#is it weird I like the smell of the composite they use for fillings

[hoseokslefteyebrow]

The Anomaly || JJK

Chapter 3: Accomplices

summary : In which you're isekai'd from your (own) parallel Jujutsu Kaisen universe to the canon universe.

wordcount : 3k

Pairing: Jujutsu Kaisen X Reader, eventually Character x Reader (idk who yet tho)

Masterlist | Next

The fight between you, Yuuji and the cursed spirit was running relatively smoothly. You're pleased to find out that this Yuuji is much like your Yuuji. Neither seem to care about how they're getting the job done, as long as they get the job done. He's athletic, you notice, jumping from spot to spot and launching punch after punch.

You don't need to do much. One of your water skins is uncapped as you use it. You're really just slashing this curse back Yuuji's way, trapping him there, keeping him there. However, you can't ignore that something really does feel off. It's definitely a curse, but it's body' fluid composition felt so... Human? It was unsettling.

As a Water Manipulator, you could feel fluid compositions. People are made up of at least 60% water. You can use them as your doll if you wish to do so, which is why you were feared among curse users in your own world. Cursed spirits are always made purely of cursed energy. And so far, you haven't come across a cursed spirit which power was based on water. 

Eventually, things take an unexpected turn soon enough. Nobara is getting pulled out of the barrier, for some reason. 

You're quick to follow, and soon enough the both of you are stood against the curse. 

Which was an odd thing. It seems to pretend to be a gentleman, spouting about how he'll let the two of you go considering your gender, leaving you both confused. 

And then it hops back. It looks ridiculous. Things get even more odd when Yuuji and the other curse jump in. Apparently the weird curse in front of you has something disgusting on its back. 

Things escalate. Nobara comments on the rotting smell that comes from him, and he grows angry, activating it's cursed technique. Soon enough, he's launching blood your way. 

You move out of the way- just in case, but you're pleased (yet also incredibly unsettled) to find out that it really is blood, even if it is poisonous. 

The curse angers visibly. 

" You should run, with your back to me! "

Nobara and Yuuji have no other choice, so they do. You keep your eyes on him, gathering the blood he's launching your way as you prepare to counter attack. 

" How about I rip your blood sculpted wings off instead? "

It doesn't like your words. Not at all. In fact, it launches so many attacks that even you have to pull back, throwing messy counter attacks as you jump backwards. It's laughing, while it manages to draw you back. It's incredibly quick, which makes it so hard to keep up. 

Nonetheless, you don't give up. 

Eventually, you manage to turn the tide. Suddenly, he's at your mercy, as you continue to summon his attack and make it your own. Unlike Blood Manipulation, you can't change the condense of blood, so you'll have to rely of the speed of it. You charge up the circle of it's blood that was already starting to pick up pace around you, and send it at him in one go. Like always, it creates a sword like effect, slashing through everything. The curse's eyes widen, and it has no choice but to jump back, all the way. 

Your attack had a bigger hit than expected, as a few trees fall to the side- you jump to avoid them. Oops. Regret fills your senses as you realize that the curse is dashing off on you. 

" Hey!- "

You're glaring. How dare he run off on you? You chase after it, however, it's much quicker than you. Your eyes widen as you catch up, your friends now both injured. 

" There's no need to worry. My younger brother's blood doesn't have the same quality as mine. And even mine won't kill you unless you would be drowned in it. Though it will hurt like hell. This is where our technique starts-"

He raises his pinky, and immediately black, tattoo like flowers run over your friends' wounds. Your eyes widen as concern overtakes your features. Shit- you're a healer first. You have to save them. For a moment, you panic in silence, not sure what to do, or what to say. Obviously, this isn't the time and moment to heal them. 

Meanwhile, the curse is breaking down how his technique works. The consequences are pretty clear, once either him (should we even refer to it as him?) Or his brother activate the technique, they only have about 15 minutes to live. 

Your eyes harden as you realize what you three have to do. Healing comes later. You've never come across a technique which effect was like poison. You don't know if you'd be able to stop his technique while it's working. It's better to have them release their technique altogether and heal them properly after that. 

Yuuji and Nobara seem to think the same thing. 

" Would you like me to end you right away? "

The curse was too bold with it's actions. 

" A technique that grants victory once it hits... That makes you strong. Too bad for you though, that makes me the worst match for you! "

Nobara is bolder. She's confident, yet somehow not arrogant. You watch in amazement as she plunges one of her nails in her arm, activating her straw doll technique. 

In response, both of their body's blood flow changes into one of stress. You stop all together. What are those things? They can't be curses. They simply can't be. Their body is made of blood. They're alive. You wouldn't be able to exorcise them, because it would be killing.

You're distressed now, unable to move. Can you even kill? You've never deemed yourself a good person, nor a bad person. You're not the type to forgive easy, or at all in most cases. You hold grudges a lot. You're not a bad person either. You're not fond of bullying, or picking on people. You're just,, you. You're not a killer though. Something was going on in this universe which was not natural, even for Jujutsu. Spirits that have taken bodies... These bodies could've been living an actual life before they were taken... You can't do this. You can't kill them. 

Meanwhile, the actual fight takes place. Yuuji is the first to throw a punch. First at the blue curse, before he switches with Nobara. 

You finally seem to snap out of it when-

" You bitch! "

Like we've mentioned before, you're not a good person.

" Who the fuck do you think you are to call my best friend a bitch?! "

You're launching yourself at the curse as well, joining your friends yet again. It's blue brother whines out desperately, but you force yourself to ignore it. 

His brother seems to release their cursed technique, and Yuuji now gets into physical combat with him, throwing punch after punch after punch. The curse is quick to react, enabling his stupid technique, Wing King once again, launching strikes of blood Yuuji's way. You're quick to intervene, summoning it's blood your way as you create the circle you're so fond of, charging up for your counter attack. Yuuji doesn't rest either, following your opening as both him and Nobara simultaneously manage to land a black flash on both of them. 

Your eyes widen in amazement. So far, you've never managed to do so before. The blue spirit barely survives, and your expression saddens as Nobara activates her hair pin technique, ultimately resulting in killing the curse. 

" Kechizu.. " 

It's the other curse. You feel guilty. He did refer to him as brother, after all. 

" I'm sorry brother, I couldn't protect him... "

Nobara's eyes widen, staring at the curse. 

She must've not known either. You realize. 

Out of nowhere, a truck suddenly comes from the tunnel. Everyone jumps out of the way in time. You lose focus, the curse's blood falling to the floor below you, it's poisonous effect evident as it burns into the ground. 

The curse is quicker to react, jumping on the back of the truck and keeping one of the two people in it hostage. Nonetheless, Yuuji chases after it. With result too, as Nobara releases her straw doll technique on it's brother, dead on injuring the curse, who falls right into Yuuji's clutches. 

Yuuji kills him. 

He doesn't look happy to do so. 

Afterwards, the three of you are heading back, towards Megumi. You're lost in thought about the events that just occurred, having forgotten about their injuries in favor of mental injuries you have no doubt created for others. 

Those two curses called each other brothers. It made you wonder if there was another one perhaps, maybe a whole family. Yuuji's voice cuts through your train of thought, reminding you where you are. 

" Kugisaki, are you okay? " 

" Oh, yeah. Though this might leave a scar. I wonder if those guys are okay, considering their truck just went speeding off. About the poison, I wonder if Shoko will be up this late. And if she will be sober- What are you fidgety for? It's creepy. "

She's asking Yuuji the question. Meanwhile you press a gentle hand to her uninjured arm. 

" I can fix that, actually. If that's okay. " 

Nobara nods, and you get to work. You first manipulate the poison out, managing to tell it apart from her own blood with surprising ease. After that, you uncap one of your water skins, manipulating the water around your hand as you press the cold substance to her arm's injury. First, she cringes at the cold, but then she grows more comfortable as a comforting feeling settles in her skin. The water you're using to heal glows, and her arm feels all warm and comfortable. 

Meanwhile, the two had continued talking. 

" Wasn't this the first time you killed something instead of exorcising it? " 

Your eyes widen, your focus momentarily quivering. He's done this before? Does he know what they are?

" Yeah, what about you? "

" I have, once... No that's not correct. It was three people. "

" You seem to be doing way worse than me. To put it blunt, I don't care. As a sorcerer, you tend to run into these things. I'm no Fushiguro, but ultimately, there's only so many people we can save. " 

Her words are cold, but real. Meanwhile you finish up your work, her skin smooth and healed once again, like it never happened. She continues to explain why she feels like that, and you somewhat do understand. You wouldn't have won if all of you had refused to kill it like you did, especially with a technique that strong. 

" Woah, your healing is indeed impressive, Y/N.- How do you feel about killing? "

Her blunt words make you cringe as you continue to walk. 

" Uncomfortable, to be honest. I'm not sure if I can kill one if the situation would ever demand it of me to be honest. They were crying for one another. I never had to fight something that understood emotions before. " 

Yuuji nods in agreement. 

" I feel the same. I'm happy we survived, but still, tears were shed over the lives we ended tonight. "

For a moment, a silence settles over the three of you. 

" Then I guess that makes us accomplices. "

Nobara points out, causing you to cringe yet again, the weight of the word uncomfortable. 

Thankfully, a moment later, the three of you come across Fushiguro... Who is passed out, beside the river. 

" Fushiguro! "

" Megumi! "

All three of you call out in worry. You drop down to your knees beside him as he stirs, uncapping your water skin yet again in preparation, eyes scanning over him for injuries. 

Megumi grumbles as he opens his eyes. 

" Oh, you guys are back. Glad you're all safe. "

" W-We were so scared, we thought you were dead! Thank goodness! " 

Both Yuuji and Nobara are in the back, holding hands as they express their fears to their dear friend. 

Meanwhile, you focus on his health. 

" Are you okay? Or injured? "

" Could you two at least keep it down? I'm okay, Y/N, but my head hurts. "

You pout at his stubbornness. 

" Where? " 

You're already summoning water around both of your hands, ready to help. 

Megumi opens his mouth to say something, probably to tell you off with nonsense, when you notice the big red stain on the back of his head. You purse your lips, scolding him softly. He leans into your touch, a new comforting feeling spreading through his skull. 

" No wonder your head hurt. " 

" Don't go to sleep with a Sukuna's finger in your hand. That's dangerous. "

Nobara's words draw your attention. You glance at Megumi's hands, noticing that he is indeed holding a disgusting looking long nailed red finger-

" That's a-? You swallow that thing whole? Like nail and all? "

" Pretty much. Should I eat it? "

" It's not like left overs, you know? "

" We're not sure how many fingers you can handle. So don't eat it. You look the least worn down though, so take it. I'll tell you again though, don't eat it. "

Yuuji huffs, probably annoyed by Megumi's way of addressing him currently, as he approaching. However, surprise takes over your features as a mouth appears on Yuuji's hand and fucking swallows it. Ew. 

You watch in disgust which turns into amazement as you notice familiar marks appearing on his skin for a moment. Your heart skips a beat at the reminder of your best friend, who is so far away.

Silently, you wonder how he's doing. 

-

[ Parallel Jujutsu Kaisen Universe ]

" You should really stop staring at your bracelet like that, it's getting a bit depressing to watch. "

" You wear a blindfold, do you even see anything? "

Gojo hums, sitting down on the floor beside his student, on the stairway leading up towards the mountains. He knows this spot all too well. Y/N and Sukuna would sit here often. Something about liking the view. Gojo doesn't really get it. It's just trees and buildings. He doubts Sukuna gets it either.

" I have the six eyes, remember? "

All he gets in response is an annoyed sigh from the teenager. Sukuna didn't get along well with people older than him. He lacked respect, in multiple ways. His parents were more fond of his twin, simply because he was more outgoing, naturally nicer. People didn't typically get along with the boy at all. Something about him being too intimidating, too rude, too disrespectful. The tattoos on his face were a stark reminder that he doesn't really care. Somehow, he did manage to be close friends with you though. Gojo will never understand how. The two of you were pretty much complete opposites, yet you balanced each other out just fine.

The six eyes never told him, but he didn't need any ability to see the bond he shared with you. It was unique, deep. It reminded him painfully of him and Suguru. Sukuna doesn't view you like the sacred healer you are. He sees you just as you, just like how Suguru used to view Satoru as himself. 

Gojo sighs softly, his easy going smile leaving his face, making room for more serious conversation. 

" I know losing your best friend is hard. But you have to-"

" She's not dead. "

Gojo sighs, having expected that response. He wouldn't believe anyone who told him his best friend would be dead when she had literally disappeared out of nowhere. 

" Sukuna-"

" She's not. I'm 100% sure. Something isn't adding up. "

" She could have fallen in the river, -"

" No, look. "

Gojo glances at his student's phone, noting the messages. 

Mine 

Where are u? 

This isn't funny

I made gyoza without you while using your secret recipe

Gojo can't help but grin, noting the oddness of the messages. 

" Even when gone you can't be nice? "

" That's not what I'm talking about. "

[ The number you're trying to reach is not in use ]

Gojo's brows furrow behind his blindfold. That indeed is very odd. 

" Besides, did you just hear yourself? Y/N losing when around a river? "

" You never know, if she was knocked out she could've been drowning-"

" She's not dead. "

Gojo's eyes glance at Sukuna's bracelets below his blindfold, the water in it limp, ordinary. He didn't understand exactly how it worked, but somehow it always drew Sukuna to you whenever he needed to find you, no matter where you were. It would flow, like a river leading him towards the sea. The only reason for it to stop working would be if you were dead, or really that far away, but where would you be. 

Sukuna sighs, getting up as he glares at his sensei. He looks like he's about to say something, but then he scoffs, turning away, walking off. 

Gojo figures that Sukuna is really just unaccepting of your death. If the boy had cursed energy, he'd tell him to get a hold of his emotions before he'd accidentally place a curse on you, though he doesn't have any, so you should be fine. 

However, even Gojo has to admit that his most irrational student has a point. Perhaps he should look deeper into it indeed. 

The Anomaly Taglist:

@luxylucylou @kalulakunundrum @strxbxrrylover @aethersslave

[diamondtaem6v6]

✨ Onew’s interview for SeeK Vol.021

A story of Onew and fragrances

Experience making his own perfume.

So, what is the scent that Onew imagines?

The title of the concert held in March was "ONEW CONCERT "O-NEW-NOTE" in JAPAN".

Yes, Onew is very interested in "fragrances" now.

The story of Onew, who thought: "What kind of scent do I like?", how he pursued it thoroughly and found his own scent.

We will deliver it with plenty of healing effects.

ONEW

Trying to make his own perfume

He experienced making original perfumes at a popular perfume workshop.

He likes strong commitment and detailed work… Please enjoy the unknown aspects of Onew, such as his obsessions, love for detailed work and so on… to the familiar Onew (!)

Step 1: Fill in the check sheet

Check the image of the fragrance you want to create.

Before starting the perfume experience, first fill in a check sheet to confirm your favorite scent taste. Choose the scent you want to create and your favorite color from among the many options. Onew confirms one by one: “What does it mean by ‘heavy’?”, “Is it refreshing?”. He chose soft scents, heavy scents, fresh floral scents, fruity scents, woody/forest scents, and herbal scents.

When asked by the teacher about his favorite image, he said: “The phytoncide in the summer forest is ‘refreshing’, and the warm brown tone of the wood is ‘soft’. Ah, I see, so I’m ‘soft’. But I like the damp wood...”, he continued the exchange with the teacher.

The color that you can feel for each scent is also different. “I like dark tones like damp wood” - he said, checking the dark brown one. In addition, he also chose the same yellow color as today’s outfit.

Some of them smell like wood, some like herbs, and some of them feel like forest without heavy trees.

“Hmm… It’s not easy”, he suddenly was confronted with the depth of the scents.

Step 2: Trying them

Smell the 36 scents one by one

After learning about the composition of the scent of top notes, middle notes, and base notes from the teacher, it’s finally time to take the first step in creating a perfume. It’s the moment of "trying them", where you choose while smelling the scents to be blended. The impression here is important! What Onew experienced this time was a course to choose from 36 kinds of scents, and there were many perfume bottles in front of him! "I have to smell all of this, don't I? It's shocking!" - while saying that, he started immediately.

“Take a small amount with the dropper on the lid and drop a few drops, and the scent will come out. When you smell it, count 1, 2, 3” - the teacher told him the points. Then, he writes down his impressions on the sheet, whether it’s good, weird, or disliked.

It seems that his nose slowed down after 10 minutes. When that happens, smell the aroma of the coffee beans and reset. Onew posed while holding coffee beans. He asked the photographer: "How is it? Can I make an advertisement for coffee?".

He was muttering something to himself, so when I listened more carefully, he was saying: "Orchid? Child's scent?" (*or-kid) Jacket? (*leather) Oh, I like it”. He is putting some gags in between (laughs).

“I like the smell of acacia gum (acacia senegal gum), which I used to chew when I was a kid”… “Oh, it smells good”. “This is fragrant olive! I didn’t know that frangrant olive was a tree until I learned it at cram school” - he shared the episode (laughs). “The black pepper one has a pepper scent!” - Onew tries it while having fun.

While confirming the name of each scent, if he can’t understand, he will actively ask the teacher. Showing off a good student who is full of motivation. Finally, he finished smelling all 36 perfumes.

Once his nose is reset, he continues to try the scents. "Sure, I like this kind of scent." Whoa! I think he is starting to understand it!

Step 3: Perfuming

Making adjustments to the scent many times in search of the desired scent.

Onew will combine scents that he thinks are good in the scent test. Putting one drop into a tube with a dropper, dipping it on an L-shaped paper and smelling it, is like a chemistry experiment. He tells the teacher what he thinks of the scent, and adds more of the scent little by little. Changing the amounts and the fragrance is formulated again. A delicate one-on-one exchange with the teacher continues. In fact, it was difficult to achieve the ideal scent, so he had a hard time… "I’m more serious (about it) than I thought (I would be) (laughs)", he said with a wry smile.

According to the impression Onew felt, the teacher added a scent, but: "It should be a little less sweet, and the one with the scent of wood is better", "A little, not clear, subtle", "It's not the scent I expected" - Onew is not convinced. His face gradually became troubled, but after the 6th attempt, he finally smiled: "Oh, it’s similar!" and then the 7th attempt: “It's the weight I wanted”. That’s good.

For example, after the teacher puts in a little bit of fragrant olive, Onew puts in a drop of cedarwood and black musk. The trick is to drop it with so as not to touch the tube.

Even the teacher praised him!

“Onew has a pretty high ability to catch the scent. Even if you smell the same woody scent, it’s generally difficult to tell which is the lighter tone wood or which is the heavier wood. I was surprised because before, he had already correctly caught that sandalwood was lighter than cedarwood and that cedarwood should be used more as a main”.

Step 4: Put in a perfume bottle

Weigh it with a scale and pour the stock solution accurately.

Accurately pour the undiluted solution of perfume into the bottle using a scale according to the amount determined in the previous perfume blending. 0.01g determines the aroma, which is quite a delicate process. Looking at the scale, drop, drop. Concentrate and talk less, seal your favorite jokes. The silent struggle continues, but Onew said, working hard towards the imminent completion: "I want to complete my own perfume!".

Adding 5.00g of cedarwood, 2.40g of sandalwood, and 2.68 g of ambrette, that the teacher gave him when he was making the perfume. "I have to be precise!", Onew holds it tight with both hands.

Step 5: Attach the label

The scent, appearance, and name are all Onew originals!

Mix the undiluted solution from earlier with the perfume base, and finally attach a label in your favorite color to complete your original perfume! However, perfume needs a maturation period, so you can enjoy the real scent after 1~2 weeks. The teacher said: “Onew made it with very precise measurements, so it has become an ideal scent. So please, rest assured”.

Everything from the illustration on the label to the fragrance has created a one-of-a-kind perfume that is unique to Onew.

Onew chose his favorite color from the 6 different labels. “It's a little crooked because my feelings are crooked (laughs) But it looks quite good like this”, Onew said.

ONEW’S FRAGRANCE “MORI-AMA”

The sweet and soft scent turns into a dark and heavy woody scent!

A unique scent that is warm and calm, yet firm in its charm.

In order to get closer to the ideal scent that Onew had imagined, the perfume “MORI-AMA” was created by repeating the process and trying the smell over and over again.

Of course, Onew likes it, but there is also plenty of charm that goes beyond that.

This time, we asked the teacher who prepared the fragrance in detail about this perfume.

When I asked him before the class started, he said: “It would be nice if the base was woody and it had a faint floral scent”. The floral scent was made with a small amount of jasmine, which is the most similar to acacia, because he wanted the scent of acacia. In addition, among the woody scents, he liked the scent of wood, which has a “dark and deep image,” so we built the scent of cedarwood as the main scent, and added the scents of ambrette and sandalwood as decorations. However, it’s difficult to express the “warm and calm atmosphere” and “heavy atmosphere” that Onew wanted with just that scent, so it contains most cashmere scent.

The scent flow is sweet and soft at first, and rises with a calm jasmine scent. When the scent shifts from the beginning to the middle, the gentle and clean scent of sandalwood rises and the tone of the perfume is bright. The dark and dry image of cedarwood changes completely, giving you a twisted charm. During this change in scent, the ambrette enhances the woody scent and the cashmere scent is felt from start to finish, creating a warm scent.

As a perfume, it has a warm, soothing yet firm, trendy, twisted and alluring image. The cashmere scent lasts for a long time, so you can feel the soft and warm impression, and it’s a perfume with a calm image that is made by concentrating on the residual scent of woody. Among them, the dark tone of cedarwood added to the bright tone scent makes it even more attractive.

For the last few years, the Korean perfume trend has been the natural image of woody scents, or slightly unique niche scents. Onew's perfume contains these two trends.

MIDDLE Note: Jasmine

BASE Note: Ambrette

BASE Note: Sandalwood

BASE Note: Cedarwood

BASE Note: Cashmere

Thoughts after finishing the perfume making

Talking about scents with Onew

We asked him about this and that, from his impressions of perfume making to episodes about fragrances. At the end, we talked about his memories of his stay in Japan.

Onew: It’s my first time making perfume. I’m not usually that interested in perfume, I just care about the scents I can feel in my life. By the way, my favorite scent is the smell of freshly baked bread (laughs).

However, this perfume-making experience gave me the opportunity to think about what kind of scent I like. And it was a much more specialized field than I thought. I thought it would be easy to make, but I smelled one by one and compared them... My nose got tired right away, but thanks to the coffee beans that the teacher prepared for me, I was saved (laughs).

It was fun trying out the scents.

I was also surprised by the variety of woody scents. There is also such a scent. I was so into sniffing and selecting each one, and it took me a lot of time (laughs). This kind of work might suit me unexpectedly! I felt like a sommelier or barista, and it was a fresh experience.

