#i’ll prolly explain the situation if someone asks

[turbobyakuren]

the current shitshow that occurs among Macronists because of what Cannes Festival’s Palme d’Or winner said in her speech is SO fucking incredible i’m loving how they’re SEETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they’re fucking M A D!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD!!!!!!!

[chaeiimimi]

omg hi love!! if you ever open request please consider this 🤲🏻 but the single mom scenario you did with some more characters like ex: atsumu, bokuto, or iwazumi or anybody!! anyway ur amazing 🗣

hello love! I'm so sorry for the late response, I was kinda getting my life together, but yes! my requests are open! I'll write Bokuto's on the next part 'cause these scenarios are long

HAIKYUU BOYS AND A SINGLE MOM PT.2

Featuring: Atsumu, Iwaizumi

ATSUMU MIYA

the calm music and people chatter contradicted Atsumu's idea of a party, which was loud music, people dancing in the dance floor, dj's and a lot of drinking

but then again, it was Meian's party at his house, he has a wife and two daughters, which was why he was stuck at the couch of his captain's living room, watching the wives of his teammates interact and his teammates were either talking to each other or watching over their kids

even Sakusa was invested in his conversation with Ushijima with his son on his lap

he sat there staring at his phone, aching to leave, but can't 'cause it was his captain's birthday

"Hi excuse me?" Atsumu glanced up and oh boy was he in for a treat

manz really freezes on the spot, did he die of boredom? was he in heaven now? is this the angel taking him to the afterlife? 'cause damn he'd go without any hesitation

you waved your hand in front of his face wondering if he had a heat stroke or something

"sir, are you okay?" you waved again

he finally snapped out of his trance and looked away

"uh y-yes?" he asked, uncharacteristically embarrassed

"are you okay?" you asked worriedly

"yeah, yeah I'm fine, do you need anything?" he asks

you scratched the back of your neck and asked shyly

"can you hold her for a while? I-uhhh- I need to go to the bathroom" you were red as a tomato now, you had no choice everybody was busy at the party and he was the only one who appeared free

Atsumu didn't notice the chubby baby girl you were holding, she had a round face with rosy cheeks, she got your eyes, your lips, almost like a baby version of you with two pigtails on

he was in love for the second time today, but realization hit him fast, and he deflated

he cleared his throat and asked "ohh shouldn't her dad help you with her?" he asks politely while smiling at the baby

"oh, he's not really in the picture" you explained

Atsumu's eyes widen, it's for you to decide if it was because of how embarrassed he is for asking that question or because of happiness that holy shit- this absolutely gorgeous woman is single

"sure, I'll hold her" he smiled and took your baby from you

"what's your name by the way?" he asks, situating your baby on his lap

"oh I'm Y/n, and this is Hana, she's ten months old, you?" you asked back

"Atsumu, Miya Atsumu, and ya prolly want to go to the bathroom now"

you nod and went off to do you business

"hey there angel" he coos at the little girl who was staring up at him curiously

the girl giggles at him and smooshed her cheeks against his hard chest

dear lord save this man from eternal rest

"ya really got yer looks from yer momma huh?" he smirks and bounces her on his laps which garnered fits of laughter and giggles from Hana also making him laugh

"looks like she likes you" you say as you smiled and attempted to go to get Hana from him, but the baby just turned her back on you and clutched his shirt tight

"Baby, Atsumu might be tired, come to mommy please"

"nah, don't really mind, ya should relax for a bit and accompany me instead" he smirks at you

you nodded and you ended up spending the rest of the party with Atsumu and talked about random things

by the end of the day, he got your number before you headed home

he was driving his expensive sports car and called his brother

"the hell ya calling for? ya twerp"

"'Samu what does yer daughter and wife likes to do?"

IWAIZUMI HAJIME

it was the end of another work day for Iwaizumi, he was feeling pretty tired after running around scolding three particularly hyperactive players and attending countless of meetings

and a sight of a little girl being bullied was the cherry on top

he didn't interfere quickly since they were not getting physical with her and just closely listened in

"ew so you don't have a daddy?" the girl in the middle of the group rudely says

the little girl stared down to the ground fiddling with her fingers "n-no, but I-I have m-mama and s-she's the best in the w-whole wide w-world"

"still, you don't have a daddy, that's weird" the other girl said

"you don't have someone to give you a piggyback ride when you're tired what a loser" the girl on the left added

"your mama is probably a loser too since she can't find you a daddy"

Iwaizumi had enough and felt the need to step in

"you should leave her alone" he says in an intimidating voice, but it didn't seem to faze the three girls

"she has a daddy now and that's me now head home brats" he says and went over to the little girl and rested him hand on her shoulder, the girl looked up at him, eyes glossy

"don't lie mister, she clearly said she doesn't have a dad" the girl in the middle says feistily

"well she does now, you better head home before I report you to your school for bullying"

this statement seemed to scare the girls as they retreated grumbling

"you alright?" he asks the little girl with a gentle voice

she nodded

"what's your name?" he asks as he leads her to a bench

"Sara" the girl answers timidly

"where's your mom?" he asks

"she asks me to wait for her here, she's working" she answers and sat on the bench

Iwaizumi nods, inwardly applauding the mom for raising a polite and respectful daughter, despite being a single mother

"I'll wait with you then" he says and sat beside her

"mister?" Sara called out Iwaizumi as he answers with a hum

"hm?"

"what's your name?"

"Iwaizumi, Iwaizumi Hajime"

"would you like some candied fruits Mister Iwaizumi?"

he looks at the girl and she was holding a container full of candied strawberries and apples with toothpicks on them

Iwaizumi nods and took a piece

"mom makes them for me to eat while waiting for her, isn't she the best?" she smiled happily and ate a candied strawberry

it was evident in her eyes how much she adored her mother

"I'm sure she is" he smiled and finished off his candied fruit

"Mister Iwaizumi"

"hm?"

"can I call you dad?"

Iwaizumi was taken aback by her question but smiled

"sure you can"

"Sara!" the two whipped their heads to your direction and saw you carrying a paper bag, a cake box, and your purse, in your office attire

you had a motherly look in your eyes and Iwaizumi was absolutely captivated by you, despite your disheveled state, you were absolutely gorgeous in his eyes

"so much for not believing in love at first sight" Iwaizumi could hear Oikawa's teasing from the other side of the world

"I'm so sorry, I had to get you your birthday cake and gift"

"I told you she's the best didn't I?" Sara whispers to him

"yes, yes she is"

Sara ran over to you and introduced you to Iwaizumi and how he saved her from the bullies

You apologized profusely and he just waved it off saying it was not a big of a deal

"well, would you like to join us for Sara's birthday dinner, Iwaizumi?" you asked politely

"just call me Hajime, sure i'll join you, and you didn't tell me it was your birthday doll, I'll just get you a late birthday gift then" he pats Sara's head

Sara shakes her head "It's fine dad, I'm just happy I got to celebrate my birthday with a dad"

Iwaizumi could get use to this, it was never really in his plan to be a dad at this age, but looking at you smiling teary-eyed as you look at your daughter smiling brightly at him, he would give up everything to see that everyday

was it possible to care for someone this much when you just met them? I guess he got his answer 'cause that's exactly what he was feeling right now

after a night of eating and celebrating, Iwaizumi laid in his bed, fresh out of the shower as he calls someone

"Shittykawa"

"Iwa-chan you're in love are you?"

"how did you-"

"you only call me when you have a problem, I have a problem, or you're in love, judging by your less aggressive voice, I can tell my bestfriend he's in love"

"yeah, yeah, whatever shittykawa"

"so, who's the lucky girl?"

"girls, there's two of them"

[perzawa]

May I request hcs of Dabi, Hawks, Kirishima, and Bakugo with an s/o that gets Star shaped pupils like Steven Universe when she feels very excited or happy? She can also use them as ouppy dog eyes cuz who could say no to such a cute face

a/n: aaa, sorry for getting to this so late !! anyways, this idea is so precious, thanks for the rec !! <

warning: mention of sexual intimacy kinda

⇥ dabi

the first time it happened, mans started freaking o u t

“y/n... is this someone’s quirk...? hold on, i’ll help. can you see just fine?”

you remembered seeing your usually composed boyfriend start losing his shit, rushing you to the LOV’s hideout

just like always, you had to explain to everyone that this happened when you got too excited

all dabi could do was blink at you, his face completely blank while he processed that

your eyes got like... that? this kinda made him try to remember other times you’d gotten excited, wondering if he just never paid attention

even though he’d never admit it, after that day, he’d always purposely try to get you super excited to see them often

and when i say it didn’t matter what he had to do... it didn’t matter

mans is a SIMP

it’s three in the morning but you want ice cream?? okay, bet, you’re getting ice cream

after a long day, all of a sudden you want a dog?? ok fine, he’ll get you a dog

you never really noticed, though

always thought he’d just had a weird nice streak, but you never questioned him

not that he’d tell you either,,, tbh seeing your eyes sparkle like a star really made his entire day

it wasn’t until he found out there were other ways to get you excited when he truly realized the glory of your eyes

⇥ hawks

mans would prolly stare at you for a while

“hey, y/n... what’s up with your eyes?”

and when you explain, he’d be all excited like a little kid, constantly asking if he can touch your eyes or something

definitely texts you in the middle of the day like “hey, what do you wanna do today?? we could always book tickets to see your favorite band...?”

there’s no way your lazy boyfriend is just being spontaneous for no reason

ofc you know he just wants to see your eyes do the thingy again

it always comes to bite him in the ass though

“please, pleaseeee, pleaseee keigo. can we take him home???”

ok so you’re not stupid and you obviously know how to use his weakness against him

in every situation, all you have to do is look up with your pleading eyes and almost as soon as the little star replaces your pupil, you already know you’ve got him

“ok fine, whatever”

⇥ bakugou

tbh you’re pretty surprised when he doesn’t really care

you were watching all might in action and something in you basically blew up, so you got really riled and excited

when you turned to your boyfriend, you were expecting him to freak out or get super excited but when you looked at him, he just blinked at you

“dumbass, why are you staring at me?”

you never expected that kind of reaction

you were used to people always being surprised when they saw the excited state of your eyes

bakugou, though, didn’t care much

“‘s not really that serious. just eyes.”

even if you never told him, it still hurt that he didn’t think of you as anything special

at least that’s what he really tried to make you think

if anything, bakugou thought your eyes were prettier than anything he’d ever seen

wasn’t until this one time you heard his phone ring that you’d find out

he wasn’t around so you reached to answer it, but his lock screen seemingly threw you off

it was literally your star-shaped pupil

howd he even manage to get a picture??? you had no idea

even then, you remembered smiling so hard your pupils turned to stars from the thought of your lover loving your eyes

⇥ kirishima

okokok so kiri is absolutely ASTONISHED by your eyes

i mean, yea it felt good to be appreciated, but your lover would go all out for you to the point where it could get a little overwhelming

actually, everywhere he took you, he made sure to let people know what happened

“look! LOOK! her eyes, aren’t they beautiful?”

you never wanted to admit it, but his endless compliments made you even happier and proud of your little quirk

“you’re so pretty. everything about you amazes me.”

aaaa you loved him so much

every time you were around him, you noticed your pupils would naturally turn to stars just from being in his presence

and much to your dismay, he noticed

so you expected a lot of teasing <3

[hopelesshawks]

Telling the full story from this ask because it’s such a meme and like I feel a little bad for this poor bastard but also it makes me laugh

Ok SO the story of how I accepted someone’s frankly ill timed prom-posal and then rescinded my acceptance to go with someone else 😗✌🏾

Set the scene it’s my senior year of high school. My school was dumb so prom was at the end of the year, literally the same week of graduation. Like classes/finals end and the following Monday is prom and graduation is the Wednesday after that. This means that prom-posal season is smack dab in the middle of AP season and the run up to finals season. I’m taking like 4 different AP classes and an advanced math class that is kicking my shit in and if my try hard ass wants to keep my gpa up I can’t afford to miss part of that class.

It’s just my luck that one of my AP exams is in the morning and finishes right at the start of said math class so I finish taking the AP and I am booking it to my locker. I get there, throw open my locker door, and vaguely notice a bouquet inside that was definitely not there before. My dumb ass is so locked into “gotta get to math class” mode tho that I shrug that shit off, throw my backpack on, slam the door shut, and am literally about to fuckin sprint to my class on the second floor when my ex best friend’s ex boyfriend that I used to hang out with a lot before and while they were dating but hadn’t in awhile stops me by calling out my name and pointing to my locker.

Now in my defense, I wasn’t popular with the guys back in high school or anything and frankly by the time I graduated I had one (1) friend only so forgive me for being oblivious but I looked this poor bastard dead in the eye, still 100% thinking about how I’m late for class and said “oh the flowers? Yea I have no idea what that’s about,” anD THEN TURNED AROUND TO RUN TO CLASS. Poor guy had to be like “No, {name}” and I think he had to full on catch my arm to get me to stop and turn around again and he looks pointedly at my locker. So I look at my locker, confused as fuck.

Then I look back at him.

Then back at my locker.

And then it clicks.

Suddenly it’s Panic! at the Senior Hallway because I was not expecting this and I am late for math and my anxiety is spiking because I’m potentially missing important information for the final and also oh no he’s expecting an answer. And I’m literally standing there, processing, deer in the headlights no thoughts, head empty only ✨anxiety✨ so like an idiot who still hasn’t fully process what’s happening I say “sure” and then immediately fuckin sprint to class.

I rush into math class, late, teacher has already started doing his thing, sit down next to my best guy friend since freshman year just ✨processing✨ like I’m out of breath from sprinting and still visibly loading the interaction that had just occurred so my friend is like “What happened? You good?” and I’m like “I’m pretty sure {name redacted} just asked me to prom”

“What?”

“Yea….”

“What did you say?”

“I panicked and said yes 😀”

Silence.

We should be taking notes but now we are both ✨processing✨

My friend turns to me and he’s like “So I was kind of planning to ask you to prom and like obviously I’ll still do the thing I had planned but I guess this is also me asking you?”

And because that is indeed the understanding I also had of what my prom situation would prolly be like I was like “Yea I figured, I will talk to {name redacted} 😬”

And that’s how I ended up having to pull him aside after school to explain to {name redacted} that he caught me off guard and actually no I won’t be attending prom with him 😗✌🏾

Me and my guy friend had a great time though so there’s that lmao

[scammydoesstuff]

So about that 'Blue Bloods' episode…

I recently saw something come across my dash regarding Alex Brightman’s guest appearance on the season 11 episode of 'Blue Bloods' (The Common Good) and it reignited the vehement response I had to the episode as a whole. And, since I have this blog now, I figured…fuck it. I need to rant about it.

So that's what this is.

Take what I say with a grain of salt, of course. This show is so clearly not for me and I acknowledge that, but I went to school for and got my degree in creative writing and so much of this episode pissed me off from a narrative perspective and I just really need to talk about it. Putting it under a Read More, though, so you can ignore me if you’d like while I rage to no one in particular. Apologies in advance if you choose to read on. I'm super long-winded. Luckily I don't have pictures and this is more of just a lot of text, so…it could be longer?

So, to begin, I’ll freely admit that I’d never seen an episode of 'Blue Bloods' before this and I’ve not watched it since. I mean, if the rest of the episodes are as badly written as this one, I have no interest to either, but I digress.

Overall my main problem with the episode was how desperately it avoided ‘showing’ over ‘telling’ and, as a visual medium, that’s kind’ve a big deal. We were told pretty much every detail that was presented to us. These people love to hear themselves talk, but do little to actually show things as they happen and I believe a part of that has to do with the focus of the show itself, which is definitely unique to this brand of television. By that, I just mean that it’s not the format I might’ve expected from a show like this. Most cop shows give a lot of focus to the cases, and the intrigue you get with the characters is how they apply their own skills and knowledge to solve them, with the hi-jinks they get into along the way being more of a bonus.

This is not that kind of show.

No, 'Blue Bloods' as a show is way more interested in the cops and their familial ties than it is about the actual job that they’re doing, as shown prominently with the political plot of this episode which was also very focused on the relationship between Tom Selleck’s character and his daughter and the wholly unrelated dinner scene where they talk about lent for 2 and a half minutes and acknowledge nothing else that happened in the episode. This show doesn’t care about the job of being a cop so much as it cares about the cops themselves.

Which would be fine if I gave a shit about cops, but I don’t.

You could argue that the mentor plot is the exception to that, but that entire situation had no real consequences for the cop in question, Jamie, abusing his power. It was entirely focused on how the situation affected him and how it was fine that he’d nudged this kid to get information which ultimately led to the arrest of Dion's brother, and Dion quitting the program. Hell, if Jamie had, in his final scene with Dion, owned up to his abuse of power and left the program — to then urge Dion to rejoin so that he can have that positive outlet in his life without him there — I would’ve been way more okay with it, but Jamie faces no consequences past ‘I don’t wanna see you anymore’, which I was never convinced he actually cared about in the slightest. There's nothing cathartic about it, it's just shitty and left me feeling frustrated at the lack of consequences for the cop.

But hey, you prolly don’t wanna read me going on and on about those parts. You prolly wanna know why I hate it despite Alex’s plot — which I fully expected to love because he’s perfect and gorgeous even when he’s playing a bad guy and he was just so adorable in his lil suit and they let him keep the scruff this time, and he was all handsome an— I need to stop. That could go on forever.

Anyway, to put it simply; it was bad, but I'll definitely explain why.

Now, I don’t think any of the guests in this episode necessarily did a bad job. They still acted well enough for what they were given. I just think they had a shit script that wasn’t interested in that story line. I mentioned at the top of this that this show cared more about telling than showing and that’s a huge problem when you want me to buy a character being the culprit in your murder plot. I need evidence, not anecdotes. Cuz, yeah, by the end of the episode, I didn’t buy for even a second that Ralph did it. And it’s not because he was played by Alex who is just charisma incarnate. I can believe him playing a bad guy. I also watched his 'Law & Order SVU' episode where he scared the shit outta me. He can play a creepy and violent character very well, he just wasn’t convincing to me as a bad guy in this show.

And here’s why!

First of all, he confessed at knife point. That confession would be thrown away IRL. It’s the same problem with using torture to get information. If a person’s life is threatened or they're being harmed in some way, they’ll usually say whatever it takes to get you to stop threatening them/causing them pain. Same deal here. You can’t convince me with a confession like that.

But they didn't seem to be interested in convincing anyone as far as I could tell. They just expected you to believe it because, ‘no, didn’t you hear? He said he did it, so he did it.’ They had so many opportunities to portray this character as the shitbag that we’re told he is. Hell, great way to really implicate him? Give him a female assistant that Donnie Wahlberg and his partner overhear / walk in on him berating for something small like getting him the wrong coffee or something. Then have them talk to that assistant later on and her mention some weird behavior from him on the night of Andrea’s death. It's cliché, but it's more than what we got.

Or you could have him talk to Meghan in a super condescending voice when he approaches her after her interview later on. Or, hell, have him refer to the murder victim in a condescending way even as he talks about her death. But no. The most we get out of him is that he's maybe a little snarky and smug when talking to the cops, but that’s not enough to convince me he’s a bad dude. Frankly, his producer buddy came off as more of an asshole, if I'm being honest. Just cuz (we’re told) his character did shitty things to her in the past doesn’t mean he’s still shitty. Show me he’s still shitty. I wanna see it and I know Alex is capable of a performance like that.

Second, it’s also just…obvious to make him the culprit if we're to believe everything we're told about him. He and Andrea are described as having had beef a little while before the murder with him being abusive mentally and physically. He’s known in the community to be a misogynist and an abusive person overall. He’s the obvious suspect, but if there’s anything that Scooby-Doo taught me, it’s that it’s never the most obvious person. Like, once in a blue moon, sure — but it’s rare.

So yeah, I don’t believe that Ralph did it. You wanna know who I do think did it?

Meghan.

Alright, so bear with me. This'll prolly sound a little conspiratorial, but hear me out:

She had the motive. She confirms in the beginning of the episode that she’s also a female gamer like the victim, but that she was ‘no Andrea’. Andrea was her competition. They were (supposedly) friends and stuck together as female gamers, but Andrea was still competition. With her out of the way, Meghan’s able to rise in the ranks, if even a little bit.

She had a scapegoat in Ralph — again, the obvious suspect given his tumultuous relationship with Andrea sometime prior — and an obvious grudge against men in their community in general. And, don’t get me wrong, men in gaming can and often are hella toxic — I’m not, in any way, denying that — but she got way more emotional when talking about the men in their community than when she was talking about her supposed friend lying dead in the adjoining room.

Speaking of the adjoining room, how did she not hear the murder happening? It couldn’t have been when she was down in the bar, cuz we see Ralph there too in the crappy CCTV footage that was supposed to show him being an asshole, I think (hard to really see). Was she just fucking around somewhere else when it happened? She doesn’t mention as much that I recall (correct me if I'm wrong on that, of course). And Andrea was strangled to death. I would assume that there would’ve been a struggle with that. Are you seriously telling me she wouldn’t hear that in her adjoining hotel room? Those walls aren’t that thick. I find that kinda hard to believe. And that she wouldn’t have found her till the next morning after that, also strikes me as a little odd.

Going off on some previous points, she shows very little grief over her friend’s death. Not just in the intro scene, either, but later on as well. (Side bar: that intro scene itself was very misleading. Don’t lead with a murder plot if it only takes up less than 10 minutes of the overall runtime, kay?) The show did a pretty bad job at indicating the passage of time, but it’s implied that the convention is still happening when Meghan gets the confession out of Ralph, so it would’ve had to have been the same weekend, or possibly the same week (though most conventions I’m aware of don’t last that long — it’s usually a weekend thing, at most Thursday-Sunday — but it could be similar to AGDQ, which seems to last about a week). So, if this is only a day or so later, why would someone who is supposedly grieving over their dead friend do interviews like nothing is wrong? Wouldn't you, like, reschedule or just politely decline and say you need time to process the shock? Like, when we cut to ol’ Donnie Wahlberg calling her after her interview, she doesn’t look upset — as I imagine she might if they’d likely asked her questions about Andrea / her feelings about the murder — and she seems cool as a cucumber when she asks Ralph to go somewhere private. In fact, the look on her face indicates pretty clearly that she’s planning to do something. Specifically, not that she's scared, that she's angry.

Finally, she’s the one who’s attacking Ralph when Donnie Wahlberg and company arrive on the scene. She doesn’t seem to have any marks on her indicating that he made any move to harm her (again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember seeing her with any marks / cuts), but he’s got a clear, bleeding cut on his face. She attacked him first and was going in for the kill.

Or…was she? Cuz right before Donnie Wahlberg pulls her into that bear hug to stop her from the attack, she doesn’t do a great job of actually trying to kill Ralph. She was close enough that a quick dart at him would’ve probably been enough to at least injure him pretty significantly — maybe even fatally — and would’ve surely led the cops to pull them apart to secure him, but she kinda just hops around a bit and screams before lunging for him. That’s a really weird way to attack when you actually want to kill someone.

But, then again, I don’t necessarily think she did want to kill him. I’m convinced she wanted that confession, but that she also wanted him in jail and was playing the part of the super sad and hysterical victim who was just so overcome with her grief that she wasn’t in her right mind. I think that’s what they were going for in regards to her character in general, but it came across as less sincere in the performance and more like the character was putting on an act. They then cart Ralph off while comforting her — despite the fact that she disobeyed a direct order from police, which should lead to her being detained as well! — and that plot ends.

So, she gets what she wants in the end. A person she despises is now in police custody, her competition is out of the way, and the publicity she might get for bringing that ‘murderer’ to justice might eventually lead to her own career getting a nice boost. I dunno, it just strikes me as her having a great reason to have initiated this over Ralph just being a misogynist who 'was really trying to kill Meghan and just got the wrong girl'.

So yeah, with what the show presented to us, I believe Meghan’s the real killer. Again, if they’d done more to show me that Ralph was a bad dude or that she was more affected by her supposed friend’s death, or if they'd just given that plot more room to breathe to show those things, I might’ve been more inclined to buy the narrative they were pushing but…as is, I don’t believe it.

That’s pretty much all I wanted to say on the matter. I had a lot of issues with the domestic abuse plot line too, but they barely gave that 5 minutes of the overall runtime, so does it really matter in the long run? This is just…my thought process of the only part of the episode I watched for and how disappointing it was for me. And yes, I timed each section of the episode to figure out how much time was given to each of the 4 plots, plus the dinner scene at the end, but not counting the intro theme, and the murder plot got just over 8 minutes, of which Alex was on screen for half of that time. He got less than 5 minutes of screen time. It was definitely worth it just because he’s wonderful and I just like seeing him on these shows, but from a narrative standpoint, it felt pointless.

Okay, I’m done. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Unless y’all wanna talk about this some more, cuz I’m so down for that.

