#she placed 7th though so that's cool

[wildflowercryptid]

i haven't given a singular shit about feh for a while, but it makes me happy to hear that (war phase) bernadetta & alfonse placed first in the recent cyl! good for them, they deserve it.

[yisanged]

scioly states finished..... very long day. our team placed 7th overall out of 40 high schools in the entire state. only top 6 place and get trophies. our school has come in 7th or otherwise top ten not placing every year for the past like decade LOL. except it's not as LOL as it really should be because WE DID SO GOOD THIS YEAR and literally two of our consistently best performing events got trialed meaning the scores for those events didn't count towards our overall because the test proctors made stupid mistakes during the set up. really sad :( especially because they're two events two of our most dedicated seniors work really hard for and this was their last year of scioly ever and we didn't get a trophy because the people running the events messed up. lowkey we also kind of ate shit in a few events like 30th and 25th place and a couple mid ones but otherwise we did good like top 20 and a considerable amount of placing so it's totally possible we could've gotten a trophy if those two events had just gone normally. sad for our seniors. also today was literally our schools prom..... so all the seniors and some juniors literally changed into their suits and dresses after they finished their events and just left to go to prom. crazy. but it's ok. funsies. I like science olympiad. I'm dedicating myself to fossils over the summer I've decided. plus geo it's fun. scioly is fun

[spookyserenades]

Trouvaille - Chapter Fifteen (M)

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Word Count; 21.3k

Trouvaille Masterlist

Trouvaille playlist

Updates on the 7th of each month

HI HI HI! Thank you all for your patience for this update while I was recovering from my cold! I'm excited to share this chapter, it's jam-packed with emotion, some uncomfortable confrontation, fluff, and of course, some more depraved smut LOL. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you again for everyone wishing me a speedy recovery and your unwavering support. (also pls excuse any typos fdskafdjf) Love from Dana 💜

As an additional warning/reminder, for the smut: the scene is explicit, and is only intended to be read by those over the age of 18. Please practice safe sex, and readers please have discretion!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

“I know you’re mad at me, but you know why I had to break that up, right?” Yoongi watched Y/N though slitted eyes as she poured a rather large glass of white wine for herself, scoffing. 

Ignoring him, she took a swig of the chilled wine and turned on her heels, returning to the stove to stir the onion she was in the middle of sauteing. Even she could feel her irritation and anger coming off of herself in vicious waves, perhaps stirring the thyme into her mixture of onion, celery, and carrot with too much aggression. 

“Y/N, come on. The silent treatment is really childish,” Yoongi’s deep voice had an edge of grit to it, Y/N snorting humorlessly. 

The sounds of the leopard hybrid storming over to her side filled her ringing ears, and when he gently grasped her wrist to pry the wooden spoon from her grip, she spun around to face him, gritting her teeth when he turned off the stove. 

“Childish? That’s rich,” Y/N eyed the way Yoongi’s spotted tail was flicking back and forth in agitation, hating having to argue with him at all. “You can’t just prevent me from talking to the others, Yoongi.”

A muscle pulsing in his jaw, Yoongi took a deep breath while pushing his hair out of his face, taking a better hold of Y/N’s hand and squeezing it once. 

“I get why that’s how you probably see it, but that’s not what that was,” Yoongi replied evenly, appearing to exercise his unending patience. 

“Okay, then explain! You know I’ve been trying to talk to Tae for days! Now he’ll probably never want to open up again,” Y/N had hysteria welling up in her, unable to decide if she was jealous of the way Yoongi always seemed to be so calm and collected. 

“Yes, I know, sweetheart,” Yoongi’s jaw tensed again, thumb brushing over her wrist bone. “But not like that. He’s never been that drunk, at least since we’ve known him. I was trying to prevent him from doing something he might regret once sobering up.”

Y/N blinked, reading the sincerity on his face, her shoulders relaxing down a couple of inches. 

“You know, the kid’s kind of grown on me in the last few months. I know that he’d be humiliated if things escalated further, that’s why I intervened. Besides, I didn’t want him to put you in a tight spot. I’m aware of how much you care about him,” Yoongi continued, the pinch between his brows loosening up when Y/N seemed to cool off. 

“Sorry…” Y/N murmured, suddenly embarrassed that she was so quick to lose her temper on Yoongi. 

“Nothing to apologize for. Just don’t clam up on me like that, and we’ll be good,” Yoongi softened, lifting her hand to his mouth to place a kiss on the back of it. “Let him sober up, sleep it off. Talk to him in the morning.”

Cheeks burning, she nodded, Yoongi letting go of her and swiping her wine glass, taking a sip with a purr. He took up the task of stirring the base ingredients of the tortellini soup Y/N was making for dinner, Y/N sighing and leaning up to stamp a kiss on his jaw, his still-damp hair tickling the tip of her nose. 

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have wanted things to escalate like that… thank you, my angel,” Y/N hummed, reaching up to give one of his ears a scratch, his posture stiffening then dissolving into shivers as her fingers stroked through the short fur. 

“You’re gonna take advantage of that weakness all the time from now on, aren’t you,” Yoongi’s voice was feathery, Y/N chuckling and mercifully releasing his ear. “Chop up that fennel, we’ll add it to the soup to bulk it up.”

Stealing her wineglass back, Y/N did just that, glad that her and Yoongi didn’t have to have an explosive argument over jealousy. However, as her knife sliced down into the bulb of fennel, her thoughts turned to Taehyung– reeking of booze, cornering her to a wall, unfamiliar flames in his eyes. She knew that the next morning, Taehyung would probably be avoidant and perhaps even embarrassed, and pinning him down to talk to him would be no easy feat. She had no doubt that the Kodiak hybrid wouldn’t be present for dinner, which heightened her concern– all that booze and no food didn’t add up to a hangover-less morning. 

“I’ll bring him up some of this later, in a thermos. Don’t worry,” Yoongi once again read her mind, Y/N using the flat of her knife to slide the sliced fennel into the Dutch oven the leopard hybrid was standing over. “He’s definitely passed out, at the moment.”

Nodding, she gave Yoongi a pat on the back, getting to work on prepping some of the other ingredients for dinner. The silence was amicable, comfortable, so the sound of the slider door scraping open had her squeaking in surprise, nearly dropping the loaf of garlic bread she was putting into the oven. 

“If you don’t get out of my face, fox, I’m going to take my Zippo to your running sneakers,” Jeongguk’s gruff voice bounced off the walls of the kitchen, brushing snowflakes off of the shoulders of his leather jacket. 

“What? I just asked if you had feeling in your antlers,” Hoseok defended himself, a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin as he returned from his evening run. “You don’t have to be so accusatory all the time.”

Y/N stifled a laugh, looking over her shoulder to take a better glance at the spectacle, Jeongguk scoffing sharply as he hung his jacket on the coat rack by the door. Apparently, it had begun to snow outside, both his and Hoseok’s hair dusted with powdery clumps of it. 

“And you don’t have to be such a nosy, irritating son of a bitch all the time, but sometimes we’re just created a certain way,” Jeongguk replied, Hoseok frowning as he caught a bottle of water Yoongi was tossing his way. 

“Forget it, I’ll just Google it later,” Hoseok muttered, collapsing heavily into the breakfast nook, his ears drooping. “Cold as shit outside, by the way. Y/N, you’re sure we can’t move to Florida?”

“What’s with you and Florida, Foxy? Got a secret past there or something?” Yoongi inquired, wiping his hands on a dishtowel after bringing the soup to a simmer. 

“Not particularly. It’s just warm and pretty there all the time. Didn’t you mention February can be even colder than January up here, Y/N?” Hoseok expertly dodged Yoongi’s line of questioning, redirecting his attention to Y/N. 

“Sometimes. Judging by all the snow we’ve been getting lately, it’s looking that way,” Y/N admitted, still put off by the idea of living through Floridian summers. “I guess I’ll have to look into booking a trip to Disney a bit more seriously.”

“Ugh,” Jeongguk was disgusted, usually the one to turn his nose up at a Disney movie Seokjin or Hoseok would put on during movie night. “At least they sling excessive booze there, so I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, we can drink around the world in EPCOT,” Y/N put a finger to her lips, trying to calculate how much park tickets, souvenirs, a villa, and transport would run her– she shuddered at the figure she came up with roughly. To boot, the three hybrids in the room stared at her blankly, like she started spontaneously speaking French. “It’s a park in the resort. You know what, I’ll tell you all about it if I can scrape up the funds for a trip in the fall or whatever.”

The slider was pulled open again, this time bringing Jimin and Namjoon in from the cold, Jimin with only sock-clad feet, his muddied boots stowed beneath a covered section of the patio to prevent tracking mess into the house. Namjoon had a stack of thick books tucked under one of his arms, his denim-sherpa jacket damp with snow, nodding once at Y/N before heading off in the direction of his bedroom, likely to deposit the materials. Ever since she gave the wolf hybrid the information about their upcoming consultation, he had been burning the midnight oil tearing through all of the books he had in order to prepare himself. 

“Hey, Jimin, how are the babies?” Y/N inquired about the animals, tuning out Jeongguk and Hoseok still bickering about his antlers, and whether or not they had feeling in them– secretly, Y/N was curious, too. “Oh shit– are you bleeding?”

Y/N dropped the knife she was using to shave parmesan slices for the soup with alarm, eyes bugging out of her head noticing the blood on his wrist. She flew over to him at lightning speed, hands outstretched to examine the damage. Jimin exhaled slowly, handing over his forearm, Y/N’s face settling into a deep frown. 

“I’m alright, now, Y/N. It was just Bandit up to his old tricks when I went to give the chickens their supper,” Jimin’s voice had amusement coloring it, a half-smile on his face when Y/N dragged him to the island to dab a paper towel over the minor wound. 

“That cocksucking rooster. We should just sell it,” Hoseok squawked from his spot on the breakfast bar, looking up from the noisy Tik Tok he was playing aloud. “I think it’s evil.”

Jimin rolled his eyes at the comment, one of his sandy ears twitching, before he placed his hand over Y/N’s tenderly. 

“It’s just a nip. I’ll go disinfect it and come right back,” Jimin assured her, Y/N’s stubbornness coming to a head. 

“Let me help,” Y/N tailed the coyote hybrid, reminded of the time he tended to her injury, and wanting to give a little bit back. “Bandit… appropriately named. Or perhaps Lucifer would have suited him better.”

Jimin snorted, letting Y/N grab a hold of the thick corduroy button-down he had over his tee shirt, dragging her down the hall and into his bedroom. The room, as always, had a sereneness to it. Dark blue colors, neat and tidy, and smelling like calming lavender and the crisp outdoors. 

“Okay, sit,” Y/N took control, pushing Jimin onto his bed by his biceps, his tail slightly thumping against his mattress as determination set the shape of her mouth. Making haste for his bathroom, she was easily able to locate his basic first-aid kit, one she had in every en-suite in the house under the sink, dragging it out to the awaiting coyote hybrid. 

Sitting beside him, Y/N held out her palm expectantly, Jimin placing his forearm into her grasp with a gentle sigh of resignation. Wincing at the torn skin, Y/N quickly loaded up a cotton square with alcohol, dabbing at the site gingerly. Jimin, to his credit, didn’t wince or flinch away, simply studying her actions with his lip tucked between his teeth. 

“Sorry, it probably stings,” Y/N mumbled, reaching for the soothing ointment in the kit blindly, applying it on the bite. 

“‘S alright,” Jimin shook his head, his hand curling into a fist before his digits relaxed, Y/N wondering if it was an attempt to get past the pain. “It’ll probably be healed up by the morning.”

Humming, Y/N smoothed a Hello Kitty bandaid over his skin, recalling how quickly hybrids recovered from injury. 

“I’m sure something like that happened from time to time when you worked on the ranch,” Y/N mused, reluctant to let go of the coyote hybrid just yet. 

“Yeah, perks of the job,” Jimin chuckled, making no move to peel himself away from her as well, Y/N feeling the brush of his tail against her lower back. “Thank you for patching me up. Beats my buddies telling me to rub dirt in it or threatening to kiss it better.”

Blinking at that tidbit of information, Y/N watched Jimin’s eyes go far away, a tiny smile on his full lips. Without thinking, and while he was distracted, Y/N ducked, pressing her puckered lips to the pink bandage. All she heard was a sharp, quiet, gasped intake of breath, Jimin’s strong forearm going limp in her palm as soon as she kissed him. 

“A kiss is better than dirt, no?” Y/N straightened back up, finally letting his arm go and pushing that pesky strand of honey hair over his forehead back to join the rest of his slicked-back locks. 

Jimin was stunned, effectively pulled out of his reminiscing, his butterscotch eyes wide as he stared down at her. In the distance, she heard Hoseok hollering about dinner being ready, Jimin’s downturned ears twitching, Y/N leaping from her spot and motioning for Jimin to follow. She was halfway through the door when Jimin replied, though she didn’t end up catching what he said. 

“Much better.”

The next morning, a Sunday, would have typically been lazy and domestic. Usually, her and her hybrids went about their own business; watching movies, playing board games, and attending to their hobbies. However, that particular Sunday morning, Y/N had left Jimin in charge of making sure no one got into petty arguments, and was carefully ascending the stairs with a plate of hot, greasy breakfast food. 

Much like Yoongi had predicted, Taehyung had not joined the rest of them for dinner, which nobody else saw as odd. Taehyung was still rather introverted and not so keen on befriending anyone besides Yoongi, and the others were of course happy to ignore him. The Kodiak hybrid hadn’t hauled himself downstairs for the Sunday morning fry up, and Y/N figured it was as good of a time as any to get their uncomfortable conversation out of the way. 

Reaching his bedroom door, Y/N balanced the plate of food on her forearm, a large glass of water in her grip, and used her free hand to knock on his door as quietly as she could. She heard a gruff groan in response, Y/N rolling her eyes and making her way inside the room, shutting the door behind her. 

The room was dark, all of the drapes pulled shut a little haphazardly, and Taehyung was slumped on his bed, his arm dangling over the side of the mattress and one of his cheeks squished on a pillow. His wild curly hair was matted and sticking up in several directions, and as Y/N held back a giggle when he moaned again, his eyebrows knit together and his nostrils flared. 

“Morning,” Y/N whispered, placing the plate of food on his dresser, putting a lid over the fried eggs, mountain of toast, and breakfast sausages so they wouldn’t get cold. Though she uttered the greeting only above a breath, Taehyung groaned, pretty much planked on his front on top of his quilt. “Oh, honey…”

Fishing around in her pocket, she pulled out a packet of Advil tablets, crouching down in front of him and offering both the medication and the chilled glass of water, one of his carmine eyes cracking open slightly. 

After a beat, Y/N watched the hybrid sluggishly turn onto his side, propped up on an elbow, his lips chapped as they parted slightly. Moving at glacial speed, Taehyung refused to meet Y/N’s eyes as he accepted both the pills and the glass, eagerly taking the medication and sucking down half the glass of water. 

“Bit too much to drink last night, huh?” Y/N began, planting her ass on the ground and wrapping her arms around her knees. Taehyung’s throat bobbed as he swallowed the Advil capsules, Y/N following the movement with rapt interest. “I brought you some breakfast. It’ll soak up some of that gin. You should take it easy today, Tae, I can bring up my laptop and you can do a little photo editing in bed or something.”

Taehyung sat up more fully, although the movement was clunky and lacked the typical brawn and speed that he usually operated at. Clutching his forehead, one of Taehyung’s sharpened incisors bit down on his lower lip so harshly he drew a bead of blood to the surface of the flesh. Sighing, Y/N got to her knees, reaching up and back for the plate of food, placing it on his bed in front of him. The Kodiak hybrid’s complexion turned a touch green, a large hand slapping across his mouth and nose, and Y/N swore she heard a guttural gag from the back of his throat. She’d been there.  

“I know the smell is probably making you nauseous, but you’ll feel better if you eat. I promise,” Y/N encouraged, Taehyung’s round ears pressed flat against his skull, an animalistic grumble vibrating his chest. “I… wanna talk to you, Tae.”

Appearing to catch him off guard as he poked at one of the fried eggs with his fork, Taehyung blinked at her, his expression blank. Y/N suspected, judging by the vacant expression, that he might have blacked out the previous night and couldn’t remember anything that happened; including but not limited to him pushing her against a wall and letting Yoongi spoon-feed him tortellini soup (or so her leopard hybrid had revealed to her over her morning coffee). 

“Do you remember anything about last night?” 

“No… No, I don’t,” Taehyung set his fork down promptly, unease turning down the corners of his mouth. “Did I do something wrong?”

Y/N shook her head immediately, though she knew that Yoongi– and the others, if they knew, would beg to differ. Unfortunately, the silent denial did nothing to make Taehyung’s alarm go away. 

“You definitely drank way over your limit, but you didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing I’ve ever done that drunk, anyways,” Y/N picked at the fringe on his rug, mind going to the memory of drunkenly pushing Yoongi against a wall and demanding his phone number. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while. I haven’t managed to corner you until now.”

“What did I do?” Taehyung ignored her latter statement, stiffening when Y/N leaned forward, plucking up a piece of toast and raising it to his lips with a cocked eyebrow. If he didn’t get any food into his system, he’d feel like garbage the rest of the day, hybrid healing skills or not. 

“You seemed angry with me. I came home, you were listening to some jazz on Youtube in the parlor, and you had finished about half a bottle of gin. With no chasers,” Y/N only began speaking when Taehyung reluctantly took a bite of the toast, chewing robotically and staring at his hands tangled in his lap. “I think you were trying to tell me something, but Yoongi interrupted before you could say anything… and then you ran up here.”

Taehyung was quiet, his dark eyebrows pulled together as Y/N fed him toast, apparently lost in thought. While disheveled and still dressed in his cargo pants and hoodie from yesterday, Taehyung was nothing short of effortlessly handsome, even if Y/N could smell gin on his breath. 

“Angry with you?” Taehyung mumbled, tongue flicking out to catch some jam on the corner of his mouth. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, Tae. Keep eating,” Y/N encouraged, placing the fork back into his hand. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of this anecdote, but people often say that drunk words are sober thoughts. If there’s something on your mind, I want you to be able to talk to me about it. I care about you a lot, and miss having you around all the time. I don’t like… the distance.”

Y/N surprised herself by being so honest, stopping just short of spilling her guts and revealing her feelings for her elusive Kodiak hybrid. As she spoke, Taehyung made it about halfway through an egg before he pushed the plate away on top of his quilt, a frown on his face but the guarded look in his eyes softening exponentially. Looking down at her through his eyelashes, Taehyung heaved a great sigh, head tipping backwards and collapsing on his pillow. 

“I’ve been acting immaturely, huh?” Taehyung breathed, his forearm draped over his eyes as he chuckled humorlessly, seemingly talking to himself more than anything else. “There’s no use in avoiding you, anyways. Stubborn and persistent.”

“So, you were purposefully avoiding me. Wanna tell me why? Does it have to do with… Yoongi and I?” Y/N probed, nearly whispering the last question. The corner of Taehyung’s mouth quirked up into a sardonic smirk. “Okay, I’m guessing that’s what it is.”

“I just,” Taehyung peeled his arm off of his face, sitting up and joining Y/N on the floor, pushing curls out of his eyes with annoyance. “Like Jimin. Wish you just told me.”

Y/N swallowed, looking down at her lap, shame filling her. Taehyung returned to his breakfast, munching on another piece of toast, leaning against his bed. She could hear him taking sniffs of the air delicately, probably smelling the emotions coming off of her, and Y/N couldn’t help but notice how he sat several inches away, rather than pressed up against her like normal. 

“I’m sorry,” Y/N’s voice was scratchy, picking at the rug once more. “You’re right, I should have told you.”

“That night, when I told you about how I ended up here, you said you trusted me. I trust you,” Taehyung admitted, Y/N slouching so low in response, she felt like she was curling in on herself. “I meant what I said, and I know you did too. But I couldn’t understand why you felt like you needed to hide your feelings for Yoongi from me.”

Not wanting to cry in front of the hybrid, pride somehow welling up in her and mingling with her shame, she willed her lip to stop wobbling, peeking at Taehyung out of the corner of her eye. While difficult to hear, Y/N could tell it took a great deal of courage for Taehyung to confess that to her. 

“I didn’t know how to bring it up to any of you. I felt like everyone was finally getting comfortable here, and I was worried about disturbing the peace. Of course, I managed to do that anyways,” Y/N stared out of one of Taehyung’s windows, keeping her vision on the horizon so tears wouldn’t spill down her cheeks. “I trust you, of course. It wasn’t about me not trusting you, but trying to protect everyone’s… peace, I suppose. Comfort.”

“You can’t protect us from everything, Y/N,” Taehyung told her softly, Y/N all too aware of that truth. “There are going to be times where shit gets rough or uncomfortable, but we’ve all been through tough situations before. We can handle the truth, even if you think we can’t.”

Y/N was stunned by Taehyung’s sage advice, even if he was scolding her slightly. Nodding, she swallowed thickly, Taehyung reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder heavily. The contact had her spine going rigid, as Taehyung hadn’t so much as glanced at her recently, let alone give her a friendly touch. 

“Is he… treating you well?” Taehyung’s low voice was barely audible, even right in her ear. The question made her cheeks burn, heart racing. Whatever she was expecting him to say next, it wasn’t that. 

“Um, yes, of course,” Y/N mumbled awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs. “He loves me, too.”

“I know,” Taehyung removed his hand from her shoulder, getting to his feet and beginning to rummage through his dresser. “He’s loved you from the start.”

Gawking at Taehyung, looking at him from head to toe while his back was turned, Y/N was at a loss for words. Taehyung spun on his heels, offering a broad palm to help her up, a change of clothes tucked under his other arm. With a shaky grip, she took it, trying to catch eye contact, but the Kodiak hybrid avoided it. 

“Tae…” Y/N began, feeling like the conversation wasn’t quite over, and she refused to let go of his hand even when he tried to pull away. “We–”

“Thank you for breakfast, you were right, it made me feel better. I’m going to shower, though,” Taehyung cut her off, squeezing her hand tightly before releasing it. “I’ll come down after… I’ll quit hiding, so stop worrying about me, please.”

“Oh, Tae–!” Y/N wasn’t fast enough, Taehyung’s hybrid strength and speed apparently returning to him, and he disappeared into his bathroom with a click of a lock, leaving her reeling in his bedroom, her palm tingling from his touch still. 

Absently, she collected Taehyung’s half-eaten breakfast, and when she heard the shower turn on, it prompted her to leave the room, wondering if anything was accomplished by that conversation, if he truly would stop avoiding her, and how he knew about Yoongi’s feelings for so long. Humming sadly, she set her destination to the kitchen, thoughts still occupied with the flash of hurt in Taehyung’s eyes. 

“Are you sure you know how to drive this thing, wolf?” Jeongguk shouted from the booth in the back of the old van, Y/N cringing in the passenger seat beside Namjoon, who had very sharply turned onto a side street. “Judas priest, try not to hit the curb.”

“Be quiet,” Namjoon barked back, pushing the pair of glasses he was wearing up his nose bridge. Y/N had gotten him blue light glasses so he wouldn’t burn his retinas while he was crouched over her laptop researching for hours on end. “You can’t even drive in general, so can it.”

Giggling into her palm, Y/N admired her wolf hybrid while he glanced at the GPS on his phone. His silver hair was parted and swept back neatly, and was wearing Y/N’s favorite sweater he owned, a cream cable-knit scoop neck. She tried her best to not ogle him too much, but the sight of his strong, tanned hands wrapped around the steering wheel and perched on the gear shift had her slightly squirming in her seat. 

“Are we almost there?” Jeongguk, in fact, did not shut up, the sound of his thumb flicking a lighter making Namjoon’s bitten ear twitch. 

“Excited, sweets?” Y/N tossed over her shoulder, adjusting the hem of her plaid skirt, Jeongguk snorting, though Y/N caught him twirling a pen between his fingers and tapping his foot eagerly. Jeongguk had also gone out of his way to look nice that afternoon, opting for a loose charcoal button-down and normal dress pants rather than his usual casual gothic attire. 

“Please,” Jeongguk muttered, his voice muffled by the cigarette pursed between his lips. Y/N felt her mouth water, the elk hybrid’s hair beginning to grow in a way that made him look like a 50’s style greaser, complete with the shiny gel. “The possibility of interacting with paranoid humans all afternoon isn’t exactly enthralling.”

Rolling her eyes, Y/N focused back on the road in front of her, not taking Jeongguk seriously at all. Jeongguk talked a big game, and certainly appeared intimidating with his glare, tattoos, and piercings, but deep down he was just as passionate about his interest in the paranormal as Namjoon was. 

“You guys will get your first paycheck by the end of the week, isn’t that awesome? I mean, if we can wrap up the investigation and cleansing by then,” Y/N changed the subject, rolling her window down (manually, with a crank) to filter out Jeongguk’s cigarette smoke, Namjoon grumbling about the frigid temperature. 

“Are you sure it’s legal for us to get paid?” Jeongguk asked incredulously. 

“Uh, good question,” Y/N admitted, watching Namjoon’s hands tense around the steering wheel. “One for Ben.”

“Says we’ll be there in three minutes,” Namjoon pointed to the GPS, Y/N leaning forward in her seat to get a good look at the suburban street they were driving down. 

It was just an average looking neighborhood in Newton, about twenty minutes from their own home, the houses sleepy Victorians and sidewalks studded with ancient trees. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even when Namjoon parked his van outside of a little blue house shrouded by great oak trees. 

“Is this it?” Y/N leaned across her armrest to check out the front of the building, squeaking out an apology when Namjoon jerked in his seat from the proximity, her cheek smacking into his chest. “Shit, sorry Joonie.”

“No, it’s the post office. Why else would he park here?” Jeongguk flicked the back of her head, Y/N flinching when one of his icy silver rings made her scalp smart. “Let’s go, we’re late.”

Muttering, Y/N massaged the back of her head, hearing the elk hybrid rummage around behind her for his bag, Namjoon unfastening his seatbelt with an apologetic grimace. Ever since she had scolded the wolf hybrid for speeding, he began going under the speed limits. The man was never really one for gray areas, moving from one extreme to another. 

Pulling her coat closer around her body, Y/N jumped out of the old van, clutching her notebook to her chest and expelling a deep breath. While Namjoon locked up, she tucked the dangling wires to his Walkman deeper into his bookbag, snorting softly at the excited twitch to his tail. 