This time, before making the perfume, I imagined a woody, slightly moist scent that felt like being in the forest. I wanted to make something with a scent of thick trees and a slightly damp earth, but I thought it might be a little heavy on its own, so I thought it might be a good idea to add a little sweet scent. But I don't know much about fragrances, so when I say sweet scent, I can only think of the smell of gum that I like (laughs). I thought the smell of “acacia senegal gum” that I used to chew a lot when I was a child was good.

Today, I made two types of scents and chose one. The first one I made wasn’t bad either, but it just didn’t click with me. It was too light and had a strong fruity scent, so I thought it wasn’t the forest scent I had imagined.

The second is a heavier scent that I like. When I want to be healed, I seek the “scent of the forest (phytoncide)”. Like when I go camping in the woods. It would be better if it rains at that time. I made it a simpler scent of forest, but I think the result is a satisfying scent. I'm simple myself, so I have to keep the scent simple (laughs). In general, it may feel heavy, but for me this is the most refreshing scent.

If I had to name this perfume... “Mori-Ama”! I just put "forest" (mori) and "sweet" (amai) together, but I think it’s a little lame (laughs). But “Mori-Ama” is good. I don't usually wear perfume.

Perfume is often remembered for its scent, isn't it? If someone remembers my perfume because it smells something they don’t like, it’s kind of sad. Also, I’d probably change my perfume depending on my mood at the time, so I think it’d better to be in a state of “nothing” rather than mixing various scents. So that you can easily put it in any scent. Maybe that's what I want to be.

I tried using essential oils and candles, but after about 5 to 10 minutes, I couldn't feel the scent anymore. I wonder if my nose is so sensitive that I get used to the scent so quickly and it becomes numb. To the extent that I even forget that I lit a candle.

By the way, the scent I don't like is the refreshing citrus scent. I recognize all of them as cucumber smells. Actually, I don’t like cucumbers (laughs). When I was a kid, I didn't even eat melons or watermelons. Come to think of it, the first time I put on perfume was my mother's perfume when I was in the first or second grade of elementary school. It was in a drawer, and when I smelled it, I really liked it. I remember asking my mother how to put it on. It smelled good, but I still remember it because there were times when I put it on too much and was like “Argh!” (laughs). If I were to create a perfume inspired by SHINee, it would be the scent of forest and acacia (laughs). It's one of my favorite scents, but since I'm part of SHINee, it would be nice to have my own scent arranged a bit. The sweetness should be modest, and it should be more refreshing. I want the bottle to be small so it's easy to carry around. A bottle like lip balms. The name would be… “OUO”. It’s a combination of the work “king” (“ou”) and the exclamation “Oh!” into alphabet!

In 2022, I stayed in Japan for three months on a solo tour, so I was able to eat what I wanted many times. What impressed me the most? It's hard to choose because they were all delicious, but I’ll go with sushi. I love chutoro (medium fatty tuna), and when I ate a course meal at a sushi restaurant, I ordered an additional item individually (laughs).

I only remember eating during the tour… (laughs) When I look at the photos I took during my three months in Japan, there are only photos of food. Especially this time, it was good that I was able to wander around by myself and suddenly enter the restaurants in front of me. I've been going around gourmet food for a long time, so I thought this shouldn't be the case, so I exercised well.

Next time I go to Japan, I want to deepen what I did this time. I used to go to the restaurants I was recommended by people and on the Internet, but this time I enjoyed walking around on my own. For example, the same tonkotsu ramen may taste different depending on the restaurant, right? It was so much fun to explore my favorite flavors like that, and I hope to deepen it next time. I guess I relieve stress by eating. I feel very happy when I am eating delicious food.

ONEW’s special message:

Once again, SHINee WORLD J

I'm planning to have a solo concert in Japan in March 2023, but by the time this SeeK arrives, it's over, so I'd like to ask everyone: "Was it a fun concert?". Whether I'm solo or in a group - working in Japan is a lot of fun and I feel very happy.

I never want to let go of this happiness.

I have a lot of songs that I want to release in Japan, and I have a lot of things I want to do, so I plan to do them all.

Everyone, please look forward to it!

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Credits: SeeK Vol.021

JPN - ENG translation: @DiamondTaem

[rtnortherly]

Get To Know Your Tav

Tagged by @auspex-author (thanks!) Template by @sporeservant

Rhuna, (she/her) Duergar Circle of Spores Druid

(gotta do a proper portrait of her, also I'm still super early on in the game bc its a co-op and scheduling is hard)

What is your Tav's:

Favourite weapon: Randomly turning into a Deep Rothé and goring people

Style of combat: Tank (accidental) healer (in emergencies)

Most prized possession: A special sample box with her favourite findings on journeys, which include random bones, mushrooms, lichens, bugs, candlesticks, glass jars, random rocks, or whatever other junk she thinks is neat

Deepest desire: To make friends who also think her collection is neat.

Guilty pleasure: Making nasty and weird poisons out of the stuff she finds

Best-kept secret: Rhuna is incapable of intentionally keeping a secret, so her best kept ones are just really badly kept. At this point that's probably her nefarious plot to prank Wyll by filling his tent with glow bugs because he seemed Sad (would he find this helpful? Who can say. Are some of the party very much going to notice her doing this? Certainly.)

Greatest strength: Friendly/easy-going

Fatal flaw: Insatiable curiosity

Favourite smell: Dirt. Any kind of dirt really. In fact, she'll tell you a lot about the area based on how the dirt smells and it's composition.

Favourite Spell or Cantrip: Bone Chill

Pet peeve: Shouting or raised voices

Bad habit: Wandering off

Hidden talent: Stone skipping

Leisure activity: Finding/cataloguing/and sorting samples of fauna/flora

Favourite drink: Spiced goat milk

Comfort food: Roasted sweet potato

Favourite person(s): (She'd like anyone really) Zilvra, (sister's Tav) the fellow Underdark originator and snarky sorcerer who let her join in the adventure and appreciates her contributions, Karlach for being so cool and funny and nice and cool, Wyll for being the biggest sweetheart and most courteous and patient individual she has encountered. Withers because she doesn't understand a thing he says but he 's pretty neat, being a skeleton and all. Dammon because he's a nerd and she respects that. And he's also nice. Halsin because he seems pretty patient and tolerant and like he won't be weird if she starts info dumping about her mushrooms and lichens, and might even have his own thoughts on the topic (he reminds her of home)

Favoured display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): quality time and words of affirmation.

Fondest childhood memory: harvesting phosphorescent micro organisms from the rocks and using them for war paint in epic games of tag with other children in her community

Is there anything else you'd like to share? (feel free to include art or a screenshot of your Tav if available!)

Rhuna doesn't have many memories of life within the Duergar community, or with her biological family. She spent a large portion of her life with a group a druids who were mostly comprised of Deep Gnomes. They tended to travel between different warrens in the Underdark every seven years or so, and the journey was often perilous and could take months at a time. When they arrived at a new warren, they would begin to establish colonies of different flora, and then when it was well established, they would leave it to grow wild free of cultivation. It was also customary for their deceased to be used to start new fungal colonies.

As for folks to tag, I don't have the gumption right now (though I'd tag my sister so y'all could learn more about Zilvra if she were on tumblr.) However, if you want to jump in on this, please do! I love a good character read, and this one is fun!

[ramblingeekette]

Had to go to dentist today. Originally was getting 2 fillings. Turned into 4 thanks to my dentist realizing a previous one got fucked up when put in so she took that out before proceeding to fix it. Then told me the one cavity turned into a double cavity on same tooth besides the other cavity on my wisdom tooth. So that was a delight because fixed filling with the double were teeth close to each other on upper right and then it was the right lower wisdom tooth.

My jaw fucking hurts and my gums are like Bitch What HAPPPENED because my teeth are so tight together they have to make a custom jig out of multiple metal filling molds they screw on teeth during process. Or in my case my gums because there isnt room elsewhere.

Plus thanks to that weird side effect of being anesthetic resistant due to the red head gene.....my whole face went numb instead of just the right side because of the dosage to numb the pain.

Like they know this so she originally gave me 5 double dose shots off the bat, but then she started on the wisdom tooth and I was like HELL NO. Which she apologized and gave me 3 more double dose shots to make the tooth stop screaming at me.

After part is the worse though. I have like a two hour window before my body goes Fuck This Shit and I literally will just pass out and sleep until the rest of the numbing agent has worked itself out of my system. Happens every time. Explained that to my new boss and he was just like Uhm Have The Whole Day Off.

Except now I have to be up in 4 hours and I am wide fucking awake because I was passed out for almost 3 solid hours after my appointment today.

Let's hope I can drink cold shit again by mid morning cuz I'm gonna need to slam some cold brew or an energy drink to make it through my shift.

[black-mesa-slut-voice]

ok so if errantels need a wide variety of nutrients to sustain themselves, would benrey eat a lot of weird shit not out of humor but necessity? and if a particularly young errantel didnt get enough to eat or their diet wasnt varied enough, how would it affect their growth?

OKAY IM LOVING ALL THE THE QUESTIONS SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO EM

ANYWAY they’re under the readmore cus its long haha

Whats the typical diet of an errantel? What they can eat, considering theyre multiversal vagabonds?

Errantels can eat nearly anything. Their invulnerability and healing extends to their insides, as well- though they don’t enjoy eating things that will damage their insides (very sharp things, literal acid, lava), they’re fully capable of doing this with nothing more than some mild to severe bowel upset.

Their actual physiology and composition is different than your average Earth animal. Though they do have some similar proteins in their body, they also have a lot of other chemicals and minerals that lend into their ability to survive harsh conditions. Considering this, their diet mainly comprises of three things they require:

Protein-rich things

Specific chemicals

Specific minerals

Oftentimes, they can simply smell if a mineral or chemical is the correct one they need to consume. They can even smell it in microscopically trace amounts! Which means that if anything has that thing they need in it, they’ll often eat the entire thing, since they can digest it anyway and convert it to fuel. IE- a deer might have a chemical in it’s brain and gut that an errantel might like, so they’ll just... eat the whole entire deer, because why not.

On Earth, their typical diet would consist (but is not limited to):

Whole, entire animals of a wide variety

Silverware 

Moldy and expired foods (for the chemicals the bacteria produce)

Dairy

Your drywall

A rock they found in your backyard 

Actual dirt

All the worms in the dirt are a bonus

some strange vials that look like they came straight of of a chemistry stock photo, seriously, where the fuck did you get those?

Humans, if they wanted to.

And more!

If errantels need a wide variety of nutrients to sustain themselves, would Benrey eat a lot of weird shit not out of humor but necessity?

Yep! See above. He has done all of that and more. Every time Gordon thinks he’s used to it, Benrey manages to pull of something weirder. He tries not to freak Gordon out too much, but hey, the kid’s gotta eat too.

If a particularly young errantel didn’t get enough to eat or their diet wasn’t varied enough, how would it affect their growth?

It depends. As long as they get fuel- the correct proteins and such- they’ll live. However, they will most likely be unable to properly heal or survive harsh conditions, sickly, stunted, not lose all of their white fur, etc etc. You know those pics of fledgling baby birds who are adult shaped but still have weird ugly tufts of white everywhere? Like that, but forever. There does run a high risk of them dying, though- as they age, their instincts will drive them towards harsher conditions and risks that an adult would be able to take on, but a stunted errantel would not.

The good news is, even without the proper nutrients, they’re very hardy. As soon as they’re given the proper diet, they usually manage to fill out almost completely, transforming into an adult as healthy as any other. It’s very hard to have a long-lasting impact on errantel’s bodies, because of their very fluid forms.

Can errantels get scars or does their shapeshifting heal it?

The short answer is no, the shapeshifting heals it. Again, their bodies are very fluid, and most can perfectly heal from just about anything as long as they have a healthy diet!

However, there is always the possibility. Because of the endless universes they could travel to, there is always the possibility of finding something that can potentially permanently injure or scar an errantel, though it probably wouldn’t be through scientific means.

Where do markings usually appear on their bodies? 

My oc purble is an errantel and i wanna give them markings like a cross between a bullsquid and a leopard (like.. these purple circles lined with darker purple) but im not super sure where to put them?

Markings can potentially appear anywhere on the skin! However, they tend to be concentrated in areas surrounding the fur, and on shoulders, backs, and cheeks. Most errantels don’t have a particularly crazy amount of markings- if they do, it’s usually freckles, splotches, or blotchy stripes. Leopard spots would be valid, though they most likely wouldn’t be covered in them.

You can see here where I put Benrey’s markings- he’s pretty minor with just some freckles, but about the same area is where your spots would most likely be! Though they can shapeshift and potentially move the location of the spots, too.

[masquerade-story]

Chapter 3 - Changes

Rayne pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to suppress the headache lingering behind her eyes. Being awoken by Crystal having one of the worst seizures she'd had in years was stressful enough, but the strange unexplainable nonsense going on was a whole new level of headache.

"Who can I even blame for this?" Rayne muttered, rebelliously stabbing at the cheesy eggs and chorizo frying in the skillet. "Grey wanted us to stay in a haunted house and picked this one, but the rest of us agreed to it, and it's not like Grey could have possibly even suspected ridiculousness like this to happen! I thought there'd be some weird cult kidnapping shenanigans going on so I slept on the bed near the door to catch intruders and instead of shifty robed intruders we get an impenetrable fog and an enormous snakey voidbeast that definitely doesn't exist anywhere on Earth!"

"Do you have any idea what Crystal was talking about?" Lillian asked, flipping over a tortilla on the griddle. "She was more incoherent than usual, but it seemed like she knew what it was."

"She was having a damned seizure, I bet she barely even knew who we were!" Rayne snapped, then sighed with sagging shoulders. "Sorry, Lils. I just... I don't like not knowing what's going on. I know she said she felt like things were going to change, but this... This is a bit too much change, isn't it?!"

"None of us are good with big changes," Lillian nodded her agreement, completely unbothered by the brief outburst, much to Rayne's relief. Being mean to Lillian felt like being mean to a starved, abandoned puppy in the rain. "We got popular pretty fast, and we all panicked, remember? We were scared by so much attention. You and Grey handled the public relations for a bit since you have retail experience and excellent poker faces. Me and Crystal had to hide behind you and breathe into little paper bags."

"It wasn't that bad."

"It was absolutely that bad. Our first video addressing all our new fans? It's hilarious, we look so nervous and panicked. Crystal was frozen and pale, and I was shaking so bad my face was blurred! And it got us even more fans somehow?"

"Pity, probably."

"Probably. That spooked us even more though! We wanted to make music and we wanted people to like it, but I don't think any of us were ready for the amount of attention we got. It took ages to adjust!"

"Yeah, but Lils... That's all... That's different. It's just... That's normal life stuff, you know? We got lucky, but it happens. People get lucky like that sometimes. People go viral every day for different things. But this?" Rayne turned, gesturing with her spatula in the vague direction of the nearest curtained window.

Before they started cooking, Lillian went around shutting the curtains for every window in the house, just in case. She glanced over her shoulder nervously in the direction Rayne was gesturing, then turned her attention back to assembling scrambled cheesy eggs, hash browns, chorizo, black olives, grilled onions, mango salsa and sour cream into delicious burritos she tossed back into the pan to grill shut, then topped with fresh pico de gallo once they were back on a plate. Lillian was the only one who knew the perfect balance between a fully stuffed burrito bursting at the seams, and a burrito that could still be closed and eaten with some semblance of civility.

"Life is stranger than fiction," Lillian muttered, deftly flipping three burritos into the greased pan. "People always say that, don't they?"

"Yeah well, we've reached downright fantasy at this point. I signed up for a haunted house, not whatever this shit is!"

"Maybe this is just what happens to people who go missing in haunted houses?"

"I-" Rayne opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again when she couldn't think of a counter argument. She heaved a sigh, turning off the stove burner once the last of the chorizo and eggs were finished cooking. "You're right. We should just wait for Crystal to hopefully explain something, then we can figure out the rest together. One step at a time, like always."

Rayne refused to think about anything in particular while she wrapped up a plate of burritos in foil, setting it aside in the stove for Crystal to eat once she woke up. Grey made his way downstairs shortly after everything was finished cooking, snagging a plate for himself and choosing to eat on the porch, staring intently out at the creepy fog. Lillian went out to keep him company, but Rayne chose to eat quietly in the dining room, staring at the pretty floral design around the outer edge of the plate.

Every time her thoughts dragged in the wrong direction, she forced herself to think about song lyrics, or melody composition, or clicked out different metronome timings with her tongue against her teeth.

Worrying and freaking out wouldn't help anyone, so why wouldn't her hands stop shaking?

Though she took her time eating, Crystal still hadn't descended the stairs by the time Rayne finished breakfast and washed her plate. She tossed dirtied cookware into the sink for Grey to wash later, then hurried up the stairs to check on her sister.

To her surprise, Crystal was sitting up in bed, staring out the window with a vacant expression. Winding tear tracks left shimmering lines on her pale face, causing Rayne's heart to skip a beat.

"Coco? Are you okay?" Rayne asked softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her sister took a moment to acknowledge her presence, turning her head with slow, hesitant movements as though doing so was a tremendous effort in itself.

"I... I'll be okay. We'll... be okay. But..." Crystal's voice trembled, a hoarse whisper that caught in her throat. She bit her lip, then forced a pained a smile. "Can you... Bring my food?"

Rayne waited a moment more, but Crystal didn't seem ready to explain. So she sighed, nodded, and went back downstairs to fetch her sister's plate from the oven, and poured her a cup of juice in case she needed a drink.

Crystal always ate slowly after a seizure, and sometimes made faces like the food was unfamiliar in taste or texture, even if it was something she'd eaten dozens of times before. She'd take a bite, wrinkle her nose, look momentarily confused, and spend about thirty seconds slowly chewing one mouthful.

Once she finally finished eating, Crystal slowly slid out of bed, and shuffled downstairs while leaning on the arm Rayne offered for support. Grey and Lillian were still outside, empty plates on their laps, shivering in their pajamas yet unwilling to look away from the fog, and the strange creature diving within it.

"It helps if you don't look directly at it," Grey mumbled as the screen door creaked open, squinting his eyes. "If you try to focus on it, the headache comes back."

Rayne tapped his shoulder to pull his attention away, gesturing back to the house. "C'mon, if we're all gonna sit out here, we should have some blankets."

"Yeah, okay."

They fetched some quilts from the linen closet, brand new blankets provided by the realtor that still smelled like detergent. Everyone bundled up, sinking comfortably into the patio chairs, sitting so close together that all their knees touched.

"How are you feeling?" Lillian asked Crystal, finally tearing her gaze away from the fog for a moment.

"I'm okay," Crystal whispered, staring down at her knees. "I just... We never got to go to the Grand Canyon, you know? We never got to go visit our hometown again. We never got to tour Europe."

"It's not too late to do those things," Rayne pointed out, pulling the blanket close around her shoulders. "Once we sort whatever this is-"

Crystal was shaking her head, and Rayne's voice trailed off when she saw tears welling up in her sister's oddly bright blue eyes.

Grey, Lillian, and Rayne all felt an odd sinking feeling in their chest. They exchanged concerned glances, but no one could find the voice to ask the question weighing on their hearts.

Luckily, she didn't make them wait long. Crystal looked up suddenly, exhaled a shaky breath, and extended one hand from the blanket to point toward the fog. "It's finished."

The sinuous unknowable creature in the fog twitched its many fins and tendrils, bringing all its coils together into one big Gordian knot of inconceivable nonsense. Then the whole thing surged, diving into...

The air?

The ground?

Space?

A point beyond the fog, vanishing into nothingness. Once the last trailing tendril was out of sight, the fog began to gather as well, rushing around the house to follow after the strange creature. Waves of mist, undulating and twisting into deceptively solid-looking shapes that twisted and churned around the house and its property, colors appearing between gaps in the waves filled with shapes and blurry figures that took one's breath away to stare at for too long.

"There's no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going," Crystal sang softly, as colors and lights flashed through the mist in strange, pulsing patterns.

"There's no knowing where we're rowing, or which way the river's flowing," Grey continued, half-singing and half-laughing incredulously at the whole situation.

"Is it raining? Is it snowing? Is a hurricane a-blowing?" Rayne picked up while an odd shiver traced down her spine.

"More than a speck of light is showing though," Lillian muttered, ending their Willy Wonka reference before it went too far. "So is the danger growing or not?"

"Yes and no," Crystal whispered, pulling her blanket up over her head as a makeshift hood.

After more than half an hour, the last of the fog and lights and strange shapes finally surged forward to disappear into the same mysterious point of space as the unknowable creature.

With their view of the surroundings beyond the property fence no longer obscured, Grey, Lillian, and Rayne all turned as one to stare wordlessly at Crystal, who had a sad, wry smile on her face. As they struggled to find words, a single snowflake drifted down and landed gently on the tip of Rayne's nose.

Grey sneezed, disturbing a flurry of flakes that threatened to land upon his shoulders, and the rest took it as a signal to run inside as fast as their suddenly cold bare feet could carry them.

-----

"What is that?" Rayne asked, pointing toward the largest front-facing living room window which was rapidly being covered by a thick layer of frost.

Crystal, wedged on a sofa seat between Grey and Lillian, stared up at her sister with innocent puppy-dog eyes. "A window? Or the window seat?"

"Don't sass me, young lady!" Rayne groaned, dramatically sweeping back the curtains and gesturing toward the window again. "I meant on the other side! Beyond the fence! What is that nonsense?!"

"Ahaha..." Crystal laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Grey grabbed her arm and pinned it to her side, while Lillian did the same with the other arm.

"No avoiding us, this time! I knew things were getting weird but that's beyond weird, Crystal!" Grey's voice cracked mid-sentence, echoing the panic building in everyone's hearts.

"I only know a little, really!" Crystal muttered, carefully avoiding their heated gazes. "Not much more than you all probably guessed. I know why I had the seizure, and kinda what that creature was doing, though not what it exactly was cuz I don't think it even has a name as we conceive of them..."

"How about you start with what you do know," Lillian said, pointing toward the window to echo Rayne's earlier gesture.

"Like what in the world is THAT!?" Rayne gazed past the frosted glass and rubbed her upper arms, the chill in her body having nothing to do with the sudden drop in temperature, or the snow falling to gently coat their property in a blanket of soft white powder.

Just a day before, they'd hiked through a lovely, dense, deciduous forest thick with life. But what waited on the other side of the fence once the fog cleared was certainly not green North American woodland in the midst of summer. Snow fell gently from the skies, large snowflakes working to bury everything beneath a blanket of white, and the trees...

