#plus the store location is just in a bit of a dead spot

[vigilantejustice]

got a good grade in work today (sold $1300 worth of swimwear in a single transaction and the regional manager told my store manager to tell me she’s impressed)

[vanitas-no-carter-fanfics]

hello! i think it'd be interesting to see how vanitas and noe would deal with hot summer weather/changing seasons,,,trying to cope with it myself right now lol,,

if that's too vague, then it'd also be nice to just see what they'd do on a trip to the beach, and how they'd spend their time there <3 (with or without a reader character is fine! whatever's easier to write!)

I'd be more than happy to write this scenario! Currently it's winter for me so it would be nice to write about hot summer weather in these cold days.

-J --------------- ---------------

Noé and Vanitas had travel and while it was for their investigations on who is making vampires turn into blood thirsty and mindless beings. While they finished up on their lead which was left on a dead end where Noé suggested to Vanitas they take a moment to look at the new sights in this new location. Vanitas was at first reluctant but eventually agreed.

They walked through the town and looking at some store but very quickly they noticed the weather getting more warmer. But at first they ignored it but slowly they realised their grave mistake in wearing their three piece suits. They had themselves taking off their coats and having it hanging over their arms. Both men not wanting to admit their mistake. As they continued to walk they noticed how the towns people were on the same wavelengths while their pair of eyes search for shade. The sun was high in the sky and the afternoon sun was unbearable to walk. Noé glanced at his friend finally giving in "Maybe we should change..." he suggest quietly as he looked around "I think we will enjoy this place if we were more comfortable" Vanitas pulling at his button up with a fluffing motion, his vest unbuttoned to get some kind of cool air. "I suppose your right" Vanitas said reluctantly.

The two disappeared into a store and came out completely changed. Noé wore a simple shirt and short with some sandals. His clothing folded in the store bag he bought. He felt significantly better. Vanitas on the other hand walked out in something similar but he had sunglasses and a hat plus a small fan, his clothing unlike Noé's folded clothes his were scrunched and stuffed into his own store bag.

After some time they found themselves a spot in the shade by a fountain. The cool air of the water in the fountain helped cool them down along with the shade that the trees provided around them. They had not expected it to be this hot but at least now they had a bit of a break from the heat, where they were so used to the high buildings from where they were from where the weather often was cold and gloomy through most of the year. They hadn't realised that the seasons was changing into summer. But at least they were enjoy the changing season in a new place. They were seated eating; Vanitas was eating an ice cream while Noé ate a nice Crêpe with lots of strawberries and blueberries with cream. They both enjoyed their snack by the fountain. The two had a moment where their looked at one another and just smiled.

[oftenderweapons]

Cold Nights — Taehyung

Pairing: Taehyung x reader (nicknamed Lace)

Wordcount: 4.7k words

Genre: (mild) smut, fluff, romance

Rating: suggested 18+

Hi babes! I’m back with the Cold Nights drabbles, and after what happened in Girls’ Night, I think Taehyung’s was the story I wanted to explore the most, since the chemistry between him and Lace felt so natural and the conclusion naturally called for me to pick up the story from there. Although reading Girls’ Night is not necessary (even though I had lots of fun writing it and I selfishly took the liberty to write that before continuing with next prompt), I would highly recommend to read at least the second part, just to get the vibe of these two (you can find it here, btw.).

While Girls’ Night was written with the girls as OCs, in this case we have a classic readerxTaehyung fic.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: this is not explicitly smutty, though there are a few steamy passages (making out, teasing) and heavy flirting (mentions of masturbation). Also, Lace is a domme, as said in Girls’ Night, and the topic is discussed in this drabble too. Reader has pretty much a lot of experience in BDSM (mentions of lessons and club), and has had only one relationship, with a girl. Sexual orientation is discussed. Also, Taehyung shifts from cool kid to cute kid a lot. There’s a sprinkle of sexy driver Taehyung but also soft cuddlebug fluffy Taehyung. You can’t have one without the other, yk.

Wordcount is around 4,7k (I know, a bit long for a drabble BUT I GOT CARRIED AWAY).

Also, here is my masterlist

Enjoy!!!✨

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Watching Taehyung drive was something incredible. He looked like a demigod from Hollywood movies from the Sixties. He was so careless, so undoubtedly timeless, so iconic and unbothered. You wanted a picture.

And his driving was excellent. He was attentive, with a soft driving style, cruising down the half empty streets like a ghost, floating, decelerating with care before coming to a stop. He seemed to stop at yellow traffic lights a lot. He took the pauses to observe you, the way light seemed to shimmer on the silver details of your leather jacket. Rummaging in your handbag, you found your lipstick and mirror, deciding to reapply the cherry tint just because you could.

He stared, mesmerised.

You were so charming.

A diva.

A muse.

He was surprised at how such a small gesture unsettled him so much, making his insides flutter with nerves and arousal. He wondered how many of your ordinary actions could turn him on. He was eager to find out. Write a list. Submit it to your scrutiny. Show you how incredibly sexy you were in his eyes even when simply checking your nails or furrowing your brow in disapproval.

“Do you wanna stay in the car or do you want to take a walk?” He asked as he took a turn.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Your choice.” You said tentatively.

“I think it would sound extremely bad if I told you I know a spot.” He chuckled and you followed.

Looking down, you bit your lip. “I think it would sound extremely bad if I told you I’d like to see your spot.” You looked at him as both your faces tinged with a shy blush and two matching mischievous grins.

“Then we’re heading out, darling.” He said, focusing again on the road.

Apparently his spot was somewhere a bit out of the city, a ten minutes drive away. The winding street led you to a small clearing with a parking lot. You had never visited there, but you noticed an octagonal pavilion. Bukak Skyway, a sign read.

“The sky is a bit clearer here,” He said. “I swear I’m not going to kill you.” He laughed. “Namjoon likes to bike all the way here. It’s a famous spot among cyclists. I have a throw in the backseat. Do you wanna go out, sit on the bonnet?” He asked, trying to break the tension.

You thought about it. Staying in the car meant less chances of being seen. And staying warm. But going out meant Taehyung being way less dangerous; the public situation keeping both of you from doing potentially inappropriate things. “Will people see?”

“Does it bother you, being seen with me?” He asked, frowning, his expression dead serious.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble or people seeing you with a girl, starting rumors.” You shrugged and furrowed your brow.

“There’s maybe six or seven people. It’s dark. I’ll be covered. No one will see, sweetie.” Taehyung reassured you. “But we can stay in the car, if you prefer.”

“Let’s go out.” You said, smiling.

“Great choice.” He pulled out his phone and exited the car, grabbing the blanket he kept in the backseat.

You also exited the car, shivering and hugging yourself at the cold bite of the night air. “Wait.” He called, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders. “We can stay in the car if you prefer.”

“Let’s watch the city lights.” You replied, a bit uncomfortable since you felt your hands reaching out for him, but changing your mind at the last minute.

“Let’s do that.” He walked to the front of his car, propping his hip against the hood. As you walked closer, he held out his hands. “May I help you?” He asked, gesturing at your waist.

You blushed and nodded. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit heavy.”

Still he placed his hands on your waist, over the blanket. “Irrelevant. You’re a lady. Let me treat you like one.” He replied, unfazed before helping you jump and sit on his car. It was low enough that a small jump was all you needed. You fixed the blanket around you before he pushed himself up and sat beside you. The front of the car was right before a short wall, delimiting the parking lot from the street winding a few metres down. The quite steep hill allowed a clear view of the skyline, stretching out in front of you without any obstacle to your sight, Seoul and its towers glimmering in a humanly mirror of the night sky above. “How has it been?” He asked.

“Good. I’ve received a commission for a wedding so I’ve been busy.” You explained. “Plus spring-summer collection has arrived at the store. We’re studying arrangements.”

“Great.” He replied. “I’ve been working a lot too.”

“The girls mentioned your schedules.” You threw in.

“Yes.” He said simply, scrolling on his phone until a soft acoustic song came on. He placed his phone down. He had a playlist for moments like this. He didn’t have one for moments like this with you, but he aspired to build one together. He simply let his favourites play.

“You’ll be leaving for Japan tomorrow.” You said, half a question.

“Yes.” He replied again, looking at the lights of the city below. “The flight is at ten am. We’re leaving the city at eight.”

“And then the tour.” You commented.

He half saw it coming. “Yes.”

You looked at the sky. It felt like an old blanket thrown over your head, so old that bugs had eaten small holes through which light came in. It felt cosy. Domestic. Confidential.

“Is that why you have been running from me?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, placing his palms together and shoving them between his knees to warm his hands.

The blanket was big enough. You scooted closer to him and tucked him in too.

He looked at you, at your small gesture of affection, your eyes meeting. You simply smiled as your arm pressed against his, shoulder to elbow. “I’ll be very honest, Taehyung.”

One more thing about you that turned him on: the way your lips curled around the second syllable of his name.

“I like you.” He said, direct and shameless, spelling the words with such certainty and determination that your heart lost a beat. Seeing it written on screen was nothing similar to hearing him actually say it.

“I like you too.” You replied.

He smiled and looked down, acting like a coy schoolboy. 

“However, I think there is stuff you need to know.” You took a small pause to gather and organise your thoughts. “This tour thing scares me. I want to build something strong, something long term. I can’t do flings, Taehyung.”

“It’s okay. We can get to know each other and see if it works.” He replied, already trying to convince you to give him just one chance.

“We don’t have the luxury of time, though. You’ll be gone for how long? Two months?”

“Seven weeks.” He replied composedly and efficiently.

“And we have what? Four weeks between Japan and the Asian tour?”

“I’ll be in Korea until mid-May, then we actually start travelling.” He said, like a scolded puppy.

“That’s five weeks. And I doubt you’ll have time when you’re working for the concerts.” You objected. “You see how awful the timing is?”

“We can take it slow, see each other and hang out. No need for fancy, big things. We can do this.” He said, gesturing at your current location and activity. “No dating, no stuff. Simply getting to know each other.”

You bit your lip, frowning. “I’ll grow fond of you.” You said.

“Isn’t that the final goal?” He asked cheekily.

Your voice shook a little. “I don’t want to get used to you and see you leave.”

His eyes were wide and sweet when he met your gaze. “Well, I can promise you I’ll text, and call, and I know it’s not like being there, but we can use the distance to see how we handle stuff when we’re apart.”

“Isn’t it too early to be apart, a few weeks into a… an acquaintance?” You said, searching for the word.

“We’ll see if we miss each other like friends or more.” He said, trying to make everything sound sane and reasonable.

You looked at the city. How many people were out there, alone? How many girls were dreaming of being right here, right now, with him? “You’re dangerous for me, Taehyung.” You said, already feeling how easily he could manipulate you. “I would let you do wrong things to me. Because I like you that much.” You murmured.

“I promise I would never do anything to hurt you.” He said, turning to fully look at you. “I’ll make sure we don’t cross the line.” He said, and in that moment all the passion and the excitement and the arousal suffocated, tamed in his chest and stomach. It felt like turning an inferno into a candlelight. He would keep hormones at bay to grant himself a chance. He knew how fast the tour could go by. “We’ll go out. On walks. We could do this again, or we could go out early, watch the sunrise from Bukhansan. Whatever. I just wanna spend time with you. Give you a chance to know me.” He nuzzled into the blanket, but he was secretly looking for your perfume, trying to take in all the small details that made you you.

You let the conversation slip before trying to direct it on the topic that was worrying you the most. Gathering your courage, you spoke. “You aren’t curious about my bag, in the apartment?” You asked.

“If you were comfortable with it, you would tell. No need to ask you about it.” He shrugged. “I have nothing against it. I think everyone has their reasons. And there’s nothing strange or shameful about it. You like it? Good for you.” He smiled, not a pinch of malice in his voice or expression.

“I took lessons of several techniques of domming in a BDSM club here in Seoul.”

“So you’re a dominatrix?” Taehyung asked, his expression warm, as if he were asking about your hobby or the weather.

“Yes, but I’m not active anymore. If I wanted, I could be one.” You tried to explain yourself,

“What do you mean?”

“It means I have the technical and practical preparation but I haven’t participated in a scene in a while.”

“How long.” He asked, still chatting about it neutrally. 

“About… four months.” You counted them. “Yeah.”

“How did you decide to take lessons?”

You laughed at the memory. “A woman recommended I tried after my yoga classes were disappointing. I started learning and I found out I liked that. Back then I was in a very vulnerable moment. I wanted to enter university and study business, so that I could build a firm out of the atelier, you know. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass. I grew desperate, started eating a lot out of stress and gained a lot of weight. Not only I felt like I was losing my dream but also my reality. I was literally one of those skeletrical models before, and then with all the weight I gained…” You gestured at your body.

“But it helped you, the course I mean.” Taehyung ignored your reference to your body.

“Yes. After a year I was even more confident than when I was skinny and full of dreams. I got healthy again. And with the confidence boost and the new attitude I managed to enter an online university, which was more suitable since I was already working both at the shop and at the club.” You smiled. “Plus I liked the sense of control and peace you need when you’re involved in a scene.”

He nodded. “I’m happy it all worked out.” He nodded some more before his mind produced one more question. “Is domination a non-negotiable aspect of your relationships?” He asked.

“No, I think. My first partner was a girl I had met at the club, but after that I didn’t ever mix the two.”

He didn’t even react to the fact, he simply took it in. He would never judge and he himself was not the type to consider gender a determining factor in terms of sexual attraction. Although he was a bit worried you were attracted to women exclusively. What if you would never like him like that?

You continued. “I had a few dates, never anything serious. And of course, I taught and I took part in scenes at the club, but it never led to sex.” You explained. “Sexual attraction is a tricky concept to me, I think.”

“So you’ve had just one relationship?” He asked, his expression neutral, however his slightly raised eyebrows gave away a bit of surprise.

“Yes.” You replied.

“With a girl?” He asked again.

“Yup.” You confirmed, nodding.

“But you’ve slept with men too, right?” He said.

You grinned. “Are you trying to make sure you’re the first?” You teased.

“I’m just asking. I don’t want to—” He shook his head. “I just need to know that you like me. Sexually speaking.”

You shook your head in disbelief. Little do you know. “I do. I think gender has little to do with actual attraction. I don’t think labels are important.”

“I agree on that.” He said, nodding, biting his lip.

“And I’m really attracted to you.” You took a big breath. “I might say something inappropriate, but—” You laughed embarrassedly. “I don’t mind domming. I like it. I’ve been doing it for a while, I’m familiar and it feels comfortable, but I’ve never felt the kind of attraction that makes me want to bend over backward for someone.” You paused. Took a deep breath. Continued. “Having this thing, with you… It’s something I’m not comfortable with. Because I feel you’re so much stronger than me that I don’t even want to put up a fight.”

He looked at the city. 

He looked at you. You were rubbing your hands together out of embarrassment and the night chill. You placed one around the base of your neck, rubbing your wrist with the other in an attempt to warm yourself. You were so unbelievably beautiful. 

He tsked and smiled. “Stop beating around the bush, sweetheart. It doesn’t suit you. What do you really want to say?”

You frowned. “I’m not comfortable saying it.” You murmured.

A chill piano piece started playing from his phone, a warm, tender voice of a woman mixing up with it.

“Okay. I can’t make you do it.” He pouted and nodded, looking away in the distance. “You know I’ve liked you since I first saw you. And there’s little you can say or do to push me away.”

You exhaled and tried to explain yourself. This was exactly the reason why Taehyung was dangerous. He asked, you delivered. “I have rarely felt attraction for someone because I’ve rarely found someone stronger, bolder, smarter than me. But then I started talking to you.” You shook your head in disbelief at your own confession. “You make me want to do things I’ve never craved before. And you being more powerful than me makes me want to let you take control.” You took a pause. “It makes me want to submit to you.”

He turned. “Is that why you need time? You want to get used to this?”

He is so smart. So attuned to people’s feelings and thoughts. He might as well be a mentalist.

“Yes.” You confirmed.

“And you want to get to know me to see if you can trust me?” He asked.

“Yes.” You confirmed again.

“I get it.” He nodded. “It must be something new, to see things from a new perspective. You said you feel uncomfortable. Does it make you feel bad, this thing with me?” He asked gently.

“I’m afraid of people finding out of the club, bringing it up, using it against you.” You admitted.

He shook his head. “What are the chances?”

“I used a nickname, and we have strict non-disclosure agreements. The place is often dark and sometimes we use masks, but I couldn’t use those when teaching. Anyway, there are pretty famous and powerful people in the club. I think it’s in everyone’s interest to keep mouths shut. Still.” You shrugged. “I want to protect you, Tae.”

His eyes turned into sweet, dark pools. “I don’t care.” He stated. “For now it’s not an issue. I’ll talk to our lawyer, see if there are any potential troubles with this. We both have the duty to protect each other.” He stated with certainty. “And once we’re sure and if this becomes more, then we’ll find a way.”

You felt warm in your chest. It felt good to be protected. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for opening up, darling.” He caressed your cheek tenderly, smiling at you.

You smiled back and looked down, away from his intense gaze.

He moved his hand away. “So you want to sleep with me?”

You laughed. “Sleeping is not the word I would use, no.”

“Which one?” He said.

“Which one would I use?” You asked, trying to clear up his request. Sometimes he spoke so cryptically.

He hummed in confirmation.

“I would say…” You thought about it. “I would say ‘spend the night’.”

“We could spend the night here. Talking until we have no secrets left to say. The night is amazing for secrets.” He mused.

“What about your flight tomorrow?” You asked, suddenly serious.

“Let’s go back to secrets and spending the night.” He said, trying to make his incumbent dark thoughts evaporate.

“What about them?” You were both staring at the city lights. Seoul felt so far away. Like a hologram. Or maybe like for a moment you had been subtracted from that world. Like you were stuck into a mirror, where nothing really, truly happens. Where people could see possibilities and daydreams, an alternative reality in which everyone could have a fragment of fictitious life. You felt like a mirage, ready to turn into dust, sand and smoke, a bizarre refraction of light.

Taehyung turned and stared at you. “I’m dreaming you won’t disappear, once morning comes. That this won’t be just a fantasy.”

It all turned even less real when his phone started playing a ballad about lights and stars.

“I won’t disappear.” You whispered back.

He looked at the city. “I need to tell you a secret.”

You turned with an arched eyebrow and an upturned pout.

Adorable, he thought. He leaned in towards your ear. “I’ve been asking myself if you had a fling with Namjoon and Vixen for the whole night. It feels good to hear that you like me.”

You were so close. Apparently being out in the open air, in a very public space had done little to keep things appropriate.

“I have a secret too.” You whispered, so close to his face. To his lips. You leaned in closer to his ear. “I have no fling with them. I’ve had no one for months. Years, if you exclude the scenes at the club — and I never had sex during those — and I’ve never had a man. I can’t wait to feel ready to give in to you. I promise I just need some time. Be patient and I’ll make it worthy. I swear.” You confessed, so raw with emotion.

He looked at you, inscrutable at first; then his face melted with wonder and joy. “All the time you need, darling.”

You smiled.

You both turned to look at the city. And then you turned to look at him. He was so beautiful. Glowing. Happy. Meditative and cool, like an indifferent god. Like Seoul could suddenly switch off with a general black out, and he wouldn’t even notice. He would just smile and cheer for the stars glowing brighter.

“I have another secret, Taehyung.” You murmured. He simply brought his ear to his lips, his gaze still focused away. You licked your lip and whispered, “I feel like if you kissed me now, I would literally glow in happiness.”

He turned to look at you. “Isn’t it going too fast?” He asked before shaking his head. “I mean, I don’t want you to regret this.”

“I’m sure.”

He looked in the distance again. You frowned and took it as a ‘no’.

And then he turned, cupping your cheek, rubbing his thumb against your cheekbone. His hand could cover half of your face. It was enormous. You didn’t let your brain go that way. “I’m going to be sweet. Stop me whenever.” He murmured, before pecking your lips with his.

It was so short and light you almost didn’t feel it. Still, the tingling on your lips was a living trace of it, like stardust had inadvertently brushed over your skin. His body turned into a furnace beside you, or maybe you had suddenly warmed up when he pressed his lips to yours more insistently. “I’m gonna go harder at this.” He spoke on your lips.

Fuck, it was so sweet of him to tell you. He felt so gentle. Even when he started nibbling on your lower lip, encasing it between his lips, sucking it gently before pecking your mouth with his. The moment you held his upper lip between yours, tugging at it gently with your teeth, he lost control and moaned, letting your tongue tease the tip of his. His hand disappeared into your hair, pulling you close. His mouth forced yours to open as your lips crushed together, your tongues intertwining in a sensual and suasive dance made of twirls and small licks. Your hand flew to his hair, caressing his nape, the other one meeting his waist, turning him towards you.

Your whole body was on fire. The night felt so alight, so filled with possibilities now that even this was happening, too. It felt like the most appropriate time to begin something in the quiet and secrecy that the loving, protecting darkness allowed you.

His right hand appeared on your thigh, placed there gently, not gripping, not exploring. Simply staying, existing in that strange, assertive way Taehyung exists, like he is a totem standing in the middle of time and space, piercing them together, one to the other.

Your breath was laboured once you parted. His hand moved up, to your waist. He couldn’t resist from feeling the fleshy, material reality of this late night daydream, its real consistency. He let you breathe, nudging his lips against yours. “Another.” He whispered, diving in again.

And you let him. If this was the way he intended to do things with you, hell yes, you would let him.

His lips were soft, wet and warm, perfect around yours. He started alternating between your lower and upper lip, his hand finally grabbing the flesh of your waist, tugging you into him.

You pulled at the hair on his nape delicately, trying to part from him. It felt atrocious but it was necessary. Your judgement was beginning to get clouded. You should stop. “Tae, baby. Let’s take a moment.”

He nodded, pressing his forehead to yours and parting from you with a small peck on the corner of your mouth. “Sorry.” He murmured.

“Nothing to be sorry about. It feels amazing.” You smiled, caressing him on his neck. “I’m just cold. And I think it’s better if I head home before I do stuff I could regret.”

He looked a bit lost. “Would you regret getting carried away with me?” He asked, worried.

“No.” You replied without hesitation. “And that’s the problem.” You kissed his lips chastely. “But getting carried away is different from trusting you and willingly, consciously giving you everything I have.” You kissed him again, caressing his hair off his forehead, fixing his beanie. “And that’s the way I want it with you.” You bent to his ear. “I want to say ‘yes, sir’ to your every request. I want you to do to me everything you want. I want you to own me so fully that I’ll beg you to use me for your pleasure.” You whispered in his ear, slowly, the words getting tangled up in a net that you hoped would capture him and convince him.

His deep moan made you chuckle lightly, brushing your mouth against his. At this, his tongue lashed out, the tip curling around your lower lip. “I’m so drunk on you.” He growled. “I want you so much.”

You shook your head faintly, touching his face, the light stubble giving you the strange certainty that he was real, there, in front of you. “I know. I promise I’ll repay your patience in kind.” You looked at him intensely, trying to show him just how much you wanted him too. “I’ll repay generously, too.”

His eyes closed, his face nuzzling into your neck. “I don’t want to let you go just yet. I’m afraid this will turn out to be a one time thing.”

As your earring got caught in his beanie, you had a sudden eureka. “Sit up, Tae.” You said gently.

He got wide eyed and pouty for a second before wearing his poker face and obeying your command. Cupping his face, you smiled at him. “Let me.” You caressed his cheeks as you moved your hands away, bringing them to your earlobe and unlatching one of your earrings. It was a simple pearl surrounded by small rhinestones. Carefully you moved it to his naked ear, delicately pushing the needle through the tiny hole, securing it in the back with the clasp.

Looking at him, you smiled, biting your lip. “You’ll give it back on our next date.” You said, blushing softly, looking at him through your lashes.

Slowly his lips curled up, forming the cutest shy smile you had ever seen.

