#its not very good/consistent/edited

[ghostlyhabato]

I haven't posted anything here in well over a hot minute, but putting short unfinished/outdated work here feels easier than putting in on ao3 like its 'official' so. Just tossing old things out to share, but many of them i am NOT still working on so only the start of something or an idea.

This is a BNHA/Danny Phantom crossover ft Pariah for Reasons. i started it impulsively. if i continue on this I'd probably rewrite almost this whole thing.

~10K words, vague discussion or mention of death/possible abuse of a minor (danny's home life, standard Fenton's are Not Great Parents), medical trauma, ect. Everyone except Danny might be a bit OOC, especially the BNHA cast in this. Pariah just had secret character development/backstory.

Danny’s luck had to be the worst in the world. Or, in… both worlds?

If this wasn’t some other-world, he had a lot of questions for Clockwork. Because he was also definitely not anywhere in even the first two decades of the 2000’s. The Japanese news here (that he could somehow understand?) said it was 2148. Currently, he was hiding in a half-built building in a seedy part of what he’d found out was probably Tokyo. That’s what he heard people calling it, and it looked close enough to pictures Dani had sent him, but… well, he was pretty sure his Tokyo wasn’t filled with mutants and superheroes. 

When Danny had seen them all, he’d almost stopped hiding. Not immediately, he was having whiplash too hard, but he thought about it. Nobody really blinked when people looked weird or did weird things, or at least not when the heroes did it. And they were real heroes, and the people liked them. They cheered!

Well, they cheered for the heroes. When Danny tried to help, they seemed more confused. The crowds didn’t know his name, but they did shout encouragement. At least up until the heroes tried to bring him down.

Which was, like, totally stupid! Danny had helped them take down a villain way faster than they could have without his powers. But apparently a ‘kid’, or anyone for that matter, shouldn’t use their ‘quirk’ without a license.

Local ghost menace in one world, common illegal vigilante in another. He just couldn’t get a break.

Danny huffed thinking about it, slurping on his cup of noodles he’d taken from a convenience store. He felt bad about it, but he’d learned enough about capitalism from Sam’s latest social-justice binge to know how to minimize the damage he’d do to anyone actually vulnerable. No mom-and-pop stores, only chains; don’t get caught (obvious); take mass stocked items, and take as little as possible from one place. One missed soup can was a miscount or a minor problem. Five cans and half a dozen other necessities was too obvious.

Speaking of obvious. He had to get moving again. Danny groaned as he stood up, feeling the lack of a good bed in his back. He’d been here almost two weeks already, and he couldn’t find a way back. Didn’t help that they had some scarf ninja guy trying to catch him, apparently.

Danny had passed by the guy a couple times and managed not to get caught. Apparently the guy can turn off quirks by looking at people. Distractions in the form of villains and civilians had let Danny skate by, but he had to be careful. ‘Eraserhead’, as stupid as his name was, was not a joke. Danny had just gotten lucky not to be spotted while invisible- either that, or Eraser’s power didn’t work if he didn’t actually see Danny. Hopefully it was the latter. He had a feeling it was not. His luck wouldn’t last much longer.

He shoved his small amount of supplies in his bag- all stolen or paid for with previously stolen money(Taken from caught pickpockets). Blanket, some food, different clothes, and lots of hats and masks. His ghost form was not quite a good enough disguise here. The people hunting him in Tokyo actually had brain cells, apparently.

He had to move spots in the middle of the night. The last time he hadn’t, someone had almost walked in on his sleeping spot. Danny wasn’t sure if it was Eraser, but…

At least Tokyo was big. Giant, really, compared to tiny little Amity. There were all these different districts- prefectures- but he had no idea what was where yet. Being able to read Japanese somehow did not make the map any less confusing.

Danny tried to pick out the landmarks yet again as he reached altitude. Shrines, certain towers, lights, residential areas- it was still a mess in his head. Getting dumped here by a random portal didn’t help. The panic of that day made it hard to remember where it was, and running from heroes probably took him far from where he started. The place it appeared probably would be the best place to-

Several hundred feet above the city, his ghost sense went off. Danny froze in the air.

There was a ghost nearby.

The usual adrenaline spike was mixed with an intense flood of relief. It’d been a while since he was excited to be interrupted by a ghost. Maybe it was Clockwork to get him, or a portal on its own or- hell, he’d be happy to see Skulker at this point. He’d be happy to see Vlad. That thought almost made him pause, but he was getting kinda tired of being on the run all alone. Anyone would be better than no one.

His ghost sense brought him to an open field behind what looked like giant gymnasiums. In the dead of night, the glow of ectoplasm and an aura was like signal lights. There were already two dummies smoking by the time Danny got close enough to realize… he did recognize the ghost. In the worst way possible. He suddenly wished it had been Vlad.

Danny floated down behind the ghost, then dropped his invisibility at the same time he filled his hands with ectoplasm. “What are you doing here?”

The man in front of him turned around. He looked a little different than Danny remembered- his previously wild hair was tamed into a loose (still large) braid, he was wearing less medieval armor and more… workout clothes? A tank-top and fucking sweatpants. The realization actually made Danny’s brain buffer for a second trying to reconcile the idea of the tyrant Ghost King in sweatpants.

Pariah Dark stared at him almost as much as Danny stared back. “...you…” He said slowly with a frown. “You’re… the boy that bested me.”

“Danny Phantom,” Danny snapped, going back on the defensive. 

“Phantom. Right, sorry I didn’t learn your name in the middle of trying to kill each other.” Pariah didn’t seem all that phased. He kept an eye on Danny as he walked over to a nearby table with a bottle and towels.

Danny followed at a distance. “Answer the question. What the hell are you doing here?! You’re supposed to still be in the sarcophagus!”

“Hm. You must not keep very good tabs on your enemies,” Pariah muttered, before taking a drink from the bottle. He glanced at Danny. “I don’t know how long it has been for you, but I have been here a few years.”

“What?” Danny said.

“So, really, I should be the one asking what you are doing here,” Pariah said, crossing his arms as he faced Danny. “In closed school grounds. Only students and faculty are allowed.”

Danny frowned at him. “Aren’t you a little old to be a student?”

“... you better be joking, child.”

Danny huffed and shook his head, raising his fists again. “Whatever! Were you the one that dragged me here?! Or- or you must know how to get back! You must have been looking-”

“Why would I go looking to return to a place where I am the most hated being in the realms?” Pariah said suddenly. “I have found a place here. There’s… there’s no reason for me to go back.” There was an undercurrent of something to his words, but Danny couldn’t care less.

“You have to!” Danny yelled, throwing his arms down like a spoiled child. “I can’t be stuck here! It’s been two weeks, and I haven’t been able to sleep in an actual bed. I’m a hero, and people like heroes here, but somehow I’m illegal? Still?! I’ve got some guy named after a fucking pencil pun chasing me, I’m exhausted, I haven’t had a decent meal in forever, and I have to go home!”

Pariah sighed, dropping his arms. “I can’t help you return, child, but-”

Danny growled and shot a blast that Pariah easily blocked with a shield. “Shut up! You- you did something, you have to have. Random portals don’t just toss me to other worlds, and if this was just the future, Clockwork would have left me something-” Pariah’s eyes went wide, but Danny didn’t care. “So- so you have to be involved!” 

Danny approached, tears in his eyes now- god, was he really that desperate? He hadn’t talked to anyone seriously since coming here, and now it felt like it wouldn’t stop. “You tried to take over the Zone, you tried to kill me, you- you have to do something about this, or- or-”

Danny took a breath to bite back a sob, and suddenly the tightness in his chest wasn’t tears. He turned human and dropped to the ground. He blacked out before his head hit the ground.

“...Excellent timing as always, Eraser.”

Aizawa hurried out of the treeline, hair floating down as he stopped using Erasure. “What just happened? I only tried to erase his quirk-”

“Well, he’s a half ghost.” Pariah knelt at the boy’s side. “So you only maybe half-killed him.”

“...what.”

When Danny woke up, there was a worrying noise to his side. A regular, very slow beeping. It suddenly got faster as Danny shot up in the hospital bed.

The room was small and white and clean and there was a IV in his arm that he tried to phase out- It didn’t. His arm didn’t go intangible. Now that he looked, he was handcuffed to the bed, too. Why couldn’t he- he couldn’t use his powers, he was caught, no, nonono-

A large hand grabbed his as Danny reached for the IV. “Don’t be stupid, boy. That is there to help you.”

Danny jerked away from Pariah and looked over at the ghost sitting beside him. He wasn’t quite as large as Danny remembered, here- maybe that had just been his memory. He wasn’t wearing sweats, but now had on a more fitting tunic-looking shirt.

“Where am I?” Danny asked immediately. “What did you do to me? Why can’t I use my powers?” He tried to push himself up, but Pariah put a hand on his shoulder and easily made him lie back down.

“Oh, lie down, child. Didn’t you tell me last we spoke how exhausted you are?” He sighed, and it was disconcerting how calm he realized Pariah was. “If you hurt yourself in bed, Recovery Girl will only make you stay here longer.”

“R-Recovery girl…?”

“Ah, he’s awake!” Danny jumped at the new voice. A small old woman with a weird pink visor walked up to his bedside. “You were supposed to come get me when he woke up.”

“It was only moments ago,” Pariah said. “I had to keep him from ripping out the IV first.”

Danny had to guess this was Recovery Girl, although the name didn’t quite fit. She tsked and frowned at Danny now, and pointed at him. “Don’t you go doing that now! When you were brought in, you were badly dehydrated and malnourished! That IV there is your quickest way to get cleared by me to get out of that bed, do you understand?”

“I-I-” Danny stuttered, core fluttering in anxiety. “You- you’re not- you’re not going to take blood or-” He swallowed. “E-experiment?”

Both Recovery Girl and Pariah gave him worried looks. “Why on Earth do you think we’d do something like that?” Recovery Girl said. “I might have to do blood work if you were sick, but you’ve just neglected to take care of yourself recently. Just rest, and eat all the food you’re given, and I think you should be fine in a day or two.” Danny let out a breath he’d been holding, and the heart machine started to slow. She huffed and glanced at the handcuffs. “I can’t say what Eraser’s conditions are, but Pariah at least has put in a good word.”

“He…?” Danny looked at Pariah. “Then that- when I passed out, you didn’t-?”

“That wasn’t me, child,” Pariah said simply. “Eraser must have followed you here, since he is a teacher, and found us while we spoke. I don’t think any of us expected how his power would affect you.”

Danny felt his blood slow. “Does that… not happen to everyone?” The adults shook their heads. “Oh. I- am I…” He pulled at the handcuff. “U-under arrest…?”

“You should be.”

Another new face stood at the door. His long black hair and scarf hid most of his face, except his intense eyes glaring at him. Danny had only really seen him in passing, but he recognized the scarf. Eraserhead.

Danny shrunk back into the bed, accidentally making the chain clink as he tried to pull his hands over his chest.

“You already half-killed the boy, no need to scare him,” Pariah said. He almost sounded like he was being… sarcastic?

The glare turned on Pariah. “You’re the one who keeps saying that- He’s fine. He’s awake, isn’t he?” Eraser stepped up to the end of the bed and crossed his arms. “So. Danny Phantom. You’re the vigilante that’s been giving me the run around the past two weeks.” Something in his glare changed. “Are you really just a child?”

That was enough to have Danny glare back just a bit. “I’m not a child, I’m, like, almost sixteen!”

Pariah huffed and leaned back in his chair. “Really? Hm. How old were you when we fought?”

Danny scowled at him, not holding back. “...Fourteen. You got your ass kicked by a fourteen-year-old, so shut up.”

Pariah just rolled his eyes.

“Why did you fight a fourteen-year-old?” Eraser muttered.

“I think we’ve talked about this before,” Pariah said. “I can explain more later.”

“Great,” Danny muttered. “So. What’s happening now?” His anger died, just a little, as he looked at Eraser. “Am- Am I? Under arrest, I mean.”

“Like I said, you should be.” Eraser frowned, and Danny flinched with each following accusation. “Using your quirk without a license is highly illegal, especially using them to be an untrained vigilante. You could have gotten yourself or others hurt interfering with hero work. Not to mention, I know you’ve been stealing or breaking into various places for supplies and shelter. Maybe you didn’t hurt anyone, but that is still no excuse.”

Pariah cleared his throat. “But.”

“...But.” Eraser sighed heavily and dropped his arms. “Pariah has told me you come from the same place as him. Meaning you have nowhere to go, no support system, and you’re apparently missing the same… special nutrient requirements. You’re also an unaccompanied minor with no idea of the laws surrounding quirks. Given that…” He gave Danny a calculating look. “If you agree not to break the law anymore… you won’t be punished. My contacts with the police have agreed to absolve your crimes as long as you have a responsible guardian. We have some options for you while you are here.”

Danny didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath again, and let it out in one go. “Oh. O- yeah, okay. I can do that. I… didn’t really want to steal or anything. So that- yeah, that works.” he paused. “Uh… ‘we’?”

Eraser nodded at Pariah. “The principal of the school, the police chief, Pariah, and I.”

“Why is Pariah involved?” Danny muttered, shooting the man a glare.

“I told you I work here, boy,” Pariah said. “I am also the only being here even remotely similar to you, and we come from the same world. And I’m not a child. Of course I would be consulted.”

Danny scowled. “But- but you’re-” He looked at Eraser and pointed at Pariah. “Do you even know what he did where I’m from? He’s tried to kill a bunch of people! And take over the- the world! And-”

“Just because we fought once does not mean you know my whole story, Phantom,” Pariah interrupted.

Eraser glanced between them. “I have heard of some of Pariah’s past, yes. But we have come to some agreements. As far as I’ve known him, he has not been as monstrous as you see him. Not perfect, but not awful. I believe in giving people a chance to speak with their actions, and Pariah’s actions have proven trustworthy, so far.”

“‘So far’,” Danny muttered, glaring.

Pariah stood up. “Perhaps we should give him some time. I can understand why you’d hate me as you do, and you were fairly distraught the other night. The main fact for now is that nobody is going to hurt you, but you need rest.”

“If you try to leave, don’t,” Eraser said darkly. “You won’t get far.”

Danny frowned. “What, cuz you’ll be around?”

“Well, yes. But you should probably be more scared of what will happen if Recovery Girl finds you trying to get out of bed rest.”

“...uh.” Danny glanced over to the office door where Recovery Girl had disappeared. “...Okay?”

Pariah gave a small laugh, and once again Danny’s brain short-circuited. “I have no doubt he will learn. If nothing else, you are stubborn.” He nodded to Danny before heading out.

“I’ll be checking in,” Eraser said. “When you feel a little better, we’ll probably have a meeting with everyone about your options moving forward.”

“Okay. Um, thanks… E-Eraserhead?” God, that felt stupid to say out loud. “That’s your name, right?”

Eraser nodded once. “It is. Some teachers and other heroes call me Eraser. In school, though, students call me Aizawa-sensei.” He turned to leave. “There’s a good chance you’re going to be going to school here, too, until we find you a way home. So you can call me that.”

“Uh, okay, Aizawa-sensei,” Danny said hesitantly. He knew like half a thing about Japanese from Sam trying to show them anime. Didn’t ‘sensei’ mean teacher or something? 

Wait. 

“Wait- you’re making me go to school?!”

But Aizawa was already gone.

Danny thought they’d been joking about fearing Recovery Girl’s ire. He quickly was proven wrong. It only took her finding him trying to stand and stretch while still handcuffed to the bed to put him in the red with her. The only other grandmother-ish figure he knew was Ida Manson, but Sam’s bubbie hadn’t ever turned a glare like that on Danny before. Then again, he’d never really given her a reason to.

Safe to say, he was much more hesitant to go against Recovery Girl’s medical orders after that. (Or, he was much more careful not to be noticed. She usually noticed.)

If it wasn’t for being literally handcuffed to the bed, he probably wouldn’t have been cleared by Recovery Girl after only three days.

“Didn’t Aizawa-sensei say I wasn’t under arrest?” Danny grumbled as the handcuff finally came off. “Why didn’t he take this off back then?”

“It was suggested you’d run off alone again if you didn’t.” Recovery Girl harrumphed as he stood up. “Considering how many times I had to force you back in bed even then, I’m not surprised.”

Danny frowned. “Wait, who’d suggest that?”

“Is he ready?”

The two turned to see Pariah waiting in the doorway. The pointed look Recovery girl gave him made him put the pieces together, and he scowled.

“If he doesn’t push himself, he’ll be fine.” She waved a hand as she turned away. “Go on then.”

 Danny didn’t move. “Why are you here?”

Pariah just gave him an unimpressed look. “The principal and the others want to talk, now that Recovery Girl has cleared you from bed rest. I came to get you.”

“Could just give me directions, you know. Or a map.” Danny ducked around him out the door and started down the hall.

“You’re already going the wrong way.”

Danny scowled and turned on his heel. He didn’t look at Pariah as the larger ghost stayed even with him.

“Besides that,” Pariah continued. “Like I said before- I am the only other being from our world here. I will most likely be consulted on most matters regarding how you will be helped.”

“Only 'cuz you lied to them,” Danny muttered.

Pariah rolled his eyes. “I get the feeling there were a lot of untrue stories about me even before I awoke that first time. You do not know the truth of my tale, Phantom, just as I do not know yours.”

Danny snorted. “Oh yeah? What part don’t I know? The part where you terrorized everyone and staged a violent takeover? Or the part where you were literally so shitty, several people had to put you in time out the first time?” He shot him a glare. “Or, I skipped this, the part where you ripped my town off the map and threw it into the Ghost Zone for a day! You sent a skeleton army to attack people!”

Pariah just looked ahead and sighed with a vague frown. “Maybe at another time I could tell you, if you do not choose to try to fight my every word.” He slowed at a door, making Danny double back. “For now, could you try to be civil? The people here do want to assist you if they can. Do not judge them for my actions.”

His hand waited on the door handle, so he was obviously waiting for a reply. Danny huffed and crossed his arms. “I mean… fine, but I can still judge why they want to trust you.”

“...I suppose that is the best we can do for now.” Pariah shook his head before opening the door and waving Danny in.

Inside was a table set up with documents. On one side, two men who looked like they were in law enforcement were sitting. Aizawa sat opposite them, and Pariah took the remaining chair there. There was one chair obviously for Danny, and opposite him was…

A white… bear… rat… dog…. Creature? In a little suit and tie. It smiled as Danny stared.

“Hello!” the creature said in a cheery voice. “You are Danny Phantom, then? I am the principal of UA Academy, Principal Nezu! You’ve met Aizawa-san, and this is detective Tsukauchi and his partner detective Tanua.”

Danny blinked. “Uh…. oh… kay?” He was still processing. Thinking about it, there was a non-zero number of sentient ghosts who were less human looking than Nezu. That was probably what helped him stop staring and finally sit down. (His chair was right next to Pariah. Ew.)

“Er, actually-” He hesitated as everyone looked at him. He swallowed. “Phantom is… is what I go as when I’m a ghost? Like my superhero name- I-I’m not always in ghost mode. My last name is actually Fenton.”

“You chose a hero name?” Tsukauchi asked.

Danny shrugged. “Uh, well, nobody knew I was a ghost back home. And my parents are- well.” He knew his parents being ghost hunters was weird and possibly traumatizing to him. It was also not important right now and he didn’t need these guys trying to get him in therapy or something. “They don’t like ghosts, so I couldn’t exactly go around being called my normal name when I was flying around town fighting other ghosts, ya know?”

The three humans gave him worried looks.

“That actually brings up what we wanted to start with today, Fenton-kun!” Nezu said, seemingly unaffected. “Pariah has told us what he can of where you come from, but as you are probably aware, there are large gaps in his knowledge as well. We’d like to start with asking you basic questions about your life, if that’s alright. Beginning with where you are from, originally.”

Danny gave Pariah a suspicious look. Pariah gave him a look back that practically said, ‘yeah, I talked about you. What are you gonna do about it?’ At least, that’s how Danny read it.

“Sure, I guess,” Danny mumbled. It already felt weird enough to be upfront about not being totally human, but that cat was way out of the bag. And also kind of unimportant in this place? Nezu certainly wasn’t human. Still, Danny found himself fidgeting and rubbing his neck before speaking. “Um, well- I’m not sure what the geography situation is here. I mean, Japan and Tokyo exist back home, so…? Anyway, I’m from Amity Park, Illinois, in the US.” He made a face. “Er, also, it was only 2012 last time I checked.”