The trees beyond the property fence were massive, gargantuan even - the smallest had trunks that looked to be at least thirty feet in diameter, labyrinthine crowns of branches reaching toward the snowing clouds, dripping with icicles where foliage was absent. Crystal and Rayne were from the western coast of the US, where they spent plenty of time among redwood trees as children, yet the trees outside were much taller and wider than they'd ever seen.

For the trees still clinging to their foliage despite the bitter cold outside, the leaves visible were dusky shades of blue and purple instead of familiar greens. A roughshod dirt path led away from the forest down a field of gently rolling hills, toward a port town nestled in the basin of a small valley surrounded by mountains on one side and a frigid steely gray ocean on the other, which they could see clearly from the living room thanks to their new location.

Their house and its property looked exactly the same, but it was all situated halfway toward the top of a rocky mountain wedged between the end of the mountain range and the lengthy shoreline. On the section of beach closest to their forest, large white creatures that resembled giant plesiosaurs were laying on rocky outcroppings, heedless of the icy waves splashing their enormous bodies.

A wide stream broken only by a single cobbled bridge was visible from the front porch, winding through the trees and presumably turning into the wide river that eventually bisected the distant town before escaping into a natural harbor. Several ships dotted the horizon, white sails like puffy clouds against the cloudy sky, bobbing to and fro in the choppy waves.

It was definitely not the view they enjoyed before going to bed the night before. The trees alone were alarming, but the creatures on the beach in the distance were what Rayne had pointed one shaky finger at.

"Where the hell are we?" Rayne hissed, but Grey just laughed, a hint of hysteria in his voice.

"Another world, obviously!"

"No shit?!"

"What, you think there's any beaches on Earth that just have plesiosaurs vibing on an arctic beach?" Grey turned to Crystal and waggled his eyebrows to distract from the trembling of his shoulders. "It's another world, right? We're not on Earth, right?"

Crystal laughed, nervously twisting her fingers together. "Aha, yeah, well... You're right. It's not the arctic though, it's just early winter..."

"Can you explain a bit more than that?" Rayne asked, struggling to keep her voice calm while her sister hesitantly nodded.

"Okay, it's just... It's kind of an out there explanation?"

"This is kind of an out there situation, so..."

"That's fair, but... My seizure, see, was... I was having... I got a bunch of information. Just, like, downloaded into my brain I guess, and it's still taking me awhile to sort through some of it."

"And you're sure this information you... Received... Is legit?"

"Sure as I can be about anything right now."

"Valid."

"Bear with me, alright?" Crystal glanced around, waiting for everyone to nod before continuing. "Okay, so... I need you guys to imagine a field of flowers."

"What?" Rayne said, turning away from the window to arch an incredulous eyebrow.

"I said to bear with me! Imagine a field of flowers, and it's the most perfect field for flowers that you can think of. Rich, fertile soil. A clear babbling brook nearby. Warm weather, but not too hot. Lots of butterflies and bees. And little creatures that maybe sometimes nibble a few flowers, but also clear out all the harmful weeds. It's basically flower paradise."

"Alright..."

"Now imagine a huge breeze sweeps through the field, and carries a bunch of seeds far away. They're taken out of the paradise, but manage to set root somewhere really nice. But then once they're grown, then their own seeds are taken by the wind again. Over and over, further and further from that beautiful field... Until one generation ends up on the edge of a desert."

"A desert?"

"The edge of one. Where the soil is semi-arid, the sun is harsh, and even the wind is hot and unforgiving. Rain rarely falls, but somehow these seeds still manage to survive. They plant their roots deep and they endure. It's nowhere close to their ideal environment, but it's all they've ever known. And then one day someone comes along and digs up a few of the plants from the edge of the desert, and takes them to be replanted where the rain is gentle and the soil is rich. It's not the meadow paradise of their ancestors, but it's infinitely better than anything those flowers had ever known."

"So we're the flowers?" Lillian muttered, tapping her chin, and Crystal nodded.

"Yeah. Our ancestors at some point migrated through the Veil to-"

"The what?"

"The Veil. Endless worlds beyond worlds, separated by this thing, this being or deity or construct called the Veil, which I... I don't really understand it, I just know it's important and kinda weird. It keeps the... Worlds? Universes? Planes? All safely separated and compartmentalized. Connected, yet disconnected at the same time."

"Ah, kind of like the Veil in folklore. Avalon, Tir Na nÓg, or Tartarus! Places next to our reality, yet a different space all its own!" Grey muttered excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Our ancestors moved through this Veil a bunch of times and ended up on Earth?" Rayne scoffed, but considering everything that'd happened that morning, she wasn't ready to entirely laugh it off. "We're aliens? Or fairies? For real?"

"Yes? No. I mean, they were aliens when they moved to Earth? But we were born there so we're Earth native and not aliens. We're still human though, not fairies as we understand them, but... I mean, what we understand humans to be are already pretty weird creatures... Earth humans are very different from humans in other worlds, I think? That's the impression I got from my... Ugh, visions." Crystal cringed, as though the very word felt embarrassing to say aloud. She was always uncomfortable with her ability, since she often questioned her own sanity and the validity of what she saw, so admitting they were genuine supernatural visions with definitive language was something she usually avoided.

Seeing her sister openly acknowledge her own visions made Rayne furrow her brow, but she didn't point it out, and instead voiced a question. "And that creature thing is the one that replanted us... Wherever we are, now?"

"Mmm... Sorta. It lured us to the house because it was a thin point in the Veil, and we just happened to be extra susceptible to its call because of our bloodlines. It was a subconscious pull, the interest we all had in the house, and the... The desire to stay awhile."

"And why did it do that?"

"To eat our bonds."

Rayne grimaced. "Our... What?"

"That... Creature. The Eater. It doesn't eat physical matter, so we weren't in real danger. It eats things that would be intangible from our perspective, and its favorite are bonds. Our ties to Earth. Our connection to that reality, that plane of existence. We, uh... Even if we found a way to cross the Veil again, we... We can never go back to Earth." Crystal braced herself as the other three sharply inhaled through their teeth. Lillian stifled a brief sob, pressing her fingers to her lips, while Grey clenched his hands into fists and pressed them firmly into his shaking knees.

"We can't go home?" Grey whispered. "Like... Ever? For sure?"

Crystal's slow, affirming nod made tears spring to Lillian's eyes, and she covered her face with her hands. "Oh no... Oh no!"

Rayne swore softly under her breath. The weight in her chest had yet to settle. She thought of her boyfriend back home, their slightly rocky but precious relationship, and could tell by the look on his ashen face that Grey was remembering his own lover.

Lillian, meanwhile, clutched one of the sofa's throw pillows to her chest and continued to sob quietly. "Mom... Dad...! They'll be so worried!"

"No, they won't."

The soft whisper had everyone turn to Crystal again, but she avoided their gazes while her own swam behind a curtain of tears. "Crystal," Rayne said, intending to speak softly, only to wince when her sister's name rolled off her tongue like a curse.

"They," Crystal began, wringing her hands together until her knuckles were stark white. "They... Won't remember us. None of them. I told you, our... Our bonds were eaten."

"It ate... Their memories of us!?" Grey snapped, raising his voice for the second time that day. Crystal flinched, but nodded.

Rayne let out a shaky breath, covering her eyes with one hand. "Thank God."

"What!?" Grey snapped, jumping to his feet. "How could you-"

"Thank God!" Lillian echoed, her voice muffled from behind the throw pillow. Grey turned on her, but she kept going. "Thank God they won't realize we're missing. Thank God they won't worry about us, spending the rest of their life wondering where we... Thank goodness!"

Grey visibly deflated, falling back onto the sofa with a soft grunt. "Oh. Yeah, that's... Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Crystal said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She flinched again when Grey draped his arm over her shoulders, and Lillian reached over to hold her hand. "I'm so sorry, I..."

"It's not your fault!" Rayne said, flopping down in the nearest armchair and kicking up the foot rest.

"It might as well be! I could tell change was coming, that it was something weird and something big, and I just..."

"You told us, and we all stayed at the house anyway thanks to... What, the Eater's call? It's not like any of us could see this coming, you know? Going to another world..." Rayne trailed off, her furrowed brow once more raising until her eyebrows threatened to disappear into her hairline. "Wait, if we're in another world... Why does the electricity work?"

Grey and Lillian both froze, then slowly turned their face to look up at the living room light, gently illuminating the room with its glow. Then they all turned to look at Crystal, who rubbed her cheek against Grey's shoulder to wipe off tears since her own nightgown was sleeveless.

"It's an echo."

"Gonna have to give us more than that, Coco."

"The house. It's an echo of the house on Earth. Like a... A metaphysical reflection. The light works because it worked on Earth. The hot tap will make hot water because it's supposed to. The stove will work because it's supposed to. And because it's an echo... Anything viewed as damage will be restored overnight. New plants will grow, we can bring stuff in or add on to the house. But the base line condition will always remain the same."

"No leaky roof? Ever?!" Grey said with more enthusiasm than Rayne could muster for the situation, and Crystal nodded.

"Toilet won't stay clogged more than a day. Nothing will stain. And..." Crystal began, then paused with a strange expression on her face.

"What?" Grey said, leaning against her side. "And what?"

"The food and blankets and toilet paper, everything that was within the fence the instant we opened the front door. It counts as part of the property, so its loss counts as damage. If you want, you can check the fridge. Everything we used for the barbecue last night is back."

"Thank you dear God in Heaven for this bounteous gift of eternal butt paper and free testosterone refills." Grey whispered, holding his hands together in a praying gesture and glancing toward the ceiling while the others laughed. "Wait... Does that mean our phones will never break? All the stuff we carried in our backpacks and the handcart?"

"Yeah. They're part of the house so they'll physically reset every night but it allows for certain conditional changes based on an item's function... We can write on paper in the books or notebooks and it won't be undone overnight, leftovers in a dish won't vanish, stuff like that. So like, new photos can be saved."

"What good does that do?" Lillian grumbled. "Not like we can use them for calling anyone."

"Joke's on you Lils, I've got music and games and books on mine!"

"Mine too."

"Same here. Movies too."

Lillian gaped at everyone, then threw her hands in the air. "I mean, yeah! I do too! But that's not-"

"We gotta be happy for the little things right now Lils," Grey said, flapping the hand still draped around Crystal's shoulders to pat his twin's arm. "Small victories."

"Is there anything else?" Rayne asked reluctantly, almost afraid of hearing the answer. And seeing the look on Crystal's face, she knew she was right to be concerned. "Alright, spill it."

"Um, well... Our powers are real."

"I beg your pardon?"

"They're real." Crystal smiled wryly, knocking her knuckles against the side of her head. "I know we all love and believe in supernatural stuff, but we also sometimes question whether it's really real or us just seeing what we wanna see in a bunch of interconnected coincidences, you know? Or if it's mental illness manifesting in one way or another, you all know my... My feelings on that one, particularly. But uh... No, they're real. My... My visions are real. The way I... Know things is real. And...

"We're not in the metaphysical desert of Earth anymore. This world has the equivalent of decent soil, clean water, favorable weather." Crystal held out her hands, her smile slowly growing into a more genuine grin. "Our powers manifested without any resources to feed them, in an environment almost perfected to suppress supernatural abilities, but this world is different, closer to our ideal environment. How much stronger do you think we'll get now?"

[skzhabibi]

Vibe // Bang Chan ; Part One

Genre: Smut with plot, online dating, emotionally unavailable reader

Summary: You match with a dude on Bumble and things get a bit heated in the studio. You ghost him when he catches feelings, but he comes back into your life in an unexpected way.

—

It was a Sunday night.

Instead of working on studying for my history test or working on the paper I had due in English (of which I’d only managed to write the introductory paragraph for), I found myself in my underwear at 10pm swiping through Bumble.

If we’re being honest, I was touch starved, attention starved, starved starved... I was a college student, after all. This was my life now. I was trying to come to terms with that.

After about 30 minutes, I came across a profile I found particularly interesting due to the particularly interesting Pretty Boy™ it was advertising. “I have an artist’s soul,” read the first line. I rolled my eyes. One of those. But I kept reading nonetheless. If the dick is bomb, we can look past these things. “Appreciative of nature and nice people. I’m athletic, but I like to spend some quiet time to write lyrics and hang out just as well. Looking for like-minded people to spend these times with.”

Well, at least he knows proper grammar. That already puts him above the bar. I only skimmed through the rest. It was typical stuff in the tabs.

Height? 5’7” (171 cm)

Work out? Often.

Star sign? Libra. Ugh.

Smoke? No.

Want kids? Someday.

Religion? Spiritual. Spiritual, huh? I snort.

It was nothing too remarkable, but I figured I’d give it a shot. It didn’t have to go anywhere anyway. But it did when I swiped and immediately matched, fueling my ego a bit.

“What kind of lyrics do you write?” I ask. I was ready to close the app, because sometimes it takes a while for them to reply; however, he wrote back pretty quickly.

“Rap/alternative. I like to call it fuckshit music.” That warrants a chuckle.

“Sounds poetic,” I play along. “I call mine sadbitch mix.” It was true that I wrote some stuff here and there, as I once had the dream of a career in music. I didn’t think it’d ever go anywhere, though; my fear of failure was too pervasive.

“I’ll have to hear it sometime. Sounds like a vibe.”

I was kinda curious about him at this point, so I decided to entice him a bit. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“I’m down for that (:” He writes back almost instantly. This prospect was looking more and more promising.

“When and where, baby boy?” I jive.

Chris is typing...

—

Flash forward and this kid, Chris, and I had been in contact off and on for about a week. The day we decided on meeting up had come. Turns out he was true to his word about the lyrics thing; he was a music composition major with a focus on lyricism. He worked until late and had an assignment due soon, so he was cooped up in a studio. I was gonna meet him there to “give my opinions”. So here I was, standing outside of a rather large and new-looking building, modern in architecture and radioactive in pomposity.

A decorated veteran in the way of fuckboy conquering, of course I came prepared. My face? Beat. Legs? Baby smooth. Dress? Tight. Bag? Filled with spare condoms of varying size and thickness. Let’s get this bread.

I walked in and found the room with relative ease. Not gonna lie; I was a bit nervous, just as I always was meeting someone for the first time like this. I wasn’t immune to insecurity by any means. Lingering over my head was a lengthy list of doubts.

What if he thinks I’m boring?

What if I did myself too many favors on Facetune?

What if I trip over my own feet and eat shit?

What if the condoms don’t fit and he didn’t bring any?

But alas, sometimes you just gotta suck it up and tell yourself, “I’m a bad bitch.”

So that’s what I did.

Upon opening the door, I was more than pleased to see the boy of 22 was true to his photos; in fact, I might’ve even gone so far as to say he looked even better. His hair, an ash blond color, was messily curled and slightly frizzy. And his full, heart-shaped lips were parted, looking soft as silk. He had pretty normal attire on, just a black hoodie and jeans, making me feel a bit overdressed. But those anxieties were relieved a bit when his downturned eyes, wide and innocent after being taken slightly off guard, turned to crescents above the tired bags underneath. He had an effortless attractiveness and warmth to him that I envied.

“Hey,” he said, getting out of his swivel chair to come greet me. “Y/N, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” I cleared my throat as if that’d make it less obvious that I’d just been staring at him for the past few seconds, totally mesmerized. “Sorry, guess I should’ve knocked first,” I laughed nervously.

“No worries,” he reciprocated my awkward sort-of-laugh. We stared at each other for a second before he coughed. “Well, um...” he held his arms out, signaling that he was going for a hug. Though I’ve never been a hugger, I let him, putting my arms around his broad shoulders as he closed the distance between us.

His arms felt strong, and he was as warm as he looked. His hair smelled really good, too.

Is it weird that I’m smelling him?

No, it wafted into my nose. His fault.

He let go sooner than I would’ve liked, actually. But his hand caught mine. “How was the ride over?” His words and demeanor were casual, but his eyes told me he had a mischievous streak to him as he guided me to a spare chair.

“It was alright,” I shrugged, taking my hand back so I could sit. “Less traffic for sure.”

“Yeah, sorry about making you come out so late,” he scratched his neck.

“Don’t sweat it,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I wanted to hear the fuckshit music.”

[bluemoonpunch]

Regarding spirituality, which stage of conscious awareness has reached each Bangtan member? [anonymous @ bluemoonpunch(.)com]

I thought this was kind of interesting because I haven’t done a reading like this for them in a long time. This is focused purely on the state of their conscious level awareness, which can relate to aspects of the ascension process and their personal integration process, as well as their separation, however, it is more geared towards personal thought process and self-awareness as it relates to the expansion of personal perspective.

Overall, collectively, between the seven of them, there is the 9 of Pentacles which gave me this image of a full basket, like someone just went to the grocery store and filled up a basket and they’re getting ready to check out. They’re not fully out of the store yet, but they have what they need. Their state of mind, their outlooks, are what they need to be right now, their perception of themselves and the world around them are exactly what they need at this current moment. It’s stabilized, it’s grounded, it’s all kind of rooted in and come into bloom as the 9 of Pentacles would suggest, but there is that limited feel to it. Like what blooms will surely wilt, what you have in your basket will surely run out at some point. It’s temporary, as all perspectives, mindsets, and outlooks are, but, again, it’s as it should be right now.

Namjoon — 10 of Cups

This is a massively optimistic outlook, but it’s so massive that it’s like he’s really trying to build it up and maintain it. It feels like he’s trying to paint the picture of the 10 of Cups big enough that it completely blocks out anything else that he may come across or experience. He wants to — I think we all know this — see the bright side of everything, see the potential in everything, and see life in general as this limitless abundance. The 10 of Cups does feel like a dream, it is just Water energy, it’s very internal and emotional, so it does feel like there’s the awareness of this not being “realistic,” as in it’s not something that can be experienced without an effort behind it. The world isn’t just going to suddenly be sunshine in rainbows on its own, there is a conscious level choice to specifically focus on the positive and to find the positive. He’s learning how to do this and, as I mentioned a million years ago in his Elemental Alignment reading, he teaches while he learns, so this is being spread to people that pay attention to what he says and does.

Jin — The Moon

This isn’t that different from what I usually get for him other than that this is very internally focused, or more like it’s externally focused, but from a deeper internal perspective. Usually Jin is kind of looking at everything from above, seeing things and doing things outside of everyone else’s line of sight and from there he operates flawlessly and progresses really smoothly. I kept seeing this as going back and forth between the Sun and the Moon in terms of his perspective. Both are in the sky, both are looking down on everyone and everything else, being observant, but the general energy or mindset from which they look down on everything is very different. In the last like 15 or so readings that I’ve done for BTS, I’ve talked about the integration process and the symbolism of integrating the Sun, or the will of the soul. This is what that is making me think of. The perspective of the Sun is very charged up and will-oriented, very Divine Masculine, while the Moon is more receptive and intuitive, very Divine Feminine. 

Jin is looking at things as he always has, but he’s doing so in a way where it feels like he’s finding more meaning in things that he once only looked at superficially. He’s finding significance in people, places, things, experiences that settle with him on a deeper, more emotional level. He’s taking things in more. “Stop to smell the roses,” is a phrase that comes to mind with this. He’s sort of enjoying the moment, living in the moment, rather than fully being wrapped up in what’s coming next, what he has to do, where he has to go, who he has to be. 

Yoongi — 4 of Cups

This card actually came out two times for him. The first time I was shuffling for his card a whole heap of them flew out onto my desk and the 4 of Cups was the only one upright and I thought that was the card, but I’m like really annoying and refuse to take cards when they’ve been rude and flung a whole stack all around and made a mess. So, I put it back and shuffled again and the 4 of Cups came out again on its own — much more polite. 

This energy feels really weird for Yoongi like it feels… small? Or it feels much more contained than what I’m used to feeling for him, especially considering the last big reading that I did for him in the current state was his External Alignment reading last year which showed his energy to be very strained. Of course, we are just looking at the conscious level perception, so the fact that this feels so small may be because there’s an effort in… shrinking that strain… you know what I mean? Like, the 4 of Cups always hits me in two ways — either someone is trying to meditate and receive something, or someone is being handed something and they’re not aware of it because they’re sleeping, but here it feels more like the 4 of Swords, which is about intentionally allowing yourself to rest and relax, to unwind and drift. With the focus on Water energy here, it feels more intuitive, energetic, spiritual. So, if I were to really force my perspective, it would be like he actually is meditating more, or he’s allowing himself to step back and take a break, or he’s not trying to force himself one way or the other. 

With his energy, a lot of the times, he really pushes and pushes and pushes against certain currents that he’s in, like he’s genuinely got a fighting spirit in that sense, but here there is a conscious level attempt to just not do that anymore. He’s trying to honor his Water energy, honor his natural flow, and kind of let his Fire energy relax a bit. Similar to Jin, it’s just this vibe of not leaving the current position, but approaching the current position from a new lens.

Hoseok — 10 of Swords / Kook — 8 of Swords

Hoseok and Kook have the only “negative” cards in the mix and they’re both of the suit of Swords, both dealing with very conscious level mental energy, logical thought. There’s not a lot of stimulation here to the aspect of communication on either side, it’s very personal and very isolated. They’re both kind sitting in the same space, going through the same process, but because of their different levels of progression as well as maturity and experiences, they are definitely going through the motions of this very differently.

Both sides are purging a lot of old mindsets and outlooks, making room for something new. Hoseok, with the 10 of Swords, is like almost aggressively trying to shift himself consciously into a new frame of mind, but it feels like he’s trying to fit his perception emotionally to what he sees through a more objective lens. I was seeing this as him trying to completely eradicate any mentality that does not align with what he experiences externally, as in getting rid of any self-doubt, insecurity, fear, or resentment that doesn’t fit his experience with his life now with all of his success, both personally and with the group. He’s trying to initiate a complete collapse in his PERCIEVED reality in order to completely see things separate from his emotions — very Aquarius of him. 

Then Kook is over there pulling some Virgo shit, doing the exact same thing, but he’s doing it piece by piece, which seems tedious and annoying because it’s almost like once he puts down one thing to focus on another, the thing he just put down starts to fester again. I was seeing his card, the 8 of Swords, as this process where the woman, is aware that she is blindfolded and bound — bound to limiting mindsets — and so she actually is proactive and tries to get out of it. However, her way of doing this involves her like feeling the swords around her, touching them to see which one is the sharpest or the cleanest, or the whatever. She’s trying to pick which sword to pull out of the ground and use to cut her own bindings even though she could totally just pick one at random and call it a day. 

It’s almost like he doesn’t have the capacity the way Hoseok does to just kind of take everything on at once in terms of internal assessment and clearing, so he has to break things down. He’s doing it as if this is a process of deliberate action, but really this is more like a very slow and tedious process of becoming a bit more self-aware. 

