#okay Cap is pure sunshine but he's the exception

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 3 - A wild Mama Dynamight appears!

Summary: Y/N gets the shove-talk.

Warnings: Bakugou drinks an alcoholic beverage, swear words, the chapter ends with a teeny-tiny cliffhanger (sorry)

First chapter Master List

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It’s an hour after opening and Red Riot is nowhere in sight. You lay on the freshly cleaned counter with a sigh.

You got a little bit too used to have that ray of sunshine in your shop every morning. His pure existence makes your day better. Sometimes, you come in all grumpy, your mood heavily influenced by the lack of sleep, but one glance at the hero’s smile and the world is full of rainbows and unicorns.

Fuck, you miss him already. It’s really fucking concerning how quickly you developed feelings for this random guy. Okay, calling him a random a guy is quite rude as you literally grew up watching him in the TV, but he’s just a human, a human you’ve met only a month ago yet here you are, pining like a stupid school girl because the guy finally managed to get a day off.

“Waiting for someone?” Your boss mutters with a knowing smile which you answer with a big, loud and needy whine. She only snickers at that and then the door opens; you look up with hopeful eyes, searching for a blotch of red but you only find a blond dude in a cap and a face mask, looking sus as fuck.

Is he about to rob this place? - you wonder for a second; haha, he can fucking try, no one except your closest family members know this, but you went to Shiketsu High School and managed to get a hero license as well, so you are absolutely more than capable to annihilate a single fucker even with the lack of training in the last few years.

“Good fucking morning to you too.” The guy looks straight into your eyes with nothing but pure murderous intent.

You shudder under his intense gaze and your face pales in a matter of seconds. You have no idea what you have done personally to deserve such a stare but the guy doesn’t budge. He does look familiar to you though…

Uhm… haha… you definitely can’t annihilate this guy, because this guy is the Number Two pro hero, Dynamight. Oopsie daisy.

Knowing how much you’ve bullied Red Riot in the last few weeks, you have a feeling you are about to get “the shove-talk”.

“Good fucking morning to you too indeed, sir Dynamight!” You mumble under your nose, still a little bit shaken up by being almost murdered by his eyes. The guy keeps an eye contact as he puts his elbow on the counter; his whole posture screams “don’t fuck with me” so you… you don’t fuck with him.

Why?

Because this guy is Red Riot’s best friend. Otherwise he would be out of the door for acting inappropriately.

It’s quite amusing to you how much you care about his opinion; it’s not like you are dating his best friend or anything, you are literally just a barista who likes to banter with his favorite customer. Or at least that’s what you try to tell yourself when you feel the urge to ask a guy out and that’s like… every five seconds, really.

“Give me your best coffee.” Dynamight speaks up and it sounds like a challenge; and maybe it is, maybe this is the only way you can earn the guys approval.

Okay, you need to think.

This is Dynamight. He likes his stuff with a kick. A chili hot chocolate would definitely be something he would enjoy but he specifically said “coffee”, so that not an option.

A coffee with a kick… ahh!

“You doin’ hero work today, sir?” You ask nonchalantly while you poor some cold brew into a cup - Dynamight doesn’t look like a person who drinks his coffee sweet, but he also looks like someone who likes to be extra just because he fucking can.

“It’s our inventory and paperwork day, so we are the last agency on the call list so probably no.” He answers with a confused face but doesn’t ask any further questions about your silly question.

It’s time for you to make your favorite beverage… baileys coffee.

Yep, you heard it right. It’s alcohol time.

You give the drink a really light stir, just enough for the two colors to swirl together, then you top it up with some whip cream and finish the masterpiece with a hand-drawn explosion on the top (you don’t want to boast or anything but you can do a lot of stuff with chocolate syrup.)

You hand out the beverage with a massive smirk on your face and Dynamight takes it with a doubtful glare. He takes one sip and by the look of it, the drink kicks him right in the face; he stares at you with an incredulous look.

“It’s 8 in the morning, you absolute madman!” Dynamight fucking laughs, and that’s how you know you won this round. “Are you even allowed to sell alcohol in this place?”

“I’m not selling alcohol. I’m sharing my own secret stash with a friend of a friend. Don’t sue us, please.”

“Only if you make me another one for my fiancé, she will loose her mind from this shit.”

Dynamight gets excited for a second but then he schools his face into his usual scowl.

You can’t believe how cute he is in real life; the fact that his first thought was to share the drink with his loved one makes your heart melt. Now it makes sense why those two are besties. “So… Eijirou likes you.” The blond mutters like he’s talking about the weather. You have a sudden urge to drink some of that Bailey’s yourself, straight out of the bottle. “Red, shitty hair, sunshine reincarnation, rainbows coming out if his ass…” Katsuki tries to help like the only reason you are rendered speechless is the fact that you have no idea what the guy’s first name is.

“Red likes everyone.” You retort, faking nonchalance.

“I’ve been his best fucking friend for 10 years and trust me when I say, he doesn’t. Not like this, at least. I don’t know what kind of sorcery did you do to him, but…”

“I did nothing!” You retort loudly. “He’s my favorite customer, I like to banter with him and tease him. I try my best to make sure he leaves with a smile on his face. That’s all.”

“So you can see through his facade already. Impressive.”

“Facade?”

“Eijirou isn’t a ray of sunshine all the time. Not a lot of people can see through all the positivity he fakes daily to be liked. He’s sensitive and depressed. He’s my best fucking friend and if you break his fucking heart I swear to god I’ll chop you up and hide your body parts all over the country so no one can ever find you.”

“What if he breaks my heart?” You mumble with pout, absolutely not affected by the meaningless threats.

“Hm. You ain’t scared of me.” He mutters under his nose with a small smile on his face.

“Should I be? You might act like an asshole but it feels like it comes from a good place. Dunno, I might be weird. I’m glad Red has such a supportive friend by his side. He’s such a himbo sometimes, I’m a little bit worried for him.” You admit with a slight blush on your face.

There are a few seconds of silence between you two before the blond speaks up again:

“If he ever breaks your heart I’ll chop his dick off for letting such a good woman down.”

Needless to say your blush comes back with a full force at his words.

“Deal.” You mumble just as the door open up with full force.

“Katsuki, let her live! … oh. Uhm. I thought he’s… Nevermind. Hi!” Red Riot pants, out of breath. He also forgot to put on a shirt before he ran here. Oh damn, what a day to be alive.

“Did you just run straight here from your apartment, you idiot?!”

“Uhm, I felt like running today?” Red Riot pants with a massive grin on his face. You really want to know how does it feel like to kiss a guy with shark teeth… Y/N, calm the fuck down. Stop staring at his teeth. And his chest… those sweat-slicked abs… oh damn, call the popo, there’s something illegal going on in this coffee shop.

“Eijirou, you live 15 kilometers away and you aren’t even supposed to be in today!” Dynamight yells, and you can’t stop yourself from teasing the guy.

“Yeah, EIJIROU, give yourself a break!”

Kirishima… chokes on his saliva in the most unattractive way, but he looks so fucking adorable while doing it, and you kinda want to kiss him.

Wait? What?! You did not just think that, did you?!

“What if I wanted to see my favorite barista on my break? Am I not allowed to be in the area?” Kirishima gets a little bit cocky, probably trying to look badass and miserably failing at it.

“Look into my eyes and tell me that you didn’t get a message from my woman about me coming to check out the coffee shop.” Dynamight speaks up with a blank face, eyes staring holes into Kirishima’s skull. Damn. You see? That’s badass. The calmness, the way you can see Dynamight knows Red Riot is lying right now but he gives him a last chance to save himself. Kirishima cowers under his gaze, his body goes numb as his facade crumbles and he sighs, clearly giving up on fighting his best friend.

“The menace* messaged me…” Red Riot sits down on the nearest chair, completely defeated.

Honestly, if you thought Kirishima himself is a better entertainment than a sitcom, there two together are downright unbeatable when it comes to comedy.

* The Menace is the hero name of Katsuki’s fiancé. She started as a secretary at Katsuki’s agency after she got into an accident and couldn’t work as a hero for a long time but after she got better she joined Katsuki’s agency as a hero. The Menace was Katsuki’s nickname for her when they “hated” each other. If you want to read their story, read Bakugou Katsuki’s daily shenanigans!

“While I certainly enjoy your shenanigans and you two made my day, can you please leave now? Dynamight, your woman’s coffee will get cold. Red, no one will come to my coffee shop if there is a half naked guy sitting in the window, even though I must admit, it is a beautiful sight.”

“I’m… not even getting… a coffee?” Kirishima gives you the biggest puppy eyes the world has even seen while Dynamight snickers in the background like a cheeky child.

“Come here.” You motion towards the redhead with your fingers. “Come on, I ain’t got all day!” You reprimand and Kirishima moves closer, clearly terrified. You can barely conceal your smile as he finally makes it to the counter, ready to get smacked in the head, his eyes closed, ready for the impact. Instead of smacking him you jump on top of the counter and rake your fingers through his soft, gel-free strands as you leave a tiny kiss on the top of his forehead, an act full of affection and love. “Now get the fuck out of my coffee shop, you smelly himbo.” Everyone who hears your lovesick giggle is able to tell how much you adore this man… except the man himself. It’s kinda funny how oblivious the guy is.

“Yes, sir.” Is all you get as an answer; Red Riot is out of of the door before you can say bye; you stare at the door for a few second, already the missing the warmth Kirishima has brought with him.

“Wow, you’ve got it bad. I was worried for no reason.” Katsuki grins at you, sipping on his girlfriend drink, using the cute reusable pink straw you put in it for another brownie point.

“You look like a slut, Dynamight, get out and get laid.” You giggle while you roll your eyes, absolutely gobsmacked by the fact that Bakugou is… well… a completely different person than the loud and aggressive pro hero Dynamight you see in the news almost every day.

“Behave yourself.” Katsuki grins and after a lazy wave, he leaves; Suddenly, it’s way too lonely in the empty coffee shop.

“They are an interesting bunch.” Your boss snickers, her head poking out of the staff room door.

“Shut up.” You whine, only just realizing that she’s heard the whole conversation. “And don’t tell my uncle. Don’t want him to die an early death.”

“Yes, sir.” Your boss parrots; you really want to to go home and yell into a pillow out of embarrassment.

~•🪨•~

A few days later:

Kirishima is a happy child; he just got his favorite coffee from his favorite barista and if that’s not enough, he even got another kiss on his cheek. His heart has a hard time with the whole situation, it beats out of his chest every time Y/N comes close to him and he certainly needs to work on that bit to preserve this blooming friendship without ruining it with his stupid, unrequited romantic feelings but that’s a problem for another day; today, Kirishima is the one in charge at the agency, he’s the big boss, the one with all the responsibility and not even Y/N’s cheeky kisses can ruin his concentration as he stares at the CCTV, looking for troublesome individuals. It’s not like he doesn’t have specific people in the room to do this for him but Kirishima is a nosy little bitch and absolute likes the random funny interactions that sometimes happen on the screen; there is a guy who always dances on his way home from work, another one likes to pet the neighbors dog as he walks past, even if he gets bitten every time then there is that girl with two heads that likes to have a fight with herself in the middle of the street then walk into a lamp post by accident.

Today, he’s not looking at the random bystanders though; he’s looking at the camera right by this street, he’s looking at a smiling Y/N, staring out of the massive window, clearly daydreaming; Kirishima wonders what she’s thinking about and if he’s able to make those dreams come true.

Kirishima is aware that he is… uhm… a little bit creepy for doing this so he usually only does it for a few minutes then moves to the next frame.

They got a special security camera set up for that coffee shop after it opened; villains aren’t stupid to try and rob a shop right next to the big Dynamight-Red Riot Agency but even if Katsuki denies it, they both care about their neighbors and they want them to feel safe, hence why every single shop in the area has a special camera set up so they can help out in a case of emergency; fire, water damage, robbery, hell, they even send their interns to help out with rude, aggressive customers from time to time, just to keep the young, inexperienced hero students entertained on a boring day.

Kirishima is just about to look somewhere else, mesmerized by the sight of his… well, let’s be honest, crush; when he feels his heart drop down into his belly; three, masked individuals enter the shop, clearly up to no good and Kirishima doesn’t wait a single second before he jumps out of his office window and lands right in front of the (hopefully) unlocked coffee shop back door.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He mutters to himself as he sneaks into the backroom, his whole body charged with the urge to protect the sunshine of his life.

… next chapter!

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Potato ramble:

- I know, ending the chapter with that shit wasn’t nice but don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine. The angst will be resolved in the next chapter! And something good will come out of it!

- Bro I miss writing with Katsuki so much. 😭

- I hope you still enjoy this story! 💜 Send me your thoughts!

- If you enjoy my silly little stories, you can support me with some “coffee” here!

TL: @porusuniverse @sixxze @unofficialmuilover @cheesenmax @readingfan @sammmm29 @pwinglez1 @happydragonfrog @magicalhandsherringclam @lovingnightharmony @theequeenofcurses @kirishima-eijirock @nerinefy @selfindulgenthoe @fierysplash213 @woofwoofwolf @touyasprettydoll @confused-smol-fan

[veinereastath]

I was bored and I blame want to thank you @thirstyforjohnseed for inspiration, aka showing me this game Also, gifs are not mine; credits to the authors.

[finitepeace]

this week i read...

Darling, Keep the Lights On (Until I Get Home) by capsicleironman  💙

Summary: When Steve Rogers is awoken from the ice early, he is assigned as the personal assistant to Tony Stark, the man on TV with the strange glowing light in his chest. The plan was simple - protect and gain intel. It was supposed to be just another job, but then again, nothing in Steve's life has ever gone according to plan.

Iron Man 2 Divergence where Steve ends up working for Tony instead of Natasha, and his interest first in the arc reactor and then in Tony himself, leads him through the events of the Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Captain America 2.

17k words 

It's Only Half Past (The Point of Oblivion) by LadyHabren (equalopportunityobsessor)

Summary: "I think it's generally agreed that all of Steve's senses are powered up by the serum? He can hear people whispering on the other side of the room, probably sees a hell of a lot further, etc.

But there are definite downsides. How does Steve control this side effect of the serum?"

Captain America is more than a man - he is a hero, he is an ideal, he is pure muscle held together by patriotism and moral fibre... And not even Captain America can fight it when his own brain turns against him.

4k, sentinel/guide au, not set in mcu, 

Do-Over by gottalovev  💙

Summary: Steve woke up six months ago into a future that leaves him indifferent. There is work, and not much else. His current mission is a basic search and rescue operation to retrieve an American who was kidnapped by a terrorist group ten days ago. He won't let the fact that the hostage is Howard's son be a distraction.

14k words, ironman 1 - 2 but with steve on it!, 

Calls Me Home by steve-capsicle-rogers (adorable_lab_rat)

Summary: Tony can't help but notice the far away look on Steve's face. The visible pain and loss. It wasn't right and giving Steve back everything he'd lost was the right choice. The right thing. And honestly Tony didn't do the right thing near enough.

9k words, post avenger 1, tony time travels to victory day with steve to make him happy 

Memorial by hanyou_elf

Summary: Here rests in honored glory an American Soldier known but to God.

Steve visits Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in lieu of visting the tombs of those he's lost.

600+ words, steve visits his grave and tony supports 

Damaged by orphan_account

Summary: Prompt: Can you write a story where Tony is having heart problems again even after the shrapnel and arc reactor is removed, like he needs a pacemaker or something please? :)

Steve is worried about Tony after the doctor tells them Tony needs a pacemaker. Tony being Tony decides to build something better.

2k words, arc reactor + health problem 

Warning by laireshi

Summary: Tony's left arm hurts.

100 words, angst post-civil war au 

Told You Dirty Jokes Until You Smiled by ChibiSquirt  💙

Summary: Steve was waiting at light, casually checking out the man in the car behind him, when his phone pinged.

75k words. WIP T_T . steve is cap but tony isnt ironman (yet?). steve is awaken before ironman 1 and meets tony, proceed to have friends with benefits arrangement... 

blood, Lies, and Love by Ridley160

Summary: When Steve Rogers volunteered for Project Rebirth they told him they would make him a hero. No one bothered to tell him that the serum would change him into a monster that needed to feed on the blood of the living for survival. Now he has woken up 70 years in a future where there are more like him and his affliction is now seen as gift. Only Steve is convinced that he is at his core still just a monster.

Then he meets the brilliant, quirky and charismatic Tony Stark, the only person in this crazy new world that seems to understand Steve's misgivings about what he is, but Tony is haunted by something. A secret he has carefully guarded for many years that forced him to push everyone away.

33k words in 13 chapters, steve is cap + a vampire but tony isnt ironman, 

Blood Loss by wisia

Summary: The serum really did work a miracle. It created Captain America, and Tony would like the serum to work a miracle on him too. If only he didn’t fall in love.

5k words, set in captain america 1st avenger, tony is scientist/adventurer looking for a cure for his heart problem 

scientific Heresy by antigrav_vector

Summary: In the process of running the particle accelerator in his basement and fixing the arc reactor, Tony finds himself flung into the past where he has to take on a fight not his own if he wants to get home to stop Vanko. At least he had a chance to replace the old rector that had been killing him with the new one before everything went sideways... But now he has no choice but to face off with family, friends, and old heroes, and none of that sounds remotely appealing. Well, okay, getting to meet them all during their glory days kinda does.

But as it turns out, they're not exactly what he imagined, and his path home is a lot longer than he'd hoped it would be.

And a lot more complicated.

34k words in 12 chapters, time travel au @ cap 1 and ironman 2, steve/tony/bucky 

we will meet in another life by theappleppielifestyle

Summary: Tony is there instead of Howard during Project Rebirth. He ends up following Steve into the Howling Commandos, into the Atlantic ocean and into the 21st century.

6k words, canon divergence. 

Keep on Beating by itsallAvengers

Summary: There were an awful lot of things Steve loved about Tony. But one thing in particular Steve could never get enough of was his heartbeat.

6k words, self-sacrificing tony strikes again and steve is upset.. so tony comes to a solution... 

Coming Up Roses by NobodysBloodyPrincess  💙

Summary: Those with a death wish referred to the High Commander’s infatuation with the late Tony Stark as an ‘obsession.’ They were wrong. It had to be more than that, after all there was no word for what the High Commander was about do in the name of making things right.

No one gets a redo of life… no one except High Commander Rogers that is. Everything is coming up Roses and Sunshine for him. After all, he has a dream and it’s going to come true.

41k words in 3 chapters, beautiful but a bit dark and sad, just like the author said: “‘i’ll be with you till the end of line’ but stony”, definitely one of the best fic i’ve read because THEY ARE HAPPY T_T 

The One With Bucky's Biggest Fan by justanotherpipedream

Summary: Steve still can’t believe how long it took for him to notice. It wasn’t a secret really, just something that no one had cared to ask...it honestly took Rhodey pulling him aside and pulling out an old photo album, before Steve really understood.

Tony Stark was a Bucky Barnes fan.

(aka The one where Tony is the biggest Bucky Barnes fanboy, Steve is a supportive boyfriend, and Bucky is perplexed by it all.)

2k words, it’s all in the summary 

Sins of the Mother by skullshy  💙

Summary: All she could see when her eyes closed was Steve’s face in the courtroom. Stern, pained— with that fucking all-American self-righteousness.

Toni wondered for years whether it would have made a difference. Told him that she was pregnant, that Ultron was to protect their baby, and how sorry she was.

On her worst days, she imagined it wouldn’t have mattered.

23k words in 23 chapters, female tony stark, civil war (or age of ultron?) canon divergence 

So this is bonded life by Captainstark12

Summary: Steve had been protecting the human village from hydra creatures like him for five years. And now he was ready to take his prize as he had the privilege of choosing an omega to bear his child. Hopefully his chosen omega human would want him back as much as he wanted him

4k in 6 chapters, mythology au 

I don't think there's a manual for this by itsallAvengers

Summary: So. His son can stick to things, apparently.

If only Tony had realised this before he'd caught him hanging off the 89th floor of the tower.

Well. Parenting was never going to be a smooth road, was it?

2k words, stony adopts peter parker and then they become superfamily 

For Your Eyes Only by SarahHBE

Summary: Every soldier looks forward to mail call. But Alpha Steve Rogers gets a big surprise with the letter his Omega, Tony Stark, has sent him.

2k words, explicit bcs of sexual content 

It Was Just A Matter Of Time by babynative

Summary: The clock was ticking. And then, black.

719 words, civil war canon divergence, angst 

This Can't Be The Last by MusicalLuna

Summary: Hours after a mission ends, Tony's heart starts to race.

1k words, tony had a heart attack, but not angst! 

