#mention of vivi but not enough to tag her really

[arthurtristankingsmen]

Night Talks

I made a little one shot of Mystery PoV in the hospital. It’s sad and a bit rough because I’m out of practice, but it’s the longest thing in a while so I’m pretty happy. Enjoy!

He could feel his gaze on him, even with his eyes closed. Something heavy settled on his chest, but there were some things he couldn’t run from forever.

Mystery finally opened his eyes, locking them with Arthur from where he’d curled into a tiny ball. He didn’t dare move, didn’t dare breathe too deep or shift or jostle the sheets. He was stone, small as possible and smaller still. A statue at the foot of the bed.

Arthur was drawn and pale, bloodless lips already trembling. His jaw locked tight and his throat bobbed with swallows, punctuated by his shallow, harsh breaths. He could hear the rabbiting of Arthur’s heart even from the opposite side of the bed.

He’d seen terror like that before. Years and centuries before, so very long ago. He’d seen men with that look, radiating with a fear so intense it rendered them silent as they drowned under it. It was the look they’d had, right before they’d fallen lifeless. Seeing it before had made him feel so smug. So powerful…

…seeing it on Arthurs’ face was a knife between his ribs. His ears pinned back, flat to his skull. An involuntary whine slipped out, half stifled.

Arthur came alive at the sound. His right arm moved to where his left should have been. His fingers fumbled with air, and he slipped on the bed, sucking in a breath and kicking up the sheets in his effort to sit up. To scramble away. He couldn’t get much further than the far end of the bed with the IV in his arm, but he stayed there, plastered and flat against the plastic headboard until it creaked in protest. He stared at Mystery with eyes crinkled at the edges with pain, so wide he could see himself in them and pupils blown. The room stayed silent, except the soft snores of Vivi as she slept in the chair beside the bed.

Mystery shifted the barest amount, and swallowed something thick and dense when Arthur’s breath caught. “…I can leave.”

Arthur’s gaze bore into him. “Wh—” He coughed, voice hoarse and cracked. “I—.” He looked down to his left, and the bandaged stump of his arm twitched. He winced and swallowed again and looked at Mystery, from the corner of his eyes. A sheen of sweat glistened on his skin and he swayed slightly. Another minute of silence.

His voice was microscopic when he found it. “…Why?”

It was such a small question, loaded like a bullet. Mystery’s gaze went to the sheets on the bed. “…There was something in the cave. A spirit—but a malicious one. I…I did what I did, to keep it from consuming you entirely.” Each word felt meticulous in his mouth, plucked with care as if any one of them might shatter everything.

Arthur’s swallow was audible. “Oh.” He slurred slightly from whatever was pumped into his system, and stayed was silent so long Mystery thought that was all he’d say. “I uh…” Arthur cleared his throat, “…I guess that—it makes sense. That cave—it…something was off.  I—I don’t remember anything. Anything besides—. ”

Arthur cut off, but Mystery knew what went unsaid. “I am sorry Arthur…but you were right. There was something there. Something dangerous. We didn’t have time for a less…aggressive measure.” He rested his head on his paws, catching the way Arthur zeroed in on the movement in his periphery. “I didn’t want to hurt you. But… I had to.”

“Was it necessary?” Arthur blurted. “I—I just—I mean Vivi was there too—couldn’t’ you have gotten her? She has all those books on exorcisms and shit she could’ve—.” He curled forward on himself.

“…There was an immediate threat.” Mystery murmured. “I—had to.”

“Why?” Arthur asked, hoarse voice turning harsh.

“It wanted to do more than possess you for a time. It wasn’t like the others.” A whine paired with his words. “It was taking you over. It was too quick for assistance. Vivi was—distracted. It wanted to hurt everyone. I just did what I could. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I had to save you.” He had to save someone.

Arthur looked away. “I—sorry. I’m just…” He trailed away, palm covering his eyes. “…it’s. God, it’s so much. I—we’ve known each other a long time. I believe you I just—.”

“It’s not something you can just get over.” Mystery offered in a muted voice. “I know what you saw. What you must have felt. And your arm… I am sorry I had to put you through it.”

“It’s—alright I won’t say it’s okay I’m just—fuck. I don’t know—I can’t even process-- this.” He shook his head hard, wincing and grabbing his shoulder. His eyes were red-ringed and his nose was starting to run and give his words a nasal twang, but Mystery chose not to acknowledge it. “I mean we knew you were something else—you said you weren’t a dog but—I don’t know. I didn’t want that to be how I saw what you were. Are. I just—can’t get it out of my head…”

Mystery tucked his tail between his legs. “….Do you want me to leave? I…would understand.”

Arthur thought for a long moment. He waded through the pause with bated breath. “I—I don’t know… no. No. You said you were protecting me. Us. I—it hurt. I’m—this is a lot. Just— fuck. But—but I believe you. That you did the best you could. I’ve known you years and—and you’ve never given me a reason to not. So. You can stay. Just…just….I don’t know. I just—I don’t want to be scared. Not of you.”

The knife already in his chest twisted. He released his breath and another soft whine broke free, coming from somewhere deeper in his chest than the last. It felt like nettles stung along his skin. “Arthur… ”

Arthur wiped at his face again. “How—what happened? Is—how is Vivi? Lewis? I don’t see him—is he here?”

Mystery’s stomach formed a new knot. “I…..” What could he even say?

He didn’t know how his face had shifted, but Arthur frowned. “That look—Mystery what’s—where’s Lewis…?”

“What…what do you remember, Arthur…?”

Arthur looked at the ceiling. “I remember—going inside the cave. Being creeped out and—a-and just not feeling great.” Arthur swallowed and looked further away. “I—remember us getting to that split with the signs. With those fake skulls. And those—things that hold the ropes. Starts with a…...something. A letter. Um. The S one.”

“Stanchions...”

“Right. Those…what you said. But…yeah. I remember feeling on edge. Then you went with Vi and I went with Lew. We were going up this tunnel and he was saying something and—…that’s it. I remember… I remember feeling sleepy. And then…. nothing. Until—my arm—” His tone lilted the last word, a twinge of fear.

Mystery’s next breath coated his lungs in cobwebs. A beat passed. Two. Arthur opened his mouth again, but Mystery finally filled the silence before he spoke. “Lewis…he… Arthur, Lewis didn’t…make it.”

“………What?”

The whispered word sank like a stone and sent ripples through the room. It seemed to muffle every other noise to nothing. “No. Nono. No. He’s okay right? Lewis is okay. Lewis is always okay. He—he’s fine. He’s just in the other room or at home with his family, right? Mystery now isn’t the time to mess with me tell me he’s okay.”

Mystery lowered himself further on the bed. “Arthur…I can’t.”

It was silent again a beat. Another. And then Arthur crashed forward, clutching at his hair collapsing all at once like a house of cards. “No-- nono no No he’s not— you can’t know that Lewis can’t be—No! I don’t believe it! I never even. I never—. He’s not allowed to be gone—” A sob ripped itself free from his chest.

Mystery could scarcely breathe. He inched forward on the bed at a snail’s crawl, closer to Arthur. Every second of Arthur’s pain garroted his insides. He wasn’t sure if he could help, but he couldn’t just sit there.

When he’d inched close enough, he went to speak, but Arthur’s arm snagged him in a loop around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. Arthur buried his face in his fur and clung to his scruff with his fingers, shaking and sobbing.

He hated the relief he felt, that Arthur still sought him for comfort. He shouldn’t feel gratitude while one of the people who mattered most to him mourned a thousand things unsaid.

“Arthur—I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I wish I had been faster.” His every word was laced with whines and his ears laid flatter than ever. “I should have saved him. I could have.” He’d been right there, right behind them. And he’d just watched. Watched and refrained, in case Arthur could stop himself, because he knew transforming meant she might reach him. “I hesitated. I hesitated because I was afraid. It’s my fault...” He did his best, but his composure cracked with every tear wetting his fur. “I should have stopped this—I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“How did this happen—how do you know he’s—? How—How do you know he’s not still out there?” Arthur’s voice was soaked in his anguish, and it dripped down his neck.

Mystery’s breath caught. He couldn’t let Arthur know the truth. Not everything. He couldn’t hurt him, couldn’t do this again to him. He couldn’t take his arm and everything else. “The spirit—it killed him. You had both reached a ledge when I caught up. It—the spirit made him fall from the ledge. It killed him and then it tried to possess you.”

Arthur made a sound, an awful sound that was like teeth rending his own flesh. “Did— did I hurt him?”

“….No. No. No you didn’t Arthur.” He swallowed and nuzzled Arthur’s hair, gentle with his mouth pointed away. “I’m sorry… I wish I had done more… he—he’s gone.” It hurt to even say. To think about. Both for the way Arthur crumbled at the words, and the admittance of something he tried not to think about.

He wished dogs could cry. Then he could mourn another friend and all that had happened with Arthur.

If he could cry, at least then he’d have some kind of release.

“It’s not your fault…” Arthur regained his attention with gentle words in his fur. “I-if Lewis really…...did. You—saved me. You did what you could. You said you did. You—You can’t blame you. For not knowing what was there a-and not doing something fast enough. None of us did. And you tried to save us. You—you saved me.”

Mystery swallowed heavier. “I could have done so much more…”

“We—we all could have. We all could have kept this from happening.” Arthur whispered. “If I’d just—we all could’ve…”

Mystery whined softly, though it cut off when Vivi stirred a moment. She settled again in her sleep. “I… suppose…” He nuzzled Arthur again, if only because he could for now, and he wasn’t sure how long that would last. “I am still sorry. That it came to this.”

“That’s how I know I can trust you…” Arthur finally pulled back, red-faced still, but with a resolution on his face he didn’t expect.

The words pinged at him, but he focused on the expression. Arthur continued after a moment. “Tell me exactly what happened. Everything after I—after you…. Stopped the possession.”

Mystery frowned. “…Vivi was… she had been screaming. She had been where Lewis… fell. You were bleeding out… I knew there was not much I do much for you. But Vivi might.  I rushed to find her. She was dazed from shock, but she came with me when she knew you were in danger. She did something with her scarf. A tourniquet, to stop you from bleeding out. I helped her get you to the van and…retrieved the keys.” He shuddered. “She drove you here, to the hospital, while I tried to keep you awake.” He looked down.

“You…you both left him…?”

Mystery frowned. “We had…other priorities. You would have died, had we hesitated, or taken any longer.” And that was a terrifying thought on its own.

“Okay…” He could hear the sound of Arthur swallowing this close to him, and of his mind turning something over, the gears turning quick. “Okay. Okay. But—but if you were rushing and— dealing with me—did you check that Lewis was—that he didn’t survive…?”

That pulled Mystery’s gaze back up. “…I didn’t have to.”

“But did you check? Did you make sure?”

“No—but… it was very clear he was not alive, Arthur...” He said it in the gentlest tone he could manage.

“But you don’t know that for sure. You didn’t check his pulse.” Arthur’s voice had an emotion he couldn’t place.

“Arthur. He landed on a stalagmite.”

“—God.” Arthur’s face drained further of any blood, expression twisting and vomitous. “—But—But people have survived worse—adrenaline—.”

“Arthur… he did not survive. I know what you are thinking,” The questions made it obvious, “but he is not alive. I know you want me to be wrong, but—.”

“He could be! You don’t know!” Arthur sounded so desperate, it ached. “and even if he really isn’t—maybe he’d come back! We know that’s possible—he wouldn’t leave Vivi. We have to—I can’t let that be goodbye Mystery—This can’t be it. I can’t let this be it.”

Mystery felt the frown on his face deepen, pulling his jowls downwards. “Arthur…you are holding on to a hope that is not there. I cannot confirm he did pass in our haste, but I have no doubt he did. Telling yourself otherwise…you are going to end up disappointed.” Perhaps Lewis would come back. But Mystery refused to hold his breath and allow himself a second heartache. He had lost enough over the years not to expect the world to be so kind to him.

But if Lewis did return, he was sure he would come to Tempo to find them. Lewis would be so worried after seeing Arthur possessed, after all. So if he did find the strength and the will to remain, Lewis would come in search of them instead.

“If I end up disappointing myself, it won’t be anything new.” Arthur mumbled, before shaking his head and pulling further back. He leaned back against the pillow at the headboard. “Lewis has it worse. I just… I can’t leave him out there. Not until I know for sure. That he’s really gone. He wouldn’t leave any of us behind. I—I can’t. Vivi can’t either, I’m sure. As soon as I’m out of here…. I have to look. I have to.”

“…… If you wish, I will help you look.” Mystery relented after a long pause. “I cannot let you go alone. Vivi likely will not either. And she will want to find him as well, I am sure. So if this is what you need, then… we will not stop you. But at least give yourself time to recover. You’ve been through so much…” At Arthur’s nod, he felt his muscles ease of the tension they’d held. “Thank you. I will help you as much as I can. But I am telling you now, Arthur…… do not get your hopes up.”

“I won’t.” Arthur said, already lying by the look on his face.

Mystery could only sigh, soft and defeated. “…You should rest, Arthur. Your body needs to heal.”

Arthur nodded, and waited more cautiously than he likely meant to, until Mystery had jumped off the bed. To his credit, Arthur’s flinch as he landed was slight, all but unnoticeable to anyone else.

Mystery gave him a wider berth and watched as Arthur wriggled down into the sheets and against his pillow. He almost thought Arthur would listen and try to rest. The shadows beneath his eyes were nearly black, and the medicine had to make every further moment awake a battle. But then Arthur’s voice rose again. “How…how is Vivi…? After everything… I… is she okay…?”

“….Vivi is….off.” Mystery admitted. “She has not done much since you were hospitalized. She was also checked into the hospital, and she was brought to a place to change and shower. But she has not left your side since. She has cried some, but she’s…mostly been quiet. She has not spoken of Lewis yet. I think she may still be…processing. I have done what I can, but I am not sure how much help I have been. But I am sure she will be by far more relieved to see you awake.”

“He meant so much to her….” Arthur whispered, and he wiped at his face again. “I—thank you. For taking care of her. I’m—sure she needs it right now.”

Mystery nodded, curling up beside Vivi, giving Arthur more space he might need in the night. “I would trade anything, to not have either of you suffering like you are. But since that is not an option…. I will do anything in my power to help both of you. As long as I am here, I will do what I can”

“I know…” Arthur looked more comfortable when he was farther away, but just as quick as the relief had shown, a frown pulled down on his mouth. “What about Lance…? The Peppers…?”

Mystery looked down. “… Lance had been notified just before visiting hours closed last night. After your surgery by several hours, due to some clerical error. Vivi was allowed to stay, since she was also checked in for observation. I am positive Lance will be here the moment the hospital opens.” Arthur cracked the smallest tired smile, but said nothing, and Mystery continued. “Vivi… did not call anyone. She has not done much since you were brought here, outside of get fresh clothing I mentioned. So the Peppers may not know what happened. Or if they do… it was because Lewis’s body was… found. A police officer tried to speak to Vivi, but she did not react enough for them to have gleaned much.”

Arthur winced as he shifted, and nodded. “I… we’ll call them. Tomorrow. I’m…tired. I’ll do it so she doesn’t have to.” He was mumbling more now, looking up at the ceiling. There were new tear tracks on his face. “Thank you… I wish I—thank you. For…doing what you could. I’m sorry I can’t just— but… you’re a good boy, Mystery.”

Mystery smiled without teeth at Arthur as he said it, and watched him close his eyes. “It is alright, Arthur…” He didn’t speak more, watching until Arthur’s face had smoothed and his breath was even and slow. Only then did he let the smile slip away. Only then did he cover his face with his paws and bury himself beside Vivi’s sleeping form with a whimper. Arthur had said he was a good boy. That he’d tried his best.

If only Arthur knew how untrue that was.

[pure-kirarin]

Slow & Steady [P2] [Sabo x f!reader] (+18)

Genre : Romance - Smut - Bestfriends to lovers General warnings : Alcohol consumption - Dark themes - Swearing - S m u t - possessiveness - Mention of ex-relationships - jealousy

A/N : This is really different from my usual writing style but I am experimenting. Please tell me your thoughts and don’t hesitate to ask to be added to the tag list :) AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/31877203?view_full_work=true

In the last chapter --  «-Enough playing now, you're going to sleep. -B-but ! This wasn't what I asked for....You're really a coward after all...You virgin... » He carried you to his room, putting you on the bed and sitting next to you. «-I'd love to prove you wrong. However, it would be better if you were in a state where you'd be able to recall how good I am. If you want me to fuck you this badly then maybe ask me when you're sober.

Part I - Part II

Part II  -Yeah yeah...Pff..You're no fun Sabo. Things were finally getting interesting ! »

He smiled seeing that you were now calmer. You started to yawn and bury your face in his pillow. He loved to see you getting so comfortable in his room. He really needed a cold shower after your little show.  -Goodnight (Y/N). I'll sleep on the couch. You can get comfortable. -Are you crazyy ? You gonna leave me alone like this ? Let's sleep together~ -Come on (Y/N), you're a big girl. You could sleep alone for one night, would you ? Translation : I don't want to spend the whole night with a semi. And you're dangerously flirty, and I have wanted you for years and now I have to abstain.

-Pleaaaase. You said looking at him with puppy eyes. He rolled his eyes placing a hand in his hair. God.damn.it.

You won again. Like every time. * * *  You opened your eyes hardly next day, feeling something hard against your thigh. You looked at the ceiling

Oh...I am not in my room...Where the fuck am I ?

you turn around only to discover the embodiment of Adonis to your side. A light beam was lighting up Sabo's face. He looked like an angel as his beauty couldn't be that of a human.

Was he always this handsome ?

You didn't know, in fact, you have never had the occasion to wake up in his bed. Wait, in his bed ? This realization came slowly as your head was still foggy from yesterday's consumption.

You looked down, the thing that was pressing against your leg was indeed :

his thing.

You frowned, blushed, pulled away, put a hand on your lips repressing an internal scream, all of this in around three seconds. You then tried to calm down, telling yourself that it was very normal for a man to experience this kind of morning unconviniences, and that Sabo was a man, after all. Even if  you have always seen him as a bestfriend, he was still a man that is capable of physical attraction.

Now that this internal monologue was done with, you felt a bit calmer, but that didn't answer your question. You got out of bed, trying to recall what happened after going in the bar. And it came back. All of it. Without any mercy for your feelings.

You wanted the ground to swallow you whole. Your only wish was to disappear which meant : calling Nami. You headed out of the house, not even having the courage to face your bestfriend.

« Namiiiii -Uh ? What's the matter ? -I fucked up. I fucked up really bad. -Oh yeah ? Tell me about it. -Wait, why do you seem excited ? -O-oh I'm not excited. Come on tell me. What else could you have possibly done ? -I asked Sabo to fuck me. -Wait what ? You could hear Vivi ask Nami about what happened and her answering « She asked Sabo to fuck her ». -Nami ! Don't go on telling everyone about this. I'm on my way. -For starters, Vivi isn't « everyone », she's my girlfriend. And I'm here waiting for you to tell me what happened. -Wait, I'll come at your place. This can't be discussed over the phone. »

You hung up on her. Ten minutes later, you were at her place. Extremely confused. Nami was painting her nails bright red on the bed while Vivi was sitting comfortably on a chair. You let your whole body weight fall on a lounge pug, tourmented.  «-So tell me how you and Sabo ended up fucking. She emphasized the last word in a way that made you almost choke on air.  -We didn't actually. Nami and Vivi both sighed in a synchronized « Ah » of disappointment. -So hmm...I don't remember clearly. I was really drunk-- well that you're aware of and...And Sabo didn't want to leave me alone so we went to his place. Ace was at Thatch's so we were alone. We hugged and he comforted me. Then I started teasing him, and I don't know what I was thinking, but I kissed him, and then I asked him to fuck me. -Wow that escalated quickly. Said Nami as she continued painting her nails.

-Well, I was heartbroken, I needed something, someone, and he was there, and you know Sabo, he's a good guy ! I don't know what's worse, the fact that I asked him to fuck me or the fact that he said no.

-Oh god I'm so so sorry

- Nami please don't make things worse for me.

-No offense, but you're so dense. Sabo has always been into you. Do you want him, or do you not ? I know that going right into a relationship after a breakup is a bad idea. But honestly it's worth giving it a shot. He's a really good guy. Try dating someone nice for once.

-I don't know, he has something unsettling about him. Like « almost too good to be true » you know ? Added Vivi.

-Ohhh~ I see. Honestly, I always thought that he was a bit prude and hella vanilla. I mean, yes, he's my best friend. But he has never talked about girls to me or about sexual stuff. So I just assumed that. I never thought that he'd be packin' like that. You said as you popped a lollipop in your mouth.

-Ah ? Was it really that impressive ? asked Nami, genuinely curious.

-Yeah. On a scale from 0 to doflamingo he's a solid eight point seventy five. (*)

-Oh gosh. I understand why you're so worked up now.

-That's really...precise. Added Vivi, a bit horrified.

(*) [ The dear reader might need this clarification ; Doflamingo was Law's uncle, he sometimes came to pick him up after uni with his luxurious lamborghini. He wore extremely tight pants that left little to the imagination. And he was most known among your clique for having a nine incher. It was a running joke wether to know if Law got his uncle's genes. Needless to say that this joke wasn't to Law's taste. Now back to our adorable Y/N. ]

-So. I really don't know what to do. I am still heartbroken. -And horny. Added the ginger. -Yeah, that too. I'm afraid of ruining our friendship. -Listen dear, said Nami as she was closing the nail polish bottle, if you're not going for it, someone else would. And trust me, that girl Koala is upping her game. She's going to steal him right in front of your eyes, just like this - and she snapped her fingers. -Oh, and then, you can forget about being « best friends ». Said Vivi adding fuel to the fire. -Yeah, once he's gonna start dating, he won't have too much time for you-- and then, that Koala girl, my god, she seems extremely possessive ! -No way, your voice was detached, trying to act is if you weren't worried, Sabo has never dated any girl before.- -Yes but he seems to get along with that girl. And to be honest, she's kinda cute.

-Nami ! Vivi pinched her forearm playfully, pretending to be jealous.

-That hurt ! And don't be jealous, you know that you're my only one~

-Hmm...I prefer that. Vivi laughed. You started caughing reclaiming for their attention.

-Attention please ! We're discussing my dick-appointment here.

-Jesus you're really annoying, (Y/N), just go for it already.

-How much did he pay you to tell me this huh ?

-What ? He didn't pay me ! You're just always getting your heart broken. I'm just trying to be a good friend.

-Say that you are trying to get rid of her~ Jokes Vivi.

-Vivi, don't expose me like this- Nami plays along while laughing.

-I hate you girls ! You say as you throw a pillow on Nami. The ginger starts complaining that you messed her Nail polish, and the whole scene metamorphosed into a pillow fight.

* * *

You spent the whole day with the girls, chit-chatting about boys and girls and playing stupid games. You felt way more comfortable now, less ashamed. However, you were surprised because you didn't get a message from your bestfriend. You wondered wether he was mad at you, it wasn't in his habits.

You decided to message Ace [click for conversation] [ (Y/N) : Heyy amigo is Sabo ok ? Did he tell u smth abt yesterday ? Ace : Ouch, your hurting my feelings, </3 Only talking to me to ask about my brother~ Yea hes okay why tho ? (Y/N) : Ooo kay. He's home ? Ace : He is. Why don't u directly text him ? (Y/N) : Don't tell him I asked. Btw I didn't forget about those 10 bucks you « borrowed » from me. Give it back.] He didn't answer. You sighed and decided to go see Sabo to settle things down. It was the first time that you were embarrassed to see your best friend. You dressed up in a black skirt and t shirt. You didn't usually pay attention to your looks when you went to hang out at Sabo's, but you were really stressed out and what the girls have said about Koala made you scared of losing him. After all, you had some abandonment issues. You had to settle this down once and forever. You arrived at the guy's place, it was an apartment not so far from your own student flat. You knocked on the door and Ace opened : -Ohhh, (Y/N), he whistles, lookin' like a girl today huh ? -What are you implying you dumbass ? Where's Sabo ? -He's in his room with Koala.- -Wait what ? Koala ? What is she doing here ? Ace raised an eyebrow then said amused ; -I don't know, go ask him yourself. -You're useless as usual. -Always so sweet. You on your period or something ? -I didn't forget about my twenty bucks by the way. -I said I'm goin' to pay you back alright ? Now go talk to Sabo. You and Ace were always teasing each other in a brotherly way, but in reality, he really cared for you, it was just your usual way of communication. But it was true that knowing that Koala was in Sabo's room put you in a bad mood. You knocked on the door with a knot in your stomach. Did they start dating ? Was Sabo interested in her ? These ideas were torturing you. But why did you care anyways ? It was none of your business. He could date whoever he wants. You opened the door but there was only Sabo relaxing on his bed, still fully clothed. « - Sabo ?-Oh, (Y/N), what brings you here ? -Why ? Do I need a reason to see my best friend ? He sits on bed looking at you. He doesn't fail to notice your cute outfit, it was different from your usual sweatpants and hoodies, the way it complemented your figure was almost too much for him. Just that sight was driving him insane, but his face didn't betray his emotions, like always, he acted friendly, not an ounce of lust in his dark ebony eyes. You took place next to him. He smelled good, you thought. The same fresh minty smell as last time. Did he always smell this good ? -(Y/N) ?Huh ? Is everything okay ? His voice seemed concerned.He cared for you. And you had those stupid immature and posessive thoughts. Get a grip of yourself, (Y/N), you thought. -Oh yea-- wasn't Koala here ? Ace told me you were with her.

You tried so hard to act like you didn't care, but he knew you like the back of his hand. But still, he played along. -Hmm..Yes. She just left. I was going out as well. He says with a sweet smile, looking at his watch. You couldn't help but make a disappointed face. -But Sabo I wanted to - I'm really sorry (Y/N), let's talk later. He ruffles your hair and you close your eyes as he does so. You felt stressed out. What happened exactly ? You felt intimidated in his presence for the first time. You wanted him to stay and talk this out. It was a bit awkward for you now. You never thought too much. As he was going out of the room you held the fabric of his coat tight in your hand ; -Sabo- -Hum ? Need me to drop you somewhere ? -N-no. You let his sleeve go, realizing what you have just done, I'll stay a bit then go back home. Don't worry about me. -Alright then. See you later ? -Yeah. See ya. ]

You looked at Sabo go away and you followed him shortly after. Meanwhile Ace was sitting on the couch and watching some movies. You went back home and was quite tormented. It wasn't the right time to worry as you had your assignments and studies to deal with. On one hand, you didn't even have the time to think of your ex boyfriend and his cheating but on the other, you felt like you were let down by Sabo. But why ? He didn't do anything. He just found himself a new friend and a potential new girlfriend.

He didn't even talk about her, but why where you so upset by him meeting her ? After all, he had the right to date just like you always did.

A few days have passed and you didn't get the chance to talk to Sabo. Your exams were getting closer and closer and you didn't feel ready.

Usually, Sabo would help you with your assignments but you were too scared to ask. You realized how much you relied on him and how he has been always there for you.

Who were you exactly to him ?

Maybe you took him for granted.

As you were on your bed looking at the ceiling and trying to collect every drop of motivation in your system to study, you heard your phone ring. It was Sabo's ringtone ! ----- Tag list : @vemuabhi @chloe-abbacchio @mwls-garden @soanywaysistartedsimping If you wanna get tagged just ask for it :)

[the-chick-of-the-air]

Hello my lovelies!!

Ok let me just start by saying- 600 followers?! Are you kidding?? Thank you all SO much! I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to have every single one of you interested enough in my blog to be following me! Thank you thank you thank you!!!🥰🥰

Now I’m gonna repay you by breaking your hearts!

This is my first try at anything super angsty, so if your gonna yell at me afterwards please feel free to do so in the comments or in my ask box or even just reblogging and cursing me in the tags🤣 please let me know what you think!

TW: Major character death, mentions of vomiting and allusions to body mutilation- nothing graphic just vaguely indicated but whatever you are comfortable with is up to you! If any of what I warned makes you uncomfortable please don’t read! Your mental health is more important than a work of fiction!

Update: I’m sorry- I posted this and for some reason the tag list wasn’t working but it should be now! If your username has changed please let me know so I can tag you properly down below!❤️

Summary: Someone important dies. Cardan deals with it. Grab your tissues❤️

Final Resting Place

“I’m…I’m so sorry.” The folk are not in the habit of apologizing, much less for something that is so common. It matters not, Cardan has ceased listening, has heard nothing after The Bomb uttered those damning words.

Jude is dead.

He recalls, distantly, a time when Nicasia drug him halfway to her underwater kingdom, wishing to show him its beauty and splendor. He recalls how helpless he felt, how he could breathe but it wasn’t right. How he was silenced and the pressure from the water was crushing his chest so painfully it didn’t matter if he could breathe or not.

This feels near exactly like that.

“Your Highness?” Someone is asking a question he doesn’t hear. He doesn’t even ask them to repeat themselves. All he can do is state,

“She is to be brought back here. Burned on the pyres.” A Queen’s funeral. The only funerals the folk bothered to observe.

Someone, The Roach, likely, grunts in disapproval, “She… we…are not able to bring the body back. It was…”

Cardan isn’t sure what part of that statement makes his stomach churn the worst, the fact that they just referred to his wife, their queen as a body, or the fact that there apparently isn’t too much of her body to bring back.

He tries not to think, not to guess at what death was so brutal that she doesn’t even have a body left.

And that really is it, isn’t it? She, his fierce, vibrant, deadly queen, who always looked over her shoulder, is- was always so cautious, secretly ruling over a land that was designed to kill her, the mighty Jude Duarte, slayer of the folk-

Killed by something mortal.

In the mortal lands.

Where he sent her.

It was almost laughable, Cardan did laugh. Hysteria bubbling up in his chest like bile, which it might have been because suddenly the churning in his stomach was no longer violent but imminent and he’s throwing himself into the bathing chamber.

He doesn’t hear the court of shadows, her court of shadows, retreating as he retches into the chamber pot.

~.~

Time has lost all meaning.

It’s been days, weeks, months. The days pass in a blur, marked only by those who knew what she meant to him coming to give their condolences. Like it could lessen the pain of her being gone. Lessen the pain that came with the knowledge that this was his fault.

It was so ironic it hurt. Had he not exiled her to the mortal lands for her protection, she would have still been alive, ruling where she belonged, right by his side.

And now, she would never get to rule her kingdom openly. She would never share his throne, his crown, his name, his bed again.

She was gone before he got to have her.

