAT WAS THAT!" Leona's just standing there dumbfounded, a bit happy but more surprised that you managed to catch him off-guard

Azul

He was helping with Mostro Lounge's Halloween event. There were special drinks and desserts served, and because of the amount of people there was in the lounge he had to be there to help out.

You had other plans however. Going around with the first years you decided to stop by and ask Azul the Halloween question. He had to have some treats right?

Surprisingly, he had absolutely no candy left because everyone who came to the lounge earlier had taken it. "Well, I guess it's a trick then," Azul smiled at you, daring you to do something. Ace and Deuce were hyping you up, thinking you were going to prank him somehow but instead you pecked him on the lips

Azul turned red, maybe redder than Riddle. He stumbled back a bit, "Y-Y/n!" he stammered. You smiled at him and ran off, telling the first years you were running over to Scarabia. Azul hoped no one would see him blushing so hard but the tweels saw it. He's going to get teased about this for a week haha

Kalim

He was honestly the one to go trick or treating with you. The two of you were having a lot of fun and in the end you guys were trading candy between you guys because who knows he could've gotten candy you wanted and vice versa

But while doing this, he was asked by you "trick or treat" as sort of a joke. All the housewardens had been in charge of passing out candy but Jamil decided to do this job for Kalim's sake. He said that he would of course give you candy, but you had other plans

Leaning in, you quickly pecked him on the lips. He was surprised, eyes wide and just a quick "Wah!" Right after that however he was laughing and said that you got him. "Well I guess I received my treat tonight!"

You two end up watching some Halloween movies. Jamil comes by to the lounge when he's done and asks what you guys were up to and that's when Kalim suddenly decides to throw a Halloween party :/

Vil

He's so serious about Halloween but only for the aesthetics. He doesn't like candy, he doesn't care about giving candy to people. Honestly he's only doing the celebrations so he can dress up :/

You end up trick or treating with Epel and other first years. Finally when reaching Pomefiore once again, you knock on Vil's door directly. Epel thinks your crazy for that but you know what you could probably survive

Vil opens the door and hears a choir of "trick or treat." Before he can close his door again you stop him and ask if he has any candy at all, but he just replies with a curt "Of course not." You sigh, and decide to go with your plan

You kiss him on the lips. A bit of his black lipstick gets on your own lips and you run off before he can stop you, making all the first years follow you while asking how you caught him off-guard. Vil just smiles to himself. You really got him there

Idia

He wasn't leaving his room. Tonight there would be so many Halloween events on his games that he couldn't miss! Because of this, only Ortho and you were going out for candy.

You two eventually returned and you decided to ask Idia if he wanted any candy. So, going up to his room, you knock on his door to see if he was still there. Turns out of course he was as he opens the door to you and Ortho holding buckets full of sweets

"Trick or treat!" You joke, and he looks surprised. "I don't have anything, sorry I wasn't planning on participating-" before Idia can finish his sentence you quickly peck his lips

Ortho and Idia make the same "Wha" but Idia's hair flares up. You laugh, patting him on the back, saying you were joking about the trick or treat thing. "C'mon, I was gonna ask if you wanted some candy," you take him hand while he's still covering his face with his other hand

Malleus

He knew trick-or-treating was a thing but he never got the chance to participate. While he wanted to go around and get candy, he also wanted to just help out Lilia pass out candy. So, he stuck with that

You eventually came back to Diasomnia with the first years. They were all scared to go up and ask Malleus for treats and Sebek thought it would be mocking in some way. So, they all left it to you.

Going up to Lilia and Malleus, you ask them the question. Malleus looks happy to see you, complimenting your costume before dropping in a few sweets. He thinks you'll just continue your trip around the school but you suddenly lean in and kiss him

"There's yours, happy Halloween!" you wink at him and run off to where the first years are standing in the back haha. Malleus just looks dumbfounded and Lilia's laughing at how you caught him off guard

[waywardstation]

Ghost Stories

Akari, Rei, Ingo, and Zisu are tasked with taking young potential recruits up to the mirelands campgrounds, to show them what it's like to be a security corps member. However, Ingo is only filling in for Cyllene, who refused to go after an incident that happened the year before. She won't share what happened, leading the recruits to blame the apparent apparition that haunts the Solaceon Ruins near the campsite. Akari is quick to dismiss this, but as strange things start happening, she doesn't know what to think.

I wrote this after receiving a prompt for a halloween fic, about telling scary stories. I had meant to get this out on Halloween, but life had other plans haha.

Contains brief blood and injury, recounted from past events.

OR read it here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“You made sure everyone’s packed sufficiently for the trip?”

“Yes, I double-checked!” Smaller feet shuffled to accommodate for the scuffed shoes that moved about the dojo’s interior.

“And everyone’s ready to depart? Including you?”

“Yes, Ingo; everyone’s ready!”

“Excellent!” Ingo’s ever-present frown did nothing to dampen the high spirits evident in his voice, shouldering the bag he had just finished double-checking. “Seems we’re ready to leave the station ahead of schedule, but an early departure is not a bad thing.”

Ingo moved to slide back the door of the dojo, which had previously been cracked open. Early morning light filtered into the room as the warden stepped out after Akari, to address the circle of Jubilife Village children gathered around the training grounds; large packs accompanied them as well, whether strapped to their backs or slumped at their feet.

“Now!” Ingo spoke up, catching the attention of any kids who didn’t initially turn their heads to see him stepping out. “Welcome aboard passengers, I understand everyone is ready for departure, and I trust everyone has prepared adequately for today’s trip!”

The group of five village kids, tired as they were so early in the morning, seemed to wake up slightly with Ingo’s enthusiasm.

“However, before we leave the station, I’d like to go over our set rules one last time; safety is of utmost importance! Now first, should you ever find yourself separated from…”

As Ingo bored the village tweens going through the set of rules and regulations that they’d surely heard twenty times over by this point, Akari made her way over to Rei and Zisu. The two of them were standing by the training grounds’ fence, with packed bags of their own on their backs. Pikachu was perched atop Rei’s shoulder, greedily eyeing an oran berry that he was absentmindedly munching on.

“I bet they’ll be able to recite all of Ingo’s rules word-for-word soon,” Akari whispered to Rei as she came up beside him, nudging his arm with her elbow.

“Not even Cyllene repeated them this many times,” He laughed over a mouthful of oran berry. “Though he’s not being nearly as stern as she was, I remember it scared one of the potential recruits off before we even left for the site!”

Akari had heard bits and pieces of Rei mentioning last year’s trip. It was known that the entirety of Jubilife Village worked under the Galaxy Team, with the population working amongst the different corps. Many children often started work around the age of ten or so, picking a division to follow in order to serve the village. They usually stuck with their chosen paths too, enjoying them well and providing good work for their corps as they grew into more age-appropriate jobs.

…All of them that was, except for the survey corps.

A pattern was becoming apparent where tweens would initially be excited to join the survey corps, the only unit of work that consistently allowed them outside the confining village walls they were becoming tired of. However, a few days of such exploration and training often resulted in the fresh members quickly begging for a new position within another corps unit behind the walls of the village, unable to deal with the wild Pokémon that roamed about.

Reassignment was often difficult, and it sometimes even came down to Kamado having to swap out reluctant adults to even the work out, which everyone involved hated. So last fall, the commander had decided to start up a trip for young kids at the village who showed even the smallest amount of interest in joining the Galaxy Team’s survey corps units.

As captain of the survey corps, Cyllene had led the first group of recruits down to the mirelands to set up camp; they’d get to spend a day and a night in the wilderness, learn about the wild Pokémon that roam and how to deal with them, and general techniques about thriving in the field - things expected and required of a good survey corps member, and all under the care of an experienced adult. It was meant to show them what kind of work the unit would ask of them, before they made an official decision that they might end up regretting.

The first trip out had apparently been a bad experience though; none of the kids who participated ended up enlisting for the survey corps unit, and not even Cyllene agreed to do it again this year…which was why Ingo was instead going in her place. The captain had requested the warden to be her substitute this year with Zisu, apparently stating her work at the Galaxy Hall was too important to leave at this time, and his skill level with Pokémon made him a valuable addition to the trip.

Akari was happy Ingo was going with them, as she was ordered to go on the trip as well along with Rei (Kamado had requested their inclusion, stating their close age with the potential recruits might be “inspiring”, and that they really needed the trip to leave a good impression this year) but it did make her wonder…why did Cyllene insist on such high security this time around?

“Yeah, about that…” Akari kept her eyes on Ingo as he went on with his rules, oblivious to one of the village kids beginning to nod off. “You both went on the last trip, right? What happened last time? Why won’t Cyllene go back? Was it really bad?”

“I, well…I don’t really know.” Rei shrugged, inadvertently nudging Pikachu back as he attempted to sneakily reach for Rei’s oran berry. “She won’t talk about it. I just remember everyone waking up to her shouting in the middle of the night, far from our campsite. When we got to her, her abra had been knocked out, and she was, well…”

“She was fine, but she honestly looked like she had seen a ghost,” Zisu recalled, picking up where Rei had trailed off. “Everyone thought she had been dragged off, what with all of the marks covering the ground, but she wouldn’t confirm anything. Whatever happened, seeing the captain out of sorts like that terrified everyone else enough to scare them away from the survey corps. They all ended up turning to the supply corps, or the agriculture corps... everyone that was, except for Rei here! He was the only one of his age who ended up joining last year!”

Zisu clapped Rei on the back as she praised him, the bag he was shouldering doing nothing to lessen the blow.

“Yeah, well-“ Akari’s colleague almost dropped the half-eaten oran berry in his hand as he was knocked forward. “I’m glad I’m where I am now, but back then, what happened kinda scared me into wanting to reconsider work in one of the other corps. But Professor Laventon had really needed a research partner at the time, and I knew he had sort of been hoping I could work under him; I couldn’t imagine letting him down-“

Rei took on a sheepish look of sorts as he recalled helping out the professor, and Pikachu took the chance to snatch the oran berry out of the boy’s hand. Grabbing the fruit, Pikachu quickly stuffed the rest of it into its mouth.

“Hey!” Rei interrupted himself to grab for the rest of his breakfast back, but Pikachu reared its head away just before he could get it. “Pikachu!”

“Pi!” The yellow Pokémon squeaked triumphantly around the berry in its teeth. It moved away from Rei’s hands each time he grabbed for them, jumping from shoulder to shoulder, before leaping off and running under the training grounds’ wooden platform. Not having nearly as good of a time as Pikachu was, Rei hurried after him.

…Which left a concerned Akari, still mulling over the unsettling anecdote that had just been shared, next to a very observational Zisu. If it was bad enough that she requested Ingo go in her place…

“You know, I doubt what happened last year will happen again.” The security corps captain told Akari in an effort to comfort her. “Because this time, we’ve got you and Rei with us, the two best survey corps members the Galaxy Team has! And Ingo’s coming too - I’ve yet to see anything, Pokémon or otherwise, get the best of him.”