Everyone looked a little surprised at that, even Pariah.

“You are aware the year is 2148 here, yes?” Aizawa said.

Danny nodded. “I mean, yeah. I read the news in the two weeks I was hobo-ing around.”

“Your Japanese is very good, for an American teenager,” Tanuma said. “Especially one from over a hundred years ago.”

Danny stopped. “Wait- uh. I’m- okay, this must be some magic nonsense, cuz I have not been speaking, let alone hearing, Japanese this whole time.” He shrugged. “I mean, I think I could tell when I first got here it was weird? And I’m sure if I tried to write in Japanese it wouldn’t work, but, uh-” He frowned and looked at Pariah. “Dude, you’d be farther back in time than I was, you shouldn’t know future-modern Japanese either.”

“I simply took it as part of the transition into this world,” Pariah said. “It just made things easier, so I was not keen on investigating it too closely.”

“So that is not part of your quirk, for sure?” Nezu asked. “Could it be a ghost aspect you were not aware of? Just so we are all clear.”

“No?” Danny said with another heavy shrug. “I dunno, man, I’m still catching up on ghost magic and biology sh- stuff. I know ghosts can speak and understand most dead languages? That’s about it.”

Pariah nodded. “That is the only general rule about languages ghosts have, yes.”

Nezu hummed and put his hands- paws together.

“You-” Tsukauchi cleared his throat awkwardly. “I realize this may be a sensitive subject, so please feel free to turn down this line of questioning. You said you are ‘catching up’ on ghost information- you’re still young then, even in those terms? Can I ask how…?”

“You are right,” Pariah said suddenly. He gave Tsukauchi a hard look. “That is a sensitive topic. One does not just discuss such things with strangers.”

Danny waved a hand. “I mean… I don’t think that’s exactly what he was asking, but, uh, yeah. I’m not gonna talk about, uh, how I died, if that’s what you meant.”

Tsukauchi held up a hand, quickly shaking his head. “No, no, of course not. I completely understand.”

“If you are uncomfortable with any of our questions, please tell us, Fenton-kun,” Nezu said.

“...yeah.” Danny nodded absently. “Er, well, I think what you were asking was how long I’ve been- I mean, I’m still half human but I uh… I’ve been half ghost for almost two and a half years, now.”

The worried looks that passed around the table, even hidden as they were, made Danny’s stomach clench. He slid down in his seat without thinking about it. This much attention, from adults, from adults that weren’t ghosts, was really weird. Especially with how formal it felt.

Pariah was the one exception, but even he gave Danny an inscrutable look. His attention just made Danny annoyed, though. He glared back.

“How long have you been doing hero work back home?” Aizawa asked quietly.

Danny shrugged again. “Almost just as long. The fighting died down sort of recently cuz I set up truces with a lot of ghosts. They used to cause a lot of trouble cuz before that a stable portal between the Ghost Zone and the human world was really rare, so a lot of people just didn’t know how to hold themselves back or something, and I was protecting the town by tossing them back through the portal. Now it’s not so bad. Sometimes people don’t know the rules, but allies or ghosts in on the truce can usually set them straight without me, since they know it’d cause them trouble too. There are some ghosts that come specifically to bother me, though.” He grinned. “But I’m pretty strong.” He shot Pariah a look. “Stronger than when I whooped your ass too, by the way.”

“I would suspect so, from such a young ghost,” Pariah said.

“Wait, you two fought?” Tsukauchi cut in, frowning at Pariah. “You fought a child?! And lost?”

Danny frowned back. “Yeah- I thought you said you told them what you knew?”

“I told Eraser and Nezu-san,” Pariah said.

Tsukauchi looked between them, then at Nezu. “Is it really appropriate-”

“Pariah has informed us of the context around their altercation,” Nezu said easily. “And he also asked for some privacy in the matter. But I assure you, we believe that there is currently no danger posed for anyone in interacting.”

Tsukauchi sat back with some hesitation.

Danny rolled his eyes as obviously as possible. “I’m not scared of him, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He wasn’t going to point out he had the ecto-skeleton last time, because he was totally strong enough to beat Pariah without it now. Totally. Probably. ...Maybe.

His skill at denial was certifiably top-tier at least.

"Anyway," Aizawa said, apparently getting them back on track. "You won't be doing any of that while you're here. For one, the only ghosts here are in this room and for two, you're a minor. Even students have to earn hero permits to work as licensed pro heroes. Vigilantes are illegal."

Danny made a face, but didn't argue. He didn't want to have to deal with whatever Aizawa's power had done to him again.

"I'm sure Eraser has told you," Tanuma said, "but we're going to drop all charges against you up til now because of your… unique situation. However, any future charges will be addressed as usual if it comes up. Understood?"

"Y… yeah," Danny muttered. It didn't sit right, though. Being told he wasn't allowed to help protect people. He stopped himself from saying something with a huff, despite everything.

"Is there a problem, Fenton-kun?" Nezu asked, and he… he did sound genuinely concerned.

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "N- not really. I just uh. Might need reminders." He laughed uneasily. "Ya know, when you get used to running towards the screaming, it's kind of hard to stop." That got him a variety of looks around the table. "I uh. I'm used to helping. Back home, nobody-" He huffed again. "Some people tried to help. But they were either… not great at it, or they thought ghosts were… inhuman. Less than animals. So they-" He smirked, so he didn't break. "They didn't just toss them back home with a kick in the pants, ya know?"

Most of the worried looks were aimed at him, be he saw them glance at Pariah. Not that he would know any of this, the asshole barely gave humans half a thought before, as far as Danny saw.

Pariah seemed to have all his attention on him, though.

Aizawa sighed eventually. "They say the best heroes react on instinct. That you can't train for that kind of thing." He didn't sound very happy about it in this case. "Just… try to remember there are pros taking care of everything here, alright?"

Danny gave a noncommittal humm and shifted in his seat, a hand going to his chest.

"What is your obsession, boy?"

They all looked at Pariah at his sudden question.

"What?" Tsukauchi said.

"What's it to you?" Danny shot back, glaring at him.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

Danny and Pariah just stared (or glared) at the other.

Nezu cleared his throat. "Pariah?"

Pariah was quiet for a moment. "His obsession." He didn't take his eyes off Danny. "Also known as a focus, or a reason. Every ghost has one. It's the center of their being. So, what is yours, boy?"

Danny snorted. "Didn't tell anyone yours? What is it anyway? Conquest? Domination?"

Pariah sighed.

"Fenton-kun." The boy jumped at Nezu's calm voice. "Is it common to tell others your obsession, as a ghost?"

"It- uh…" Danny shrugged. "I mean, it's not asked a lot. Usually you can kinda get the gist just by meeting them. Or they just tell you- hell, that's how Skulker introduces himself, 'the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter'." He snorted. "He's not, technically I probably am, but that's his thing."

"Do you have 'thing', then?" Aizawa asked. "You did say you're only half ghost."

Danny shrugged again. "I mean, I think so, since without an obsession you don't have a ghost. Even little non sentient blob ghosts have an obsession to, like, eat or something. Frostbite thinks it might just be easier for me to ignore or I like to have more than one I switch between, since humans are really flexible compared to ghosts with that sort of thing."

"Frostbite?" Nezu questioned.

"Oh- right-" Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm not used to talking about stuff with people who don't already… know. Frostbite is kinda like my ghost doctor. He and his people in the Far Frozen are really good doctors for ghosts and I have an ice core like they do too, so he helped me figure out more about my biology." He paused and smirked. "Especially since they love me after I locked this asshole back up when we first met."

Pariah just sighed again, sitting back to cross his arms.

"Child, please."

"I'll stop when it stops being funny. Or when you stop deserving it. So, never."

Nezu coughed lightly. Danny at least made an effort to tone down his smile. “Well, if you do have one or more than one ‘focus’, what would they be?”

And there went any smile he had. “Oh. Er…” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. Everyone was looking at him, and from Pariah’s expectant look, he’d probably figured it out. “Uh. Well, space and astronomy stuff might be… my secondary one…”

“And your primary focus?” Aizawa said.

Danny sunk down in his chair, not looking at them. His face was definitely red. “Probably… prmbmle….”

“What was that, Fenton-kun?” Nezu said, leaning forward.

He heaved a sigh, and said clearly, “Protecting people…”

The other adults stared, but Pariah huffed what could have been a laugh. “Of course. No wonder.” He shook his head with a smirk as Aizawa rubbed his eyes and Tsukauchi heaved a sigh.

Nezu just smiled. “That’s a very… heroic focus.”

Danny just shrugged. “Not that I can control it. Didn’t know about it when I was, er, forming, so it just sort of… happened.”

Tsukauchi sat forward and nodded at Pariah. “What is- a focus? Obsession? Whatever we want to call it. How does that affect a ghost?”

Pariah looked between him, Danny, and Nezu. “As we both said, a focus is just that- the focus of a ghost’s afterlife. Something their entire nature revolves around. Following one’s focus leads to health and stability, or power if done in excess. Outright avoiding or going against a focus is…” He frowned at Danny. “...ill-advised. At best it can lead to stress and fatigue. At worst, it can lead to frenzy, aggression, and- eventually- a spirit’s end. Especially when a spirit is not in the realms, following your focus is a key part of staying sane and healthy.”

Tsukauchi glanced at Danny and cocked an eyebrow.

“Uh… yeah, that’s about what I know, actually.” Danny shrugged.

Aizawa put his arm on the table and leaned his head against his head. “So what I’m hearing is, we have an untrained, unlicensed teenager with the equivalent to an overpowered quirk who has to be a hero for his own safety?”

Danny grimaced. “Safety is probably… not the best word. I, uh, do get hurt back home pretty often.”

Aizawa waved a finger at him. “And that is not helping your case here, Fenton-kun.”

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity, then!” Everyone turned to look at Nezu, who simply smiled. “There is no reason for young Fenton-kun to fight or get hurt recklessly here, and we are the top hero academia in Japan for a reason. If anyone is equipped to handle his unique needs, I believe it is us. It wouldn’t be the first time students came to the school with some kind of hero experience. Fenton-kun, you said your parents were not aware of your vigilantism at home?”

Danny sat up. “Oh. Er, no. I mean, they taught us how to defend ourselves with their inventions, and my mom’s a black belt- she tried to teach us some basics, it’s probably the only reason I got a full month into fighting before I broke my hand punching Skulker-” He stopped and shook his head. The humans exchanged some looks, but he ignored them. “But- but no, they don’t know.”

“And you worked alone?”

“Y-er.” Danny’s hand found it’s way to the back of his neck again. “Uh. I mean… sort of? I was the only one actually fighting anyone, but my friends Sam and Tucker knew and helped provide cover or distractions sometimes, or carried spare equipment. My sister Jazz found out and tried to help, but…” he shuddered. “She’s not allowed to use the ranged equipment around us anymore. She got my mom’s reflexes, but my dad’s aim- couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, ya know?”

Tsukauchi suddenly covered his face with his hand. Danny just smiled nervously, not sure what he said to make this worse.

“So…” Tanuma said slowly. “Your parents keep weapons in the house? That you have access to?”

“Well… yeah? I don’t-” Danny’s ‘the rest of the world is clueless about ghosts/the Fentons’ brain cell suddenly burst from the grave. “Oh- oh my god, wait, that is not as bad as that sounds!”

“That sounds pretty bad,” Tsukauchi said. “Especially if they haven’t figured out what you’re doing when you borrow equipment, which is what it sounds like.”

“I- well-” He laughed, high and shaky. “Yeah! I guess that would sound pretty bad, and would make them suspicious, if… they knew… we were taking stuff…”

Aizawa just had his head in his hands at this point.

Danny waved his hands wildly. “Look, they- there’s a lot of ghost stuff going on and they- they’re ghost scientists, of course they’re distracted trying to do something! And- listen, I’m going to tell them eventually, I just need the right time and- and okay, I mean that does get harder when they think Phantom is the one stealing equipment.” He dropped his hands a fraction. “Which, I guess they- they don’t really just ‘think’ that if they’re… technically right…”

The table was silent.

“Child.” Pariah sighed. “I was raised in a warrior culture, but even I can tell there are several issues with your family by the day’s standards, if all this is true.”

“Even without quirk laws, I think that’s pretty obvious neglect,” Tsukauchi muttered into his hand. “Not to mention…” he looked at Danny, and Danny’s panic skyrocketed at the clear worry. “You said they’re ghost scientists?”

He swallowed hard, shaking hands suddenly very, very still. “U-um. S- sort of.” His heart jumped to his throat while his core was a heavy block in his gut. Why was he panicking so hard? They already knew his secret. And they couldn’t do anything to his parents, so- so why did them looking so worried suddenly hit him so hard? 

“Sort of?” Tanuma was closest to him on that side, and turned his chair to face Danny better. “Fenton-kun, what exactly do your parents do?”

God, he couldn’t look at them, couldn’t bear what they thought of his parents. That’s all it was, the gut-instinct to years of being bullied for what his parents did, being judged for how they acted, 

Being hunted for what he was-

A hand reached out, and he jerked back, the chair moving with a metallic screech.

Tanuma froze, that too-soft tone to his voice. “Danny-kun. Just breathe. You’re alright, you’re safe. Nobody here is going to hurt you, and nothing we talk about has to leave this room unless you want it to.”

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, holding himself, not quite looking at Tanuma. From the side, he saw a puff of breath come from the detective, and belatedly noticed how cold the room had gotten. A bit of frost even touched the metal arms of his chair. He forced his jaw open and took a gulp of air, held it, and blew out what ended up being a fine frosty mist that settled on the table in front of him.

In, hold, then out. “Good.” Again, little brother.

The next breath didn’t litter the tabletop with ice crystals, and he managed to relax his grip on his arms in the third. Nobody moved while he forced his core to stop freezing everything.

His voice still shook. “They, um. They’re inventors. They make a bunch of ghost-related stuff- blasters, wrist ways, shields, containment…they patent them, and sell them to the town and government for defense. Even after the town accepted ghosts as real, they’re called crazy. The only experts in town, but crazy.” He swallowed again. “But, uh… they like to call themselves ghost hunters.”

There was a muffled swear from Aizawa. Evan Pariah looked a bit surprised.

“Ghost hunters?” Tanuma said. “What- why?”

“Because ghosts are just evil ectoplasmic impressions of post-human consciousness. Obviously.” The smirk and sarcasm he tried for ended up a grimace and squeak. His vision blurred and- “Dammit, sorry…” He wiped at his eyes quickly, trying to turn away. The table was blessedly quiet while Danny got ahold of his tears.

Aizawa was looking at him- they were all looking at him, really- when he seemed to settle. “Is that what they think of Phantom?”

Danny could only shrug, blankly staring at the puddle now on the table. “If it’s not Phantom, then they’re saying it about all the others. They don’t think ghosts are- are people, really. They say ghosts don’t have emotions besides anger, that they can’t feel pain, that they’re worse than animals-”

Pariah interrupted with a scoff. “I’d ask why you bother protecting them if not for your focus. But your efforts sound like they’d be better suited elsewhere.”

“They’re my parents!” Danny snapped, eyes flashing green as he shot Pariah a glare.

“It does not sound that they act like it.”

Danny shot to his feet and was stopped by Tanuma putting his arm between the two ghosts. The rest of the room was tense, save Pariah, calmly staring back.

“I think it would be best for you to withhold any further comments about the Fentons, Pariah.” Nezu also seemed calm, but it was hard for most to read him in the first place.

Regardless, Pariah simply hummed agreement and broke the staring match. 

Nobody pointed out that, technically, both of them were right. From the way Danny glared holes into the table as he sat back down, he knew it too.

Tanuma put a hand on the table, grabbing everyone's attention. "Given that it's only Fenton-kun here, and all the rest of this context, I think we can table the discussion of his home life if or until it becomes relevant. The only other thing I think should be taken from this is, well…" He looked at Danny and gave him a nervous smile, and tried to keep his tone light. "No offense, but you might do well with therapy?"

That got a dark snort of laughter from Danny. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. My sister is going into psychology, and she never shuts up about it. That's not really an option."

"Perhaps not when you were at home," Tsukauchi said with a nod. "But would you consider it while you are here? While we don't know how long that might be, it could be helpful both in the short and long term. We would be able to give necessary context and ensure the utmost confidentiality."

"All staff are going to be at least somewhat aware of your situation," Nezu added. "So if you wish to go to the school counselor-"

"No."

The table went quiet, until Danny realized he was shaking again, and slowly took a breath. "N- I… I tried school counseling once. She… nearly killed half the school." He huffed, not a laugh but he smirked humorless. "Well, probably would have ended up being the whole school, but… anyway, she was a ghost that fed on people's misery. Said mine was the best…" He shook his head. "Anyway, the point is, if I try to go to therapy, or especially a school counselor, I- I'd…"

"We understand," Tsukauchi said gently. "You do not have to go, it was simply something we suggested without context."

Nezu nodded and put his paws together. "I am sure [Name] would also be willing to meet you in a non-office or non-therapy setting, with supervision, if that would help ease any fears. Such a meeting would not have to necessarily lead to treatment afterwards, but simply for your peace of mind."

Danny made a face, but shrugged. "Maybe…"

“I can make a note of it and ask you again later?”

Danny just shrugged again, and Nezu nodded and wrote something down.

“While we’re health-adjacent,” Aizawa said. “Do you know if or how your vitals or health might be different from average, Fenton-kun?”

“Oh- uh, yeah, actually.” He laughed once, slowly relaxing. “Once Jazz found out I had a ghost doctor, she made them run me through the gauntlet and figure that all out. The obvious you probably already noticed? My pulse rests at like, 30? I don’t have to breathe quite as much, especially when I sleep- freaked my friends out the first time we had a sleepover after. Still need air, though!” He rubbed at his throat and winced. “Uh, temperature about 80 degrees-”

“Celsius?” Tanuma gasped.

Danny blinked. “Oh- uh, fahrenheit? That’s like,” -he ran the quick and dirty formula in his head- “Twenty five, twenty six celsius? Yeah, I-” he laughed. “I’m ice, not fire. Eighty celsius anything would probably kill me. Or- well anyone, that’s like over a hundred- no, two hundred fahrenheit?”

He heard Tsukauchi mutter something about ‘Americans’, which Danny agreed with on principle.

“Yeah, so, that. I wear out in the heat but below-freezing temps aren’t that bad, even while I’m human. Uh, for everything else, we couldn’t be exact because there’s only three halfa’s ever- one of them has never been to the Far Frozen despite my best efforts, and the other is a fruitloop that would and should be shot on sight because, as I said, he’s a fruitloop.”

“Meaning?”

“He’s batshit crazy and basically a stereotypical supervillain.” Danny paused. “Wait, stereotypes are probably different here, huh…?”

“So you don’t have answers about any specific health requirements?” Tanuma said.

“Oh- uh, Frostbite made some educated guesses?” Danny grimaced again. “I, uh… was probably a little malnourished even before I got here. Being a teenager mixed with constant activity and adrenaline, and ghost cores burn through energy crazy fast. So, I’m, uh. Always hungry. Never got a calorie count, wasn’t worth it, but more than I was getting. That, and more ‘healthy’ ectoplasm in my diet- he ended up just making me supplements, since it was too much trouble to get and keep ghost food around.”

Most of them seemed to be writing something down, except Pariah. He just looked at Danny. “I’d hope your obsession was at least being fulfilled then?”

Danny couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. “Yeah, that wasn’t an issue.”

“Allergies or reactions?” Tsukauchi prompted.

“Er… no? Not specifically for me, just- you know, general ghost things.” He waved a hand at Pariah, unwilling to admit him being there saved some explanation. “I can withstand some things a little better than normal ghosts, and some things less. Same with human stuff. Like-” He paused, only long enough to remember they couldn’t do anything about it anyway. “Well, probably won’t come up, but I can’t get drunk on normal alcohol. Then ghost alcohol knocks me off my ass.”

Pariah snorted at that, but the other adults sans Nezu gave him looks ranging from shock to concern. “Why do you know that?”

“Nobody told me what was in what at a Saturnalia Truce party, ‘cause different standard drinking ages over time and culture. My friend Dora had to lock me in my room at her castle so I didn’t keep drinking. I’m strictly and publically BYOB for Zone parties now.” He made a face. “Which wouldn't be so bad if everyone stopped making jokes about ‘don’t let the baby drink’ every time anything festive happens.”