The Billionaire and the Army Captain by Neverever

Summary: Facing finanical ruin and needing to care for his sick daughter, Steve Rogers agrees to marry Tony Stark, who needs to get married by his 30th birthday to inherit. It's just a job for Steve until he starts to fall for the enigmatic billionaire.

12k words, non-powers au, 

Adopt by greenteeth  💙

Summary: Steve's life is the same as usual. He goes to work, fights super villains, banters with other Avengers and goes home to an empty apartment. Until the son of an old friend shows up asking for help, well sex first, then help. Suddenly Steve is married, fighting super villains, worrying what Obadiah Stane and coming home to Tony most nights of the week.

42k words in 17 chapters, ABO, tony is not iron man, the story is complete but it’s a part of series that seems to never see the light T_T 

The Act of Creation Will Be Your Salvation  by scifigrl47  💙

Summary: When Tony Stark was seventeen years old, he built his first AI. On that day, he ceased to be his father's creation, and became a creating force in his own right.

That one act likely saved his life, and not always in the most obvious ways.

84k words in 8 chapters, stony but mostly looking through his AI bots a.k.a. jarvis and dum-e, definitely one of the best fics ever! 

Bewitched, Body and Soul by iam93percentstardust

Summary: Almost ten years after joining the British Army, Steve Rogers returns to his childhood home after his mother's death. The house seems quiet in a way that it's rarely been. But the peace is shattered when his oldest friend stumbles into his home and into his life, seeking an escape from an arranged marriage to a cruel lord. Steve provides that escape but finds himself engaged to be married instead. This wouldn't be a problem - except that Steve is, always has been, and always will be deeply in love with Tony Stark.

16k words, regency AU, ABO,  the classic stony misunderstanding trope 

Right place, right time by hkandi, ralsbecket

Summary: An alternate take on the Captain America: The First Avenger movie. Tony is working with his dad to help out the SSR on this new project, though he and Steve happen to run into each other before that, and sparks fly from the start.

8k, CA: First avenger AU with tony stark present

[4haechie]

stuck with you

➵ request: can i request fluff + au #2 + trope #1 "enemies to lovers" + prompt #4 & #19?? thank you 🥰

��� lee donghyuck x reader | fluff, enemies to lovers au, high school au | 2,760 words | “take off your shirt.” + “can you shut up for just two seconds?”

➵ warnings: cursing and one second of suggestive stuff

➵ a/n: thank u for requesting! i really hope u like it :D i added timestamps to avoid confusion, so this turned out longer than expected oops. if u want a part 2, please let me know!

want to request? check this post out!

present time – thursday, 6:30 p.m. 

you’re starting to wish time machines existed right about now. you’ll do just about anything to go back to two hours ago and avoid this mess.

you glance up at donghyuck, who’s put on his thinking cap apparently, and is trying to come up with a way to get you two the hell out of here. “do you have a hairpin? or a bobby pin?” he asks.

you shake your head, “donghyuck, that only works in movies.”

“y/n, i’m trying to come up with solutions here! or do you wanna live in this tiny janitor’s closet for the rest of your life?” he glares at you.

“if i did, i would’ve chosen someone else to share oxygen with. why would i choose you?” you glare back.

he rolls his eyes, indicating that that conversation is over. “whatever. try calling your friends again. someone must still be at school, right?”

you frown, “donghyuck, we had the student council meeting earlier, remember? that ended at six, and it’s almost six-thirty now. all the sports teams’ practice sessions must’ve ended, too. i’m telling you, it’s just us in school.” you shake a little as if trying to wake up from a crazy dream. no avail.

you’re stuck here–no, wait. someone locked you two in here. you’re going to have to trace back your steps to figure out who.

thursday, 4:00 p.m.

“the weekly student council meeting is in session. today, we’re going to discuss prom! i’ve put up a list on the bulletin board that says who’s going to do what. please take a look at it immediately.” you explained, gazing around the group of students in front of you.

you’re the president and donghyuck is the vice president. you two work together almost every day, you’re in the same classes, you have the same friends. but there’s one minor detail in your guys’ relationship: you two hate each other.

hate might be a bit too strong of a word, but it’s true. you and donghyuck, despite working together and being in the same class since third grade, have never gotten along. maybe it’s your guys’ competitiveness. maybe it’s your strong desire to one-up the other. but as long as you can recall, there hasn’t been a single time when he hasn’t made your blood boil.

anyway, you and donghyuck were in charge of planning your senior prom, and ensuring everything and everyone follows said plan.

while discussing the event, you realised you forgot to check with your school’s janitor if he’s free on the day of prom, or if he’s taking a holiday. either way was fine with you, as you were thinking of making everyone clean up after themselves. but just to be sure, you and donghyuck, unfortunately, decided to stop by the closet after the meeting had ended.

thursday, 6:05 p.m.

“i don’t think he’s here. it is after school hours, so i think he went home,” you said, peeping into the dark closet. it was pretty obvious he wasn’t there–the room couldn’t have been more than five feet by five feet. it’s a storage space, but the janitor keeps his bag here before starting work and picks it up right before leaving school.

“yeah, no shit, sherlock.” donghyuck reached around you to flip the light switch on. the lone bulb suspended from the ceiling blazed to life, setting the room alight.

then, suddenly, a figure pushed donghyuck into the confined space, which caused you to jerk inwards. it happened so fast, you barely had time to react, or identify the culprit. you heard keys jingling and fear danced around in your eyes.

donghyuck was still facing the door, while you were standing with your back against the wall. he tried his best to look out the little glass rectangle fitted in the door, but he turned around and shook his head in frustration.

“what the fuck just happened,” you said; it came out more as a statement, but anger resonated through your words.

“we, er, just got locked in here.” he deadpanned as if you couldn’t have figured.

you groaned and clenched your fists. “i’m gonna kill them. you didn’t happen to see their face, did you?”

he shook his head, “nope.”

“well, we know one thing. that person had the key–and only two people have the key to the closet. the janitor, who’s not even here, and the general office staff. but i’m sure they wouldn’t lock us in here.” you said.

donghyuck tilted his head, “okay, then, who...” he trailed off, allowing you to vocalise your theories.

 “somebody must have stolen one of the two keys.” your brain’s gears started turning, trying to think of someone who would pull something like this.

“it could be the janitor’s keys. the closet was unlocked when we got here.” donghyuck reminded you.

“yeah...but he never leaves the closet unlocked. he’s very responsible, so it can’t be his set of keys. it’s probably the staff’s set,” you countered. “they barely pay any attention to non-admin matters. that person must’ve stolen their keys, unlocked the door after the janitor left, and waited for us to come here, before locking us in. jesus, i’m so angry. this is so fucking childish,” you groaned again.

donghyuck nodded in slight agreement, surprising you. he never agrees on anything you have to say, but he didn’t have much of a choice in that situation. plus, your theory made sense. “do you think this whole thing was renjun’s idea? he was the one who suggested we check with the janitor about prom night.”

your eyes widened in shock. “oh my god...wait, but it wasn’t renjun’s idea. it was mine, actually–he just reminded me to do so.” you slowly dropped down to the floor and held your head in your hands. you couldn’t believe what was going on. the entire situation seemed to just hit you.

you’re stuck in a small closet with lee donghyuck, your number one enemy.

present time – thursday, 6:40 p.m.

“none of them are picking up. donghyuck, what if they’re all in on this together? kind of like a senior prank–except we’re the ones getting pranked.” you say, panic rising in your voice. you’re standing now, leaning against the wall with your phone clutched tightly in your hand.

knowing your and donghyuck’s friends, you’re sure you’re going to be here all night. they’re quite a bunch. you and donghyuck have a common friend group, but your friends find your ongoing rivalry extremely annoying. it makes perfect sense if they locked you two in here.

donghyuck digests your words quickly. “no way. that’s insane! why the fuck would they do that?”

“well, do you have a better explanation? i’m sure you don’t, considering i’m the only one who’s been thinking of possible theories, while you’re here giving me the only suggestion you have–your stupid bobby pin idea,” you say, breathing heavily.

“can you shut up for just two seconds? always telling me what to do, disagreeing with me, arguing and fighting with me. we’re locked in here, and you think arguing like little kids is gonna get us out?” he shakes his head in disbelief. “god, and to think i had a crush on you last year.” he must not have meant to reveal that little secret, because his ears turn red instantly.

you gape at him, “what–what did you say?”

“look at you, getting a big head again–!”

“donghyuck.”

“i liked you! there, you happy?”

“i like–liked you too, idiot,” you say in a low voice.

then, he laughs–a melodious sound, emitting pure joy and rainbows and sunshine. “some type of rivals we are.”

you laugh with him now, finding the situation so pathetically sad that it was almost funny. laughable. something to reminisce from time to time.

“you...you still like me?” donghyuck asks in a small voice you’ve never heard before.

“take a guess.”

“no?”

you bite the inside of your cheek, “take another guess.”

he grins at you, leaning against one of the shelves–which was a bad move on his part. he accidentally knocks over a bottle of...detergent? who knows, but it ends up uncapped and half-empty once it lands on the floor. luckily it was plastic, so the bottle doesn’t break. unluckily, the other of the liquid splashes on you, soaking your entire shirt. your plain, white, shirt.

donghyuck freezes, “um...y/n, i’m sorry–”

you hold up a hand. the god of testing people’s patience must’ve signed you up for some competitive exam today. “save it.”

donghyuck looks around hastily, trying to find a clean rag. he produces a small yellow cloth from the back of one of the shelves and hands it to you, “here.”

you don’t even say thanks. you quickly take it from him, free your shirt from your jeans, and start wiping and drying it to the best of your ability. you manage to make the shirt as dry as possible, but it was detergent that spilt on you. it was soapy–it was not water. 

you groan for the third time today and look at donghyuck, gritting your teeth. “i can’t possibly go out like this.”

he winces, feeling extremely apologetic. “take off your shirt and wear my hoodie instead. i have two layers on,” he suggests.

you give him a double-take, “what the fuck? no! why would i do that?” you exclaim.

“do you have any better ideas?”

you watch as he swiftly takes his hoodie off, revealing a loose tee clad on his body. you hate to admit how good he looks. he hands the item of clothing to you, and you tell him to turn around as you begrudgingly peel your shirt away. you take the rag once again, wiping off as much soapy liquid as you can, and pull the hoodie over your head.

it smells like him, you think. it smells like that expensive cologne he always seems to wear. you show no indication that you find his hoodie soft and comforting, and tell him you’re done. you roll the shirt, squeezing any remnants of detergent out, and stuff it in your bag.

he bites back the smile daring to form on his lips upon seeing you in his hoodie. “okay. now that that’s over, let’s try to get out of here, shall we?”

you nod. “i have our science teacher’s number. maybe i could ask her to help us? she’s always here late, marking papers and assignments.”

donghyuck snaps his fingers, “you’re right! yeah, give her a call.”

you scroll through your contacts till you find the name you’re looking for. you press the call button and set it to speaker mode so donghyuck can hear as well. she picks up after three rings, “hello?”

“hi, miss angela! it’s me, y/n. you see, um, donghyuck and i got locked in the janitor’s closet by someone, and we have no way to get out. are you still in school? if you are, is it possible for you to unlock the door from the outside?”

miss angela hums a little, as if in thought, “i just left, my dear. i could turn the car around if you’d like. i’m sure the office keeps an extra set.”

“yes! that would be great. thank you, miss angela. and we’re sorry for the inconvenience,” you nudge donghyuck with your elbow, who catches on immediately.

“yeah, we’re incredibly sorry. i’ll be sure to submit an extra report–!”

“save it, lee donghyuck. i’ll be there in five to ten minutes,” she hangs up with that.

you pocket your phone and look at donghyuck. “so.”

“so,” he repeats.

“are we going to act like we didn’t just confess to one another earlier?” you ask, biting your lip nervously.

“no, i don’t want to, um, act like we didn’t. i lied, y/n. i had a crush on you last year, yeah, but i never stopped liking you. i still like you. i don’t want to be your enemy anymore.” he nudges you. 

you smile shyly, “i like you too, donghyuck.”

just then, you hear keys jingling–an all too familiar sound. you get excited, thinking you’re going to be met with the face of miss angela, but when the door bursts open, you see the smirking faces of renjun and jeno.

“about fucking time!” renjun pulls you and donghyuck outside.

“what?” donghyuck demands. “it was your idea to lock us in there? are you fucking kidding me?”

jeno grimaces, “i’m sorry, it was the only way you two would confess your feelings for each other and stop fighting for good.”

“i can think of plenty of ways–!”

“wait, y/n, are you wearing donghyuck’s hoodie? holy fuck...don’t tell me you guys did it.” renjun looks back and forth between you and donghyuck.

“what? no, of course not!” you retort.

“then why do you have his hoodie on, dear y/n?” jeno asks.

“that’s none of your damn business, lee jeno!” donghyuck looks ready to pounce on him, but you place a hand on his chest, stopping him. his gaze drops down to your hand and it softens.

“there was a little accident...but the good thing is that we’re out. hooray. now, everybody, go home. i have to call miss an–”

“y/n, thank goodness! what happened?” miss angela emerges into the scene, looking a little worried.

you briefly explain the evening’s events to her, without mentioning the confession part. she doesn’t need to know that. you tell her it was a silly prank. nothing more, nothing less.

she visibly sighs a breath of relief. “well, at least it wasn’t some stranger. jeno, renjun, i didn’t expect this from you two. but i’m glad you’re all okay.” she takes her leave, after ensuring you four are on your way home.

jeno and renjun go home via jeno’s car, and you and donghyuck, living only a couple of blocks away from school, decide to walk the journey.

“all this... just so we could stop fighting,” donghyuck laughs. you’re walking side by side, hands occasionally brushing against one another. it’s like something out of a cheesy rom-com. you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“it worked, didn’t it?” you say.

donghyuck stops on the pavement, turning his body to face you. he stretches out a hand to push a strand of hair behind your ear, making you bump his shoulder shyly. he smiles; he wouldn’t have it any other way either.

“i guess it did. but what do we do now?”

“what do you mean?” you raise an eyebrow.

“like, do i walk you home first? do i ask you on a date? god, with you, it’s just so much more...different. if it was someone else, i would’ve gone with my gut, but with you, i don’t wanna mess it up. you know?” donghyuck finally takes your hand in his, intertwining your fingers. you feel his warmth radiate, you feel his touch bringing you safety and comfort. something way more powerful than a hoodie.

“donghyuck, i’m new at this too. i’m just as scared as you are. and that’s okay, trust me. i’m glad it’s me and not anyone else.” you assure him.

you gather up whatever courage you have remaining, tip-toe, and brush your lips against his cheek. you stay there for a moment, just breathing him in. when you pull away, his cheeks are a dusty pink shade.

“do that again,” he tells you.

“no, i think i’m good.” you start walking again.

“y/n!” he whines.

“okay, on one condition.” he raises a brow, “ask me on a date.”

for a moment, he’s bewildered. then, he gets down on one fucking knee, not caring about anyone who might be watching, and clears his throat. “y/n, i like you so much. will you make me the happiest man alive, and go on a date with me this saturday?” he looks up at you expectantly.

you chuckle at his antics and give him a nod. “i would love to, lee donghyuck.”

he grins, all big and bright, and leaps up to envelop you in a hug. his arms go around your waist and yours circle his neck. he whispers in your hair, “i guess we owe renjun and jeno a thank you?”

“i am not going to thank them for locking us up in a closet. in fact, i’m gonna double their prom duties.” you feel his chest vibrate as he laughs at your comment.

however, you are thankful that it was lee donghyuck you got stuck with. so, forget the time machine. you wouldn’t have had it any other way.

[chilling-seavey]

OH MY GOSH OKAY SINCE WE'RE DOING THE CHRISTMAS WRITING PARTY CAN U WRITE ONE FOR PASSCHENDAELE WHERE IT'S THE FIRST CHRISTMAS AFTER THE WAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? OR OR OR THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE

Love the idea of the Christmas Truce and I forgot I actually had this one planned since the beginning! For those of you who don’t know, The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a true event that happened, where British and German soldiers left their trenches on Christmas Day and celebrated together in peace. 

Get your tissues ready.

Also thank you to @janav21 for helping me with some German translations xx

T/W Mentions of war violence, death, the honest truth the deep down all humans are good, and the first seeds of what would later stem into PTSD

December 24, 1914

“Post for you, Lance Corporal Seavey.”

Through the darkness of the night, Christian raised his head from the side of the trench to look up at the man standing in front of him and holding out a brown paper wrapped package. With shivering hands in gloves that didn’t do much to keep in the heat, Christian reached up to take it from him, the men sharing stiff nods as thanks and acknowledgment before the man continued down the lines.

It was a particularly cold night and the ground was frozen with fresh fallen snow, stained red in places from battles and brown in places from upturned soil made from shells but the light flurries that fell through the silent night made it feel somewhat peaceful. Christian pulled at the string and opened his package, the first thing on the top being an old family photograph of his parents and his younger brother and younger sister and him from years earlier when they were small. He smiled warmly at the memory, missing them more than ever on Christmas Eve. Normally they would be sitting by their Christmas tree and singing carols and drinking warm mugs of tea around the fire but instead, he was sat all alone in frozen stiff soil trenches in the middle of Belgium. The next item was a letter tucked on top of a small bar of chocolate. Christian smiled at the gift and unwrapped the corner of it to take a bite.

The crack of the cold coca from his teeth seemed to nearly echo through the barren wasteland the British army found themselves in, but Christian smiled bashfully to himself as he let the sweet flavour melt in his mouth. As he ate his treat, he unfolded his letter from his mother to read her near weekly correspondence.

My Darling Christian,

Christmas is not the same without you. Anna and Daniel and I decorated the tree together last week and there was no one to put the star on top. Daniel took your job instead but he had to stand on a chair and nearly toppled right off! You would have had such a laugh with us. I couldn’t resist a year without at least giving you something small so I hope this chocolate bar suffices – we are not allowed to send anything larger. I hope next Christmas I will see you home again as I miss you terribly. The world over here seems so much darker without you around, my sunshine, but I am sure you are bringing your bright spirits wherever you go. Please write me and let me know how Christmas is celebrated in Belgium (although I know you are most likely already writing an essay for me!). Your weekly letters make me miss you more but they let me know that you are well and safe.

I love you, my sweet angel. Happy Christmas.

Mum xx

Christian sniffled and folded the letter to tuck it back into his inside breast pocket along with the photograph of his family. With one more bite of chocolate, he folded it back up and tucked it in his pack before letting his eyes close and his head rest back against the wall of the trench, light snowflakes falling against his face that took a while to melt with the chill that coated his pale skin. He would reply to his mother later as it was getting late, and the usual waiting game was sending Christian into a restful state.

It wasn’t long before a noise could be heard in the distance and a few of the British men quickly snapped to attention to see what was happening out in the darkness of No Mans Land. Christian sat up too, locking in on the soft tune that was drifting through the nighttime air. The words were incomprehensible but the tune was more than familiar.

“What the bloody hell is that?” one of the men whispered.

“It…It’s Silent Night, sir.” Christian answered quietly.

The higher ups turned to the Lance Corporal as if forgetting the young man could even speak. A small group had gathered in their section of the trenches, all the men bundled up in their jackets and gloves as they listened to the German soldiers singing Christmas carols from a few many yards away.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!

Alles schläft, einsam wacht

Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar.

Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh,

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh.

The British soldiers stood in silence as they listened, a few humming quietly to themselves as if afraid to make their presence aware to the enemy. Finally, one of the newer men sang first, his curly hair falling from under his cap and his glasses slightly fogged up from his warm breath through the cold night, joining right in along side the Germans,

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight!

A few more men joined in, Christian included,

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heavenly hosts sing Al-le-lu-ia!

And soon everyone was singing together in harmony,

Christ the Savior is born! / Christ, der Retter ist da!

Christ the Savior is born! / Christ, der Retter ist da!

By the final verse, both sides of the front lines were singing loudly together, their voices carrying across the vast expanse of fields and raising high into the night sky. Half in English and half in German, they sang in one choir,

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! / Silent night, holy night

Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht / Son of God, oh, love's pure light

Lieb aus deinem göttlichen Mund, / Radiant beams from Thy holy face

Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund, / With the dawn of redeeming grace

Christ, in deiner Geburt, / Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Christ, in deiner Geburt. / Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

When the song concluded, silence fell once again over the battlefields, the snow falling steadily around them. Christian smiled a little to himself at the momentary peace and tucked in for the night with his family photograph held right against his heart.