Once in front of the door to the home, Y/N rang the doorbell, feeling the delicious heat of her two hybrids behind her like a solid wall. She hadn’t been that excited for an event in a while, even though it involved the unknown and people in trouble– the chance to spend one-on-one time with Namjoon and Jeongguk had her bouncing on her toes while she waited for the door to open. 

Moments later, the heavy door creaked open, a thin, short woman appearing in the darkened threshold, a screen storm door separating her from the three lingering on her porch. The woman took in the sight in front of her with darting eyes, which had purplish circles beneath them, her hair a bit unkempt and hands shaking as she placed one of them on the handle to the storm door. 

“Are you… Y/N?” The woman asked, her voice small, scratchy, and weary. 

“Yes, are you Ms. Sanders? I work for Judy, I’m taking over her home consultations. She sent me all of the information you gave her about the situation in your home,” Y/N hoped that the woman would invite them in soon, the wind was biting and she could sense Jeongguk’s impatience without having to look at him. 

“Please, come in,” Ms. Sanders– Erika, Y/N remembered her first name from the packet– pushed the remaining barrier between the outside and the apparently haunted house aside, Y/N promptly stepped into the house once the woman moved. “Also, please excuse the mess. I haven’t had much time to, um, clean up, lately.”

Namjoon shut the door behind him once everyone was inside, Y/N sneaking a peek at him sniffing the air with a thoughtful expression, Jeongguk looking awkward and unconfident, for once. Contrary to what Erika said about the state of her home, things seemed tidy, eerily so, and in the small den that they were led to, nothing seemed out of place, just lonely. 

“I’d like to introduce you to my two hybrids, they’re here to help, as well. This is Namjoon, he’s very knowledgeable about all things paranormal, actually, all things in general,” Y/N gestured to her wolf hybrid, who exuded the confidence that Jeongguk seemed to be lacking. “And this is Jeongguk. He’s worked with a paranormal investigative group and has years of experience. Both of them successfully helped me rid my own home of an entity.”

“Y-yes, Judy mentioned that she’d be sending a team here for me,” Erika eyed the two hybrids standing behind Y/N like bodyguards, Y/N comforted by both of their contrasting scents in an unfamiliar place; floral honey and leathery smoke. “Make yourself comfortable. Can I get anyone anything to drink?” 

Y/N shook her head, the two hybrids following suit, sitting on her either side on the lumpy sofa in the living room. Y/N had to admit, there was a hair-raising, peculiar feel to the energy in the home, one that set her teeth on edge. Definitely different from the way it felt in her own house, Y/N could tell Jeongguk could sense it too, his dark eyes narrowed as he scanned the room. 

“So, Ms. Sanders–”

“Please, just Erika is fine,” she sat on the sofa across from Y/N and her two hybrids, her frame sagging tiredly. The woman watched Namjoon methodically place his Walkman onto the coffee table, feeding a blank tape into the device. “Should I get the kids?”

“Actually, we were thinking that getting your explanation of what’s been going on first would be best. That way we can compare each family member’s experience to one another,” Y/N held her hands up, Erika halting her movements to rise from her seat, definitely a little bit jittery. 

“Would it be okay to tape the interviews so I can review them later?” Namjoon addressed the young mother suddenly, his fingertip hovering over the record button and ears forward and alert. 

“I’d let you film and broadcast on national television if it gave you an edge over whatever has been tormenting my family,” Erika insisted, Namjoon raising a brow but pressing down on the record button anyways, angling the device closer to the woman so the microphone would better pick up her voice. “So, where should I start?”

“How about when you first noticed things were becoming out of the ordinary. Nothing is too insignificant, so speak freely,” Y/N encouraged, Jeongguk leaning backwards on the couch beside her, ankle over knee, his journal opened up to a fresh page. 

“Well, we moved here a little over a year ago. From Colorado. I separated from my husband and the kids and I needed somewhere safe to stay, far away… he’s an alcoholic, you see. My family is from Massachusetts, so I wanted to be near my folks god forbid my ex ever tried to come and find us…” Erika’s eyes became glazed over, Y/N trying not to react to her hybrids shifting and coiling in alert when a thump-thump-thump came from a wall behind the young mother, who apparently didn’t notice or was all too used to the sound. “Everything was normal, at first. The first six months here were perfect, idyllic, even.”

“When did that start to change?” Jeongguk spoke up for the first time, the tip of his pen tapping his lower lip. Erika glanced at Jeongguk, pulled from her reverie, and her expression became sharpened as if icy water was dumped over her head. 

“It happened gradually. My son, Thomas, is non-verbal, but he started having nightmares eight months ago. He’d come into my room and climb into my bed, shaking. While he’s non-verbal, he’s always been quite independent and brave, so this struck me as odd– especially when the nightmares became a nightly thing. Unfortunately, I don’t know what his nightmares are about, because he’s refused to even write anything down about them, but I know they terrify him. That was the first instance of strange events, and he still has them almost every night.”

Y/N nodded, the sounds of Jeongguk hastily scribbling his notes down on the linen page of his notebook, and the crackling of the Walkman, filling the sad silence of the home. Y/N was reminded of her own nightmares that came with the haunting she experienced; the creature that chased her in her sleep, and the fear that crept down the notches of her spine had Namjoon scooching an inch closer to her subconsciously. 

“After that, my Jules… She's always been a sort of flower child. But ever so slowly, that bubbliness has gone away, she’s been more introverted, edgy. I thought maybe it was just because she’s entering her teenage years, but she’s made some new friends at school. Ones that I’m not sure have the best influence on her.”

“How do you mean?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if there was some kind of entity Namjoon had learned about that was summoned when one makes shitty friends. 

“They’re older than her, and whenever she hangs out with that group of kids, she’s out all hours of the night, ignoring her curfew,” Erika sighed, tearing her eyes from Jeongguk and shaking her head. “I’m not usually like this, I mean, my brother was goth growing up, so I’m more than used to the culture. But these kids are bad news, I know it. They’re less about music, politics, and fashion and more about teenage riot. Property destruction, drinking on the train tracks. Jules was never like that, so her sudden change in personality concerned me.”

“So, your daughter made a couple of friends who turned out to be punks, and her whole personality changed?” Jeongguk confirmed, though his usual condescending tone was absent. In fact, Y/N was very impressed by how much the elk hybrid reined in his attitude. 

“I know what that sounds like, like I simply don’t care for her friends. But the more she hangs out with them, the darker her personality becomes,” Erika’s voice went rather quiet, now refusing to look towards Jeongguk at all. 

“Sometimes, what ends up happening in a haunting involving children, particularly young teens, their moods are influenced heavily by whatever has attached itself to the teen’s home or even the teen themselves. There’s a chance that your daughter acting out, especially in a way that you disapprove of to provoke a reaction, is not due to her new friends, but instead, it’s something above her control entirely.”

Namjoon’s insight had Y/N blinking in surprise. Instantly, she felt a little sheepish about that shock, as she knew he had been doing extra research for the past several days– not to mention his lifetime of knowledge he was already sitting on– but it was impressive to hear him relay information like that. Y/N recalled how Seokjin had mentioned Namjoon was different in group settings outside of the home, more vocal. Perhaps that’s what her wolf hybrid was like at the book club, take-charge and confident. Y/N thought that Jeongguk would be more like that, but she was equally surprised by the elk hybrid’s quiet observations. 

“So, you think the… ghost, or whatever, is what’s causing Jules to behave so differently?” Erika chewed on her lip, the thump-thump-thump sound returning, this time overhead, Y/N trying her best not to react. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeongguk jot something down urgently. “I mean, she won’t even talk to me. I don’t even know if she’d be willing to talk to you.” 

With that, Jeongguk sat forward, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and rolling the fabric up over his forearms. Raising an eyebrow at him, Jeongguk’s eyes flickered playfully in her direction, sticking his pen behind his ear. 

“Is there any chance Julie’s friends look like me?” Jeongguk drawled, again, without any judgment, miraculously. Erika appeared embarrassed, nodding slightly.

“I–I mean, without antlers, of course b-but I didn’t mean to insinuate–”

“It’s alright, Ms. Sanders,” Jeongguk held up his tattooed hand indifferently, rising to his feet. “Julie might be more willing to open up to someone who shares a similar… aesthetic. The wolf, here, is too granola-crunchy, and Y/N certainly has more questions for you.”

Namjoon growled lightly beside Y/N, staring at the elk hybrid resentfully. To her wolf hybrid’s dismay, she was once again agreeing with Jeongguk. 

“You think she’d be…? I mean, if you can get anything from her, please, try. I just want to know if she’s, um, as scared as we are. Her brother and I. If she’s seen things like us,” Erika, too, stood, her movements wobbly and frail. “I can show you to her room, ask if she’s up to meeting you. She knows that I’m having this consultation, anyways.”

“Ms. Sanders, Y/N and I are going to take a quick walk around the property while you and Jeongguk speak with Julie. When you return, I’d like to ask you about specific instances of activity,” Namjoon hooked a large hand around Y/N’s elbow, manhandling her to a stance, pausing the tape recording. Without even glancing his way, Jeongguk caught the Walkman Namjoon sent hurtling towards his head, the two of them having an unspoken plan already, apparently. 

The young mother nodded, ushering Jeongguk up the narrow staircase to the second level of the home, Y/N spluttering as Namjoon dragged her outside, his grip strong as always, but tender and steadying. Heart racing, she grit her teeth at the nasty wind chill that greeted them once they were on the lawn, and naturally, Y/N clung as close as she could to Namjoon’s side without him growing uncomfortable. 

“Why are we–?” Y/N began, Namjoon leading her to his van, letting go of her elbow once he yanked open the passenger seat, rummaging through his disorganized glovebox. “Joon.”

“Hold on, Y/N,” Namjoon mumbled, barely noticing that she was stuck to his back like a jetpack to shield from the bitter cold, teeth beginning to chatter. “I have an idea.”

Finally, he turned, his burnt honey eyes the only whisper of warmth amongst the gray of the sky, holding an array of objects in his arms; what appeared to be two, long, L-shaped pipes, a spool of red fabric ribbon, and a couple of packets, by the looks of it. 

“Whatcha got there?” Y/N snorted, loving how much Namjoon was getting into the whole situation. 

“Here,” Namjoon ignored her question, shifting everything but the little packets into one arm, taking one of her wrists, and aggressively shaking the pouches with a concentrated expression. 

In the palm of her gloved hand, Namjoon placed a hand warmer in the center of it, promptly manipulating her wrist into the pocket of her coat, and repeating the same process with the other hand. Stunned, she stared at her wolf hybrid and registered the out-of-character action like she was a third party looking on, and Y/N wondered if the pink hue of his human ears blossomed because of the wind or bashfulness. 

“Have you ever heard of dowsing rods, or people using them during paranormal investigations?” Namjoon asked after clearing his throat, turning again to lock up his van and break eye contact. 

“Um, vaguely. I might have seen them use them on Ghost Adventures,” Y/N managed to choke back, the hand warmers keeping her fingertips toasty in her pockets. “Is that what those poles are?”

“Yeah. I figured we could just take a quick walk around the house with these, and we can mark areas that show any sort of reaction with the ribbon tied around a tree. While I handle the rods, you can try and read the energy beside me,” Namjoon motioned for her to follow him back up the driveway, thoughtfully reading her skeptical reaction. “I know you’ve been working on your energy readings lately, Y/N. You can do it, I believe in you.”

It was Y/N’s turn to be bashful upon hearing those words from her wolf hybrid. Namjoon’s approval was something that was hard-won, so the encouragement and praise had her floating straight up into the clouds. With those words, she thought she could probably scale a mountain if he was by her side. 

Without hesitation, she trailed after Namjoon, curiously watching him shift the metal rods in his hands, and when they reached the side of the house where a large window looked into the living room, the wolf hybrid paused. Shivering, Y/N felt unease well up in her gut, the sensation of one thousand ancient eyes on her causing her skin to crawl. There was definitely something there, lingering around that window, perhaps in the brush, and judging by the movements of the rods in Namjoon’s hands and the frown on his face, he was coming to the same conclusion. 

Saying nothing, Y/N simply sticking close to Namjoon as they made a slow circle around the yard, she concentrated on opening herself up to the energies of the backyard as much as she could, without risking attachment or harm. Namjoon was right, her practice was paying off, because she was starting to get a better sense of the types of entities that were lingering in the yard alone. 

“Okay, get anything?” Namjoon asked, once they had landed back to the side of the building they first began canvassing, using his sharp teeth to tear a strip of red ribbon from the spool he was holding. “This window here seems to be the hotspot, but the house feels like it’s almost shrouded in something…”

“I think we’re dealing with more than one entity here,” Y/N admitted quietly, while Namjoon tied a knot around a little sapling under the window. “I felt a few different energies. Only one, in this particular spot, made me uncomfortable. Like I’m being watched. The others felt more organic, human.”

“And that’s just out here,” Namjoon added, but it sounded like he was talking mostly to himself. “Come on, let’s head back in. Jeongguk is done talking to the girl already.”

Absently, Namjoon reached backwards, one of his hands still adjusting the ribbon on the sapling, his fingers wiggling as he searched for Y/N’s grip. Mouth dropping open, she automatically slid her gloved hand into his, listening to his chest rumble as the residual heat from the hand warmers melted into his chilled skin. Never one to deny Namjoon his rare moments of actively seeking out any sort of affection, Y/N soaked in the moment as best she could. 

“You still have that list of questions to ask?” Namjoon held her hand tightly as she walked up the ice-slick concrete steps into the house, so she wouldn’t slip. 

“Uh-huh. We’ll probably be able to wrap up the consultation afterwards, schedule the investigation. With the energy I’ve felt so far, I think it’s best we get in here as soon as we can to clear it out.”

Back inside, Namjoon let her go, and the first thing Y/N registered was the teenage girl that was now sitting in the living room, beside Jeongguk, her hands tangled in her lap. Exchanging a sideways glance with Namjoon, she hurried into the room, taking a seat next to Erika and her son, Thomas, who had also chosen to join the consultation. Y/N noticed that the young boy was holding onto a plastic toy robot tightly, like someone was going to take it away from him. 

“Tommy, this is Y/N, she’s going to help us,” Erika smoothed a hand down her son’s back, the kid blinking at Y/N in acknowledgement, similar dark circles under his eyes that mirrored his mother’s. Her heart broke, in consequence. “That’s the wolf hybrid I was telling you about, too, honey. Namjoon is his name. Tommy loves wolves.”

Tommy, indeed, was staring at Namjoon with stars in his eyes, squirming in his seat, Erika affording all of them a tender smile for the first time Y/N and her two hybrids had stepped foot into the home. Namjoon, embarrassed, sat on Jeongguk’s free side, offering Tommy a little wave, one of his sharp incisors biting down on his plush lower lip. 

“Alright, kiddo, she’s probably got a few questions for you. She’s cool,” Jeongguk set Namjoon’s Walkman back onto the coffee table, Y/N’s eyebrows shooting into her hairline as the elk hybrid used the nickname he usually saved for her on the teenager that only seemed to be at ease because of the burly hybrid beside her. 

Getting a good look at Julie, Y/N felt herself take a step backwards in time, the girl looking quite a bit like she did as a teenager; dark eyeliner, graphic band tee, chipped nail polish and holes in the knees of her skinny jeans. Julie regarded Y/N carefully, only after shooting a doubtful look at Jeongguk, then a resentful one at her mother, the girl’s dark eyes narrowing a tad. 

“She’s how you described her,” was all Julie said, the corner of her mouth curling up in amusement as Y/N tried not to clench her fists– leave it to Jeongguk to offer up a sarcastic caricature. 

“Hey, Julie, nice to meet you,” Y/N ignored Jeongguk’s smug, shit-eating grin, clearly pleased with himself that he was able to get Julie to be comfortable around them. “I do have a few more questions before we go ahead and plan the investigation. Which, when the three of us do conduct the investigation, you and your family will be safe and sound staying at a nearby hotel.”

“You’re not planning on instigating angry spirits, like those quacks on TV, are you?” Julie crossed her arms across her chest with a scowl, several brightly colored rubber bracelets around her wrists. Namjoon was busying himself with straightening out spare blank tapes on the table– he was always a little bit awkward around children. 

“No way. That’s all Hollywood, anyways,” Y/N resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Jeongguk, who was biting down on his fist to prevent laughing, which Y/N found both unprofessional and annoying as a gnat in her ear. “We just want to help get rid of whatever is bothering you. I’m sure Jeongguk told you a little bit about what was hanging around our house a few months ago… we were able to banish it permanently. I, and I’m positive my teammates as well, have no interest in provoking spirits for any kind of viral recognition.”

Y/N tasted the word “teammates” on her tongue like a saccharine hard candy, after all, it was the first time she was using it in reference to the sort of operation she had created with Namjoon and Jeongguk. Neither of them seemed to notice the significance, but both of them sobered with her words, nodding in agreement. Jokes aside, the situation was serious, and helping the family was top priority– thirst for knowledge and experience aside. Julie seemed to relax in response to Y/N’s promise, and without further ado, Y/N waited for Namjoon to start up the tape again, and she launched into her list of questions. 

“Has the spirit ever shown itself physically to any of you?”

On the way back home from the Sanders’ residence, Y/N felt her frame sagging into the worn leather seat beside Namjoon, the tense of the house energy dissolving the further Namjoon drove from the address. She was ready for a hot bath and some mindless television, having more than enough of the paranormal for one day. A bit loopy, Y/N focused on the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, the shape of it a cartoon flying saucer. 

“So the mother has seen a shadow in the hall at night, usually when she gets off from work. Then we had the kid point at the window, which Y/N mentioned feeling like an entity watches the family from there–”

“Jeongguk, you can take notes silently,” Namjoon sighed, probably sensing how exhausted Y/N was, even over the folk tape he was playing quietly and Y/N’s attempts to stay awake by pinching her thigh periodically. 

“Fuck off,” Jeongguk muttered, but lapsed into silence anyways. Y/N stole a look at him over her shoulder, and he was lazily propped up on his side in the booth, a pen cap sticking out of his mouth while he scanned his notes. 

Namjoon had cleaned up the van in preparation for their journey to the Sanders’, stacking his books neatly and moving most of them up to the loft where the mattress was, considering it was not being used. He even brought in a few blankets and pillows to make things a little more comfortable, one of the throws currently over her lap. Y/N, as well, added her own touch to the van– upon the wolf hybrid’s insistence– and taped little battery-operated fairy lights around the ceiling of the vehicle. In the short few days the three of them made the van ready for longer trips, Y/N had grown quite fond of spending time in there, and her and Hoseok had coined it the “mystery van”. 

“Joonie?” Y/N spoke suddenly, her voice definitely weary but catching the wolf hybrid’s attention nonetheless, his ears perking up cutely even with his eyes still trained on the road. 

“Mmm?” Namjoon pushed his glasses up his nose again, turning down the radio.

“How did you get this van?” Y/N dared to ask. She hadn’t done much prying into Namjoon’s past, heeding the advice in her wolf hybrid guidebook to let him present information when he’s ready, but since he had softened up so much, she figured asking wouldn’t do too much harm. 

“It was given to me,” Namjoon replied cryptically, though Y/N was pleased enough that he actually answered her to not pout about how little that was revealed. “Shortly before you adopted me. In Wyoming.”

“Did you teach yourself how to drive?” Y/N figured she might as well go along with it if Namjoon was okay with that line of questioning, and didn’t seem peeved she was being curious. 

“No, someone taught me,” Namjoon’s lips were twisted up in amusement, casting a brief look in her direction. “Some things can’t be learned from books.”

“Ah, I see,” Y/N didn’t want to push her luck, wiggling further into her seat to get comfortable. She had about one thousand follow-up questions, but she had all the time in the world to get answers from Namjoon. 

“I lived alone most of my life, in the woods, abandoned cabins. I never liked to stay in one place, mostly because I avoided running into humans… I came across this van deep in Yellowstone park one night in the spring a few years back, the awning was out, and an old woman was sitting in a lawn chair in front of a campfire. I’m not sure how she managed to spot me, but she did,” Namjoon shocked Y/N by actually launching into a story, her mouth agape and even Jeongguk’s furious notetaking had ceased. “I hadn’t had a real meal in… well, ever. She offered me some dinner. At that point in my life, I didn’t trust humans as far as I could throw them. But I could smell her sincerity.”

Y/N had no idea what to say in response. An innocent question turned into a whole lot of background on her wolf hybrid, and she didn’t know whether to begin recording him or stay statue-still. 

“Her name was Joan. Most of the stuff in here is hers, she had quite an interest in UFOs and ‘mythical’ creatures. Over the next few weeks, I’d check in on her… she was quite old, and by herself, and I suppose having access to real food was tempting to me as well. I’d listen to her prattle on about things she’s seen in the woods, I’d share things that I had experienced in the wilderness over the years,” Namjoon continued, turning the windshield wipers on when a flurry of snow began to fall. “After a few weeks, I trusted her enough to take her up on the driving lessons, joining her on her trips to town for provisions. I didn’t live with her, but I’d spend time there every few days.”

“Did you steal an old lady’s camper van?” Jeongguk exclaimed from the backseat, a throaty growl coming from Namjoon in consequence. 

“No, you asshole. There were a couple of weeks where I’d go to the van, but she wasn’t there. It was confusing, like she had just vanished, but I wasn’t so attached to her that I was overly concerned. While she was old, she was still a decent hiker. I guessed she had just taken a tent and gone for a little trip,” Namjoon turned off the highway, taking the ramp that would bring them back into their town. 

“I was wrong. The last time I went to check on her, the van door was open, but there was someone else inside. Thinking it was an intruder, I took a look inside, but I recognized the younger woman from pictures Joan had, it was her daughter. Her daughter told me that Joan had checked herself into the hospital following up on her heart condition, but it was too late. She died within three days of being in the hospital, heart failure,” Namjoon frowned, ears flattening to his skull. “The daughter said Joan mentioned me. Wanted me to have the van. The daughter had no use for it, anyways… She was just collecting some photos. She said I could have it, gave me the keys, and I never saw her again. It was convenient, so I just started living in here.”

Ears ringing, Y/N couldn’t believe how much she had gotten from Namjoon with just a few questions, and she felt somewhat guilty that she hadn’t tried to get closer to him in that way, blindly following advice from a stupid guidebook. That aside, her heart swelled a few sizes; if Namjoon felt comfortable enough to share all of that with her and Jeongguk, he had really come a long way since his initial adoption. 

“I’m sorry about Joan,” was the first thing Y/N could think of as any sort of coherent reply, putting her hand over Namjoon’s that was resting on the gear shift and squeezing. “She must have liked you quite a bit to leave you this van.”

“I suppose,” Namjoon agreed, letting Y/N keep her hand on top of his, navigating his way through the town square. “She probably just preferred someone keeping all of her stuff safe after she died.”

“What made you want to come all the way to New England?” Jeongguk’s voice was suddenly right beside Y/N’s ear, making her flinch and push his shoulder. He was squatting between her and Namjoon, staring out the windshield with boredom, and a piece of gelled hair sticking to his forehead. The elk hybrid ignored Y/N’s pleas to sit down for safety, much to her chagrin. 

“History,” Namjoon shrugged, shutting off the GPS once the familiar streets of their suburb were in view. “I wanted to see what a city was like. New York City seemed too big, and Boston is certainly historical. Plus, I had never seen the ocean before.”

“Weren’t you originally from Los Angeles, Jeongguk?” Y/N changed the subject, emotions welling up in her. As time went on, it was clearer and clearer to her that she and her seven hybrids, by some cosmic intervention, were destined to be together, considering they had come from all over the country at the same time. 

“Yeah. Shithole,” Jeongguk rolled his eyes, using a wrist to smack a fresh pack of cigarettes against. Before she could ask him what he meant, Namjoon pulled into the driveway, the sky turning lavender as the sun disappeared over the bare willow trees. “I’m starving. Want a drink.”

Jeongguk straightened up, snatched his notebook from the booth he left it on, and with a flick of his lighter, was jumping out of the van and into the snow. 

“Guess he had enough of us,” Namjoon remarked, unfastening his seatbelt and stretching his arms upwards, his shoulders popping with the movement. Snorting, Y/N shook out her stiff legs, folding the blanket over her lap and gathering her tote bag. 

“He’s bratty when he’s hungry,” Y/N smirked, waiting for the wolf hybrid to lock up the van before heading to the house. “Maybe I should order pizza tonight, unless Yoongi made something already.”

Namjoon sniffed the air, shaking his head.

“No, nothing’s cooking. Just the fire in the living room is going,” Namjoon matched his stride with Y/N, his tapes and Walkman tucked under his arm. “Order pizza, I can tell you’re tired. The energy work must have taken a bit out of you.”

Preening under Namjoon’s observation, she stared at the snow-dusted grass, feeling closer to him than ever. 

“Yeah, I think I’m going to take a bath before dinner. Put some cleansing herbs and salt in the water just to make sure nothing from the Sanders’ house is clinging to me,” Y/N watched Namjoon unlock the front door with the house key he kept in his pocket, her own hands reaching up to dust snow collecting on his shoulders. 

“Good idea,” Namjoon let Y/N into the house first, Y/N sighing at the cozy heat and ambient lighting. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Huh?” Y/N spun on her heel, gawking at the wolf hybrid, who was blushing. 

“For including us in these investigations,” Namjoon said simply, a faint dimple appearing on his cheek. 

“Oh,” Y/N blinked, pausing in front of Namjoon’s bedroom door. “I don’t think I would, or could do it without you two.”

Namjoon’s ears were a vibrant shade of red by now, and with that final comment, he ducked his head, mumbling something about reviewing the tapes before dinner. She let him disappear into his bedroom, and in a sort of daze, Y/N found her way to her own room, opening up her notes app to find the pizza order document with a grin. 

February had finally rolled around, and as Hoseok and Y/N both dreaded, it was colder than January. At the very least, the sun was staying up later and later, to her relief, but there had never been so much snow in recent years. She was up to her ears in shoveling the walkways, scraping ice off of the cars, and making sure there was plenty of salt and gravel on the well-walked areas of her yard. That particular afternoon, the first Tuesday of the month, Alice happened to have a day off from the newspaper, and offered to swing by for a bit to catch up. 