“Thanks, Zisu.” Akari readjusted the backpack on her shoulders; it was already starting to become a little heavy, containing a lot more than her simple satchel. She gave the woman the best reassuring smile she could.

Sure, Akari could easily have seen something like that happening to one of the kids looking to be a potential recruit, out beyond the walls of the village and experiencing the Pokémon-infested wilderness for the first time…

…But Cyllene? The captain of the security corps, who she had never ever seen show an ounce of fear? The woman was always so level-headed and commanding, so calm and collected… what could freak her out that badly? The planned site was out in the mirelands, and while she hadn’t really lingered in the particular place they were going to, she had stayed in the marshy area many times before, and nothing like that had happened to her…

Akari’s gaze moved back to Ingo, still talking but appearing to be reaching the end of his exhaustive list.

Hopefully Zisu was right, and that whatever happened last year would not repeat itself this time.

“…And that concludes our rules!” Ingo clapped his hands together, snapping everyone back to attention once again. “If there are no more questions then I assume, we are ready to depart the station; onwards to the Crimson Mirelands!”

————

The morning sun had long since risen higher in the sky as Ingo and Zisu continued to trek along the outskirts of the fieldlands. The group trailed behind them, staying close to the base of Mount Coronet as they passed through fields and over hills. They had already been walking for a few hours, but Ingo and Zisu made sure to keep a comfortable pace, mostly for the kids.

Several stops had already been issued to give them frequent breaks and let them experience some of the scenery outside Jubilife’s gates. Akari and Rei had taken up the back of the group, and conversation had led them both to agreeing that the pace was much slower than they were used to; it was past noon, and considering the time they left at, they would have reached the Mirelands by now. But they had to remember that these were young kids who mostly spent their days confined to the village walls, and were not used to traversing the wilderness with heavy packs on their backs.

And besides, the stops were nice; with the fall season, the crisp air rustled the warm-tinted leaves of the trees, providing very nice scenery to take in and appreciate. The top of Mount Coronet wasn’t even visible amongst the thick clouds, which provided a nice overcast sky that kept the temperature bearable as they trekked.

Wild Pokémon had been spotted many times in the distance as well, and while they were mostly of the docile type, it still greatly excited the kids. The sight of a fleeting flock of starly, or a family of bidoof and bibarel fortifying their dams earned lots of pointing and shouting, to make sure everyone noticed. A few times, a Pokémon even stopped long enough for Ingo to give a brief lesson about it.

“Alright, let’s take a brief stop here,” Ingo turned to address the group as they made their way into a shady clearing of trees. “There’s a brief uphill climb tracking over the hills up ahead. But once we pass those, we’ll have entered the Mirelands, and nearly reached our destination.”

Despite it being a break, the tweens all dropped their heavy backpacks and piled them against the trunks of the nearby trees, excited to run around and explore the wild area.

“We’re gonna go find a Pokémon and catch it!” One of the older kids in the group at eleven years old, Olli, called out as he pulled a handful of pokeballs he had stashed away in his backpack. “I told my sister I’d come back to Jubilife with at least one Pokémon!”

“Don’t go too far, stay where we can see you!” Zisu called out to them, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as the kids ran over a small hillside, out of view. Rei, who had just made himself comfortable leaning up against a tree, moved to go after them.

“I’ll help you keep an eye on them; come on Pikachu!” He promised the woman as he followed over the grassy hill with her, disagreeable yellow Pokémon trailing behind them reluctantly.

With that situation covered, Ingo dropped his own pack besides the others and stretched a horrible crack out of his back; the weight of the pack had been irritating his back for the last hour, but he didn’t want to mention anything. He retrieved a container of water from his pack and moved to sit down on a felled log, while Akari finally dropped her own pack with the rest of the pile, the last one to do so.

Nothing much to do now, except wait for everyone to return.

“Hey, um, Ingo,” Akari sat down next to the warden as he took a drink of water in the shade. He turned his head, acknowledging her with a hum as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “When Cyllene asked you to take her place for this trip, did she mention why she didn’t want to go this year?”

“Ah, she simply said it was a matter of work that could not be left unfinished at her office.” Ingo repeated the same thing Akari had heard over and over. “An understandable predicament. I was happy to be available to offer my assistance and take her place.”

“Besides that, did she say anything about what happened last year?” The teen tried to press further. “Like, an incident or anything?”

Ingo looked down at his water for a moment, trying to recall.

“...She did remind me to heed caution of our surroundings, but that is standard procedure when it comes to safety. However, there was no mention of anything that occurred on the last trip. Did something happen last year?”

In other words, Cyllene hadn’t told Ingo anything. He wasn’t even made aware that something had happened to her. Was the incident so traumatizing, that she wouldn’t even talk about it in terms of warning to peers?

“Well, I heard that something happened last time, and it sort of resulted in Cyllene being…dragged off by something? I think? No one knows for sure what happened, and she won’t talk about it, but…yeah.” Akari threaded her fingers together as Ingo screwed the cap back on to his water container. “I guess it scared everyone on the trip bad enough into joining different corps.”

“I see.” Ingo’s frown deepened some. “Well, I was not made aware of this. But, regardless of what happened, I will make sure these events do not repeat themselves. These potential recruits seem excited to follow your path as a survey corps member, but are at a rather impressionable age; I would not want a bad experience to be the cause of a track change.”

Ingo’s words comforted Akari some.

“Hey! Mr. Ingo, Akari! Look!”

Both the teenager and the warden looked up to see Olli running back over the hill towards them, pokeball held high above his head. The other children followed behind excitedly, with Rei and Zisu taking up the back.

“Rei helped me catch them!” Olli reached them, jumping up and down as he took his pokeball and popped it open to show them what he had caught. The capsule released a stream of energy, and the emerging form quickly revealed itself to be a tiny combee, buzzing energetically on transparent wings.

“Bravo, young man!” Ingo congratulated the boy as he smiled wide, pokeball still in hand as his new companion buzzed around him. “What a fine partner you’ve secured yourself.”

“My sister’s gonna be so jealous when it evolves!” Olli beamed.

Akari didn’t have the heart to tell him the combee he had caught was a male, and what that specifically meant for its evolutionary options. For now, just let him have his moment.

————

Dry autumn leaves crinkled under pairs of footfalls as Ingo and Zisu rounded a rocky corner, pushing through swaying tallgrass to meet a river. A wooden bridge was stretched across it, leading to the other side where a gaping entrance to decaying man-made caverns sat - the Solaceon Ruins.

“A notable landmark,” Ingo mused, noticing a few of the kids staring. “Our destination should be just up ahead, if we just follow the stream. If you excuse us, Miss Zisu and I would like to go on ahead and check that the site is vacant, and safe for set-up. Please wait here with Miss Akari and Rei while we go on ahead; we will return shortly.”

Ingo and Zisu pulled ahead, onwards towards the campsite - Zisu had told Ingo how several members of the survey corps had reported seeing the Miss Fortune Sisters using the site from time to time, and how they treated it as a base to hide out and steal from travelers. If the bandits were there now, it would be best to ensure their removal before bringing the recruits over.

With the adults’ absence, it didn’t take long for the children to turn their attention to the ruins across the river, the massive entrance jutting out of the cliff face like the open mouth of a hippowdon.

“Those are the ruins my sister told me about!” Ollie pointed at the looming structure, turning to look up at Rei. “That’s where the ghost dragged Ms. Cyllene to, right?”

This piqued Akari’s interest just as much as the rest of the kids, whos’ murmurings quickly grew quiet in order to encourage the boy into continuing his startling story.

“Um, what?” Rei was clearly caught off guard. “Is that…what your sister said happened?”

“Yeah! She went on the trip last year like you did, and she said that Ms. Cyllene was found across the river by the ruins, because a ghost had dragged her over there!”

The surrounding kids made a collection of different sounds between excitement and nervousness. A ghost?

“Now, I don’t know about that-” Rei attempted to stifle the topic, unsure on how to comment on it, but Olli kept going.

“She said that a ghost comes out of the ruins at night looking for people to drag away, and if she didn’t find Ms. Cyllene when she did, it would have dragged her all the way into the ruins and eaten her, or taken her shadow, or hidden her away somewhere!”

Another round of shouting from the children started up, equal parts nervous and excited. They began shuffling away from the river, towards the direction Ingo and Zisu had gone off to.

“Now, that’s not true-!” Rei made another effort to calm them down. “There are no ghosts out by the ruins, and one definitely didn’t drag Cyllene away. Akari’s been in there plenty of times before, and she’s never seen any ghosts inside…right Akari?”

“Uh, right!” Akari chimed in awkwardly, not expecting to be brought into the conversation like that. “I’ve never seen anything strange in there before!”

Well, unown liked to fester in the damp darkness of the ruins and cling to the crumbling walls, and while they were certainly strange beings, they were quite harmless. That was it; strange, but harmless.

“At night, too?” Olli asked; it felt like a challenge of judgment, despite the question coming from a genuine place of curiosity.

Akari was quiet for a moment, reaching behind to rub at her neck with a hand. She shouldn’t lie to them, should she? “...Well, no, I’ve never really been around the place at night. But I’ve never seen anything to suggest there are ghosts in there, either.”

Olli and the rest of the kids seemed entirely unmoved at this point, still convinced something sinister lurked in the ruins.

“Olli, maybe Mara was just trying to freak you out,” Rei tried to reason with the boy… though Akari could sense a hint of doubt beginning to creep into his own demeanor as well. “Because I was there right with her last year, and nothing suggested it had anything to do with ghosts. She might just be trying to scare you, knowing you were going on the trip this year.”

“I’m not scared,” Olli argued, as if that was an offensive suggestion. “I want to see it!” Mara didn’t see it last time, I want to be the first one to see it!”

Apparently, Olli’s competitive nature with his sister didn’t just extend to catching Pokémon.

The snap of a branch off to the side was heard, dissolving any chances of continuing the conversation. Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the sound a little too quickly, but were relieved to see that it was simply Ingo and Zisu returning to the group.

The two seemed to realize everyone was on edge and slowed their walk, assuming they had startled the group. Zisu cleared her throat and gestured behind them, back towards the campsite.

“Campground’s clear! Let's go and get our site set up, so we can get a campfire going, and start on dinner!”

“And be mindful to avoid stepping through any leaf piles,” Ingo added. “The paras stationed around here often use them for cover, regarding themselves and their nests. Leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone.”

The sun was beginning to set; they still had several hours before dark, but it would take time to set up the campsite and get dinner started, so it would be best to hurry and start now. The tweens rushed after Ingo and Zisu, eager to finish the work, but also wishing to get away from the Solaceon Ruins. Rei and Akari trailed behind as they left the wooden bridge behind them, though Akari couldn’t help but throw another backward glance at the dim maw of the ruins, gaping from across the river.

That’s where Cyllene had been found?