[you-are-worth-the-wait]

care to elaborate on your statement?  kinda tough to tell how you took it.  i hope you didn’t take it negatively.  that wasn’t my intent.  i prolly could have said worse when explaining things and what i see/feel but i tried to keep it as level as i could without letting the biased side in me point out all the negative/toxic things i see/feel that is wrong there.  i can be unbiased and object for your sake in order to talk things through with you.  but you know how i feel and what is my end goal and of course i’m going to always try to give you the best chance in reaching/achieving what it is that desire in your heart and mind.  

so...any chance i steal you away for a kiss? :P  just being true to what my heart wants/desires and i figure i take a chance...*shrug*  i mean, like i say in most other scenarios, worst thing you can do is say no, nothing happens, and i/we are right back with what we started with.  good/best case, you entertain the idea and possibly reach out to me.  you know, dreamers gonna dream...but actions influences reality with the possibility of making those dreams come true.  heck...look what we’ve been able to create together when all this started with just taking a chance...*ws*

i’m thinking you prolly have a lot to think about and maybe reassessing your situation there and within yourself after what i wrote out.  i’m guessing that’s the reason for the one and done statement.  it’s okay.  i know if things were different, we’d have the chance to have a fluid back and forth and we’d be able to figure things out together.  i feel/know that you may be timid and scared but i also know that you are a different person than you were at the beginning of this year.  i know you are still a work in progress but if i’m being truthful...i don’t see him or that situation giving you the best chance to achieve what you want and helping you reach your full potential.  i’ know you’ve shied away from those words and have sometimes felt that people were pushing before you felt you were ready.  that’s not where i’m coming from.  i saw glimpses of it even before i knew your name.  i did admire you from afar and what i liked about you was your humble low key confidence.  from the moment i knew of you to today, when i say i want you to reach your full potential, it’s not to push or antagonize you to do it but more of a supportive role in wanting it as much as you do and to help you reach it. 

i know that he’s said that i’d be better for you.  i don’t know where he was coming from when i said it or how many times he may have thrown that or me into your face.  if it was out of pity for himself, out of spite and anger for me, or from a glimmer of truth he didn’t want to accept, i don’t know.  without sounding like a conceited asshole, i agree with that statement.  the thing is, he may have said it but i don’t think he fully realizes the depths as to why i feel/know that statement to be true.  he may have pointed out reasons but i don’t think the reasons he’s given touches on the actual reality of that statement.  i know in my heart that with all the reasons he may have given, there is more to it than that, and i know you know it too.  he may have somewhat of a grasp of what we are but i don’t think he will ever know the depths and magnitude of what we truly are. we have a past t0o, although not as long, but fiercely connected to the point that we still are what we are today, despite what is going on there.   i can’t discount your past with him because i know i can’t touch that nor will i even try.  but i’m not talking about living for the past.  i’m talking about living for the now and for the future.  and for those reasons along with the unspoken ones he will never fully understand and that only you and i know...that’s why i believe in my heart that i am better for you.  i honestly do believe, together, we give ourselves the best chance of being better for ourselves and for each other.  sooo...yeah.

btw...i gave him the money and he almost cried.  he gave me a promissory note on the agreement and how he’d pay me back with interest on this and that date.  i told him we didn’t have to deal with the interest and we could just figure it out as we go.  he was so grateful and you could see like a burden was just lifted off his shoulders.  i know it doesn’t fix everything but it’s one less thing he has to worry about in order to focus on other things in his life.  apparently he cooks good food.  maybe i make him pay me back in food? one lunch every two weeks...for the rest of his tenure as long as we work together...bwah hahahaha.  you see where my priorities are.  yeah, it was definitely a weird situation and request with such a finite rapport but then again, this isn’t the first time i’ve done this and prolly won’t be the last?  i honestly don’t know how i even get involved in situations like this.  maybe after he’s paid me back and some time when he’s good, maybe i’ll ask him what made him/why he came to me.  wonder after we become “friends” if he’ll say that he was desperate and i just so happen to exist at that very moment.  that would be a bit anticlimactic...*shrug*

how’s your mom and family?  she/they doing okay?  does you niece help keep things manageable?  you want a child to dote after if that’s what helps bring a smile to your heart?...*nudge nudge* :P  i mean, you’d have your hands full with me to begin with.  they’d just be a bonus to add into the mix when the time is right :)  any plans for new years/weekend?  could we just watch a movie, cuddle, kiss, and fall asleep in each other’s arms?  

oh...i had a dream about you last night.  but it wasn’t a typical dream.  maybe my “internet history” is playing a factor because it was about you and me and a unicorn.  i’ve never had a dream like that before.  it wasn’t someone i knew though.  the thing that struck me was how “natural” everything was.  there was no pause of awkwardness or what not.  it was quite surreal from the moment we all met, to getting started, and the act.  i have to admit this was one of those times where i hated my alarm.  but yeah.  it was interesting to say the least.  

well...hope you have a good day at work tomorrow.  i got smashed and i messed up with someone.  i was doing the work of an LPN and RN and it was honestly the first time i’ve worked at this capacity.  my preceptor is nice but i think she gives me way more credit than i deserve.  she thinks she can just tell me what to do and i can go and do it but i’ve never had experience doing what she is asking me to do so i end up having to telh/asking her if she could do it while i observe.  she helped when she felt i needed it.  unfortunately, i needed her help more than she realized and my provider could tell the difference of not having the LPN.  i felt so bad but he was understanding about it and told me i was doing a good job.  he even came over to me before the end of our shift to let me know how much he enjoyed working with me and that even though i may not have known everything, he said that i was coming along well and that i will do a good job in the future.  i thanked him for working with me the way he did and he thanked me for helping him with his workload and making things more manageable for him.  we then said fingers crossed on the new provider that i will be working with.  truth...their plan for my workload...it’s not looking fun.  i’ll be inheriting two part time providers and it’s looking like my vet load will triple by next year.  if i thought today kicked my ass, i can only imagine what 2 new providers who i have to learn how they do things all over and still cover the LPN and RN duties, all the while i’m still asking people for help and assistance.  guess this is what i get when i say that i like a challenge.  i barely survived today and one of my officemates asked me why did my eye look the way they did.  they were half closed and pretty lifeless because of the workload i had to deal with before the end of my shift.  fun fun fun.  in the immortal words and deadpan expression of kuzko, “bring it on.”...*ws*

btw...did you figure out that “secret” i was referring to? :)

[askthetoppatclan]

This is the second time reg almost died................ There maybe be a impostor among us ......... Like the leader of a clan cant almost die 2 times in what a week? Without being a impostor incthe clan

“Oh yeah! I meant ta tell ya! They’re right Reg, there’s prolly a traitor in the clan! These guys are dumb, but not dumb enough ta set off explosions by accident! Someone’s trying ta assassinate ya!”

“I know.”

That kinda took the wind out of Rigth Hand Man’s sails, not able to get properly angry anymore, asking: “Ya- Ya knew? ‘ow?”

“I knew when you told me something was wrong with the electricity. And you probably notice that our lights still don’t work. The only thing that works right now is the flying gear and its using the emergency electricity that’s away from the main power. And guess what? The main power isn’t anywhere near the cargo. So it couldn’t have been damaged by the explosion or the fire. You know what this means?”

Right Hand Man’s eyebrow furrowed before he gasped, coming to the realization as he exclaimed: “Someone cut the wires!”

“Exactly. This is the only way I can explain it. Sadly we don’t know if the traitor already left the ship in an escape pod. We know they were still here after your rewiring, but after that it’s a wild guess.”

Reginald thought for a moment, considering his options before explaining: “Call Sven and tell him about our situation. Tell him to do background checks on the ones that arrived at the jungle base already while we keep an eye on the remaining Toppat’s here on the ship. Right Hand Man...”

The two locked eyes for a moment, before Reginald concluded: “We need to stay together during the rest of the flight. We are both targets and need to keep an eye out for each other. Don’t leave my side.”

Right Hand Man nodded, promising: “I’d never. I’ll call Sven and tell ‘im our situation.”

Reginald nodded and went back to flying, while Right Hand Man called, starting: “Svensson, can ya ‘ear me? We’re-”

“WHERE ARE YOU TWO?!”

The third in command is not happy, obviously.

“I keep waiting for you because it’s hailing escape pods, thinking you and the boss are gonna be in one of them, and I’m worried sick, because all I hear is you getting rewired  and a fire breaking out on the ship?! What is going on up there?!”

Right Hand Man sighed, massaging his temple as he tried t relax the young third in command.

“Sven, relax, we’re ‘avin’ the situation under control now. But we ‘ave reason to assume that there’s a traitor either on the airship or in one of the escape pods that arrived.”

Sven gasped and was at least ready to listen finally , the two exchanging ideas and plans before they cam eto a conclusion.

Sven questioned: “How long will you need to get here? I’ll have some medics and the repair crew ready.”

“Well, if we ain’t ‘avin any more interruptions prolly just a few days more.”

“Got it. I’ll see if I find anything out about our traitor. Good luck to you, stay safe and keep an eye on the boss!”

[stay-midnight]

Yeah it’s like bore gee actually my bad. Yeah it’s cause in Italian the I and E kinda switch so I - ee and E - eh. Just like package it and ship it over like 💳💥💥💥💳💳💥💥. I want it 👁👄👁. I would hum and just stay where I am, “they can wait a bit but for curiosity, who is it?”

Making out seems scary, like I would be the type to bite someone. Like NOM. ooo~ go get your person!! I would flinch then whine not knowing what to do, like I know like that it means for me to open my mouth so their tongue can slurp slurp my tongue. However how wide are you supposed to open your mouth like what if I look like a fish? I would pull away slightly from Hyunjin and look up at him, and just whine helplessly like help me idk what I’m doing- I would smile at Chan’s cuteness and leave a kiss on his forehead. I would move my hands down to his waist and rub my hands up and down. “Hmm besides a collar with the skz logo anything else my pup would like, I can get you a few more..accessories it seems like you’re missing some.” Chan in pupspace is too cute, it hurts my heart🥺😫

“Hmm we could like create a diversion and make a run for it. We could also just try to leave without saying anything. We also could just jump out a window too, that’s always fun. However I don’t want you getting hurt darling.” My hands would come up in surprise and rest on Hyunjin’s shoulders, I would Yelp. Then smile and roll my eyes amusingly, “You really like pulling hair don’t you Love?”

I want all the albums >:D I’m going to be so broke :,D I have a bookshelf just for stray kids in my room. I also have a Yellow Wood poster hung up with a photocard collage on my wall in a frame, no pcs were harmed. I would giggle and situate myself, moving myself to get comfortable. Tilting my head I would ask, “how may I help you?” I would blush and cover my face, leaning down to bury my face into his shoulder. I would hum along, nodding my head too. I would relax in his touch and close my eyes, letting him pet my hair. “Yeah, some are more easy to fluster than others, which is very much enjoyable.”

“I don’t mind you meowing hyung, but like at the same were you meowing or making weird noises? Or were you in one of those feels where you just need to scream?” I would tilt my head, “you remind me of someone I know, with the meowing being brought up. I know pupspace is a thing. Kitten/kit space or is it called cat space, a thing?. Anyway it just reminds me of that..you wouldn’t look too bad with a collar on,” I would mumble nonchalantly. “Good I wouldn’t want you to get hurt or be sad. My kitten needs to be happy and loved at all times!” I would smile brightly at Minho and shift to rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I would let out a happy sigh and melt as he played with my hair. I mean I’m Okayish I’m very on and off with skinship. Like I kiss my friends like pecks and I can cuddle with them hold hands with them and be fine then the next day any of that makes my skin itchy and it hurts my brain. -•^•

Oop, idk italian so- 👽👽 tho ngl i want to speak it. I send me your p.o box imma take a chunk of me out- The knocking would stop suddenly and Jeongin hums beside you, “Well now that he left, what do you wanna do?”

I- thats a mood, that's coming from someone too that also doesn't know how to make out— aka me- Hyunjin would find it cute on how much you don't know. “Such a baby.” He’d say before leaning down to kiss you against, this time a more behaved tongue. Just licking your lips. Pulling away for a bit, “Just follow my lead, baby boy.” He’d say.

If Chan was an actual pup he’s tail would be waggling nonstop but Chan just nods as an answer as he knows better than to speak cuz pups don't speak. He’d prolly cling on to you afterwards.

Hyunjin would smile at your rambling “ let’s go without a word, though we might get scolded later by Chan-hyung.” he explains before patting your head. He’d laugh at your statement, “It might be a kink~” he’d tease.

I- give me some bestay, like i want— My birthday is coming up 🌚. Jeongin would laugh in amusement and keep you in his lap, “Pretty boy.” he’d tease you biting the top of your ears softly. “Are you talking about Chan-hyung, baby?” he’d raise an eyebrow with an unknowing smile.

“It’s Chan-hyung with the pup space hm? Oh kitten space? I think it exist, I don't have it though sadly~ Oh and since you talked about collars, how would you feel if I bought a pretty pink and black collar for my bunny hm? with bunny ears too maybe?~” He’d tease you, gripping your chin and forcing you to look up at him, “I appreciate the compliment, but I like holding the ropes here~ Maybe I’ll collar myself for you one day though~” he’d reply with a voice with a sexy undertone.

[acrispyapple]

Harr Silvers’s Route Outline

in anna’s lazy way of making random notes per chapter. will prolly need more editing but i’ll do it another day~ ☆

both ends included now + special appearance of edgar in an alice wig!

Chapter 1 Alice is staying with the black army. Sirius and Seth take her to the market. While looking at a wanted poster of Harr, she loses sight of them. Alice is lost, and drunken men approach her. Harr and Loki come to rescue her.

Chapter 2 While taking Alice back to Sirius and Seth, Harr advises Alice to stay hidden somewhere no one knows about until the next full moon. Sirius finds them and they head back to the black army base. That night there’s an explosion. Ray tells Alice to stay in her room. She finds out that she’s the target of the attack. Loki shows up via the window in her room. She leaves a message for the black army as Loki takes her to the Forbidden Forest (Harr’s house).

Chapter 3 Harr prepares Alice‘s room. It was a room used for storage originally. He cleans it up with magic. The next morning, Alice is about to change her nightgown, Harr opens the room while carrying a lot of books. (He forgot Alice is now using his old storage room) He shuts the door and says sorry . Harr leaves the house. Alice looks for Harr. He’s fishing at the lake. Loki’s out selling the magic crystals Harr created.

Chapter 4 Harr finishes fishing and goes back home with Alice. He cooks. Loki also arrives. They all have a nice lunch together. Alice wonders who tried to attack her. Harr says it’s from magic tower, probably. He explains stuff about the magic tower.

That night Harr goes out. By the next morning, he has not returned. Alice and Loki have breakfast.

Harr comes home that evening. Alice says ‘welcome home‘ and gazes at him intently. (Loki‘s plan to check whether Harr gets embarrassed or not) He gets embarrassed and blushes. Alice feels it’s cute.

Chapter 5 At the magic tower, they notice that Alice is not with the black army anymore. They start searching for Alice. Dalim seems to know who’s hiding Alice, because their ‘finding magic’ was blocked by a strong special magic. This magic is rare, and he knows only Harr can use it.

While Alice is cooking soup, she finds a small bottle with a label that says ‘drink me’ among the seasoning bottles. She tries it. (alice why are you like this) It’s delicious, so she decides to use it in the soup to add a subtle flavor. After she drinks tho, her body shrinks~ (alice i thought you read the alice in wonderland book) She wants to go to Harr‘s room to ask for help, but it’s like a mile away with her tiny body. Harr’s owl (named Sue) is flying around, so Alice yells for Sue to take her to Harr’s room. Sue takes small Alice to Harr‘s room. Harr breaks the magic, and Alice returns to her normal size-- but she’s naked... Harr is embarrassed. While Alice is putting her clothes on in a hurry, Loki comes home. Loki misunderstands the situation, but they explain.

Chapter 6 Alice wants to do something for Harr as a present. She’s going to make a cake. (Loki ‘s advice) She plans on going out alone to get fruits. Loki worries about her and warns her not to go too far. She promised she wouldn’t. She heads to a fruit tree. She kind of hears something in the distance. After she’s gathered enough fruits, a gust of wind blows and hooded magic tower guys appear. Dalim says that it’s good Alice went beyond the barrier border. Harr apparently cast a protection magic around the house, but Alice went past it. Dalim tries to take her to the magic tower. Alice blocks his magic. She’s captured anyway. Suddenly something flashes and she gets freed. Harr and Loki arrive to rescue her. Loki takes Alice back home using magic. Harr stays in the forest to fight against the magic tower guys.

Chapter 7 Harr casts a spell and makes a line. He says no one can go beyond the line. Dalim is doubtful and still says they’ll try. Dalim and the other scholars gather magic crystals. It causes a blast and but nothing happens. The spell is too powerful. Harr says quietly, Mr Dalim, I don’t want to make injure anyone. Dalim says, So give me Alice before someone gets injured. Harr refuses. His eyes turn red again and black water appears from the line. It’s like thunder, it’s clear that if anyone touches the water, they’ll get hurt terribly. Dalim gives up and leaves.

Harr comes home and Alice is relieved. She apologizes but Harr says it’s okay. The problem is they know where Alice is now. He fixes the barriers around the house. He gives Loki a key to use for when he needs to leave and go to town. The spell is only dispellable by the person whose magic is just as powerful as Harr’s. (lancelot, anyone?) Alice asks who would have such a power. There’s only one apparently. Harr looks exhausted, he says he’s going to take a rest without dinner. Alice worries again but Loki says it’s because he used magic, so it’s no biggie. Loki explains the magic and consumption relationship. Alice is shocked because they’ve used magic for her several times.

Around midnight she still can’t sleep, so she goes to the kitchen to get some water. She finds Harr sitting there.

Chapter 8 Harr’s not wearing his mask. There’s a scar around his eye. She says hello, and he puts the mask back on. He’s making a fishing rod for Alice. He says she doesn’t need to stay inside the house all the time. She can go fishing. The lake area is safe. He makes hot chocolate and says he’s going to continue work. He’s creating magic crystals. After she drinks it, he gives her a piece of candy. Loki also wakes up. He can’t sleep either, so he suggested that he and Alice sleep together. Harr isn’t on board but Loki gets him to join them. Loki says they’re like a family.

~magical bed that suddenly becomes big enough for 3 people, when it used to look like a single bed~

Chapter 9 Loki whispers to Harr, I want Alice to have a great time until she has to go back to London because Alice is a good girl.

At the magic tower, Amon is furious after learning about Alice’s current location. Amon gives an order to Dalim, “Call him, he can take care of Harr.”

The next morning, Harr’s already gone when Alice wakes up. After breakfast, Alice and Loki go fishing. Alice doesn’t catch anything~

Around the evening, Harr still isn’t back. They get a letter from Sue saying Harr will be home late.

Chapter 10 Loki suggests Alice goes shopping with him in Central. Alice hesitates but Loki says he has something that’ll help. The next day, Alice wears a hat that makes her invisible. Alice sees Sirius and engages. Sirius can’t see Alice but he can hear her. He says Harr will protect her until the next full moon for sure. Sirius explains that they’re old friends. After shopping, Loki takes Alice to Blanc’s house. Oliver apparently made the hat. Blanc gives her an invitation card for a masquerade. The party is attended by both the black and red armies. Alice tries to refuse, but Blanc says the magic tower people can’t go to the party so she should be okay.

They get back to the house and Harr is waiting outside all angry. They explain stuff to him and mention the masquerade. Loki says Harr has to take Alice since he has another appointment and can’t go himself. Loki wants Alice to make great memories in Cradle. Harr accepts reluctantly. Blanc sends a dress and some accessories. Alice and Harr head to the party.

Chapter 11 At the party, Alice and Harr dance, then go to the balcony after. Alice asks Harr to show her his face without his mask. Harr asks if she’s drunk. She says maybe, and goes to get a glass of water. Loki appears on the balcony and tells Harr off. Harr is surprised that Loki made him and Alice go to the party together intentionally.

Chapter 12 All three of them are back home. Harr visits Loki’s room and says it might be difficult for them to live safely since the magic tower won’t leave them alone. So he needs to do something. He asks Loki to protect Alice no matter what. Loki readily agrees, then asks what Harr is going to do. Harr doesn’t answer.

The next day, Alice is baking. While she’s putting the cake in the oven, someone knocks on the door. Loki nor Harr don’t usually come home at that hour, so Alice feels wary. Alice remembers Harr saying only one person can break the barrier. Alice looks out the window and sees Lancelot standing there.

Chapter 13 Alice doesn’t open the door and stands still. Lancelot says he knows she’s there, and if she doesn’t open the door, he will open it by force. Alice lets Lancelot in. Alice says the owner of the house is out, so Lancelot should come by another time. Lancelot says he came by to take Alice. Lancelot’s eyes turn red but Alice blocks the magic. Harr arrives and asks why Lancelot is there. Harr says he won’t hand over Alice. Lancelot says he’ll just have to take Alice away himself. Lancelot and Harr’s eyes turn red. Sirius suddenly arrives. Harr is surprised to see him because no one else can go through his barrier but Lancelot. Sirius says the two of them should talk and listen-- not fight. He also said this same line 7 years ago. The tense situation is sort of diffused when they hear a timer go off. Alice says the cake is ready and invites them to a tea break.

Chapter 14 Alice serves them cake and tea at the table. Only Sirius talks about their school life, Lancelot and Harr are both quiet. Sirius asks what happened to the two of them 7 years ago. Harr says Lancelot betrayed him. Lancelot says he hasn’t changed a bit from 7 years ago. He declares a war in 7 days, and that he would get Alice by then. He tells them his condition for him to give up on Alice. Harr says he won’t let Alice go, while Sirius says he’ll protect her with the black army.

Chapter 15 Harr eats the cake Alice made. Alice asks him again to show his face without a mask. Harr obliges. He says he can’t see from his left eye. He starts telling her about his past. He was at the magic tower for a while, and he discovered their dark secrets. He injured his left eye while trying to leave the tower.

Chapter 16 Dalim is informed that Lancelot wasn’t able to get Alice because Sirius turned up. Someone told Sirius about the whole thing. It was actually Dalim, he didn’t want Lancelot and Harr to fight there.

Back in the forbidden forest, Loki is briefed about what happened during the day. Alice asks Loki why he lives with Harr. Loki talks about his past, and how when he tried to escape the magic tower, Harr protected him. (Harr also helped his owl Sue with something else) Harr regrets not being able to save a person who was running away from the magic tower (Zero), so he promised he would protect Loki.

Chapter 17 Loki says Harr is doing something with his magic secretly, that’s why he’s so tired. They want to help Harr but they know they’ll get turned down, so Loki makes a plan to get involved another way. Alice asks Harr on a date. This is Loki’s plan.

Chapter 18 They go out on a ‘date’. Just walking around the lake. Alice insists Harr stop using magic. She worries about it consuming his life. He gives her a necklace and says it’s a charm. Alice realizes she loves Harr.

Chapter 19 Lance is at magic tower. Amon gives him lots of magic crystals. He orders Lance to kill Harr.

The next morning, Sue brings the newspaper. It says the red army will go to war in 5 days. Harr says he’s going fishing. Alice feels weird, because he always goes fishing in the evening.

That night, Harr returns and prepares a gorgeous dinner. Alice and Loki feel something is off with Harr.

Around midnight, Alice hears something. It’s Loki trying to stop Harr from going to the magic tower to fight alone. Harr casts a spell on Loki and Alice, and they both fall asleep.

Chapter 20 Loki sees the necklace Harr gave Alice and says it’s a trump card. Harr was researching rechargeable magic crystals at the tower. The necklace Alice has is the eternal magic crystal. They can cope with tons of magic attacks using the tiny necklace. They head to the magic tower to support Harr. Near the tower, they see Zero.

Chapter 21 Zero says he followed Lancelot. They hear a siren buzzing from the tower. The alarms is for when someone enters or escapes the tower. They try to get into the tower only to be met by Dalim. He welcomes Loki and Zero back. He says Lancelot and Harr are in the hall above. Zero is confused when Dalim says Loki, Zero, and Alice are the three people Harr tried to protect from the tower. Dalim just says Zero’s memory has vanished. Dalim lets them go past him. He assures them he’s their enemy, but their goal is the same. At the hall, Amon orders Lance to kill Harr.

Chapter 22 Alice, Loki, and Zero see Harr and Lance battling with magic. It looks like a fierce battle, with their clothes torn and all, but they were not injured. Harr suddenly stops fighting and realizes something. Lance’s eyes turn back to normal. Amon urges Lance to use the magic crystals. They notice the arrival of Alice and the others. Amon orders Lance to kill all of them but Alice. Lance attacks Amon instead. Amon calls for backup to attack Lance with their new crystals that are made from human experiments. Lance uses too much magic to block it and is left a bit weak. Harr protects Lance. Dalim realizes Harr is using his eternal magic crystals, and that he continued his research all this time.

Chapter 23 Amon orders to use all of their magic crystals, but there’s none left. It was mostly given to the red army for the war. Harr steps towards Amon, but he teleports away. Harr thinks he went to the ruins where he stores magic crystals. Harr asks Loki and Lance to make a protective barrier around the ruins to prevent damage if the magic crystals inside explode. Harr goes after Amon alone. Lance faces Dalim and the magic tower goons.

Chapter 24 Dalim says if the ruins explode, the magic tower would be affected the most. He orders the tower scholars to protect the tower with magic using whatever they have. Lance goes back to the red army and makes a protective barrier around the territory. Zero informs the citizens to escape. Loki alerts the black army. Alice tells Dalim she can help protect the tower. A big blast comes from the forest, and a strong shock wave hits the barrier. Alice tries her best to block it but she’s at her limit. Her necklace flashes and a strong light covers them.

Due to the blast, the ruins have disappeared. The shock wave destroyed the protective wall of the tower, but the power of the necklace stopped the attack. Alice faints. When Alice wakes up, Loki briefs her about the outcome. There were some damaged areas, but the citizens are safe. The red army has stopped the war. Amon and Harr are missing.

Chapter 25 Loki and Sue are with Alice. Loki says he promised Harr he’d protect her until her return to London. They miss Harr, but still believe he’ll return. 3 more days until the full moon. Dalim visits Alice with big news about the tower she helped protect. Amon is gone, so they have a new leader. From then on, the normal distribution of magic crystals will start. He thanks Alice and promises not to go after her anymore. Alice asks who the new leader is. Dalim just says he’s a supporter of that person. He wishes her a safe return to London. Alice says she’ll wait for Harr‘s return.

Later she hears someone coming, she thinks it’s Loki coming back home. It’s actually Harr. He says he’s home and smiles, then they embrace. Loki comes back and is surprised to see Harr. Harr explains what happened in the battle with Amon. He detonated the magic crystals then teleported to another country. He used too much magic so he was incapacitated for a while. Loki goes out to tell everyone the news. Alice confesses to Harr. He thanks her and says he wasn’t planning on coming home originally because he might not let her go if he did. He thinks it’s better for her to be in London. But he heard she was waiting for him, so he decided to return. He says he loves her and kisses her. 1 day before the full moon.

Chapter 26 Harr says he became the new leader of the magic tower. Dalim forced the delegation on him.

At the garden, Blanc, the red army, and black army are gathered. Harr, Lancelot, and Sirius are united. Zero thanks Harr.

Harr is selected as a new leader of the magic tower officially. Harr goes to the spot where Alice fell down from London. Alice follows him, they reminisce, etc and they kiss.

On the day of the full moon, Harr takes Alice to the garden again. Alice is about to step into the light leading to London but Harr calls out to her. He says he doesn’t want to lose her and that she should stay with him. Alice throws her bags down and runs to Harr to embrace him.

愛され Romantic End

Harr embraces her tightly and kisses her. He slips some tongue in, and Alice bites it. (≖‿≖) Harr is surprised, Alice says it was sudden. They went home hand in hand. [insert sexy timez] (i don’t feel comfy describing scenes like this, i can only make jokes about it)

Normal days returned. Loki says they’re like a normal family. Loki goes out to sell magic crystals while Harr goes to work at the tower. Alice makes dinner. Loki says he’s not coming home that night and that they can enjoy alone time.

[more sexy timez] (//▽//)

END.

愛する Dramatic End

Harr insists that Alice return to London just this once. He says he wants to live together forever in Cradle so he wants her to go and settle her affairs in London -- work, friends, family etc. Alice goes back~

Several days until the next full moon...