“Where is everyone?” Alice accepted a hot chocolate from Y/N, sitting in the breakfast nook, glancing at the noticeably hybrid-free kitchen. 

“Taehyung officially got his driver’s license recently, he took himself, Yoongi and Hoseok up to the rec center to sign up for the spring activities. Jimin’s out with the horses, Jeongguk and Namjoon I think are in the van researching some equipment we need to order for the investigation in a couple of weeks,” Y/N slid into the booth beside her friend, blowing the steam from her own hot chocolate. “Seokjin got roped into joining Hoseok. He pretty much got dragged out of here.”

“So what you’re saying is, no one will hear us if we talk shit?” Alice grinned, Y/N already knowing what direction the conversation was going to take before Alice said another word. “Spill. You have a glow, so things must have worked out with Yoongi.”

“Between him and I? Yeah,” Y/N grew a bit shy, even if Alice knew pretty much everything about her already. Except for the fact that she had fallen for all of the hybrids, not just Yoongi, and that fact was something she was ready to share with her best friend once and for all. “Some of the others? Not so much.”

“Oh no. Tell me,” Alice scooched closer to Y/N, her arm slung around her shoulders comfortingly. 

“Basically, the rest of them caught Yoongi and I in the kitchen in a… compromising position, and that’s how they found out about us,” Y/N grimaced, Alice gasping. 

“No way. You weren’t fucking in here–”

“Christ almighty Jesus! No,” Y/N squawked, blood pooling in her cheeks. “We were just kissing. I’m not that much of an adrenaline junkie!”

“Okay, I was gonna say, Y/N. Way to go,” Alice snorted, taking a merry sip of her hot chocolate. “So I’m guessing a handful of them weren’t stoked about walking in on that.”

“Actually, the ones I thought were going to be weird about it were totally fine,” Y/N chewed her lip thoughtfully, aware that Alice wasn’t too familiar with the nuances of each hybrid’s personality. “Jimin and Taehyung were really disappointed that I felt I couldn’t confide in them. Jimin has forgiven me, but Taehyung still seems a little off, even if he insists he’s cool with it. He asked me recently if Yoongi was ‘treating me well’.”

“Damn. He sounds jealous,” Alice leaned back with a wag of her eyebrows. “What I know about hybrids, especially the types you’ve adopted, they can get hella territorial. Maybe it's his instincts screaming at him to protect you.”

“Could be,” Y/N muttered, her cheeks getting even hotter at the thought. “Then there’s Seokjin. He hasn’t addressed it at all, it’s like he’s pretending it’s not even happening. He used to be the clingiest, but now it’s rare he’ll initiate any kind of physical contact at all.”

“Again, babe. Sounds like jealousy. I remember Seokjin, he stuck to you like a starfish and looked at you like you hung the moon. He’s probably in denial,” Alice frowned, watching Y/N’s expression become stormy. “What’s wrong? You have that look on your face like you’ve left something out.”

“Alice, it’s not just Yoongi I’ve fallen in love with,” Y/N rubbed her temples, deciding to just bite the bullet already. “It’s all of them.”

There was a beat of solemn silence, and Y/N could almost smell the wheels in her best friend’s head turning. Alice tightened her hold around Y/N’s shoulders, the smell of her caramel perfume wrapping her up in a deeper hug. 

“I had a feeling,” Alice admitted quietly, squeezing Y/N once again. “That’s why you feel guilty that those three are keeping their distance.”

“Mm-hmm,” Y/N felt the hot chocolate go sour in her stomach, though she should have known that Alice had caught on by now. Y/N wasn’t exactly subtle with her heart-eyes around the boys, even with others present. “I talked to Ben about it. I know it’s high school for me to say, but I’m so uncomfortable with the idea of confessing to any of them myself. The possibility of rejection is scary, of course, but seeing how much the boat was rocked when they found out about Yoongi and I…”

“I don’t have to tell you this, babe, but this isn’t something you can run from forever. I think all you can do is take it one step at a time… if you were to sit everyone down at once and admit your feelings to the six of them in one breath, I have a suspicion not a lot of them will take that confession seriously,” Alice mused slowly, Y/N already holding the same opinion. The last thing she wanted was to lump every confession into one sort of sit-down conference, for some reason, the potential scenario came off as cheap and rushed, to her. 

“I just. I don’t even know who to start with. Maybe one of the boys that aren’t avoiding me like the plague,” Y/N said miserably. 

“You know, there’s a chance one of them may come to you,” Alice encouraged, wanting to cheer up her friend. “You never know. Yoongi felt the same, maybe a few of the others have feelings for you, too.”

Perking up a little bit, Y/N let herself believe that for a few moments, imagining how nice it would be to be past all of the drama and confrontation, and simply living in love and harmony with all of her boys– like a storybook. Unfortunately, Y/N existed in reality and not between the pages of a children’s book, and she shook away the vision dancing around in her head quickly. 

“I suppose we’ll see… Yoongi and I are still navigating how we act around the others, anyways. It’s a little tricky,” Y/N changed the subject slightly, knowing that Alice would be interested in some of the spicier things that had been going on in her life, rather than the tangled and complicated. 

“I’m sure. If my man was half as sexy as your Yoongi, you’d need a crowbar to pry me off of him at any given moment,” Alice deadpanned, Y/N choking on a sip of her drink, Alice’s throaty laugh filling the empty kitchen. “How does that work, by the way? I mean, with hybrid hearing… have you guys even…?”

“Uh… yeah, we have,” Y/N shrunk down in her seat, embarrassed. “The music room is soundproof.”

“Y/N, you naughty girl! Wait, so like. Is that going to become like the Red Room like in 50 Shades? Like, you’re only going to fuck in there?” Alice, true to herself, brought some humor into the situation, Y/N giggling despite herself. 

“I mean, no, I don’t think so,” Y/N managed through laughter, relieved to have some time with her friend and talk about such things. “As hot as it was… I mean we’re probably going to end up sleeping together in a bed at some point. I think it’s futile to pretend we’re not going to be intimate, the others aren’t stupid. I suppose I’ll just have to keep my sound level in check.”

“Okay, so clearly he doesn’t suck in bed, if that’s your response,” Alice teased, poking Y/N in the cheek. “Lucky lady. You do deserve it though, after all those years of The Great Dry Spell.”

“He’s perfect,” was all Y/N responded with, trying not to let her eyes glaze over with the memories of their tryst in the music room. “God. I’m sweating. Let’s talk about something else before I start chewing on the table.”

“I have an idea,” Alice straightened up after several moments of the girls laughing at Y/N’s fluster, taking up one of Y/N’s hands with mischief in her eyes. “Before you shoot it down, think about A) how fun it would be, and B), the potential amazing rewards.”

Making a motion for her to spit it out, Y/N braced herself for something ridiculous. 

“You’d do this in small doses, of course– the fact that some of them seem to be jealous is evident. Why not tease them a little? Give Yoongi a kiss here and there in front of them, bat your eyelashes… I’m not saying be a menace with the PDA, but I think well timed PDA might coax one of them into slipping. I know you, if you had more of an idea that one of them had romantic feelings for you, you’d feel better about confessing. Just a thought.”

Y/N mulled that over while draining the rest of her mug, furrowing her eyebrows. That was the exact kind of scheme her, Alice, and Laura would pull when they were teenagers with their high school crushes, and usually, it worked like a charm. Now, however, Y/N felt a little funny about it. 

“I don’t know… wouldn’t that be manipulative? Wouldn’t I be using Yoongi?”

“Y/N. Do you seriously think your leopard male hybrid who is in love with you would be upset that you kiss him in front of others? Hello? They’re all about possession. You’re not manipulating, either. Just think of it as a gentle kick in the ass for the others to sort out how they feel,” Alice rolled her eyes, Y/N regretfully realizing her friend was right. 

“I’ll think about it. If it blows up in my face, though–”

“If it blows up in your face, I’ll take responsibility. It won’t though,” Alice collected the empty mugs, standing from the breakfast nook. “Alright, babe. We need to catch up on some Below Deck, and I want some dirty details about your man.”

Snorting, Y/N nodded, ready to have a couple of hours to gossip and watch trash reality with a girlfriend. She felt lighter, truly, that she told Alice how she felt about all of the hybrids, and was grateful that Alice not only offered her advice from a different point of view, but made her smile, too. As Alice dragged her to the parlor, Y/N wondered who she was in her past life to not only deserve her boys, but her friends, as well. 

“Come on, Y/N, try it!” Hoseok attempted to grab Y/N by the ankle, his russet tail wagging happily as he teasingly pressed the ‘on’ button to his Hypervolt. “You’re being a wuss.”

“Hoseok. I have tried it. Last time you pressed that against the back of my neck without me knowing, I thought I was having a stroke,” Y/N was able to wrestle her ankle free from her fox hybrid’s grip, her ass sore from sitting on the rough surface of the rec center’s indoor track. “I’m not the one about to run a mile. Focus on your own calves.”

“Oh, please, just a couple of seconds,” Hoseok was too quick for her to evade his grabby hands for long, his strong, nimble hands clasping around her ankle again with a cheeky grin. 

“Ho-seok,” Y/N groaned as soon as the vibrating tool dug into the meat of her calf, and regretfully, she was eating her words– after a few days of being on her feet at work, the sensation was delicious. “F-focus, honey. It’s the first meet of the season.”

“Yeah, so? You’re the only one who came. Even Jinnie abandoned me, reading his stupid books,” Hoseok ignored her plea to focus on his warm-up stretches, moving the Hypervolt further up her calf, Y/N praying she wouldn’t melt into a puddle of moans and groans at the sensation. 

“They’re r-reading a Murakami book this w-week. Hoseok, stop!” Y/N weakly pushed his hands away, pouting at him. “It’s like almost 1,000 pages. He wasn’t doing it to spite you.”

“He could have read it here!” Hoseok countered, though obediently put his Hypervolt back into his gym bag and began to stretch out his quads in front of her. “Whatever. I’m only doing one event tonight, we'll be outta here in like an hour or so.”

“What do you want for dinner? We’ll pick up something on the way home,” Y/N pulled Hoseok’s number from his gym bag, shifting forward on her knees so she could pin it to his jersey tank. 

“Chinese. I want a bucket of fried rice,” Hoseok replied without hesitation, Y/N making sure his mahogany waves were suitably held back by the sweatband around his forehead. 

“That can be arranged,” Y/N agreed, squeaking in surprise when one of the announcers reminded the mile runners that they had ten minutes before they had to be at the starting line, Hoseok perking up. “Couple of questions for you?”

“Darling?” Hoseok cocked his head, nose twitching in her direction. 

“Your birthday is this month. What would you like to do, my social butterfly? Wanna throw a party, or go somewhere specific? A club, a bar?” 

Any trace of sly humor disappeared from Hoseok’s face in a flash, astonishment replacing it, before he ever-so-elegantly recovered, a neutral expression taking over. 

“That’s a lot to think about. It’s still a little ways away, can I think about it?” Hoseok responded carefully, his hands coming up to rub his lean biceps. 

“Think about it as long as you need. Unless you actually want to go to a club, I’ll have to book that ASAP,” Y/N leaned back on her palms, praying that his event would go by quickly so her ass wouldn’t be scraped up any further by sitting on the rough concrete. “Gift ideas, too. You like clothes, but you have a bunch of those already… we could go to a sports game? Or we could go to a music festival, I know you’ve been interested in that. There’s one next month here in Boston, I heard The Foo Fighters are headlining one of the days.”

“Y/N, that’s a lot to give a guy to think about before he has to perform athletically,” Hoseok whined, but Y/N could see embarrassment plain as day in his mocha eyes. “I’ll let you know, alright? Whatever you do for my birthday will be more than enough, though, without a doubt.”

Mouth open to reply, Y/N was cut off by a whistle blowing, Hoseok nimbly hopping to his feet, his cheeky, gorgeous grin back in place. He looked like a young god in his uniform, full of life and vigor, one that governed over the sun and daylight. Before she could speak, Hoseok used his hybrid swiftness to bend forward, pressing a light kiss to Y/N’s forehead at lightning speed. 

“Wish me luck, my darling! Order some egg rolls for Jinnie while you’re at it, too, alright?” Hoseok winked, whistled his trademark, and jogged off towards the starting line, leaving Y/N wooden and staring after him. 

Of course, Hoseok ended up winning– he had a streak, at that point, and was considered the star of the team, especially for his particular event. It was a shame, truly, that the rest of her hybrids didn’t want to be there to support the fox hybrid– but Y/N supposed with the near-weekly meets, it interfered with their own interests and hobbies. Besides, Y/N never missed a track meet, a basketball game, or a photography expo. Hell, if there were oral reports during her mother’s book club, she’d be there an hour in advance to hear whatever Seokjin and Namjoon had to say about a book she had never read. 

The next day, Wednesday, Y/N was beat from work, after Judy had her totally rearrange the store’s inventory for the spring. There was enough leftover Chinese food for her and the hybrids to pick at for dinner over a marathon of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and by the time she dragged herself to bed, her eyes were nearly crossed. The only thing that prevented her from drooling into her pillow immediately was the sound of her phone chiming on her nightstand, Y/N grumbling and blindly reaching for it, tapping on the text notification. 

Yoongi 👼🏻: can’t sleep : (

Y/N: sorry, angel 😭 something wrong? Need some tea?

Yoongi 👼🏻: no, just u

Yoongi 👼🏻: come up, stay with me?

Suddenly wide awake, Y/N sat up in bed like she was electrocuted, her heart hammering in her chest. Bunching her quilt up in her fists, she was torn– there was nothing she wanted more than to sleep with Yoongi, but she dreaded the thought of sneaking out of his room in the morning and stumbling into Seokjin, Taehyung, or Jeongguk on the second floor. 

“Fuck it. We’re going with Alice’s plan,” Y/N muttered to herself, and as if on autopilot, she made her way to the second floor miraculously without turning on any lights. 

Yoongi’s door was ajar, and it appeared that he was the only one still awake, lamplight only coming from his room, fortunately. Promptly, she slipped inside, chest rumbling in satisfaction when Yoongi’s scent filled her senses powerfully. 

“That was fast for a little human,” Yoongi emerged from his bathroom, Y/N trying not to drool out of the side of her mouth with his bare chest on display. His sweats were slung low on his narrow hips, spotted tail curled around one of his legs, and Y/N suddenly felt exposed in her own tank-and-shorts pajama set. 

“Do you want me to stay or not,” Y/N hissed, hands on her hips. Yoongi rolled his eyes, tongue poking into his cheek. The leopard hybrid shuffled over to his bed, dramatically collapsing onto it, his arms behind his head with a smirk. “Are you trying to smize your way out of a smartass remark?”

Y/N swallowed, her throat completely parched, dragging her eyes over his strong arms; the veins mapping his forearms, the pink tint to his bent elbows, the dark hair of his armpits. Briefly, Y/N internally cursed Yoongi for making her so whipped for him, she was attracted to armpits. 

“Is it working? Smells like it is,” Yoongi lifted a brow, tongue swiping over his lower lip and a free hand reaching up to fiddle with the silver chain around his neck. “Come here.”

“Yoongi. We’re just sleeping. You have a game tomorrow,” Y/N warned, though she lowered her knees to his mattress, crawling up the length of if so she could lay beside him. “Don’t seduce me.”

“Speak for yourself,” Yoongi accused, his eyes darkening as he watched her climb to his side. “Miss you.”

Y/N hummed, rolling onto her side, sticking her face into Yoongi’s neck, breathing in his cologne. Automatically, Yoongi began to purr, using one of his hands to grasp onto Y/N’s thigh, hooking it over his body. Her skin tingled where he touched her, especially when he began to trace shapes over her thigh, just below the hem of her shorts. 

“Miss you too,” Y/N mumbled into his neck, planting a gentle kiss on the tender skin, Yoongi shivering beneath her. Already, her eyes felt heavy, tangled up with her lover, his soothing purrs like a sweet lullaby. “Turn off the light. Early morning.”

Grunting, Yoongi yanked on the chain to his lamp, plunging the room into darkness, Y/N sighing happily when he pulled his quilt up over the two of them. Y/N rested her palm over Yoongi’s heart, the steady beats of it beneath her touch comforting. 

“Love you, baby,” Y/N whispered into the darkness, Yoongi’s tail wrapping around her waist, and she could tell he was already slipping into unconsciousness by the way he murmured the same sentiment back, slurred and heavy. 

The next morning, Y/N pretty much had to push Yoongi off of her, his body on top of hers, cheek squished against her chest, his twitching ears tickling under her chin. He groaned and complained when she rubbed his back to wake him, and Y/N fought the urge to simply fall back asleep with him on top of her. 

“Come on, you big kitty, gotta have some breakfast before the game,” Y/N wheezed as she managed to roll him onto his side, his long hair sticking up in the back. His eyes were still shut as he stumbled out of bed, making Y/N snort into her palm. Usually, Yoongi was one of the first hybrids up in the morning, but Y/N had never seen him before his first cup of coffee. “I’ll make something for you while you get ready.”

Yoongi frowned, not wanting to part with her yet, but she left his room with a grin as he shrugged on his jersey with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. No one else appeared to be up yet, all of the bedroom doors on the second floor still shut, so Y/N was able to tip-toe down the creaky staircase without a confrontation. 

After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, Y/N was writing a brief note to tell the others where her and Yoongi were that morning, they were off to the rec center, Y/N letting Yoongi drive there. The weather was cold and damp, but at least there wasn’t any snow coming down from the sky on their drive in, but Y/N barely felt the chill with Yoongi’s hand on her knee while he drove. 

It wasn’t her first time in the rec center’s indoor gym, the floors buffed to a blinding shine and wooden bleachers surrounding the court, but because it was a new season, she felt like it was a different place. Once Y/N tied up Yoongi’s hair and pressed a kiss to his cheek, he was off to warm up with his teammates, and Y/N found a spot on the bleachers to watch the game. One eye on her leopard hybrid, she fumbled for her phone, which was buzzing away in her pocket. It was a notification of a reminder– in three days time, Valentine’s day, was the cooking class with Seokjin. Smiling a bit wistfully, she screenshotted the reminder, sending it to Seokjin over text. 

Y/N: excited for our class!! 

Seokjinnie 🌸: me too ≽^•⩊•^≼

Y/N: cute emoji omg! Is that supposed to be u? 

Seokjinnie 🌸: ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 ♡

Y/N flinched when Yoongi’s coach blew her whistle aggressively, promptly setting down her phone and getting ready to watch Yoongi play. He dropped into total concentration, listening to his coach with his lip tucked between his teeth, before getting into position and watching the coaches to a coin flip. She was getting lost in checking him out when she was rudely interrupted by someone saying his name– several feet from beside her. 

“Number 54? Yeah, his name is Yoongi,” a high-pitched, girlish voice declared to her friend, and Y/N knew that she was gawking at them, but she wanted to know how she knew her leopard hybrid’s name. “Isn’t he hot?”

Y/N grit her teeth, realizing the two girls were actually hybrids, dressed in tennis skirts and both with canine sets of ears. Y/N recognized the uniforms they were wearing, belonging to the rec center’s tennis team, which means it was likely that they had seen Yoongi around before. Instantly, jealousy bloomed in her gut, and she had to tear her eyes from the two of them, fidgeting in her seat. She was pretty sure neither of the girls had noticed her staring at them, but she didn’t want to get caught, so she chose to discreetly eavesdrop instead. 

“He’s super hot. Like a rockstar or something,” the second girl, the one with darker hair, agreed. “I heard he’s like the best player on the team.”

“For sure, that’s what Trixie said. She used to watch the basketball team practices last season just to see him play.”

Now, Y/N was absolutely positive she was filling the gym with the acrid scent of jealousy, but if the girls noticed, neither of them even looked in her direction. Y/N wasn’t stupid or blind, she knew how gorgeous and talented Yoongi was, but it was never fun to hear others fawn over one’s boyfriend. Gripping the bleachers tightly, Y/N tuned the hybrid girls out, focusing on Yoongi, who had already stolen possession of the ball. 

Luckily, the game became a nail-biter, enough to distract her from the girls beside her. Y/N’s throat was hoarse from hollering Yoongi’s name, and she managed to get a pretty decent video of him scoring– by the end of the game, Y/N could barely speak, but Yoongi’s team had won. Before she could launch herself onto the court to give him a hug, he was pulled away by his teammates, who were thumping him on his back and pushing him towards the locker room. This made Y/N pout, but she knew that Yoongi would want to take a shower before they hit the road, so she busied herself on the phone, ignoring the giggles of the two hybrids beside her.

Hoseok 🦊: heads up, darling

Hoseok 🦊: we’re all heading out, taking the car. Errands to run!

Y/N: errands???

Hoseok 🦊: ye, ghostbusters need some equipment. Jinnie wanted to make something for dinner so gotta go to the store. The bear needs to pick up his photos while we’re there, and we’re dragging Jimin along so he can spend time with beings that AREN’T horses

Y/N: okay, thanks for letting me know foxy

Y/N: have fun, be safe, and think about plans for your birthday, pls! 

Hoseok 🦊: i’ll make a list :3 

“Ready to go?” Yoongi approached her, his hair damp and his gym bag slung over his shoulder, his footsteps echoing in the near-empty room. When he was in front of her, a smirk on his face, the two girl hybrids stopped whispering, and Y/N knew that they were checking him out, and she didn’t like that one bit. 

Pocketing her phone, she recalled her earlier jealousy, and apparently catching him off-guard, Y/N launched forward, jumping up into his arms with an oof coming from the back of his throat. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Y/N held him tightly, hiding her face in his neck. 

“Whoa, I didn’t win the NBA finals,” Yoongi chuckled, using one arm around her lower back to keep her supported, his chest vibrating with purrs. “Sweetheart–”

She cut him off, cupping his face urgently, descending her lips on his in a powerful kiss. He made a feline noise of surprise, his mouth parting, and Y/N took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, trying to inject every ounce of passion she had into it. After a split second, Yoongi recovered, kissing her back, his arm tightening its hold on her. Not wanting to draw it out too much, her jealousy melting into sheepishness, she broke away with one last peck to his lower lip, Yoongi’s eyes full of surprise and delight. 

“What was that for?” Yoongi asked, breathlessly, Y/N giggling like a schoolgirl as he lowered her back to the ground. 

“What? I can’t kiss my man?” Y/N replied, parroting his sarcastic remark he had once made in front of Taehyung. Yoongi blinked, stunned out of a response, Y/N tucking a lock of hair behind his ear before tangling one of her hands with his. “Let’s go home, angel.”

Y/N didn’t even look at the two girls that were gaping at the pair of them, but she knew that they were so caught off guard, they forgot to “congratulate number 54 when he comes out of the locker room”. Smugly, she left the gym with Yoongi on her arm, and she realized once they got to the car: Yoongi didn’t even notice those two girls, his attention had been on her completely. 

“Where’s the other car?” Yoongi frowned, pulling into the driveway carefully, never once letting go of Y/N’s hand. 

“Hoseok took it out with everyone to run some errands. On the bright side, I don’t think either of us will have to cook dinner, Seokjin wants to make something tonight,” Y/N hopped out of the car, suddenly struck by the fact that the two of them were alone, which had her pulse speeding up. 

“Ah. Giving us space,” Yoongi read her mind, chuckling. She stuck her tongue out at him while his back was turned, dragging his gym bag out of the backseat, and ditched him in the driveway to unlock the front door. 

Y/N headed straight for the kitchen for a glass of water, lamenting the fact that it was still too early for a glass of wine. Bouncing around in her skull were not only images of Yoongi jogging up and down the court, commanding the respect and admiration of his teammates, but the sounds of the two hybrid girls gushing over him. Embarrassingly, Y/N felt her jealousy return, hardly noticing Yoongi in the foyer as she stomped up the stairs, scooping up his gym bag as she went. She thought perhaps doing something as mundane and mind-numbing as a load of laundry would help her get a grip. 

Grumbling, she tossed Yoongi’s sweaty uniform into the wash along with Hoseok’s, adding a few more articles of the boy’s clothes from the mountain of dirty laundry in the corner of the little room. Eyes glazed over as she tossed laundry beads into the machine, she stared at the little chart taped to the wall, the one that she and Seokjin had created so laundry duty was tackled by a different housemate every day. 

“What’s the matter?” Yoongi startled her in the doorway to the laundry room, making her whack a knee against the dryer with a cry. 

“Nothing,” Y/N composed an innocent expression on her face, folding a pair of Jimin’s jeans and stacking them on the shelf. 

“Y/N,” Yoongi’s voice had a warning tone to it, Y/N cursing the hybrid ability to sniff out deceit. “You were fine just a second ago.”

“Why don’t you just take a whiff and guess,” Y/N grouched, Yoongi’s hazel eyes flashing. Without another word, Yoongi was pulling Y/N out of the laundry room with a tsk and a finger hooked in the pocket of her leggings. 

“Fine,” Yoongi growled, pushing her against the wall in the hallway, pressing a knee between her legs and keeping her pinned with a hand flat on her hip. His face was in the crook of her neck, Y/N growing stiff as she felt his eyelashes brush her skin. “Ticked off. Insecure.”

Heart falling to her ass, Y/N squirmed against the wall, trying to get away from the leopard hybrid, humiliated beyond belief. Served her right for challenging a predatory male hybrid, in hindsight. 

“Oh. Jealous,” Yoongi froze, drawing away from her throat, staring Y/N dead in the eye. “Why are you jealous, baby?”

Swallowing, Y/N shook her head, desperate to deny the accusation, but it was too late. She couldn’t weasel her way out of that situation, not with him pinning her down. Heart pounding in her chest, she shook her head. 

“It’s nothing, Yoongi. Just forget it, I’m being stupid,” Y/N attempted to diffuse the situation, furious with herself that she had potentially spoiled the rare alone time that the two of them had. 

“Is this about those girls sitting next to you at the game?” Yoongi asked incredulously, Y/N’s eyes widening a fraction. “Uh-huh. That’s a yes.”