And it was his own damn fault.

He refused to hold any audience with Taryn. It wasn’t fair, her twin was dead and she was parading around wearing her face. He knew that should he take one look at her, he would break beyond recognition.

The only thing keeping him alive on the throne being Jude’s memory, how she would have wanted, commanded him to keep ruling, even if she wasn’t there to do it with him.

He did allow an audience with Viviane, once. She had all but demanded it and would hardly take no for an answer. She arrived, eyes puffy and bloodshot, looking as terrible as he felt which didn’t seem fair either.

He wanted to be alone in his pain, for it to be all his own, because no one could understand, could relate to how he felt for her. Why should they share in his grief? The newest plate of armor he has cast over his heart?

She wasted no time on condolences, which in itself was strangely comforting. She got straight to the point, “You missed the funeral.”

“A mortal tradition.” His voice was hoarse with disuse. Had he gone so long without speaking to anyone? That didn’t seem possible.

“Dammit Cardan! She would have wanted you there.” Her anger was refreshing, a nice change of pace compared to the complete emptiness that was left behind in the shape of a mortal footprint upon his heart.

He almost wants to disagree, but that would make no sense. The folk can’t lie, not even half-fae.

When he doesn’t respond, Vivi crosses her arms, “Will you at least come visit her? Say your goodbyes? You have to say yes, we both know you need it.”

And painful as it was, she was right. The one thing that hurt worse than Jude being dead, knowing that it was because of him, was that he didn’t get to say goodbye. That all his letters to her went unanswered. That she died without knowing how much he needed her. How much he missed her and all she was to him. How much he…

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he silently rises and follows Vivi to his queen’s final resting place.

~.~

The mortal world is bright and loud and reeks of iron and is so alive it feels audacious. How dare anyone else continue living when someone from this place, someone so important, so above them was forced to forfeit that right?

The plot of land where she- what’s left of her- is laid to rest is small. The headstone sits, new and clean, next to two more that are dulled with age.

Justin and Eva Duarte.

Madoc had somehow procured graves for the two mortals he slaughtered, and now their youngest daughter lay beside them.

They are standing there for ten minutes before Vivi speaks, “You know, when someone visits the grave of someone they love, they usually look at it.” Her voice is monotone as she stares at the slab of stone sitting at the head of a patch of newly sprouted grass.

He’s not sure he can. If he looks, if he sees there is in fact a final stop, a final holding place for this restless mortal, then he will know it is real. That this wasn’t all some elaborate trick or punishment of her own making to get back at him for her banishment.

Foolish as it is, that was a dark hope buried deep inside him. That she was really still there, biding her time, waiting until he was just ruined enough to waltz back into his life to teach him a well deserved lesson. Perhaps on gratitude, on not taking things for granted.

It would be such a Jude thing to do.

A hand rests on his shoulder and he nearly flinches away, “I’ll give you a minute.”

Her footsteps recede, utterly fae and silent. So unlike the ones he desperately wishes to hear a final time.

It takes him maybe two minutes more for his eyes to finally find the headstone. He is shocked to find he can barely read what is inscribed upon it through tears that have filled his eyes.

Jude Duarte-Greenbriar

Beloved sister and wife

2001-2019

His tears come in earnest, then. How had he never known she took his name as well? Had cared enough to do so? Or was this something her sisters did to spite him? He pressed his lips together in an attempt to stifle any sobs trying to break free.

Cautiously, so cautious she would be proud, he runs his fingers over the inscription of her name- their name. When he knows his voice will be steady, he speaks.

“Well, wife.” He presses his eyes closed as a fresh wave of tears pushes at his senses, “I doubt either of us saw it coming to this.” Gently, he tugs something out of the satchel he brought with him.

“It was yours. For you to wear upon your return. For when you came home.” He couldn’t stop his voice from breaking as he carefully laid the crown down at the foot of the headstone, glamoured so mortals would see it as a pile of painted rocks.

“I guess in a way, I got what you thought I wanted. For you to…” He can’t even bring himself to say it. He had never wanted this. When in palace lessons, he thought that dreams plagued with her scent, her voice, her touch had been the most horrid nightmares. He was wrong, this was far worse than any dream he had of her angry face, her soft hair. This was a nightmare terrifying enough to cripple the strongest of men.

“Well. I guess it doesn’t matter now. It doesn’t matter that I wish I could take back what I said about you in our childhood. That you would return to the earth, worm food.” He shudders, recalling that he had said those things while imagining that they would have followed a long life. One filled with her aging slowly due to living in Elfhame. Secret imaginings he only allowed himself in the darkest hours of the night- ones where he was by her side and they wreaked havoc together for the rest of their long, full lives. His next words are whispered, “I never imagined it would happen so soon.”

His hand returns to the headstone, gripping the cool rock tightly.

There is nothing left to say aside from one final message. Nothing left to do other than leave this place and continue on in his immortality, letting her fade into the backs of everyone’s memory as the Last Mortal Queen.

Taking a final shaky breath, Cardan utters the truth he had spent nearly his whole life repressing, trying to lie his way around. The words he now so desperately wishes he had said to her before he cast her out of their home in hopes of preventing this very thing from happening.

With one final look upon the place his wife, his queen is forever to rest upon, he whispers,

“I love you.”

~.~

Years and years and years later, young children of the gentry sit in their history lessons amongst their mortal classmates, and learn of the beautiful, treacherous life that was led by the Last Mortal Queen, Jude Duarte-Greenbriar

And that is that! Did I make you cry? Do you want to throw crumpled tissues at my head? Let me know!❤️ (I left out details of Jude’s death on purpose, it’s up to your imagination to come up with what happened to her, sorry for pain😬)

Tag list:

As always, please let me know through the comments or my inbox or any other way you are comfortable with and let me know if you wish to be added to my list so you can be alerted to my future works!

@maleckanejnessienjurdansolangelo @woodsbeyond1 @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @thewickedkings @aneurwin @snusbandxknifewife @jurdanhell @andromeddea @dressedindustandshadows @thesirenwashere @b00kworm @hizqueen4life @unidentifiedblackthorn @iminsanenotobsessed @df3ndyr @brittneyal @aelin-queen-of-terrasen @thefolkofthefic @yafandomsdotnet @fuzzypineapples-blog @nahthanks @charrise @thefolkofthefic @theviolettulip @embersfromink @kittkatandbooboo

Till next time, loves!🥰

[shuadotcom]

I Put a Spell on You | KNJ

✹ Summary: Namjoon wanted to find the right time to tell you he was born a warlock, but when a witch casts a time-sensitive spell on you, he may have to confess to you sooner than he anticipated. ✹ Pairing: Warlock!Namjoon x Mortal Female!Reader ✹ Genre: Fluff, warlock au, supernatural au, established relationship ✹ Rating: PG15 ✹ Warnings: Just cursing ✹ Word Count: 4.5k ✹ A/N: Written for @bangtanshadowfamily’s Creatures of Moonlight Manor 🖤 Huge thank you to @spicykoreantatertots​ for beta’ing this for me and giving me her wonderful feedback 🥰 

This GORGEOUS banner and matching divider was made by the super talented Vivi!! @eerieedits​ / @chillingtae​ seriously I am so in love with it thank you a million more times. Check out her edits!! 💜

Namjoon had wanted to tell you, he really did. There was just never the right time. He agonized over it for the entirety of your relationship, and now, five years later with marriage on his mind, he has to admit to you that he was born a warlock.

He knew that you hated magic; you made that very clear on your first date. Your mutual best friend set you two up, who knew what Namjoon was and knew how you felt.

“I think you two could hit it off, but you may not have much of a chance with her,” he remembers Yoongi telling him. “She hates magic and everything related to it.”

“But you’re a literal vampire, and she’s friends with you!”

“Yeah, but I’m not magical. I’m different.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes and waved it off, but still didn’t mention what he was to you when you first met. That turned out to have been for the best after he learned more about you.

Being born the only person in your family in a decade with no magical abilities made you develop a hatred for all things and people related to witchcraft. Your family did their best not to exclude you from magic related games at family reunions and get-togethers and would try not to talk too heavily about it when you were around, but you always stood out like a sore thumb. You have a self-proclaimed chip on your shoulders that seemed to lessen over the years he’s known you but was still there.

Now, you’re coming up on your fifth anniversary, and Namjoon has an engagement ring burning a hole in his sock drawer because he’s ready to propose to you, but he can’t spend the rest of his life with you without telling you the truth. He loves you more than he’s ever loved anyone, but the idea of telling you he’s a warlock and having you leave him is terrifying.

Yoongi gets to hear all of his worries and woes anytime he’s over at the vampire’s apartment.

“Do you even know how you’re going to propose?” Yoongi asks as he scrolls through Netflix for the third time.

“Yeah, there’s a meteor shower on the night of our anniversary. We’re going to pack some food and head to the river to watch it, and I’m going to ask her then.”

Yoongi snorts. “Oh yeah, I forgot that you’re both nerds.” He dodges the throw pillow that Namjoon hurls at him. “So, just tell her when you propose.”

“Why, so she can tell me to go to fuck off and reject me?”

“Namjoon, I highly doubt she’ll do that. I’ve known Y/n since high school, and you’re the only person that she’s been with that she’s ever been in love with. Like genuine love.”

“Yeah, but you know her temper. Love or not, her anger knows no bounds.” Yoongi agrees, a memory of a time when he accidentally ate some of your leftover food coming to mind, and you made sure he suffered for a week straight after.

“Well, your anniversary is in like a week and a half, so you better figure it out. It may make her mad, but I truly think she loves you too much to leave you.”

Namjoon does his best to keep that in mind as the week goes on.

With your anniversary being on Sunday, you and Namjoon take Friday off of work so you can have a three day weekend together. Determined to pamper you before he tells you the truth, he takes you to one of your favorite restaurants for brunch to start the day.

As he’s holding the door open for you, a slender, dark-haired woman breezes past you and waltzes into the cafe, succeeding in cutting you both off and getting in line before you. The expression on your face already tells Namjoon how this interaction will go.

“You know what’s rude,” you say once you’re both in line behind the woman. You’re speaking loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough to cause a scene. “Seeing someone who’s clearly holding a door open for the person they’re with and just inserting yourself in the way.”

“Y/n…” Namjoon starts. Normally he loves your fiery, no-nonsense attitude, but he’s always telling you there’s a time and place for everything. His gut is telling him this is not one of the times.

“I’m just saying. To cut someone off who’s about to go into a building is just a really dick move.”

The woman in front of you whips her head around, her sharp eyes are staring you down, but of course, you are unwavering. She’s wearing dress pants and an expensive-looking blouse. She has a name tag on a lanyard around her neck that reads ‘Seulgi.’

“Is there a problem?” Annoyance clear in her tone.

“Yeah, there is. My boyfriend was holding the door open for me, and you just rudely cut us off to come inside.” The woman eyes you up and down.

“Oh well. I’m sure you can survive without your waffles for a little longer,” she shrugs and turns away from the two of you. Namjoon watches your jaw clench.

“Wow, what a bitch,” you mumble, knowing fully well she can hear you. Seulgi turns again, scowling at you.

“Watch who you’re talking to, girl. I could snap my fingers right now, and your mouth would disappear.”

You let out a sharp laugh and glance towards Namjoon. “Oh, great! This bitch is a witch!” You turn back to the witch, hands on your hips. “You magic losers think you can get away with whatever you want to just because you can wave your stupid fingers and make shit happen. I’m not afraid of you just because you were born different.”

The witch’s eyes dart from you to Namjoon. Her gaze lingers on him longer than normal and what looks like realization shows on her face. She lets out a chuckle. “So you hate witches and magical people, huh? That’s unfortunate because you’re going to need to find someone to cure you.”

“What the fuck are y-” Seulgi brings her hands up and waves her index and middle finger in one swift side-to-side motion before Namjoon can even intervene. You stumble backward, and Namjoon catches you before you hit the ground. You’re coughing, sounding winded even though you had been standing still. “What did you do to me?” You manage to rasp out between coughs.

Seulgi shrugs. “You seem like you talk a lot. Maybe a little too much. Let’s just say I gave you laryngitis, except it’ll be permanent unless you know someone who can break the spell. You have until midnight in two days' time.” The witch looks directly at Namjoon as she says this, smiling the entire time.  “Good luck!” She calls out as she steps over you and prances out the door.

On the list of ways Namjoon wanted to tell you he was a warlock, this was not on it whatsoever.

Less than an hour later, you and Namjoon are standing in front of Yoongi’s building, your fist pounding on the wood. The bleary-eyed vampire answers the door, clearly having been woken up from one of his mid-day naps. You wordlessly step into the apartment and plop onto the couch.

“Sure, hi Y/n, yes, please come in,” Yoongi mumbles under his breath and invites Namjoon inside. “To what do I owe this wonderful pleasure today?” You ignore the sarcasm in his sentence.

“I’m cursed!”

“Cursed?”

“Yes! We were getting brunch, and some asshole witch cut in front of us. I called her out, and the bitch cursed me! She said I need to find someone who knows magic to lift the spell or whatever in two days by midnight or I’ll never be able to speak again.” You manage to get this out in between coughs.

Namjoon ignores the pointed look that Yoongi gives him.

“So, you want me to ask one of my magic friends to break the spell?”

“Obviously. You’re the only supernatural person in town that I know well enough to ask. I’d ask my family, but there’s no way I can scrounge up enough money in two days to fly home.”

Yoongi stares at Namjoon, making the younger man uncomfortable, but doesn’t say anything.

“Fine. I’ll call someone I know, and you can meet up with him. Namjoon, come with me and get your girlfriend some water.”

Yoongi turns on the tap, and as soon as Namjoon enters the room, he sighs quite tiredly. “Are you seriously going to make me find someone else to do this?”

“This isn’t how I wanted to tell her! I wanted to do it on my own time and in a nicer situation than this.”

“Yeah, well, fate works in mysterious ways, huh?” Yoongi grabs a glass and fills it with ice. “You know how to break the spell, don’t you?”

“I mean, yeah. I may not have known the words the witch said, but it seems like a pretty simple silencing spell.”

“So, I will ask you again. Are you going to make me find someone to help your girlfriend, or are you going to go in there and help her yourself?” He hands Namjoon the glass of water and waits for his response.

“I just need a little more time-” Yoongi lifts his hand to stop him.

“That’s all I need from you. I already know who to call.”

His words worry Namjoon.

The next day, you and Namjoon arrive at the door of the person Yoongi asked to help you. Namjoon had known the tone that Yoongi took with him was concerning, and he was right.

“Come in, come in!” Seokjin waves his arm, letting you and Namjoon into his apartment. The older warlock winks at you, and Namjoon bristles.

Even after knowing Seokjin as long as he’s known you, Namjoon still doesn’t like him very much. According to Yoongi, Seokjin has been trying to get with you since your junior year of college, and it almost worked twice, but things fell through thanks to your refusal to date a magical person. Namjoon can admit that he’s the jealous type. The thought of another man wooing you makes his blood boil. Seokjin’s flirty enough that not even the object of his affection’s significant other being in the room will deter him. He’s shameless, and every time they’re in the same place, Namjoon comes closer and closer to turning him into a reptile.

“Y/n, you’re looking as beautiful as ever,” he practically purrs at you. “Namjoon, you’re looking…as you usually do.” Seokjin has never been rude per se, but nearly everything he says to Namjoon is passive-aggressive, which drives the younger warlock mad.

“Yeah, you too.”

“Anyway,” you interject with a cough. “I assume Yoongi told you why I’m here.”

“He did. I can’t believe you pissed off a witch so bad that she’s taking your voice away. I’ve always told you that one day your mouth would get you in trouble.” Seokjin’s eyes flick down to your lips, and Namjoon has to hold himself back from leaping across the room at him.

“I don’t wanna hear it, Kim. Can you break the spell or not?”

“Of course, I can. How many times have I told you that I’m the greatest warlock of the 21st century.” He shoots Namjoon a look. Seokjin had found out that Namjoon was a warlock a few years ago and always seemed like he was silently holding it over his head.

Seokjin motions for you and Namjoon to follow him into his second bedroom that he has made into his magic room. He walks past his bubbling cauldron to one of his bookshelves. He slides his fingers across a few of the spines before pulling out a book and rifling through its pages.

“Ah-ha! The spell she put on you is pretty amateur. She's either a new witch or a supremely lazy one. I mean, this is a spell that a baby witch could cast and-”

“Seokjin!” you wheeze. “I don’t care if this is a spell that only Merlin himself could cast. I just need you to fix me!”

“Alright, alright. I need to gather a few ingredients for a potion first. If the two of you would please go wait in the living room, I’ll be with you shortly.”

You and Namjoon do as he asks and go to wait on his couch. You play on your phone as Namjoon has his umpteenth tortured inner monologue. Your anniversary was tomorrow and he was still nowhere close to telling you about himself. To be fair, you did know that Seokjin was a warlock and you didn’t completely hate him. You just didn’t like to hang out with him unless you had to, and usually, the two of you spent most of your time together arguing.

Maybe Yoongi was right, and he was just overthinking this. The time that the two of you have spent together has been the best moments of his life, and he was sure you felt the same. But if that was true, why did he feel so uncertain? Why was the thought of telling you he has been keeping this massive secret from you for five years scaring him so much?

“So, good news and bad news,” Seokjin announces, coming into the room. “The good news is, I can break this nasty spell.”

“And the bad news?” You ask.

“Well, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?! I’m supposed to lose my voice for the rest of my life tomorrow!” You yell at him which sends you into a coughing fit. Namjoon rubs your back and meets Seokjin’s gaze. He hates the smug look the older warlock gives him.

“You’re not to lose your voice until midnight. I’ll do what I need to do before then. Your lovely boyfriend and I can organize where we’ll meet up.”

Namjoon is confused. “We’re not coming here?”

“No, this needs to be done elsewhere. I’ll text you a little later once I finish getting the things together that I need.”

He’s hesitant, but Namjoon agrees, and he and you head home. A week ago, he was looking forward to his anniversary, but now he’s dreading it and just wants the day to be over already.

“This is all my fault,” Namjoon blurts out in the car. The two of you are on your way to meet Seokjin at the location he insisted upon, a part of town that was almost atop a hill. According to the eldest, you needed to be outside and away from “prying eyes.” It sounded like a lie, but Seokjin was older, so Namjoon thought he might know a different way to break the spell.

“What do you mean?” You glance from the road to him briefly, then back in front of you again.

“We’re spending our anniversary with you under a spell, we have no starlight picnic packed, and I have to look at Kim Seokjin’s face.”

“Joonie, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t do this to me. I suppose I do have a big mouth sometimes.” You shrug and find his hand on the center console to hold. “This can still be an anniversary date, though. Once Seokjin does what he needs to do, we can send him home and enjoy the meteor shower together. Plus, when you were showering, I snuck the picnic basket in the car. We can still salvage the night.” You parked the car and sent him a smile that had his heart beating so loud he swore it echoed throughout the cabin of the vehicle.

He leans over and kisses you for the first time today, his heart pounding impossibly faster. He decides then and there that he’s going to propose to you tonight no matter what. If it means hiding his magic from you until you’re old and gray, then he will.

Hand in hand, you and Namjoon head up the path closest to you until you see Seokjin in the clearing. He’s crouching on the ground in front of a leather satchel and reading through a book. When he sees you and Namjoon approaching, he puts the book away and pulls out a mason jar filled halfway with a glowing purple liquid.

“Good evening, my darling.” Seokjin smiles broadly at you when he sees you. “I hope your day was marvelous.”

“It’s my anniversary, and I spent all day stressing and hacking my lungs up, and now, instead of having a romantic evening, I’m here about to be exorcised. Does anything about that sound marvelous?” You got through the sentence, only coughing three times.

“My sweet Y/n, you’re so dramatic. Let’s get on with it then, come on.” Seokjin waves both you and Namjoon over, presenting the bottle of liquid to you. “So, the removal of the spell itself is pretty easy. Step one is to drink the potion, and then we wait two minutes. I’ll set a timer and-” Before he finishes his sentence, you toss your head back and gulp down the purple liquid in record time. Seokjin fumbles with his phone to set his timer as soon as the last drop is in your mouth.

“This tastes kind of like grape juice,” you comment, handing him the empty bottle.

“Patience, woman! What if the next step required traveling somewhere far away?!”

“Well, does it?”

“No…”

“Great, so what do we do next?”

Seokjin sighs and glances at his phone timer. “Once the timer is up, Well, your boyfriend isn’t going to like this, but I have to kiss you.“

“What?!” You and Namjoon exclaim in unison, your voices bouncing off the surrounding trees.

“Why the hell do you have to kiss her?” Namjoon feels his fists clenching, and his face hurts from how hard he’s scowling.

“It’s the way to break the spell. After she drinks the potion, which does most of the work, she then has to kiss a witch or warlock for it to take effect.”

“Ugh, I feel like this is your way of finally kissing me,” you groan. “Fine, whatever, as long as I get to keep my voice.”

“Y/n, no.” Namjoon’s sweating in the middle of the crisp fall air at the thought. This had to be some sort of joke, right? He racks his brain to remember what he learned about this spell in high school. He remembers that he has to say a generic counterspell to break it, but he doesn’t recall any glowing purple potion and a kiss.

“Joonie, it’s just a kiss. I don’t like it either, but unless you find my voice that annoying, we’re out of options here.”

“Ten seconds,” Seokjin reads. Namjoon watches the older warlock lick his lips and send him a wink. While he was typically a pacifist in a situation of confrontation, the overwhelming urge to punch Seokjin with all of the strength he can muster is strong.

He watches you let out a sigh and step closer to Seokjin, tilting your head up towards him.

“Times up,” Seokjin says.

Before he’s able to lean down, Namjoon is behind you, pulling you towards him and smashing his lips into yours. He feels you relax in his arms only for a second before you’re pushing him away.

“Namjoon, you ruined it! Seokjin specifically said someone who’s magical needs to be the one to kiss me!”

“I am someone magical! I’m a warlock!”

Silence fills the air. Namjoon’s breathing hard, his heart feeling as though it’s going to beat out of his chest. You’re staring at him, and he can see your brain trying to make sense of what he just said.

“You’re a warlock?” You finally ask, your brows scrunching.

“Fuck, Y/n, this isn’t how I wanted to tell you.” Namjoon’s legs feel like jelly, so he lowers himself to the grass and sits. “I wanted to find a time where it was just the two of us, and we weren’t fighting a clock. I wanted to be able to tell you and not feel so scared, but I just, the idea of him putting his mouth on you and being the one to break this damned spell, made me so mad.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.” You don’t look as angry as he thought you would. You look confused more than anything. “We went through all of this when you could’ve helped me this whole time?”

Guilt that he felt about not telling you combined with the fact that yes, all of this could’ve been taken care of literally the same day you met the witch that started this all. “Y/n, I know you probably hate me right now, and you probably want nothing to do with me ever again, but please just know I love you more than anything. I love you more than anyone I’ve ever been with. You’re my soulmate and the love of my life. The idea of telling you that I’m magical, knowing how you feel about magic, scared me shitless.

“The idea of losing you was too much to bear. I wanted to propose to you tonight before all of this happened, but all I could replay in my mind was you throwing the ring at me and storming off after I told you the truth. I’m sorry I ruined our anniversary.” Namjoon stays sitting on the wet grass, not caring that it was soaking through his jeans. He can’t will himself to look up at you, fearing the rejection he feels coming.

He catches sight of your sneakers walking over and stopping in front of him before you’re crouching down and cupping his face. The sound of you sniffling has his eyes snapping up to meet your red-rimmed ones. “Joon, I love you so much. The fact that you would even think that I’d leave you after all the time we’ve been together and everything we’ve been through is stupid. Yeah, I’ve never much-liked magic, but you should know that I love you more than life itself.” You smile at him, and he feels his breath catch in his throat. You still love him.

“Right now, more than anything, I’m just pissed that we went on this entire adventure when you could’ve just saved us the trouble and broke the spell days ago. But I love you more than I dislike magic. And if that offer still stands, I’d love to be engaged to you. If you want.”

Namjoon grabs you then, wrapping you in his long arms and pulling you close to his chest. The two of you topple onto the soft grass, the smell of soil mixing with the familiar scent of you. He fishes the small, black velvet box out of his jacket pocket and slips the simple silver band with an amethyst stone onto your ring finger, kissing your hand once it was snug in place.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am right now. I love you so much,” he whispers, kissing your forehead.

“I really do hate to interrupt,” Seokjin cuts in from the same spot he’s stood in since Namjoon pulled you from him. “But, you still need to break the spell.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t I do that already?”

“Well, not really. The kiss isn’t the thing that was supposed to break it. There’s a counterspell you need to recite.”

“But, I’ve stopped coughing,” you point out.

“That’s because the potion you drank stopped it. I figured I’d give you something to lessen the soreness in your throat, maybe, but you still have like three hours left before your voice is gone for good.” Seokjin forces a smile that neither you nor Namjoon return.

“So what the hell was all that kiss nonsense for?” Namjoon huffs out, standing up and advancing towards Seokjin.

“It was to get you to tell her you were a warlock! Yoongi said if I made up the whole kiss thing, it’d get you mad enough to admit it, and I mean it worked, didn’t it?”

Yoongi. He set this whole thing up to get Namjoon to tell you the truth. “You mean to tell me that Yoongi got a witch to curse Y/n, just to get you involved to make me jealous so that I’d confess?”

“He only organized the latter part of all this. This whole spell thing was all because of Y/n’s smart mouth.” Namjoon sees you flip off Seokjin in his peripheral.

“Joon, we can go curse out Yoongi later, but can you please break this spell? I’m seriously stressing over here.”

Namjoon makes a mental note to pay Yoongi a not so friendly visit later and makes his way back over to you. He has you close your eyes while he recalls the right counterspell to make everything go back to normal. He murmurs under his breath, hovering his hand over your throat, and his fingers tingle as the words leave his mouth. As quickly as he begins, he’s done and lowering his hand.

You open your eyes and clear your throat a few times. “How do I know if it worked?”

“It worked.”

“Yeah, but how will I know?”

“If you wake up tomorrow morning and speak, then you’ll know it worked.” You frown at him and glance up at the sky.

“We seriously need to talk about all the things you can do later, but for now, I really just want to watch the meteor shower and actually finish what’s supposed to be a romantic anniversary date.”

“We can do that.”

From there, you head to the car to get the dinner you packed, and Namjoon tells Seokjin he can leave. He asks the older warlock to let Yoongi know to expect a visit from him tomorrow that won’t just be to hang out.

Once Seokjin’s gone, and you’ve spread out the spare blanket you keep in your car, Namjoon relaxes as you lean against him, feeding him parts of the sandwiches you made. While this may not have been the ideal way he planned for anything that transpired to happen, all that matters is that you still love him, and he gets to watch the way the meteors flying above glisten off of the ring on your finger.

The next morning, you’re able to confirm that Namjoon was, in fact, able to break the spell that the witch had cast onto you. You still have your voice, and you’re able to give Yoongi an earful about not telling you his best friend was a warlock when he first introduced you while simultaneously thanking him for introducing the two of you. The vampire tiredly took the verbal assault after you and Namjoon had barged into his apartment early in the morning.

As Namjoon watches you threaten to shove a clove of garlic up Yoongi’s ass if he ever lies to you again, he knows that asking you to become his wife is the best decision he’s ever made in his life.

2nd A/N: Fun fact, this started out as a different fic that I wrote the beginning and end of, but then my brain couldn’t function for the middle so I wrote it all over again. The original version of this will probably still be finished in the future, who knows when. Also, as a disclaimer, I am in love with Seulgi. The idea of her as a sassy witch? Chef’s kiss!!! Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed it!

[mikrokyla]

if only you knew

CHAPTER 6: happy?

kiyoomi knows what makes you happy, but does he himself make you happy?

‘You’d like this coffee.’

Kiyoomi quietly stirs his coffee while the rest of his friends chat with a lot of energy. Immediately when he took a sip of the coffee that he ordered, he thought about the taste of your coffee from last night and knew you’d probably like this better than he would.

The large amount of sweetness from the coffee was burning his throat. He really doesn’t want to drink anymore, but he also doesn’t want to waste this sugary coffee that someone took the time to make.

‘I’ll just give this to Y/n.’

Then, Kiyoomi wonders if he should add more sugar. The coffee was sweet enough to burn his throat, but was it sweet enough for your liking?

He eyes the sugar packets, tapping his fingers on the table as he decides whether to add more or not. He finally decides to just add about half. He grabs a sugar packet then starts carefully pouring half of it in.

His friends watch him, confused as to why the bitter-loving-coffee boy added more sugar to his coffee.

“Omi, you’re adding more sugar?” Hinata asks.

Kiyoomi simply nods his head.

Atsumu, Bokuto, and Hinata all look at each other, most likely thinking the same thing: The coffee isn’t for him anymore.

Atsumu uses this as a chance to begin the operation he started. “I’m guessing it’s for Y/n?”

Kiyoomi nods his head again, but this time he looks at Atsumu with caution—knowing Atsumu is probably gonna start teasing him again.

Bokuto decides to say something too. Noticing that Kiyoomi is already getting annoyed just by the mention of your name from Atsumu’s mouth, he thought maybe if he said something too, it’d be normal. “Are you gonna give it to her then?”

Kiyoomi nods his head.

“Ah, okay.” Bokuto replies. “You should’ve just invited Y/n to come with us if you’re gonna give her that coffee, it would’ve been nice to have breakfast with her.”

Kiyoomi looks at Bokuto. “She’s working today and I wasn’t planning on giving her this coffee until I tasted it. It’s too sweet for me.”

“Ah, does Y/n like sweets?” Hinata says.

“Yes.” Kiyoomi nods. “She enjoys baking sweets when she’s happy.”

Atsumu smiles. “Really now?”

Kiyoomi stares at Atsumu. Atsumu continues to smile, taking sips of his drink. “What is it?” Kiyoomi asks Atsumu.

“What’s what?”

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Nothing. It’s just nice to know that Y/n likes baking when she’s happy.” Atsumu smiles even more.

Kiyoomi crosses his arms and frowns. “Do you like Y/n?”

Atsumu nearly drops his drink. “Me? Like Y/n? You’ve got it all wrong, Omi!”

“Then why do you keep asking about her?”

“You’re being really defensive about Y/n, huh?” Atsumu grins mischievously.

“Well so are you!”

“I am not! I don’t like Y/n, you do!”

“No I don’t!”

“You’re acting like a little kid right now, did ya know that, Omi?”