At the magic tower, Harr is spacing out. Darim says he's also looking forward to Alice's return because he likes her. Harr frowns and Darim says he's just joking.

...

At Harr’s house, Lancelot and Sirius are hanging out. They've started having frequent tea parties. Sirius and Lancelot are also awaiting Alice's return. Harr gets jealous.

...

On the day of the full moon, Harr catches Alice as she falls from the sky. They decide to go to the lake first before going back to house. He proposes to her. Alice promises eternal love. They kiss.

...

Back at the house in Alice's room, she notices it's as clean and tidy as she left it a month ago. They get to the bed, where they embrace and start the sexy timez~ (¯▿¯)

END. (edgar in an ‘alice wig’ makes another appearance!)

Extra:

I really like how Harr’s other hand is bandaged. ¯\(°_o)/¯

[seadragonjade]

Chapter 3: A Shadow’s tomb

I am so sorry that this Chapter come in so very late guys. I got distracted by other things and kept putting it off. So again so sorry about that. I will be posted chapter 4 but not for a a bit of time but it would be as long as this wait was hopefully. Pictures will be posted along with Chapter 4. Also this has be reposted since I freaked out when I didn’t know how to put read more but thank you to the person that helped me. 

Words: 22739

*Next Day: July 19 Tuesday* 

*Beep* *Beep**Beep**Be-* The alarm got cut off by the young Jaden-Drake Etheren hitting the snooze button. He groaned as he got up. “God! I hate getting up for school!” He groaned out as he got up and went to his closet. “Too bad you gotta.” Draco the bearded dragon said as he crawled out from bedding that was right near the tank. 

Drake sighed as he turned his head to the smirking dragon. “Don’t give me that look or I leave you behind.” “Wait, no!” The dragon was a little bit shocked when the green-haired teen said that. “C’mon already sleepy head. It is best for us to not miss the subway.” Xander said as he pokes his head in his friend's bedroom right when Drake was putting on his uniform. “You do know we can take my car right. Traffic ain’t that bad during this time.” Drake told his friend as he turned to face him. “The early bird catches the worm.” He shrugs as he walks away. “That really doesn’t answer me.”

After Jaden got fully dressed and got his shoes on he grabs his bag with Draco in it and heads out the door with Xander. “You do know I’m not a crazy driver like Tanner and Randy. I was the only one who was allowed to drive when Draco is in his jeep form. Sooner or later we’re going to drive in my car.” The shorter teen states as they head to the subway. Xander just shook his head as they got in the crowded subway and headed for Shujin. As soon as they got to Shujin they headed straight to their respective classes. 

*Time skip: Lunchtime*

Once lunchtime rolled around Jaden headed to the board where it showed everyone's grade in their own year. Jade sighed as he looked at the board. “Huh, not bad. Got to remember that their grading system is different from America's.” Drake muttered to himself. “I see that you got that you passed all your exams. Great job Drake-kun.” He heard a male voice say from behind him. The green-haired boy turned around to see Akira standing right behind him. “Oh, thank you Akira-kun.” He told him with a small smile and a pinkish tint of blush on his face. 

Akira chuckled at how Drake acted. “Oh, yeah. Awesome job on getting into the top tens by the way.” He told the taller male as they walked off to go find Ryuji. “Hehe, Thanks.” He said giving Jaden a smile. Once they were down the stairs they saw Xander, Ryuji, and Mishima waiting for them. Once they got to them they began to have a conversation.  “We were busy. It’s not like I could focus on studying.” All the boys looked at Ryuji. “Hey, it’s not my fault my scores suck, right?” Ryuji said, looking at them. Akira just shooked his head at Ryuji. “Mate...I’m not even going to say it.” Drake stated as he shook his head. “What?” Ryuji asked. 

Drake again shook his head. “Alright, I get it is my fault. Anyways, there’s something more important here, Mishima…” Ryuji said, looking at him. “You want to ask me something about the internet, right?” He asked looking back at the blond boy. “Yup, I’m gonna be straight with you here, do you know who Medjeb is?” “You weren’t kidding about being direct.” Mishima states. “Well, I suppose the news about Medjed and the Phantom Thieves has caused quite the commotion…” He continued. “They started out as hackers of justice but now they only look out for their own self-interests. That’s all I know. They were the group I texted Kurusu about yesterday.” He tells them. 

“Nobody’s sure actually who belongs to Medjed. Well, it looks like things’ll be the Phantom Thieves’ word debut, no?” He finishes off with a smile. “Dude..” Ryuji said as he put his hand on his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be rooting for the Phantom Thieves. I’ll get the forum mobilized as well.” He smiled. “Now if we’re done talking here, I really must be going. I’ll see you guys later.” Mishima walked away. “So that was fruitless…” Morgana stated as Mishima walked. “Agreed.” Xander said as he shook his head. “I second that.” Drake said cracking his neck a bit. “Wonder if anyone else got any info.” Ryuji said as he took out his phone. The others did the same. 

Ryuji: Mishima was pretty useless, you guys get anything?

Makoto: I tried asking my sister, but it seemed as though she didn’t know very much about them. 

Makoto: She doesn’t specialize in cybercrime, after all.

Drake: I tried asking my brother over the phone but all I got was. “Why the hell you worrying about some dumb system. Worry about you and your friends.”

Ann: I tried looking into them too, but I didn't come up with anything.

Ann: There are really just no leads.

Xander: We are up against an enemy that we don’t know of. It would be difficult to use the Nav.

Yusuke: It seems so.

Yusuke: Hm, our opponent is truly elusive. 

“No luck.” Ryuji sighed out. “Medjed, hm?” Morgana pondered. “It seems we won’t be able to deal with them by ourselves”  “I wonder what they could really be.” Draco sighed out. 

*Time skip: Afternoon*

“I know summer vacation is due to begin next week, but I have an unfortunate announcement.” Ms. Kawakami began looking at the whole class. “We’ll be holding an emergency assembly on Monday the 25th. Please come to school that day.” She finished. Everyone began murmuring about the whole situation. “Great.” Drake signed out, flopping onto his desk with his arms sticking out. “Settle down.” She scolded the class. “We’ve had many strange incidents: the psychotic breakdowns, students being dragged into crime rings…” She explained. “Hence, Principal Kobayakawa has instructed all teachers to caution the student body. This is inconvenient for us too, you know? Having to find things to warn you about so suddenly.” She explained. Once she was done explaining Akira, Ann and Drake took out their phones. 

Ryuji: How’re we gonna find Medjed?

Ann: I’m not sure. No matter how hard I look online, all I find are unreliable rumors.

Yusuke: They have carried out corporate terrorism, yet they still manage to elude arrest somehow.

Yusuke: Kaneshiro was a lot of trouble, but this is turning out to be a much greater ordeal.

Drake: That sounds like a lot of famous people back in America.

Xander: We would just have to wait. It is difficult to attack someone if you can’t see them.

Ryuji: Did we bite off more than we can chew?

Akira: They're too big.

Makoto: Yeah…

Makoto: We don’t even know whether it’s a single individual or a large conglomerate of people.

Makoto: And even if we do manage to get a lead, what do we do from there?

Ryuji: Damn, this stuff’s really not going so good...

Ryuji: That’s prolly why my exams’re going to shit.

Ann: You know those are two separate things, right?

“‘Damn, this stuff’s really not going so good…’ Mwehehe…” A young teenage girl said as she read off the group's texts. “Clues on Medjed, huh?” she smirked.  

The school bell ranged and all the students started to grab their stuff and get ready to leave while some got left behind to chat with friends. “If we can’t identify who it is, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s wait till they make a move.” Morgana stated to Akira. “Although I would love to stay and chit-chat with you I gotta go. I have stuff to do with my older brother and I got to meet him somewhere. If you see Xander tell him I got to meet up with my brother.” Jaden sighed as he began walking away. “Alright. Do you also want me to let Boss know that too?” Akira asked, looking at him Jaden nodded as he headed on. He went past many students on his way out. 

He sighed as he walked off the campus. Was it a good idea not to tell Xander I’m going to see Taka… He thought to himself. He walked past Xander who was looking around the area. It seemed like he was looking for someone. Jaden didn’t pay any attention as he walked past his friend. “Hey, Xander.” Draco said, causing the green-haired boy to stop in his tracks and turn around to see his friend. “Huh, oh didn’t notice you guys there.” He said walking up to them. “Don’t worry, I didn’t notice you either. Draco did though. Anyways, what are you doing?” Drake asked his friend. “Well, I was looking for someone. There was this person that I knew online from awhile ago. We were pretty close; she apparently goes by the name Alibaba. She is an excellent hacker so maybe I could ask her to help us.” The taller out of the two explained still looking around. Jaden looked at him. 

“Well, first I don't believe you face time together so you don’t really know what she looks like. Second, she might not even go to this school. Third, she was probably a grown-ass man that was catfishing you. I mean she could be real and fourth, that’s most likely not her real name.” He explained to him with a long sigh. “That would have been true but aren’t you forgetting something?” Xander stated after looking at his friend. Drake looked at him for a minute then realized. “Shit, yeah. Thanks, oh also want to meet him?” Jaden said to his friend. “Yes but that is not what I meant. I was talking about my eagle sense.” He sighed as him and Drake began walking. “One of the games that we played involved voice chat. Since then I have been using eagle sense since we arrived here trying to see her unique tone. From the sound of her voice, she appears to be a girl mostly younger than us.” He sighed again. “No, I didn’t forget about your eagle sense. I’m just saying be careful. Japan isn’t like America. I mean look at the law for the age of consent. 13. So she could be an adult.” He sighs out. “But age can be revealed through a person’s voice. It is rather difficult to explain but whenever I hear people speaking, a younger person’s voice tends to not have voice cracks of different magnitude, some noticeable others difficult to hear. And with Alibaba, her voice was girlish with voice cracks that I can see.” He explained to his older friend. Drake shook his head and sighed. “Whatever, mate. I can sense you’re not lying about this situation. But still...do be careful.” He told him with a sigh as they headed on.

Once they got home they dropped off their bags and quickly left with Jaden grabbing his car keys and them heading to the car. Jaden-Drake’s car was an impala 67 Chevy black. The car was big but from what the inside looked like it could hold up to six people if needed. They got in, Jaden in the driver seat, Draco in a bag next to him, and Xander in the shotgun. They got in and headed out the parking lot and then to the street. The car ride was full of silence between the three of them. Being sick of the silence Jaden turned on the radio and put it on a station he thought was good enough. “...I am not scared you're going to tell me. I’m not scared of the beast and the belly. Fill this cup with ambition. Paint this town with my very own vision.” Xander started singing. Drake just sighed as he heard his friend start singing. 

Man, it’s been quite some time since I sang in front of the others...Maybe I should start singing in front of our new friends...He sighed again as they pulled up to a white building that looked strange to Xander. “Woooaah, I've never seen a building like this before.” Draco stated as his head was out of the bag looking at the building. “It’s a studio building. Meaning where they have photo shoots and movie scenes.” Drake stated as he walked towards the building. “What a building, talk about a skyscraper?” Xander said looking at the building while following his friend. “Wait, a studio that is one building?” Draco asked. “I’m used to seeing multiple buildings being a part of a studio place.” Xander exclaimed. 

Once they entered the building, both the tan boy and dragon were amazed to find a longed area and a receptionist. “Excuse me, but I don't thi-” She was cut off by Drake showing her his I.D. “Don’t worry he’s with me. Can you tell me what floor Takato Saijo is on.” He asked her while he put away his I.D. “Oh, Right. Sorry, Ethren-san. I didn’t recognize you. I give you the floor Takato-san is on.” she stated as she began typing away on the computer. Xander and Draco both stared at him. “What?” Drake asked his confused friends.  “The receptionist seems to know you.” Xander pointed out to Drake. “I’ve been coming here since I was a baby. A lot of people know me here...I also just realized I could have texted him which floor.” He’d facepalm. “That would have been wise.” Xander responded. “Here’s the floor he’s at, have a good day young Ethern.” The lady stated as she gave him a piece of paper with writing on it. 

“Thank you, follow me mate.” Drake stated as he walked away. The three of them entered the elevator and Jaden pressed the button. “Alright, I’m going to tell you guys something. There are going to be actors in this room and some will assume that you're a fan of them. If you want to talk to them and they are rude to you, you have my permission to be rude back. They know me because of my brother and know I don’t take shit. Trust me when I say they won’t do anything to you. They know how my brother can get.” He explained with a sigh. “Oh, and Draco you can’t talk to us in front of them. I'm fine with you talking when it’s with my brother. Also fair warning he does know about the whole Metaverse thing so if he asks you anything about the Metaverse, you can basically say anything about the situation, but don’t talk about the times I get hurt. He is really protective of me.”  He finished explaining to his friends. 

“Don’t worry I will be careful with what I say.” Xander smiled at his friend. Drake smiled. “Thanks, mate.” Once they got to the floor the doors opened to reveal another lounge area with a vending machine. Jaden walked out and headed right. Xander followed him as he entered the door. Upon entering it, Xander and Draco saw a whole staff of actors, carmamen, and dictators. “Cool.” Draco hissed out. Drake chuckles as he walks in further with Xander following close behind. They walked past people not even batting an eye at the three of them. 

Once they were at a table with one of the actors sitting there with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He had black hair and was wearing nice, dark clothes. “Hey bro.” Jaden said looking at him. “Hey, Drake. I see you brought a friend with you.” The black-haired actor said looking at Xander. “Yep. Xander, this is my older brother Takato Saijo.” Jaden said. “Hi, Takato. I am Jaden’s best friend. It is a pleasure to finally meet.” Xander said as he bowed a little. Takato smiled a little as he nodded. “Hmm, nice to finally meet you as well Xander.” Drake smiled as he watched the exchange. “That kinda reminds me, how's Junta doing?” The teen asked his older brother who sighed after that. “Clingy as ever but we’re working on that. Thankfully.” He answered his brother truthfully. He smiled at his brother's comment. He shifts his attention to the set in front of him, where the director was giving orders. “Now I must ask you two, since I know you’re good friends with him and of course, are like brothers. How is Damien?” Takato asked as he closed his eyes again. Jaden froze on the spot as Draco and Xander looked at each other. Xander looks down with a sigh. “...He..He’s no longer with us.” He tells him while still looking down. 

Takato opened his eyes and brought his attention to the both of them. “Oh...I’m sorry to hear about that…” He paused for a second, then looked at his younger brother. “I knew how close you were to him. Just remember he’s in a better place now.” He said with an awkward smile. “Yeah….”Drake sighs. “Can we just change the topic, please?” He said softly. “Yeah of course. Um...Oh, how's working in the Metaverse?” The dark-haired male trying to change the subject quickly. “Kind of good, besides that incident. Have been helping people out here and there.” Xander explained. “Well, that’s always good to hear. Hey little bro, do you-” Takato was cut off by the director telling him it was his part to do. He sighed and shook his head. “Well, I’ll see you guys later then, I have my part to do.” He said as he got up and walked away. “Welp, that’s our cue to leave. Come on, mate.” Drake said as he headed for the door with Xander right behind him.

*Time skip: Evening*

Jaden was in the shower while Xander was in the living area when he got a text.

Yusuke: So I looked.

Ann: Did you find anything?

Yusuke: As you know, Medjed is a god that appears in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Ann: Huh?

Yusuke: Its name apparently means “the smiter”.

Yusuke: It seems nobody is actually sure that Medjed is a real name.

Yusuke: On top of that, almost everything else about him is unknown.

Yusuke: Even his form is unattainable.

Xander: An enemy who is unseen.

Xander: It’s going to be rather difficult to get them

Yusuke: Right. An unseen god that flies through the sky and shoots from his eyes...

Yusuke: He truly is an elusive being.

Ryuji: Dude.

Yusuke: Everything about his existence is shrouded in mystery

Ryuji: Wait. 

Yusuke: Fundamentally speaking, ancient Egyptain art always depicted gods drawn in a side profile.

Yusuke: However, Medjed is facing straight ahead in all depictions of him

Yusuke: Taking all of this into account, he seems to be quite the alien being

Akira: Well done.

Ryuji: Hey, there’s nothing to be impressed about.

Drake: Well unlike you there are people who would love to hear what Yusuke has stated.

Drake: Fuckin’ dumbass

Yusuke: I hope that information was at least somewhat useful.

Makoto: Indeed it was.

Yusuke: Should I look into more?

Makoto: That’s enough, thank you.

“Well, I know who I’m going to talk to when it comes to mythology.” Drake said as he walked out with a towel around his neck. “Do you mean Inari?” Xander asked his friend as he watched him sit down on the couch. “Yep.” He smiled.

*Time skip: 7/20: Early morning*

“And here comes another hot day at school.” Jaden sighed as he waited for his friend to get in his car. “Yay and boo!” Draco said with a smile. Jaden chuckled as Xander got into the car and they drove off. As soon as they got to the school, Jaden parked his car in the student parking lot and they headed inside the school building. Once inside there they heard conversations about the Phantom Thieves versus Medjed. All three boys rolled their eyes at the comments. “I wonder who is going to win. The Phantom Thieves or Medjed.” The boys walked away not wanting to listen to more. “I hate that this is what people are talking about nowadays.” Draco hissed out. “They are people bored out of their minds there's nothing we can do about it.” The green-haired teen stated. “We just plan out our next move.” Xander said as they headed to their homerooms. “Right.” 

*Time skip: After school*

The Phantom Thieves have a meeting and Akira shows them the text messages that Alibaba sent to him. “Considerin’ he mentioned stealin’ hearts, he knows, doesn’t he?” Ryuji said. “Seems so...” Makoto. “First of all she is a young female and second of all how do we really know it’s her.” Xander stated, getting a little huffy. “Wait what?” Ann said. “That’s his old friend and he gets defensive when someone talks trash and, or doesn’t know anything about his friends, just continue.” Drake said with a small sigh. “Anyways, how were we found out?” Yusuke said with a hint of anger in his tone. “I wished I knew…” Drake said as he sighed. “Well, he may have traced our chat log…” Makoto stated. “How careless of us.” Yusuke said “It’s not really our fault. Hackers are hackers, we can’t really stop them.” Drake explained. “But how would he have known these details with just that?” Makoto asked. “Do you think that there is another cause?” Yusuke pondered. 

“Yeah. I’m not sure why, but that’s the feeling I get.” Makoto told them in a soft voice. “Hey, is it that easy to look at someone’s chat log?” Ann asked them. “Normally no. But unless they’re hackers or just really good at technology.” Draco said looking at Jaden for confirmation. Drake nodded his head at the young lizard. “I don’t know much about it myself, but...it’s probably not impossible, I think?” Makoto sighed out. “How’s it done?” Ryuji asked her. “Maybe they extracted our phones’ data?” She answered. “It’s a lot more complicated than that, so it’s a lot harder to explain than you think.” Xander told them, shaking his head. “Why’s Akira getting an error when he tries to reply?” Ann asked. “Perhaps the receiving end doesn’t exist.” Makoto stated. 

“That’s possible?” Ryuji asks in surprise. “Don’t ask me everything. I told you that I don’t know much about it.” Makoto told him. “Wait. Might this be, from what Jaden and Draco kept on telling us, is referred to as hacking?” Yusuke asked, looking at the green-haired teen and yellow bearded dragon. “Yes. Again it’s a lot harder to explain then it is to show, and I’m not much of a hacker myself. I just knew people that did this sort of thing.” Drake sighed out as he explained. 

“Then, does that mean this guy’s a hacker!?” Ryuji asked. “Yep. Like I explained, mate.” Drake said. “I don’t get high-tech stuff! What does this all mean?” Morgana shouted. “An unknown hacker contacted us!” Ann told him. “I see. I don’t really get it.” He said. Akira shook his head a little bit after the cat said that. “Then is this person Medjed?” Yusuke asked. “I doubt it, considering he says he wants to “deal” with them.” Makoto said. “That is, only if we take his words for face value.” “True…” Yusuke agreed. “Hey...Wouldn’t it be great if we got this guy on our side?” Ryuji pondered. “That’s...not a half bad of an idea.” Drake said. “But we know nothing about his identity at all. We can’t trust him.” Makoto said, looking at the both of them. 

“I don’t think it’s a bad deal though…” Ryuji said. “I see where both of you are coming from.” Drake sighed. “But I agree with Ryuji. An enemy of my enemy is my friend as the saying goes.” The green-haired boy pointed out. “Even if Alibaba turns out to be a criminal? I am not helping anyone of that sort.” Yusuke stated. “Oh, right. That wouldn’t be good.” Ryuji sighed out. “We have no other choice though. Alibaba is our only way of beating Medjed.” Xander explained to the group. “I have to agree. It goes to say don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Right now we’re judging something based on second-hand information. Aren’t we a group that’s the opposite of that?” Jaden stated to them. Everyone nodded in agreement. “Although, the ‘I’ve prepared the necessary too’ part makes no sense either.” Morgana stated. 

“Could this be a prank?” Ann asked. “He knows an awful lot for it to be a prank.” Makoto responded. “If he knows who we are, won’t we get caught?” Ann asked. “No. If he wanted to report us, I think he would’ve done it already.” The brunette stated. “He must have some sort of objective of his own. He did offer us a deal, after all.” Yusuke said. “I’m certain he’ll contact us again.” He finished. “There’s no telling when he’ll do so, though…” Makoto said. “It’d be best if we stay together if something happens, we can act at once.” She told them. “I have to agree with that. Who knows what would happen if we don’t.” Drake sighed. “Yeah. So, somewhere we can wait and hide for long hours…” Ann stated. “How about Leblanc?” Makoto said watching everyone nod. “Alright, let’s go then.” Akira told the group as they walked off.

 *Time Skip: Evening*

The group walked into Leblanc to see Sojiro leaning on the counter holding a note looking at it. Akira looked puzzled as he walked up to him. Once he walked up to the black-haired adult he put the paper down and looked at him. “...Oh? What’s with the big group?” He asked looking at the group. “Good evening. We were thinking about putting together plans for our summer.” Ann told him. “Hm? Well, I don’t see why not. Just don’t cause too much trouble.” He said to them. “This old man’ll get going and leave you kids be. All right, the store is all yours.” He said as he walked towards the door then leaves. Once he left, they ordered food then sat down at a table. Their food arrives and they set it up at the table then just start talking. The T.V was on which was airing a news channel. 

“We have late-breaking news on Medjed, whose notoriety rose since their statement the other day.” The T.V.’s news reporter said. “Just moments ago, a new message has been released on their website. They have announced their victory over the Phantom Thieves. Medjed also warns any Japanese citizens who praised the Phantom Thieves to stop doing so. We will report any further actions by Medjed as they arrive.” He finished off. “Oh, come on! It’s in English!” Ryuji shouted as he checked his phone. Drake just chuckled as he shook his head. “Let me see. ‘The Phantom Thieves remain silent at our questions. This proves that we are just.’” Ann read out loud. “‘People of Japan, wake up. You must not worship the Phantom Thieves.’” She continued. 

“What!? That’s bullshit!” Ryuji shouted. “Keep listening.” Yusuke told him. “‘We will discipline any who worship them. The punishment is the confiscation of possessions. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.’” She finished. “That’s what it says.” She told them. “What does that all mean!?” Ryuji yelled. “They’re saying that they’ll target sympathizers of the Phantom Thieves.” Makoto stated. “For someone that wants to get rid of evil they sure are punishing that they will hurt people that don’t follow them. Sounds just like a cult.” Drake signed out. “Confiscation of possessions, hm?” Yusuke said. “Perhaps bank accounts or personal information...Either way, it won’t be anything pleasant.” Makoto stated. “Why the hell are we being singled out!?” Ryuji yelled out. “Like hell, I would know.” The green-haired teen huffed.  

“Perhaps all they care about is labeling the Phantom Thieves as crooks.” Makoto stated. “That all this wouldn’t have happened had the Phantom Thieves not existed.” She continued. “That’s complete bullshit.” Ryuji stated. “Talk about a troublesome organization that we’ve been targeted by…” Morgana stated. “Isn’t there anything we can do?” Ann questioned. “I don’t really think so.” Xander sighed out. “It’s certain we can’t do anything about this on our own…” Yusuke said with a saddened expression. “Hey, so what’s this letter about? We don’t need any more trouble.” Ryuji said to Akira. “It’s rare for you to get something like this.” Morgana said. Akira picked up the letter then took out the card. He then observed the envelope. 

Nothing seemed strange about it.  “What could it be?” Xander pondered. Akira put down the red paper. “A calling card?” Morgana asked in confusion. “Anything else in there!? Who’s this from anyway?” Ann said. “No, there wasn’t anything else in the envelope and I don’t really know.” Akira sighed out. “There’s no stamp on it. Someone must’ve directly dropped it into the mailbox…” Makoto said. “Could have been Alibaba?” Yusuke asked. “That reminds me, he did mention something about preparing the ‘necessary tool’...” Morgana stated. “Don’t tell me..Is this what he was talking about!?” The blue-eyed feline asked. “What the hell’s goin’ on here?” Ryuji said. “All we can do at the moment is wait for Alibaba’s orders.” Makoto said. “Let’s brace ourselves and stand by...in case anything comes up.” 

“I’m going to repeat this: an enemy of my enemy is my friend. So I guess we’re allying it up with them.” Drake stated. “Oh dear…” Ann sighed out. 

*Time Skip: At Jaden and Xander’s apartment*

“Man, I don’t really like this Alibaba person...Oh, no offense mate.” Drake started as he looked at Xander with a sheepish look. “None taken.” Xander sighed. “Kay, anyways. I wonder if they're just using us to get some recognition.” The short teen sighed out once he plopped himself on the couch. He thought for a bit while sighing again. “Man, this reminds me when we first formed the Hidden Ones. Heh, man, we didn’t understand who to trust and when to trust them.” Drake sighed. “Man, I miss those days.” He sighed again. 

He closed his eyes as he started to remember the days with the Hidden Ones. To him, it seemed like a lifetime ago. He sighed again. Draco looked at him with a knowing expression. “We can’t change the past. All we can do is look towards the future as you always tell us; The past is in the past and the future is in the future.” He told his human friend who chuckled at him. “Yeah, you’re right, I always do say that.” He agreed. “Just think of the friends we have today.” The dragon smiled. Speaking of other friends I wonder what Akira is doing. Drake blushed as he thought of the Phantom Thief leader. “The sight of love. Rather funny to see in your eyes.” Xander chuckled as he sat right next to his friend. 