“It’s dumb, but I can’t help it,” Y/N broke down with a whine, already feeling pitiful enough. “They were talking about how hot you are and how you’re the best player… ugh, it just triggered me I guess, you’re mine and I–”

Her words were stuffed back down her throat, because Yoongi’s mouth was on hers, hot and desperate, the force of the kiss causing her head to bump into the wall behind her. The hand that was on her hip moved, a forefinger and thumb pinching her chin to keep her in place, Yoongi already licking into her mouth with borderline abandon. Wide eyes slipping shut, Y/N released a ragged moan, her hands scrabbling to get a grip on his hoodie. Cocking his head, Yoongi bit down harshly on her lower lip, pressing his hips into Y/N’s before breaking away, his chest heaving. 

“How could you think,” Yoongi began, interrupting himself by giving her another swift kiss, his eyes lidded. “That I’d even look at anyone but you?”

Y/N couldn’t respond; she was too distracted by Yoongi’s hand under her shirt, tracking a path up her abdomen, and his plush lips suckling the skin under her jaw. Gasping, she let go of his hoodie, hands pressing to the wall behind her, heat flooding through her system. 

“If anyone should be jealous, it’s the other poor fucks who live with us,” Yoongi added roughly, bending to get a hold of her thighs, hoisting Y/N up into his arms, using his sharp incisors to nip at her collarbone. “They haven’t heard the noises you can make, haven’t tasted you…”

Y/N felt her head spinning as Yoongi carried her down the hallway, fisting a chunk of his long, inky hair tightly, the sound of Yoongi kicking his bedroom door open making her go limp in his arms. 

Y/N yelped when Yoongi let her go, all but tossing her onto his bed, standing before her like a predator stalking its prey. In a wild turn of events, they both became possessed by lust, Y/N already feeling her core throb against the material of her underwear. Yoongi had a filthy mouth, she was already aware of that, but when he used it against her– she swore nothing was sexier. 

“Don’t you know how I feel about you?” Yoongi rid himself of his hoodie, tossing it carelessly to the floor, swinging a knee over the mattress to cage Y/N beneath him. Y/N could only stare up at her beautiful leopard hybrid, his ears twitching with agitation, his silver chain dangling in front of her face. “Hmm? Love?”

“Y-yoongi,” Y/N breathed, overwhelmed. She reached up for him, hooking her hands around his neck, reveling in the quiet groan he made when she brought him down for a kiss, this one sweeter, more full of meaning, than the desperate lip-lock in the hallway. 

“There’s my girl,” Yoongi murmured between kisses, probably smelling the love and affection she had for him rolling off of her in waves. Seizing the moment while he was lax above her, Y/N’s hands shot out, landing on his chest, sending the leopard hybrid sideways and onto his back, Y/N straddling his lap with a doped-up grin. “Fuck.”

Snickering, Y/N squirmed on his lap, watching his eyes roll back into his skull, his hands still on her outer thighs. Y/N couldn’t believe that she was as turned on as she was, trailing her fingertips over the smooth skin of Yoongi’s flushed chest, and further, she felt satisfaction fill her with the hardness she felt beneath her hips. Yoongi’s breath caught as one of her thumbs brushed over a nipple, his pupils dilating with pure want. Unable to help herself, she ducked down, mouthing at his chest, and experimentally, she grazed her lips over his nipple, Yoongi’s hips bucking up into hers with the action. 

“Baby,” Yoongi’s voice came out strained, his hands squeezing her thighs painfully, one of them moving to tug on the back of her shirt, Y/N busy kissing a trail down his sternum. 

“Yoongi,” Y/N returned, tracing the lines of his toned obliques, teeth scraping against his left pec. 

Getting the hint once Yoongi yanked at her shirt once more, his other hand bruising the skin of her thigh, Y/N sat up, crossing her arms and pulling the material off of her torso, tossing it aside. She wasn’t exactly expecting to be in that position with Yoongi that afternoon, so regretfully, she was wearing a simple black bra, but Yoongi appreciated it with widened eyes nonetheless. 

“Kiss me,” Yoongi requested, breathlessly, his hands trailing from her thighs to her bare waist, eyes nearly emerald with how much they had darkened. Not daring to disobey, Y/N fell forward, whimpering at the sensation of their torsos pressed together, cupping his jaw and giving him the kiss he asked for. 

Not knowing where Yoongi ended and she began, she felt their legs tangling, Yoongi’s rough, jean-clad hips scraping against the soft material of her leggings, which were truthfully starting to become a little damp. Yoongi kissed the breath from her lungs, his tongue sensually rolling against hers, his purring chest pressed right up against hers.

“God, I–” Yoongi ground out, his form tensing beneath her when Y/N traced her tongue up the side of his neck, the taste of his sweat sweet on her tongue. “Fuck. Fuckin’ love you.”

“Love you more,” Y/N countered, directly in his ear, nipping at the shell of it, shuddering when his hands slid up her back, fingertips wiggling beneath the strap of her bra. With that statement, Yoongi grunted sharply, and before Y/N’s brain could process it, the world turned upside-down, the wind knocked from her lungs as she found herself underneath Yoongi again. 

“None of that,” Yoongi smirked at her bewilderment, using a large hand to press over her mouth, his free hand ghosting over the center of her chest. A primal sort of glint took over his feline eyes, Y/N automatically opening her mouth to respond. Unfortunately, Yoongi was a step ahead of her. “Uh-uh.”

Y/N’s lips were pried open, two of Yoongi’s long, slender fingers pressing against her tongue. Two could play at that game, Y/N thought, her tongue swirling around the digits, hollowing out her cheeks. Frowning, Yoongi watched her expression grow coy, her legs wrapping around his waist. 

“Smart mouth, should keep it filled,” Yoongi muttered acidically, pressing the pads of his fingertips more harshly into Y/N’s tongue, a tiny gagging sound coming from the back of her throat, making the tips of her ears burn. “Let’s get this off, huh, sweetheart?”

Unable to respond with his fingers stuffed in her mouth, Y/N watched helplessly as Yoongi slid a hand behind her back, unclasping her bra and pulling it off with a dark chuckle. One day, Y/N would learn not to provoke a hybrid, but honestly, the consequences didn’t seem to be so bad. 

Finally pulling his saliva-slickened fingers from her mouth, Yoongi helped Y/N out of her bra, absently pushing the garment to the side so he could get a good look at her chest, a hand resting over her throat, feeling her pulse flutter erratically. Desperately, she was trying to pull him back down to her mouth with tugs to his belt loops, but Yoongi ignored her silent plea, both hands cupping her chest. Y/N arched into his touch with a soft cry, bringing his face down to kiss between her breasts, and in retaliation for earlier, used the rough pads of his thumbs to outline circles over her nipples. 

“Hnngh,” Y/N winced, so sensitive his gentle touch was almost painful, Yoongi humming as he toyed with her chest, kneading the soft flesh in his hands, pinching one of her buds between his fingertips and pulling, rewarded by a heavy moan from Y/N. “Oh, b-babyy–”

Growing frustrated with the remaining barriers between himself and Y/N, Yoongi’s touch migrated to the waistband of Y/N’s leggings, using his strength to strip the article of clothing from her body, nearly passing out once he realized she wasn’t wearing panties beneath, her entire body bare beneath him. 

“What are you doing to me,” Yoongi groaned, his jeans starting to choke the life out of his cock, and not in a good way. “Shit…”

“Need… n-need you,” was all Y/N could hiccup, completely exposed for him, but not feeling a single semblance of embarrassment about that. Tail curling behind him in mesmerizing shapes, Y/N gripped at his solid biceps pleafully. 

“Needy thing,” Yoongi commented, sloppily kissing over the swell of her breast, enjoying the sounds of her helpless mewls. “God, I can smell you.”

Clumsily, Y/N tugged the zipper of Yoongi’s jeans down, yanking the fabric halfway down his legs, her breath coming out in pants as Yoongi laved his tongue over her nipple indulgently, hardly noticing she was trying to strip him. Gasping when he took the bud into his mouth, sucking and scraping his teeth over the sensitive flesh, Y/N felt her thighs get tacky with moisture, impossibly turned on and wanting. 

“Please, Yoongi, please. Fuck me,” Y/N wasn’t above begging at that point, far past the point of no return, Yoongi distractedly shucking off his jeans and slotting himself between Y/N’s parted legs. The weight of his hips against her bare core had her clenching around nothing, and she arched upwards to seek out the hardness in his boxers eagerly for any kind of friction.

Yoongi simply hummed at her request, releasing her nipple with a lewd pop, one of his hands tracing over her hip bone before he mercifully ghosted his digits over her dewy sex, a low hiss coming from the back of his throat when he realized how wet she was.

“Always so fuckin’ wet,” Yoongi teased, batting her hand away when she reached for his wrist, a drenched forefinger swiping through her folds. “All for me?”

“Uh-huh,” Y/N canted her hips upwards, chasing his touch, whining thinly when he just missed grazing her clit. “Please. Want you, want you inside of m-me.”

“Wanna taste you first,” Yoongi smirked devilishly, Y/N beginning to protest, just wanting to feel him, but he moved too quickly, and all Y/N could do was sink her hands into his long tresses, his face now eye-level with her cunt. “All of this, and I’ve hardly done anything.”

Too caught up at staring at his fucked-out expression, Y/N didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, Yoongi using his strong grip to maneuver her legs over his shoulders, making himself comfortable between her legs. Whether or not he noticed that her thighs were coated in her slick was beyond Y/N, and due to the position he had manhandled her into, she couldn’t close her legs to hide the evidence of her overwhelming arousal. 

Transfixed, Yoongi’s touch returned to her pussy, biting his lip when more wetness leaked out of her when his thumb brushed over her clit. She was so sensitive, responsive, tiny cries of pure want filling his ears, and it drove him absolutely crazy, paired with the scent of her lust. Wasting no more time, he locked eyes, her pupils blown out, eyebrows pinched, and kissed right above the hood of her clit, chuckling when her hips jerked in consequence. With a deft lick, Yoongi dragged his tongue through her folds, feeling Y/N’s legs shaking over his shoulders, a wail leaving her throat. 

Y/N couldn’t help her spine from contorting off the mattress, yanking on Yoongi’s hair sharply, a muffled grunt coming from his lips as he wrapped them around her clit, humming lightly and making Y/N see stars. It was almost too much to bear, Yoongi’s sinful tongue dipping into her entrance, his forearm keeping her hips pinned down. Alarmingly, Y/N felt herself already hurtling towards her release, Yoongi’s mouth on her paired with the unbroken eye contact had her stomach tightening quickly. 

“Yoongi,” Y/N whined, pressing herself into his face desperately, cheeks on fire when he raised an eyebrow, using the flat of his tongue to collect all of the wetness that had gathered between her legs, the erotic visual making her eyes roll shut. “Ah!” 

Yoongi paused, assessing the mess he made of her, using a free hand to stroke through her folds, Y/N begging for more, for anything, and Yoongi didn’t want to tease her too much, so with one last breathy please, Yoongi sunk a finger into her cunt. Cursing at the tightness, he curled his finger, attempting to open her up a little bit, a second digit joining the first, Y/N writhing in his grip. 

“Squeezin’ me, baby, are you gonna cum already?” Yoongi taunted, feeling her clamp down onto his fingers even tighter, her lip bitten raw as she cried out his name. “That’s it, honey.”

“Yoongi, want you,” Y/N managed to gasp, gripping the wrist that was between her legs, halting his movements. “Please, now, want you.”

“Yeah? Want me to fuck you?” Yoongi asked softly, pulling his fingers from her cunt, sliding the coated digits into his mouth, his free hand moving to the hemline of his boxers, Y/N’s eyes immediately dropping to the bulge beneath the fabric, her mouth watering. “Turn over.”

Blinking, Y/N shakily scooched up the bed, rolling onto her front, hearing Yoongi shuffle forward on his knees, his boxers tossed on the floor, Y/N turning her head slightly to get a good look at him, his sharp teeth prodding at his fleshy lower lip. Sighing blissfully when his hands caressed her hips gently, she squealed when he dragged them up, using his other hand to reach for a pillow, placing it underneath her, arranging her limbs so she was resting comfortably. Cheeks burning, she felt the pillow beneath her hips and lower abdomen, her ass on display as she arched her spine, leaning on her forearms. 

“Look at you, waiting so patiently,” Yoongi’s touch returned, his palms landing heavily on her ass, making her shudder and keen, opening her mouth to tell him to hurry up. Before she could, however, Yoongi spoke again. “Ready, baby?”

“Please,” Y/N wiggled her hips, hoping to tempt him into picking up the pace, feeling sweat slip down her spine. She sounded wrecked, eager, and Yoongi groaned, holding the base of his cock in one hand, the other squeezing one of her cheeks. 

Shaky breath rounding out into a moan, she felt him press against her weeping sex, running the tip through her folds teasingly, his own breaths coming out in labored pants, slowly losing control as he ground against her. Gripping Yoongi’s sheets for dear life, she huffed in annoyance at his teasing, feeling wetness dribble down the inside of her thighs in anticipation. After what felt like minutes, Yoongi stopped messing around, lining himself up, using a palm splayed across Y/N’s lower back as leverage and finally pushed in, only an inch or two, Y/N instantly clenching down on him with a broken whimper. 

“Holy fuck,” Yoongi grunted, moving as slowly as he could, and when his pelvis was flush with her ass, he weakly collapsed on top of her, bracing a hand beside her head. Y/N felt her walls fluttering around his generous length and girth frantically, the position she was in making him feel like he was in her guts, and she was hardly aware of the pathetic sounds spilling from her mouth. “This pussy…” 

“F-full,” Y/N stuttered, Yoongi’s breath on the back of her neck as he let her get used to the feeling, grazing his teeth along the junction of her shoulder and throat. “Hnngh–”

“Yeah? Stuffed full of me?” Yoongi’s voice was dark, dulcet, and in her ear, and Yoongi was all Y/N could feel– pressed against her back, scent clinging to the sheets, cock buried in her pussy. “Fuck. Stop clenching.”

“C-can’t help it,” Y/N replied, Yoongi wrapping his hand around her waist, giving his hips an experimental roll, Y/N choking on an intake of air with the movement. “Oh, d-don’t stop–”

Moaning into her neck, Yoongi snapped his hips forward, setting a strong, almost punishing pace right away, unable to hold back, and wanting to fuck the jealousy out of her. Yoongi was always more fond of showing, rather than telling, anyways. 

“I’m yours,” Yoongi mumbled into the skin over her shoulder blade, sucking a bruise into the flesh, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh filling his bedroom, Y/N’s voice scratchy from the constant mewls leaving her mouth. “Got that?”

“Nn– ah! Oh,” Y/N felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, the support from the pillow beneath her adding even more pressure to the way he was pounding into her, even the fabric of the pillowcase adding friction against her clit in the most delicious way. “Mine!”

“That’s right,” Yoongi peeled himself from her back, adjusting his position so he could fuck into her with greater strength, gathering up the hair along the nape of her neck and wrapping it around his wrist. “All for you, baby. Say my name.”

“Yoongi, oh my g– fuck, gonna cum soon,” Y/N wailed, the way he was tugging her hair back making her scalp smart, but between the pain and the pleasure, Y/N was nearly careening off the edge of sanity. “Please.”

“Please, what?” Yoongi spat through his teeth, not letting up on the pace one bit, kneading the flesh of her asscheek. “You’ve already got my cock, you need more?” 

Contrary to his taunts, Yoongi gave her more, reaching underneath, using a forefinger to rub circles around her clit, Y/N’s vision going white as she came without warning, clamping down on Yoongi so hard he swore colorfully, hips stuttering against her ass as she writhed from beneath him. He let go of her hair, kissing down the length of her spine, helping her through her orgasm as best he could while keeping up the swift pace of his thrusts. 

“Can you take a bit more, love?” Yoongi soothed a hand down her back, her body shivering with the aftershocks of her orgasm, nodding dazedly as she pressed her ass backwards into Yoongi. “Come here, roll over. Wanna see your face.”

Y/N was boneless, but Yoongi helped her flip over, tossing the pillow to the side. She whined when his cock slipped from her, but Yoongi was quick to remedy that, pushing back in as soon as her limp arms looped around his neck. Groaning at the new angle, Yoongi kept his thrusts slow, punctuated by a light grind to the spongy tissue of her G-spot, Y/N dissolving into a complete mess. The mood turned sensual, Yoongi leaning down to press his lips to hers, and even if Y/N wasn’t a hybrid, she could sense his love for her by the way he held the side of her face tenderly. Tucking hair behind his ear, Y/N crossed her ankles behind his back, feeling the way his cock throbbed inside of her– he must have been getting close. 

“Come, Yoongi,” Y/N pressed her forehead to her lover’s, raking her nails down his chest lightly. “Wanna feel you come for me.”

“Y/N,” Yoongi gasped, Y/N feeling her gut tighten once again when he hit a sweet spot inside of her, and after two more strokes, she was coming again, gasping and moaning into the leopard hybrid’s mouth. “I–”

Without warning, Yoongi stilled, his mouth on her collarbone, teeth sinking into the flesh, heightening the bliss of her orgasm. She felt him spilling inside of her, sweet, filthy nothings falling from his lips as he came, tongue swiping over the bite he had given her absently. Hazy from the scenting, she let Yoongi roll the two of them onto their sides, his cock still nestled between her walls, the leopard hybrid cleaning up the wound on her neck in a way that was more primal, feline, than ever, his chest rumbling with loud purrs. 

Limbs like jelly, Y/N closed her eyes, melting into Yoongi’s sheets as his tongue dragged over her neck lazily, the post-fuck and post-scenting haze having her so lax, she hardly noticed the mixture of their releases rolling down her thighs. She didn’t have enough energy to say anything, simply clinging to him like a baby kangaroo, fingers gliding along his sweat-dampened back. 

“Still jealous?” Yoongi broke the content silence, tracing shapes along her ribcage lovingly, his purrs unbroken and strong. 

“No,” Y/N replied meekly, hiding her face in his collarbones, suddenly embarrassed she entertained any feelings of envy at all. 

“I know, can’t smell it anymore,” Yoongi snickered, Y/N rolling her eyes at the fact that he was back to his sarcastic, deadpan self. “Guess I just had to fuck it out of you.”

“You’re so vulgar,” Y/N lightly shoved his chest away, wincing when she felt him pull out of her, and the sensation of his cum dribbling out of her. “I never would have thought.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes,” Yoongi retorted, kissing her forehead gently, his lips bent upwards in a tiny smile. “Wanna get cleaned up?”

“Mmm,” Y/N groaned noncommittally, knowing that walking would probably be an issue. “Not really.”

“I can carry you,” Yoongi’s laughter grew in volume, clearly enjoying that he had completely ruined her, squeezing the meat of her ass in one hand playfully. 

“Fine,” Y/N pouted, not ready to break free from their post-coital bliss, but knowing that it would probably be wise to bathe and attempt to look normal before the other hybrids came home. 

Yoongi carried her bridal-style into his bathroom, and Y/N leaned on his shoulder while the water heated up, enjoying his warmth and presence. Once in the shower, the leopard hybrid supported her, her back to his chest as the hot water beat down on their skin. Hooking his chin over her shoulder, his wet hair tickling her cheek, Y/N gripped the forearms he had wrapped around her middle, sighing. 

“I love you,” Yoongi said quietly, planting a kiss on the bite he had given her. 

Turning in his arms, Y/N chose to respond by leaning up, brushing her lips against his softly, hands winding around his neck as steam filled the shower. 

“Hope you didn’t fill up too much on the toffee,” Y/N unbuckled her seatbelt, making sure the parking ticket for the garage she parked in was stuffed in her wallet. 

“I didn’t! I skipped lunch, too,” Seokjin was hurrying out of the car, glancing around the parking garage curiously, correcting his stride to match Y/N’s, pulling his wool coat tightly around his body. 

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that. You must be starving,” Y/N pouted, her fingertips twitching to hold his hand. It was Valentine’s Day, and most of the day had passed by uneventfully, but that evening, she and Seokjin traveled into the city for the cooking lesson. 

“I just didn’t know how much we’d end up cooking, wanted to be prepared to stuff my face!” Seokjin joked, a merry smile on his face. After she had given him his Valentine that morning, it seemed that goofy, fond Seokjin was back, and he could finally smile at her with it actually reaching his eyes. Progress was progress, she supposed. 

“I think we’re making three courses,” Y/N grinned as Seokjin pulled the door to the mall for her. He looked gorgeous, as always, in black slacks and a powder blue button down, his wavy hair swept off his forehead. “Three courses, three different wine tastings. I’m excited!”

Seokjin’s sleek black tail flicked behind him, sticking close to Y/N’s side as they navigated through Copley Place, and when she felt him growing nervous with the amount of people clogging up the narrow aisles of Eataly, she hooked her hand around his elbow, pulling him into her side for comfort. 

Fortunately for Seokjin, the actual classroom where they were going to cook in was spacious, at the back of the market, and there were only a few other pairs of people taking the class with them. Seokjin appeared to be the only hybrid, however, and naturally every pair of eyes in the room was on him as he draped his coat on the rack by the door, his ears fluttering excitedly as he noticed the station that had a card with Y/N’s last name printed on it. 

The instructor appeared to be an older Italian man, one with a thick accent and golden skin, greeting everybody happily. To Y/N’s relief, the instructor didn’t greet Seokjin any differently than anyone else, simply handing the jaguar hybrid two red-and-white striped aprons for them to wear. 

“Today, we’ll be learning about the cuisine of Rome, and cooking some of my favorite dishes from all over Italy,” the man began once all of the students were in their aprons and standing eagerly behind their stations. Y/N noticed that most of the people in the class were older, perhaps married, couples, with one pair of college students in the back of the room. “We’ll be making a bruschetta, linguine alle vongole, and saltimbocca for our three courses, all paired with a lovely wine.”

Seokjin was nearly shaking with excitement beside her, checking out all of the dials on the stovetop, the raw ingredients in front of them, and the array of kitchen tools available for their use. He paid rapt attention to the man explaining the origins of the dishes they were going to prepare, his ears perked up. Once the little history lesson was over, the instructor walked them through the steps to make fresh pasta for the vongole, and she and Seokjin exchanged smug smirks– they both already knew how to make fresh pasta, and while some of the other couples were struggling to assemble the dough, her’s and Seokjin’s was plastic wrapped and chilling in the mini fridge already. Seokjin positively preened under the praise of the instructor, his neck turning red, and Y/N snorted and shook her head as she sliced through some tomatoes for the bruschetta topping. 

Meanwhile, Seokjin handled the veal steaks for the saltimbocca, using a mallet to pound the meat to a certain thinness, and the first round of wine came around, the glass they were to nurse while they cooked. Here and there, Seokjin would crack a joke or two, corny as ever, but they made her choke on her wine and laughter. 

“When asked about his cooking skills, the sage replied, ‘I’m herbally gifted’,” Seokjin held up a sage leaf he was using toothpicks to attaching to the veal steaks, waving it in front of Y/N’s face with a goofy grin. 

“Jin, stop, I’m gonna pee my pants,” Y/N whispered, cheeks sore from smiling so much. It had been a while since she spent such quality time with Seokjin, and she realized how much she missed him, with a painful twang of her heart. 

Seokjin’s grin only grew wider, hand reaching up to ruffle Y/N’s hair affectionately, one of the first times he actually touched her since finding out about her and Yoongi. Delighted, Y/N took a happy sip of wine, getting back to work on the sauce for the vongole. 

Once everything was cooked, chairs were brought out, along with the fruity pinot grigio to be paired with the bruschetta, all while the instructor answered questions about Italian cuisine, and told stories about his childhood in Rome.

“This is so good,” Seokjin sighed, munching on a piece of bruschetta, his orange eyes wide as he tasted all of the flavors. “We get the recipes after, right?”

“Yep! We can make this whole meal again for the others. I think Hoseok would really enjoy this, too,” Y/N clinked glasses with the older woman from the station behind her, Seokjin’s cheeks beginning to color with the alcohol, already. 

“This is so much fun, Y/N. We should do this again,” Seokjin suddenly became serious, glancing around the room, before his eyes softened and he made eye contact with her again. 

“Absolutely. I’ve missed spending time with you,” Y/N replied without hesitancy, Seokjin’s neck turning red again when she admitted that. 

Looking away, their interaction was interrupted by the instructor telling them to finish off the sauce for the vongole, and Seokjin drained his wine glass urgently before hopping to his feet to turn on the burner. 

After two more glasses of wine and two delicious entrees the two of them cooked, her and her jaguar hybrid were loopily weaving their way through the market with a packet of recipes, a bottle of wine Seokjin liked the most, and free Italian cookies in their arms. Seokjin, bolder now that he was tipsy, insisted on holding the bag with all of the items, and finally, he offered her a hand as they walked through the mall. 

“Want to go for a little walk before we head back to the car?” Y/N asked, threading her fingers through his, Seokjin staring down at her through his eyelashes with that thoughtful expression she had seen on his face only once or twice before. Truthfully, she both wanted to spend a bit more alone time with Seokjin, and she felt like some cool nighttime air would sober her up enough to drive home confidently. 

“Okay,” Seokjin squeezed her hand, following her down the escalator to the street outside of the mall, the sky already dark and the city lights keeping the streets illuminated. 

Not too many people were out, everyone seemed to be having their romantic Valentine’s Day dinners in the multiple restaurants studding the sidewalks, and it was much too cold for a leisurely stroll for most people. Tummy full, she stuck close to Seokjin, who radiated heat like a furnace, and Y/N was grateful for the slight buzz from the wine that was keeping her warm as well. The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, only broken once or twice when Seokjin would ask her about a restaurant they would stroll by. 

“Thank you for tonight,” Seokjin spoke out of the blue, letting Y/N hook her arm around his in an attempt to steal some of his body heat. 

“You don’t have to thank me, honey, it was for your birthday!” Y/N insisted, reaching up to flick the dangling earrings that were threaded through his left earlobe– another birthday present from her. “I should thank you for letting me use the other ticket. I learned so much, got to hang out with you for a while, ate yummy food…”

Y/N paused, feeling cold and wet hit her forehead, stopping in front of an old church, the lights from inside making the colored stained glass glow and cast pretty hues over the sidewalk. Looking up, she made a soft noise of exclamation, clumps of snow falling from the sky. Letting go of Seokjin temporarily, she did a twirl, head craned skyways, admiring the way the snowflakes floated gently through the air. She didn’t realize Seokjin was repeating her name until his hand was on her shoulder, his lip tucked between his teeth. 

“Ah, we can head back now. You’re probably freezing, huh?” Y/N held her hand out for him again, but this time, he didn’t take it. 