“You are too!” Kiyoomi says back, continuing to keep his arms crossed angrily. “If you like Y/n then just admit it.”

“Alright, I like Y/n, you happy?”

Kiyoomi doesn’t reply, simply just staring at Atsumu.

“I admitted it and now you’re quiet? Why? Were you expecting me to say I don’t like her?”

“I mean.. I didn’t think…” Kiyoomi starts off but his words slowly become incoherent.

“You didn’t think what?” Bokuto asks, trying to hide his smirk. Maybe they’ll actually get Kiyoomi to admit something.

“It’s nothing.” Kiyoomi stands up, holding the coffee in his hands. “I’ll leave now so I can give this to her.”

Kiyoomi sees Atsumu eye the coffee and for some reason, Kiyoomi would rather give you the coffee himself than give Atsumu a chance to do it. As everyone says goodbye to Kiyoomi, Atsumu says to him “I actually don’t like Y/n, Omi. I was just joking. Don’t go and tell her false info now.”

Kiyoomi nods his head and turns around to leave quickly, hoping none of them saw the way his eyes brightened up when Atsumu told him he was joking.

Oh, and Kiyoomi was never planning on telling you the fake news anyways—even if it were true. Cause it’s not like he was jealous or anything…

‘Right?’ Omi thinks to himself as his fingers tap nonstop on the table, waiting for you to finish dealing with customers. He watches you talk to the other customers, teach your coworkers some things, and even mess around with Osamu for a bit.

And Kiyoomi does admit that maybe he would be a little bit jealous if someone were able to make you happier than he ever could.

if only you knew • happy? (6)

note: if this sucks then 😔💔 also you guys should like totally interact more cause yeah it’s lonely out here 🚶🏻‍♂️

<- plan a • you make me happy ->

ioyk masterlist

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[missskzbiased]

The Three Lessons

Genre: Angst, Romance, Fluff (Hm…), Witch! Au, Love Triangle

Pairing: Chan X Fem! Reader X Seungmin

Word Count: ~5,1K

(The First) (The Second) (The Third)

Warnings: (Mild) Mentions of [Death, Burned Witches, Torture, Poisoning]

Reminder: I’m not a witch and do not have knowledge of any kind about the matter in modern days. It’s mere fantasy writing. It’s not intended to reflect Neopaganism since I’m not versed in it.

Notes:  Reference to Songs:  “The River Is Flowing” (Lindie Lila) [I modified the lyrics to fit my need] and “The Ghost of Pagan Song” (Donovan)

Updates: I’m writing the 2nd Chap yet. As soon as I finish it and review it, I’ll post it.

Tagging: Please, send me an ask/DM me if you wish to be tagged

                                                 ////

CHAPTER 1: The First Lesson

   There are only three lessons you should never forget, kiddo…

    The voice faded away like a thin fog vanishing from your view, and you couldn’t help but wonder why your sub-conscience felt the urge to remind you about it every single day of your life. You fluttered your fingers ─intertwined on top of your chest─ beginning to regain your consciousness over your body, feeling every inch of your form wake up along with your mind before you slowly opened your eyes to fix your gaze on the ceiling.

    At the age of seventeen, you should be used to have this same dream over and over again ─ as if your brain was some kind of broken parrot, who couldn’t stop replaying it on your mind every night ─ but you weren’t, and you didn’t really feel like you would ever be.

   The ceiling looked like the usual: Woody and leafy, as you liked to define.

   You didn’t need to look around to know exactly what it looked like because, for seventeen years of your life, you woke up in the exact same spot. You lived in the exact same place. You interacted with the exact same people. You lived the exact same life. You had the exact same dream. You heard the exact same voice. You learned exactly… Well, at least you learned different things over your life.

  And again, none of those answered your questions.

   You felt your sweat dripping slowly from your forehead; all your body burnt as if you were baking something all day long ─ except you weren’t ─, and at this point, you weren’t even surprised anymore. Every day you woke up like this: Dripping sweat and burning fever.

  The Coven swore to you that you weren’t sick.

   It was just Nature manifesting itself.

   You never saw Nature manifesting like this on any of your fellow members.

   You knew it had something to do with your dream but you couldn’t completely understand it. The scenes were blurry ─just like when you’re crying and the tears make it impossible to discern anything before your eyes ─, and the voices that surrounded you were loud and incomprehensive enough to confuse you to the core. The only thing you could really point out was that at the center of whatever place it was and surrounded by the crowd, something was consumed by the flames.

   It was easy enough to assume that something had a name…

   It was only logical to assume that the voices resumed the existence of that something ─ who was indeed a someone ─ in the only thing they could understand; chanting it in a tone filled with hatred and fear… You could only assume that the nameless figure who was engulfed by the flames ─ the only discernable thing in your dream, a bright orange-ish dance that emanated all the warmth that you felt burn your body at night─ was being called a witch.

   Just like you.

   You couldn’t even count the times you woke up afraid of being that nameless figure burning down on that stake… You couldn’t even count the times that you prayed for Nature to protect you like She had protected so many of yours… You couldn’t even count the times that you wished your undiscovered power wasn’t premonitory… You couldn’t even count the times you asked for The Elders to take this away from you.

   Yet, They couldn’t.

   Nature wants you to live with it, They said.

   Pretty convenient.

   “Do you need me to throw cold water on you or will you raise that butt by yourself?” The door shoot open as the old lady ─ also known as your grandma─ opened all the windows with a flick of her hand. The wood slammed on more wood, sounding loud and clear into your head, and all the brightness of the day got to your eyes, hurting them “I’ll give you three seconds!” She chanted, walking around the space, and picking up things around.

   She was loud as hell.

   You would expect an old lady like her to be really slow and quiet, maybe feel a lot of pain and complain a lot.

   Actually, one of those could be checked.

   She complained a whole lot.

   “And three!” She snapped her fingers.

   You felt the mattress whip under you ─ twitching in a way that projected your body out of it─, making you yelp as your body raised in the air, limbs floundering around as you waited for her to do something to prevent you from falling to the ground. You raised your voice as you yelled, eyes widening and heart bursting out in your chest, feeling despair wash over you as your body began to make its way to the ground.

   “And two!” She snapped her fingers again, sounding giggly as she did it, and you made a mental note to make a hell out of her life by the end of the day.

  The vines that hung from your ceiling came to life, tangling over your limbs to pick you up right before you hit the ground. They lifted your body enough to get you to her eye level, and she grinned at you, looking harmless as her eyes molded into crescents. You shot her a scorn grimace, waiting for her to give the order, so the vines would peacefully place you to the ground. She took one step back, taking the bucket she had under her arms and smiling brightly at you before snapping her finger, a coil of fluids forming of thin air to fill it up.

   Oh, boy.

   “And one!” She sang before jolting the bucket and hitting your face with cold water. You shut your eyes, mouth agape as you felt the drops rolling down your face, the cold feeling penetrating your skull and waking you up completely “Let’s go, we have a lot to do today!” She dropped the bucket with a loud thud before clapping her hands twice, turning her back to you and heading to the door.    

  “A little hand here?!” You yelled as she disappeared from your view, and her head came back into your view, peeking over the doorframe slyly. You waved your arms in the air, gesticulating to yourself and tightening your lips, suggestively looking at her, so she would realize you were still stuck on there.

   “Oh, right!” She chuckled dismissively “Vivi, let her go, Sweetheart!” She said friendly, and the vines ─ Vivi, as they were called─ promptly dropped you to the ground. You hit the floor with a loud thud, arms preventing your face to smash on the floor, raising your head to glare at your grandmother.

   “Really?!” You whined, yelling so she could hear you after disappearing again behind the doorframe. You rolled over your back, watching as the vines retracted to the ceiling, adorning the wooden beam there “Well, thank you, Vivi!” You sneered but they didn’t give you any attention, tangling over the wood and resting peacefully.

   “What is all that commotion?” You tilted your head back, taking into your view an upside down Chan framed by the door “Again?” He giggled, dimples digging his face as he approached you, extending his hand for you to take. You took it gratefully, standing up with his help and dusting off your clothes, trying to look presentable enough.

   The blond warlock didn’t seem to mind your soaked self or your sticky hair to your face, keeping his smile as if he didn’t even notice the mess you looked like right now. He ruffled your wet hair, chuckling as you shrank embarrassed, before he raised his index finger, spinning it around. The warm and soft air jet that twirled from his fingertip slowly dried out your hair and clothes, and you took the opportunity to fix them once again.

   “This is so cool!” He chirped “I never thought I would have this honor” He sighed, satisfied.

    Chan was an expert among the few Warlocks you had at The Coven. It was general knowledge that magic manifestation in natural forms ─ such as elemental spells ─ was uncommon for Warlocks but there he was, playing with the warm air. No one believed him when ─ at the age of nineteen, only halfway through his witchcraft studies ─ Chan said he learned to use some basic air spells.

   It had been a week and he had yet to grow used to the idea.

   Although some of the others related his abilities to the fact that he was the grandson of The Airy Elder, you didn’t agree with them. None of the others could make spells, and some of the Warlocks, such as Changbin, were grandsons of other Founders too. The fact was that Chan had a pure soul; pure enough for Nature herself to grant him the honor to hold her power.

   You may be a little biased, though.  

    “First, stop flattering yourself!” You joked, pushing him lightly, getting a giggle out of him “Second, I was totally going to get up!” You defended yourself, which he dismissed with a knowing look that made you blush. You cleared your throat ─ a vain attempt to hide how your heart drummed inside your chest ─, feeling embarrassment wash over you at the mere thought of your painfully obvious crush being there for anyone to see.

   It was especially uncomfortable to know that Chan had a great hearing.

   The young Warlock specialty was to hear the soul and heart’s voices.

   At this point, you could just deafen him just by your heartbeat.

   “Oh?” He blurted out, arching his brows as he shot a look to the ceiling. You followed his gaze to meet a small bird flying around in a spiral right on top of you two. He extended his finger in a twig-like gesture that invited the tiny creature to approach him, which it did. The bird landed on his finger, fleeting and tilting its head to glance at both of you, blinking rapidly. You stared at it curiously, tilting your head to the side, and it funnily mimicked you.

  Stop flirting around and come help me, you ungrateful child!

  You rolled your eyes when your Grandma’s voice sounded through its opened beak, embarrassed. Chan seemed to find it funny enough, though, because soon he was in stitches, holding his stomach as his laughter sounded like jingling bells. The bird flew off right after, startled by his sudden motion, letting you and the amused boy by yourselves once more.

   He recomposed himself, wiping a tear from his eyes and chuckling before looking softly at you and gesture to the door, accompanying you out of the cottage. You closed the door behind you ─ rubbing your arm awkwardly as you averted your eyes ─, trying to figure something cool to say that could cover up all the embarrassing moments before. He took it in the wrong way, though, taking off his coat and covering your shoulders with it, throwing you a warm smile.

   “Oh, no! There is no need for such a thing!” You rushed to say, trying to take out his clothes. He grabbed your shoulders, squeezing them lightly before chuckling. You glanced at him coyly and he patted your shoulders, fixing his gaze somewhere behind you before leaning closer to your ear, his breathy giggle fluttering some hair strands on your temples.

     “Keep it… Who knows how many surprises she holds for you?” He whispered, turning you around to look at your impatient Grandma, tapping her foot on the ground. He pushed you lightly, waving goodbye when you threw a look over your shoulder before picking up your pace to reach the upset Elder.

                                                                       /////

 The trees' crown rustled, allowing the thin light beams to dance on the ground.

  The gleam caught your eyes for a split of a second, bringing a content smile to your face as you felt the warmth of the woods impregnate your body; the blowing wind inciting you to spin around with the dancing trees. You fluttered your limbs in a dainty motion ─ spiraling once while feeling the breeze dance along with you ─, connecting yourself with every single living creature around for just a brief moment, enough to bring you to tears.

   The moment was overwhelming and you felt your heart swell before the gentle breeze and calming tune that came from the deepest parts of the woods shattered in small pieces right before you. The silence that came along was overbearing. It was like every single one of the creatures mourned and yet gloated, choosing to retire themselves for a while; a suffocating hollowness falling to the woods.

    The sudden gale hit you like a slap, pushing your body backward before spiraling around you ─ and you around ─, bringing altogether thousands of voices that didn’t seem to belong to anyone, and yet seemed to belong to everything. You shot your head up, eyes roaming around the woods as you tried to spot whoever was the source of such powers, but meeting no one to the sight. The whispers resounded in your mind, bewildering you, and the mix of voices buzzed to your ears before dying out gradually.

    Nature allows you to be who you truly are… Never turn your back on her

   The First Lesson was chanted by a soft voice brought by the wind, a voice that soon enough fell silent again; just like the woods. You roamed your eyes around ─ urging to make sense out of the suspicious situation ─, noticing how the animals hid far from the sight, a less than best-case-scenario for your hunting.

   The silence was broken once more by the wind itself, a sourceless yowling blown into your ears, making you snap your eyes to the side, startled. Once again, no one was in sight. You had this odd feeling in your gut, like an intruder just came into your home, and the bitterness that grew on your tongue prompted you to grunt, sharp eyes darting between the trees.

   “Reveal yourself!” You demanded, head swiveling but meeting nothing but the forest before you. The wind blew again, whispering through the leaves, and this time you followed its flow cautiously, eyes attentive to every single flutter you caught in the way. It faded away just like this, without a path for you to follow, and you groaned in frustration.

   What ─ in the name of the Goddess ─ was happening here?

    “H-Help…” Your ears perked up, eyes shooting to your left “P-please…” It was a small voice, undoubtedly owned by a human, and the realization made you shiver. You closed your eyes for a few seconds, sighing as you pondered what to do. Should you pretend you didn’t hear it?

  The wind blew again, violent, as a not so silent warning.

   You tsked, sighing before slinking through the trees for a few minutes until you spotted the boy on the ground, curled up. He seemed to be young ─maybe around your age─, dark hair stuck to his sweaty skin and eyes unfocused, roaming around. There was no doubt that his intoxicated figure ─pale skin, delusional eyes, and dry lips─ were caused by the one thing that had your hands tied: The River.

   As much as you pitied his agonizing end, he deserved it.

   You would never forget the day when all of the younger ones ─ such as yourself─ joined to ask The Elders why you couldn’t go into the woods like the older witches and warlocks, upset that you couldn’t do anything for The Coven.

   You would never forget the way your Grandma looked at you ─ letting the pain wash over her features right in front of your eyes─ before averting her gaze to the horizon, a stern and distant self that seemed to look directly to the past as if she could see everything unraveling right before her eyes.

  “The Humans… They were cruel to us” You remembered her saying “They tortured us over the years in ways that I wouldn’t dare to tell you kids in details… The Coven is protecting you from them and you should listen to us because no one else out there will care for you as we do” Her answer wasn’t satisfactory for any of you, so you whined, prepared to make a commotion. She stomped the ground ─a loud roar echoing from under her foot─ and looked at each of you with a steel-cold gaze.

   “Take a look at those” She raised her feet, exposing burn scars all over the sole, making all of you gasp in unison “I was captured by The Humans ages ago… Before The Coven was even founded... I and tons of other witches were tortured for being what we are… Women. They hate us and persecute us. They wanted us dead…”

  “They restrained us to the point we couldn’t feel our own blood running through our veins… The blood that connects us to this Nature… Some of us lost our hands or our feet… Some of us lost our lives at this point… It didn’t really matter to them” The pause revealed a suffocating silence but none of you dared to interrupt her rewind, keeping your breaths withhold “The ones who survived were already deprived of water, food, or light… We had only ourselves, our voices, our hope, and our faith with us. We didn’t even have clothes, as they stripped us and let us freeze to death. Some of us did. Some of us didn’t”

   “The ones that still survived all that were beaten up to the ground… Battered to the point they couldn’t even bear to stand up and fell dead right there, in front of our eyes… I wish I could say it was just it… Just once… They selected some of us to go to the woods, to let us have the chance to survive” She scoffed, looking away “The ones that weren’t selected were allowed to drink some water before going through all that over again… And again… And again… They had us for about three weeks” Her eyes teared up, and you still had the urge to cry until today whenever you remembered her broken voice.

    “When my time to go to the woods came, I discovered we weren’t simply thrown in the woods… No, we had to bear with our bare feet the red-hot soil under tender skin… Dehydrated… Starved… Ruined… I almost wished they could only burn me down at the stake. They didn’t. All of the survivors were marked for their lives… Not only here” She pointed out to her temples “But in a way that they could identify us in the future…” She raised her feet.

    “They said the ones who survived were witches and the ones who didn’t weren’t… So we couldn’t have any winners. It didn’t matter if you survived or not. It didn’t matter if we were witches or not. All of us somehow deserved to be dead…” She looked at you filled with sadness and regret before she averted her eyes, ashamed “They even poisoned the river… They knew the first thing we would do was to look for water, drink to relieve the dryness of our soul and body… And so did tons of us… Especially the younger or the least experienced ones… The exhausted souls that couldn’t think of purifying the water anymore… Who couldn’t handle it” She sighed, lowering her head “All dead”

   It wasn’t out of vanity that The Coven enchanted the river.

   The first thing they thought you at the age of fourteen was how to purify water so it would be safe to drink from the river; so you wouldn’t be killed by the cruelness that flowed through its waters if they ever did it again. The enchantments and spells threw all around the place were the only way to protect all of you from them… The only way you could afford to have somewhere to survive. The only way that you could be yourselves.  

   If it meant the death of some meddling humans… Let it be.

   They killed you enough for regret to wash over your souls.

   The River now was a symbol of your rebellion, of your power and urges to live… It was also the symbol of all the deceased witches you had because of their cruelties. It was the blood that ran through your veins. It was the magic that imbued your souls and body.

    The magic that ran through the body of this unaware guy struggling right in front of your eyes… The magic you couldn’t undo even if you wanted to…. He was a lost cause. You turned your back to him, ready to go back to your hunting and leave him behind, but one broken sentence was enough to make you stumble over your feet.

    “I don’t want to die all alone…” He cried, holding his throat tightly in despair.

    Never turn your back on her…

    You sighed before approaching him, sitting right beside him before taking his hand into yours. He shot his eyes at you, startled at the sudden presence, and you made your best to throw him a gentle smile even though you could see his face slowly swelling up as he suffocated right in front of your eyes.

    “The river is flowing… Flowing and growing… The river is flowing down to the sea…” You chanted, caressing his hair gently “Mother, carry him… Your child He’ll always be… Mother, carry him… Down to the sea…” You wiped his sweat, opening your canteen to give him some water to placate his thirst, wetting your hand before carefully rubbing your palms over his face.

   You could feel how the woods sang along with you, the soft rustles of the leaves following your tune, and birds tweeting to the rhythm. You felt your heart swelling, connecting to your surroundings once again, and even his heartbeat seemed to sing along with Nature for a split of a second.

    The attuned orchestra was interrupted by his muttering ─ soft voice under his breath─, something impossible to comprehend that made you nod anyway. You kept your smile firm on your lips to reassure him in his last moments, hoping that Nature could have some mercy on him. He tried to hum along with you ─ like he was tempted to pray before his end but could only follow your lead ─, and even though his rattling lungs couldn’t keep up with your chant, you slowed down a bit, getting a single grateful tear from his eyes.

    The emotional moment was broken by his strangled gasps ─a desperate attempt to breathe normally─, and you made sure to avert your eyes to look straight ahead. You shouldn’t witness his moment of weakness like this. You squeezed his hand to reassure him, to remind him that he wouldn’t die by himself, and as soon as he squeezed back ─ as strong as he could, trying to get your attention─, you obliged yourself to return your gaze to him.

   “K-Kim Seungmin” He struggled to say, sharp intakes of breath hinting he wouldn’t last much longer.

   “I’ll let your family know” You lied, bringing his head to your lap so he could feel more comfortable, allowing a little bit of air to get to his lungs. He tried to nod, and you averted your eyes again, looking into the woods to distract yourself.

   And distracted you got.

   The scene that met your eyes was, to say the least, amusing; your Grandma strode in your way, staff floundering in the air as she approached the guy in a rush. She took a look at him, musing before shoving some herbs inside his mouth out of nowhere, gripping his jaw in a way to force him to munch it.

   You looked at her startled but utterly ignored as she snapped her fingers over and over again.

   “Come on, young man” She said in her best elder lady voice you had ever heard “Gulp it down so you won’t die” She instructed, snapping her fingers to get his attention. Except it wasn’t the case. You could almost feel the frisson around his body as she kept snapping it over and over again, drawing circles in the air. The heavy layer of magic covered him like a blanket.

   He gulped down before you heard a sharp intake of breath ─ one that signalized he could really breathe right now─ and he gasped, again and again, feeling the air burn his lungs as he coughed for dear life. His torso snapped up, hand meeting his throat as he tried to recompose himself, practically back from the dead, eyes roaming around the place.

   The purple that once painted his face dissolved into a more healthy color and flushed cheeks. You took a better look at his face, warm brown hair hiding his forehead and dark eyes that were big as saucers for the moment, completely taken aback by his luck. He had just survived. He opened his mouth a couple of times, and you couldn’t help but notice how red his lips were right now, and also exceptionally well-shaped.

   “Don’t talk right now” She advised, taking the canteen from your hand “Drink this… You must be thirsty” She said kindly, adjusting the object so she could allow him to drink some of the water inside it. He took large gulps, eyes overflowing with relief before he had enough strength to raise his hand to the canteen and stop her motions.

   “I don’t know how to express my gratefulness for both of you” He said sincerely “I own you my life” He was quick to kneel, lowering his head in respect, one arm bending on his back and the other one rested on top of his knee. You extended your hand, ready to dismiss the unnecessary formality, but your Grandma seemed to think otherwise.

   “You do” She agreed, standing up and supporting herself on her wood staff, like an elder. You almost scoffed at her antics but a single twist of her feet made you shut your mouth, the hard inaudible pang on your ass making you think twice before disrespecting her “Unfortunately, I may have to take some of it from you” She smiled apologetically.

   She acted before you could even understand what she had just said.

   The staff was raised to strike his stomach in a quick motion ─ so quick that he couldn’t help but hunch his back, hands over his stomach as he huffed in astonishment ─ before her hand covered his face to push his head to the ground, tipping him over.

   “What strings are plucked beneath the mound? Awake the seeds to break the ground” She chanted, hand gripping his head firmly. You could see his right eye widen, peeking between her long fingers, mouth opening to scream for help. She jerked his head once, the sudden movement silenced him, and as you watched the scene with your mouth agape ─ utterly startled─, you noticed how his eyelashes fluttered close, hinting he was under a sleeping spell.

   “Grandma, what are you doing?” You hissed, looking around the woods as if Nature herself would come to punish both of you.

   She raised her other hand in a sharp movement, signalizing that you should keep quiet. You shut your mouth, pursing your lips to make sure not a sound would drop from you. It didn’t prevent you from stretching your neck, trying to get a better look at whatever was happening right in front of your eyes.

   The scene before your eyes had your head tilting.

   You never saw an enchantment like this.

   You watched as strings of translucent energy oozed from his ears, slowly drenching the ground underneath his head in a spiral that seemed to fuzz the grass. The delicate flutters of her free hand seemed to hasten the energy flow, and soon enough she released his head, fluttering her fingers as if she was seasoning him. The mere thought of the unconscious boy being treated like a roasted chicken made you chuckle, and she shot you a glare to keep you quiet.

    “No question asked… No answer found” She continued, and the energy coiled to the ground, knotting there before a small flower gradually sprouted, “Young man, now list to me…” She snapped her fingers, and all the fuzzing you felt around vanished. She caressed his head, thumbs running through his cheeks “It’s all a strange dream; don’t worry too much about this… It was really dangerous to fall asleep in the woods, wasn’t it? They should be worried about you by now…” She sighed, getting up and gesticulating for you to follow her.

   You straightened up, prepared to obey without a question.

   A sudden breeze made you shiver and you stared at the boy on the ground, musing for a second before taking Chan’s coat from your shoulders and covering him up. You threw a look over your shoulder to check up on him as you rushed to your Grandma, watching his asleep form snoring peacefully in the middle of the woods, resting next to a tree as if he was in a secure field. When you finally got on her tracks, you threw her a look, clearing your throat before voicing your thoughts.

   “Shouldn’t we wake him up? He could be eaten by a wolf…” You pointed out but she kept her pace, waving her hand dismissively.

   “He’s not our problem anymore” She shrugged, walking fast “Furthermore, it’s not the time for his death yet…” You narrowed your eyes at her, humming in wonder.

   “Was that why you meddled?” You asked curiously, and she finally glanced at you over her shoulder, pursing her lips “I never thought you would save a human” You admitted.

   “My mission is to respect Nature… If Nature herself wants this young man alive, I’m not the one to go against her wishes” She declared, intending to drop the subject. You hummed again, and before you could open your mouth, she cleared her throat “I thought it was clear that neither of you should approach a human until the age of eighteen” She stated matter-of-factly.

   “I’m just a few months away…” You rolled your eyes before grinning “Also, I thought the first lesson of The Coven was to never turn our back to Nature… As you said, Nature herself didn’t want the young man to die” She scoffed, amused by your retort “Who am I to go against her wishes?” You chuckled, noticing how she shook her head in disbelief, though it was clear she found it funny.

   “Don’t forget the other ones” She muttered seriously before snapping her fingers twice, probably releasing the poor boy from the sleeping spell.

                                                    ////

I won’t lie to you all, I’m really excited about this SUHAHUSAHUSASHUAUS It’s the first time I’ll be writing any kind of fantasy stuff. I have the general plot in my mind and I may be dropping some hints to make some kind of spin off if people like it or if I feel like it in the future lol

I really hope you guys like it!

Any feedback is more than welcomed, especially vocabulary and stuff like this. Feel free to criticize me (just do this in a constructive way, please LOL)

[snusbandxknifewife]

Cardan, Jude and Oak go to whatch some movie. Cardan is really enjoying it so somehow one kid sees his tail and wants to catch it. (I am not sure how things works, if people can have "sight"or maybe he can accidentely forget to glamour it because it is usualy hidden under trousers...)

Ok so I think I did a good job working around the whole “mortals can’t see through glamours” thing. I did this as a HC, I think it’s super cute, I loved this idea lol. Hope you like!

~~~~~

Halloween Shenanigans

•Ok so it’s the day before Halloween

•A Friday night, to be specific

•And Oak has BEGGED Cardan and Jude to come to the mortal world with him to watch scary movies

•Jude finally gave in

•Only because she wanted to see Cardan amazed by “mortal magic”

•So the three of them load into Vivi’s car and Jude drives them to the local drive-in theater

•Where a special Halloween event is going on

•Everyone is in costumes, the drive-in is gonna be playing old black-and-white horror movies

•Jude is dressed as Dorothy

•(She has magic red ruby (yes, real ruby) shoes (gifted by Cardan) that glimmer brighter than normal gems)

•Oak is dressed as the Scarecrow

•(He did his own makeup and made his own costume, he’s very proud)

•(Vivi was supposed to be the Tin Man, but she decided to stay home with Heather (Hubba Hubba))

•Cardan

•Cardan with the lion’s tail

•Is dressed as the Cowardly Lion

•So he doesn’t have to hide his tail (score)

•So they show up at the drive-in and get their spot

•They set up their picnic blanket and set out Vivi’s old boom box, turning it to the correct station so they’ll be able to hear the movies

•The lineup: Frankenstein (1931), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and Night of the Living Dead (1968)

•Jude can’t fucking wait, she loves horror movies

•Cardan can’t fucking wait, he’s fascinated by mortal stuff

•(And Jude mentioned that it’s common for couples to cuddle out of fear when watching scary movies)

•(“H E L L Y E A H B A B E Y” -Cardan)

•Oak can’t fucking wait, the drive-in has the BEST popcorn A N D junior mints

•(He’d fucking die for junior mints)

•(Ok not actually, but he really likes them)

•So they’re all settled in, looking fucking adorable in their costumes, chillin with the food Jude’s bought

•They make it through Frankenstein with Jude only having to explain 90% of the movie, since Cardan misses it because he’s asking her questions about movie making, the movie industry, and the original Frankenstein book

•Jude finally promises to buy him the book

•(She also makes the mistake of talking about how Mary Shelley lost her virginity on her mother’s grave)

•(Cardan is partially grossed out, mostly fascinated, and DEFINITELY wagging his eyebrows at his wife (over the head of Oak, who never notices))

•In the intermission between the first and second movies, Oak notices a family sitting in the row in front of them

•It’s his classmate, Owen, and all of his family!

•(Owen is dressed as Scream, his costume has a hand pump that makes the mask bleed, he’s very proud)

•Oak watches the whole second movie with Owen and his family

•Leaving Jude and Cardan alone (Hubba Hubba)

•They make it through the second movie with Jude explaining exactly 0% of it

•Because God knows she wasn’t paying attention either

•The second intermission comes around

•Here comes Oak, Owen and Owen’s 4yo little brother (William)

•The kids completely miss the hickeys all over Jude and Cardan’s necks

•Oak wants them to stay with Jude and Cardan for the last movie

•(He’s trying time flex that his adults are cooler)

•(Owen and Will’s parents wouldn’t buy them snacks, Oak knee Jude and Cardan would set them tf up)

•”Juuuuuude, can we get more popcorn and candy?”

•Jude (still a little distracted, heyooo) “sure thing Acorn, go with Cardan”

•(That was her mistake, but, again, can we blame her? Sis wasn’t Thinking StraightTM)

•Cardan, being a good husband and uncle, stands up

•And the 4yo LOSES HIS MIND

•Because seeing an adult dressed in a lion costume is normal

•But when the lion costume includes a MOVING TAIL???

•H O L Y S H I T

•(Cardan had thought he was safe, he didn’t know mortals hadn’t figured out a way to make costume tails move like real ones)

•(So he’d been relaxing, moving his tail like usual)

•(Hence why Will saw it)

•”He’s got a tail!”

•It’s the only warning Cardan gets before the small child grabs a hold of his tail with both fists and PULLS

•Cardan fucking whimpers

•Jude sees red

•Oak has a brain

•”Don’t pull like that, Will, it’s part of his costume! It wouldn’t be nice to rip Uncle Cardan’s costume,” he scolds like a babysitter.

•Will lets go with one hand, but he keeps ahold with the other and throws his hands down, stomping one foot

•(Owen always says he’s a total spoiled brat)

•(The type of kid who forces your mom to make you let him open your birthday gifts with you on your birthday and then gets mad when he can’t keep them)

•”You need to let go of his tail. It’s very delicate and would be expensive to fix if you broke it,” Jude finally calms down enough to speak without punting the small child into next Tuesday

•(Cardan’s ready to cry at the idea of a broken tail)

•Will looks completely cowed

•(Because it’s one thing to get in trouble with an older kid, and a completely different thing to get in trouble with An AdultTM like Jude)

•He lets go of Cardan’s tail and his bottom lip starts quivering, tears begin to stream down his face and he sniffles

•Jude can’t find it in herself to feel sorry

•(Because how fucking DARE you hurt her husband)

•But Cardan,

•Cardan is fae

•And the fae have a different relationship with children

•To faeries, children are unbelievably precious, because they are so rare

•And so to see a child upset makes him uncomfortable

•Especially when he thinks it’s his fault

•So he crouches down by Will

•”Hey,” he says, and Will stops his sniffling

•Cardan lets his tail quirk up into the little boy’s line of sight, smiling as the child focuses on it once more

•”You can play with it if you’re very, very gentle,” he offers. “Just don’t pull or scratch. Like Mrs. Jude said, it’s very delicate.”

•So Will cautiously goes to reach for it

•And Cardan yanks it back just before he can grab ahold

•Will almost starts to cry again

•But he sees the smile on Cardan’s face and realizes it’s just a game

•So he grins and begins to chase around Cardan, reaching for his tail and celebrating when he catches it

•Before letting it go and beginning again

•Cardan takes the kids to the snack bar

•And buys entirely too much

•(While Will continues to try and catch his tail)

•They settle in to watch the third movie

•The older boys have essentially forgotten about the whole incident because a) zombies and b) food

•Cardan is completely ignoring the movie because he’s focusing on entertaining Will

•Will keeps playing with Cardan’s tail until he eventually gets bored and goes back to his parents

•Jude, who has finally gotten past her natural “kill everything that even breathes in the direction of my husband” instincts, spent the whole time watching Cardan out of the corner of her eye

•Watching how he grins

•How easily he plays with the little boy

•How well he calmed the child down

•How good he’ll be as a father

~~~~

Yeehaw have some Halloween fluff in July lmao 😂

Tag list: @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @hizqueen4life @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @thewickedkings @aelin-queen-of-terrasen @cheekycheekycheeks @queen-of-glass @b00kworm @doingmyrainbow @andromeddea @jurdanhell @thesirenwashere @sweetlyvillainous @clouds-and-peonies

[where-s-all-blue]

Okay so, I was tagged into This post right here by @vinsmoke-luffy and since I didn't want to over complicate his/her/their post too much, I decided to answer the questions on a separate post. Thank you for tagging me buddy!