December 25, 1914

As the sun rose on Christmas morning, the British soldiers wished each other ‘Happy Christmas’ as they started their usual breakfasts or morning duties. It wasn’t long before one of the higher ups was ordering a rise to arms and Christian snatched up his rifle with the rest of the men to get into position.

“There’s a man over there.” the soldier said, peering through the viewfinder out across No Mans Land. “He’s holding his hands up in their trenches.”

The British cocked their rifles.

“Don’t fire!”

“He’s unarmed.”

Christian peeked up over the edge of the parapet and someone grabbed his shoulder to pull him back down to safety. He shrugged him off and leaned back up again, watching the German man walk shakily and slowly out of his trench and onto the fresh fallen snow of the battlefield, hands raised and any weaponry missing.

Christian was a man who had too much trust in people – at least up to the end of 1914 – and he didn’t think twice before dropping his rifle to the floor of the trench as well as his pack of grenades and bullets and stood up on the fire step with his own hands raised.

“Lace Corporal Seavey, what the hell are you doing?” his Lieutenant snapped.

“Must be a trap! You’re gonna get bloody well blown up!” another added from farther down.

But Christian climbed carefully out of the safety of the trench, his heart hammering in his chest as he touched the crisp white snow of the Belgian field and shakily got to his feet to face the enemy. A few more German men climbed out of their trenches followed by a few British and soon the two sides were meeting in the middle. It was silent except for the chilly winter wind that whistled across the land and the crunching of snow under military boots. Christian fell to a stop in front of the young man opposite him, the German’s face looking just as hesitant as Christian’s himself. He had the nicest grey eyes Christian had ever seen and he offered out his hand with a nervous smile tugging at his lips. Christian looked down at his outstretched hand before taking his handshake.

“My name is Christian.” he spoke slowly.

“My…name…is Heinrich.” the man replied.

“Pleased to meet you, Heinrich.” Christian said.

“Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen.”

The enemies seemed to group up and well wishes of Merry Christmas is English and German moulded as one and chatter rose across the Belgian fields. Handshakes were shared and photographs were taken and tensions felt like they had vanished. Christian pulled out his unfinished chocolate bar and offered a piece to his new friend.

Heinrich grinned and nodded, taking a small square with icy hands and a warm, “Danke.”

They ate together for a moment in calm silence, both a little shy but their bashful smiles were mirrored with near relief.

“Wie alt bist du??”

“Sorry?” Christian looked over at him.

“Uhm…” Heinrich thought for a moment before pointing to his watch and then gesturing up. “Years? You?”

“Oh. I am twenty-four.” Christian answered, showing the numbers with his fingers. “You?”

“Dreiundzwanzig.” Heinrich did the same, showing a two and then a three with his hand.

They shared smiles, cheeks a rosy red in the winter air and the tip of Christian’s nose was turning pink too. He offered Heinrich another piece of chocolate before taking out his photograph from his pocket and stepping closer to show him.

“This is my family.” Christian told him with pride and he pointed to each of his family members, “Father-”

“Vater.”

Christian glanced up at his new friend and nodded in agreement, “Yes. My Vater.” He continued on, “My Mother-”

“Mutter.”

“Sister and brother.”

“Schwester und bruder.”

“Yes. Anna and Daniel.”

“Anna?” Heinrich questioned, looking at Christian with wide shining eyes.

“Yes. My sister.”

Heinrich reached into his own jacket pocket and rummaged around a moment before pulling out his own photograph and held it out to show Christian, the blonde woman sitting graciously in the frame.

“Anneliese. Meine frau.”

“Frau? Wife.” Christian said. “Anna.”

“Yes, my…Anna.”

The young men shared excited grins and another piece of chocolate as a few men around them started singing more carols. Food rations were shared and a few drinks were poured and German and British men were arm in arm and singing loudly together. Heinrich and Christian stuck together, joining in for a few photographs taken by their officers and the group shared a good laugh when one of the German generals slipped on a path of ice and fell on his behind.

Soon, with the heat of the excitement and festivities, jackets were being tossed back into designated trenches and someone brought out a soccer ball, earning cheers from both sides. Small teams were divided up – British against Germans of course – and they played together most of the day, using jackets and canteens as makeshift goal posts as the watching soldiers stood in lines around their little made field. Christian pulled an impressive dive to catch the ball before he was scored on and loud excited cheers erupted from both sides at the move. Heinrich pulled him up from the snowy ground with an offered hand and Christian thanked him with a smile as he brushed himself off.

By the time the sun was starting to set, everyone was taken by surprise; the day had gone by so fast. Newly formed friendship groups said their goodbyes and Christian and Heinrich shared a friendly embrace as well.

“Happy Christmas.”

“Fröhe Weihnachten.” Heinrich held out a ration of cigarettes towards him with a friendly smile. “For…the schokolade.”

Christian didn’t smoke but the gesture was beautiful and he took the small pack within their final handshake, “Thank you.”

“Hope…you see…your Anna soon.” Heinrich spoke slowly through his broken English.

“You too.” Christian said as they dropped hands.

They shared one final nod, as if trying to piece together the incredible goings on of that day and the fact that they had just wholeheartedly trusted the enemy. Both sides were bordering on treason after spending such a day together but they returned to their trenches without another word or a single shot fired. Christian got himself settled with the sun setting and leaving the trenches in darkness, feeling more at peace than he had in a while. He was too tired to write to his mother that night, fading into a sleep stemmed from exhaustion from the day’s unique festivities. Even still, everyone was wondering what the next day would hold and if the truce was a turning point for the beginning of the end of the war.

With daybreak came another attempt of peace, and Christian found himself beaming with excitement as Heinrich and a few German men were making their way over the battlefield again after breakfast. Christian was stood beside the British Lieutenant-Colonel as they had their rifles at the ready out of habit but Christian didn’t even have his finger on the trigger.

One of the German officers who was walking over spoke first from the halfway mark between their front lines, “You still got the armistice?”

Christian started to stand up to join them but the ringing of a single shot rang through the barren fields before he could move. He watched as Heinrich fell backwards, shot right through the head until his blood was staining the fresh white snow and his grey eyes staring lifeless into the sky. The cold face of the British Lieutenant-Colonel was unphased as they were propelled into another battle by that single shot.

Another battle where they were forced to kill those they just celebrated with a mere day before, with whom each side shared stories and photographs and treats. Now, both sides were forced back into the usual way of the war under orders of their stern officers who claimed the only way to win was to gain their ground. Christian sat alone that night, a blank parchment on one knee, the pack of German cigarettes on his other, and the vision of Heinrich’s lifeless eyes in his mind. He sat there for nearly an hour trying to figure out what to say to his mother, only getting as far as her name scribbled shakily in the top left corner.

Christian didn’t smoke but that night he pulled one of the cigarettes from the German ration and borrowed a light from another soldier and he let himself sit against the side of the trench and mourn the loss of a friend. He felt guilty and shameful and disgusted with himself and with the war and with the concept of even being there at all, how each time he pulled the trigger he was killing one of his momentary friends. Good men who were friends and brothers and sons and husbands.

Christian couldn’t get himself to return a letter to his mother. He no longer felt like his mother’s angel that she called him so often. And he never would be again.

[talesofsonicasura]

Diamonds and Voodoo

You Do Voodoo

A mysterious visitor comes to Morioh. Paths diverge and intertwine with the various townfolks of this crazy, noisy bizarre town. And it all started with a good deed touched by a bit of magic.

Good deeds tend to create ripples throughout what we know as life. Sometimes an act of kindness can lead to great rewards. At rare times the road to hell is often paid with good intentions. Nevertheless, this type of charity has a habit of changing the future of one or many individuals. For sometimes, a grand adventure begins with that very act of kindness.

"Look out!" Morioh, a small town amongst the middle of nowhere quite unlike many cities found in Japan. A type of place that tends to be quiet but also hosts some oddities within its dwellings. Unlike many small towns, Morioh would become ground zero for a strand of very bizarre events and each with their own level of danger.

A car was parked awkwardly sideways between the road and crosswalk. Upon closer inspection, this was a crash as the front end was inward from the telephone pole currently wedged inside the bright red metal. To the side was an abandoned bicycle alongside a police officer and what many from this town could call a foreigner. The officer holded the visitor close to his chest almost awkwardly, the telltale of being grabbed.

The officer was an older and surprisingly buff male, darkened grey hair hidden under his cap, eyes that had a natural glint of kindness despite the concern now shining for the person in their arms. A would-be victim of the car accident was a young woman around her late teens, between 16 or 17 from the bits of remaining baby fat still left on her face.

Her skin was slightly tanned in a more climate related basis, such as sun exposure than natural skin tone, hair a short messy lime green hidden under the top jaw of a dinosaur-esque skull, a 5'8 body that was slim, lean and had moderate bust along with curves, but it was her eyes and her arms that drew the most attention.

The young woman's arms were decorated in wavy almost vine patterned tribal markings with a four toes pad on each shoulder and her eyes had a unique case of heterochromia with the right being a normal orange but the entire left eye was blue except for a single white pupil. Her outfit consisted of dark blue fingerless gloves, red sneakers, light brown cargo shorts, a black bra and opened orange vest outlined in red.

"You okay there missy? That car almost hit you if I didn't pull you away in time." The officer questioned, his voice soft and kind in a sort of grandfatherly way. She merely looked up at him with a large impish smile. Not even scared or off-put that a speeding car almost made the teen paste on the street.

"I'm good mister! Just glad no one else got hurt either. Car accidents aren't something normal folks can handle and I rather get hurt than somebody else! I'm more than capable of taking some nasty hits!" The woman's peppy, slightly loud and light chuckle paired with the slightly morbid words had thrown the officer for a loop before he strangely found himself chuckling too.

"Hahaha. Well aren't you an odd but thoughtful young lady? I wish some of my friends on the force had that kind of energy. Everyone's been down as of late and honestly needs a pep talk or two." The greenette looked at his badge for a moment as if scanning for his name. Something that was quick to find apparently as it read 'Ryohei Higashitaka'.

With that in hand, she then reached into the pocket of her cargo while silently whispering his name. The officer or Ryohei honestly looked a bit surprised when the youth produced a peculiar item. It was a small brown wooden charm carved into a smiling mask. The mask was painted with red lips, yellow with green outlined eyes, large reddish eyebrows and four small feathers ranging from yellow, orange, purple and red.

"Please take this mister as a sign of gratitude. It's a good luck charm carved into the likeness of Aku-Aku, a spirit of protection. This charm shall ward off a great disaster in your future." The older man took the odd charm with a soft smile and looked it over. He softly chuckles before patting her head.

"Why thank you! It's pretty adorable and well crafted! I'll make sure to keep it close. Good luck is something a lot of people nowadays…" His eyes widened a bit upon realization. "Whoops! Careless me! I forgot to ask for a name. I am Ryohei Higashitaka, an officer of the Morioh Police Department. What's your name missy? I need it to file a report for ya and if you want to press charges." She merely gave an impish smile with a bit of her tongue sticking out.

"It's Taki-Taki, Taki-Taki Bandicoot."

Budo-ga Oka Middle and High School, one of the few schools within Morioh. A joint school where grades between 6 and 11th are together instead of being separate. It was also a place that had a quite an amount of delinquents which make up some of the school's student body.

Walking towards this destination from the local town square was a mountain of a man in very odd clothing. Hair was jet black and well groomed, eyes a bright ocean blue, body sculpted like a Greek God from every single inch out of 6'5 and a natural scowlish look on his face. Nearly all his clothes, from his coat, pants, shoes and torn back hat with golden pins stylized to spell Jo were white except for the man's shirt which was pitch black.

The man was currently looking over a paper, a report or letter from highly detailed it was in both text and a few select photos. His brows wrinkled in aggravation before muttering a soft 'Yare Yare Daze' under his breath. "Godamnit old man. You're too old to be causing this type of bullshit." He hissed, rough, husky and slightly aggravated tone to his voice making a few people steer clear of his vicinity.

Well… not just that. Unknown to the raven in question, there was something odd looking over his shoulder. This peculiarity was a mask of sorts. It looked vaguely human but the light blue material used to craft it was spectral from how it softly glow like wisps in the night sky.

An Aztec type crown at the top with four flat points as if it was a piece from a gear, large carved ears with faint spiral at the center, pure white eyes and mouth outlined in mauve, and the same mauve color to imitate flat eyebrows. Bystanders seeing the mask either quickened their step or blamed this bizarre sight as 'too much coffee' or 'no more liquor in the morning.'

"Huh. Guess an old man in his late 60s can get laid. Oh, so that's where the gardens are!" The young man nearly bit his tongue in shock from both the raspy, light and almost nerdy sounding male voice but also the fact it came from a floating tiki mask that took a closer look at his document.

He couldn't get a word out of his mouth as the mask flew off with surprising speed. "A Stand?! That means there's a Stand User nearby! You ain't getting away from me!" A bright golden aura began to burn around the adult upon giving chase to the airborne oddity. On the sidewalk, the man's shadow grew with the addition of a more peculiar one.

A few minutes passed when the chase was called off upon the mask being too far in the air to pursue, the extra shadow vanished as the adult male let a growl in annoyance. He lowers his hat with a curse. "Damn it. If that thing's responsible for the recent incidents going on in this town…" The man then went to a payphone before dialing in a number.

"This is Jotaro Kujo. Tell the heads of the Speedwagon Foundation that there is confirmed Stand activity in Morioh. Look into the database about a Stand in shape of a glowing blue mask and the possibility if it's connected to Dio." The phone was slammed down as the white coat of the man fluttered while he left.

"Poke!" A finger poking the little snout of a box turtle that had swam up from the water of the makeshift pond seated by a small bus stop. Sitting on the curb of the pond beside was the odd Taki-Taki, currently petting the small reptilian much to its pleasure. "You're a handsome turtle, aren't you? Much nicer than the big ones back home." She cooed while the turtle rubbed itself against her hand clearly in love with the kind contact.

A little whimper had the young woman look around in utter confusion. Soft heterochromia eyes soon met bright baby blue ones tinged with a bit of fear. That fear directed to the little reptile nipping at the greenette's fingers.

A 5'11 muscular young man with blue violet hair tended neatly into a large pompadour, a dark violet gakuran pinned with a yellow heart and gold peace on each side of his chest, sunshine yellow shirt that peeked through the gap of his uniform coat, and dark boots were the owner of these baby blue orbs.

"You okay? Look like you're about to pee yourself." Taki-Taki questioned upon the fidgeting male still looking at the turtle as if it tried to eat him. He immediately calmed down a bit now noticing he wasn't exactly alone, cheeks dusting a bright red. "I'm so sorry! Reptiles just give me the willies that's all, mostly turtles." His soft and slightly rough almost if still adjusting practically rattled with nervousness.

She merely chuckled whilst waving off any concern. "It's alright! Everyone is afraid of something so no harm done. Plus this little handsome fellow is much more kinder than the ones I've seen in Turtle Woods. Those turtles were mean and one tried to steal my hat!" Her spare hand pointed at the dinosaur skull on her head since the other was still petting the shelled reptile.

The pompadour wearing young man shivered upon the two words 'Turtle Woods' but was honestly thankful that she wasn't making fun of him for his phobia. Taki-Taki then stood up whilst petting the turtle's head one more time. "I better go! Promised to get some stuff with my friend Lani-Loli and we're supposed to meet up at the gardens! Chou!" And she was gone with a pep to her step.

"My name is Josuke Higashitaka… And she's gone. Maybe I'll see her again." The sound of male cursing grew as the purple pomp prince noticed a bunch of male students coming over to him. Delinquents from their rude, downlooking and glaring faces, something that only made him sigh. Days like these tend to suck.

The Higashitaka household, home to the Higashitaka family which consisted of the older police officer Ryohei, his daughter but also single mother Tomoko and Tomoko's son Josuke. A lively place from the unique personalities of the three living inside. Well, it wasn't like this right now.

Peculiar water slipping away from the house window almost like a cobra finished with their prey. A fact so true upon the still body of the family matriarch lying lifeless on the floor. Face carved in blood coated horror slowly changes to a pristine clean outlook through a soft golden aura. Almost if the man died in his slumber and not of gruesome supernatural murder.

The golden aura belonging to a bubblegum arm coated in crystalline diamond armor soon vanishes inside the body of Josuke. Behind Josuke was Jotaro, the man clad in white being a relative, his nephew shockingly taken into consideration that his grandfather was the pomp prince's father. Who knew?

And the older man could only look at the teen that was his uncle trying to coax his dead grandfather back to life with sympathetic pity. Aquamarine eyes that always seemed stuck in a perpetual glare now softened at the scene. The look of someone who had seen a death like this before. Or to be more precise, had experienced such a grizzly sight.

Jotaro knew that this wasn't the time for grief fueled hysterics. There were more pressing matters and dangers ready to drown them from the inside. "Josuke…" Any further words from the older man, alongside any actions from the teen immediately stopped upon one thing. Subtle movement originating from the chest of the officer's corpse before them.

A sickly sweet scent reminiscent of cherries filled the air along with the soft sizzle of something burning. Thin wisps of smoke coming from the body's chest pocket spurred Josuke to go into the clothing's pouch. Baby blue eyes widened seeing a small brown tiki charm in his hands but specifically the feathers that were turning to dust.

"A voodoo charm?" The purplette's attention immediately went back to the corpse of his grandfather. His still chest slowly began to rise and fall almost as if… "He's breathing." It was the only conclusion Jotaro came to upon the subtle movements. The charm in the teenager's hands fully became ash once his previously deceased grandfather sat up looking purely confused.

"Ooh my head… I don't remember my favorite booze having that strong of a kick. Josuke? What are you doing here since I thought you were going out? Who's this guy? And why are you crying?" Ryohei didn't expect to wake up to such a scene or his own grandson to hug him so hard thinking he was about to kick the bucket.

He was quick however to notice the scent of cherry in the air alongside a missing weight in his breast pocket. "Did someone light a scented candle and where did my good luck charm go? Was I mugged or something Josuke?" The elderly man's inquiry had the two younger men share the same look. They needed answers.

/"You want to know who gave me that charm? Well, it was a young girl around my grandson's age. She had green hair, heterochromia with her eyes being orange and blue, and had what looked like a dinosaur skull on her head. Said her name Taki-Taki Bandicoot and came into town looking for ingredients. The charm was based off of a guardian of protection... Aku-Aku I believe she said."/

Information that had both Jotaro and his younger uncle running through the streets of Morioh in a hurry. Ryohei had been put into protective custody with a short call from whoever the raven had pretty high connections to. Something that man would have refused if it wasn't for the fact his son was crying. Josuke only cried when things were at the absolute worst. This made it easier to search without the man being in danger once more.

"I never thought my life would have gotten this insane. First an escaped death row inmate capable of killing his victims from the inside with water and now a Stand User capable of bringing back the dead! Things weren't like this until you came to town!" The highschooler quipped as if to ignore the harsh ache going through his legs.

"Your life was bound to become bizarre the moment you awakened your Stand, no, the moment you were born with Joestar blood. A curse everyone in this damned bloodline has. So don't blame me for the shitshow." Jotaro fired back in absolute annoyance. Their destination was the place mentioned by the woman when Josuke encountered her, Morioh's Springroll Garden.

"Maybe she can remove it? She does know voodoo and it does involve a lot of curse thingies? Do you think Taki-Taki can get rid of my fear of turtles?" The teenager's question was merely met with an eye roll from Jotaro. He was going to shout back an insult until something caught his eyes.

A lone figure standing amongst a large collection of various flora and vegetation belonging to one of Morioh's famous landmarks. More accurately a lonehuman figure and a soft blue floating oddity by them that was very damn familiar to the male clad in white. "There she is and that's the Stand I saw earlier!"

Taki-Taki was currently plucking a few mushrooms from underneath the bushes that provided their moist dark home and placed them into a small straw basket. Springroll Garden was a place where people could pick their vast garden by purchasing a special ticket and take home an entire basket full of items.

"It's kind of cool that the town has such a garden like this. Especially when it guarantees a free basket of fresh goods for first time visitors too!" The luminescent mask said with a big smile while looking at a bush full of white roses. His green haired friend merely let out a chuckle in agreement before speaking. "Same here pal. Makes it a lot easier to find the things needed to work my magic."

A loud shout had the two look up to see some familiar faces running their way. "Wouldn't you know? Hey Pompadour Prince, fancy seeing you here!" Taki-Taki's nickname immediately had the boy stop in his tracks. Face burning in anger until the words finally hitting turned that anger into pure confusion. The sudden confusion didn't stop the mask from cowering behind the greenette.

"Pompadour Prince?" He questioned while pointing to himself, clearly confused. "You kidding? That's the best pompadour I've ever seen. Also, calling you king is going a bit too far since we've barely known each other and aren't in a relationship." Her words caused the male teen to blush a bit paired with a smitten look and cheesy smile.