“My pretty boy.” You said, fixing the small lock of hair coming out of his beanie and framing his face. He wrapped his arms around your middle and hid his face in your neck.

“Thank you.” He said, simply.

“It’s okay, tiger cub.” You quipped back playfully.

Still blushing, he parted from you. “We should go, you’re shivering.” He said, jumping off the bonnet. “Come on.” He grinned at you.

God, you had a crush.

You followed him, still wrapped in his blanket, quickly opening the car and sitting, rubbing your hands together to muster some warmth to them.

He entered next to you and started the car, turning the AC on. He reached across the seats, grabbing your hands and rubbing them in his. “We should have stayed in.” He whispered.

“But the view...” You objected.

He smiled, bringing your joined hands to his lips, placing small kisses all over them. His lips were so hot.

“You’re right.” He smiled, placing your hands on his knee as he looked around, backing the car out of the parking lot and starting your drive back home. “You should insert your address on the GPS.” He murmured, his eyes glued on the road ahead.

“You sure? I can take pub—”

“Don’t you even dare. I’ll be sleeping on the plane. I can drive you.” He rumbled.

You raised your eyebrows and did as he told you.

“It’s just ten minutes from the dorms. Fifteen from my apartment.” He commented, noticing your address.

You shrugged and hid into your shoulders. “Thank you for driving me.”

“I’m being selfish.” He grinned, his eyes still on the road. “This way I’ll have you close for longer.”

Grinning, your sank into the seat. The drive was uneventful. Your left hand moved back onto his knee, his hand joining yours every now and then. 

Seeing your building appear brought a bit of disappointment. You had grown used to the warmth of the car, the low background music, the comfort of the fabric of his jeans under your palm.

“This is yours?” He asked, looking at the small five-floor building with a restaurant down below.

You hummed in approval.

“Any parking spot close?” He asked. “I only want to accompany you to your door. No fancy business.” He promised.

“There’s the alley — wait left now!” You announced hurriedly.

He did so quickly. The neighbourhood was quiet and thankfully the sudden turn didn’t cause any inconvenience.

Still, he managed to drive smoothly, finding a row of parked cars and following the order. “Here we go.”

You grabbed your bag and moved the blanket on the seat as you exited the car.

He quickly moved around the car, grabbing your hand. “I don’t think anyone will see us. Or recognise me.” He said, following your lead.

“Here we are.” You said, awkwardly standing in front of the entrance to your building in a slight penumbra which eased your nerves a little.

“When will I see you again?” He asked eagerly.

“After Japan.” You said, smiling.

“We’ll be back Thursday next week, around midday.” He said. “Would you be free in the afternoon? I have a friend in a gallery who could book us a late private tour.” He explained.

You laughed and tried to recall your shift. You could find an agreement with your colleagues anyway. “Then I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Good.” He said, with his signature serious look.

Just to give him a sweet goodbye, you leaned forward, pressing your lips to his, without allowing him to deepen the kiss.

“Oh, come on.” He whispered, chasing your mouth with his, eyes closed. “More.” He whined.

You let him. His mouth met yours again, both his and your lips immediately parting to melt in that same scorching desire. Your arms were already wrapping around his frame.

“Let me go.” You murmured.

“You let me go, miss octopus.” He teased. You stayed in each others arms for a few seconds, your bag abandoned at your feet. You stared in silence before he spoke. “I’ll be thinking about this all night.” He said, cupping your nape and pressing a bunch of small kisses on your mouth.

“Me too.” You moved your lips closer to his ear. “My hands will probably be between my legs while I do so.”

He snarled and groaned against your ear. “You’re a tease.” His hand palmed your hip heavily. His voice was husky when he spoke again. “Am I allowed to think of you when I touch myself?” He asked.

You chuckled and exhaled seducingly along the crook of his neck. “As long as you tell me what you were thinking about when you cum.”

He exhaled a breathy laugh. “We’re taking this slow, I see.”

“I can’t go any slower with you.” You looked into his eyes, releasing your arms from around him. “Sweet dreams, tiger.” You said, saluting him and picking up your bag before entering your building.

“Goodnight, nymph.” He replied, shaking his head in disappointment and at the same time smiling at your teasing nature.

You both stayed up all night, thinking about the night you’ll be finally staying up together.

[daydreamed-snippets]

The bell above the entryway jingles as someone slips through the door. Looking up from their work, basting a hem in a customer’s pair of trousers, the villain freezes. 

In the threshold of their store stands their nemesis’ young sidekick. Dressed in unassuming civilian clothing, they stroll in and begin to poke around the front displays of fitted ensembles, single and double-breasted suits, fine gowns, and the like. 

The villain sits there for a minute. Willing themselves to blink, to swallow, or to move their fingers along the soft trouser fabric. Something to start up their heart that stopped dead at the sight. 

It is the movement of a stack of neckties, knocked over by the sidekick that did the trick.

Obliging, their heart roars to life, hammering a threatening beat. Adrenaline dumps into their system like a drug as they flip up the presser foot on their industrial sewing machine, and slide their chair back. They flounder for the long metal bar they secured to the underside of their sewing table. Their powers teeming to life, ready to call specific metals they’d hidden throughout the back of the store to come into their waiting hands.

How the hell did their nemesis find this place anyway? This little hole-in-the-wall tailor shop, near the bottoms in Relictus City? 

Damn it! 

This place is lost now. Their livelihood would likely be burned to cinders in the upcoming crusade. How frustrating, since it took them months to vet a dozen or so locations before choosing this one. Sure that no hero of the Covenant would find it, only to be met with the sidekick’s appearance.

Or was this a joke? Did their nemesis need a hole patched in their super suit? Probably put there by the villain themselves. Their store wasn’t exactly a five-star boutique that most of the heroes preferred. Those were located in the more affluent parts of the city—where the sidekick should be perusing. Not here.

Or maybe this was just karma. The universe’s version of a kick in the teeth. Of punishing them for getting too complacent in this place. Of becoming too accustomed to working odd hours in the little shop then heading upstairs to the maisonette, their living quarters above. They’d placed their major bases (they had three) far from this location, hoping to avoid this very situation. No cross-contamination. They were smart about it. 

Well, it looks like it didn’t work. 

The villain tenses, ready for a fight as the sidekick makes their way through the store. Around unopened boxes and half-dressed mannequins. They sidestep a display case and approach the only other customer there who was browsing, trying to kill time while they waited on that hem. Rocking back on their heels, the sidekick smiled impishly. “Hey? Do you work here?” 

Barely looking up from the rows of tabled dress shirts, the customer shakes their head and gestures towards the back of the store. 

Fuck. 

A power core they hid in the cabinetry near the cash register silently darts into the villain’s hand. They hold it behind their back, trying to stay out of sight until the last moment. This may get messy. And the civilian; their customer….

They glance over at them. Unassuming and pathetically ordinary. The villain supposes they would become an unavoidable casualty in this skirmish. Especially once their nemesis barges through the door, leveling the place. 

Or maybe they could avoid bloodshed. That would be best given that they were probably outnumbered. Scores of Covenant guards and other lesser heroes waiting to pounce just outside of the large bay windows.

The villain takes a step back, hoping such a move wouldn’t draw any attention to themselves. Twelve steps in retreat would take them to the stairs that led to their apartment. If they could only make it…

“I know you’re there,” came the youthful voice. The villain startles, choosing to remain rooted to their spot. They would take their last stand here. The sidekick squeezes between stacks of boxes the villain has yet to unload and comes to the kiosk cash register. “So this is where you’ve been hiding.” 

The villain swallowed, wondering if the kid was wearing a wire. If their nemesis could hear this interaction. If they were loving this ambush. “You’ve disguised this place pretty well. It was really hard to find. But the jig is up. I’m here.”

Even in the loose sweatshirt, beanie and jeans, the sidekick strikes a pose. Chest out, hands on their hips and a wry smile pulling at the corners of their mouth. 

The villain let out a steadying breath and flips on the power core. It swells to life with a low hum. 

“I see that,” they say, on edge. Ready to strike. 

“You’re going to be grateful that it was me, and not someone else. You’ll see that I’m the only one fit for the job.”

“Excuse me?”

The sidekick let out an exasperated sigh. “Sorry. I’m really trying hard to sell myself. That’s what her—I mean, my friend told me to do.”

“...What?”

“You put the ‘help wanted’ ad online? Plus you have a sign out front. I’m here to apply.” They presented the actual sign, holding it up proudly. “I’m here for the job.”

“Ah…,” the villain scrambled to recover. “Do you have any prior experience?”

“Well, no,” they said, shuffling their feet. They place the sign on the kiosk before shoving their hands in the pocket of their sweatshirt. They look hopeful. “But I’m a quick learner.”

What. The. Hell?

“I need an experienced tailor,” the villain said, playing the part. Looking above the sidekick’s head, to the street outside their window. Where was their nemesis? What the hell is this? “I’ve been getting a lot of business lately, and I find myself a bit overwhelmed.”

“Ok, so I can’t sew,” the sidekick starts, “but I can do anything else you need me to. I can sweep, and dust. I can answer phones. I can manage your online store. I’m good with computers. Social media is practically my playground.” They catch the doubtful look on the villain’s face. “Oh, please! It would give you more time to, you know, sew and whatever else you do. I can start as an intern. For a week. No pay. If you don’t like me then you can yeet me out the door. Promise.”

“Ok…” This was an unusual tactic, but maybe their nemesis banked on the hope that the villain wouldn’t recognize them. Stil… they needed more information. Or at least time to figure out what was going on. “Why do you want to work here?”

The sidekick hesitates. “I need to get away...from where I’m at.” They look up at the villain reading their concerned expression. “Oh, no! It’s not like that. I’m not running away. I just want a… vacation.”

“You want a vacation doing menial work?” 

“I want to get away. And to make some money while I do it. You know. To have an emergency fund. Just in case.” They shuffled their feet. “So do I got the job or not. I have six other places to go to before it gets dark. Maybe they’ll hire me if you don’t.”

Interesting. Very interesting. Especially if what the kid says is true that their nemesis doesn’t know that their sidekick is here at all, begging for a job. This could play in their favor. It would be risky. A big risk. On one hand, their nemesis could be playing the long game. Drawing this farce out. Goading the villain into revealing their associates. Base locations. Possible details of their plans. But if their nemesis had no idea the sidekick was here...

“Do your parents know you’re here?” the villain tentatively tries. 

“I don’t live with my parents. But my legal guardian said I could do whatever I wanted with my free time. So, here I am.”

The villain holds their hand out for the crumpled piece of paper tucked in the sidekick’s front pocket. Their resume, the villain assumes and assumes correctly. The sidekick hands it over and they skim its contents. 

Member of the Sidekick Foundation, though it doesn’t say in what capacity. So if the villain was truly clueless, they wouldn’t know if the sidekick was truly a sidekick or just as a full-time student. Their legal guardian is the superhero Fission. Only it doesn’t say that. No, the sidekick has put down Fission’s real name. And their real name. Their age—sixteen years old—and their skills.

Gods, this kid’s naivety was sickening. On this paper alone, the villain had more than what they could garnish from three months of reconnaissance. Names. Place of residence. Contact information. 

“The store opens at 8 am,” the villain instructed, ignoring the sidekick’s delighted face. “Be here at seven. You can start by opening up these boxes, and putting the clothing on hangers. You’ll have to answer the phone if it rings while you’re doing this. Then the shop needs a good dusting and the bathroom in the back needs attention. You will get an hour lunch break, and the day ends at 4 pm.” The villain looked them up and down. “And try to wear something nicer than a sweatshirt.”

The sidekick breaks into a grin, thanks them profusely, and practically sprints out the door. 

The villain hopes they won’t regret this.

[mshermia]

Occupational Hazard - Webpril 04: Stuck Under A Building

summary: Peter helps out Doctor Strange. As they chase down Karl Mordo, Peter gets lost in one of the portal.

Or: Tony is furious with Strange for losing his kid and furious with his kid for getting lost.

read on AO3

###

Magic sucked. 

Peter was 100% clear on that now. No matter how cool it had seemed before, he'd been wrong. Now, he knew better. Magic sucked, especially when the other side could do magic too.

"Shit," he panted, dodging an explosion on his side, bricks catapulted in his very direction before he spun around, shooting a couple of webs up to the ceiling. "Doctor Wizard? A little help?" he called out a bit louder.

Orange sparks opened up a portal in the very direction he was swinging, transporting him right to a spot behind the evil wizard dude. With as much momentum as Peter could generate, he shot towards the guy, feet first, and hit him squarely between the shoulders.

With a grunt, Voldemort crashed to the ground.

Not that that was his name, but Peter had no idea what the dude was called. His nose looked too normal for it to actually be Voldemort, plus Voldemort was a fictional character, but then, until not too recently, Peter had thought that magic wasn't real either and now look at him. He was practically jumping from one continent to the next as their chase of the evil wizard dude took them through portal after portal.

"On your right," Strange called out.

Just in time, Peter did a backflip, effectively avoiding a magical rope that had been heading for him. His feet had barely touched the ground when he fired another series of webs to catch the evil bastard. Just like before, he aimed for the portal that Strange had opened up for him to jump through, but unlike last time, he didn't end up jumping the main dude. What had looked like the dude suddenly shifted, Peter's senses screaming at him.

In a last-minute effort, Peter balled himself up, shooting a string of webs to his left trying to pull himself away from the blast.

 #

 Tony's feet landed on the sidewalk with a heavy clunk, splitting the stone plate underneath him in two, but he didn't give a fuck. He didn't give a fuck about the people who had pulled out their cell phones and filmed his landing either. With fast long strides, Tony pushed himself to hurry up the stairs of 177A Bleeker Street.

"Subtle as always," Strange mumbled under his breath as Tony pushed the doors open to his study.

"If you know what's good for you, you better not try to fuck with me right now, Strange," Tony growled. "Where the fuck is my Spider-kid?"

Strange was staring at a glowing ball of orange energy, hovering in the middle of the room. It was turning quickly, his eyes darting back and forth across the surface. "I told you. That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Tony's hands were pressed flat against his thighs to keep them from shaking. "I tweaked every system to find the suit but it's dead. None of the trackers, nothing works. I didn't even get a beacon."

"Yeah, I thought as much," Strange mumbled. "The spell acts like an electromagnetic pulse, resulting in a complete failure of any electronic appliances in its immediate vicinity."

"I know what an EPM is, jackass," Tony hissed. "What I want to know is where Peter is!"

"Well, if you'd let me work—"

"Just give me an estimate where I should be looking," Tony interjected.

Strange shook his head. "I can't. He can be anywhere."

Tony's stomach turned. He had to hold onto the table in front of him, feeling a little faint. "A-anywhere? How do you not know where he is?!"

"I can't control Mordo, Stark. That was the whole point of the mission."

With three long steps, Tony was next Strange. His hands tangled in his wizard tunic, Tony pushed him to the side, away from the spinning ball, shaking him. "And you think you could pull my kid in there?"

Before Tony knew what was happening, he was halfway across the room. Strange's rug was wrapped around his middle, pinning him against the wall.

"If you want me to find him, you'll have to let me work."

His tone was calm, lecturing. It made Tony's blood boil.

"Just..." Strange blew out a sigh. "Whatever you can think of to pin down Peter's location or... I guess any tech he has on him. Anything to narrow it down on your end. Do that."

As the rug let go of him, Tony's anger was quickly fading, replaced by dread. "What... what happened out there?"

"Mordo tricked him. He pulled open a portal that Peter must have thought was mine." Strange shook his head. "Peter was too fast. I couldn't stop him in time before the portal closed and the spell Mordo threw after him, it would have decimated anything in close proximity."

A cold chill went down Tony's back, threatening to bring him to his knees. "He's still... he's still here, right," Tony breathed.

Strange pursed his lips. "I think so but we need to find him, Tony," he pressed out. "We need to find him fast."

His mind was racing, hands shaking, as Tony sat on the thick carpet of the Sanctum floor. He had detached the control unit from his prosthetic arm and placed it in front of him on the ground. With the trackers of the suit silent, there was only one thing that might lead them to the kid. The signature vibration of the nanites Peter's suit was made of.

In 2024, Tony was not the only one who worked with nanobots, not anymore, but it was the only way he might be able to limit the scope of the search. Reading out their radiation, then eliminating everything that couldn't be Peter.

"872 locations detected, boss."

"Alright," Tony mumbled. "Let's start with the obvious ones."

He was quick to cross off every one of his own and SI's locations and research facilities. Then followed competing tech companies, car manufacturers, larger government facilities for technology and space, universities, and military facilities.

"Alright, girl, let's..." Tony he heart stuttered in his chest. There were still so many locations left. There was no way to eliminate enough of them. No way to know which one of them was Peter. There had to be something he could do to distinguish the amount of— Tony froze. He was such an idiot. "FRIDAY, calculate the exact signal strength that the amount of nanites stored in Peter's housing units would emanate. Reckon in buffered transmission."

His heart was racing as he watched the numbers roll on the projection until FRIDAY's process reached 100%, rendering every highlighted location on the map red, with four exception.

"Strange!"

He was by Tony's side before Tony had even made it back to his feet. "Brazil, Mexico, China, and—" Strange hesitated, gritting his teeth. "Fucking asshole," he mumbled. "Be ready, Stark. There'll be debris."

With a circular gesture of his hand, Strange opened a portal right in the middle of the room. Just in time, Tony had engaged the nanites on his arm as pieces of brick and concrete came crumbling through the portal onto the carpet.

"Shit," Tony cursed.

Quickly, he directed nanites to catch the falling bricks, then stabilize the pile that threatened to crumble even further into itself. His own hands were shaking, trying to hold up piece of wall.

"Pete," Tony yelled. "Peter!"

Strange's hands were gesturing wildly, swiping away the remnants of the fallen building, replacing them with orange glowing barriers on both sides and above him. Finally, among all the grey powder of crushed cement and stone, Tony saw something flash that resembled the blue and red of Peter's suit.

"He's right there!" Tony wanted to scream it but his voice broke. 

Peter didn't move at all. He was hardly distinguishable from his surroundings. His face was covered in a thick coat of grey, dark lines running from his eyes along his face down to his neck, smudge trails of tears or... Tony pressed his lips shut, to keep the sob to himself. Tears of blood.

With practiced precision, Strange opened another portal. It moved with his hands, covering Peter entirely till he was simply gone.

The breath in Tony's throat threatened to choke him. "What... Where—"

Just as quickly, Strange had moved back into the room, debris, and bricks collapsing behind him. The portal hadn't even closed, allowing dust and pieces of the building to crumble further onto the carpet when Strange opened a second portal.

"The Compound," he said calmly. "Go on."

 #

 There was something warm on his face. Warm light. It didn't quite feel like home, but it felt like comfort. His mind felt a bit fuzzy but that was okay. Things around him were soft and cushy. Safe.

"Come on, sleepyhead. Come on back to me."

A chill went down his back, tingling along his arms into the very tip of his fingers. He knew that voice. That voice was home.

"Petey-pie, I waited long enough. I can see your face twitching."

He did? Peter tried to think, tried to remember what was going on, but then cringed at the throbbing pain in his skull. It was like someone had spent a night tap-dancing on his forehead. Slowly, he blinked his eyes open, a little at first, then a bit more. The very first thing he saw was Tony, sitting in a chair just next to his bed.

"Impeccable timing as always, kid." He leaned closer, his warm hand squeezing Peter's lower arm. "Pepper just made May get something to eat. She will be pissed."

Peter frowned. A blinding pain pierced his head at the motion. His hand shot up, pressing against his head, hoping that might stop the throbbing pain.

"You... you told May?" That wasn't their deal. The deal was not to worry May unless absolutely necessary.

"As opposed to what, hide you for a week?" Tony took a hold of his wrist and dragged it away from his forehead. Instead, he placed his own fingers on Peter's temple and rubbed soft circles into his skin.

Peter groaned at the sensation of the pain dispersing before he remembered what Tony had just said.

"A week?" He tried to get some weight on his arms, to sit up but everything was a little numb and there was something on his chest weighing him down.

"Hey, take it easy..." Tony's hand moved to his shoulder, pushing him back into the bed. "Here, drink some of that."

He angled a straw at Peter's mouth, but as his lips closed around it, Peter flinched back, then prodded the spot with his tongue. There was a large split on his lower lip.

"Yeah, you got banged up pretty good out there. Careful now." Tony moved the water a little closer, mindful to angle the straw away from Peter's injury. "There you go..."

Tony's own lips were pressed flat, non of the signature sparkle in his eyes.

"I've been here a week?"

"No..." Tony's features softened just slightly, one hand moving Peter's hair out of his face so he could place a hand on his forehead. "You'll need some time to heal though."

Peter grunted at that.

"How's the pain?"

The question was friendly enough but he knew Tony. He had probably been sitting there, thinking of what to ask Peter for a long time. Likely all night and most of the day.

"How much pain meds did they already give me?"

One of Tony's eyebrows twitched. "I asked you first."

They had given him a lot then. Possibly more than Tony left was good for him. Maybe that's why he had slept so long.

"I'm good," Peter mumbled. "Maybe... a 5..."

Tony's mouth twitched before he pressed his lips together a little firmer.

"Or maybe... maybe a 4?" Peter added hastily.

Irritation non-withstanding, the lines on Tony's face went a little softer. "I didn't ask you what you think I want to hear, buddy."

"I'm good. I'm fine," Peter mumbled again.

To prove his point, he tried to shuffle up the bed a bit once again, tried to sit up, but something was wearing him down. This time, he had the presence of mind to check and found a curled-up Morgan Stark lying on top of his covers. Like a reflex, his hand shot towards her, the brown hair silky soft under his fingers.

"She assured May that she's going to make sure you're fine while she gets something to eat."

"How long... how long was I out for?"

"Well, it's almost 5 pm now, so that'd be about 15 hours."

Slowly, he took his eyes off Morgan and turned them on Tony instead. "What... what happened?"

The crease between Tony's eyebrows deepened. "How much do you remember?"

In thought, Peter bit his lip, then flinched as the cut right in the middle of it split open once again, filling with mouth with the taste of iron.

"Jeezes, kid... Can you please just—" Tony pressed his lips shut with a huff, his tone far from relaxed. "Here, take this."

He pressed a tissue into Peter's hand, eyes never straying from his face. Peter didn't bother to hide his discomfort this time, dabbing at his lip, trying to remember.

"Strange need help and..." Memories flash in front of his eyes. Portals. The evil wizard. Then everything went black. "Strange... he okay?"

Tony's eyes hardened pressing his hand and tissue back against his Peter's. "Alright, I want you to forget that you ever even heard that name."

"Come on..." he mumbled.

"I mean it. This... all this magical bullshit. This is not for you. Not your pay grade. Next time the wizard comes knocking, you punch him in the face."

"Tony... don't be like that." Peter's other hand was still in Morgan's hair, absentmindedly, coming through it, as he stared into space, wrecking his mind for what had gone wrong. "We were chasing this evil dude and we did the thing we did when... you know..." Peter swallowed hard. "With the Guardians. So I was jumping him, trying to pin the evil wizard guy and web him up and but then..." Peter stopped himself just in time before he bit down on his lip again. "Something happened... I don't..."

"Well, the evil dude can do portals too."

"Oh..." Peter blinked a few times, not sure what to make of it.

"So you jumped through one of his instead of Strange's, then he sent some kind of detonation spell after you, closed the portal, and left you there."

"Oh," Peter said again.

Tony crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, oh..."

"Where was I?"

"Harlem."

Peter gave his head a tiny shake. "Harlem?"

"Yeah. Harlem." Tony's fingers drummed against the bed frame. "Apparently, the asshole sent you to a basement of a block the city has started demolishing this week."

"Oh..." A sudden snort rolled off his tongue, much to Tony's clear annoyance. "Sorry, it's just... Mount Morris Park, right? The Historic District? I was there, last week at a protest with MJ. Should have made more signs maybe?"