“It was really a Pokémon that did that, right?” Akari whispered to her colleague as they continued to carefully step amongst fallen leaves, losing their crunchy texture to dampness as they traversed through muddier patches. She held back, not wanting the children to overhear their conversation, and Rei caught on, slowing down with her. “I mean, with what happened with Cyllene; I’m sure Olli’s sister was just trying to scare him with a story.”

“Well,” Rei appeared to be wrestling with his thoughts. “I remember Mara was the one to find Cyllene first, and she did look pretty freaked out when we got there. I don’t know if she saw something, but I remember she was adamant that after what happened, she’d never join the survey corps, because she didn’t want to have to deal with something like that alone. And she stuck with her statement; she’s with the agriculture corps now. If anyone would have seen anything, it would have been her. But she’d never said anything about a ghost before…”

That didn’t reassure Akari at all. If anything, it only solidified why Cyllene refused to talk about what happened, and why all of the potential recruits chose different corps. Pokémon were one thing, and even ghost Pokémon were unsettling in their own way, but ghosts…

There was something disturbing about the notion of shadows of people, innominate entities wandering about the wilderness as shreds of something left behind. And the thought of encountering one that wishes to interact with you in such a way-

“Did you ever think it was a ghost?”

“A ghost Pokémon, maybe,” Rei reasoned. “But I’ve never known Cyllene to get like that over any ghost Pokémon…she’s the captain of the survey corps for a reason.”

Akari realized that Rei was right. Gastly were pretty, well, ghastly, and haunter were exceptionally haunting…but surely they weren’t anything that Cyllene hadn’t dealt with before.

“But then again, I know Mara likes to tease Olli about things. Maybe she really was just…exaggerating some things to scare him.” Rei played devil’s advocate against himself, absentmindedly watching his shoes crush the thin leaves beneath him as he walked.

“Maybe.” Akari denied herself another glance back at the ruins looming behind them.

————

“Alright, now here’s where you add the good stuff,” Akari held up one of the freshly-gathered sootfoot roots for the tweens to see, standing around the boiling pot situated over the campfire. The sun was now resting comfortably on top of Hisui’s mountain line, leaving waning sunlight to gradually be snuffed out by the darkness creeping across the sky. The cold, autumn weather was starting to set in with sundown, leaving the trees around them to rustle with the breeze, and the kids to huddle closer to the bright campfire for warmth and light. Ember sat close by, having had the honor of lighting the campfire, but since retired to the sidelines to watch Akari cook.

“For things like springy mushrooms, you can pull them apart and drop them in as needed, if you’re short on time. But for sootfoot roots, you should still cut them so they cook faster.” Akari explained as she chopped up the root into rough cubes. “And you should still cut the medicinal leeks at the stalk; out here, you can find the best ones in places that get a lot of sun…”

The children were entirely enthralled in Akari’s quick lesson of making a simple soup; she might have just been teaching them how to live off of the land like a survey corps member would do during extended expeditions, but the kids enjoyed it all the same.

“Now if the broth is done, we can bring it over here to the pot, and add just a little crunchy salt if we have any…and be careful not to overcook it! I’ve been working on that myself; it’s a little different cooking over a campfire like this-”

Akari’s voice carried over the dim campground as she continued to show the tweens how to prepare a quick but nourishing meal, and Ingo could hear it behind him as he set up his tent on the outskirts of camp.

Normally, setting up tents would not be a usual part of the process of expeditions, as there were base camps stationed throughout the region that survey corps members were expected to return to, where tents were already set up - Zisu had made that very clear when they stopped by one of the fieldlands’ base camps earlier to talk about them. However, their group of nine clearly couldn’t fit into the two tents each base camp had. So it became an opportunity to show the kids the alternative of setting up their own sites for overnight stay, should they ever be unable to reach a base camp.

So Ingo and Zisu had been showing the kids how to set their tents up over the last hour, directing them through the process until they had correctly finished the task (it took them a few tries to get the hang of it, but they all did quite well in the end), and decided dinner should get started on while there was still some light left in the sky. Zisu and Rei had gone off to go find more dry firewood to keep a fire going through the night - it was a tedious task, seeing as much of the surrounding branches were afflicted by the damp atmosphere. Ingo had insisted he stay behind; he would get their tents up by the time they had returned, so that everyone could just focus on enjoying dinner. Now, the only tent left to set up was his own.

With the firelight and the sunset at his back, the warden hummed quietly to himself - a set of notes that was just as unfamiliar yet nagging to him as the rest of his memories - as he went about setting the pegs. He was so focused on his task, that he almost didn’t notice the set of curious eyes watching him from the foliage that crowded around the campsite.

Almost.

————

The sun had finally drifted behind Hisui’s mountains enough to smolder what light was left in the sky. The overcast weather left a thick cover of clouds to block much of the moon’s natural lighting, blanketing the area in darkness. The illumination of the campfire bathed the surrounding area in a strong warmth as Akari stirred the last of the ingredients into the pot situated above it.

She topped the bubbling pot with a lid, pulling back slightly as heated steam began to curl around the edges. “Ok, now all that’s left is to wait for it to simmer for a few minutes, then-”

“-Miss Akari? Has Miss Zisu returned yet with Rei?”

“Not yet…” Akari immediately noted the slight uncertainty in Ingo’s voice; her gaze shifted from the pot over to the warden as he approached the campfire, partially obscured behind the group of kids crowded around it. At his inclusion, the tweens turned to look at Ingo as well, though they all fell quiet at something Akari couldn’t quite see - surely he wasn’t, but Akari’s first concern was that he was hurt somehow.

“...Why? Is everything ok?”

“Apologies for the interruption, everything’s alright. I, well…I am uncertain of how she arrived here all by herself, but I believe we have an extra passenger with us, and feel I should inform Miss Zisu about it post-haste.”

Thoroughly perplexed, Akari moved to stand up from her kneeled position over the cooking pot. Now able to look over the crowd of kids, Akari could clearly see a little girl, much younger than anyone from their group. She was standing by Ingo’s side and holding onto his hand - though it seemed more so from allowing Ingo to guide her over to them, rather than wanting to hold onto him.

The child met Akari’s gaze with her gentle brown eyes; her tied-back dark hair and red-toned clothing both made her instantly recognizable to Akari, despite only properly talking with her one time prior.

“Vessa?”

The girl smiled at the mention of her name and nodded to confirm, seemingly happy to be remembered by Akari. “Yup!”

“She is familiar to you?” Ingo couldn’t hide the slight look of surprise in his features, though there seemed to be some relief as well, knowing she was familiar to at least one person here.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her in Jubilife a few times before.” Akari recalled.

When they had left the Village gates that morning, a few of the younger children had attempted to try and go with them, either because their older siblings were going, or because they wanted to go see the world outside of the gates as well. Ingo and Zisu had to ensure the children would stay at Jubilife and not follow them out, but perhaps, did they somehow overlook this girl..?

But Rei and herself had taken up the back of the group the whole trek out here, and had not once noticed her following behind. Was she just that sneaky?

“Vessa, did you follow us out here?” Akari asked the girl as she kept still, holding onto Ingo’s hand. The surrounding kids had started to move back, giving Akari more room to see her without peering over them.

“I heard where you were going and wanted to come with you!” The small girl replied; she didn’t seem at all worried or stressed, like Akari would expect a child of her age to be after having wandered through the dangerous wilderness on their own. Though, the look she reserved specifically for Akari seemed to hint that she had more, unspoken reasons for following them.

“Just as I suspected,” Ingo shook his head. “Alright. Well, it’s already dark, and she has nothing with her - there’s really nothing we can do about this now, except give her some dinner, and ensure she has a good place with us to sleep tonight. And tomorrow, when she returns with us, I’ll, well… personally and profusely apologize to her parents for allowing this to happen in the first place. I’m sure they’re worried sick.”

A sharp, hot steaming sound bubbled up right behind Akari, and with responsive noises from a few kids, the teen realized that the soup had boiled over the pot, dripping into the campfire’s flames beneath it - surely, it was done by now, if not a little overdone.

“Oh!” Akari killed what little flame there was left, and used a cloth to lift the lid off. Messy, and a little crisped around the edges of the pot - Akari had let it overcook despite trying hard not to, but the soup still seemed good for the most part. “See, um, that’s what you don’t let happen when you’re cooking.”

————

Akari handed the last prepared bowl of hot soup, half-filled, to Vessa as she made her way to the campfire, having been the last in line to wait for dinner. “Careful, it’s hot. Blow on it a few times before you start drinking.”

“Thank you!” Vessa smiled sweetly as she took the steaming soup in her hands, and moved to go find a place to sit and drink it in peace.

With the kids fed, now it was time to prepare some for herself and Rei, and Ingo and Zisu. Akari grabbed another carved bowl, this time filling it more generously than half-way.

“Here you go, Rei.” Akari held the steaming soup out to her colleague as she left the pot to walk over to him; he was busy showing a few of the kids how to carve pokeballs from some of the apricorn shells that had been found around the campsite, allowing them to watch as they slurped from their bowls. Pikachu was curled up next to him, chewing on the flesh that Rei had cut out of the apricorn shell, and Ember was situated between two kids, enjoying occasional pets from them.

“Oh, thanks Akari!” Rei gratefully took the bowl and readjusted his position, setting his half-finished pokeball aside to do so.

“Of course,” She gave him a smile, before returning to the pot to fill another bowl. “Hopefully it’s not too burned.”

“I’m sure it’s great,” Rei reassured her, blowing on the contents to cool it down. “Everyone else seems to like it!”

Looking around the campsite, Akari could see more or less, most of the kids were happily slurping the soup up. A few picked up on the conversation, and gave Akari an agreeable nod with their heads or an affirmative thumbs up to convince her that yes, it was good!

Emphasis on most, though.

Off to the side, Vessa sat a secluded distance away from the others, where the firelight only weakly illuminated her. She held the hot soup in her hands, but she wasn’t drinking it, she was simply staring down at it, as if inspecting the contents.

Strange…

Akari would check on her after making sure she got dinner to Ingo and Zisu. She filled up two more bowls generously, picking them up carefully before heading for the outskirts of the camp. After Zisu had returned with Rei, Ingo had taken her aside to talk. Akari knew it was to discuss Vessa, from how he took the conversation away from the children.

“Make sure to tell Ingo and Zisu to come back!” Rei told Akari. “A few of the kids said they want Ingo to share the story about Draugr now.”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Several voices spoke up in immediate confirmation at this, almost spilling their soup in the process. “He said he’d share it with us! And Janie says she hasn’t heard it before!”

“Oh, and have him share a ghost story too if he has one of those!” Olli piped up.

“Alright, I’ll do my best,” Akari humored them with a small laugh as she continued on her way. Though, she doubted she’d vouch for Ollie’s request - it seemed like the last thing he needed was a ghost story.

There, in the darkness and by the edge of the river, hidden behind the large mossy rock that sat in front of the campsite, was Ingo and Zisu locked in conversation. The warden was making occasional gestures with his hands, the brim of his cap gripped tight in one of them - he was stressed. Zisu’s arms were crossed, listening intently for the most part, but periodically shifting her position to weigh in with a brief thought of her own - she was being supportive.