One Piece Questions

1. What got you into One Piece?

Honestly speaking, I saw one of the volumes in the local library and decided to read it. I found the thing to be interesting, but I'd only hear about the anime later on, around the age of 13. I first found out about the series when I was 6 years old.

2. What got you hooked into the series?

Oh man, it's been over a decade, it's so hard to say- probably the kindness that the characters portrayed, loyalty and friendship? Something that I'd totally yearn for taken in how oddball of a child I've always been.

3. Which character would you punch and why?

That's pretty much a tie between Black Beard, Akainu, Doflamingo and Big Mom, all four of them represent things that I absolutely despise; Lust for power, corrupt "Justice", lack of empathy/sympathy and abusive behaviour. I'd go into detail of why, but I am fairly sure that it's no brainer why I'd physically assault them on sight even if it'd probably cost me my life.

Sometimes, people who are in power, do not deserve the power they've obtained and in those cases they must be taken down before they can cause any further damage to the people.

4. Which moment will stick with you forever?

"Ikitai! Watashi wa isho ni umi ni tsureteitte!"

Robin's seyuu went all out in it and.. It made Something resonate in me. I am not sure what it was, but it'll stay with me to the end of my day's.

5. Which moment pops up randomly in your head?

The first time we meet Brook, that moment will forever haunt me. Brook's voice is so gentle and it just makes you pay attention to him in it along with just how nonchalant he is while he sips his imaginary tea.

6. Who is your favourite character and why?

Uhhhh I absolutely suck with choosing favourites, I can't even say what my favourite food is! But here's a list of the characters I'm attached to for no particular reason? I honestly never know why I like someone, it's not really that important to me, if you like someone, you usually like everything in that person. The following block of names isn't in any order because I am a chaotic dumbass.

Rosinante Donquixote, Coby, Eustass Kidd, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Killer, Shachi, Bepo, Penguin, Shirahoshi, Katamuri, Brulee, Pudding, Niji, Ichiji, Yonji, Reiju, Chiffon, Lola, Ikkaku, Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Black Leg Sanji, Cat burglar Nami, God Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Jinbe, Emporio Ivankov, Sengoku, Fujitora, Rebekka, Vivi, Koala, Tiger, Otama, Okiku, Komurasaki, Izo, Marco, Edward Newgate, Thatch

7. How much has One Piece impacted your life?

I am literally as old as the manga (23 years old (2020)) so uhh... Use that as a measure I guess? No, don't really do that. But it's.. It's kind of hard to say, I have been a fan of the series since I was six years old, I've laughed, I've cried, I've grown a lot during the 17 years that I've been part of this fandom.

I can't say that it hasn't had any effect on me nor my views, because I can say that a lot of the way how I look at certain things like familial bonds and friendships were heavily influenced by the series, but I can't even start to measure the amount of impact it truly has had on me.

8. What is your favourite One Piece quote?

“There comes a time when a man has to stand and fight! That time is when his friends' dreams are being laughed at! And I won't let you laugh at that!” - Usopp

“Stop counting only those things you have lost! What is gone, is gone! So ask yourself this. What is there... that still remains to you?!” - Jinbei

“The government says your existence is a crime, but no matter what kind of weapons you may hold, just being alive isn't a sin! There's no crime in living!” - Franky

“You can spill drinks on me, even spit on me. I'll just laugh about it. But If you dare to hurt my friends... I won't forgive you!” - Shanks

“When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? No. When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom!? No! It’s when… they are forgotten.” - Hiluluk Doctor

“Compared to the "righteous" greed of the rulers, the criminals of the world seem much more honorable. When scum rules the world, only more scum is born.” - Eustass "Captain" Kid

“Inherited will, a man's dream, and the flow of time. As long as man continues to seek out the answer to freedom, these things shall never be stopped.” - Gol D. Roger

Honestly, I couldn't choose only one out of this bunch, I've tried before and I always fail because they all are equally meaningful to me as a person.

9. Which laugh style gets to you most?

I-

I honestly have never thought about it? I don't really notice things like laughing styles, because to me laughter is one of the most beautiful things on earth. It shows the joy within us. And when you come to my age (or this might be more about me as a person) you just... Stop paying attention to something like that? Especially if it sounds natural to your ear.

But then again, my friends time and time again have to remind me that my sense of what is normal is very flexible and abnormal by itself. I might pass a person wearing a horse head out in the public dancing whatever is The meme dance currently and not even realise that it's not something that'd normally just happen in my home town. Yes the before mentioned has happened before.

But yeah, to sum it up: I have literally never paid attention to the laugh quirks of the characters I just don't see them as something that should bother me or make me react to it in other way than being happy for the person to be comfortable enough to actually laugh the way they would laugh when they are alone.

It's just... Laughter?

10. How will you feel when One Piece ends?

The same way as I feel about anything ending most likely, I'll be melancholic over it ending, but happy to have experienced it.

Tagging: @nue-nue-nomi @shambledsurgeon @whereistheonepiece @shadowstormdragon (TUMBLR Y U NO LEMME TAG?!) @ohnoluffy @luffytarhoe

Though if you're interested in answering these questions in general, do take a shot at it!

[riot-in-reverie]

Villainous Neighbors pt 2.

tags: @queen-of-glass @jamesxdaisy @b00kworm @jurdanhell @cardan-greenbriar-tcp

theres a question at the bottom that would really help the fanfic. 

tell me if you prefer this POV or the one i did in part one, 1st or 3rd person

i’m sorry  if this isn’t that good....

pictures will be posted separately as always.

warnings: threats and subtle signs of abuse

Chapter 2

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz

Jude sleepily opened her eyes not able to ignore the constant buzzing of her phone on the bedside. She blindly threw her hand out searching for the source of the horrid noise. Once her hand closed around her phone she opened it was blinded by the brightness.

 Buzz. Buzz.

 Blinking quickly she opened text messages and bolted upright in bed. How could she have forgotten. Looking down at her phone was 8 messages from Dain and more coming 

Dain: "Hey"

Dain: "Where have you been"

Dain: "Can you call me?"

Dain: "Jude. Call me"

Dain: "Its late are you okay"

Dain: “You better be at home"

Dain: "Good morning"

Dain: "Can you hang out today" 

Dain: "Are you up?"

Dain: "Wake up babe"

I frantically typed out a good morning whitch in seconds he replied 

Dain: "Good afternoon. It's Noon but that's okay how are you?"

Jude: "I'm good" 

Dain: "Where were you last night?"

I couldn't tell him about the fights. He didn't know and wouldn't let me continue if he knew. The problem was I was slowly running out of excuses and they were getting more and more far fetched.

Jude: "I was on a late night walk. Didn't want my phone on me"

Dain: "You should always have your phone on you" 

Jude: "I didn't want it to disturb me"

Dain: "What if something happened"

Nothing would have happened but I couldn't tell him that. 

Jude: "Oh I should probably get breakfast and stuff. Text you later!" 

I threw the blankets to the side and slid off the bed. There was no part of my body that wasn't sore or just plain hurting. As I walked to my closet I noticed a big bruise on my upper thigh that must have manifested overnight. I'd have to find something to cover that up. I found a long dark forest green shirt that I styled with a tie in the front. I honestly thought about just wearing that to be scandalous but I put on some ripped jeans so I wouldn't get arrested. I decided to leave my hair down today. I was downstairs by 12:15

I was in a rush. I had wanted to get to work by 11. I do own my own shop but I want to open at a decent time and I've already slept through my alarm. Now I was very late and was snapping at Taryn to get a move on. Taryn often accompanies me to work just to leave after about 15 minutes. 

"Lets fucking go. I have customers"

"Okay okay. Let me get my shoes on!"

I groaned and just went outside, she could catch up. The shop was in town so the walk took a bit but Taryn refused to ride on my motorcycle. Why didn't she wake me up then I wouldn't be so snappy or so rushed. 

I heard rapid footsteps behind me and looked back over my shoulder to see Taryn hurrying to catch up. I see her purple, no lavender (as I was corrected earlier) dress waves slightly in the wind. I’ll laugh at her if she gets into a fight. That dress will do absolutely no good in a battle of any sorts. Honestly I don’t know how people get us confused. I know we're twins but honestly I would never wear something like that. She seems to like it though so I don’t mention it.

We chatted idly about things of no importance and eventually we arrived at my shop. 

In crude cursive letters above a quaint shop said "Jude's Tattoos" Not the most creative name but Vivi said she thought it had a nice ring to it and no one had complained so far. 

Taryn turned to me and said "I'll see you later have fun at work" before walking past the shop. I didn't bother waving. I unlocked the door and went inside the small chimes of the door making me smile. I turned on the lights and the room illuminated in a nice subtle glow. There was the small waiting room in the front with the black fuzzy couch and two neon colored chairs. Some random magazines were laid out on the round wooden table in between them. Behind that was the desk that divided the front from the back workspace. I went to the back where all my supplies were set up. Around the back and on the desk one could find some of my personal stuff. I sometimes kept things here when I forgot to take them home, was too lazy, or maybe I purposely kept them here who knows. I sat down on my swivel desk chair and noticed a lipstick bottle. I popped it open to see if it was what I think it was and sure enough hidden in it was a blade. Perfect for some stealthy stabbing. Maybe I should take that home today? Eh, I could think about it later. I tossed it aside and looked at my customers for today. Only one that was supposed to come at 4.

Cardan Greenbriar who's unsure what he wants as of now.

Well I guess I got some time to kill. I moved over to the couch and pulled out my phone.

Cardan POV

"No threats huh?" 

Cardan said to himself as he completed the ransomware program on Mr. Smith's company. He pushed away from his computer smiling brightly. In about an hour he'd call and state his demands. He stood up nearly falling down again after he had been sitting so long. Once he got used to standing again he stretched and looked at the time. It was about 2 that means he'd call at  2:30 or 3. Then he had about 1 hour before he got his tattoo at a new place his friend had recommended. He still had to figure out exactly what he wanted. He had a rough idea but not exactly. He could work on that or maybe he could talk to some more companies. 

He walked upstairs still trying to roughly plan his day when he noticed himself in the mirror. Now Cardan took a lot of pride in his appearance and right now he could barely recognize himself. His hair was all over the place, his makeup smeared, bags under his eyes, and his silk pajamas were crinkled. He might have to dedicate an hour to his routine instead of the usual thirty minutes. 

He looked in his closet and pulled out a dark blue oxford shirt that he put on and tucked up the sleeves. He put on black pants with a belt that was more meant for  style than practical use and started brushing out his hair. He parted it to the left so it covered his left ear leaving his right ear for his beautiful dangling earring. He slid his rings on and added some subtle touches to his makeup. He thought he looked casual yet a bit dramatic and that worked perfectly fine for him. 

It was about 2:35 by this time and he decided to call Mr. Smith. He dialed the number on the business card that he had on his desk. After a few rings he answered with an exasperated voice "Hello how may I…"

"Hello Mr. Smith"

"Cardan?" His exasperation turning to surprise 

"Mr. Greenbriar if you please. Yes well I was wondering if you had reconsidered what you said yesterday."

"Why would I do that?"

"Just considering your circumstances at the moment"

"And how do you know about that?" 

"How do you think?" He said with a mocking tone

"You did it. Why?" Surprise and bewilderment were quite obvious in his voice.

"Because I want to be paid. It's really not that hard to understand. I don't get paid and you get punished."

"We are already working on taking it down" Cardan could tell he tried to say this with confidence but his voice wavered 

"You know it will take you too long. You will lose to many customers in that time. Quit fooling around" 

There was a long silence and Cardan was starting to think he might have hung up when his voice came through

"Okay. No more than what we were paying you though"

"Now was that so hard? Remember that I am a very valuable asset but I can also make very bad things happen. To you or to others. Alright I hope you have a lovely day" 

Cardan hung up and started to disable the program. Soon enough it was gone and Mr. Smith was under Cardan control. 

It was about 3 now and Cardan didn't know what to do. He could get Starbucks? He could text Locke? He could just go early? There was a jewelry store near the tattoo shop that his friend worked at. He could go there. He decided that was the best idea and got into the car to drive to "Atlantis Jewelry" but not before getting a coffee for the both of them. 

Cardan walked through the store door and among the glass display cases that held jewels and necklaces that glittered when the sun hit them through the perfectly aligned windows. He walked up to the front to the person who was stationed there 

"Yeah Hi I'm looking for Narcissa. She works here" 

The attendant held up a finger as in to say wait right here than went to the back. Cardan waited there coffees in hand until Narcissa came out and stretched over the counter to give Cardan a kiss on the cheek 

"Cardan! How have you been!"

"Hey. I've been good. I brought you a coffee" he handed the coffee that had whipped cream to her

"Thanks so much I definitely needed this." 

Cardan just nodded. 

"So what have you been up to?" She asked after she had taken a long sip from her drink. 

Cardan shrugged "not much is different. My neighbors moved out so now there's just an empty house next to me but other than that everything is the same. What about you?" 

"Oh well my mom went on a trip so I'm all alone for awhile which is kinda nice. My boyfriend broke up with me. I got a promotion. That tattoo shop opened across the street. It drives my manager crazy."

She started to go onto the next thing but Cardan stopped her 

"What's wrong with the tattoo shop" He didn't want to go to a faulty tattoo shop "who runs it?" 

"Just this girl" She said waving her hand dismissively "it's the music that bothers us. It's very loud" 

"Oh. That's it?" 

Apparently  that was the wrong choice of words. She glared at him "No that's not it. It scares our customers away!"

"Oh sorry. Enjoy your coffee. I'll see you later okay?"

"Yeah we should hang out soon”

"Definitely" Cardan said as he stepped out the door.

Cardan wandered a bit before going into the tattoo shop. His first thought was that it was very nice and that he liked it. The second was that he thought it was very unprofessional to be sleeping on the job. This thought came to him as he looked at what he assumed to be the owner laying down fast asleep on the couch in the front area. He wondered if he should leave and come back later but by the looks of it this girl wasn't waking up any time soon so he might as well wake her up. He walked over and tapped on her shoulder 

"Darling?"

He shook her a bit and she rolled over looking up at him. He waved slightly

"I hate to bother you but I'm supposed to be getting a tattoo" 

The girl's face went from shock, embarrassment, to frustration in the span of 5 seconds. 

"Ugh Hello welcome to Judes tattoos I'm Jude" 

"I figured" 

"And you are?" She said sitting up and flipping her hair back.

"Oh I'm Cardan" 

"Yea the boy who doesn't know what he wants" 

This girl wasn't very professional at all. He wondered how long this place would stay in business. 

"Thats me…"

"Okay. Well come on in to the back and we'll get everything worked out" 

She started walking and Cardan followed behind her wondering if this had been a good idea. It had been his friend Locke who had texted and recommended this place so that already made it suspicious and Narcissa wasn’t a big fan of the store… Was it too late to bail? On the other hand this place was somewhat new and as a bonus this girl was stunningly beautiful and he had been interested in a tattoo so why not.

He just had to hope this Jude woman wouldn't ruin his life.

ideas for his tattoo? 

[phantoms-lair]

MSAxBNHA AU

After stopping the slime monster All Might doesn't go after Izuku. The kid has the heart and the mindset, but All Might was the strongest hero in the world and now he's condemned a to slow painful death as his body deteriorates. Being a hero is a dance with death and he wasn't to see that brave and kind soul snuffed out so young.

 What he doesn't realize is his words about Izuku not being able to be a hero without a quirk did what over a decade of bullying failed to. He broke Izuku's spirit. And Inko doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know how to help her son, feels like she never knew how to help him, so she tried for a Hail Mary. There’s a trinket said to belong to a great spirit that once swore to help her family. A small metal tag with a hole on the top and a stylized question mark. She lights incense and prays for the spirit to help her son. The lights flicker and she sees the silhouette of a massive nine tailed form that vanishes, leaving behind a small white dog where yellow tinted pince-nez. "Hello Inko,  daughter of Vivi, daughter of Mushi. What can I do for you?"

The logical part of her brain wants to deny whats in front of her is a spirit. Animals with quirks were rare but not unheard of. But this is the only thing she can think of, her last hope, so she forges ahead. She tells the dog about her son's love of heroes. Of how 80% or the worlds population, almost 100% of the younger generation has some kind of superpower. Of how her son doesn't. How he strived to be a hero, studied every hero no matter how big or small. How he was bulled for not having a quirk and the teachers would look the other way. How he never gave up until the man he looked up to above all others told him he couldn't be a hero, confirmed in his mind the years of being told he was worthless. And she begged this being that looked like a dog but wasn't to help her son, that's she'd pay any cost- 

"Never say that," The creature said sharply. "There are those who would take you up on it." 

Inko frowned stubbornly So much like Vivi "For my son, I'd give anything." 

 "And if they asked for his life or soul? You'd already said anything, you'd have to comply." 

Inko's hands flew to her mouth as the color drained from her skin. 

"I would never ask that of you," The creature said, a warm kindness in his voice, though his tone was still firm. "But others would. I merely want you to not make such risky statements where another might take advantage. Tell me Inko, do you have a box that's been passed down from your family? A metal box with English writing a little over a meter in length?" 

Inko knew the box he meant. She had inherited along with the tag that summoned him. "It's in the attic." 

"Let's get it then. What's in the box should help your son more than I could.". 

Inko shakily gets to her feet and leads the way. She dusts the box off so the letters are visible. 'Yukino' is written in kanji on the top.  There's two words in English too, she'd translated them on a lark while she was studying for her degree in library science. Pepper on the right and Kingsmen of the left.  What 'From Snow' had to do with a fruit or a King's guard she didn't know; no one had ever been able to open the box. 

The thing that certainly wasn't a dog lightly touched it with his paw and it sprang open. Inside was what seemed to be an old metal baseball bat covered in ofuda. Beneath it was a star pin, a set of violet tinted glasses, and a golden heart shaped locket. The beast blew lightly on the three objects on the bottom. "Vivi, Lewis, Arthur. It's time to wake up, Your great-great granddaughter and great-great-great grandson need you."

At first it seems nothing happens. Then the items being to spark. The golden locket is the first to rise in the air, purple fire forming a massive skeletal figure. Then a powder of delicate blue ice pushes up the glasses and form a more petite one. The star takes a few tries, false starts before the electricity forms into a much more lanky skeleton, one arm glowing unnaturally. And for the first time Inko fears she's made a mistake. She doesn't know what these powers she's courted are. What if they're dangerous? What if they hurt her Izuku? 

"Look at you!" The blue themed skeleton hovered over her in glee. "You have to tell me about yourself. What's your favorite color? Is it green? What do you do for fun? Wait, Mystery implied you had a son? What's he like? Do you have a husband? A Wife? Both?" 

"Vivi, chill. You might want to put on your face. You're scaring our granddaughter." True to his word the lanky one shimmered and suddenly seemed much more human. A Caucasian man with blonde spiked hair. 

He approached Inko much more slowly. "My name is Kingsman Arthur. You may not have heard of me, but I'm your couple of times great grandfather. This is my wife, Vivi, and our husband, Lewis." The last skeleton, who'd taken on the appearance of a dark skinned man bowed.

Inko bowed back, still a little shakily. 

"None of that." The exuberance had left Vivi's voice, instead leaving a soft gentle tone. "You're family, Inko-chan. You have nothing to fear from any of us. We're here to help, whatever you need."  

"Shouldn't you not offer open ended things?" 

 "You learn quickly." The not-dog commended. "Obviously not a trait you picked up from any of these three." 

"Shut it furball," Vivi said, albeit with a note of teasing in her voice. "And technically you're correct, but Mystery wouldn't have awoken us if you had less than pure intentions. So what do you need that he couldn't help with?" 

"My son's dream was shattered yesterday and it feels like his spirit died with it. I don't know how to help and people have a history of not taking him seriously." She'd lost track of how many times she'd been told 'quirkless people are just a little more fragile' along with a shrug when she'd brought him in with an injury.  Of being told 'he has to learn to accept facts' when she confronted the teachers over the bullying he received for being quirkless. As if to society her son was worth less for his lack of quirk when he meant the world to her. Her hands balled angrily. "Izuku is selfless, brave, and intelligent. He risked his life to save someone who had bullied him, when the authorities were frozen in fear. Only for him to be berated by the professional heroes while his childhood bully is praised for his bravery and told he had what it takes to be a professional hero when all he did was get captured and destroy half the shopping district with the same quirk he's used to hurt my boy." 

 She looked at them with fierce determination, tears streaming from her eyes.  "I want my son to be happy. I want him to thrive. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and he deserves better than to believe not having a quirk means he has no worth." 

"Let's introduce ourselves to him then." Arthur said casually. "What? We have to talk to him if we're going to help. Remember how well not talking to each other about important things went? It went bad is how it went."

“Bad is an understatment,” Lewis agreed.

"Mom, are you okay? I thought I heard voices..." Izuku's voice trailed off as he saw two strange men in his attic along with a floaty skull lady. He felt himself tense. If these were villain trying to rob his house- 

"Oh my gosh, he's got freckles just like you did at that age Artie!" The skull lady flew over to him “Remember Lew?"

"How could I forget, he was adorable." Lewis said shaking his head. "But you really need to put on your face dear." 

"Who are you people, what do you want?" Izuku was scanning the rooms, trying to find the best way to get his Mom to safety. If only he knew their quirks. 

"They're, well, they're you grandparents Izuku.” Inko explained. “Grandmother Vivi, and Grandfathers Arthur and Lewis." 

"A few greats need to be thrown in there, but yeah." Arthur sheepishly put one hand behind his head. "I guess you can say we're family guardians. Your mother summoned us to help you." 

"Help me, with what?" 

 "That's what we were finding you to discuss." The blue skull lady now had a face. "Tell us what happened, Izuku-kun." 

Izuku looked at his Mom. "This is about yesterday isn't it. I just got a wake up call to reality, that's all." 

 "Bullshit." Vivi said brightly. "Try the whole story."

Izuku was taken aback.  "Well, I mean, we live in a superhuman society. Eighty percent or more of the world has some kind of super power." 

 "Really?" he heard who he took to be Grandfather Arthur whisper to a dog he hadn't noticed before, The dog nodded. 

"And with that came the rise of heroes on villains. And when I was a child, I wanted more than anything else to be a hero. Especially a Hero like All Might. He's amazing! His sheer power is incredible. He saves so many people and no matter hope bad the situation is, he always smiles. He brings hope to everyone. I wanted to be just like him. But...I didn't have the power. Since I was four everyone told me becoming a hero was a pipe dream, but I thought if I worked hard enough, studied hard enough, I could do it. I even sent in an application for UA, the best Hero school in the world but-" Like his mother, tears were beginning to stream down Izuku's cheeks. "Yesterday I met All Might. He saved me from a villain. And I asked him if I could be a hero how I was and he-he said no." Izuku swiped his arm across his eyes. "I shouldn't be surprised, right? It was obvious. And I caused even more trouble when I tried to save Kaachan from that villain." 

"And again I say Bullshit." Vivi cut in. "From what your mother told us, you were the only one who was willing to help while the so-called heroes sat on their collective asses. That makes you more of a hero than they'll ever be."

Izuku wasn't sure how that made him feel. The reassurance was nice, but it still felt a bit empty. So he had the spirit of a hero, but not the body? What good would that do?

"You mentioned a school. Is that the only method of becoming a hero?" Grandfather Lewis asked. 

"Well, technically you only need to pass the licensing exam, but it's almost impossible to get through on self-study. There are other schools, but UA is the best with the highest pass rate. You need to do a written and a practical to get into the hero course, and no one knows what the practical is." 

"So we need to get you into the school first. What's your power kiddo? Need to know what we're working with." 

Izuku stiffened at Grandmother Vivi's question. He'd thought they'd known.  "I don't have any power. I'm quirkless." He braced himself, Waited for the 'what are you wasting our time for' that every guidance councilor had given him. 

"Oh that's what that means." Arthur nodded. "So you're gonna Batman it."

"Batman it?" Izuku was as baffled by the phrase as the fact that hearing he was quirkless hadn't dissuaded them in the least 

"You don't know who Batman is?" Arthur sounded aghast. 

"It's been decades if not centuries, Art." Lewis reminded him 

"Batman is forever." Arthur grumbled. 

"Was that the movie with the nipples on the costume?" Vivi asked with a grin.

"Anyway"  Lewis turned the attention back to Izuku. "In our time, before superpowers were apparently a real thing, we had comic book characters and one of the most famous was a hero named Batman. There were multiple comic books, cartoon series, and movies abut him. One of the biggest debates was if Batman would win against Superman, a being so powerful he was night invulnerable and strong enough to change the planet's rotation. And do you know what Batman's superpower was?" 

Something Bat themed, huh. "Maybe echolocation? One at a frequencey that could disorient even the Superman guy?" 

"This Superman guy?!" Arthur explained in disbelief. 

 Lewis grinned. “Nope. He was, as you would put it, quirkless. Not a single superpower to him. Just cunning, creativity, a bunch of gadgets, and an indomitable will." 

"And martial arts training." Vivi reminded. 

"And a really cool car," Arthur added. 

Lewis rolled his eyes. "The point is, superpowers aren't what being a hero is really about. Batman didn't need them. Neither did Ironman, Black Widow, or Hawkeye. So if you want to be a hero, we're going to help." 

"Right." Vivi nodded. "Lewis can handle physical training, he was in the best shape of all of us in life.  I can teach you melee combat with fists or a baseball bat. I know a little sword work, but you'd probably be better off with actual lessons. Arthur can do free running and strategy.  I don't know how much we can help with the written test though, our knowledge is too out of date. Inko-chan could you help him study for that?" 

Inko was taken aback for a moment. She didn't know what she expected the spirits to do, besides possibly give her son a quirk of some kind. But they didn't need him to have a quirk to believe his dream  and supported him without questions. The way she wished she had done when he was four. "I...of course I can! I'm a librarian. I can find whatever books Izuku needs to help." 

"Speaking of books, we have another option on the table." Mystery said with a smirk. "Quirks have been all the rage for a century and a half. Magic is all but forgotten. It would be something almost no one would have access to. Between Vivi and myself there is a fair amount of occult knowledge we could impart." 

"Magic is real? You're offering to teach me magic?" This was a dream, it had to be. There was no way this was real. 

"Yes. But we have a mere ten months before your exam.  Your schedule will be packed to the gills with little time for levity. It won't be easy. I may not be able to guarantee  you'll get in on the first try. But I promise you this. With all of us helping, you will be a hero."

All his life Izuku had craved hearing that he could be a hero. The sheer assurance that he would be one was almost more than he could take. "Thank you! I won't let you guys down." 

 The three ghosts and kitsune smiled. "Of that we have no doubt."

[arthurtristankingsmen]

*pokes head out of bushes* Hello I just found your blog and I already love you, so let me sing you the song of my people and throw a far reaching theory at you because I have so many thoughts right now. So, I watched The Future and I noticed the colors leaking out of Mystery's heart seem to correspond to people Mystery cares about (ex: blue for Vivi, and white for Shiro). ((1/???))

And whenever someone he cares about gets hurt, his heart becomes a little bit more damaged (and their corresponding color start's leaking out). Mystery also gains a tail. The tail gaining can be seen when Vivi gets hurt and when Shiro dies. Our fox dogo goes from 7 to 9 tails. Now going back to the heart- notice how there are 8 colors popping out it. If blue and white are Vivi and Shiro, then its safe to say that yellow and pink represent Arthur and Lewis. 

The reason why I say this is that- not only do the colors correspond- but in, Ghost, (when Mystery bites off Author's possessed arm) he is seen having six tails, and by Freaking Out and Hellbent 7. This gives me the notion that in the beginning, before the group entered the cave, Mystery had 5 tails. Then when he had to bite off Author's arm, he gained a 6th tail; and when he discovered Lewis's death a 7th sprouted. 

 Now going back to his heart. If 4 of the colors represent Vivi, Author, Lewis, and Shiro; then, what about the other 4? Well, if Mystery had 5 tails before entering the cave, it's safe to say that he had 4 painful experiences prior.