The expression on Tony's face looked pained, obviously not appreciating the irony. "Well, I guess You-Know-Who knew about it too."

Peter's lips stretched into a smile, that made his lip sting. "It's fine, Tony. You can say his name."

With a shake of his head, Tony rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Either way, the spell he sent after you blasted out enough of the interior that it knocked you out, it seems, and buried you there. We're lucky we found you when we did." Tony rubbed a hand across his face. "Buried under a building. Again. Only you..."

"Come on, like you never had a building drop on you. It's more of an occupational hazard..." Peter cringed at the mix of horror and despair on his face. "I'm sorry, Tony..."

Those were the magic words and they worked, 87,5% of the time, this time included.

With a sigh, Tony bent forward and pressed a kiss into his hair. "You better save those 'sorry's for your aunt, buddy."

Peter groaned. "Maybe we could just pretend I died or something?"

Tony's eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Or..." Peter quickly added, cheeks heating up. He tried to think but with no luck.

"If you want to be all grown up and jump into trouble like that, you'll have to be grown up enough to stick it out at home, Pete." Tony ruffled his hair, eyes flickering up to the ceiling. "FRI, let May know he's up and talking."

Silently resigning to his fate, Peter handed over the blood soak tissue for Tony to bin, bracing himself for the agony of pampering, kisses, and scolding he would be in for for the foreseeable future. 

[luthien-t]

The Sun Will Shine (Chapter 4)

Summary: Thanos invaded the asgardians ship & Thor called for back up. Being a liable paramedic, you gather your tools and went to space. You end up being injured during battle but Thanos was defeated, what will you do when you find out your lover, Loki suffered more than just a few battle scars? But then again, no one is ever really gone.

Chapter Summary: Chapter summary: Dr. Strange starts handing you the help you need as you battle through every sentence in the journal. Could this mean that you will be finding him sooner than you thought?

Wordcount: 1.1+K

A/N: Im currently going on a binge writing session, but I also did not want this chapter to be too long, this one was sorta slow and boring but we’re getting sorry eheh

“What can I do for you?” Stephen says as he walked towards the chairs as you followed him.

“I need help looking for someone.” You bit your lips and sat on the chair looking at him.

He smiled and nodded for you to proceed, it felt like Stephen understood what you meant and was willing to help you with what ever information he has stored in his Sanctum Sanctorum. 

“Ah, you’re looking for him.” He says while conjuring a cup of tea in his hand and taking a sip. 

You swallow and nod, looking down at your hands. “I know I sound crazy but I have this book” You pull out the book from your bag and hand it to him. He scanned the pages quickly and closed it. “You’re not. I can help you, but not the way you think I can.” He takes another sip and hands the book back to you.

“Any help will do.” You put the book on your lap, looking at him. 

“I have plenty of books here that can give you the information you need, I can help search other books that have the symbols and the languages you are looking for. But I am not going to solve the “riddles” He has written for you.”

You felt goosebumps go up your spine at the mentioning of how the journal was written only for you. You start to wonder if Loki truly wanted you to find him or just to occupy yourself with the thought of finding him? 

“Where do I start?” You smile as Strange began to explain every corridor of this place. You absorb every word he said to you, you stand up and look around, not knowing where to start. You thank him when he was done explaining and start walking towards the first corridor, there was books over books over books with multiple languages, some are even dead languages, you caress the books with your hand until you stop at one, opening it, you start noticing some symbols that look similar to the ones Loki wrote on the journal. You sat on the floor and opened the journal next to the book and started decrypting the ones you could.

“Y/n. Your bags are still by the door? Did you leave the tower for good?” Strange asked as he walked towards where you were sitting and you bite your lips. For good. You shook your head. “I just needed to leave so I can clear my head and understand the journal without any distractions” You look up at him. He opens his mouth to say something but you stop him. 

“I have a place, don’t worry.” You smile softly. “I was planning on going there first but I guess my feet lead me here first” You chuckle and look down at the books. He just stood there for a couple of more seconds before nodding, “Then I’ll let you understand the journal. Without any distractions” His voice held humour in it and he walked away. You smile to yourself and you continue to absorb more and more information from the books you have sprawled out around you on the floor. 

-

It has been weeks since you started going to the Sanctum and seeing strange, he has been very helpful as he promised and you have almost every thing translated from the journal. Only thing left was the Jotun writings. As promised, Strange was able to find you the books you needed for Juton from multiple hidden libraries around the world and thats how you started to learn more and more Juton.

You finally understood Lokis love for this language, it was heavy and deep, the writing of every word is very thought through and full of emotions, wether it be anger or love or anything in between. You started learning the language gradually as you went through every page between the journal and the books. You are grateful that you have taken some of Lokis books with you because it had Juton words that other books could not offer, deciphering each word was difficult but with hours and hours studying this language it has become easier. 

Eventually you discovered what you needed in order to find him. The juton words and symbols gave the date, the time and the location. You smiled widely at your new discovery and got up from the chair. 

“I got it! Steph! I got it, I figured it out!!” You beamed happily and ran towards his usual sitting spot, he closed the book he was reading and smiled at you before standing up. “Does this mean you won’t be pulling all-nighters and worrying me anymore?” He chuckled and look at the papers in your hands. You nodded and handed him the papers. “Luckily if it wasn’t for the all-nighters I would’ve missed the day by weeks! Its tomorrow!!” He read the words you messily wrote and then looked at you.

“Y/n, this is in the middle of nowhere in Ice Land” He looks at you, furrowing his eyebrows. “You won’t make it on time travelling by plane” He says. You bite the inside of your cheek and nod. “Thats why I was hopping if you could- you know, teleport me there?” You smiled hopefully up at Stephen and he chuckled.

“I told you, I can’t offer you the help you want but more of the help the you need.”

“But stephe, I need this. I deciphered every word in the journal, this is the only date that I have. I need this, please.” You frown slightly and then he nods. “Alright, Im doing this as a friend, and because I care about you. Plus, I know If I said no you’ll just end up doing it the dangerous wa-“ You cut him off with a tight embrace and repeated thank yous. 

Later that day you went back to your apartment filled with hope. Could it be possible that after a month and a week of hard work, you get to be reunited with Loki? But as your positive thoughts went up, so did your negative thoughts. 

You started to worry if maybe all of this was just to distract you from the fact that maybe he really is gone, I mean can he really go almost two months without checking up on you? Maybe he is alive but moved on, maybe he forgot that he even wrote this journal and decided to finally find someone more suitable for him. 

You try to shut these thoughts off and head for a shower before sleep, maybe it will help clear your minds. 

As you head to sleep you set the paper on the nightstand and hoped for the best for tomorrow.

June 12. 10AM. Snaefellsjökull peak, Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

[mistraliprincess]

Ghouls and Ghosts of Kaigan I

The Faunus looked down from the open hatch of the airship shuttling her to her location. Wind being kicked around by the engines wiping her hair, cloak, and scarf about some, though she was undisturbed by such as she surveyed her landing zone. Some hills, grassland, a sandy area just beyond toward the east, and ruins. Countless bits of ruined buildings, some of familiar make with what remained, though the rest was too overgrown or destroyed to be able to discern anything specific. This was the place, however, and with a nod to herself she turns to look to the cockpit and her pilot. 

“This is good! If I don’t send a signal, come back this time tomorrow! If I’m not here within the hour you arrive then head back to Mistral and request help from other Hunters!”

“Got it, Wisperer! Good luck down there!” Her pilot looking back and moving a hand into view to give the Huntress a thumb up.

After a shared nod between her and her pilot, Kemuri steps out and off the shuttle, dropping the ten feet she had instructed and landing with a roll and split second flash of white across her body. Rising to her feet again, she briefly dusts herself off and takes a breath. Looking out over her surroundings, and sighing before she takes the first step. A hand pulling her cloak shut around herself, her other sitting atop the grip of her Katana. 

For a brief moment her mind turning to reminding herself she really needed to name her weapons at some point. At least, those Gotin makes for her or she aids in the creation of. The Tanto on her other hip, however, she was sure that it had a name of it’s own already. She just needed to figure out what it was, though any texts in the records back home that had mention of it never mentioned such a thing. Though a part of her felt she had an idea even still, likely part of that ‘knowledge’ the shade keeps referencing the times it appears to her.

Now wasn’t the time for that, however. Maybe after this, if things go well enough, she’d have Gotin touch up or modify her blade and give it a name then. But for now, her focus returned to the task at hand. Timed well enough to realize her free hand was suddenly full under her cloak, a furrow to her brow forming as she pushes it through into the open to see the cause. The crystal, see-through in her biological eye and filled with the same white light of her Aura in her glass eye, sat within her grip. Though she had never retrieved it from her pocket, having brought it just in case she needed it given the tapestry’s design. 

Too occupied at the sight of the mysterious crystal, she wouldn’t notice the subtle shift of the shadows over her fingers beneath it. The same she’d seen at least once before. What she would catch instead, a subtle shift in where her aura was concentrated within the crystal itself. Nothing too drastic, but closing her left eye to focus on it she could tell there was a gap where the bottom of the crystal would be within her grip. A void, as if the Aura that filled the object was being pulled away from it. Yet opening her left again to allow the overlap of her normal and Aura-based sight, she could tell it wasn’t centered. Plus, the further she continued to walk, even in her slowed pace, the father from the top point it got.

Continuing along the stretch of grass, past more buildings long forgotten, she watched the shift in the Crystal itself. The void at it’s bottom point slowly crawling up to it’s right, deciding to stop and adjust only after it reached such point that the whole right side edge was void of her Aura. Turning herself with the gem in hand, until once more the void was at it’s bottom. The difference now being it was centered completely.

Lifting her head, her sight was greeted by a hill. Not too tall, but she could see remnants of a staircase set into the side of it and slivers of what looked like pillars of some kind waiting at the top. Bits of walls still standing though likely in serious disrepair peeking over from beyond the hilltop too. One hill between her and her destination.

Retracting her hand into her cloak again, she stores the crystal back into the pocket it was originally placed. Setting up the shallow slope among the remnants of the staircase before her, unknowingly holding her breath as she climbed. Only for her breath to release with a sigh upon her arrival at the top at the sight beyond. She wasn’t sure why, but there was a sense of disappointment filling the Qilin as her eyes set on blackened, dead grassland at the foot of the hill.

True, Kemuri didn’t know what to expect, but looking at this... whatever she could have expected certainly wasn’t what was before her. With her mind uncertain and wanting for answers, she begins down the hill toward the blackened spot with quickened pace. Slowing only as she closed in on the scorched ground, eyes fixed on it scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Anything to give away some sort of secret to this location.

Nothing though... not one little thing out of place, nothing man made, it’s just dead, scorched grass. With emotions rising, she closes her eyes and lets her head back. Taking in a long breath of air to try and focus herself again, prevent anger from this long, seemingly never ending stream of pointless research get to her. So very long of finding so many new secrets and questions, yet not finding a single answer for any of them. For this to just be more... it certainly got to her.

Involuntarily, with her exhale comes mist expelling from her nostrils. Her body’s attempt to calm down, having meditated among such mists countless times before to ease her mind and body. Even though her tail swinging behind herself would cause some of it to blow away. Yet she let it flow, let it roll along the ground around her as her gaze returns to the blackened earth. Confused, upset, her body tensing with stress at all this wasted energy.

It didn’t make any sense either, the tapestry was deliberately designed, the crystal included in it’s markings. The crystal itself reacting so oddly when held by someone, filling with their Aura until it leaves their grasp. Said same Aura within the crystal being pulled toward this spot... there had to be something.

A few steps further down the hill, the Qilin dropped to the ground atop her butt with another sigh. It wasn’t going to do her any good just standing there wasting energy while she tries to look over everything she can. Not that she really could with the mist crawling over the ground as it was, thankfully that would just be a matter of time until it cleared since she decided against simply just recovering it. About two, usually, with how light and low it was, and she was fine waiting for that.

Crossing her arms atop her knees, resting her head atop them, she lets her eyes close. Breathing slow, and deep, collecting her mind, working through the information she knows. Both from the countless records she had looked into and worked through back home, and from her brief time here so far. The remnants of the buildings which once stood across this coast... their make was certainly something she’d seen before. The few buildings in her neighborhood built with older architecture and aesthetics were of similar design and make, if at least modernized. 

It took a moment, but she came to the thought that this place had to be the old settlement for her family and their people. From before the Great War, before they became a part of Mistral. Yet for it to be in such a horrid state, it had to have seen some sort of battle or tragedy to cause it. Maybe a storm, or some large Grimm rampaging through, she couldn’t come to any sound idea of what would’ve caused this damage.

Again, she sighs, this time a little more frustrated though, and with her eyes opening to look out across the hills around her. But before she could, something caught the attention of her left eye with it’s proper sight. The mist she had expelled earlier, which had been pooling in the dip between the hills, was slowly draining. It was just barely noticeable, the surface crawling lower and lower along the grass of the hill opposite herself by the second. There was a moment her brows furrowed with confusion as to what might cause such a thing, but quickly it clicked in her mind.

A hole, there had to be an opening in the ground with vacant space beneath it.

Upon this realization, the Qilin was quick to her feet with a flick of her tail against the ground behind her in excitement. Rushing down the hill she was on, into the mist filling the pit between. She takes a deep breath in, exhales slow, breathes in slower, the action causing her Semblance made mist to retreat to her. Entering in through her mouth and nostrils to be returned to the Aura it once came from. Leaving the space cleared once more, and the Huntress standing over the blackened grass at the center. 

Once more she calls upon her Semblance, though this time utilizing one of the many other branches which she had only barely begun to practice with. Breathing in slow, but not deep, and exhaling faster, but for longer. Working into a rhythm, mimicking the waves of the ocean crashing upon the beach just a short distance away. Concentrating with each breath until, with the opening of her mouth, water spills forth from her maw. Guided by her tongue, it cascades out and down onto the blackened grass, coating it with what seemed to be the first moisture it has received in years.

Sure enough, as she let the steady stream continue to flow, she watched the water on the ground begin to pool. Only for it to begin draining seconds later once it reached the opening she was looking for. Letting this process continue for a few seconds longer as she inspected the water’s flow, locating the space it was draining to. Finally closing her maw and gulping down the last bit of water that was produced before her Semblance went dormant once more. 

Now with the placement of this hole fresh in her mind, Kemuri draws her Katana from it’s sheath, stabbing the end of it’s blade into the gap. Wiggling it about some, she could feel the ground give way to this action, making the water that was still present begin to flow faster and faster with each bit bigger the hole became. Until, at last, the water drained and she could see the gap she was searching for clearly. Yet, she could not see what was beyond. The lighting of the sky too poor and at a horrid angle to provide any view beyond this hole. 

Adjusting her footing and stepping back, the Huntress continues in her endeavor to widen the opening to this unknown chamber beyond. Stabbing at the ground bit by bit, wedging chunks off from the surrounding ground to expand it one chunk at a time. Eventually, it looked large enough she could fit a leg through. Though that wouldn’t be enough for her to get through as a whole, no. At the very least, for now, she was sure she could get a better look beyond, at least with some fair light source she could.

Reaching into one of the pouches along her belt, the pulls a flare from within. Sheathing her blade, she takes the flare in both hands, twisting and pulling the cap at the one end to ignite the bright red light before dropping it down the opening she had made. Watching it fall... and fall... and fall... until it finally clacked against solid ground. From the rough bits of distancing she could remember from Haven, by the time it took for the flare to fall she assumed the vacant space below to be close to a hundred feet between where she stood, and the floor beyond.

What little she could see illuminated by the red light was only flooring, clearly not close enough to any walls or support beams or anything else that could possibly fill the space bellow. Though, the longer she looked at the illuminated floor, the more it looked as if it had been coated in something. She couldn’t tell what with the coloration of the light and the distance, but it didn’t look like the dirt and grass she had caused to fall, nor the water from before. Almost like it was stained, for one reason or another. Whatever the flooring even was, that she couldn’t tell from her position either, though it seemed somewhat reflective of the light.

She was on the verge of drawing her blade again, when something catches her attention in the corner of her false eye’s Aura sight. A faint, red Aura, in the shape of a boot-clad foot.

Quickly back-stepping, her head snaps up to look where the shape of the foot should have lead to a body, only to find no-one there. Brows furrowing with worry that she may be repeating the odd events that happened months ago. Those glimpses of a shade, of a remnant of an ancestor with dark history from long before the Great War in her family’s history. Grento Fujiki. The cursed son of a King. 

After a solid minute of scanning her surroundings and taking slow, paced breaths, she felt she was fine to continue. Sure she had just been seeing things, her mind tired and overworked after so much research. It was the explanation she repeated to herself as she went to draw her blade again, but found herself pausing before grabbing the handle. Instead feeling her hand start to shift of it’s own accord, crossing her waist to settle instead upon the grip for the Tanto she carried on the hip opposite the Katana. The blade that had been locked away in the shrine of her estate’s garden for generations.

Something felt right about drawing the smaller of the two blades, as if it would be a key of sorts to accessing the chamber beneath her. Though she knew that couldn’t be the case, it was a much smaller object than her Katana, and even with the larger she had only made so much progress on opening up the  space below. She wanted to let go of the old blade, draw her newer one, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t.

Becoming angered by her body’s lack of cooperation, she would look down at her hand with a scowl. Though such face would quickly fade as she went pale with the shiver that went down her spine at the sight she was greeted to. Not the fair skin that was normal across her body, no.

Kemuri’s hand sat atop the Tanto’s grip, coated in pure black. Her pale Aura tainted with hints of dark red to her false eye.

“If͞ o̧n̴ly͢ y͡ou ̡u͠s̀e̷d̕ my know̷ĺed͟ge, ́b̨ưt i̧t l̛oo͘ks͝ ͢l̡ike ̨y̢o̶u̵'͢ve͞ ͜bȩęn i̶g̀nơr̡įn͢g̵ ̢my̵ ͢ḿemori͢e̢s.͢ ́Whilę ͝I ad̴m̷it, ́I h̡a͠ve̢ ̨t̀o ͝co͠mme͏n̸d y͟òu o͢n yo̸u͢r ̛pers̸i͞s̸tence, I ̵c̕an̡'̧t͘ ̡h̵a͜ve̷ you̸ ̛w͜a͞s҉ting ́your͜ ̕t̶i̢m̕e a͟n͠d ̷ne̶arl͏y͜ ̕ge͝tt͢i͜ng͡ ̴yoursel͟f ͢kil͝ĺed whe̴n ͢y͞o̷u ̛in͢eviţáblý br͟éak͞ th͞e̴ ̨g͟ro̷u̸nd̵ ͟o̕ut ̕fro͏ḿ b̸eneàth̷ ̛yo͢u̷ ͏and͢ ͜ca̴n't̷ r̕e̕covȩr.”

The horrid  distorted voice was so very familiar, it chilled the Huntress to hear it. Only made worse by how it sounded little more than a whisper, right in the back of her head. Not like someone was behind her, but like it was inside her head. She hated it, hated this shade of her ancestor. Wanted to break free of it’s influence, but she couldn’t manage. 

Soon watching the black enveloping her hand start to expand beyond below the sleeve of her combat suit. Feeling a cold overtake more and more of her arm. Seeing more and more of her pale white Aura become infested with this dark red accent. Only seconds would have to pass for it to take to her chest, seconds more to reach her other arm and begin down her torso and up her neck. Seconds more to have her vision go dark, only to return as dull monotone colors to her left eye a moment later.

Merely a passenger in her body now, she could only spectate as she hears her body breathe. A pattern of breath she wasn’t familiar with, though it seemed this... entity was. Another breath, and her body raises it’s foot to stomp at the hollow ground beneath. The impact causing a low rumble, and her vision turns to the hole she had made. It’s edges crumbling and beginning to fall, expanding it a little further.

A second stomp of her foot brings the rumbling back, though this time louder, and she’s forced to watch as the hole begins to rapidly expand. Quickly passing under her body’s feet, and sending her plummeting. Though, for some reason she doesn’t feel her body tumbling as if she was falling. No, she instead feels her body correct itself amid it’s descent. 

Landing on the floor below in seconds with a heavy thud and a crack of some kind of material beneath her. She watches her vision immediately roll with her body to lower whatever damage may have been taken by the impact as much as possible. Though her head would turn to look back at a small crater where she first touched.

In the moment she’s looking behind herself, Kemuri feels herself lurch as if being pulled forward by some unseen force. Almost a sensation of her weight crashing down on herself again as she finds she has her body once more. Lifting a hand from the cold floor and finding her color returned, she opens and closes it, doing so freely without issue. It was concerning how such a thing could happen so abruptly, and just as suddenly end. Bothered her that her body was not exclusively her own anymore. In some capacity at least. 

She would have to think about that later, however, especially given how the voice was silent. Looking down to the floor below her now, she could tell it was some sort of marble design. She wasn’t sure what kind of process was taken to make it, but the texture of it was extremely smooth, glassy even. Possibly even Crystalline instead... the idea was solid with how it felt, and the similarity to the feeling of the crystal she has with her. Plus, just a foot away from her to her right was the now dying flare she had dropped down a moment before.

She couldn’t quite make out the substance over the floor under the flickering red light from the flare, however, not now that she was close to it. Under her touch, it was rough and slightly flaky, but such was the only difference she could find in the moment. It would take her reaching for the flare to bring it closer to discover that the coloration was dark, very much so, as if a pure black, or at least close to it. Sniffing at the air, she couldn’t really pick out anything too specific with the still falling dirt from above and the smell of the stale air that filled the chamber she was now in. Look and touch, however, told her it was blood. Long dried blood, though from what remained unknown, though there was a lot of it.

Making to stand, her legs felt a little stiff after the fall she had taken while under the shade’s control. Groaning a bit as she put her free hand to a knee to push and aid herself in her ascent to her feet. In place, Kemuri begins stretching her limbs a little to recover while she looks around. Holding the flare high to minimize interference from her body, as without it the opening she now stood in was way too dark to see anything of note. Anything beyond the dirt, damaged floor, stained blood, and the now dead flare all immediately around her was veiled in shadow.

Whatever this place was, it was big, much larger than the three hills covered from what she could tell. She couldn’t see any walls either, not where she stood. Pillars, however, a good many of them were clear to her, all of the same material as the floor. Some in pristine condition beyond the dust, others cracked, a few damaged with missing chunks. Just at the edge of her light, in one direction she could even see a pillar that seemed to have been broken almost entirely. It’s top lay split on the ground by the base, big chunks missing from each piece. Something happened here, between the damage she could see and the dried blood.

She couldn’t get back up, not without some assistance, so her only other choice would be to investigate further. Choosing first to turn south, and begin walking, holding the flare in front of her to allow it to light her way. The slight red tinge of the flickering light making everything a little eerie, sure, though she’d dealt with scarier stuff in worse places than this. 

Even as she passed pillar after pillar, more damaged and cracked here and there, the most she found for a good while was similar damage on parts of the floor. Not for a few minutes of walking would she even find a wall, only eventually coming to a vertical, flat surface after about four or five minutes. Again, the same material as everything else so far, and with signs of damage for one reason or another. Even some dark smears hinting splashes of now dry blood across spots of the wall as she stepped closer. 

The biggest question in her mind at this moment, even with everything prior still fresh in her mind, was where all the blood came from. She’d seen so many smears of it dried along the floor, and now on the wall, but no bodies of any kind to have come from. Not even any damaged cloth to indicate some sort of fighting happened, nor weapons to have dealt the pain and damage that must have been for the way things were.

Her head turned with the flare in front to look to the east and west along the wall toward the darkness that hid the rest of the room. She could go either way, really, her end goal was to circle around to the north, but she would get there either way. Though something would just barely reach her ears that would sway her choice. A sliding sound, of sorts, it wasn’t clear, nor loud, but it was something worth noting either way. Whatever it was seemed heavy, though, that much she was able to tell. 