“…just don’t know.” Ingo’s words became more audible as Akari approached, though his voice was still hard to hear, being kept low. “I had not once seen her anywhere behind us on our trip to this station, and I made a point to constantly familiarize myself with our surroundings to ensure safety, just as Captain Cyllene instructed. I did not know she was out there. If she didn’t find us…”

“Well, we’re lucky she did find us, however she did it.” Zisu consoled him in her own hushed voice as the man ran a hand through his hair. “Her parents might be worried, but we’ll be able to get her back to them tomorrow perfectly safe, and that’s what matters.”

“Um,” Akari cleared her throat as she approached, feeling a little awkward to interrupt such a serious discussion. “Dinner’s ready?”

Akari held the two bowls out to the both of them, steam rising off the hot broth into the cold night air.

“Oh, thank you Miss Akari,” Ingo situated his weathered hat snuggly back on his head, and received one of the bowls as Zisu passed it to him, before taking her own. “It looks wonderful.”

“Absolutely!” Zisu agreed. “Smells just as good, too!”

“Thanks! And uh, you guys think you could come back to the campfire after you’re done talking? The kids said they want to hear your Draugr story now, Ingo.” Akari gave Ingo a half-amused, half-sympathetic look.

She knew this was only about the fiftieth time one of them had pestered him to share about it; Akari had heard about how a few times, he had given in and recounted a version of it during slow days at the training grounds, when the children would hang around with nothing better to do - but they never got tired of it, it seemed.

There was often fascination to be found in stories like that, when the very real danger had long since faded, and all that it left behind was a riveting narrative.

“They’re that eager? I’m certain they know that story better than I do, by now.” Ingo chuffed into his soup, barely heard above the laughter that Zisu let out.

“Oh come on, you can’t disappoint them Ingo, you told them you’d share it on this trip last week!” The woman pressed a hand against his shoulder as she went to move them both back towards the campsite. “Stories are at their best when they’re told around campfires; let’s not keep them waiting!”

“Ollie said he wanted a ghost story too,” Akari added hesitantly. “But I think…it would be best if we avoid those tonight altogether.”

Both adults gave Akari a look of confusion, having missed Olli’s earlier account of the Solaceon Ruins.

“Uh, the kids are a little freaked out about what’s in the woods after dark.” She half-explained.

“Right then, no ghost stories.” Zisu affirmed.

As Akari trailed behind Ingo and Zisu, back to where the fire was warm and bright, she cast one more glance back across the deep river. Back at the cold, gaping darkness of the Solaceon Ruins.

It certainly looked a lot more ominous at night.

As Ingo and Zisu made their way back to the campfire’s light, the kids, who had previously been entirely engrossed in Rei’s method of carving pokeballs, immediately perked up and cheered, turning to face him with hope in their eyes.

“Tell the story! Tell it!” They demanded immediately, not bothering to move as Ingo and Zisu stepped around them in order to get to an open spot and sit down, so they could enjoy their dinner.

“One moment, please!” The warden insisted, holding his bowl close so it wouldn’t spill on any children’s heads. “Permit us to refuel first, then…” Ingo sighed, though there wasn’t any annoyance to be found in his tone. “…I will share the story.”

As cheers erupted from the group of kids, Akari went to finally go get her own bowl of soup, and finish it off. Kneeling down and tipping the pot to get the last drops out, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Perla, one of the younger, more soft-spoken kids of the group, standing at her side.

“She hasn’t been eating.” She simply said, and pointed over Akari’s shoulder at someone. Akari didn’t have to look back to know that she was pointing at Vessa. “Is she ok?”

Akari glanced over her shoulder inconspicuously back at the girl in question; Vessa had sat her half-full bowl of soup down at her side, entirely untouched, and was instead threading wildgrass together into a chain of sorts. On the contrary to her isolation in the darkness, she seemed perfectly content with where she was.

“I’m sure she’s fine, maybe she just doesn’t like the soup.” Akari set down the pot, convinced it was now empty after a few more shakes. “But I’ll go check on her.”

“Olli said she might be a ghost.” Perla added with an even softer voice; it took Akari a startling moment to realize that she was afraid. “That’s why she won’t eat, and why she came from the same direction as the ruins. And that she is waiting until night time to grab someone.”

Among the kids crowded around Ingo and Zisu, Akari could see a few of them taking occasional glances back at herself and Perla; were they afraid too? Was Olli telling everyone that Vessa was a ghost? Come to think of it, Olli was starting to seemingly keep his distance from the girl…perhaps his fear had finally overtaken his determination to see the ghost, now that the possibility could have been standing nearby, breathing the same air as him.

“Perla, no,” Akari set her bowl down as she turned her head back to the girl. “She’s not a ghost, Ollie shouldn’t be saying stuff like that about her. She came from Jubilife, remember?”

“…Yeah,” The girl agreed half-heartedly, though her body language gave away that she still needed some convincing, with her hands tucked behind her back, and her head tilted downwards.

“I’ll go check on her, but I’m sure everything’s fine.” Akari took her bowl back into her hands and stood up, leaving Perla to watch her approach Vessa.

But as Akari walked closer to the firelight’s edge where Vessa lingered, she couldn’t help but wonder… Why wasn’t she eating?

It certainly wasn’t a question that dominated her mind because ghosts didn’t eat… because Vessa was not a ghost, she was a girl from Jubilife. Akari was just concerned that she wasn’t eating anything after such a long hike through the wilderness alone; surely a kid would be hungry after that.

How did such a young girl make it through the wild all by herself anyways, completely unscathed? Akari would often find at least one new scrape or scratch on her even on good days… and why did Vessa wait until dark to show up? Why hadn’t Ingo seen her at least once during the many times he observed the area around them? Why didn’t Rei and herself notice her either, from the back of the group?

Akari shook her head, overcome with a sudden spike of embarrassment. Shame on her for thinking the things she admonished Perla for thinking.

Well, Akari knew one thing for sure, and it was that Vessa was absolutely not a ghost.

“Hey Vessa,” Akari finally reached the girl, situated against a rocky wall and still absorbed in her tangle of wildgrass. “I noticed you haven’t had your dinner yet. Are you feeling alright?”

“I am! Thank you.” The girl continued on with her chain, though she extended the courtesy of turning her head to give her attention to Akari as she sat beside her.

Well that answered the question without giving her any information at all.

“…Do you not like the soup?” Akari tried again.

“No, I just can’t eat it.”

Again with the terribly vague answers, though this time Akari couldn’t help but wonder…she hated that her mind immediately jumped to it, but that was a strikingly identifiable feature of-

“Why not?” Hesitance slightly drew out Akari’s words, unable to help feeling a little nervous for the next answer. Vessa’s way of responding to questions was unfortunately effective at putting one on the edge of their seat.

“It’s got springy mushrooms in it, doesn’t it? Momma always said I’m allergic to springy mushrooms, and that I can’t have anything with them in it.”

Akari never recalled feeling so simultaneously guilty and relieved to hear a child had a food allergy in her life.

“Oh, Vessa, you should have said something,” Akari’s tight chest immediately relaxed, releasing a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in. “Here, I think I have something else…you can have honey cakes, right?”

Vessa nodded her head excitedly as Akari reached into her satchel. She pulled out a handful of honey cakes that she had made the day before, and placed the stack of treats into the girl’s open hands - she had dropped her wildgrass tangle in a hurry to eat. Akari felt bad for letting her go hungry like that.

“Thank you!” Vessa smiled, before taking a big bite out of one of the soft cakes. She fell into a sort of quiet as she chewed, and Akari took the opportunity to finally slurp from her own bowl of soup - it had grown lukewarm, but it wasn’t anything Akari wasn’t used to, after preparing many meals out in the wild.

Akari tipped the bowl up as she slurped the broth and mushrooms. As she finished the contents, she saw that Vessa had since eaten all of her honey cakes, wiping some leftover rice base from her mouth.

See? She ate the food, and ghosts can’t eat-

“I followed after you when I learned where you all were going, because I wanted to help you find one of them.” The girl broke the comfortable silence, disconnecting Akari from her train of thought.

The statement was as unsettling as it was confusing. “Find..?”

“You’ll see them across the river.” Vessa pointed through the trees that surrounded the campsite, out at the dark edges and black waters of the river on the other side. “They’re not here yet, but I’ll help you find them when they come.”

The hairs on the back of Akari’s neck stood on end as her gaze followed Vessa’s pointed finger into the darkness hovering over the black waters of the river.

“Um…Vessa,” Akari swallowed. “You haven’t been listening to what Olli’s been talking about in camp, right? We didn’t come out here to look for ghosts.”

“They’re not called ghosts.” Vessa wiped her sticky hands in the grass. “And they’re not like Olli says. When you meet them, you’ll see. They’ll be here soon!”

Akari suddenly felt very cold at the edge of the firelight, and very very aware of the dark expanse of wilderness around her, obscuring things that could be stalking them, and might not be Pokémon.

“Come on, let's go back to the campfire; Ingo’s going to tell a story soon.” Standing up and brushing the grass and leaves off of herself, Akari moved to pick up the soup bowl beside Vessa - she’d wash it in the river later - and stack it on top of her empty one. Vessa copied her, and Akari led her back to the others, back into the light. Her walk was a bit more flighty than she would have liked to admit.

Reconvening with the group circled around the campfire, Akari could see Ingo and Zisu had since finished their dinner. Ingo was off to the side, presumably putting the empty bowls away (and the cooking pot, as it no longer sat above the fire pit), and Zisu had taken up a seat on one of the tree stumps surrounding the campfire.

“Akari, over here!” Rei waved over to her, and she saw her colleague had saved her a spot in a patch of softer grass in the back, behind the group of kids. Pikachu and Ember were waiting as well.

“There’s a spot over there between Perla and Bren, you think you can sit there?” Akari pointed to an open area for Vessa. She nodded, and wordlessly moved to go sit with the other children. Finally, Akari made her way over to Rei and their Pokémon, and sat down.

“I didn’t think they’d be done so fast,” Akari offhandedly commented as she made herself comfortable on the grass, Ember coming up to lie on her lap.

“Everyone was really rushing them to finish,” Rei snickered, watching Ingo finally return to the fire pit. “They’re really impatient to hear the story… and they wanted Olli to stop bringing up ghosts.”

Akari sighed; she hoped that he wasn’t still referring to Vessa as one. “Does he think about anything else other than ghosts?”

“Alright!” Ingo sat himself down on one of the tree stumps, facing everyone who had been sitting around the campfire. The light illuminated his features, contrasting his black coat that seemed to merge with the darkness behind him. “Final call, are you sure you want to hear this story? It’s been recounted before, and I do have others.”

“Yes!” Was the resounding answer from several of the kids, leaning forward for emphasis.

Ingo was giving lots of outs; Akari wondered how much of it was him making sure he was giving the audience what they wanted, and if any part of it was hesitance from him not wanting to recount the events.