In Hellbent, there's a flashback where we see mystery sitting in (I'm assuming) one of Shiro's trees. In that flash back he has all nine tails. Also in Hellbent Viv's bat has a few talismans on it's handle, according to the wiki their Shinto omamori talismans. And considering that her grandmother is dressed like a shinto priestess- Vivi might be descended from a long line of priest and priestess. 

You maybe asking why I've mention this, well back in The Future, there appear to be 2 talisman like patches on Mystery's heart. It's possible that when Mystery joined up with Mushi, Mushi had to nerf his powers bringing his tails from 9 to 1. The reason for this? No clue but it would explain why he had 5 tails instead of 9. ((I'm sorry if this stuff seemed repetitive, I know other's have already said this but I felt like I had to build up for the crazy stuff. 6))

Now, to the far reaching part of this theory. So, after looking over Ghost again I noticed two things. 1, the shot where ??? possess half of Arthur- ??? seems to glare at Lewis before pushing him off. Afterwords raising his possessed hand bearing the ticked off symbol you see in anime. 2, the hand that ??? is possessing is the exact same color of green that's leaking out of mystery's heart. Coincidence? I think not! 

I am of firm belief that ??? has had it out for the mystery crew from the very beginning, or at least towards Lewis. Why else would ??? go out of it's way to wait in the cave (yes I believe it was in the bat) for the gang to show up when it could of posses anyone else, after all, I'm sure Arthur isn't the only person in the world that feels envy. Also who go out if it way to kill Lewis? If it just wanted a body, it could of waited and completely taken over Arthur. 

This brings us back to the heart. On Mushi’s character sheet it stats: ‘Her fate seems intertwined with the modern-day Vivi, but in what way currently remains a mystery’. I remember someone on here mentioning or interpreting it as Vivi having a parallel journey to Mushi’s. If that is the case, then what if Mushi went through the same thing Vivi when through. As in, Mushi’s lover was killed by a mutual friend. But, instead of being possessed, the friend really did mean to kill. 

Like back when Mystery had one tail, ??? was part of Mushi’s group. And like Arthur, they were jealous of whoever Mushi was with and killed them (or hurt them) causing Mushi and Mystery to retaliate resulting in ???’s death or banishment (causing Mystery to sprout a few tails). Hundreds of years later ??? stumbles across the Mystery Skulls and decides to take revenge. Idk, this was longer than expected. I will now return to the bushes. Sorry for spamming your inbox and thank you listening!

Hi wow!! first of all, thank you for the kind words! 

I was actually thinking similarly for most of this-- i noticed the colors and it relating to injuries too, but i wasn’t sure if it was related to bad enough injuries, or if it was ‘failure to protect’. I actually discussed the potential that Mystery grew two tails in the cave-- one being when Lewis died, which put him at six, and then the next when he removed Arthur’s arm, so the portrait is a moment before the next tail grew. I think the one tail is Mystery’s first he was born with, and that would probably be the one that’s inverse colors compared to the rest- it’s kinda close to his pallet color wise and looks different, and each of the others corresponds to a color.

I could certainly see given the ancestor felt like they were hunting Shiromori and Mystery, the family having some connection to dealing with spirits! The grandma apparently wouldn’t have let Vivi keep Mystery herself where her dad did, because apparently the dad isn’t ‘superstitious’ and white dogs are a bad sign iirc? So maybe it was a familial thing but Vivi’s dad stepped away from that kind of tradition instead, but most of vivi’s ancestor’s have been affiliated with spirit things, be it stabbing them with a sword or something more shinto related haha.

I still have my thoughts on if that kitsune is truly mystery due to some details, but honestly, I could see if that is Mystery, Mushi having to do something like that. I don’t know for sure, but it’s an interesting thought and would at least be a reason Mystery has the tags there.

The idea that they did have some kind of connection beforehand is really interesting though! They did say that there would be some kind of parallel to mushi’s story, but they definitely don’t elaborate. It’s possible it’s just associating/needing to fight a nine-tailed Mystery, and even fighting shiromori, or even just meaning they have a connection to one another kinda similar to reincarnation of sort....but it’s also possible it’s related to another aspect of Vivi that has happened, being the cave in a way.

Personally, I don’t think Arthur was jealous. I headcanon that Lewis and Vivi’s relationship was new, and Arthur felt left behind by how wrapped up in each other they became-- in the cave he was anxious and if he was already feeling insecure, those emotional vulnerabilities made him a target. But that opening might have even been a chance for ??? to enact it’s own jealousy in a way arthur would never even be tempted in.

The only struggle I find is how ??? ended up in middle of nowhere cave in tempo texas from probably japan, if that’s the case. But it’s entirely possible within the theory that ??? didn’t stumble on them by happenstance, and actually tracked them down, much like how shiromori was doing. 

It’s also possible in a different vein, that rather than it being something he failed to protect, that it is about damage and Mystery grew three tails in the cave-- if you subscribe to the thought arthur still is a bit possessed, and Mystery isn’t fully because of it (mainly because of the color scheme and the fact he has his red floof on the left side still) then maybe the green light is because of the damage he did to ??? as well, by rending it into pieces (one on in arthur, one in the arm)

It’s all really interesting theories and conjecture! 

[the-headbop-wraith]

1_16 Sometimes There

Their task complete with the reclusive Silver Ghost, the Mystery Skulls move onward in search of a new mystery to solve.  The group glides through the motions of normality, but how far from normality have they strayed?  How far can a wire be pulled tight before the tension causes it to snap?

There was no way to return the mangled cigarette tin, but Vivi had made Arthur take them back to the Owen’s residence to give them a brief report of their encounter with the spirit of their relative.  None of the events of that night were mentioned, and Viv had only made the family aware that Fritz had been remorseful about taking his life and was now in a better place.  There was one decent picture of the few taken, and Vivi was not about to share the one of the noose hanging from the ceiling.  The family seemed accepting of the stories about the Mystery Skulls encounter with Fritz, but it was tricky to tell with most people and their outlook on paranormal research.

It was unfairly early in the morning to be on the road, though in all honesty Lewis didn’t care.  Throughout the night Arthur had been driving nonstop, and had only survived on a steady supply of energy drinks and pop rocks carefully rationed by Vivi.  Vivi was convinced Arthur would suffer a heart attack if he didn’t slow down, and Lewis had considered the mien as an entertaining subject piece to dwell over along the hours of road time.  As of the beginning of the trip Lewis had yet to volunteer to drive, but he was giving the matter some heavy consideration.

Lewis could perceive that the air was cool, maybe too cold for bare arms.  The sunlight in the cloudless sky made a difference if it was possible to stay out of the shadows, and the unwelcome breeze.  Lewis had opened the back doors of the van and lay in the sun absorbing the warmth through the incorporeal swarm that consisted of his shape.  Arthur had parked away from the more populated side of the busy convenience shop, and truthfully Lewis didn’t give a damn at this time if someone became curious to his appearance.  Most of him looked human, that was enough.  What business did anyone have to bother him during his siesta?  Lewis relocated his thoughts away from the persistent noise of traffic, engines constantly in motion of come and gone.  Some of his solidity, his consciousness and his memories, prickled through his foremost awareness.  He held no accurate relation to the description, but only knew the sensation gave him a swell of invigoration that would be essential later.  Solid, present, existing.  That’s what was important to him.  Lewis needed that.

“Don’t catch the van to fire,” a sweet voice chimed.

Lewis slammed back into his current space of occupation and tilts himself up, nearly gliding through the floor of the van as a figure of blue came into his vision.  He looked at his shoulders where the pink ember flames had suspended and bobbed under the guidance of his swaying form.  Lewis waved the small orb away, before pressing his palms into the floor of the van and pulled himself up into a sitting position on the  bumper.

“No harm done,” Lewis said.  He looked at the large item of black leather Vivi carried over her arm.  As if anticipating her future dialogue the heart on Lewis’ chest fluttered, as he inclined his brow behind the sunglasses.  “Is that a leather jacket?”

Vivi nods, as she takes the coat by the shoulders and looks it over.  “You’re gonna look like a dead greaser for a while, but that’s all they had in your size.  And I thought it’d match your hands, that way you won’t look too odd.  Maybe.”  She flopped the jacket into Lewis’ arms, while he was distracted with the current state of his free floating palms and bleached bone knuckles.  Lewis stood up and tussled the jacket over in his hands.  “Try not to roast this off, K?  You can go through walls, I think it’s safe to assume you can slip out of a coat like anyone else?”

Lewis noted that the coat was still much larger than he needed it, but even without it zipped up the tight leather hugged close to his sides and there was nothing that could be done about the ribs.  “It’s fashionable,” Lewis says.  “I love it.”  Vivi straightened up the collars and patted the pockets over before zipping it up.

“Arthur’s not back yet?” she asked, as she turns to check around the open parking lot.  A few travelers were out fueling their cars, and a group of kids followed a taller man into the front of the store.  Of a blonde haired young man and a white and black dog, no sign thereof.

Lewis shuffled aside over the asphalt as Vivi pushed by to crawl into the vans back.  As she rummaged around, Lewis fiddled with the locket beneath the thick black pocket of his jacket. The jacket looked awful zipped up as it was to his crisp white collar, but it looked twice as awkward if his suit was showing underneath.  He made mental note to not let this go and maybe remedy it later, as if he had a choice.

“When did Arthur and Mystery become so close?” Lewis asked, in way to distract himself.  He gave up on the locket for now, and peered into the vans interior as Vivi slid the ice chest out.  The ice box was heavy with water so Lewis hefted it out and carried it to the side of the parking lot where the grass tore through the eroded concrete in desperate yellow clumps.  “You were the one that found him.”

Vivi nodded, and bounced up to sit on one of the cement poles that bordered the road around the convenience mart.  “I sometimes wonder myself,” she said, with a sigh.  When was it exactly, she tried to recall but those memories were dim and painful.  A crashing, whirling blur when the world was engulfed in dry brittle scabs, and so many tears dried into shoulders and bed sheets.  She remember the smell of the hospital clearly, anesthetic and the tinge of rot.  For a long time Vivi had accepted that the smell was saturated into Arthur’s soul, and no amount of washing would cleanse it off.  Some days it was hard to get off to see him, and she made excuses not to visit.  It was horrible of her.  But she defended by convincing herself she didn’t know what to do, her presence was damaging to Arthur in some way.  She thought Arthur had hated her for making him go into the cave.

Vivi coughed as she swallowed.  “For a long time he was really low,” she said, her voice rasped.  “I thought it was his arm, at least, that’s what the doctors always said.  I believed them.”  Vivi shrugged.  She moved off the cement pole, as Lewis lifted the drained ice chest and shook the container to remove excess water as he began walking with her across the parking lot.  “It’s was awful.  For a while Mystery was gone, just disappeared.”  Vivi wrapped her arms across her chest and shivered, her voice lowered.  “I thought that’s what he meant.  He would mumble in his sleep.”  Lewis stood with Vivi beside the van, ice chest slumped in his arms.  “He would say, ‘He’s gone Vi.  He’s gone.  I’m sorry, god I’m sorry.’  And I knew it was the delirium, he was upset I’d lost my dog.  We left Mystery in the cave and he was dead, and Arthur was apologizing for killing my dog while he lay in a bed half dead, arm ripped off, brain drowned in cocktail of morphine and antidepressants.  I was so fucking stupid.”  Vivi lowered her head down into her sweater and knit her fingers deep into the fiber of her sweater.

Lewis set the ice box down on the asphalt and grabbed Vivi by her shoulders when she began to sway.  “Easy, mi arandano,” Lewis hummed, and pulled her around to sit on the ice box.  He knelt in front of her and kept his hands clasped to her shoulders.  “Don’t tell me about it.  I don’t need to know anymore if this is going to hurt you.”

“I wanna tell you,” Vivi murmured.  She shut her eyes tightly and fought back the tears, but a few managed their freedom.  “You and Arthur never want to talk about it, but I do.  I need to.  You weren’t there!  So you never saw him go through that.  I wasn’t even hardly there for him.”  She sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the blue sleeve of her sweater.  “I gave up on Mystery,” she said, voice cracking in her throat.  “And I was giving up on Arthur. Each time I saw him, it seemed like I was losing more of him.  I thought the less I visited him, the less he’d waste away.  It’s stupid to think that, I know.”

“It’s not stupid,” Lewis said.  His sunglasses slipped too low on his face but he didn’t bother to fix them.  He instead rubbed her shoulders, edging small coils of warmth into her trembling arms.

“One day I was visiting Art,” Vivi said.  She reached out and fumbled with the collar of Lewis’ new jacket, and snapped off one of the tags still dangling there.  The jacket itself looked fine on him, but his collar….  “That’s after when they let him out of the hospital, he wasn’t on suicide watch anymore.”  Vivi swallowed when the words leapt from her.  “I was ready to start shoving food down his throat – he lost so much weight.  Everyday.  Everyday he,” Vivi paused as she dried more of her tears and wrestled her emotions under some semblance of control.  “Then out of nowhere, it’s Mystery.  I couldn’t believe it.  Arthur too, he had this haunted weird twisted look in his eyes, but he didn’t move.  I think if he had jumped out of bed at that point it would’ve killed him.  But there’s Mystery, somehow, I don’t care.  I don’t remember how to move and I don’t recognize him, and I can’t believe it’s him.  And Mystery hardly gives us a look, he just goes over to Arthur’s bed and set this little damp fluffy thing on his lap.”

As Lewis ponders a moment, Vivi takes another breath and exhales a hot moist breath laced with sorrow and memories she didn’t need.  She rubs at her eyes and set her arms over Lewis’ shoulders and leans on him.  “A hamster,” Lewis says.  He peers at Vivi, who is now very close to his face.  “Galaham?”

Vivi nods and manages a faint smile.  “We were horrified at first,” she admits.  “I thought Mystery had mangled the poor thing, but Arthur gave the hamster a quick look over and concluded he must’ve been born that way.  It was the most he’d spoken in weeks.”

Lewis tugs his lips into a tight smirk.  “A bittersweet ending,” he muttered.  “No wonder I couldn’t get him to bring Galahad with us.”

Vivi sniffles as she stands up from the ice box, and Lewis stands along with her.  “I think too Lance needs the company.  Helps him feel close to Art, in a way,” she said.  “But it would be hard keeping track of two pets.”  Vivi taps the ice chest with her foot, and Lewis moves to pick it up and resumes following her to the stores front.  Vivi does her best to scrub away the shreds of her sorrow but the effort is futile, only time would aid in that matter.  It amazed her how invaluable time was to them all now.

The store is divided into three sections, with the gift shop and convenient store at the forefront, a buffet to the right, and the bathrooms along with arcade section opposite to the side of the buffet.  Vivi led the way to the cold drinks and began selecting the purchases – a bag of ice, chilled drinks, and some packaged sandwiches – all went into the ice box.  While Lewis carried the ice box to the front, Vivi selected additional none chilled goods along the way.

“Are we still headed towards that cursed interstate in the mountains?” Lewis asked, as they moved along in line.  Lewis hefted the ice box onto his shoulder and balanced it there.  He noted the older woman in front of them gave him an incredulous glare before she moved forward, out of his way.  “Not that I’m scared or anything, but it could be a huge waste of time.”

“You saw the open tab labeling out the weather report,” Vivi accused, glaring up at him.  “Didn’t you?”

“I am sorry, I am done with ice for a while,” Lewis muttered.  He was going to say more but stopped prolonging the conversations and thought a moment.  It was more than just being bothered by the cold, he just didn’t want to be reminded.  He couldn’t offer Vivi his concerns, but an icy road and the rumor of numerous accident did not appeal to him either.

“You don’t like to drive on the ice,” a voice said behind them.  It was soft, but had sternness to it.  Lewis and Vivi turned to a wide man in a plaid red shirt and frayed jeans.  “That road has a bad reputation.  A lot of accidents.  People use it anyway, and don’t care.  It cuts the distance between Knoxx and Ruben by half, but the out of Towner’s don’t know how to drive on those kinda roads.”

Vivi straightened up to the man’s tall stature and his verbal cautions.  “We know,” she said.  She moved forward with Lewis as the line shuffled along.  “That’s the reason we’re headed over there.  My group’s gonna explore around, see if there’s an unnatural reason why all those wrecks are caused.”

“Aw really?” asked the man, squinting.

“Yeah,” Lewis said.  He turned away to set the ice chest on the counter and opened it up for the cashier, while Vivi dumped her foods and bags onto the glass counter top.  “Not just faulty road construction.  Paranormal means.  Weird energy, optical illusion roads.”  He shrugged, and tilts around to address the friendly face of the man.  “Who knows, maybe there’s a vengeful ghost hanging around?”  The larger man slapped a hand onto Lewis’ back, and Lewis nearly lost his sunglasses when he jerked under the playful pat.

“You’re ghost hunters then?” the man said, chuckling in his throat.  “How’s that working for you?”

“We’ve had worse,” Lewis says.  When Vivi collected the change, Lewis hurriedly packed up the ice box and moves aside to allow the friendly man on by.

“Hold up a second,” the man said.  He set a bag of jerky and a water bottle on the counter, and asked for a tin of tobacco.  “I know a place ‘round nearby you might want to look at.  Unless you’re in a hurry.”

Vivi shared a look with Lewis as they pause by the newspaper rack beside the glass doors of the stores entrance.  “Well,” Vivi said, doubtfully, “we don’t just check out random places because of local rumors.  There kind of has to be a lot of attention….”  She trailed off, as the man in plaid pockets his purchases stepped closer to her and Lewis.  He ripped open the bag of jerky and offers Vivi a piece, which she takes because they haven’t stopped for lunch yet and this run saw that they picked up snacks to remedy this.  Lewis waves off the food offer, and the man dumps out a piece of jerky into his large, rough palm.

“Well, I am sorry to hear that,” the man grumbled.  “The people that own the place didn’t want a lot of publicity.  They have their own reasons.”  He nods.  Lewis and Vivi move aside as people stroll by and out the sliding doors, a gust of cool air sweeps in at their backs.  “But trust me, this place is haunted.  Or something’s there, something evil.”

“Evil?” Vivi questions, frowning.  “That’s a heavy claim.  And they don’t want publication, help?  Do the owners even believe their home could be haunted, or is it just a local rumor?”

The man nods, and chews a bit on his jerky piece.  “They believe,” he says.  “They just don’t want word to get out, because then they’d have ghost hunters like you people by the place, but I think they could use some help.  See, I told them I’d never post about the incident, but I never said nothin’ about sending people their way.  Just don’t tell them I sent you.”  He takes a bite of the jerky and chews.

“We won’t,” Lewis confides.  Meanwhile, Vivi stuffs the whole jerky piece in her mouth and struggles to chew it.  “So, what’s this problem they have?” he asked, as Vivi nearly chokes.

__

The location given by the overly friendly man from the convenience mart left Lewis more than dubious, but Vivi had already made up her mind once they stepped out of the stores front.  They alternated giving Arthur the acquired information as he drove the long road up among the thin growth of trees and sparse clumps of brush, the road among the foliage was not old or forgotten, but pristine and new.  A few vehicles did pass the van as it chugged on its way up, winding around narrow roads among the mountains, and slipping into the low bobbing hills that ruled the terra firma.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Arthur asked, every few minutes as he peered through the amber windshield of the van.  In the middle seat beside Arthur sat Vivi, laptop on her lap and a few tabs still open since the time they had departed the convenience mart.  She held a sheet of paper with horrible handwriting on its white page, with lines and tiny writing to identify specific landmarks.

“Yep,” Vivi says, as she compares the ‘map’ to the bird eye views she had uploaded.  “We should be reaching a… ah.”  She set the laptop aside, by Mystery curled up in the passenger seat.  “You put in a code to open the gate.”

“I know,” Arthur muttered, as he guides the vans window up beside the small keypad beside the road.  A wall extended across the road, a short distance before them to either side of the thin tree growth, its décor sandy red brick.  There was no way to drive around.  “Did he give us a code?”

“One-three-nine-three-six-five-three,” Vivi answered.  She heard the distinct chime of the code buttons as Arthur punched away, then a low buzz as the black steel gate between the red brick ahead of them swung open.  “You doing okay back there, Lew?”  Viv leaned up over her seat to check the darkened interior of the vans back.  She swayed, gripping the seat at her side as Arthur applied gas and guides their transportation through the open gate.

“Fine,” the voice echoed, cutting over the interior of the metal walls.  “Just peachy.”  Vivi undid her seatbelt in order to turn around more comfortably and check on Lewis, who had lain down along the side of the vans wall facing the inner edge, his arms were wrapped tight over his jacket.  His skull lay just in the inner side of his white collar and appeared positively inert from the angle Vivi was watching him from.

“We’re almost there,” Vivi said, as she slipped back into her seat.  “If you plan to go in with us.”

There came a short beat.  The van rolled along the smooth road between large homes built up and on miniature plateaus, with wild landscape and sparse cultivated foliage among the esteem neighborhood design.  Each home was unique and bore similarities to rustic wood cabins with dark timber outer walls and spaces of grainy stone work.

Arthur winced when he picked up the soft movement in the back.  “What was that address, again?” he asked, quick to cover up the sudden drop in his voice.

“Looks like it’s on the furthest side,” Vivi responds, again with the little ratty piece of paper in her hand.  She looked up as Lewis peered over the bench seat.  “Take this road here, and keep driving.”  Vivi looked up at Lewis.  “We’re you asleep?”

“Nope,” Lewis hummed.  He slipped the sunglasses on and focused, assuring his nonphysical sense that he was maintaining his visible appearance under the jacket.  Lewis leaned up over Arthur’s head to catch the sight of himself in the mirror before he settled back behind the seat and watched as they rolled through a bend in the road.  “S’that the place?”

Vivi and Arthur muttered to each other, Vivi turned the paper around and pointed to the marks.  “I think so,” she said, and looked up to the large home now rising into view.  “Big house, huh?”

It wasn’t a house.  It was a regal estate.  A tall wall of red brick guarded the grounds, with a large black gate embedded in one side of the rocky wall.  Down a ways from the larger gate, sat a smaller gate facing a semicircular sandstone driveway, situated off the main road that encircled the rest of the neighborhood; the guest entrance, most likely.  Saplings dominated the yard, and a few of the larger trees had been left intact just beyond the main grounds of the modified landscape.

“Feels kind of like deja’vu,” Arthur said, as he leaned over the steering wheel.  “Where should I park?”  Vivi indicated to the side parking, beside the sandstone gate.  Arthur kills the engine and leans back in his seat, as Vivi rummages around on the floorboard and collects her provision bag.  “Maybe I should stick out here for once.  In case the police show up.”  He winced when Lewis flicked a finger at his good shoulder.

“C’mon,” Lewis encouraged.  “If anything, they might tell us an interesting story.”  Lewis ducked out of sight, and the harsh screech of the backdoors ignited as Lewis forced one door open.  Arthur sighed, reminding himself to oil the gear if they ever got back.  But he went along, and slipped out from the driver side door.

Once Vivi had roused Mystery and the van doors were locked, the group entered through the guest entrance in the smaller steel gate and moved up the long path to the front doors of the estate.  The path was designed with large sections of rough dark stone, with gravel among the gaps.  Vivi focused a bit on the sounds of their feet scraping over the gritty surface and Mystery claws tapping, the shuffle-scraping only ending when they reached the large entrance doors.  To either side of the front patio, large pillars of wood rose up to the high ceiling of the underside of the patio.  It took a few seconds for Vivi to find the doorbell hidden beside the doorframe, where Arthur indicated it.

“Have we thought about what we’re going to say?” Lewis asked.

Vivi shrugged, her rapid movement caused the items within her bag to crinkle.  “We’ll just wing it.  That’s a plan,” she said.

“A plan designed to fail,” Arthur muttered.  He kept behind Lewis, before drifting to stand near Vivi and Mystery.  He straightened up at Vivi’s motion, when the large front doors opened and a man revealed himself there in the threshold.  An older man, with a red tinged hair and a mustache.  He appeared in good health, lean but strong, a man of discipline or too much time on his hands.  He peered at the group quizzically, before he spoke:

“If you’re here to sell something—”

“Oh no!” Vivi gasped, amused but not offended.  “Ah… we heard you were having some… problems with an entity.  A hostile spirit, or something unwanted in your home.  If this is all false, let us know now and we’ll leave.”  Vivi waved her hands with exaggeration, fearing the sudden denial that was working in the man’s visage.  “But we’re a group dedicated to the paranormal, and we have methods for helping people deal with unwanted supernatural entities.”  Her speech slowed down as she continued, gaping at the taller man as he stared her down.  “We’re here to help and learn, we won’t bring unwanted attention to your home, and our services are free of charge.  I assure you.”

Vivi stepped back into Arthur as the man pushed the door open all the way and leaned onto the rich wood frame.  The interior of the home was large and reflected much of the pseudo natural details of the homes exterior.  Soft beige tile floors, a long rug in the main hall, walls splotched with ‘artistic’ paint texture, and deep gray light fixtures adhered to the walls between doorways and along the upper walls.

“Who sent you?” the man asked.  Somewhere beyond the hall a female voice called, but the words were cut off by the walls.  “Just a moment Harriet,” the man called back.

“No one sent us,” Lewis said.  “A guy from the city got wind we were ghost investigators, so he told us about your place if we were interested.  He made it clear you didn’t want any attention brought your way, but he managed to catch us while we were leaving.”  Lewis looked to Vivi, and Vivi pulled the corner of her mouth back into a sort of humorless smirk.  The man looked down at the dog, as Vivi went on:

“We also do debunking,” she said.  “Trying to understand if the activity in a home is paranormal, or can be explained by everyday occurrences.  We don’t actually know yet if your home is haunted, but we’d like to find out if it’s true and maybe help?  We also have contact information of the college we work and researching with, if you want to verify us.”

The man looks back to her, biting his upper lip as he ponders.  Finally, he pushed away from the door and extends his hand.  “Come in then.  I’m Sanders by the way.  Sanders McHiggin.”  Sanders shakes hands with each member of the group as they give their names.  He stops when Mystery steps up, reared on his back legs with a paw outstretched up to Sanders.

“That’s Mystery,” Vivi says, pointing to the dog.  “He helps with our investigations.”

After shaking Mystery’s paw, Sanders shuts the doors and leads the group the main hall and into the foyer.  Steps lead up to a balcony and to the higher floors, a chandelier dangles above the first landing of the stairs, and above sun windows allow the bright light of late noon to fall over the carpet of the floor stretched across the room.  “I didn’t want any of this story to get out,” Sanders said, as he leads the group into another doorway off from the foyer.  It was a living area with armchairs, a large table with a cloth over it mid center of the room and a chandelier hanging down.  “It’s bad for business.  Bad for publicity.  You can assure me none of this is going to go public?  I warn you now I’ll press charges, kids or not.”

“It’s part of our strict policy.  It assures the protection of the rights of those involved with our investigations, whether it be you or your ‘guests,’” Vivi did air quotes, and folds her hands over in front of her waist.  “What about some pictures?  Can I take pictures, I use them to identify a presence that doesn’t want to be seen.”  She was already grabbing for her bag, when she spied Sanders shaking his head.

“The architect of my home is revolutionary style,” said Sanders, still shaking his head with his mustache pulled into a grimace.  “Please be respectful of my wishes.”

“I will,” Vivi sighed.  Sanders gestured them to sit in the armchairs set around the table, and the group does.  Mystery leaps up and squeezes in beside Vivi and she scoots over as he settles to lay down over her thighs.  Mystery looks to Lewis, and Lewis tenses before he folds and moves to the chair beside Arthur.  The short exchange is missed by Vivi as she rubbed Mystery’s head, before addressing Sanders seated across from her.  “Can you describe the activity that’s been bothering you?  Your family?”

Sanders slouched back in his chair, and gestured his open palm to Vivi.  “Where do I start?  I’m not exactly sure what warrants your interest?” he trailed off, and set his hand back upon the arm of his chair and rubbed his fingers on the velvety fabric.  “I think it started with the noises.”

The recount took a little more than an hour.  For the first thirty minutes a member of the family would come into the social room and check out the visitors of their father/husband.  It was a wife and two teens, and a teen in progress.  After Vivi had written down some of the preliminary activity (in one of her trusty beaten up notebooks), and requested if it was all right by Mr. McHiggin if he could show them around, describe the activity in detail in what areas where it occurred.  Sander’s agreed and led the Mystery Skulls around his luxurious home.  Most the sounds Sanders noted came from the walls or the floors above, where no one would be normally if the family was out.

“It gets creepy when you’re home alone,” Sander’s noted to Arthur, as they stood side by side as Lewis and Vivi inspected a ‘small’ closet.  “The kids will be off doing their thing, and my wife has clubs and I’ll be home trying to read and those noises start up.”

The noises were scratching and a lot of banging, sometimes loud thudding.

“I used to call out people all the time,” Sanders went on.  The group had located to one of the upper rooms, a family bar with popcorn machine on the counter behind the granite countertop and various sweet drinks and colorful bottles for punch martinis.  The story with the room went that the McHiggin would be enjoying some together time, sometimes a few friends of the kids were brought over, and midway during activities an awful smell would fill the room.  Horrible odors had become a theme after the sounds, and though the sounds were frightening and obnoxious on their own, the grotesque odor was more so.  “They’d give me an entire list of possible causes, practically tear the house apart looking for the origins, and find nothing.”

A sink was behind the main bar, and Lewis had opened up the pantry beneath it to check the pipes.  Everything was practically brand new but Sanders had made constant remark of how recent his home was and it shouldn’t be having these kind of problems.  Sanders was stuck on traditional hauntings, Lewis noted.  But that didn’t mean a newer home couldn’t be haunted.

“I know what sulfide smells like,” Sanders said.  He watched as Arthur and Mystery poke around the side of the bar.  “The house smelled like it for a while when the plumbing was first installed.  Some homes are like that, and you just have to let it run out of the pipes.  Eventually, it does.”

“Where does the smell usually come from?” Arthur inquires, as he peers down at a vent beside the bar.  Mystery had leaned in low to sniff at the grate, but inside it Arthur shined his penlight he could see nothing, nothing save for the pristine silver metal.

“The bar,” Sanders answered.  “That vent there.  Once, a cat did get stuck in a vent during construction.  And this happened in the winter time so we didn’t know about it until summer when it began to warm up.  Yeah.  It smelt worse than that.”

Mystery whined.  That was really a terrible story.  He nuzzled Arthur’s fingers as his companion gave his face a consoling stroke.