Jotaro merely elbowed Josuke's shoulder as the highschooler remembered what they were supposed to be doing. "Taki-Taki Bandicoot, we need you to come with us. We already know about you being a Stand User since your Stand is hiding right behind you but also that charm you gave Ryohei Higashitaka before he was attacked."

The greenette merely had a confused look before it immediately narrowed into glare after the words Ryohei Higashitaka and attacked. Her emotions were clearly being felt through the odd mask as it came out of hiding to glare at them. "I knew something bad was bound to happen upon seeing that dark aura. Tell me what you've done to that kind officer before I rip ya putzes a new one!"

Josuke was thrown off guard by the sudden aggression consuming Taki-Taki's features. It was as if a cloak of pure madness just overshadowed that sunny aura of the greenette. The change didn't deter Jotaro who refused to back down at her threat. As if proving his point, a gold aura started to radiate from his body.

"You need to calm down now. We aren't your enemies but I won't hesitate to knock you out even if you're a girl." The man spoke as something appeared from his body like an apparition. It was a humanoid spirit of sorts that appeared to be an Aztec Warrior or barbarian with similar origins.

Just as big and buff as his summoner but a bit more, soft blue skin that outlined a coral inner pink, black hair that flowed like smoke but sparkle as if it was stardust, soft ocean blue eyes and a body armed with white pauldrons painted in gold spirals, black fingerless gold studded gloves, a white scarf around their neck, black knee high boots and a long white loincloth alongside a dark tasset.

Yet, the strange being seemed to only piss off Taki-Taki even further as she went into her pant's pocket to pull out a small crystal orb. "You're going to threaten me with a giant in his skivvies? Alright jackass, hope your ready to party. For this Ooda-Booga Boogie of mine is going to send ya to the hospital!" And she crushed the crystal orb in her hand.

Both men only had seconds until a large blackish pink fist had punched Jotaro's spirit in the face, the ghost and summoner were sent flying out of the garden before kissing the street concrete. Josuke could only blink before seeing the thing responsible for sending his nephew airborne. "Holy shit!" For what stood snarling in front of Taki-Taki was an absolute monster.

A heavily built 9'6 tall slightly deformed anthropomorphic porcupine with vibrant magenta skin overshadowed by a darkish gray hide. A long singular black horn tipped with hot pink, burning crimson eyes that glared down at the man in white, a magenta muzzle overlapped with an giant overbite of fangs, multiple pink tipped black spikes across their back, their right arm covered in black armor in the form of a riot shield, and crimson hakama trousers with a black paw print on the side.

The beast snarled angrily at Jotaro while a trail of drool came down from their razor sharp maw. It then let out a loud and deep inhuman roar almost if challenging anyone foolish enough to face the beast's wrath. Jotaro had gotten back onto his feet, spitting a bit of blood on the road before wiping the remainder from his mouth. Some of it stained bits of his hat a dark crimson. His spirit staring at the beast with an analysistic glare.

"That's one hell of a sucker punch you got there. Quite an ugly bastard of a friend you have, makes me question which one it is though. Is the beast your actual stand or a byproduct of its power?" The question only seemed to aggravate the greenette and the large creature she called upon.

"That 'ugly bastard' is my friend Quill and what is with this Stand garbage anyway?! What I want to know is did you attack Mr. Ryohei?! My charm doesn't just vanish without fulfilling its purpose even if stolen. Now answer me or I'll beat the truth out of you!" Taki-Taki declared with a snarl that held inhumanely sharp teeth.

Josuke didn't have to be a genius to know if he didn't stop these two right now then things were going to get a lot worse. His nephew's Stand went in for a punch while the greenette's large beast followed suit. Neither attack landing their blow as two diamond covered pink hands caught both fists.

The culprit was a giant pink skinned warrior whose body was covered in Corinthian style diamond armor. He was huge with the same type of muscle like Jotaro's spirit, eyes were a bright baby blue that shone through the darkness of the heart top helmet with concern, wires connecting the back of his neck to his back, heart shaped diamond pauldrons with spikes, armor that over lined the side of his arms, legs and back, and diamond plating rings around the fingers.

Unlike Jotaro's Stand or Taki-Taki's giant beast, this one exuded a gentle and kind aura akin to that of a guardian or protector. Something that made sense from the soft magenta aura radiating from Josuke. "Please stop fighting! I don't want to see my nephew or the person who saved my grandpa hurt each other for something stupid!" The pomp prince's words carried strong as they were sincere.

Something the greenette easily felt upon Quill taking a step back as if backing down from the fight since there was no longer any hostility. Jotaro's Stand disappeared soon after while he muttered a soft 'Yare Yare Daze' under his breath. "Holy shit… I thought things were going to get ugly there. I don't think this garden deserves to be wrecked by a Spike." The mask's quip not being lost on anyone.

Later at the Higashitaka House, cups of tea were placed on the table. Sitting at the table on mats were Josuke, Jotaro and the odd woman known as Taki-Taki Bandicoot. To their left side strangely enough was the greenette's mask and both men's spirits that were conversing with each other or goofing off upon the playing cards between them.

"I still don't believe that Stands are basically the spiritual energy of someone given form. You sure they aren't warrior ancestors? Jotaro's Star Platinum looks like an Aztec barbarian and Josuke, your Crazy Diamond reminds of those old Greek soldiers from his armor." She said while looking at the three oddities playing Go Fish.

A Scrabble holder was being used for the mask or Lani-Loli's cards since he didn't have any hands. He would ask either Star Platinum or Crazy Diamond to put any of his matching cards down and when he needed to 'fish' a card. "Pretty sure. Couldn't I ask the same thing about Lani-Loli over there? Floating masks that can talk aren't normal either." Josuke quipped while pointing to the mask in question.

"Hey! I'm right here you know and I'm way older than all of you combined! And I would have you know that I was human before becoming a Quantum Mask! If I still had hands I would smack all three of you on the head!" The mask fired back in aggravation, some of the cards disappearing in blue wisps of smoke... alongside Josuke's clothes.

"Eeek!" He panicked immediately covering his crotch, Jotaro hiding his embarrassment under his hat while Taki-Taki turned her head away with face hot red in embarrassment. "Great Tikimon! Lani-Loli! Phase his clothes back now!" The mask quickly undoing his magic in sheer embarrassment. Josuke's clothes and the cards popping back into reality with similar blue wispy smoke.

Poor teen let out a sigh of relief knowing he wasn't nude in front of a girl anymore. "Sorry! Sometimes I accidentally poof things out of existence when I'm stressed! And nothing says stress like an escaped convict who kills people with living water!" Jotaro rolled his eyes at the smartass remark. For an all mighty ancient mask, Lani-Loli was an anxious nerd that was a scare away from passing out.

The reason why they were holed up in Josuke's house was that all of them were targets of the Stand User Angelo and his Stand Aqua Necklace.

Angelo was a psychopath with a taste of madness and penchant for violence. The man was arrested repeatedly for brutal acts like murder and even sexual assault before he was landed on Death row. Sadly his execution didn't work properly, allowing the maniac to escape the morgue and reach Morioh. He attacked Ryohei as the cop was the reason Angelo got arrested.

Due to the nature of his Stand, none of them could use water that came from anywhere but a bottle in fear of accidentally swallowing the dangerous entity. "And when do you think it's safe for us to go home? Unlike you guys, my dad will go nuts if I ain't back soon. None of us want to deal with an angry father much less my pops, Crash Bandicoot." Taki-Taki wasn't blind to the nervous look on the pompadour prince's face while he took a sip of his tea.

"Until that Stand User is caught." Jotaro didn't foresee the spray of tea hitting his face from the greenette's spit-take. The grown man was growling in his seat while the young woman tried to settle down her coughs. "You nuts?! That is the stupidest thing I ever heard and this is stemming from the fact my partner does insanely stupid stuff on a daily basis!"

Lani-Loli had flown over to the table so fast that the card pile dispersed from the sudden gust, much to both Stand's displeasure. "You said this guy's Stand is pure water right? What do we do when we run out of water? Wait, here's a better one! What happens if it rained? Shelter becomes a deathtrap in two seconds!" Both men's eyes widened upon the mask's words.

After settling down her coughing fit, Taki-Taki let out a soft whisper. "I think this is what that putz wants. Turn ourselves into sitting ducks and swoops in for the kill until it's too late. And it's going to rain in three days." Silence filled the room upon that very knowledge. The convict was planning to turn their stakeout into a trap.

Josuke could only sigh at the difficult hand. Sure, they now know the guy's plan but if they ignore it then finding Angelo would be even harder. It also meant that the psycho will find out Ryohei is still alive and won't hesitate to attack him again. "Then let's turn the tables back. Turn the hunter into the hunted." All eyes were on Taki-Taki in seconds.

She had a goofy smile on her face with her tongue sticking out in an impish manner. There was also the fact that another crystal orb was in her hands. An item that produced the monstrous Quill but unlike that one, this jewel was a shade of toxic green. Lani-Loli, upon seeing what his friend held, grew a mischievous grin of his own. The odd duo clearly had a plan that almost made Jotaro and Josuke feel an ounce of pity. Almost being the keyword.

Rain had finally fallen upon the house once three days had passed by. Taki-Taki had called her father about being home a few days late since some issues had cropped up. Neither Josuke or Jotaro heard the man's voice but what they gathered upon how the greenette talked, 'Crash' was kindly lenient. Although, both males would have to see him once she got back home.

They spent most of their time keeping themselves from getting bored. Board games, reading, or Taki-Taki crafting some… mysterious concoctions and trinkets with whatever she found in the Higashitaka household. Josuke could honestly admit that he didn't know there was a den of possums hiding in his walls but the witch doctor managed to get some possum fur and nail clippings after one landed on Jotaro.

The greenette at the moment was alone in the bathroom, various ingredients that surrounded a lone bucket. Each item was odd in their own right, rat tails, frog eyes, shiitake mushrooms, yew branches, spoiled milk and a bottle of water. Taki-Taki began pouring the ingredients into the vat starting with the rotten dairy.

She was chanting in an unknown language that eerily sounded like a mix of Arabic and Pig Latin. Bucket began to bubble from her words as the color shifted upon every ingredient dropped into the vat. Taki-Taki's water bottle was currently halfway empty through the process and the cap left abandoned to the side.

Unbeknownst to the woman, rain began to patter outside and something opaque began to build up by the window. It looked like water but it held a more bluish hue and moved too much like a living creature to be normal. Then a pair of sinister pink eyes and a grin full of sharp teeth slithered through.

"You sure this isn't a mango?" Josuke currently sat in the front room alongside Lani-Loli who floated over the teenager's shoulder. Standing on the table was a large orange fruit with a yellow bottom similar to a mango but two leaves that hung from a stem. The teenager currently poking at the fruit that had come from Taki-Taki's home.

"Nope! It's a Wumpa Fruit, a pretty common thing to find on the Wumpa Islands. They're much sweeter than mango and the juice is pretty tasty too. Especially when used for a Wumpa Smoothie, those are really good." Being curious upon the mask's words, the pompadour prince took a nicely sized bite of the fruit.

Tangy sweetness was the first thing that hit the highschooler's taste buds then a rich zesty flavor kicked in a matter of seconds. "Holy shit! This is actually pretty good. Yo Jotaro, you have to try this!" The raven poked his head out of the kitchen upon hearing his name. He let out an annoyed sigh before snatching the fruit out of the teen's hand.

"Did someone put salt in your oatmeal today?" Lani-Loli couldn't help but point out at the man's awfully sour mood added by the harsh bite he took out of the poor fruit or the vicious vice grip. "No. None of you are taking this situation seriously and last I checked didn't get an angry rodent trying to claw up your face." He hissed before taking another aggressive bite.

The sound of footsteps had gotten the two humans and mask turning their heads. Approaching them with an eerily quiet and dead stare was Taki-Taki. Her feet moving sluggishly to the point it was close to that of a sleepwalker… or if heavy weights were tied to the woman's legs.

"Taki?" Lani-Loli's voice thick with concern while he spoke his friend's nickname. Her response was to open her mouth slowly with evil pink eyes glaring back at them in the darkness. "Sorry but your little friend's life is now mine!" A vile, raspy and deep male voice coming out of the greenette's mouth, all to the horror of her friends.

"Aqua Necklace?! You bastard, get out of Taki-Taki now Angelo!" Josuke could only burn brighter in rage from the deranged laugh of the psychopathic water Stand. "And get rid of my only hostage?! Hell no! This bitch is the reason why Ryohei Higashitaka is still alive! She has the power to bring back the dead, a ticket to immortality!" The mask could only roll his eyes as if sensing a monologue.

"I've been watching you this whole time. I saw the giant beast she summoned and that mask phasing things through existence. With her as my slave, I'll be invincible! The world will be my toy box and every single person my toys that I can break for eternity! Once you're all dead, I'll break her until she's a mindless bitch who will follow my every…" The monologue was caught short upon her mouth snapping shut.

Yet, it wasn't the lips that closed the space but an eerie green substance reminiscent to goo. "The hell?!" Aqua Necklace tried to dive down the woman's throat only to run into another gooey green wall. Then he heard laughter. Pink eyes turned to see it was Lani-Loli who was responsible. He was cackling mischievously that tears looked ready to fly from how hard his laughter, much to the confusion of his friends.

"Haha! Hehehehe! You really thought it would be so easy! Taki and I faced way worse than your miserable hide. Oh, and that's not Taki-Taki you putz! Drop the charade Toxic!" Jotaro and Josuke immediately jumped back upon who they thought was Taki-Taki began to melt. All color draining away into a puddle of green slightly clear goo.

Crazy Diamond and Star Platinum were quickly summoned when that sludge started to rise up in the process of a transformation. The slime forming three toed misshapen legs, dripping fat arms with chubby fingers, a large yellow green belly that from its almost clear texture and Aqua Necklace being held inside looked more like a prison, and a roundish hippo like head paired with short pig ears, large deformed inhuman teeth and two alien yellow orbs looking back at it's observers.

The beast or Toxic's appearance could be compared to a 8 ft tall ogre or even an Oni, supernatural beings that tend to punish wicked humans. "Meet the Sludge, a creature made of magic infused ooze with a love for eating utter garbage, like your ugly face! I told Toxic here about your little plan involving my best friend."

Almost on cue, the large oozing beast let a loud snarl before smoke began filling in its tummy. "Aaaaaaah! What the hell is that smell?! It's getting hot in here! Don't tell me this is acid?!" The mask only had a vicious smile on his face that solidified the fact. "People like you make me sick. I've read your entire file and I bet it would even make Uka-Uka himself furious to see your deeds!" Aqua Necklace could only shiver in horror at the mask.

It was like Lani-Loli's nervous self had been overshadowed by pure animalistic rage that his eyes were narrowed slits and teeth were now large fangs held in a snarl. A deity ready to smite a sinner with divine punishment. Even Jotaro and Josuke were taken aback by the sudden shift.

"I may be a scaredy cat but I am still a protector. My name is Lani-Loli, the Quantum Mask of Phase! For ruining the lives of many, threatening my friends and having an unsavory plan for my contractor, I mark you Angelo and his Stand Aqua Necklace, guilty of your sins! And boy do I have a nice punishment for your wicked soul."

The mask then faced the two Joestar blooded men. "Josuke. Jotaro. Taki-Taki left earlier to find this cretin's owner hence my friend Toxic here taking her place. I know where she is and I'm going to need your help with something."

On a street a few blocks from Josuke's house sat a large boulder. This rock had laid on this spot for centuries after a stray storm left it stranded on the land that would become Morioh. Tied to this very stone was an unsavory dark haired man in a milkman uniform bound by chains and gagged with a black cloth. Bruises decorating his body no doubt from the slightly bloody fists of the witch doctor.

Taki-Taki turned her head and smiled upon the sight of her friends coming into view. Aqua Necklace was still trapped within the prison that was Toxic's stomach, who seemed mighty pleased at the abomination's struggle. "Damn, you did a number on the asshole." Josuke said much to the greenette's pleasure.

"I aim to please. Now then, Angelo, since you made a living of ruining people's lives I believe your punishment should be providing good luck." Taki-Taki then pulled from behind the rock was the bucket filled with her concoction. It was a bright bubbling pink and had a smell akin to rotten lavender. She didn't resist dumping the nasty vat all over the convict much to his displeasure.

The man was struggling in disgust before his movements slowed to a crawl as if his whole body was paralyzed except for his mouth and eyes. Taki then yanked the gag from Angelo's lips allowing the man to speak. "You...crazy bitch…! What have you done?" His raspy dry voice almost sounded like a dying cat from how quiet it was.

"A simple potion made to turn you into an eternal good luck charm for all the folks in Morioh! Bet you now wished that your original execution didn't fail. Josuke, this last part is all up to you. Today you will have to make a choice on how this man goes out." Taki-Taki's eyes narrowed as they glowed inhumanly under the dark cloudy sky.

"Ryohei Higashitaka was the one who put this man in jail and stopped his rampage. In vengeance, this scum tried to rob a righteous soul of his life. As Ryohei's grandson, will you fulfill his task and put an end to the man that escaped the grim reaper's blade? If not, then I will perform the deed with Lani-Loli. What do you say?"

The pompadour prince was a bit off guard by the witch doctor's words. Why would she ask him if he wanted to be the one that dealt Angelo's punishment? "Josuke?! Are you seriously going to let her kill me? Sure I tried to kill your grandfather but if you go along with this bitch's plan then you'll be a killer just like me!"

None of them were blind to the man's false pleas knowing it was a trick to let him go. A rat that will only wreak havoc if given a shred of mercy. Angelo's rants were caught off by a fist breaking both his hand and a chunk of the rock. The shocking thing was that the stone merged and encased itself around the appendage much to the psycho's horror.

"Aaah! My hand!! What are you doing?" Josuke merely ignored the man's painful cries. "You really think that we're going to let you go after all you've done. This town used to be a peaceful place before you came and played with people's lives! So for the rest of your days, you're going to pay back every family that you destroyed! Taki-Taki." The greenette smiled knowing what the young man wanted.

"Let's do this Lani-Loli! Armor up!" The cyan mask flew around Taki-Taki with trails of aqua wispy trails that followed from behind. The mask situated himself onto her back while the ghostly ribbons wrapped themselves around her body. Each wispy streak solidified to form a black jumpsuit of sorts which was highlighted by glowing aqua blue chunks of armor reminiscent of Lani-Loli's crown.

Taki-Taki's eyes were now completely glowing blue while velvet sky blue energy followed through the tattoos on her skin and turned her hair into luminous bluish mist. The sudden change to the witch doctor had the restrained Angelo sweating in terror and nearly pissing himself when Josuke's Crazy Diamond materialized.

"Dorarararararara!!!!" The armored spirit let out a battle cry as both him and the armored greenette let loose a barrage of vicious punches. Each strike was as destructive and fast as machine gun rounds, blowing off huge chunks of the stone and merging to the man trapped in the dead center. Neither of them stopping their assault until every piece of stone had been reassembled.

With one last brutal punch, the stone fragments had fully merged Angelo turning the once human male into a deformed boulder. This new shape of the large stone was a malformed face with wide eyes held in different angles, a large flat nose at the bottom similar to a maui and stress lines just like the person it used to be.

Aqua Necklace, who was still trapped in Toxic's belly, quickly melted away in seconds. No doubt the Stand could no longer survive without the life force of its user, thus following its master into hell. Jotaro could only grimace behind the guard of his cap.

[Morioh Landmark 1: Angelo's Rock. No one knows where this mysterious stone appeared from or why. Despite its unnerving appearance, this landmark is a hotspot for couples both old and new.]

'These three are bat shit crazy and have the strength to back it up. Luckily Josuke has a good head on shoulders but…' The raven's eyes drifted to Taki-Taki, her sludge summon and most importantly Lani-Loli still hanging onto her back. She was conversing with Josuke who took the time to look at her changed form and the living sludge Toxic in rapt curiosity.

'Taki-Taki isn't a Stand User but she's just as dangerous as one. Those beasts, Quill and Toxic, whatever they are no doubt has a connection to her origins. And then there's Lani-Loli. I don't exactly know what a Quantum Mask is but I have a feeling he isn't the only one. Just who are you?'

And that is it! This ended being super long since the story revolves around two whole episodes instead of one. It does take place in the beginning of Part 4 and I wanted to stick as close to canon involving them.

Yes, Taki-Taki can call upon Titans, the enemies normally found in the Crash of the Titan series. Unlike a large chunk of people, I actually like the Titan games. They were the first Crash games I played and 100%. I did play Crash The Huge Adventure for the gameboy advance but it got destroyed in the wash sadly before I got the last crystal.