“S-shut up, and what do you mean by that?” Drake asks him while his face was turning red. “My eagle sense is getting stronger and every time it is always to see your vivid feelings towards Akira.” Xander smirked as he watched his friend become even redder. “W-what?! Dude?! N-no, I don’t...” Drake stammered trying to think of a way out. “You are digging your own hole of embarrassment.” He continued to smirk at him. “Fuck! I can’t help that he’s just too freakin’ cute. Or the fact that everything about him is just so hot. Or how kind he is...He’s just...great…*sighs* I’m helpless aren’t I?” Drake asks as he flops a bit on the couch. 

“Yes, yes you are.” Xander told him. The shorter teen huffed a bit. “*sighs* What makes it worse is the fact I don’t know if he feels the same way.” He said as he bites his lip a bit. “You will just have to wait for the right moment.” The tan male told him. “Yeah, you're right. Anyways, we better get started on our home, god knows we have to before summer break.” Drake explained as he stretched. “Shall we begin?” Xander asked as he grabbed their bags. Jaden chuckles as he grabs his and gets his homework out while Xander does the same thing. 

*Time Skip: 7/21 Early Morning*

They were in Jaden-Drake’s car on the way to school at a stoplight. “Man, I hope today’s not going to suck.” Draco sighed as the two teens were looking out of the window. “Same here. I just hope nothing bad happens. Let’s face it we already have enough stuff to worry about.” Drake stated with a sigh that showed how tired he really was. “I also wonder if everyone’s alright. Learning we have to listen to Alibaba must be hard on some of them.” He huffs out. “We are basically pawns to her right now.” Xander explains to the two of them. 

“*Sighs* I feel bad for you the most mate. You two must have become good friends.” Drake said as he started the car again since the light turned green. Xander looked at his friend then sighed. “Heh, it will be fun when she realizes that it is me that she messed with.” Xander chuckled. Drake smiled and shook his head. “That’s going to be fun when we see her face to face as she realizes who you are...Did you ever give her your real name, mate?” He asked, looking at Xander. “No, my username was either ScarcenXD or Scarenknight.” He explained. Drake nodded as they made their way to the school.

*Time skip: Morning*

Akira, Ann, and Jaden-Drake were all in their class doing what they would normally do. Ann, listening to the teacher, Akira, somewhat listening to the teacher, and Drake, taking a quick nap. Everything was quiet till Akira's phone buzzed. Upon hearing this Morgana popped his head out of his desk. “Hey, your phone’s buzzing!” He told Akira. Akira checked his phone. “*sigh* It’s just Ryuji.” The cat said. The bearded dragon ignored the whole thing as he made sure Drake was still asleep since he stayed up too late the night before. Akira read the text messages to himself and shook his head a bit. He put his phone away and went back to doing what he was doing. While Draco tried walking Drake up to no avail.

*Time skip: Afternoon*  

They were back in class listening to the homeroom teacher. Thankfully Drake was fully awake and listening to Ms. Kawakami. Akira’s phone buzzed for what seemed like the fifth time that day. Drake shook his head while Morgana sighed. “Ryuji again? He just never shuts up, does he?” He huffed out. “Sounds like someone I know.” Draco mumbled as he curled further into Jaden’s desk. Said teen shook his head as he watched Akira check his phone. This time Akira kinda seemed a bit surprised by what Jaden could see. “So, it was really from this guy…” The feline said. 

Drake quickly understood what was going on and shook his head. I’ll learn about this later from Akira. He sighed to himself as he went back to listening to the teacher. “Tell him. We need the name of the target.” He heard the feline say but choose to ignore this time. He started nodding off to sleep until he heard Morgana speak again. “So he threatened you, then just took off!?” What the hell? He thought to himself. “And Sakura..? I feel like I’ve heard that name before…In any case, we should let everyone know about this.” The blue-eyed feline stated. 

Drake nudged Akira a bit. Akira turned his head a bit and saw the green-haired teen looking at him with a confused and worried expression. “You okay, mate?” He asked the fluffy, black-haired teen. Akira looked at Jaden and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Just, Alibaba texted me again. See.” Akira said as he showed Drake without the teacher noticing. “Huh, geez. We better watch out then and find out whoever this kid is.” The young teen sighed as he leaned back into his seat preparing to fall asleep. “And whoever this person is, that needs a change of heart, I hope they're ready for that.” He yawns as he falls right to sleep. 

Akira watches the other male for while he is falling asleep. He chuckles at his friend’s continues to keep falling asleep in class. He’s adorable when he falls asleep in class. I wish I could help him fall asleep better at night. The black-haired boy said as he smiled at the thought. I wonder how he would look in my arms. He smirked to himself. He continues to watch him for a few more minutes before going back to what the teacher was talking about.

*Time skip: After school*

“We’re gonna get reported if we don’t do this? What the hell…” Ryuji said after being shown the text messages from Akira’s phone. “‘Futaba Sakura’?” Ann questioned. “Wasn’t Sakura…” Makoto started. “It’s Boss’s last name!” Ann finished it for her. “Does he have any family?” Yusuke asked. “Boss has a kid...that really doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.” Drake said with a heavy sigh.  “Does he?” Morgana questions. “I don’t really know.” Akira said as he put his hand on his chin. 

“For reals!? How laid-back are you!?” Ryuji snapped at him. “Hey, it’s not his fault for not asking Boss in the beginning if he had any family. I mean it is kinda rude to ask that.” Jaden stated, glaring at Ryuji. “Wouldn’t you normally be introduced at least? I mean, you ARE living at his place.” Ryuji said. “Well, his situation does make things difficult…” Yusuke said. “True, why would someone trust a kid who has a criminal record, it is only us that know that the charge is fake.” Xander stated as he looked towards each member of the group. 

The teen green-haired right next time to him nodded. “If I was a parent in his situation, I wouldn’t want them near my kid. Ah, no offense Akira-kun.” Drake said, looking at Akira with a blush of embarrassment in his face. “None taken.” He said as he chuckled a bit. “Anyways, the calling card was delivered to Boss’s house; it’d be more natural to assume this is all related.” Makoto stated. “One of the reasons for that is because Alibaba mentioned nothing about “which” Futaba Sakura. Perhaps he thinks that the name alone is enough.” She said to them. 

“That makes sense.” Morgana said. “I believe it’s adequate for us to think that this is the doing of someone close by.” Makoto said, looking at the group. “I see.” Ann said looking at her. 

“I don't know how Alibaba got a hold of Akira-kun’s smartphone information. However, since he’s ordering us through chat, I do feel as though he’s taunting us.” Makoto explained with a sad expression on her face. “You mean, this might just be a prank?” Ryuji asked, looking at her. “I mean, look at his demands.” She pointed out. “Pay me if you don’t want me to leak who you really are-that I’d understand. But he’s telling us to steal someone’s heart without explaining why.” She explained to them. “So we’re being tested?” Yusuke asked. “I don’t really believe that we are.” Drake said. “Regardless, I think we should ask Boss about Futaba Sakura once.” She said. 

“That’s probably for the best. There’s nothing else we can do at the moment, and Chief might have an idea on what this is about too.” Morgana said. “I’ll check the school’s roster just in case.” Makoto said. “He will probably be mad at us if we were to ask about his family member.” Xander explains to them. “We don’t have a choice in the matter, mate.” The green-hair teen explained. “With that aside, we must make sure Boss doesn’t figure out who we are. We’ll have to go about this cautiously.” Yusuke said, looking towards his friends. Everyone nodded. 

“Well, I guess we’ll see you later. Also, good luck Akira-kun. I bet you’re going to need it.” Drake said as he patted Akira. “Also, boop.” he said as he boops Akira on the nose then left with Xander shaking his head following behind him. Everyone just chuckled or shook their heads as they left. Aside from Akira who stood there blushing a bit. Holy shit that’s adorable. I want him so badly. He thinks as he grabs his bag and walks away. 

“Don’t even think about it Jaden.” Xander said as he jokingly glared at his short friend. Drake just chuckled. “What’s the point when I know you're going to dodge it.” He told him. Draco just shook his head at the two human’s banter. “You two are strange people, but I love you two for that.” The bearded dragon smiled. 

“And you are a strange pet, but we love you for that.” Xander said with a smile as well. Draco looked at him and stuck his fork tongue out. Drake shook his head at the two of them. “You two are ridiculous. But will be my good friends no matter what.”  He states as the trio walk into the school parking lot and get into Drake’s Impala and drive away to their shared apartment. 

*Time skip: Evening*

The two teens were doing their homework when they got a text on their phone.

[Phone convo]

Ann: Oh, I just remembered!

Ann: Akira, were you able to ask Boss about Futaba Sakura?

Akira: I tried…

Yusuke: So, no results. Could there be a reason as to why that was?

Makoto: Hm. Alibaba might be our only hope of defeating Medjed.

Makoto: I wish we could get some info about Futaba out of Boss.

Ann: But trying to force it out would probably have the opposite effect.

Yusuke: To be honest, I owe a great deal to both Boss and Akira.

Yusuke: I don’t wish for this to be a source of discord between them. 

Drake: I owe Boss for allowing me to work for him and Akira whenever he needs it. 

Drake: So I got no complaints with finding out the hard way. 

Ryuji: Yeah, I know just what you mean!

Xander: We have no other choice.

Makoto: It’s probably best to wait for Boss to bring the subject himself. 

Jaden-Drake yawned as he laid on the couch a bit. “This is going to be difficult for us isn’t it?” Jaden sighs. “Most likely.” Xander said.

*Time Skip: 7/22: Morning.*

“Summer vacation starts the day after tomorrow, but don’t forget…” Mr. Ushimaru started up. “There's an urgent assembly on Monday. We’ll be taking attendance. There’s been an unusual number of strange incidents this year. Don’t do anything stupid over break. Got it? Don’t someplace shady like the red-light district, and don’t go to the beach after dark.” While he was stating this all, Drake was dead asleep on his desk with his arms crossed and his head to the side laying on them. “I wanna go to the beach...I wanna jump in some cold water…Seems like we won’t be having fun on our summer break for a while…” The blue-eyed feline said. “That’s true. But all I want to do is take a nice long nap under a shady rock under the sun.” The yellow lizard said as he responded to Morgana's statement. 

*Time Skip: After school*

Drake went to hang out with his older brother, Takato, while Xander was at the school's front looking for someone. He didn’t notice a certain red-haired girl with a ponytail behind him. “Audiotori-Senpai!!” She yells as she jumps a bit. Xander jumps a bit out of surprise then turns around to meet her. In his left eye was fading from its blue glow. “Ohh...what a pleasant surprise Kasumi-san.” He states looking at the redhead. 

“Hi, Audiotori-Senpai.” She said with a sweet smile on her face. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me today?” She looked at him. “Sure my schedule is open for today.” Xander said with a smile. “Awesome, let’s go.” She said as she walked away with Xander following her. They both walked to the subway and had a nice chat about their school work with Xander cracking a few puns like he usually does with Kasumi laughing from them. Xander smiles as he watches her laugh at his puns. He appeared to have been more relaxed at the moment. 

This whole exchange was making him more relaxed from everything that was happening recently. He smiled a genuine smile. They made it to their stop and got off and continued walking towards the beach. The beach was thankfully not as crowded as it usually was. “Come on, let’s go Audiotori-Senpai.” Kasumi said with a smile as she walked towards the sand with a skip of joy. 

Xander chuckled as he followed her. “Alright, wait up.” He said as he walked behind her. They continued until they got to the sand. “Do you just want to sit and talk some more or have our swimsuits on and have fun in the water?” She asked, looking at him. “Well, the choice is up to you.” He told her. “Well then, let’s just sit and talk more.” She walked towards one of the tables then sat down. 

Xander followed her and sat across from her. “So how long have you known  Etheren-Senpai?” The red-haired girl asked, looking at him. He looked at her and smiled. “We actually go a bit, I think it’s been two or three years now. We didn’t know each other at first but when our other friends knew that both of us liked similar games, they decided to introduce us to each other.” He explained to her. 

“Wow, that’s so cool. You guys seemed like really good friends so I just wanted to know a little bit more about your guy's relationship. Also, how long are you guys going to be here in Japan for? Also, why did you guys transfer to Shujin?” Kasumi asked, looking at him with a smile. 

“Well...For the first question: might be for a year or three. And to the second it’s a bit complicated.” Xander said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, it’s all right you don’t have to explain to me right now if you don’t want to. It’s kind of the same situation for me as well.” She said with a little sad expression. “Which...I guess you kind of know a bit of it.” Xander looked at her and sighed. “Hey come on now.” He smiled as he put a hand on her cheek. “Smile my dear, you are never fully dressed without one.” He closed his eyes and smiled some more. 

It took him a few moments to realize what he was doing when he opened his eyes to see a little blush on Kasumi. He chuckles awkwardly as he takes his hand away from her cheek with a barely noticeable blush on his face. “Whoops, my apologies.” They look away from each other for a little bit. “I-it’s alright. I-I don’t really mind.” She said while she was still blushing. 

They sat there in an awkward silence not knowing what to say after that. Why did I do that, I was blinded by her cuteness. Why?! Why?! I am such a fool. He thinks as he starts blushing a little bit more. Why did he do that? Was there something on my face? Oh god, why did he have to look good when he did that. She thought as her blush became darker. Before any of them could speak or make the situation even more awkward Xander gets a text on his phone. 

Drake: Hey, I’m heading back home from Taka’s place. Do you want me to pick you up from wherever you’re at or do you want to take the train?

Xander breathed out of relief as he picked up his phone. “Uh Kasumi, I need to check something real quick.” He states as he looks through his text messages. “Oh, it’s fine.” She breathed out as will. 

[Phone convo]

 Drake:  Hey, I’m heading back home from Taka’s place. Do you want me to pick you up from wherever you’re at or do you want to take the train?

Xander: Go on ahead and pick me up.

Drake: Kay, where are you so I can come get you?

Xander: By the beach.

Drake: Kay I’ll be there in a few.

Xander: Kay.

He puts his phone away and looks at the redhead. “Sorry, but I have to go right now. Jaden-Drake needs help with something.” Xander said as he gets up and grabs his bag. “Oh, okay. I need to get to my practice anyways. So, I’ll see you later.” She states as she does the same thing. What a relief, probably won’t tell Jaden-Drake what happened. He thought with a sigh. 

“See you later Kasumi.” He said as he began walking to the parking lot to wait for his friend. His face was still red from embarrassment. Calm down already, just concentrate. He activated his eagle sense trying to find the green-haired male’s car. Meanwhile, Jaden-Drake had just parked and threw his head back with a grunt. “Shit, Taka worries too much.” He sighs out. Drake looks around trying to look for Xander. He sighed to himself again. He sometimes hates waiting by himself for his own personal reasons. 

He grabbed his phone to text Xander he was there when there was a tap on his driver window. He looked to his left to see a strange-looking man looking in. Drake already knows where this is going to go. He ignores this man and texts Xander.

Drake: Hey, I’m here.

Drake: Find me fast. There is a strange man at my door and you know how I can get.

He puts his phone down and rolls the window down so he can speak to him. “Yes. Can I help you, sir?” The confused but straight face teen asked the man who was over his window. The guy smirks at the short teen. “Well, hello there little lady.~ Why yes, you can help me.~” The guy said as he leans down so he can get more of a good look at Drake. 

The green-haired teen can smell the smell of beer on him. Great, this is a drunk dude. Just great. He thought to himself as he sighed and looked at the older male. “Okay first. I am a guy. Second what type of help do you need?” He asks as he grabs his metal knife just in case. “Well, you don’t look like a guy. You look like a very pretty girl. A girl that needs something to fill her.” He smirks and it clicks in Jaden’s head what he wanted. 

The young teen cringed as he looked at him. “Mate, I am male. Dick and all. Also, I’m 16. You can’t just go and when someone asks you for help to tell them that they need to have something fill them. Also, you're drunk so I’ll be calling the police.” The short teen said as he began to grab his phone to text Xander to hurry when the man grabbed him. “I don’t think it’s worth the time to bother the police.” He said with a smirk. 

Jaden smirked as he opened his door. The man thinks that the teen has finally agreed to do what he wants. He lets go of him so he can get out of the car but once the teen does he punches the man right in the face then kicks him. The man grabs his face and looks at the teen with surprise. “Don’t try to touch someone that can easily kill you. Well, don’t try to fuck someone at all.” The teen said as he watched the man get up and began to run. 

He smirks to himself as he sees a small dagger fly right past his head and hit the guy in his baggy pants keeping him from running. “Don’t worry it isn’t my Spear of Leonidas. This one is not lethal, it will just make him stop.” Xander said as he smirked when walking up to the car. 

Drake shrugs. “I know. Anyways, let’s get out of here.” The teen huffed as he got back into his car with Xander following to the shotgun. They backed out and drove away. “Well, to get the nasty-ass man out of my head. What were you doing at the beach anyways? I don’t remember you being a beach person. I mean, hell, I have asked you if you wanted to go but always a no, so why did you go now.” The teen asked his friend while he looked for an album to listen to on his phone but kept his eyes on the road. 

Xander did not look at his friend, instead he blushed and looked out the window without the other noticing. “Well...The sounds of the ocean is something I always find soothing.” Xander lied to his friend without really thinking. The green-haired teen sighed when he heard that. “I get it but you don’t have to lie about something but if you're uncomfortable with telling me then you don’t have to tell me.” Drake stated with a huff and left it at that.

*Time skip: Evening*

They made it home and went to their rooms without saying another word to each other. Drake sighed as he dropped his keys on his bedside table then went to his desk to start on his new animation project when his phone buzzed. He opened up and saw it was from the group.

[Phone convo]

Ryuji: Yo, how’d it go?

Ryuji: You find out anything about Futaba Sakura?

Ann: I’ve been wondering about that too!

Akira: Tell you tomorrow.

Ryuji: Woah-ho.

Yusuke: So you did learn something. Fine work.

Ann: I knew we could count on you

Makoto: Akira-kun, thank you

Drake: That’s great mate.

Drake sighed as he sent that text. He really dislikes the idea of going into someone's personal life without their permission since it wasn’t any of his business. He goes back into his project without another thought. He was about to call it quits for the night so he could get some sleep and do something else when he got another text. 

He checked if it was a scam when he saw it was from Akira. The green-haired teen blushed and almost fell out of his seat. What!? Why is Akira texting me!? What time is it?! He thought as he checked the time. His phone showed it was 8:15. He looked relieved but still confused. 

[Phone Convo]

Akira: Hey, Little Dragon, how are you feeling?

Drake: Little dragon?

Akira: Well…

Akira: It’s my...It’s my new nickname for you. 

Akira: Do you not like it?

Drake: No no. I love it, it’s just that this is my first time having a nickname that wasn’t from my family or a shorter version of my name.

Akira: Haha. Okay, okay.

Drake: Anyways, to answer your question, I’m feeling fine thanks for asking.

Akira: It’s alright. I just want to make sure you are feeling your best.

Drake: Aw, that’s sweet, mate.

Akira: Yeah, I know. Anyways, I have a question to ask you.

Akira: Would you...Would you like to have a sleepover at my place? Or would mind if I stay at your shared apartment?

Drake: Um, sure. I wouldn’t mind at all. I don’t really mind where it is as long as Boss knows I guess.

Akira: Great. I’ll have to talk to you in person about the time and place.

Drake: Alright. 

Drake sighed happily to himself with a small blush on his face. Akira had just asked him to sleep over at his or the shared apartment. He sat there rolling on his bed a little bit with joy. He doesn’t remember being this happy before, besides getting to see old family he loved or getting presents as a kid from anything. Drake and Akira texted until 10:30 where Akira convinced him to go to bed. 

Drake smiled and chuckled at his friend’s concern with his sleeping habit. He smiled at the thought of being next to him when sleeping. I would love to be in his arms cuddling up to him and feeling his warm body against mine. He thought to himself as he began to fall asleep.

*Time Skip: 7/23: After School*

Everyone was at the hangout to talk about what Akira knew. “A woman was threatening Boss?” Makoto asked. “Yeah, she was going on about domestic abuse and taking the case to court and stuff…” Morgana explained to everyone. “I don’t know how it is in Japan, but when you want to do that you need a lot of legal evidence, not just the basic information. So, in other words she can’t do that without evidence.” Jaden explained to them. “That is true, you can’t take a case far without solid evidence.” Xander agreed with his friend. “....” Makoto sighed to herself as the three of them made their statements. 

“What’s up?” Ryuji asked Makoto. “It’s nothing.” Makoto said as she looked at the male blond. “So to summarize what you told us, Futaba is Boss’s daughter, and he’s abusing her?” She asked looking at the feline and the fluffy black-haired boy. “I don’t know him very well… Is he really the kind of person who would do that?” He looked at her and sighed. “There’s no way.” Akira said. The brown-haired girl nodded. “I would like to believe so as well, but we don’t have any conclusive evidence, do we?” After she said that Akira’s phone pinged. “Is it Alibaba!?” Morgana asked the messy-haired boy. Everyone gathered to watch the text message. 

[Phone convo]

Alibaba: I’ve given you a calling card and told you the target’s name. You should be ready for this.

Alibaba: Why aren’t you doing it?

Alibaba: I told you I’d help you if you stole her heart. What seems to be the hold up?

Alibaba: I also said I’d report your identity to the police if you didn’t help me.

Alibaba: Are you OK with that? I’m serious here.

Yusuke shook his head with a sour expression. “What a selfish person.” He stated. “Well, he does have information on us…” Makoto said. “Anyways, this Futaba he’s talking about have a Palace? If so, we’ll need keywords to get it. Try messaging him about ‘em.” Ryuji told Akira. 

Akira: Tell me her keywords.

Alibaba: Keywords?

Alibaba: What are you talking about? 

Alibaba: Are you just saying random stuff to dodge the issue?

“What’re we supposed to do about this?” Ann asked with a worried expression. “We'd be able to figure out Alibaba’s identity if we could just meet with him… Try asking him if there's any way we could meet up.” Morgana said to him.

Akira: Let’s meet somewhere.

Alibaba: Meet? With me?

Alibaba: That will be difficult.

Alibaba: I have reasons for not being able to go out.

Alibaba: That’s why I’m contacting you like this.

“He can’t go out?” Morgana asked

Alibaba: Wait I get it.

Alibaba: You steal people’s hearts directly… That might make things difficult.

Alibaba: Extremely difficult.

Alibaba: One moment.

Alibaba: I’m thinking…

Alibaba: Ok. It’s a shame, but I’m calling this deal off. Stop looking into Futaba Sakura.

Alibaba: Forget this ever happened. I won’t report you to the police either, don’t worry.

Alibaba: Sorry for taking your time. Now if you’ll excuse me...

Akira: Wait a second.

Alibaba: I said the deal’s off!

Alibaba: We’re never going to speak again. Don’t expect me to contact you anymore either.

I can’t find an account to send a response to. All I get back is an error message...Akira thought while they still looked at his phone. “Huh…? Did he just shut the whole operation down?” Ann asked shocked after what she just read. “This doesn’t make any sense… Not only can Alibaba not go out, but he won’t let us meet Futaba either?” Morgana said. “Well, it’s none of our business now. We can’t contact him anymore.” Ryuji stated. 

“But...what do we do about Medjed? We won’t be able to get Alibaba to help us with them now.” Ann said. “I don’t know. It seems that we’re on our own for now.” Drake sighed as he shook his head. “Seems like it.” Xander stated with a sigh. “Maybe they were just prankin’ us.” Ryuji shrugged. “They made that huge declaration, but they ain’t done nothing since. I bet we got ‘em freaked out.” The blond stated. 

“You mean they backed out because they’re afraid we’ll change their hearts?” Morgana asked. “Yup. And now it’d just make ‘em look lame if they came out and apologized.” The blond male stated with a smile. Drake shook his head and sighed. “But-” Makoto tried to explain but was cut off by the blond. “I guess with Alibaba and Medjed outta the picture, can we just say this case is closed.” He smiled out. 

“...You do have a point. I guess it is safe for us to relax a little” The Makoto sighed out. The short male shook his head “I don’t think so. I get the feeling that’s not it. I believe there’s more than meets the eye here.” Drake explained to the group. They all looked at him. Ryuji shook his head. 

“Oh yeah, remember Kaneshiro’s Treasure? Prepare to have your minds blown! We got one hundred and fifty thousand yen out of it.” He shouted out. “Holy shite.” Drake said. “That’s awesome! We can really go all out with that kinda money!” Ann said happily. “Yeah! Let’s make up for what happened at the fireworks festival!” The blond smiled. 

“We gotta go eat something fittin’ for the Phantom Thieves’ worldwide debut!” He declared. “Where would be good?” Ann asked hungrily. “Ooh, how ‘bout sushi? I could really go for some eel too!” Ryuji suggested. The green-haired teen’s stomach growled out. Signaling that he was hungry. “Heh, I guess that works with me. I'm kinda starting to get hungry with all this talk about food.” He stated while rubbing his stomach. 

“The best method is to fill yourself on ginger before beginning to eat sushi. That is my master technique.” Yusuke said. Everyone looked at the blue haired teen. “You don’t need to do that this time. Actually, definitely don’t do it, okay?” Makoto told him. Drake shook his head. “Yusuke please don’t do that cause ginger is used for cooking different dishes and you’ll get sick if you eat too much of it. Hell, that's what happened to my family on Christmas.” He explained. “Yeah… probably best not to do that Yusuke.” Xander told the taller male while he looked at him. “I’m all for sushi! You’re okay with that too, right?” The feline smiled. Akira just chuckled and nodded. “Sushi’s fine.” He said. “Then it’s decided.” Morgana meowed out. “All right! We’ll go tomorrow night!” Ryuji said. Everyone nodded in agreement. 

*Time Skip: Evening*

Jaden and Xander were in the living room watching a random movie when they got a text on their phone.

[Phone convo]

Makoto: I wonder if that Medjed business was just a prank.

Makoto: Now that I think about it calmly, it’s strange that they haven’t actually done anything yet.

Makoto: If their goal is to target the Phantom Thieves, they should want to be acting now, given our fame.

Ann: Huh. When you put it that way, it kinda makes me wonder too.

Ann: Especially after they taunted us theatrically like that.

Yusuke: Yes, however, it would be best for us to come up with a countermeasure regardless.

Yusuke: For now though, we should cautiously enjoy the sushi. That is all we can do. 

Akira: Yeah.

Drake: I have to agree but, still…

Ryuji: But that’s no fun…

Makoto: Hm, Yusuke is right.

Makoto: I’m sorry for bringing this up. On the day before our celebration party too…

Ann: Cheer up, Makoto! We’ll be eating sushi like kings tomorrow!

Yusuke: I hope one person in particular is on their best behavior. I’ll refrain from saying who though.

Drake: I second that.

Xander: I third that.

Ryuji:...You better not be talking about me!