Pariah, the bastard, kept laughing. Danny kicked him in the shin. “Shut up!”

“Anything…” Tanuma sighed and put his head in his hand. “Anything that might be more relevant?”

“Uh… I typically need, like, a lot of aspirin for it to work? I’d guess that goes for medicine in general, but I also have a pretty great healing factor most of the time, so.”

“What’s your healing factor like?”

“Eh, healed a broken ulna in like… a week and a half, one time? Stitches heal in a day or two.”

Tsukauchi and Aizawa rubbed their eyes this time, clearly exasperated.

“...what?”

“You’re just like the problem child, aren’t you?” Aizawa muttered, seemingly to himself.

“Er- who’s the problem child?”

The other adults looked confused, but Aizawa just sighed in a way that was kind of familiar to Danny.

“Is advanced hearing one of your abilities, Fenton-kun?” Nezu said casually.

Danny shrugged one shoulder. “Er- kind of a general ghost thing, but yeah.”

“Right,” Aizawa huffed, and gave Danny an exhausted but focused look. “Since we’re on that, tell us about your quirk- or your power, as Americans call them.”

“Yeah, uh- power? Singular?”

He was starting to feel bad for exhausting the man. “Typically, here, people only have one quirk. Sometimes certain individuals can appear to have more than one, but really it’s just a dual-purpose use of a single quirk. For the purposes of registry and school, you will be registered with one quirk.”

Wow. That… “That’s… going to be… kind of impossible?”

“It may just limit what powers you may use publicly,” Pariah said.

“Why don’t you just tell us what you can do, and we can go from there?” Nezua added with a smile.

“Okaaay…” Danny held up his hand and began listing off on his fingers. “So, there’s the basic ghost stuff: flying, intangibility, invisibility, enhanced strength, hearing, and durability… oh and overshadowing but- I- I don’t use that one anymore, really.”

Tsukauchi looked like he really didn’t want to ask. “Overshadowing?”

“I believe he means possession,” Pariah answered instead.

“Right, right, of course…”

“I don’t use it anymore,” Danny said again, not looking at them. “Unless it’s to stop someone else overshadowing someone, but that’s it.” He shook his head and continued. “Then there’s ecto-manipulation- ectoblasts, rays, shields- can’t really make anything complicated with shields, but I never trained for that. Personally, I’m an ice core, so ice creation and control- thank Frostbite I’m not freezing everyone and everything around me anymore. I can sense ghosts, and that usually shows up as seeing my breath because of my core. I can duplicate myself, but not… consistently?”

Pariah raised an eyebrow, but Danny shot him a glare. He just smirked and didn’t say anything.

Danny sucked in a breath. “And, um, my ghostly wail. It’s like a scream, but it’s my most powerful attack- and most destructive. I’ve taken out buildings with it before, and it usually forces me to transform back after, so it’s a last-ditch thing.”

“‘Transform back’?” Nezu said.

“Oh! I, uh, have a separate form- my ghost form? I guess that’d be a power- it’s how nobody in town knew I was Phantom. But I can’t hold it forever- if I run out of energy or pass out or go to sleep, I transform back to my human form. My ecto-signature is weaker in human form, which makes it harder to notice or track me, but I also have a harder time using my powers without transforming.”

“How does this transformation work, exactly?” Nezu asked, leaning forward with his paws together. “Is It destructive or painful?”

“N- no? And, I don’t know? I just sort of-” Danny made a motion to his chest. “Like… pull my core forward? Mentally, I mean- it doesn’t feel bad, and it’s just really bright. And I can like, partially transform?” He let his eyes go green, but he was sure they’d seen that earlier when he was freaking out.

“In that case, would you be willing to show us now?”

“I- uh- sure?” And then suddenly they were all looking at him, and he never felt more self-conscious. Transforming was so normal for him usually, but having an audience like this was different. He pushed himself forward in his chair, but didn’t stand, fidgeting with his shirt. “Uh…”

He didn’t mean to be stalling, but Aizawa and Tsukauchi shared a look, and that just made him pull his shoulders in-

There was a rap on the table. “Phantom.”

Danny’s gaze locked onto Pariah with his challenging tone. When he noticed the unimpressed look Pariah was giving him, it ticked him off.

He transformed almost without thinking, his core already humming in defiance to the challenge he only then heard from Pariah’s core. Pariah smirked again, and the sound from his core shifted to smug satisfaction before quieting.

It took Danny a second of sitting there- facing Pariah, half ready to stand and fight- before he registered what had just happened. He did get up then. “You did that on purpose!”

“You were overthinking it,” Pariah said simply. “I gather that you usually shift to challenge an opponent, so I gave you the appearance of one.”

“I- You- asshole!” It was obvious there wasn’t going to actually be a fight, so he crossed his arms and fell back in his seat. Not pouting over how easily he was played. Obviously.

The other adults in the room were either giving him curious looks or hiding their own amusement. Tsukauchi in particular peered at him before turning to Aizawa. “Do we know if your quick interacts as normal with Fenton-chan’s… ghostliness? Does it react like a transformation quirk, so he’d just transform back?”

Aizawa scowled at him. “...yes, but more than that. Last time, he immediately passed out, and we had to take him straight to Recovery Girl.”

“That was you?!”

Tsukauchi responded like Danny hadn’t spoken. “Are we sure that reaction wasn’t just from malnutrition or exhaustion?”

“Are we suggesting we play with his health to test it?”

“Er.” Tsukauchi sat back. “Right- no, obviously not.”

“Eraser’s quirk forces another quirk to completely deactivate,” Pariah said. “All of Phantom’s powers are tied to his core- since that would be what Eraser’s quick targets, it would temporarily shut down the core itself.”

“Which is … bad,” Tsukauchi said, barely not making it a question.

Pariah huffed. “A ghost’s core is like all human internal organs in one- so since Phantom needs his core to survive as any other would, yes. That’s bad.”

Tanuma looked at Danny. “Er, do you? Need it to survive, I mean.”

Danny swallowed, and the whole room got ten degrees colder. “Yeah. I… Yeah. That’s- That’s not up for debate. Trying to remove it would kill me.” He shuddered. “Just… don’t ask me how I know that.”

Tanuma held up his hands. “Yes, of course! I didn’t mean to come off like that. I just wanted to make sure we all understood.”

The temperature ticked up a couple degrees. Danny nodded, and they moved on.

“Onto more immediate, short-term plans,” Nezu said without missing a beat. “We had discussed options for where and with whom you will be staying while you are here, Fenton-kun.” Danny couldn't help a worried glance in Pariah’s direction. “While you share much common ground, we’ve all agreed it would not be a good idea to have you stay with Pariah-san, so don’t worry about that.”

Danny tried not to make it too obvious how much he relaxed at that.

“Aizawa-san is both qualified as a stand-in guardian for minors in unforeseen circumstances, and an experienced underground pro-hero. He has a spare room kept for situations not unlike these, and has offered to house you until such time as we make other arrangements.” Nezu smiled at him. “That is, if you have no complaints with that arrangement, Fenton-kun.”

“I… don’t think I do?” Danny looked at Aizawa, and felt bad again. “I mean, as long as realizing I’m an absolute disaster hasn’t changed your mind?”

Aizawa stared at him. “...as long as you can figure out how to follow rules, I think we’ll be fine.”

“Uh. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s the spirit!” Nezu said happily. “Which leads us to schooling. We do not know how long you will be here, but we would like to keep you abreast with your peers. Were you in school back home, Fenton-kun?”

Oh great. They had mentioned that, hadn’t they? “Y… yeah? I um… was almost flunking out, but yeah.”

“What grade were you in?”

“Tenth? Er, second year of high school, if- I don’t know how school works in Japan.”

Nezu simply nodded. “Here, high school is three years long, and begins usually when the student is 15 or 16. So then you would be in the same grade as the UA first years. Depending on testing, we would like you to go to school here, given that both Aizawa-san and Pariah-san are staff, and we are the leading heroics academy in Japan.”

Danny had to shake his head. “Wait- hold on- you have superhero school here?! That’s what this is?! That’s-” His mouth went dry as his brain registered what Nezu said. ‘Depending on testing’, ‘We would like-’. He tried not to deflate too much. “That… sounds awesome. I- I don’t think I’ll be able to pass whatever testing you need, though. So what then?”

Nezu tilted his head and gave Danny an odd look, though he still smiled. “In the event you are not capable of attending UA, we will place you in a different high school or home schooling appropriate to your needs. I don’t think that will be necessary, however.”

“Yeah, well…” Danny sighed. “You haven’t seen my grades.”

“You wouldn’t be taking these tests today,” Aizawa said. “That’d just be unfair, given your health and the stress of relocation. If all goes well, you’d come back in two weeks, which would give you time to study if needed.”

“We would also not expect exactly the same standard of scores as usual, given your situation. Namely in history or English, which would be substituted for individual Japanese instruction wherever you are placed.”

Danny couldn’t help slip a bit of a smile at his first thought. “I think if I fail history, I’d be grounded when I get home.”

“Why do you say that?”

He covered his mouth with a hand. “Just- inside joke, sorry.”

While everyone else seemed willing to roll their eyes and let it slide, Pariah shot him a look. Not one that Danny could really even parse before he schooled his features, but he noticed anyway. He still felt hyper-aware of Pariah’s presence, but especially when he had weird reactions like that.

He didn’t get a chance to say anything, though, because now Tsukauchi was looking at him weird.

“Didn’t you say that form takes energy to sustain? You don’t need to hold it just because we didn’t tell you to change back.”

“Oh.” Danny blinked and looked down at his gloved hands. “Er- I guess I just didn’t notice? Sorry.” He changed back quickly, feeling gravity reassert itself on him. “It’s not like I have to spend energy to hold it, it’s more like a light switch? And it’s just as comfortable really. My human form is just… like the power-saver on your phone. I switch back automatically when I’m too far in the red.”

"So you're saying it feels natural to you?" Nezu said.

"I mean… yeah. My powers aren't something I have, it's something I am." He paused, and remembered the phrase Jazz kept repeating. "Human or ghost, I'm always Danny. And that means I'm always both."

Nezu smiled and nodded like he'd just passed some secret test.

Tsukauchi cleared his throat politely. "I think that brings us to the last thing we need to discuss. Namely, trying to find a way to get you back home."

Already, a put was opening in his stomach. Danny nodded and tried to breathe deeply.

"You might be aware, but before this, no effort was made to find a way back to your world." Tsukauchi glanced at Pariah. "Simply efforts to make it possible for a ghost to live here safely. So, while we may be starting from square one in getting you back home, Pariah has done most of the hard work that will keep you safe and healthy here while we explore our options."

"You mentioned a portal earlier," Aizawa said. "A… 'stable portal from the Ghost Zone'?"

Danny nodded. "Oh, yeah- uh, there's always been natural portals, but they are hard to track and dont stay open long. My parents built a big stable portal a couple years ago- it's not the only one, but the guy who built the other two knew to either hide them or built better defenses to keep ghost from just… coming in." He made a face. "And you know, I didn't know anything or anyone back then, so when ghosts started coming through and causing trouble, I didn't know what else to do besides just… toss them back in and try to keep the door closed."

All of them looked like they wanted to say something about it, but Aizawa pushed forward. "So then, it's theoretically possible to build a portal to the ghost realm. If that was done here, there is a nonzero chance of it working, and a nonzero chance that it would open somewhere home-adjacent."

Danny nodded. "Sounds like that'd be the first thing to try, yeah. I could probably help with making that, too. I'm not the inventor my parents are, or a computer fiend like my friend Tucker, but I did grow up around this stuff and use it daily. Not to mention, I'm probably the only one that knows even some of the details of how ectoplasm works as an element or chemical, since Dark-Ages Mcgee here skipped a few hundred years of science class." He grinned as Pariah gave him a tired glare.

"You're a menace."

"Aw, how'd you guess my middle name?"

"Would that be safe?" Aizawa cut in.

Danny blinked back to the table. "What?"

Aizawa was trying hard not to glare at him. "Would it be safe for you to be involved if a portal was to be built? Both physically and mentally."

He opened his mouth to immediately wave it off, but paused as his core tinged at the idea of the portal, dark and dead, a hole in the wall-

"Um-" Danny coughed. "Well. I… get the feeling the safety measures would be a lot more strict with you guys?" No switches inside the portal, he'd make sure of that. "S-so, yeah, all good. Wouldn't even get to that point until all the plans are built and testing was done to make sure physics here isn't too different in some weird tiny way, anyway."

He must have paused too long, because nobody looked convinced.

"Look, if you don't let me help, I'd probably go crazy worrying about it and break in to double check everything anyway."

"If that's your intent, you really shouldn't tell us that," Tsukauchi said with a sigh.

Danny just shrugged. "If it gets you to include me, it won't happen anyway. I don't like to lie and sneak around if I'm not basically forced into it. And you knowing what I'll do in either situation just gives you full accountability for your choice, so you can't really come back and be mad at me for doing what I said I would do if you locked me out."

"That's a fair argument for your intent, I suppose!" Nezu said, which caught Danny off guard by tone alone.

"Oh. Um… thanks? I think?"

"We will have to research and discuss that situation privately with the professionals of the field," Tsukauchi muttered, writing several things down. "For now…" He glanced at the others. "If there's no disagreement, it might be helpful for you to write down anything you remember of the other portals you know about, so that we are able to find engineers and scientists most closely experienced with the necessary areas of research."

"Oh, yeah, totally. If you give me enough paper, I could probably recreate a chunk of the blueprints, honestly."

The detectives looked a bit surprised by that, but the others either expected it or hid the emotion by now.

"It sounds like we have a plan of action!" Nezu said, and clapped his paws together. "Unless there is anything you would like to add, Fenton-kun?" He paused for Danny to shake his head. "Then I think we can wrap up our meeting for today. After all, you and Aizawa-san still need time to gather some basic necessities, and from what I hear, you could use a good night's sleep outside of our infirmary."

Danny gave him a weak smile, and tried not to shudder at the memory-sensation of the IV. "Y-yes, please."

Aizawa took that as a cue to stand. "Let's go, Fenton."

Danny stood, but hesitated as the others stayed put.

"We just need to discuss legal logistics and documents, don't mind us," Tanuma said with a smile.

"Okay…" He gave Pariah a serious look before moving to follow Aizawa. He didn't want to stick around the man, but having everyone else trust him wasn't going to ever make sense.

[problemswithbooks]

BNHA Ch. 429

So, I guess Toga is dead, and people are losing it.

I get why people liked her--she was actually queer, being pan/bisexual. She was representation for them and that's rare in shonen manga. But here's the thing--she was bad representation at best and insulting at worst. Nor do I think she was made queer because Hori really wanted to represent a queer girl. Himiko was always the author's poorly hidden fetish--she just was. She liked girls as much as boys because Hori wanted to draw a girl touching sexually on another girl. You can see this in how he draws her and Ochako in solo pics together.

I mean, people seem to understand this when it comes to Momo and her outfit being overly sexual or that both Himiko and Hagakure's Quirks either leave them naked or they have to be naked to use them. These are excuses to draw girls in a sexual manner. Himiko being into other girls is the same thing and that's the kindest interpretation.

Given how Himiko acts and her Quirk being heavily coded sexual desire, and therefore her use of it against someone unwilling being sexual assault, it could just being playing into harmful stereotypes of predatory gays.

As a queer person myself I just found Toga insulting. She was designed to be overly sexual and give the male author a female character that he could draw being suggestive with his other female characters. When he did flesh out her character, her backstory was eventually the trope/fear of straight people, that gay people will be so overcome with their lust that they end up sexually assaulting them.

In the end Ochako accepts this part of Toga and says she'll giver her blood forever, but as much as a lot of readers took that that as some deep lesbian confession, for me it really fell flat. Hori never really gave any of the main kids time to actually learn about their villain or show how that changed their minds toward them. Shoto only works because Touya is his brother (even though he admits he barely remembers him). But Ochako goes from not thinking of Toga at all pre-first war, to one thought about her during her speech, to suddenly caring about her so much she--given how Toga's quirk is coded, is willing to essentially fulfill Toga's kink for the rest of their lives.

It's weird and it comes out of nowhere. It's made even stranger because Toga doesn't actually change or show remorse for anything she did, which included personally hunting and murdering people before she joined the LOV. None of the death and destruction she is also partially responsible for is brought up either, something that Ochako was rightfully upset about during the first war when less people and property had been destroyed. Ochako just accepts everything about her suddenly and her past serious crimes are forgotten so they can cuddle and cry.

Am I shocked Toga died--a little. I didn't think Hori would have the guts to kill off a young girl character, especially one that he clearly got a lot of joy drawing in sexy poses. But at the same time, once he killed off Shigaraki and ended Touya's story with his slow death, I'm not surprised he went the same route with Toga.

This isn't Naruto--Hori isn't really kind to characters that do something wrong, especially if they don't try and change. Enji, Bakugo, Hawks, and Aoyama all sort of got punished for what they did. Enji is the worst off, being permanently crippled, missing an arm and burned everywhere. Bakugo's hand is damaged, his heart weaker, plus he feels bad that Izuku lost his Quirk so they can't compete the same way he wanted them to. Aoyama, despite doing way less wrong and even helping his class during the forest raid, still leaves school because he doesn't feel he earned being there yet. Hawks lost his Quirk and even though him running the HPSC could be seen as good for him, Hawks always wanted a break, but now he has one of the most time consuming and stressful jobs out there.

So, if this is what characters who actively did good things and even changed and fought to be better get, what would characters who never changed and never did anything positive for anyone but their friends/themselves get?

Before the last Arc started, when so many people said the LoV were 100% going to be redeemed I had doubts and always thought it wouldn't make sense with how the story presented redemption or treated other non-LoV villains in the past. That if the main LoV did get some happy ending where they were bffs with the main cast it would clash with how other characters had been treated.

That doesn't mean that I think how Shigaraki, Toga, and Touya ended up in the manga was well done. I think their endings fit far better then a last minute redemption would have, but at the same time you can feel how rushed everything has been since the end of the first war arc. Hori was done with this story months if not years ago, yet he was contractually obligated to finish it. Because of that I think he left out as much as possible. As much as I think he's written some pretty obsessive stuff, particularly towards women, I can't really fully blame him cutting corners or the story being shit at the end.

We know Manga authors, particularly those that work with Jump are treated like shit. That they suffer incredibly long hours at times not even getting to go home for days. We've gotten messages for Hori saying he's sick quite a few times. On top of that, weekly story telling is not a great way to tell a cohesive narrative. Ideas probably change week to week or at least month to month and you can't go back and change the last chapter no matter how much you need or want to. Then you remember he also gave a lot of ideas to the people who made the movies, which would also change his plans for how he wanted the main story to go.

The story is bad--it has been for a while, but I think a lot of people put their hopes on their favorite characters getting a happy ending, even when there were signs that probably wasn't going to be the case. I know how much it sucks when a character you love gets a shitty ending (Stain was my fav, but he got an absolute dogshit ending) but at least, knowing what I know about the industry I can't really blame Hori the way I see some other people doing. Criticize it, sure, but saying Hori hates his readers or is horrible writer isn't true. BNHA was popular for a reason--he's great with characters and the beginning of the story had some great pacing. We'll never know, but I wouldn't be surprised if BNHA could have been amazing if Hori had been treated better and the story hadn't needed a chapter every week.

If anything BNHA has taught me how much a story suffers when authors/artists are treated like crap and forced to work past burnout.