With the sound coming from her right, she turned her head to look through the chamber with her right eye. She couldn’t see anything, even with her false eye and it’s Aura-based sight. No signatures of life, and she couldn’t see any darker sections indicating a Grimm. It worried her a little, nothing in sight to have caused the sound but she couldn’t stay fixated on discovering the source. Whatever it was, it’d likely come to her after all. The fact she was a living being, probably the first one to have been here for a century at least, and she had not only made a hole to allow light inside but had a bright, glowing flare in her hand. 

Not exactly the most stealthy thing right now, and she couldn’t exactly afford to be in this unknown terrain. Taking a moment, she breathes before turning eastward, following the wall through the darkness to inspect boundary of the room. More of the same as she went, damaged floors and walls, some broken or crumbling pillars, smears of blood. Some of the dried blood even on the pillars now. Yet, everything else was just more of the same. It actually bothered her a decent bit with the more and more she saw of just... repetitive visuals entirely. 

Every now and then, however, she would hear that odd rubbing sound in the distance behind her. Any time she turned her gaze, nothing, ever. Another five minutes, nothing, but her Flare was dimming. She’d retrieve a new one from the same pouch as before, but waited to ignite it. Instead turning on her heel and throwing the old one back the way she came to see if it would shine light on whatever was making the sound. The most she would get is what looked like a quick shifting shadow as the flare makes first impact with the ground, bouncing further before it slides.

Whatever it was, the thing was thin, could move rather quick, at least from the little bit she saw of it. With the layout of the room and how dark it was, she was at a disadvantage. Would be as long as there wasn’t some sort of light source that she could rely on to provide a proper visual on what was following her down here. Such thought passing through her head right as she ignites the new flare, providing her more light as she turns to continue on. 

Wisperer’s first step is interrupted though, as she feels her foot hit something and make it clatter along the ground with having accidentally kicked it. Looking down ahead of her, she sees what appears to be a dark metal handle of some sorts skittering away with the force that hit it from her foot. She quickly followed after to retrieve the loose object, finding as she picks it from the floor that it was a torch of some kind. Though it didn’t have a wick or wood at it’s top, but a crystal, yet another of similar material to the chamber around her, and the crystal in her pocket. 

Out of curiosity, she reaches a finger out to touch the crystal at the end of the metal grip, expecting to see it fill with her Aura in her false eye. Though, this wouldn’t be the case, not like it was with the gemstone on her person. Instead, with the contact of her finger against it’s surface, it would glow. Lighting up bright and proper with color-less light, compared to the red flickering flare, and a fair bit brighter, even at the flare’s ignition. 

Touching at the crystal again would cause it to dim and return to it’s dormant state which she initially found it in. Humming her understanding, Kemuri  would keep the crystalline torch with her while she continued onward using the flare’s light. She’d be able to save the rest of her flares for other uses with this in tow, and potentially she could manage a defense at the very least against the thing lurking in the shadows with more light available to her now.

Thankfully it wouldn’t be more than another two minutes or so before the Qilin came upon the sight of the next wall she had been seeking. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was the corner of the room wasn’t closed off like any usual layout. Instead it was open, with a staircase leading up and out of the chamber she was in, though it was blocked. It almost looked liked collapsed rocks, but with the layout of the land above and the lack of pits beyond the one she entered through, that didn’t seem right. Something just moved the ground to block the path along the stairs, and made it look like collapsed rock.

Brows furrowed above her eyes as she began to scan the closed off passage, trying to discern anything that she could beyond what she’d already noticed. The walls were the same material as everywhere else, so were the steps, but the rocks seemed to have forced their way through. Chunks of the otherwise smooth walls were missing, and instead scattered across the steps, only adding to the caved-in appearance.

One thing was different, however, the first of it’s kind that she’d found throughout the entire chamber so far. Bones among a pile of dirt and dust. A hand, stuck under a mess and long dead. Very much so, considering the dried blood that painted the steps beneath the dirt and dust here as well. Just, one body couldn’t produce all the blood that she’d seen so far, there was no way that would be possible. There had to be more somewhere within the shadows, encouragement for her to step back from the stairway and turn to follow the new wall. 

About five minutes to find the southern wall, seven for the eastern wall, and she spent another two inspecting the closed off stairway. She had to keep track, mentally time the flare and keep her place among the darkness in mind. If she didn’t, it would risk her getting lost. Even with the slight bit of light she could see off in the distance beaming through the hole she made from the dimming sky above. She wouldn’t have that marker for long, not at all. 

That fact would be made even more present within her mind hearing that odd almost slither-like sound again, but now from a few different places. It made the Faunus shiver to hear it multiple times over in such rapid succession. Made her stop moving for a moment, about a minute out from the southern wall as much as she could tell. Putting the eastern wall to her back, she keeps her eyes out to the darkness, flare forward as if a barrier between herself and whatever was stalking her.

Grabbing the odd crystal torch she had found from under her arm, she trades it with the flare in her left hand. Rearing back her right, she tosses the red flickering light source out and into the shadow of the chamber. Though unlike the time before, she didn’t catch sight of anything. Keeping still for a moment to just watch, and listen while she stood within the darkness with the red light just barely meeting her face. Slowly moving her now vacant hand toward the crystal at the end of the metal handle to hover her fingers just an inch away. 

If her stalking threat wasn’t ahead of her, it was likely that whatever it was had shifted with the darkness. Avoided the light to get to her sides, or possibly even above her. Patience was all Wisperer needed, controlled breath, focused senses, to wait for some sort of sign whatever it was had began it’s approach. The sound from earlier to repeat, a brush of air from it breathing, clatter of disturbed dirt, anything.

A moment passing where she was unsure whether she would even hear it, or if she’d have issue because of how much she could hear her heart starting to pound. She was anxious, scared even, with how everything had been lately this threat could be anything. It could even be that damned shade that had dragged her from the present to some odd realm of it’s own. As much as she hated to think about it, however, she knew that was unlikely given that thing seemed to have... possessed her, the best word she could use for it.

Though a long minute would pass, a minute of silence beyond the blazing flare and her heartbeat in her ears. Nothing more, no slithering noise, no breathing beyond her own which was kept short and quick. Not even the dust being disturbed anywhere in the chamber, at least, nowhere close enough for her to catch it. She didn’t even feel anything beyond her rising goosebumps with the situation she was in. Deciding to go with safety over anything else, she waits a minute more, during which the flare dimmed slightly in the distance. Not enough to reduce it’s coverage by more than maybe an inch, but she knew it was past it’s half-way mark. 

Four more minutes, it could stay as a marker for where she was and possibly as a light to mark whatever stalks her for four minutes longer. But she’d have to more in that time, and she did so. Keeping the crystal-based light off, she begins walking side-ways, her back still to the wall, her tail the same. Her eyes never leaving that red glow as it grew more and more distant. Reminding herself to keep her eye on it every few seconds in her mind, to watch the area surrounding it for anything. Expecting to see at least a glimpse of something moving to follow her.

Nothing, even still, no movement, no noises, not even any sort of odd sensations. She couldn’t figure out why, no Grimm came to mind that could be this stealthy. Not anything that was common to the region at least. The closest she could think were Taijitu and Gheists, but neither of them would be this close to the coast. Apathy maybe, but those would be here en-masse, and she would feel different because of them. She wouldn’t be nearly as focused or cautious as she was now, as aware of the timing as she was currently.

Another minute come and gone, keeping as fast of a pace as she could given she was moving side-ways to keep the wall behind her. She felt she needed to turn her attention north, along the wall to see if there was anything she could pick out in the void ahead to indicate she was any closer to the next wall. But some nagging part of her mind told her to keep watching the flare, to use it as her guide alongside the touch of the wall. A few seconds were needed for her to think the possibilities over, weigh which choice would be best in this unknown environment with so little light.

Thankfully the choice wouldn’t take too long for Kemuri, eventually deciding to do the best of both, while also providing herself some aid. Quickly bringing her free hand to tap against the crystal atop the odd torch to brighten it, bring it’s fairly confusing light to illuminate her surroundings before she’d hold it ahead of herself, away from the wall while she stops moving for a moment. Glancing between the red beyond, now partly hidden by a pillar with some chunks missing, and the bright clear light around herself rapidly to make sure nothing was appearing either way.

A glimpse of a bright figure occurring during one such glance, one hidden beyond the red of the flare and immediately drawing her eyes back to it. Back to nothing but darkness, and a slight pain starting in her head. Almost as if her mind was trying to reject what she saw to such a degree that it was trying to force itself to forget everything to do with it. Her right eye closing as she groans quietly, raising her free hand to press it’s palm against her temple, letting the wave of pain come and go.

She looks toward where she saw the presence prior, checking for it again to ensure she was just seeing things. That there wasn’t actually something or someone else within the dark, vast chamber with her. Thankfully for her, such would be the case, or... maybe not thankfully. The lack of visual or sound on anything that may be in the room with her, especially considering the sounds and the ever so slight visual she had earlier, meant she was without  any chance to prepare. Especially given her surroundings. 

Pillars surrounding her were good for cover if she were to encounter something. Though they could also be used by whatever was following her for protection. On top of that, if enough of the pillars were to be broken in a fight, then it would be a problem for both herself, and her stalking being. Having what could potentially be an entire hill drop on top of her wasn’t something she was intending, much less looking forward to if a fight did start.

What really was a good thing, for the moment, was that whatever had been following her didn’t seem to want to engage in any sort of interactions. At the very least not yet, like it was waiting for her to find something in the chamber before it acts. If it wasn’t going to attack her, she wouldn’t have to worry as much about continuing through the rest of the room till she found whatever it was that this thing wanted her to.

Finally stepping away from the wall, she raises the crystalline torch high over her head, looking around the immediate vicinity where the light allowed. Thankfully this was better than the visual aid that the flares provided, not only granting full color instead of painting everything in a red tint, but reaching another half the distance on top of what the prior light source did. She could see not only the pillars right next to her, but the set beyond, and a fair ways up now. Almost to the roof of the room, even, though it was still mostly kept dark because of the height of the chamber compared to herself. 

Regardless, with the new light and the lack of action from her follower among the shadows, she turns to continue north by the wall. Finally able to move her usual pace once more, she had to think over the time she took as she walked. Nineteen minutes she’d been down here, five to find the southern wall from where she fell down, seven for the eastern wall, two at the stairway, five more since leaving to begin along the wall. 

Looking left would confirm to her that she was coming to an equal point in placement with the hole she had made, maybe a minute longer of walking. Just the barest light coming down through the opening with the darkening skies and likely a set of clouds blocking the natural source for the moment.

If she was right, she could expect five minutes more at this proper pace before she met the northern wall. At least she hoped, whether the room was symmetrical to one degree or another she couldn’t tell at all. It was making her start questioning what kind of architecture her people did in the past. Of how they would have even built up this kind of room. Nothing in the record room, nor known to any of her people in the current day, had anything in mind of old design that was even close to this. 

There was pillar-work in their past, sure, but nothing of this kind, nor this material. Everything else was stone or wood, stuff that could be repaired or taken down rather easily in case it needed to be relocated. Such had been their history for so very long after all, ever since they supposedly came to Anima from what the records in her home say. Talk of venturing southward to escape the cold overtaking the north, of moving in-land to get away from the oceans and their dangers. Eventually leading to their merging with Mistral right amid the Great War.

Given how much was written in dead language, and worn away from time and other elements, it was hard to really pinpoint anything from their past. At least, stuff from before the time of the war beyond what the elders had passed on or still knew. Though even that was little since so much time had come and gone. Part of her wondered how some of the few historians of her people, or the historians who had looked into the Fujiki records, would react to being here with her. In this chamber, yes, but this area more so, the overgrown ruins of their past spread along the coast. 

It was tempting to bring her people here some day, allow them to see their past, maybe even find a way to open up this vast room and light it better. After she was done here, of course, and made sure there wasn’t any threats remaining, Grimm or otherwise. Two minutes she had been walking while she thought over this, over the possibilities this place had in store. Three more she expected till the northern wall, three more to focus back on her surroundings. 

A glance out into the darkness would show the dying light of the flare she had tossed earlier, and the faint, yet still present, light from the hole beyond. Nothing visual among the rest of the room, nor audible beyond her own footsteps and her breathing. Though there would be the briefest sound of something shifting, something close which catches her attention, directing her gaze forward again. 

Lifting the torch higher and forward, she finds a little rat shuffling along the floor by the wall. The sight making her sigh with both some relief and annoyance at the source just being such a little rodent. Watching the creature rising on it’s hind legs to look at her a moment, twitch it’s nose about, then turn to scurry off into the darkness again. She decides against chasing the little thing, continuing her normal pace along the border of the chamber through the shadows. 

She’d find herself walking for a fair while longer than she expected, however, the three minutes coming and going as she follows the wall. Pushing on a fourth, fifth with a pause hearing something slide along the floor in the distance, a sixth as she finds a pillar broken and knocked to the ground across her path. She takes a quick, short leap over, only to nearly slip on the other side as her right foot comes down on something curved, but also rather weak as it cracks and subsequently gets crushed under her shoe.

Bringing her light back and looking down, she finds a bone beneath her foot, one of an unknown kind. The sight of which was extremely out of place among everything else that was around. There was evidence of some sort of conflict and damage, that was clear, especially with the countless random splashes of blood long dried. None of such blood was present here, however, just a lone bone. It looked too big for human or a Faunus, but there was nothing beyond that she could discern. Of course, she wasn’t very well versed with the knowledge of anatomy beyond that of Humans, Faunus, and Grimm, but she could at least tell this was from some odd species.

Kemuri takes a stop to look around the pillar and the bone to try and see if there was anything more like the bone. Any other skeletal remains, or if there was evidence of the rat she saw before. Yet, there was nothing else, and it just added to the questions that were piling up as she went through here. Though such would serve to only upset the Qilin a fair bit, making her groan out as she stands herself up again and takes a moment to breathe.

In through the nose, out through the mouth, slow, long, deep.

Opening her eyes, she takes in her placement again, finding the bone on the one side of the pillar and returning to the crushed scrap to align herself again. Looking up at the wall beside the fallen pillar and finding a chunk missing from where the support  must have struck against it. The damage wasn’t anything insignificant in comparison to the cracks and such she had seen earlier on either.

Noting that, she went over the time she’d spent inspecting the pillar and the immediate surroundings. Another minute, making her down here 28 minutes. She was closing on the thirty minimum she was expecting had this area turned out to be nothing more than just hills, a beach, and the ocean with nothing else. But given she had found the hole, plummeted into this chamber with some... rather unappreciated aid, and was now exploring? This could potentially take her hours depending what was here.

Yet she’d not found anything quite... fitting for it to be marked on a hidden map. Not so far, at the very least, and she had to find that, or whatever may remain of it anyway. Setting the torch ahead of her, she began along the wall again. Eyes wandering the wall to her right, the pillars she passed, the floor below her feet.  Watching for anything that may have been present, or seemed out of place, as out of place as she could tell with how little she’d been exploring. 

It would thankfully be within the following minute that her eye would catch something to her left, just on the other side of a pillar she was coming up on. She’d have to slow and step aside to check it proper, but with the light from her torch she could see that it was another. A second crystalline torch, set in a holder on the inner-side of the pillar. The sight relieved her, alerted her she’d have to keep an eye out for more holsters and such. Signs of more torches or places for them to try and find them around it. 

Reaching up, a quick tap at the crystal atop the end of the rod lit it like the one in her other hand had been earlier. A great amount of light glowing from the torch, illuminating the pillar it was set upon, splaying out further light to the pillars next to it and beyond. About the same range of visual aid as the one she carried with her, a very noticeable light and something she’d be glad to have as a marker among the dark.

Nodding to herself in satisfaction with the new source of vision before Wisperer returns to the wall to continue into the second minute. Though not for long as she saw a wall come up rather quick in the corner of her vision, Nearly walking right into it if she hadn’t stopped herself the moment she did, and she could imagine her horn thanking her for not doing such a thing. 

Turning her focus to the northern wall, she scans the corner between it and the eastern. Finding in some semblance of confusion that this corner was without a stairway of any sort. The walls solid, the corner connected, no indents or steps of any kind. An odd difference in comparison to the south east corner with it’s staircase purposely closed off, but she recognized it even still.

A minute more, her thirty minute minimum, time was going to feel a lot slower from that moment on, she had a feeling. More so given a glimpse of light reflecting off the odd material that the wall consisted of, just... not the clear coloration from the torch in her hand, nor that on the pillar behind her. Ever shifting, yet stationary in it’s place, and from it’s spot it would’ve had to have been behind one of the pillars she passed.

Her curiosity getting the best of her draws pale eyes to turn and look back through the pillars. Nothing seen, nothing registering at least, in either of her eyes. Directing back to the wall, the oddity she had caught was gone too, such discrepancy causing the earlier sting of pain to return in the back of her head. A part of her feeling like it was lurching to try and get away from something, trying to return to the opening she had entered through. Only briefly, however, coming and going just as quickly as the odd pain did. 

With her mind clear of it, she shook the visual from her mind, pushed the resurfacing questions aside, and turned to follow the new found northern wall. Pondering how long she may be wandering along the new boundary until she found something else unusual. Beyond the few splashes of blood she’d come across like along the southern wall prior. What was odd to her, as she came across the first spot of the long dried dark substance, was the absence of such along the eastern wall. That alongside how small this splatter of it was compared to even the tiniest one on the south wall, this looked so much cleaner. 

Just more and more questions with every new discovery as she made her way through this bit of her history. So very, very odd and, at this point, a little off putting. Only a little more so than the bone she soon crushed under her foot like by the pillar minutes before. This one was so much smaller than the one prior, however, smaller enough that upon lifting her foot the whole thing was nothing more than fragments and powder.

Finding such, a glance ahead would show her another bone, this one longer than those before, even odder a shape. Yet nothing beyond, at least not within range of her crystal-sourced light. Continuing forward, she ensures to avoid stepping on any more bones, worrying that doing so may disturb the room too much, draw the attention of whatever was following her too much. Or, and she felt a little silly considering it, may even be rude toward her family’s history or their beliefs. 

She’d have to find out, however, and it would take time to figure what was going on in here. Lifting her head at moments to look toward the pillars to try and find more torches. Not coming across many, sadly, but there were hints of some at times, broken handles, empty holsters, crystals on their own even. Nothing whole, however. The two crystals she came across she would step over to light them on her way, though. Finding with each there was a few more droplets of over dried blood or chips of bone scattered about. 

The increase in the numbers of such the further in along the northern wall she got telling her she was approaching something, anything really. Unsure what, but it was ahead of her, whatever it would turn out to be. She just had to keep going to find it at this point, of that much she was sure. Thus continuing her pace she kept along the wall a while longer. Keeping track as much as she could, she counted out the minutes she walked along, weaving from the wall to the pillars and back any time she caught parts of the torches in her sight.

Seven minutes came and went since she left the corner, that much she knew, and glancing inward would confirm with the sight of the now barely visible light from outside shining through her entrance directly in line with herself. Yet she had found nothing so far, and would continue further into the room. The only reason she could think of was her entry wasn’t the center of the room in it’s entirety, that she was only partly through and would need to continue farther.

One good sign she saw so far was a couple more small bones, nothing bigger than the larger one earlier. Though the number was most certainly climbing, more and more by the minute. Leading her right to a step of sorts, right at the edge of her provided light. A step with another beyond as she steps closer, and a third before she finds something else, something new.

A small, raised platform sat beyond the third and final step, one with a pedestal in it’s center. Yet she assumed the contents both atop and surrounding it weren’t the intended items. Bones were scattered around the pedestal, inhuman, odd like those few she had found prior. Though... just looking at them as she was with the light of her torch she could make out some sort of formation to them. It was scattered and broken, clearly, but she saw where some of them fit together. 

From what little Kemuri could piece in her mind, it looked... equine? No, some parts seemed too wide to be entirely equine. Others fit, but... some looked more... feline? She couldn’t tell what was going on with whatever the creature was that these bones had once belonged to. At least, not with the scattered parts. Though once her eyes settled on the pedestal itself? The Faunus was shocked, doubting what she was seeing even.

One, lone skull sat atop the pedestal, facing the wall as if the creature it belonged to had died standing before it with it’s head rested atop. The skull too short and rounded to be equine, some of the teeth sharp fangs. Atop the center forehead, however, a single long, curved horn reaching back over the top of the skull. One decorated with, from what she counted, over two dozen branching pieces.

Seeing this skull left Wisperer stunned, breathless even, it had to be fake, right? Some sort of seem where pieces of different skulls were stuck together? Some sort of fault in the texture of the bone? Discoloration hinting at it being painted? Anything, she didn’t dare touch it but she looked closely for literally anything that could have pointed to it being a fake. Some trick that someone else had planted to fool others.

Yet... as she took the time to look it over, to inspect every last bit of it that she could without touching it, she couldn’t find anything... What she did find, however, was a small indentation in the pedestal which went straight down. With the odd angle she could see it from, the shape looked like it may fit the crystal in her possession, but she couldn’t be sure. Not without moving the skull...

Was she ready to touch this? If it was real, she had no idea what to expect with the experience she had with her family’s past so far. Some sort of vision, being pulled to some other realm, her body being changed again, anything could happen... Was she really going to touch it? She had to...

Stepping around to the wall-side of the pedestal, she stares down at the eye-sockets of the skull. Some part of her felt like they were staring back at her as she peered into them, the sensation chilling her to the bone and making her shiver nervously. She had to move it though, this pedestal seemed to be what she had been searching for, so she would need access to it to try and figure out the reason she was here.

Looking to the wall behind her, she finds a crack along it. One ending in a deep enough rut where she could jam the bottom of her crystalline torch’s handle into to keep it high to provide light as she did this. Doing so, she takes a second to ensure it stays before taking her attention away from it and back to the skull ahead of her. Staring into it once more, she finally starts to take a breath. Long, slow, deep, and meditative. Calming herself with it, she repeats, in through the nose, out through the mouth, easing her nerves and her mind, focusing her thoughts with each. 

After a minute, the Huntress nods to herself and rubs at the palms of her hands with her thumbs. Raising both slowly, she rubs her fingers together and sets them forward to reach for the horned skull. Getting one on both sides, her movement shifts to start closing in on it to try and pick the bone from the pedestal top. Already feeling her hands starting to shake a little all over again as the thought of the skull’s legitimacy returned.

Such thought wouldn’t go unanswered for too long, however, not when as her touch grew closer than an inch, electricity jumped from the skull to shock her fingers. The voltage wasn’t strong, nothing that hurt, but she most certainly felt it and such reaction made the Faunus jump back against the wall with a loud smack of her tail swinging back. Looking down to her hands as she turned their palms up to survey her fingers, she can see her Aura flickering just a little over where she had been zapped.

“Shhhit...” Kemuri curses to herself with realization hitting her like... well... lightning. “It’s real... I-It’s real?! O-Or... at least it was...?” Eyes fixating on the skull again, understanding the feeling of a reciprocated stare from the empty sockets better now, and not as scared of it as before. In her excitement, she’d reach forward again, electricity arcing to her closing fingers, but she pushed through the sensation caused and took hold of the skull proper.

With careful grip, the Qilin lifts the remains in her hands slowly from the pedestal. It’s heavier than she could’ve thought, though looking over the horn again she felt a little silly for ever thinking it may have been lighter than it actually was. Though it could possibly be the slight tingling that was constantly being felt along her hands as she held the skull. She was just glad it wasn’t anything too bad, she could handle this for some time to inspect it further.

Raising the bone higher, meeting it’s empty gaze directly, turning it to view the sides, even carefully twisting her arms to get a look inside of it. There was no damage to the skull that she could see, nothing more than a few small fractures long healed before the creature died. Thus the question arose... how did it die? There was nothing that could come to mind as to how such a supposedly powerful beast would’ve been killed. That wasn’t her goal here, however, no. 