The best way to really show the difference here is to look at the images of the 10 of Swords and the 8 of Swords. They share similar compositions with all 10 or 8 swords being presented stood up vertically across the entire image. The only difference is that in the 10 of Swords, the person is laying horizontally on the ground, stabbed and pinned by all ten swords, while in the 8 of Swords, the person is stood up vertically alongside all of the swords, still blending in with them. It’s almost like Kook is trying to compromise or find an easy method to pulling things out — actually, no that’s what it is.

It’s like Kook is trying to pull the swords out while Hoseok is trying to push the swords in. These are two different methods to which people will approach emotional and mental clearing when it is being initiated consciously. They will either try to simply yank out the issue or the block by the root and release its influence over them, or they will try to integrate the mindset, the experience, whatever in order to understand the purpose or the lesson of it, and from there operate with it from a more positive and beneficial perspective. 

So, yeah, they’re doing the same thing, but with different methods and the matter of maturity or understanding is coming in as this thing where Hoseok has enough self-awareness to know that he has to reset and heal broken bones, while Kook, a bit more lost in the wind, is trying to just amputate a broken limb.

Jimin — 8 of Pentacles / Taehyung — 7 of Pentacles

Just like Hoseok and Kook, Taehyung and Jimin are in the same boat, but they’re actually doing things in a mirrored or balanced process. This could mean that they are in a state of working together to kind of better themselves or they’ve made similar goals in terms of how they want to see themselves and the world around them and they’ve kind of teamed up in a way to help each other do this. It actually seems kind of straightforward and obvious, but I still can’t figure out exactly how to explain it, so I’ll just try to break it down as finely as possible and hopefully, it will just spell itself out.

So, first off, these are both Pentacles, they’re both Earth energy, very physical, very grounded, very superficial. Compared to everyone else, they are very externally focused and driven, but not in a way where it’s like FIRE energy, action-oriented kind of focus. It’s just a hyper-awareness of the physical form or of the superficial aspect of themselves. 

Jimin is there with the 8 of Pentacles. He’s carving his physical form, his superficial presence out. With all of those pentacles, it’s like there’s this sense of trial and error, trying things on, trying on different ways of being in order to see what really fits and what balances between his internalized true self and the external persona that is more for the audience. Then on the other side, you have Taehyung with the 7 of Pentacles, which I was seeing as him having finished his pentacles and already having them on display for people to see as they are, no tampering, no carving, just kind of there. 

For anyone that’s read a lot of my BTS readings where Taehyung and Jimin are featured, perhaps you’ve noticed something interesting. Compared to what they usually project, it’s almost like they’ve switched places. 

Typically, as I’ve seen it for a long time, Taehyung is one to “carve his personality,” — flashback to his Elemental Alignment readings (part 1 + part 2) with all the masks and the split core — while Jimin was always very on display in his readings, to the point where I had to constantly take stuff out of my notes and out of his readings because it was just too “on display,” he’s almost too open to people. They’ve traded that here in this process and now Jimin is trying to carve his persona, while Taehyung is trying to display himself as he is without any tampering. 

Now, with how they operated before with Taehyung having his masks and Jimin being an open and honest beam of light, there was a lot of negative, or just hindering results which caused Jimin to be very receptive to and open for criticism and attack from external influences (hate and shit) while Taehyung was very tightly wound and would only express solid emotion when it was literally too much for him to hold — I said before in a post somewhere that if he’s crying openly and it seems like he’s at a level 4, he’s really at a level 9 in terms of emotional distress. And yes, even tears of joy would be considered distress for him because he would be experiencing an overload nonetheless.

So, they are supporting each other here because they are adopting each other’s methods, but in a way where it balances out their own previous perspectives. When they combine both of those aspects together within themselves as individuals, it becomes open honesty with clear and necessary boundaries, it becomes more healthy in how they understand and express themselves with others.

More Mini-Readings | Celebrity/Idol Readings 

[its-ya-boi-autumn]

Butterflies/Chapter 5

Warning: strong language

Chrollo: Tia, are you sure?

You: Of course~ no one is home and they most likely won’t be until really late tonight. My parents leave me home alone a lot.

Chrollo responded differently than how she thought he might, but at the same time what else could she have expected? They just met and she was already inviting him in her home. It was risky, but she wanted to see him.

Chrollo: How about we meet somewhere else first, like at the cafe downtown?

You: What’s wrong with you coming over here?

Chrollo: I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable or anything.

You: But I’m not! I feel safer with you than anyone else. I know I just met you yesterday but nobody else has treated me like this…

After Celestia sent her message, she immediately regretted it. She should have kept it to herself. Why did she tell him that? He probably thought she was insane. That she was weak. Maybe she just messed everything up. Maybe he wouldn’t want to see her anymore. She realized then that she was becoming more and more attached. This was stupid. This was dumb. This wasn’t her. She felt like crying. Why did she always mess everything up? Celestia was already typing the words to tell him never mind her but he replied before she said anything else.

Chrollo: Alright. I can’t stay long though, I don’t want your parents to be angry with you. Or me for that matter.

All her previous feelings from not even a second ago faded. Her face brightened again. Her body bounced on the mattress and she squeaked. Celestia had never had anyone over before. What would they do? She searched around her room. She didn’t have much, everything used for entertainment was downstairs. She didn’t have money to go out either. She was just so excited to invite him over that she didn’t even think about anything else.

You: I don’t have much to do. So maybe leaving the house is a better idea… but I don’t have any money.

Chrollo: I’ll take care of it. Do you like coffee?

Celestia hadn’t had coffee in a long time. All the coffee they had was for her dad. If she even dared to go so much as near it, she’d be done for. She remembered the taste though. The one time Mr. Nymph had brought coffee to school and she asked for a sip. The relaxing aroma of it and the taste of pure coffee beans warm on her tongue. She remembered the flow of it as it passed through her body.

You: Yes, I haven’t had it in a while though.

Chrollo: I’ll come pick you up here in a couple minutes. Be ready okay?

You: :)

Celestia squealed in her head. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. Not since she got accepted to Silver Sycamore. What should she wear? Should she fix her makeup? Should she find her mom’s perfume? Celestia silently padded downstairs. Though no one was home, it was almost second nature to stay completely silent in the house. She turned down the hallway and gently pushed open the door to her parents room. Of course, no one was there, but for some reason she expected her mother to be laying in bed drinking her tea.

Celestia glanced around the room again, looking for something that might indicate where her mother’s beauty products might be. Somewhere her father wouldn’t mind leaving it. Her father hated makeup and despised perfumes. Though, Celestia knew she had them somewhere. Her mother didn’t just naturally smell like hibiscus and lilac. Celestia turned to double check, making sure no one was around. She entered the room carefully. The closet was the first place she decided to try. The sliding mirror of the door creaked as it opened. The sound made Celestia’s ears hurt. How had she never heard this before at night? It was so loud.

Her ears ringing, Celestia moved over some clothes near the walls and around the corners. Nothing. She put everything back neatly- or messily- where she found it, closing the door with another loud creak. She winced at the sound again. She checked under the bed and in the dresser drawers. She didn’t find a single bottle. She could smell it though. Flowers filled her nose with a pleasant scent. Celestia followed it. Behind the dresser were three bottles that reeked of overwhelming florals. Odd. She couldn’t smell it unless she was next to them.

She tried with all her strength to move the dresser over. It wouldn’t budge. Her arms weren’t long enough to reach the bottles either. Maybe she could use something to grab them. There wasn’t much she could use in the room. She smelled her clothes. It wasn’t that she smelled bad, she just wanted to smell different. Just putting on clean clothes should have been enough though. Plus, she was sure Chrollo wouldn’t notice much, even if she did smell like hibiscus and lilac.

She left the room exactly where she found it, going back upstairs to change before Chrollo came to pick her up. She changed into some dark skinny jeans, a simple black t shirt and some low top sneakers. She’d never dress like this normally. She tucked the shirt in, adding a bright red bandana headband to contrast with her hair. She liked it. Simple, yet she still looked nice. Casual. It was a little warmer today as well, but she’d bring a jacket just in case. Chrollo was sweet, but she was sure he wouldn’t give her his hoodie. That would be embarrassing to expect. Celestia tied the jacket around her waist to enhance what little curves she had. She was getting thinner still. Not close to anorexic yet, but a small thigh gap had started to form between her thighs and her stomach sunk in without her inhaling. What would he think of that? Would Chrollo think she was gross?

She pushed the thought out of her mind. She had to stay positive, stay happy. She had to look like everything was fine. He couldn’t find out. Not now. A honk signaled someone was in front of her house. She went to check, making sure it was Chrollo. The white car was parked parallel to her front door. Celestia smiled, grabbing her phone just in case. She raced to the door, opening it and strolling to the car, pretending she wasn’t ecstatic about seeing him. When she opened the door and sat down, Chrollo greeted her with a smile.

“Good evening Tia, how was school?” he smiled with his eyes. Celestia returned that smile, the nickname sounding sweet off his tongue.

“It was good, nothing really happened.” she spoke softly since there was no need to be loud. She didn’t mention the stares and whispers from the girls across the cafeteria or even how nobody was really messing with her anymore.

“That’s good, I’m glad. We won’t be out too long. I’d feel bad to cause you another panic attack like at the bookstore. I was worried for the rest of the night.”

I was worried for the rest of the night.

He worried about her. She now wished she would have said something to him, letting him know she was okay. Telling him that nothing happened to her.

“Sorry about that, I just didn’t want it to seem awkward. I felt like it’d seem weird if I just texted you immediately when I got home…” she let herself be honest about it. Celestia kept her head down, not able to look at him. A part of her thought that sounded stupid.

“Oh Tia… you don’t have to worry about that. I wouldn’t have minded.” he replied softly. He finally started the car, moving forward to go downtown.

“Have you started Endurance yet?” he started a conversation suddenly. Celestia whipped her head around, all of her attention on him.

“Yes actually! I’m almost done now.” she smiled. Chrollo widened his eyes in surprise.

“That’s good! What part are you at?” he actually wanted to talk to her. She went on about the story, talking about how good it was and that he had been right. It felt like she was right there with Shackleton as he explained the story to her. The detail in the novel invoked intensity on her physically and mentally. She was in love with it. Chrollo listened the whole time, not interrupting at any point until the end.

“Ah I see. So when is your report due?”

“In a few weeks, we don’t have an exact date yet.” she checked her phone. It was almost dead! She audibly gasped without realizing. For a moment, Chrollo’s attention was on her and her only.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, facing back to the road.

“Nothing serious, sorry. My phone is just nearly dead and I didn’t bring my charger…” she lied. It was serious. Very serious. If someone messaged her and she didn’t answer… she didn’t even want to think about it.

“Here, I have a similar charger I think.” Chrollo pulled out a cord from the small compartment in the middle of their seats. The cord matched her phone and she plugged it in. A charging symbol appeared briefly on her screen. She smiled.

“Thank you Chrollo.” she set her phone down in the middle compartment. Chrollo nodded, turning his attention back to the road.

Downtown was a lot busier than usual. Her stomach twisted slightly at the sight of so many people in one spot. She wouldn't panic today. Not in front of him. Not again. Celestia leaned back in her seat and focused on her window. The people that passed by were a blur now. It made her feel a little better. A voice suddenly came from the radio. She turned her attention from the window to see Chrollo’s hand on the dial.

“You seem nervous, so I’ll try some music for you. Any recommendations?” he asked. A black cord was plugged into the radio port and Chrollo took out his phone. The man on the radio’s voice stopped entirely. The car was silent, Chrollo waiting for her to reply.

“Um… Beethoven?” she tried. Chrollo gave her a surprised look.

“You like compositions?” he scrolled through his phone, turning on Piano Sonata 8 for her. She smiled, nodding.

“That’s interesting. I also enjoy a good classic. I prefer Mozart myself.” he smiled as well, keeping his eyes on the road until they arrived near the beach.

The café near the beach, a relatively smaller place that didn’t look too busy for her to function in. She’d only been there once, and barely even went inside. She had been waiting for her mother to order some tea. Celestia would have gone in with her, but her mother stopped her at the door, saying children weren't allowed. At the time, she knew this wasn’t true, but she didn’t dare go against her mother. Not that she feared being hit by her, but her father would have had her ass for it.

“Have you been here before?” Chrollo had turned the music down, waiting for Celestia to answer. She shook her head, not entirely lying but she hadn’t ever seen the menu, so technically it was the truth.

“I think you’ll like it.” he chuckled. Celestia kept the sound in her memory, storing it away in the back of her head. He had a nice laugh. Chrollo parked close to the door, shutting off the car and getting out before her. Celestia was in the middle of taking her phone off the charger when her car door opened. Chrollo had opened it for her, smiling down at her. The gentlemanly gesture made her shiver. She stepped out of the car and he closed the door behind her, leading her into the little shop.

Bright floral lights greeted her as soon as she walked through the glass doors. Sunlight flooded in from all sides, huge windows taking up most- if not all- of the wall space. Pink and white tables and chairs scattered around the cream linoleum flooring. The center counter was covered in flowers and crammed with sweets. Cakes, bagels, sandwiches, and other foods filled the glass case to the brim. A chalkboard hung close by with specials written in colorful lettering and the main menu was lit around the rim with string lights. Celestia smiled at the delightful sight. Chrollo took notice, staring down at her. He was studying her reactions, her in general. What was she like, what did she like, and how did she react? All of these would be essential later.

“It’s so pretty~” Celestia praised the hard work everyone had put in here. A barista caught her attention, asking if they could help. It startled her, so Chrollo moved forward first. Celestia followed close behind.

“Do you know what you want?” Chrollo whispered to her as she came up behind him.

“Just a regular black coffee please…” her voice was small, shy. Chrollo was slightly surprised. He expected something different. He ordered for the two of them, receiving the two tall disposable cups almost immediately after paying.

“Thank you…” Celestia spoke first after receiving her hot coffee, the warmth filling her hands. She had to hold it with both since the cup was rather large. She set herself up at a table, waiting for Chrollo to follow suit. He sat across from her.

“Black coffee huh?” he laughed. Celestia glanced up from her cup.

“What about it?” she didn’t understand why he was laughing at her. Was it weird?

“I just expected you to prefer something else. Something sweeter.” he explained, taking a sip from his. Celestia did the same. The coffee was hot. She didn’t know what she expected.

“I mean I do like sweet stuff,” she wiped her mouth with a nearby napkin, “but I’ve never had anything too sweet coffee wise. I just didn’t want to order something I’d end up not liking.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t have minded.” he gave her another smile. Celestia blushed again behind her cup, hiding her face. She felt goosebumps on her arms. Cold, she put her jacket over her arms. The warmth provided was minimal, but enough for the time being. She continued to shiver despite the feeling. Chrollo furrowed his brows.

“Are you cold?” he asked as if it weren’t obvious. She nodded.

“Yeah a little, but I’m sure I’ll be okay…”

“I can give you my jacket, I feel like I’m overheating.” he offered. A chill ran up her spine for a different reason, though she shook her head.

“No thank you, I don’t want you to end up cold later.” she replied. Chrollo nodded, taking off the jacket he wore and setting it down on the chair behind him. She could have said yes, could have felt the warmth he provided, but she felt that it was awkward. She didn’t want anyone to think they were dating.

They sat in silence for most of the time, increments of conversation coming up every now and then. Chrollo could tell something was going on just by how reserved and private she was. Though, Celestia could have very well just been nervous. With the way she said people treated her though, there had to be more to it than just being a shy young girl.

They stayed and talked until the sunlight in the café turned orange and pink. Chrollo took notice and checked his phone.

“It’s almost 7. Would you like me to take you back?” he set his phone down, resting his chin on his hands.

“I probably should be getting back… she stood, picking up their disposable cups and throwing them away. Chrollo wasn’t far behind her, glancing around the café at anyone who passed. He politely opened the door for her to exit.

“Did you still want to come over for a little while? No one’s home and I don’t really have much to do…” she offered one more time. It was likely he’d say no, but she still wanted to try. Chrollo sighed.

“Alright, but just for a little while. I don’t know how long I can stay.” he obliged. Celestia audibly squealed in delight, nearly sprinting to the car. Chrollo laughed at her excitement. She went to open the car door, but it was locked.

“Hey!” she turned to confront him, a smile still making way in her face. He returned it, walking to the other side of the car to unlock the doors. The two of them stepped inside and started moving.

“So, why do you want me to come over so bad?” Chrollo chuckled. Celestia continued to stare out the window, shrugging her shoulders.

“I don’t know, I just like spending time with you. You don’t have to if it makes you feel uncomfortable.” she replied. She started messing with the cuticles on her fingernails, pulling them off and discreetly throwing them on the floor. She knew it was a bad habit and she hoped he hadn’t noticed it.

“I enjoy your company too, Tia. But are you sure you want me to come over? What will your parents do if-“

“They won’t know. They don’t come home until late. You can leave before then.” she accidentally cut him off, covering her mouth.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to cut you off…” she felt her face flush for the millionth time that day. Chrollo didn’t respond with anger as she had expected, instead, he laughed again. Genuine laughter. She could listen to it all day.

“You’re okay. You don’t have to worry so much with me, I won’t yell at you for anything.” he promised. Celestia couldn’t help but peer at him out of the corner of her eye. He was so kind. Why? Everyone else made it seem like she was a terrible person, but Chrollo made her feel different.

They pulled up at the end of the street. He must have remembered what she said last time. It’s better to park somewhere not too close to the house just in case someone was home. Chrollo turned off the car, following Celestia out and to her house. She checked the door to see if it was locked. She twisted the handle, opening it with ease and holding up her hand.

“Wait here. I didn’t see a car, but I’m going to double check just in case…” she whispered. Chrollo gave her a confused face, but nodded. She acted like something terrible would happen if she brought him in. If that was the case, then why even risk it?

Celestia crept into the door, double checking to make sure Chrollo was still there. She dipped around in her parents room and in the rooms upstairs. No one was home. She came back to him at the door, signaling he was safe. Chrollo entered and shut the door behind him. He stayed close to her as she led him upstairs to her room.

“It’s not much, we don’t have too much money. Most likely my fault, my mom wanted me to go to a good school.” she warned, remembering that Chrollo had a lot of money and that her house might look completely abhorrent to what he was used to. She creaked open her bedroom door.

“Ta-da…” she joked, slightly laughing at what was considered a bedroom. Chrollo frowned.

“Oh dear…” it was more sympathetic than rude, but Celestia still felt a pang in her chest. At the very least, she cleaned her room a little that morning before leaving for school. She covered the stains on her mattress with the thin blanket she had so she wouldn’t look as dirty.

“I know… it’s okay though, it’s enough for me.” she faked a small smile at Chrollo. He still gave her a concerned look. Worrying.

“Alright, do you mind if I sit down on your bed?” he kept his voice low as he gestured for the mattress on her floor. She plopped down on it, patting the spot next to her. Chrollo wasn’t super tall, but his legs took up most of his body. He squatted down and bounced a little on the mattress. Celestia looked around her room for something.

“I don’t have much, and my tv isn’t too interesting, but I have a DS we can play.” she suggested. A purple DS was stashed somewhere in her closet. She jumped up to go and grab it, moving clothes over to find it. She tried her best to hide the enormous pile of dirty clothes on the floor. The smell was just wafting past her nose when she found the device and shut the door. She checked to see if it was charged. A full battery flashed on the screen, making her smile. She handed it to Chrollo.

“I don’t play video games much, but I wouldn’t mind watching you.” he said, a hand waving to decline. Celestia hummed, sitting back down next to him and starting up the game she had. She tried to start up conversation while playing.

“What are some hobbies you have?” she asked him, keeping her eyes on the game. Chrollo was a little startled by her question, but answered nonetheless.

“I enjoy reading and spending time with people close to me. I don’t do much.” he replied, laughing lightly. Celestia smiled.

“It’s okay I don’t do much either. I mostly watch what I can on tv and play this DS.” she felt the device vibrate in her hands. Her character died and she whined to herself. A warmth hovered over her. She glanced up to see Chrollo leaning over her shoulder. Instead of being frightened, she leaned a little closer. They hadn’t touched yet, but she hoped a little that they would. She shifted her attention back to her game, starting the level over again.

A loud bang sounded through the house, making her character die again. Celestia jumped.

“Fuck!” her dad's voice echoed through the house. Celestia was already shaking before she could stop herself. More slamming occurred through the halls of the house. Celestia eyed Chrollo. He hadn’t flinched, just sat where he was still leaning over Celestia, his eyes on the door. A mumble indicated her mother trying to calm him down.

“I am not taking that piece of shit with me Naomi!” he yelled. He was talking about a Celestia. There was nothing he hated more than her.

“Nick she doesn’t even have to be close to you, she can move somewhere else-“

“I can’t take her to the boss! She’ll make me look fucking terrible, she always does. She’s a shit eating brat and I wish she’d fucking kill herself! It’d take the burden off of me!” another smack on the counter. Celestia could hear him shaking in rage just by his voice alone. Stomping up the stairs made her jump into action.

“Go! Hide in the closet, I’m sorry for the smell-“ she pushed Chrollo into her closet, shutting the door and hiding the DS under her bed before her dad opened the door. She fell onto her mattress, staring up at him. His face was beat red, anger radiating off of his whole being. Her father stormed up to her, shoving a crumpled sheet of paper into her chest and winding her.

“I’m being forced to take your dumbass to the fucking dance with Angel May next week. You’d better fucking behave or I’ll fucking kill you, do you hear me Celestia Marie? Am I fucking clear?” he was practically spitting in her face. She bit back her tears, unable to stop shaking. He was so close to her face she could see the veins starting to pop in his forehead.

“Yes Daddy…” she uttered, trying to keep her voice steady even though her fear was obvious. Her father stood up to his full height, his breathing still heavy as he slammed the door behind him. Celestia was left shaking again, as she had every other time he spoke to her. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe, her throat and chest completely constricted. A slight crack sounded from the closet. Chrollo peeked out of the doorway. Celestia didn’t move, afraid she’d collapse if she stood. Chrollo crept out towards her, careful not to scare her.

“Are you alright Tia?” he whispered, trying not to make a sound. He glanced at the door to make sure her father didn’t come back. Celestia didn’t respond, completely unable to.

And then she started crying.

She had learned to keep quiet when she sobbed, covering her face and hiding it from Chrollo. He wasn’t supposed to find out. Not yet. Not like this. Chrollo put his hands on her shoulders and kept her close to him. He didn’t envelope her in fear it might cause more panic for her.

It took a while, but eventually she stopped crying, feeling empty.

“I’m sorry…” she apologized. She felt awful for having him witness that. She didn’t mean for him to. She should have known better. She was just so excited that he had agreed. At least her dad didn’t notice Chrollo in the room.