“Y/N, I have something I want to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it,” Seokjin looked from her flushed face to the windows of the church, shades of blue, green, and red highlighting his features. A ball forming in the pit of her stomach, she dropped her outstretched hand, nervous about the seriousness of his tone, his whole voice going down a pitch. 

“It’s okay, tell me,” Y/N, while nervous, was curious as well, freezing when Seokjin released a breathy exhale, gathering up her hands in one of his, the contact appearing to ease his nerves. 

“I– I know you, um. You’re with Yoongi, you love him,” Seokjin swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. Wine churning in her gut, she nodded, taken aback that that was the night he chose to first address the relationship. “And I’m happy for you, I am, Yoongi too. But…”

“It makes you uncomfortable?” Y/N murmured, heart beating painfully in her chest. Seokjin bit his lip again, shaking his head, but conflict flashed in his eyes. 

“No. I mean, somewhat, yes,” Seokjin sucked his teeth, tugging her closer into his proximity. 

“Is there a specific reason why, Seokjinnie?” Y/N would be heartbroken if Seokjin would push her away after such a wonderful night spent together, but she would deal with it if it came to that. 

“I’m,” Seokjin swallowed thickly again, before squaring his shoulders with his ears flat to his head, lowering his face closer to Y/N’s like he was about to tell her a secret. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

Taglist; @blancflms @grazysf @sbromp @jaxavance @sunderlight @ot7nem @mageprincess7 @wittyreader @drenix004 @mayla548 @skyys-universe @ddaeng-angmoh @trtlthts @exfolitae @kalala22 @xiusmarshmallow @bangtans-momma @zae007live @paigetj @singukieee @lilacdreams-00 @dreamerwasfound @ninjacups @osakis-gf @itwillbealways-d @xthefuckerysquaredx @momowantscats @molshole @gooooomz @uarmyhore @lopprhe @oopscoop @xicanacorpse @i-like-anime12 @hemziii @demarie04 @im-sinking-in-mud @talkyoongitome @bangtxnbxunch @primrose2507 @kihyunniesmonbebe @7evensin @lilmxchis @00ihatesnaku @neverthefirstchoice @missyoueverysingleday @cathy-1997 @prybts @doublebunv

Please do not repost or translate my work. Thank you!

[rationaliity]

found family | astral express

self indulgent found family astral express story literally no plot its just them all being silly as they welcome you, the newcomer, onto the astral express and you realize that maybe they're more like a family than you expected originally

the astral express was a family. this was something that you weren't expecting when you joined them. they each have their own agendas, their own lives, why would they worry about each other ? they just traveled with each other, which didn't constitute a family in your eyes.

you were scared when you first came to the astral express, and you needed a place to stay. " just until you could get back on your feet " you told gray haired woman in front of you, although your voice had been shaky because you were crying so much. she didn't say much, just told you that she would talk to the others on the express, and that they would talk about it.

a few hours later, you're boarding the astral express, with many unfamiliar faces staring back at you. as they introduce themselves to you, you try to remember everyone there, but there's so many names and so much information about each of them, you honestly have a hard time remembering the details.

there's the two older members on the express, himeko and welt yang. himeko has a calm but commanding voice, much like a fierce protective mother would have, and you can't help but feel calm in her presence. welt yang is softer around his edges, with a gentler tone of voice, but everyone on the express clearly respects him and his opinions, like his words held weight to him.

the other four were younger than welt and himeko and had been trailblazing for a shorter amount of time. there was march 7th, a chatty but easily irritated girl with plenty of opinions that she wasn't afraid to say, something you deeply admired from her. dan heng, who's silence was born not out of contempt or dislike, but because of what he has witnessed in the world. you understood him maybe a little better than you wanted to let on.

then there was the siblings, stelle and caelus, though they seemed perfectly content just to be called anything else, too. they both seemed perfectly fine with the nickname ' intergalactic baseballer ' which earned a little chuckle from you. they were both quiet, with stelle giving off a more cool and deadpan personality to caelus' naturally silly one, although they were both incredibly funny. they'd been travelling with the express for a lot less than everyone else, meaning they were the last two trailblazers that had been picked up from the express before you.

and now, there was you. no matter what your story was, they let you on the express so willingly, bringing you into their arms like you had always been there. it unnerved you.

" make yourself comfortable, please, " himeko's voice tore through your thoughts, and you realized you'd just been standing there at the entrance staring at everyone trying to decipher what they wanted from you.

" oh, uh, yeah, " you stuttered out finally, moving in between dan heng and march 7th to sit down on the parlor chairs, folding your legs underneath you to sit crisscrossed. almost immediately as your butt hit the plushness, did march 7th bound up to you, sitting right next to you.

" we're gonna be warp jumping to another world soon ! it's a little hard to get a hang of it at first, so make sure to brace yourself whenever the conductor gives you the warning ! " she explained, her cheerfulness breaching through your defenses, especially when she tacked on afterwards, " i'm going to see if i can stand up during the jump ! you know, balance ! "

" march, have you considered that your unwanted advances towards friendship may just be that ? unwanted ? " dan heng criticized, but you couldn't stop yourself from letting out a little giggle, covering your face with your hands at the two of them.

" she gottem, " caelus pointed out, earning a brief little nod from stelle.

" gotta try harder at being friendless than that, " stelle agreed in a dry voice despite her silly words, and you really noticed how the twins bounced off each other, like they were one full person together and only half when they were apart.

mr. yang's voice was gentle as he spoke to the five of you, warm and gentle as he regarded you. " i have a feeling that you're going to enjoy the astral express. "

" have you seen the express so full ? " himeko asked, as if she were finally taking in that there were a crew of nameless now, and not just a bunch of ragtag adventurers that had made their home the express together.

" oh, do you wanna hear stories about the astral express crew ? you know, to get an idea of what we're like ? " march asked, her intense gaze boring into yours, as if willing you to just nod a little bit so she could show off her pictures and tell you stories from each one.

" sure, " you agreed, finding yourself almost excited to learn more than just the basics from each of these people. march jumped up immediately, running towards her room and grabbing stacks of photos before plopping down right next to you again. by the time she came back, dan heng had taken a seat on your other side, albeit a bit farther away.

caelus and stelle were still standing side by side, while mr. yang and himeko decided to sit in front of you all on the other side of the parlor, likely giving you space but ready to chime in when it came to their own stories.

march sat a picture on your lap of a man with blue dragon horns and glowing eyes, separating the waters of a world that you didn't recognize. " march, " dan heng's voice sounded like he was ready to complain. " why is this the first one that you showed ? "

" because it was the first in the stack ! i don't know what to tell you, dan heng ! " march shrugged animatedly, before turning back to the picture on your lap, " that's dan heng ! apparently he's the descendant of a dragon race of the xianzhou luofu, or something like that ! "

" oh.. wow ! " you exclaimed, doing a double take at dan heng now versus what he looked like in the picture. longer hair, different clothing, but still the same piercing gaze that he had now, determination etched onto his features like it was a part of him.

" it's a little more complicated than that, " dan heng shook his head, reaching over and taking the picture from your lap. " and now, this picture is mine. "

" what ?! that's not fair at all, dan heng ! "

" he just wants to admire himself, " caelus quipped, chuckling to himself. stelle's face broke into a small smile, but she didn't say anything back.

" fine, you can keep it, dan heng, " march sighed in resignation, " besides, these are just copies. all of my photos are still stored on my actual camera. " she shuffled through the pictures one by one, absentmindedly telling you about them as she sat them on your lap, but she was clearly looking for something.

" this is the big boss we fought in the xianzhou luofu, this is a picture of the general, this is a teacher that stelle met in her journey, this is a bunch of herta's puppets from the space station in the same area and it looked really freaky so i just had to take a picture ! here's a picture of mr. yang subduing the stellaron inside of caelus' body, and i remember being very confused because once caelus was knocked out, stelle passed out at the same time, too. weird. oh ! there's a bunch of pictures of how the dreamscape looked in penacony. oh, here ! "

with a little over twenty pictures already sat in your lap as she shuffled through the stack she had, you were finally given one picture of the four trailblazers, excluding welt and himeko. " we need to have one with mr. yang and himeko, but this is the four of us when we went on our first trailblazing expedition with stelle and caelus to jarilo-xi ! " she explained.

" why don't we take a picture of all of us now ? " himeko suggested on the other side of the parlor.

" i believe we can have pompom take the picture for us, if the conductor is willing, " welt looked over to the conductor. no one had told you yet what the conductor actually was, but you had a feeling that you shouldn't really ask such a question out loud, so you left your curiosity for another day.

" what ?! pompom has to take the picture ? fine, but pompom wants a picture with everyone, too ! " they grabbed the camera that march was extending out to them, and backed up towards the end of the parlor car. " everyone, get together now ! "

you stood up, practically ushered by march as you found yourself in the middle of the picture, squished in between caelus and stelle on your right, with stelle being a little forward so there was enough room, and dan heng on your left. march stood sort of in between you and dan heng but just in front of you, since she was shorter than dan heng, and welt and himeko stood behind the five of you. you felt a hand gently resting on your shoulder, and you looked up behind you to see welt giving you a small smile.

" you're doing great, " he praised softly, under his breath so only you could hear. " welcome to the astral express. "

as the picture was snapped, you couldn't help but think that you really would enjoy this time with your new family. it was an odd experience, sure, but not one unwelcome. the astral express really was like a family, and they were embracing you with open arms.

[lialuvsaven]

Happy Birthday, Aventurine!!

“Aventurine always tries not to remember. He's never synced the Sigonian calendar system to check the date in trailblaze calendar, never makes the mistake of dwelling on the memories surrounding this day— even when he's too drunk to remember his own name. Done everything possible to not acknowledge it; because this day feels like nothing but a curse to him.

Unfortunately, Jade has now ensured that he never gets to forget his birthday, again.”

Pairing: Aventurine x reader

Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Comfort in the end to compensate for everything else ❤️ Reader is not physically present in the fic (they're not dead it's ok)

wc: 3.3k

Aventurine was abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door just as the sun began to slant westward.

With a sigh, he puts down the pen and glances at the wall clock. The hands on the parchment-shaped monstrosity read 1 pm, but his eyes are drawn back to the purple tongue protruding from its massively extended mouth. Seriously, where does Stelle find these items? "An ugly, purple parchment shaped wall clock that looks like it's ready to eat people"— isn't something most people would think to give him, to say the least. But that's the thing—it was Stelle.

She claimed to have found it during one of her "excavations." And even though Miss March 7th did her best to keep her friend from going into further details, stepping on Stelle's toes right in front of him and giving her a sidelong glance, as if he wouldn't notice, he could tell what kind of "excavations" would turn up something like this. Not like he minds the origins of this gift, however. Gifts from friends are few and far to come by, especially ones who actually tolerate him. Not to mention, Stelle likely sincerely believes that it's a cool gift, which is why it has replaced the diamond-embedded wall clock on his wall.

His musings are interrupted by a second knock, which, like the first one, reverberates once around the room before fading away in embarrassment. "Come in." He announces, reclining back in his seat and looking at the door with expectation in his eyes. It was not uncommon for his secretary to appear randomly in his office, constantly fussing over yet another minor issue. He believed it was her; at least, his itinerary showed he didn't have any guest visits today. Maybe it was time to replace assistants—the new hire is clearly not on the same wavelength as him. But he'd only recently had Topaz yell at him for changing staff so frequently; he'd prefer not to tell her that her choice was horribly disappointing just yet.

With a tiny bag bearing a brand he is all too acquainted with, the secretary enters the office. She keeps her gaze fixed on the floor the entire time, hence doesn't notice when her supervisor raises an eyebrow at the sight of his favorite jewelry brand. "Sir," she says in a low, somewhat flat voice, akin to that of a news reporter. "Earlier, a staff of Madam Jade stopped by. You have a present."

A grin appears on Aventurine's face, followed by a joyful chuckle. With how busy work has been lately, he'd almost forgotten when he asked Jade for a pink diamond, as has Jade apparently, seeing how long it's taken for her to send this. His request was a joke, of course, only meant to irritate Topaz. But he wasn't surprised either; Jade always takes good care of her weaponry. "Ahhh, no wonder!" He chirps and presses his palms together. "She must've finally found some generosity in her heart, hm?" He muses, and his assistant can only stand there stoically. He waves her off as she places the bag on his table and departs with an unnecessary low bow, never looking at his eyes once. As always.

When the secretary has left the room, he opens the bag, humming as he removes the box and gift card. Jade's handwriting is distinctive: prim and precise cursive that resembles a font.

"Happy birthday, Aventurine. This jewel would suit you far better than the pink diamond you asked for, don't you think?" — Jade

Kakavasha freezes. His birthday, she says, but she'd need to align the standard calendar system to the Sigonian one to find that out. She sent him a…..….a gift? For his birthday? 

Is this a fucking joke?

The box reveals a chunk of corundum. Raw, uncut, pink and blue hues all over. Shades way too close to his eyes, and it doesn't take a gemologist to tell that Jade had done her searching thoroughly to obtain this. A jewel the color of his eyes, the color of Avgin eyes, neatly wrapped in a box for….to send ..what sort of message, exactly? Oh Avgin, never forget who you were before I found you—unpolished and undeserving. forget your name, but never your roots.  

The note is crumpled and thrown in the trashcan, while the corundum and its box are hastily and carelessly pushed back into the bag. Really, so typical of Jade, he scoffs as he tosses the godforsaken bag into a random drawer, never to be seen again. 

Kakavasha— no, Aventurine always tries not to remember. He's never synced the Sigonian calendar system to check the date in trailblaze calendar, never makes the mistake of dwelling on the memories surrounding this day— even when he's too drunk to remember his own name. Done everything possible to not acknowledge it; because this day feels like nothing but a curse to him.

Unfortunately, Jade has now ensured that he never gets to forget, again. 

In any case, Aventurine concludes that it is not good for him to worry about this too much. Yes, he can just forget about the corundum. Yes, he is able to forget how it resembled Avgin eyes. Yes, he can also forget that Jade most likely sent this to "keep him in check" following the stunt he did in Penacony. But it was a mistake on his part to not see something coming. She had done this before, and it would not be the last time. He smiles at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, composed, shrewd, and calculated. Since a mirror has the freedom of choice, it does not return his smile.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

By the time the car comes to a stop in front of his house, Aventurine is exhausted. His chauffeur unlocks the door for him, and he makes his way to the elevator. Yet he's interrupted again— of course, because it's a cursed day, and Aventurine has to restrain himself from scowling at the gateman, who stands in front of him wearing an anxious expression. "Sir, your friend had visited earlier to drop off something."

He raises an eyebrow and is about to inquire when he notices the bag the man is carrying. Without saying anything further, he simply takes the bag. You are the only one who'd own a dumb clockie bag and the only one who'd ever drop things off at his place.

When he steps in, his three catcakes meow loudly to greet him, and feels somewhat grateful for it. Today was just too exhausting, after all. He understands what this is about, based on the fact that you always give him gifts in person. Why, of all days, would you consider dropping it off today? And with no advanced notice- completely unlike you. How annoying, did Jade really have to do this too? He's never disclosed his birthday to you, so you probably coerced her into telling you, and she was glad to oblige, given you are of value to her.

Aventurine doesn't realize he's been standing in the kitchen for a long time until Spade begins massaging its fluffy body on his legs. He is surrounded by his three catcakes, who are all staring up at him expectantly. The message is crystal clear: We Want Food. He moves swiftly to get their food bowls, chuckling to himself before setting your lunchbox on the counter, sort of as an afterthought. At least they'll be able to go to bed well fed tonight. 

After serving them dinner, he leaves the kitchen carrying a bottle of wine, hoping to spend the remainder of the evening crashing on the couch. He can just leave everything else for tomorrow. The benefit of drinking is that it can temporarily impair your ability to sense emotions. He only needs a short term fix, after all. Come tomorrow, he'll take hangover pills, and walk out of this house as Aventurine of the stratagems again— undoubtedly.

He turns on a random B-grade movie, prepared to drink the night away. And he does precisely that—he pushes down thoughts of how his childhood friends, whose features now misty in his memories, would react if they were to see him. With another shot, he pushes down recollections of his mother's cooking—the special meals for the Kakava—and his birthday. Another to accept the now-blurry face of his sister in his memory as the only proof of her existence. Another to forget the clay dolls she'd made for him, on the last birthday kakavasha got to celebrate, that were broken when he had to run for his life. And one more shot, and another, till he's forgotten everything; till he's numb and emotionless.

Feeling empty and hollow is far worse than anything else, and being unable to cry isn't as pleasant as he thought it'd be. But in his lavish home, where gold abounds in every nook and cranny, he has little reason for tears. Money may not be able to buy him happiness, as he is well aware, but it certainly does spare him from ugly tears unfit for his visage. Maybe that's why he hasn't cried in a while, or perhaps he has simply lost his soul somewhere along the way. He stays on the couch till 3 am, accompanied by his pets. He pretends not to see the troubled looks they shoot at him, whispered words passed between them that are clearly about him. By the time he decides to rest for the night, he is fatigued, sluggish, and barely keeping it together.

When he gets up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen, Ace makes a protesting noise before promptly shutting up. Catcakes are smart creatures, and they understand him better than most individuals in his life (or maybe the difference lies in care) His throat is dry, and ice cold water from the freezer provides enormous relief. However, the respite is taken away from him by the crackling lightning, loud as a whip, pulling out memories up to the forefront of his mind again. Of the lightning without the rain, of Sigonia-IV. The drumming of the thunder is largely hidden by the concrete walls, so it isn't as hard on the ear—but it aches a lot more than it did before. Aventurine sneers to himself, dismissing the idea as ludicrous. As if.

The second time the thunder sizzles, Aventurine has to take a sharp breath and grip the countertop to steady himself. It sounds like playing dead in the bleeding streams of Sigonia-IV, like the booming cackle of the mocking thunder. Had he been an insolent child, just a little more doubtful than he already was, he'd believe it was Mama Fenge herself laughing at her so called "blessed child". The thunder sounds similar, but it's not the same. No, because this is still Aventurine and he's still here and those are someone else's memories, forgotten and buried in sand.

Aventurine sighs.

Drinking too much has never done any good to him.

Just as he is ready to leave the kitchen, he notices the lunchbox sitting the counter out of the corner of his eye. Oh, right. He hadn't even touched it. A distraction doesn't seem bad now, though. If he wants to fabricate a plausible lie about eating the food, he would at least need to know what kind of food you sent. If the mental image of your frown after discovering he never even looked at what you sent is what gives him the final push , he would never admit it.

The lunchbox has a plains bear cub logo: you've always been a sucker for cute things. He sets aside the little note attached for later this time, preferring to taste the dinner first. It looks like you chose to make him some kind of soup. Insulated lunchboxes are a blessing— because it's surely been well over half a day since you made it, yet it's still warm. While the presentation is relatively simple, it smells strangely comforting— effect of some potion? He's heard of those, but they're usually used for sick patients, no? Other than that, this is the first homemade meal he's having in a….while. Not that it matters. Aventurine isn't picky, and while the leafy greens are unfamiliar to him, he believes he can handle at least a tablespoon.

Even the largest avalanche can be triggered by the smallest of things. Just one spoonful, and yet it's enough to make his world stop.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

The dry, broken soil scraped against his bare feet, producing little clouds of dust in its wake. His strides were light and rapid, nearly tripping over himself with excitement and giddiness. Just a little more, and he'll reach the finish line. Even the Sun's typical glare felt kind today; warm and tender against his tanned skin. Jumping over the homemade hurdles, he reaches the finish line far ahead of his friends. They protest and pout, and he taunts them with the biggest smile on his face. The soles of his feet feel slightly sore from running barefoot, but Kakavasha wouldn't risk destroying his only pair of shoes for a game. 

When he hears his sister's voice calling for him, he rushes to embrace her and buries his face in her apron. His mother once told him that the Avgins all possess lovely voices, but Kakavasha believes his sister's is the best, especially when she laughs.

"And when will you listen to me and stop running around in the middle of the day, hm?" She pinches his nose and uses her apron to wipe the dirt off his face. Kakavasha beams at her with no regrets, proudly displaying the gap between his teeth. Once kakavasha had said his goodbyes to his friends, they walk hand in hand towards their tent.

There, his mother welcomes them with a warm embrace that smells like creosote bush and desert rain. “My darling," she coos, putting his small hands in her larger ones, rough from labour. "I remember you promised to be on time for lunch last time?" He grins cheekily, vowing not to do it again. (He's a repeat offender, but he knows that his mother and sister can't stay upset at him for long.)

His mother laughs, and tells him to tidy up before eating. Kakavasha's tummy is grumbling by the time he returns, and he finds the mats his sister laid down to sit on. The two siblings sit next to each other, chatting and giggling as they wait for their mother. She serves them a pot of hot soup with nettle leaves and lentils, just the way Kakavasha prefers it. He's overjoyed; quickly finishing his prayers before digging in. Kakavasha is a growing boy, and that's proved again when he finishes his bowl before his family.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

The soup she'd served him back then wasn't anything lavish; just a simple soup with local herbs and nettle leaves in a broth that smelt so uniquely of hers. His mama may have had a knack for cooking, but due to a lack of opportunities and resources, she never got to demonstrate her abilities. Compared to that, your food is much finer, and while excellent, it lacks the warmth of his mother's hands.  

Nevertheless, he can't resist taking another spoonful and quickly putting it in his mouth because the familiarity is so, so palpable. He recalls that his sister wanted him to eat better, so she gave him half of her portion after he finished his. His mother then gave his sister half of her portion, as they are Both growing children. All of a sudden, the bickering, the laughs, and their voices are as plain as day in his mind. He can't fully recall the glitter in his sister's eyes or the dimple on his mother's cheek, but it's clearer than any other memory he had of them, that's for sure. 

Aventurine can't stop crying, even if he wants to. Trying to halt the choking sobbing is fruitless, as is trying to figure out what's going on. He picks up the little message with shaking hands, hoping—praying—that it will help. You'll make it make sense. Somehow.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“Dear Aventurine, I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!!”  

Written in thin, flowing, rounded letters that are noticeably cleaner than your actual handwriting. You undoubtedly put a lot of effort into each letter you wrote. Aventurine was correct in assuming you found out his birthday through Jade, as you have written it here. "Buying a gift for you seems…a little perfunctory," you said, "so I've settled with cooking you something myself."

"And if the dish tastes familiar (which I hope it does) then yes, you've guessed it right— it's a traditional Avgin dish."

The perfumed ink is thicker here, a few ink blots from where you've likely paused to think, go over each sentence in your head before writing them down.

You mention finding the Avgin dishes by reading some kind of research paper on Sigonian culture and food, but Aventurine isn't sure he can believe that. You wrote, "I was fortunate enough," yet chance alone wouldn't get you something like that. Sure, maybe some doctoral candidate was crazy enough to choose a dead planet and its deader tribes to write about, but finding that paper would be too difficult. The biggest issue, however, is that Aventurine believes this dish should not and cannot exist. The stinging nettle leaves his mother used are no longer available, and while he didn't know much about cooking at the time, he was aware that all of the spices he knew were almost extinct. He's looked enough to know.

"I'll be honest, I had some trouble locating the ingredients for it and had to swap the majority of them because I couldn't find them. I really wanted to bring back a familiar feeling, even if it tastes very different from how you remember it. Plus, it's the thought that counts, right?"

In contrast to the light-hearted language, your writing is slightly wobbly and darker here, and Aventurine wonders if you realise your emotions seep through every single one of your actions, laid bare for the world to see.

Noting the disappearance of their owner, curious, the catcakes peep into the kitchen are immediately alarmed to see their owner sitting on the counter stool, sobbing and clutching a box. Spade, unsure of what to do, nuzzles it's head on Aventurine's leg, while the others meow in an attempt to calm him down. Aventurine hasn't sobbed in a long time—he can't remember how to anymore. His body shakes with each ragged and broken sob, sounding shattered and damaged, but he can't stop.

"I hope it brings you fond memories" is what you wrote down, but are you aware of the full impact of what you did for him? Most likely not. Aventurine cherishes all of his memories, including the unpleasant ones: as long as it involves his family. His misery knows no bounds, but he's only had a few years with his sister, and even fewer with his mother. So even the saddest memories are never forgotten, so he can preserve as much of them as possible. They live through his memories, after all. 

Even when plain, his mother's meals provided him with more warmth than anything else back then. To feel that warmth decades later is a blessing he can't repay— but a blessing nonetheless. He doesn't have many memories like this one either, gentle and happy, contrary to the endless memories of struggling. He remembers their love so vividly right now, feels it so strongly, alongside yours— that he has no choice but to revel in it.

(Come tomorrow , when he's sober, puffy-eyed from crying and not as vulnerable, he'll have trouble figuring your reasoning. But for now, he'll be fine. Tonight, he'll go to sleep feeling loved. Tonight, his pets will cuddle him to sleep. Tonight, he'll dream of a Sigonia Only he knows.)

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

A/N: I'm honestly still so embarrassed about this bc I have an idea but can't execute it like I want to and 🫠🫠 As always, comments and reblogs are really appreciated!! Thank you for reading <3

[andypantsx3]

Deceiving the Duke | 7 | Todoroki Shouto

pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Female Reader

length: 4.2k of 30k words | 7th of 9 chapters

summary: When Camie Utsushimi elopes on the eve of her society debut, scandal threatens to destroy the family’s prospects. It’s up to you, a maid, to impersonate Camie throughout the Season, long enough that her elder sister can make a match. The only trouble? Lord Shouto Todoroki is also intent on making a match—and that match, quite impossibly, appears to involve you.

tags/warnings: romance, regency au, class differences, hidden identity/identity porn, aged up characters, eventual smut

Lord Shouto continued to watch you strangely throughout the rest of the season.

You could tell he was observing you worryingly closely, and he seemed to request your company more frequently than ever. You were barely managing your household chores and dress modifications with all the time you spent in his company, and Mrs. Utsushimi was beginning to cotton onto the fact that for all your time spent talking Caroline up to him, they were seeing few results.

But you couldn’t pass up time with him, now that the season was drawing to an end. You took to sneaking out, agreeing to meet Lord Shouto somewhere down the street from the Utsushimi town home, a sense like cool relief washing over you every time you saw him, though he was watching you more hawkishly than ever.