[graciousdragon]

guys...keep your eyes peeled tonight or perhaps tomorrow morning for I Have Cooked Something

[cleromancy]

the specific flavor of roydick when they were queercoded, or at least--i mean theres *at least* a *strong* argument that they are, starting around... maybe devins arsenal mini through titans 99, but *definitely* outsiders all the way through roy leaving the team. but like, they're simultaneously queercoded and maintaining that very late 90s/early to mid aughts-specific heteronormativity yk. a swell couple in an erotic butch and sundance kind of way

(and i mean we do know devin in particular was writing with bi dickie in mind, shes gone on record on that, but like specifically roy and dick in relation to each other...)

and im just. thinking about this because in my beloved The Cheshire Contract in the *80s* they are not actually queercoded, the homoeroticism was just. two bros gettin naked in the same hotel room, being touchy feely bros hetero style... idk man theyre really affectionate with each other in it! but then by the time graduation day rolls around you can't even picture them that comfortable touching each other despite like. still being written as... i mean they're close, you know? *close.*

but they don't touch anymore.

and like thinking about. by contrast. my beloved outsiders #11 where. dkdkckflf. god. grace's famous you boys would make a swell couple in an erotic butch and sundance kind of way quote, roy cuts her off with a kiss, they have sex, and-- god im sorry please just read outsiders v3 because this issue is. insane. anyway then dick and roy have what *eye* would argue is a sexually charged sparring scene, particularly bc of the way it was juxtaposed with roy and grace. and it ends when dick pulls a fucking gun on roy *as an expression of care.* like explicitly that's why he's doing it. like oh my god! the rituals are so fucking intricate!

and like FIVE ISSUES LATER they have this massive blowout fight and-- fkflflfm.

the point is. the point is. my last reblog was about fictional male intimacy needing violence as a pretext. and i was thinking about the specific flavor of heteronormativity at the time and. weighing in my mind whether my beloved outsiders 11 or my beloved action comics 613-618 feels more intimate. thinking about the heteronormativity flavor of, these two guys can't be physically affectionate bc of it vs the flavor where they *can* be physically affectionate precisely *because* heteronormativity means it wouldn't be gay if they did. and i think its not quite a fair comparison bc i do believe the point of outsiders 11 *was* the intimacy, compared to the cheshire contract where it was an easy comfortable byproduct of their friendship. but, well! there most certainly is violence as a pretext, huh?

much to think about.

[werebutch]

Tex face ? I think ?

[trainer-sean]

"Being Robin is my magic!" -jason todd.

Later gets magic powers. Lol

It’s kinda funny that Jason is, in every sense of the word, the most normal Robin. Unironically, there wasn’t anything uniquely special about him before he was Robin. He was a street kid. His dad was a goon (which makes sense for Gotham. It’s a goon breeding ground) and his adoptive mom was a girl who fell in love with the bad boy, got disowned by her upper middle class parents and adopted her boyfriend’s infant son. Even his biological mother isn’t anything special! She was just a doctor who ended up becoming corrupt.

Jason Todd was no circus kid who could do an impossible signature trick. He wasn’t being scouted by some evil hidden organization.

He wasn’t the rich boy genius who lived next door.

He’s not the son of a supervillain (as lame as cluemaster is, he still *counts*).

He’s not the secret son of Bruce Wayne.

And he’s not a metahuman, nor did he led a whole organization of teens to fight when Batman couldn’t.

He’s the most regular boy to ever enter become a hero in Gotham. He wanted to do good things for the sake of doing good. He grew up poor with regular parents, where bad things happened to them. The kinds of things that could happen to *any* person living in Gotham.

There is nothing about him, pre-Robin and as Robin, that makes him Not Like Regular Kids.

His dad was a goon (who, depending on the run, was either killed by Two-Face OR. Just sent to prison and killed in prison! Which makes his backstory even PLAINER-) and his mother was a drug addict with cancer. Jason ends up homeless, and almost steals the bat mobile tires. The only thing that makes him stand out from any other tragedy befallen kid in Gotham is the fact he was bold enough to do that, get Batman’s attention, and continue to be bold enough to go against a crime lord (who was apparently his grandmother, the most interesting person in his family, but since she’s almost never brought up, she’s likely no more significant than a one-issue villain in the crime lord power hierarchy). Batman realized that Jason wasn’t going to really stop, and honestly he kinda grew on him, so he decided to adopt Jason, and eventually allow him to become Robin.

There just isn’t anything amazingly special about his backstory. The few moments where something could have been done to make it more interesting (like his biological mother) but ended up taking the most boring option. You can’t do much of anything now to enhance his past without upsetting much more well established canon, and not without making people wonder “well if his grandmother was such a big name in crime, why hasn’t she been brought up before?”

Jason Todd was a wonderful Robin (providing that he actually has a writer who likes him). He has a golden heart, he’s the voice of reason. He’s everything that a Robin needs to be for Batman. But compared to everyone else, he was nothing special. In a way, his lack of Not Like Regular Kids makes him stand out in a much more subtle way.

As if someone asked the question “Do I need to be someone special to be Robin?” And the answer was “You don’t need to be someone special, you just need to be brave, like Jason Todd was.”

[transgaysex]

i have been running all day long

[txttletale]

hey what DO you watch on youtube? seems like you'd have some neat recommendations :3

i really loathe the like super-highly edited sound effect post-mrbeast slop most of youtube is now so i mostly like stuff that's like... calm and sedate. stuff i've been watching lately in no particular order:

northernlion vods and clips. he's an OG. i especially like his react court series, i must have watched all of them like five times.

speaking of OGs i've been watching zero puncutation (now fully ramblomatic) for like ten years and if anything it's only gotten better. best game review content on the internet. been really enjoying his more recent, slightly longer and more thoughtful 'extra punctuation/semi-ramblomatic' series too.

any austin's skyrim unemployment rate videos. instant classics to me, it's just a guy going around in skyrim trying to figure out the unemployment rate in every town. it's a very dry kind of humour, he plays it admirably straight, and it's weirdly calming.

kitten arcader's foot the bill videos. in a kind of similar vein, he watches the saw movies and then produces an itemized bill for everything jigsaw needed to buy to make his traps. it's kind of like... if cinemasins was fundamentally curious instead of fundamentally incurious, it scratches a similar sort of nitpicky detail-oriented quantifying itch but without inimical to the concept of art.

shuffle up and play. it's a magic the gathering play series that has enough editing that the gamestate is actually legible but not enough editing (or at least, not enough obtrusive in-your-face editing) that its annoying. i also like that they reguilarly play non-edh formats like cube and pauper.

spice8rack. i'm pretty picky about video essays but spice8rack has very obviously actually read books and has interesting things to say about the topics it discusses (mostly magic: the gathering). sometimes it has a kind of grating Theater Kid Energy but the fact that it actually meaningfully structures essays and analysis to earn the silly long runtimes is a rare delight from a video essayist.

jenny nicholson is a long-time favourite and another permanent fixture in my rotation. she's just extremely, remarkably funny which makes her the only 'basically just summarizing a thing' youtuber i think is worth the time of day.

i watch some sketch comedy, mainly wizards with guns and aunty donna, who both consistently put out really funny stuff that's kind of ITYSL-adjacent in its barefaced absurdism and contenmpt for concepts like "stopping a joke at the logical punchline". i also really like alasdair beckett-king and binging the old clickhole backlog for short-form comedy on youtube.

wolfeyvgc is right on the edge of the level of editing i find tolerable but as a long-time fan of multiple esports he Has It, he's absolutelyt fantastic at t elling the narrative of a tournament, explaining plays clearly, and generally making competitive pokemon esports thrilling and interesting ti someone (me) who#s never played it and doesn't care about pkoemon that much

i religously watch every elliespectacular/dathings YTP, the absolute best in the game right now, top tier snetence mixing and really good at actually setting up and paying off jokes in a way it feels like a lot of ytp doesn't. verytallbart is also pretty good.

trapperdapper is a channel i recently binged, it's a really fucking funny parody of minecraft challenge content that veers slowly from obvious angles of parody into pure absurdism with tons of blink-and-you'll miss it subtle visual gags.

too much future is a great youtube series where the two guys from just king things/homestuck made this world play through every fallout game and analyze them in that context. extremely funny and also just top-tier very sharp analysis. really good

another one of the rare good video essayists is jan misali. they're really funny and will go into topics that kind of seem narrow or strange to begin with in such depth and make them so interesting that it's consistently astonishing.

oh and finally sarah z makes pretty good videos. 'the narcissist scare' is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of one of the most annoying pop-psych phenomena of the last couple years. and remarkably well script supervised i think did anyone else watch it and think 'wow the script supervisor on this must have been, a mind geniuse'

ok i think that's all i've been watching lately. hope you like whcihever of these recs you check out :)

[wileycap]

So, uh, Netflix Avatar, huh? Yeah. I guess I'll make a really long post about it because ATLA brainrot has is a cornerstone of my personality at this point.

So.

It's okay. B, maybe a C+.

That's it.

Now for the spoilers:

The biggest issue with the Netflix version is the pacing. Scenes come out of nowhere and many of the episodes are disjointed. Example: Aang escaping from Zuko's ship. We see him getting the key and going "aha!", and in the next scene he's in Zuko's room. And then he just runs out, no fun acrobatics or fights, and immediately they go to the Southern Air Temple where he sees Gyatso's corpse, goes into the Avatar state, and then sees Gyatso being really cheesy, comes out of it, and resolves that conflict. Nothing seems to lead into anything. The characters don't get to breathe.

The show's worst mistake (aside from Iroh fucking murdering Zhao) is its' first one: they start in the past. Instead of immediately introducing us to our main characters and dropping us into a world where we have a perfect dynamic where Aang doesn't know the current state of the world and Katara and Sokka don't know about the past, thus allowing for seamless and organic worldbuilding and exposition, they just... tell us. "Hey, this is what happened, ok, time for Aang!" There's no mystery, no intrigue, just a stream of information being shoved down the audience's throats and then onto the next set piece.

The visuals are for the most part great, but like with most Netflix productions, they just don't have great art direction. It feels like a video game cinematic, where everything is meant to be Maximum Cool - and none of the environments get to breathe. It's like they have tight indoor sets (with some great set design) and then they have a bunch of trailer shots. It's oozing with a kind of very superficial love.

Netflix still doesn't know how to do lighting, and with how disjointed the scenes are, the locations end up feeling like a parade of sets rather than actual cities or forests or temples. As for the costumes, Netflix still doesn't know how to do costumes that look like they're meant to be actually worn, so many of the characters seem weirdly uncomfortable, like they're afraid of creasing their pristine costumes.

The acting is decent to good, for the most part. I can't tell if the weaker moments come down to the actors or the direction and editing, but if I had to guess, I'd say the latter. Iroh and Katara are the weakest, Sokka is the most consistent, Zuko hits the mark most of the time, and Aang is okay. I liked Suki (though... she was weirdly horny? Like?) but Yue just fell kind of flat.

The tight fight choreography of the original is replaced with a bunch of spinny moves and Marvel fighting, though there are some moments of good choreography, like the Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko (there's a million things I could say about how bad it was thematically, but this post is overly long already.) There's an actually hilarious moment in the first episode when Zuko is shooting down Aang, and he does jazz hands to charge up his attack.

Then there's the characters. Everybody feels very static - Zuko especially gets to have very little agency. A great example of that is the scene in which Iroh tells Lieutenant Jee the story of Zuko's scar.

In the original, it's a very intimate affair, and he doesn't lead the crew into any conclusions. Here, Iroh straight up tells the crew "you are the 41st, he saved your lives" and then the crew shows Zuko some love. A nice moment, but it feels unearned, when contrasted with the perfection of The Storm. In The Storm, Zuko's words and actions directly contradict each other, and Iroh's story gives the crew (and the audience) context as to why, which makes Zuko a compelling character. We get to piece it out along with them. Here - Iroh just flat out says it. He just says it, multiple times, to hammer in the point that hey, Zuko is Good Actually.

And then there's Iroh. You remember the kindly but powerful man who you can see gently nudging Zuko to his own conclusions? No, he's a pretty insecure dude who just tells Zuko that his daddy doesn't love him a lot and then he kills Zhao. Yeah. Iroh just plain kills Zhao dead. Why?

Iroh's characterization also makes Zuko come off as dumb - not just clueless and deluded, no, actually stupid. He constantly gets told that Iroh loves him and his dad doesn't, and he doesn't have any good answers for that, so he just... keeps on keeping on, I guess? This version of Zuko isn't conflicted and willfully ignorant like the OG, he's just... kind of stupid. He's not very compelling.

In the original, Zuko is well aware of Azula's status as the golden child. It motivates him - he twists it around to mean that he, through constant struggle, can become even stronger than her, than anyone. Here, Zhao tells him that "no, ur dad likes her better tee hee" and it's presented as some kind of a revelation. And then Iroh kills Zhao. I'm sorry I keep bringing that up, but it's just such an unforgiveable thematic fuckup that I have to. In the original, Zhao falls victim to his hubris, and Zuko gets to demonstrate his underlying compassion and nobility when he offers his hand to Zhao. Then we get some ambiguity in Zhao: does he refuse Zuko's hand because of his pride, or is it his final honorable action to not drag Zuko down with him? A mix of both? It's a great ending to his character. Here, he tries to backstab Zuko and then Iroh, who just sort of stood off to the side for five minutes, goes "oh well, it's murderin' time :)"

They mess with the worldbuilding in ways that didn't really need to be messed with. The Ice Moon "brings the spirit world and the mortal world closer together"? Give me a break. That's something you made up, as opposed to the millenia of cultural relevance that the Solstice has. That's bad, guys. You replaced something real with something you just hastily made up. There's a lot of that. We DID NOT need any backstory for Koh, for one. And Katara and Sokka certainly didn't need to be captured by Koh. I could go on and on, but again, this post is already way too long.

It's, um, very disappointing. A lot of telling and not very much showing, and I feel like all of the characters just... sort of end up in the same place they started out in. I feel like we don't see any of the characters grow: they're just told over and over again how they need to grow and what they need to do.

To sum it up: Netflix Avatar is a mile wide, but an inch deep.

[astuteology]

PLACEMENTS THAT MAKES SOMEONE UNABLE TO MOVE ON🤡

⚠️ This may or may not resonate with you. All of the observations below are what i have seen many many times, reoccurring.

Edit: so people are getting confused about these placements. Is it coming from the planet or the house?

I'll clear it up for you all. See what sign are they in for example; Sun in aries is exalted while sun in libra is debilitated. Mercury in 3rd house is strong while mercury in 12th is weak.

~

Sun in someone's 5th house: rejection from them can take a big toll on your mental health, which can make you obsessive and unable to stop thinking about them.

Edit: if the sun is debilitated, it's coming from the sun person. If the 5th house consists of more than 2 aspects or planets, its the 5th house. In this case, sun is the core personality right.. if the sun is weak, it creates insecurities and egoistic nature. So if the 5th house person rejects the sun in any way, since sun is the owner of the 5th house, the sun goes crazy. Now if the 5th house is weak, let's say you have mars, saturn, uranus or pluto in the 5th natal, then you are likely to go crazy for the sun.

Venus in someone's 5th house: kinda same as the above but this placement makes someone come back again and again hoping for a different answer this time around. This placement can turn creepy pretty quickly.

Edit: venus feels very warm and good in both 5th and the 7th, also in the 12th if the sign and the placement are strong without any affliction. If one has Scorpio or aries venus, and the 5th house rejects them in any way, venus here goes insane.

Venus in conjunction with someone else's ascendant: this can make the either party be in denial about the breakup or the rejection. They tend to become stalkers and stalk every inch of the other person's social media. Even follow them home. Pretty scary if it's unrequited.

Edit: venus loves to be friends with ascendant in astrology. Venus being afflicted, let's say it's in Scorpio sign or it's in retrograde or it's making a close relationship with Saturn or mars, venus here goes kooky. If the ascendant person is insecure, let's say it has pluto, a weak lilith or neptune, the ascendant goes nutty. And if both the parties have this... scary.

Mars in the 12th and venus in the 8th: again, if the person is insecure, this can and will turn pretty nasty. They will blackmail you. May even post your private pictures online without you knowing or kidnap you. They can not deal with the break up or the rejection. Something about you rejecting them in any way triggers Something in them that makes them want to put you in your place (the 'place' is upto them).

Edit: mars is not friendly with the 12th and venus is not comfortable in the 8th. Afflictions on either side, creates this dynamics.

Venus in someone's 12th house: yes it can mean unrequited love BUT this can make a person became very depressed after getting rejected or after going through a breakup. In worst case scenario, the person can emotional or physically blackmail you, even threaten you.

Edit: venus feels nice and good in the 12th, since venus prefers giving unconditional love and support. But if one has weak venus (retrograde, martian plutonian venus, etc) venus gets empty here, and it hates being emptied. Same goes for the 12th, let's say you have Capricorn there, or you're 7th or 5th lord is in the 12th. In both the cases of venus and 12th house, the things i mentioned above, happens.

Mars in someone's 8th house: literally the worst of the worst. If either party already had a very low self esteem before meeting the other person, after that person goes away, this can make them come after you and hunt you down. Physical abuse is very much possible. There's no 'moving on' here.

Edit: mars DOES NOT like to stay hidden and in secrecy. So it disturbs the 8th house. The more afflictions here, the more mars becomes psychotic here.

Sun in the 8th house: they keep on coming back omg. They don't understand the word "no". For them, "no" means keep trying. Even if you say you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, they still think they have a chance. They are deaf, they can't hear no.

Edit: sun hates the 8th house when it comes to love and relationships. So if sun is afflicted and it feels uncomfortable in the 8th, or if venus is the lord of 8th or have libra or taurus in the 8th, the 8th house feels kind of seen here and it doesn't like that, because sun and venus are enemies. One likes to stay hidden, other wants to dig deep.

Moon in the 8th; they will try to bring you down in front of people. The types to make fun of your personal conditions just because they think it's gonna make you appear weak. It's just embarrassing and pathetic. You trusted that person with your personal things and this is what they give you just because their fucking brain can't handle the rejection. Moon in the 9th; bad mouthing. Will probably spread false rumors about you and will try so fucking hard to make people believe them, now if the other people already had something against you, they will believe them. Moon in the 1st and the 12th; will appear all good and nice in front of you, until one day you'll hear someone ask you about your personal life, which will get you thinking.. "how do they know?".... well... now you know who tf told them. They will tell your secrets to everyone they meet and turn the person against you.

Edit: moon hates 6th, 8th and the 12th house. Moon is a strong energy and it prefers to stay inside. You know the emotions you show, you rather feel it inside than show it to the world because yk how people can be. If moon or the house gets afflicted, let's say moon is in conjunction with Saturn or any of the above mentioned houses have north or the south nodes, they create toxic energies that i mentioned above.

Mars conjunct ascendant or mars making heavy aspects with the ascendant: although gentle and light, but this has the power to annoy you to your core. This aspect boosts the energy of the either party in the company of the other one which makes them dependent on the other gradually. Now if you have avoidant attachment style, I have a bad news for you.

Edit: see mars loves to be the leader and loves 1st house as well but without any grounding aspects, it gets out of control. Abuse happens here too, whether its verbal or physical. Depends upon the aspects and the planets here.

Mars venus conjunction and square: only GREAT when two sided, a "traumatic scene" when one sided. Now what do I mean by that? You see... we want to touch the person we feel a spark with, right? And if both party feels it, it's an electrifying thunderstorm that takes you to the deepest of the oceans and highest of the clouds. Now if the attraction is one sided... when you DO NOT want the attention, the help, the whatever from that person and here they fucking come again and again in front of your face. They are going to do disgustinggg things (don't even get me started on this).

Edit: mars and venus, masculinity and femininity, yin and yang, it's natural for them to be attracted to each other. Any change in the planets, takes away that attraction.

Mercury or neptune square ascendant or sun: Omg this is fucking annoying. The PERSON that you REJECTED because you DO NOT want to do ANYTHING with THEM and you POLITELY said NO but THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THAT SO THEY KEEP SOLVING THIS LIKE IT'S SOME KIND OF AN EQUATION UNTIL THEY GET THE ANSWER RIGHT. LHS=RHS. They keep on digging deep. They're gonna ask your friends, your family, anyone associated with you about your whereabouts, you number, you address because they don't think there is a valid reason that you rejected them. Now if you HATE when someone continously tries to butt into your life... I am sorry. Good luck with that anger cause they won't be hearing "no" anytime soon.

Edit: mercury is a curious planet, neptune is the planet of illusion, sun is the core personality and ascendant is the physical body of the soul. Square means there's a friction, and the solution is compromise. Now everyone is different, with strong moral authority and strong personality, so one may not want the connection, and the other is desperately after them. If mercury doesn't want to build a connection with sun or ascendant, the sun/asc goes mad, it kinda hurts the ego. If neptune doesn't want to get involved, the sun/asc creates their own perception of the neptune, since it's an illusion. If ascendant/sun does not want a bond with either mercury or neptune, both mercury and neptune tries to dig deep into it. Both can't accept. Both want to know why. It's gonna be hard for any of these placements of see the reality. Saturn NEEDS to be with either of them.