“They usually don’t come home until after midnight… it’s rare they come home any earlier, and that’s normally around 10 or 11…” she sniffles in between words, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Snot glistened in the dim light of the room and she hid her arm so Chrollo wouldn’t see it. Celestia couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. Her face was probably swollen and her mascara was run down her face. A sigh sounded over her head.

“It’s not your fault, you didn’t think about it. Don’t worry, I don’t think any less of you.” his words were simple but completely unexpected. She didn’t know what to do about him now though. Her windows were bolted shut so he couldn’t get out from there. Her father would most likely be up all night from being angry with her, even if she did nothing wrong.

“I don’t know how you’re gonna get home… I-“

“I’ll stay. I don’t trust you alone here for the time being, I might not be able to do much about your dad but I’ll be here to comfort you for now. I’ll just take you to school in the morning.” he offered. Celestia whipped her head around, already shaking her head.

“But what if-“

“I’ll be okay…” he offered her a smile, calming her down slightly, but not enough. Her mind was still spinning, afraid for both of them. She stared back down at the floor. He wouldn’t leave her, not right now at least.

[royalbloodedbastards]

chatzy // tipsy painting

DATE: Thursday, April 30, 2020 CHARACTERS: Kieran and Alec ABOUT: Kieran and Alec crash a tipsy painting event.

Alec half slid down the ladder from the loft in their scramble to open the door, flinging it open wide and spreading their arms in welcome. "Hey! Come on in!" they exclaimed, stepping to the side to give Kieran room to enter, then turning around completely to saunter over and hop up to sit on one of the card tables. "So I know hanging out on Thursdays was going to replace Tuesday movie nights, but we didn't say specifically it was also going to be a movie night, so I figured we could go out and do something fun instead of staying in?"

Kieran stepped into the cabin and shut the door behind him. He knew to come with zero expectations and was glad that Alec's suggestion proved that he was right to do so. "What sort of fun do you have in mind?"

"There's a tipsy painting night at a university and my friend said it'd be chill if we crashed it and they're already heading that way anyway so they can give us a ride?" All the words came out in a rush– Alec's excitement at the prospect was evident from their smile, fast words, and how they could barely sit still on the table. "I can lend you a shirt too so you don't mess up your clothes?" They gave him an expectant look.

"Ah," Kieran uttered in reply, thoroughly amused at Alec's enthusiasm. "Funny that you've phrased both statements as questions when your heart already seems dedicated to an answer." He nodded. "That sounds like an excellent plan and I would appreciate some loaned apparel. Thank you."

Alec laughed and hopped off the table to retrieve the shirt they had in mind, one that was on the verge between 'well worn' and 'threadbare'. "If you didn't want to then I'd be okay with staying here. Heartbroken, totally devastated, but okay with it." They presented the shirt to him. "But you agreed, so my heart is intact! Is this shirt okay? I have some others in better shape if you want, but I was gonna cut this one up tomorrow anyway."

"This is just fine, thank you." Kieran accepted the shirt with a smile. He laid the shirt on the table and start unbuttoning the one he was wearing. "So is this going to be any particular style of painting? Watercolor? Abstract expressionism? Bob Ross?"

"Bob Ross I think? I'm pretty sure there's a video to follow along if you want, but they let you do your own thing." Alec hopped up to sit on their kitchen counter now, grabbing an apple to snack on while they waited. "No way I can follow along fast enough so I'm just gonna go nuts with some colours."

Kieran laid his own shirt on the table and pulled Alec's over his head. He couldn't help but notice the way it smelled as the fabric caught on his face before falling flatly onto his torso. "All the best artists are rule-breakers," Kieran pointed out. "I'm interested to see what you'll create." He wandered over to the kitchen counter so he could lean up against it.

Alec smiled down at him, pressing a hand to their cheek for a moment. "It fits!" well, their brain supplied as an end to the sentence, but they brushed that to the side. "Not that that's surprising. Do you paint? Is it one of your artistic talents?"

"I do not paint," Kieran confessed sadly. "But I imagine the principles of composition, color, movement, et cetera all still apply, even though the medium and canvas have changed." He shot a cocky smirk up at Alec. "I'm confident that I'll be able to adapt my skills with ease."

"I bet you will!" Alec clapped a hand on his shoulder with a grin, then slid off the counter to stand beside him. "We should get going to meet my friend at their car. Wouldn't want to miss the chance to make your masterpiece!"

"Surely," Kieran agreed. "Does your friend live here in New Athens?" he asked as he started for the door.

"Mhm!" Alec tossed their apple core away and grabbed their coat as they followed Kieran out. "I don't know any Americans outside of camp. It's nice of them to give a ride, eh? They're not even going to the paint night, just to do work, so try not to get too attached." They laughed.

Kieran snorted. "Not once have I tried to attach myself onto anybody. All of my friendships are fortunate accidents," he admitted as he stepped onto the grass. Kieran gestured for Alec to lead the way once they were out of the cabin. "Happy accidents, I should specify."

Alec kept up a near-constant stream of chatter from the moment they stepped into the car until they came to a stop outside of the university, broken up by moments of silence where they were distracted by something whizzing by outside the window. They waved at the car until their friend was out of sight, then turned to Kieran and exhaled. "Oh, man, I felt like a golden retriever. It's been so long since I was in a car my brain short-circuited on the thrill."

"I wouldn't have pegged you for somebody stimulated by car rides." Kieran laughed and took in their surroundings. "Do you know which building we're meant to go to?"

Alec closed their eyes for a second, then started walking. "I think this way! They said there should be a sign outside, and this feels like the right direction."

Kieran followed Alec along the path. "Lucky guess?"

Alec wiggled their fingers at him. "Intuition." They came to a stop beside a handwritten sign with an arrow. "Here we go!"

"Powerful inituition," Kieran remarked as he pulled open the door for Alec. "After you."

Alec pressed a hand to their heart and entered the building. “Thanks! What a gentleman.” They spotted another sign and followed the path until it opened up into a room where a number of strangers milled about, chatting with glasses of wine in hand. Alec motioned towards two free easels. “After you? Just look like a student.” They flashed a grin at him.

"Fettered and unrested?" Kieran joked. He moved toward the free easels, looking about the room. "This isn't a BYOB function, is it?"

Alec scanned the room then pointed between a few easels. “Looks like they got some sorta bar set up o’er there! Wanna head? I could go for some wine to get the creativity going.”

"Absolutely," Kieran agreed, heading to the bar. He tried not to be too judgmental about the selection of wines as he grabbed a glass for both himself and Alec. "What type of wine do you typically prefer?" Kieran asked as he poured himself a dry red.

Alec was pleased to recognize two of the brands as ones they could drink. “I like red!” they chirped. “And the one you’re pouring is vegan, so I like that even more.”

"Ah," Kieran smiled, holding the bottle up by his face. "I can assure you that I very intentionally selected this wine for that exact reason." He filled up the cup beside his, stopping just shy of the rim. "Just say when," Kieran joked as he put the much-emptier bottle back on the table.

Alec laughed and took the cup carefully. “Are we gonna bankrupt this paint night?” They held out their glass towards him. “We gotta cheers here so I can take a sip and not spill this on my way back.”

Kieran waved a hand as he picked up his glass. "I'll leave a tip with the porter." He clinked his wine glass against Alec's with a santé and took a big sip.

Alec repeated Kieran’s cheers back to him and cupped the glass like a goblet as they took a long enough sip that they weren’t in danger of spilling it. Around them people were beginning to return to their easels, still chatting, and the woman Alec assumed was the coordinator began pulling a video up on the projector screen. “Looks like our clue to put our painter’s hats on!” Alec took another sip as they headed back towards the available easels. “I’m gonna start from the top and paint down so I can see how it changes as I get more tipsy.”

Kieran laughed at the idea. "I'm sure that will be... Compositionally interesting." He stood by his easel and took another big sip of wine before setting the glass down. "I'll follow the video to some extent. I'll do an interpretation. Depart whenever I feel that the instructions have become inhibiting."

“It’s gonna be great,” Alec agreed, choosing to take it fully as a compliment. “Are you still chill with chatting or do you wanna get in the flow of painting?” They took another sip of their wine and examined one of their paintbrushes.

Kieran snorted. "Believe it or not, the appeal of this event was not the opportunity to replicate one of Mr. Ross's master works. I would be happy to keep chatting. Unless of course, you don't want me to interrupt your own flow, which I would completely understand."

Alec laughed and lowered their wine to start mixing some paint colours. “My flow can stand some chatter. What was the appeal?”

Kieran gestured vaguely in the air. "You know..." He furrowed his brow. "The social nature, the... Invitation." He felt a strange heat rising in his neck. Weird. "And the alcohol, of course." He picked up his glass of wine and took another big sip. "Why, what was yours?"

Alec picked up their paintbrush and drew a line across the top of their canvas. They turned to give him a wide smile. “I wanted to spend time with you.”

Kieran scrunched his lips to the side to hide his smile. He turned away from Alec as he picked up his brush then set his glass down. Kieran took a step back to consider his whole easel before looking up at the video projected on the screen. "So I was right," Kieran remarked as a Bob Ross video started playing. He smirked at Alec, wiggling his fingers as they did before. "Intuition."

Alec threw back their head and laughed. “You got me beat!” They wiggled their fingers back, a couple drops of paint dropping onto their already battered sneakers as the paintbrush shook. “I’m some excited to see all the trees people paint,” they sighed, genuinely thrilled. “Something about looking at nature on a canvas is so relaxing. And nature off a canvas! But the colours are brighter in paint.”

Kieran started on his easel, following along with the video. He looked down at the colors beside him then over at Alec's. They were the same. Kieran furrowed his brows, wondering why he expected them to be different. "What color are the trees where you're from?"

Alec paused their sequence of horizontal lines and cocked their head to the side. “Same as here, why?”

Kieran exhaled a laugh. "Sorry, I should have been more specific with my phrasing." He shook his head, but still didn't rephrase his question. As he painted a long brown stroke on his canvas, Kieran muttered. "They used to be white." He lifted his brush and considered the brown line before relaxing his arm and looking at Alec. "In Maine, there was a birding trail I liked to hike through. Where I would spend the majority of my time, if I'm being candid. The trees were long and bare. Their barks were white. And then in the fall, when all the leaves would turn, the sky would light up like a pimpernel. Just a fiery orange."

Kieran shrugged and resumed painting. "Not that the colors don't turn around here. But it just looked different," he muttered. "Against the white."

Alec hung onto each word, nodding along slowly and trying to picture the trees in their head as Kieran described them. “That sounds right beautiful,” they breathed as he returned to his painting. “I wish I could see that. The trees back home are kinda sad, to be honest? Short and stubby like. The ocean’s where the beauty is, and the shores and houses. Everything’s designed to be colourful to brighten up the gloom.” They added a vibrant streak of yellow across the blues they had layered along the top of the canvas.

Kieran watched as Alec painted a streak of yellow across their canvas. "Hm," he muttered as he looked back at his own. "Maybe I should do the same then." Kieran dipped his brush into the red and painted a big scarlet line beside the brown.

Alec glanced over at Kieran’s canvas and beamed. “Good plan! Join me off book.” They looked back at their own canvas. “But I’m not following the video at all, by the way,” they laughed, realizing how mismatched their canvas was to the one on the screen. “Just painting some lines, filling some background space.”

"I've noticed," Kieran laughed as he glanced over at Alec's canvas. "Perhaps I'll land somewhere between you and Mr. Ross. Where structure meets whim." Kieran looked back at the video and started recreating the strokes on his own canvas, making some bright red trees in the foreground. "Or at least where structure meets red wine," he laughed.

“Who knows! What if I was just that terrible at taking direction?” Alec painted a third of the way down their canvas, mainly blues with the odd splash of yellow or green, then picked up a tiny brush and began meticulously drawing a pattern in white paint overtop. They had their glass in their other hand the entire time, pausing to take sips here and there. “I love how you keeping calling him Mr. Ross. He sounds like an art teacher- I guess he is, eh? But I mean like a high school art teacher, like from Degrassi or something.”

"Degrassi," Kieran laughed. "Were there teachers in that show? All I remember is when Drake got shot and when the pregnant girl hit her head on a rock." Kieran took another sip of wine. "For a high school drama, the learning seemed secondary."

“I’ve never actually seen Degrassi,” Alec blurted out in confession. “It’s just what I think of when I imagine high schools. Drake got shot?”

"Famously," he chuckled. "His character became wheelchair bound. It was quite the shocker for a teen show, and I promise that I am not as much of a fan as I am probably coming across as right now." He dropped his head and laughed. "I wouldn't have retained that memory if he hadn't later gone on to become Drake."

Alec shook their head and smiled fondly at him. “I can’t believe I’m in the company of the number one Degrassi fan. It’s an honour.”

Chuckling, Kieran shook his head in surrender. "Alright, alright." He resumed painting, rushing a bit now to catch up to the video. "I'll accept that because it truly is an honor to be graced by my presence."

Alec had to catch their breath from laughing again so they could take another sip of wine. “I couldn’t agree more.” They returned to their tiny patterns across the dark blue part of their painting. “I’ll get the next glasses of wine when you’re done yours! Then you can keep up with the video.”

Deciding to skip the next part of the painting, unsatisfied with the way the mountain looked in the video, Kieran resumed drinking. "That would be lovely." He looked down at his cup and tilted his head back and forth a few times before deciding to go for it, downing the rest of the wine in one big gulp. He covered his mouth and burped quietly before setting the glass down beside Alec with a smile. "Thank you."

Alec, upon seeing Kieran down the rest of his drink, quickly followed suit. They made a face and shook their head like a dog shaking off water at the taste of it all at once. “Jeez, I’m bad at drinking.” They scooped Kieran’s glass up and smiled back, lifting both glasses in cheers and tapping them to each other before turning to scurry back to the bar. Fortunately, someone had opened a new bottle of the red they were drinking, and Alec refilled both glasses to the top. They slowly made their way back. “Delivery?”

"Ah, the porter," Kieran joked as he took back his glass. "I suppose I'll just leave my tip with you then," he suggested as he held up his glass to cheers Alec.

Alec tapped their glass against Kieran’s, spilling only a couple drops. “Paying me for my company now?” They grinned.

Kieran took a sip of wine before setting down his glass. "It's funny. I've paid people to rid myself of their presence, but never paid somebody to stay. Perhaps you could be the first."

“You have?” Alec tilted their head to the side and laughed. “I’d be honoured. Except not actually, obviously.”

Kieran laughed as he resumed painting. "Unfortunately, I have not. I was just being facetious. I think my general rudeness and impatience for social niceties is enough to drive people away. Not that I'm complaining."

Alec blinked at him. “I’ve never thought you were rude or impatient?” They lowered their paintbrush and took an absentminded sip of wine. “Not even when we first met.”

Kieran smiled a bit as he dipped his brush in the paint. "That's very kind. A minority opinion." He turned to Alec and smiled fully. "But thank you."

Alec beamed back and pressed one hand to their cheek, leaving a smudge of yellow paint behind when they dropped it a few moments later. “It’s true! I think you’re...” they searched for the right words. “Super charming.”

Kieran's smile twisted into a crooked little grin. He turned back toward his easel, but his mind had fallen off the painting. Super charming, he echoed in his head. I am a son of Aphrodite. Kieran laid down his brush just a second after picking it up and tapped his own cheek with his finger. "You have some paint."

Alec added a couple spirals in the middle of the canvas, deciding they were tipsy enough to fill in the middle third. They blinked when Kieran spoke and started rubbing the wrong cheek. “Am I getting it?” Now there was a smudge of blue on their other side.

"Yeah," Kieran smirked. He shook his head and chuckled, looking back at his easel. He picked up his brush, looked up at the projector, then sighed. "Okay, sorry, no." He laid down his brush and gestured for Alec to come closer. "You've actually made it worse."

Alec laughed and put their brush down to step closer. “You coulda got me there.” They pointed to their cheek with the yellow, an inch above it. “Here? Sorry to make you miss the teachings of Mr. Ross.”

"Mr. Ross's teachings are like publicly funded fireworks. You've seen one, you've seen them all." Kieran held Alec's chin with one hand and used his thumb to swipe away the yellow. He wiped the paint off on his shirt before switching to the other cheek.

Alec closed their eyes when Kieran took their chin and laughed. “You’ve really got a way with words, that’s exactly what they’re like. But still fun every time!” Unconsciously, they leaned into his brief touch to their cheek. “If it’s gonna keep going this way I’m sure glad I wore painting clothes. First my shoes, now my face. I’ll be blue top to bottom in an hour.”

Kieran laughed, swapping his hands to wipe away the paint on their other cheek. "Better blue on the outside than on the inside." He gave them a pat on their chest once he was finished and wiped his fingers dry on his shirt. "Though this shirt can only sop up so much paint. So if you're blue from head to toe," Kieran shrugged. "You're on your own."

Alec made sure to wipe their hands on their own shirt to avoid smearing more paint on their face, at least for the time being. They smiled at him. “I’ll try and avoid it then.” Picking up their glass of wine again, they returned to their spirals, drifting towards a warmer colour palette now.

Kieran glanced back up at the video. The landscape was much more populated now than Kieran's was. He decided to just pick up where Bob was and painted a red river running through the scene. "Hm. Maybe I should have opted for a different color," Kieran chuckled as he painted another red stroke onto his canvas. "It looks like I've turned my still-life into a war crime."

Alec put their paintbrush down for a break and picked up their wine glass, taking a couple steps over to stand beside Kieran. They grinned at him and swished the wine around in what they hoped was a pretentious manner, resting their chin on one hand as they examined his painting. “A modern-day Guernica,” they announced the way they imagined art critics to speak. “A vivid portrayal of war and the violence of deforestation.”

Stepping aside to let Alec asses his easel, Kieran took another sip of wine. He almost spat back into the cup after snorting at their appraisal. "Cubism? Oh, no, no, no. I was going more for a Motherwell or Cy Twombly vibe." He looked around the room to make sure nobody was watching before picking up the small cup of red paint and splashing it onto his canvas. He slammed the empty cup down and gestured to the painting with aplomb. "There. Now do you see my vision?"

Alec laughed. “I meant in subject not style, but sure.” As Kieran tossed the paint onto the canvas Alec gave an ‘ooh’ of appreciation and tapped their fingers against their glass in an odd sort of clap. “Clear as water! It’s a masterpiece. Your chef-d’oeuvre.”

"Thank you, thank you," Kieran rolled his hand and gave a regal bow. "The bidding will start at one million. Euro." He lifted his wine glass to take another sip.

“I can give you...” Alec went through their pockets with one hand. “Five dollars, a twenty-sided die and half a fortune teller?”

Kieran just smirked over at Alec. "I'll just subtract the total from what I'm paying you for your company."

“An artist and a businessman? Incredible!” Alec considered their glass of wine, then downed another part of it. “Is this the final product? You’re making me want to throw paint on my canvas.”

"Finality is a construct," Kieran quipped. "But please, don't let my decisions influence your masterpiece. Do what feels right in your soul."

Alec squinted at their canvas. "The final third is for the final third glass of wine," they decided. "If the paint pouring spirit takes me I'll do it." They bumped his shoulder with theirs lightly then moved back to in front of their own easel.

"Alright," Kieran nodded, mentally preparing himself for a third glass of wine. He took a moment to reassess his canvas. The splatter of paint was interesting, but now the whole canvas was overwhelmingly red. Kieran wondered if he should try to salvage it or just stop there. Rather than decide, he just swirled his brush in the little cup of water and looked over to see what Alec would do.

Alec continued adding colours to the swirls in the middle section until their wine glass was empty, which only took a minute or two. They took a step back and nodded to themself, pleased with how the assortment of colours was coming along, then looked over at Kieran. "Gathering inspiration?" they asked brightly.

"Letting the ideas marinate," Kieran confirmed. He picked up his glass and took a long sip to catch up with Alec. "Are we meant to bring these back home once they're complete?"

"Letting them pickle?" Alec suggested instead, holding up their empty glass. "If we want! If you like it. We could swap paintings!" They laughed. "Or put them both up in the Tyche cabin, your apartment seems much more, uh, curated? Than mine."

Kieran snorted. "Yes, I don't think my angsty, red portrait would feature very nicely in our living room." Kieran took the last sip of his wine then held out his hand toward Alec. "May I?"

Alec laughed. "Maybe not." They looked at his hand, then at his face. "Are you asking for my glass or my hand?"

Kieran smirked. "Your glass? For your final third?"

Alec handed their glass over to him and gave him their best look of disappointment. It was ruined by how they couldn't stop smiling for more than a few seconds. "I'm crestfallen."

Kieran rolled his eyes as he passed Alec. "I'm sure you'll recover." He looked through the bottles at the bar, but most had seemed to be poured out, save for a different brand of red and a half empty bottle of white. Kieran looked around to make sure nobody was looking at him before ditching their cups at the table and bringing the bottle of red back over to their easels. "I wanted to confirm with you that this is in fact a vegan wine," Kieran explained, holding the bottle out toward Alec. "If you would do the honor of assessing it."

Alec took the bottle and examined it, then pulled out their phone to Google it. They frowned and shook their head. "Aw man, no, it's not. Was there anything else left at the table?"

Kieran nodded his head. "Indeed there was. If you'll excuse me." He pranced back over to the table to swap the bottles, returning with the half full white. "How about this?"

Alec only had to look at it long enough to figure out what the brand name was. "Oh! Yeah! That's vegan." They blinked at him. "But it's white, are you okay with that?"

"Pfft," Kieran scoffed before taking a big swig straight from the bottle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then pressed the bottle to Alec's chest. "I'm white. Are you okay with that?"

Alec laughed hard enough that they had to grasp the bottle with both hands to make sure they wouldn't drop it. "You're some secret party animal, eh?" They followed his lead and drank straight from the bottle, only noticing their glasses were missing when they went to refill them. They didn't ask. "I think I can manage."

Kieran snorted. "Good. And I'm not sure why you would think it's a secret, I'm very obviously a beast of the party. Do you not very fondly recall our Pixar movie night from a few weeks ago? Rollicking." He clapped his hands and loudly repeated, "Rolicking!"

Alec almost wheezed they were laughing so hard. "Lord liftin', I'm stunned either of us remember that night!" They held the bottle out to him. "But yeah, a right fond memory. Just like this one! Like this one's gonna be."

"I remember everything, Master Masters." Kieran tapped his temple before taking the bottle from Alec. "Like a proverbial pachyderm." He took another sip of wine then wearily muttered, "Some men would tremble before the memories stored in this hippocampus."

Alec understood maybe half of the words coming out of Kieran's mouth. "Should we be headin' her once this bottle's done?" They picked up one of the cups of paint and drizzled it along the bottom third of their canvas. "Make a break for it 'fore they notice we drank half the free wine?"