Any version of Crash of the Titans is good but I suggest playing the DS version of Mind Over Mutant considering the console version is more of an annoying chore with tons of backtracking.

My favorite Titans are Spike and Rhinoroller. I especially love the boss version of Spike from the DS Mind Over Mutant but I haven't found the concept art of it yet.

Just like a witch doctor, Taki-Taki does craft all sorts of potions and charms. The Aku-Aku charm acts like a second chance. If someone who has the charm experiences death, the charm will revive them. Deaths done through murder are a bit different.

The charm will hold onto their soul until its safe to revive the holder. Any extensive damage is done and the soul is returned back to the body once repairs are complete. After use, the charm will disintegrate or dull out depending on how much damage was caused.

The Phase Armor given by Lani-Loli is much different for Taki-Taki when she uses it. Reason for it is that she's contracted to him thus the power and magic he provides is much stronger than someone who doesn't have a contract.

Even if Lani-Loli is quite a skittish character,that doesn't mean he won't get serious when needed. Angelo did a lot of horrible stuff that I bet even Uka-Uka wouldn't do. Uka-Uka may be evil but he has standards.

I wanted to try a different writing style for this considering Part 4 is more of a murder mystery. So I wanted to introduce particular areas, new landmarks and important information in a traversing to the next scene.

Until next time folks! Tell the world that your unbreakable!

[ironmandeficiency]

day five: ba & jort

ohmygod these boys are two of my faves, can’t have one without the other which makes the longest of all the posts abt my clone boys. i guess you can say i have favorites even tho i will vehemently deny it

playlists: jacob & ba - jort/belladonna

fics: who’s my commander & 13x7=28

a/n: jacob & bella belong to @capricornrabies & the art was made by @persaloodles

warnings: mentions of smut

is a soft and precious boy who tries his best

is a soft and precious boy who tries his best

got his name from this one time when his squad had to take shelter in a barn & the sheep wouldn’t let him sleep with his brothers in the loft area, instead keeping him by them the whole night and threatening to bite jort when he tried to free his batchmate

also has v v floofy hair which also works with the name

he and jort have joint ownership of best older brother ™️ title to naturally, a soft and pure medic-in-training (refer to 13x7=28 for details)

absolute mother hen to anyone and everyone. doesn’t matter if he met you an hour ago, you’re going to get mothered by this soft sniper

“you could pour soup in my lap and i’d apologize to you”

was selectively mute for several months after leaving kamino, jort helped him come out of his shell again and it’s fabulous

jacob sutton (younger sister to jamie) is an admiral for the 91st and their star cruiser crashed, and the 25th was the closest to send aid

ba sees jacob for the first time and tried to flirt but instead inserted his foot into his mouth with his awkwardness

but it gets better between them as time goes on. these two are my personal goal for the future

they have a precious massif named yogurt

jacob found him as a puppy by a dumpster on coruscant eating from a yogurt cup and was like “yes this is my boy”

ba would sometimes get to take him on campaigns. would have to fight who half the time just to see his girlfriend’s dog. when yogurt is a puppy the 25th will carry him around in one of those pet/baby backpacks

in a world where the war ends without order 66 and clones kinda get rights (but jacob doesn’t really get them bc of her status as a not-quite-person), they get a rude awakening when they realize that they wouldn’t legally get the post-war life that they deserve bc the republic isn’t letting her go

other clones help ba smuggle jacob (yogurt was listed as an emotional support animal) off-planet and they settle down in a house they build together. there’s a wraparound porch, a porch swing, fence for yogurt, etc.

since the republic doesn’t know what to do with the baby clones, kamino is commandeered and turned into a clone adoption agency. jacob and ba end up adopting four little boys who are their absolute world. they’re batchmates and were toddlers when adopted (so like 2-3 standard years, 1-1.5 clone years)

cabuor - his name is mando’a for “protect”; the oldest of the four, as he’s older he is the most protective of his bros. is basically jamie 2.0 and even tho he loves saviin they butt heads A LOT.

saviin - name is “violet” in honor of the 25th’s paint colors. jort 2.0. absolutely chaotic but highly lovable. there’s a problem? 99% chance sav caused it. first to start trusting ba and jacob. is the kind of child you would want to put on a leash

ciryc - his name means “cold” simply bc he runs colder than the rest of them. from the time they knew how, they would all dogpile w ciryc on the bottom to keep him warm. gets free pass to snuggle closest to jacob to get warmer faster. will steal jacob’s shirts (that once belonged to ba). sunshine baby!!!

meer - personification of 🥺. got his name from jacob who affectionately calls him a meerkat (he’s smaller and skinnier than the rest). jacob has a second shadow and his name is meer. has mute spells similar to when ba was young but eventually they only happened when he was startled/in new environment

so the boys were hesitant abt their new parents at first. it was only marginally easier for them to warm up to ba bc he was a clone but it took them nearly a year of living together for them to look at jacob and think “this woman is mom-shaped”

but once they get comfortable with her, these boys are all 100% mama’s boys

jacob has a metal spine (incident during her training) that clicks when she walks/moves/does anything. ba and jacob hear it and think of the trauma that led to it, but the boys hear it and their young minds correlate it to “mom, safe, comfort”

it leads to them being able to know when jacob is close to finding them during games of hide-and-seek

ba and jacob both get tattoos that represent their sons (and yes, yogurt too)

jacob has tattoos of handprints of ba, the boys, & yogurt’s paw on her back

ba would get tiny ones for the boys: a meerkat silhouette, a splash of purple “paint”, a shield, and a snow cloud

then he gets a massive one for jacob — a copy of her metal spine tattooed over his

jort:

he’s a bastard child and is proud to be one

scout & chaos bisexual

is a whore at first but when he’s w someone, has eyes for only them

got his name when he turned his blacks into a crop top and short shorts while on felucia during a heatwave

he ended up getting a handprint tattoo on his thigh/ass bc of how often he was smacked when he wore the short shorts

he and ba have joint ownership of best older brother ™️ title to naturally, a soft and pure medic-in-training (refer to 13x7=28 for details)

prankster af

look into his eyes, there is nothing behind his eyes except for elevator music. the only time he’s allowed more than one coherent thought is when the dvd icon hits the exact corner of the screen

will play up his dumbassery around ppl he’s uncomfortable with

will bully/blackmail his bros into going to the medbay — “don’t make nat’ika sad by hiding things, he only wants to help you” bc jort isn’t gonna get caught slippin. you won’t know he’s soft on you until he’s mother-henning you the way ba and naturally do for literally everybody

can bullshit his way out of any situation

isn't the best w crying ppl and will just try to make them laugh and hope that someone that can talk abt said emotions arrives soon usually this person is ba

“and i also don’t want me to be doing what i’m doing”

ends up dating the daughter of a very prominent mob boss who runs a fashion company in the form of seven feet and eight inches tall belladonna tomb, bella for short

has no idea whatsoever that he’s dating the daughter of a very prominent mob boss

bella thinks it’s an unspoken agreement to not bring it up but jort just. doesn’t know.

since bella is seven foot eight, jort can fit into her tops and is unashamed to wear “women’s clothes”. bella will design him clothes (and LOVES to be a model for bella’s clothes). his civvie fashion is comparable to harry styles

bella’s species is half soleon/half skeleton-monster-thing (soleons are an original lion-like species & the skeleton details are all made by cap, mentioned above) (also bella’s partly translucent and you can see some organs thru her torso) and she has talons and very pointy teeth and eyes that slightly glow jort ends up getting a tattoo of her teeth marks in his ass opposite to the handprint but that’s another story

when him and bella start becoming intimate, there are lots. of. marks. teeth, talons, you name it. the medics (esp no, poor man) are frightened that jort is bragging about these marks

then jort has the brilliant idea of sneaking his giant mob boss girlfriend into the barracks while on leave. somehow, maker only knows how, but NO ONE NOTICES until

late that night when everyone’s sleeping, her and jort are sharing his bunk (it’s a tight fit but they make it work). no is doing bed checks to make sure his bros are doing okay, as a concerned medic does. since bella is dark grey in color, she blends in to the dark barracks.

jort starts to fall from the bunk in his sleep and no sees that he’s abt to fall (but does not see bella) and just as no walks to jort’s bunk to fix him, a finely manicured and taloned hand snatches him back into the bunk and gives no a death glare and she deadass GROWLS

poor medic thinks his bro is abt to get eaten by a monster but doesn’t actually do anything to protect his bro from the “monster”

no immediately runs to find who and wakes up nearly everybody in the process. by the time no returns to the barracks with who in tow, jort is awake and is like “hey guys what’s up”

“WHAT IS UP?! THERE’S A KRIFFIN MONSTER WITH CLAWS IN YOUR BUNK!!” “oh no this is bella. bella, meet the boys. the boys, meet bella.” “hi”

ba wakes up during no’s windows shutdown, looks around and sees everyone wide ass awake and then sees bella and jort, “oh hey bella” and then goes back to sleep bc he knew bella

jort did hold ba’s hand while his bro got the spine tattoo for jacob

[infinitywithyou]

In times that he cried

Inspired by those five times + 1 time fics, featuring our many, many Seblaine verses through the years both here and on discord.  Title from Seasons of Love from the musical Rent, which seems appropriate to measure the many seasons of love of this particular couple of ours.  And your birthday.  Although you usually write Sebastian, I’ve written these from his POV to show that you have always managed to write him with a heart.  Especially when Blaine is involved.  You, and he, are loved.

@problmatics​

1.  The thing about making the move towards something you want is that when you get it, when you find yourself with everything you thought you always wanted, it can be... overwhelming.  It isn’t just a single moment.  It’s an ongoing thing.  And that is a lot harder.  Pulling off a romantic, secret admirer type of mistletoe first kiss had been easy compared to the undaunting task of what comes next.  And although he was loathe to admit it, it wasn’t something he’d been prepared for.  Sebastian wasn’t proud of what he’d done, the way he’d ghosted Blaine for a majority of the rest of the school year, and then promptly disappeared to Paris like usual.

Paris of course, always made everything better; clearer.  Strolling the streets, coffee in hand, head filled with snippets of voices speaking his first language as he peered into shop windows, until his eyes came across something that was so unbelievably Blaine Anderson, that it knocked the wind, the breath, right from his lungs.  And maybe that was how Sebastian knew, deep down, in that place he often ignored, that this was worth taking a chance on.  He went in and bought the bow tie and had it gift wrapped in the store.  

He had a plan returning from Paris.  Or, an idea, at the very least.  And was determined to see it through.  But life... moves on.  It kept going, even when he was not there.  So all Sebastian could do is realize missed moments and opportunities.  Find a quiet, private spot, and let the disappointment and sadness wash over him.   Not that he'd ever admit to that; no, because no boy had ever gotten to him like this.  Not even Blaine Anderson.  But sometimes, sometimes, life, and Blaine, will give him a second chance.   (300 words)

2. As Sebastian stood there, dressed in a black tux, with light silver accents, he reflected in how he’d gotten here.  15 years; sometimes it felt like a life time, other times it felt like he’d blinked and it had all disappeared.  He would never have thought it would take him this long to get his life, and shit together.  It was truly as testament to Blaine’s love and loyalty, that the other was still there beside him; or would be, when he and Cooper arrived.  Blaine had waited ten years for an engagement; Sebastian had never intended to make him wait another five for the wedding.  

But things kept coming up, time seemed to slip through his fingers like quicksand.  Blaine deserved perfect;  tonight it was simple, basic, but classic, and romantic.  Black and white, with silver and gold accents for the New Year.  The silver, highlighting the grey sprinkled in Sebastian's hair the last couple of years.  Most days he couldn’t be bothered to do much about except hide it under a ball cap or a beanie. Thankfully it wasn’t yet showing in his facial hair.  Tonight he was clean shaven, and the grey in his hair coiffed stylishly.  The gold, of course was for Blaine’s eyes, and the warmth, and comfort, Sebastian had always found there.  

Because they'd waited long enough, and Sebastian wasn't starting another year without Blaine as his husband.  Plus if the date meant that many of their guests had other plans; it didn't bother him or his anxiety any.  When Cooper arrived with Blaine, who looked shocked, but relieved, Sebastian felt the sting of hot tears in the corners of his eyes.  Feelings, real feelings, breaking through the fog he often found himself surrounded by.  Because of Blaine.  It was always because of Blaine.  (300 words)

3. Sebastian laid propped on his side, still a little tender, watching as Blaine slept soundly beside him.  Pink still tinged his cheeks, sweat still had his hair slick at his hairline and even in his sleep his lips curled in a small smile.  Even asleep, he was beautiful to Sebastian.  It had been a long couple of days; a week, ten days?  He'd lost count as to when things had started to fall apart.  Blaine no doubt needed the sleep, if his own restless was any indication of how his ex boyfriend felt in the days since their break up.  

Sebastian would never had imagined that he would be the one to break up with Blaine, but he had, and had in a way, destroyed the younger man beside him.  Until Blaine had managed to see him, to see the truth behind what Sebastian was doing, and challenged him, appropriately.  Which was how they had ended up here, in a hotel room, broken up, but having just made love, the first time for Blaine.  It was fucked up, but that was his way Sebastian realized, eyes dampening because he'd done this to Blaine. The only saving grace was that Sebastian had convinced Blaine to top so at least the other would still have the opportunity to experience that first the proper way.  

Eyelashes fluttered but eyes didn't open, as a soft gravely voice murmured.  "Stop staring, why aren't you sleeping?" Blaine asked.  

"I don't know what you're talking about.  I am not staring, I was sleeping," Sebastian lied, a smile on his lips as he pulled Blaine closer.  "How are you feeling sunshine?  Are you okay?" he asked, pressing a kiss to Blaine's temple.  

Blaine's eyes fluttered open, finding Sebastian's.  "I'm good, really good.  I promise.  How are you 'Bas?"   (300 words)

4. Sebastian knew that it did cross a line.  Sending a porn link to his...crush... who happened to be in a relationship with someone else.  Even if he felt that there was no way Blaine was being properly satisfied in his current relationship.  And so what if the actors in the porn had similarities to them?  It was purely a coincidence.  He and Blaine had always been able to talk about anything, so why should taking about sex, and what they liked, be off limits just because Blaine was in a relationship?  Why was it wrong to picture his friend jerking off while watching said porn?  Or to watch it, imagining it was the two of them, while he got off.  

What really got to Sebastian though, was the way Blaine couldn't see just how wrong this relationship was for him.  That he could really see Sebastian, but not see what Sebastian could, would, offer him.  It was frustrating.  Listening to Blaine talk about Kurt, both good and bad, was becoming harder and harder for Sebastian.  So many times he just wanted to blurt out what he really thought, how he really felt, but he couldn't.  Because the thing was, as much as he valued his friendship with the golden eyed boy, friendship wasn't what he really wanted with Blaine.  It would never be the only thing he wanted.  But he was Sebastian Smythe and he didn't do broken hearted.  He wouldn't let a boy break his heart.  Especially not a boy that didn't even realize he had it, or wanted it, to begin with.  

It wasn't crossing a line Sebastian thought, gripping himself tightly and stroking slowly, to imagine Blaine's perfect ass, tight around him.  When he climaxed, hot tears fell while he spilled over his hand with a sob. (300 words)

5.  Sebastian stared down at his phone and the last message from the boy, man, he called Wolfie.  Blaine was going.  He and Quinn were going to lay out a map, throw a dart, and they were leaving town together.  Blaine was leaving without him, without even talking to him or saying good bye.  After everything that had happened between them, after everything that almost happened, after what could happen, Blaine was leaving.  Blaine was leaving and Sebastian was.... heartbroken.  

He paced around his room nervously, little things here and there catching his eye and reminding him of the tattooed, curly haired, leather jacket wearing loner that somehow saw him better than the people he'd known his whole life.  Who would see him now, who would noticed when he was barely floating, or worse, drowning.  Sebastian pulled a small bag out of his closet and began tossing those items into it.  He had to find them.  He had to talk to Blaine, face to face before he and the blonde left town.  This wasn't how it was supposed to end.  

"Where are you," Sebastian texted back.  "You can't just leave like this.  You can't just leave and not say good bye to me.  I thought..."  he didn't finish the text but sent it anyway.  Hot tears stung at his eyes.  "Regardless of what I thought, you're a coward if you leave like this and I know you're not a coward Blaine Anderson.  Wolves aren't cowards."  He picked up his jacket, pocketing his phone and slung the bag over his shoulder, turning for the door when he heard a knock.  A knock on the window.  Sebastian turned around, spotting a familiar figure on the other side of the glass.  He went to the window and opened it.  

"What are you doing here?"   (300 words)

+1. Good bye's were hard.  Especially when they involved someone you loved.  But that was why hellos meant so much more.  Even though he and Blaine had fought their families, Sebastian knew being in New York, at Columbia was where he was supposed to be, even while Blaine was still in Texas.  Still the prospect of a visit from his boyfriend was welcomed.  He understood why Blaine didn't want him at the airport, but now he stood in his apartment in New York City, pacing past the windows, waiting for lights signaling a car coming in.  They had five whole days together, and then in about two weeks Sebastian would be back in Texas for Thanksgiving for about the same amount of time, and then they'd have almost a month at Christmas.  It wasn't the same as seeing his boyfriend every day, but it was better than nothing.  And it was just for a year.  By the end of August, if not earlier, Blaine would join him in New York, and they'd be back together full time.  Sebastian couldn't wait.  

Lights lit up the street downstairs as the car slowed to a stop in front of his building.  Sebastian grabbed his coat and rushed down the stairs, opening the door just as Blaine stepped onto the sidewalk with his bags.  "Killer," he breathed, arms immediately wrapping Blaine up in his arms, before their lips met.  He expected tears, one's he couldn't stop from streaming down his face.  The kind of ugly cry that he sometimes teased his boyfriend about during the more romantic movies Blaine sometimes picked, but instead all he could do was beam a wide smile at him instead.   So much so that his cheeks already hurt.  "You're a sight for these sore eyes.  I'm so glad you're here." (300 words)

[pueroimmersi]

—    BASICS.

▸     IS  YOUR  MUSE  TALL  /  SHORT  /  AVERAGE    ?

eggsy is around average height, at 5′9″

▸      ARE  THEY  OKAY  WITH  THEIR  HEIGHT    ?

admittedly, he would rather be taller... but he tries not to get too bothered about it as it isn’t something that can be changed.

▸      WHAT’S    THEIR    HAIR    LIKE ?

eggsy's hair is a dirty blonde, sometimes more of a caramel colour, but it does lighten significantly during the summer. when he isn't working, it tends to just be a bit of a mess; he runs his hand through it and lets it be that way. if he's working, then he does put more effort into combing and using gel. it's quite short, but he no longer shaves the sides of his hair since joining kingsman.

▸     DO    THEY    SPEND    A    LOT    OF    TIME    ON    THEIR    HAIR     /    GROOMING ?

not really.  when he isn't working, he pays almost no attention to it at all except when it's truly a mess after waking up. typically, he's wearing a hat whenever he's outside so he doesn't really need to focus on the state of his hair, doesn't feel like he needs to be concerned about it while inside. he doesn't ever let it get too long though, even before kingsman. prefers it short.  when it comes to kingsman, then he does spend more time on it all. needs to, in order to fit the part.  

he's relatively "normal" with grooming habits - but he does shave most of his body hair, simply because he prefers the way it looks. 

▸      DOES  YOUR  MUSE  CARE  ABOUT  THEIR  APPEARANCE  /  WHAT  OTHERS  THINK ?

he takes cares of his appearance, but he doesn't care what other people think. he dresses for himself, more so when he's outside of kingsman, but he doesn't let what other people think affect his appearance or style.  he does dress 'more expensive' even when it's just trainers, a cap and a tracksuit: he's always wearing branded clothes.

—    PREFERENCES.

▸     INDOORS  OR  OUTDOORS    ?

outdoors.  while eggsy can be a home body, that tends to be when he's in a relationship with someone. he's used to having to be outside, avoiding dean and generally just wanting to stay away from the council estate as much as possible. he likes the freedom that there is with being outside, compared to how cramped and claustrophobic being inside can often be. he usually walks jb, goes for runs, just likes being outside.   

on the opposite, there are times that eggsy can spend days inside, only going outside to walk jb. this is most often coming back from a mission, when he needs a day or two to unwind. will order food and watch netflix all day and stay in bed.

▸     RAIN  OR  SUNSHINE    ?

sunshine.  eggsy is a summer boy, through and through. prefers it when it's warm, because he tends to run cold quite often. the exception is when it's too hot and humid, which he can't handle at all.