There are more, but this is it for now. Thank you!🤍

Edit: i'm genuinely so sorry for any confusion you had. Hope i cleared it!

[scourgeofmyownbrain]

Good fucking day, Robot enjoyers! Gaze upon the updated semi-accurate height comparison of Bumblebee across the multiverse.

This is an updated version of a chart I made a few months ago. I had gotten some feedback and then TFOne came out and I kinda had to update it. I also added a Gen 1 Optimus Prime for scale, for fun... no other reason... (edit: slight adjustment made, just corrected a slight mistake in the order)

I am also working on at least two more character charts and one universe chart, so hopefully I can finish those soon (for some fucking genius reason I decided to do the characters that show up EVERY FUCKING UNIVERSE so I'm s u f f e r i n g)

*PST! Optimus, Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Ratchet, and Ironhide ones are done now*

Master Post

Listed Heights, Explanations, and Justifications below the cut, bc you couldn't shut me up if you tried and I had shit to say.

Gen 1 - ~10 feet (TFwiki says greater than 3 meters so I rounded up to the first whole number because round)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~10 feet (He looks identical to Gen 1 so... the reason his photo looks weird is because I couldn't find a good full body photo with him standing straight up facing the camera so I put two images together to make the worst looking photoshop job you have ever seen)

Earth Spark - ~10 feet (There is no confirmed height yet, but using this screen shot (see below) of him standing in front of a barn door, I was able to make a reasonable guess, bc I'm so smart.)

One V1 - ~13 feet (I am well aware of what the TFWiki says: 26.429 feet. And I fully reject that number. A: These numbers are sourced from the Walmart Promotional AR Experience that came out before the movie. B: There are three decimal points, and that number does not convert into a whole number in meters (which is originally what I thought was weird about it). C: The director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon, and Bumblebee in both sets of LA movies does not exceed 20 feet tall. Ever. So, for sanity's sake, I have used the KCV numbers as my baseline. Bee grows when he gets his t-cog so shrink this one down a few feet. Look, I'm working on the Optimus chart rn, and one of the numbers from Beast Wars on the wiki was very observably wrong, and if I can dispute numbers older than me, I can dispute numbers 2 decades younger than me from fucking Walmart. Also, yes, his picture is 3 images sandwiched together)

Animated - 13 feet 3 Inches (There is no actual given heights, but in the comments of the previous version, @phoenix-inanis told me that they had done their own analysis of TFA heights and, gonna be real with you, I am blown away by all of their work and how detailed it is. Go marvel at how much work they put in -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4 )

One V2 - ~15 Feet (Please see reasoning above. Since this is as tall as we see Bee get, he's the same height as KCV Bee. Sweet fuck, I have put way too much effort into this shit)

Knight/Capel-Verse - 15 feet (No actual numbers, but Mirage is stated to be 15 feet tall (TFWiki), and he and Bee are like the same height, so... Capel directed the ROTB movie if you're wondering why his name is there)

Bayverse V1 - 16 feet (TFWiki. This is like the first 3 movies minimum, I don't remember when he hits his growth spurt. Also mr bay is king, we have numbers for nearly every character in BV)

Cyberverse - 18 feet (I'm gonna be honest, the only info we have is from a really shitty screen shot of a magazine. SO if any one has a copy of this book from the video below, a high quality scan would be greatly appreciated and I will kiss the ground you walk upon. Yes I found the video where the screen shot comes from leave me alone)

Bayverse V2 - 18 feet (TFWiki. Movie 4-5 I can't remember which one, I'm not re-looking this up. I fucking love the bayverse tho, this is the only universe with concrete and consistent this-character-is-this-height info)

Aligned Cont. WF/FOC - 20 feet (TFWiki/Fandom. Video game info screens you godsend, kiss me sweetly)

Aligned Cont. TFP/RID15 - 21 feet (These two designs are canonically identical, like in ALC canon, Bee has not changed visually at all...Ok, yes I got this number from fandom and they give literally no source for where they got these numbers. But, I can fully believe these are accurate. Just by looking at these characters on the show I can verify these numbers in my mind. Here, let's Compare.

This is Sam compared to Bee from one of the BV movies, I'm too lazy to check which one. Sam is average size for a human and we know Bee is 16 feet tall in the first three movies. Checks out. Let's now look at a TFP Character who is also 16 feet tall.

Jack is average size for a human, and the size difference is about the same. Can you see why I can't question the Aligned heights, even if they don't have a source??!?! They specifically made this universe to be full of freakishly tall robots for some fucking reason.)

Not Pictured: Aligned Cont. Rescue Bots and Rescue Bots Academy Bumblebee - 21 Feet tall. Look, did you want to see all 5 versions of ALC Bee? No, you don't. They're all the same height anyway; the back row would have just been a wall of redundant yellow. 5 different fucking art styles in one universe, why is that one my favourite.

Here's the front row and the back row separated into their own jpgs. I know it's kind of hard to tell which Bumblebee is which when they're all together.

[ghostaholics]

fuck it i'm thinking about grump x sunshine trope and a neighbor au with ghost where he's known for being the building's loner-tenant, this brute bear of a man that keeps to himself.

nobody's ever seen him smile or caught a glimpse of the entirety of his face because he always wears a black surgical mask when he's going to and from his flat; nobody's ever had a full-length conversation with him, because true to his callsign, he's in and out of the building with as much silence and stealth as a ghost. the other residents gossip about him: the water-cooler talk usually goes along the lines of them trying to piece together his story, who he is, what he looks like, whether they should be worried about the fact that he lives there (because there's nothing wrong with being a recluse but he does give off slightly terrifying vibes due to his size and demeanor). the rumor mill’s churning out these outlandish ideas about his private life and they kind of make assumptions based on little things they’ve noticed about him since he’s started living there.

enter in his new neighbor who's never met him, but was advised on her move-in day that he doesn't interact much with the other residents, basically a light debrief on how he can come off as cold and aloof and while some people have made attempts in the past to greet him, they’ve been dissuaded by his general standoffishness and avoidance of any social interaction.

anyways, simon wakes up at odd times throughout the night because he's got the most fucked sleeping schedule from deployment; he can start his day anywhere from 4am, 6pm, and so forth but on one particular morning, he's up at 3:30am, ready to go out for a jog of all things at this hour and then in the hall, he runs into his cute neighbor who's holding this also equally cute german shepherd puppy in her arms; his reaction consists of slowly blinks and a blank expression because he doesn’t quite know what to make of the sight in front of him

and she's staring back at simon with wide, frightened eyes not because she finds him intimidating or anything of that nature (honestly she doesn’t really give two shites about what the others say about him) but because the landlord has a severe and well-known, no-pets policy so she's been sneaking the puppy outside to use the bathroom in creative ways (one of them being at a time where she's certain none of the other tenants are awake) – she's basically been caught red-handed and fuck she's not sure if he's the type to snitch so all she can really say is:

❝ You didn't see anything. ❞

to which he deadpans,

❝... Sure. ❞

because he’s really just trying to mind his own business and not get involved, ducks his head before shouldering past her in the corridor to get outside – he tells himself he can’t bring himself to care about this new development

however, she's not entirely confident that he's going to make good on his word, so she bakes these cookies (special recipe of hers that she’s hopeful will win him over), leaves them in front of his door as a bribe with a card that says please don’t get me evicted ♡ on the inside, which seemed like an excellent plan in theory until he shows up the next day with an empty plate, a very real, very genuine request for more, and a serious demand to see the german shepherd that’s trying to squirm its way out the door to greet simon

edit: love thy neighbor masterlist

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

last set of tsumsitter ssr groovies 👀

THE TIME HAS COME

First is Pomefiore!! (Edit: The initial version of this Groovy is on the left; Rook is missing the golden Pomefiore markings on his robes. There was an update to fix this. The updated version is on the right.)

The trio is framed by a border of colorful lights, which reminds me a lot of old-fashioned movie theater signs (though not as colorful). If you look closely at the top and bottom, it seems they are posed for a candid photograph and it’s being posted to Magicam or something?? Rook and Epel look super crisp here, which I love!! I think Epel is posing with his hands held behind his back. This paired with his smile and the slight bird’s eye view of his face makes him look super cute please don’t beat me up for saying that, Epel. And Rook is being showy and familiar as usual, even putting one hand on Vil’s shoulder. Vil isn’t cringing or uncomfortable with it, which goes to show that he and Rook are truly good friends.

As for Vil, it’s rare to see him posed casually like this. Most of his cards feature him posed in very “model”-like and mature ways, so to have just one hand on hip, leaning forward slightly, and gripping his grimoire is unique for him (I mostly associate this pose with Ace, lol). His smile is quite casual too—it’s not quite the full catty smirk he has in his live2D model, it’s a lot more subtle and playful.

BahacTeHWWRVwkkwwm YHE VIL TSUM STeALS THE SHOW ThoUGH 😭 (You can tell it’s smiling despite the lack of a visible mouth) from how its eyes!! The placement of the Tsum is also funny. With Pomefiore’s peacock throne in the background, it forms sort of an angelic halo around… the sentient stuffed toy… Proof that Tsum Vil is a heavenly being/j

Next is Ignihyde!!

The Shroud brothers return to Cyberspace, that blue void with tons of ethereal floating screens, particle effects, and code www I don’t know what those three pink balls of flame are in the background, but there being three of them is a consistent theme for Ignihyde. Three pink fireballs, three Shroud brothers, three heads of Cerberus! I wish I could say more here, but I’m basically a Malleus when it comes to tech—

Idia’s pose isn’t anything we haven’t seen before (just at different angles of it, I suppose). But!! It feels different here and adding Ortho definitely adds to it. The Pokémon trainer energy of the initial art carries over to the Groovy. Idia looks like a smug, tough trainer looking down on you with a cocky grin and his face half-shadowed.

Ortho floats almost menacingly next to his big brother, his face entirely shadowed. His aura is like a phantom (fitting) or even like a Pokémon on standby waiting for the chance to fire off a Hyper Beam. This might be me overthinking things, but I wonder if the amount of light on the brothers’ faces references the original Ortho. Robo!Ortho’s face is entirely darkened because his parallel has passed on. Idia’s face is only partially shadowed because while he was close to stepping over to the “other side”, he ultimately found hope and was able to continue living, this time for himself and on his own terms.

I LIKE HoW TSUM IDIA HAS ITS OWN sCREEN TO WORK OFF OF TOO 😭 IBRO IS MAkING A sUS FACE TOO, IT’S GLEEfUL AbOUT WhAtEVRr it’S UP TO… That makes me think that it’s hard at work… I dunno, hacking something systems fnksgwiwozlapaeb Watch out, a Tsum near you might infect your computer and then bounce away happily after ruining all your programs and files.

Last but not least… Diasomnia!! THIS ONE’S MY fAVORITE OF THE SSR TSUMSITTER GROUP, WHICH I WAs NOT EXPecTING AT ALL 🤡

The violet backlight is fantastic—it adds an interesting lighting to the illustration and highlights the green flames and Silver and Sebek’s bright eyes. And speaking of Sebek and Silver, LOOK AT THEM JUST LOOK AT THEM???????? More specifically, Sebek’s arms (they look ultra meaty somehow) and Silver’s whole face(that lopsided smile??? HELLO?????)!! On either side of Malleus like that… Peak bodyguard, I REPEAT, PEAK BODYGUARD

With Lilia bringing up the rear, the three form a perfect squad to surround and to protect their liege. cbsjsbevejwlw I like that Lilia is different than Silver and Sebek; he’s hanging out upside down (as he usually does) and bears a huuuge grin, completely having fun in the moment. (… How does his hat stay on like that when he’s fighting gravity though?)

Up front and center is Malleus of course! He’s wielding his spindle staff like a king might a scepter. This with his fierce face gives the impression of a leader marching into battle with his retainers. You get a real good shot of his teeth and reptilian eyes here which I’m sure the Malleus stans are going feral for right now—and with the limelight shining down on him, he looks almost hopeful for once instead of downtrodden or gloomy.

THE TSUM MALLEUS LOOKS SO FUNKY PLACED tHERE cnsnwveuxvDFsFjqk Just. Cheekily There on Malleus’s shoulder… Because Maleficent and Diablo is a known combination, the image of those two as master and minion comes to mind. Imagine Malleus blasting you with lightning, pausing to listen to his Tsum whispering a suggestion into his ear, and then telling you the Tsum has advised that he blast you with a second strike 💀

Aaaaaah, the Tsumsitter SSR Groovies are some of the best in this game 😭 So glad they’re finally over though, it’s stressful saving rolls for what you know would be a limited event with multiple SSR banners, lol

[pa1nrema1ns]

In a Sea of Fire || Sung Jin-woo (Part 3 of 3)

  Siren!Jin-woo x Deaf!omega!reader

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so excited to finally bring you the conclusion to the siren AU trilogy. This is my first full-fledged fic, and it was a true labor of love. To mark this milestone, I commissioned this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous artwork of Jin-woo's siren form from the amazing @ekkurea. She is super kind and an incredible artist. I highly recommend checking out all her beautiful art and commissioning her.

I have been overwhelmed by the positive reception to this series and I am so grateful for all of you. I also want to personally thank my good friend and dedicated beta-reader @forbidden-sunlight for supporting me in the creation of this story. I could not have done it without her 🖤 As always, please pay heed to the content warnings listed below.

╰┈➤ Previous Chapters

🐚Prologue by @forbidden-sunlight 🐬Part 1: Master and Apprentice 🧜🏻‍♀️Part 2: Two Intertwining Melodies

Content warnings: 18+MDNI, mutual pining, afab!reader, implied smut, a/b/o dynamics, heat cycles, mating bites, courting rituals, objectification of reader, obsessive thoughts, angst, possessiveness, violence, mythical creatures au, yandere!Jin-woo, mentions of corruption, derogatory & misogynistic language used by a side-character towards the reader, ooc!Jin-woo, mildly ambiguous ending.

Word count: 12k

Summary - Autumn approaches Jindo Island and with it flourishes new love. But lingering doubts and conflicting desires threaten to cast shadows over your romance with Jin-woo. Just what terrible secret was he hiding from you?

Header artwork created by @ekkurea exclusively for this series. Please do not repost, edit, or use for your own fics, headcanons, or drabbles.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and @anitalenia

At the heart of the shopping district on Jindo Island…

For the first time in his life Sung Jin-woo found himself at a loss as to what to do.

The siren nervously runs a hand through his hair as he studies his appearance in the full-length mirror. His reflection looks back at him clothed in a partially unbuttoned dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up at the forearms and a pair of tapered trousers. It was a polished look that drew attention to his athletic frame and emphasized his stormy grey eyes.

Jin-woo chuckles when he notices Iron giving him a small thumbs up from the reservoir in his shadow. His soldiers were doing an excellent job of boosting his morale but the same could not be said for him. Jin-woo couldn’t help but remain somewhat self-critical.

The siren tended to gravitate towards darker clothing while disguised as a human. This was partly due to their resemblance to his actual color scheme. Of course, this meant the only options that interested Jin-woo were those in differing shades of black. While this allowed him to retain some semblance of his true self, he worried that black may be too drab of a color for your liking. He was also starting to feel very out of his element in this stuffy little fitting room.

To make matters more complicated the sales associate at this posh boutique was quite the chatterbox, an incompatible match for the introverted siren. The older man had been particularly insistent on helping Jin-woo find an outfit that would ‘knock his little lady’s socks off’ after he mentioned needing clothes for a date. His very first date to be precise.

With you.

Jin-woo was determined to make this a memorable experience for the both of you, and the first step involved picking out the appropriate attire.

Unfortunately shopping proved to be a far more tedious task than he thought. At least dungeon raids had the benefit of being relatively straightforward.

As he idles in front of the mirror a contemptuous voice lingers in his head jeering at him.   

“How much longer do you intend on playing human, Sung Jin-woo? This reckless relationship has consisted of nothing but lies and deceit on your part. Have you ever considered how your beloved omega might feel after discovering you’ve been misleading her? It’s only a matter of time before your house of cards comes tumbling down.”

It was like listening to a crude mockery of himself, tone, inflection, and delivery of speech the exact same as his.  

“In the end this farce will result in nothing more than heartache and tragedy and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

The malicious words hang heavy in the air like an omen. An unwanted reminder that beneath that thick veneer of invulnerability Jin-woo was indeed malleable.

“Just because Ashborn was accepted by his human lover doesn’t mean Y/N will do the same for you. That woman has no obligation to love a monster who preys upon her own kind.”

He grits his teeth at the intrusive thoughts bidding them to disappear. To grant him a moment’s respite from the terrifying possibilities of all that could go wrong.

It’s to no avail.

“Would she look at you the same way if she knew you weren’t human? If she knew a siren wanted to fuck her like some insatiable animal? You still have the taste of her in your mouth, don’t you? So soft, sweet, and willing for her alpha. Yet you refused to claim her right when she was in the palm of your hand. You pathetic coward.”  

A preternatural violet hue alights Jin-woo’s body, and his muscles draw taut. A sign that he is well and truly pissed. The entire room threatens to crumble under the suffocating pressure.

“Tell me, just how many times have you woken up in the middle of the night? Hard, desperate, and starving for her touch. You must’ve lost count by now.”

A low growl emits from his throat. “Shut up! Shut the hell up!”  He silently screams at the voice as it exposes his repressed sexual urges.

“What if she lashes out at you in anger? Do you really expect her to stay civil and calm after she finds out you’ve been lying to her this entire time?”

It was for her own good! I had to lie to protect her! Jin-woo finds himself mentally pleading with his internal monologue. Begging for it to understand the reasoning behind his deceptive actions.

This only incites it to twist the knife further.

“Why not just take her then? After all that’s what you’ve always done with every obstacle in your path, every thorn in your side. You destroy and take from it until there’s nothing left. And that woman will be no different, but this time it will be a triumph greater than any other once she’s yours to possess.”

Jin-woo couldn’t form a rebuttal at this point. He was livid and positively shaking with rage.

For months he had been struggling with conflicting feelings for you. Every single aspect and idiosyncrasy about you resonated with his being. From your feistiness and fierce independence to your infectious smile and compassionate nature, Jin-woo was wholly and unconditionally in love with you.

He knew from the moment you took him into your arms on that desolate beach that you were a genuinely kind person with a good heart. Someone he’d want by his side for an eternity.

Perhaps one day you could even find it in yourself to love him the same way he loves you.

But another side of him, a primal side of him, sought nothing more than to devour you.

To corrupt you.

To desecrate you.

To free you from those worthless shackles of human morality…

And shape you into a wanton goddess capable of handling his brand of darkness.

Not even sleep would grace him with the mercy of a reprieve; Jin-woo was often plagued by vivid dreams of you. Explicit images and sensations of fleshly pleasures that elicited the worst of his bestial nature. On more than one occasion he’d awaken to his knot swelling with need and a deep-seated longing for your warmth.

He knows he should be ashamed for fantasizing about such depravity, for perverting the friendship that had gradually cultivated between the two of you.

But he can’t bring himself to care.

Jin-woo would give just about anything if he could have you in the same way as his dreams.

And he can envision you perfectly.

Your shapely thighs wrapped around his narrow waist, urging him deeper inside you. A dazed expression on your pretty face as he thrusts into you with sheer, masculine drive. Honeyed moans spilling from your lips as he trails hot, open-mouthed kisses across your jaw, down your neck, and over your collarbones. Your supple breasts heaving with exertion when you finally topple over the edge with him. And your sated form pressed against the firm ridges of his body as he soothes you in the wake of your earth-shattering climax.

Jin-woo hisses and bites back a groan as he feels himself growing hard against the inseam of his trousers. Shit. He’s never wanted someone so badly in his entire life.

It was terrifying how easily you had him wrapped around your finger. You tempted him, left him on the brink of insanity, and you weren’t even aware of it.

How? Just how did it come to this? Meeting his comeuppance at the hands of a beautiful woman.

The siren was supposed to be a hardened warrior. An indomitable force born from the outcome of hundreds of harrowing battles. Time and time again Jin-woo overcame insurmountable odds and arose from the ashes. Ever stronger, ever colder. With Ashborn’s guidance he had rebuilt himself from the ground up and molded himself into a successor worthy of the title Shadow Monarch.