“Very well then,” Ingo relented as he tipped his cap forward. The man cleared his throat as he leaned towards the fire, searching it as he gathered his words.

“…Now, as I recall, I had found myself in the icelands with no memories, and I was being tracked by-”

“-No no no, Ingo!” Zisu stopped the warden in his tracks before he had even begun to pick up any steam, lightly smacking him against the shoulder with the back of her hand. “Don’t tell it like that, not when we’re sitting around a campfire! We’re not here to listen to you simply recall a memory, we’re here to let you share a thrilling, adventurous narrative!”

“I’ve always told it this way.” Ingo’s frown deepened, before leaning closer to talk in a lower voice to the woman. “I believe an abridged version is a more, ah, appropriate track for this audience.”

Zisu couldn’t disagree with that; Ingo always left out the more gruesome details of the events when recounting them for the children, as it was quite a horrific story, and after all, they were trying to help the village grow more comfortable with Pokémon…but telling an abridged version did not have to mean it should be flat or repetitive.

“Well you can still spice it up a little!” Zisu encouraged him. “Include the scary parts, omit the…unnecessary parts. Give them a version they haven't heard yet!”

“Yeah! Come on!” The circle of kids gave a round of agreement, hoping for Ingo to give them some new details.

“Alright, alright,” Ingo finally relented, which immediately turned the childrens’ hopeful encouragement into praise. “Permit me a moment to reroute…”

Brief silence settled as Ingo’s gaze flitted to the crackling fire, then the ground at his feet, where they lingered. Even from the back of the circle, Akari could see the warden considering things thoroughly. She knew he was doing his best to pull everything out from his memories of the event, even details he himself had tucked away from his conscious thoughts.

Something new…

The story was very real to him, but to be a good story, it had to be made real to others. It had to make others feel like they experienced something they had never even witnessed from a distance.

“Ahem, I…” A pause, perhaps out of hesitation. “…I recall the first thing that came to mind when I opened my eyes, staring up into the sky from on my back, was ‘the forecast didn’t call for snow tonight’.”

Ingo still didn’t entirely know why that had been his first thought, but he had come to understand that he probably never would. The meaning had left him along with all his other memories long before he thought to grab onto it.

“I had forced myself to get up and start walking through the snowstorm that I found myself in the middle of. There was nothing around me for the short distance I could see, save for a stretch of snow in every direction. I couldn’t remember anything at all, but I knew I couldn’t stay there, or I would succumb to the elements quickly. Though, as I walked, I wasn’t even aware I had made my way into claimed territory. Something was tracking me through the icelands, and had locked onto my movements the moment I had risen from the snow. I was just as unaware of its presence as it was hyper-aware of mine, and I was unfortunately even more uninformed of its impending arrival.”

The kids leaned in closer, the most collectively quiet that they had been all night. Akari and Rei listened just as intently as Ingo began to recount his memories of the event, the campfire’s light contrasting the shadow that the brim of his hat cast upon his face.

“While the snowstorm rendered my sight inoperable, I was able to rely on my other senses well enough - I had to.” Ingo continued; his voice usually grew a bit more monotonous when he retold past events, his focus being put into recalling the narrative, but the words he chose were often strong enough to carry it well. “I couldn’t see that something plowing through the snow right towards me-”

Like a train speeding down its tracks, dead set on its path.

“-but I could feel pounding in the ground vibrating rhythmically, just like-”

Wheels under the car and against the rails, steel against steel.

“-my heart, racing from beneath my ribcage. I could hear great heaving underneath the flurry, like-”

The heart of the great machine, the engine powering the parts in a mechanical imitation of life.

“-rumbling thunder erupting low and loud, overhead in the middle of a storm.”

“I’ve never heard him tell it like this before,” Rei whispered to Akari as he leaned closer to her, keeping his eyes on Ingo all the while.

“Me neither.” Akari whispered back.

As Ingo had said earlier, he had never given this much detail.

“The flurry, dense as it was, suddenly parted to my right. A spear of ice tore through it, sharp and thin like an ice pick at its end, but as thick as a pillar at its base. A challenge sounded, a bellow from its lungs that reverberated through me.” Ingo kept going, lacing his fingers together as he leaned forward. His eyes no longer evaluated his audience's attention, instead glued to something in the fire. “I found myself face to face with-“

A ghost. The scythes of dark ice silhouetted against the snowstorm as it lugged itself forward. Frozen grime tangled its fur and hung off its features in sharp clumps, pulled backwards with the unrelenting wind. Spatters of white clung to its limbs in heaps, where snow was kicked up. It was a living mountain. It was…

“-Draugr, the icelands apparition preserved in rime. It has found me, and it had challenged me. I was unfamiliar with the phenomenon at the time, but it was unmistakably an alpha, and I had made the unfortunate mistake of encroaching on its herd’s territory. I remember the look in its eyes-”

Oh how he remembered the eyes.

A sturdy patch of vibrant blue mantled around sunken black. Darkness clung heavy around two small eyes only made smaller, but pulled wide in rage. White replaced by webs of bloodshot red, tight black pupils boring into his. He remembered how they couldn’t stop moving as they took in the sight of him. Or how they seemed to gain height as it backed up…

“-before it reared back, towering over me with its massive body and frozen tusks, before bringing them back down where I stood-”

Ingo had never seen something so massive in his life. It seemed like it had almost outgrown its own skeleton, the way the muscled flesh undulated under the thick skin and fur, frozen over in clumps of frost. The sheer strength with which it heaved its own weight around was so startling, that…

“-It almost crushed me under the weight of itself, but I managed to move out of the way in time. However, I was unable to predict its next move. It dragged its tusks where they landed, and-”

Maybe if Ingo hadn’t been so distracted, trying to grab for something at his belt that was not there, or trying to figure out why he was in a blizzard, how this Pokémon got so big, or who he could call out to for help if he could just remember a name, he would have been able to fall away from the tusks sweeping through the snow. The jagged ice had instead slammed into his legs, and…

“-knocked me right off my feet. Before I could even right myself, it reared again, aiming to trample me. Front legs raised high, it brought them down, and-”

Ingo had shut his eyes, and when force slammed over him, it had been enough to stop his heart for a few moments. The weight on top of him was heavy and suffocating, but it was also malleable, and cold. It took Ingo a moment to realize that it had…

“-missed! Its foot came down right by my shoulder with all of its crushing weight right behind it, displacing a mountain of snow to bury me. Not taking even a moment to make sure I was not injured, I uncovered myself. I doubted I would be fortunate enough to have Draugr miss twice. Looking around me for anything that could help give me leverage, I saw an outline of trees off in the distance. Deciding it was my best chance of escape, I attempted to make it to the treeline-”

Too far. It was too far away, and a mamoswine could cover ground far faster than he could. He wouldn’t have made it even if his legs hadn’t been slammed numb by the force of the sweeping tusks. And what could trees have done anyways? Only provide a fragile canopy cover, and perhaps slow the beast down. But in this foreign white wasteland, it was all Ingo had. He only made a few steps of progress…

“-but Draugr quickly recovered from its blunder and swung around, once again colliding into me with its tusks.”

It knocked the wind right out of him, and he ended up learning later on that it had bruised several ribs - Calaba had been amazed they weren’t broken.

“I was subsequently thrown down a hill and rolled through the snow-”

Snowbank. Snowfurry. Snowbank. Snowflurry. Tumbling down the hill had meshed the ground and sky together in his vision. Soft snow gave way to a hard rock concealed beneath it at some point. Pain shot through his back as he rolled over, switching from a tumble to a slide. A gnarled branch beneath the white blanket connected with his side, and forced him back into a tumble. Another rock twisted him by his shoulder into a skid. Again and again…

“-until I hit the bottom. I barely had time to blink the stars from my vision, before I saw Draugr thundering down the hill right for me, sending snow to the sides like-”

A massive steam engine moving down the tracks, utilizing its cowcatcher like a snowplow through heavy snowbanks.

“-a ship crashing through storm waves.”

Great billows of steamed breath, heavy and violent, heaved out in clouds. It’s head dipped, its frozen spears aimed right at him. Those same wide eyes locked onto him as it drew close enough for him to see the bloodshot webs once again. The ground thundered as each monstrous leg came down with force, before pushing off and propelling it forwards.

It was at this moment that Ingo had explicitly and undeniably realized that it was now going out of its way to kill him.

“I had nowhere to go. Covering yards within seconds, it was right on top of me before I could even get up. I attempted to make a track change to the left, but before I could-”

Blunt force knocked him off of his feet again. There was a sharp pinching that gave way to hot ripping, as if a handful of his skin had been grabbed and yanked on. He was now moving with the monstrous mamoswine, and the left tusk seemed a little too sturdy against him - jostling through his side synched in time with it as Draugr pressed on. There was a splatter of red against the ice, the fabric of his clothes frayed around it.

“-I was struck right through the side by one of Draugr’s largest, sharpest tusks!”

The bubble of tension that had been building finally burst as Ingo’s voice reached a certain intensity, sitting up straight and holding the flap of his coat open to emphasize the hole in the fabric. Several of the children, who had been straining through silence up to that point, made a variety of gasps. The ones who had already heard a version of the story before simply made a face of unease.

“As Draugr speared me through and ran me into the snow, I thought that was the end of it-“

The energized look that had entered Draugr’s eyes upon realizing it had its target struck through on one of its tusks, still wide and red from their dark crevasses beneath the blue mantle, was haunting. Draugr hurled its head forwards, bashing its tusks downwards into the snow. The movements deliberately hurt. The frigid, grimy ice tusk had already fused with the warmth of the open wound. Each movement seemingly yanked on his insides. Hands grasped onto the tusk in order to try and lessen the painful jerking, and save him from the thundering limbs that would trample him if he disconnected. Sleet suffocated him as Draugr drove him through the snow. Who-knows-what hidden beneath the layers of white raked across his already-damaged back…

“-until the snow beneath me suddenly gave way-”

The support of the ground against his back was gone. The stinging ice, fused to his open wound, excruciatingly ripped away as the weight of his own body pulled him down. Snow cascaded through the air as Draugr reared back with a bellow. Ingo was falling.

“-And my back hit ice, barely cushioned by the snow still spilling over the edges of the pit above me. Draugr had dragged me right over one of the openings to the icelands’ frozen underground tunnels.”

It was all a mess, congealed together. The snowstorm rushed overhead, canceled out by ringing ears. The living mountain stared down from above, standing still over the edge of the sinkhole. Streams of white trickled down over the edge of the cavern’s opening, and gathered at the bottom. Red seeped out of the black coat, and into the surrounding snow. Bellows of frustration reverberated through the cavern, from a beast that could not reach him, and perhaps could no longer even locate him. Eyes closed tight as pain flared from his side and his back. Shallow breaths. Pained breaths. Snow gently drifted down into the sinkhole and collected on him, having separated from the hasty current above the tundra.