With utmost care in her touch, the Huntress adjusts the skull in her hold. Slowly easing a hand beneath, spread out to have a good, proper hold on the skull. Her other leaving it reaches for her pocketed Scroll, retrieving the device and lifting it to press for a quick-snap photo without having to open it in full. Pocketing it again quickly to handle the skull with both her hands once more to cautiously step aside, and ease down toward the floor to set it down away from her feet.

Confident it would be safe where it was, Wisperer straightens herself again behind the pedestal. Looking down at the now cleared top, she sees the indent in the center in full. An open space, shaped perfectly for the crystal she could now tell. There was some excitement in the Faunus in this moment now, between the discovery seconds before and her goal in front of her. It would normally bother her a little, but given she was the only person here, the feeling of her tail swinging with her excitement felt rather pleasant.

Feeling along her pockets, Kemuri finds the crystal stored away and works the bind open to retrieve it. Bringing the odd material forward and looking down to it, she sees it fill with her Aura in her right eye like all the times before. Her left taking in it’s shape to be entirely sure that it matched the space available in the pedestal. Thankfully, it did, perfectly so from what she could tell just by looking. 

The sight making her take it in both hands to get better hold on the slightly thicker end with her right hand. Stepping forward, her left sets on the flat top on the edge, and her right brings the crystal over the opening for it. One more time, she pauses, taking a breath like minutes before to calm herself. Right before allowing her hand to ease down, guiding the slight thinner end of the crystal slip into it’s place, and feeding it down further until it comes to a stop two thirds in. 

Holding it there a moment, nothing happens. At first, the Faunus thinks it just needs time. A few seconds in part of her starts to question if there was any point to this. Half a minute, she starts doubting that there’s anything to happen here, that it’s just some fancy container for the crystal. A minute, her excitement’s dropped rather harshly, tail no longer moving, hell she’s even a little upset. Trying one last thing, she gives a gentle press down on the crystal to attempt to make sure it’s in place given everything felt right.

A click, subtle, but enough to be heard, and making her tail twitch up behind her. Looking down at the crystal, she could see it lighting up from the bottom with her left eye. In her right, the already present glow of her Aura filling it starts to become brighter, to spread down the pedestal and out over the steps and up the walls. It hurt to look at, oddly, enough, making her have to close her eyelids over the glass eye to hide the sight from her view. Forced to watch as the light from the crystal floods out along intricate, subtle little patterns that run down the pedestal and onto the ground beneath her just a mere second after she had seen her Aura spill beyond.

She could see the patterns continuing to spread, to surge over the steps and out throughout the whole chamber. In just a minute she could see the whole room lit with a gentle near-white light like what she saw fill the crystal whenever she touched it. With vision provided, what felt smaller to have walked through now looked so much bigger than she could’ve thought. The pillars taller and the roof higher, she couldn’t help but feel amazed as she looked around. Following the last of the lines run over the roof back towards herself, then down the wall behind to meet those on the floor under her feet. 

Kemuri could see now just how severe all the damage throughout the chamber was, the odd material walls mostly all a light blue, close to a grey even between the lines of white that ran along them. Some of the pattern across the chamber however was dim compared to other parts, others tinged pink or straight up red because of large splatters of blood. Portions interrupted entirely cue to cracks in the crystalline material or entire chunks just completely missing or shattered across the floor. Even the ceiling and the floor shared the damage. 

The pillars, however... the truth at the state of the support this chamber had worried her greatly. The whole western end of the room had most of it’s supports damaged, dislodged, or outright broken. Just a few lone pillars dotted the whole half of the room she hadn’t yet explored, most the area left wide open beyond the masses of rubble and what she, from this distance, could only assume were remains of some of her people from when this place was inhabited. Most of it stuck bellow collapsed columns, or chunks of broken ones, even some parts of the roof that had fallen and the earliest dirt that was disturbed.

If not for the spread out few supports that still remained, and the somehow mostly still intact eastern half of the chamber entirely, she was sure this place would’ve been lost long before she could’ve found it. But the big question that filled her mind now was what could have caused that much destruction? The Huntress’ eye would shift briefly to the skull she had moved, wondering if something had happened to draw the Qilin here to fight or to be slaughtered. Part of her even wondering if it was the cause for the damage itself, not a protective creature but one of destruction.

No, no, that wouldn’t make sense with all the tales she had read or been told by elders who remember the time before their people joined Mistral. The Qilin was supposed to be a protective beast, one who would strike down the threats that held her people back from their safety with bolts of lightning from above. People never saw lightning storms as a negative or something to fear, but as something comforting. It couldn’t have been here to destroy and kill. It had to have been here to protect, but from what?

The same slither-like sound from before met her left ear as she stared off at the damaged half of the chamber. Immediately drawing her body to turn and her hand to pull the Tanto from it’s sheath on her hip into a defensive pose as she looked for the source. Some how, some way, even with the whole room lit, she still couldn’t see anything to have made the sound... no black forms hinting at Grimm, no smoke suggesting a Geist, nothing. 

Even as she hears it again, coming from somewhere straight ahead of where she’s looking. Nothing between pillars, nothing on the roof. It was actually starting to anger her how she could hear whatever had been following her, but not see it even now. This lack of visual confirmation making the fur along her tail’s underside and around it’s end puff out as the rest of the scaled part goes stiff behind herself. Leaving her defensive pose to take a step forward toward the edge of the top platform she stood on and cry out to attempt to provoke whatever it may be.

A few seconds pass as her shout echoes briefly and silence falls. The slither, but nothing else. Stepping down one part she roars out in anger again, even feeling the odd fur-like hairs that run down and around the bottom of her neck standing on end. Brief echo, slither, silence. Once more she steps down, returning to the main floor of the chamber now lit with the patterned lines of white light that seemed to pull from her Aura through the crystal. Unclasping her cloak to let it fall and drawing her Katana during her step before shouting again, this time with words.

“STOP YOUR DAMN HIDDING AND SHOW YOURSELF!” Her mouth keeping open after, almost baring her teeth in animalistic fashion. It felt... odd, to have put on this display of aggression like this. Like it was the best thing for her to do, but at the same time so much like something she’d never do. Which she hadn’t, not one time she could recall ever letting her anger get to her in this fashion. Yet... she couldn’t just stop it, no, she stood there, scanning the area before her with her good eye wide open and her teeth bared as she huffed, and huffed.

The slither sound happens again, still nothing in her sight, but this time it’s followed by another sound. A chuckle, one she was familiar with, even with how quiet and subtle it was, as if it was in the back of her mind.

“Y̴͜͜óu ̛m͠i̶̢g͠h̴҉̷t̷͡͝ ͟͞b̶e͟ ̷l̢͟o͘ś̷͠in͏҉g ̡͠i̢t̵̕ ͢͝͠t̴̀h̛̛er͟e̶,̧́ ̕H̡i̡g̀h͟҉n̛͏ęş̵͞s͡~͠ “

“I do NOT need you talking right now you leech...” Wisperer instantly snaps at that cursed voice that had been in her mind since she first had the Tanto in her possession. She could feel it making her anger rise and rise with it’s damned chuckling that repeated after her spiteful remark. “Either tell me what the damn hell happened here or fuck off.”

“S̡͞͝ųc͏̛h̨́ h͟͡a͝r̡͘s̴ḩ͠ w̵̢ord̷͜͝s̴҉҉ ̧̢t̨͝hé͠r͏e̡͡,̧ t̴͞o ̷̛y̵ǫ̶́u̸r͟͏͞ ̡a͟͠͞n̴c͟͢e̷͠ś͟to̵̢͠r̶͞ ̸҉̸n̵͞o̶̕ ļ̕ȩ̛s̡s͘,̶͟ ̛̕͏h̕͟op̵̢̛e̸ y͞o͜͟u̡͟ ҉͠͞d̛o͢͏̨ń't͢ ͘f͏̀ǫr̷͝g͜e͢t to͡͝ ͝d̸o ̶̕th҉̨͘e̸͠ R͟͠e̕͟m҉͡è́҉mb̶͢r̴͟a̵̛n͠͝c̶̶e ̕C͠e̛͏r̕͟em̢o͘ņ͟͜y͠ ̕͏ǹ̡͝e̵҉̵x̡͟t ý̵e͏̛ar͘~ “

The Faunus simply just growls as she keeps scanning the room, not in the mood for the shade’s teasing and riddles. She had been followed by something that refused to show itself this whole time, gotten even MORE questions than answers by coming her so far, and seen that damned multicolor figure again. It annoyed the Woman greatly that she had taken such a big leap forward toward understanding things, yet it felt like she fell ten times the distance backwards in progress at the same time.

“I’m only going to repeat myself one time, Grento, either tell me something that helps me, or shut up and go back to whatever corner of my head you’ve been hiding yourself in.”

“I̛f̵ ҉ I͞ wèr͝e͢ y͟ou, ͏P͜r̛ińc҉e͞s̡s, I͞'d̶ wo͡rr͟y̡ l͢ess ͝a̴boưt͏ ͠what ̀I̕ ͜ca̢n͜ t͠e͟ll͜ ͟ýou͢ a͝nd ḿo͢r̨e ͝a͝b͝ơu҉t͠ w̧h͜át's ̴co͟m͏i͠n̴ǵ f̨r҉o͡m̀ ҉yo̡u͞r l̸e̢ft.̀“

His words struck Kemuri as odd, turning her head she saw nothing coming at her at all. No Grim, no chunk of rubble, not a projectile or a weapon, nothing at all except the line of pillars just a short distance from the wall and... a faint dark line which seemed to suck away the light around it approaching fast.

[pastelninjaimagines]

hi hi!!! how do you feel about road trip with sasuke headcanons or imagine? feel free to add anyone you'd like ofc!! i just absolutely love your take on sasuke, one of the few that actually feel right to me haha. have a nice day!!!!! ♡

Road trip HCs

Since you were cool with me picking some other characters to do such a cute ask for, I picked some faves that i thought would be 10/10 for a road trip…also i’m glad you like my sasuke hot takes lmao…also also these were so fun and enjoyable to write that if y'all want actual imagines with these (or other characters) pls hmu - mod tina

Sasuke

It’s either his way or the highway..so be prepared. Has a map with pre picked locations circled on there for you guys to hit, but he’ll leave the route that you take a little looser. He wants structure, but’ll go with the flow to an extent. Not every single second has to be planned, but he wants direction for the trip. 

The car is pretty lightly packed, he doesn’t wanna fuss with carrying too much unnecessary junk. If either of you need anything along the way, he’d rather just buy things as needed. For him, carrying too many things is constricting, and he’d rather feel uninhibited by baggage. He’s also weird about the music. He prefers the radio, but hates commercials so he’ll channel surf until he finds something he likes. Why he doesn’t just make a cd (or aux his phone) you don’t know but he refuses to do so. He’ll say “trying to get the local flavor” and yet settle on the station that’s playing whatever’s popular at the time bc he can’t find anything else with a clear signal

Would definitely rather stick to seeing cities and landmarks for your stops along the way. He really doesn’t wanna get sidetracked with seeing smaller tourist trap attractions or going somewhere that’s way off the beaten path. Reason being is he’s made a sort of imaginary time table for you trip and even though he’s not stated that aloud, he wants to stick to his schedule 

Deidara

He’d be a literal blast to go on a road trip with (pun slightly intended). Deidara is full of energy and excitement and is super enthusiastic about having a good time. He’s a little bit all over the place, one minute wanting to drive all day, but then pulling off to see something either on the roadside, or off on an exit bc he saw a sign that piqued his interest. 

Definitely wants to hit more of the trendy/artsy spots on the road trip, picking a lot of big cities to get inspiration for his art, and just a genuine interest in seeing the sights. Though, he doesn’t wanna rush to get anywhere, he wants to take his time and go with the flow. Spontaneity is his middle name. so whatever you wanna do on the trip is cool with him too. 

80’s rock will be blasting the entire time. So I hope you like his collection of cds bc he’s not listening to the radio. He might let you play a few of your cds if he’s feeling generous. The car’s a mess with things. He wasn’t too organized with packing so he has to buy a lot of things on the way, and what he brought he slowly realizes he didn’t even need. Why he brought snow boots and ski pants for a summer road trip he doesn’t know. Can’t recall what he’d been thinking when he made that call. Also his art supplies literally take up the entire trunk so you better compartmentalize your belongings. Occasionally he’ll get in moods where he’s gotta clear out all the junk (aka all the food wrappers and take out bags) but that impulse is as sporadic as all his other ones. Deidara’s a lot of fun on a road trip but he’s pretty messy and very sporadic so if you’re cool with those things then he’s the partner for you. (Plus he goes on art rants - you’ve been warned) 

Dabi

Dabi just wants to get lost. You pick a direction, he drives. Literally doesn’t care where you guys go. You wanna hit all 50 states? Go coast to coast? Never come back? Aight he’s got you fam. Though he insists that you pick where you guys go, he’s got amazing intuition. If you don’t prompt him, he’ll find the most amazing spots. Absolutely down to go off-road and end up in some beautiful and breathtaking part of nature. And he’s down to get out of the car and go exploring. 

Likes to pull off to the side of the road at night, get on the roof of the car with you (if the night’s warm and clear) and just gaze up at the stars. Being in the middle of nowhere means you’ve got an amazing view of them. 

Dabi, like Sasuke, barely packs anything for the trip. He’s already very spartan with his belongings, so this isn’t a surprise to you that he says if he needs anything he’ll pick it up along the way. You guys happen to go thrifting and antiquing a lot on your various spots so this is where he gets most of his extra clothes and things. Sometimes, he’ll even get kitschy nicknacks from small town souvenir stores that give you both a good laugh. 

On the road, he’s quiet most of the time, he’ll leave the talking up to you while he’s driving. He’ll occasionally sing to the music he plays which is a combination of rap and classic rock. He’s not a radio hog and let’s you play your favorites as long as you both know to take turns. On a few occasions you’ve caught him singing along to your more pop-y selections. Dabi’s much more talkative when you guys pull off (either at one of your talked about destination spots or some random spontaneous stops) and loves cracking his famed dry sarcastic comments at everything. At night you guys’ll sometimes talk about deeper things, but the only time he’ll really open up is if you guys stop and drink (or grab a bottle and bring it back to the car/the room if you’re staying at a motel). Other than that, he’s pretty quiet, only speaking when he deems necessary 

Mista

Mista is the perfect combination of fun and chill for a road trip. Anywhere you wanna go, he’ll take you, as long as you’re good with the stops he picks out too. You’re the navigator though, you gotta tell him where to go otherwise he might end up getting you guys lost, but if he does, you’ll have an amazing time in a place you’d never thought you’d be because he knows how to make anything a good time. He’ll be talking your ear off with his random facts, commentary and constant cracking of jokes that happen to pop in his head. If he’s not blabbering his mouth, you’re both singing to the music that’s on blast and shaking the car. Mista made the world’s longest mixtape that combined both his faves and your faves so everyone’s happy and singing along (peeping Mista sing his head off to Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac while speeding down the empty highway - it’s a real image) 

Loves the idea of taking polaroid pictures at each place you stop at. The glove compartment is littered with the polaroids you take. If it’s not one of “official stop pictures” it’s a bunch of candids, the ridiculous faces you guys make or of pretty scenery. Mista’s actually got quite a photographer’s finesse in him so the pictures he takes are actually really good and you’d almost consider them artsy. Like Dabi, this boy be buying all the small town souvenirs and be decked out in t-shirts, wrist bands, caps from all the little towns that no one’s ever heard of. He be reping that merch like the tackily fashionable mf he is and still makes it all look good

He’s a creature of comfort so he prefers pulling up to a motel to rest at night instead of sleeping in the cramped car, but sometimes, if you guys are just dead tired he’ll throw everything in the trunk so you can both make a nice comfortable nest with the back seats down and curl up. 

[some-ikemen-snob]

Pee Pee Poo Poo (Masaharu x MC) Fanfic

Proofread by: @the-voltage-diaries​ :D

Yes the MC has a name, I’m sorry to those that prefer (Y/N)

I was going to make a version w/ (Y/N) and w/o commentary but I just could not be bothered

“Please come with me to a party!” Rina’s hands are clasped tightly together in front of her. A look of nervousness covers her face. When she told me she had something serious to ask of me after work, I wasn’t expecting this. She knows how much of a risk it is for me to go outside, being a wanted fugitive and all. I don’t care about what would happen to me, I just don’t want her getting caught up in any of my problems. 

“You do know how ridiculous of a request that is right?”

“Yea… but it was worth an ask.” She sulks dejectedly, whatever the reason may be, I want to hear it. 

“Why do you need me for some party?”

“A few days ago, some new recruits were talking behind my back. They were poking fun at how I didn’t have a boyfriend at my age and claimed I was just into hook-ups.” If only they knew who she was dating, they would shut their traps. The thought amuses me but I know Rina wouldn’t like it if I threatened them to shut up. 

“I got fed up with their remarks and told them I’d bring my boyfriend to one of their parties.” Hachiko has always been the brave but stupid type. “I didn’t want to bring some random guy because I felt as if I would be betraying you..” God, the expression on her face was adorable. A fugitive like me doesn’t deserve someone as precious as her. “It’s okay, I’ll just tell them he was too late to make it.” I know what I’m about to say defies all rationality and common sense. But hey, a man’s gotta trust his gut, especially when it comes to his girl. “Alright, you win. I’ll come to the stupid party, but I’ll be in full disguise mode and lounging around in a corner.” A smile that is worth ignoring all the rationality in the world erupts on her face. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” Rina looks as if she just chugged a pack of Red Bull down. She gives me a peck on the cheek, much to my surprise. “I’ll text you the location and time when I get my hands on it!” Picking up her feet, she turns around and heads for her room. “Wait.” I grab her right sleeve. Confused, she turns her head around to face me and at that moment, I plant a kiss on her cheeks. “That’s payback for what you did,” I give her a smirk. She mumbles something underneath her breath but it’s inaudible to me. However, judging by her slight wobble back to her room, I can tell she enjoyed it.

The day of the party, Rina has instructed me to come meet her by the bookstore in front of the station. As I stare at my perfectly put disguise laid out on my bed, I get a knock on the door. Inui peeks his head into my room. “Can you go pick up some groceries?” “Sure.” I can make it back in time to change into my disguise then head to the party. “The least you could do is pick up ingredients since you don’t know how to cook a meal even if your life depended on it.” A mischievous Hino peaks his head in. As much as I would love to blast his head for making that comment, I could never while Inui was here. “What’s with the get-up?” Hino turns his gaze over to the disguise on the bed. “Nothing much, just don’t touch it, I’ll be leaving now.” I leave the base with a very clear feeling that Hino would definitely touch it. 

//

Moments later, I’m walking through the streets as strangers stride past by me. That took forever. I grumble with my hands full of groceries, making my way back to the car. The last item on the list were these stupid tapioca balls that I basically searched the entire city for. “She better make something good with them.” I tuck the list back into my shirt pocket, the name of the preparator was written right next to the desired ingredient. Rina’s scribbled name looks petite and rushed. She probably had the idea to make bubble tea at the last minute. I put the load of paper bags into the trunk and slam it down sturdy. “Now let’s go home and-” “Masaharu Ryuzaki?” What? “I think you have the wrong person, sir.” “Then turn around and let us see your face.” Crap, I don’t have time for this. Best thing I can do right now is… RUN! I break out into a sprint, hoping to get these men off my track. 

“There’s nowhere for you to go.” In the midst of the chase, I find myself face to face with an inescapable path. How did they manage to find me? This is the first time I’ve ever been recognized with my disguise in. These sunglasses should have hidden my identity completely! (No shade but that is actually his in-game “disguise.” A pair of sunglasses.) “Hear me out gentleman, I don’t want to fight you or anything.” “Do you not remember what you did to us?” “I don’t even remember who you are.” 

< Insert the mysterious men explaining a crime Masaharu committed against their group as he shows Masaharu a scar he gave him during their previous encounter. I can’t be bothered to write this up >

Finally, he finishes explaining. I look up at the sun which has already begun its descent. I’m going to be late at this rate. I wasn’t planning on shedding any blood today but my girl’s going to be waiting for me soon. 

//

I stuff the gun back into my pocket, the men lay in anguish on the floor. (Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor). I didn’t kill them, just immobilized their movement. I look at my watch which has bits of blood splattered on it. Agh, damn! That fight took a hell load of time. If I didn’t have my gun on me, it’d have taken even longer. Rina won’t mind me being 15 minutes late to the party...right? I steer the car through the bustling city, not even making time to get home. The groceries and disguise can wait, hopefully they don’t mind seeing bits of blood on my outfit. I park my car outside of the train station, getting out to look around for Rina. Damn, she’s not in front of the book store, probably already at the party. The building is of walking distance from the station and with a parking spot already found, I begin my walk to the party. Entering the party alone must have taken her a lot of guts, even after what she told her co-workers. Plus, I don’t want to look like I just ghosted her on this meeting. I grab my phone out, I already told Rina that I would be late but she hasn’t seen my message yet. Rustling my hair in frustration, random thoughts enter my brain. Maybe forcing them to shut up wouldn’t be so bad an idea? (LET IT ALL OUT LET YOUR FEELINGS OUT, LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ALL ABOUT - Zela) No, get it together, Rina wouldn’t want you to do that. As I’m walking through the area, I hear a conversation that perks my ears. “We’re now officially husband and wife.” A couple snuggles together, leaving the marriage bureau.

“I can’t wait to see my lovely husband when I get home from work.” While their PDA makes me stay away from them, it makes me think. If Rina and I were married… when she came home from work, I would be able to welcome her home with a warm (yet deadly) meal, we could take a bath together and afterwards (insert something definitely NSFW). These fuzzy imaginative thoughts fill my head for the remainder of the walk.

//

This should be the right apartment number, I study the text Rina had sent me a few days ago. Light emits from underneath the door and I can hear chattering from inside. However, none of the voices belong to Rina. I knock on the door before opening it with caution. “Hello, I’m Rina’s husband, Rasaharu Myuzaki.” (can you tell I put much effort into creating the name?) 

“Husband?!” I can hear the shock come from a couple of girls. Crap! I got it mixed up with the couple’s conversation. (SPY X FAMILY REFERENCE, IF YOU GET IT, I LOVE YOU)

Before I could clarify the mix up, Rina speaks up on my behalf. 

“Yes, Masa- Rasaharu is my husband, so with this, can you stop talking bad behind my back, Chisaki?” I glance at who I assume is Chisaki, the one who started all of this. 

“Myuzaki, you’re covered in blood.” A gentleman offers me a towel which I kindly accept. “Thank you. I work as a butcher so I often deal with chopping up pigs, especially pigs that think it is okay to talk shit about my wife.” I give Chisaki a look that tells her she better leave this country or she’ll be dead by midnight. My plan works and Chisaki immediately gets down on her knees in front of Rina and begs for her forgiveness. Three other women who I can assume to be part of her posse also do the same. Rina looks relieved, having this situation come to a close, however, there’s a hint of unrest on her face. “Now that we’re done here-” I tug at her waist. “I will be taking my lovely wife away, I hope you all don’t mind.” The confusion on Rina’s face is clear as day but she still leaves with me after saying her farewells. 

//

The ride to the spot was a silent one, where Rina just spent the entire time trying to rub the blood off my clothing and face. (omg girlfriend goals <3) “Where is this place?” I stop the car near the edge of a cliff, the both of us get out and walk closer towards the edge. Before us is the city and the night sky. The lights create an orange like hue over the city, making it almost impossible to take my eyes off it. Compared to the noise and bustle of the city, the deafening silence here almost sounds unreal. “Found this place a while ago, thought you might want to blow some steam off here.” 

“How did you know I was stressed?” 

“As if you would be satisfied enough with just an apology from Chisaki.” Rina gives me a warm smile. “You’re right.” She cups her hands over her mouth and inhales. “EAT (doodoo) HONEY! I BET YOU CAN’T EVEN GET A DECENT BOYFRIEND WITH YOUR RAT ASS A T T I T U D E!” At the end, there’s a quick silence but then we both burst out into laughter. “That’s my girl!” I cup my hands over my mouth just like what Rina did. “TALK (doodoo), GET HIT.” At this point, Rina is doubling over with laughter. This little screaming session continued on for a while until our lungs could not scream anymore. 