Jin-woo was not some naïve boy who believed he could woo you with flowery language and saccharine declarations of love. Nor was he some unruly beast whose restless soul could only be placated by carnal satisfaction. He was better than that, more disciplined and pragmatic…

At least he believed himself to be –

“Hey, kid! Are you alright in there? You’ve been awfully quiet for a while now.”

The sound of the sales associate’s voice instantly breaks his train of thought.

“I’m fine, I was just mulling over all my options,” he responds evenly hoping to not draw attention to himself.

“No worries kid. Just let me know if you need anything.”

Once the man’s footsteps fade Jin-woo slumps into one of the chairs in the cramped room. He then lowers his face into his hands, too disgusted to look at himself any longer.

The minutes tick by but Jin-woo doesn’t budge from his spot.

“My liege! Please, I beg of you, stop tormenting yourself!” Beru, the newest of his shadow soldiers and the only one capable of speech attempts to talk some sense into his king.

“…” the siren doesn’t provide him with a response.

Beru continues, “My liege, I cannot bear to see you so despondent. My lady is not so cruel or callous that she would cast you aside merely for being a siren.”

“I am a monster Beru. Nothing will convince her otherwise once she knows the truth.” Jinwoo replies flatly.

“My liege please forgive my impertinence, but do you truly believe she thinks so little of you? I’ve seen the way she looks at you and there is nothing but adoration in her eyes. My lady will not forsake you regardless of who or what you are.”

Jin-woo gasps at the sincerity of Beru’s words. The shadow had been more perceptive than he initially thought. He feels the beginnings of a smile form on his lips.

“You’ve been acting surprisingly obstinate today Beru. What’s gotten into you?”

The ant almost immediately bursts into a fit of tears causing Jin-woo to regret his choice of words. The weeping shadow then prostrates himself before his king.

“My liege I am so sorry! I only meant to –”

“Thank you Beru. I really needed your pep talk. My mind feels much clearer now.” Jin-woo interrupts before the ant can misinterpret him. Beru sheepishly raises his head, feelings of shame now overtaken by pride.

“I won’t falter again. You have my word, all of you do.” He addresses his entire army this time.

 A collective sigh of relief spreads throughout his soldiers. Because their souls were inextricably tied to their king’s every emotion Jin-woo experienced was shared firsthand with his shadows. They felt his happiness, his sadness, his anger.

And his desire for you.

It must’ve pained them greatly to see him in such a distressed state prompting Beru to act. His loyal soldiers needed a strong and centered king to guide them.

He would not submit so easily to despair again.

Jin-woo glances at his wristwatch; it was a quarter past one o’clock. He had three more hours to spare until your agreed meeting time at four. The siren really needed to get a move on if he had any hope of being prepared for the date. And to think that he had balked at human decorum before you stepped into his life…

He changes back into his street clothes and folds his chosen outfit into a neat pile. Before stepping out Jin-woo reaches into his inventory to examine his final courtship gift to you, a lustrous necklace composed of teardrop shaped mana crystals and pearls he harvested from his latest dungeon raid.

He spent hours meticulously crafting the jewelry by hand, working feverishly to ensure it was flawless. A one-of-a-kind item that no one else could hope to replicate or exceed. Still as he thumbed the necklace in his hand, he couldn’t help but replay those twisted words spoken by the disembodied voice.

Why not just take her then?

He tightens his grip on the necklace before hurriedly stowing it away in his hidden inventory. Next to it the Holy Water of Life lay untouched, burning a hole in his pocket.

The ball may have been in his court, but you would have the final say.

He'd make sure of it.

A sense of anticipation pervades the air as glowing neon lights come into view. You stop just shy of the entrance to a large commercial building, the chosen location for your date with Jin-woo.

A quick glance at your phone tells you that it’s a quarter till four. You still had another fifteen minutes to go. Ever the punctual one you always sought to arrive well ahead of schedule. This applied to your personal life as well.

From the corner of your eye, you think you see a deliberate movement in your shadow, one that does not match your own. You blink. Once, then twice. When you stare at the sidewalk again your shadow is as it should be, nothing but an intangible effigy bound to the push and pull of your own will. Weird, you think, had it been a trick of light? Your eyes then wander back to the front of the establishment.

Despite being the middle of the day, the bookstore’s sign remained lit by garish hues of yellow. You recall how many of the locals disapproved of the business when it first opened. To those who spent much of their lives in this quaint region of the Korean archipelago it was yet another ploy of gentrification from the mainland. To you, this bookstore served as a haven during your formative years. You spent countless hours getting lost in the worlds of your favorite authors here.

From the provocative narratives of Anne Rice to the gritty prose of Stephen King, your love for reading was fostered here. It only made sense to share this special part of yourself with Jin-woo, the beguiling alpha who was starting to consume your every waking thought.

As time draws nearer to your date you ponder over your last few months on the island.

The filming of ‘Murder on the Cerulean Sea’ wrapped up earlier this week and your colleagues were clamoring for a congratulatory celebration, something you wanted no part of. From personal experience you knew a constantly flowing stream of alcohol did not pair well with a room full of self-serving narcissists. You also hadn’t forgotten how rude the other make-up artists and stagehands had been to you on set. The fact that your date fell on the same day as the party was just the cherry on top.

Which brings you back to your dilemma, figuring out where you stand in your relationship with Jin-woo.

Throughout the entire twelve weeks of filming, you were both meeting in secrecy. Devoting this time to strengthening your bond tête-à-tête.

You learned much about Jin-woo and he about you, but you could tell he was harboring some kind of secret. Every time the topic of his personal background came up, he would steer the conversation in a different direction. In addition to this there was an ever-piling list of excuses for why he couldn’t divulge more about himself. This had you second guessing everything he was willing to share.

You really liked Jin-woo and you had no doubt he returned your feelings but you were also becoming highly suspicious of him. If you could wear your heart on your sleeve around him then why couldn’t he do the same for you?

Guilt was eating away at your conscience for even entertaining these thoughts. It’s through this haze of turmoil that your mind wanders to the more lighthearted moments between the two of you.

You think of the all the times he joined you on your early morning treks along the beach. Both as a companion and a protector. You had teased Jin-woo about it initially asking if he intended to use his ‘scary dog privilege’ to ward off other alphas. He scoffed at this suggestion clearly nonplussed by the comparison.

Yet despite your cheeky attitude you had readily taken up his offer. Your friends’ schedules often conflicted with yours, which meant they were usually working on the days you had off. What began as a nice change of pace from walking alone transformed into a cherished part of your routine. His warm, calloused fingers interlaced with yours as dusk bled into dawn.

There was also Jin-woo’s determination to communicate with you. Unsatisfied with written words alone, he had taken it upon himself to learn sign language. Jin-woo showed up one day with a step-by-step instruction manual containing illustrations. A cute shade of vermillion dusted his cheeks when he showed the book to you. You grinned from ear-to-ear and readily agreed to teach him.

He ended up being more adept at sign language than Cha and Jinho. By the end of your first session, Jin-woo was able to grasp several simple terms and phrases, a feat that greatly impressed you. Now he was bordering on being fluent. It was astonishing just how quickly he progressed.

And then there were his many gifts to you.

First a glory-of-the-seas cone in sumptuous tones of burnt ochre and golden brown. Then a bluefin tuna, a much sought-after and rare delicacy, captured fresh from the brine. And most recently, a natural South Sea pearl that appeared almost otherworldly in its splendor. Each offering a unique and thoughtful portrayal of his devotion.

The ritualism and intimacy of these gestures was not lost on you, and it left your heart racing. No one, save for director Jinchul, was ever this attentive towards you. And the latter had only done so on a professional basis. But Jin-woo treated you with a tender affection usually reserved for lovers. A title that was not either of yours to take. Not yet at least.

But both of you were well on the way to getting there.

Everything came to a turning point three days ago when your enigmatic friend finally worked up the courage to ask you out. You remember the bashful look on his face and the endearing image of his rosy cheeks. No sooner had Jin-woo finished signing his question than you found yourself excitedly leaping into his arms. At last, at long last you were both taking the next step in your relationship. So overcome with joy you completely overlooked all your unanswered questions and concerns about him. Nothing else had mattered at that moment.

Jin-woo effortlessly caught you and brought you into a twirling hug. You felt laughter bubble up from within you. It was as if a massive weight had been taken off your shoulders.

Just a few months ago you had been virtual strangers completely inconsequential to one other. Now you embraced as two intertwining melodies coalescing into one song.

When Jin-woo placed you back on your feet he had one more favor to ask. You watched intently as he brought both hands towards his face and formed them into half circles. He then placed the tips of his fingers together before puckering his lips. It was the sign for kissing. He wanted to kiss you.

You froze stunned by the unexpected request.

Apprehension painted Jin-woo’s handsome face. He was waiting, imploring you for an answer. Without missing a beat, you brought yourself closer to him. You didn’t stop until you were in such proximity your breath intermingled with his. You lifted your head and locked eyes with Jin-woo before lowering your gaze to admire his parted lips. After a flicker of hesitation, Jin-woo closed the gap between you and captured your lips with his.

Your eyes fluttered shut.

Gentle. It had been such a gentle kiss at the beginning; petal soft and languid. However, there was a palpable shift in mood the instant Jin-woo ceased his rhythmical movements to slip his tongue inside your mouth. He slid it across your teeth, coaxing you to open more of yourself to him. And you willingly surrendered, moaning into his mouth and allowing him to stroke his tongue against yours.

Jin-woo’s kiss soon devolved into a scorching clash of teeth and tongue that left you breathless. The last of his restraints snapped and he was not holding back. He fisted a hand in your hair and tilted your face at a better angle so he could deepen the kiss. He then circled your waist with his other arm pulling your pliant figure flush against him. This prompted you to grasp onto the front of Jin-woo’s shirt for purchase, pressing your breasts into his chest. You were so close to Jin-woo that you could feel the vitality of his rapidly beating heart. He nipped at your lips before parting from them to mouth at your jaw, the curve of your neck, and the cleavage exposed by your tank top.

You shivered though from fear or want you did not know. This was an animalistic side of him you had never seen or experienced before. It was electrifying.

Your breath caught in your throat when you felt one of Jin-woo’s incisors graze over the junction of your neck and shoulder, threatening to break skin.

And then, just as quickly as this act of madness had started, it came to an abrupt and sudden end. Jin-woo’s eyes regained their focus and his ministrations stopped at once. He slowly raised his head from the crook of your neck and turned to look at you. A heart wrenching expression of guilt distorted his face.

He had lost control of himself and succumbed to his baser instincts.

And if he had bitten down on you back there, he would’ve marked you as his mate for life. Because that area on your neck contained some of your scent glands.

An alpha will bite an omega’s scent glands while mating with them to stake their claim. This also mixes the alpha’s and omega’s scents together securing their bond. It was an irreversible process and Jin-woo came within an inch of forcing it upon you.

He released you from his grip and took several steps back, placing him some distance from you. Wisps of ebony hair obscured his eyes, making his face difficult to read.

You ran towards Jin-woo attempting to grab his hand, yet he pulled his arm away from your touch. But your resolve was strong, and you refused to give up. After a few more tries, Jin-woo finally acquiesced and let you come near him.

As soon as the two of you were face to face, you leant forward and cradled his face in your hands, forcing him to look you in the eye. The guilt was gone but now it had been replaced by fear. Fear of what he had almost done to you.

You were having none of it. Nothing about Sung Jin-woo scared you, not in the past and most certainly not now.

You dropped your hands, letting them fall to the side before raising them again. Then you began signing to Jin-woo, doing everything in your power to reassure him. You let him know that you were alright, you weren’t afraid of him in the slightest, and that both of you would be okay. What happened earlier was purely instinctual and would not draw a wedge between you. And most importantly you told him that you had absolutely no regrets about the kiss.

‘I wanted to kiss you,’ you signed, ‘I’ve been thinking about you as more than just a friend for a while now.’

‘So please, Jin-woo,’ you pleaded with him as your hands shook ‘let’s give this a shot. I want to be with you.’

He exhaled sharply before taking your smaller hands into his own. You really were his greatest weakness. He couldn’t resist you even if he tried.

You eventually managed to convince him to move forward with the date. The time and location were arranged shortly thereafter, although on slightly awkward terms given the circumstance.

Later that night while you were tucked away in the privacy of your bedroom, there was an unrelenting heat building between your thighs. The type of heat that set your nerves on fire and left you aching for release.

You hadn’t taken your heat suppressants in a while, and your body was paying a heavy price for it. You should’ve known better than to let yourself fall by the wayside, but you no longer cared about taking your medication anymore. It was like you were daring your heat to come, to wash over you and rid you of your inhibitions.

When the flames of your desire became unbearable, you slipped a hand underneath the waistband of your pajamas hoping it would slake your lust. However, as you stroked yourself to completion you couldn’t help but imagine it was Jin-woo’s deft fingers that were caressing your slick folds instead.

In the corner of your room an unknown presence watched you with rapt interest. It greedily drank in your sinful actions, the dips and curves of your body, the steady rise and fall of your chest. And as you reached your peak tendrils of shadow danced across your skin like silk.

After you fell asleep a lone hand emerged from the darkness and gently ran its knuckles over your cheek…

“ – !?”

You’re startled from daydreaming when the familiar scent of lavender and sandalwood perfumes the air. It was the tell-tale sign that Jin-woo had just arrived. You check your phone again and are shocked to see it’s already a minute past four. You totally lost track of time while standing outside the bookstore! Embarrassed, you turn and are greeted by the sight of your alpha.

He looked incredible, like a god amongst men. You loved the color black on Jin-woo, it brought out his sharp features and contrasted wonderfully with his fair complexion. The outfit he was wearing for your date exemplified this. His dark trousers and dress shirt were perfectly molded to his body creating a sleek and streamlined appearance. You slowly dragged your eyes across the hard planes of muscle bulging underneath the tight fabric. When you reach Jin-woo’s face there’s an amused glint in his eyes. Oh crap! He noticed you were ogling him. Heat blossoms across your cheeks and you self-consciously tug at the hemline of your cable knit sweater.  

Unbeknownst to you Jin-woo had also been eyeing you up albeit in a far more discrete manner. The leggings you wore clung lovingly to curves like a second skin and your high heeled ankle boots completed the look giving it a touch of elegance. You were strikingly lovely, like a flower coming into bloom.

After several seconds of silence, Jin-woo break is the one who breaks the ice.

 ‘You look great, Y/N,’ he signs to you, ‘I’m so happy to see you again. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.’

Jin-woo must’ve had known you’d been embarrassed about being caught red-handed, so he didn’t bring it up. Instead, he complimented you. God, how could he be so smug yet so charming at the same time?

Precious boy, you muse.

You greet the raven-haired man back with a smile before pulling him into a hug. Jin-woo returns the embrace and presses a chaste kiss to your forehead. All the tension and uncertainty from the past few days had dissipated allowing you to relax and enjoy each other’s company. It signaled a return to normalcy, to better days ahead for both of you.

‘Ready to head in?’ Jin-woo signs to you with a grin on his face that matches yours.

‘Let’s go,’ you respond with a jaunty spring in your movements.

You grab his hand and lead the way, threading your fingers through his.

The next two hours are spent perusing the bookstore’s massive collection. It was one of the largest retail booksellers in Asia boasting over 100,000 different titles on its shelves. Jin-woo’s eyes widened when he walked in. He’d never seen so many books in one place before.

‘Overwhelmed?’ you ask him, nervous that you made the wrong decision on choosing this bookstore for your first date. The size of it alone could be daunting to newcomers.

‘It’s amazing,’ he answers, excitement evident in the fast motions of hands. Your chest fills with warmth at his display of enthusiasm.

You share your interests and favorite genres with Jin-woo, showing him the many novels you read over the years. Jin-woo seemed particularly drawn to the paper- and hardback books in the ‘Classics’ section. He picked up a copy of The Odyssey and leafed through its contents making you curious about his tastes.

One of your hands was clutching onto a large special edition hardback so you typed your question on your phone this time.

[“Do you like Greek mythology?”]

‘I’ve read a few stories here and there,’ he signs back after glancing at your screen.

[“I remember being assigned this book in AP literature when I was a second year. I found it rather interesting, but I loathed Odysseus. I thought he was a complete asshole for cheating on his wife. She remained faithful during his 10-year journey from Ithaca despite having over 100 suitors. But he gets a free pass for sleeping with goddesses and other women. Ugh😒”]

You huff after airing your grievances about Odysseus and his infidelity in your text message. It was silly but you’ve held a personal vendetta against the fictional man ever since you finished reading the epic poem.

Jin-woo snorts in amusement at your reaction. Looks like you both held a distaste for Odysseus although his reason for disliking him differed greatly from yours. Sirens only became weak to humanity after the epic hero found a means of circumnavigating their deadly voices. It felt good to share a common enemy with you.

‘You’re even prettier when you’re angry,’ Jin-woo smirks as he signs this to you.

Now it was your turn to snort. Really? That was a new one.

[“Flattery will get you everywhere with me! Now state your price handsome. 😉”]

He inhales before signing, ‘Will you watch the stars with me tonight?’

The tips of his ears and nape of his neck were bright red as he asked you this. It was adorable.

You answer with a fleeting kiss to his mouth, and you can feel him smiling against your lips. Of course you’d watch the stars with him tonight! You’d be willing to watch them every single night by his side if he’d let you.

The two of you continue floating through the different aisles, a copy of The Odyssey tucked underneath Jin-woo’s arm. He also picked out another book, a science fiction novel titled, The Ants, by Bernard Werber. Jin-woo had read the novel once before and he wanted to revisit it for old time’s sake.

As your book tour concludes Jin-woo comes to a halt after catching sight of an ornate hardcover. Intrigued, you scan the title. It was Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

‘This story always makes me so sad,’ you sign to Jin-woo with a melancholy look in your eyes.

‘Can you tell me about it?’ Jin-woo asks, his interest piqued.

You find yourself hesitating.

��Are you sure you want me to spoil it for you?’

‘I don’t mind.’ he responds.

You decide to use your phone to relay the plot since the fairy tale is a lengthy one.

[“There once lived a beautiful and kindhearted mermaid. Having spent most of her life at sea she longed to explore the world above and learn more about humanity. When she becomes old enough to swim to the surface she falls in love at first sight with a handsome prince. After a violent storm sinks his ship, the mermaid rescues him and brings him back to land before he regains consciousness.”]

Jin-woo’s gaze is intense as he studies your phone screen. You’ve never seen someone be so invested in your storytelling. It was flattering.

You continue typing away intent on finishing what you started.

[“The mermaid’s infatuation with the prince drives her to strike up a deal with a powerful sea witch. The witch offers her a potion that can transform her into a human, but it comes at a high cost. The mermaid would never be able to return to the sea once she drank it. What’s more the potion also robs her of her voice and causes her excruciating pain whenever she walks. Despite knowing the toll it will take on her body the mermaid moves forward, blinded by love.”]

Jin-woo’s eyes narrowed after reading this passage and he signs, ‘She’s being manipulated by the witch?’ You confirm his question with a nod of your head.

Your final text ends the story on a low note.

[“The mermaid finally meets and befriends the prince but everything she sacrifices is for nothing. He falls in love with a princess from another kingdom instead and this breaks her heart. The sea witch appears once more to give an ultimatum to the mermaid: she must kill the prince and allow his blood to drip onto her feet. Only by having her revenge could she return to the sea and live as a mermaid again. But she refused. Her love for the prince prevented her from stabbing him. In the final scene the mermaid tosses herself into the sea and as daybreak approaches, she dissolves into foam.”]

You sigh once you’re done. It’s more akin to a tragedy than a fairy tale, you think.

Your next message asks:

[“So, what’s your opinion on it? Pretty sad stuff huh?”]

When you turn to Jin-woo to gauge his reaction you’re taken aback by how pale he looks. There’s a bead of sweat sliding down his face and his countenance had turned grim, a far cry from his relaxed expression at the start of your date. The ending must have disturbed him way more than you anticipated.

Crap. You should have never offered to explain the plot to Jin-woo. This version of, The Little Mermaid, made you bawl like a baby the first time you read it and you usually remained dry-eyed while reading most tearjerkers. Why did you think it was a bright idea to discuss it on a date of all things? It was time to shift into damage control mode, stat!

You struggle for words while coming up with an apology to Jin-woo. You try to keep the text casual and concise to reduce any tension between you.