“I laid there on my back, where Draugr could not reach me. I watched them pace in their frustration, until I departed into an unconscious state. And after that… I was no longer in the cold mountainous wastes, at the bottom of a frozen network of tunnels, being pursued by the icelands revenant. Instead, I was in a warm tent, under the covers of a bed and staring back at someone who was repairing my wounds.”

Locking eyes with Calaba like that, in the middle of cleaning a gash on his shoulder, had startled him more than her.

“I consider myself lucky that Warden Sabi had noticed Draugr’s trail of destruction he had left behind while on a morning flight, and investigated it further. She had found me at the bottom of the sinkhole, and promptly alerted the Pearl Clan, who were able to save me in time. I am here today because of them.” Ingo slumped back from the fire, relaxing a little as he put the worst of the events behind him.

The icy winds and frozen hills faded away as he returned to the warmth of the campfire, safe within the mirelands and surrounded by good company.

“Now of course, Draugr left its mark on me in other, lasting ways; the tracks to recovery were long and difficult, and I almost faltered at one point… though, that is a line we can board another time. I consider myself extremely lucky to come away from it with merely a sore back and lasting scar-”

“Show the battlescar!” A few from the crowd requested, turning it into a demand as the rest joined in - even the few who had heard the story before were not aware of this detail. “Show it! Show it!”

Ingo scoffed a little at their label. He hardly considered it a battlescar, as the brutal attack had been so one-sided that he couldn’t really even call it a battle… more appropriately, it was just a beat down.

“Alright,” With a sigh, Ingo relented; at one time, he would have flat-out refused to show it or even talk about it. But with time and some physical healing, it had gotten a bit easier.

Pulling his coat back, Ingo loosened his belt and lifted his upper layers to turn and expose the extensive gash that raked over his side, reaching across to his lower back. The firelight helped illuminate where sharp, gnarled ice had cleaved through skin and muscle.

The sight earned a mixture of exaggerated gross-out sounds from the kids, though it was clear they were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Akari however, grimaced slightly; she never liked looking at it.

All things considered, it honestly wasn’t that grizzly; it was now simply a scar. But she didn’t like visualizing the events that caused it…something that was much easier to do now, with the new, detailed version of the narrative that Ingo had just shared.

“There,” Ingo smoothed his layers back down and situated his belt back in place over them, once again concealing the external damage under thick fabric. It couldn’t be seen by anyone like that, and easily forgotten about. Akari preferred it that way. “Well, that is about all I can share; I appreciated your undivided attention. I had not been prepared to express it this way tonight, I do hope this version was satisfactory?”

“Yeah!” The group of children clapped, having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and thanked him - it brought an upward quirk to Ingo’s frown, knowing they enjoyed it even in its more detailed state.

“Do you have any more stories like that?” One of them asked before the group could even finish their round of appreciation.

“Ah, well,” Ingo did, but none of them could probably top the one he just told. And plus, he wanted to share the spotlight, in case someone else had any stories of their own to tell. “I’m afraid not; however, Miss Zisu might have a story or two she’d be willing to share? She’s had some rather remarkable experiences herself.”

Every head in the group immediately turned to Zisu, who had been sitting silent on the tree stump next to Ingo, deeply invested in his narrative up to that point.

“A story from me?” The woman smiled, sitting up straighter. “Well let’s see, I’ve got quite a few of those… you want to hear about the time I took on an ursaring with my bare hands after they wiped out all my Pokémon? Or, the time I handled the steelix that had been attacking our construction corps, back when Jubilife Village was being built? Oh I’ve got quite a scar from that one, makes Ingo’s look like a paper cut!”

The friendly jabbing made Ingo huff a laugh. Most of the kids immediately divided amongst themselves on what story they wanted to hear, while one or two called out for both. However, they quickly fell into silence, heads turning at the sound of something snapping in the distance, past the outskirts of camp where the light could reach.

The soft crackling of the fire became much more noticeable as everyone sat still, waiting with bated breath to see if the sound would repeat.

Another snap of a branch, still distant in the surrounding darkness, but seemingly closer this time.

A tense murmur rose up between the children, who sprung from their stillness to move closer to the campfire, closer to Ingo and Zisu.

“Is that..?” Olli didn’t even have to finish his sentence for the murmurs to grow into concerned questioning - everyone was thinking the same thing. His excitement was gone, now replaced with a wariness, just as Akari had earlier expected.

“Hold on,” Ingo moved to stand up with a sense of purpose, the first to move away from the campfire rather than towards it. “I presume it is simply a wild Pokémon, but there is also the possibility that the Miss Fortune Sisters are returning to the area. In which case…”

The warden halted at the edge of the campfire’s light, looking back over his shoulder.

“I will return shortly. And, ah, Miss Akari..?”

At his request for her to join him, the teenager immediately rose from her place beside Rei, and took up the space by his side. Ember followed behind quickly, and Ingo continued into the darkness with Akari and her companion there to help light the way.

“Be careful!” Zisu called after them.

The sounds of the group’s startled murmuring amongst the crackling fire faded away as Ingo and Akari pushed further into the dark mirelands, the night sounds of the area replacing them. Crisp autumn wind whistled gently through the leaves of trees and bushes, and rustled the copious amounts of damp leaves piled up on the ground. Somewhere in the distance, the chirping of a kricketune was heard, and the gurgling of crogunk occasionally repeated. Muffled chittering from lethargic paras nests under the ground was faint in the area.

Ingo kept quiet as his hand went to his waist, holding near the pokeballs he kept in the lining of his coat. Akari periodically focused on Ember’s flames that dimly lit the area, a little concerned that she would possibly see something peering back through the darkness, and it wouldn’t be a Pokémon.

Ingo expressed quite the opposite, squinting to try and see if he could make any explicit forms or movements out in the distance, without the help of the moon’s light.

They waited in prolonged silence as they stopped a short ways away from the campsite, listening for another ominous snap to ring out amongst the mirelands’ night ambience. But as one minute strained into two, then to three…

“...Maybe whatever was out here left,” Akari suggested, her hushed voice cutting through the darkness. It was becoming clear that there were no Pokémon nearby, and in all honesty, she was eager to get back to the light; against her best efforts, her dread was beginning to grow.

Akari heard Ingo hum in acknowledgement, his back turned to her as he continued to search between the trees quite boldly. “Whatever was out here might have since departed, but I would like to make absolutely sure that is the case before returning to our station, to ensure the safety of our passengers.”

A breeze weaved between the trees, picking up a few damp leaves from off the ground, and sticking them against Akari’s legs. She shook them off as she moved closer to Ingo’s side, Ember’s glow following behind.

“You think it’s either a person or a Pokémon, right?” Akari risked the question through another whisper, though she lost her steam halfway through, becoming rather self-conscious. “Because the kids think, well…”

She was unsure how to finish that sentence in a way that didn’t sound silly.

“After listening to young Olli’s fascinations all through dinner, I believe I now see why you advised against sharing ghost stories.” Heavy black shoes took several more steps into the darkness.

“…Do you believe in ghosts, Ingo?”

Silence stretched amongst them for a moment, save for the mirelands’ ambience. Even if she couldn’t see him well, Akari could tell Ingo was fiddling with his cap by the brim. He always did that when he stopped to consider something.

“I…have yet to experience an encounter with one. Or observe anything that undoubtedly cements their existence. But I have not decided to disregard it as a possibility, just yet.” The man summarized his thoughts. “Though, I strongly suspect that is not one of the possible presences out here with us right now.”

Another silence fell between them, though this time it only helped the two notice disembodied whispering off in the darkness, off to the left and out of reach of Ember’s illumination.

Ice filled Akari’s veins as she reflexively moved her head to lock eyes with Ingo. He turned back at her to do the same, bringing a finger up to signify silence.

The indecipherable whispering quickly grew more incensed, until it was cut off with an inaudible word hissed through clenched teeth. The following silence became morbid and dreadful, with the expectation that something was about to happen.

“What-” do we do? The rest of the whisper didn’t get the chance to leave Akari’s mouth before she saw pale hands, pairs of them, break the edge of the darkness. They wrapped around any part of Ingo that they could grasp; he made a sound of surprise, but was cut off as the hands wrenched him backwards. A heavy sound as he presumably heaved onto the ground, before being hauled out of sight and into the choking murk.

Within one shocking moment, Akari and Ember were left alone in the circle of dim light.

“...Ingo!” Akari’s heart leapt into her throat as she finally got her vocal cords working again. She realized she had locked up. Seconds felt like minutes…how long had she been standing there?

Ember yowled as she rushed forward and lept into the surrounding bushes after the warden, and whatever grabbed him. Akari hurried after her companion to stay in the light.

Pulling back the foliage, Akari came across clumps of wet leaves, stamped down into the damp dirt. Various tracks littered the area, where something (someone) had been pulled through the mud, clearly against their will - Ingo had indeed been dragged off, but he had put up a fight. The edge of the area gave way to the black waters of the river nearby, and Akari could see the drag tracks (so many trails…why were there so many trails through the mud going the same direction?) leading closer and closer to the edge…

…where they ended at the wooden bridge leading to the other side of the river, largely obscured in darkness.

“Ingo!” Akari called out to the other side. “Ingo!”

There was no answer above the rushing of the waters, just the kricketune in the hills, and the crogunk off in the distant bog.

What was strong enough to drag a grown man off like that so quickly?

“Ingo!” Akari dared to take a few steps across the wooden logs.

Hopelessness quickly began to settle in her chest, heavy and suffocating as her head grew staticky. What if Ingo wasn’t even across the bridge? What if he was further down the hill? Or, did he fall into the river? No, she would have heard a splash…but what if she just didn’t hear it-?

Akari’s mind raced with hypotheticals of Ingo getting mauled by a wild Pokémon, or succumbing to the depths of the river, but deep down, she knew none of them really held water - If his campfire story recounting his experience with Dragur was anything to go by, Ingo was a very strong, hardy person. He could handle anything.

No, the hypotheticals were really just a subconscious coverup to try and distract her from her real fear - that the Solaceon Ruins really did house an apparition, and it had just dragged Ingo back to the structure, exactly as it had done with Cyllene the year before.

Ember barked from behind Akari, still at the scene of the initial struggle. The teenager turned to her companion as she nudged a pokeball out from under the mess, dirtied with mud as it lay amongst the leaves.

It appeared Ingo had grabbed for it but accidentally dropped it during the scuffle, having failed to release his companion in time.

Akari picked it up and quickly freed the contained creature; out emerged Gliscor, Ingo’s ace. Leather flapped and branches creaked as appendages latched onto a nearby tree. It chittered cautiously as bright yellow eyes accustomed to the darkness searched the area, immediately wondering where its partner was.

“Gliscor!” Akari called up to the Pokémon as she tucked its pokeball away. “Something took Ingo, and I can’t see where he was taken, or…what even took him! Please, help me find him!”

Gliscor’s wide eyes gained an understanding quality as it screeched, and launched itself off its branch. A few quiet flaps, and it was gliding above the trees, scanning the area with fervor.