He took you to a play, where he seemed to spend the entirety of its run glancing sideways at you, and when you stumbled on your next promenade he managed to reach out and catch you once almost before you’d begun to fall.

You could feel clearly that somehow, the intent behind his interest in you had shifted, and you wondered how much of the truth he was beginning to uncover.

You were glad Caroline had nabbed herself a suitor who was not at all circumspect in his interest in her, as it meant you would soon be able to close the book on this horrible scheme, and leave Lord Shouto in peace. But another, uglier little part of you hissed and yowled like a street cat at the idea of never seeing Lord Shouto again–at leaving the Utsushimis’ employ and Musutafu city, never able to return to even the places you’d visited together.

Despite yourself, you also wanted to linger in the season forever, riding through the park with Lord Shouto, poking fun at players, and twirling through ballrooms in his arms–but it quickly drew towards its end.

The season would culminate in a series of masked balls, after the first of which Mrs. Utsushimi expected Caroline’s suitor to propose. This would likely be your last event, for Caroline was sure to be married off quickly after that, perhaps within a fortnight.

You dressed carefully this time, allowing yourself to pick out the prettiest of Camie’s gowns you’d altered. It was a soft pink satin undergown, dressed over in a sheer, soft voile with tiny lace details. The dress was utterly lovely and utterly frivolous–not something you’d ever get to wear again in your lifetime.

You ferreted Camie’s only masquerade mask out of her chest, a cream-colored domino shape with lace trim at the edges, that tied around the back of your head with a matching ribbon. In Camie’s looking glass, you looked unfamiliar and—dare you think it—pretty, and you could almost believe that your station did not matter, that you might be just as beautiful as the leagues of bourgeoisie women who would surround you this evening.

You let yourself enjoy it.

When she saw you, Mrs. Utsushimi seemed taken aback by the choice, frowning over the nerve of your selection, but Caroline managed to insert herself before she could say as much, drawing you into her room and insisting she had just the thing to set it off. You couldn’t have been more grateful to her if you’d tried.

The thing turned out to be two: a silk rose for your hair and a tiny strand of paste jewels on a chain, so small you could almost believe them for real diamonds, were you not so intimately acquainted with the Utsushimi household’s finances.

Caroline had also dressed in her finest, a gown of a flowing purple fabric, set off with dusky pink paste jewels and a glittering paste tiara. It stood out against her pale skin, making it glow like moonlight under the flickering shine of the candles. She looked like a princess, peerless and elegant. You were sure that if her suitor hadn’t planned on declaring his intentions after this ball, he’d find himself unable to resist doing so anyhow.

You managed to make it out of the house without Mrs. Utsushimi requesting you change, and you were glad you’d let yourself make a little bit of a spectacle of your outfit when you made it into the assembly rooms and saw the rest of the peerage.

Every single person had worn their best, it seemed, and the ballroom was a sea of fine satins and pale muslins, immaculately-tailored coats and glowing white stockings. Candlelight glinted off of thousands of jewels, a sparkling rainbow of color. You suddenly found the room just as overwhelming as when you’d first set foot at the Monomas’, but this time you drank it all in eagerly, aware that this was the last time you’d ever see the peerage this closely again.

Like a magnet, your gaze was pulled to a tall figure winding his way through the crowd. You tracked his progress towards you, heart fluttering as that telltale mop of red and white hair drew closer. Lord Shouto emerged from the crowd and stalked towards you with all the grace and self-assurance you’d come to expect of him.

He looked utterly dashing in his masquerade attire–a dark coat and a dark undershirt clearly recently dyed to match, dark breeches and stiff black boots. He wore a black domino mask tied over his eyes, a similar shape to your own, except that he looked very much like a handsome highwayman or rogue, and you felt rather soft and flowery in comparison–very frivolous and utterly silly.

His costume had the effect of drawing out the paleness of his skin, the glittering gemstone colors of his eyes, and the shape of his mask only drew more attention to the sharp cut of his jaw and the pouty shape of his full mouth.

Your breath left you in a shaky exhale, as Lord Shouto caught your hand in a dark glove and raised it to his mouth.

“You are beautiful,” he said quietly. You could feel heat rising to your cheeks, and you fought the urge to squirm under his gaze.

“You too–um,” you said, coherent thought suddenly escaping you. “I mean, you look…handsome. Very handsome. But of course you knew that. You always…um…”

You pinched yourself through your skirts to get yourself to stop babbling, and Lord Shouto’s mouth quirked.

“I should very much like to accompany you this evening, if you’ll permit me,” he said.

The heat from your cheeks crept down your body in a warm flush. That was…well, bold was the only way to put it. If you spent most of the evening in Lord Shouto’s company, unchaperoned, there would be talk–that he meant to make your match, that you were far too bold for a woman, that you should certainly never be marriageable if this was your idea of propriety.

But, this was your last evening in his company. You felt certain Caroline’s suitor would propose, and you would likely never see Lord Shouto again, after tonight.

You stared at his face, the openness of his expression. He was so very beautiful and so very kind, and this was the last time you would ever get to speak to him.

“I—yes. I should like that,” you said, unable to help yourself.

Lord Shouto smiled, then, that charming half-moon sliver that all but took a sledgehammer to a woman’s knees. You clutched the arm he proffered, feeling weak.

Lord Shouto led you to the refreshments room, right past Miss Uraraka and Lady Asui, both of whom were watching you with wide eyes. You offered a small, self-conscious little wave. You would have to write to both of them, too, to tell them you were sorry–to have missed them, and for the deception that you had been anything like their equal.

Lord Shouto distracted you from your sudden sobriety by fetching you a glass of lemonade and a tiny apricot cake. You lifted a brow at him petulantly as he returned to you, smirking.

“Do not think that an audience provides any impediment to this being thrown,” you told him as he placed the cake into your hand.

“Ah, but you’ve told me you intend to win a husband someday,” he said, inclining his head towards you to speak softly but conspiratorially. “You’ll want to be on your best behavior here.”

You took a dismissive sip of your lemonade. “Actually, I’m feeling rather impulsive this evening. This season is almost at a close.”

“Ah, and you’ve intimated it will be your last,” Lord Shouto said.

“Yes,” you replied. “So do not think you are safe from flying foodstuffs.”

Lord Shouto smiled again. “Never.”

You couldn’t help but grin up at him, amused with his indulgent tone. “I suppose you’re grateful the season is ending too. What will you do at its close? Return to your family’s estate?”

Lord Shouto looked contemplative, and he took a sip of his own lemonade. You tried not to pay attention to the way his mouth looked pressed against the glass, the line of his throat as he swallowed. “If the season ends as I intend it to, there will be a return to my family estate, yes,” he said. “And after, a series of long travel plans.”

You turned towards him, nibbling on your apricot cake. “A long journey? To where? Will it take you out of the country?”

Lord Shouto’s eyes glittered with the tiniest hint of mischief. “It is a secret.”

You squinted at him suspiciously. You’d used the same trick on him but you did not like it turned back on you. And really, what would make travel plans so secret?

Unless…

Did he mean a honeymoon, perhaps? And, considering he was rumored to be courting Princess Yaoyorozu–would it need to be kept secret specifically for her? Perhaps to keep her safe?

“Need I remind you I am a fantastic secret keeper,” you groused, but did not press. If it was a royal matter, you really had no right to the information.

Lord Shouto’s mouth quirked. “I am well aware.”

“Have it your way then,” you waved a dismissive hand at him, searching for someplace to put your empty lemonade glass down.

Lord Shouto’s gloved fingers plucked it from your hand, and pressed something else in its place–a frosty, pale-colored drink you recognized for iced punch. You raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’ve said you were feeling rather impulsive this evening,” he said. “Forgive me for the presumption.”

But he took his own glass of punch, too, and the idea of sharing this last anything with him thrilled you to your core. You took a sip, bracing against the many alcohols that had been mixed in. It sat fruity and sharp and heavy on your tongue.

“You plan to aid and abet my bad behavior, then?” you asked him.

Lord Shouto’s mouth curled, like he was laughing at something secret. “You say that as though I had not already.”

You couldn’t help the pout that crossed your lips. “I have been a saint. You are the corrupting influence.”

Lord Shouto’s smile pulled more sharply at the corner of his mouth. “I should like to be.”

Your face flashed hot with the implication of his words, and you almost choked on your sip of punch. “You are determined to be on your worst behavior as well then,” you wheezed out.

“The season is almost at a close,” he echoed in his blandest tone.

Even straight-faced, you could sense the underlying mischief. You didn’t know what had him in such a mood this evening, when he was normally so genteel–but you found you quite liked it.

You laughed. “Well, then. Partners in crime?” You offered a hand, and Lord Shouto smirked and shook it, striking up another deal as you had that first night in the Monomas’ darkened library. His hand was warm and strong in yours, and even through the fabric of your gloves, his touch sent a swarm of shivers down your spine.

“What hijinks shall we get up to?” you asked.

“Perhaps you might stand up with me for a dance,” he said.

Another little thrill went through you. You could not deny how much you liked dancing with him, for all that you should have avoided it throughout the season. You liked his warm, hard body pressed alongside yours, the sureness of his movements, the clasp of his arms around you.

You finished your punch in a determined gulp. “Lead on, my lord.”

Lord Shouto looked pleased. He drained his glass too, and led you back into the ballroom, where the players were just beginning another song.

Flushed with punch and the urgency of the evening, it was better than any dance you’d had before. You let yourself enjoy it this time, knowing it would be one of the last. You basked in the feeling of your hand in his, his other hand at your back, the intimacy inherent in the touch. You drank in the strength of his movements, his deliberate focus, the soothing timbre of his voice when he spoke to you over the sound of the music–smoother and lovelier than any instrument.

More than anything, you drank in Lord Shouto’s handsome face, put out a little by the mask that covered his distinctive scar. It occurred to you that you had perhaps already seen his whole face for the final time, that you would never see it in full again, and a somber, hiccupy little feeling rose in your chest.

You tried to memorize the most minute details about him–the tiniest spray of freckles across his nose, the serious way he held his mouth when it was at rest. The flush of exertion high on his cheeks looked so unbearably good on him, you knew you’d remember it forever.

Lord Shouto seemed just as determined to enjoy things as you. When the first dance ended, he asked for another–a bold move that signaled far too much interest–but you couldn’t help but accept. When that one ended, you retreated back to the refreshments room where you fetched yourselves more punch, feeling rather giddy.

One glass turned to another, and then another, and Lord Shouto asked you again for another dance—so wholly inappropriate, but you couldn’t help but comply. You could see the scandalized faces of the room around you as he spun you in your third dance, but it all mattered so little in the end, you thought. The nobility could think whatever they wanted–you would no longer be beholden to their prejudices after this evening.

And Lord Shouto—all that mattered to you in this one moment was Lord Shouto.

You clung to him perhaps more closely than was appropriate, but there was nothing for it. His coat was soft under your hands, his voice so soothing, his presence intoxicating. Any time you glanced at his face, his gaze was all but burning through you, and you thought he was watching you with equal abandon.

As the third dance ended, you noted that Caroline and her suitor, Mr. Yosetsu Awase, too, had stood up for four dances together—there would be no doubt about their engagement now.

“I hope he’s good to her, after everything,” you said absently.

Lord Shouto looked down at you through his dark mask. “You sound wistful.”

“I should have liked her to have stayed single a few weeks longer,” you said, forgetting yourself. “I should have liked more time. But I am happy to see things finally come together. It is for the best.”

Lord Shouto’s face went strange. His hand found your wrist, and he tugged you closer to him. You fought against the desire to press yourself to him, to burrow in against him.

“You mean this to be your last event of the season,” he said, though how he’d deduced it, you had no idea.

You nodded. There was no reason not to tell something close to the truth, now. “I’d have liked more time with you, my lord. Truthfully, you have been an unexpected delight in this season. I should like to see you settled soon, too. You deserve much happiness.”

Lord Shouto’s hand tightened on your wrist, his mouth pressing into a determined slash.

“Come with me,” he murmured.

You followed him through the crowds, thankful that your mask shielded you some from the intrigued stares of the nobility. Your head was swimming with all the dancing and the punch and the emotion of the evening, and you held tightly to Lord Shouto in return.

Lord Shouto led you down the adjoining hall, poking his head into rooms alternately, until he found an alcove, leading out onto a small balcony. He tugged you out with him, into the chill night air. The evening was quiet, the sky deep blue and lit with so many stars.

It was lovely–almost as lovely as he.

“My lord–” you started, but Lord Shouto turned to you, stepping close again. His face was unexpectedly serious.

“If it is time you want, I would give you all the time in the world,” he said. His tone was soft, low, but resolute.

Your heartbeat slammed to a halt in your chest, your fingers freezing in his grasp.

“I–my lord–what–?”

Lord Shouto stepped even closer, his face drawing far too near. His fingers shifted on your wrist, tugging it down to your side, and his hand slid into yours, holding tightly. The nightscape swam.

“I would spend the rest of my days with you,” he murmured, those eyes searching yours. You felt very suddenly like your heart was swelling, ballooning so large you thought it might crack your ribs. “If this season must be your last, please say it is not your last with me.”

He looked so solemn, so earnest, so utterly and terribly perfect, gazing down at you like that.

Your thoughts raced and your breath came short, and you couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying! He sounded like—he sounded like—!

“Lord Shouto–” you started, but he shook his head.

“Just Shouto. Please.”

Your heartbeat pounded in your ears. You opened your mouth, with absolutely no notion of what you might say. Suddenly you knew only two things. That you were desperately in love with him–-and that you could never, ever say yes to him.

You opened your mouth to refuse him–you had to refuse him, for what else could be said?--and then–

“I love you,” you said into the silence of the night.

The sound of it startled you. But Shouto’s mouth broke out into the most stunningly gorgeous smile you had ever seen–wide and full and so incandescently happy.

Before you knew what you were doing, you’d leaned forward and pressed your mouth to his.

Shouto reacted like lightning, sinking into it with abandon. His arms came around you, pulling you to him tightly, one hand coming up to the back of your head to hold you close. Your arms went around his shoulders and your hands fisted in his collar points.

You’d never been kissed before–and you thought you’d never, ever be kissed like this again. Shouto’s kiss was so exactly like him–strong and sure, but gentle, and a little bit mischievous. His tongue teased yours and you responded in kind, your head spinning with him.

Without any input from your brain, your hands reached up to tug off his mask, and you pulled back to stare at him, desperate to see his face again.

He was just as gorgeous as you’d remembered.

Your heart twinged again, and he pulled you back to him, pressing his mouth to yours again.

He kissed you until you were dizzy with it, and then kissed you some more. You couldn’t stop your hands from roaming all over him, as if to reassure yourself that he was real, a solid, touchable thing under your fingertips.

His own hands slid down your waist, tightening there, and then his thumbs slid up to sit against your ribcage, dangerously close to the undersides of your breasts. You suddenly wanted nothing more than to be touched there, the need becoming an ache under your skin.

You wanted him, anything he would give you, his hands, his mouth—wanted it all over you. This was the only time you could ever have this from him–

“Please touch me,” you heard yourself murmuring against his lips. “Shouto, please.”

He groaned low in his throat and kissed you even more fervently. But his hands slid up obediently, his thumbs brushing the cloth over your nipples.

You gasped into his mouth, surprised at the feeling, and tugged harder on his collar points. “Shouto. Shouto please.”

His mouth dipped to your throat, layering hot, open-mouthed kisses there, and you threw your head back. His lips blazed a line down your neck, down your chest, and then to the neckline of your gown. A set of long fingers pulled the fabric aside and delved under the cups of your stays. He brushed the bare skin of your nipple and you made an embarrassingly breathy little noise, holding onto him for dear life.

He worked you looser from your stays, and then his mouth was closing over the tip of your breast, and you had to fight down a shout.

He let out that soft groan again, and surged back up to kiss you on the mouth. He walked you back, pressing you against the cool stone wall of the building, just beside the doorway. One of his legs came between yours, pressing to your center, and you squeaked the most embarrassing noise into his mouth.

Shouto inhaled sharply, and did it again, pulling you onto his thigh with the hand at your waist. His mouth found your neck, kissing fervently down it, and his fingers teased your nipple again. You found yourself moving against him, wild with want.

Something built within you, hot and twisting. You felt somehow that you might shatter into a thousand pieces if something did not give.

Lord Shouto’s hand pressing to you through your skirts had you biting off a sudden moan.

Your hand shot up to cover your own mouth, when something shifted at the corner of your vision. For a moment you thought you were seeing things–until it solidified into silhouettes moving at the entry to the balcony. Your molten blood instantly iced over as several gasps and a shocked exclamation rang out.

Shouto went rigid under your hands for only a second before he was standing up, holding you to him to cover you, while he quickly jerked your stays back in place. You just stood there uselessly, utterly stupefied.

Your stomach dropped as the voice of Caroline’s new fiancee ventured, “Lord…Todoroki?”

Shouto’s eyes found yours for a moment, flitting down your face as if assessing your condition. But then he turned, and you heard him say, “Mr. Awase.”

Over Shouto’s broad shoulder you could see Caroline and Mrs. Utsushimi looking aghast alongside the hostess of the evening. Too many eyes had seen you. With Caroline’s suitor and the hostess–there would be no covering this up.

Fuck. On the eve of Caroline’s betrothal–right on the edge of the family’s success–you’d gone and embroiled them in exactly the type of impropriety scandal this charade had been meant to prevent!

Your stomach churned.

“And…Miss Utsushimi,” Mr. Awase finally surmised, catching sight of you. Next to him, Caroline’s expression was horrified, and Mrs. Utsushimi had produced her handkerchief from somewhere and was starting to flap it agitatedly.

Your mind raced for some way to explain this away–-but Shouto spoke first.

“I intend to marry her,” he said.

Your mouth dropped open–as did Caroline and Mrs. Utsushimi’s. Their shock was the only way you could tell you hadn’t just experienced an auditory hallucination.

“I should hope so,” the hostess sniffed. “As it is, this is most improper. And from you, Lord Shouto! Such behavior can not be countenanced.”

A tiny noise escaped you, and you stepped forward, but Shouto’s hand on your sleeve stopped you.

“I’ll procure a special license in the morning,” he said, turning to glance down at you. “I will call upon you when I have.”

Horror welled in your gut at hearing the preparations laid out so plainly. He meant it–he really meant to marry Camie Utsushimi.

When Camie Utsushimi was already married. And you weren’t even her!

You’d trapped him into wedlock when such a thing could absolutely under no circumstances ever be permitted, especially considering your station.

Before you could say anything, however, Mrs. Utsushimi had moved forward and snatched you away from Shouto. “We will await your calling, Lord Todoroki,” she said tightly. Her fingers were tight in your sleeve, and you could feel them trembling–even over what you realized was your own trembling.

You could do nothing but let her quickly bundle you away from the crowd, with no time to say anything to Shouto. You heard Caroline murmur something to Mr. Awase, and then she too was hurrying to catch up, her slippered feet soft on the tiles.

You barely had enough time to glance behind you before Mrs. Utsushimi hustled you around the corner. You caught the barest sliver of a glimpse of Shouto, his face unreadable in the dim.

And then you were being led out into the cool night air–and into a future that you were certain you’d ruined for everyone.

[jonquilyst]

Day 28 - Finale

After weeks of battle and triumph, it's time to lay the 2nd season of Total Drama Sims to rest and officially crown a winner!

Our finalists, Liana Morris and Paulina Callaway, had the wits, guts, and strength to persevere through the entire game, outlasting everyone else in the process. Now, all of the eliminated contestants will be coming together to vote for a winner! Like last season, votes will be public and will go from the bottom of the leaderboard up! (aka last place to the most recently eliminated)

Let's see who will be winning Total Drama Sims and receive the grand prize!!

14TH PLACE - BRODY SHERMAN

"I'm voting for you Paulina, because we talked for a bit on the very first day and I thought you were pretty cool, so... yeah."

13TH PLACE - TRISTAN BACHMAN

"Liana, because you're nice, I guess, and I underestimated you a bit. But I never even talked to Paulina, so..."

12TH PLACE - ASHLEE SCHAEFER

"Paulina, the fact that you got eliminated, lucked out and joined the other team, and then just... never got eliminated after that was pretty freakin' awesome! Sooo much cooler than Liana's run, if you ask me, so I'm voting for you."

11TH PLACE - NEAL WARD

"This was a difficult vote for me since I felt like I was genuinely friends with both of you, but I'm deciding to vote for Paulina because I felt closer to her and Liana was part of the alliance that voted me out. Hope you don't take it personally, Liana, but that's just how I feel."

10TH PLACE - WILLABELLE LOWES

"I'm obviously voting for you, Liana! Ever since Toni got out I was keeping my fingers crossed you'd make it to the end! While I would have liked to win, if there's anyone who should win instead, it's definitely you."

TIED FOR 8TH PLACE - HANS SOMME

"I did a lot of thinking ever since I was eliminated. While I was watching the rest of the competition, I realized that Liana was friends with everybody... literally! She went up and became friends with everybody, and because of that no one seemed to want to vote her out. She was also so sweet and humble, never once bragging about herself and comforting others when they were in a bad mood... And I just thought to myself: 'Damn... No wonder I got out so quick.'"

"I've kinda realized I'm not the best person around... I've had some beef with a few people here, and that's kinda what led to me getting out... So, out of respect for you Liana, I'm voting for you. I wanna try to be more like you in the future."

TIED FOR 8TH PLACE - TONI STROUD

"Of course you're getting my vote, Liana! I am so proud that you made it to the finale. You deserve the entire world, girly!"

7TH PLACE - COFFEE BEAN

"I'm voting for you, Paulina, because you were very kind to me after you joined the Illustrious Star-Shines. Also, I believe that you did not deserve to be voted out of the Renowned Big-Names. It's so cool you made it to the finale despite being eliminated before, so I believe you deserve to win."

6TH PLACE - ENZO ESPINOZA

"I knew you could do it, Paulina! You're so talented. Even though I couldn't win, I really hope you can. So of course, my vote is going to you, my love."

5TH PLACE - TAKASHI ABBOTTSFORD

"Liana! I'm voting for you because you're super nice and I think you deserve to win!"

4TH PLACE - FLO HARPER

"Yeah, you're a real one for sure, Liana, so I'm voting for you! You deserve it!"

3RD PLACE - DREW PINTO

"What Flo said! But also, that morning when you comforted me Liana... You didn't have to do that, but you did, and I really, really appreciate it... I honestly think both of you deserve to win; you're both my friends, but I have to choose one or the other, so... I'm choosing Liana."

With a vote of 7-5, the winner of the 2nd season of Total Drama Sims is...

LIANA MORRIS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS @bloomingkyras!! Liana has won the competition and has therefore won the grand prize! The grand prize consists of a small real-life award given personally from me (you will be contacted), while in-universe, whatever Liana receives is up to you! Whether it's 1,000,000 simoleons, a mansion, or even a dream vacation, it's hers!

There will be 1 final post to close out Total Drama Sims: Season 2 and celebrate our winner! Stay tuned…

@cowplant-ate-my-sim @aniraklova @micrathene-w @shmoodlet @nakasumi-sims

@invisiblequeen @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants @simsinfinitylt @riverofjazzsims @seyvia

@stargazer-sims @akitasimblr @witheringscreations

[peachhcs]

I feel like will and Sammy were one of those friends that like took naps while cuddling, or maybe at any free time they would be together, sometimes they said flirty comments to each other and still be like “we are best friends, we would never like each other”

no, no we’re just friends | the wonder years

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

1.5k words

takes place fall of will’s first dev program year (samy is a junior) this was genuinely so fun to write. i added some more plot to it, i hope that’s okay, but keep sending in requests for the wonder years i love writing their younger dynamic!

au masterlist

a weekend of no hockey games? not even traveling? those types of weekends were rare for the boys. 

they'd been on the move since the start of the season in august meaning two straight months of nonstop hockey every day, every week, every weekend. things were hectic–chaotic even—but they loved it. playing hockey everyday? it was the dream and so was finally getting to sleep in on saturday morning without worrying about waking up at ungodly hours for morning practice. 

the boys scattered themselves across the hughes family living room after a long night in ann arbor. what other way would they spend their free weekend besides driving an hour to samy's house where ellen welcomed them with open arms—secretly excited that her house was filled with people again. 

things were quiet now that the brothers were gone even though luke came back every weekend to do his laundry. 

samy excitedly showed them around the city she grew up in for most of her life with will chirping in every now and then with tidbits from the places he's visited. surprisingly, the boys were really into the museum of art by the university, especially ryan and drew. 

"no way someone painted that," ryan mumbled as their gazes stared up at the large 4 foot painting hanging off the wall. 

"i could do it better," aram shrugged earning a slap on the arm from jacob. 

"no you could not," the brunette muttered, shaking his head. 

the two began quietly bickering about who could paint better. will rolled his eyes before flicking over to briefly meet samy's gaze who lingered beside the blonde. she softly giggled at his friends' antics which resulted in a soft smile on the boy's lips. 

"i'd really like to see you guys try and paint," samy cut into their bickering as she led the way to the next painting. 

"you think we can't paint?" jacob raised his eyebrow at the girl. she only shrugged. 

"let's be real, you can't paint to save your life," ryan added with his own laughter. 

"uh, i can to. i took art classes my freshman year," jacob defensively crossed his arms. 

"ooh, so cool," ryan's mimicry voice made the group laugh. 

the banter didn't stop the entire time they were in the art museum. at least not until they made it to the natural history museum where the boys were really excited to look at dinosaurs. samy couldn't help but giggle as she watched the six boys hurry to see the t-rex up close. 

"how do you think they got it here?" gabe wondered. 

"a plane?" drew raised his eyebrow. the dark-haired boy smacked him on the arm, rolling his eyes. "smartass," gabe mumbled. 

"what's your favorite dinosaur?" will wondered over the commotion of the other guys. 

the girl's eyes slid to his, sparking some in the light while she thought about her answer. "good question. i really like rhinos. they don't have any in this museum though," she finally decided with a tiny smile. 

"didn't quinn buy you a rhino stuffed animal however many years ago?" the blonde asked. 

"he did! it was like my 7th birthday or something. i can't believe you remembered that," the youngest hughes chuckled. 

"only because i remember we sent you the nerf guns after being upset all summer that your brothers had them and you didn't," will informed making samy laugh again. 