Jaden just started laughing after the text message was sent. “Damn, That’s too funny.” He said as he shook his head. “Well...who else would it be?” Xander mutters to himself causing Jaden to laugh even more. “HAHA, damn it dude why do you have to do tha-HAHAH!” The green-haired teen stated as he continued to laugh while trying to calm himself down. “Because I can.” Xander said with a smirk on his face while he watched his friend calm down from laughing. “Damn, it’s very rare to get me laughing like that, fuck.” Drake sighed. His friend shook his head at that statement. “I have done it several times.” Xander said while he looked down at the green-haired teen who was sitting on the floor by now.

*Time skip: 7/24: Daytime*

The next day, two people were standing around talking in what looked like a common area for a police building. One was a female wearing a black business suit and the other was a young male that was wearing his school's summer uniform with a striped tie. 

“You seem quite busy, Sae-san. I take it you’re stuck in the middle of everything?” The young man said. “The Phantom Thieves made a mockery of us when they brought down Kaneshiro… And to make matters worse, Medjed, who has been dormant for some time now, just declared war on them. How much more can they screw us over?” The woman, Sae, stated to the young man. “Stress is bad for the skin, you know.” The young man said to Sae with a smile. 

“Did you come all this way simply to be sarcastic?” The Sae young woman stated. “How about you listen to my deductions for a change of pace? You may think it absurd… But don’t you think the case you’re pursuing and the actions of Phantom Thieves overlap somehow?” The young man asked with a calm voice. “What are you basing this off of?” Sae asked, looking at him. “The one point of commonality across all cases is how those involved have an unforeseen change of heart.” He explained to her. 

“I’ve suspected that myself, but those suspicions are unfounded.” She told him. “I told you at the beginning that this was only a deduction. These ‘just’ Phantom Thieves are riling up the public. However, that is a disguise. Their true goal is terrorist action by way of psychotic breakdowns… Is that too much?” He asked her. “There’s nothing at the moment that falsifies that claim. Have you mentioned this to the police?” Sae asked him. “I’d never tell them such things. The only value I have to me is in their mobility and organizational capabilities.” The young man explained. The young woman turned and fully looked at him. 

“Hm, it seems having you lend me a hand has paid off.” She said to him. “I’m glad to hear that. What about your case, Sae-san? Did you learn anything from the guardian of that mental shutdown victim’s daughter?” He asked her. “Nothing at all.” She sighed out. “I see. Now, what should my next action be for our victory?” He said. “Handle the Phantom Thieves. Without remorse. Use any means necessary to win. That’s how I would deal with them.” Sae told him. 

“*Chuckle* Very well.” The light brunette said with a smile. “This seems to be fun for you. Are you on to something?” Sae asked him. He shook his head. “No, not all. Well then, to our victory.” He told her. The young light brunette male waked away leaving the young woman to herself. 

“*Groans*” Drake makes a noise as he is on the phone. Draco jumped in confusion. “Is Drake okay or...?” He asked Xander, who was sitting on the couch waiting for him. “Isn’t this him on a day to day basis?” Xander asked looking at the bearded dragon. “Well…” “Taka-kun, it’s fine. I’m just going to be with friends eating sushi.” Jaden-Drake told his older brother. 

“Well, I just want to know where you're going for the fact of Medjed. I’m worried since you're a part of the Phantom thieves, I just want to know that you're safe. Look, I know you're 16 and you’ve been here before, just be saAAAAfe- CHUNTA!!!” Takato yells through the phone. The three of them tried holding back laughter as they heard the black-haired male yell. “Make sure you're safe, kid. I don’t want Takato-sama to worry about you too much. You know how he can get it.” Junta said as he held Takato. 

“Hey. Don’t talk to my brother like that when I’m on the phone with him.” Takato yells a bit. “Huh, what are you talking about? What did I do wrong?” His lover asks. Drake chuckles at the two’s banter. “Okay, okay. I love you two bakas.” He chuckles as he hangs up on them. He sighed once he did so. “Man...Every day is getting harder and harder for him to worry less and less about me man.” He said as he shook his head. 

“Is he always like this?” Draco asked the green-haired human. “Most likely.” Xander answered for him. “Well, with that out of the way. Let’s go get sushi!” The short male shouted. The others chuckled and shook their heads. They all walked out of the apartment and to the parking lot to get in Jaden’s car. 

*Time skip: Evening*

The Phantom Thieves were at the sushi bar eating their favorite dishes. “Man, the flounder is outta this world! That texture…” Ryuji drooled as he spoke. “I-I don’t see any prices listed here…” Yusuke said all worriedly. “It’s called market price. Don’t worry ‘bout it; we got the cash!” The blond male told the blue-haired male with his mouth full. Drake chuckled. 

“Man, I have never been to this type of place unless it was a buffet. It’s more cooler than I thought. Any thoughts, mate?” Drake asked his friend next to him. “This restaurant is nice.” Xander said as he ate. “Sooo gooooood…” Ann drooled while she ate. “Hey, is the fatty tuna ready yet?” Morgana said, wanting some fish. 

“Hold your horses. And don’t talk!” Ryuji told him. “Hey, he and I want our food.” Draco hissed at him. “We get it but you're not supposed to talk to you, butt.” Drake told the dragon off. “By the way, Akira-Kun... Is Boss really the kind of person who would abuse someone?” Makoto asked, looking at the black-hair male. 

“That again?” Ryuji puffed out. “I can’t get it off my mind. Especially if it means he could be taken to court…” The young brunette explained. “I understand and get what you're going on about but it’s something we can not help. Boss isn’t someone that seems like he would abuse someone.” Drake explained to her. “It’s very hard to be a bystander in a situation like this.” He sighed out as he continued to eat. “What kind of person is he? Do you truly believe he’d do such a thing?” She asked Akira. 

“No chance.” Akira shook his head. “He doesn’t seem like the type.” Drake nodded in agreement. “I have to agree with Akira with that. Even though I worked with him for almost about a month I don’t sense that he is a bad person.” The green-haired teen explained. “If it’s really true about the abuse, he’d be a no-good jerk pretendin’ to be a guardian.” Ryuji told them. 

“Maybe the chief is the one who needs a change of heart…” Morgana meowed out. “Ooo, I agree with that.” Draco hissed out to the feline. “Wait, it might be too early to jump to conclusions about Boss’s behavior.” Xander said, putting his hand up, stopping the group a bit. “*sighs* We are.” Drake nodded. “Hold on a sec! About that… I actually got curious after our conversation… and checked his name in the Nav.” Ann explained. “Sounds to me like there wasn’t a hit.” Makoto said. “Right. Anything beyond this is his family’s problem. We probably shouldn’t get any more involved.” Ann explained. Drake nodded. “That’s basically what I’ve been saying this whole time.” He said as he put salmon sushi in his mouth. “Wait… You think Alibaba could be Boss’s ex-wife!?” Ryuji stated. 

Everyone looked at him with questioning looks. “He musta cheated on her, and that’s where Futaba came from.” Ryuji explained his reasoning. “Doubtful.” Ann said. The green-haired teen slowly looked at him. “This is one of the reasons why I question a lot of men’s brains sometimes.” Jaden states while shaking his head. “Your imagination has run rampant.” Makoto states with closed eyes. “How foolish.” Yusuke says agreeing with the two of them. 

Akira nodded in agreement while Ryuji looked away. After that, they all went back to eating their food. “Still, this is delicious. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before.” Yusuke said with a small smile. “Hmm, I’m going to agree with you, mate.” Drake said. “Man, and it’s all thanks to us bein’ the Phantom Thieves-” Ryuji was about to finish when he cut himself once he saw everyone looking up. 

Drake tried to hold back his laughter. “Crap.” Ryuji said. “U-ummm… Ph-Phan… Fantastic! This sushi is delicious!” Makoto said, trying to make a quick save. “Y-yeah! The fish is so fresh!” Ann said, making a quick statement to save her. “Hmph. Everywhere we go, we hear about these Phantom Thieves.” An arrogant sounding woman said, looking at the man right next to her. “What rubbish.” The haughty man that was sitting next to the arrogant woman said. 

“Think about where we are, Ryuji.” The light blond female scolds at the yellowish blond male. “Sorry, it just kinda slipped…” Ryuji told her. “Think before you speak, boi.” The short, green-haired teen explained. Xander looks towards his friend. Drake looked back. “What?...It’s true.” He defended himself. Xander keeps on staring at him. He hints for the fact that Jaden also does the same thing. “Oh, wait hey!” “My apologies for bringing up Boss again. We should just enjoy the food.” Makoto said. Everyone went back to eating their food.

The group finished up their meal and went out of the sushi place. “Xander and I will meet you guys at Leblanc, seeing that I don’t want to leave my car anywhere.” Drake told them. “Unless you want to go with them, mate, then I don’t mind.” He said looking at Xander. “I will tag along with you.” Xander told his shorter friend as he shrugged. Drake nodded with a statement. Akira looked at Jaden and smiled. “Alright, we’ll see you at Leblanc text me when you get there. So we know that you guys are safe.” Akira said to them. I really don’t want anything bad to happen to you. He thought to himself. 

Drake chuckled and walked over to pat his head. “We’ll be fine. It’s not like in America where a lot of people were shitty drivers...Well, I can’t really say that.” He mumbled to himself as he patted his taller friend's head. Akira blushed as he watched Jaden pat his head with a bright smile on his face. Akira chuckled as he watched Jaden mutter to himself. 

He grabbed Drake’s hand so he could stop patting his head. Drake stopped talking to himself when he felt a hand on his hand. He looked up and saw Akira holding his hand and blushed. Akira still held his hand as he put their hands down to their sides. They stayed like that for a few more moments. “Um, dudes?” Ryuji said after a few more seconds of the two of them holding hands. 

Both teens realized what was happening and quickly got their hands away from each other blushing while doing so. “Um, Well...See you at Leblanc...Bye!” Jaden blushed as he ran straight to his car leaving a blushing Akira behind with a very confused group of friends. Xander smirked to himself seeing that he now has teasing material. “See you guys later.” He waved off as he grabbed Drake’s bag with Draco in it and followed the blushing Drake. 

The rest of the group were at the subway station when they heard a young male’s voice. “Niijima-san! What are you doing here?” A familiar-looking pleasant boy approached the group. “Akechi-kun…” Makoto said, turning to face Akechi. “Akechi?” Ryuji stated as he turned to look at Akechi. Ann and Akira followed after him. “You’re the ones from the TV station...Could it be that you’re friends of Niijima-san?” The young man asked them. 

Yusuke turns around to face him and the group. “Do you know this guy?” He asked the rest of the group. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Akechi. Glad to make your acquaintance, Yusuke Kitagawa.” He told the tall, dark blue-haired male. “How do you know my name?” Yusuke asks Akechi. “Well, because I’m a psychic, of course.” The light brunette told him with a smile. “Haha, I’m only joking. In truth, I’m a rookie detective. You’re a former pupil of Madarame, right?” He explained with a small smile. 

“I have actually just recently joined the investigation team looking into the Phantom Thieves. Did you see that Medjed has declared war on them?” He asked the group. “War?” Ryuji asked. “Their website was updated just a moment ago.” He stated to them. “For real?!” The vulgar blond asked. Ryuji took out his phone to check the website. “English again…” He groaned out as he checked the website. Ann took out her phone so she could read the post. 

“Wait what!?” Ann shouted as she looked at the post. “What’s it say!?” The blond male asked her. “Hm? Why do you seem so agitated?” Akechi asked the two of them. “Oh, um…” Ann started to think of something to say. “She’s, uh… a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves. A total nutjob for ‘em.” Ryuji quickly stated saving Ann at the last moment. 

“Hm, I don't know how wise it is to be a fan of groups like them.” The light brunette male said. “What is with these comments?” Makoto asked, looking at him with a stern look. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to butt into your conversation. But I must say, this is an interesting group. Prosecutor Niijma’s sister, an ex-pupil of Madarame, and a few Shujin Academy students… It seems you’re all connected to the Phantom Thieves. Perhaps you have better intel than I do. Ah, yes. I wanted to ask you something.” He said looking at the group. The group looked at him right after he said that. 

“Regarding this whole Medjed commotion… If you were one of the Phantom Thieves, what would you do?” Akechi asked them. “Ignore them.” Akira told him with just a single answer. “That is unexpected… Only a small minority of people believe that is the best decision.” Akechi said. “Sorry to disappoint, but we’re just normal high school kids. If anything, we wanna hear what you gotta say, Mr. Detective.” Ryuji said in a condescending tone. 

“...My profiling of the Phantom Thieves has led me to believe they are a group of juveniles. They have a relative amount of free time after and a hideout to slip away to.” Akechi explained to them. “Furthermore, considering Kamoshida was their first target, it seems they began activity around April. In a way, all I’ve said about the Phantom Thieves coincides with the group you have here.” He finished off looking at the group with a strange face. “What, you gonna report us? This isn’t even the full group, the rest are waiting for us.”   Ryuji said but regrets saying the last bit as soon as he said it. “Shit.” He cursed quietly. “Ryuji.” Ann quietly scolded at him. 

“So you have other friends that are part of this group. Interesting. Also, I didn’t say I was being suspicious of you.” Akechi said. “Good to hear.” Akira told him. “Hahaha, it seems you’re not perturbed in the slightest. You really are an intriguing one. I lack your calm mannerisms… but don’t you think my deduction is an interesting one? I bet we’d make a great team if we worked together.” He chuckled out with a wink. “What!? The hell’re you sayin’!?” Ryuji snapped at him. 

“Well, this has been a valuable point of reference for me. I hope to see you all again. And I wish to meet those other friends of yours.” Akechi stated. He then walked off leaving a very confused group behind. “What was that about?” Ann asked as soon as the group turned around to look at each other. “Do you think he’s ascertained our true identities?” Yusuke asked them. “Nah, couldn’t be. Right?” The blond male said. 

“I’d like to say that it’s simply us overthinking this, but… it may be best to be cautious from now on. We shouldn’t forget that Alibaba was able to discover who we are.” Makoto explained. “True, but it’s not as though he had tangible evidence to prove that discovery. Just keep acting normally.” Yusuke said. “More importantly, things are getting serious with Medjed!” The light blond female stated. 

“Oh yeah! What’d they write!?” Ryuji asked her. “Here I’ll read it… ‘We are disappointed in the people of Japan and their belief in the Phantom Thieves’ false justice. Hence, we shall proceed with our plan to cleanse Japan. This process will commence on August 21st. As a result, the Japanese economy shall suffer devastating damages.” Ann finished reading that part of the post. “For real…?” The blond male said. “Keep going.” Makoto told her. 

“‘However, we are magnanimous. We will give the Phantom Thieves one final opportunity to repent. As proof of this repentance, we demand that they reveal their identities to be public. We will attack if these demands remain unmet. The future of Japan rests with the Phantom Thieves. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil…’ That’s what it says.” Ann finished. “Sounds bad…” Ryuji said. 

“In other words, if we don’t unmask ourselves, Medjed will attack Japan… correct? It seems they are quite the attention seekers...” Yusuke stated. “What are we gonna do about this?” Ann asked. “If only we could get in contact with Alibaba.” Makoto said to her group. “Our only clues... are Boss and Futaba. Anyways, it’s too damn hot out here. Why don’t we head to Leblanc already? We can talk more over there.” Ryuji explained. They all nodded as Akira texted Xander to explain to Drake and Draco what was going on. 

Xander and Jaden-Drake were very close to Leblanc. Joking around in the car when Xander got a text. “Well, this is bad.” He stated as he looked at his phone. “What? What is bad?” The green-haired teen asked as he looked at the road. “Medjed is claiming that if the Phantom Thieves don’t unmask themselves the future will be very grim.” He explained to him. “WHAT!?” Draco and Drake shouted in unison as Drake quickly slammed on the brakes as soon as he heard that, causing Xander’s seat belt to tighten up on him and Draco to almost fly out. 

His face was shown with shock and was as white as a ghost. “Be careful. Dude.” Xander shouted at Jaden. “Yeah. Sorry, but what the hell...This is like America all over again.” He sighed as he hit his head on the steering wheel. “Just don’t act as aggressively.” Xander sighed as he fixed his glasses and seating position. “Yeah...You're right...Geez” He sighed as his friend shook his head. “It’s just, how the hell are we going to handle it this time?” He begins with his eyes on the road again. 

“Last time we barely made it out cause we ended up turning their heart around. This time though we don’t know who they really are...Man...this is going to be tougher than what I was really hoping for.” The old Hidden Ones’ leader signed out from the memory of stress that the team and himself endured. “I don’t know what to tell you. We just have to wait to see what happens.” Xander explained calming his friend down. The other nodded and sighed. 

“Yeah...yeah you're right...sometimes I wonder why you didn’t become the leader of the Hidden Ones.” The green-haired teen sighed as his other friend chuckled. “You know that I like working behind the curtains while you enjoy the spotlight.” He smiled at him while Draco chuckled. “There is also the fact that you have more experience with being a leader than anyone that was a part of our group.” Draco smiled at Jaden. Drake chuckled after hearing that. “Huh, that’s true.” 

Once Drake and Xander drove up to a parking spot and headed towards Leblanc. Drake sighed as they walked in to see the group was already there. “We went through all sortsa options on our way here, but… Looks like we got no choice but to ask for Alibaba’s help.” Ryuji said to the others. “Question is how do we get in touch with him?” Ann asked with a look of defeat. “He cut off all contact with us after that misunderstanding. Then again, if we manage to steal Futaba’s heart, he may attempt to reach out to us once more.” Yusuke explained. 

“But we don’t have any clues on what her keywords are.” Morgana stated. “Dammit, Alibaba! Where the hell are you!?” Ryuji yells out in frustration. “Actually, he may be closer than we think.” Makoto said. “Huh?” Ryuji questioned. “How so?” Xander asked, looking at her. “Hypothetically speaking, even if we stole Futaba’s heart...How would Alibaba know that the deed has been done? Would he truly be able to discern that just from cell phone messages?” Makoto asks. Everyone looked at each other. “You mean he’d have to meet her in person?” Morgana asked. 

“Alibaba was able to deliver the calling card here. On top of that, he can check on Futaba’s condition. However, according to the circumstances he put forth, he’s unable to meet with us. This leads me to believe that if it would be bad for him if we were to see the two of them together. It seems to me that...Alibaba may in fact be Futaba herself.” Makoto explained to the group. “For real!?” Ryuji asked in shock. 

“So she’s asking that we steal her own heart!?” Yusuke asked in surprise. “I’m going to say this...I am not surprised one bit.” Drake signed out with a huff. “Maybe she wants us to save her from the scars of her abuse? That would be hard to ask directly.” Ann said. “I’d like to meet with Boss… He lives nearby, right?” Makoto said. Drake and Xander look at each other. Draco shakes his little head a bit. “I know where his house is.” Akira said. 

“I agree. It’s real late though. What’re we gonna tell Boss when we get there?” Ryuji asked her. “We’ll say this take-out sushi is a gift for him.” Makoto said. “But my fatty tuna…!” Morgana shouted. Draco hissed a bit. “Don’t give him any of my fish.” Drake sighed.  “I don’t think this is a real good idea. I understand that we need to help her but going into Boss’s private life. Now that is just wrong on so many levels.” Drake shook his head as he looked at the group. 

As much as he knew it was true that they needed to know, it just didn't feel right to him. He can’t really describe it, but something was telling him that something bigger was at play. He sighed as he heard Ann speak up. “No complaining.” She looked at the three of them. “Let’s all go together. Boss may get the wrong idea if Akira-kun and I show up alone.” Makoto said to them. Everyone nods. 

I still don’t think this is a good idea at all. But what choice do I have in the matter anyways. Drake thinks to himself. Xander notices his friend's concern. “This is our only way of knowing Futaba, like it or not.” Xander said to his friend as they walked out. Drake sighed and shook his head. 

*Time skip: Boss’s place*

Yusuke rang the doorbell near Sojiro’s door, but nobody came...again. “Nobody is answering, but the lights are on...” Makoto stated. “Maybe he thinks we are marketers.” Drake joked to the whole group. “Think she’s nappin’?” Ryuji said. “Even Boss would’ve woken up with how many times we’ve rung this doorbell.” Ann said annoyed. “I would think Futaba would have answered by now if she were here too.” Morgana sighed. 

“Ah, the gate is unlocked.” Yusuke pointed out. “Dude, you can’t go openin’ other people’s stuff like that.” Ryuji stated to Yusuke. “But look. The door seems to be slightly open as well. I wonder why. That’s rather careless...” The brunette said with confusion. After she said that a thunderous noise was heard from the sky. 

The Phantom Thieves looked up at the sky a little. “Whoa, it sounds like it’s going to rain...We should get inside!” The black feline stated with a serious voice. “...Do you think that’s okay?” Makoto asked. “Prolly?” Ryuji asked. Drake just shrugged. “I used to do this with abandoned houses when I was still trainin-AH.” He was cut off by Xander elbowing him in the gut. 

“Gonna rain for quite a while. Might as well go in.” Xander shrugged, then glared at him, who’s tempting to flip him off. “My apologies, Boss!” Makoto whispers. Six of the Phantom Thieves walked inside quickly while the other two fell behind in a slow walk. “WTF! Why did you elbow me, mate?” Drake whispered so the others wouldn’t hear.  “Would they not be suspicious if you were in abandoned houses?” Xander scolded back at him. 

The green-haired teen shook his head and sighed. “Whatever.” He mumbled while rolling his eyes. “Hello, sir?” Makoto said. They waited for an answer from him only to get nothing in return. “He’s not out, is he?” Makoto asked. “The door ahead is open, and I can hear the TV.” 

“I hope he didn’t pass out or something… I mean, Boss is kinda old, ain’t he?” Ryuji told them. “I’m a bit worried. Should we go in and check on him?” Ann asked. “I have no clue if that is a good or bad idea considering the fact we did enter without anyone’s permission, but might as well ‘cause if we don’t, I know for a fact that I will later regret it if we don’t.” Jaden sighed out. For the fact that I have morals of making sure everyone is alright and well. He thought to himself. “Please excuse us…” Makoto stated nervously. 

They walked further inside the house to look for any sign of life. The group continued until they heard the sound of thunder, the lights turning off following afterwards.  “AAAAAA!!!” Both Ann and a young female screeched. Draco, Jaden-Drake, and Ann jumped a little after hearing that. “Meep.” Drake meeped. “A scream!? What was that!?” Makoto questioned in fear. “H-How should I know?” Morgana scarcely asked. 

A few seconds after the black feline said that and the grouped calmed down, just by a little bit, they heard a thud coming from somewhere near them. “Did you hear that!?” The brunette asked the group in a scared voice. “H-Hai…” Drake said in all but a whisper rubbing both of his two arms. “What could it be?” Xander asked, looking around. “Let’s get out of here, please? Can we just go?” Ann the others terrified. “What’re you freakin’ out for?” Ryuji asked her annoyedly. 

“I-I-I’m not freaking out!” Ann said with a stutter at the beginning. “W-well it’s either this or the rain. I rather choose being freaked out a little bit rather than being soaked.” Draco hissed out at her with a beady eye glare. “Could it be Alibaba? I mean, Futaba?” The blue eye feline stated. Right after Morgana said that Ann ran back down the hallway past Jaden, Xander, and Draco who all shook their heads as they walked down with Yusuke and Ryuji. 

Drake sighed as he started calming down from being freaked out. Maybe I can ask Akira if I can just stand behind him or next to him at least? He thought to himself. “Um, sorry… Can I hold your hand?” He heard the older female ask the taller male. Drake froze in place when he heard that. He turned around to see Makoto holding on to Akira’s upper arm. He sighed as he shook his head. 

Man, I wanted to do that...Great... Drake pouted with a soft sigh. Can’t always get what you want, I guess. He thinks as he walks next to Xander. Next, they heard a door creak opened. “Eek!” The brunette screams screeched. Jaden, Xander, and Draco shivered a bit. 

“I can sense someone’s presence…” Yusuke said. “I have to agree.” Draco said. “Who is it?” Makoto asked with a hushed worried voice. At first, she looked at her leader then to another side of the room. “Who’s there!?” This time she was even more freaked out. “I can’t take this anymore! I’m leaving!” She yelled out of fear. 

After she stated that there was a noise coming from somewhere that they didn’t know. Makoto slipped down after hearing that. Drake was looking everywhere for the noise while pulling out his kunai slowly. Xander looks around as well and pulls out one of his daggers. Makoto tried getting up but she couldn’t get up. “N-No… My legs won’t move..” she stated out of fear. 

All of a sudden Makoto, Akira, and Morgana felt a presence behind them. They slowly turned their heads to see a dark figure with big white refelted eyes. The next thing everyone knew, lightning flashed revealing a girl with black-framed glasses and orange-colored hair. Even if that was the case, it still terrifies the living daylights out of Makoto. “Aaaaaah!” Both the brunette and the girl screamed causing the girl to run back into the room. Right when Makoto screamed she fell onto the floor and held onto Akira’s leg. 

“Alibaba! Futaba!” Ann yelled to the girl while Makoto quivered. Drake put his kunai away so he can cover his ears from all the girls yelling. Thankfully I’m not freaked out anymore...but I am now going to go deaf because of the screams. He sighed to himself. “Hey! C’mon, where are you!?” She shouts at where the girl once stood. Xander shakes his head as his shorter friend takes his hands off his ears and checks if Draco was alright. 

The poor bearded dragon was curled way back into the bag thanks to all the yelling by both girls. “You’re a hacker, right? Just show yourself!” Ann yelled again. “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry! PleasesavemeSis…” Makoto stated in a whimper. Drake saw the situation at hand. Fuck, I got to do something to calm the girls down so that way Draco isn’t scared. Poor little guy. Before the green-hair teen can say anything to try to defuse the situation there was a voice that came from behind them. “Are you okay, Futaba!?” The voice of Sojiro yells through the front door. 

“Crap, he’s home!” Ryuji said. Both him and Yusuke ran down that hall with Ann following right behind them. Drake, Xander, Akira, and Makoto stayed where they were with Drake facepalming as soon as Sojiro opened the door and ran partly in. He looked down the hallway, seeing a group of shadowy figures. Unaware of who they were, Sojiro becomes defensive. “Who the hell are you!? Don’t move!” He yelled at them.

“You hear me!?” Sojiro yelled again. Drake and Xander were just shaking their head at the situation, as Boss turned the flashlight that was in his hand. “I’msorryI’msorryI’msosorrySis...Somebodypleasesaveme…” Makoto kept on repeating. She hadn’t yet noticed Sojiro, who had entered the room. 