[“Jin-woo, are you okay? Do you need to sit down and rest? I’m so sorry! I’ve gone and dampened the mood.😭”]

He shakes his head after looking at your message and retrieves a pen and a small notepad from his pocket, an indication that he wanted to hold a longer conversation with you. Although Jin-woo’s grasp of sign language was excellent he found written words to be suitable when the circumstance called for it. Like now for instance.

When he’s done writing with his stationery he hands the notepad to you.

[“Please don’t feel the need apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong. You tried to warn me about how sad the story was, but I insisted on you telling me it anyway. I was just surprised was all. I can relate a bit to the mermaid because I’ve also made great sacrifices for the ones I love. In the mermaid’s case her love for the prince destroyed her. She gave up everything for him only for it to be in vain. It’s sobering to see love portrayed so tragically.”]

Jin-woo worries at his lower lip. He mentioned making sacrifices for his loved ones to you before but what exactly did he mean by it?

[“What sacrifices did you make if you don’t mind me asking? I’m here if you need a shoulder to lean on y’know.”]

You play coy with your response to glean more information from him. Maybe now that you’re officially dating, Jin-woo will open up to you.

Your hopes are dashed when the notepad is back in your possession.

[“Nothing I haven’t said before. Long hours, being away from home, missing my mother and sister while I’m away. Those kinds of sacrifices. Fishing at sea can be deadly if you’re not careful. I’ve had to dirty my hands on more than a few occasions while on the job.”]

Dirty his hands? Now this was something he hadn’t discussed with you before. Was Jin-woo involved in something illegal? Commercial fishing and maritime hunting were mercilessly cutthroat. A big profit can be made from harvesting seafood, fish, and other resources from the ocean. Some companies go as far as committing murder to weed out the competition.

Could this be what he meant by ‘dirtying his hands?’ That would explain why he was so flighty about his past with you. What if he was in trouble? If he was then why didn’t he ask you for help? Did he not trust you or did he not want to drag you into a mess of his own making? 

Your mind’s going a mile a minute you’re so worried about Jin-woo. If he ended up injured or even dead because you decided to believe his lies and look the other way you would never forgive yourself. It was time to address the elephant in the room once and for all.

You type so fast; it’s a miracle you can come up with a message that was even coherent. Your face is hot, and you can already feel the sting of tears in your eyes.

[“Jin-woo, you need stop lying to me. I know there’s something you’re hiding, and it hurts that you can’t trust me enough to say it. If you’re in trouble just tell me. Say the words and I’ll try to help you to the best of my ability. I really like you Jin-woo but honesty should be mutual between us. I’ve spilled my guts to you, told you all about my life, my friends, and my job. Why can’t you do the same for me? I feel like I’m only falling in love with your reflection, not the real you. I just can’t do this anymore! I don’t want to lose you, but I refuse to be part of a relationship that lacks any kind of integrity!”]

Jin-woo takes on the pallor of a corpse as soon as he scans the contents of your text.

Fuck, you had done it now. There was no going back.

When he can bring himself to gaze at you there’s a devastation in his face that makes you instantly hate yourself for lambasting him. Yet you had to stand firm and conquer this hill if you had any chance of a future with him.

His little notepad is staring you in the face before you know it. Jin-woo’s handwriting looked frenzied and frayed. When you glance at him, his head is bowed, and his eyes are cloaked in shadow. He was utterly ashamed of himself. You can’t even begin to imagine what thoughts must be going running through his mind. He had to be as distraught as you were if not worse.

[“Tonight,” the scrawl reads, “I am going to tell you everything tonight. No more lies, no more excuses, I promise you. Even if you despise me for it, even if you never want to see me again, I’ll give you the truth no matter what. So please just this once trust me. I don’t want to lose you either. You’re everything to me, Y/N. I’m sorry for not being truthful to you, I just didn’t want you to get hurt because of me. I’ve only ever lied to protect you.”]

The desperation in his words makes your heart plummet. Just how terrible was this secret that it made Jin-woo think you would hate him for it? And he was scared you would be harmed if you knew? There was no doubt about it, Jin-woo absolutely was in danger. Why else would he be so disturbed about telling you?

Your hands are shaking so badly you can barely keep your phone from falling out of your grip. Jin-woo notices and steadies them by taking your hands in his own. Even at his lowest point you were his priority.

Did he ever once consider his own well-being?

How could he be so considerate of you at a time like this? You wanted to scream; to demand he be angry at you, to curse at you. Anything to justify your self-loathing. You berated Jin-woo without considering why he may be lying in the first place. For all you know his life could be on the line. Yet you only thought of your frustrations like a petulant child.

Stupid. You were so goddamn stupid!

A bookstore associate sees your distress and heads in your direction. Although your argument with Jin-woo was silent your panicked demeanor was starting to cause a scene. You really don’t want anyone to see you like this right now. Especially since you were on the brink of having a breakdown.

Jin-woo quickly acts as your shield, his protectiveness of you second nature. He pulls you to his chest, hiding your face from prying eyes. He’s warm, his heartbeat is steady, and you can feel his palms running up and down your back, consoling you. Jin-woo held you with the tenderness of a lover.

It’s in the comfort of his embrace that you let go and allow yourself to weep for him.

“Hello, ma’am is everything alri–”

“You can direct your questions to me. Can’t you tell she’s upset right now?” Jin-woo interrupts the man with clipped tone before he can finish. There’s a particularly nasty scowl on his face and the aura resonating from him is menacing at best. Did this moron not know how to read the room or was he lacking in common sense? You were vulnerable and in no position to be approached by a stranger let alone some random man.

The store associate pales and falters at Jin-woo’s display of aggression. He glances at the dark-haired alpha then back to you before his eyes widen. He had connected the dots.

“I… I… Sir, please try to understand. I didn’t mean to intrude on you and your mate, there were just some concerns from the staff and other patrons because of how scared she looked.”

Jin-woo’s hold on you tightens ever so slightly, and he levels a sneer at the frightened associate. The fucking gall of this man, of these humans, thinking they had a right to invade your own personal matters!

If you hadn’t been there with him he wouldn’t think twice about murdering every single person in this building. He’d flay the flesh from their bones, reap their misbegotten souls, and resurrect them into mindless pawns; just cogs in a machine for his army of the undead.

Jin-woo reluctantly quells his rage and spits out, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave. What happens between her, and I is of no concern to you. Now go.”

His commanding baritone brooks no argument, and the man flees with all the grace of a wounded animal.

For the next few minutes, you remain in Jin-woo’s arms until your tears run dry. When you’re feeling stable enough to walk Jin-woo softly takes your hand and leads you out of the building. Your books lie forgotten and haphazardly stacked on top of one another on a random shelf.

You both walk aimlessly with no set destination in mind. Your eyes were still swollen and puffy from earlier, so you avert your gaze from Jin-woo. He merely squeezes your hand in response, a gesture of reassurance.

An unoccupied back alley with a dead end eventually comes into view. It’s here in this inconspicuous passageway that Jin-woo decides to explain the full extent of his powers.

Once you’re seated on a nearby windowsill, he activates his inventory in front of you for the first time. Jin-woo said he would show you the truth and he was a man of his word. He withdraws Kasaka’s Venom Fang, the oldest dagger in his collection, and gracefully twirls it in his hand before holding it out to you.

As expected, you’re awestruck by the sight of the weapon. However, what Jin-woo doesn’t anticipate is for you to suddenly extend a hand towards the blade, your index finger almost touching its venom-tinged edge. He snatches your wrist so nimbly you barely register what happens. Only the warmth from his body alerts you of his hold.

You gasp.

Despite the incredible velocity of his movements Jin-woo was able to rein in the force behind them, preventing you from being hurt by his grip. Even the most elite athletes struggled to find the perfect balance between speed and strength. His control of his body was beyond human capabilities.

He shoots you an apologetic look and releases your wrist.

‘That dagger can paralyze and drain your life if it cuts you,’ Jin-woo warns after returning it to storage, ‘I should have told you sooner. I’m sorr –

‘It’s beautiful.’

He raises his eyebrows. Of all the words you could use to describe such a deadly weapon ‘beautiful’ wasn’t what he had in mind. His lips quirk into a small smile.

‘You think so? It doesn’t frighten you?’ he queries, pleasantly surprised by your nonchalance.

You nod and peer at him with a soft expression.

‘I do.’ There’s a long pause before you add, ‘You’ve used that knife before, haven’t you?’

You bite your lip and clasp your hands together after you’re done signing. You knew you were backing Jin-woo into a corner with a loaded question, but he wouldn’t be lugging around such a dangerous item without having a very good reason for it.

The grin on his face vanishes, replaced by grimace. You hit the nail on the head. Jin-woo readies himself for his answer.

‘Yes, I have. I’ve used that dagger to hurt and even kill people in the past. I know I’ve told you many lies and half-truths, but I wasn’t lying when I told you I dirtied my hands.’

He expels a shaky breath before delving into all the gritty details of who he really is. Unraveling and stripping himself down to his barest form.

Through a combination of sign language, a visual demonstration of his abilities, and written words Jin-woo reveals that he is a hunter, a warrior who fights life and limb against otherworldly beasts; day in and day out.

He exposes his many skills including stealth, the power he used to manifest outside of the bookstore.

Next came his accelerated healing and immense physical prowess. Jin-woo spots a discarded cinderblock on the ground, grabs it, and shatters the hard object with his bare hands. This causes his palms to scrape and bleed. You gasp and rise to your feet, alarmed by Jin-woo’s injuries. But he lifts his arm, an unspoken order for you to stay exactly where you are.

Suddenly light eclipses the abrasions and his skin starts to mend itself. You watch in disbelief as Jin-woo splays his opened and visibly undamaged palms in the air. You had just witnessed Kandiaru’s Blessing in the flesh.

And then he unveils one of his greatest assets to you.

The shadows pooling at his feet rapidly proliferate until the entire alley is submerged in darkness. Within seconds a lone obsidian knight emerges from the void. He cuts a formidable figure on his own standing well over 240 cm with vibrant hues of amethyst accenting his heavy armor. A single red plume hangs atop his helmet and sways with every stride he takes. When he gets within five feet of you and Jin-woo he kneels in reverence.

You learn the knight’s name is Igris and that he’s one of hundreds of soldiers who serve under Jin-woo. This was only a taste of the Shadow Monarch’s full dominion.

Once finished Jin-woo issues an order for Igris to return. The knight stands tall and nods his assent to his king and much to your shock, to you as well, before he disappears into the receding shadows. Moments later the alleyway is as it always appears with nothing to indicate what transpired.

It’s at this stage that you present one more hard-hitting question to Jin-woo. A question he’d been dreading.

‘You aren’t human, are you Jin-woo?’

He clenches his fists.

‘No, I’m not.’

You study his face closely trying to scope out any signs of deception, but there are none. He was being completely honest with you. But then what else could he possibly be?

Before the weight of his answer can fully sink in the revolting stench of congealed blood assaults your senses. It reeks of decay and viscera, the potent odor violating the air like a malignancy.

This was the unmistakable scent of an alpha, one that you were unfortunately all too familiar with.

It was Kang Taeshik’s nauseating musk.

You internally panic, horrified that your assailant from months ago was somehow back in the picture. Your thoughts become a frantic mess.

No…no…no! It can’t be! Director Jinchul fired him! He should’ve been long gone by now, so what the hell was he doing back on this island!?!

You feel like the air’s been punched from your lungs. Your legs shake uncontrollably and threaten to crumble. Jin-woo quickly catches you by the waist before you can slump to the ground. He then maneuvers your body so that you’re facing him, not the unseen nightmare that was approaching. He strokes your hair, and his pheromones are released in full force to calm your nerves. The aroma of lavender and sandalwood slowly begins to supersede the miasma of death.

“Show yourself already. The bloodlust from your filthy stench’s enough of a giveaway, alpha.”

Jin-woo’s eyes narrow into a frosty glare as the sound of obnoxious clapping echoes throughout the alleyway. Taeshik had finally announced his arrival.

“Well, color me impressed! It’s not often I come across someone who isn’t intimidated by my scent. Looks like you’ve got some balls on you! I like it! You’d make a great brawler in our fighting circuit.” An unknown voice commends Jin-woo with a condescending undertone.

You begin to whimper as the odor increases in intensity. Jin-woo gently tucks your head into the crook of his neck granting you access to his scent glands. Right now, his instincts were kicking into overdrive. He was solely focused on protecting and cherishing you. Fighting could be put on the back burner. For now.

 A man with a wild mane of purple hair arrogantly saunters into view. He’s accompanied by a large group of men, around ten in total and all of them alphas. Judging by the murderous intent in their eyes they were on the prowl for prey.

Taeshik’s mouth spreads into a smirk reminiscent of a Chelsea grin when notices you. He openly leers at your body; an action that causes Jin-woo to snarl and bare his fangs.

The purple haired man raises his hands in mock surrender.

“Hey now there’s no need for that. I was just appreciating the view, that’s all. Besides, your omega and I have a bit of a history together. Isn’t that right, Y/N?”

Jin-woo’s eyes go wide. How did he know your name?

His reaction seems to delight Taeshik who continues his spiel.

“Why the shock? She must’ve not told you about me. Y’see we used to be coworkers up until she got me fired. And after I was just trying to help by doing a little favor for her. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.” He breaks into a fit of disconcerting laughter at the end of his speech.

“A favor?” Jin-woo asks, no, demands Taeshik to answer. Just what had he done to you?

One of the gang members, a burly man with several scars, spiky black hair, and a five o’ clock shadow snickers and interjects.

“Isn’t it obvious, brat? That little slut went into heat right in front him. She was practically begging for it too! Taeshik here was gonna bring her to us so we could all get a piece of that fine ass. Too bad that fuckin’ director had to go and ruin our plans. But your boss isn’t here to save you this time, huh sweetheart?”

“She can’t hear or speak to you, Dongsuk. She’s deaf. I don’t know how many times I have to keep reminding you.” Taeshik drawls, annoyance lacing his voice.

“Heh, so what? A hole’s a hole. It ain’t like she’s gonna be able to talk with a mouthful of cock anywa –”

Slash!

In the blink of an eye Dongsuk’s head rolls off his shoulders leaving nothing but a bloodied stump in its wake. His body slumps to its knees like a marionette with its strings cut before flopping onto the ground.

“Wha – what the hell just happened!?!”

“Holy shit!”

“D…Dongsuk!? No!”

Confusion and panic overtake the men within seconds. Even Taeshik looks ill at ease. None of them had been able to pinpoint the exact cause or reason for the man’s untimely demise.

When the purple haired alpha redirects his attention to Jin-woo, he’s mortified by what he sees. Black eclipses the end of the alleyway submerging everything in darkness except for Jin-woo’s piercing gaze.

In that moment, Taeshik learns what pure, unadulterated terror feels like. He was staring death in the face, a face that bore nothing but apoplectic rage.

A crimson and black dagger, the Knight Killer, was wielded in one of Jin-woo’s hands. The weapon’s jagged edges were ensanguined up to the hilt; evidence of the life it had so effortlessly taken. Jin-woo’s other arm remained wrapped around you although now you were facing Taeshik, the remainder of his men, and the decapitated corpse of Hwang Dongsuk.

You tear your gaze away, unable to bear the gruesome sight any longer. Jin-woo looks at you sympathetically before hardening his expression.

He knew he was letting his anger get the better of him, but he was infuriated by these vulgar bottom feeders and the disgusting remarks they made about you. Jin-woo really couldn’t give a fuck about killing these wastes of space, but he wouldn’t let you be a spectator to the slaughter he was about to commit. You’ve been traumatized enough.

An insect-like specter suddenly manifests from the shadows and bows before you and his king.

“Beru, take her somewhere safe and far away from here. I don’t want her to see this.” Jin-woo orders, his voice dropping an octave lower.

“At once my liege.” The ant diligently obeys his master and offers a clawed hand to you.

“My lady?”

You pause at the gesture, unsure of whether you should accept it or stay by Jin-woo’s side. The dark-haired man notices your hesitation and makes the choice for you. He clasps onto your shoulder and squeezes it urging you to escape with Beru.

You reluctantly allow the ant to hoist you into his arms. As Beru prepares to launch himself into flight you turn and cast a final glance at Jin-woo.

He looks nothing at all like himself. He’s cold, menacing, inhuman.

That’s right, Jin-woo wasn’t human. He admitted as much to you. But it hadn’t changed your feelings for him in any shape or form. Your heart still yearned and bled for him all the same.

Your lids grow heavy once Beru takes to the skies, a likely side-effect of overexposure to Jin-woo’s pheromones. As you start to succumb to slumber, your last waking thoughts are filled with nothing but him.

The moon hangs high in the sky when you wake up. After gaining your bearings you perform a cursory scan of your surroundings. A vast sea cavern greets you, its atmosphere dank and foreboding. Stalactites rain down from the ceiling like arrows frozen in time, weathered rocks line the walls, and the air is so humid you struggle to breathe. The only source of light is from moonbeams drifting through a crevice at the top of the cave.

You soon realize that you’re lying on top of a sandbank in the middle of a large body of water. There didn’t appear to be any means of escape other than swimming, but you were mentally and physically exhausted. Your phone was also nowhere in sight, making it impossible to text for help. You were effectively stuck.

An undulating motion in the water’s surface catches your attention. You weren’t alone, something was in here with you and it was getting closer. However, you’re not afraid. In fact, there’s something oddly familiar about this presence...

The movements abruptly ceases, and all is still for several heart pounding seconds. Then out of nowhere a large figure surges from underneath the briny waves.

It’s a male siren, and he’s utterly magnificent. His appearance more akin to a work of art than a living, breathing being. He looks at you with a serene expression. Was this who you thought it was?

You drink him in, appreciating his beauty in its entirety.

The siren’s eyes consist of blackened sclerae with amethyst irises. A smooth layer of ebony skin partially coats his jaw, shoulders, and back. It contrasts wonderfully with the ivory coloring on his chest and face. He bore the same pattern as a killer whale; an apt comparison given that sirens were also apex predators. Webbed ear fins protrude from the sides of his head, the scales on them aglow under the faint moonlight. And luscious locks of black hair frame the siren’s stunning face.

He's simply not of this world. Words could never accurately describe his ethereal visage.

The siren is sprawled out on the edge of the sandbank. Upon closer inspection you notice that he’s highly anxious. You see his dichromatic throat bobbing, and he makes a conscious effort to avoid eye contact with you. You’d seen these nervous tics before.

‘Is that you, Jin-woo?’ You sign to the siren although you’re certain you already know the answer. You just needed his confirmation for peace of mind.

He shuts his eyes and nods, a somber admission of the truth.

You take a deep breath before exhaling. Then you present him with another question.

‘Did you kill all of them?’

The siren remains still this time. His lack of a definite response was an answer in itself.

You wet your lips. So, you were right. Jin-woo said he’s killed before to survive, but this time he did it for you. To punish those men who sought to use you for their own perverse interests. And Taeshik… his fate must’ve been worse than death for what he put you through.

Jin-woo signs to you.

‘I’m sorry you had to find out this way… this was supposed to be a special day for you, but everything went wrong. I know you’ll want no part of me in your life after this, but I’m glad I met you. I’ll have Beru take you home.’

Jin-woo turns his back to you and prepares to make his departure. So, that was it? He was going to vanish from your life just like that. You hadn’t even gotten a word in; he just assumed you didn’t want anything to do with him. That idiot!

You had to stop Jin-woo before it was too late! But what could you possibly do to prevent him from leaving…?

You have an epiphany then; what if you gave all of yourself to Jin-woo, body and soul? Only an intimate act, the consummation of your relationship, could fully bind you to Jin-woo.

A mating bite is irreversible. Once you are bonded there’s no going back on it. But you’ve wanted Jin-woo for so long. In fact, you wish he had bitten your scent glands when he first kissed you. Him being a siren, a killer of mankind and monsters, did not deter you. He was your chosen mate. You would never refuse him.

The sound of rustling of clothes stops Jin-woo in his tracks. He inhales shakily, not quite believing what was happening just feet from him.

You were disrobing yourself. You wanted to mate with him!

As you peel off each article of clothing, the sweet scent of your pheromones and slick become more pronounced. Jin-woo groans as his knot starts to swell. God, you smelt incredible! If only he could see your nude form. The things he’d make you feel, the sounds he’d drive from you…

Why was he still stopping himself? Your actions just now said all that needed to be said! You wanted him, and you were more than ready for his knot. As an alpha he’d be remiss not to tend to the needs of his omega.