"those were the best gift. i think we still have them in our basement somewhere, but i definitely lost all the..what do you call them? pellets?" the two shared another small laugh before the group headed to a different exhibit. 

after the museums, luke graciously met up with all of them and took them to dinner close to campus (but secretly ellen sent him money to pay for all eight of them because poor luke was a broke college student). the boys were definitely excited to see luke and they got him into a long conversation about hockey and what college was like. 

samy and will were at one at one end of the table where they immersed themselves in their own conversation again letting the others talk luke up because the two already saw him all the time. 

"happy there's no saturday practice tomorrow?" the brunette wondered, sipping on her lemonade. 

"mhm. i don't think i've really slept in since like..i moved here," will chuckled. 

"do you ever sleep in though? i'm pretty sure i always hear you awake at like eight in the morning with luke and jack at the lake house," samy raised her eyebrow which brought a flush to will's face. 

"you gotta get up early to hit the green," the boy argued referring to all the times they went golfing. 

"oh, right, right. how could i forget?" samy made a face. 

a small silence settled between them as their eyes drifted down the table where their friends excitedly talked with luke. something warmed in both of their chests seeing how well they everyone got along. samy really couldn't be more happier that will introduced her to these boys and seeing how much her brother loved them all too. will thought the exact same thing. 

the two years ahead were gonna be the best years. will knew it and so did samy. 

it was late when the group made it back to the hughes house. ellen and jim already had the air mattresses blown up meaning everyone immediately collapsed on sight after changing into pajamas. samy made herself comfortable beside will who briefly scrolled through his phone. the girl had a small cup of ice cream in her hand, quickly offering some to the blonde. 

"mm love rocky road," will hummed as he took the bite. 

"i know we have the same taste," the brunette giggled. she fished around for the remote before turning the tv on the lowest setting and flipping to some random movie playing. 

the girl stretched out, letting her eyes grow sleepy. her head dipped onto will's shoulder making the boy flush briefly before he hooked his arm around her own shoulders. this wasn't abnormal for the two, especially after the past summer. they'd become a lot more touchy with one another, always poking and prodding—so a head on the shoulder as samy fell asleep wasn't something the two thought twice about. 

not until the morning where they were in the same position except samy's head fell more onto will's chest with one of her arms spread out across his torso. the guys woke up before they did and ryan was the first one to notice the sleeping pair curled up on the couch together. 

"dude, look," the brunette nudged drew's shoulder who slowly sat himself up while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

"are we sure smitty doesn't like her?" drew mumbled with a tiny snicker. 

"he's gotta or something. i mean look at them!" ryan exclaimed. 

all of the guys were still in denial about will saying he didn't have feelings for samy and never has. they were literally staring at the two asleep together. gabe, aram, and jacob woke up a few minutes later hearing ryan and drew's voices. 

"why are you guys talking so damn loud?" aram grumbled. 

"look at smitty and hughesy," ryan urged his friends. the other three shifted their gazes towards the sleeping pair and they immediately understood what the fuss was about. 

"damn. if i didn't know any better.." jacob trailed off earning laughs across the group. 

"should we wake them up?" gabe asked as ryan took some pictures on his phone for later use whenever will wanted to try and deny his feelings. 

"i think your voices were loud enough.." samy's eyes fluttered open. the boys immediately quieted down, but the smirks didn't disappear on their faces. 

samy slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. will shifted against the couch, his own eyes opening up too. 

"good morning love birds," ryan sang. 

"oh this again," samy playfully rolled her eyes. 

"what do you mean this again? you guys were literally cuddling," aram pointed out and all of the guys nodded in agreement. 

"and?" the girl raised her eyebrow, gazing over at will briefly who was now fully awake. 

"and? y'all are acting like a couple!" ryan exclaimed again. 

samy and will instantly bursted into laughter which left the boys silent and confused. 

"no, no we're just friends," the brunette got out through her laughter. 

"friends don't cuddle," drew cut in. 

"yes they do. i cuddle with my friends all the time. you guys are just afraid to," samy argued, pushing herself off the couch. she looked down at will for confirmation. he saw the guys' looks, knowing exactly what they were thinking. 

"come on, we're just friends. it's nothing," the boy agreed with samy. 

"exactly, thank you. can we stop making a big deal out of it and get breakfast?" the boys looked between the two for a few more seconds before deciding to drop the subject for now, but still not believing a word either of them said. 

[kaiju-art-for-the-heart]

An Heir to the Throne: The Distraction pt.1

Chapter 4.5

Slowly but surely, the days crawled by for the king and queen. Week after week Godzilla waited for what felt like an eternity, watching as Mothra finally entered the laying period (Its only been 6 weeks.) Marking the 7th week, Monarch officially recorder this as being three times longer than ever before, comparable to the gestation of a lizard in regards to timing. Within these weeks, Godzilla's behavior had changed once again. Instead of his usual dine and dash below the water, he has been monitored collecting large amounts of fruits and vegetation. Once he has returned to his territory, the vegetation is delivered directly to Mothra. Though advised to keep away, Monarch bases stationed close to his usual scavenging areas have began leaving 'sacrifices' of rejected fruits and vegetables to assist in his difficult mission. They may not have been the same amount that he could collect, but it was definitely a significant aid in cutting his hunting time in half. 

Though the seasons had been changing, the cozy island the couple chose to call home still experienced the same blinding sun most days. On a very particularly hot day, Godzilla nestled closely to his queen, napping comfortably in the rays of the scorching sun. Mothra on the other hand was much more content napping beneath his cooling shadow. Along with the passing of time came the preparation of the nest. A large portion had been turned into an incubator, many many wads of silk and moth fluff swirled into the perfect egg cradle. As both kaiju slept, a small crab sat opposite of them towards the mouth of the nest. Its large beady black eyes focused and unfocused constantly to make sure no spot was missed. Though unassuming on the outside, the crab was truthfully a neatly placed spy camera. Monarch engineers applauded themselves constantly, as it seemed the king and queen paid no attention to it whatsoever. Though in reality, Godzilla knew it was fake the moment it washed onto shore. Each piece of metal the humans send out had a particular smell. So no matter how fancily disguised it was, it could easily be sniffed out. Why did he let it slide you may ask? Mothra found it incredibly amusing. That, along with the small donations of food for his queen, Godzilla allowed them to have their fun for the time being.

Within a split moment, Godzilla's eyes snap open. The ground beneath him rumbles as the titan rises angrily out of his slumber. Mothra shoots up as well, though a bit wobbly as she was still adjusting to the weight of her bottom half.  "Did you feel it too?" Godzilla growled lowly, getting a nod from her. Something had just burst through one of the Hollow Earth portals, and the presence was growing larger by the minute.  Before Mothra could speak, Godzilla had already entered battle mode. He knew what he had to do, so might as well not waste any time  doing it. "I will be back my dear. Stay here." he commanded her, turning away to leave. "Wait!" she called out to him, catching his attention and stopping him in his tracks instantly. She knew there was no persuading to let her tag along, but everything inside her was raging. Begging to continue to fight alongside her King. 

After thinking for a moment, Mothra stood up to meet him halfway, crawling into his arms to form a tender embrace. The rough scaly exterior of Godzilla's skin and dorsal plates began to glow a gentle florescent blue, to which Mothra's elegant wings matched accordingly. As their bioluminescence surrounded them, the energy phased from cool blue, to purple, to the powerful new and improved hot pink. With their pulses now rhythmically matching, Mothra's previous blue markings shifted to match the same pink as Godzilla. 

"Promise to stay safe.. and maybe try and talk it out if possible?" she sighed, getting a final nuzzle from Godzilla. "I'll try, but no guarantee's." he chuckled, gently placing her back into the comforting cradle of her self-made nursery. With the change in atmosphere, Godzilla thought of the possibility of not returning home. Falling to the hands of whatever may have pulled itself from that damn portal. No matter how distracting, it wasn't enough to deter him. As he looked back to her one last time, he knew that no matter what happened. It would all be ok in the end. Sinking into the cool waters of the ocean, he set his mind back to dealing with the task at hand. 

The small spy crab swiveled between the two as Monarch headquarters shifted into over drive. At first, they deducted this to be apart of the mating process, but after the reports started to flood in, they realized that this was instead an uncertain good-bye. A large kaiju was currently causing mayhem to a city in Peru, meaning Godzilla was already on the move to it. Without a moment of hesitation, a barrage of fighter jets had already started trailing behind him. The familiar growl of intimidation could be heard bubbling from the dark of the ocean as the same pink aura lit up around him. 

As Godzilla swam through the endless currents, his rage quickly built up with every passing thought. Did this seriously have to happen now? He should be waiting by his queens side, not running to find an issue that will last all of 5 minutes.  Along with that, the pesky humans have already caught wind of the situation. No matter to him, the plans were to deal with it as efficiently as possible, with or without them. It did not take long before they rapidly approached the shoreline, another deep pulse of imbalance interrupted his thoughts. This time, it was much more familiar than before. His sharply peaked dorsal plates breached the surface of the water like a shark hunting its pray, their strong atomic pulses vibrated furiously. To the surprise of no one, Godzilla had already reached shore. The tremors associated with his approach was enough to catch the attention of anyone. Piercing the bustling sounds of chaos and distress came Godzilla's intimidating alpha roar. His eyes scanned the area for the disturbance, watching as many civilians beneath him scurried for cover.  

It did not take long for the King to locate the perpetrating portal either, obvious signs of struggle appeared to lead right into the city. Rolling his eyes, Godzilla followed the small mess like a blood trail, noting the creature he was looking for was not as big as it seemed to be. Before he knew it, the small creature was still leaving behind a path of destruction. A young freshly hatched spider Kaiju was caught kicking in building windows and crushing any and everything underneath. For a moment, all Godzilla could do was stare at the youngling. Why would something like this breach to the surface alone? Surely it was just lost on its way to finding its mother down below. Before he moved, the words of Mothra echoed in his mind loudly. Surely this tiny creature wasn't going to be a real issue, so there was no need to get violent. With another short growl, the small spider turned its attention towards Godzilla with a growl of its own. Unfazed, Godzilla watched the baby scurry up to his leg, attempting to pierce his layered scales with its tiny dull jaws. Being its first time in the world, it had no idea what kind of trouble it was attempting to get into.  

With an annoyed sigh, Godzilla plucked the small hatchling up from the ground before carrying it back to the already dissipating portal. Its angry clicks and squeals of defiance did nothing as Godzilla dropped it back in, watching it instantly disappear into a thin white mist. "How strange.." he grumbled to himself, stepping away from the portal as he continued to check his surroundings. "Besides an infant wandering around, I could have sworn I felt.." he trailed off, stewing in his thoughts before beginning his return to the ocean. Before he could even reach the sand, another deep disturbance pulsed from the portal, catching Godzilla's attention once again as a large ape-like hand burst through. "No.." he growled to himself, watching as Kong jumped out of the portal with the same baby spider that Godzilla had just thrown back in.

"Kong." Godzilla growled, watching as the titan turned to him with a startled jump. "G-Godzilla?! You made it here already?" he sighed, relief replacing his previous nervous demeaner. "What are you doing here? What's with the-" "We don't have much time!" Kong interrupted, wincing at Godzilla's offended scowl. "Listen, this was no accident. I need a little help before they break through!" This causes Godzilla to take a step back, his features dulling to a more confused brow raise. "What are you talking about?" he queried, watching Kong turn to answer. Before he can say, a bright light blasted from the portal as many many groups of baby spiders burst through. Several pairs of tiny spider legs began scurrying all over the two kings, a guttural cry of surprise coming from them both. It was going to be a long day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at home, Mothra had been sitting patiently while waiting for the return of her King. Though she was quite sure he would be returning, she couldn't help but feel an unshakable dread. What would she be afraid of? This was Godzilla, the most resilient and battle hardened lizard in the world. "Maybe its not him I'm worried about.. but something else." she assured herself, readjusting for the seventh time in the last hour. The growing discomfort she felt was peaking today, though she pushed it aside to stay connected with the well-being of Godzilla. Though, after another rough shift, a sharp pressure nearly took the wind from Mothra. After a moment of stunned silence, she shifted once more to confirm her suspicions. The same sharp pressure stung once more, causing her to crumble into the folds of the nursery. Her initial reaction was that of pure joy and excitement, it was happening finally! 

The intense feelings of happiness soon died down after the realization of having to do it alone sets in. "Oh my.. now is really a bad time.." she winced, gasping slightly at the unfamiliar pain. Thinking about it, she was totally ignoring all the previous signs. The dread was not for Godzilla's safety, but that of her own. "Please no.. not without Gojira.." she whined, backing herself deeper into the silky wraps of the egg cradle. She was no beginner to laying, there was never an issue when it came to her own eggs. Though this time, its seeming to be different. Since this egg was a bit larger, her body had to accommodate for its size. Would this be enough to harm her? If she was, what would happen? After a moment, the queen took a deep breath in, then out. "Panicking gets us nowhere.." she clicks calmly, soothing her tension down enough to think clearly again. Though she didn't want to interrupt, she had no choice but to inform Godzilla of what he may be expecting on the way home. Hopefully he was receptive enough to hear her messages. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A gloved hand crashes down recklessly into a pool of baby spiders, throwing them in every direction. "So you're telling me.. a Kumunga laid eggs near a portal and you idiots are just now getting to them? AFTER they hatch??" Godzilla snarls, his tail whipping around and crushing a gaggle of spiders. Kong clatters in frustration, excessively brushing the small vermin off his face and shoulders. "We TRIED to get them before they hatched! There was more than one bundle!" he retorted, frustration engulfing both titans quickly. At this, Godzilla knew what had to be done. As crucial as it was to maintain his promise with Mothra, he knew there was no talking his way out of this situation. While the tip of his tail began to light up, Godzilla's eyes and scaly skin charged up as well. The ground beneath him began to rumble as the titan released a final warning cry. As the luminous pink radiation reached its peak, Godzilla released his atomic breath, frying each creature around him within an instant. Attempting to stay out of his way, Kong continued to crush the leftovers as entrails splat all over his hands and arms.  Though it was disgusting, he found immense satisfaction in being able to release his previous frustration. Even with the use of Godzilla's powerful blast, it seemed as though the spiders were relentless. "I don't have time for this.." Godzilla huffed, the shimmering energy around him pulsing brightly as he charged up another powerful attack. This time, Godzilla would not be holding back. 

"You may want to get out of the way." he warned Kong, his voice strained as he attempted to keep concentration. One look at Godzilla and Kong instantly jumped to safety,  watching from a distance as he produced a mesmerizing Atomic pulse. The blast was so powerful it eviscerated everything within its path, turning the unsuspecting spider horde into crispy fried barbeque. Safe to say, whatever little resistance they put up was no match to Godzilla's strategic planning. As the smoke and ash cleared, Godzilla looked around to find nothing more than char scattered around them. 

After a moment, Kong rejoined Godzilla, looking around the semi-destroyed buildings and piles of ash. "Well, that was easier than expected." Kong chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the newly formed spider bites on the back of his neck. Godzilla sighed tiredly in response, looking to Kong with a disapproving grumble. "Go back home, monkey. And keep your mess away from my territory. I have better things to do than sit around and play bug catcher." Godzilla snorted, getting a slight eye roll from him. The two nod to each other before going their separate ways. The king watched Kong jump back through the portal before turning away to begin another trek back home. 'Finally, peace and quiet. And just enough time to grab lunc-' Godzilla thought at first, stopping once again to turn around and seeing Kong clawing his way back out the portal. "GOJIRA!! THEY'RE COMING!!" Kong screeched, an annoyed roar rumbling from the king. What could he possibly be talking about now? 

As Godzilla made his way back over to Kong, he watched unamused while he struggled to get up. What was that stupid ape even doing? Without anymore hesitation, Godzilla grabbed Kong's arm and yanked him to his feet, annoyed that this was dragging on longer than expected. The moment he came through, another intense rumble shook the ground beneath them. "What is it?" Godzilla growled, his dorsal plates lighting up once again as a long spider leg breached to the surface. "Its the mother.." Kong breathed, jumping backwards as they watched the large Kaiju pull herself to freedom. Underneath her followed another couple hundred baby spiders, a sight straight from the depths of a nightmare.  

Godzilla screeches towards the mother as Kong backs him up, twirling his axe in his hand. Breaching through his many thoughts, a gentle voice seemed to clear his mind as she spoke. 'My love..' Mothra's clairvoyance called to him. Godzilla stood still, listening intently as she explained her current situation, and her fear of what may happen if he were not present. The tension and pain in her voice made Godzilla react physically, twitching his claws at the thought of not being there for his queen. Out of everyone, she needed him the most and yet, here he was spending his valuable time fighting an over grown garden pest whos angry she chose a piss poor place to lay her own eggs. With another intense roar, Godzilla took a stance. He was not going to miss his offspring's first lay, especially not to this. "Lets get this over with" he turned to Kong, both nodding in agreement before lunging full throttle into battle.

Sorry this took so long. Other than this being a before 2-parter, I had some real life stuff and my Bday on the 6th! Stay tuned for chapter 5

[redspacegirl]

UPP OC BACKSTORY AND STUFF TIME!!! (plus occasional doodles)

plenty of this is spitballing, so i haven't fully cemented anything. it's all a bunch of yapping, so I'll put a tldr at the bottom to explain it in simpler terms lol. anyways,,,

Oakley moved to Deadwood when she was about 12. Right before the beginning of her 7th grade year. I feel like she definitely went down the fnaf to ghost hunting pipeline. I don't even know if that's a real pipeline, but it was for me. So she basically knew all the terms and stuff.

from what i can tell, upp was just a bunch of kids that liked ghost hunting, though ive seen the idea of all the kids in upp having ghost themed powers, kinda like wiwis but not as,,, wiwi. ill talk more about it later.

Despite knowing a bit about ghost hunting, Oakley would never have done it before. She lived in a highly populated area, not too far from the coast and one of Prime's big cities (I'm thinking near new haven, but NH might not be on the coast). There weren't any super old buildings in bike-riding distance for Oakley to explore. Plus one big thing with ghost hunting is that you dont! go! alone! (i'm really really tempted to make a post on how will maybe did this and it lead to him falling off a cliff. idk). Anyways, she's very skeptical of the actual existence of ghosts. This is one of the times I'm pulling out of my own life for that. If you've ever watched Buzzfeed Unsolved, she's Shane. She does think ghost hunting is very cool, however. (it makes sense to me, as a person who is a skeptic irl)

As I said earlier, she moved right before the beginning of 7th grade. She moved with her mom to live with her nana. There's a couple reasons for this. 1) Ol' nana silvia was up there in age, her mom wanted to keep an eye on her an all that. 2) If you can imagine, rent prices right outside of New Haven are expensive as fuck. And nothing beats the 2 acre backyard that Oakley's mother, Mae, grew up with. Like,,, sure the place was a little freaky, but that's most old places anyways.

So they move. Oakley is lowkey highkey pissed about the move. She understands, mostly, but she *really* doesn't want to move, obviously. Aside from the fact that she'd be leaving her friends behind, she's been on plenty of trips to Deadwood. That place is freaky. Mae convinces her that it's not really that bad, the house is old, it just needs some renovating.

obviously thats not the case. oakley continues being pretty much oblivious to the ghosts, blaming it on some weird noises or something until she finally comes face to face with one.

for my ideas on the whole ghost sight stuff. I like the idea that being able to see ghosts, even a little bit, is somewhat common in Deadwood. an idea i thought was funny is that Oakley could just,,, hear the ghosts *really* well. hence why she can be such a skeptic while everyone else is like "WHAT THE FUCK IS THTATTTTTT". otherwise, her being a ghost beacon would be really funny. like she walks in a room and the ghosts in said room are able to interact with people/objects or talk more. finally, she could just have normal sight idk.

Around the current point in PD, she's just graduated high school. I think she ended up staying in town for one reason or another. I have a few ideas. I think by the time she graduated, she still didn't fully know what she wanted to do, hence why she stayed home. She's currently 19 ish, taking college courses online while she keeps and eye on her mother and the nearby ghosts. She probably still hangs around the upp who stayed around. Probably will come up with more stuff in the future.

OTHER STUFF: -She skateboards, though Deadwood is a lot of gravel roads, so it's kind of difficult -draws a bunch. if you didn't see my other post about her, she draws on her pants and whatnot. -she paints her nails on occasion before forgetting about them and letting them chip before she repaints them months later -she was that kid that always said "im leaving this town right after i graduate." (me core) -indecisive as hell -can be pretty sarcastic, to the point it gets annoying sometimes. she tones it down as she gets older.

TLDR: Girl with ghost sight moves to live with her grandma in 7th grade, realizes she has some sort of ghost sight, shenanigans ensue.

[shellem15]

The Case of Baalphegor

So, in DnD lore, there's this one character who gives me a lot of brainrot: Baalphegor, the she-devil consort to the Archdevil Mephistopheles. (For my bg3 girlies, this would be Raphael's stepmother!) As you can imagine, she isn't really talked about much, but what we do know about her is super cool!

(Note: Though I don't subscribe to their theories, @inaconstantstateofchange has a pretty good compilation of some of the lore and sources I'm using here.)

Baalphegor is an archdevil who's been around since the beginning of Hell (Baator), described as a skilled diplomat, tactician, and unmatched sorceress, as well as an inventor who's created a ton of artifacts and techniques used in the Hells. She's well-respected, and has many allies among Hell's upper echelon (Pit Fiends in particular).

So already, she's got a lot going for her (we love evil women in STEM). But here's where things get interesting:

Baalphegor is, apparently, extremely respected and valued by Asmodeus himself. So much so that he lets her live with Mephisto, and is one of the major reasons why Asmo tolerates him and his constant scheming. Now this is crazy, considering Asmo and his Big Fuckin Massive Ego™ and general lack of respect for anyone he considers "lesser", which is everyone.

Baalphegor toes the line between the two archdevils, keeping her goals "to herself" and being minimally loyal to Mephisto, while also maybe vying for a spot at being Asmo's new consort (or at least getting closer to him). Mephisto tolerates this because of the protection she gives him, but I imagine that he's not too happy about it. (Also she's gone missing? Which isn't really relevant to this post but is still something to note).

All of these details combined suggests to me that she has way more sway over how things are run in Cania (the 8th Hell) than we're told, perhaps even more so than Mephisto! The devil behind the throne, whispering into her arrogant consort's ear. I think this is neat, and makes Mephisto even more of a girlfailure, which is funny as hell (pun intended).

Small sidenote: in the lore of Hell, there's these guys called the Ancient Baatorians, the original rulers/inhabitants of Baator (Hell). These guys were pretty much all murked by Asmo and his devils when they conquered Hell, but some remnants of them survived: In the Dogai (assassin devils), who were transformed into devils; in the nupperibos, which are their larval stage; in more grown ancient baatorians called life stealers (an invisible monster which eats light and your life-force). These more mature forms are only really found in the cave systems beneath Malbolge and Maladomini (the 6th and 7th hells), places which even devils don't enter. There are also some of these guys trapped in the ice of Cania, as well. (Lore about them is compiled in Power Score RPG's Blog here.)

Why did I bring up the Ancient Baatorians, you may be asking? Well, some people on the internet really think that Baalphegor is an Ancient Baatorian. The original ruler of Cania, even. Now, I've looked and there seems to be no lore basis for this at all, but its fucking awesome so I've decided to include it here.

Additional Sidenote: So Asmodeus (and the Hells, by extension) has a lot of origins stories, all of which are iffy at best. One of the origin stories is that he's secretly a giant evil snake called Ahriman who, along with his goodly snake-sibling Jazirian, created the universe and the planes out of the primordial soup with the power of Law™. They disagreed on where to center the universe, and in the resulting conflict Ahriman fell into the Hells where his body now lays wounded at the bottom of Nessus. Ahriman eventually disguised himself and now rules the Hells  as Asmodeus, biding his time and eating the souls of atheists to heal his wounds and eventually rule the cosmos.

Now I don't particularly like this origin story (I find it just makes Asmo less interesting), but the idea of a big giant snake being the original ruler of Hell is sick, so I propose we take a page out of Pathfinder's book and give it to someone who's not Asmodeus. Who, you may asking? Baalphegor, of course!

…

The frozen peaks of Cania hold many dangers, but none so insidious as its dark mistress, the Lady Baalphegor. Consort to the Archduke Mephistopheles, Baalphegor takes a backseat role in the rulership of Cania, but is by no means unimportant—she is, perhaps, the smartest devil in all the Hells; A trait which has seen her rise to a position of great power.

Baalphegor holds immense sway and influence in the Nine Hells. Preferring diplomacy over brute force, her power is subtler than her consort's explosive dramatics—but has far greater reach and longer-lasting impact. That is not to say she is physically weak—she is an unmatched sorceress in the Hells and beyond—but that she'd rather make a friend than an enemy. A rare trait in the Hells, indeed.

Much like her husband, Baalphegor is an inventor, one who has created many of the profane artifacts and diabolical techniques used throughout the Hells. Her knowledge is as vast as Cania's great glaciers, collected over many eons with perfectly preserved clarity. Her spellcraft is precise and calculated, in contrast with Mephistopheles' volatile magics. In addition to her role as the Lady of Mephistar—Mephistopheles' great citadel—Baalphegor oversees the operations of the various libraries and laboratories in the frozen citadel. It is said that she can recite, by word, all the texts and tombs found within Mephistar's halls.

These traits have earned Baalphegor a position of great esteem in the Hells, so much so that she is respected by even the Archduke of Nessus, Asmodeus himself. The Lord of Lies counts her as a great friend and ally, often seeking her advice and counsel in matters requiring a more delicate hand. Rumors persist that Baalphegor's influence is one of the major reasons why the Lord of the Hells has not deposed her unruly consort.

In any case, an understanding exists between the two that Mephistopheles is not privy to, a fact which ignites much jealousy and insecurity within the Cold Lord. Despite the tensions between them, Baalphegor manages to walk the fine line between the two Archdukes, appearing loyal to both her consort and her King without making a distinction between the two.

Baalphegor's talents and connections have made her an invaluable asset to her consort, but also a grave threat. If she so chose to, she could quite easily overthrow the Lord of Hellfire. Luckily for Mephistopheles, however, Baalphegor has no current desire for usurpation, content with being the power behind Cania's icy throne.