“...I’m glad you came.” “Why wouldn’t I?” 

“Well...before I even entered the room, I could hear them berating insults about me. I felt really down thinking that maybe you weren't really coming.”

“I sent you a text that I would be late.” Rina checks her phone and looks at me with a sheepish smile, “sorry,” she laughs.

“But luckily, your amazing husband was here to save the day, right?” “Husband? That is a very bold thing for you to say.” 

“Why? You can’t see me giving you a ring one day?” I throw a little joke at Rina but her reaction is completely different from what I expected. With her face beat red, she punches my arm. 

“Anyways, didn’t you say you were going to wear a ‘disguise?’” I can tell she’s embarrassed by my joke so I let it slide. “You’re not going to question the blood?” 

“I trust that you didn’t kill anyone?” 

“You’re correct, just had to deal with some guys from the past.” 

“Oooh, look at my hubby acting so brave and strange.” “Now look who’s saying husband.”

We spend the rest of the night just bantering as I think, ‘she’d make a lovely wife one day.’ 

EXTRAS:

“Shouldn’t we be going home soon? I’m hungry.” Rina asks me. 

Home? Hungry? Food? OH CRAP. I left the groceries in the car. I think of how much the car is going to stink because of the fish that was left in there for at least an hour. Fuck my life.

~

When I get home, I remember that I left my disguise on my bed. Entering my room, my disguise is missing. Instead, there’s a clown costume on my bed and all the clothes in my closet are missing. “What the ever loving fuck?” And there’s only one person on this damn earth who knew about this and would do it. “H I N O.” 

Rina’s POV: 

I come into work with a bright and cheery face. On my way to work, I got a free coffee for being the one millionth customer and got to pet an adorable puppy. So, tell me why, do I hear Chisaki blasting her mouth off first thing in the morning? “I heard Rina was spotted in the red light district with someone.” 

“And he looked younger than her, is she planning on being a cougar?” 

This isn’t the first time I heard this from them. I did not want to start a fight right then and there. 

“I was not in the red light district yesterday and I do have a boyfriend who is older than me, in fact. If you want to see him, I’m willing to bring him to a party.” 

“Really now?” Chisaki looks me up and down suspiciously.

“Then bring him. We’ll all bring our boyfriends too so they can all talk.”

“Oh how considerate of you, make sure to text me the details.” As I walk away from Chisaki and her grouper, I begin screaming in my head. IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT, I D I O T. Ahhhhh, how am I supposed to ask Masaharu?

~

After Masaharu gives me a surprise kiss on the cheek, my face instantly reddens. “That’s payback for what you did.” 

“I didn’t know revenge was supposed to be this sweet.” I mumble under my breath, hoping he didn’t hear me. My heart’s pounding a mile a minute.

~

Ah fuck, Masaharu didn’t show up at our designated spot. I’m standing in front of the door. I’m already late and even worse, my boyfriend isn’t here with me. What was I expectating? More than this being dangerous, it was plain stupid.

~

When Masaharu called himself my husband, my brain went full on meltdown. H-h-husband? Is he into marriage roleplay? Anyways, I can use this chance to finally shut Chisaki up once and for all.

~

“Why? You can’t see me giving you a ring one day?” YOU DON’T JUST RANDOMLY PROPOSE TO A GIRL LIKE THAT!!!!! DJDLDSSDF. I punch Masaharu on the arm to hide my embarrassment, THAT’S THE SECOND TIME ALREADY IN THIS FANFIC (yes I just threw a 4th wall moment in like that)

~

“Hey Masaharu?” “Hm?” “Why does the car smell like rotten fish?”

~

When I get to work the next morning, Chisaki comes up to me. “I’m so sorry for talking shit behind your back for a while now!” 

“It’s okay, let’s put it behind us now.” 

“But I do have to say, how come you never told me you had such a sexy husband?” Wait what, excuse the fuck me? You wanna fucking fight for my mans?  

[anonsally]

Days 94-96 of COVID-19 shelter-in-place

Various shelter-in-place restrictions are being relaxed, and, unrelatedly, I have had some pretty good birdwatching lately.

Day 94 was Thursday. We had failed to buy milk the previous day (and I feel this was not my job after my medical procedure Wednesday morning), so I ended up having a smaller bowl of cereal than usual (followed by some of Wife’s millet porridge made with almond milk) and then going to buy some. There was no line to get in! That was very lucky! The store will be resuming its normal hours this week and staying open later than it has been lately, which is a relief--we won’t have as many incidents of realising too late that we don’t have what we need for breakfast the next day.

Then I “went” to work: we had a long meeting during which we did not come to an agreement about various strategies for analysis. The biostatistics grad student is convinced that the method two of us are advocating is based on an incorrect assumption, whereas I don’t see where we are making that assumption. I worked out some probability calculations with pencil and paper and wrote to the group about what I thought we were trying to do and why I didn’t think it made the erroneous assumption. I don’t know if that’s where she thought the assumption was coming in, though.

After work, I took a neighborhood walk with my binoculars and ended up getting some good birdwatching in. About halfway into the walk, I heard some rustling in the dry leaves on the ground. “Towhee?” I thought, and looked around for the source, expecting to see a brown California towhee. But it turned out to be a spotted towhee! Such a pretty bird, and I got a really good view of it in the binoculars. Since it’s a comparatively recent addition to my repertoire, I was excited about it. 

After that, I saw some house finches at the tippy top of a thin cypress (?) tree, and also saw a bird through the binoculars that... well, I couldn’t identify it, and I suspect this description is wrong because I couldn’t find anything in my book that matched it, but @lies​, if you have any ideas please let me know! It seemed to be a smallish bird with a solid (possibly orangey-) yellow front and a long, thin beak. It was perched near the top of a tree, and something I assume was a hummingbird seemed to be divebombing it? 

I walked back toward home but stopped at the house with the bird-feeders out front. There was a Nuttall’s woodpecker at the suet feeder! That was exciting (it’s another one I learned recently, and I’ve never seen one at a feeder). It got chased away by a scrub jay but hung out in the tree for a while and I got to watch it some more. There were also more chestnut-backed chickadees, goldfinches, and house finches, as usual, as well as a Steller’s jay. So I felt like I’d seen all the high-quality birds! 

In the evening I solved word puzzles with my dad on a video call. 

Yesterday was Day 95. I got up at 8am, and was really tired, but I had arranged to take a walk with my high school friend who’s visiting (and came over on Wednesday). We had planned to meet at 10am, but in a series of texts we postponed it to 10:15 and then 10:30, and then I didn’t manage to arrive at the meeting place until 10:40, and when I checked my phone on arrival, I saw that she was at least 10 minutes behind me! But eventually she turned up and we had a lovely walk in a park Wife and I have not been hiking in (it is a bit more crowded and less sunny than most of the ones we have gone to), but it’s the one this friend and I had both visited with our families as kids. This was just a very short, easy walk, but we saw ducks, turtles, chestnut-backed chickadees, a cute little periwinkle blue butterfly, and an amazingly well-camouflaged moth. It looked just like a leaf, but I happened to see it flap into position. I think it was an omnivorous looper? but the stripe along the back is blueish, which I haven’t seen in the photos online. Anyway, I was pleased with myself for not being scared of it. We also heard a woodpecker, but I couldn’t locate it. After our walk, we sat and chatted for a long time, and saw a couple of enormous ravens, a wild turkey, a bird of prey with a longish tail, and a couple of Steller’s jays. It was great to spend so much time with my friend. We did not stay 6ft apart the whole time, but when we were closer, we had our masks on, and when we were seated and talking, we were further apart; plus, we were outside the whole time. So I think it is fairly low-risk.

Afterwards, I drove down to my office. I had an appointment at 1:30, but I arrived a few minutes early, so first I ordered tacos to pick up at 1:45, and then I folded down the back seat of the car. I went to the door and waited for the building manager to let me in. I was there to collect my desk chair, in hopes that it will make working at home less of an ergonomic disaster. I also found Girl Scout cookies and some chocolate in my desk, so I brought them home too! The chair did fit in the back of the car (phew), and I picked up my tacos and came home. 

I worked all afternoon, though I took some breaks to read about Juneteenth, too. I had heard of it before as a Black American holiday, but I don’t think I had realised what it was specifically celebrating. And frankly, it’s outrageous that it isn’t a national holiday. The abolishment of slavery is something we should all be celebrating (as a first step toward liberty and justice for all, which we obviously have not yet achieved).

After work, I went to buy some ice cream and noticed that restaurants with space for outdoor dining have resumed seating people outside, with decent spacing between tables. 

I watered the plants that had to be put into pots, several of which are looking pretty shocked from the transplanting. And Wife and I did some heroic Adulting in the kitchen. I stayed up late.

Today was the Summer Solstice and also Day 96! Widget lost his lunch, or rather barfed his breakfast. I’m hoping an opossum will eat the vomit tonight, because I don’t want to have to clean it up.

I wrote to my city councilmember again, this time to ask about the fireworks we have been hearing every night for a few weeks. Last night’s fireworks may have been for Juneteenth, though. Anyway, I ended up going to the farmers’ market by myself rather late (Wife had a headache), but I ran into @llamapunk there and got to spend some time chatting and catching up with her while doing my shopping. Alas, I was too late for peaches! But in compensation, I bought lots of strawberries and some rhubarb. 

After I came home and ate, Wife and I set off to a park for a hike. This wasn’t as satisfying as most of the hikes we’ve taken--the trails were very confusing and poorly marked at many of the intersections, so we took wrong turns more than once. Also, they were both narrow and somewhat heavily trafficked in some sections, making it awkward to maintain much distance between ourselves and other hikers. Still, aspects of it were nice, and we got some good exercise--there was a very steep uphill section. However, the most exciting part of it was that we saw a family of wild turkeys, including several babies! So the hike was worth it just for that! I heard a woodpecker but couldn’t find it, but I got to point out some chestnut-backed chickadees to Wife, who was charmed by how cute they are. There was a variety of plant life, too, including a dead tree with some good fungi, a bay laurel with fragrant leaves, redwoods (with miner’s lettuce and redwood sorrel at their feet, but we were not supposed to stray from the trail to pick them), ferns, eucalypti, wildflowers, and the first ripe wild blackberries of the season. Being outside in nature and getting a little exercise seemed to relieve Wife’s headache, too.

I’ve solved a couple of cryptic crossword puzzles in the past couple days.

It looks like my county’s daily COVID-19 new confirmed case counts have been higher since late May than they were before that time, but that might be partly because of higher numbers of people getting tested. And the deaths seem to have peaked in April. Number of people in the ICU has remained fairly stable since mid-April, but the number of people in the hospital has roughly been increasing very slowly. Still, it doesn’t look like the protests have resulted in a pandemic upswing.

[elisaphoenix13]

The Sorcerer's Cub (Ch.1)

Stephen was enjoying a quiet evening. Peter was out patrolling and wouldn't be back for a couple of hours, and Tony was out of town for some SI business and would be for a couple more days. None of his fellow team members were on the family floor with him, so Stephen was free to stretch out on the couch with some tea and a novel he had been meaning to finish. He was able to enjoy himself for a couple of hours, but then he got an alert from Victor.

"Doctor, Karen has gone offline and has remained so for five minutes." Stephen's AI announces through the tower speakers in his British accent.

Stephen marks his spot in his book before setting it on the coffee table. "Do you know where she last went offline?" He wasn't worried just yet. Peter's AI had gone offline before and the teen had immediately swung back home.

"The tracker in Spiderman's suit is still functional. He hasn't moved since Karen disconnected."

Now that was odd. "Show me."

Victor sends a hologram to the sorcerer's nanotech bracelet and Stephen dismisses it as soon as he figures out Peter's location. He opens a portal to the alleyway, and as it closes behind him, he looks around the seemingly empty backstreet. Peter was nowhere in sight. Just a few empty cardboard boxes, a dumpster that Stephen gave a wide berth, and a couple of loose bricks. Just as he was about to double check the location that Victor sent him, that was when he heard it.

Whimpers. Followed by a couple of sniffles.

"Peter?" Stephen calls out carefully and slowly approaches the cardboard boxes he heard the noise come from. "Peter, if that's you, answer me."

All he got in response were more scared whimpers, and Stephen follows the sound to its source, stopping dead in his tracks when he looks behind the boxes. Peter was there, but his condition was what had Stephen frozen. He was the size of a two year old again, and based on the sniffles, was acting like one too. He wasn't sure how aware Peter was of what happened, but Stephen had a feeling that Peter wasn't. Otherwise the boy would have found a way to call him.

"Peter." Stephen repeats as he crouches down to the boy's level and smiles softly when the boy finally looks up in response. 

"Mama!"

Sniffles turn into loud sobs as the baby launches himself into the doctor's arms, and Stephen reacts instantly by cupping the back of his head with one hand and rubbing his back with the other as he stands. At least Peter recognized him and that was a plus. Stephen didn't want to think of the nightmare of trying to take his son home if he didn't recognize him.

Stephen removes the hand on Peter's head to form a portal back to the tower, and once again it closes and disappears behind him after he steps through. Now that he was in the safety if their home, the sorcerer could focus on soothing Peter. He was still crying and fisting the front on Stephen's shirt in a death grip, and fat tears were rolling off chubby cheeks and onto his shirt. He swipes a tissue from one of the side tables in the living room and wipes Peter's runny nose as he shushes him quietly, and the sobs taper off after a few minutes.

The doctor tilts his head to check and see if Peter had fallen asleep, but instead found the boy contentedly sucking his thumb and laying his head on Stephen's shoulder. So Stephen continues to walk around the family floor in the hopes that it would help Peter fall asleep. The boy made no indication that he knew he shouldn't be a baby, so it was up to him to go through the recordings of Peter's patrol and see if he could find anything before Karen went offline.

"Victor, bring up the last ten minutes of Peter's patrol before Karen went offline, please." Stephen asks softly when he hears the unmistakable sound of soft breathing. The baby had finally fallen asleep.

Stephen maximizes the video footage in the hologram that Victor pulls up on the tablet and then moves his hand back to the back of Peter's head. He gently strokes brown tufts of hair as he watches the recording of Peter trying to get alien tech away from some criminals and then being hit by one of the beams. Last time Peter was turned into a baby by alien tech, it only lasted a couple of days, but the weapons in the video looked more advanced. That could mean that Peter could stay a baby longer than a couple of days.

Not that he minded. It was summer break and Stephen loved it when Peter was a baby. He admittedly had a bit of baby fever after the teen turned back to normal, but Tony took care of that with some fantastic sex. Not to mention the kinky talk.

"How long will it take for Peter to go back to normal this time?" Stephen asks.

"Based on the weapons in the footage, it could take up to two weeks for the effects to wear off." Victor replies. "Would you like me to call your husband?"

"Um...yes. Might as well." The sorcerer sighs as his AI calls Tony, and the man pops up on screen after the second ring. 

"I got a ping from FRIDAY. Is Peter-" The engineer starts fretting but stops mid sentence when he notices the baby on Stephen's shoulder. "Is that Peter?"

"Yes, and besides the obvious, he's just fine. I've already looked into what happened, but Victor says he could be like this for up to two weeks." The sorcerer says calmly.

"I'm coming home."

"Tony...no. I've got this handled right now. You'll only be gone for a couple of days."

The engineer sighs. "I can't leave you to take care of him by yourself."

"I literally have babysitters at my beck and call, love. I promise to call you if I need you to come back early."

"...alright. Keep me updated." Tony huffs out.

Stephen smiles. "I'll send pictures."

"You better." He watches Tony look up on his end as if he's looking at something. "I have to go babe. I love you."

"I love you too." Stephen whispers just before Tony hangs up, and he fights down the blush threatening to creep onto his face.

Tony always surprised him with those three words. Just because he didn't say them as often as normal people did, Stephen never felt like the engineer didn't love him. Actions spoke louder than words. Tony was ready to drop everything and come back home to help take care of Peter after all.

Hearing those words was always nice though. Sure, it left Stephen flustered, but Tony was always genuine when he said them. He always looked the sorcerer in the eyes when he said it, and Stephen could feel his heart swell every time.

"Perhaps you should get Peter out of his suit." Victor suddenly say and Stephen nods.

"A diaper won't hurt either." The sorcerer says in agreement and climbs the stairs up to the master bedroom.

They had saved some baby supplies from the last time Peter was infantized, but it wouldn't last two weeks. He would have to go to the store and buy some more. At least clothes. Friday could order everything else. Stephen decided that the trip to the store could wait until tomorrow as he was leaning down over the bed to carefully move Peter from his shoulder and onto the bed. The infant whimpers at the loss of warmth (and quite possibly Stephen's soothing smell), but otherwise doesn't protest when the sorcerer moves away to check the closet for some baby pajamas and a diaper. There were only enough diapers for overnight and the next morning so it was a good idea they were going to the store.

When he walked back out of the closet, Stephen came upon one of the many reasons he wanted to keep Peter a baby. He was sprawled on his back, sleeping peacefully with a thumb in his mouth and his other hand gently gripping his hair. He must have woken up briefly and soothed himself back to sleep by playing with his hair. Which was good. Stephen was afraid that when Peter woke up and realized the doctor wasn't with him, he would start crying again. Peter was more attached to Stephen as a baby, but he wasn't really complaining.

As gently as possible, Stephen removes Peter's nanotech suit with the press of a button and was relieved to find that both the baby and the suit were dry and clean. He had no doubt that the suit would fit Peter properly when he was back to his teenage self, and that it only shrank to accommodate Peter's new size when he was infantized. One diaper and a pair of Iron Man pajamas later (surprisingly Stephen was the one who bought them and Tony had loved it), the sorcerer was moving Peter toward the middle of the bed and laying next to him. It was late enough that he could retire to bed early, but since he wasn't quite tired enough, he turned the tv on at low volume. Stephen was lulled to sleep by his son's soft breaths and the unintelligible murmuring coming from the television, and both of them would have slept through the night if it weren't for Peter having a nightmare.

Stephen woke to him crying and was quick to pull the baby into his arms and gently shush him. "It's okay cub. You're okay. It was just a bad dream."

Peter grips the front of Stephen's shirt in another death grip as he cries into his shoulder, and the sorcerer carefully slides out of bed. He would have to do a bit more walking around to help Peter go back to sleep, so that was what he did as he held the boy's head to his shoulder. It took about five minutes  for Peter to calm down, and when he hiccups through his sniffles, Stephen brushes his hair back.

"All better?" He whispers and smiles softly when the baby nods. "Ready to go back to sleep?"

"Don't wanna. Scary."

"I'll be right next to you." Stephen promises as he sits on the bed.

When Peter refuses to let go of him, he has to maneuver them back under the covers in the hopes that the warmth between him and the blankets would comfort the baby. It did not. He just sat up and stared down at the comforter as he sucked his thumb. Stephen didn't want to turn on the tv for him since that would only make it harder for Peter to fall asleep, but he had to think of a way to make things less scary.

Then he had an epiphany.

"I have an idea Peter, but you have to lay down."

Peter looks over at him and studies his face for any trace of a lie before he hesitantly lays back down. Once the boy curls into the sorcerer's chest when Stephen lays on his side, the sorcerer conjures a few butterflies with a simple flick of his wrist. Peter relaxed almost instantly. Butterflies were pretty and not scary, and their blue color was calming, and it helped his son fall back to sleep within minutes. Doe-like eyes fluttered closed, one hand remained fisted in Stephen's shirt, and the other had a thumb in a small mouth that eventually slipped out when Peter succumbed to sleep.

Stephen only risked a kiss to the crown of his head, before settling to fall asleep himself, making sure to keep a protective arm around Peter this time. Hopefully it would help Peter feel safe and protect him from further nightmares, as childish as the notion was that adults kept the nightmares away. Childish, but he believed it was true. When Tony held him during the night, his bad dreams were few and far between, but nights like these when Tony was away? They were more constant.

He just hoped they wouldn't plague him tonight. Peter needed him to be Mama Bear right now.

[clklclkl]

Curtains Hairstyles: Why They Work

There Are Lots of Things that affect If Not a particular necklace suits you well. That person contour is just one. Just how to style is just another. If you should be thinking of a premier knot, then if you are really a high-value samurai warrior needs to really be described as a thirdparty. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that your hair .

 The hereditary makeup of One's own locks decides What you could do together and also obedient it really is if styling. And if many adult men (horribly frustrating types ) possess the complete, glistening mop which will rival Samson's locksothers need to work really hard to continue to keep their pores appearing semi-presentable along with semi-present.

 In the Event You Would like to Do your crowning glory Lawyers, you then want to find particular and provide your hair the bespoke therapy. This is exactly the reason why we have exploited the recommendation of business specialists to learn exactly what you could certainly do along with your own hair sort, regardless of what your mama gave you.

 Thick Hair

Scrub baldness would be your poisoned chalice of baldness Type s. Superficially, it truly is some thing to be envied, without a sign of male pattern hair thinning. What exactly the haters don't comprehend, although, is the fact that having top-notch, outstanding human anatomy stems great obligation never to check just like you have set to the podium in Crufts.

 "Thick hair comes in several types (wavy and Soft, thick and wiry, or curled and rough ) however it's principally evidenced with fullness," claims Ruffians inventive director Denis Robinson. "This usually means that this particular hair type might sometimes feel uncontrollable and needs routine reductions to maintain shape"

 The Very Most Useful Hair-cuts For Curly Hair

Repairing thick hair really is about upkeep. In the event you have obtained a large amount of clean up high, you will have to Hotfoot it to the beverage store over a normal foundation. The very fantastic thing is the fact that you have got tons of choices for hair cuts.

 Short term hair-cuts work extremely very well. But long hairstyles would be likewise fantastic for thick hair now," says Robinson. "The bodyweight the moment it becomes more will probably aid with preserving it inplace. Concealed internal levels are likewise a fantastic approach in order to add contour to more spans and soft texturising will soften the endings "

 In summary (or maybe ) Should You've been pinpointed with A thick thatch, you are ready to perfect that a person bun, bask at a halo of shaggy levels or stone a shiny pompadour. Get the most of it.

 The Most Effective Products To Get Thick Hair

Acquiring thick hair damn nicely Act it self is catchy as a couple of things are moving on who are trying to scupper your own success. "Scrub hair really is demonstrably weighty, Thus in the event that you're looking for elevate (a quiff as an example ) then employ mousse or gel into the origin spot and blow dry. When a milder fashion is needed, put on the item to moist hair to ensure that the item stays shape with out enlarging," Robinson states.

 Scrub hair Is Also Very responsive into this Tools you are using overly, therefore brush extreme maintenance. "fashion thick hair to contour working with a wide-tooth comb following which the product was implemented, then apply a drier with a diffuser attachment to wash the hair to approximately 70 percent, permitting marginally wet hair to airdry," says Robinson.

 Therefore, If you have obtained good teeth Bristle brushes on your own hair kit, eliminate right today.

 Asian Hair

In Case You Have south or south Asian genes, then you are Probable in possession of those 2 valued qualities within an barnet. "Asian hair is more often glistening and can be often thick," claims Aveda resourceful manager Michael Lendon.

 There is a catch nonetheless, That You likely Already understood. "It is harder with this particular specific hair variety to maintain fashions set up location by warmed gear without even other baldness solutions. Additionally, since the baldness develops it could eventually become thinner faster and more vulnerable to breakage, so" provides Lendon. Figuring out you can't ever possess all .

 The Very Most Useful Hairstyles For Asian Hair

Due to This hair form's density, Vertical feats of both hair styling are more difficult to perfect, therefore for simplicity, so it is ideal to utilize gravity as opposed to contrary to it. "Sharp geometric contours satisfy pubic hair since they may hang nicely with little-to-no styling. A brief harvest can be a dramatic appearance that matches this particular hair sort," claims Lendon.