While Mr. McHiggin moved to address Vivi and more of her questions, Arthur stood up from behind the bar and called Lewis over.  “The sediments in this area could make variations of odors in the pipes,” Arthur began, as Lewis stood behind the other side of the bar.  “Even if they do have filters on water, the smell can still come up from the drains.  It could be coming from the drains.”

“But it’s never come from the bathrooms,” Lewis reasoned.  “And that should be where this smell comes from, right?  It’d be kind of tricky if a selective cloud of smell just sort of wanders through the rooms.”

Arthur nodded.  “You can get pockets of smell,” he said, insisting.  “It depends on air currents and where the odor comes from.”  He stumbled back when Mystery squeezed between his legs, to get around Arthur to Vivi and Mr. McHiggin.  Arthur barked after the dog, cautioning Mystery to be more careful.

“We’ll wait and see,” Lewis said.  “We can’t really judge this occurrence until we experience it, so it just remains an unconfirmed rumor.”  Lewis turned back to the sink and turned the tap on, he peered down into the drain as the water swirled down into the little grate.

Next was a hall, where the family members had seen the creature.  The apparition was described as a large wolf, as big as a bear at least, and the hall they currently stood within was not small but it had no trouble filling the sides with its shoulders.  Sanders admitted he hadn’t seen it, so when his youngest son had emerged from his room, Sanders called him over to recount the incident.

“I don’t like to talk about it,” the youth, Alex admitted.  He was a miniature version of his father, scrawnier with longer red hair settled over his ears and forehead.  “It scared the piss out of me, and now at night I sleep with my brother.  My dad doesn’t believe me.”  He looked to McHiggin senior, and the older man laugher with an awkward cough.

“I never said that,” defends Sanders.  “But your story was sensational, and you were hysterical that night.”

Vivi gave Arthur a side glance, then turned to Sanders.  “Can we speak to your son a bit, alone?” Vivi asks.  “If you’re comfortable with that?”  She indicated senior and junior McHiggin with her fists, one hand held the notebook while the other clasped a pen.

With some reluctance, Mr. McHiggin left his son to recount the story.  “I’ll be in the entertainment room,” Sanders said.  He pat his son on the shoulder as he strolled to the end of the hall and vanished around the corner.

The incident occurred three weeks ago, give or take.  It was a week night and Alex admitted he hadn’t been able to sleep, but Lewis suspected he may have been entertained by personal activities while the household was quiet.  The hall was the youth’s wing of the estate and Alex did confirm that one room was for video games and movies, while another was for exercising.  Each of his siblings had personal computers in their rooms.

Alex left his room that night to investigate some obnoxious sound.  It was well past midnight, and Alex suspected his brother or sister was creating the ruckus and would alert their parents.  For some reason the light in the hall didn’t work, which annoyed Alex more than alarmed, he wasn’t afraid of the dark but they had reoccurring problems with the electricity lately and every time they called a repairman out, the problem had resolved itself.  In the meantime, the electrician would cut power to certain areas of the home, and that interfered with the internet.

“I came out of my room and turned to go down the hall,” Alex said, as he indicated the area of the hall he’d been facing.  He shuddered and stuffed his hands into his jean pockets.  Lewis stepped by, Mystery followed his footsteps as Lewis glanced over the walls and doors that had been fitted into the hall.  “Light comes from the end of the hall, from the windows above the staircase.  I couldn’t make it out, but I could see it was huge.”  Alex’s eyes got big as he opened up his arms, pantomiming the size of the monster.  “And its eyes glowed, and I could hear it breathing.  I’m not making this up.”

Vivi quickly scratched down her notes and turned her attention back to the taller, young man.  “We know you’re not,” she assured.  “Did it rush at you, make any violent movements?  Or did it just manifest and stand there.”

Arthur looked up from her notebook and swallowed.  Huge fucking bear/wolf.  He could hardly wait.

Alex concluded his account, explaining the thing was only scary but it felt malevolent and it had begun to move in his direction.  Slowly.  Alex had locked his door and shoved his bed up against the door and slept in his closet that night.  Afterwards, Alex persisted to share the room with his older brother, Peter.

Peter didn’t believe the account, but sympathized with his brother’s fear and never turned him away when Alex came to his room early in the night.  But Peter had nothing else to say to the Mystery skulls group and kept scarce from their investigations.  Vivi suggested they find Mr. McHiggin and see what else he had for them.

Quite possibly the most intriguing bit of information regarding the whole haunting, was the pool that had been left in the beginning stages of construction.  Mr. McHiggin explained that the pool was to be indoor and connected to the sun room of the estate and went into elaborate detail about the design of the pools large room and the shutters, and on and on.  Lewis found the construction difficult to imagine in its current stage, as it was only a large hole in the soil with the excavated dirt piled back from the sight to allow further freedom for the workers to maneuver around.  From the appearance of the large sand mounds and dried out roots that had been shoveled aside by the bulldozers, Lewis could estimate that it had been more than a month since progress of the pool had ceased.

Poor Vivi was left on the top soil with Mr. McHiggin, while Lewis, Arthur, and Mystery dropped down into the soft sandy bottom of the pit to look around.  Walls built of two by fours and plywood had been nailed up to prevent the sides of the loose soil from caving in, and dried river trails decorated what sandy walls were exposed, etched down into sloping pit. Tarps had been hung up and some sandbags left around to protect what progress was made before the pool was abandoned altogether.  Lewis thumbed the ratty pieces of a canvas wall as he checked the sediment behind walls for evidence of soil distortions, or missed artifacts that may had been overlooked during the excavation.

“Remember that one movie you and Vi made me watch?” Arthur asked.  He kicked at the base of the earthy wall and watched the dirt sift down over the toe of his shoe.  “The one where they lived in that house and started digging a pool, and it turns out—”

“What is with you and recounting all the horror movies you willingly watched with us?” Lewis muttered.  He turned to Arthur and crossed his arms over the black jacket stretched over his chest.  Arthur looked afflicted by the comment or the tone Lewis used, and turns away.  Mystery scampered over to Arthur’s feet and paced around his knees, staring up at the blonde as Arthur adjusted his amber vest.  “I was thinking the same thing,” Lewis said.  He averted his gaze from Arthur and looked back to the tarp and the side of the pool behind it carved with the thin river lines.  “About the pool.  It falls in with renovations on a home?  Or digging in sacred ground and disturbing the spirits resting there.  The story that movie was based on was inspired by true events.”  Lewis checked the tone of his voice, trying to keep its echo warm.

“Oh, yeah,” Arthur said.  He moved to walk away, but Mystery had sprung up into his shins then darted away.  Mystery did this odd lunge and retreat, panting and returning to Arthur and trotting around his companion with his doggy smile stretched wide over his snout.  Arthur made no comment to the dog, and Lewis only glanced between the two as Mystery continued his playful antics.  “The soil smells weird,” Arthur said.  “I don’t know if you can pick it up, y’know…. Anyway, it does, if you didn’t notice.  Like metal.  The geography for the region didn’t mention anything about ore sediments.”  Arthur’s voice shrank as he moved away, Mystery keeping pace with him as Arthur hiked past Lewis and up the slope of the pool, to the shallower section.  Mr. McHiggin was still talking, but the conversation sounded nearer to their current subject of interest.

“Do you believe you’re group can remove this… thing?” Sanders asked.  He stood a few feet from the edge of the pool, hand over his brow to shield from the strong rays of the sun falling over them.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Vivi said.  She began flipping through the pages of the notebook, checking earlier notes she had taken of more specific paranormal activity.  “If it turns out we lack the tools, then we can give you the number of our college and they can find someone to help.  A priest or some demon hunter.”

“Demon hunter?” Sanders exclaimed.

Vivi nodded as she propped the notebook on her palm and wrote into one of the pages.  “Mostly they go around blessing places, expunging hostile energy in homes – not as action packed as it sounds.”

“The name certainly sounds exciting,” said Sanders, with a smirk spreading under his mustache.  “I hope you can do the job though, since you made the trip here.  And….”

Vivi smirked and finished for him, “—And you can stay under the radar.  Anonymity is taken very seriously.”  Before Vivi could speak further, loud snarling and barks came from the pools pit.  She and Sanders whirled to where Arthur stood, now atop the pools side where they stood.  Arthur gave them a wide eyed look, he was taken by as much surprise as they were, and glimpsed over the side of the pool where Lewis and Mystery were.  “What happened?” Vivi nearly screamed.

Lewis had his hands out and was standing back from Mystery, where the dog had planted his feet in the soil and turned his teeth to Lewis.  Mystery was firmly set glaring at his companion, teeth bared and deep growls rolling in his chest.  Sanders muttered something neither of the group managed to perceive, while Mystery snarled and glanced from Lewis to the edge of the pool where Arthur stood.  When it was apparent Lewis had backed off, Mystery returned to the side of the pool, the lowest edge of the entire perimeter, and tried to leap up.  Mystery’s claws caught the loose soil and the dog could haul his body up, but his weight coupled with the loose soil sent him tumbling back down.

“I don’t know,” Lewis said, his dark eyes wide behind the sunglasses.  “I was trying to help him out.  He’s never acted this way before, he—” Lewis’ sputtering dimmed as he recalled, a time when Mystery had behaved like this toward him.  And the dog had turned and ran away.

Once again Mystery threw his body up as high as he could muster and clawed at the sandy edge and nearly fell backwards, had Arthur not lashed forward and taken Mystery by his chocolate paws.  Mystery scrambled up to join his companions, and Arthur hauled Mystery the rest of the way, his metal hand gripping the red collar in the process of dragging the dog up.

The vacant expression that crossed Lewis’ face was not missed by Vivi.  When Lewis met her eyes she had that same resolute determination locked on her face, the same glower she had that night when she placed herself between Lewis and Arthur.  “Lew, dear.  We’ll talk later.”  Vivi cleared her throat and turned to the befuddled Mr. McHiggin and forced a grim smile.  “I’m sorry about that.  For some reason Mystery doesn’t like his new jacket.  Real leather, very expensive.  Dogs are weird like that.”

Mystery padded between Vivi and Arthur, he turned his snout up and gave a low groan in the back of his throat.  I am Not shallow, don’t make me look bad in front of the client!  He snuffed at the air and gave his hide a shake, before he plodded off to check some of the foundation work left half-finished around the pools edge.

Arthur remained squatted beside the pool watching the direction Mystery wandered off into, and waited as Vivi and Sanders began to step away back towards the plastic coated and partially demolished side of the estate.  As Lewis glides up to stand beside Arthur, Arthur rose to his feet and leaned towards Lewis.  “What’d you do?”

A low rasping shrill came from Lewis, deep in his chest if Arthur was to judge.  Arthur took a wide step away as Lewis whirled his face to him, his skin dimming over the bleached skull beneath but the face maintained its solidity.  Arthur would have been impressed, if Lewis eyes’ didn’t look so piercing through the shades.  “I didn’t do anything.”  It came as more of a hiss and whistle than a voice, and it took Arthur a moment to decode the sound as Lewis stormed off in Vivi’s direction, pink flames flickering at his heels.

Arthur let out a lungful of stale air he had been holding, and reached his flesh hand up to rub at his aching shoulder.

There were a few final bases to cover, before the group took leave of the McHiggin household for the remainder of the evening.  They had ample time to go over supplies and discuss probable remedies and logical explanations for the activity in the house.  Aside from third party accounts recounted by Sanders McHiggin, only Alex and his older sister Rachel McHiggin had seen the creature.  Paranoia was a factor to consider, and any sum of oozing shadows mingled with the rancid odor, whatever its origins, could account for witnessing a ‘monster’ in a dark hall.  During the time spent in the van preparing for the night, none of the Mystery Skulls members spoke much to each other, that didn’t reflect the current case of interest.  Arthur provided logical insight, Lewis gave his opinions, and Vivi used the laptop to make notes and assemble a strategy based on their findings and reported experiences.  Mystery had stayed outside the van and as far as Vivi knew, he had taken a walk around the estates grounds.

“Don’t go too far off,” Vivi had called after the dog, when he had padded off past the open driver side door in silence.  Vivi stayed slumped in the front seat, her legs slung up over the backseat, which allowed the sun to hit the screen of the laptop on her chest at full force.  Vivi couldn’t understand how Arthur managed to sleep in the front seat, but she knew it was the most soothing method he had come by to sleep soundly whenever they stopped to rest.  “We’ll try some holy water,” she said, fingers tapping swiftly over the keys of the computer with rapid ticks.  “And the iron letter openers.  If it is some sort of fairy entity, iron should dissuade it if one of us gets in a bind.  But Mr. McHiggin did say it was none violent.  I dunno if he knew what he was talking about.”

“How about some salt?” Lewis asked.  He took the two letter openers from a side cuvee in the wall of the van and looked at them in his hands.  They didn’t bother him, which was a ligament concern he had had.  “Just in case?”

Vivi nodded, though Lewis couldn’t see it.  “Better safe than sorry,” she said.  “Little salt never hurt no one.  “Until we see this thing, I think that’ll be our best course.  It doesn’t sound too complex though.”

Lewis moved to the back of the van where Arthur sat, jolted, when Lewis moved up behind him.  Lewis handed over the makeshift knives, and Arthur stuffed one into the waist ban of his jeans and tucked the second one into a backpack.  “Vi,” Lewis said, as he turned from Arthur.  Lewis didn’t want to see Arthur’s pitying gaze, as he spun around to face the front of the van.  Lewis pulled his sunglasses off and gazed at the top of Vivi’s blue head through the shaded interior of the van.  “About earlier.  I… uh, about Mystery.”  Lewis stumbled over his words, and struggled to keep his gaze from slipping behind him, back to Arthur.  The locket on Lewis chest quivered, and Lewis was unsure if he could say anything to bring to light of what had happened and maybe why.  He looked up to where Vivi’s legs hung over the bench seat, one of her pale blue stockings had a thin rip along the side and some blackened smudges.  “Try and hear me—”

“Lew.”  Lewis sputtered, his face dimming and briefly the skull was fully visible for a moment – skin gone, neck vacant, before Lewis recovered.  Vivi pulled herself up to sit backwards in the seat on her knees and faced him, the laptop was set aside.  “I don’t want to talk about it right now.  And I don’t want to hear what you have to say,” she said, raising her hand when Lewis was about to huff out more words.  Vivi lowered her head behind the seat and rested her ear against the covering.  She could picture that hurt look on Lewis face, his dark eye sockets and the pink glow of those ember eyes within.  Vivi spoke into the seats back, “I just want you to know I trust you.  So… take some time and think about what you need to tell me.  I’ll listen.  Whatever it is, I’ll listen to you first.”  Her fingers gripped her skirt tightly, and she didn’t want to think of the worst.  She didn’t want to think that Mystery hated Lewis, and she may never know why.

There was a small space of quiet.  A soft clicking sound, some noise made by the metal of Arthur’s arm as he fumbled with the zipper of the backpack.  Then a scuffling and the faint scrap of ‘feet’ pacing away.  Viv sunk down on the driver seat a little more and debated on moving back or staying where she was.  Where had Lewis gone to?

“Oh hey, how’s it going?”  To the new voice, chipper and male, Vivi snapped her head up.  She whipped her gaze to Arthur, still seated in the back of the van and staring at her with that same wide eyed gape.

“Hey,” Lewis said.  He raised his head as he fixed his glasses.  No sooner were his shades in place, did Arthur and Vivi come pouring out of the vans open doors.  He looked from Vivi then turned Arthur’s way with no vocal response, just turned the edges of his mouth down.  He introduced Vivi and Arthur with as little to no emotion as he could muster, then faced the man before him.  “We have a gig here.  You are?”  He shook hands with the stranger.

“Trevor,” said the man.  “Trevon, but I like Trevor better.”  Trevor was casually dressed in white khakis, a white shirt, and his hair was platinum champagne or some wild bleached color of canary yellow.  The long sleeves of his shirt came down his arms and the buttons of his long sleeves wrists were undone.  “These guys lasso you into some bogus job?  I’d get going while you’re ahead.”  Trevor thumbed over his shoulder, back to his van on the opposite side of the large parking road.  “Let’s say it isn’t safe here.”

“We know,” Vivi announced.  She stepped towards Trevor and folded her arms behind her back as she peered up at him.  “That’s why we’re here.  I take it you heard the rumors too?”

Trevor laughs, he laughs like he was told this awful joke that he came up with and still hated it when people repeated it.  “Unfortunately,” he wheezed, before he gained some control over his breathing.  “My group was the first to experience the weirdness.  In fact,” he gestured to the front of the home, beyond the Mystery Skulls van behind the group.  “I was collaborating with the landscape group digging out for the pool.  Sanders tell you all the spiffy additions he wanted?  That guy, he knows what he wants.”

Vivi blinked.  “You mean to tell me, when the pool was first being dug out?” she asked, nearly incredulous.  Vivi stepped back as Lewis walked by, toward the open driver side door.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” answered Trevor.  “Everything was fine when we started.  The landscapers, when they first began to dig – I was just around to rework the electrics of the house, since my company was the one that wired the place.  Nice house, but these big places don’t pay right enough, they only look good in a resume.”  Trevor chuckled and rubbed his hands together as if to warm them.  “Sorry.  What was I saying?”

“The pool?” Arthur prompted.  He leaned back against the van, behind Vivi’s shoulder.  “We kind of got that the pool was sorta the source of the problems.”  Arthur gestured with his metal arm, and he noted with some irritation that Trevor had noticed his prosthetic.

 Trevor nodded and shifted his footing on the pavement.  “Yes, we must’ve stirred something up.  Or they did, I was just rewiring that one side of the house – did he show you that mess?  Never mind.”  Trevor shook his head.  “Yeah.  Took’em about a day and a half to get started, then everything went bad.  While we were on that side we’d get this stink, like something old and dead- but he’s probably told you?  Right.  In the house too?  Thought so.”  Trevor mirrors the nods that Vivi and Arthur give.  “Then we start seeing shadows.  A big animal, furry and sort of scabbed.  We never actually see it, but we catch a glimpse of it moving around, and always when we get a face full of that reek.  Ughh… I’ve had my share of bad rot, but that is something else.”

“In broad daylight?” Vivi asked, surprised.  Mr. McHiggin stated that workers that came by to check the homes reoccurring problems had seen it inside, during the work hours of the day, but she hadn’t thought people had seen it outside the walls of the home during the day.  Probably this activity was caused by intruders interfering with its territory.

“I don’t know,” Trevor said, and shrugged.  “The other guys, working on the pool, they left.  Took off.  Then it was my crew, and whatever gullible spleen McHiggin could drag out to his place to keep working on that damn pool.  Pardon my French.  Anyway, none of them last long.  They get wind of that hell beast, see it, and take off.  Even my guys refused to come out here, so I would just come out solo to do the work and finish up what I can until McHiggin can find someone else to make progress on the pool.”  He took a step back, as if the mansion had given him a stern look for spewing such slander.  “Now I don’t hardly come out.  Not after what happened.”  He jammed his hands into his pants pockets and maneuvered around, walking away from Vivi and Arthur.  “If you’re wise, you won’t stick around either.”

“What happened to you?” Vivi asked, twisting around to follow Trevor’s stroll.  “Can you… talk about it?”

Trevor paused in front of the van, a few yards from the entrance of the gate to the McHiggin estate.  He glanced towards the path to the large front doors, then back to Vivi and Arthur now waiting and watching curiously beside the grill of the van.  He sighed, and took a half step to them.  “I was working late one day, my last day,” he whispered, and moved in closer as Vivi tilts her head towards him.

__

Twilight, early fall when the days were still long enough but growing shorter by the weeks that ran by on the many busy, blurred days.  Trevor stood in the quiet of the orange sun as he twisted wires and capped the raw ends with the bright bobs, then tucked the tidy ends back into the open breaker box in the wall.  He had to put in long hours alone at the McHiggin estate, if he wanted to keep his workers and the other jobs around the city.  It was too much work for one person but he had no choice, he could only curse under his breath and maintain his minimal focus on rewiring the outlets along the wall and avoid burning his palms too badly.

The plastic pinned over the ruined walls, torn out to make ready for the extension of the home and the one day completed indoor pool, crinkle in the soft breeze.  It was spooky, with the location being as isolated in the way these big houses were up in the exclusive neighbors away from the ruffians and common folk.  Trevor was a city boy and he didn’t like visiting the woods, but he supposed people liked this sort of thing if they could afford it.  The novelty of independence.

He began coughing when he got a nose full of that stink.  A thick salty fog that hovered around his head, and swelled down into the back of his throat.  “Oh god,” Trevor gagged, as he released the wall panel and let it fall.  He shoved his gritty palms over his nose and turned around, his eyes searched around as he tried to constrict his breathing.  Where was it coming from?  The air was so still, it couldn’t be a carcass.  It had to be the plumbing.

At his back, towards the side of the pools many shoveled hills, he heard a low scratching.  Not a scratching he realized as he listened, but a throaty snarl.  Trevor turns, expecting some stray dog or a wolf, he does not expect the monster that is poised between the mounds of earth.  He tried to make a sound, he chokes out a soft moan, but he could not raise his voice to save his life.  The big thing, the hell beast, began towards the petrified mortal.

__

Arthur stared at the bandage wrapped around Trevor’s lower arm.  It was fresh gauze wrapped tightly with metal pins in place to secure the cover, the faint tinge of red had seeped along the side.

“I didn’t think I was going to live,” Trevor says, as he pulls his sleeve back over the medical wrapping.  “I blacked out by the door I think.  Hadn’t made it inside.  Dunno what made it release me, I must’ve had an angel watching over me that day.”  Trevor gave a lop sided grin.  “One of their kids found me later, near nightfall.  My clothing was torn up but only my arm was maimed.  Big paws prints, like some sort of bear.  They called animal control, and the whole circus came out but nothing was ever found.”  He turned away from the silent stares of Arthur and Vivi, and he moved past the front of the van and towards the large gate.  “I wouldn’t stay here,” he says, over his shoulder.  “As soon as my business is done, I am gone.”  Trevor entered the gate onto the sandstone walkway and exited their sight.

Once Vivi was certain Trevor was beyond earshot, Vivi says to Arthur, “So, it is hostile.”  Arthur moved away, returning to the back of the van.  Vivi followed.  “Wish Mr. McHiggin had warned us.”

Arthur shrugged as he moved beside the open doors.  In the driver seat sat Lewis and when Arthur raised his gaze he caught the eyes peering over the sunglasses staring into the rearview mirror.  Arthur stalled and gave a weak little wave.  Lewis was silent.  “You know how he is,” Arthur said.  Vivi climbed up into the vans back and went for her bag, where Arthur had previously been sitting and stocking supplies.  “‘I want no negative publicity, this’ll ruin me,’” Arthur grumbled, imitating a voice too deep for his meekness.  “He has a hard time finding lunatics to finish his pool.”  He nearly chortled.  He rapped the metal digits of his hand on the vans bumper, and peered up at Vivi as he tapped out a shallow tune.  “Who can blame him?  The rumors are bad.”

“Still, for our safety,” Vivi said.  She snagged her backpack and shoved it down over Arthur’s hand, to silence his sounds.  Arthur gave her a mischievous grin as he snatched his arm away and hid it behind his back.  Vivi turns from him as she pulls the straps of the backpack over her shoulders, and crouched on the short plush of the vans carpeted back.  “I can’t believe he’s still living here if the things dangerous.”

Lewis leans around in the driver’s seat, and braces his arm over the chairs back.  “It’s not like he could just uproot his family,” Lewis reasons.  “The guy might be loaded, but he’s sort of tied to the house.  Besides, he didn’t even believe that kid, Alex.”

“It still seems like—” Vivi cut off there, and smiled thinly Lewis’ way.  “Are we ready then?”

Lewis tilts his head down and makes a motion with his hand, dubious.  “Sólo dar la orden, arándano,” he rumbled.  “We’re at your beck and call.”

Vivi shuffles closer to Lewis on her knees and sets her hand upon his bleached knuckles splayed loosely on the backside of the bench seat.  “You are such a charmer, Lew.”  When Lewis’ expression fluttered, eyes dimming behind the dark purple shades, Vivi tore away and bounced out the back of the van.  “I’m STILL pissed at you, though!”

Arthur staggered back as Vivi flew by, and was nearly smacked in the chest by a rogue knee.  Arthur twisted his eyes back to Lewis, who had taken on a bright sheen of fuchsia as spirits flames sprout around the black collar of his jacket.  A crackling mist and embers flicker from Lewis neck, and the space behind the sunglasses blaze against the dusk sun still gleaming through the windows.  Arthur sprang up in place and backpedaled from the doors, before a flash of flames swiped at the ceiling of the van.  Arthur swore Lewis was breathing fire.  There was fire at his lips and in his throat when he shrieked something unintelligible, by Arthur’s impression the sound hadn’t even come out of Lewis, it leapt from the scratchy static of the radio as the van lurched into temporary life.

Vivi waited on the other side of the van casually, as Lewis had his moment.  She let her hand rest on Arthur’s bad shoulder when he joined her, and they waited in silence that followed; for the last of the sun to shrink out of sight and replace the cinnamon coated sky with violets and blues, as a multitude of glittering stars began to prick into existence above them in the dark blanket cast by the sky.

It wasn’t long after that Lewis found the nerve (or strength) to lock up the van and offer an apology to Vivi.  The apology had no definition, no origin, it was just an apology Lewis felt Vivi had warranted, and for the time she accepted it.  It was a temporary fix, but it was a start.

[littlepanduh-writes-365]

Day 18

Title: Love is in the Air

Features: Lipsoul (Loona)

Word Count: 1796 [wow she’s long. I think if I edit it more, I will post it on aff and ao3] 

Tags: fluff

Synopsis: Jinsol and Jungeun spend 15 hours in the air together. 

Serendipity series: 1 | ? 

(BTW Kim Lip is supposed to have brunette hair, but I couldn’t find a GIF so this’ll do)

Jinsoul was already having a lackluster day. Her flight was delayed and she was missing out on half a day’s worth of her university friend’s reunion. Maybe she could tolerate it if she was with someone, but she was flying solo and all the processes were getting to her. 

She’s finally in a seat on the airplane. Her shoulders feel a little bit lighter, but she still had a pounding headache. 

Nineteen more hours and I’m home. 

The blonde is constantly checking her phone. The group chat is blowing up. Haseul has just posted pictures of them eating at a restaurant. 

I miss Korean food. 

I miss my friends. 

She had been looking forward to this trip for the past 3 months. Ever since she moved to LA, she’s had a hard time adjusting, Although she excelled in school, she had a hard time communicating in English and nothing prepared her for the rude attitude of the Southern California people. The welcoming and patient characteristics only existed in airports and tours. 

Jinsoul feels tears welling up, but she fights it knowing that it’ll just worsen her headache and she didn’t want to worry the people sitting next to her, especially since they were going to sit next to each other on a plane for 17 hours.

Her designated seat is in the middle. She’s glad that she’s not by the window because she plans on sleeping through the entire ride, but since she was one of the first few people on board she would surely have to move out of the way to whoever was sitting next to her. Of course, that sounds very simple, but Jinsol was just not in the mood to interact with anybody at all, especially if she had to converse in English. 

After fifteen minutes, a brunette asks her if she can pass by her. Jinsol was dreading this moment, but time passed quickly and the two barely said anything to each other. 

Once the brunette sat, she was easily occupied by her phone, making Jinsol more relieved. 

More passengers trickled in. Their flight was about to leave in 15 minutes. 

Her next neighbor finally came. It was another young woman. She donned bright purple hair. She was rather cheery and that made Jinsol unsettled, but the purple-haired girl took a hint that conversation wasn’t happening right now and just plucked in her headphones. 

“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard to Korea Air…”

The captain started talking about safety procedures and about the flight. He mentioned delays due to weather and the possibility of turbulence which made Jinsol roll her eyes. 

I just want to get this over with. 

By the time the plane was in the air, the brunette was already asleep. Jinsol was jealous of her ability to fall asleep quickly, she had forced her eyes shut,  it the pain in her head wasn’t going away. She took deep breaths to calm her down. 

They were still flying up when Jinsol hears furious stomping. She thinks it’s just a flight attendant and tries to ignore it. 

Jinsol was unfortunately very, very wrong, 

She found out her incorrect thought when her eyes jolted to someone on her lap, a wet and warm feeling on her stomach and leg, and the smell of vomit.

In complete shock, Jinsol yelled. “Oh my gosh!” She had a look of terror and disgust. 

The person who had vomited on her nearly collapsed at her feet. “I’m so sorry.”

Trying to ignore the smell. Jinsol and the brunette tried to assist the airsick person. The purple-haired girl caught the attention of a flight attendant. 

Since it was a biohazard to sit in their row, they were reassigned to sit in the flight attendants' seats. They were notified that they would receive a free upgrade to first class on their return flight.

Jinsol went straight to the bathroom. She internally sighed (not wanting to breathe in any biological fumes), knowing that she didn’t have extra clothes, thinking she didn’t need any. 

She stripped and hand washed her shirt and pants. It was difficult in the cramped bathroom, but she was able to do it. There was a clear wet spot on her stomach area and crotch, but it was all she could do. 

The blonde comes back to her “new seat”. The brunette (who couldn’t sleep as comfortably anymore) couldn’t help but stare pitifully at her. 

“Are you not going to change?”

Jinsol looked up. She didn’t expect to make conversation. “I don’t have extra clothes.” 

The brunette cocked an eyebrow. Jinsol tried not to be affected by it. Sure it’s smart to bring extra clothes, but what was the likelihood of someone throwing up on her?

Seriously though. She doesn’t think illy of the purple-haired girl, but wouldn’t that person throw up in her since she’s closest to the aisle? Why her? She gets it was a bumpy start, but how did that person… 

You know what? Never mind. It’s whatever. 

I just… want to be home. 

A jacket and a pair of shorts appear in front of her. 

“It’s not much, but you shouldn’t have to deal with smelly and wet clothes for the next 15 hours.”

The brunette (who had just cocked her eyebrow at her 5 minutes ago) was now giving her clothes. 

Jinsol contemplates it, but taking all things into consideration, she accepts the clothes and promptly changes. She felt a little scandalous at first, since the shorts were really short, but it was better than a damp t-shirt and pants.

The brunette’s sweater smelt nice, too. It was musky and had a forest-y hint. 

Since they were sitting in front of each other, they decided to have conversation. Although it was forced at first, it eased into something comfortable. 

The brunette’s name was Jungeun and her English name was Ashley. She grew up in Korea, which allowed them to comfortably speak their native tongue. She’s going to school for linguistics and wanted to visit her parents since it is their 10-year wedding anniversary. The two talked about their life growing up in Korea and their lives now. 