Sojiro realized who they were and calmed down. “You? What’re you doing in my house?” He asked them. “Ah…” Makoto finally calmed down and realized the situation that they were in. Drake just sighed as he mentioned Xander that they stay put. “You’re…” The older man was trying to find something to say but was interrupted by Makoto. 

“Oh… G-Good… evening, sir… We… didn’t mean… to intrude.” The brunette stated. “Niijima-san!” The black-haired adult said as he looked at her. “Wait, are you two dating?” He asks the both of them. Drake looks in between the to and tries to hold back a bit of laughter. Xander watches and does the same. The young brunette shook her head. “W-We’re j-just friends!” She exclaims. Akira nodded and agreed with her as he slid glances to Drake who was still trying not to laugh. 

“Friends nowadays get that close to each other?” He asks them. Drake just loses it and starts laughing a bit at the whole situation finding a funny story to tell his mom later. “That’s not it! This, um...Things happened… and..” She tried explaining the situation as she was getting up from the floor. As she did so Drake started laughing at the situation. Drake calmed down once the others walked in. “You kids are here too!?” He asks the rest of the group.

Ann was the first to speak before Drake had a chance to after he was calm enough to speak. “Um, we brought you some sushi, but nobody answered when we rang the bell… The door was unlocked too.” The blond female explained quickly, continuing as she continued explaining. “We could hear the TV though, so we got worried you might have passed out or something…”

After she finished Sojiro looked at them confused. “The door was unlocked?” He asked them. “Yes.” Ann told him. “...I do that sometimes. Guess I’m getting old.” He sighed. “Aw. Don’t worry about it. My family is like that sometimes as well.” Drake explained with a smile. Xander nodded in agreement with that statement. “Well, that makes me feel less old then.” He chuckles at that. “Um, excuse me. There’s something we’d like to ask.” Makoto said to the gray-eyed adult.

Sojiro turns his attention to the young brunette again. “Hm? You wanna ask me?” He asked her. Makoto looks back to where the girl once stood. “There’s someone else living here… isn’t there?” She asked. “Yeah…” The older man with glasses paused for a moment. “My daughter” He finally said. “Could she be Futaba Sakura?” Makoto asked.

“You told Niijma-san too!?” Sojiro asked Akira a bit loudly in front of the others. Akira was looking down the whole time while Jaden had moved next to him and put Draco near Morgana to calm him down. “U-Um… is there any way we could meet with Futaba-san?” The brunette asked the adult. “I think we may have frightened her earlier, so we’d like to apologize if at all possible…” She explained. “Well… that’s…” He crossed his arms and closed his eyes trying to think of a way to explain.

Everyone was looking at Sojiro. “Is she sick?” Makoto asked him. “No, it’s not like that.” Sojiro stated, answering her question. Everyone stood around for a short moment as he shook his head and sighed. “I don’t want you all getting the wrong idea…” He explained to them. The older male sighed again. “I shouldn’t have kept this a secret from you.” He told the group of teens in front of them. “Let’s talk at my shop. She’ll hear us if we stay here.” They all nodded and followed him to Leblanc.

*At Leblanc*

Everyone stood or sat around Sojiro who had pulled up a cheer that was at his bar. “Now, where do I start? Futaba’s mother and I knew each other long before Futaba was born. Her mother was a bit of a weird one, but we got along well for some reason…” He explained to them as he continued. “She was sharp-witted, somewhat stern, a little socially inept, but always carefree… She truly was a great woman.” He smiled to himself as he explained.

“I see…” Makoto said. “When something piqued her interest, that’d be all she focused on. She always worked deep into the night. I thought that’d change after her kid was born, but after having Futaba didn’t do much.” He explained. Drake chuckled a bit after he heard that. “If I’m going to be honest here that sounds like how my mom gets when she finds something she's very interested in.” The green-haired teen explained with a soft smile on his face. Sojiro chuckles a bit after hearing that. “It sounds like Her and your mother would have gotten along just fine.”

Drake nodded after hearing that. “I’m sure they would have, sir.” He smiled as Sojiro continued. “Even with that, she always took good care of her.” He finished that off. “Working and watching over a child at the same time sounds rough…” Ann said, sounding sorry for Futaba’s mom.  “I guess raising Futaba alone turned out to be tough on her in more ways than one…” Boss explained. “What about her father? Didn’t he at least try to help her in all of this?” Akira asked him with a few side glances in Drake's direction as he asked that. “There wasn’t a father.” Sojiro bluntly told them.

“Do you mean…” Yusuke asked while Jaden looked at him with a ‘Really, that’s the question to ask him right now’ look. “Well, there probably was one. I didn’t know him though. She never said a word about him, either. She was single when she gave birth to Futaba, and single when she raised her. They were an ordinary, loving family. You could really tell how much she cared for Futaba.” He sighs after stating that.

His face expression became more upset after he sighed. “But one day, she left… leaving Futaba behind.” Sojiro said to the group. “Did she die…?” Akira asked him with a sadden expression. The older adult male took a deep breath before speaking again. “Yes. She committed suicide.” He said softly but still loud enough for everyone to hear. “Suicide...!?” Ann said in shock. “Holy crud.” Drake said with a widened upset expression.

“Threw herself into the street, right in front of Futaba’s eyes…” Boss explained the upsetting news to the teens. Drake froze in thought for a second right after he heard the fact. “Shocking doesn’t begin to describe that…” Makoto stated with her jaw dropped. “That’s gotta be devastating for a kid.” Ryuji stated. “Yeah, the death of any family member is devastating, especially to a kid.” Xander sighed. “So…” Sojiro began, thinking of something else to say.

“Well, a lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Futaba… First, she was so depressed she...she wouldn’t even talk to me.” Sojiro explained. “Was that because she couldn’t get over her mother’s suicide?” Ann asked him. “I kept talking to her though, and she started opening up to me little by little. That’s when I found out… Futaba blames herself for her mother’s death.” He explained to them. “What!? But why!?” Ann asked in shock. 

“That part she’s never told me. I wanted to know what led her to believing that, but I decided not to rub salt in the wound.” He explained. “Then, a few months ago… She started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She’d say things like, ‘I hear voices…’ and ‘Mom is looking at me…’” He told them.  “Visual and auditory hallucinations… Have you taken Futaba to a doctor?” Yusuke asked Sojiro. “I wanted to, but she refused. Even when I had a doctor come, she locked herself away in her room. Since then, she’s become what you’d call a shut-in.” He explained to them.

“She won’t take a single step outside the house or even try to see other people.” He stated. “What about you?” Yusuke asked standing up more and turning to him. “She doesn’t even let me come into her room.” Sojiro tells them. “That’s pretty harsh…” Ryuji said. “Futaba is, well, a unique girl. She’s so quick-minded that conversations with her tend to jump from one topic to the next… It seems like she’s always coming to conclusions in her head. There’s a lot I don’t get about her...” He said. 

Makoto nodded to Boss’ statement about his daughter. “So yeah… her situation is why I couldn’t let you in my house.” He explains to Akira while he turns towards him. “Don’t worry about it. You had your reasons, so I understand.” Akira explained to him. “Thanks.” Sojiro smiled at the black-haired teen. “What Futaba needs is a safe where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease. That’s why I won’t do anything she doesn’t want. I don’t make her do anything she’s unwilling to either.” He states as he gets up to stand from his seat.

“Then again, I know that’s no way for her to live. It’s all I can do though…” He said with an upset look. “What does Futaba want?” Akira asks him. “I’m going to agree with Akira on this. Do you truly know what Futaba wants from her point of view and a parent’s point of view?” Drake asks, looking at the older male. “I don’t know. She just asks me for things that she wants, like food or these complicated books… Well, that’s that. So can you just… leave her be?” Sojiro asks the teens around him. They all nodded in agreement. Well not all of them. Drake sighed as he heard Sojiro’s explanation. 

Like we’re going to... We need to help her… No teen should be shut in to believe that they were the cause of her mother’s death. Drake thought as he looked to the side of him. “I’m gonna head back then. You all had better head home soon too.” He tells them looking at each of them. He then walks past Akira, Makoto, Jaden-Drake, and Xander. Once he left, Akira took the seat that Sojiro was just sitting on and sits down. Drake walks up and stands behind him leaning in just a bit.

“I feel awful for prying into his personal affairs…” Makoto stated. “No way in hell he’s abusin’ her.” Ryuji stated. “The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother.” Ann claimed. “So, she’d like to discard her feelings of pain, but can’t do anything about it herself.” Yusuke said, adding to the conversation. “Will changing her heart really help her, though?” Ann asked looking off somewhere. “If we can help her, we may be able to stand up to Medjed.” Yusuke stated, standing up. 

Drake sighed as he thought about it. Not everything is easy to fix. “Maybe changing her heart will help her out, but having her help us out right after helping her is kinda of a dick move if you think about it.” The green-haired teen explained. “It makes us seem selfish.” He sighed out. “But we are in a tough situation, we do need her help.” Xander said. “Still…” Drake sighed out while looking at everybody. “It’s possible, but I believe we should have a better plan.” Akira sighed. “Hold on a sec. Do we even know if she has a Palace? Let’s check.” Ryuji said.

Akira took out his phone to the Nav to see if Futaba did have a Palace. “‘The Futaba Sakura that lives at Sojiro Sakura’s house.’ Is that gonna be enough?” The blond male. “Candidate Found” The nav said after Akira put the name in. “What the…?” Yusuke asked in shock. “She’s got one...” Ryuji stated with widened eyes. “So someone can have a Palace even if they’re not evil?” Ann asked with shocked confusion. “Hmm, yeah. We knew someone that had a Palace but they were the nicest person you’d ever meet.” Drake started as he motioned between him and Xander. 

“Oh... that one.” Xander said, remembering the Palace. “Hey Morgana-” Ann was about to talk to the black feline but as the group looked around themselves, they didn’t see him. “Where’s Morgana?” The light blue-eye female asked as Mona was nowhere to be found. “I haven’t seen him for some time.” Yusuke stated. “So, ever since we went inside Boss’s house?” Makoto asks. “...Somewhere ‘round there. He’ll be fine though. He’s a cat after all. The trains’re gonna be shuttin’ down for the night soon, so we should prolly be headin’ home.” Ryuji said.

Everyone nodded in agreement to Ryuji’s statement. “We have to go to school in the morning, after all.” Makoto told them. “Ohhh, right. The urgent assembly.” Ann groaned. “Tomorrow is going to suck then.” Draco said with a sigh. “Now I wish Morgana was here. Hmph” Drake rolled his eyes at the dragon. “An assembly? What about?” Yusuke asked. “Shujin has been garnering a lot of attention ever since Medjed called out the Phantom Thieves.” Ann sighed out while explaining. 

“So, they need to remind us not to say arbitrary stuff online and add more fuel to the fire.” She finished. “We’ve gotta meet up for every goddamn little thing. Talk about a pain in the ass.” Ryuji stated, annoyed. “I mean, it is our fault.” Ann said sadly. “It really isn’t. They’re just trying to find the littlest excuse to explain to us what we should do and shouldn’t do. I understand that the rules are different from an American public school but they’re still looking for an excuse to explain what we already know.” Jaden explained with a heavy sigh.

Xander just shrugged and shook his head. “Might as well go with the flow… I guess.” He sighed out. “Anyway, let’s contact each other afterward.” Makoto said.

\\\\

////

‘No way in hell he’s abusin’ her.’ The recording of Ryuji’s voice stated. During their discussion the orange-haired girl listens in while typing on her computer. ‘The reason why Futaba wants her heart stolen must be related to what happened to her mother.’ ‘So she’s like to discard her feelings of pain, but can’t do anything about it herself.’ ‘Will changing her heart really help her, though?’ ‘If we can help her we may be able to stand up to Medjed.’ ‘Maybe changing her heart will help her out, but having her help us out right after helping her is kinda of a dick move if you think about it.’ 

‘It makes us seem selfish.’ ‘But we are in a tough situation, we do need her help.’ ‘Still…’ ‘It’s possible, but I believe we should have a better plan.’ ‘Hold on a sec. Do we even know if she has a Palace? Let’s check. “The Futaba Sakura that lives at Sojiro Sakura’s house.” Is that gonna be enough?’ ‘What the…?’ ‘She’s got one..’ ‘So someone can have a Palace even if they’re not evil?’ ‘Hmm, yeah. We knew someone that had a Palace but they were the nicest person you’ll ever meet.’ 

‘Oh... that one.’ ‘Hey, Morgana-’ Right after the recording of Ann saying the feline's name, he jumped out from behind the computer, causing Futaba to yell and Morgana run out the door. 

////

\\\\

Jaden-Drake, Xander, and Draco were all in the front seat of Drake’s Impala. It was silent at first while they were getting home from Leblanc. “Alright... So you guys never told me why you guys can’t tell the others why you're so skilled and know a lot more than you're leading on…” Draco paused biting his lower lizard lip looking for the right way to put it. “You're also keeping the others hidden from them including Him… You need to open up to them...they're really nice to us.” Drake took a deep breath and sighed.

He looked over at Xander. “He’s right, mate... We told each other we wouldn’t keep secrets from them but we are...so why are we?” Drake asked, fully looking at him after he stopped at a red light. Xander looked out the window for a bit before he spoke. “It’s rather difficult for us to be open right away, we have only known them for a few months. I am just trying to be safe.” Xander explained to the both of them. “It’s not right man...they give us so much trust so far and what have we given them...little to none. Hell, we can’t even tell the people we like that we like them because of it... We have to tell them!” Drake yelled as he looked back at the road and drove since the light was green. 

Drake's eyes were starting to water due to the fact that he wants to be with Akira so badly. Xander looked at him full view now. His eyes flash from his light brown eyes to a brownish gold eye color to back to his original color. “It just… people are too unpredictable, you could have your arms open to someone and a few days later they could stab you in the back and take everything from you. I had that happen to me and I… I…just don’t want that to happen to any of us.” Xander shot back at his friend.

He was met with a dirty glare as they made it to their parking lot. “And you think you're the only one. I had that happen to me twice. TWICE!! And you already were a part of the second one...So do you think I don’t know or don't understand. Hell, I had my cousin because of this whole same situation. I don’t want that to happen again.” The green-haired male told him, reminding him why there wasn’t a third person. He was getting really upset. He stopped the engine of the car and grabbed his bag with the partly scared bearded dragon in it.

Draco went deeper into the school bag to avoid the two humans arguing. Xander huffed as he got out as well and shot a glare at his short friend. “I… know… such a thing… experiencing… hell.” Xander said, starting to act differently than from, his usual self. Drake looked and rolled his eyes. WTF is going on!? Drake thought, not realizing what was going on. “Well, it’s not like you’ve experienced it twice in your life or even have your own clan brother, who was supposed to be the leader, backstab your trust when he knew that he could trust your family here. But no, he wants you to continue your training in New York than to follow your late Sensei’s last wishes.” The multicolor-eye teen snapped back at them as they walked into their apartment building.

Once they were inside, they went into the elevator as they continued to argue. “I… know. We…all experienced things that we didn’t want to…” Xander stated, struggling to keep himself from switching. Both of his friends noticed this as they got to their floor and headed straight towards their shared apartment. “I get it dude, but you're making it about yourself and that is not a good thing to do seeing that we both transferred here for a better start and a better life.” Drake states as he unlocks the door.

“We need to let go and find a different path in life.” He put Draco down on the kitchen counter and turned towards his friend. “I mean, it’s not like we’ve killed anyone we really care about in the past. It’s just that we-” With a blink of an eye Xander had a dagger at Jaden’s neck. “Didn’t kill anyone we cared about you say? Anyone we cared about you say?! I ENDED UP KILLING MY OWN SON!!! I WATCH as his eyes started to go pale. Do you know how it feels? As you are trying to kill someone in order to protect your son. As that man pushes you into sinking a dagger into your son’s heart!? DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS!?!?” 

Drake's eyes widened as he fully realized that his friend wasn’t there in that moment in time. He wasn’t fully scared, seeing that this has happened before with others including this man, but never like this. He raises his hands up to where his head was. “Bayek please calm down. I didn’t know that you killed your son but please that was in the past and I am sorry for bringing it up like this.” The short teen stated calmly trying to reason with his friend's other personality. 

“You don't know how it is to have your own family’s blood spilt by your own hands. I had to KILL every… single… one of those bastards that breathed that day in Siwa.” The voice of Bayek said looking at the teen straight into his eyes. The teen sighed a bit and looked around to find a way to escape until his eye landed on the bearded dragon on the counter. His eyes widen in fear of what they just did. 

“Listen, I know how it feels to lose a family member but you need to let go of me because we are scaring someone very close to us.” Drake stated as he motioned to the terrified creature on the counter. “What are yo- oh… it is happening again. Why do I feel…so…lighthea-” Right after Xander regains control he drops the dagger and faints onto the floor. “Wha-Wha-what was that?” Draco asked, still shaking in fear.  

Jaden-Drake sighed as he fully looked at the shaking creature. “It’s something that we didn’t want you to know...and by we I mean them and I.” Drake sighed as he shook his head. It was something they hoped wouldn’t come to this. “Them? What… What do you mean by that?” The black-eye bearded dragon asked the calm teenager as he picked up his friend and led him to the couch.  Xander was starting to fall asleep as soon as he hit the couch. “I…will expla-” He started to snore right after saying that.

Jaden sighed as he grabbed the little creature and went to his room. “So… What happened out there?” The dragon asked again as Drake set him down on his desk and he sat on his bed. “ Listen, we, well Xander, really didn’t want you to find out this way. We were waiting for the right to at least talk about it with you…” Drake bit his lip trying to find a way to describe what the lizard just saw. “What... What you just witnessed...was one out of three different...personalities that Xander has..” Drake signed out. 

Darco looked at the human with his head tilted. “Three personalities...like one of the personality disorties that you were explaining to me?” He asked Drake as he sighed. “Not really. Xander hates this side of himself. He is going to have to explain to you when he wakes up. I can’t really-” He was cut off by his phone ringing. “Who’s calling me at this hour?” The green-haired teen grabbed his phone. He checked the caller ID to find that his grandmother was calling him.

Drake's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. “Damn it, why now?” He asked with a sigh. “Look, we’ll talk about this later. I have to take this call.” The green-haired boy looked at Draco, who was still sitting on the counter. He is then moved by Drake and placed on his desk while he hits the answer button. “Hello?” “Jaden, Jaden, this is grammy.” His grandmother states through the phone receiver. “I know grandma. I have you on my caller ID.” 

This isn’t the first time Drake’s Grandma had told him that it was her and it wouldn’t be that last. “Well, how should I know that. Anyways, how are you and Xander holding up in Japan?” His grandma asks him. “Good, good. The school work here is hard, but hey I’m getting the hang of it.” He tells her with a small smile. Here it comes. He sighed out. “How are you doing in math?” There it is. “Drake?” “Yeah, I’m still not good at math. I mean, I’m not failing but I’m not getting the best grade either.” 

“Really, Drake why aren’t you great at it. Your father is a mathematician, why can’t you be?” His grandma tells him. Drake just stayed silent with a sigh. “Hello, Drake, are you still there?” “Yeah, grandma I am. Look, I will get help for math. I know a few people that can help me. Changing the subject though, I have a friend that is into art as well as I am and is really giving me inspiration that I need to continue wanting to take art as a career.  I am really happy about that.” He explained with a grin on his face.

Drake’s smile fell as soon as he heard what he’s been hearing from her for months “Oh, that’s nice to hear but shouldn’t you choose a different career path. I know that you want to but I believe you should go this root.” His grandma explained. He bit his lip as he tried to think of a response. “I’m sorry, but I want to be an artist and this is the path that I want to take.” He sighed out as he tried to hold his tongue back from snapping at her. I’m not dad. Stop comparing his past with my present. He thought “I know but listen, I don’t feel like you're going to get anywhere if you-” She was cut by her grandchild sighing out. “I’ll talk to you later grandma. I have to get some sleep because the school has an assembly tomorrow and I need to get up early for that.” 

Drake could tell his grandmother was surprised at this news. “Really, weren’t you supposed to start summer break tomorrow?” The eldrly woman asked him. “I do, it's just that we have an assembly explaining to the students not to be stupid ‘cause of what’s going on in Tokyo right now.” He sighed out. “Well alright. I will speak with you later, bye sweetheart. I love you.” “Yeah, love you too, bye.” He hangs up and groans. 

He puts his hands on his face and falls to the bed. “Goddamn it.” Drake sighed out. He stays like that for a few minutes then gets up and grabs his motorcycle helmet, jacket, and keys. Then, heads out the door without a word to anyone. The green-haired teen goes down to the parking lot to his motorcycle. 

Drake starts the motorcycle up and speeds out of the parking lot and into the quiet city streets. He was going to drive through the city to clear out his thoughts. Having done this time and time again he rides through parts of the city that seem lively during the day but are so quiet during this time. He doesn’t know where he is heading, all he knows is that he needs his head cleared. 

He stopped at a place where parts of the city could be seen from far away. He proceeds to take his helmet off, watching the city. “The city always looked so beautiful from this view, huh?” He smiled not expecting any answers. “This isn’t really you get to see.” “It sure is. Now speaking of sights that are rarely seen, what are you doing here Jaden-Drake?” A voice of an adult male said right behind Drake.

Jaden turned around, about to throw a shuriken when he saw who was talking. “Whew, you scared me, mate.” He sighed out as he turned to the male that was right behind him. “Please don’t do that because I can hurt and or kill you easily like that and I don't want that.” He chuckled. “Yeah, wouldn’t be a good thing, huh.”

*Time skip: 7/25: Early Morning*

“Man, I wish we didn’t have to go to this dumb assembly.” Draco hissed out as he stuck his head out of Drake’s bag. “Well, it’s cause of the stupid school wanting to scare us into following its rules. Like usual.” Drake stated as Xander and him followed the other students. “They just want to make sure that the students don’t say anything dumb to the press due to the whole Kamoshida and Kaneshiro incidents.” Xander said as they moved a head. 

“That too, but still it’s not like the press would want to ask some of the students. It’s not like we have any relation towards the Kaneshiro one.” Drake stated. “Anyways, are...are we not going to talk about what happened last night?” Draco asks the two teens. Drake bit his lip and looked at Xander. Xander rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Tis, not the time for that. Too many people could be listening.” Xander explained.

Drake nodded in agreement. “Hmm, I agree. When you're in our line of work you don’t know who you can trust outside of your group. That’s a fact that is true.” The green-haired teen started looking around. He goes into a whisper where only Xander and Draco can hear. “Trust me when I say you don’t know when an enemy is hiding in the shadows.”

Draco rolled his eyes at Jaden-Drake as he made his statement. “Well can you at least tell me where you ran off to last night?” The bearded dragon asked. Drake sighed and bit his lip. “There is a time and a place for everything now is not the time.” Xander stated. Draco huffed and nodded as they entered the school to hear murmurs of students compiling. 

*Time skip: Daytime*

After the assembly, the Phantom Thieves sat around Akira’s room eating lunch. “Man, that assembly had me bored to tears.” Ryuji stated. “I basically fell asleep through the whole thing.” Drake sighed out as he put his head down on the chair. “Huh? Did you have school too, Yusuke?” Ann asked him. “I’m doing laundry, so these are the only clothes I had to wear.” Yusuke explains. “I can relate.” Drake said, raising his hand.  “You really should buy a couple more outfits…” The blond female stated to Yusuke.

“Come now, we didn’t gather here to make small talk, now did we?” Makoto asked the three of them. “Let’s get to Alibaba’s case.” “Well then, I’ll start. It looks like Futaba was listening in to Leblanc.” Morgana stated. “But, why would she want to listen in on the cafe?” Ann asked. “I have no idea.” The feline stated. “It’s just like Boss said… She’s a tough nut to crack.” Ryuji said. “In any case, her hacking skills will be absolutely necessary if we wish to stand up to Medjed.” Makoto stated. 

“Going by what she has told us, we may even be able to identify who they are.” Makoto continued. “We’ll have to trust in her skills for now, then.”  Yusuke said looking at the table. “Anyway, we found out that Futaba has a Palace… but someone who isn’t evil have one?” Ann asks. “That does not matter. A Palace is the materialization of distorted cognitions brought about by strong desires… That’s all.” Morgana stated. “It just so happens that a lot of warped people turn out evil.” 

Makoto closed her eyes out of worry. “She’s so young though… The pain she’s gone through must be the cause of her distortion.” She stated. “Maybe that has something to do with why she calls herself Alibaba.” The blond female stated. “According to the chief’s story, Futaba has auditory and visual hallucinations, right?” The feline started up. “There’s a chance those are related to some important memories she’s holding. It’s hard to explain… but those memories may have been warped by the distortions.” Morgana tried his best to explain with what he could.

“Basically we just gotta steal her Treasure, right?” Ryuji stated. “Well, yeah.” Morgana stated. “So do we all agree about taking on Futaba’s Palace?” Ann asked. “She asked us to do so. I don’t think that part is an issue.” Makoto began. “If we heal Futaba’s heart, it will not only help Boss, but she can then assist us with Medjed.” She stated. “I agree.” Yusuke said. Xander and Drake nodded in agreement. “Likewise, mate.” Drake said. 

“I’ve been wonderin’ about how Boss said ‘a lot happened’ after Futaba’s mom died too.” The yellowish blond male stated. “Hold on a second. Our investigation of her Palace may not go like anything we’ve done up to this point.” Morgana explained. “Why’s that?” Ryuji asked the feline. “Having an individual ask you to steal their heart is an extremely irregular case.” The feline started. 

“There’s no telling what the Palace ruler’s disposition will be like, or the distortion that’ll be there. We may run into some unforeseen situations. Do you still want to go in?” Morgana questioned all of them. “Yeah, let’s do it.” Akira said to him. Drake nodded in agreement. “I agree. I don’t believe we really have anything to lose for.” The green-haired male said. “All right. Let’s just make sure we’re cautious.” Morgana told the group. “Well, let’s get crackin’ on those keywords, huh?” Ryuji said. 

Makoto pushed her hair back and looked around the group. “The ones we have at the moment are ‘Futaba Sakura’ and ‘Sojiro Sakura’s house’” She explained. “We got the ‘who’ and the ‘where’ so all that’s left is the ‘what,’ right?” Ryuji asked them. “That would be correct.” Drake shrugged. “Let us try going to their house first.” Yusuke stated. “Boss is busy running the cafe, isn’t he? We should make sure he doesn’t suspect anything.” Ann told them. 

The rest of the group gets up and heads for the stairs. While Akira and Morgana stay behind a bit to talk. Drake just looks at the two then heads down with the rest. “Speaking of important memories. Do the two of you think I’ll everything back if...if I was like you guys?” Draco asks. “You know besides being human. Being confident, strong, and not afraid of taking a risk?”