Kieran leaned in toward Alec and loudly whispered, "As far as I'm concerned, my painting has achieved its maximum potential for pathos. If you feel like your painting is similarly complete, we can always grab the easels and the wine and make a run for it."

Alec broke into a lopsided grin. "We've reached the crime part of the night, eh? Are you planning to take your easel with you?"

Kieran held up a hand. "Sorry, I misspoke. Just the canvas. I would never steal an easel when art departments are already so criminally underfunded. But yes," he nodded. "We have indeed reached that part of the night. That is, if you agree that it's a good idea. If you don't, then I'm absolutely just kidding, I would never do that sort of thing."

Alec just held a finger up to their lips and put their coat back on. They held out a hand. "I'll tuck it in my jacket here, got an inside pocket. They'll be none the wiser on our way out the door."

Kieran passed the bottle to Alec before lifting his easel up off the canvas. "Oh, that is still wet. That is very wet." He stepped back as a drip of red fell off the edge and onto the floor. "Okay, new plan, I'm just gonna run," he hissed. Without waiting for a response, Kieran pranced toward the door that they entered through and pushed on straight outside.

Alec dissolved into laughter and shoved the wine into their inside pocket, grabbing their own unfinished painting and bolting after him. As they caught up they slowed down, but kept to a brisk pace. They grinned over at him and slung an arm around his shoulders once they were outside and heading away from the building. "I'd say that was a success! We unlocked some hidden talents."

Kieran grabbed Alec's wrist, letting his arm hang off of theirs. "Yes! I never knew you were such an artist, I'm very impressed with your lack of inhibition on the canvas. I applaud you." Kieran let go of Alec's wrist for just a moment to give tiny butterfly finger claps before grabbing on again. "I for one have learned that I have very little patience for still life paintings and that April is still a very cold month."

"Just call me A-lack of inhibition Masters." Alec grinned at him. "Want t'find somewhere to perch and send 'er?" They tapped the outline of the bottle in their jacket with their spare hand. "Or are you rarin' to call a cab back toward camp?"

Kieran thrust a hand in no specific direction. "Let's send her! Onward, A-lack!" He pulled them toward a light post in the distance, assuming there would be seating there. There was not, but there was a concrete planter that Kieran walked right up to and sat down on. "Let us."

Alec followed along easily and sat beside him, dropping their arm from his shoulders on the way so they could could their canvas with both hands. They propped it up against the canvas and crossed their legs. "5 star accomondans," they remarked. "Accomadatons. Accommodations." They gave a satisfied nod once they got the word right. "Right comfy." Pulling the bottle of wine out of the inside of their jacket, they scooted their position around so they were sitting facing him and held it out. "Your wine, monsieur?"

Kieran wrapped his arms around himself as Alec got settled, rubbing his forearms to create friction. "Ah, merci," he responded as he took the wine from Alec. He held it up to the light to see how much was left. "Alas, drunk all and left no friendly drop to help me after," he moaned. He took a tiny sip and held the bottle back out toward Alec. "The rest is yours, friend."

Alec pressed a hand to their cheek as they watched him, smiling. Their face felt warm to touch. "Can't say we didn't get our money's worth, eh?" they joked as they took the bottle back. They lifted it up and down a couple times to judge the amount left, then tilted their head back to drain the rest. Placing the bottle down carefully on the ground beside their canvas, they whistled a couple notes of a random song and settled into a position leaning their elbows on their knees. They returned to smiling at him. "Fun first Thursday! Next time we can hang out without gettin' drunk, unless that hurts your party animal spirit."

Kieran pulled his legs up into a cross and turned to face Alec. "My party spirit animal never wavers in its strength. Rather, it simply descends to a frequency undetectable to most when I'm sober." Kieran shook his head with a laugh. "But no worries, I'm sure you'll learn how to hear it in due time. It's always there. Singing."

Alec laughed and ran a hand through their hair to mess it up. "You betcha I'll figure out how to tune into that frequency. A constant singing party animal, like a radio show. How's it feel to be so cool?"

"Oh, poppycock," Kieran scoffed with a shooing hand. "I'm nothing of the sort. You're cool, what with your inverted suspension and high elevations. I am, however, cold," Kieran confessed with a grin as he started to shiver. "So maybe we could find a warmer place?"

"I think you're cool!" Alec exclaimed earnestly, reaching forward to take both of Kieran's hands. "I think you're really cool. But also cold, yes." They smiled and squeezed his hands before letting go. Glancing around, they tried to figure out where somewhere warmer could be, already shrugging out of their jacket. "Y'wanna head back or look around for somewhere? Wear this for now." They held out their coat for him. "I'm way warm enough. And hey, matches with the shirt! 'Cause it's mine, I mean."

Kieran bowed his head as he accepted the jacket. "Thank you. For both your generosity and your curatorial eye." He slipped the jacket on and did a little turn. "Eh?" He mimicked Alec's accent poorly. "Head her out and slap 'em in the galleys, eh?"

Alec clapped for him as he turned. "A new wave in fashion!" It took them a few seconds to clue in to the fact he was making fun of them. "Hey!" they laughed, not even bothering to try and sound offended. "That's a right good impression. You'd fit right in on the Cape."

"Ah, you flatter me," Kieran dismissed. "And I thank you for it." He stepped forward to sling his arm around Alec as they did earlier and gestured forward on the path. "Let's onward to warmer sands. Wherever they may be, I have no preference."

Alec picked up their canvas and bottle. "How's about we wander 'til a cab strolls by? Drives by. Walking'll warm us up anyways." They leaned into Kieran and tucked the empty bottle back inside their jacket. "Let us onward."

Kieran walked along the path, taking in their surroundings. After a moment of silent contemplation, Kieran spoke again, his voice much softer and calmer now. "You know, I never knew there was a university so close to New Athens."

Alec took his wrist the way he had theirs earlier. They hummed as he spoke. "It's cool, eh?" They glanced at him to see his expression and try and judge what he was thinking. "Easy commute."

"Easy commute," Kieran repeated. He looked over at the campus buildings beside them for a moment, before looking at Alec. "Thank you," Kieran said with a smile. "This was a lovely idea."

Alec smiled back at him fondly. "I thought it'd be a fun time to get outta camp, get some new scenery."

"Yes, well, you thought correctly." Kieran looked ahead and dropped the arm he was holding around Alec so he could sprint forward. Leaping up, he grabbed onto a light pole and swing around it, his other arm flung out dramatically. "Ma n'atu sole, cchiu' bello, oi ne'!" Kieran belted in his best feigned operatic baritone. "'O sole mio, sta 'nfronte a te!"

Alec watched him swinging around the lamp post singing opera and felt a pleasant warmth spread through their chest, coupled with the desire to press their hands to their cheeks which they made no effort to resist. "Holy mackerel," they whispered to themself in tipsy delight before jogging forward to catch up with him. He's so cute. "A rising star! A new talent sweeping the nation!" They spread their arms wide, canvas still clutched in one hand. Even with just a t-shirt, they didn't feel the post-sunset chill in the air. "Encore! Encore!"

"Oh, stop! Stop!" Kieran feigned joyous weeping, his hand clutched over his heart. "Oh, alright! 'O sole, 'o sole mio!" Kieran continued, rounding out the end of the chorus. "Sta 'nfronte a te! Sta 'nfronte a te!" Kieran sustained his last note as he jumped off the light pole and held his hands out to Alec, gripping the sides of their face with dramatic urgency.

Alec smiled so widely at him between his hands that their eyes closed. They rested their free hand on his forearm. "A voice like none I've heard before!" they continued with their over-exaggerated tone of awe. "And such a rare roadside performance!"

"You are much too kind, truly!" Kieran relaxed his grip on Alec's face, letting his hands rest on their cheeks. For a moment, he just stood there quietly, not knowing what to say but not wanting to move. Then, he let his hands fall to Alec's shoulders and shrugged. "I suppose the hidden talents just continue to be unlocked."

Alec dropped their hand when Kieran moved his, grasping onto the front of the jacket he was wearing. “They do, eh? I find out more about you every time.” Their smile softened as they watched him. “Can’t wait to see what I learn next.”

Kieran smiled. "You and I both." His eyes flickered to the road, which was still empty as before. "I have not noticed any taxis, I must say."

Alec blinked and let go of the jacket. They looked to the road as though expecting a cab to appear if they checked. “Huh, yeah. Should I call one?”

Kieran held up a hand. "Allow me. You've already done quite the job arranging this evening thus far. I would be glad to extend some sort of effort to even out the playing field." Kieran pulled out his phone to order an Uber.

Now that going home was an immediate prospect, Alec could feel some of the haze clear from their head. A pleasant warmth was still settled through their chest and they watched Kieran order the Uber, holding onto their own arms. “Look at me, a right organizer.”

Kieran went through the motions and ordered an Uber. "Alright, looks like Gregory is just... Eighteen minutes away?" Kieran shook his head. "Preposterous. We'll have succumbed to hypothermia by then." He gave Alec a mournful glance. "I can already hear the Celine Dion."

Alec laughed and put their arm around Kieran again, rubbing the side of his shoulder in an attempt to warm him up. “I’ll give you space on my floating door.”

"Your generosity truly is limitless." Kieran gestured down at the curb. "Shall we take a seat?" He didn't wait for an answer before sitting down on the curb, pulling his knees into his chest.

Alec sat as well and stretched their legs into the street, tilting their head back to see if they could make out any stars past the glow of the streetlights. Soon growing bored of that, they leaned back on their hands and looked over at Kieran. “Did I end up smudging any more paint on my face?”

Kieran looked over at Alec and smiled. "You did, yes. You've made yourself into art."

Alec touched their painting, then purposefully put a dot in the middle of each of their cheeks. “Finishing touch.” They tapped Kieran’s chin to smear a small circle of orange on it and grinned. “Perfect.”

Kieran gasped when Alec marked his chin. "What?" He laughed and went to wipe the dot away with his hand, but paused. "Alright... Fine. But if you're going to harlequinize me, at least make it complete." He turned toward Alec and gestured toward his cheeks. "Master artist, here's your canvas."

Alec turned to face him as well and considered their painting, deciding to stick with orange after a moment of thought. They wiped one of their hands on their shirt and used that to hold Kieran’s chin steady as they drew a spiralling pattern on each of his cheeks. It didn’t seem complete, so they added a tiny heart on the tip of his nose. “Perfect!”

Kieran sat still with his eyes closed. He laughed as he felt Alec drawing on his cheeks. "Why does this seem more elaborate than the one you gave yourself?" Once they were finished Kieran opened his eyes and smiled. "Am I museum-worthy?"

“‘Cause I can see you!” Alec chirped, wiping their other hand on the shirt Kieran was wearing. “Yep, for sure. You’re gonna have to stand next to my other painting the whole time, it’s a matching set.”

Kieran snorted. He pulled out his phone and checked his reflection in the dark screen. "I appreciate your color consistency." He smiled over at Alec, his eyes flickering over the patterns on their face. "May I return the favor?"

Alec slid their canvas towards him and closed their eyes, leaning forward. “Yeah! Make me art!”

Kieran dipped his fingers in the wet paint and started recreating the patterns on Alec's face. A swirl on the left cheek, a swirl on the right. Kieran took Alec's chin in his hand and made a dot just below their lip with his thumb. "And..." Kieran eyes trailed up looking for the tip of their nose, but got caught somewhere on their lips. 

 A moment later, Kieran's lips were against Alec's. Then a moment later, they weren't. 

"There." Kieran made a small dot on Alec's nose and dropped his hands. He smiled. "Now we match."

Alec barely had time to realize Kieran had kissed them before it was over, and they found themself leaning forward to follow it. They caught themself and leaned back again, blinking their eyes open and touching their lips absently. Huh. The warmth in their chest was spreading to their fingertips.

Within a couple seconds they snapped out of it and smiled back at him, cheeks hot. “We do, eh?” They cleared their throat. “I’ll have to stand on the other side of the painting to balance out the set.”

"Ah, like that Gotye song," Kieran joked. His heart was firing rapidly in his chest but his mind felt like it was suspended in air, floating freely somewhere above him. "Hopefully sans all the angst."

Alec wondered if it would be okay for them to take Kieran’s hands again, like they did early. They traced a few lines on their leg instead. “I’m A-OK with the most angst being drinking white instead of red.”

"Good," Kieran smiled. His gaze fell to watch Alec trace lines on their leg. Subconsciously, Kieran started painting small spirals into the concrete behind him.

Alec lifted their head as lights came around the bend, and they squinted to make out the shape of the car. It seemed a fair assumption that it was their Uber, so Alec climbed to their feet and picked up their canvas. They held out a hand to help Kieran up with a smile. “Ready to go?”

Kieran took Alec's hand and pulled himself up to a stand. "Ready as I've always been," he smiled.

[btsbangtanreacts]

BTS Reaction, Making a Romantic/Grand Gesture.

Jin

Things had been crazy for you lately. Work was hectic, things with your family had been rough, you’d been sick on and off, and you felt like there was no reprieve. Late one night you couldn’t seem to clear your mind in order to sleep, so you rang your best friend, Jin. He answered straight away.

“Can’t sleep again huh, Y/N?”

“I just feel like I don’t have enough time to do anything.  I just keep thinking about how much I’ve got to do. I mean I haven’t bought any groceries; I’ve been living off fast food for over a week, I have no clean clothes, my apartment’s a mess, I’ve got work, and family, and I can’t shake this cold that keeps coming back! How am I meant to just lie down and go to sleep?”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just talk to me until I fall asleep?”. Jin stayed on the phone telling you stories about his day and telling bad dad jokes until you fell asleep.

The next day you came home from work, pausing at your front door dreading the chaos that lay inside. You opened the door and did a double take to make sure you were in the right apartment. It was spotless and the smell coming from the kitchen was incredible.

“Is that you, Y/N?”

“Jin?”, you walked into the kitchen to find Jin packaging food into containers, “What are you doing here? What is all this?”

“Laundry is done, grocery shopping done, apartment cleaned, and enough meals to last 2 weeks! I know you’ve been having a tough time so I figured I could at least take some of that off your plate.”

Without even thinking about it, you crossed the kitchen, took Jin’s face in your hands, and kissed him. Instantly your friendship was changed forever.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever do that!” Jin laughed.

Yoongi

The other members frequently mentioned how Yoongi had a crush on you, but you couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t that you didn’t get along, but he just wasn’t affectionate towards you, so it was hard to believe he looked at you as anything more than a friend. When you first met the two of you had bonded over your love of piano. Most of the time when you hung out together it was in his studio to play together or share new compositions, so it was a surprise when he asked you to meet him outside the Lotte Concert Hall to hang out.

When you arrived, you found him leaning against a wall. As soon as he saw you a small smile spread across his lips and before even saying hello, he covered your eyes and asked, “You trust me, right?”

He started to guide you down the hallway and through a door.

“Yoongi, where are we going?”

“Shhh. Almost there.”

You came to a stop, Yoongi standing with his body close behind yours, his hands still covering your eyes.

“Ready?”, he whispered into your ear. When he uncovered your eyes, you realised you were standing inside the empty concert hall. The lights were dimmed except for one light on stage illuminating a grand piano. You looked back at him completely speechless.

“Go on. Go play.” He moved to a seat a few rows back as you went to take a seat at the piano.

You got lost in the music letting the notes fill the hall. When the final notes had echoed through the room you heard Suga clapping and cheering as he moved from his seat to join you on the stage.

“I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“I had to get you to notice me somehow.” He whispered with a smile.

Hoseok

Hoseok had been home for a month-long break with his family. You missed your childhood neighbour when he was gone and always loved spending time with him when he was back.

“Don’t leave me again, Hobi. I’ll be so bored!” you sighed dramatically throwing yourself across his bed.

“That’s just because I’m the best person ever. It’s natural to miss me.”

“No, it’s because you’re my favourite person so I miss you when you’re gone. You know I used to have the BIGGEST crush on you when we were teenagers?”

“W-wait, WHAT?!”

“Oh, come on, you knew! I practically threw myself at you! You were just nice enough to let me down gently.”

Hoseok blushed and changed the topic. He had no idea that you had had a crush on him and had spent years dreaming of you.

The next day he left to go back to work. As you climbed into bed after a long boring day without your friend, you noticed that a polaroid of Hoseok was stuck to your ceiling. Grabbing it down you read the handwritten caption, “1 of 30”. You sent a picture of it to him with a question mark.

“looks like you’ve got 29 more to go. By the way you have 30 days to find them to win the prize.”

He knew you too well and knew you couldn’t turn down a prize. The competitive streak in you took over and for the next few days your furiously hunted them down, finding them in all manner of places; pockets of your favourite clothes, inside drawers, in the mailbox, behind the curtains, and even stuck to the bottom of your shoe.

It had been 2 weeks since you’d last found one and you were still only up to 29.

“Hobi, please just tell me where the last one is?” you text him.

“Where’s the fun in that, Y/N? I promise the best one is last. You only have 2 days left”.

48 hours later and you were just texting Hoseok to officially give up when the doorbell rang. You opened the door to reveal Hoseok with polaroid number 30 stuck to his chest. Reading the caption, you could only smile. It simply read, “Date?”.

Namjoon

“AH!”, there was a crash from the hallway, “Y/N you really need to stop stacking your books up everywhere!”

“No Joonie, you need to be less destructive and leave my books alone!”. Your books were practically your friends. They crowded every spare surface and space in your apartment and had long since over filled your one small bookcase, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of any of them.

The following weekend you went home to visit your family, leaving Namjoon with the keys in case anything happened while you were gone. When you came home late Sunday night all the lights were on.

“Hello....?”, you cautiously called out.

“Y/N! You’re back! In here.”

Following the sounds of your friends voice you went to the living room to find the walls covered by floor to ceiling bookshelves, your precious books filling nearly every shelf. Sitting in a brand-new oversized armchair, that was perfect for reading in, was Namjoon grinning from ear to ear.

“Before you ask……no I didn’t build them myself, so they’re not going to collapse.”

You ran to him and held him in a long embrace, your head resting on his chest, listening to his heart racing.

Squeezing you tightly, Namjoon kissed the top of your head, “I’m glad you like it.”

Jimin

In the spring you moved to South Korea. It was hard to adjust at first but quickly became easier once you met your friend, Jimin. It was early in the winter and you were at the dorms hanging out with Jimin and the other members.

‘When do you think it will start snowing?”, you asked, your face pressed against the cold glass of the living room window.

“You’ve asked that 12 times in the last 30 minutes, Y/N, the answer is still the same. I. Don’t. Know.”, replied an exasperated Jin.

“Yeah well sue me for being excited, I’ve never seen snow. It’s hot where I’m from!”

You slept on the couch that night until you were gently shaken awake by Jimin.

“Chim, what the hell? It’s like 3am!”

“Shhh. Just sit up a second.”

With a groan you sat up, eyes barely open watching Jimin standing by the curtain covered window.

“Ready?” Without waiting for a reply, Jimin pulled back the curtain.

Instantly you were wide awake and staring in awe out the window, “Snow!”

“First snow of the year.”, Jimin smiled proudly.

“You woke me up just to see the snow?”

“You wanted to see snow so bad and the first snow of the year is the most magical. I just wanted it to be magical for you”, Jimin’s smile grew even bigger as his face flushed red.

“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

He gave a small nod and started to walk out of the room. “You’re not staying with me?”

“I….d-do you want me to?”

You lifted your blanket and shifted forward on the couch giving Jimin enough room to lie down behind you. He covered both of you with the blanket and you held his hand, wrapping it around your waist. His thumb gently brushed the exposed skin of your hip between your PJ shirt and shorts.

“I can’t believe you made sure I got to see this.”

“You deserve all the magic in the world, Y/N.”

Taehyung

Being away from home for so long had been hard. People constantly told you it would get better eventually but for you it was only getting worse. Your friend, Taehyung, was at your place one evening trying to cheer you up by making all sorts of weird faces and noises.

“Tae, please stop, I’m not in the mood”.

“Aw come on, Y/N, it will be okay. I know it’s hard”, he sat down next to you and rubbed your back to try and comfort you.

“It’s not just hard. I don’t want to be here anymore. I feel so alone all the time. I just want to move back home and be closer to my family and friends again.”

Taehyung didn’t want you to move away. He couldn’t deal with the thought of not being able to see you each day. Wrapping you in his arms he let you cry out your frustrations while he came up with a plan.

One you’d fallen asleep, he covered you with a blanket and quietly slipped out to start working on his plan.

Every time you called over the next couple of days, he said he couldn’t hang out or talk, which was out of character. Feeling even more lonely and sorry for yourself you packed a bag and headed out for a weekend home. As the elevator doors opened to go downstairs, you found Taehyung just stepping out.

“Y/N! I was just coming to see you!”, his face dropped when he saw the bag in your hand, “No, no, no, you can’t leave!”, he said desperately.

He held out a tan coloured teddy bear with a heart stitched on its foot.

“A teddy? Really? Tae I’m not five.” He grabbed the bag from your hand and thrust the bear into your chest, “Squeeze it”.

“Tae…”.

“Squeeze the damn bear, Y/N”, he pleaded.

With a sigh you squeezed the bear.

“I love you, Y/N”, you immediately started crying and squeezed the bear over and over listening to the sound of your mother’s voice.

“I know I couldn’t bring her here to stay so I figured this was the next best thing. Now you can stay right? You can stay here with me?”.

“I was only going for a weekend!”, You laughed.

“Oh……”

Jungkook

You’d been texting your friend, Jungkook, all day venting about how stressful work was. All you wanted to do was the same thing you did every time you had a bad day. You wanted to go home, get into the comfiest clothes you could find, get all your favourite junk food, and curl up in bed to watch the same terrible, trashy movies you always watched to feel better.

“Come to the dorm tonight,” Jungkook texted.

“I really just want to relax tonight, but thanks anyway.”

“Not an offer. An order. Come to the dorm tonight.” A few seconds passed before a new message came through, “Please?”.

“Fine. I’ll come straight from work.”

“Oh, so that’s why JK has been pacing around for an hour, you’re here”, Yoongi said as he opened the door to you, “You know where to find him.”

Knocking softly on the door you called out, “Kookie? It’s me!”

‘Y/N! You’re here!”, he slipped his body through the ajar door and gave you a tight squeeze, “Be prepared for the best night ever!”

He pushed the door open and stepped inside letting you see his room.

“Lots of pillows on the bed, your favourite candle, all the best junk food, and the corniest movies possible ready to spend all night watching!”

“Oh, Kook! This is just what I needed, thank you!” “Here!”, Jungkook leapt forward towards the bed and picked up a careful stack of his comfiest clothes, “Go get something more comfortable on and I’ll get the first movie ready.