 Try out a Quick sides and back together with Span in addition for nominal preservation, or take a lengthier rest which may be trapped supporting your ears in the event that you should be after longer period.

 The Most Effective Solutions For Asian Hair

As Asian hair styles normally suffer with the The destiny to be thick and glistening, quantity is frequently the blind area. "developing further feel can be essential in Asian own hair," claims Lendon. "Utilizing a clay helps create definition however employ a formidable hair-spray to continue to keep fashions set up"

 You will Have to change up your strategy to Styling however, based which appearance you bloated to. "For briefer Asian hair, arid the fashion that has a fantastic high quality hair drier and also employ a metallic barrelled around brush in order to add bounce and body. For more Asian hairstyles, then consider using warmth with tongs or curling irons so as to enhance shape and glow," claims Lendon.

 "gloomy hair surpasses density and volume, is more limp And frequently you may start to see the entire scalp," claims hair-stylist Joseph Lanzante, operator of Manchester barber-shop The Men's area. The condition is you are perhaps not dumb , which in this situation isn't just a fantastic matter.

 The Very Most Useful Hairstyles For Hair

"Males who have nice hair must make it Long Ish To put in weight since brief hairstyles may eventually seem as though they truly are inducing human anatomy," claims Lanzante. Sounds counter intuitive, however we are siding with all the pros with this particular.

 In training,'Long-ish' baldness really is known as Ear-to-shoulder span, thus layered backless drapes or some mid-length sailed straight back style certainly are both fantastic alternatives to minimise the tyranny of locks that are dead.

 The Most Effective Solutions For Hair

With nice hair, turning straw into gold will be Entirely potential due for the inventions of contemporary hair technology. Nice person, '' science fiction. "desire to of nice hair will be really to put in quantity, and it really is better achieved using a foul-smelling cream such as quantity, done having a sterile powder to density,''" claims Lanzante. Stay away from major, oily dressing services and products just like the plague, even although: when it appears like it is going to weigh down your hair, it is maybe not your own friend.

 Do not douse your mind at that powder and Expect some thing will probably adhere; you still want a little bit of procedure . "Guys who have nice hair needs to make use of a spray brush plus also a hair drier, drying up side right down seriously to put in your body into the last type," provides Lanzante. Only look out to head-rush.

 Wavy Hair

Wavy hair really is a Little Bit of the fence sitter, maybe not Capable to compose its mind on if it is straight or wavy, leaving people who have this specific hair type completely confused in regards to exactly what exactly the hell do for this. Enhance that the simple fact all waves differs and also you've got your self a quite varying barnet, '' says star hair-stylist Oliver J. Woods.

 "Wavy hair really is your mid Point between directly And curled hair but has the potential to differ hugely regarding the dimensions and feel of this tide," he states. "Due to its irregular climbing pattern in comparison to hair that is straight cutting and styling require slightly bit more awareness of stay fit "

 The Very Most Useful Hairstyles To Get Wavy Hair Growing

Go Away wavy hair on its own apparatus plus It Ends up seeming a little mess, as though you are an additional in Sport of Thrones. It requires direction and purpose.

 "The very Optimal/optimally way to design hair thinning hair would be really to really go Short about the sides and back and on top to provide the hair a few shape and movement," says Woods. Keeping that in your mind, create cluttered plants or brief, textured quiffs your own go-to.

 The Most Effective Products To Get Wavy Hair

You will Have to jumble up things to Kill-off #basicbarnet vibes. "A fantastic product or service to make use of wavy hair really is a sea-salt spray to provide feel, followed closely by means of a clay in order to complete away and maintain fit," provides Woods.

 And do not Be Concerned about costly Barber-shop Combs or plug ins stylers. "the very top instruments for wavy hair really are only your palms and also a hair drier "

 Afro Hair

Afro hair really is really a misleadingly Catch All Duration to get a hair variety that -- but akin in a sense -- is different hugely from 1 man for the following. Nevertheless, similarities don't exist. "Textured own hair includes curls that is often tight bows or muddy waves, different in depth," claims Lendon.

 "like an Overall fashion, textured hair Isn't Commonly cylindrical, therefore that light isn't as readily mirrored, leading to a deficiency of glow. This hair variety is more prone to dryness, and which it takes compounds offering intense dampness "

 The Best Finest Hairstyles For Afro Hair

The very Good Thing Is that, Due to its own Texture, obtaining afro own hair to stay placed is ordinarily straightforward. No dull blow drying as soon as you have received the ideal cuton. "Cuts with this particular specific hair type needs to generate a contour which is employed together all the curl layout," claims Lendon. "Request your barber to develop a contour predicated in your own curl sort, that'll dictate perhaps the clip is round, faded or square."

 People who have curled curl designs Can Opt for some Blunt knee and also a fade onto either side, but in the event that you have smaller coils, then try out a brief but squared minimize top for today's spin on timeless nineties fashions.

 The Most Effective Products To Get Afro Hair

Just before you think about What's Going to hold Your own hair fit, be certain that your moisture ranges are composed up. "Elect for services and products which specify curls whilst minimising frizz -- lotions are often the best selection," claims Lendon. "A curl enhancer can additionally distort the all-natural contour whilst taming frizz and heightening shine."

 Afro own hair Desires a Little Bit More TLC than many Hair types since it truly is likely to breakage in case it's is not treated with caution, therefore remain tender. "decide to get a slatted Twist or paddle brush distribute styling services and products round the total mind and dry with a diffuser in a very low heating to minimise frizz and harm "

 Unruly Hair

Mavericks are great in Some Specific vocations (fighter pilots, murder detectives) yet 1 place that you really do not desire to get one would be your own follicles. Refusing to be placed into a box, even unruly hair is tough to be the it will not usually set apartment or directly plus features a demanding cuticle coating, '' says Ruffians barber Stevie Warwicker.

 "Unruly hair may generally Require some Type Of styling facet to maintain it looking cool " That was actually a silver lining, even however, as unruly hair has a great deal of texture, so that will be effective to the general final overall look -- hence that your glass is still rather half the full. Ish.

 The Very Most Useful Hairstyles To Get Unruly Hair Growing

Unruly hair ceases becoming a hassle to utilize When you have secured the ideal mix of product and cut, states Warwicker. "Shorter and more hairstyles are simpler compared to medium-length hairstyles, also cuts have to possess texture and weight to improve manageability."

 Assume shaggy face-framing mops or even a textured Shortback and sides. In case it feels dreadful, it is maybe not just only for you, kid.

 The Most Effective Products To Get Unruly Hair

Just like an out of control adolescent, unruly hair Requirements a little bit of area to receive it onto the right (or curled ) and lean . "Lotion - and - anti inflammatory services and products support put moisture in time additionally decreasing frizz and fly away hair, and this is normal for all those who have this specific hair sort," claims Warwicker.

 "A Hair Dryer and also a port brush can help Control unruly hair from smoothing the cuticle, enabling the hair to place level whilst minimising messiness." Take carefully your pores instructed.

 Scrub Hair

From the Time of 50, it is estimated that the more Compared to threequarters of most men will probably possess receding or thinning hair into a level. If that is youpersonally, this could be the hairless (ing) very fact. "hair thinning is more prone to sense extra glossy and dull, that is likely to make hair texture lank and dead," Lendon states. "It may become complicated to acquire mass and also put in volume to. In a few instances, the duration of baldness could possibly be irregular."

 If you are operating with these temperamental Tresseswe make it is tempting to give in and also hit to the hair strands, however avoid being quite as hasty.

 The Very Top Hairstyles For Hair

"A Lower That's dull and over the shoulder Will increase majority in the margin of hair thinning," claims Lendon. "When the hair is thinning in the crown, then a demanding harvest of roughly 1 2 inches is most beneficial, also when blossom does occur about the sides, then a cut may help combine spans "

 If a own hair is packaging its own items however Perhaps not out the entranceway, question your barber to get a medium-length blunt fidget and let it take a little while. In case matters possess progressed, try out a brief French harvest or buzz trim rather than agreeing to hair loss .

 The Most Effective Items For Hair

If you are losing your own hair, You Have to Become Extra strategic about persuading ambivalent hairs to hang in there. "Prevent product accumulation at your entire scalp since this may affect hair development and th inning," claims Lendon. "detox your own entire scalp and exfoliate frequently" And also this involves going effortless on thick, fatty services and products and also selecting lighter formulas which are pliable and simple to become reduce.

 Just before you hit to your development pills, then Try out a Couple hints of this transaction way too, states Lendonsaid "The Optimal/optimally styling Way of thinning Hair would be really to make use of a hair drier onto a superior temperature in addition to drying out the hair off up-side Down to make far more quantity in the origin " It has must become greater compared to the usual Five-figure baldness.

[pasteldeity]

We’re D&D again, baybee!

The first and most important thing to note, is that the party comp is fucked, because we’re ALL casters. [Me: Yasmin, goblin warlock. @spookywriters: Leum, tiefling/half-dragon sorcerer. Stumbleduck, the 102 year old gnomish wizard, and an unrelated gnomish artificer whose name I did not catch, and her golem Scraggle.]

Things began, as they are prone to doing, on the road, with the four of us in a cart en route to the town of Rivermoor. There’s an awkward silence, which gets awkwarder and silencer after Stumbleduck introduces himself. 

Saving us from this social anxiety, however, the cart stops, on account of the driver being shot dead with arrows. We spend...too much time debaing what to do about this, and eventually, as we hear footsteps approaching, we spring[?] into action.

Leum swings open the door, to reveal a bandit! I loose a blast of eldrich energy at his face. Badly. I scrape his shoulder a bit but that’s it. The artificiar and Scraggle head out the other side of the cart, to discover two more bandits up the grassy bank armed with bows, and gets shot at, while Stumbleduck, hiding beneath the wheels, harrasses the closer bandit with frost rays.

Leum tries to push the closest bandit out of the cart with his quarterstaff, without much success, at which point Yasmin whips out her daggers and...cuts his head fully off, surprisingly.

Back at the other side, artificer and Scraggle take cover behind the cart, she using her crossbow to engage in a shootout with the bandits. This cut short when between Leum using fire bolt, and Stumbleduck using control flames, the cover the bandits are using is very much turned against them.

The immediate danger dealt with, the two gnomes take the place of our unfortunate driver.

- - -

Our next stumbling block on the way to Rivermoor comes as we arrive at a bridge, only to find there’s an 8 foot or so portion of it missing. Between the relatively burly tiefling, and Scraggle the golem, some large stones are eventually pushed into the river below to form a walkway part of the way across, and then Yasmin is able to tie a rope to the other side using mage hand, and everyone is able to cross, though we’re forced to abandon the cart and horses in the process.

Following the road on foot, we come across an injured deer. At the artificers’ behest, the party pauses her to tend to the deer, which has an arrow in it’s hind leg. Between her medicinal knowledge, and Stumbleduck using control flames to cauterise the wound, it seems the deer has more or less been tended to. At which point three hunters [or possibly bandits?] appear, mildly threatening as they inform us the deer is their kill.

A brief argument ensues, with the artificer and Stumbleduck both trying to appeal for the deer’s life, while Leum and Yasmin are not exactly eager to get into a fight over this deer. Before it can be resolved, however, these three hunters are shot dead by definitely bandits from the trees.

The party breaks for the trees, trying to get cover and hide, Stumbleduck using magic to put the deer to sleep so it doesn’t give us away, as Scraggle picked them up and brought them with us.

Now all hiding, the group spots three bandits. One short, one with a bow, and one who is muscular aka ‘Muscle Man’.

Yasmin attempts to distract the bandits by removing her bright, patchwork poncho and using mage hand to carry it off, feigning realistic motion as well as she can. This does succeed in distracting the short bandit, who is then absolutely floored by a quarterstaff blow to the head by Leum.

Yasmin attempts to eldrich blast the bow wielding bandit, but rolls the first nat 1 on the session [and thus, campaign], instead exploding the tree she was hiding behind, but avoiding injury from the shrapnel, though she’s knocked prone.

Stumbleduck uses his ray of frost to snipe muscle man from a distance, the artificer, likewise, shooting at the bandit’s knees. Though her shots aren’t quite on point, they’re at least in the general leg area, and together, the two manage to hinder his movement considerably.

Once Yasmin picks herself back up, an eldrich blast that hits true, combined with having previously hexed the bow wielding archer, just immediately obliterates them, while the short bandit is still on the floor from Leum’s initial attack. Between the rays of frost, and just getting surprise bodied by Scraggle out of nowhere, the muscle man falls, and when the short bandit does finally pick himself up, Leum puts him right back down again, permanently this time.

The group travels alongside the road by the cover of the trees with what little light remains, before setting up camp for the night, still some hours from the nearest built up location. Not Rivermoor, but an outpost on the way to it.

- - -

Morning comes, and with it, the group has reached Level 2! And uh...the deer left overnight. To survive, perhaps.

This close to the outpost, we’re at less risk of bandits, and the rest of the trip there is uneventful.

Upon arrival, the group splits up, the artificer heading straight for the nearest [and sole] alchemist’s, accompanied by Stumbleduck, while Yasmin and Leum head for the inn. Also, asking if there were any carts around was mishead as guards, which led to talk of cartwheeling guards and other such nonsense.

Finding the alchemists to be closed and showing no sign of anyone being home, the two gnomes rejoin us at the inn, Stumbleduck flirting[?] with the innkeeper[????] before getting up on one of the tables and loudly asking if anyone had any sidequests- I mean...if anyone had any jobs.

A very drunken farmer approaches us, babbles about how all his crops have been dying and then passes out. We find directions to the man’s farm from a friend of his, and go check it out. Both the artificer and Yasmin now being able to cast detect magic, we find traces of magic all over the field, concentrated in some spots, but after having Scraggle dig, all we find is that these spots are wetter than others, no physical object emitting the magic.

A further investigation finds a water barrel beside the farmhouse, that is ABSOLUTELY giving off the same magic. At this point, the most likely suspect is our missing alchemist.

There’s some back and forth between the outpost and the farm, getting information, and we find out the farmer gets his water from one of several nearby streams, and following the stream in question back to it’s source, we find the shattered remains of a bottle that contains the same poisonous magical essense, but has no identifying features. Strangely, he states he’s not the only one to get his water here, but there are a number of farms and only his has been struggling.

Returning to the outpost, we once again split up, the two gnomes seeing what the blacksmith and general store have to offer, while Yasmin enlists Leum’s aid in breaking into the Alchemist’s store via a back window.

Inside, I find my way to where they work, and find a locked door, borrowing Leum’s thieves’ tools, but am unable to properly use them, and am denied entry, opting to pilfer a couple of healing potions before leaving the way I came in, giving one to Leum.

The gnomes meanwhile, have heard from the various stores that bandit attacks are causing a shortage of supplies, and decide to go to the guards to enquire about the bandit issues. They’re directed to a man named Lead, seemingly the commander of the guards at this outpost.

Yasmin and Leum rejoin our gnomish travelling companions as Lead explains to them that the outpost doesn’t have enough guards to launch an attack on the bandits without leaving itself open to attack, but is eventually convinced that our magical talents may make the difference.

At this point it is...big Yasmin idea hours, as I point out that we have a barrel full of magical poison at our disposal. Collectively, a plan is hatched to have Stumbleduck ride out in a cart, the poison disguised in alchol barrels provided by the innkeeper, while the rest of us, plus Lead, trail behind. Stumblduck claims he can play dead, to which Yasmin is surprised by the idea that he can be quiet for long enough [as he’s quite talkative], prompting the artificer to ask him to demonstrate when he proclaims his talent at playing dead.

- - -

Little acting is needed, however, as when shot at, our wizardly ally is reduced to a mere 2 hp by an arrow. As the rest of the party trails the bandits, who fall for the plan perfectly and drive the cart through the woods towards their base, I use the healing potion I stole from the alchemist’s store to heal Stumbleduck, and we catch up.

Sadly, there’s only 5 bandits at the camp when we trail them there, but a plan is hatched to take care of them subtly, so that when more return, they partake of the poison, none the wiser.

Those present, at least, though disappointed to find they have stolen water rather than wine, still drink, 3 of the 5 taking sick. This is the best we can hope for, and we strike.

Stumbleduck opens the attack by manipulating the campfire one of the non-sick bandits is sat at to punch him in the face with it [removing the bandit’s facial hair] while the artificer commands Scraggle to attack the man, finishing him off.

Leum gets up close and personal with the trio of bandits currently throwing up, while Yasmin takes shots at them from a distance, dispatching one after a couple of shots.

As the [perfectly healthy] captain of the bandits comes back out from his tent, Stumbleduck and Scraggle engage him. Leum, meanwhile, has one bandit throw up on his pants, while another overcomes his nausea enough to swing at him with a knife.

The guard commander, Lead, joins Leum and contributes exactly nothing, all of his attacks missing, leaving Leum to shock this knife wielding bandit with shocking grasp over and over [and over] until he finally dies, it transpiring that he was actually the liutenant.

The captain, meanwhile, is doing fairly well despite fighting Stumbleduck and Scraggle at once, although the golem manages to knock him into the tent, tangling him up briefly.

At this point, Yasmin chooses to engage him up close, and when he takes the bait and lands a swing on her, he gets a fairly significant Hellish Rebuke for his troubles, which goes some way to softening him up.

A nat 20 from the artificer [her second of the fight, I believe] produces a powerful crossbow shot that takes out one of the captain’s arms, and looking quite rough now, he makes the not especially sound decision to attempt throwing his sword at her like a javelin.

This does not work, and she immediatly picks up the sword.

The other bandits now dispatched, Lead makes his way over to the captain. His first slash...misses! His second...hits! In his first successful strike of the entire fight, he takes the captain’s head off!

In a smart move, Stumbleduck has us load the bodies onto the cart, along with the bandit’s existing water supply, leaving them with only the poisoned water, and between some use of mending and general group effort, we tidy up signs of our fight as best we can, alongside retrieving some of the supplies the outpost was waiting on, and about 50GP worth of...I don’t know, stuff?

Yasmin also discovers the captain’s sword, now in the artificer’s possession, is magical, but it’s basically just a +1 short sword, so she’s not too fussed about it.

And so our first session ends, none the wiser as to who has poisoned one of the various nearby springs or why, but at least having caused considerable inconvenience to the local bandit population. And hey, only one of us got close to dying!

Uh, at least, that I know of. Scraggle was getting hit a lot. In any case, excited to see how this very squishy adventure unfolds.

[scrabbleknight]

Sasha and the Frogs [Ch. 6]: A Scone’s Tale

Hello, everybody and welcome back to Sasha and the Frogs! Went through a lot of problems writing this chapter but I’m just glad I finally finished this little rascal. Also, this one is a bit different than the previous chapters. It’s not Sasha-centric for once! Instead, I decided to write about a minor character and give them some development.

So there’s that. 

Anyway, I went to like 3 different weddings in the past week or so, and my uncle died. I didn’t remember him much but he was well within his late 70s and apparently was against going to the hospital for some reason. He died in his sleep a few days after my family visited. It’s not sad btw, just felt that I should say something about it.

Now, moving on from that depressing news and let’s get on with the show!

[Archive Of Our Own]

[FanFiction.Net]

Preview below!

Dirty old open markets, the ones with torn tents and weirdly cheerful farm folk, were the last places one would expect Sasha to be at. In fact, even she herself had to admit she'd rather be caught dead than be in such a place. And yet, she can't help but feel drawn to it. Like an old memory, she hadn't touched for so long.

Which was why she wasn't bothered even once while accompanying the Plantars to the weekly town marketplace.

"Here we are! The Wartwood's weekly marketplace!" Hop Pop exclaimed, his hands firmly on Bessie's reins.

Behind the larger-than-average snail was an old wooden cart, carrying various goods and products such as market equipment, tomatoes from a man-eating tomato plant, a whole lot of beans and turnips, and three weird kids who decided to ride the cart instead of the back of the snail-like a normal person.

Sasha looked out from the cart, examining the marketplace. It was currently early in the morning, so everyone was still setting up shop and getting ready for the day. The area itself was quite spacious and located at the edge of town, near the main road, leading to other towns.

During her stay with the Plantars, Sasha tried to find any information about the magical music box that sent her to this other froggy world but to no avail. None of the books she had read held any information about the music box but she did learn some other relevant stuff; info about the world she's in.

Sasha was not a heavy reader so the knowledge she possessed was limited. However, she learned that the valley she was stuck in was a lot bigger than she had first thought and was home to several other towns, not just Wartwood. The weekly market here invited those from other towns, either to buy produce or to sell them. So there were a few familiar faces and a few she'd never seen before.

About a minute or so later, they finally arrived at their rented spot. "Alright, kids, time to unpack. Sprig, help me set up the tent, will ya?"

"You got it, Hop Pop." Sprig replied instantaneously.

Hop Pop nodded. "Sasha, unload all our vegetables we want to sell. And do be careful with them tomatoes. They're our moneymakers, right there."

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Sasha responded nonchalantly, grabbing a crate of turnips. The old frog then turned to the youngest. "And Polly, go help Sasha. You know where to put the stuff."

"Gotcha, Hop Pop!" Polly saluted, hopping out of her bucket and towards the only human.

It took them less than 10 minutes or so to set up their little tent-store. Usually it would've taken them twice as long but having an extra pair of hands helped a lot. Crates stacked upon one another acted as a makeshift counter, with a long wooden board on top. The produce they brought with them surrounded the counter, placed all neat and tidy. On the counter itself had a rusty green fishing box, reused as the cash register.

Hop Pop was standing on an empty crate, hanging a sign on one of the tent's stilts. "And there… we… go." He climbed down, admiring his work. The sign was carved with the words 'Plantars' Fresh Produce' on it and underneath was a smaller sign, though the words were painted in bright red as 'Tomatoes For Sale' instead.

"We're ready to open!" He exclaimed with a smile. "We're a few minutes earlier than usual, so why don't you three go around for a bit? Be sure to come back in half an hour!"

"Alright/Okay, Hop Pop!" "See ya later, old man." Sprig, Polly and Sasha respectively said. The trio left their stand just after, Polly sitting in her bucket of water.

Walking by the nearby stalls, Sprig turned to Sasha, curious. "So, where do you want to go first?"

Sasha shrugged without a thought. It wasn't like she knew any of the shops here. "Dunno. I haven't had breakfast yet though. Why don't you pick the way?"

"Well…" Sprig tapped his chin, thinking. "Let's go walk by town to get something to eat. I know a place!"

Sasha just shrugged again. Again, she didn't know the place that well so she wasn't in the best position to judge. Plus, she trusted Sprig. If he said that this place was good, then it was good, no question. Sprig wasn't as naïve as he made everyone else think he was and Sasha noticed.

"Lead the way, man." She told him. With an enthusiastic smile, he marched forward, Sasha and Polly in tow.

[kmp78]

A QUICKIE COMPILATION

Of that Lapland adventure, I mean! 😉

First off: 

Remember how I mentioned that it´s possible to run into Rudolph on the roads in Lapland?

Well...

No chill, y´all. 🤷🏼‍♀️

After a while dude meandered off to join his flock.

Also: in case you cant a dead Rudolph on your wall or floor...

They got you covered! 🦌

And did you know that the arctic circle crosses over Rovaniemi?

Well, it does!

There it be. ✌️

Rovaniemi is also the official home of Santa, of course! 🎅

By ringing that bell, you can send your Christmas wishes directly to the bearded man´s office - or so the plaque promised...

I´ll be holding my breath until the 24th. 😜

We made a quick pitstop at Santa´s village...

... and where Christmas carols were blasting from loudspeakers across every house and courtyard and in the middle of friggin´ AUGUST it kinda flipped my brain a little bit... 🤪

The “REAL” Santa was up there too, and if you paid 40€ (seriously FORTY EUROS!!!!), you could take a pic with him and get a nice holiday snapshot to send relatives for Christmas or whatever.