“Come on, Ember!” Footfalls squelched against muddy patches as Akari turned on her heels, running back for the firelight. With Gliscor out actively looking for Ingo, Akari needed to go back and get help.

————

“What if the ghost lured them out there on purpose, to grab one of them up?”

“Olli, that’s not what happened,” Rei felt like he was recycling through different versions of the same reassurance over and over, in order to keep the rest of the group calm. But, that was hard to do once Akari’s panicked shouts calling out for Ingo made its way back to the campsite. The children had quickly started hypothesizing what happened, and what had been lurking out there…and thanks to Olli, they were all leaning heavily on the phantasmic side.

“It could be trying to finish whatever was interrupted with Ms. Cyllene last time!”

Rei sighed as Pikachu moved from one shoulder to the other. “I’m sure it’ll all under control-”

“-Zisu!” Akari’s voice rang out from the darkness again, this time much closer to the campsite. “Zisu! Ingo, he…something grabbed him, and I couldn’t- I sent Gliscor, but…across the river-!”

Akari’s words were as unorganized and breathless as herself, emerging from the darkness with Ember to reconvene with the group.The teen moved to lean against a tree, but it was obvious she was not planning to sit down.

“-Something dragged him away, and I can’t find him!”

“Hang on, Akari-” Miss Zisu attempted to calm the teen down, but her efforts were interrupted.

“I knew it!” Olli exclaimed - that was enough for the rest of the group to start shouting. “The ghost got him!

“It wasn’t a ghost! It-” Akari realized she really had no idea what it was, having been so heavily obscured by darkness. But from what little she had seen, it certainly didn’t seem like any Pokémon she was familiar with, and she was familiar with just about every Pokémon in the region. “-just had a lot of…of hands, and, and…oh, come on, we need to-!”

A scream was heard far off, disrupting the mirelands’ nature ambience. It was certainly human enough, nothing like the calls of a Pokémon, not even ones that tried to imitate humans. Though-

“That was not Ingo,” Akari tried not to pay attention to the new round of anxious hypothesizing from the kids, exclaiming it was the wail of the ghost. They were already wasting important time, and now she definitely knew Ingo was not alone out there. Having caught enough of her breath, Akari moved to venture back out into the darkness. “We have to go back out there and find him! Come on!”

“Akari! Breathe, it’ll be alright; you’ll find him. Rei, go with her,” Zisu urged the teens. “Someone has to stay with the group; you go on ahead with Akari, I’ll stay here.”

Rei nodded in affirmation, and the two moved to rush back into the treeline. Both teens and their partner Pokémon disappeared into the darkness, taking off in the direction of the Solaceon Ruins.

“Be careful, and watch where you’re going! Can’t get Ingo back here if you end up hurting yourselves!” Zisu called after them. It was a rather forward statement, but a genuine one.

Perla tapped on Zisu’s arm as the group of kids shuffled closer to her, in a long stretch of tense silence. “What do we do?”

“Well,” The woman crossed her arms. “All we can do is stay here, and…wait.”

Zisu had urgently wanted to go with Akari and Rei, and help them find Ingo. Waiting around was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew she couldn’t go off with the two and leave the rest of the group here. Not after something managed to snatch up Ingo of all people. And it would be reckless to drag a group of-

Wait.

There were supposed to be six kids here. So why were there-

Zisu immediately began a headcount, mentally separating the children clustered close together.

Olli, Perla, Janie, Lon, Bren…

Zisu frowned as she restarted the headcount, once, then twice. The children noticed her counting them, and began to glance amongst themselves, slowly realizing why she was recounting.

“Where’s Vessa?”

————

“It happened right over here!”

Dim light once again drove away the darkness that enveloped the site of the struggle, leaves still stamped in the ground. Akari and Rei pushed through the foliage.

“I found Gliscor’s pokeball here, so I sent them off to find Ingo, but I don’t know if-” Deep breath. “-if they found him yet.”

“This is just like what happened with Cyllene,” Rei leaned against a tree to wipe some accumulating sweat off his brow - he was certainly spry, but Akari was hard to keep up with even for him. “Same…same tracks and everything.”

His words did not ease Akari’s conscience at all.

“Well then come on! They lead to the bridge!” Akari took off running, following the tracks leading to the river’s edge. Ember rushed after to keep the way illuminated, and Rei hurried behind, Pikachu on his shoulder.

Pushing through the foliage, Akari could no longer contain the thoughts that terrorized her. What if she had made the wrong choice to go back to camp and get help? What if Gliscor hadn’t found Ingo, and he had been dragged away? What if the same thing that had attacked Cyllene had now gone after Ingo…and this time, it finished the job?

What if the kids were right, and it was a wilderness apparition that the ruins housed?

Pushing past the last tree standing in the way, Akari finally reached the wooden bridge. And again there was the strange multitude of drag tracks, leading right to it but simultaneously trailing off into all different directions.

A moment of doubt mixed with Akari’s terror - was this even the right way?

No, she knew exactly where Ingo was. The murky silhouette of the Solaceon Ruins’ entrance jutted out against the dark night sky, a deep black cliffside against a dim, deep haze. She knew Ingo was there, even though every part of her wished he was somewhere else.

“Across the bridge, Rei!” Dread grabbed at her ankles in an attempt to weigh her down, but Akari shook it off and ran across the bridge with Ember at her feet, Rei somewhere behind her.

The thin tallgrass whipped against her legs as she continued to run towards the cavernous entrance into the ruins, the drag tracks still leading beneath her shoes just as she dreaded. Ember started to fall behind, and Rei was no longer with them. As awful as it would have been to hear, there were no sounds of a scuffle anywhere, and no instances of Ingo’s voice. There was lots of distant, collective chittering though - almost like a rumbling.

Had Ingo already been dragged into the ruins? Was it too late? Had the ghost already stolen his shadow? Or locked him away in some darkness so deep, that no one would be able to find him? Or-

“Ingo!” Akari’s eyes slightly adjusted to the dimness of the overcast night as she forced herself to keep running towards the looming ruins. “Are you out here?”

Deep down, Akari was hoping for an answer, but her shallower feelings discouraged her from expecting one, and her surface-level instincts scolded her for drawing the attention of any nearby wild Pokémon to herself. But she didn’t know what else to do-

“Ingo!” She called out into the murk again.

“Miss Akari?” The murk answered back, distant. “I’m over here!”

The familiar voice pulled Akari’s emergency brakes, and she almost slipped with the sudden stop through the slick grass. Willing herself to regain her balance as Ember stumbled beside her, the teen searched around intently for the source of the voice…

…And there was Ingo, on the hill leading up to the gaping chasm of the Solaceon Ruins. She almost missed him, with the pitch-black entrance to the ruins behind him. It was clear he was winded from his posture, though he thankfully seemed unhurt, for the most part. A spark of emotion jumped in Akari’s chest, seeing that he was still here, alive and well.

“Ingo!” Akari cried out as she rushed up the hill, reaching his side and grabbing onto him tightly; Ember yipped excitedly as she ran behind. Akari’s relief over the sight of him momentarily overrode her driving fears of the ethereal, or else she might have been cautious that he was the apparition in disguise. Though, he felt much too solid and comforting for that to even be an afterthought. “You’re ok!”

“A little shaken, but I am quite alright;” I apologize for that unscheduled departure earlier!” Ingo’s hands were shaking a little, though it seemed more like an unwanted after-effect of adrenaline rather than fear. They shuddered against her shoulder as he attempted to still her, especially when she started trying to pull him with her, away from the deep darkness of the Solaceon Ruins’ entrance.

“The ghost didn’t drag you into the ruins? Where is it-? Oh, nevermind! Come on, we’ve got to go before it comes back!” Akari’s words were going a mile a minute.

“Miss Akari-!” Ingo resisted her pull. “There is no hurry! This was not the doing of an apparition at all; rather, I was correct with my prior suspicions!”

Akari stopped tugging, though her grip on his coat held tight, a look of bewilderment settling on her features. The chill under her fingertips finally penetrated her attention, and Akari belatedly realized that Ingo’s coat sleeve was covered in patches of frost, as were the rest of his clothes.

He was shaking from the cold.

“What..?” Akari watched the clinging frost melt from her fingertips, before moving the brush the rest of it off of his coat. “What do you mean? What is this from?”

“It is surprisingly cold being trapped within the arms of an abomasnow, I must admit.” Ingo’s disposition seemed almost rueful as he wiped the last of the frost from off his shoulders. Ember pressed up against one of his legs in an effort to warm him.

Akari struggled to process what Ingo had just said. “Wait…an abomasnow? Out here?”

The only people Akari knew who had an abomasnow were-

“The Miss Fortune Sisters were responsible for my abduction.” Ingo confirmed Akari’s quickly-growing suspicions. “As I suspected, they were returning to the campsite in hopes of staying there, but when they saw it was already occupied, they changed plans to thievery. You and I happened to be in an opportune place for ambush, and… I was the closest within reach. They were quick to remove my Pokémon from off of me, and it was impossible to fend them off three against one at that point, especially once their abomasnow detained me within the ruins.”

“Well where are they?” Akari began to fret again, looking around for any sign of the bandits. “Do they still have your Pokémon?”

Ember growled as cinders wafted from her coat, ready to defend.

“Ah, not at the moment.” Ingo shook his head. “In fact, they don’t even have their own; I’m afraid their Pokémon were knocked out of commission in their haste to fight off my inadvertent rescuers, who arrived moments before Gliscor, and yourself.”

Rescuers..?

Down the hill and closer to a cluster of trees and tallgrass, another shout rang out, remarkably similar to what Akari heard at the camp earlier. The teen started when she spotted what looked like a remarkable amount of paras gathered around a tree. Gliscor’s silhouette fluttered around it, occasionally gliding down low to swipe at the horde, while dodging wayward spurts of static spores.

So that’s where the chittering had come from.

“Call your gliscor off!” One of the bandits' voices yelled out from the branches, now recognizable as Clover.

“If he withdraws, then there will be nothing to stop the paras from overtaking the tree, and you three with it!” Ingo called back to them.

Even after what they had done, Ingo was keeping them safe. There were no further calls to withdraw Gliscor.

“They did not account for all of the paras nests they disrupted and trampled in their haste to drag me back. Lots of persistent enemies were made quickly.” Ingo shook his head, grimacing at the recollection. “One of them, rather large.”

The unmistakable deep rumbling of an alpha’s bellow was heard. Down the hill, Akari could make out the enormous mass of an overgrown paras rearing up and separating itself from the horde. A variety of different mushrooms festered on its backside, leeching nutrients from its hulking body as gnarled, armored claws grasped at the air. It heaved itself up against the tree, enough to shake it at its base. The jostling caused another round of shouts from one of the bandits.