They probably talked for 5 hours before both of them were tired. Jinsol actually wanted to keep talking to Jungeun, but it was going to be 3AM in Pacific time and she was indeed feeling sleepy. 

The next time she wakes up, the flight attendants are giving them their meal. The two sat in awkward silence. Jinsol was getting cold from her exposed legs. Jungeun asked the flight attendant for a jacket and that’s when Jinsol realized Jungeun was actually a softie. 

The two poke at their Alfredo pasta and then talk about all the food they want to eat when they get back home.

For some odd reason, Jinsol wanted to invite Jungeun to hang out together. Maybe get street food together or walk along the Han River.

She pushed back the idea, thinking it was weird how two strangers on an airplane would hang out together. Their lives were so much different than being confined in the air. 

But was it wrong to… want something more?

More hours pass. For a few moments, Jinsol was just listening to her headphones. Her AirPods died, so she had to charge them. The two started talking about music and pop culture and fashion. Eventually, they started talking about hobbies and things they wanted to try both in America and Korea. 

Jinsol liked how easygoing Jungeun was. This was all small talk, but she wanted to talk to Jungeun… about life. 

Soon enough, the flight was landing. Jinsol’s legs were partially sore from having to half-squat the entire time. 

She was excited to see the city skyline again. She could already imagine Hyejoo being drunk off of beer and Yeojin being rowdy in the bars while Vivi and Haseul just smiled happily along. 

“It’s nice isn’t it?”

Jinsol turns to Jungeun. The brunette’s face was beaming at the window as well. 

Jinsol couldn’t help but have a heavy feeling in her heart. It was a shame that they were going to be strangers after this. 

They land safely and the flight attendants are giving them instructions as to obtaining their free upgrades. 

Being in the terminal made Jinsol uneasy. She wasn’t sure how to say goodbye to Jungeun.

“Thanks again for lending me your clothes.”

“That’s okay. Between you and me, I probably wouldn’t be able to stand being next to you if I had to smell that for 16 hours.”

Between you and me.

Were we that close already?

Are we really going to waste 15 hours together? 

“Since I can’t get clothing until baggage claim and I don’t really want to buy expensive airport clothing, do you mind waiting until I can get some clothes?”

“Yeah! That’s not a worry! I’d feel the same.”

The two walk together out of customs. Conversation continued, but it was a little more obvious that Jungeun just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. 

“My parents are here! I can’t wait to go home and eat my mom’s food!”

For some odd reason, Jinsol’s head could only think about saying goodbye to the brunette. Her head was still contemplating if she should ask to hang out again. 

They reach the baggage claim. Jinsol finds her luggage first. 

“I’m gonna go change! I’ll be quick!”

“Okay! I’ll try to find the nearest restroom. If you can’t find me, I have a bright red suitcase. You can’t miss it.” 

Jinsol smiles. She decides that she’s going to ask for Jungeun’s number. She’s not sure if they can hang out in Korea, but she wouldn’t mind talking to her and maybe hanging out when they’re back in the states. 

There’s a long line and Jinsol debates just undressing there, but since it was an airport with a lot of international people and not college students or young adults, she knew that was a little inappropriate. 

It takes about 15 minutes, but Jinsol is back in a turtleneck and wool coat. She picks up her luggage and looks for Jungeun. 

The brunette is nowhere in sight, neither is the bright red luggage she spoke of. 

Jinsol stayed until the carousel stopped spinning for the flight they were on and the number of people dissipated.

The blonde accepted the fact that Jungeun left and they never got a proper goodbye. 

Her pocket vibrates. She puts Jungeun’s jacket on her luggage. 

It’s one of her friends. They’re at the airport looking for her. 

Jinsol explains where she is and they come to get her. 

She’s a little despondent of the situation, but there’s a little bit of hope as she holds onto the jacket that smells like the forest.

[whereisten]

Traces

Summary: Violet is a blossoming filmmaker with her own demons. When man of the night Taeyong comes into her life, she realizes that demons are very much real. She will have to endure the consequences of trusting the one person she should’ve steered clear from.

Genres: Romance, A Pinch of Smut, Fluff for Days, Comedy, Drama, Angst, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy

Cast: Taeyong, Yuta, OC (the bad bitch that you’ll get to know as Vi)

WARNING: Mentions of Death, Language, Alcohol, Addiction, Violence (this writing in no way represents the members mentioned, all events are fake).

________________________________________________

CD 1: Intro - Track 1 - Track 2

Word Count: 7.7k

It was a busy Friday night at BOSS Karaoke Bar, my dad’s place. He was out for the night and entrusted his official manager Hani and assistant manager me for the weekend while he was out of town for a bar owners’ convention in Newark.

BOSS Karaoke Bar was located smack dab in the middle of Sunset, Florida. Sunset was a coastal, metropolitan town with high rises and trains running for hours on end. Celebrities and other prominent figures resided and visited all the time so it was always a pleasant surprise to see a popular basketball player or an international music artist come to BOSS. It definitely helped business boom and thankfully, BOSS was stronger than it had ever been.

Dad built the business from the ground up from the time he immigrated to the States. He worked as a dishwasher, a waiter, and a bartender among other odd jobs until he was able to attain citizenship and attend the Sunset University for Business Administration at the age of 28. He met my mom around that time and after his graduation, mom had me and a year after that, she had Janine. My dad worked his way up in management at bars and restaurants all over Sunset. Then, he discovered karaoke when mom suggested it for one of their date nights. And well, the rest was history.

“Hey, Vi. Do you think you can take over for a bit while I make a few phone calls?” Hani asked me. No doubt Hani was going to juggle her several gentlemen callers for the weekend and she had to iron out some details.

“Sure!” It wasn’t even that crazy at the moment. I checked the upcoming reservations for karaoke for the next hour and saw that there were only two parties I needed to check in. It was 10:30 PM and sometimes there were walk-ins.

A few minutes passed when Hani returned to her post. “What do you think? Should I give Joshua or Hansol a shot?” She asked as she adjusted her sky high boots, earning an admiring look from two girls who were headed to the restroom.

I’d been through this with her several times and while it was humorous, I wanted the best for her. “You know I can’t answer that.”

Hani laughed, music to everyone’s ears. “Sure you can! I’ve been wracking my brain over it for weeks now and they’re both starting to get...on edge.”

“What…”

“Let’s just say the three of us aren’t welcome to Whole Foods for the next month.”

“Really?” I shot her an incredulous look.

“How was I supposed to know that they both liked to buy their orange juice from the same place I do?”

One of the karaoke rooms, although muddled, became significantly louder as the group all sang along to “Sorry Not Sorry” by Demi Lovato.

I thought about Hani’s dilemma. I never understood love triangles. They were fun on TV shows but in real life, I couldn’t imagine being torn between two people. Torn between two snacks at a vending machine? Yes. Torn between two movies? Absolutely. But two different people? No. I think I would just know when I got to meet that certain someone.

“Hani, if you can’t decide between the two of them, then maybe...you don’t like either of them enough to really decide?” I asked.

A group of men and women came into BOSS and approached the front desk. At the forefront was an attractive dark brown haired man with piercing brown eyes and a jawline that could probably slice me up into delicate slices if I rubbed him the wrong way. Something about him had me on edge.

Maybe it was just the jawline.

He smiled at me and my thighs pressed harder against each other. Well, that was new. It had to be a record to turn someone on with just a look.

His smile made me feel like he just ripped off my black top and slacks and he liked what he saw.

Uh oh.

“Hi,” he said. Jesus, his voice was like velvet.

“Welcome to BOSS,” I croaked. Get it together, I told myself.

From the corner of my eye, Hani chimed in, “I think you can handle this, Vi. Toodles!” She sauntered off to the employees’ lounge.

I turned swiftly to Hani. “Think about what I said!” I doubted she heard me.

The man laughed, almost like he was in on what Hani and I were talking about.

“Sorry,” I said as I reluctantly turned back to him. He was so pretty it hurt to stare at him for too long. Not like I had the nerve to do so. I felt like I would turn to stone from maintaining eye contact for too long. Once I let myself meet his eyes...he had a hold on me. I couldn’t explain it. “Do you have a reservation?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” He said as he proceeded to eye me up and down. Shamelessly.

My cheeks, typically flushed because of genetics, were blazing now. Hopefully, my foundation concealed that fact but by the trace of humor in his expression, I knew I wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Do you guys have any EXO songs?!” One of the man’s friends, a bombshell in a wine red skin-tight sleeveless number, asked me. She was buzzed but friendly enough.

I answered. “Yes, we do. Would you guys like to make a walk-in reservation? We have rooms available.”

The man nodded. “Yes, please. We would like the VIP lounge experience if that’s possible.” The VIP lounge experience included unlimited drinks and food platters of their choice. It also included up to 3 hours of the karaoke room.

Of course, they were rich. Or maybe they were just really treating themselves. Dad reminded me that there were people who were willing to pay a lot for the VIP experience and we more than embraced it for the business. “Okay, awesome. How would you like to pay?” Anxiety had me a little less than thrilled that there were 10 people that may want to split checks but the man interrupted my inner reverie.

“Under Taeyong Lee.” He pointed at himself and grinned, possessing a boyish charm in that instant.

I was thankful I had my computer as a distraction because I was about to melt under his stare. He was paying for the whole group? “All right. That will be $1,480. How will you be paying?”

Taeyong handed me his American Express black card. I took it from his hands and incidentally, his fingertips touched mine.

His conspiratorial smile never left his face as he watched me charge his card.

I printed out his receipt so he could sign the merchant copy of it. I handed him his card, the receipt, and pen for him to sign and feared he would touch me again when he handed them back. I was about to get a nosebleed, I could feel it.

He swiped the receipt and pen back across the counter to me. “Thank you.” He smiled more softly.

Well, that was a little better. I was still turned on but I wasn’t about to come in my pants. He was probably a huge flirt at whatever conglomerate he worked at because, getting a better look at him, he wore a well-fitted black suit and tie. He was a little too formal for a karaoke bar. Maybe he was coming from somewhere else? I wondered where-

“Um...Violet?” He read my name tag.

I blinked a few times in succession. “Y-yes?”

“Are we good to go?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah! Let me take you guys to your room.” I got the key to VIP Room 3 out of the secured drawer and stepped out from behind the front desk.

“Follow me, please,” I said, quickly so I wouldn’t keep questioning if Taeyong was eye fucking me.

I could feel him right behind me as we walked through the dark hall, illuminated by a subtle starlight effect and some strobe lights shining from the karaoke rooms’ windows.

We reached the VIP lounge. I unlocked the door for them and motioned for the group to enter. Once Taeyong headed in, I let out a breath of relief as the rest of his friends walked in. They were all attractive, with luminous skin and elegant clothes. They were all from high society and my guess was that they came from some charity function.

“Okay, so you guys are set. There are thirteen mics and there are three song selection tablets on the table by the TV screen. The menus are also available to you. I’ll have ViVi come and take your orders in the next few minutes. So make yourselves comfortable and enjoy!” I went through my awkward spiel, only to realize Taeyong was the only one paying attention.

Some of Taeyong’s friends yelled out “thank you” and “gamsahamnida”. I nodded as I left and shut the door. I sighed as I pressed my back against the wall adjacent to the door. I could finally process what happened. I knew that wasn’t all in my head. Taeyong was flirting.

And it probably meant nothing to him.

88

I walked back to the front desk where Hani was speaking to a few regulars. They left shortly after.

“He was interested.” Hani said conspiratorially.

“In the drink selections, maybe.” I checked my phone for notifications. I had a countdown app installed in my phone. I was two months away from attending the Thorne Gala. That sent a ping of excitement down my spine.

“Come on, Vi. I could sense the electricity.” Hani placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Some would say my awkwardness is palpable,” I shot back.

Hani rolled her eyes. “I bet he’ll come visit us before his reservation ends.”

“Oh, well that’s not fair. He’ll probably have a question about the-”

“Excuse me,” a third voice interrupted.

Like clockwork. Taeyong was back. I wondered if he meant to look at us like he wanted to hook up or if that was just a default setting for his features.

And then he smiled. I felt a sense of warmth radiating from him that I didn’t expect. I gulped.

“How can I help you?” I asked.

Hani muttered. “Eager to ask, aren’t you?”

I elbowed Hani’s side while Taeyong spoke, “I think this is yours.”

He brought his hand out to show my mood ring. The left half of the ring’s center was shaped like a crescent moon and the right half was shaped like the sun. In between the sun and moon was the gem that changed colors. My maternal grandmother gave it to me before she fell ill and shortly after passed. I rarely took it off.

Then I recalled I was fiddling with the ring in my hands and must have slipped it into my pants pocket. It must have fallen out while I was taking Taeyong and his friends to their room. That was odd. It was second nature for me to always put it back on my right ring finger.

“Oh, wow thank you.” I reached my hand out to take the ring back. He dropped the ring in my hand. I was so relieved to have it back in my grasp, putting it right back on. I glanced up at Taeyong. He blatantly stared. “I have to be more careful.”

He nodded. “You should.”

Hani lifted her eyebrows. “How did you know it was hers?”

Taeyong widened his eyes as I came to that realization.

“Lucky guess.” He shrugged immediately after but there was a trace of mischief in his eyes, if my suspicions were correct. And with that, he returned to his room.

88

A few hours went by and Taeyong’s group was the loudest of the bunch. It was to be expected. They just wrapped up an awe-inspiring performance of Ring Ding Dong by SHINee.

Hani yawned as she organized some files at the desk. I was tapping my recently done nails against the marble.

I was surprised that Hani didn’t press me about my nerves and how I wanted to see Taeyong again. The look he gave me when we asked him about my ring was an indicator of something. I just couldn’t figure out what that was.

Hani exclaimed. “Holy!”

I yelped. “What is it?!”

“Your little boy toy just showed up on my timeline.”

“My little…” I began skeptically as Hani shoved her phone to my face to show me a picture of Taeyong attached to a Korean news article she found on Tweetness.

“Lee Taeyong is the heir of Seoulmate Entertainment,” Hani explained to me. The article highlighted on Taeyong’s US adventures. Before Sunset, he was in Los Angeles. Before LA, it was Nashville. Before Nashville, it was New York City. He was a busy bee.

I gasped. “Wait, Seoulmate Entertainment? As in South Korea’s number 1 entertainment company? That Seoulmate Entertainment?”

Hani nodded. “I knew he looked familiar. I just didn’t think he would ever come to this part of the States. He and his inner circle usually go to Los Angeles. That’s the American hub for K-pop.”

“Then what brings them to Sunset?” I wondered.

“Sunset is a growing town with a lot to offer. And there was probably some shindig downtown. Did you see that Oscar de la Renta tux?” Hani’s eyes had a glimmer in them. Fashion was everything to her. She knew all of the brands and kept up with all of the latest lines. I knew the difference between a skirt and a skort and that was enough for me. 

I had no idea how Hani knew Taeyong’s tux was Oscar de la Renta. I was still processing that he was a prince of the K-Pop kingdom. If not, the prince.

Fantastic. Another intimidation factor.

Just as we were digging deeper into the Taeyong topic, we heard a crash from one of the rooms. I jumped.

Hani huffed. “It better not be one of the champagne glasses.”

We were used to hearing glass break every now and then. I never enjoyed it. In this business, though, we had to be prepared for some drunk and rowdy customers.

I left my post to see what all the fuss was about when I heard glass break again and discovered that it was coming from Taeyong’s group. A wave of dread came over me.

I opened the door carefully, hoping no one else would throw anything.

I got a good look at the room. There were two broken champagne glasses on the floor, alcohol splattered all over. One couple was making out in the corner. One group was arguing while another was singing an OST. And in the left corner of the room, Taeyong was comforting a girl seated beside him. She was completely wasted, slumped over but still breathing. Taeyong looked tense as he ran his hand up and down her back. Once he saw me, his expression darkened. Like he was caught doing something I shouldn’t have seen.

I asked, “Everything okay? I’ll have someone come and clean up the mess. I have to charge the broken glasses to your account. Please step away from the-”

“No, that’s alright. We’re okay for now...We’re leaving soon. I’ll pay before we leave. I’m sorry about this.” He tried to sound casual, shrugging, like it was just one of those days that happened every now and then. How it couldn’t be helped.

And I could tell he wanted me to leave. I could see the pleading in his eyes.

I eyed the group warily. “Alright then…”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Thank you.”

I returned to the front desk. “Well, Final Fantasy and his friends are having quite the night,” I said.

“Oh? Do tell,” Hani prodded.

“It’s a party in there all right. One girl, especially, is drunk out of her wits. And there’s some drama. I wouldn’t know what it’s about but if you have the balls to go and check again after Taeyong told me to skedaddle, be my guest.”

“Sounds like Master of the Universe is hiding something,” Hani said.

“If something breaks again, I’m gonna have to do something. I don’t want to charge him for more broken property or call the cops.” I could feel the tension in my jaw from clenching my teeth.

“Trust me, he’s not worried about paying for a couple of champagne glasses. And he can make bail, too,” Hani pointed out.

That didn’t impress me one bit.

After another hour, now 1:30 AM, nothing else had escalated. When I was about to ease up, the group exited the VIP lounge. I could hear some of them arguing in Korean. Taeyong was directing his frustrations at another nicely dressed man who had the supremely drunk woman on his back. The man yelled back at him and nearly lost his balance.

Why would any of them trust a drunk man to carry a drunk woman? It was ridiculous.

Taeyong made an attempt to pull the woman off of the man’s back but the man went ballistic, exclaiming what I would guess were profanities.

The man finally dropped the girl and I was close enough to catch her. Hani was right beside me to help her up. The man was squaring up for a fight with Taeyong as he started throwing punches in the air and finally landed one neatly in Taeyong’s perfect face.

Hani exclaimed in Korean. What she said must have been along the lines of “get the fuck out”.

The man was about to throw another punch when Taeyong grabbed his fist and twisted his arm. Taeyong pulled the man to him and muttered a few things into his ear. The man slouched as Taeyong released him. The man was now silent and oddly enough, compliant. I frowned, more confused and frightened by Taeyong.

Taeyong’s disturbed demeanor shifted as he apologized to us. “I am so sorry about my friend. He had too much to drink tonight so he lost his cool for a moment. He should be fine now. We’re leaving. May I?” He nodded towards the drunk girl.

I eyed him and his friends warily. “Is she safe with you?”

Taeyong nodded. “She was a little in over her head tonight.”

“No kidding,” I replied. I winced when the girl shifted in my grasp. I needed to lift weights more often.

“I’ll drive her home,” Taeyong insisted.

“How do I know you will?” I demanded.

“What do you mean?” His eyes got a little bigger and I was even more confused about his true nature. All I saw was contradiction upon contradiction.

“I don’t know if she’s going home with someone she can trust.” As enticing as Taeyong was, I knew better than to blindly trust a pretty face.

“I’m a man of my word, Violet.” There was no trace of the humor and charm he carried when he walked into the bar.

I didn’t relent. “Why should I believe you?”

He sighed and deliberated for a few seconds. “If it puts your heart at ease, come with me.”

“What?” I asked.

“You can drive with us. Make sure Miri gets back to her apartment and I don’t take her to my sex dungeon.”

I wouldn’t put it past him to have one.

“Taeyong.” I gave him a pointed look.

“Will you?” His eyes were doe-like.

“I-“ I started.

Hani warned, “Vi, you just met the guy.”

My shift doesn’t end for another 15 minutes. And to go with two strangers? Granted, one was drunk. But as for Taeyong...

If I looked up “lethal” in the dictionary, I’d be sure to find his picture.

I wanted to make sure this girl made it home safe, though. And beneath my hostility and nerves, I hoped to get a further glimpse at the enigma before me.

I asked Hani. “Will you guys be okay to close without me?”

Hani was about to protest again but stopped. “Text me, please. Your dad would kill me if anything happened to you.”

I nodded. Hani let Taeyong and me carry Miri. Taeyong was on Miri’s right and I was on her left. She was a little off-balance considering the height difference between Taeyong and me. It was a good thing I wore my wedges today or else we would’ve looked even more ridiculous.

I looked up at Taeyong. “All right, here’s how it’s going to go. We go in my car. You give me the directions to Miri’s place.”

Taeyong raised a slit eyebrow but he accepted. “You got it.”

Hani warned, “Be careful.”

I smiled at her reassuringly, “Nothing is going to happen, except...Taeyong?”

He adjusted Miri on his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“That will be $150 for the broken glasses.”

88

“It’s bold of you to go out with a stranger, isn’t it?” Taeyong asked from the backseat. I pulled out of my parking spot in the parking garage adjacent to BOSS. He provided me with Miri’s address that I put on Good Maps.

I rolled my eyes. “This is well past my comfort zone, sure.”

“Can I go home now?” Miri asked.

Miri sat in the passenger seat. She was now more tipsy than far gone. She had long thick brown hair that fell way past her shoulders, down to her hips. Her gorgeous bronze skin was adorned by the reflection of the street lights and neon signs.

“Don’t worry. Taeyong and I are taking you home,” I said.

She grinned. “Aren’t I lucky? What happened to Baekhyun?”

I assumed Baekhyun was the drunk guy who punched Taeyong.

Taeyong replied, “Shownu took him home. Baekhyun will text you in the morning.”

Miri nodded. “Sounds good.”

I raised my eyebrows at this exchange.

I could feel Miri stare at me. “I don’t know you but...I like you.”

Taeyong chuckled at that.

My eyes never strayed from the road but I replied. “I’m Violet. I’m just making sure you get home safe.”

“Thanks Violet...Taeyong’s a nice guy...Stuck up but nice…”

Taeyong scoffed at that.

“Well, that’s what you get for wearing that suit,” I muttered after we reached a stoplight and met his stare in the rearview mirror. His eyes were sharp and alert. Like he wouldn’t dare look away from me. It sent pleasant shivers down my spine, I admitted.

Taeyong asked, “What was that?”

I blushed. “Nothing..”

Miri giggled. “Keep your eyes on the road, Violet. Or else Taeyong is gonna land you a ticket.”

I faced the road again. Taeyong cleared his throat. The light turned green again.

“So Violet...how do you know Taeyong? Are you maybe one of his…” She started giggling.

“His…?” I wondered. Was I one of his playthings?

Taeyong cut right in. “No, Miri. She’s not. We met tonight at BOSS. She works there.”

“Oh yeah! You were so nice! And you’re really pretty.” Miri said as she laid her head against the window. She fell asleep not too long after.

One long agonizing minute passed. All the while, I had music quietly playing in the car from my recently played playlist. The song was “Amigos con Derechos” by Reik and Maluma.

Taeyong exhaled like he was just as tense as I was. “So Violet, what’s your story?”

“My story?”

“I’d like to know more about the pretty stranger in the driver’s seat.”

I nearly sputtered. “You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, I do. You caused quite the scene back there. So...I’m intrigued.”

Did he really just say that?

“Oh, I caused a scene?” I asked a little too quietly.

“Yes?” He sounded unsure now that he heard how annoyed I was. It was refreshing to hear him like that. Contrary to how he seemed: confident and owning any space he existed in.

“It was you and your friends that made a mess,” I said pointedly.

“What? I paid for it.” What a response.

“Are you kidding me?” I laughed.

“What?” He was even more confused.

“Why make a mess if you don’t have to? Do you know how much of an inconvenience it is for the staff to clean what you left behind and recover the losses from those champagne glasses?”

“I paid for those and I apologized. I’m so sorry again.” He meant it.

“Your friend was a real jerk. Being so irresponsible. Not looking out for her.” I nodded towards Miri. If I could get that jerk alone, I’d give him a piece of my mind. Even if he didn’t speak a lick of English.

“Violet, calm down.” I dared to think Taeyong was nervous.

“I hate what alcohol does to people who don’t know how to control their intake.”

“Violet.”

“And your other friends? None of them seemed to care. Someone should’ve told her to slow down.”

“Violet, stop. I get it.”

“You guys should be more careful next time.”

“Violet,” he said, emphasizing every syllable, snapping me out of my reverie.

“What?”

“Calm down.”

“I’ll calm down when you wake up!” When those words left my mouth, I remembered something I wanted to shove back into the recesses of my mind.

“I’ll calm down when you wake up!”

“If I’m asleep, Violet, then I never want to wake up!”

I didn’t realize I gripped the steering wheel so hard then.

Miri whined. “Can you keep it down?”

I winced at my outburst and pulled over to breathe.

Taeyong gave me a few moments before he carefully whispered, “Violet?”

In. Out. Dr. Mendes told me to breathe.

“Violet, are you okay?” He asked.

In. Out. I felt the pressure on my chest leaving.

I rubbed my hand over my face. “Yeah. I...got carried away.”

Silence followed. “Someone to Spend Time With” by Los Retros was playing quietly on the stereo now.

Taeyong started, “You’re right, you know...About my friends and me.”

I laughed weakly. “That’s music to my ears.”

“I’m an ass.”

I played with my hands, avoiding his gaze. Embarrassed. Even if Taeyong was an ass, I didn’t think it was right of me to snap at him like that. “Go on.”

“I’m sorry.” His tone was somber. Repentant.

He sounded much closer than he did so I turned around. He leaned on the driver’s seat. My arm bumping into his hand, which he’d placed on the shoulder of my seat. Like he wanted to touch my shoulder but was smart enough not to.

Taeyong’s face was very close to mine. The frustration I felt quickly transformed into a different kind.

“Thank you,” I said, my cheeks aflame.

He smiled warmly. His sharp features softened to show a cuter and more innocent side of him. He didn’t feel the tension I felt, it seemed. And that disappointed me.

I didn’t know what was up with me. Maybe my hormones were just out of control. It was just a few days before my period. Maybe it was because I haven't been with anyone in five years.

I put the car in drive. We were back en route to Miri’s house.

“So...Do you still want to know my story?” I asked, aiming to lighten the mood.

“Absolutely,” his voice was dripping with honey.

“Okay. But in return, you have to tell me about yourself. And what happened with your pal. Baekhyun, was it?”

He went silent when I said “Baekhyun” but then he relented. “Fine.”

I began, “Well, I was born and raised in Sunset. I went away for college in Atlanta before deciding to move back.”

“Why did you come back?”

“I wanted to work on my filmmaking career and earn money on the side.”

“Filmmaking?”

I nodded. “I’ve been into filming and editing since I was thirteen. I put those dreams on the backburner when I went to college. It was my junior year when it hit me. I wanted to film. I wanted to make something I could be proud to call my own. To see my own movies on the silver screen? That’s my dream.”

“That’s great. What are your movies about?”

I answered quickly, “Love.” I was a little too eager on that delivery.

Taeyong hesitated. “Love?”

“As flawed as people are, they deserve love. And there’s just so many kinds of love. Between friends. Family. Lovers. I want to focus on the ups and downs of all kinds of relationships. I want my audience to connect with what I create. If a thirty five year old man wants a love story about him and his podiatrist, I would make it.”

“A foot doctor?” Taeyong laughed.

“Everyone has a story, Taeyong.”

He pondered. “You’re right.”

I realized that I really poured my heart out to him then and proceeded to turn bright red. “Sorry, that was a little much...”

“Nah, it wasn’t. You really lit up when you were talking just now. I like seeing you that way.”

I wanted to turn around and lock lips with him.

He continued, “I’m happy for you. It’s beautiful...Your dream. You know what you want.” He sounded almost melancholic. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his case was different.

I coughed as Miri tossed and turned in her corner. “Thank you.”

He grinned at me through the rearview mirror. “Now you can ask me some personal questions.”

I laughed at that. “Oh, I will. So...Where did you study? And what’s your biggest dream? It’s only fair you answer these since I exposed myself to you.”

We were both stunned to silence when I realized my choice of words.

I added, “You know what I mean.” My blush was just going to be my best friend tonight. Might as well own it.

“I attended Seoul University, majoring in business administration and music composition.”

I remembered the article Hani showed me. It was no wonder he was studying both if he was going to inherit his father’s company. “That’s awesome. You’re versatile. There’s so much you can do with both majors.”

“Yeah...Honestly, I prefer music composition. My father required I major in Business Administration.”

“I see...So are you expected to take over your father’s business?”

He asked, “How did you know about my father’s business?”

I choked. “Well...Hani and I looked you up...On GoodSearch.”

“Oh?” Why did it sound like he was smiling?

“Hani thought you looked familiar so we looked you up. But don’t worry we didn’t go too deep into it. Who knows what we could uncover?”

“What are you implying?” He asked, suspicious.

“Oh, nothing at all,” I teased.

He laughed. His laugh was rich and warm. Not like the teasing laughter I’ve heard.

He continued, “But yeah, since my parents found out I was a boy in my mother’s womb, my fate was sealed.”

“That’s...intense.”

“You don’t know the half of it…”

And with that, there was another silence. What could I say to that? It wasn’t like I could relate. Plus, he didn’t seem like the type to enjoy pity.

I said, “Alright, next topic…What is your biggest dream?” I cringed. Maybe that question was too cheesy. But what other way was there to say it?

“I don’t have a damn clue.”

I gaped. “Nothing?”

“It feels like I’m on autopilot. Like I’m living by a schedule and I’m just expected to show up wherever the schedule tells me to.”

I hesitated but gave into what I really wanted to know. “You don’t want to inherit your dad’s company...do you?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I’m not sure, Violet.”

We pulled up to a high rise in North Bay Village and parked in the guest area.

Taeyong said, “Alright, Miri, you’re home! Wakey wakey.”

I tapped Miri on the shoulder and she groaned, “Five minutes, Baekhyun.”

Thanks Miri for reminding me of why exactly I couldn’t trust Taeyong in the first place.

Taeyong got out of the backseat and opened the passenger door.

I got out of the driver’s seat and stood beside Taeyong.

I asked. “How are we going to do this?”

Taeyong replied, “Let’s grab her arms and go from there.”

So we did. Miri laughed. “Guys! That tickles!” She finally stood up.

“Can you stand on your own?” I asked.

She attempted to walk and wobbled so Taeyong and I caught her before she face planted against the concrete. “If I lean on something, yeah…”

Taeyong and I gave each other a look.

“You take one side and I’ll take the other,” he said.

“Sounds good.”

We got Miri to put one arm over my shoulders and the other over Taeyong’s. “You guys are amazing. Thank you sooooo much for bringing me home. I promise to invite you guys over soon and make you some lasagna,” Miri said as she nuzzled Taeyong and then me.

I laughed and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Miri, what floor are you on?” Taeyong asked.

“Sixteenth!” She exclaimed.

“And...you have your keys, right?” Taeyong eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Yeah, they’re in my purse. Can you check for me?” Miri asked me.