▸     FOREST  OR  BEACH    ?

the beach. living in central london means he can't go to the beach often, but he loves it whenever he is able to go. if he could choose, that would be where he'd choose to retire.

▸     PRECIOUS  METALS  OR  GEMS    ?

metals.  eggsy doesn't really see the point of gems, at least for himself.  but he isn't that much on wearing jewlery minus his dad's before joining kingsman. after that, he doesn't wear any apart from the signet ring purely for the taser aspect.

▸     FLOWERS  OR  PERFUMES    ?

flowers.  while he likes perfumes,  colognes more specifically,  eggsy finds himself a bit of a hopeless romantic when it comes to flowers. he likes the meaning behind them, more so when people know about those meanings when choose bouquets. he just thinks that they can brighten up a place, and he likes that even though he can't entirely explain why.

▸     PERSONALITY  OR  APPEARANCE    ?

personality.  surprisingly.   while when it comes to one night stands and short flings,  eggsy prefers appearance, they also don't often happen. he doesn't like them purely because he prefers to connect with people.  that's why he favours personality, because he can't be with someone that he doesn't connect with and get along with personality-wise.

▸     BEING  ALONE  OR  BEING  IN  A  CROWD    ?  

eggsy would rather be alone, rather than being in a crowd and feeling alone. he doesn't like being the centre of attention too often, as much as he finds himself being exactly that. he keeps himself to himself as much as he is able to. rather than being in a crowd, he sticks with the small group of friends that he has; brandon, jamal and ryan. he'd rather be with them than a pub full of people with no one to talk to.

▸     ORDER  OR  ANARCHY    ?

eggsy tries to incorporate a bit of both in everything that he does. even with kingsman, he doesn't quite keep to the rules the way that he should. but he also doesn't go entirely off the rails. he was more anarchy than order before kingsman, which is something that will never change - but he is trying to help and save the world, rather than hurt it any further.

▸     PAINFUL  TRUTHS  OR  WHITE  LIES    ?

painful truths. eggsy's never been a fan of lying. the truth always comes out eventually, and so he would rather feel the ache of a painful truth than the paranoia that comes from knowing that someone is lying. he's seen it before; with his mum and dean. the way that his lies bit away at her until there was nothing left. he'd rather just know the truth, regardless of how much that may hurt.

▸     SCIENCE  OR  MAGIC    ?

science. eggsy likes the idea of magic, but he knows that there's no sort of truth to it, no matter how much he may have wished for it when he was younger. 

▸      PEACE  OR  CONFLICT    ?

peace. eggsy has live with conflict all of his life, and his job revolves around conflict. he would just like some peace in his life. in any form that he can get it.

▸     NIGHT  OR  DAY    ?  

day. more specifically? dawn. eggsy likes it when it's brighter, when he can get things done and not have to worry about any sort of restrictions - but he also prefers it, more so, when it's quiet out in the world and he can go and run for a few hours first thing in the morning without having anyone get in his way or just ruin it in any way.

▸     DUSK  OR  DAWN    ?  

dawn.  visually? he does prefer dusk, though. he thinks it’s nicer to look at, but he likes the calm of both of them.

▸     WARMTH    OR    COLD ?    

warmth.  eggsy runs cold;  his toes are nearly always cold, and when it's winter, the heating is on or he's hiding away beneath a ton of blankets or with hot water bottles. he doesn't like being cold. at all. 

▸     MANY  ACQUAINTANCES  OR  A  FEW  CLOSE  FRIENDS    ?

a few close friends. eggsy doesn't really see the point of having many acquaintances, given that he doesn't want a lot of people involved in his business, honestly. he'd rather just have a few people that he can really rely on and trust, rather than a ton of people in his contacts that he still doesn't feel like he can entirely trust even a couple of them.

▸     READING    OR    PLAYING    A    GAME ?

playing a game. he likes reading, but there wasn't much available to him before kingsman, and he finds playing a game more stimulating, mentally and challenge-wise. he likes to be active, doing as much as he can at any time.

—    QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    OF    YOUR    MUSE’S    BAD    HABITS ?

eggsy has a few bad habits. more than he's willing to admit to, but the main one is that he smokes whenever he's drunk. he tends not to drink much, even though he often finds himself in situations that involve alcohol or in places that are often fueled by consumption. he also smokes weed. a lot. which is a bad habit, even though he doesn't admit that it is. he thinks it's fine as long as he stays away from the harder stuff.  

other than that? his bad habit would probably be his swearing. he can't stop it at all, no matter how hard he tries. even around daisy, he isn't able to stop it entirely.  

eggsy bites and picks his fingernails a lot - that's more of a nervous habit, though, but still something that he isn't exactly proud of doing. 

he leaves his trainers by the stairs, rather than putting them away in the shoe cupboard, or even just moving them out of the way.

▸      HAS  YOUR  MUSE  LOST  ANYONE  CLOSE  TO  THEM    ?        HOW  HAS  IT  AFFECTED   THEM    ?

lee unwin, eggsy's father, died when eggsy was aged 7 (roughly, who knows with the kingsman timeline, honestly). he always idolised his father when growing up, so it affected him deeply. he was always told stories about how great his father was, and stories about how he was when eggsy was younger - but eggsy could never remember them, which affected him negatively because he was so desperate to remember everything that he could. that he looked like lee, or acted like him. it was also one of the main driving forces, initially, of him agreeing to do the kingsman trials. while it did evolve into him wanting to do it for his own reasons, lee was why he agreed initially. he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, more so after dropping out of the marines due to michelle - especially as he'd joined to purposely follow in lee's footsteps. he just always wanted to live up to his name, and that still affects him deeply almost 20 years later.

the other loss of his life was harry hart; something that shook him to the core, more than he was willing to acknowledge or admit to. he tried to emulate him in every way that he was able to. it, perhaps, did shake him and affect him more than lee's death did, because he had memories with harry. he wanted to make harry proud, in any and all ways that he was able to. he failed, though, and their relationship ended in an argument before harry died, which also hit him harder given that he knew that it was his fault that the argument developed the way it did. he didn't handle it well, at all. kept his house as a shrine, even after living there for two years.

▸      WHAT  ARE  SOME  FOND  MEMORIES  YOUR  MUSE  HAS    ?

all of the more 'current' fond memories are anything involving daisy. when she first grabbing his thumb in her fist. when she first walked. when she first said 'egg'. all of them revolve around her, because she is the centre of his life aside from kingsman. he wants her to be happy and healthy, and to have a good life and to not be affected by the environment that she had to grow up in initially. he wants to give her the best, in any way that he can.

one of the other fondest memory that eggsy has is the only time that he went to the beach when his father was alive: it was cold, given that it was nearly the winter, but they travelled down to brighton beach, and it was almost deserted except for kite fliers. it was one of the last times that they were all together as a family, before lee was recruited for the kingsman trials.

▸     IS  IT  EASY  FOR  YOUR  MUSE  TO  KILL    ?

it isn't easy, but it's perhaps easier for him than it is for most 'normal' people. eggsy does it because he has to, not because he wants to. he wants to create a safe place. he wants the world to get better - and so, unfortunately, killing people is a part of being a part of kingsman. there isn't any way around it, as much as eggsy sometimes wishes that there were. over time, eggsy has become desensitized to it, but it still affects him deeply in certain situations.

▸      WHAT’S  IT  LIKE  WHEN  YOUR  MUSE  BREAKS  DOWN    ?

it's rare for eggsy to break down. he prefers to keep his emotions buried in himself. to compartmentalize them and keep them to himself. when he does break down, it's typically when he's alone. he finds it too vulnerable to do so in front of other people - and so, if eggsy were to break down in front of anyone, there would be a tremendous amount of trust there. it can go one of two ways: violently, or an overwhelming amount of emotion. eggsy will ruin everything around him, will trash his room and break things and yell until he physically is unable to. or he'll cry; sob and sob and sob until no more noise can be made. will stay where he is and try to make himself as quiet as possible, often when he's in bed in the middle of the night. there isn't much in terms of an inbetween.

▸      IS  YOUR  MUSE  CAPABLE  OF  TRUSTING  SOMEONE  WITH  THEIR  LIFE    ?

it is very rare, but eggsy knows that when he's working with someone from kingsman, that he does have to trust them (literally) with his life. merlin, harry, roxy. he trusts them all with his life. there's no hesitation there between any of them about what they're doing and whether it's the right thing to do, because they all have each other's best interests at heart.

▸      WHAT’S  YOUR  MUSE  LIKE  WHEN  THEY’RE  IN  LOVE    ?

honestly? eggsy initially goes into denial when he's in love. doesn't let himself believe it, at all. that he isn't in love with the person, and it usually tends to involve him avoiding them to also avoid the emotions that he's feeling towards them, because he can't let himself be in love with them. it tends to sneak up on him. when he's okay with it? when he's with that person? he's soft. softer than he is with anyone else, because he doesn't get that opportunity in any other aspect of his life - hasn't had it either, at any opportunity, given the circumstances of his life. he wants to be quiet and calm with someone; to sit with them all night and talk, or just be comfortable in silence with them. to be able to shove his cold toes under their thighs when sitting together on the sofas together, and enjoy the moment together. he is overly-affectionate at some points: he likes contact, however small. likes brushing fingers together in public, even though he isn't much for pda beyond hand-holding. he wants to be close and have that connection. he wants to be able to tell the person that he loves everything he's thinking, about the good and bad parts of his day. but also to just sit there in silence and watch the news, or listen to the radio, and not have it feel like it's an issue or something to be embarrassed by.

TAGGED: @agnt-roxy

TAGGING: @hartif / @knightfailed / @marwnad / @statesangria / @rottweilerrr / @underoosed / everyone

[ageeksnerdyworld]

It’s Only A Nightmare

Characters: Jett Leach, Emery Becker, Avia Carstairs, Kelly Ronan O’Connor, Isabelle Lombardi, Scribe Jenkins, Holland, and Walker

Word Count: 9,470

Trigger Warning: None of note

A/N: I’m gonna be honest here and say that I don’t think I’m going to continue with this story because I don’t feel like I’m writing it the right way. I know that sounds stupid but it’s true. I really feel like I’m doing most of these characters, and the story itself, an injustice. And as always the Cyber World and the viruses therein belong to @voiceoflarka