Akari immediately recognized that alpha paras as the same one she had encountered several times before within this section of the mirelands. Its spore attacks were as nasty as its disposition, and more than once, it had tried to grab her when she wandered too close to its nest. It had even pursued her a few times, to her horror. Akari considered herself lucky that she was a fast sprinter; unfortunate was the person who would succumb to that alpha’s gnarled rows of thin, sharp teeth, or those long, spindly legs, or-

Several things clicked together at once in Akari’s head.

“…Ingo, I think I know what attacked Cyllene last year, now.”

Ingo made a sound of surprise at the proposal, before heavy footfalls were heard behind them; Rei had finally caught up to them, Pikachu holding tight onto his shoulder.

“Mr. Ingo, you’re ok-!” The boy called out with strained breaths as he hurried up the hill towards them. “I was so worried that…that you’d ended up like Cyllene, or…worse! Good thing Akari already-“

The teen barely made it to the top of the hill, clearly winded, before he observed the waves of paras around the tree, and their furious fungal-infested alpha trying to swipe Gliscor away.

“-woah, that is a giant paras..!”

————

“So they were using the ruins as a temporary hideout?”

“Correct,” Ingo affirmed. “They planned to move their base back to the campgrounds, but were unable to do so with us there. So, they decided to try and pick us off one at a time, and take what they could.”

Ingo walked with Rei and Akari by his side, recounting the finer details of everything that had happened (and catching Rei up on everything he had missed) as they made their way back to the log bridge, leaving the Solaceon Ruins behind them.

The two had helped Ingo locate the rest of his pokeballs amongst the piles of other poor victims’ stolen goods within the dark ruins, once they had driven back the paras. Unfortunately, the Miss Fortune Sisters had decided it was more important to get away rather than to try and take back their stolen items: as soon as the trio had landed back on solid ground, smoke bombs were used, and they were gone.

“Though they were rather disappointed when they found I didn’t have any belongings of value on me, once they separated me from my Pokémon.” Ingo’s frown didn’t hide the slight amusement in his voice.

He recalled how the three bandits had started shouting amongst each other that they had ‘grabbed the wrong one’, and should have made an effort to take Akari instead - she always had tons of valuable things on her. They only became more frustrated when they attempted to intimidate Ingo with empty threats; all it did was make him confess that he was satisfied they had grabbed him up instead of her.

“It started quite an argument… loud enough that the paras whose nests they destroyed were able to easily find them. They overwhelmed the Sisters and their Pokémon quite easily, then pursued them up that tree. I would have been a target as well, had Gliscor not arrived when he did, and warded them off… I am thankful you recovered his pokeball and sent him for me when you did, Miss Akari.”

“I’m just glad he found you in time.” The teen admitted, relieved she had made the right choices.

“What are we going to do about all the stolen stuff in the ruins?” Rei wondered, eyeing the river as they came up beside it.

“We should make an effort to return the stolen items to their owners.” Ingo placed a hand on his chin as he walked, contemplating the right thing to do. “I did not intend for this trip to turn into a supply run, but I suppose we’ll make a stop by the ruins tomorrow morning to take what we can back with us, and request the Ginkgo Guild to come out and pick up the rest - I suspect the Miss Fortune Sisters must have been stationed out here for a long time, stealing from the guild just as much as lone travelers, in order to amass a collection of that size.”

“You don’t think they’ll come back to take what’s left before then, right?”

“I trust the paras will not let them return to the station for a good while.”

“Man, wait till everyone hears about all this back at the campsite,” Rei laughed. “Olli’s gonna be disappointed there was no ghost, though!”

“No ghost, but an alpha paras is just as terrifying, I think!” Akari shuddered. “If that’s what dragged Cyllene away, no wonder she won’t talk about it…”

A sudden thought occurred to Akari.

“Um, you think we should leave that part out when we talk about this with the others?”

“To preserve dignity, ah, perhaps it would be best.” Ingo steadily agreed, folding his arms behind him. Children could be ruthless with information like that. Even if they weren’t all aware of the captain’s intense phobia of bug-types, he was sure Cyllene would not appreciate the village children coming back and laughing at her for being attacked by a paras… even if it was an alpha. “It’s enough of a thrilling experience without it anyways, though perhaps a kind that should not be repeated. I’ll look into suggesting setting up a site elsewhere for next year, if we cannot secure unauthorized groups from using it.”

Both good ideas, Akari thought. She hoped what had happened here tonight wouldn’t lead to a repeat of what happened last year, and send all the potential recruits running for different corps. A lot happened, but at least they could all come away from this experience knowing that this certainly was not the doing of a ghost.

The Solaceon Ruins? Just creepy.

The wailing of a ghost? Just the Miss Fortune Sisters.

The ghost itself, dragging off people in the night? Again, the Miss Fortune Sisters, and an irritable alpha paras.

…And in the end, most likely a story Mara had made up just to try and scare Olli, as well as justify her own fright of the alpha paras.

Nothing about this trip had proven that ghosts existed.

Finally, the darkness revealed the sturdy log bridge leading back to the other side; they were almost at the campgrounds. Ingo led the way across, and Rei followed, but before Akari could set a foot on the structure, she felt a tap on her back.

With a sudden fright, Akari whirled around to see who, or what, was behind her. It wasn’t a ghost, or even a ghost Pokémon, but the sight didn’t bewilder Akari any less.

Standing behind her was the group’s extra passenger, positioned stiff in the dark with her finger still held out. Though, the friendly expression on her face managed to disarm Akari’s sudden terror, somewhat.

“Vessa!” The teen felt the tight bundle of cords in her chest start to loosen. “Why are you…how did you get out here-?”

“I was waiting for you!” The small girl replied, acting more like a party host welcoming a late guest, rather than a girl who was waiting in the dark wilderness. “They’re here now, and I told you I’d help you find them when they came!”

She pointed behind her, into the darkness that enveloped a diverging path traveling upstream.

The loosened cords in Akari’s chest somewhat tightened again. “Vessa, we need to get you back to camp, I’m sure Zisu’s-“

In the darkness, a faint purple glow pulsed. It was gentle and soft, and stopped Akari in her tracks.

Strangely enough, it did not frighten her. Instead, it instilled an odd sense of longing, and melancholy.

“Miss Akari?” Ingo called from at the end of the bridge. “Are you following? Is everything alright?”

“Um,” Akari fumbled to give a quick response. “Yes! Everything’s fine! I just…”

“Just you!” Vessa whispered to her, so quietly that she barely heard it. “They can’t come. But it will be quick.”

Akari didn’t like the sound of that at all.

But… something about that glow. It held a sad sort of comfort. And Vessa… something tugged on the teen’s heart, telling her she could be trusted.

“…I think I dropped something in the grass over here,” Akari finished her sentence, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Can you…and Rei wait there for a moment? I’ll be right there!”

“If you’re…certain it’s safe,” Ingo’s voice sounded uneasy, but she knew he trusted her judgment enough.

“Just make sure you don’t upset another paras nest!” Rei called back, taking the situation much more lightly.

“Alright,” Akari took a deep breath, and moved to follow Vessa off the path, towards the soft purple light. “It really needs to be quick though.”

As Vessa led the way, the river narrowed the trail against a cliffside. Looking across the dark river, Akari could see the light of the campfire on the other bank; this spot is exactly we’re Vessa had pointed to earlier.

They finally reached a clearing where the trail cut off at a dead end, and right at the center of the area was the source of purple light - a radiant ball of…fire? Akari didn’t know what to call it, exactly; strands of light slowly floated off of its glowing center, which hung suspended in the air. The melancholy atmosphere weighed heavier, but there was also a sense of tired relief. A sense of being found.

Akari had seen this before, back at the village once. When Vessa had shown her…

“A wisp?” Akari questioned aloud. She admitted she had forgotten about Vessa’s request until this moment; the girl had asked her to seek out wisps like this one in the wilderness, but this was the first one Akari had actually come across outside of Jubilife; she had admittedly begun to disregard Vessa’s request as a playful trick of sorts.

“She only comes out at night, but she was hoping you’d come get her.” Vessa explained, stepping aside. “I wanted to help.”

The wisp’s glow flickered.

As horrifying as the concept was of someone leading her to an apparition in the wilderness, Akari didn’t feel terror. She wondered if in part, it had to do with Vessa’s gentle disposition, or the wisp’s strangely comforting presence. Or maybe even the familiarity of having done this before at Jubilife.

There was no danger here.

Akari reached out for the wisp, just as Vessa had shown her to do before. The soft purple flames were warm to the touch, though not uncomfortably so - it reminded Akari of holding Ember close to her.

Akari slowly closed her hands around the glow, and the warmth initially doubled before frosting her fingers with a cold tingling sensation. The light fizzled, and sparks dissipated into the air from between her fingertips.

When she opened her hands, the flame was gone, and so was the melancholy.

“Thank you,” There was audible appreciation in Vessa’s voice as she smiled. “Others are still waiting out there, but she was just getting a little impatient, after being passed by so many times.”

“I’m…sorry,” the words stumbled loosely out of Akari’s mouth as she rubbed the warmth back into her hands. She thought about the handful of times she had been in this area before, and how she’d never once seen the glow in the sunlight.

“Here,” Vessa reached for Akari’s hand. The clearing was left behind as the young girl began to lead her back down the path, towards the bridge. “I’ll lead you back to the bridge.”

The hair on the back of Akari’s neck stood up as she felt Vessa’s terribly cold, frail fingers grasp her own. A certain, hesitant understanding came upon her, but she was unsure if she could believe it.

Again, she was not as fearful as she thought she would be.

“Thank you for letting me stay with you all tonight. It was nice to feel like part of a group again, and for you to go out of your way to make sure I was comfortable.”

Something told Akari she would not feel the small hand in her grasp once they reached the bridge.

“Vessa,” Akari swallowed as the kind, young soul led her through the darkness. “Could you…return with us? Back to camp, and to Jubilife?”

Vessa’s eyes, flickering in the dimness, connected with Akari’s. There was no sound as she stepped over the damp leaves on the ground. The weight of the small, cold hand in hers was light as air.

“You know, I’m sure Zisu is probably panicking right now about where you are, and Ingo would be out searching for you all night. And…”

The bridge became visible as they stepped around a cluster of foliage.

“…I’d like you to stay a little longer, and enjoy your time with us, if you’d like?”

The small fingers in Akari’s hand held on firmly, still there. Her bright eyes were warm as she smiled back at the teen. The wet leaves squelched under her feet, and the logs creaked quietly as she stepped onto it ahead of the teen.

“I’d like that.” Her voice was quiet, but Akari could sense the gratitude. “Thank you.”

At the other end of the bridge, Akari could make out Ingo and Rei’s silhouettes; they had waited for her, just as she asked. But landing beside them, she could make out the bulky silhouette of a new arrival; Zisu’s Honchkrow.

“Miss Akari! Ingo’s voice called out with slight urgency. “Did you find what you were searching for? We should return back to camp quickly; it appears one of the children is missing, as Miss Zisu’s sent her Pokémon out in search of them. We need to join the search post-haste!”

“Yes! And um, about that…there’s no need, I think I already found her!”