Drake and Xander looked at each other then back at the bearded dragon. “We have to just wait to see.” The tan teen tells Draco. “I’m going to have to agree with Xander. We really don’t know what the future holds, for right now we just have to sit and wait.” The green-haired teen explains. Draco just nods at the two's reasoning. “Anyways, hey Xander, how do you feel finally meeting your online friend in real life?” The dragon asked. “It will be fun.” Xander smirks as Drake just chuckled.

The Phantom Thieves made it to Sojiro’s house. Ready to go into the young Futaba’s Palace. “Now, the last keyword…” Makoto muttered. “She’s a shut-in, so we just gotta figure out ‘what’ she thinks her house is. If she can’t get out, maybe a prison?” Ryuji asks. The nav stated it wasn't correct. “Perhaps a labyrinth with an unknown exit?” The dark brunette suggested. Again the nav stated that the answer was not correct. “Hmm… Maybe an oasis?” Ann pondered. The nav stated that it wasn’t the right one either. 

“Nothing so far. In that case, how about hell?” Yusuke asks. Drake looked over at the slender man. “Dude.” He states. Akira shakes his head as the nav states permission is denied. “We don’t have nearly enough clues…” Ann sighed out. “If only we could ask her directly…” Yusuke stated. “We can. C’mon, let’s go see Futaba.” Ryuji declared. “But what will we say to get in?” Makoto asked. 

“Whaddya mean? We’re sneakin’ in.” Ryuji said. Which causes Jaden to smirk. “I like your style.” He tells Ryuji as he wraps his arm over Ryuji’s shoulder. The blond male chuckles at the shorter males action. Xander just shakes his head. While Akira side glares Ryuji. “You both have to be joking.” Makoto stared at them in disbelief. “Won’t the door be locked for sure this time?” She asked. “I’ll take care of that. Oh, and I figured out where Futaba’s room was when I snuck in last night.” Morgana said. 

Makoto looks up at the feline. “What if we run into Boss, thought? There’s no way we’ll be able to avoid his questions.” Makoto explains. “He’s at work now, so I think we should be fine.” Ann explained. “Gettin’ cold feet, Makoto? Don’t worry, it’ll be nothing. We’ve gone through loads of shits like this already.” Ryuji tells her. “Yeah, just remember I’ve done this stuff before loads of time. It gets easier the more you do it.” Drake explained. “Ditto.” Xander said. 

Makoto looked around the whole group then closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her chin. “...This is our only choice, right? I suppose Futaba did get in contact with Akira-kun… Perhaps she’ll at least be willing to speak with him…” She said. “...Very well. Let’s do this.” The brunette sighs out. Everyone nodded in agreement. They all walked inside Sojiro’s house and followed Morgana to Futaba’s room.

The group stood in front of a door that had a sign and caution tape around her door. “This is Futaba’s room.” Morgana told them. “Futaba-chan? You’re in there, right?” Makoto stated as she knocked on the door. “There’s no answer…” The blue-eyed feline states. “Futaba-chan. Are you there? I’m sorry for being startled and screaming yesterday. It was so dark that O got scared.” The brunette tells Futaba through the door. 

“No reaction whatsoever.” Yusuke states. “I mean can you blame her this is most likely the first time in at least a few years she heard other people’s voices besides her caretaker.”  Drake explained while looking straight at the door. “This is gonna be hard…” Ryuji sighed out. “You're listening, right, Alibaba?” Makoto tries to reach out for the fourth time. Right after that knock, Akira gets a text on his phone. “Is it Alibaba?” Makoto asks Akira while he pulls out his phone. 

After Akire checks the message on his phone, Makoto turns to the door. “You’re Futaba Sakura, aren’t you?” She asks again. “She’s not responding again.” Yusuke says. “Does she not like us saying her name?” Ann asks. “We don’t have time to dally around. We need her keyword before dealing with Alibaba’s identity.” Morgana snapped. “We want to learn more about you. If we don’t do so, we can’t steal your heart. The reason why we came here is because we need the keyword to enter your Palace. That’s why we want to talk with Futaba Sakura herself, and not Alibaba.” Makoto explains to Futaba.

Drake lets out a sigh. “She’s right, chickareta. We really do want to help you out here.” He tells her. “You don’t have to show yourself. Just answer some questions for us. Chat messages are fine.” Makoto adds on. 

Futaba/Alibaba: Ok

“All right then… Our leader, the guy who lives in Leblanc’s attic, wants to speak with you. We’re counting on you, Akira-kun. Try and get a keyword out of her.” Makoto tells Akira. 

Futaba/Alibaba: What do you want to hear?

Akira: How's living in this house?

Futaba/Alibaba: It’s painful…

Akira: Why not go out?

Futaba/Alibaba: I can’t leave this place

Futaba/Alibaba: I’m going to die here.

“Wha… Die?” Ann asks

Futaba/Alibaba: Is this going to continue? 

Akira: Die?

Futaba/Alibaba: That’s right. I’m definitely going to die here.

Futaba/Alibaba: This place is my tomb.

“Tomb?” Makoto asks. “You think that’s it?” Ryuji asks. “Try entering ‘tomb.’” Morgana tells Akira. “Input accepted. Searching for route to destination.” The Navigation voice stated. “We got it…!” Morgana smiled. “Yay.” Draco cheered.

Futaba/Alibaba: Was that enough?

“Yes. It was plenty. You haven’t forgotten your promise of helping us if we complete your request, right?” Makoto asks Futaba.

To be continued... 

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

"We had assumed Alice's confession would clear our names," Yusuke said, tone a little despondent.

"Which means that wasn't just trolling," Futaba said.

"What is it?" Ann asked.

"When I was searching the web, I noticed some people saying weird stuff was happening here and there, similar to what we've seen so far. Almost none of them made the news, and it seems like everyone's just trying to ignore it, but..."

"What Gramps is sayin's prolly not bullshit after all," Ryuji glumly concluded. Kanji frowned again, before digging his phone out of his pocket. Goro idly glanced over.

"What are you doing?"

"Gonna ask Naoto if he's heard of anythin' suspicious along the lines of what you guys are talking about." He paused, lifted his head, and then looked right at Jou. "So, uh... full disclosure? Naoto called me up last night outta the blue and asked me to keep an eye on you. Didn't go into too much detail, which is basically Naoto for 'I've got a hunch about somethin' and want you to keep an eye out for me.'"

"Who's this Naoto person?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, he's an old friend of mine. Naoto Shirogane."

Goro nearly choked. "Shirogane? As in, the Detective Prince, Naoto Shirogane?"

"I thought you were the Detective Prince," Ryuji piped up, confused.

Kanji blinked, before his face lit up a little. "Oh, you're Naoto's 'successor,' aren't you?"

Goro cleared his throat and tried to regain some of his composure. "I am. Goro Akechi."

"Yeah, Naoto mentioned you a coupl'a times. Small world."

"What should do about our situation?" Haru piped up. "If they decide to scapegoat us, we'll never be able to clear our names."

"If there really are more brainwashing incidents out there like this one, that would mean there are more Jails," Morgana mused. "Do you think there could be more Monarchs out there too?"

"If there are more of those Jail things out there, then I'd think so," Kanji said. "Considering what we've gathered, going along with that man could be a viable option," Yusuke pointed out.

"Are we seriously gonna trust that dude?" Ryuji said.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Ryuji," Goro said. "That man hasn't exactly been trustworthy."

"What other choice do we have?" Ann said, a note of frustration in her voice. "At the very least, his intel about Alice was useful."

"What do you say, Jou?" Morgana said, punting the decision to the leader. Jou sat and considered for a moment. He got Kanji's attention and signed, "Is it just you and Naoto-senpai?"

"We've got a whole team of our own," Kanji said. "And we've been workin' off and on with a whole Persona user organization, too. I can see if anybody can help here and there, but everyone's got stuff goin' on that they can't always drop at a moment's notice."

"Wait, an organization?" Ryuji said.

"Yeah, the 'Shadow Operatives,'" Kanji explained.

"Huh... I've heard about them," Goro remarked. "I wasn't sure if they were only a rumor... I hadn't even considered they might genuinely be related to Shadows."

"It's kind of reassuring to know that there's someone out there who can handle this stuff," Ann said. "That it's not just us."

"Would've been nice if we'd known about them earlier, though," Futaba said. "How much easier would things have been if any of us had known there were people we could reach out to?"

A lot of glances were thrown Goro's way. Kanji noticed them, but lacked any sort of context to understand what they were for.

"Still, it's good to have that to potentially call upon," Makoto said.

"Agreed," Jou signed. "In the meantime, we may as well take Gramps's deal."

"You're right," Haru said, "that's all we can really do for now."

"Wait," Morgana piped up, "even if we do level with him, how would we explain it? If he's going to understand what we've been doing, he'll have to learn about the Metaverse. Do you think he'll even believe us?"

"Given my group's own track record," Kanji said, rubbing the back of his head again, "I don't think he's gonna just take our word for it."

"We have no choice but to make him believe," Yusuke pointed out. "Otherwise, it's Jou on the line."

"But—But the Metaverse!" Ryuji said. "The Jail! How do ya think we're gonna get some thickheaded cop to buy that?!"

Yusuke let out a frustrated sigh. Makoto and Goro's eyes met. From the looks on their faces, they had the same idea, and they both knew it.

"We'll just have to show him, then," Goro said.

"Yes, we'll have to take him to the Jail in person."

"Wait, really?" Ann exclaimed.

"Is... Is that even safe?" Kanji wondered.

"The area around the entrance we used is perfectly safe," Goro explained. "We shouldn't need to go any further in to prove the point, anyway."

"We have one playable card in our hand," Makoto said. "We just have to go along with it for the time being."

"And anyway, with all of us here we should be more than capable of protecting one man," Jou pointed out.

"Alright, alright, if you guys are sure," Kanji said. "Guess I should come along, too, so I can get a good look at a Jail for myself."

"Let's hope this is not our undoing," Yusuke said.

"I'll call him back in."

[shameless-selfship-indulgence]

Girl Help Part 2

I wrote this in a fucking frenzy

there’s no, like, content worth warning about in this one though

"calais," said Marvus. "cuh-LIE-is. soundz like a troll name."

"A troll name?" asked Calais.

"fo sho babe," said Marvus. "six n six. marvus xoloto. trizza tethis. all part o da fxxked up hellawhack shiznack dat dictates r planets whole history n shit. twelves all over da dam place."

"Is that what you are?" asked Calais. "A...troll?"

Marvus blinked at her, a slow, lizard-like blink. He gave a low whistle. "dam we gotta start w da basics here."

The planet was called Alternia, the species was called trolls. The entire society revolved around a rigid caste system based on blood color, which divided trolls into twelve distinct subtypes with different physical traits. Red was at the bottom, Fuchsia at the top.

"its all bullshit tho," he added at the end. There was a flash of something in his eyes.

"What was that thing you were doing?" asked Calais. "Earlier. To me."

Did Marvus stiffen ever so slightly? Was that a flare in his nostrils? His eyes flicked up and down Calais with lightning speed before he leaned back with affected nonchalance.

"chucklevoodoos," he said. There was something guarded in his voice.

Calais blinked at him for a second, hoping that the jumble of noise he had just poured at them would sort itself out. No luck.

"Chuck-a-what?"

"chuck-el-voo-doos," said Marvus again. "purpleblood shit. wuz doin it 2 every1, not jus u."

"You mean like...mind control?" Calais guessed.

Marvus frowned. "controlz a strong word 4 it, my dude. its more like vibez."

Calais suddenly understood something.

Should she say it? She usually liked to have her cards on the table. She did it as often as she could, in the hopes that the other person would do the same. She got the feeling this man wouldn't, though.

But then again, he already had all the power in this situation. The only hope that she had was to try to build some sort of relationship with him, and she liked it when those were built on trust. Besides, she liked being honest better. Easier to remember her answers.

But still, a voice in the back of her head screamed at her to think it through a bit more, even as she opened her mouth and blurted out-

"You don't like that you can't control me."

Marvus looked slightly taken aback. He narrowed his eyes a bit. "no, I don't," he said slowly. Candidly. His hand started to edge towards his cane.

Oh shit, he thought she was trying to flex on him. Calais started to fumble, multiple different de-escalators and disclaimers colliding on the way out of her mouth and throwing random sounds everywhere.

Eventually she managed to concentrate enough to form real words.

"I-I mean you CAN," said Calais. "You CAN control me. I just hate it. I hate it enough that I can tell that it's happening."

Marvus paused. Calais continued, trying to explain everything in a rush.

"Not that it feels bad. It feels good. That's what I hate about it. I can tell in my head that it's not how I'd normally feel. I know that normally I'd be...repulsed. Normally I'd have a sense of...boundaries. And what's gross and what's not. And whatever the chuckle thing does, it doesn't stop me from being scared. I'm always scared of that."

"scared of wat?" Marvus asked. His teeth glinted in a smirk. "gettin ur pail on?"

"My what?"

"dam. dunno wat pailing is? gettin freaky, babe. all concupiscent n shit."

"Oh. I mean. Yeah? I'm kind of scared of it...I mean." Calais stress stimmed a little. "It's more that I'm scared of not being in control? Like, did you know that being horny actively lowers your disgust response? Even without the voodoos or whatever. Literally, the only reason that we can enjoy reproducing is because we no longer have an accurate sense of what's gross and what isn't. That's what I don't like. The idea that I could be in a situation where I'm doing all these, just. Objectively disgusting things? And LIKING it? And not being able to tell that it's nasty? Or even being able to tell and not caring. I hate it. I hate it so much. It scares me. And I definitely don't want to be like that around another person."

"huh," said Marvus. "never met any1 else like dat."

Calais shrugged. "Maybe because they don't come to whatever it was you were doing."

"nah," said Marvus. "I seen ppl roll up who didn't want 2 b there. they come around in the end." He tilted his head at them. "prolly cause ur an alien," he said, seeming to decide it as he said it. "pailing n murder r pretty normal mental states 4 us. disinhibition doesn't bother ppl."

He looked a little more relaxed now for having come to this conclusion. Calais figured that was a good thing.

"so wat r u?" he asked.

"Oh! Um. We call ourselves humans," said Calais. "Uh, we all have the same blood color, so that's not a thing...and I'm pretty sure nobody has any psychic powers, either."

"dam. wat do u do then?"

"Uh..." Calais puffed air through her cheeks. "I dunno. I'm not sure what to tell you. Whatever it is would be completely normal for me, so..."

"wat color's ur blood?"

"Um, red?" said Calais.

Marvus winced, but he was smiling. "ooh. dats gonna b rough."

"Yeah, I was gonna say..." Calais curled into herself a little, then remembered her ribs and winced, stopping up short.

"how'd u get here?" asked Marvus.

"I...have no idea," said Calais. She blinked. "I don't know. I don't know at all. I was suddenly just. Here."

"where were u b4?"

Calais looked around, as if the answer were written somewhere in the room. "I...I don't know!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I must have been somewhere, but I don't...I can't..." she started to wring her hands.

"woah, woah, babe, calm down," said Marvus, lifting his hands in a placating gesture. "it's all gonna b ok."

Calais shied away from him instinctively. He was awfully close. But she realized that the fact that this bothered her was a good thing.

"What did you see?" she asked.

Marvus shrugged. "u weren't there. then u were."

Calais wondered briefly if he was telling the truth. But even if he weren't, there was no way they would be able to tell. They would have to take him at his word.

"That's...not very helpful," they said absently.

Marvus laughed. "guess not. dam."

"I don't know what I was doing before I came here, I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how to get back." Calais thought for a bit, chewing her lip. "M-maybe someone at the concert saw? Someone in the mosh pit?"

"m tellin u babe, there was nuthin 2 c," said Marvus.

"Can we...check?" Calais asked carefully, looking warily at her clown host.

Marvus smiled, a somewhat easygoing smile that was nevertheless a little too toothy. "my concerts r wild, my dude," he said. "they was deffs all distracted. n they're all prolly all hells 2 the indisposed atm."

Calais dimly remembered the general reaction - or lack of reaction - to their appearance and realized that this was probably true.

Calais looked at Marvus, running calculations in her head. She was starting to realize how this was going to go, although she didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to need him. But she needed somebody, and...

"u don't have anywhere 2 go, do u," said Marvus. It wasn't really a question.

Calais flinched. "Yes," they said.

Marvus drummed his fingertips against the table he was leaning on. They clicked on the wood. Calais realized that his fingernails were claws and swallowed hard.

. "tell u wat, babe," said Marvus. "m on the homeward part of my tour atm. y don't u come w me n we'll see if we can figure out how 2 get u home."

Calais closed their eyes and took a deep breath. Don't think about the creepy clown, don't think about how you feel, just consider him, consider yourself, consider the situation, there's no need to be scared if you just figure out what's going on and why you're afraid...

Blessedly, Marvus let her sit there in shut-eyed silence until she was able to put her thoughts together and turn to him.

Direct communication. It was something that she liked.

"You want to keep me near you," she said. "You don't know what to make of me, and you want me in...in, like, your hand."

"well yh," said Marvus. "dats all true. but dat doesn't mean it can't b mutually beneficial, ufeelme? yeah ur an alien n u might b useful n shit but dat doesn't mean I can't help u 2. u do need somewhere to stay right? alternia is vy dangerous. 'specially 4 mutants n aliens. 'specially 4 mutants n aliens w red blood."

"I do need your help," said Calais. "I just..." pain and trauma emboldened her; fear wasn't enough to keep her quiet. "I just don't want you to pretend your motives aren't selfish. I don't want you to pretend anything. It's okay that you want to use me...I mean, it's not okay, but I don't exactly have a choice and I probably can't fight you so at the very least I want to know that that's what's happening, get it?"

She picked at flecks of teal under her fingernails and realized for the first time that it was blood. Their stomach lurched and they froze, setting their hand back down. "I'll probably be more cooperative than you think," she said quietly. "As long as I know what I'm getting into. I mean. When you manipulate someone, you want to make them feel at ease, right? Like they can trust you? So they'll do what you want? Well, I'll feel way more at ease if I think I can trust you. If I know you're telling the truth. Even if it's bad. So just...don't try to sell me anything. Do you understand?"

She glanced up at Marvus. He was shaking his head slowly. "ur a rlly weird alien," he said. "sure. if dats wat u want."

"Do you promise?" asked Calais.

Marvus nodded. "fo sho, babe. promise. but m not tryna use u. not yet @ least. ur a wild card. jus wanna keep an eye on u 4 now."

"Right," said Calais.

"so it's a deal, then?" asked Marvus with a smirk. He held out his hand.

Calais looked at his hand, then back up to his face. Hesitated. Then reached out and took his hand.

Marvus' grip was strong, and his hand seemed to swallow up her own. Calais strengthened her grip, but she got the feeling that no matter how tight she squeezed, it  wouldn't impress him.

He grinned at her and gave her hand a quick up and down shake. She seriously doubted that he was trying to make a show of strength, but it still felt as though he could wrench her shoulder from its socket, just by shaking her hand.

"alrite then. it's a deal," he said.

Calais pulled their arm back against her chest. A deal.

This creature was, evidently, not Satan. Just an alien with horns and freaky mind powers. But that didn't keep the phrase "deal with the devil" from reverberating wryly through her mind.

[dorminchu]

Nur für die Schwachen - Chapter VI [WIP]

note: sorry I was away! Had my wisdom teeth removed. here’s a short wip to keep the momentum going.

The infirmary is quiet. The same nurse Annie has grown accustomed to is not around, or elsewhere. Probably in her office, Annie thinks, glad for it.

Instead, another nurse who Annie doesn’t know as well ushers her over to Jaeger’s bed once Annie explains the situation. 

“Leonhardt?” She pauses. “You’re a friend of his?”

“Yes.”

“All right. As long as you don’t get him all excited about what the other trainees are up to. He’s been going mad with all this convalescence. Maybe you can drill it into his head that resting is the only way he is going to heal.”

“He’s stubborn,” Annie says before she can think better. The nurse laughs.

“My God, he is. Probably why he’s still alive.” Annie nods but doesn’t listen much, allowing herself to be steered down the row of beds until they stop at one. "Oi, Jaeger. You’ve got a friend.”

He’s up, at least, wearing a simple shirt and trousers. No surprise there. At the sound of the nurse his scowl deepens; when he catches sight of Annie, though, his expression falters. "Oh, hey, Annie."

It's difficult to look at him. Not for the sake of any undying attraction. He's frailer in the bed than he is on foot, but that’s just her perception of him. Annie inhales, exhales. “You’re... doing better.”

“I’m getting along.” He frowns. "That's, uh, what I was gonna ask you about." 

"Hm?"

Eren looks around, lowering his voice: "Mikasa was really happy about it. Armin, too. But it doesn't make sense." Without any kind of warning he lifts up his shirt. Annie catches her breath. "See? No scar tissue. You’d think there would be, it's like a mirac--" Eren lets his shirt drop down and looks at her, his expression sobering "--what?"

Annie realises she's just been staring at him without elaboration and tries to compose herself. "I -- don't know." She looks away desperately for the nurse, but she's over by another cadet, probably trying to give them some privacy. Just her luck.

"Oi, I'm not sick. I feel as though I could go back to training with everyone else, but the doctor won't let me leave, nor will the nurses." He scowls. "Ain't a good reason to keep me here, I'm just taking up a bed someone else could use."

Annie feels sicker the longer she stays here. But with that sickness there’s a juvenile, vicious sense of self-satisfaction. Fuck you, Braun. He’s one of us. He can still be saved.

“You all right?” Eren interjects.

“Fine.”

“That’s good. Shadis partner you up with someone else?”

“Ymir.”

Eren gawks. “Shit. That sounds awful.”

Annie shrugs. “She’s all right, I guess.”

“Yeah? You’re a lot braver than I am.” He glances at his hands. “Sure you’re O.K.?”

“Hm?”

“You’re starin’ an awful lot. Thought you’d be sick of hearing about me by now.”

“What for?”

“I’m always holdin’ you up.”

Annie frowns. “You didn’t hold me up.” She draws a shaky breath. “I shouldn’t have been careless. I let you endanger yourself.”

“But I was being a prick about it!” Eren insists. The nurse looks up and he continues more reservedly: “It’s not just you that gets to shoulder all the blame, all right? We can’t just stick together because we like training, we’re soldiers. And I shouldn’t’ve pushed for you to hang out back there, even if we’re gonna be partners anyway. It’s stupid.”

Annie’s so taken aback by this return to a more expected demeanor that she forgets to apologize.

"...I don't want to go back to the fields," Eren mutters. His face crumbles. "Fuck. I don't know if I'll be able to come back at this rate. Armin isn’t doin’ well and -- I don’t want him to flunk out, he’s brilliant. Mikasa won’t let it happen, but I think about him and it’s just -- she doesn’t get it, you know? She’s the top of our class.”

Annie looks away. "I wish… there was something I could do. To help you."

He doesn't move. "Help me?" Annie nods. "Are you putting in the effort?" His eyes are sharp. "You better well not be shirkin' off without me."

Annie's throat is tight, but she nods. "Of course not."

He studies her face a moment longer, as though searching for what she is keeping back. Then he nods. "That's good. Even if I'm no use to anyone right now, it doesn't mean you have to stop trying."

“If you’re able to train, you should have a talk with the instructor. Not the nurse.” She bites her lip. “If the nurse won’t let you anyway, I’ll help you.”

Eren’s eyes brighten for the first time since she walked in the room. “Shit. You mean that?” 

“Yeah.”

He goes quiet. But he’s smiling. “You’re the best partner I could have asked for.” Annie doesn’t answer. She doesn’t think she can keep her composure if she does. He grins awkwardly. “Yeah, so. You’ve prolly got a lot of training to do, I don’t wanna keep you.”

As soon as she leaves, out of view, Annie wipes her eyes, furious.

He can't possibly be this stupid if he's -- like her. He wouldn't have lasted this long. His existence, as it stands, defies all explanation. 

Surely she cannot appeal to Reiner or Bertholdt this time. She feels more alone than ever. All she can do is stake her hopes on this boy.

[askjoshuafreeman]

A Whole New Day

"Joshuuuaa..." 

Drifting between a peaceful sleep and the waking world, Josh could faintly hear his name being called. It crept at the edges of his unconscious mind, rousing him just enough to listen. 

"Joooosshh, heeeey..." 

There it was again. It sounded... familiar, but the fog of drowsiness seemed to cloud his memory. Perhaps it would help to awaken and open his eyes, but the warmth and comfort of the blankets seemed to keep him trapped in place, completely unwilling to move.

Luckily, the voice seemed to stop, allowing Joshua to begin drifting back into a dreamless rest. 

And then, with a soft 'fwap', J felt the soft impact of a pillow drop down onto his face.

"Joooosh! Wake uuuuup!" He could hear the voice, which was unmistakably Allen, whine out again. 

"It's 10 in the morniiiing! Get your ass uuuuppp!"

Josh placed his hands on both ends of the pillow and pushed it off as hard as he could, launching the soft headrest halfway across the room. Above him was, you guessed it, Allen, smugly grinning down at the groggy teen. 

"Didn't ask for a wake-up call, y'know..." J grumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

"Awh, whaaaat? Wanted me to let ya sleep the day away? C'mon! Get up! Get dressed! Let's go dooo something!" Al chuckled, kicking off the blankets and jumping out of bed. Joshua rolled his eyes as the boy stretched. 

"No off-switch on you, is there?" 

"Pfft! You kidding?! Of course there ain't! I'm PUMPED!" 

"Mmnh? Really now? Why's that?" 

"Why wouldn't I be?! I'm spending the whole-ass day with my best bud! Of course I'd be pumped!" 

A smile crept along Joshua's lips as he struggled to not laugh. Unfortunately, it seemed Allen caught sight of it. With a grin, Allen sat back down on the bed, reached over and cupped the boy's face gently in his hands. 

"Awwh, what's that! Whassat! Is that a smiiile? Is Joshie Grumpman givin' me a liiil smile~?" 

"Mnnhh, nooooo!" J did his best to frown, only to burst out laughing. 

"You aaaaree! Haha! You're givin' me the finest thing ta see this mornin'!" 

"Ppfftt, shut uuuuup! You're being an idiot, Al!" 

"Awh, c'mon, someone's gotta be." He chuckled back, only to pause, his grin faltering slightly as he gazed at Joshua. 

"... Hm? You alright?" Josh asked after the brief silence. Allen released him and stood back up. 

"Mhm, should prolly let ya get dressed, heh. We're headin' to the diner!" 

"Wh! But we could just make some breakfast here!" 