Stepping out of the bathroom after changing into a pair of Jungkook’s sweatpants and t-shirt, you took in a deep breath of how good the room smelled. You jumped onto the bed where Jungkook was already sitting with the blankets covering his lap. The bed was stacked with a ton of pillows and blankets, just how you liked it, and there was every snack imaginable.

“Kookie did you do this all for me?”

“Of course, I did, Y/N. I’d do anything to make you happy.”

“Anything?” you asked with a devilish grin.

“Anything at all for you” He said gazing into your eyes.

“Good!” you said bouncing onto the bed until you were sitting as close to him as you could without making him uncomfortable, “Cause my hands are freezing and I need somewhere to warm them up. Jungkook pulled the covers back so you could climb inside.

“Here,” he took your hands in his and slipped them up his shirt and onto his chest, his hands resting over yours holding them to his heart, “Warm?”

“So warm and toasty. You’re the best Kookie. I wish I never had to move from right here every again. I want us to stay just like this forever.”

“We could!”, JK hinted as his voice cracked. His face went bright red. “I’ll stay right here with you, just the two of us, for as long as you want me.” Nuzzling down onto his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist, you thought about it for a moment.

“I like the sound of forever with you.”

[writersrealmbts]

Con Amore: Part 6

Bulletproof Melody Sequel

Description: Con Amore– A directive to a musician to perform a selected passage of a composition tenderly, with affectionate emotion, or in a loving manner; an instruction to the player of an instrument meaning ‘with love’ or ‘lovingly’. Three years with all seven of your loves, three years of relative peace. But now everything is threatened as darkness surges from the horizon.

Originally Posted: 08/07/2019

Tags: Superheroes, Ot7

Fluff/Angst: 2,823 words

A/N: Let’s get into it.