Me, being the cheapskate that I am, settled for a selfie with a lego version.

Ho ho ho and merry X-mas, bitches. 🙃

Also had to stop by Ranua Zoo since my last visit was back in the 80s so... why not?

And me being the berry nut that I am, I demanded a selfie with this kick ass cloudberry!

Saw my 1st ever polar bear...

...well, saw his back anyway.

I hope he was alive... 🤔

The brown bears were a bit livelier, altho this one broke my heart...

Her name is Jemma, and she was born here in the zoo, but soon after her birth her mom started attacking her and subsequently abandoned her completely. No one knows why... 

The zoo staffers acted as her “mom” and raised her, and now she lives alone, separated from the rest of the bears in the zoo. 💔

The valley of the birds was my fave area in the whole zoo, the owls in particular were fascinating and soooo pretty! 😍

And in case you´ve never seen a moose breastfeeding...

Eeeeeeewwwwww guyssssss... 🤢

And speaking of munching, I was kept happy with some Cajun chicken tacos in Rovaniemi...

... and in Levi I went for the traditional reindeer stew but in burrito form!

I sh*t you not, folks! It had EVERYTHING the traditional version of the stew has (minus the mashed potatoes which were replaced by rice) but stuffed in a burrito! Rudolph meat, lingonberries, pickles... 

FANTASTIC! Probably my fave food on the whole trip right there! 🤤

And reindeer also found its way into this little quiche pie.

Another traditional Finnish delicacy (if you can call it that cos it sure doesn´t look it...) was fried moose sausages and fried vendace at the Rovaniemi Olde Time Fair. Very tasty as well, if a slight bit rustic... Hehe. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, the main destination for this trip was to visit my favorite Finnish artist´s home and atelier which is located in the middle of absolutely NOWHERE in Lapland.

And yep once again on the 10 km dirt road leading up to his secret hideaway, Rudolphs were jumping all over the place...

MoooooOOOOOOOVE!!! 😠

The artist in question, Reidar Särestöniemi, has been my #1 favorite for many years, not just for his quirky and mega-colorful paintings for which he took inspiration from both the vast and rugged Lapland nature surrounding his home...

... but also for his life story.

What really moves me in many of his works is the fact that he was a homosexual, but as often was the case, he had to keep it a secret as back in his days in the 1950s - 1980s certain things just were not tolerated or openly discussed. In fact, during his lifetime homosexuality was still labeled as a crime in the Finnish justice system, so I can only imagine how tortured he must have been...😔

In his works, however, it´s kinda visible, like in this piece below. 

“Seals in love”

To an outsider it may just look like two colorful fishes, but when you think of the man who painted it and the times he lived in and location where he lived in (I can only imagine what rugged Lapland “manly men” would have thought of homosexuality back then...), plus the fact that Reidar DID have a male companion (poet Yrjö Kaijärvi) who he was deeply and torturously in love with but could not publicly or openly admit it...

Well, the paintings take on a whole new meaning and you start seeing new depths in them.

I had dreamed of visiting his atelier for many years (it´s so far away from home that it probs was a once in a lifetime thing), and I have to say that I was not disappointed! The whole area was so calm and isolated and rugged... 😍

Heading still further north from Reidar´s home, we spent the night in Levi which is a popular ski resort in winter.

Btw our hotel room had a private sauna, and...

I tried to make it go all the way to 100. 😈  

On the way down towards the south we swung across the border into Sweden, and stopped by a tiny town called Matarenki...

... and also in Kukkolaforsen.

It was fun driving down on the Swedish side of the border because all the way through you could see Finland on the other side of the river! 👋

I did feel a little homesick, I gotta say!

So close but soooooo faaaaaar... 😭

They do a lot of dip fishing here, on both the Finnish and Swedish sides.

And if I may, I´d like to leave you with this little nugget of truthness I spotted in a store:

Oooooor... does she? 🤔

[yourmomswallet]

Call Girl

I’m reuploading all my stuff. I haven’t written fanfiction in about 6 years, give or take, so Kiryu might be OOC. Not beta read. Here’s my AO3 in case you’d rather read there. Enjoy!

The afternoon sun was blocked out by the shadows of the many buildings of the block, leading wandering eyes to the flashing, marque like lights of Teltel Boys Club. Information on posters surrounded the entrance, listing the building’s phone number and prices. Kiryu walked up the street, determined to get in the telephone club as soon as possible. The pedestrians of Senryo Ave. strolled through past Kiryu, paying no attention to his presence in the seedy location. Triggering the automatic double doors and walking in, the clerk behind the counter greets him warmly.

“Welcome to Teltel Boys Club! Brighten up your day chatting with fun young ladies!” The clerk bows slightly and continues speaking. “We have several deals tailored to your needs!”

The charts behind the clerk are the same as the ones posted on the windows, with the longest course being 3 000 yen and the shortest 1 000 yen, simple chump change for what Kiryu makes.

“The longest course, please,” Kiryu politely orders whilst avoiding eye contact with the man. The clerk still has a friendly smile upon his face as Kiryu orders and tells him how much he owes. His rough hands pull out his wallet and slide the money on the counter, over to the clerk. As Kiryu slips the wallet back into his back pocket, the clerk places the money into the cash register and looks back up to him.

“I’ll show you to your booth. Fingers crossed you meet someone special!” cheers the clerk.

The two men walk into the cramped hallway to a door with a three on it. As they pass by the other booths, Kiryu can hear the many different voices, further fueling his nervousness. The clerk opens the door for Kiryu and wishes him luck. He thanks him and walks into the room. Closing the door, Kiryu takes a deep breath and pulls out the chair to sit down in the small booth. He looks around the wooden table, noticing the paper pad and pencil, as well as an ashtray and, surprisingly, a tissue box.

“... Let’s do this!” Kiryu tries to encourage himself whilst he focused his gaze on the now ringing telephone.

“The karaoke bar was a few blocks down! Where are you taking me?” you question Bianka as she drags you arm in arm down the street.

“Don’t sweat it, honey. Have I ever led you astray?” She rolls her eyes while you look back towards the bar. As you’re about to answer her rhetorical question, she interrupts it.

“Don’t answer that, alright? You know what I meant,” she defends herself, putting up her hand to your face.

Yabuta Bianka, or more known in the office as the busy body. As soon as she met you, you both became connected at the hip, despite not being in the same department. With your great listening skills and her big mouth, it was the perfect beginning for friendship. Walking what she describes as miles to reach your desk became a daily routine, delivering a small snack to share over the latest office scandal while there. It wasn't too long until the two of you were known as the inseparable office twosome.

The last thing you wanted to do was walk miles in your work clothes right after work to get to a mystery destination. Bianka always had her ways of entangling you into her little schemes. As you were guided down the street, your mind could only wonder what exactly she had in store for you. Over the last few weeks, she has been constantly asking about your romantic life. Too many times she had changed the subject to your love life for it to be surface level curiosity. You were always the hard working, quiet person in the workplace, making it difficult to bring about friendships even in your own department. Bianka became worried that your constant working hindered possible close relationships that could be made. In her mind, if you wouldn’t accept one of the employees as a future candidate for significant other, you would need to traverse outside the office. As the only friend she knew you had, she felt it was her obligation to help guide you to someone. And that was exactly what she had planned in the guise of going to the karaoke bar as you two had agreed upon.

You are led by friend into club, unwilling to enter. Your eyes widened as they land on a flashing sign, right above where Bianka had planned on taking you. A terekura.

“No! Absolutely not! You know how I feel about talking to strangers!”

Making a scene while being dragged into a place like a telephone club was not how you imagined your afternoon going. You protest that you both turn back to the bar, offering to even pay for whatever drinks she’d like just so you wouldn’t have to go through with her plan. Much to your demise, she was dead set upon making you meet someone. Bianka was strong enough to drag you towards the automatic doors and push you in. You despised her for dragging you to a terekura without your knowledge. You knew this visit wasn’t for her, considering how she always messaged her girlfriend when she wasn’t working.

“This will be good for you! Trust me! I know how much you’d like a sweetheart to sing karaoke with that isn’t me and go on cute dates with. I get it. I once was a loner, too.” Bianka offered a smile to the clerk behind the counter that welcomes you both.

“I would like the five-minute option, please! For her!” Bianka pulls you closely beside her as she reaches into her purse for her wallet.

“Don’t waste money on this terrible idea! Plus, where are you supposed to go? You have a girlfriend! What would she think if word traveled?” You stammer while she gives the money to the clerk. The older woman told you to follow her to a booth.

“Oh relax. I told Nanka about my plan. I’m going to wait in the lobby for you. And if you come out with no connections, I’ll just pay for another session. Have fun!” She was steadfast on making sure you would meet someone. She pushed you towards the direction the clerk was walking and you had no choice but to follow. The prospect of wasting Bianka’s money and the clerk’s time wasn’t appealing.

“This is your booth, miss. You have five minutes to make a connection. You can do this,” the older lady cheers you on. She must have assumed you were having trouble from what she overheard when you walked in. She begins to walk back to the desk.

“Th-thank you, ma’am.” You turned your head from the door back to Bianka, peering over the clerk to see her waving at you cheekily. Knowing her, by the time you left, the clerk would know everything about you and your love life.

Taking a deep breath, you finally shuffle into the booth and close the door.

You reluctantly sit down and mentally prep yourself, just wishing to just go home. Curse Bianka and her scheming. You knew you shouldn’t have agreed to go with her, even your horoscope warned you, even if it was the vaguest thing you read all day. What you wouldn’t do to just go to your apartment and treat yourself on this Friday afternoon. But you had to make this experience worth your time and Bianka’s money. You wouldn’t get another opportunity like this to make a friend.

Knowing Bianka only wanted the best for you, you dialed the first number you saw. You felt the beginnings of a stomach ache because of your nerves. Rubbing your fingers on your palm made you realize how clammy you were by just talking to someone over the phone. Your hand rubs against your leg to get rid of the moisture on it.

‘Relax. This is just like making a dental appointment, except it’s got nothing to do with your teeth.’ You try to calm yourself down while the other side is ringing. Suddenly, someone picks up.

 Kiryu hesitates to interrupt the woman babbling on about her ex-boyfriend. Eventually, he puts the phone back on its receiver. He sighs and wonders if this idea wasn’t well thought out. The thought of anyone finding a real connection here is little to none. From what seems like desperate sex addicts trying to find a fix to somewhat unenthused, one-word responders, finding someone with an interest to have a conversation was quite difficult.

His watch told him his five minutes were almost up, meaning he would either have to pay for another session or leave without speaking to anyone worthwhile. He didn’t want to give up right then and there, though. This might be the last chance he’d get to meet someone before any serious future events occur.

‘I’m able to pick up one more call. Maybe I can try again-’

*RING RING*

His thoughts are interrupted by the phone. Surprised by the rings, he rips the phone off the receiver with such finesse and fervor it would give an onlooker whiplash. He answers, holding the phone to his ear.

“Moshi moshi?”

You find yourself unable to answer after hearing the deep voice greet you. A strong feeling of panic storms over your body, forcing your throat to close up and restrict words from being said. Your mouth opens and closes in an attempt to say something, only to be met with silence.

“Hello? Are you there?”

“Yes! I-I mean yes. Yes, I’m here. Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” You lightly tap your cheek a few times. You wonder if he can sense your nervousness.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. This whole thing is new to me, too.”

“So, what are you here for, then? Love? A quick fuck?” You cringe at your bluntness, cursing your nerves for making you sound so harsh. He chuckles lightly.

“I’m not here for sex. I’m not sure what exactly I want, but I think I made the wrong decision coming here.” He sounded a bit discouraged.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, my friend forced me into this. She thinks I need a significant other, but I think I’m in an alright spot. I work an office job, I have friends, and I’m happy. I just don’t understand what she wants from me.” You realize you’re rambling too much in the small amount of time allowed.

“S-Sorry, I tend to, uh, ramble when I’m nervous. Please, what about you?”

“Well, since we’re on the subject of work, I work in real estate.”

“Oh, that must be quite exhausting. Having to appeal to people’s tastes and needs must be tiresome.”

“I guess so. I usually don’t get too much time off, so I have to spend it wisely.”

“I hope I’m not interfering in your sacred break. I feel the same. Work’s gotten awfully busy lately, what with the influx of orders coming in. Ah, I just can’t seem to catch a break.”

“Don’t worry. You’re not interfering at all. In fact, just from our short conversation, you sound like the perfect person I’d like to spend my free time with.”

You blush at his statement. You don’t think you sound all that interesting. Clearing your throat, you try to change the subject.

“How old are you?”

“20.”

“I’m 20 also. But you sound way more mature than what your voice leads me to believe.”

“I’ve been told I have a voice for acting, but I think they’re exaggerating.”

“Hmph, could’ve fooled me. Your voice is so deep and rich.” You lightly slap your hand over your mouth, surprised by your bluntness. HIs laugh reach your ears and make you blush even more.

“Thank you. You know, hearing you talk has calmed my nerves a bit. Despite my job, I always feel a little on edge when talking to new people.”

“It’s nice to hear that I’m doing something right during this conversation. I usually have trouble talking to strangers on the phone, but much less than talking to someone face to face. I’d much rather speak on the phone.”

“Oh, so you wouldn’t like to meet me in person?” You can hear his little smirk through the phone.

“Th-That’s… I mean, it… it doesn’t seem all that terrible to maybe meet you face to face. You know, what the hell? Why not? We’re not really strangers are we?”

“That’s good to hear. Where should we meet?”

“Umm… How about the theatre, maybe? And we, uh, take it from there?” You felt all the pressure being put upon you. What if he didn’t like the way you looked? This was happening too fast for you to understand. You felt a stomach ache coming on.

“Perfect. My name is Kiryu. I’ll be in a white suit and orange shirt.”

You tell him your name and that you’ll be wearing a blue jacket and pencil skirt, with a white blouse and heels.

“Seen you then. Bye.”

“Bye.” You put the phone back onto the receiver and let out a sigh while looking at it.

‘What did I get myself into?’ You rest your head in your hands and close your eyes.

 As soon as you told Bianka about your success, she was ecstatic and all over you.

“What did I tell you? God, I’m a genius! My mind is... so powerful!” You both walked out the doors to travel to the theatre’s front while she bragged about being right.

“You don’t have to be so braggadocious about this. Anything could go wrong!”

“Okay, first, I don’t know what that means, so nice try.”

“Maybe your mind isn’t that powerful after all…” You’re cut off by her elbow meeting your shoulder.

“Ouch!” You rub your injury as she continues.

“Second! You need to be more positive about this. I can’t be with you the whole time to be your little angel on your shoulder or whatever.” She stops walking as you arrive at the theatre.

“I’ll be watching from over there,” she says, pointing to a bench in the shade.

 Walking down the littered street, Kiryu stops at the theatre.

‘She might be here already.’ he thinks.

A brief scan of the area results in him seeing a blue ensemble and heels from across the street. He walks closer towards the woman before he sees another woman in a similar outfit sitting on a bench scanning him up and down. She then nods at the other woman.

‘Hm? Is this a prank or something?’

Despite his confusion, Kiryu cautiously walks closer to the lady as she stands still.

“Hi! You must be Kiryu-san!” You greet him as you spin around. He looks a bit startled by the surprise acknowledgment. You cringe at how loud you are. Curse your nerves.

“Yeah, that’s me. Y/N, right?” He raises one eyebrow slightly.

“Y-Yes, sorry for being. I’m a little out of my comfort zone.” Your hand finds its way to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear whilst you speak.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m nervous, too,” he admits, thinking it might help you calm down. Whether or not his statement is true, it comforts you to think that he is as nervous as you.

“Not to be rude, but who was that sitting on that bench over there?” Kiryu points to the now empty bench. You turn your head and see Bianka has left.

“Oh! That was just my friend. You know how telekuras can be, full of creeps and all. N-Not that y-you’re a creep! I just need to be cautious is all, yeah?” You want to take your foot out of your mouth, but the words come out too quickly.

“Ha, don’t worry about it. I understand. I promise I’m not here to kidnap you. Other than maybe for a date.” He looks towards you expectantly. You want to jump in the nearby bushes to conceal your flushed face,

“I-I... “ The floor looked very interesting at that moment while you tried to come up with some type of comprehensible response. Damn him and his charisma.

“If you don’t want to, I can leave. I’m fine with what-”

“No! I-I mean yes! I… ugh. I do want to go on a date with you.” You surprise yourself that you can actually speak up before he finishes his statement.

“That’s great. Where would you like to go?” He stands patiently as he awaits your answer. Your hands find your purse strap and play with it as you try to think of a good place to go. He can clearly see how nervous you really are.

“Do you like karaoke? There’s a bar close by.”

“Yes! That’d be great. My friend tricked me into thinking we were going to a bar in the first place when really she wanted to set me up with someone.”

“Well, guess you could say we’re killing two birds with one phone call.” You give him a small smile and roll your eyes.

“Ha ha. Just lead the way, Kiryu-san.”

 “Wow, Kiryu-san! I should have guessed a guy with your voice would have a great singing voice.” You ‘ooh’ed and ‘aah’ed at his performance after he took his seat back at the bar. He chuckles and takes a sip of his now watery booze.

“It’s nothing to make a big deal about. I just really like karaoke.” Swirling the liquid around, he stares at his glass as he tries to sound humble, but you know you have hit a sweet spot by complimenting his singing skills.

“Oh please, stop trying to be humble. You have the voice of an idol!” Your hand somehow landed on his forearm on the table. Looking up, he meets your eyes and you blush as you take your hand away as quickly as you placed it.

The two of you conversed for what seemed like a few minutes but was actually a few hours. And whether it was the alcohol or the sense of freedom gained around Kiryu, you somehow came up with your genius plan. You were just glad you had worn stockings to work.

Deft fingers work some of your blouse’s top buttons while you both continue chatting. You wiggle about in your seat, listening intently as he talks about some little car race he was in, all the while hiking your modest skirt up to a somewhat teasing length. As soon as the bartender turned to serve a customer, you started to edge your small purse off the bar. A thud sounds out as the purse falls, only heard by Kiryu and you as the current karaoke track drowns the sound out.

“Oh! I'm so sorry. I guess I’ve had too much to drink.” Giggling, you start to reach down for the purse. Kiryu watches you bend down, eyes following and lowering to your cleavage. He scolded himself for taking advantage of the situation.

Ever the chivalrous gentleman, Kiryu falls right into your trap.

“I’ve got it.”

You straighten back up, and as he bends down, you are careful not to hit him with your feet as you uncross your left leg from on top of your right when he comes back up with the purse. He pauses for the briefest moment to admire what you put on display just for him.

A black matching panty, stocking, and garter set. All for his eyes.

‘I’m going to die.’

Smirking, you slowly put your right leg over your left after you are sure he gets a good look. You look over your glass in time to see him turn his head away. He gets back up, purse in hand, and you hope you did something to make him break face. Looking at him, you drink in his masculine face, his gelled-up hair, his dark, soulful eyes… Damn him.

A blank, but strong face looks back at you.

‘Dammit, nothing.’ You mentally curse yourself out for thinking such a stupid plan would work. ‘Of course, someone as handsome and captivating as him wouldn’t want anything to do with- Wait! Is that? No. It can’t be.’

Red tinted ears.

‘Gotcha. Hmph, what a perv,’ you joke to yourself and take a sip.

“I should get you home. Before you’re unable to tell me where you live.” Money ends up on the table, enough to pay for both drinks. He stands up and holds out his hand for you to take.

“Wow, you really must want me to take you home, huh, Ladykiller-san!” you joke, loud enough for just him to hear. He groans at your new nickname for him as you laugh at his reaction.

Instead of holding his hand, you wrap your arms around his one and grab your purse. You both walk out of the bar into the now darkened city, illuminated by the artificial lights and sparse stars. Before Kiryu can lift his hand to hail the cab, you pull him down by the coat lapel, mouth centimeters away from his ear.

“By the way, I’m not drunk. And if you’re a good boy in the cab, I might let you get a peek at something else,” you offer in coquettish tone while your hand slithers up his chest to cup the back of his neck. He has no response, even as he hails and rushes you into the cab, other than his ears turning an adorable shade of pink.

As you tell the driver what your address is, your hand drifts towards Kiryu’s left leg. He takes his hand and puts it over yours, interlacing your fingers. While he busies himself with your hand, you begin to unbutton your blouse’s top buttons to reveal your lace bra. Treating yourself to lingerie that morning was a blessing in disguise. The lace edge danced across your cleavage, leaving the observer needy for more.

Kiryu’s eyes widen slightly as his gaze falls upon your breasts, your other hand landing on your entwined hands to make your arms press your breasts together even more. He drinks in how playful yet erotic you look in the passing colourful lights of the city. He can’t seem to take his eyes off of you, trying to keep this scene hidden away in his mind forever.

‘I’m in trouble.’

Looking up at him through your eyelashes, you can sense the want and need on his face, despite his efforts to not show anything. His eyes glaze over and his ears turn a bit pink. Desire falls upon the back seat of the cab, causing a tension between you and Kiryu. You decide to break it by reaching your hand towards his coat lapel. Not taking your eyes off him, you run your hand up and down one side of his chest. You close the gap between your faces, your lips almost touching his cheek as you move to his ear, hoping the cabbie pays no attention to what is going down in his car.

“Mmmmm, Ladykiller-san, are you flexing just for me?”

Interpreting the situation, he finally makes a move. By putting his hand on you inner right thigh, he receives a giggle from you and a teasing scold.

“What’d I say about being a good boy, Kiryu?” You start to draw circles on his chest, dangerously close to his nipple. You flash him a smirk as he doesn’t say a word, instead choosing to inch his hand up even more, fingers finally meeting the top of your stocking. He takes a risk by squeezing your thigh in his hand. Your little moan slips out as you trace your fingers on his shirt collar.

‘What a tacky print. But somehow, he makes it work.’

A hand gently strokes Kiryu’s neck and a thumb passes back and forth over his slightly stubbled jaw. Taking the hint, he leans down slowly as your hand that cups his jaw guides him towards you. He cannot help but grasp your upper thigh a bit harder as he awaits for what comes next. A pair of soft lips just millimetres away from his somewhat chapped ones, the distance starts to close. Eyes closed, you both prepare for what you have been waiting for.

“Hey, horndogs! This is my cab, not a love hotel. Get out!”

Embarrassed beyond belief, you let go of Kiryu in exchange for your purse. Fishing out some cash, you slip it through the slot of the glass as you utter an apology. The driver snatches the money from your hand and waves you off.

Kiryu had already gotten out, his hand awaiting yours to help you out. You close the door after climbing out of the seat. After his touches, your skirt had ridden up quite a bit, which you straightened out. Turning around, you see him staring at you with a small grin. You respond by lifting a brow and grinning back.

“Is there something on your mind?”

“Yeah, actually. You.”

“Oh, you’re such a lady killer! I might just fall over from swooning too hard!” You express yourself through a melodramatic hand press to your forehead. You giggle from your actions and see Kiryu still smiling at you, eyes filled with laughter.

“Stop that. I’m being serious. And I told you not to call me that.” His voice does not allude to him being serious about his complaint.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What would you rather be called?” You take a few steps closer to him and grab his coat with both hands for the nth time that night. You pull him down a bit to make sure your mouth is close enough to his ear. He can feel your warm breath on his earlobe, then your tongue.

“Good boy?” You bite down gently and give it an experimental tug. Hands snap to your lower back and hip, causing you to gasp. He pulls your hips close to his and buries his nose into your neck, groaning as your hands wrap around his toned torso. With how your bodies are connected, you feel every single part of him as well as how warm he is. You hum in enjoyment, reveling in the fact that you make him feel this way. A small smirk makes its way to your lips.

“How naughty, we’re still in public. How about we go to my apartment? I have even more to show you, Ladykiller-san.”