"Pfft, yeah. And? What sounds fancier? "Oh lemme make some bomb ass bacon n eggs" or "hey, let's order a sick brunch to kick off the day"? 'Sides, I'll be the one paying, dummy." Allen glanced over at Josh, seeming to be waiting for a confirmation despite having clearly made up his mind.

J rolled his eyes. "Fine fine, whatever. Hah, if you keep bringing me there, people might start thinking you like me, o' unholy spawn." 

"Mweh mweh, just get dressed. I'll wait for ya downstairs." Allen scooped up his schoolbag and left the room, shutting the door behind him. 

Joshua flopped back down on his mattress with a loud sigh. God, he was tired. Even with the full night's sleep and Allen's generosity of allowing him to sleep in, his body still felt like burying itself right back beneath the blankets and sleeping for days on end...

What was wrong with him? It's like all his energy had just been zapped away... 

He glanced over at his dresser, mulling over the situation. Breakfast may help a bit... but what then? He didn't want to spend the whole day in town like this, but... he didn't want to disappoint Allen either. Even after telling him all he knew about the Device, Josh still didn't exactly spend that much time with him outside of school. Hell, he hasn't been spending much time with anyone these days. Most of his energy is devoted to the Device and the prospect of finding out the truth. Hell, any time he spends away from it feels like wasted time, as though the whole thing may just vanish one day if he doesn't solve all of this fast enough. 

Joshua winced slightly, pushing himself up and forcing himself to stand. He blinked away a few oncoming tears as he stepped over to his wardrobe. He wasn't gonna lose it this morning. Not while Allen is here. Calm down... deep breaths... deep breaths... It was gonna be fine... It. It was... He couldn't cry now, not when he had no clue how he'd explain himself to his best friend... 

He glanced over at the computer, the whole thing much more silent when it was off. It felt eerie, almost. He'd grown so used to the soft hum it let out while in sleep mode... He never really shut it off before, as if he were afraid it'd never turn on again. Maybe that would've been the case before the optimization, but that clearly wouldn't happen now.

Still... a part of him wanted to turn it on despite their upcoming departure. Of course, he thought against it. CB would be too confused and maybe a bit hurt if he did that. He'd just have to wait until they returned. 

That would be fine, right? 

~~~~~~~~

"Can you believe they still won't let me back in there? I mean, the nerve of some peeps, y'know?" 

"Allen, you blew up a gumball machine, I think they're in the right to ban you." 

"Pwssh, says who? Damn thing hardly went out with a bang anyways. All that happened was the gumballs melted and a few kids got spooked by the sound. No one got hurt except for my pride!" 

The two had been walking for a good ten minutes, during which Allen rattled on about this old candy shop he used to visit back when he was eleven. It was a story he hadn't told Josh before, which would've surprised the boy had Al not also mentioned that the only reason he thought to bring it up was because he recently drove out of town to check if the place was still running. It was, surprisingly enough. Even more surprising to him was the fact that they were still enforcing the ban. 

Joshua could only laugh, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "God... Al, your hot headed impulsiveness is gonna get you killed some day." 

The taller teen scoffed. "Pfft! Please! My hot headed impulsiveness'll prolly save your damn life some day, just you wai-"

Only to then pause and stop walking completely. Josh turned back to glance at him, only to notice the concerned look in his friend's eyes. 

"... Allen? You okay...?" 

Allen drew his lips into a line, scrunching up his eyebrows. "Do... Can you... hear that?" He asked, darting his head about. 

"I... A-Al, I don't hear anything... What are you-" 

Allen quickly took the other boy's hand and pulled him close, eyes scanning the area. They had reached the diner by now, all they needed to do was head right past the parking lot and enter it. If Allen was worried about anything, they wouldn't be too far from other people, so why...

Why did he look so scared? 

"Allen...? Allen, answer me! What's wrong?!" 

"... I... No... no no, it's... Joshua, stay behind me, alright?" He finally responded, which only served to confuse Josh even more. 

"What do you mean-? Tell me what's going on first!" 

"Just trust me, alright? Get behind me. Now." Allen pleaded more than demanded of him. Seeing as protesting was getting him nowhere, Josh went along and did as he was told, holding Al's hand tightly as they finally entered the parking lot. 

And there, leaned up against the restaurant, singing a colourful tune the shade of a pear, was, undoubtedly, Benrey. It couldn't be anyone else. No one was as deathly pale, with hair as dark as the abyss, the shade of which seemed to melt over the man's eyes and nose blanketing his upper face in complete darkness. Well, apart from those glistening eyes... 

Allen narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth, removing his hand from Josh's hold to ensure the boy stayed behind him. It was at this moment the former guard seemed to notice them.

Benrey slowly shifted his gaze to the boys, keeping his body still as he gave them both an unenthusiastic stare, eyes almost seeming to glow against the darkness. None spoke for a long while, all nearly completely stunned by the appearance of the other. 

After what felt like ages, Benrey ended his symphony of yellow and finally spoke, uttering a single word:

"yo."

[trenchcas]

episode origins p1

i was watching moriah earlier today and was wondering what the significance of the name moriah was, so i searched it up. i’ll explain it here in this. i wanted to learn which episodes have titles derived from pop culture, literature, etc. so i put together this list. it’s not complete, feel free to reblog with more!

why did i waste hours on my life on this, you ask? i don’t know. 

season 1

pilot: obviously, all the first episodes of shows are called pilots. nothing new here.

wendigo: they’re fighting a wendigo

dead in the water: the phrase means “unable to function, move”.

phantom traveler: the name of the demon they’re fighting

bloody mary: based off the legend

skin: shapeshifters, also there might be a meta about how it’s a metaphor for dean

hook man: they’re fighting a hook man

bugs: bugs

home: they go home

asylum: they go to an asylum

scarecrow: scarecrow

faith: the concept of god first comes into play here, i thought that was pretty interesting. that’s why it’s called faith, duh. dean + faith is explored.

route 666: racist truck yes

nightmare: sam’s visions

the benders: i think it’s based off of the bloody benders, a family of serial killers

shadow: meg’s stalkery?

hell house: it was literally a hell house

something wicked: originally chanted by WITCHES in shakespeare’s macbeth. the full line is “something wicked this way comes, open locks, whoever knocks”. obviously the shtriga is a witch and it refers to that.

provenance: painting provenances, it’s in the episode

dead man’s blood: they use dead man’s blood

salvation: being saved or protected, like the boys and john do with the family

devil’s trap: the devil gets them in a trap. and they built a giant devil’s trap too.

season two

in my time of dying: based off of the led zeppelin song [x]

everybody loves a clown: based off of the gary lewis song [x]

bloodlust: i think it’s for the vampires but they were also a band in the 90′s

children shouldn’t play with dead things: based off of the 1972 movie

simon said: the whole “you do what i say” thing with andy and evil andy

no exit: it’s a song by blondie and in the episode h.h. holmes captures blondes...? am i just clowning

the usual suspects: based off of the 1995 movie

crossroad blues: based off of the robert johnson song (fave!) [x]

croatoan: i like this one. okay, so you guys probably know about the whole roanoke/croatoan thing in the 1600′s. so there’s a theory that the settlers were wiped out by a disease (similar to this town). also, the town would disappear off of the map.

hunted: gordon hunted sam

playthings: dolls, but the little girl was the grandma’s sisters plaything

nightshifter: a shifter in the night

houses of the holy: based off of the led zeppelin song and album [x]

born under a bad sign: based off of this song [x] there are a bunch of others including jimi hendrix but...?

tall tales: yeah i think this one is self explanatory

roadkill: someone got killed on the road

heart: werewolf heart but also how sam gave his heart to madison aww also there’s a band called heart

hollywood babylon: based off of the book by the same name

folsom prison blues: based off of the johnny cash song!! [x]

what is and what should never be: based off of the led zeppelin song [x]

all hell breaks loose: yes it did

season three

the magnificent seven: based off of the pretty famous western go watch

the kids are alright: based off of the who song [x]

bad day at black rock: based off of the 1955 movie

sin city: there’s a bunch of songs but the city was sinning so

bedtime stories: they were bedtime stories

red sky at morning: the full phrase is “red sky at morning, sailors take warning”. with the theme of this ep it fits pretty well.

fresh blood: fresh blood yes

a very supernatural christmas: i’m not sure. i think it’s based off of a christmas album?

malleus maleficarum: a 1400′s book of witches. latin for “hammer of the witches”.

dream a little dream of me: i love this song! based off this: [x]

mystery spot: mystery spot

jus in bello: i can’t really explain it but here [x]

ghostfacers: g h o s t f a c e r s

long-distance call: long distance call

time is on my side: based off of the rolling stones song [x]

no rest for the wicked: a biblical quote that means “evildoers will face eternal punishment”. also, “one’s work never ceases”.

season four

lazarus rising: in the bible, lazarus is the righteous man, which makes dean the righteous man. and he rises. so. 

are you there, god? it’s me, dean winchester: based off of the judy blume book (maybe?), are you there, god? it’s me, margaret.

in the beginning: they go back in time

metamorphosis: with the rugaru but also sammeh

monster movie: monsters and movies

yellow fever: referring to the disease i think, but also there are a few songs

it’s the great pumpkin, sam winchester: based off of it’s the great pumpkin, charlie brown.

wishful thinking: yeah

i know what you did last summer: dean + hell, sam + ruby. is it based off of the shawn mendes song? i don’t think it is because this came out way before the song.

heaven and hell: opposite sides meet, dean’s hell experiences.

family remains: there are remains

criss angel is a douche bag: idk?

after school special: based off of the abc program? i think?

sex and violence: there was a lot of sex. and violence.

death takes a holiday: death took a holiday

on the head of a pin: i’m not sure but this article is interesting, maybe related. probably related. [x]

it’s a terrible life: based off of it’s a wonderful life? i love that movie btw

the monster at the end of this book: ughhh! yes!!! first of all there’s a sesame street book by the same title. also, chuck actually was the monster at the end of the book! that’s crazy. insane. 

jump the shark: “(of a television series or movie) reach a point at which far-fetched events are included merely for the sake of novelty, indicative of a decline in quality.“ probably the whole long lost brother thing.

the rapture: a belief that christians will rise to “meet the lord in the air”. kinda like jimmy does.

when the levee breaks: based off of the led zeppelin song [x]

lucifer rising: lucifer rose

season five

sympathy for the devil: based off of the rolling stones song [x]

good god, y’all!: cas goes to find god

free to be you and me: a marlo thomas album and the brothers split up

the end: yeah it’s the end

fallen idols: i think we get it

i believe the children are our future: a lyric from a whitney houston song

the curious case of dean winchester: based off of the short story, the curious case of benjamin button.

changing channels: channels were changed. the end.

the real ghostbusters: based on the 1985 animation

abandon all hope: the full phrase is “abandon all hope, ye who enter here” and that pretty much sums up this episode.

sam, interrupted: i’m not sure?

swap meat: meats were SWAPPED.

the song remains the same: based off of the led zeppelin song [x]

my bloody valentine: based on jensen’s movie. but also the band?

dead men don’t wear plaid: based on the 1982 movie

dark side of the moon: a pink floyd album

99 problems: that one jayz song whatever

point of no return: a 1993 movie but also the poto song hehe

hammer of the gods: based off of the 1985 book i think? it’s about led zeppelin so probably yeah.

the devil you know: means that it’s better to deal with a situation you understand than one you don’t.

two minutes to midnight: this phrase is commonly used as a countdown to a global catastrophe (i.e. the fucking apocalypse)

swan song: someone’s final performance before retirement (i think this is about both brothers because it’s sam last battle and dean’s last fight before living with lisa)

season six

exile on main st.: based off of the rolling stones album [x]

two and a half men: it was a sitcom? but idk if that’s where it’s from

the third man: based off of the 1949 noir thriller? maybe? but there were also three men so idrk

weekend at bobby’s: it was a weekend at bobbys

live free or twi-hard: based off of twilight and that bruce willis movie that i watched once way back when

you can’t handle the truth: truth goddess. soulless sam gets exposed ig

family matters: based off of the 1989 sitcom? maybe

all dogs go to heaven: based off of the 1989 movie? probably

clap your hands if you believe: i think this is an original title idk

caged heat: based off of the 1974 movie i think

appointment in samarra: probably based off of the 1934 novel of the same name

like a virgin: based off of the madonna song [x]

unforgiven: sam does unforgiven things

mannequin 3: the reckoning: not sure

the french mistake: just... just read this link [x]

and then there were none: based off of the agatha christie novel of the same name

my heart will go on: y’all all know what’s up [x]

frontierland: they went to yeehaw town

mommy dearest: based on the 1981 film? maybe?

the man who would be king: based off of the 1888 novel by rudyard kipling

let it bleed: based off of the rolling stones album/song [x]

the man who knew too much: shares a name with the 1956 film

season seven

meet the new boss: they met the new boss idk

hello, cruel world: sad sam

the girl next door: there’s a 2004 romcom with the same name

defending your life: a 1991 romcom! wow!

shut up, dr. phil: sam and dean became philanthropists idk

slash fiction: hahahahaha i think we know what it means but wHY is it called that?

the mentalists: they met a bunch of magic people wow!

season 7, time for a wedding!: more like season 7, time for a slightly r*pey episode and GARTH!

how to win friends and influence monsters: based off of the 1936 book how to win friends and influence people

death’s door: they were at death’s door idk

adventures in babysitting: based off of the 1987 movie by the same name

time after time after time: based off of the cyndi lauper song? [x]

the slice girls: prolly based off of the spice girls idk

plucky pennywhistle’s magic menagerie: yeah idk

repo man: it’s a 1984 film too

out with the old: they were fucking around with antiques

the born-again identity: obviously based off of the bourne identity which i haven’t seen in forever

party on, garth: hahaha

of grave importance: it was very important

the girl with the dungeons and dragons tattoo: probably based off of the movie/book the girl with the dragon tattoo. 

reading is fundamental: reading is fundamental. go read a book.

there will be blood: there was blood

survival of the fittest: everybody fought idk

okay i’m gonna stop here for this one because i’m tired asf and i’ll do part 2 later 

[you-are-worth-the-wait]

This is going to be super crazy long I think. I tried to address all the things you talked about. This is prolly as serious as it gets. You don’t really have to respond to it or anything. It was just an explanation to hopefully clear things up and any questions asked are prolly rhetorical. I don’t need you to explain or justify anything. I was just hoping to clear things up in my own rambling muddled way.

You never did tell me what happened or what happened during your weekend/days off. I don’t know if you purposely avoided that or what not. I only ask because I know you do come to me when things got difficult or you need someone to talk to. I know you also have your therapist as an outlet for your feelings/emotions. It’s not that I want to take his place or am a therapist. I’m still someone that cares for you and wants you to still feel safe that you can confide in me not only as someone who loves you but genuinely cares for you. I know it’s difficult because of who I am and what I may represent in this situation but I still do love, respect, and care for you even though we may not be together and I’ll always want to make sure you are okay.

Ehhh...who knows if sushi was our thing. But truth is, I think “we” are our own thing. I think we’ve experienced so much and connected on a different level that it’s possible to say that our entire relationship and everything that we’ve experienced could be “our thing”. From something as complicated as planned trips, road trips, seeing musicals, spending nights/mornings together to the simple things such as driving to work together, holding each other’s hands, talking on the phone to and from work, watching terrace house, messaging each other. From the physical aspect of raw and uninhibited sex, to exploring and sharing our kinks, to intimacy of passionately kissing and just randomly fooling around and being able to laugh during the most intimate of moments and still find a way into each other’s heart. Even to something as weird as doing a taco taste off to making fun of the way I cook. It’s almost as if pretty much every moment/memory/experience that I’ve had in my life that was enhanced and/or made more memorable in one way or another because I was able to share it with you could/would be labeled as “our thing”.

I do feel sad for him too but at the same time it’s difficult for me to rationalize my empathy to others because of what he has and what I don’t have. I’m not a bad person and it’s not like I’m oblivious to the hurt he feels. It’s just hard to say to him that I’m sorry. To say I’m sorry that he feels that way and that I see him hurting the way he does. But who would ever believe me when deep down I do care and love you. Like, I can see myself saying those words and meaning it but at the same time I could have you standing right next to me, lean over and kiss you on the check, and be just as genuine in saying that I love you. How I could look him in the eyes and honestly say that I never meant to hurt him but in the same breath tell him that were the one who opened up the possibility to/for love and when I accepted it I knew that I would do anything I could to make you happy because I loved/love you too.

You also know I think about you daily. Simple things like whenever I flip through Netflix and see terrace house. Or Disney+ and I see Hamilton or the greatest showman. Hearing a Mraz song. Hearing a girl with a “unique” voice. Randomly doing clumsy things and wondering if that’s ever happened to you. Dropping food, spilling something, needing a napkin because I’ve made a mess. Seeing couples doing random, fun things. The way I use a knife to cut things. Putting my scrubs on inside out. Seeing your name on a chart or birth month and day. When I see “emergency contact” and I think of how we used each other. When someone asks if I’m attracted to or like someone. How I do see your name at random shops/stores. When I gravitate towards chopsticks instead of forks. And like I said, when I want to share an experience with someone and give them my take on it but it involved you and I’m so set on saying, “my girl and I...my friend and I...”Lily” and I...” and I have to cut myself short because I don’t necessarily want people to follow up my statement with “who is “Lily”...how is “Lily” and what not.

Not to say that we treated him or what we had as a “big game” but we both knew the risks with what we were doing. We both have each other outs and we discussed it at times. But each time we came to the same conclusion that the other person was worth the risk to have them in our lives. I don’t know if it’s fair to associate how we did things and compare it to how good you may be when it comes to playing games with strategy but there prolly is some element of truth to it. But I think the only reason why we could have been perceived as “good” as what we did was because I think we both wanted it/each other bad enough to make “us” work somehow, one way or another. Yes, when I admitted the snout of things we did, the places/trips we went to/on in state and abroad, the amount of hikes, over night vacays, and for however long/short amount of time, and to have done all that...you and I did a lot of sacrificing and compromising in able to do what we did. But we did it because the other person was worth it. Every time you ran late to something or chose to hang out wotn me instead of him/family. Coming over early and staying out later to be with me. Picking you up and dropping you off at work when I didn’t have work. Coming to get you from work when you weren’t well enough to drive home. Choosing to be with you instead of going to the gym or hanging out with my family because I wanted to spend that extra 5-10 minutes, 1-4 hours with you, because be it 5 minutes or 5 hours, it never seemed like it was enough time. I think we both figured out a way sacrifice things in/during our lives but it was for each other, and we did it in a heartbeat with no regrets in the moment because the other person was worth it. So I’m not saying that you/we both know how to play games. I’m saying that with the proper motivation of it being you and me, we did need to figure out how to “play” and sacrifice certain things but we both knew who/why/what we were doing it for and for you/that, I wouldn’t apologize or let someone hold it against me because if I had the chance, I wouldn’t change a single decision I made when it came to you and me. That’s just me and my honest opinion.

I guess it’s the way I word things or the timing of it all. I am genuinely concerned about you and I do want to know what is on your mind and what you are thinking. You and this entire situation is so hard to “read” though when all I’ve got to go through are “words on a screen” and unknown lengths of time/pauses in between, be it minutes, hours, or days. I learned and picked up a lot of what I could figure and learn to understand from your nonverbal cues, the inflection/tones of your voice, your eyes, your genuine and fake smiles, your silence, your kisses, the way you hug/hold/cling to me. It’s difficult for me to go from all of that and feeling that I was learning/getting to know you, and now I’m relegated to just words on a screen. So yeah, maybe I might jump the gun on asking certain things before you are ready or the way I type something out on here doesn’t necessarily reflect what I meant to say. It’s hard to go from you wondering at times how I could tell something is on your mind and figuring out how you felt based on a look or the energy you gave off to seeing us “fight/argue” more on here than we have face to face. To know that I’ve hurt you, angered you, made you question me, more on here than when we were together. How helpless I feel when you start to get get angry, sad, or feel you’ve said something wrong and pile on to your insecurities when I’ve never told you that you are ever a bother, that you are too much, that I can’t handle you, that you aren’t worth it, that you may not be good enough for me. I’ve never said or believed that about you. So yeah, it is difficult for me to gauge if what I’m asking is jumping the gun of what you are feeling or processing. From my side, all I know is I’m asking how you are feeling and trying to get a better understanding of where you are and what you may be thinking. Like you said, there are times when I ask/say things that maybe I’m lucky enough that you are in the moment of when those questions are asked at the moment you are receptive to it and are ready to think about it from that aspect. And then there are times where I ask the same questions for the same reason but you may be in that moment when you are figuring things out and my questions come across as being nosy, pushy, or as if I’m forcing you to think one way or another. I honestly don’t think I’ve asked how you’ve been and what you could be thinking about and inquiring further about things any more than I usually do. I guess it’s really hit or miss as the timing of when I ask them depending on what state and how receptive you are. I mean, there have been some times where you’ve kind of laughed off how ridiculous your situation is because of how absurd or nonsensical it was from your point of view.

But truth...yes. Sometimes I feel if I don’t ask, you may take it as me not caring or having moved on in some way. Like, if we talked for 6 months straight but not once do I ask how you are truly feeling, what’s on your mind, if I don’t say that I’m here for you, that you can talk to me if you need to. If all our conversations were just about random nothingness and never about what’s really on our minds or how we feel or if during a span of 6 months I never say that I miss you, not even once. Then yeah, I’m afraid that I may give you the impression that I don’t think about you, care about you, don’t miss you, or have moved on. It’s a subject matter that would be easier to confront and there are a lot of things that makes more sense to speak to each other face to face or even on the phone. But this is what we have at the moment. Although it’s helped us to stay in touch, given us a sense of comfort and hope, it has on more occasions than I’d like to count caused us grief, heartaches, and misunderstandings that could have totally been avoided.

Also, along your journey of whatever it is you are trying to discover about yourself, I feel that if we were together, you wouldn’t necessarily be doing it on your own the way you are trying to. If we were together, the journey you are taking, I feel, is something that you’d be talking to me about, bouncing off your thoughts and ideas, letting me know of your hopes and fears, what your reservations may be yet what you ultimately want for yourself. And the thing is that even though it’s a self discovery of who you are and what you want for yourself, if we were together, it’s a journey that you’d be talking and confiding in me about. At least that’s what I think it would be. Like, I have dreams for myself just as much as I have dreams for the both of us but just because it’s my own dreams, goals, and aspirations, it’s not like I’d hide it from you or not ask your opinion of it. Because yeah, ultimately it’s going to be me who figures and chooses the path I attempt to take in order to reach or discover things, but if we were together, I’d still ask you about your thoughts and opinions. It is a journey of self discovery but you play just as big a part of who I am so of course I’m going to want to include you and get your thoughts and opinions. I think maybe that’s what I’m trying to be for you or help you understand where I am coming from when I sometimes ask you things or may come across as intrusive or maybe I’m making you figure things out before you can figure it out yourself. And yes, I can see that you are still struggling to figure things out so I randomly say things here and there not so much to influence you or make you justify your thoughts or actions. It’s more so to help in any way I can or to maybe see things from a different perspective that you may not have seen or considered before. Like I said, I don’t know exactly what you are thinking or feeling but I sometimes do get the sense that it could be along the same lines of what I’m thinking when I mirror my thoughts and feelings but from your perspective. And again, only because I feel I’ve gotten to know you based on how we’ve connected. I’ve never said “this is how you feel...I’ll tell you what you are feeling/supposed to feel...this is what you should think...these are your thoughts”. The only time I venture into that realm is when you confirm what I thought of in the past or you admit/open up to me about certain things. Then do I say, “I thought you felt this way but now I know. I wondered what the reason was but now I understand.” And then I will go off on some random tangent as to why I thought those things in the first place. I don’t know if I had the reasons correct but you confirmed action/feeling.

I think I explained the reason why I thought about the ultimatum the way I did/do. Yes, the black and white of the ultimatum at the time ws difference of you being with me or him. Did I ever want to give you one, no. After he did it and that was the reason why you chose/had to be with him did I wish I had given you one, yes and no. The plain black and white explanation of that moment in retrospect was if I had given you the ultimatum, you prolly would have been with me. But the truth and grey of it all was/is that I knew back then and wat before then that I didn’t want you that way. It’s why I didn’t give you one, it’s why he gave you one before me, it’s why even when you were at a low point and wondered if maybe you needed an ultimatum to save you from yourself, I still asked and said the only way I’d do that is if you yourself gave me the okau to do so because at least then, it would have still been a mutual understanding and you were giving me permission to ask you to be with me and I would have done so because you couldn’t trust yourself anymore and you were willing to put your trust in me that I’d take care of you. Oddly enough, when he did give you the ultimatum, even though I didn’t realize you would have “obeyed/abided (I don’t know the proper term to use here)” by it, a part of me thought that that was the biggest mistake he could have ever made. Pretty much for all the same reasons he’s realizing now, I kinda knew back then which is why I didn’t give you one. The thing is, even though I didn’t give you and ultimatum, the fact of the matter was, just like you said, you’d be physically there. Here’s the difference in the grey vs the black and white of the ultimatum. His ultimatum is playing out the way it is now. After almost a year of “physically” being there, at this moment, this is what has happened since and what you have to show for “physically” being there. If it had been me who had done that, I would have possibly had the black and white of you being “physically there” with me. The grey of it all is the difference. In that same amount of time, at what point would you and I be in the relationship. Would we be better/worse. That’s the thing I can’t tell and that’s the grey of it all. And that’s the only reason why I mentioned the thought of me giving you an ultimatum. Not that I would have given you one. But if I did, maybe you would be with me now, which leads to wonder what I/we would have done/figured out in that time. Of course I’d be hopeful in thinking that yes, you still would have corn through a tough time and there would have been those moments of depression. But a part of me feels that together, maybe, you would have come out of it for the better in the long run. But again, that’s me and hopeful thinking. But that’s based on what I know about you and me and how we are when we are together. Alone, we are okay and prolly better than okay. Together, we are amazing. And if you were in the position you are now, trying to figure out/understand your life, you, how to process things. In the alternate universe where I gave the ultimatum and you were with me, you’d be asking my opinion when it comes to trying to figure out/understand yourself. That’s alternate universe with so many “ifs”. But to present reality, you are still trying to figure out/understand yourself and big picture. And I’m still here still trying to help you but not being physically with you. Gawd...does any of this make sense? You are gonna have to have another 4 day weekend to figure this all out.

Sooo...yeah...sorry. Crazy long. My bad. And same...you mean something to me as well. Even if I don’t say those words or as often as I could/should. I just wanted you to know that.