Your nose wrinkled as you entered the cafeteria. “Oh Lord.” “Back away slowly,” Namjoon instructed. “Maybe they won’t notice us and we can escape to where we can get food that doesn’t smell like…what does that smell like?” “Feet and tomato sauce,” Jin answered. “I can transport out and get us edible food,” Taehyung whispered. “Good plan.” “Nightingale!” An evil voice called out. You glared at the young man in his stupid temple travel robes looking like a cross between a wizard, a monk, and a farmer. Now everyone was looking at you. He ran up and bowed, straightening quickly. “High Priestess Cohen has sent me to represent…um…to represent…did I do something wrong, Arch—” He spluttered and spit out the mouthful of water and plant matter that had filled his mouth. You gestured for them to stop, stepping in close. “I believe one of the most intensive training programs at the temple is that of discretion, is it not?” He blinked in surprise at you, then looked a little sheepish and nodded. “Yes, miss.” “We should speak in private if you are to be the liaison between us and the temple. Does the dean know of your arrival?” “Yes, miss.” “And you’ve eaten?” “Not yet, miss.” “Follow me.” You pivoted and headed back to the elevator, feeling the curious gazes of at least two hundred students on your back. It was a good way out of eating whatever minimally edible food you found in there and frankly the smell was making you feel sick. Again. “So—” “Not in the elevator. You’re new, aren’t you?” “Sorry, yes, ma’am.” “What’s your name?” “Heuning Kai, miss.” “And you are a…” It wasn’t that you actually needed him to explain his powers, but you figured it would make him uncomfortable if he knew that you could sense his powers. Besides, sometimes it was nice to keep a power hidden away for emergency use. You certainly kept yours hidden. “Acolyte of day, messenger of the high priests and priestesses,” He replied quickly, dipping his head and making a gesture of the temple in the center of his chest. He looked at you with a little apprehension. “What does that mean?” Jimin asked, idly leaning against you. “It means he’s a light super training in the ways of the temple, and while he’s training he’s their messenger. Like an apprenticeship. You learn, but you also work to earn your keep. The temple is structured and run for supers who believe their powers give them too much…well, power. They stay at the temple to protect themselves and each other from those who would use their powers for ill. Instead they treat the sick and injured and provide sanctuary for those in need. When they do use their powers, it is after much prayer and meditation. They’re essentially pacifists that will fight if provoked in just the right way.�� You explained, stumbling as the elevator made you dizzy. “I’m going to have to start using the stairs.” “Not a good idea,” Seokjin said. “You’d never get anywhere.” “I know,” You muttered poutily. “But the elevator makes me dizzy.” Jungkook wrapped his arms around you. “I’m sorry.” You sighed and leaned into his embrace until the doors opened. “Right. Let’s use one of these other rooms to set up for battle plans.” Yoongi picked a room and went in. Once inside, you hummed to make sure no one could see or listen in, then turned to Heuning Kai. “It’s safe to speak now.” “The high priestess of light sends word that our patient that was asking for you has begun recovering, and but hasn’t been able to clarify his messages from before. She also wished for me to tell you that you were right about the organization that was rising back to power, and that the temple is preparing for battle should you have need of them. I am to be at your disposal.” “Anything else?” He frowned slightly, almost indignant, but seeming to remember something before. “She said that you need to seal the doors that very moment.” “I take it that was her exact wording, she said “that very moment”?” He nodded. You frowned, trying to figure out what that could mean. There were literal doors, figurative doors, the doors to your archives, the doors to the school, the doors of transportation…there were an almost endless number of doors that could be referencing to and apparently she had decided to be vague. “Nothing else?” “I believe that was everything, miss.” “Alright. Let’s go over the ground rules while we’re at the conservatory. Do not discuss any private information about yourself, us, or the mission with anyone except me and these men. That includes me being an archivist, any relationship things you see with us…did you give them your true name?” He looked up in surprise. “They didn’t ask for it.” “Then don’t. Do you have a code name at the temple?” He nodded, but it was hesitant. “One you don’t particularly like?” “I’m called orangeade.” “Yikes. He wins,” Hoseok muttered. “Okay…well, the dean will probably just call you Acolyte…but is there some other code name that you’d maybe like to use while here?” “Well, I’ve also been called wings…” He shrugged, looking uncertain and a little out of his depth. “Wings?” Jimin asked. He reached behind him and pulled a piece of fabric. Wings spread out behind him, the white feathers connected with metal, gears working smoothly to allow them to work properly. Not quite a power, but explained that weird sense you got from him about a second power. You knew the handiwork. He likely had wings he was born with, and was refitted as a child to have these, then rescued and taken to the temple for safety. You looked at his face, seeing how uncomfortable it made him to even be called wings. “I could call you Hermes, Euros, or Zephyros.” He lit up a bit. “Hermes was the messenger god. Euros was the god of the east wind and autumn, thought to bring rain and warmth. Zephyros was the god of the west wind and spring. If those don’t sound like good names, then I can find others. And it’s only temporary.” You gave him a gentle smile, knowing you could come off as abrupt. “Just to keep you safe. This place is just as dangerous as the enemy we’re facing.” “I like Zephyros,” He said softly, smiling a little. “Okay.” You gave him a gentle smile, then turned to Taehyung. “But seriously, real food.” He grinned. “What do you want?” “Hmm, I think I want a burger,” you said. “Maybe some fries. And fruit. Strawberries. And blueberries.” “Alright, I’ll do my best,” He came over and collected a quick kiss. You gripped his sleeve. “Be careful.” He met your eyes and nodded. “I’ll take Mannaz-ah.” “You will?” Jimin looked a little indignant. “Yup.” Taehyung grabbed a paper. “Now taking orders.” The boys started giving him instructions for food, and you gestured for Heuning Kai to give Taehyung an order as well. He looked nervous to do so, so you pulled him over to where Taehyung was writing down Namjoon’s order. “Do you want a burger?” You asked after a moment. He nodded. Taehyung flashed a smile. “Come over here, I have a menu pulled up for the place I’m going to.” You gave the young boy an encouraging smile, then headed over to Jimin. “Keep your head on the swivel. I don’t care how ridiculous you might look, keep an eye on everything.” He nodded and nuzzled your cheek. “We’ll probably have to spread out tonight. You were too warm this morning. We’ll have to go back to our old routine of one or two of us sleeping with you at a time. Laguz-hyung’s neck is hurting him and Sowilo-hyung’s leg is hurting him.” “And how’s your back and neck?” You asked, gently rubbing the muscle connecting his neck and shoulder. “Mmm, Jera-hyung gave me a massage earlier this morning.” He melted into your touch anyway. “Good. You’re right. Probably only manage one of you in a bed with me, though. I’ll let you have the first night.” You wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed a few kisses to his lips. “I’ll need your special brand of cuddles tonight.” He smiled. “Cuddles, yeah. That’s what we’ll be doing.” You rolled your eyes. “We’ll do whatever we both have energy for.” “Mmhmm, or I could just please you,” He murmured, stepping closer and pressing a kiss to your lips. You shook your head and lightly punched his shoulder. “Raidho is ready to leave.” “Try not to worry about us,” He whispered, pressing his forehead to yours. “I’ve got the check-in app going with Tiwaz-hyung.” You kissed him again, then stepped away from him so that Tae could step in and transport them out. Namjoon led Heuning Kai out of the room, talking about getting him settled in the same wing as us. You looked back at Jungkook. “Come with me to the archives?” He smiled and nodded. “Don’t let her work too hard,” Hoseok said, quickly kissing you as he pulled a sleepy-looking Yoongi toward the door. “Hey, if I give you guys a list can you lay out a plan to rescue some kids from some of the homes, make sure the organizations can’t get to them?” You pulled out a paper. “Yeah, we’ll make a plan then when everyone is back we’ll execute it,” He plopped a kiss on your hair. “We’ll also set this room up as a meeting room. I just have to tuck this one in for a nap.” You giggled and stepped in to kiss Yoongi. “Sleep well, dearest.” He visibly blushed, and looked away. You grinned and wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head on his shoulder and kissing his neck. “Try to dream of me?” “Yeah, whatever,” He murmured, a little bit of his cute, flustered lisp coming out. You kissed his neck again, seeing his ears turning red. You squeezed him again, then released, letting your hands trail across his body. He caught your hand, giving it a light squeeze before letting you retreat to Jungkook. He was still looking away from you, but you knew he was watching your every move. “Come on,” Hoseok chuckled, tugging Yoongi out of the room. You hummed and pulled Jungkook through the door and into one of the archives. You had almost finished organizing the artifacts in your own way so that you could find whatever you need, but there was still one room full of artifacts that you still needed to find a home for. You relaxed once you’d sealed the entrance again. Jungkook was watching you with worry in his eyes. “You alright?” “Tired. Worried. A little nauseous. I wish I could just curl up with all of you and sleep. Not worry about another opponent.” You nuzzled into his chest as he wrapped around you lovingly and protectively. He just held you tightly. “I wish that too. I wish we could all just bask in the happiness of a baby. We’ve wanted one for so long. Been trying since Christmas. For it to come now…” “Yeah,” You whispered. “All things in due season, though…right?” “If you mean that things happen when they’re supposed to, then I guess so. Like fate.” You nodded. “Fate.” You ran a hand over your stomach, chewing on your lip. “I just…the thought of being a mom hasn’t really hit me yet, I guess. I’m used to being free and doing almost exactly as I please when I please. Do you think I’ll be a good mom? And what’s it going to be like with the baby having essentially seven fathers?” “We’ll figure everything out together. You’ll be a great mom. You’re already so good at taking care of us,” He reassured softly, smiling at you lovingly. “And when you get all big and your ankles and back hurt, I’ll carry you wherever you like.” You groaned. “Oh, I’m gonna get fat. I was just feeling like I was in excellent shape too.” “You look beautiful no matter what.” He kissed you chastely. “Now, what’s the task?” “Keeping me from doing too much while I find some artifacts that can help us that aren’t dangerous if taken by others. Then I want to seal the archives so that only I can get into them. I don’t know quite what to make of Nurya’s warning, but I do know that if I can, I should make sure these never fall into the wrong hands.” “So you’re preparing early for the occasion of your death.” He sounded upset. You shook your head. “No. I meant it when I said I’d stay away from the fighting and the danger. I just want to make sure no one gets in uninvited. Which is why I’m also making sure that if I do open it, it’s also because I’m carrying this,” You explained as you picked up an amulet with a tiger and rooster depicted on it. “This was collected by my five-times-great-grandfather, from Jeju Island. The amulet of Munjeon, a god of doors.” You held it out to Jungkook. He took it, looking it over, running a finger over the inlaid rubies and sapphires. “It looks like that peace symbol, the black and white one.” “Yin and Yang, which represents balance, not peace. Yes, it is.” You grabbed a special case from the side and started carefully picking out artifacts that could be useful but wouldn’t break the world. “Keep it safe for me. If you don’t feel like I’m me, don’t give it to me.” He watched you for a while, then slowly closed his fist over the amulet. “Okay.” He caught your waist. “But what if I’m the one that’s taken.” “It’s also a protection charm.” You kissed his cheek. “And I’ll make sure there are fail-safes. I just need to sit down with some sheet music and headphones while you guys make plans for fighting and investigation.” He nodded. “They’re probably back with food, now.” You grabbed a few more artifacts from other archives, then pulled him back into the room. Taehyung and Jimin were putting chairs at the tables, which had been rearranged into a huge meeting table that could seat all of you plus some extras. You smiled as the smell of burgers wafted to you. “That smells fantastic. Thank you, boys.” They jumped and Jimin went down behind a table in surprise. Tae recovered first. “What’s the suitcase for?” “Tools,” You explained, kissing his cheek, then going to make sure Jimin hadn’t hurt himself. “Any trouble?” “Nope, we were perfectly safe.” Jimin hugged onto you. “We have a problem,” Hoseok said, coming back in with the others, including Huening Kai and the dean. “What problem?” Taehyung asked. The dean put a device down and Yoongi projected the screen onto the wall for everyone to see. “The old church which was used by a private organization has been burning for six hours, there are no reports of anyone being in the church when the fire began, and firefighters are still working hard to put out the flames, which have extended to throughout the entire building.” The news reporter kept talking about when the fire started and all that, but your gaze was on the symbol on the burning door. “Beit mikdash lekavot,” The dean read from the simple sign. “Hope Temple.” Heuning Kai looked devastated. “That’s where the entrance to the temple of light was,” You confirmed. “Boys, we need to rescue the kids from those homes I listed. Now.” “Right. We’ll eat as we go,” Jin quickly grabbed his burger from the bag. “I’ll have some transportation students ready to assist you all.” “Huening Kai, why don’t you help me today?” You said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. He slowly nodded and let you guide him to a seat. You gently rubbed his back. “I’m sure they’re okay.” He nodded again, but his gaze was fixed on the video that Yoongi was still projecting, obviously waiting for more details. “Wilo, you should stick with Jin,” You suggested gently. Yoongi glanced at you, then Heuning Kai, before nodding and ending the projection. The dean turned to you. “I would like to speak to you later. When it’s convenient.” You weren’t sure what that would be about, but you figured it probably wasn’t good. You nodded anyway and sat down with the laptop to monitor the separate missions of your boys, giving Heuning Kai the second and telling him what to do based on the plan Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok had come up with. You just hoped it wouldn’t be too late for the children.

~~~~~

Part 5.   Part 7.

Masterlist.  ~  Series Masterpost.  

[kookiesspacebuns]

Suspirium | Prologue

Pairing | Jungkook X OC

Genre | alien, fantasy, fluff, eventual smut

|Summary|

Her mother, father and brother were gone. The only people she loved, now dead after crash-landing on a planet while trying to escape their own. Their bodies either burned to ash or somewhere in the vast Arizona desert. All that she has left is herself and her will to get back home. Until a dull-eyed stranger shows up and entangles himself in the already tumultuous emotions controlling her.

\/\/\/\/

The last thing she remembers is the weightlessness and the way her stomach felt like it was invading her throat. The gravity had malfunctioned just minutes before, making the treacherous fall more unbearable than it already was. 

Her mother’s shaky voice fills her head.

I love you.

We will be okay.

I love you, Nahcai.

She gasps, gulping down the dirt and black, fume-filled air. Her lungs struggle to filter the oxygen as the composition of the gases filling them is different than that of her world.

Her hands wrap around her neck, as if the action could help her in some way breathe, but she chokes on the strange gases and the debris floating above her face. The tears that streak down and puddle in her ears, from the strength of desperately inhaling and exhaling, wash away the thin layer of orange dirt that cover her tanned skin.

Soon, the black smoke layered across her and her surroundings, lifts higher into the air, giving her lungs just enough clean air to regain strength.

She inhales like a madwoman, hyperventilating to try and fill her lungs again. But with that, her vision swells and she thinks back to the breathing techniques she was taught as a child. In case of an emergency such as this.

In. Her mouth widens to take in a long, deep breath

Out. Slow and steadily her lungs push the used gases up and out into the atmosphere.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

When her head feels clearer and she no longer feels the itching sensation to close her eyes and sleep, she rolls her head to the side. Her blurred vision dissipates slowly after numerous swipes of her eyelids over dry eyes.

What lays a few feet away has her heart pounding in her chest. The almost completely black, mass doesn’t move. A few strands, of what looks like steam, raise from the lower half and for the first time, she smells the air.

Death.

No, she thinks, using all of her mental strength to push away the daunting thoughts shrouding her mind.

They can’t be.

With all of the energy she can gather, she crunches the sore muscles in her abdomen and lifts herself until she’s sitting up. She lets out a feeble whine when she sees the brokenness that is her right leg. Half of her lower leg is bent at an abnormal angle and she can already feel the familiar tingle encompassing the split bone and muscle. It’s already started healing, but not enough for her to walk, even for a few steps.

Digging her hands into the hard earth beneath her, she flips onto her front and pulls the weight of her body forwards by her arms alone. As the distance between her and the charred body closes, her eyes water with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks again. Tears of sheer loss.

She knows, from the color of his hair and the shape of his rounded cheeks that it is her brother she’s crawling towards. She can’t contain the whimpers when she is finally able to reach out and touch his arm. It’s cold. A complete contrast to the singed mess that are his legs. She can’t bear to look at them, keeping her eyes on the face she knows better than her own. Cradling his dewy cheeks between her shaking hands, she lowers her head to his still heart.

Her eyes fall upon a scene that finally opens the door in her chest, where all of the sorrow comes tumbling out in the form of a heartbreaking scream. In what’s left of the ship she and her family had escaped their home planet on, she sees two figures still strapped to the piloting seats, amidst the lavender flames of burning fuel.

Her parents.

Gone.

Everyone is dead.

Her cries fill the space once covered in dark smoke. Despair is what she is made of. It’s all that fills her in this moment. Not the blood that usually runs through her veins. Not the oxygen that was so precious just moments ago. But the despair and sadness. Nothing else matters.

All she can think about is how completely and utterly alone she is. Stranded alone, with all that’s left of who she is burning away, soon to be ash.

Her hands tighten into fists as a horrendous thought flashes in her mind. She could easily crawl over to where her parents are and join them. Throw herself into the fire that so easily took the only three people she loves.

But then she thinks of her father, and how disappointed he would be if he knew how close she was to giving up. And how, oh so, tempting the thought is. To see his daughter in such a weakened state would have broken him. 

She was the light in his life. He’d always say that to her.

‘Go,’ she swears she can hear him whispering. She shivers, suddenly chilled to the bone. 

Forcing her eyes away from the wreckage, she takes in her surroundings for the first time. Directly behind the burning ship are mountains far, far off in the distance. Their forms are barely visible in the dark of the night.

Opposite the mountains and long stretch of nothing, she sees the telltale sign of life. Lights. The sky glows to her left, beyond the rows of shrubbery and oddly pointy vegetation.

Instinct tells her to be wary. Whoever occupies this planet may not be to receiving of her. Her mind tells her that she has no other choice and that if she has any hopes of getting out of here, she has to eventually move. Go, like her father’s whispered words in her head.

Looking down at her little brother has her vision blurring again and more tears fall onto his face. She wipes the moisture away from both her eyes and his face, and kisses him on both cheeks. Choking out a somber goodbye, she begins pulling herself towards the line of greenery, and to what could be her demise.

What if they are carnivorous and look like something out of a nightmare. Will they attack her or will they be afraid of her. Though she knows that she is in no way harmful to anyone in the universe, if someone from another world had ever shown up to hers, she certainly would have wondered how dangerous they were.

The thoughts do nothing but make her second guess everything and slow her down. Her leg has more feeling than it did before, so she knows its healing well. Lifting the injured leg, she flexes the muscles. The pain makes her hiss, but the fact that she can even move it is a good sign. She tests whether she can put some pressure on it to help her crawl faster and the ache is almost unbearable, but she pushes on anyway.

The bushes are getting closer and her heart beats faster. 

The sound of dry, rattling branches still her advancing. A shadow grows darker as it pushes through the thick plants.

She suddenly loses all of her courage, faster than she gained it and her breathing quickens to match the pace of her heart.

What steps out of the bushes confuses her. It’s a man. A normal man. 

Overwhelming relief spreads throughout her body and she takes a deep breath. They must have crashed on a different part of her own planet. 

She calls out for the man to help her, but instead of rushing to her side as she expects, he hesitates. His feet shuffle in the dirt, now significantly slower than before.

She notices his feet, and the weird shoes covering them. Then her eyes scan up his frame, more confusion setting in at each article of clothing. She wonders just how far off they must have crashed, by the peculiar style of clothing he dawns. But it’s his face that really throws her off. More specifically, his eyes.

He crouches down a few feet in front of her, seeming to ponder whether he should move any closer. That’s when she can clearly see his eyes. The brown orbs are just that, Brown. The eyes of her kind are different. More iridescent around the pupil. Some, like hers, glow during moments of high emotion. But his were dull. Nothing but darkness and curiosity.

She scoots back a little, unsure of what to do next. He notices her hesitation and runs forward speaking a language that is definitely not her own. 

Screaming, she covers her face as if the position will protect her.

This is it.

She is going to die after all.

[chogiweol]

college geek!chanyeol

anon asked: “Hiii can I request a cute geeky college chanyeol bulletpoint where he’s had a crush on the reader but is to shy to approach her and they end up together eventually?”

genre: fluff uwu

author’s note: of course you can, i adore college aus and geeky chanyeol so i had fun writing this. thank you so much!

chanyeol is a college sophmore, he majors in music composition and never knows what's his minor

he's had a crush on you since the first semester of the first year, when he saw you walk in

he remembers vividly what you looked like, what you wore, and the scent of your perfume when you walked past him

you wore light blue jeans, you looked comfy in your thick, grey hoodie that adorned your school's name and year, and you smelled like vanilla? or sugar?

he'd have to ask culinary student!do kyungsoo for his opinion.

you had a pair of converse on, they looked exactly like his,

which prompted him to think that you were his soulmate...

so he ran with it.

chanyeol himself was popular off of his looks, a lot of people were attracted to him because he looked cute and he had a great body

but not so much for personality, he's quiet and reserved and usually absorbed in his own little world, doodling in his notebooks, eyes scoping around the room behind the thick lense of his glasses.

he knew he could be a cool kid and he could be an asshole, he could drink and party all the time but in truth,

he didn't want to, he had more important things to worry about

like whether your perfume was scented of vanilla or of toasted sugar

his last girlfriend left him because he was "too nerdy" and he "embarrassed" her whenever he spoke

usually he talked about the history of music, his mangas, the anime he recently watched, the classic cars he's seen on the road that day, or he'd make dad jokes that were too-dad for his own father,

he liked her a lot and her words always stung but it was nothing compared to what he felt for you

he swears that he loves you a lot and that your words sting in a different way; in a good way, it sets his senses on fire whenever you're near him.

now here's the problem

you're always near him but not near him

you were really good friends with some of his friends; kyungsoo, junmyeon, you even talked to jongdae more than you talked to him!

it..wasn't your fault though, you would try to start a conversation with him and he'd get shy and red and shut down

he'd nod and stare at you with those big, beautiful eyes

(you thought they were beautiful, he wouldn't find out for a while, though)

there was a time when you went over to his dorms to hang out with the other guys

he buried himself in his room, hidden and snuggled underneath all his blankets, sweating with a racing heart whenever he heard your footsteps close to his door; secretly praying you'd come in and sit in his lap..by some chance.

little did he know; that's all you wanted to do

you knew about his terrible jokes, his silly fears of whatever bug was in season, you knew all about his manga collection, how much he loves junk food, the way his nose twitches when too much pollen gets in it, how passionate he was whenever it was just him and his music.

the boys had been telling you all about him for the last year, hinting about how cute the two of you would be together, in an attempt to get their two best friends to date..

but it always ended up in vain, chanyeol too scared to talk to the pretty person with shining eyes and a gorgeous smile and you too scared to confront the handsome geek who once sneezed on your face, so they had to take desperate measures.

they thought of a plan.

it was close to spring break, they had free time to spend out of the dorms.

the boys all decided to force you two to be alone.

all the boys had evacuated the dorm at the crack of dawn, which was cleaned and silent without all nine voices yelling through the walls.

they had you sleepover like it was any other friday night and you had resided in the livingroom, waking up at 10 am to the loud crunching of doritos from the other side of the space..

it was chanyeol.

he was staring at you while enjoying his chemically processed breakfast, beads of sweat collecting at his hairline, freezing like a deer in headlights when he saw you had woken up

you were informed by junmyeon a few months ago that chanyeol chews food significantly louder when he's nervous or stressed out;

"are you okay?" you squinted a little bit, noticing his face turn red..maybe the food dye from the doritos had taken their toll on the giant.

his hair was every which way and he had some red blemishes on his tan skin, he was in some sweatpants and a black tanktop, in other words, he looked like a five course meal with expensive dessert.

anyways

he had nodded, his cheeks filled with munched dorito shards; he'd probably choke if he tried to swallow it now,

so he sat there with it in his mouth, dead silent in fear of spitting while talking

"...where are the other guys?" the way he was staring at you made you nervous, he's looking at you with accusing saucers for eyes, like he didn't trust you

and that kinda hurt your feelings.

but it wasn't that he didn't trust you, he knew you were kind and gentle, he was just shocked that you were talking to him.

"out," is all that he had the courage to say, hot flashes racking his body as the bag of chips began to slip tauntingly from his hands.

"..out where? do you think they'll be back soon? when did they leave?" junmyeon also informed you that, with the little knowledge you had of their plan, if you ask chanyeol enough questions, he'll have to answer you in full at some point

"the store...no...two hours ago." he mumbled to the best of his ability, finally swallowing the soggy shards in his mouth.

"were you watching me sleep for two hours?" you raise your eyebrows and squinted again, giving him that same accusing look

he wasn't going to budge anytime soon so you sighed and tried to fix your bedhair as best as you could without a mirror, frowning when you felt it wasn't good enough.

"oh..maybe I should go then, I look terrible right now." you laughed it off a little bit, a half smile tracing your lips once you stood and began collecting your things.

without a single thought at all, chanyeol blurted it out.

"you look amazing right now..I mean..not in the weird way..just..you look really beautiful all the time like..you never have a bad hair day or a bad skin day or a bad face day, you're just really...stunning..like right now."

he was well aware of what he was saying, this was the most he's ever said to you

and you fell in love with his voice.

"you really think so?" your face looked as red as chanyeol's hair, your mouth forming making an 'o' shape,

you almost swooned when he flashed you a toothy smile and nodded, his nervousness seeming to melt away after he told you what he's been wanting to tell you since that first semester.

"you know, the guy's have told me a lot about you and I think you're very handsome." your smile lit up your face, but soon fell away when the geeky giant frowned.

"you might not think that once you get to know me," he cocked his head to the side, a little doubting hope in his heart.

you watched his every move, awestruck by what he just told you.

"well..I know enough about you to know that we like the same kinds of music, we have the same major, both of us are scared of moths..I know that you like converse and anime, mangas, and you chew loudly when you get nervous." you couldn't help but get a little riled up when you spoke, sharing that little bit of hope with him.

that frown was gone but he wasn't smiling, he was kinda just staring at you like you had just told him the world's biggest secret.

"and you still like me?"

you rolled your eyes and got up, closing the distance between you two as you sat besides him, "of course I do, who wouldn't? I think you're the coolest guy on the earth."

your eyes met and he could see the sincerity in your words.

"...do you wanna ditch this place and go to my room?" he bit his lip because he was nervous but also because he was holding back a celebratory screech, hoping you'd let him show you his manga collection.

"park chanyeol? I'd be honored."

uwu

the guys got back to the dorms later on that day to find you and chanyeol napping on his bed, mangas and takeout containers surrounding your sleeping bodies, both of you had smiles on your faces.

jongin turned to jongdae.

"should we wake them up?"

jongdae shook his head and cupped a hand over the younger's shoulder.

"no, but we need to take ugly pictures to use as blackmail for when they do wake up."

the two shared a look and pulled out their phones, taking the worst possible angles to post all over social media for your anniversaries and birthdays, putting it to good use when they needed the answers to last week's homework.

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 171: Yuji Toriyama

My relationship with the music of Yuji Toriyama began earlier this year, when Studio Mule released their second Midnight in Tokyo volume. There amidst all the loved up soul, funk, boogie, and disco sat Yuji’s “Bay/Sky Provincetown 1977,” a track that completely floored me with its magical balearic fusion vibrations. As I explored Yuji’s back catalog, I was happy to learn that the relatively new Time Capsule Records was issuing a compilation of some of Yuji’s most stunning compositions. The result is Choice Works 1982 - 1985, a five track vinyl collection curated by Kay Suzuki that pulls from Aerobics (1982 with Ken Morimura), Yuji Toriyama (1983), and A Taste of Paradise (1985). Every single cut is remarkable, with breath-taking explorations in guitar led fusion and funk wrapped around by cosmic electronics and humid tropical atmospheres. And the packaging is incredible, featuring eye popping colors, detailed inserts, and a comprehensive essay that tracks Yuji’s musical development from his childhood through to A Taste of Paradise. And luckily for a gear nerd like myself, the text spends considerable time discussing Yuji’s consistent curiosity in the most advanced musical technology available. He was the rare musician in Japan at the time who matched musical skill with expert knowledge in programming, readily mastering and employing the most cutting edge samplers, sequencers, drum computers, and synthesizers in order to create the magical sonic worlds of his dreams.

Yuji Toriyama - Choice Works 1982 - 1985 (Time Capsule, 2018) The wiggling and funked out synth bass of “Night Together” supports liquid guitars and a rainfall of piano enchantment. The vibe is of heartache in paradise as everything flows into an emotional dreamworld of cosmic-aquatic magic. Twinkling percolations descend over tight riffs and sections with blasting 16th note rhythms see dueling guitar leads reaching towards the sky in harmonized perfection. Elsewhere, glassy sequences work the mind while Yuji lets loose a blistering fuzz solo that moves between sensual runs, fiery shredding, and triumphant leads soaring through a tropical cosmos. Near the end, as everything glides towards a sunset horizon, surfadelic guitar echoes and string scrapes dance through the night sky. “Stranger in the Mirror” heads towards balearic waters, which is no surprise given its genesis at Sea West Studios in Hawaii. Chiming harmonic guitar cascades and their golden arpeggiations intertwine with aquamarine leads of eternal beauty…as if Manuel Göttsching were jamming out by the sea. Twanging bass guitars pulse over shakers and kick while chimes percolate over the mix like strands of diamonds. Massive tom fills sweep the song into a fantasy world of oceanic romance as soft sky-seeking synths float above lush vocoder lullabies and swaying downtempo rhythms. At some point, the shimmering guitar webs are accented by faraway fuzz solos and as the song concludes, euphoric whale song synthesizers are overdubbed by aching melodies flowing in counterpoint.

“Donna,” was also recorded with Rick Keefer at Sea West studios and is named after his wife Donna, who contributes vocals. Low slung bass licks sit aside a stomping disco beat accented by industrial noise snares and hard hitting claps. Slap bass magic is sprinkled throughout the mix, crystalline guitars of aqua and turquoise melt over everything, and emotive bending synth leads ring out in one ear while their feverish echo trails dance in the other. Yuji dazzles overtop with a solo comprised of delicious slides…vocal, wailing, desperate…with whammy bar pyrotechnics evoking some sort of 80’s hair metal fantasia rocketing above a wonderland of seaside funk. And later, the track settles into an extended bass and drum stomp with strange synthesizers wavering around Donna’s breathy vocal fx. “Maze” is indebted to Pat Metheny Group’s “Barcarole,” down to Yuji’s use of the Roland G-505 guitar synth. Sequenced marimbas followed by rainbow tracers and machine gun bass drums lock in with crashing snares until an electro-funk ether effortlessly fades in. Shakers hypnotize the mind and growling MJ-style bass synths work up the scale while twinkling tones of starshine metal move through polysynth solo adventures. And during a weird percussive midtro, we head deep into the jungle as strange animals converse in the trees and clouds of insects move in spellbinding patterns. Throughout, Yuji’s guitar synth leads fly towards the sun under morphing LSD fx and the track ends with a blissful outro of angelic new age pads and expressive cosmic solos.

The title of “Bay/Sky Provincetown 1977” is due to co-producer Naoki Tachikawa, who felt the track had “a summer seaside vibe, reminiscent to an imaginative European town.” We start with a rattling panorama of hand percussion leading a vaguely Latin shuffle, as cinematic noir-soaked guitar lines drift in the clouds. Thumping basslines groove away as the guitars grow windswept and forlorn, with swelling liquid slide notes and twilit melodies tracked by FM synth bells. Luscious chord movements and dreamworld arps create a background of oceanic euphoria while swelling strings and organs add rainbow colorations, everything setting the stage for paradise guitar leads and David Gilmour-style aqueous delay fx. At some point, an exotic stringed instrument drops golden beads of light and eventually gives way to an emotional blues solo wherein Yuji’s dazzling fretwork evokes gemstones sparkling in a pool of moving water. Beautiful organs with soft Leslie rotations solo alongside the guitars until the vibe changes near the end, with further layers of minimalist percussion entering and helping the rhythms zone out even further. Celestial synth chimes create a sparkling electronic background over which wave motion guitars drop their entrancing spells and it all so strongly evokes Naoki’s imaginative European beach town paradise that you can practically hear the waves crashing and smell the salt in the air.

(images from my personal copy)

[kanasmusings]

[Translation] SolidS Drama CD Vol. 4 - Kumo no Mukou ni - Track 2

Here’s the second track~ 

Under the cut as usual, enjoy!

SolidS – Kumo no Mukou ni Drama CD Track 2

  (Tsubasa’s humming and drinking coffee)

(door opens and Rikka walks in)

RIKKA: Oh? I can smell the rich aroma of coffee~

TSUBASA: Yep, that’s right! I borrowed Shiki’s most prized possession.

TSUBASA: It’s to get me pumped up before work.

RIKKA: I guess Shiki won’t get mad if it’s for that.

RIKKA: (he puts a bag down) Alright then… I’m done preparing~

TSUBASA: Great work~

TSUBASA: Good luck with your work today, Rikka. You’re going to Kyoto all of a sudden with Dai-chan for work, right?

RIKKA: Yeah. Haiduki-san contacted us this morning and he said he’ll pick us up from here in a while. After that we’ll be riding a bullet train from Tokyo Station.

RIKKA: We’ll be there until the day after tomorrow. I know there were certain circumstances but it really was too sudden, huh?

TSUBASA: I see. Did someone suddenly fall ill or something? You’re gonna participate in an event, weren’t you?

RIKKA: That’s what I heard. There’ll be a kimono exhibition and then an interview. And then after that there’s a photo shoot around the city I think…

RIKKA: He said he’ll explain to us in detail on the bullet train.

TSUBASA: Spring in Kyoto, huh~ I feel like it’ll make for great pictures!

RIKKA: That’s right~ (sighs) I kinda wish I could just go sightseeing though.

TSUBASA: Totally! I wonder if the cherry blossoms are in bloom already~

RIKKA: I wonder. Maybe they’re still buds just like here in Tokyo.

TSUBASA: Ah, Rikka, there’s some coffee ready. Want some?

RIKKA: Yes, thank you.

RIKKA: Your mornings sure are elegant, huh, Tsubasa~

RIKKA: You start work at noon today?

TSUBASA: Yep~ There’s a meeting and a few formalities before the start of the CM filming.

TSUBASA: There’s gonna be a briefing on a lot of stuff so they said we needed to all be there.

TSUBASA: It’s gonna be until night but I think I’ll be back before dinner.

RIKKA: I see. It was a CM for a drug company, right?

TSUBASA: Yeah. It’s a CM for a nutritional drink.

TSUBASA: “A step forward during a crucial moment.” is the concept.

TSUBASA: It seems like it’s a series where people from different jobs will cooperate with each other.

TSUBASA: My partner’s an author.

RIKKA: Eh? An author…? Who?                      

(Tsubasa picks up a book and shows it to Rikka)

TSUBASA: Here. He’s this book’s author.

TSUBASA: “An up-and-coming novelist!” He’s Kuriki Yohei.

RIKKA: Ah, I know him. He’s gotten several awards recently, right? I remember seeing him on the news.

RIKKA: If I remember correctly… He’s being called the number one author preferred by young readers.

TSUBASA: Looks like it~ I’ve read all four of his works, too.

RIKKA: What were they like?

TSUBASA: Hmmm… My impressions are… They’re like charcoal fire?

RIKKA: (chuckles) What’s with that? That sounds like an impression fitting for his books, huh?

TSUBASA: All the subjects you can pick up from his books are really difficult!

TSUBASA: Like, there’s the harmful effect of an internet-centric society or… Something about a family who moved to live in a virtual forest and stuff.

TSUBASA: His composition’s really difficult and I felt like “Woah, what the heck?!” when I first started reading one.

TSUBASA: But, when I resolved myself to read it, I couldn’t put it down.

TSUBASA: Even after thinking it’s difficult at first, it leaves a unique kinda fire inside your heart after you’re done reading.

TSUBASA: That’s why it’s ‘charcoal fire’. Did ya get it~?

RIKKA: It’s a heat that slowly swallows you, was it?

TSUBASA: Yep, yep! That’s kinda how it is.

RIKKA: Hmm~ I feel like reading them now, too. Will you lend it to me next time?

TSUBASA: Of course~

RIKKA: So, going back to the CM topic, you’ll be co-starring with Kuriki-san, huh?

TSUBASA: Yep. It seems like they’ll show me at a crucial moment before a live and they’ll show him during a crucial moment with his deadline.

RIKKA: It’ll be about both of your challenges, right~

RIKKA: I hope that it’ll be a good commercial. I’m looking forward to it.

TSUBASA: Thank you~

RIKKA: It feels like it will be a passionate one, huh?

(door opens)

DAI: Sorry for the wait.

RIKKA: Ah, no, I just got finished [packing] a while ago. Wait, Dai—Is that all you’re gonna bring with you?

DAI: Hm? Yeah, that’s right.

RIKKA: Isn’t that rucksack the one you’re always using?

DAI: Yeah.

RIKKA: Is there… did you really bring stuff that’s for a 2-3 day trip…?

DAI: Of course. This is enough.

DAI: We’ll still be in Japan after all. If I need something I can just buy it somewhere there.

TSUBASA: Dai-chan’s always carried a few things during times like these, huh~

RIKKA: Back during my model days I was always running around here and there so I thought that it’d be better to have a compact case but…

RIKKA: I kinda feel like I just lost.

DAI: That’s a weird thing to be upset at losing about.

RIKKA: (laughs) But, don’t you think it’s kinda cool that you look like you’re used to travelling because you’ve only got a little stuff with you~?

TSUBASA: I feel ya~! You’re still fine. It’s not like Rikka’s carrying a lot of stuff either.

DAI: Shiki’s stuff is even fewer compared to mine, you know?

RIKKA: He’s an exception. His lack of stuff is totally on a mysterious level.

TSUBASA: He does go on overseas trips with only one bag. Like, the other day he managed to survive in Nagoya with only a small bag and his wallet.

DAI: Yeah, he did. I remember that.

DAI: He did buy souvenirs but the paper bag was bigger than his own stuff.

RIKKA: Unbelievable.

TSUBASA: His bag might be mysteriously connected to the paper bag, ya know~

RIKKA: (chuckles) I feel like that’s possible.

DAI: Is it really?

RIKKA: I kinda hold a grudge against Shiki for not needing to bring skin care and hair products.

DAI: Ah… Though he looks like the type to bring coffee-flavoured candy and sake bottles.

RIKKA: Maybe I’ll inspect his stuff next time.

RIKKA: It might be fine for now but in 5 years or so, if he doesn’t take care of his skin and hair, he’ll have trouble with it.

RIKKA: My goal is to be as cool with our personal appearance even when we become “Old Men SolidS”. I’ll have everyone do their best, too~

TSUBASA: Woah~ Rikka’s on fire~

DAI: Anyway… “Old Men SolidS” sounds weird.

TSUBASA: Right~ Specially if Rikka says it, I feel like there’s an underlying omen… Old men…? Or something. I totally can’t imagine it…

DAI: I agree. Everyone aside from Rikka will look different.

RIKKA: Really? Although I’d be happy if that were true~

RIKKA: But, we’re human so we’ll age. There’s nothing negative about getting older.

RIKKA: I at least want to be able to age coolly and be admired a little.

TSUBASA: Oh-ho~ Rikka’s sense is so grand.

TSUBASA: I can’t imagine you as an old man but I can imagine Shiki!

TSUBASA: He’d definitely suit being a part of Old Men SolidS!

TSUBASA: (trying to imitate Shiki’s voice) “I’m Takamura Shiki, 40 years old. I’m still fired up for work as usual!” he’d definitely say something like that!

SHIKI: Sorry for being such a predictable old man.

TSUBASA: …! (in a high-pitched voice) W-woah…!

SHIKI: Though you’re not wrong about the fact that I’ll still be gung-ho about work when I’m in my 40’s.

SHIKI: I’ll stay in this industry for my entire life.

TSUBASA: Y-you surprised me…! Can you please not just appear so suddenly?

RIKKA: I almost spat out my coffee…

DAI: I’d have been soaked if I continued walking forward.

SHIKI: It’s not sudden. I came in normally from the door.

SHIKI: You were probably too excited about Old Men SolidS that you didn’t notice. I think it’s still good but are you sure you’re not gonna be late?

RIKKA: Eh? Ah, it’s already this time.

TSUBASA: Ah, I’ll clean the cups later.

RIKKA: Thank you. Dai, let’s go.

DAI: Sure.

SHIKI: Do your best.

RIKKA: Yes, we’ll do our best at work~ Good luck to you two as well.

RIKKA: Especially you, Shiki. I heard that your deadline’s coming close. Get some proper rest once in a while even though you’re busy, okay?

SHIKI: I’ll try. I’m sure Haiduki will coordinate it just fine. There are lots of times when things don’t always go according to plan. Outside influences might cause a delay on the matter at hand.

RIKKA: I see.

SHIKI: Fortunately, the topics at hand are completely different from each other and I can think freely about what to write. I hope I get something done.

SHIKI: Well, it’s what makes it fun.

DAI: It’s great that it’s for a SolidS song too, isn’t it?

SHIKI: Totally. That’s why I might make you sing more dazzling idol songs again.

DAI: That’s… I hope you don’t…

RIKKA: Eh~? Isn’t that fun? I plan to sing it with all I’ve got though~

RIKKA: Bring it on~

TSUBASA: Me, too!

DAI: He might really make us do it so stop that.

SHIKI: Look forward to it.

RIKKA: (chuckles) Now then… We’ll be on our way for real this time.

DAI: We’ll be on our way.

TSUBASA: Take care~!

SHIKI: Be careful.

(door opens and Rikka and Dai leave)

TSUBASA: I wonder what they’ll bring us for souvenirs~ I’ll look forward to it~

SHIKI: If they had that much free time, it’d be fine. But it looks like their schedule’s packed.

TSUBASA: Eh? Is that so?

SHIKI: It was an irregular request. A few days ago, an old desk worker retired and the one that took over wanted to do a prefecture-specific job and snuck it in. It went by completely unnoticed.

SHIKI: It was found out when the other party called in to confirm.

TSUBASA: Aw man… So that’s why Rikka and Dai-chan were suddenly called to fill in.

SHIKI: Exactly. If those two are there they’ll be able to do most of what’s needed.

SHIKI: They’re very versatile and there’s two of them. Plus, they’re pretty well-known.

SHIKI: The agency’s happy that they can show off talents who are good at not only singing and dancing.

TSUBASA: That’s great, Producer~ Don’t you feel so proud?

SHIKI: I guess.

SHIKI: By the way…

TSUBASA: Huh?

SHIKI: I’m curious about this aroma that’s filling the room.

TSUBASA: Geh…!

SHIKI: Tsubasa, that coffee you’re drinking, could it be…

TSUBASA: (in a slightly panicking tone) Oh no! Looks like I’ll be going out, too~!

TSUBASA: It’s a little early but I guess I’ll go shopping and eat an early lunch along the way~

SHIKI: Hey.

TSUBASA: I won’t be back until dinner so do your best at work, too, Leader! (he blows a kiss)

(Tsubasa opens the door)

TSUBASA: I’ll be going now~

(door closes)

SHIKI: Hey, Tsubasa. Hey, wa—

SHIKI: (to himself) Good grief. They drank such expensive coffee.

SHIKI: (to himself) Do your work properly in exchange.

  ==END==

※ Please don’t re-post these translations without permission.