Parts: X,X

Summary: People are falling victim to heart attacks all over Dashland. None of the cases are alike except for that fact. The body count is growing. And so the team is sent on their first field mission. Click the read more if you want to.

~~~

Avia woke very early the following morning and went about her morning routine. In the bathroom she ran a comb through her hair a few times and then opened her makeup bag. It took her a few seconds to find what she wanted but she lined the pieces neatly along the edge of the sink. Taking her lipstick she pulled the cap off and turned the bottom of the tube. The red stick emerged from the tube and she ran it along her lips. Pressing her lips together she reached for a napkin from inside her makeup bag. The napkin had been stained from previous lipsticks she had worn and had spots of blue, purple, and various shades of red all over it. She turned the napkin inside out for a clean spot and pressed it in between her lips.

She returned the lipstick to her bag and picked up a tube of mascara. Avia opened it and pulled the stick in and out of the tube a couple of times before bringing it to her face.  Her eyes met her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She froze up with the mascara stick in her hand hovering just barely above her eyelashes. Usually when she did her makeup her eyes focused on her face or their own dark reflections in the mirror. But that morning they immediately hit the reflection of the crack. The crack, events from the night before, that sharply cut its way along her forehead. It looked like it was healing. Slowly but surely it would eventually fade.

Her hand shook.

A tear ran down her cheek.

With the mascara still in her hand she gripped the sides of the sink. Her arms unnaturally shook. Her knuckles turned white and her eyes went wide. She looked down into the bowl of the sink. Her hair fell down, and forward into her eyes, and her bottom lip quivered. The tears continued to fall. She bit her bottom lip, in an attempt to distract her mind and, to try and stop them.

A hand grabbed hold of her right shoulder and gave her a shake.

“You okay?”

Avia turned her head and her black eyes looked in the direction of the voice.

There in the doorway, leaning against the frame with arms crossed over his chest, stood Emery. He wore the same outfit he had worn the night before; black tank and black sweatpants. His arms, which were bare under the sleeveless tank top, were in plain view and Avia realized that it was the first time she could see all of his tattoos. His hair was still covered in the dye from the night before but now it was covered in clear shower cap. The mess of colors showed through the thin plastic.

She nodded slightly and muttered; “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You expect me to believe that,” he said with a scoff. “I’ve seen that thousand yard stare you got on many times before, Princess.”

“Did you just come over here to ridicule me or do you have something constructive to say for once?”

“Like I’ve said I’ve seen that look before. Just wanted to let ya know I’m here if you wanna talk.”

“As if I would ever look to you for help,” her voice harsh and bitter.

“Then talk to your boy toy or your old man. Just don’t shut yourself out, alright.”

Emery turned and left; leaving Avia to finish up in peace. She thought about what he had said as she put on some eyeshadow. She couldn’t be shutting herself out. She had to be in to cut herself off from the others. And she was definitely sure she wasn’t an actual part of the group yet. It was true that she and Kelly had been dating for some time but that wasn’t the same thing. The others seemed to gel together almost effortlessly since they had been set up as a team. Jett and Emery had already known one other prior to coming to the Academy. Jett’s younger sister was also a student. Kelly was the kind of person who could walk into any room and find someone to talk to. Or talk at in his case. Isabelle was a little ball of sunshine. And Holland was the embodiment of chill. It only made sense that the three of them bonded quickly with everyone.

Avia had no idea where or how to start.

She sighed and left the bathroom.

XXXXX

The group arrived at the station sometime around noon. Detective Root was waiting for them at his desk. His hair was a bit disheveled and his stubble seemed to have filled in a bit more. A mug of coffee sat on the desk to this immediate left. A small stack of files lay on the desk next to the mug. Deep in thought, looking at some papers, he hadn’t noticed the group arrive.

Holland loudly cleared their throat to get the detective’s attention.

“Oh, uh, sorry kids. Long night,” he said with a tired smile.

“You alright, Detective,” Jett asked; trying to hide the worry in his voice.

He nodded; “Yeah. Just tired. Hey, kid, care to get a cup of coffee for an old man? Go a bit back where you all came from and go down the hallway. Break room’s just there on your left.”

Jett shrugged and took the empty mug from the detective’s outstretched hand. He turned and made his way to the break room. Once inside he looked for the coffee maker which sat on the counter in the back of the room. He walked around the small folding table and chairs. The counter was dark gray and had a few cupboards that hung on the wall above it. The coffeemaker was the kind that you just set the cup underneath, pressed a button, and it made the coffee itself. Jett set the mug underneath it and pressed the button for one cup of plain black coffee. It took a few seconds but then the coffee poured out, in a thin stream, into the cup. The smell of freshly brewed coffee brought back memories of his parents and his home.

“What’re you doing here?” a voice said from behind him.

Jett turned around with a scared look on his face.

There stood Sarge Rajah. He wore the traditional police officer uniform with the bottom hem of his pants tucked neatly into the boots he wore. And he stood in a readied stance; hand just above his taser. The cop’s brow was furrowed in anger and his lips were pursed together. His eyes, which were black with a small rim of yellow, were closed slightly and contained a look of pure fury. The red coloring on the scales around his eyes seemed to make his expression all the more terrifying. But his expression completely changed when Jett turned around.

“Oh, uh, sorry about that. Thought you were someone else.”

Jett muttered that it was alright. He explained to the cop that he was just getting coffee for the detective. Rajah crossed the floor; boots tapping against the tile with each step. His tail moved from side to side as he walked making a slight swishing sound. The cop was talking about something but Jett didn’t hear a single thing. The sound of the boots against the tile floor reminded him of another sound. The unforgettable sound of heels against concrete. Jett felt his body tense up as the cop walked up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?”

Jett nodded and grabbed the cup from underneath the coffee maker. Rajah was looking for something in the cupboards but Jett knew he was faking it. He knew exactly what was about to happen, having been through it so many times before, and he really didn’t want to deal with it at the moment. So he turned on his heels and walked away. The cop started to reach for his arm but immediately dropped his hand. As Jett reached the door Rajah loudly cleared his throat. Jett sighed and turned back.

“Sorry about your parents. I used to go to there all the time. Your mom made the best damn snickerdoodles I’ve ever had.”

“Something else you want, officer? I have to get back to the others.”

“Guess you don’t remember but I was one of the ones on the scene that night. The image of that stays with you, you know?”

“You have no idea,” Jett said tersely.

“I’m really sorry we never found her. I really am,” he said shaking his head sadly. Jett said nothing. He gave the cop a look and then left him alone in the room.

“Your parents were real good people. They didn’t deserve that,” Rajah called after him.

Yeah, they really didn’t, he thought to himself.

He walked up to the others, mug in hand, and passed it to the detective before joining the others. Root gave him an appreciative nod and took a sip. Emery and Walker both gave Jett a curious, somewhat worried, look. But he ignored their looks and shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Root explained that the rest of his team were given copies of the newest victim’s file. Holland gave Jett a copy of a file and he opened it.

The file was on the young sprite they found the previous night. The detective explained that the picture of the young virus had been provided by the victim’s family. It was a selfie in which, he had an arm around a friend, he stuck his tongue out and held up a peace sign. One of his eyes was closed in a winking expression. A large wisp of his sea-green soul flowed from his open eye. His hair was a bit shorter, a lighter shade blonde, in the picture. In the picture the kid was the complete opposite of the way they had found him.

The other picture had to be taken hours after the group had found his body the night before. Maybe it was taken very early that morning; Jett didn’t know. But the boy had been dead some time when the photo had been taken. His once sea-green veins were now pitch black like ink. His brown eyes were faded, expressionless, and dead. The small crack that ran across of the bridge of his nose was still there. And now it would never heal. According to the file his name was Flask Antonsson.

“Eleven,” Jett whispered.

Legacy Root nodded solemnly; “Our perp clearly doesn’t have issues with offing kids. Which makes a hell of a lot of sense if you think about it.”

“Whaddya mean, sir,” Kelly asked.

“Remember when I said he wasn’t your garden variety Empath? Well it turns out that all of the rumors, and hearsay, about Nonagon were right. He’s a Nightmare Aura.”

“Oh shite.”

“No fucking way, man! No. No. I’m done. I’m gone.” Emery said.

He turned and stomped off; leaving the others with shocked looks on their faces. Reaching the door he lifted his arm ready to push the door open and exit the station. But suddenly the small form of Isabelle immediately blocked his way. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest; an angry look in her eyes. A small portion of the handle of her flail gun poked out from underneath her arms and rested against her right arm. The remainder of the handle and the chain was hanging down from her right hand. The spiked ball lightly swung back and forth.

“Move it, Short Stuff,” he threatened.

“You’re not doing this, alright. You’re not going to just bail on this super important, and graded, mission.”

“If you think I really care about grades then you don’t know me at all,” he said with a scoff.

“You really want to bail on your team. On your best friend?” the disappointment, clearly written on her face and, ringing through her voice.

Emery turned and looked back to where Jett and the others were standing. It was then that he noticed the terrified and pleading look in Jett’s eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the ground. He really didn’t want to do this. Fighting this guy once was more than enough. Holland and Avia both had been badly hurt. Jett had been horribly shaken and thrown into an episode. And who the hell knew what would happen next? But he couldn’t leave Jett to handle this himself. The others didn’t understand what was going on with him. Emery was the only who could pull him out if it happened again. He had to stay whether he liked it or not.

He nodded and whispered, his voice barely audible, “You’re right, Isabelle. I can’t bail on him.”

Isabelle put a hand on Emery’s back and the two walked back to the group.

XXXXX

The detective had left to grab some lunch for the group as well as himself. He left Jett in charge of the others which surprised no one. He had also given the group the task of memorizing what the police had on Nonagon. Walker’s eyes followed Legacy as he trotted out the door. Their eyes narrowed on the detective as he left the station. Once he had walked through the front doors Walker got off the desk and walked away from the group; seemingly heading for the bathroom. Shortly after the detective left Avia cleared her throat and got the attention of the group.

“What is it, Av,” Jett asked.

“I figured out something last night. I think it might help our investigation quite a lot,” she said.

“Share with the class why dontcha?” Emery asked.

Avia rolled her eyes and asked Holland to hand her the map that was sitting on the detective’s desk. She unfurled it on the floor in the middle of the circle of chairs. She asked the others to put something down on the sides of the map so that it stayed in place. The map was a map exclusively of Dashland. Avia went behind the detective’s desk and opened the top drawer. She grabbed a small pack of white dot stickers and shut the drawer.

Then she explained to the others what she discovered.

“So, here’s where the first victim, Enjay Sno, was found,” she said putting a white dot on the map.

Then she put a dot on the place where all of the other victims’ bodies were found. The dots made some sort of shape with about one obvious outlier. She took a pen from the detective’s desk and colored one of the dots black. Avia placed that dot on the spot where they had faced Fiyero Nonagon.

“He has to live, or at least be hiding out, in this area somewhere.”

“You’re so smart, ean beag,” Kelly said; embracing her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Ew. Stop. Please stop,” Emery said; covering his eyes and looking away.

Jett stared at the collection of white dots all over the map. All of the dots were closer together except for the very first one. They weren’t in a cluster or anything. And they weren’t within blocks of one another. The dots, and the bodies they represented, were close enough to all be in the same general area. But then there was Enjay Sno’s body and corresponding dot. That dot was almost in a different district. It didn’t make any sense.

He looked up and asked Avia what she thought about that.

“It’s an outlier. There are always outliers in cases like this. Or he was—”

“Figuring out what he liked to do best. Statistically speaking, most serial killers will commit a few murders far before they start a spree and usually away from their home turf.” Scribe said. She had cut Avia off mid sentence but didn’t notice at first. Then her eyes went wide and her mouth formed a small “O” shape when she realized what she did. But Avia didn’t seem to mind. She just looked over at Scribe for a few seconds then nodded, approvingly, and gave the girl a small smile.

“Um… Okay… but why would they do that?” Holland asked.

“Because they haven’t decided how they want to kill their victims. Or what message they want to send.” Avia said.

“I have something else that might help,” Scribe said.

The others looked over to her and the sudden attention freaked her out a bit and she calmed up. She shook out the ends of her sweater sleeves so that they covered her hands. She started to twist the fabric over and in between her fingers; staring at the floor. Avia encouraged her to tell the group. Scribe took a deep breath and then told the others about the connection she found.

Avia nodded; impressed. Scribe smiled.

“Why didn’t either of you say something when the detective was here?” Holland asked; genuinely confused.

“Because,” Avia said, “a certain somebody had to be a big drama queen.”

“Oh, so, I’ve moved up from caveman? Awesome,” Emery replied; rolling his eyes.

“Good to see you all getting along again,” the detective’s voice called from behind the group. He had bags of food for the group and set them on his desk. Legacy motioned for the teenagers to take what they wanted. He apologized that he didn’t ask what they wanted beforehand. But the group didn’t really care. They were there to help him with his case not to be pampered or have fun. Kelly and Jett rose from their seats and began doling out hamburgers and fries to the others.

“So,” Legacy said; standing on the outskirts of the group. “What were you all talking about while I was gone?”

Jett explained to the detective what the others had found out. Every so often Avia or Scribe would interrupt and correct Jett or explain something he had forgotten to mention. Legacy stood, listening intently, and writing down a few notes every now and then. When the part about the map came up he knelt down on the floor and scrutinized the dots on it. His eyes narrowed in concentration and he ran a finger along the shape that the dots created. Tapping the circle in the middle of the shape he nodded approvingly.

“Great job,” he said; clearly impressed with the group.

They spent the next half hour enjoying their lunch. The detective asked the group where Walker had went and Holland explained. Legacy’s eyes narrowed and asked if any of them found that a bit suspicious. The entire group gave a collective shrug and gave varying replies of “no.” Holland leaned over and explained that the group just gave Walker their space because the alternative was difficult.

Legacy asked what that meant but Holland didn’t answer.

Kelly started to say that Walker was the type of person who wanted to keep their life private. That got him talking about how most people had things they never shared with anyone. Then he pointed to Holland and explained to the detective that they were pretty much a walking, talking, open book. But then that got him talking about how Holland didn’t have any siblings. Then he got to talking about his younger brother. Somehow Kelly got on the subject of cowboys and the history of the gun fights. No one knew how he got there.

With Kelly finally done, and Walker suddenly back, Legacy decided that the group got going to talk to the family of the most recent victim.

“And after that we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, kids.”

Legacy walked out to the car and most of the group followed. Kelly didn’t go with the others, and jogged off to the bathroom, saying that he would join them in a minute. Jett stayed behind. He knelt in a squatting position and stared at the map.

“Let’s go bag us a bad guy!” Isabelle cried pumping her fist in the air. Scribe winced slightly at the volume of her voice. Isabelle quickly apologized. Avia subtly fell into step with the pair. Walking on the left side of Scribe she asked what Scribe thought about the patterns. Both patterns seemed a bit coincidental but Avia wasn’t sure why. And she really wanted to know what Scribe thought about it. The three girls piled into the van; talking shop. Holland and Emery piled in after them.

Jett felt a sense of déjà vu since the start of the case but he couldn’t explain why. And now he felt that there was something familiar about where the bodies had been found. Or where they had been placed. He took his phone out of the front pocket of his jeans and took a picture of the configuration.

He quickly texted the picture to Emery, as well as his little sister, with the same message. It read; this look familiar or just me?

Emery immediately texted back; never seen it before in my life.

That’s when he remembered what Fiyero Nonagon had said to him.

“Oh, crap,” he said. “I forgot to tell the others about the—”

Jett rushed over to the door. Once he was outside he felt a hand on his shoulder. The sensation made him freeze up and pulled him out of his train of thought. The hand pulled him back inside the station.

“Better save it for later, don’t you think?”

“Um, yeah,” he said.

Walker nodded and patted Jett on the shoulder. They let go and motioned for Jett to walk in front of them. Jett and Walker piled into van; sitting in the middle row of seats with Emery and Walker. Kelly took the front seat next to the detective. With the entire group in the van the detective pulled out of the parking lot of the police station and drove to their destination.

XXXXX

The mother and father of the deceased didn’t have much information to add to their investigation. They let the group inside their apartment and said that they could look in their son’s room if they wanted. But other than that they had nothing to give. They hadn’t heard of anyone named Fiyero Nonagon. And they hadn’t seen anyone meeting his description around the area. Legacy sent the team around the house while he interviewed the parents.

Jett went into the boy’s room while the others looked through other areas of the Antonsson residence. Walker followed him. Emery tried to go as well but the detective told him to look somewhere else.

Emery grumbled but he went to search one of the other rooms.

The boy’s name was displayed on the door to his room with a series of large colorful felt letters. A small hand written sign on a piece of blank white paper was taped to the door underneath the letters. The note read; no parents allowed. Jett turned the knob, opened the door, and the pair walked inside. The boy’s room looked as if it had just been cleaned. But at the same time it looked a shrine to his memory. His bed was neatly made and the pillows sat peacefully against the headboard. A small faux wood grain skateboard leaned against the back wall of the room; underneath a window. There was a closet built into the wall next to the bed and a dresser was shoved up against the adjacent wall only a few feet from the door.

A desk sat across from the bed. The desk was messy and filled with miscellaneous papers, pens, and colored pencils. A large sketchbook also set on the desk. The sketchbook was open to an unfinished series of sketches. A couple notebooks sat next to the sketchbook. Jett grabbed one of the notebooks and flipped through it. Walker walked over to the dresser and opened up the drawers and began tossing clothes on the floor.

“Texas Ranger? What’re you doing?”

“What does it look like?”

“I don’t think his parents will be okay with you messing with their son’s things.”

“Says the guy rifling through the kid’s notebook.”

“But clothes are—”

“Are what, Leach?”

Jett stared at Walker for a minute before speaking; “Are you alright, dude? You seem, uh, you seem a little off.”

“As compared to what exactly?”

Jett shrugged. Walker scoffed and stormed out of the room. They left the top drawer of the dresser open and the clothes strewn about the room. Jett sighed and went about fixing the mess. Walker walked out in the backyard and told Emery that Jett needed help. Emery gave them a sideways glance but he ran back inside. Walker stood in the Antonsson’s backyard and stared out at the neighborhood around them. They sighed and thought about their little escapade the night before.

But the mostly thought about what that annoying trickster told them.

And what she told them by proxy.

Walker replayed the conversation in their mind; mulling over what was said and what wasn’t. They had thought they were completely along but then the madrid appeared in a puff of smoke. He mocked them and said that they kept old habits. It was true but the way the virus had said it made Walker feel like a stupid child. Then he called them that phrase whatever the hell it meant.

“What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want anything from you,” he asked; closing the gap between him and Walker with every step.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. You’re just a lapdog being ordered around. Sorry, I forgot,” they said; matching the venomous mockery in the virus’s voice.

“You’re a funny one, الأرنب الصغير,” he replied, wagging a finger in Walker’s direction, smirking.

“I’m strange and off-putting,” Walker said as they pulled their goggles over their head and turned to face the virus behind him. They saw the male virus nodding slightly in agreement. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, with an expectant, and somewhat irritated, look on his face.

He towered over Walker’s form by a good margin. He was the tallest virus Walker had ever met and it honestly freaked them out. Despite his height he wasn’t as lanky as one would expect. His tan arm and leg muscles were lean and toned. His hair and thin beard were black. He wore a form fitting, light gray, blazer jacket and a plain white dress shirt underneath. The muscles in his chest could be seen underneath the layers. The sleeves were cut off, turning the shirt and jacket into a vest, and his arms were naked in the cold, night, air. An intricate, black ink, henna tattoo started at his right wrist and ran up his arm; stopping just before his elbow. A section of Arabic script ran along the top of his wrist just before the rest of the tattoo. Walker didn’t know, nor could they read, the language so they had no clue what the words said or meant. The virus’s other arm was a prosthetic. It started at the shoulder and was, black and white in color, clearly high tech and very sleek. He also wore a pair of black jogger pants with zippered pockets on either said. Two small pouches, on either side of his pants, were attached via straps that buckled on the inside of his thighs. Walker knew that the right pant leg was hiding another prosthetic; one that was black and looked like a mess of wiring. The virus’s outfit was complete with a red tie and a pair of black, air mesh, running shoes.

“You following me just ‘cause you can or you actually have something to say, genie.”

In a puff of smoke he disappeared and then reappeared with his bodily hand around Walker’s throat.

They felt their windpipe being crushed. They couldn’t breathe. Their lungs burned in pain. The madrid virus tightened his grip around their throat and lifted Walker into the air with one hand. His other hand lay at his side; fingers clenched into a fist. His light brown eyes, usually bright and playful, now ballooned in flames that licked at the edges of his face. This “party trick” as he had referred to it tended to scare most people. But Walker had seen it many times before and wasn’t a bit scared. What they were scared of what the madrid’s strength. Even though they knew that he wasn’t using his full strength they still had reason to be scared; having seen what he could do with that power. Even so they felt their grip on reality slipping as the already dark night darkened further around them.

“What did you call me?” he asked; voice dripping with anger.

“Fu—funny that—ah—that word bothered you, Kha—Khalid and not lap dog,” Walker said as they struggled against the virus’s grip. Their knuckles were white as they tried to pull the hand off their throat. In the back of their mind they knew that it was pointless but they were hurting. They weren’t thinking clearly. They were running on instincts.

“You’re lucky I can’t kill you, because you’d have been dead long before, الأحمق,” he threatened; dropping Walker on the roof.

Their throat burned and they coughed in pain. Despite their better judgment a hand instinctively flew to the hurt area and began to rub along the skin. Khalid closed the gap and stood directly in front of Walker. His large form shrouded them in a massive dark shadow. He stared down at Walker his eyes still engulfed in flame; hand of his prosthetic was still an angry fist.

“I came here for a progress report. But…” he said with a deep chuckle and a smile that revealed his sharp canines. “after tonight? I’m pretty sure she’ll want an in person testimony from you instead. Be seeing you, الأرنب الصغير.”

“I still don’t know what that means,” Walker said. But Khalid was gone. All that was there was a cloud of dissipating black smoke.

Walker blinked, bringing their self back to the present moment, and realized that they had a hand wrapped around their own throat. They dropped the hand and sighed. Staring up at the sky they yell out a loud, desperate, scream. They didn’t know what else to do. They didn’t have any other options.

They fell on their knees and stared at the ground. This dichotomy of their intentions, their soul, was so difficult. They owed it to her to help. They literally owed their life to that woman. But at the same time they didn’t see the point of her goals. The Leach kid wasn’t doing anything to actively sabotage those goals. She literally had everything she sought after; everything she had worked towards for so many years. What more could she possibly want?

His head handed over on a damn platter. Or his bent knee, they thought.

They really only had two options. They could stick it out, keeping their secrets, until things eventually fell into their proper place. Then when everything blew over they could leave, again, and start a new life somewhere else. Become someone else. It worked well in the past so they had no doubts that it would be troublesome this time around.

The other option wasn’t something they really felt like considering. But it still arose in the back of their mind. There was the option of coming clean to the others. They would be pissed to say the least but maybe the group would eventually come to understand the dilemma Walker was faced with. And they could always lie to her when they went in for their “progress report.” But then she could, no, she would use her powers on them and make them do what she wanted. They would be just like Khalid and the others.

“What the hell do I do?” they whispered to the open air.

XXXXX

When Legacy had finished interviewing the parents he called for the group to reconvene. They were done and had other leads to check out. Legacy thanked the boy’s parents for their time and gave them his card. He told them to call if they thought of, or remembered, anything that would help. Then the group went to talk to the friend in the photo that Flask’s parents provided.

The friend’s name was Daenerys Saffron Carlisle. She lived only a few blocks from the Antonsson residence so it was a short drive.

The young virus’s parents opened the door when the detective knocked. Her mother and father were more than happy to help. They let the group inside and the mother offered snacks and coffee. Legacy politely declined for the entire group and Emery protested. The mother laughed and went into the kitchen anyway.

“We were hoping to look around your house and talk to your daughter if that’s alright, Mr. Carlisle,” Legacy said to the girl’s father.

He was pretty much the exact opposite of his wife; tall and built like a brick house. He had a square jaw and a small scar along the left side of his face. His dark gray eyes were hard and angry. His voice was deep and gruff as he said that he would get her. With that he left the group alone in the family’s living room.

After a few minutes the father and the girl entered the living room.

The girl was young, still a sprite it seemed, and rather petite. Her hair was a dark brown which was a stark contrast to the platinum blonde she had in the photo the group had seen. It was cut in a longer angled bob and the bangs covered her left eye. The eye that wasn’t covered by her hair was a light honey brown color. Her veins were a bright lilac and ran along her arms and legs. She wore a plain, sleeveless, navy blue dress with a bright red belt that hung around her waist. Her outfit was brought together with a pair of black flats.

She took a seat on the couch next to her father.

Isabelle noticed that the girl’s eyes were rimmed red. It was obvious that she was deeply grieving.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said; reaching out and resting her hand over the girl’s. Daenerys nodded her thanks.

“If you don’t want to talk to us right now that’s quite alright,” Avia said.

Her father spoke for her and said that she was fine with answering any of their questions. Isabelle and Avia both crossed their arms over their chest and shared identical angry looks. The detective nodded and went about his questioning. While Legacy ran through the questions he had prepared the young girl stared down at her feet. The mother returned to the living room with a platter of cookies, small cakes, and cups of tea.

The girl gave them short few word answers and never looked up.