His mouth curls into a wolfish grin. You really had no idea what you’d just gotten yourself into.

You feel heat pooling between your thighs at the sight of Jin-woo’s broad shoulders. The muscles of his back flex deliciously when he finally turns to relish you in all your naked glory. The smoldering gaze he sends you as his eyes sweep over every inch of your bare body looks like it’s carved in sin. You delight in his attention and crave more of it.

Unable to endure another second apart from your alpha, you rush to the edge of the sandbank fully prepared to swim to him if necessary. But you’re beaten to the punch as Jin-woo emerges from the water and pins you to the ground at a speed that’s downright demonic.

He holds both of your wrists above your head in one large hand while he rests his other arm on his elbow beside your head, trapping you beneath him.

Jin-woo looks into your eyes one last time for any sign of resistance. There’s none; you were not backing down from this. You wanted him to claim you.

Your explicit consent is all he needs to unleash himself upon you. He molds his lips against yours in a searing kiss that burns with passion. Your eyes slip shut as you lose yourself to it. Jin-woo was kissing you with abandon this time, and it was sublime. There was a clear intent and purpose in every stroke and caress of his mouth. He kissed you as if nothing else mattered.

He abruptly parts from your lips to press his forehead to yours. At last, both of you could indulge and get lost in one another. You bask in Jin-woo’s warmth and spread your legs apart allowing him to slant between them. He releases your wrists and cradles your face in his hands.

Your breath hitches when you feel his length prodding against your stomach. This was really happening! You shiver in spite of yourself. Would you be able to withstand Jin-woo’s brute strength?

The siren presses featherlight kisses to your lips, cheeks, and eyelids to quell your nerves. When he pulls back you notice his mouth is moving. You focus on his lips, carefully deciphering each word.

“Raise your head and close your eyes. I have a surprise”

You do as he asks, and something cold prickles against your décolleté and the back of your neck. You’re curious about what Jin-woo’s placed on you but you keep your head raised and your lids remain firmly shut. Moments later two taps of his fingertips on your cheek signal that you can open your eyes.

When you glance down, you’re amazed by the jewelry dangling from your neck. It’s gorgeous. Incandescent shards of crystal and delicate alabaster pearls pour from your nape down to the swell of your breasts.

Jin-woo in turn finds himself mesmerized by the image of the gemstones splayed across your dewy skin. Your complexion glows in the moonlight, making you all the more alluring.

He decides to take you right then and there.

As you wrap your arms around Jin-woo’s shoulders, he captures your lips with his and slides into your tight heat. You keen and arch into Jin-woo, baring your throat to him. His fangs lengthen, and he sinks them into the tender flesh of your neck, staking his claim.

Stars adorn the night sky as the two of you intertwine and become one.

Five days later…

Woo Jinchul was beside himself with worry.

He wearily rubs at his bloodshot eyes. A quick glance at his phone tells him it's just past three o’ clock in the morning. Yet another sleepless night had come to pass. The man contemplates grabbing more coffee but decides not to. He was already five cups deep and the caffeine was doing nothing for his exhaustion.

Jinchul knows he isn’t at his best when he’s sleep deprived but he couldn’t afford to waste another minute, not while you were still nowhere to be found. And now, based on recent developments in your case, you were classified as an endangered missing person. Sleep was the very last thing on his mind.

He looks down at his desk to examine your case file for what must’ve been the tenth time in the last hour. These classified documents contained sensitive information. Jinchul had to resort to pulling strings to obtain a copy of your records. He hated throwing his weight around to get what he wanted but bringing you back home safe and alive was far more important to him.

Lead detectives Baek Yoonho and Choi Jong-In hadn’t been too thrilled about sharing the particulars of an open investigation with some ‘big wig’ film director. It took some major convincing on Jinchul’s part for them to relent and provide him with such crucial details.

So far, it’s been almost a full week since your disappearance. During that time, an exhaustive search of the island had been performed. However, there was no sight or sound of you. And as fate would have it, another misfortune occurred on the very night you vanished. This time it was a massacre.

Kang Taeshik, a name Jinchul wishes he could just forget. The man had a propensity for violence as well as a lengthy rap sheet that was conveniently scrubbed from public records. He knew Taeshik engaged in some unsavory pastimes, namely hosting unsanctioned brawls in the underground fighting circuit. But this was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Racketeering, drug trade, and much to Jinchul’s horror, human trafficking, had been just a handful of the crimes the sick bastard had gotten away with.

If only he had known sooner, then you would’ve never been in this situation. He should’ve trusted his gut and chosen another actor for Taeshik’s role. Jinchul always despised the way that man looked at you, like you were a slab of meat. It was disgusting.

Imagine his shock when he discovered Taeshik had fallen victim to a mass murderer. Body parts and mutilated remains barely recognizable as human were found littered in an alleyway like trash. The scene had been so grizzly that dental records were required to identify the deceased. Only four out of the eleven decedents could be positively ID’d, with Taeshik being one of them.

There were no eyewitnesses, no biological evidence, no suspects. Nothing. The murders would be exceptionally difficult to solve.

And they didn’t stop there.

A large bookstore was set on fire two days after the gruesome discovery. Widespread flames and hundreds of thousands of books were a recipe for disaster. Despite the best efforts of the fire department and emergency services, over seventy people lost their lives. It was initially presumed to be an accident, likely faulty wiring or inadequate maintenance.

This theory was thrown out the window when the autopsy results of one of the store’s associates revealed some truly unsettling details.

To put it lightly the man had been decimated. Every bone in his body was shattered, his spinal cord was severed, and both his legs were torn off. The associate had undergone an excruciating death, with any one of his injuries being fatal. He’d been tortured extensively before expiring from blood loss. Whoever committed this murder must’ve wanted him to suffer. The damage to the man’s body also bore striking similarities to the injuries sustained by victims of the massacre.

When his surviving co-workers were asked by detectives if the man had any known enemies, an older woman spoke up. Apparently, there was a tall dark-haired alpha having a falling-out with his girlfriend in the store a few days prior. The associate attempted to intervene and stop the lover’s tiff, but the boyfriend had been greatly angered by this.

“It was as if he’d seen a ghost,” the woman stated, “He was absolutely spooked by the confrontation and refused to talk to us about it. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t dropped the topic so easily. That boy was such a hard worker, always so eager to help those in need… it’s awful what happened to him. I don’t know how his family is coping.”

But if a grudge was only held against the associate then why did the killer go so far as to destroy the entire building? Did he also harbor resentment towards the business? Was he trying to make an example out of them?

Unfortunately, all the surveillance cameras in the bookstore had been destroyed in the fire. Staff members were able to provide a detailed description of the alpha and his girlfriend. When Jinchul first saw the composite sketches he nearly fell out of his chair.

The girlfriend had been a dead ringer for you.

If that wasn’t enough of a smoking gun, the day the man and woman were seen together coincided with the day you went missing.

Evidence in your case was mounting but none of it made sense. How did you get involved with this man? As far as Jinchul knew you weren’t dating anyone during filming. Cha and Jinho were also certain you were single. But that didn’t exclude the possibility of you being in a secret relationship… 

At this point in the investigation, all Baek and Choi had to run on was the assumption you’d been kidnapped by a highly dangerous individual. A man who just so happened to be linked to almost one hundred deaths within the last week. The resolution to your missing person’s case was becoming bleaker by the day.

Jinchul rubbed at his temples. Going days without a proper night’s rest was taking its toll on him. His head was throbbing with a killer headache. Everything’s gone to shit since you’ve been gone.

Due to the tragic events surrounding the island and the unsolved disappearance of one of their own, executive producer Go made the difficult decision of suspending production on ‘Murder on the Cerulean Sea,’ indefinitely. The movie was most likely going to be shelved.

Jinchul sighs and reaches for his phone again. He skims through his photo gallery until he comes across a picture taken on the first day of filming. You, Cha, and Jinho persuaded him to join in on a group selfie to commemorate the special occasion. The hopeful look in your eyes and the mirth in your smile causes Jinchul’s chest to feel heavy. He longs to return to happier times like this.

But those days were past and gone.

A monster came to Jindo Island, salted the earth with its rage, unleashed a burning inferno to incinerate all in its path.

And you disappeared with it in a sea of fire.

Tag list: @soft-dots @joannthebish @rokuxx6 @augurythirteen @princeizuku @vee-love @imaginarydreams @iamapotatoe @phisen @rai-xxx @ayam99920 @asylrd

[em1989ts]

𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 - 𝐩𝐭 2

part one. main masterlist

word count: 2.6k

summary: after meeting five in the apocalypse, the two of you have a hard time living together. can the two of you control your tempers for one particularly cold winter night to save your lives?

contains: smut so 18+! (reader and five are both 5 years into the apocalypse so they are both eighteen) grinding, dry humping, fingering

author's note: yikes, my first smut. my inbox is open and i'm taking requests!! id love to hear some ideas :) I really wanted to upload this quickly so it's not proofread but eventually i'll edit it . . . but hopefully you guys like this, enjoy!

Living with this stranger definitely changed your life. Whether it was for better or for worse, you had no idea. 

The two of you walked for about an hour to his base, with very little verbal interaction reflecting the very little trust between each other. 

After a little bit of prying on your part, you managed to extract a bit more background information about this guy who you would now be surviving alongside. 

His name was Five Hargreeves. 

He had six siblings. 

They all had super powers. 

They were a team of superheroes formed by their father. 

When he first told you, you chuckled through the bandana over your mouth and nose, but he didn’t display the same humor. 

“Wait, you’re serious?”

“Why would I not be?” 

“Well maybe you just went cuckoo here and made up some super stupid backstory!” You replied, pretty certain that he was just nuts. 

Then all of a sudden, he disappeared. 

You jumped at a flash of blue light that suddenly appeared next to you. When you looked back to the area where he was standing, he was gone. 

Looking around frantically, your eyes searched the dusty highway for any signs of him. But there was nothing. 

Was he even there to begin with? Was he just a figment of your overactive imagination? 

Your breathing grew heavy once again as you panicked, then suddenly that blue light and he was right back in his spot next to you, looking amused at your eyes that were wide with shock. 

“Maybe you’re the one who’s cuckoo,” he said with a smug voice. You punched him in the shoulder before the two of you continued walking. 

~~~~ 

His base was interesting, to say the least. 

He had found a building that had only remnants of its walls intact, no roof, and used tarps to makeshift a roof and to cover the enormous gaps in the concrete. 

It didn’t look trustworthy by any means, you’d probably be better off sleeping in cars like you’ve been doing for the past five years. 

He lifted one of the tarps covering a significantly large hole in the wall and crawled in, letting it fall on you as you follow in behind him. You scoffed as you followed his lead. 

He surprisingly had a good stash of resources. Several canned foods, boxes of pasta, and cases of water were stacked in a corner. A makeshift fireplace was in the middle, with a pot leaning next to the circle of rocks. 

There was a small space in the corner. It consisted of what looked like a bundle of tarps and ashy blankets and pillows. You knew whatever happened to the world pretty much converted everything to dust, but he must’ve found those in cars, which somehow withstood some of the fire.

Since you had been sleeping in cars, you collect a couple of sleeping supplies you had found over the years. Thank fuck people decided to road trip before they perished or else you would have frozen to death ages ago. 

You began unpacking your bag and wagon, but you could feel his eyes watching you intently. 

Once you got settled, you didn’t really know what to do to break the unnerving awkward silence, he just sat there staring. You would tell him to take a picture since that would last longer but you're pretty sure there were no surviving cameras in the apocalypse.

The sun had set about twenty minutes ago, leaving the base to get darker as night grew closer. 

He made his way over to the fire pit, and took out a lighter from one of his pockets. When he went to light the wood aflame, the lighter wouldn’t spark. He tried for a while until you couldn’t bear watching the pathetic scene anymore. You took one of the new lighters you had just grabbed today and handed it over to him. He scoffed and snatched it out of your hand, then lit the fire in one try before tossing it on the ground and quickly walking away. 

You were taken aback by his childish actions. Sure, he was alone for years and only had himself to rely on, but now you were here so he shouldn’t be this upset to ask for help with a simple task. 

“You know,” you started with an annoyed tone, “the only reason I’m here is so we can work together.” 

“I don’t need you or your help,” he snapped. 

You cocked your head, not offended but amused. You found his self-reliance ridiculous. 

Sure, it would’ve done him wonders if he truly was the only person on Earth, having no one but himself to rely on. 

But he wasn’t. 

And you sure as hell couldn’t go back to the way things were before. 

If the two of you had decided that you could continue to survive on your own once again, you would drive yourselves mad knowing that there was another human to talk to, that someone else was out there alive and that you weren’t alone. 

You had to stay together to keep yourselves sane. 

“Fine.” 

You had too long of a day to even bother arguing with him. He’d either get used to you or die trying. 

You got up from the dusty ground and tossed yourself on his soft makeshift bed, comfortably taking over. He groaned frustratingly loud, and he tossed his head back and walked outside to get away from the bothersome girl he now had to deal with. 

~~~ 

A few months had passed since Five had encountered the girl at the gas station. That was the last thing he expected when he went out for more supplies that day. 

He definitely never thought he would have to share his hard earned food supply, water supply, and base with her, but that’s exactly what happened. 

She was impossible. She was incredibly sarcastic. She was such a pain. 

And of course, she was a nobody. This meant whenever she got bored of staring into her gross canned beans during those nights by the fire, she would ask about his past. 

He had already told her everything she needed to know, but she kept prying about how he got here, what life was like as a superhero, how his family was. At first, he would ignore her, or at least change the topic to distract her empty mind, but eventually he decided he could tell her little by little. He didn’t trust her, but he knew she wouldn’t try to kill him again. 

Initially, he wasn’t thrilled about being stuck with a girl. He was focused on survival, and his alone. But he quickly realized she was incredibly capable of surviving in this long gone world. Hell, she could’ve shot him dead that first day, yet she didn’t. 

He had been faced with the barrel of a gun several times in his life, yet he’d never felt the way he had when his life rested in the twitch of your finger. 

Your anger did something to him. He blamed it on his teenage hormones, but he couldn’t get enough of when you would pounce at him with a clenched fist. He enjoyed bumping into you purposefully, tripping you, picking you up just to toss you away from him. His constant scowl only hid his raging smirk every time you would get up close, letting him see every detail of your face, how your pupils dilated with intense anger, just to yell about how selfish he was, knowing you were just as guilty. 

If surviving on your own in the end of the world wasn’t hard enough, providing for two was nearly impossible. You had to be extremely cautious about your rations, conserving your intake only to what was deemed necessary. Oftentimes, the two of you would steal from each other when no one was watching, which would piss them off horribly, leading to even more fights. If starvation didn’t kill you, your deadly attitudes would. 

Your tempers had gone through the roof once you started living together. 

Walking away from a fight would call for a knife to be thrown at you behind your back. A snarky comment would result in a hand coming in and punching over your meal. 

While neither of you were going out of your way to deliberately kill the other, you sure wouldn’t mind if it accidentally happened. 

When the nights got colder, and autumn turned to winter, the wind would pick up, making it extremely difficult for the tarps to trap any heat into the base. No matter what the two of you did, the constant flapping drove you insane, and you had already been ticked off when he ignored every single idea you had. His bright idea of just stretching the tarp tight enough over the biggest gap in the whole base led to it ripping right in half, letting the winds fly in with no other tarp big enough to replace it. 

“Great job, you dumb fuck,” you muttered as you turned to the fire, which was too small for its warmth to be felt from the beds. 

Your nose felt like it was about to fall off, your fingers felt like nothing, and your lips were blue. You had put on every layer you could find and it still wasn’t enough. Surely, this was the harshest winter you’d experienced in the apocalypse. 

You had usually been fine sleeping in cars, but every single one within a mile radius had been completely destroyed. The two of you would let out your violent rage on the vehicles rather than each other. 

Five had stared at you from his spot by the hole in the wall, snowflakes freckling his face, holding the remains of the tarp. He did his best to cover as much as he could with the pieces then made his way over to you. He noticed how red your cheeks were, and how pale the rest of you was. You had sat down by the fire and dropped your chin between your knees. 

“We’re not surviving this winter,” you said solemnly. You weren’t necessarily giving up, you would still do what you could, but you had little hope in yourself. Morale was hard to build these days, especially when all you wished was to throw yourself into the fire for even a moment of warmth. 

For Five, giving in to the cold wasn’t an option. Not in the slightest. 

He had an idea, maybe a bold one, but if it meant living to see another spring then he would do it. He walked over to the bed and grabbed as much as he could grab. The tarps, blankets, and pillows stuffed under his arms until he couldn’t fit anymore, and he dropped them right next to you by the fire and started laying them out. 

You lifted your head up slightly and displayed a curious arch in your brow as you watched him remake his bed on the ground. The idea was so obvious you cursed yourself for not thinking of it first. 

As you were getting up to grab your bed supplies, a freezing hand pulled you back down and into him. You caught your balance with your hand on his jacketed shoulder, “What the hell?-” 

“Just listen to me,” he cut you off, “The only way either of us is gonna last the night is if we use our body heat. The fire’s going to help but it won’t be enough.”

You scowled, was that seriously the only option? 

Instead of letting you take your sweet time to contemplate whether or not it was worth it to cuddle with him for your life, he tugged you into him and laid down with you. 

His arms wrapped around your front as he held you against his chest, and holy fuck, it felt as if you had been leaning against a furnace. His heat warmed you up quickly, and you brought a blanket up to your chin to keep that heat locked in. 

The proximity of the two of you was what kept you from falling asleep immediately. His chin resting in your neck made you feel something you didn’t want to admit you felt about Five. His arms around your waist made you want him to move his hands just a little bit lower. 

You had an idea that could get you killed. 

While pretending to adjust and get comfortable, you gently grinded your ass against him, trying to get a reaction. 

Immediately, you could feel his arms tighten around you, and a bulge was already pressing into you. 

He leaned closer to your ear and growled quietly, “What do you think you’re doing?” 

You turned your neck to look at him, performing with the sweetest eyes you could display, “Just getting comfortable.” 

Your lips were inches away from his, yet neither of you made a move to close the gap. Five still looked at you with skeptical eyes even though he knew exactly what you had planned. 

Once you moved your hips again, a little harder, he pressed his face into your shoulder as he sighed and repeated the action. 

You let out a quiet groan, enjoying the pressure, yet you brought the blanket up over your mouth to muffle it, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. 

He picked up his pace, lowering his hands to hold your hips firm, rolling them against his. The blush on your face grew even more red, and you could feel beads of sweat forming on your forehead. 

His grip was tight, his groans were getting louder, and it felt like you really had frozen to death because this felt like heaven. 

His hand crawled through your layered sweatpants as he reached between your legs. As his cold fingers reached the spot you needed him most, you almost cried out, desperately needing the pressure. 

His other hand moved from your waist, traveled under your sweatshirts, and found its place on your breast. The freezing touch had such a strong sensation, and the pressure felt so good. 

“Please,” you let out, knowing you’d be kicking yourself later for sounding so painfully desperate, “I need more.” 

He moaned in your ear as his bulge pushed harder against you, “We can’t.” 

“Please,” you pleaded, as his fingers circled your clit.

God, you felt pathetic but it felt so good. 

He groaned as he gathered your wetness. 

“It isn’t safe,” he said, disappointed at the fact that you just couldn’t risk that in the apocalypse. 

Before you could beg, he plunged his long fingers into you, soft moans spilling from your throat at the motions. 

His actions grew faster and so did his panting, you knew he was getting close and you were too. 

You turned your neck to face him, looking up at his flush face. He met your dazed eyes, admiring how your face glowed with pleasure. His eyes locked onto your lips as he moved closer and captured them with his. 

Moaning into each other's mouths was just too much for you both, as he came in his sweatpants as you came around his fingers. He let you both ride out your highs before he gently pulled out his fingers. 

He looked at you unusually sweetly, and as you turned to ask what that face was about he shoved his fingers into your mouth, sliding your juices onto your tongue, letting you taste yourself. 

You were surprised initially and groaned at the action, then bit his fingers which caused him to scowl and quickly pull them out. 

“This doesn’t change anything.” 

“Of course not.” 

~~~

tags: @groovydazephantom