I checked her neon pink handbag. Thankfully, the keys were there. “Yup.”

Miri yelled, elated. “To the sixteenth floor, gentlemen!”

88

We stopped at Miri’s doorstep as she fumbled with her keys. She handed them to me. “Will you be a doll and open my door?”

I unlocked her door and we brought her in.

“Jesus Christ, Miri. I thought you weren’t going to be home for another two hours!” A female voice piped up from one of the rooms.

“Sorry to interrupt your ME time, Barbara! Your solo stage. Your me, myself, and I!” She erupted in laughter. “Do you want to meet my friends?!”

“Fuck, Miriam. You have people over?!” Barbara didn’t sound thrilled.

We helped Miri to her bedroom and she plopped onto her bed.

Miri said, “Thank you guys. I’m sorry for all of the trouble…”

Taeyong shook his head. “As long as you’re okay.”

“Do you need some water or anything?” I asked her.

“Nah, it’s fine. Babs will take care of me. She owes me.”

88

Taeyong and I walked out of the high rise. As we walked back over to my car, I remembered his interrogation wasn’t over.

“So what happened tonight? Broken glasses. Yelling. A fight that almost made me call the cops on your asses.”

Taeyong met my eyes for a moment before staring off in the distance again. “Baekhyun had too much to drink and lost control. We’re not the best of friends but we run in the same circles.”

“Is he Miri’s boyfriend?”

“I wouldn’t say that. They’re pretty casual. I got pissed because he wasn’t really looking out for her like he should’ve.”

“I see…Well, you did a good thing.” I felt like an ass for thinking he didn’t care about her. He wasn’t perfect but I shouldn’t have written him off the way I did.

He put his hands in his extravagant pockets. “Yeah?”

“You were quite the gentlemen,” I admitted.

He chuckled. “You went out of your way to help a stranger. It was very noble of you.”

“You think so?”

“Now don’t act modest, Violet. You know you did a good but stupid thing tonight.”

I was floored. He was right about that.

Up until this point, Taeyong didn’t show any signs of snapping my neck and leaving me for dead. But I wouldn’t confirm that until he got out of my car when we headed back.

Taeyong continued, “You let two complete strangers into your car. A personal place...” He moved himself closer to me. “And you don’t even know me.”

“That was stupid. But...you don’t seem that dangerous to me. Foolish? Yeah. But dangerous? I don’t think so.” Oh, if my parents could hear me at that moment.

We reached my car. He paused and got a good look at me. “It’s sweet of you to think that.”

88

Taeyong sat in the passenger seat this time. He gave me his phone. “Play anything you want. Do you like K-Pop?”

“Do I? Oh ho ho let’s see what you’ve got.”

I scrolled through his Berry Music streaming app and was shocked to find SHINee’s upcoming album.

“No fucking way. You have access to SHINee’s new album? It doesn’t come out for another two weeks!”

Taeyong beamed. “Being my father’s son has its perks.”

“God, would it be okay if we listened to it?”

“My library is yours, Violet.”

We drove, heads bobbing to another SHINee triumph. We talked about what SHINee songs were our favorites and talked more about music. We liked a lot of the same artists. And somehow ice cream came up in the conversation and he admitted he had the biggest sweet tooth. It was so contradictory to his persona but I liked it. The ride back was faster, I was disappointed to realize. The traffic, unfortunately, died down real quick.

But when the last song played, the atmosphere shifted. It was a sensual song. I didn’t need to know Korean to know that. It was in Taemin’s voice. And the infamous bedspring sound effects SM was known for. And the English phrase: stay with me tonight.

The head bobbing stopped and I felt like the oxygen was quickly escaping from my car.

We reached a stop light that I knew ran pretty long so I took the chance to look at Taeyong.

I regretted it.

Because he was staring. Hard. His eyes were lustful and he gave me a half smile. He bit his lip and I wondered if we could pull over into the Target parking lot and just be wild animals.

A car beeped me out of the temptation. The stop light was green now. Eyes back on the road.

We arrived back at the parking garage. It was almost empty. BOSS was closed and everyone had gone home. I parked beside Taeyong’s Maserati and shut the engine off.

“So…” I began.

“So…” He mirrored.

“I guess this is...goodbye.”

“Yeah.” He looked sad, defeated even.

I forced a smile because even I was supremely bummed at not seeing this gorgeous specimen again. I felt like tonight was the beginning of something. What that was...I didn’t know. But I wanted to.

“Thanks for the ride back, Violet.” And he just stared at me. Kind of expectantly.

I avoided his stare. “Good night.”

“Good night, Violet.” He opened the passenger door gently. Was I crazy or was he slowly getting out of the car?

He got out of the car and shut the door.

Oh, fuck it.

I pulled my keys out of the ignition, shoved them and my phone in my front jeans pockets, and got out of my car.

“Taeyong!” I yelled. My voice echoed in the garage but I didn’t care. He was about to open his car door but I ran up to him before he could.

“What’s up?” He asked.

I got up on my tiptoes, pulled his face closer, and kissed him.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I just had to know what his lips would feel like. If there was a connection there.

Instantly, he took my face into his hands and deepened the kiss. I allowed his tongue into my mouth and our tongues were fighting it out over who could die from arousal. I ran my hands through his hair and he was caressing my upper body. He cupped my ass and picked me up off the ground. He moaned and so help me, it was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. I could feel his member rising against my pelvis. And I knew he could feel how soaked I was.

I needed air so I relinquished myself and Taeyong groaned.

Traces of my lipstick were on his lips. I giggled as I wiped them off.

Taeyong looked impatient. “Can we-“

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Taeyong, his hands very fond of my ass, glared at my phone as I grabbed it from my pocket.

It was Hani. Crap, I never texted her.

I answered, “Hey.”

Hani almost destroyed my right ear drum. “Hey? HEY?! Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been worried! Are you okay? Where are you?”

Taeyong watched me, the lust very palpable. Radiating off of his luminous skin. The typically unflattering parking garage lights couldn’t do anything to this man.

I gulped. “Hani, I’m so sorry! I’m okay. I was dropping Taeyong off at his car. We’re in the garage.”

Hani let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God! I could kill you!”

Taeyong adjusted himself and he was getting very needy. Everything about him was.

“I’m going home now, don’t worry.” I said, lying. Half feeling bad and half wanting to hang up.

“Is he still with you?” Hani asked, not hiding her disgust and annoyance.

I froze before I let out, “Y-yes.”

“I’m just gonna take a wild guess. You’re gonna hook up with him. If not, you’re in the process...And I’m interrupting.”

I hesitated.

“So which one is it?”

“It’s the second,” I admitted.

“Oh...Oh!!!!!” Hani laughed. “So...I’m guessing he checks out then?”

I blushed. “Yeah.”

Taeyong gave me a playful annoyed look. He could hear everything Hani was saying.

Hani sighed. “Text me when you get home. Don’t stay out too late.”

“All right. Good night, Hani. And I’m sorry again.”

Hani tsked. “Just don’t leave me hanging. As long as you’re okay, I’m happy.”

“Thanks Hani.”

“Good night, purple moon.” She said suggestively, using one of my nicknames. She hung up.

Taeyong grabbed my phone out of my hands. He stuffed it in my pocket. He pulled me closer and initiated a kiss.

He was so strong and commanding with every movement. He held me tightly and securely. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall. It was like I didn’t weigh much to him. He was stronger than I imagined.

He moved his lips down to my neck, peppering it with kisses and looking up into my eyes with so much affection. And then he sucked at my neck. I moaned so loudly that I could hear the echoes. I took off his jacket and he chucked it back to the hood of his car. I ran my hands all over his abdomen. Rock solid to no one’s shock. I began unbuttoning his dress shirt and could see tufts of his chest hair peek out. I wished my hands could work faster.

And then, once again, we were interrupted. Taeyong’s phone rang. He grabbed it out his pocket while handling me with one hand.

Taeyong spat out something in Korean before he answered.

Answering, he bit out, “What?”

Whatever the other person said on the other line, it annoyed Taeyong.

He responded in Korean, leaving me confused and impatient. Now I knew how he felt when Hani called. Only I felt worse because I didn’t know what he was saying and I didn’t know what was going on.

Taeyong ended the call and he looked bothered.

“You okay?” I asked him.

His features relaxed when he looked at me. “I could kill Shownu.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I have to go,” he said. “Baekhyun’s being a lousy drunk.”

“Oh.” I looked down, not wanting him to see my disappointment.

He tenderly took my chin and lifted my face up to look at him. He kissed my nose. “I’m sorry.”

I sighed. “Me, too.”

He put me down and he walked me back to the driver’s seat of my car. I got in, fastened my seat belt, and turned on the engine. Taeyong hung out right outside the door, lingering.

“I guess it wasn’t meant to be,” I said, “But...it was nice while it lasted.”

“I don’t think nice is the right word,” he said as he gave you the same look he did during that SHINee song.

My throat dried up. “You should go.”

“Not until you give me your number,” he said.

I did a double take. “Really?”

“Yeah.” His sexy smile graced his well-sculpted face.

“O-okay.”

We exchanged numbers. I gave him my phone so he could add my number. He even took a picture of himself for his contact photo, making a goofy face.

I laughed and did the same when he gave me his phone. I looked at my selfie. I cringed. I should’ve just tried doing a cute pose.

Taeyong was very close to me as I carefully analyzed my photo. “Cute.”

I yelped and he laughed.

“Relax. I don’t bite...Unless you want me to,” he said.

“Ooookay! Well, here’s your phone back!” I avoided his glance. “I gotta get going.”

“Okay.” His smile softened. He gently took my hand and kissed it.

“Sweet dreams, Violet.”

;;

Intro: Epilogue

(A/N: the following conversation is in Korean so think of this as a translation)

Taeyong was cursing himself for leaving Violet to go tend to his idiot friends. And Baekhyun wasn’t even a friend and acquaintance was too nice of a title to bestow on such an unworthy person. He parked in the driveway of his beach house in Sunset Shores and entered. He went up the stairs to Baekhyun’s room.

Taeyong knocked. Shownu answered, noticing how Taeyong’s hair looked disheveled and how flushed he looked. He didn’t want to pry. He motioned for Taeyong to come in.

Baekhyun was inside, his arms handcuffed to the headboard of the bed. The handcuffs were made to keep people like Baekhyun from moving too much. “Taeyong, you little shit. Get me out of these.”

Taeyong sneered. “After what you did tonight? Nearly blowing our cover? What were you thinking?”

Baekhyun stammered. “Miri said I could so I went for it! There’s no issue.”

“I had to have someone break into the surveillance room and manipulate the footage, you moron.”

“Taeyong-“ Baekhyun started.

“You need to get it through your thick skull that we can’t afford to let anyone know the truth about us. Not if we hope to claim what we want.”

Baekhyun laughed. “What we want? This isn’t about any of us. This is about your vendetta against your ex.”

Taeyong moved closer to Baekhyun and pressed the cuffs harder against Baekhyun’s skin, causing him to cry out in pain.

“You want my protection? A piece of my wealth? Then do as I say, Hyung.” He spat the last word, knowing it humiliated Baekhyun to be subject to his junior.

Taeyong turned to Shownu, who waited for his instruction.

“Shownu, he’ll be fasting for the next week,” Taeyong said.

Shownu, not really one to display intense emotion, blinked in surprise. Baekhyun yelled, “Do you want to die, Taeyong?”

Taeyong smiled. “You should be asking yourself that.”

Track 1 (Coming Soon)

[incorrectsanders]

Small, Steady Corrections (Mall Employee AU)

Hello All! I’ve been getting a ton of asks about Virgil’s weight and health in the Mall AU and I couldn’t get this out of my head. It’s yours now. Read other installments of the AU here.

As always: Send questions and prompts!

Relationship: Virgil Centric all of them?

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Everyone worries about how small their youngest is. They all have the same intentions, but they also take care of it in different ways. Some work more than others.

Warnings: Mention of Eating Disorders, Character Implied Eating Disorder 

Three months after Thomas legally adopted Virgil, he started getting really concerned. Virgil had a habit of falling asleep on the couch or in the big chair that used to belong to Thomas’ grandfather or even curled up in a little nest of pillows and blankets on the floor. Thomas usually covered him up with a blanket and headed up to bed. But, one night Virgil fell asleep at the table and Thomas couldn’t let his son sleep there all night. He’d wake up with back pain, he’d get cold. A fond chuckle fell from his lips as he walked over and gently tilted Virgil’s torso up so he could scoop him into his arms and carry him up to bed.

“Daddy...?” Virgil slurred.

“Shh, Buddy. It’s okay, go back to sleep.” Thomas hummed, letting Virgil bury his face in his neck and grab onto his shirt. The little puffs of breath he was giving off were adorable and it filled Thomas with pride. Sure, Virgil had taken to exclusively calling Thomas Dad in the past couple of months, but he’d only ever called him Dad. He knew it was only because Virgil was so tired and he no doubt had moments like this with his biological father. Dahlia had mentioned that Virgil used to fall asleep at her and Valerie’s apartment all the time and his father wouldn’t wake him, he’d just scoop him up and take him to bed.

Still, hearing the more childish version of the name made Thomas’ heart soar. It made Virgil seem so much younger, like Thomas was carrying his six year old son up to bed rather than his adopted sixteen year old son.

But then he picked him up and it felt like he was carrying his six year old son up to bed. Why was Virgil so small? He weighted nothing- the boy was constantly eating! Thomas had been forced to cut him off of sweets at work multiple times because he gave himself stomach aches- how the hell?

The man just shook his head, making his way up to Virgil’s room and setting him in bed. Tomorrow morning, he was definitely making Virgil an appointment with the doctor. There was no reason for him to be this small, right?

***

It was concerning. Patton didn’t like seeing Virgil so skinny. He teased Logan enough about how lanky he was but Virgil was skin and bones! Literally! Sure, everyone knew their youngest was underweight, but not this bad. They were swimming at Thomas’ house and Patton could count Virgil’s vertebrae.

Did he have an aversion to food? Patton had seen him eat many times before but... maybe he just pretended? Or maybe he had bulimia? The thought made his blood run cold, he and Logan went to school with a girl who had bulimia... she hadn’t gotten help in time-

“Virgil!” Patton called, his voice slightly shaking despite the huge smile on his face. Virgil looked over from where he was sitting with Roman and Dee. He got up and ran over to his other friend, sitting next to him on the lounge chair.

“Hey, Popstar.”

“Try this pie. Logan made it, and he’s a really good baker.” Patton said, holding up the plate. Virgil shook his head.

“I’ll eat some later. I’m gonna get back in the water soon, so I probably shouldn’t eat right now.”

Patton panicked a bit. He was avoiding sweets? Who avoided sweets? So, he pulled him into his side and started scratching at Virgil’s scalp. “Come on, ViVi! Try it!” He cooed, holding the fork to his lips.

Virgil couldn’t resist. There was a handsome man feeding him pie and giving him affection, who was he to protest this kind of treatment?

Patton’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a content sigh. Now he just had to keep Virgil in his sights for a while to make sure he digested the food.

***

“Hi, cutie~”

Virgil sighed, putting down the bowl of chocolate he was holding and raising an eyebrow at the voice. “What do you want? You only use that tone when you want something.” He said, crossing his arms.

“Me? All I wanted was to bring one of my babies lunch.” He said, smiling and holding up the bag of Chipotle. Remy wasn’t blind, he worried just like the rest of the group. He was constantly bringing Virgil food. “Extra guac~”

Virgil narrowed his eyes, then nodded to his coworker. “I’m gonna take my break.” He said, and headed to the back with Remy following him. Remy plopped on the chair at the back desk and pulled Virgil into his lap, already starting to feed the small boy. Virgil started to protest but then Remy was running his hands through his hair and all he wanted to do was happily accept the bites Remy was offering and lay his head on his shoulder. Remy knew the younger one loved eating food, and the method that Patton used to get him to eat was pretty much all for naught, but he still enjoyed indulging his little one like this. It was adorable.

“Is it yummy?” Remy hummed. Virgil nodded a bit, accepting the next bite. “You’re so sweet. Look how cute you are.” Remy cooed. “I don’t know how our little nerd holds out. Maybe I should try a little harder? Make him jealous so he gives in and asks you out?”

“Re...” Virgil whined, picking up his head. “Not funny.”

“Oh hush, he’ll come around eventually. And if I tease him in the meantime, no harm no foul, right?” Remy smirked, scratching at Virgil’s scalp and gently guiding his head back down on his shoulder just as Logan walked into the back. “LoLo! Your food is right here~”

“HE IS A MINO-“

“He is not! Eighteen! Since last week!” Remy said, then grinned. “I’m not doing anything bad, Specs, I’m just feeding him. He needs nourishment, look at our little baby.”

Virgil glanced up at Logan, who glared, stomped over, and snatched him out of Remy’s lap. “My food!” He whined. Logan frowned and glanced between them.

“Yeah LoLo, who’s gonna feed him now?” Remy pouted.

“He can feed himself!”

“I like being fed...”

“He likes being fed. And you know our little one needs to put on weight. Doctors orders.” Remy cooed. Logan grumbled quietly, pulled up a chair, sat down, and started feeding Virgil the same way Remy was.

And well, Remy could tell Virgil was in heaven.

***

Tayln knew what it was like. Thomas told them that Virgil had developmental problems because he wasn’t fed properly growing up. They were very small themselves and were always looking for ways to bulk up. They started sharing little tips that they’d learned with Thomas and it seemed like it was helping some. Well, that combined with all the other methods everyone was constantly employing.

“What smells good?” The door opened and closed and Tayln glanced up to see Virgil walking into the house. Thomas and Joan were at the breakfast bar, debating something that Tayln had stopped listening to ten minutes ago.

“I’m trying a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It has a ton of protein so your dad asked me to make it here.”

“Looks good, Untie.” Virgil nodded, setting down his bag and heading over to the fridge. Tayln’s lip twitched up a bit. Virgil was adorable. He expressed interest in wanting to call Tayln and Joan Uncle or Aunt because they were so close to his dad but ran into the problem of gendered terms. The boy was stubborn though, so he burst into their office one day, announced “UNTIE” and waited for both of their words of approval before he left. He’d been calling both of them Untie ever since.

“Don’t let them feed you that healthy stuff. Here, gain weight the right way.” Joan announced, jumping down from the bar and bounding into the living room. They came back with a white box that had a sticker of the Union Jack on the front. “I bought you these while I was on that business trip. There’s like twenty different kinds of chocolate in there.”

“Wow- thanks Untie.” Virgil smiled.

“Joan, not before dinner! You’re gonna ruin his appetite!” Tayln protested.

“The boy is a bottomless pit!” Joan shouted, holding out a hand to where Virgil was already digging into the box.

Thomas sighed, bringing his glass up to his lips. “They aren’t wrong, Tayln.”

***

The amount of food Virgil could shove in his mouth without gaining a pound both amused and angered Roman. It was unfair- he was so small! But, he also understood it was because growing up he wasn’t fed properly. Virgil has a lot of health problems because of it, so he gets it. He’s always cold, he gets so tired sometimes- it sucked.

Virgil was his best friend and he loved him, he wanted to take care of him. He was always bringing him food to eat and Virgil always happily accepted it.

“Wanna do a mukbang?”

Virgil didn’t even look up from his phone. “So you’re succumbing to the YouTube trends now.”

Roman lightly smacked his arm in return. “C’mon, I’m thinking Pizza Hut, Jack in the Box, and McDonalds.”

“Can we stop at Sams Club and get a cheesecake?”

“Yes.”

“Down.”

Virgil had been on his channel before. Roman brought him on for tags, makeup videos, vlogs, singing videos- anything they felt like doing really. The last thing they’d all done together (Roman, Virgil, Logan, Patton, Remy, and Dee) was a cover of King Of The Clouds that was now the most viewed video on Roman’s channel.

He was one of the most popular of Roman’s friends. The mukbang went just as well.

“Here’s a good story- so last week Ro and I went to the movies. We both wanted popcorn but we also both only brought enough cash for the movie so Roman flirted with the girl behind the counter until she gave us free popcorn.”

“Okay- I had to. We needed popcorn, it was a dire situation.”

“Yes, but we also could have ran to your car and grabbed our wallets.”

“My car was on the other side of the mall!”

Virgil snickered lightly, shaking his head. On camera, he put up his protective persona. He never outright laughed, he didn’t get too loud and excited, he deadpanned most of his jokes. Roman’s viewers loved it.

Roman didn’t mind it. It meant only those that were close to Virgil saw his happy, fun attitude. Sure, a lot of his personality was what people saw on camera, but it went deeper than that too.

Virgil was his best friend. He just wanted him healthy and happy.

***

It seemed like every time Virgil saw Dee, he was shoving something from Starbucks into his hands. Virgil wasn’t protesting. He loved Starbucks and Dee brought cookies to him more often than anything. But then again...

“Hey, Dee?” Virgil asked, taking a bite of his croissant. Dee looked up, raising an eyebrow. “How come you only bring me things from Starbucks?”

Dee quickly ducked his head down, shrugging. “I uh... I dunno. You like Starbucks.”

“So does everyone else.”

“I- fine.” Dee sighed, leaning forward. “A cousin of mine had anorexia. She ended up in a mental hospital and I just... I don’t want that to happen to you.” He mumbled.

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. Dee really was a sweetheart, despite trying to hide it. He fit right into their friend group, despite only joining it two months ago.

“I don’t have anorexia, Dee. Really, I don’t. I eat constantly between all of you, I just don’t really gain weight.” Dee’s eyebrows were furrowed, so Virgil went on. “Before Dad adopted me I was in the foster system for years. No one really fed me right. And before that I only had a single Dad. He worked really hard, but he couldn’t always feed me. My doctor says it’s developmental problems. I can get better, but it’ll take me a little while. And there’s some things that will always stay, but I can definitely get better.” He said.

Dee sat back, nodding a bit, and Virgil took another bite of his croissant. “I’m... glad you eat.” He said. Virgil smiled back.

“Thanks, Dee.” He paused. “I’m telling everyone that you're just as big of an angel as Patton.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“I’m gonna do it.” Virgil grinned hauntingly, pulling out his phone. Dee screamed out, jumping over and tackling him so he could snatch the phone away.

***

“You know, they’re all approaching this the wrong way.” Logan said as Virgil got into his car. Virgil rose an eyebrow, glancing up at him.

“Good morning to you, too, L.”

“Tayln is the only one who has the right idea. It’s really gonna help if you start eating as much protein and carbs as you can and work out a lot. That’s how we bulked up in baseball.” Logan said as he handed Virgil a cup from the middle console. “Try it. It’s a protein shake.”

Virgil scrunched up his nose as he brought it up to his lips, taking a hesitant drink from it. Oh... vanilla. “Not bad.”

“I’m gonna start bringing them to you every morning. And you’ll come to the gym with me. You said you want to be lean like me and Roman, but we don’t just have these bodies. We both work out and we both eat right. With some exceptions.” He shrugged.

Virgil couldn’t help but whine. “But... working out is hard. Can’t I just... be squishy like Dad and Patton?” He asked.

Logan chuckled. “You’ve never even tried working out. And I’d say yes if you could actually gain that weight.” He smiled. “C’mon, V. One month. Try it for one month and if you don’t like it, you can stop.”

***

Virgil hated when Logan was right.

He’d been working out for eight months now and he loved it. It was nice, Logan pushed him, and it stopped being extremely hard after the first three weeks.

Sure, it was still hard but his stamina was up, he could run a mile in nine minutes, he’d gained twenty pounds, and it gave him a reason to hang out with Logan for three hours every other day.

“Morning, L!” He chirped as he climbed into the car. Logan handed him his shake and he immediately started sipping at it. “I gained three more pounds! And look!” He said, pulling up his shirt to show Logan his flat stomach and the toned line running down the middle. He still wanted to gain more, but it was better than the sunken in stomach he’d had before.

“I’m proud of you, V. I’m glad you stuck with this.” Logan smiled, then started heading off to the gym. Virgil was still extremely small, but he did look a lot healthier and he was tired less and less often. They were all relieved.

All of them only wanted their youngest to be okay.

[yeolkisses]

put your mutuals in dating scandals

Oof alright sorry it took me forever and a half to do this but thank you for sending this in 💙 I saw like one or two of these and thought it’d be really fun so I’m glad I have the opportunity to give it a shot (although these probably suck lol)! I’m just gonna use EXO members since I’m pretty sure most (if not all?) of my mutuals are familiar with EXO (and also it’s the easiest for me lol) (although I did struggle not using the members multiple times 🤧 several of my mutuals are Chanyeol biased 😂 and there’re a couple other members I wanted to reuse too)

Pay / @chenoslovely

— who: Junmyeon— how: Pay and Junmyeon meet when they’re both invited to participate on a season of a new variety show. They instantly click, and from then on are inseparable, even meeting up for lunch outside of shooting, which leads viewers to speculate that there’s more to their relationship than just friendship. — solution: Junmyeon and Pay both release statements, explaining to fans that they weren’t dating at first, but, while trying to figure out how to resolve this scandal, they acknowledged their feelings for each other and have now begun dating. As expected, some fans are distraught, but despite the backlash, the couple is happy to finally be together, and pleased with the amount of support they receive.

Mary / @chanshine

— who: Chanyeol— how: One day, Mary is seen leaving the SM Entertainment building, wearing a jacket identical to one Chanyeol was seen wearing recently. A few obsessive fans see her and snap a few pictures of her, posting them on social media and going crazy.— solution: Given the lack of evidence (and the lack of fans actually believing that wearing the same jacket instantly meant two people were dating), the scandal blows over quickly, cast aside in favor of the newest rumor. SM doesn’t address the issue, and Mary and Chanyeol continue to date peacefully.

James / @jjaeminnie

— who: Jongdae— how: After promoting overseas, EXO returns to Korea. At the airport, Jongdae is seen embracing James, a choreographer who had previously worked with EXO and had bonded closely with Jongdae. Photos are posted on social media, and the scandal blows up, questioning whether they’re just friends, or if their time working together had lead to a more romantic relationship.— solution: SM releases a statement denying any romance between James and Jongdae, claiming that they’re only good friends. James also makes a post of her own, revealing that she is merely friends with Jongdae, and that she has a boyfriend (although the post does not reveal who…perhaps because it’s someone else who’s involved with the company 👀).

Maddy / @sehuns-vivi

— who: Sehun— how: Maddy stars as the lead in a play that Sehun attends. Sehun takes a few pictures for Instagram, and while a picture of him with Maddy is expected (seeing as she is the lead), what isn’t expected is a picture of the two kissing that Sehun accidentally posted. Sehun quickly takes down the photo, but not fast enough, as the picture has already been screenshotted by several fans and is already being spread around.— solution: Sehun and Maddy both release statements confessing that they are together, and have been since they met at fashion week several months ago. Many of Maddy’s fans and EXO fans support the relationship, and the couple becomes a sensation, eventually starring in a drama together.

Ayisha / @itsmeayishaa

— who: Jongin— how: One night while hanging out with the members, Jongin decides to do a V-live. While he’s talking, the door (which is luckily off-screen) opens, revealing Ayisha with food for the boys. The members all cheer, and Jongin waves at her, before finishing up the v-live. But right in the last few seconds, as he presses the ‘End’ button, his greeting of, “Hello, jagi.” is caught on the camera, seen by thousands. The video blows up in minutes, everyone curious to know who he was talking to.— solution: SM releases a statement explaining that it was only one of EXO’s managers, and that the microphone distorted his words. Although many fans are skeptical, the scandal dies down, and Ayisha and Jongin continue to date, being more cautious whenever media is present.

Jody / @caticorn61

— who: Kyungsoo— how: Jody and Kyungsoo meet through a mutual friend. They get along quite well, and when Jody mentions wanting to practice more on her Korean, Kyungsoo offers to help; so long as she helps him with English. They start meeting up in small cafes for study dates, but unbeknownst to them, they’re spotted during one of these little meetings. Photos are spread online, everyone questioning who she is.— solution: Kyungsoo himself addresses the rumors, explaining that Jody is a friend of his who is helping him with his English. The rumors die down a bit, although people are still suspicious. However, no harm comes to anyone, and the two continue their study dates.

Désirée / @fuckmeupexov

— who: Yixing— how: Désirée is an up-and-coming singer who, when asked in an interview, says she would like to do a collaboration with Yixing. Yixing reaches out to her, and the two begin working together, as well as getting to know each other. The two begin to post pictures of each other on social media, and speak praises about each other during interviews, clearly growing closer to one another. The song ends up revolving around the theme of “friends to lovers”, and the music video depicts the same story, causing an uprise from fans online questioning just where their inspiration came from.— solution: During an interview for their new song, the two confess that they are dating, explaining how while producing the song, they found out how well they work together and get along. The song becomes a hit, beloved by many fans for its sweet message of love.

Dove / @ohtiddies

— who: Minseok— how: Dove works as a stylist for EXO, traveling with the boys for promotions and whatnot. One day at the airport, the crowd greeting them is particularly rowdy, and she gets pushed around and is nearly knocked over. The only thing that stops her from falling is Minseok, who wraps an arm around her waist to stabilize her. Fansites zoom in on the action, and soon, pictures of Minseok and Dove are everywhere, some netizens chalking it up to Minseok being kind, while others speculate something much deeper.— solution: SM doesn’t address the rumors, causing more of an uproar as people become suspicious. Eventually, Minseok takes things into his own hands, and during an interview, he explains that Dove is a stylist for the boys, who was nearly knocked over in the midst of the airport commotion. He then asks for fans to please respect their space and be careful not to hurt anyone, especially not themselves. The rumors die off, and things return back to normal; save for a newfound friendship between Dove and Minseok.

Julia / @byuneebuns

— who: Baekhyun— how: Julia and Baekhyun are cast in a new drama together, as each other’s love interests. During interviews and promotions for the drama, the two seem to be very close, teasing each other and playfully bantering back and forth. Their friendly behavior leads fans to wonder if filming for the drama has caused them to actually fall in love with each other.— solution: During an interview, the host asks the two about the rumors and what they have to say about them. Baekhyun admits that he and Julia are dating, and says that she makes filming a more enjoyable experience for him, and that the chemistry between the two of them makes the drama seem even more realistic. Fans of the drama are ecstatic to see the two together in real life, and Baekhyun and Julia become a power couple.

Thank you again for this fun ask! And to the mutuals I didn’t tag, I’m sorry 😓💖 it was hard enough for me to just do these though lol like I spent FOREVER on them (P.S. if you don’t want to be tagged in things in the future please let me know!