With the interview over Legacy guided the group out of the house. They all piled into the van except for Isabelle who stood on the sidewalk; staring back at the house. She told the others she forgot something and ran back inside. She asked the girl’s parents where their daughter went and then she rushed up the stairs to the girl’s bedroom. Isabelle stopped short of the door and ran her hands along the sides of her skirt. Then she knocked on the door.

Daenerys opened the door slowly.

“Hi,” Isabelle said smiling.

“Um… hi?”

“Can I come in? Is that okay?”

“Why?” the girl asked suspiciously.

“Thought you’d need a friend for a little while,” Isabelle said with a shrug.

The girl nodded and opened the door. Isabelle stepped inside and Daenerys closed the door behind her. Her walls of her room were painted a bright yellow. She had a small dresser that was shoved in the back corner of the room. Various pictures and photographs hung on thin wire all around the room; attached via various colored clothespins. A camera sat on the nightstand next to the girl’s bed. Daenerys went over to her bed and sat down on the edge. She tapped her hand on the empty space next to her. Isabelle sat down her face beaming from ear to ear.

“I like your pictures, did you take them yourself?” Isabelle said pointing to a photo of a squirrel nestled in pile of leaves.

Daenerys nodded. Isabelle explained that she also liked photography.

The pair talked about photography and Isabelle told the young sprite girl about a few tricks she learned over the years. Daenerys pointed to the necklace that hung from Isabelle’s neck and asked her about it. Isabelle politely explained what it was and why she kept it. She told Daenerys about all the adventures she and her parents would have before she moved to Dashland to go the Academy.

“Your parents sound really cool, and nice,” Daenerys said; looking towards the door of her room.

“I know you already talked to the detective about this and I’m sorry to bring it up again but do you remember anything strange happening before Flask passed away?”

“Died. People say passed away when they want to be nicer about death. But death isn’t nice and Flask died.”

A tear ran down the girl’s cheek and Isabelle held her hand; tight.

“I couldn’t say this in front of Dad, but, there was something that happened. It was a few days before? I think? Maybe it was a week. I don’t know. But something did happen before he died.”

“You can tell me. It’s alright.”

Daenerys took a deep breath before continuing; “There was this man who showed up on our street. He was weird and looked homeless. Me and Flask were just walking around getting away from my parents for a bit, you know? And he was there on the other side of the street. I thought he was scary but Flask didn’t. He went right up and talked to him.”

Isabelle nodded; “What did he look like? The homeless man?”

“His hair was long and dirty. He had this long coat on. It was really gross and had all these stains on it. His shoes were black and his eyes were big and scary.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

The girl shook her head; “No. He only talked to Flask because he went up to the man.”

“What did Flask do when he came back to where you were?”

“He laughed at me for thinking the guy was scary. And then we just went back to what we were talking about before.”

“So he never told you what the homeless man said?”

Daenerys shook her head. Isabelle thanked her for giving her what she could. She gave the girl a long hug and told her that everything would be okay. She got off her bed and walked over to the door. Before leaving the room she turned back and told the girl that she was sure that one day her photographs would be in some museum somewhere. Isabelle said that she would make sure that she would be there to see it. Daenerys smiled.

XXXXX

Legacy drove the group back to the church where they had found Seneca Orion’s body. He thought it would be best to look into the more recent victims instead of the other way around. The trail had already gone cold on the first four at this point. In his mind there was no point in asking the relatives and friends of those victims anything this far into the investigation. They would’ve most likely forgotten all the important information they knew.

Isabelle told the group what she found out from Daenerys on the drive over.

The detective was impressed. So were Scribe and Avia.

“Should we be going around and asking people if they’ve seen any creepy looking homeless people in the area?” Holland asked.

“It’s a good lead,” Legacy said as he pulled the van into the church parking lot.

“Besides it’s the only lead we have at the moment. When I describe Nonagon to the victims’ families and relatives no one seems to have seen anyone. But now someone has come forward with a less vivid description of the same man. It’s too good to pass up.”

The group exited the van and walked back into the church. Unlike a few days prior the church was brightly lit with the midday sun. The colored stained glass windows had colored the rays of sunlight that ran through them. This time the body had been removed from the scene of the crime and so had the police tape. But the church was still empty. The group’s steps echoed through the vacant sermon room as they walked down the aisle.

Jett tapped the detective on the shoulder.

“I have something you need to know, Detective.”

A loud crash interrupted the group’s movement.

Those with weapons readied themselves for a fight. Avia pulled her rapier from its scabbard. Kelly tightened his grip around the handle of his axe/war hammer. Isabelle pulled the chain of her flail; separating the spiked ball from the handle. She held the handle in her right hand, finger on the trigger, and the chain in her left. Scribe had already disappeared with her camouflage ability. Walker reached behind their back for their nunchucks. Jett looked around the church; scared.

“Sorry! Sorry! That was me!”

A young male satyr virus emerged from behind the altar. His light brown hair curled about his horns and his youthful face. His eyes looked dark but changed to a bright orange when the light hit them. He wore a white robe over a pair of black slacks and a white shirt. He was carrying a small candelabra, a series of folded church pamphlets, and a worn bible.

The group gave a collective sigh and lowered their weapons.

“What’s your name kid?” Legacy asked.

“They really start you guys this fucking young?” Emery asked at the same time; disdain ringing in his voice.

“It’s Trent, sir. Trent Crawley,” he said; turning to Emery with a look of disgust. “Yes they do. I’m more than happy to do the good Lord’s work. And there’s no swearing in the Lord’s house.”

Emery rolled his eyes but said nothing. The detective asked the boy if it was alright if they talked to him about a few things. He looked around sheepishly and said that he wasn’t sure. He was supposed to take the stuff to Father Montgomery. And the man did not like to be kept waiting. Walker gave the kid a sideways glance but the boy didn’t seem to notice.

Legacy convinced the kid that it was alright and the boy sat in the nearest pew.

“Did you know someone named Seneca Orion?”

The boy nodded; “He died. Father Montgomery said that everyone must go when the Lord calls them.”

“Did the priest tell you the truth? Did he tell you that Seneca was murdered right over there?” Walker asked; pointing to the altar.

All the color washed from Trent’s face. He hurriedly grabbed the things he had set down and hopped off the pew. He apologized and said that he had to leave. The boy turned heel and ran off. Detective Root called for him to come back but it was of no use. Jett rose to race after the boy but Kelly had already beat him to it.

“Way to go sociopath,” Holland muttered under their breath.

XXXXX

Kelly quickly caught up with the kid as he ducked down a long hallway. The kid turned around with wide, fear-filled, eyes. He dropped the items he carried and reached inside the pocket of his robe. He pulled a small vial out of the pocket.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay. Yer alright, ceann beag, I’m not going to hurt ye.”

The boy splashed holy water in Kelly’s face.

“Sweet Mary and the wee baby Jesus,” he said with a slight chuckle of disbelief. “I’m not a fucking demon.”

“Wha—What do you want?”

“I just wanna talk ta ye, Trent. I’m sorry about what my teammate said back there.”

The boy looked down at the floor and said nothing. He knelt down and started to collect the things he had dropped. Kelly knelt down and helped the boy gather the items. Trent gave him a half surprised and half suspicious look. The boy got up off the ground and waited for Kelly to hand over the items he had picked up. But the lanky teen did not.

Trent shrugged and walked down the hallway.

For awhile the pair walked in silence. Kelly began whistling the tune of some half-forgotten hymn. The boy joined in humming along.

After awhile they stopped in front of a door near the end of the hallway. Trent explained that this was Father Montgomery’s office. Trent whispered that the father might not be happy to know that the police were there and so that it was better if he just stayed outside. Kelly smirked and said that he wasn’t police. He explained that if Father Montgomery had a problem with him being there the father would have to take it up him.

Trent knocked on the door.

“Come in, boy,” an old and gruff voice called from behind the door.

Kelly turned the handle and the two of them walked through. The office was neat and clean. An oak desk sat a few feet away from a large window that face the opposite side of the street. A large bookshelf ran along the right hand wall. A few chairs sat on the side of the desk opposite the large black office chair. The priest was sitting at the desk, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, reading something. His hair was gray and turning white at the edges. Wrinkles and crow’s feet lined his face. He looked up to see a tall, lanky, ginger human virus standing next to Trent and he eyed Kelly suspiciously.

“Who is this?”

“A believer,” Kelly said. “I’ve been looking for a new church since I left my home district. And it seems to me that yours might just be the place, Father.”

“Hmm,” the priest said; looking Kelly up and down. He got up, walked around the desk, giving Kelly a hard look as he walked. Stopping just a few inches from Kelly’s face he stared into the teen’s deep blue eyes. Kelly stared right back. After a few minutes he broke eye contact and turned to Trent.

“Leave those things with me and give this young man whatever he needs.”

Trent froze and looked at Kelly with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open in confusion. Kelly straightened his posture and gave the kid a hard stare.

“You heard the father.”

Confused, and somewhat afraid, Trent put the things on the priest desk. His hands shook slightly but he tried to hide it. Father Montgomery gave the boy a nod and he backed away from the desk. He stood there for a second; still confused to what was going on. Then he lead Kelly out of the office and back into the hallway.

Kelly let out a sigh once they were out of earshot.

“Never lied to a priest before,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “First time for everything I guess.”

As they walked back to where the others were Kelly told the kid about himself. He showed the kid a few of his tattoos, mostly Celtic in design but with heavy Christian elements, and explained their meanings. Trent asked him if they hurt and Kelly didn’t lie. Each one hurt. And they hurt a lot. The boy said something about his brother having a large, very scary looking, tattoo on his back. And that the father didn’t like it and banned his brother from the church after that. Tears began to fall down the boy’s face and Kelly told him that it would alright. He told the boy about his mom and his younger brother. About how he felt this deep connection to a man he barely met and almost didn’t remember anymore.

Then Kelly asked him about Seneca.

Trent bit his bottom lip and didn’t say anything until they had joined the rest of the group.

The young satyr virus explained that Seneca was adopted by the church and raised inside its walls. He was as well. The church tended to take in a few babies every couple years or so just in case some of the viruses were on verge of being left in the care of the Nurseries. Emery interrupted to say that being raised in a Nursery was just fine. That he turned out just fine. Trent rolled his eyes at the comment.

He went on to say that Seneca was sort of like the parental figure he never had.

Most of the people in the church didn’t treat him very well. They saw him, if they remembered him at all, as sort of a part of the church. As a piece of the stonework or a section of the pews. But Seneca was different. They looked at Trent and actually saw a person. They treated him like any normal person would treat a child.

“Did ye see anyone strange before Seneca died?” Kelly asked.

“There was this homeless man who came in a couple times. Father Montgomery turned him away a few times. But Seneca let him in and gave him some food. Seneca was always a nice person.”

Trent went on to say that he often looked for the homeless man. He didn’t want the guy to freeze somewhere now that the temperatures were dropping. When the young boy finished his story the group exited the church. Standing on the church steps the detective told the group that they should probably set up an ambush in the church. According to the young satyr’s story Fiyero Nonagon had frequented the church prior to the murder he committed. Just like the story of the young sprite he killed.

Maybe it was a bit wishful thinking but this was the strongest lead they had.

Nonagon had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.

Jett cleared his throat and started to tell the detective what he had forgotten to say before. But his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw a text from his sister. She didn’t recognize the shape. He texted her that maybe it wasn’t a shape but half of one. She still didn’t see anything familiar about it. He asked Emery about the shape but he didn’t recognize it either.

But Jett couldn’t shake the feeling.

XXXXX

They hid around the church until night fell.

It was a long, quiet, few hours.

Emery and Jett hid together and talked amongst themselves to pass the time. Jett held a flame in his hand to give the two of them a little light. He turned to Emery with an upset look on his face; his nose crinkled in confusion and his ears flattened against his head in anger.

“I just know there’s something about it.”

“Bro, it’s not even a shape. It’s a bunch of fucking dots on a map.”

“Dude, be honest. Did you even look at it?”

A hand flew to Emery’s mouth in shock; “How could you accuse me of such a thing? I’m shocked, appalled, and very, very, offended.”

Jett gave him a light shove and Emery pretended to be severely hurt. They joked and laughed it off.

Meanwhile Avia and Kelly were sitting together on the opposite side of the street. Kelly sat on the concrete; back leaning against the brick building behind him. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. His warhammer sat in the ground the handle just a few inches from his hand.

He grabbed Avia by the hand and pulled her into an embrace.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

Kelly shook his head and just held her close. She let him hold her there; their warmth melding together. After a few minutes his hands dropped from around her body and fell at his side. He looked into her deep black eyes and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead. His lips lightly pressed against the crack there. He pulled away but she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I know something’s up. What is it, babe?”

“I’m so scared, ean beag. What if he messes with one of us again? And what’s gonna happen if it’s Holly a second time? Would they be able to go through all that again? What if you get—”

She pressed a finger to his lips; shushing him.

“It’s going to be okay, babe.”

“You don’t know that,” he said shaking his head and looking down at the ground.

“I think I do. It’s going to be okay because this time we’re not going into this fight like idiots. We actually know what we’re dealing with so we can beat him this time. And besides if all else fails somebody’s bound to see what happens and call the cops. Or those virus assassins you’re always on about.”

“You really think they’ll show?”

Avia shrugged; “I don’t know babe but hopefully it won’t have to come to that. I’m pretty sure we’d fail if a bunch of assassins came and did our job for us.”

Kelly lifted his head back and laughed loudly. He pulled Avia closer and kissed her; long and hard.

They stayed in their respective hiding spots for a few more hours.

Halfway through the stakeout Isabelle noticed a mysterious looking virus walking towards them. But the closer they got it became clear that it wasn’t a lone virus. It was a small group. The group had turned to be some semi-drunk college kids. The detective told them all to stay vigilant and reminded them that their perp had nowhere else to go. But the longer the night went on the more tired the group became and the more boredom began to take over them. Emery and Kelly had started to play some game that required a lot of shouting and swearing. Scribe and Isabelle had started to doze off; leaning against one another. Root tried to stay optimistic but it seemed that Nonagon had a different locale where he was spending the night. Once again Legacy Root drove them back to their dorm.

They all went inside and Isabelle ordered a couple pizzas for the group. Emery rejoiced at the offer of free food and gave Isabelle an unexpected bear hug. Walker denied the free food and went straight to their room. Shutting the door, and locking it, behind them. Kelly and Avia sat on the couch and cuddled up to one another. Jett went straight to his room and grabbed a pen and a notebook.

He opened the notebook to a fresh page and began drawing the shape over and over.

He sketched other shapes on top of the one the dots had made trying to find some sort of connection. Something was familiar about the shape and the placement of the bodies. He chewed on the pen as he thought.

Suddenly something crashed through his window and sent glass shattering.

Jett froze. The others ran into his room to see what the commotion was. Jett didn’t see them; his eyes glazed over in fear. Emery told the others to give Jett some space. Isabelle didn’t listen and pushed her way through and carefully walked around the shards of glass. Holland rushed to the kitchen to make Jett some tea. Scribe went to inspect the remains of the window while Emery looked at what caused the crash.

A small light gray brick sat on the floor in the middle of the glass shards.

A piece of black paper was taped to the brick.

Emery picked it up and pulled the paper off. He carefully tried not to rip the paper just in case something important was on it. Or something threatening. It had to be something because people didn’t just throw bricks through people’s windows. Academy students didn’t really pull these kinds of pranks on one another either.

The paper was thicker than a normal piece of paper but seemed to be solid black. Blank. Emery turned it over hoping that the other side was blank as well. But his hopes were crushed when he saw what was on the opposite side. He dropped the brick and it landed lightly on the floor.

“What is it?” Isabelle asked as she rubbed Jett’s back.

Emery turned the paper over so that the others could see. A bright red phoenix was embossed on the black surface.

[starfangssecrets]

Advice

Summary: After taking his youngest to the doctors, Bakugou Katsuki, now a pro Hero and father of three, thinks karma is an absolute b*tch. Helpless, he seeks the advice of the only person who could understand: Midoriya Izuku.

Genre: Angst, Friendship

Relationships: Mentions of Kacchako, and friendship between Izuku and Katsuki.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kacchako kids Bakugou Eiji and Bakugou Reika. Those two belong to @fandomgarbage11806 ! Bakugou Kokoro is mine though XD thanks for letting me write a fic based on your idea!! I really enjoyed it!!

PS- I'll be posting this on FFnet, AO3, and DA later on today XD I just couldn't wait to post it!!

~o.8.o~

Bakugou Katsuki stared at the amber liquid in his glass, the light reflecting off of it nearly mesmerizing, but that had more to do with him trying to keep his mind blank then the alcohol having any effect on him. He could feel the panic brush against the edges of his mind every time he thought of why he was at the bar and not at home, and would once again attempt to think of nothing. It was a vicious cycle that got him nowhere when he came here for answers.

“Damn, you look terrible, Kacchan.” A male voice commented, and Katsuki frowned at the old nickname. He turned to face the man who had spoken, and ended up snorting.

“You look ridiculous.”

Midoriya Izuku chuckled as he took the stool next to Bakugou at the bar. It was true; Midoriya was dressed in casual wear, but had a scarf, shades, and a baseball cap atop his head. In the middle if summer. “It's the only way I can get around these days when I'm not on-duty.”

“This is a hero bar; no one cares what the hell your ranking is.”

“Then why do you have a pair of shades and a cap with you?”

“F*ck off.”

More than used to his friend’s crass nature, Izuku merely brushed the insult off and ordered a beer. While he waited, he took off his disguise and noticed immediately when the other heroes began to recognize him. It wasn't everyday that Deku, the Number One Hero, made an appearance at Flow’s Rig.

A few pros he was on good terms with, and a few he barely knew, made to approach him, but ultimately decided against it. He didn't blame them, for even he could feel the glare Katsuki was directing at anyone who approached them.

With a presence likened to that of a villain, it was a wonder as to how Ground Zero had made it to the Number Two spot. Then again, Katsuki had always had a habit of achieving his goals; it's what he had admired about him as a teen. Still did.

Beer finally in hand, Izuku took a long swig before asking, “What did you want to talk about?”

Bakugou didn't answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes as guilt began to mix with his fear. ‘This is f*cking karma at its finest.’

Izuku frowned once more at his friend's tense posture and became worried. “Kacchan.”

“We took Reika to the doctors today.” Katsuki began. He tried to say more, but the words got stuck in his throat.

Now even more worried, Midoriya twisted his torso so that he was facing Bakugou. “Is she okay? What happened?” Out of all of Katsuki and Ochako’s kids, their youngest was his favorite. Bakugou Reika was a ball of sunshine with a love for all things explosive, no doubt something she got from her father. When Bakugou didn't answer him once more, he made to place his hand on the other hero’s arm when--

“She's Quirkless.” The blonde blurted, fingers tightening around the shot glass in his hands. A bar probably wasn't the best place to share such personal news, but he couldn't invite Midoriya over at the moment, and there was no way in hell he was going over the nerd’s house after the media tried to insinuate there was something between them. Ochako had gotten a good laugh at that until he kissed her thoroughly on live television.

Izuku froze, certain he had heard him wrong.

When he didn't get a response, Bakugou opened his eyes, but kept his gaze firmly on his drink as he continued. “She's turning five next week, and hasn't shown any sign of her Quirk like the boys did, so we decided to take her in. Ochako made the appointment, and I took her since she was called suddenly into work.” He moved his hands to cover his face, his shoulders hunched. “Goddamnit! The f*cker didn't even try to be nice about it, like crushing her dreams meant nothing to him. I've never wanted to blow up someone so bad in my life. He's f*cking lucky Reika’s my priority, or that bastard would be six feet under.” His fingers shifted to rake through his hair, gripping tightly at large blonde tuffs. “F*ck, I haven't even told Ochako or the boys yet…”

It was like reliving that moment so many years ago, except from a different view. Looking at his friend's posture, he couldn't help but think, ‘Is this how Mom felt?’ It was only then that he realized why Katsuki had called him out that evening.

Bakugou seemed to catch onto this, and slumped a little forward against the bartop. “She's already getting picked on. She won't say anything; the squirt’s too much like her mother. You know how I found out? Eiji. Came home with scraps on his face, and when I asked him why, he said it was because someone said she couldn't play with them until she got her Quirk, and he didn’t think that was fair. What the f*ck.”

“Kacchan…” Izuku murmured as he lowered his hand back to the bartop, recognizing that Katsuki was beginning to ramble.

“What if it gets worse? What if she runs into someone like-like me.” The word came out choked and mangled, as if it left his throat raw with its passage. His eyes burned with the guilt, frustration, agony, and pure helplessness he felt with the whole situation, but he couldn't find it in himself to give a damn in that moment. “God, I told you to f*cking kill yourself! The f*ck was wrong with me?! If someone said that to my explosive angel, I don't know what the f*ck I'd do.”

“Katsuki-kun.” Izuku interrupted gently, gaining Bakugou’s full attention despite the blonde not looking at him. Knowing each other for as long as they did, it was rare when either used their names, only doing so when the other was serious about something. It was just a habit neither one of them grew out of. “This isn’t your fault.”” He placed a comforting hand on Katsuki’s shoulder. “And I forgave you a long time ago.”

Katsuki remained quiet as he thought back to that time. It was a subdued affair--the exact opposite of their fight during their first year at UA, and long overdue. Just before they had graduated, Bakugou had apologized to Midoriya--for everything. Izuku, the pure person that he was, had forgiven him without a second thought. It wasn’t a thoughtless decision, but was done with his childhood friend in mind. He had seen the guilt take its toll on him, and had forgiven him, because that’s what heroes did; they saved people, even if it was from themselves. From there, their relationship had slowly, slowly mended into the friendship it was now.

Izuku took a swig from his warming beer and made a face at it, before sighing. “You said Ochako-chan’s working? Where are the kids?”

“Left Reika with the hag as soon as she’d knocked out, and messaged Eiji and Kokoro to head over there after their club activities were done.” Katsuki rubbed his face before looking at his watch. “They must be there already.” He then took a moment to call his eldest, Kokoro. ‘Ten texts and three missed calls from Ochako, and ten from the hag.’ He wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t explained anything to his mother when he dropped Reika off, before heading straight to the bar and messaging Izuku to meet him at Flow’s. Ignoring the texts for now, knowing it was going to backfire on him spectacularly, Bakugou called his oldest. While he was much better at handling his emotions than when he was a teen, there was only so much he could take at a time.

Izuku waited patiently as Katsuki talked with his kids. Finishing his lukewarm beer, the corner of his lips quirked upward as he heard, “I’m fine. Love you, too, you damn brat.” ‘Never would have pegged him as the doting parent type.’

Finished with the call, Katsuki sighed, and a silence settled over the two men. It was not uncomfortable, but one born through the struggle to understand one another.

“What do I need to do?”

The simple question was one that Midoriya expected, and had contemplated during the silence. The answer, unsurprising, came easily to him.

“Don’t give up on her.” Izuku said with conviction as he turned to meet Katsuki’s gaze. “You can’t protect her from everyone, Kacchan. There will be bullies; kids can be cruel.” They both knew the harsh truth of those words. “That doesn’t mean her dreams need to end. With you and Ochako-chan supporting her, she may very well be the first Quirkless Hero.”

Bakugou snorted at that, but settled into contemplative silence. “A Quirkless Hero, huh?” He mused aloud, before shooting Midoriya a halfhearted glare. “I didn’t need you to tell me not to give up on her. I would never do that.”

The Number One Hero merely smiled, patting Katsuki shoulder as the blonde nearly growled at him. The quiet “Thank you” that followed made him grin.

Katsuki didn’t stay for much longer, having gotten what he’d come for, and feeling ten times lighter. He still felt as if this was a twisted form of punishment for how he'd been as a youth, but knew dwelling on it further wouldn't help anyone, least of all his daughter. As soon as he was outside of Flow’s Rig, he dialed Ochako’s cell.

“Katsuki!” Came her obviously flustered and upset voice, having answered on the first ring. “Where have you been?! During the middle of a rescue I get a voicemail from Mitsu-chan that you left a red-eyed Rei-chan with her with no explanation, and then you don’t answer my calls, and--”

“I’m sorry.” Came his soft reply, shutting her up. He heard her give a slow breath.

“I was really worried, Katsuki.” She said softly.

“I know. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She tried to hide it, but he heard her sniffle, and felt horrible at being the cause. “What did the doctor say?”

Katsuki took a deep breath. “About that…”

~o.8.o~

Bakugou Reika stayed curled in a tight ball under her sheets as tears continued to flow from her eyes, her short brown hair a tangled mess. She had just woken up and never wanted to move again.

‘Why bother, when I can’t be like Mommy and Daddy?’

The sound of the door opening to the guest room she rested in had her curling even tighter. She didn’t want to talk to anyone!

The side of the bed behind her dipped under the weight of the intruder, and she felt a large hand press gently against her head.

“I know you’re awake.” Came her father’s voice, and Reika gave a sharp hiccup. The next thing she knew, she was pulled into her father’s arms, a repeat of how they had been earlier that day when her dreams had been broken.

“D-Daddy…!” She cried as she fisted her tiny hands into Katsuki’s shirt, ruining it with her tears. Not that he exactly cared. He would gladly hold all his children as they cried; had done so many times in fact. Being his only daughter, Reika had gained a special place in his heart that every father both loved and feared.

He let her release her emotions freely, having learned first-hand that keeping them in was never a good thing. He merely soothed her as he waited for her to calm down. It didn’t take long, and when her tears were mostly dry, he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“Daddy?” She asked quietly.

“Hm?”

“Do you think I can still be hero?”

If Katsuki were completely honest, he couldn’t see it happening. The concept of a Quirkless Hero did not mesh well with the view of the world he had. But just because he couldn’t see it, that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. “The f*ck kind of question is that? Of course you can.” ‘I’ll make it happen.’

Her resulting giggles were music to his ears.

“That’s a bad word.”

“Shh, don’t tell your mom.”

“Okay.” She agreed easily, snuggling into his embrace even further. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. “I love you, Daddy.”

Tightening his hold on her so he wouldn’t jolster her too much as he stood up, Katsuki gave another kiss to the top of her head. “I love you, too, angel.”