While all in the Hells know Baalphegor to be an old and powerful devil, few are aware of the true extent of that fact. The entity known as Baalphegor is an ancient being—older than the Hells, older than Asmodeus, older than the Outer Planes itself. A serpent as vast as a galaxy, devoid of any light save for the stars in its belly. A devourer of suns and stars, one who feeds off of light and life and hope itself.

Somehow, this great serpent found itself trapped in the depths of Cania, long before any devil stepped foot in the realm. It found kin amongst those strange and incomprehensible Ancient Baatorians, the original rulers of Baator. This state lasted for countless eons, until the arrival of the Heavens' greatest angel, a young Asmodeus.

Before his fall, the Lord of the Hells discovered the plane of Baator on one of his many expeditions to the Abyss. Intrigued, he ventured deep into the bowels of this dark realm, until he found the great serpent in its nest. Instead of devouring him, the serpent hosted the Son of Light, sharing with him secret knowledge and long-forgotten truths of the cosmos. Asmodeus left the serpent's nest with his life, and, more importantly, a newfound friend.

When Asmodeus returned to Baator with his infernal host, he entreated the serpent for its aid in his conquest over the plane. The serpent agreed, on condition that the favor be repaid at the time and place of its choosing. This is the only debt that the Lord of Nessus still yet owes.

The serpent donned the guise of Baalphegor, and served as Asmodeus' advisor in his war against her former kin. With her knowledge, the Lord of the Hells vanquished his foes and seated himself upon the throne of Nessus. He rewarded her with a position of power in Cania, but cleverly did not grant her the title of Archduke, instead bestowing it to the obstinate yet controllable Mephistopheles. Baalphegor was made consort to the Lord of Cania, a station she holds to this day.

The truth of Baalphegor is only known to herself and Asmodeus, a secret well-kept and well-hidden. Only the lady herself can say what her true goals are, but for now she bides her time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

[that-one-fandom-girl]

Y'ALL, we got so much teased in this trailer! We got castle-y vibes, monsters, technical puzzles, stolen gems, and also alchemy! This all looks so good! The characters look cool {and from the looks of things, we'll be interacting with quite a few of them!}, the rooms and places all look very interesting/visually appealing, and it looks very well animated; there was even one spot that I swear Elka's necklace gleamed as Nancy moved around.

Plus a room that looks kinda like a blacksmith room? A suspect list like in Alibi in Ashes? Plus it's part of the notebook; yay, notebook! AND the achievements tab, like the trophies tab in the pause menus before?

OOOOHH, confrontations?! Looks like the cozy coffee shop might have some exciting scenes?

Some of these images give me a Treasure in the Royal Tower/The Captive Curse vibes, :o.

Also, I have only heard/seen, like, ten seconds worth of Elka, but I already love her; she seems really cool, and if she somehow ends up being the end culprit {though she didn't seem to be in the suspect tab}, I'll be really sad, lol!

I'm excited! And the release date is so close; May 7th! I'll be buying this game right as soon as I can, although has anyone ever heard if there's a pre-order option for KEY?

Here's to what sounds like an awesome game!

[shakingparadigm]

Hi hi.

Hi para! I'm writing you to share some theories I got! Since you're one of my favorite blogs.

Hope to not be glogging your asks section...

Luka is an observant calculative person (other than not feeling genuine emotions and empathy like Vivinos made us understand from his behaviour towards the opponents,Hyuna's brother,Hyuna herself etc...) .He has an idea of Till's method to win. I'm talking about what he did in round 2. Then he saw a drastic change in him after Mizi went missing.And again,he knows that Ivan's death has become a trauma for everything that happend in that round. My guess is: Till will be depressed and Luka will manipulate him the same way he did with Mizi,to not let him interrupt the chosen song with another.Just to make sure he will win if he prepared one. And to see his opponents loose their minds and feel satisfied with himself and kiss...their bloody hands I guess. Something may convince Till to not die and fight. In the 7th round there may be a ''fast forward'' in which they show Mizi and Hyuna as prisoners.The aliens may have decided to let them live to obtain informations of the rebels. Till may find out that Mizi is being tortured and go to save her with a parallel similiar to IvanTill ''escape plan''... Luka's knowledge of Hyuna's presence may be a problem too. He may do a mistake and not feel in control. Prioritize Hyuna and say fuck to the Alien Stage. In result we will have a fierce Till tired of everything who clings on the hope to meet Mizi and avenge Ivan.

I'm really curious about your opinion. Please let me know!!! Oh! Do you think the 7th round will be the last? Did vivinos said something about it other than having worked on it for a long time?

It's always a pleasure to scroll and see what you post! Having said that,bye bye!

Hi!!! Hello!!! Thank you so much for this! I fold this ask gently like paper and tuck it into my heart.

This theory is genuinely so cool! I agree with a lot of it as well. Since we didn't get Hyuna and Mizi's interference in ROUND 6, we're most likely going to see it in ROUND 7, just not in the way we hoped we would. I've stated before that I didn't see a reason for them to keep Hyuna and Mizi alive if they were found, but now that you mention it... they're literally the perfect torture tools for Till and Luka. Everything lines up just a little too perfectly.

Honestly, Till finding Mizi again is also the only way I can see him regaining strength. He was actually supposed to see Mizi at the end of ROUND 6 (in the first draft, at least)! I know some people insist that Ivan's sacrifice was to shake Till out of a stupor or encourage him to fight (through anger?), but I just couldn't see it that way. In fact, it seems like his situation just worsened. Genuine rock bottom. He's lost everyone.

I think the only way Till can pick himself up again in such dire and urgent circumstances is if Mizi is involved. Everything in him would reignite in an effort to save her, to sing for her. Her absence was the reason he lost himself in the first place, so it makes sense that she's the only cure for his current predicament. If he saw her, if he knew she was alive and this was his only chance to reach her.... Till is literally going to mega-evolve LMAO. I'm not trying to downplay Ivan's sacrifice, though. I know Till is affected by it too even if he didn't love Ivan the way he loved Mizi. It would be amazing if Till's swan song was a heavy rock piece dedicated to screaming out not only his love, but all his hurt and confusion as well.

The song will no doubt be suited to Luka's taste since Till can be forced to adjust to Luka's style, but I couldn't ever see Luka adjusting to Till's. I have a feeling the song will start out slow with Till at a disadvantage, but a shift happens (Till sees Mizi) and suddenly he starts performing with an overwhelming passion.

Luka losing control because of Hyuna is an incredible thought. I do think he'd lose composure, but not exactly in the panicked way. Instead, I think he'd feel overwhelmed with some kind of intense feeling and maybe even perform in a more crazed manner if he finds out she's been caught. Now both Luka and Till have a strong reason to go all out. After seeing Mizi and Hyuna, they'd need to win. It's impossible for Luka to be an easy or "weak" opponent, and I don't think the sight of Hyuna would necessarily incapacitate his abilities. He's already seen her, after all. He knows she's still alive and that she would inevitably have come back. I feel Luka is a bit more calculated in his approach, so maybe he'd find other ways to get her in his grasp. Maybe if he won Alien Stage again, he'd be granted the privilege to choose a certain prize...

I think ROUND 7 is the last round, but definitely not the last episode (there is a possibility of the ALNST makers finally getting pissed off and throwing Hyuna and Mizi into the ring for another round, though. Not sure if it's a solid and likely possibility, but it's a possibility nothenless). There might be more to tackle regarding the Human Rebellion and the whole pet-alien conflict they seem to be setting up with the story. I believe the original Alien Stage synopsis states that the humans gather to "regain their free will and shape their destiny". We're focused on this particular season of Alien Stage for a reason, and it's most likely because it's the last. Shit hits the fan from here.

This is all just speculation though!! I'll be able to make more educated guesses once they start releasing more ROUND 7 related content. For now, they seem to be taking a well-deserved break.

Thank you for the ask anon!! This was such a wonderful idea to think about.

[starlightshadowsworld]

The Fallen King Part 2: The Room Where It Happens

Part 1

(Tw for suicide. Rewritten from 7th May 2024. ) )

Atsushi had poured Dazai a glass of whiskey as was customary. Sometimes Dazai would offer Atsushi his own glass but that was rare.

Dazai took it but his gaze was not on Atsushi who was at his side. But out to the skyline, to the city below them. "Do you remember the night I found you, Atsushi?"

"I could never forget something like that. I'd sooner forget my own name."At that Dazai had chuckled, taking a swing of his drink as he did so.

"I would sincerely hope not. I went to all the trouble of picking one for you after all."Atsushi had faltered but any worry he had offended the boss faded at the others amusement.

Though not all the worry faded. It was always hard to tell what Dazai was thinking, what mood he was in at any given moment. A joke that made him laugh yesterday could be the reason for an execution the next.

"The night I found you was indeed special night. I recieved a new weapon in my arsenal. But I also had quite the dream." Said Dazai.

"I saw Yokohama, she was almost glowing in the sun. The very shadows on the streets seemed warmer. You were there, laughing beside Kyouka. Even Chuuya looked happy, though he was grumbling of course."

A smile, one that Atsushi knew deep down had to be genuine was on his face. As it always was when Dazai talked about Chuuya. An unmistakable fondness in the undertone of voice even at the mention of his partner.

"It was like seeing light in an otherwise pitch black sky. This, I believe was a vision of the future." Dazai turned to face Atsushi and all traces of fondness vanished. Replaced by a cool and calculating look, almost almost reflexively Atsushi lowered his gaze.

"But while I saw you all in the light, I couldn't see myself. Why do you think that?" Asked Dazai, his tone giving away nothing at all.

Atsushi hadn't been sure. At the time he'd stated that "it sounds like a lovely dream. Maybe you didn't see yourself because it was from your perspective.". Dazai had chuckled, airy and amused.

"Hah, clever as always aren't you Atsushi." But there was  something else in his voice. Something that Atsushi couldn't quite place, not than.

Not before he had been dismissed. But now, years later as he stood and recited this conversation to the executives Atsushi finally knew.

That Dazai hadn't seen himself... Because he had envisioned a future without him in it.'

That was why Dazai's final instruction was for Atsushi to leave for the light. So that his dream could come true for them all. And yet, Atsushi had stayed.

It made him feel ill.

And yet not ill enough to abandon his plan entirely. Atsushi truly was a traitor, he didn't deserve to be here at all.

"It was than he looked at me and said there was no helicopter. There was never one coming. He told me, that this was the last dream he would ever have. He smiled at me... And than he jumped."

The silence that followed that declaration was suffocating. The only thing Atsushi could feel was his heart racing as he waited for the inevitable.

He could've counted down the seconds from 5 before an invisible force picked him up and without warning slammed his head into the wall behind him.

It wasn't often Atsushi was right.

But he felt no satisfaction at predicting correctly, not here. His body was pinned to the wall and the desk guarding him was tossed to the side without effort.

Atsushi had thought he'd become familiar with Chuuya's anger. The last time he'd seen Chuuya enraged was on a mission where several of his subordinates were badly injured.

That did not hold a candle to the inferno standing before him.

"And what the fuck were YOU doing?!" The 'you' was punctuated with a punch that hit Atsushi soildly in the jaw. Even now, even with all this rage it was a controlled hit.

One that should've shattered all the bones in his jaw, but it only fractured them.

Many people couldn't speak with a fractured jaw, but Atsushi was not one of them. Chuuya had trained him after all, knew his strengths and weaknesses better than most.

And each one was followed by another.

And another.

Each timed to strike the moment before Atsushi's ability could undo the damage.

"What the hell were you thinking?! What did you just watch?! Let him fall and stand idly by?! Huh?!" Screamed Chuuya. His fist was a blurr to all but Atsushi who tracked his movements on instinct.

All the while he remained silent.

Even if Atsushi could come up with an excuse he wouldn't. Because Atsushi deserved this. If he actually wanted to survive this he would tell Chuuya he was going easy on him.Atsushi deserved so much worse and they both knew it.

'So why...?'

"Chuuya!" Called Kouyou, hidden concern in her eyes as she looked at Atsushi. But both of them knew she wouldn't get involved, no one would.

Few are brave enough to walk into the eye of a hurricane. And yet... Chuuya lowered his fist.

Atsushi didn't understand, how was he not being blown to smitherens? Chuuya looked as angry as he had been at the start of this. But his fist shook ever so slightly.

"You know damn well you could've stopped him. That you could've dove after him, scaled down the building like King Kong and got him to safety....So why?!"

The next punch went through the wall. Atsushi blinked in shock as Chuuya purposefully missed his head. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid of Chuuya right now. The man could kill Atsushi without a thought... But it scared Atsushi more that he wouldn't.

Had he been wrong? That Chuuya hadn't cared for Dazai as much as Atsushi thought. But that didn't seem right, Atsushi had seen them both so in love for years. Chuuya sounded no different than usual but there was something off.

It hit Atsushi harder than any punch ever could when he realised that it wasn't anger.

It was Chuuya begging.

Chuuya Nakahara, the strongest man in the Port Mafia and damn well all of Yokohama... Was begging Atsushi to explain himself. To explain to Chuuya why he had let Dazai die.

That was the strength of their bond, that Chuuya would throw aside his pride to beg for answers from his subordinate.

It was wrong.

It was so completly and utterly wrong and Atsushi couldn't do it.  He could've broken down right than and there.

But he couldn't and it hurt more than any blow ever could.

Watching Dazai fall was one of the hardest things Atsushi would ever witness. But he had never considered the pain that came with watching Chuuya shatter before his eyes.

Knowing that it was all Atsushi's fault. "I couldn't do it" said Atsushi, what was supposed to be a neutral tone, cracked and gave a glimpse of the pain he was feeling inside. He cursed himself for it.

Why did he sound like he was the one about to cry? When all of this was his doing, Atsushi didn't have the right to grieve. Chuuya frowned. Almost like he sensed that there was something more.

Panic welled up in Atsushi's heart but he remained silent. That was when Ace of all people spoke up "Well, be as it may. With the Boss gone you're his ideal replacement."

Despite this being Atsushi's end goal from the moment he'd walked into the meeting room, he was suprised. "Him?" Asked Kouyou, showing her own suprise that carried on to the others.

"Oh don't look at me like that. I doubt any of you would let me do it." That, they all agreed with wholeheartedly. "And unless you 3 are offering" Kouyou grimaced as did Verlaine while Chuuya didn't say a word.

He froze momentarily before picking himself back up. Hurt and betrayal filled his eyes and Atsushi flinched. "So that's what this was about..." Atsushi wanted to deny it but it was the truth wasn't it?

It was exactly what he had done, Chuuya was just spelling it out for him. But every part of Atsushi screamed in protest. Begging him to deny Chuuya's claim but Atsushi didn't. He hadn't killed Dazai to take his spot... But he might as well have.

Atsushi fell to the ground as Chuuya relinquished his hold onto him. His mentor glaring down at him, but none of that anger could hide the hurt.

"You knew he was planning stunt, did you?" His voice was icy, and not unlike Dazai himself when he was mad. "And what? Decided that you could get ahead? Let him lead you away so none of us would be any wiser and push him off?!"

"Chuuya!" Called Verlaine, trying to diffuse the situation. Chuuya paid him no heed and Atsushi didn't react to Verlaine's silent plead. Telling Atsushi to say something, to say anything at all to defend himself. But Atsushi remained silent.

"And how convient for you." Chuuya smiled but it was all teeth and no warmth. "How long have you been sitting on that one huh? What was this 4 and a half years in the making maybe?" He scoffed. "I shouldn't be suprised given you  killed your last mentor."

Atsushi stumbled back like he'd been stabbed. Pain exploded through his chest. But there was no wound. There was no blood and yet he was in agony.

Like he had any right to feel hurt.

"That's enough" Said Kouyou firmly. "We still need to vote on the subject. And in case you were all unaware, the building is quite literally falling apart." She had come to Atsushi's aid. But he really wished she hadn't.

Chuuya scoffed.

"I'll go deal with it, I want no part in this shit." He left left the room, slamming the door shot without giving Atsushi a second look. Atsushi shakily got to his feet.

To his suprise Verlaine smiled at him. It was a warm and sad like his always were. "I'll go after him but" he took off his hat, clutching it to his chest. And gave a respectful bow to Atsushi."You have my vote, Boss." He twirled his hat, putting it back on and left."

"Show off" remarked Kouyou rolling her eyes fondly before addressing Atsushi. "You have mine too, Boss" She added kindly, standing to give her own bow.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise, you have mine too Boss. And majority rules." Said Ace, bowing with Karma following in suit. Atsushi should feel relieved that his plan worked.

But he couldn't bring himself to feel much of anything. The burning pain in his chest had subsided leaving him feeling nothing but empty.

"Thank you, we can conclude this meeting later. Preferably when the building isn't falling apart." At that they both chuckled, which Atsushi appreciated before everyone became serious.

"I need both of you to gather your subordinates down to the lower floors. Kouyou you will take the east and Ace will take the west. In accordance with the Homecoming protocol."

It was one of the many protocols in place at the Port Mafia.

This one stated that if Headquarters had been attacked, the clean up crew and lower ranked subordinates would check that the building was structurally sound.

If it wasn't, like now Chuuya and Verlaine would keep the building steady. While they did that, the construction crew would use their abilities to reinforce the building. Kouyou and Ace were to lead the evacuations. Meanwhile Atsushi and Kyouka would patrol the outer ring to ensure the attackers didn't get away.

Atsushi tried not to think about how he'd done exactly that when let Akutugawa and his friends go free. "Very well, but I would suggest that you and Kyouka join me." Said Kouyou.

Not even bothering to hide how eager she was to go find Kyouka. A feeling that Atsushi shared immensely. He knew she was okay alone. But he'd been terrified for her during that fight with the Agency.

Though that fight felt like years ago now.

He didn't acknowledge the part of this that meant Kouyou wanted the responsibility of protecting him. As he was the Boss now. "I'll be right behind you" agreed Atsushi, needing a minute to get his bearings together.

"I just need to call Verlaine. Head to your areas, make sure to keep everyone close. We can't afford to have any stragglers."

Kouyou nodded, a kind smile on her face that Atsushi almost recoiled at because she shouldn't be treating him so kindly.

Both executives nodded, pausing to bow before leaving. Atsushi was reassured that it was as odd for them as it was for him. 'Something to get used to' he mused, before noticing Karma was still there.

"Can I help you?" Karma shook his head as he shly pulled out a parcel from a bag. "For you, Kyouka mentioned tha-" "Karma!" Yelled Ace, suddenly noticing his subordinate wasn't with him like he was supposed to be.

He wouldn't be punished though, Ace probably knew what he was doing. And he'd always had a soft spot for his subordinates. Karma smiled, sheepish "coming!"

He looked back at Atsushi, giving him a "happy birthday Atsushi...I mean Boss!" He apologised, bowing and running to where his mentor was waiting for him. 

Atsushi watched him go, standing there frozen in place.

Oh.

Oh.

It was today, wasn't it? He thought of claws tearing into flesh. Of screams and sobs that might of been his own. Of hugging the smiling frame of the Headmaster... as he died in his arms.

Did Dazai smile at him too, as plummeted to the ground?

The thought of it made Atsushi sick to his stomach. The irony that he killed them both on the day he was born. Atsushi numbly put the package in his bag. He left the room, heading outside to join the others. It was just a little bit longer and than he'd be with Kyouka.

And everything would be fine. And that was a lie but Atsushi could pretend for just a little bit longer.

Because he was selfish like that.

That was when Atsushi realised he had wandered off further ahead.

He frowned, looking around and catching the glimpse of a familiar looking coat on the ground.His blood ran cold as he looked at his mentor.

His mentor who was still smiling at him, just like the Headmaster had done so on this day.

'Happy birthday, Atsushi.'

Atsushi screamed.

[cashcart1er]

Surprise Y/N (Part I)

Gf!Riri, Bestfriend!Shuri, Blood, Gore, Drug Use, Explicit Language, Main Character Deaths, Sexual Content, Ghostface Shuriri?

This was inspired by @killmongerskeepermain Ghostface story and Scream I. Enjoy!

'Two Apalachee High school students Jamie Lynch and Brady Harrison found dead in the Lynch household on 7th street. They were stabbed multiple times in multiple places. There is no known suspect yet, but there a Halloween mask found at the scene-

You switched the TV off sighing. They have been blowing every TV channel with this. Of course it sucked that they died, though You didn't really know them but that doesn't make it any better. "Damn, this is one crazy town I swear" Your friend Jerome spoke up while sparking up a blunt. "Hey, you okay? we haven't had a casualty like this since..."

Your girlfriend Riri was talking about your father. Your father died a year ago from being brutally murdered by a serial killer named Ray Holland. You weren't ever the same that day and it showed. Ever since that day you never let a door go unlocked or a window left open.

"I'm fine baby. Do you feel like getting me sprite?" She nodded giving you a kiss before getting up to go to the kitchen. "Nigga I know we ain't letting this sleepover go to waste over some classmates we ain't even know. Rest In Peace and shit but we gathered each other to have fun not slump in your seats" You gasped from your friend Mariah's lack of sympathy.

"Have a heart Mariah that ain't cool. She is right about us coming to have fun though. When is Kai and Shuri comi-" Jerome was cut off when the door swung in. "Your favorite people just arrived! Did y'all pick out the horror movie?" You did forget about the movie you guys were supposed to watch. Luckily Riri had one.

"What's up twin. Yeah I got a movie to watch and it's called Scream. It's basically about the same mask from the news" Jerome scoffed, "That movie was so unoriginal. The girl goes answering calls that don't need to be answered but somehow every time the killer comes she slips away while all of her other friends get slaughtered. They never follow the main rules of a horror movie. 1. Don't pick up the phone 2. Keep them doors locked and 3. Don't say you'll be right back. Because you probably won't" Everyone rolled they eyes and greeted each other happily before sitting down. "Alright lets get this shit started!" Shuri shouted causing everyone to chuckle.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright I'll see you guys tomorrow at school" Everyone said their goodbyes as they left your house. "Be safe baby. I'll see you tomorrow?" You nodded giving her a deep kiss pulling away only after I lost breath but she pulled me back in kissing on my neck. "You know I can stay here with you" You felt her smirk on your neck as she pecked at it. "Mm it's okay Ri. My cousin is coming here soon to watch me until my mom gets back Sunday" You pulled away patting her on her soft cheeks. "You positive?" She pouted making You laugh as you nodded. "Alright Ma. I love you" Riri replied walking to her car. "I love you too"

You closed the front door and locked it before cleaning up the living room. A couple minutes passed and in the middle of picking up some cups, your phone rung. "It's like 9:00 at night who the hell is calling at this time?" You pick up the phone answering it. "Hello?" You start. "Hey Y/N it's Darnea I just clocked out. Coming over right now. I did get us some snacks in case you had the munchies" You smiled lightly before speaking. "Alright, I'll see you when you get here" You hung up and threw the cups in the trash.

RING RING

The phone rung once again making you think she forgot to tell you something. "Darnea just get in your car-" "Hello Y/N" An unfamiliar raspy male voice spoke sending a chill over your body. "Uh Hi? May I ask who's calling?" the person only chuckled as a response. "Such a spooky night isn't it? It's almost like..it was straight out of a horror movie or something" You were sure it was Jerome just trying to mess with you after the mention of scary movies.

"Jerome if you don't get yo ass off of my phone. It is you ain't it?" You asked. "Do you like scary movies Y/N?" Who you think is Jerome spoke in a deep, sulky tone. "I like what you're doing with your voice J. It's kinda sexy. Don't tell Ri I said that before she jumps to conclusions" You snicker. "What type of scary movies do you like?" You rolled your eyes at all of his questions that he would know. "J you know I barely watch those. The one we watched today got on my nerves. Besides, they're all the same" You shrugged walking over to the couch.

"Are you alone in the house?" You sigh at the typical movie lines he's throwing at you. "J you're supposed to be an expert of movies why are you being so unoriginal?" You plop on the couch waiting for his response. "Maybe that's because I'm not Jerome" You sat back up just as fast as you sat down. "Uh well then who the hell are you?" You ask as you look throughout your windows. "The question 'Who am I' is never more important than the question 'Where am I'" A part of you still thought it was Jerome but you were still on edge. "Fine, where are you?"

"Your front porch"

This could easily be a joke but that didn't stop you from starting to get a little bit nervous. The only reason your black behind crept to the front door was because this wasn't the first time your friends pulled this bullshit. You opened the door slowly as you skimmed the front porch finding nobody. An idea popped up in your head causing you to smirk.

"Can you see me right now?"

"Uh huh" they replied.

"Yeah okay then what am I doing?" You stuck a finger up your nose waiting for a response but to no avail. "Helloo what am I doing?" You looked around giggling. "Stop playing J you ain't slick. Bye" Your finger was hovering over the end call button. "If you hang up you'll die just like your fucking father bitch!" You froze realizing this wasn't Jerome at all. It was a whole psychopath. "Fuck you nigga" You hung up anyways and scurried back inside locking the door behind yourself.

As you were taking a deep breath, you heard footsteps behind causing you to dart your head that way. To your surprise it was the killer from the news and the movie. Blood was rushing to every part of your body as the killer swung their knife. You barely dodge it but they grabbed your body slamming you onto the floor. The killer got on top of you as you both fought.

The killer locked their hands in your locs bringing your head up and back down ferociously bringing pain to your cranium also making your vision blurry. They dragged their knife across your body before getting ready to cut you open. You snapped back in time and kicked them in their stomach. You took the chance to open the front door but the lock wouldn't budge.

They got up and tried to stick the knife into you but you dodge running up the stairs but they were right behind you. You locked your bedroom behind you pulling out your phone to call 911. The unknown person banged the door slowly busting it down. "911 what's your emergency?" "Help me this guy is trying to kill me with a knife!" You yelled scared for your life. "We have a unit in your neighborhood they will be their in a couple seconds"

When you looked at the door, the person in the mask was gone. There was a thud at your window making you yelp. It was Riri and she looked confused as she climbed in. "What the hell is going on? I was coming back to return those notes I borrowed but I heard screaming" You hugged her tightly letting tears run down your cheeks to her shirt. Her phone dropped making you look at it. You were in shock when you saw that her phone said call ended the same time you ended the call with the dude in the mask.

It couldn't be...Could it?

You slowly removed yourself from her grip making her brows furrow. "What?" she ask but you were in too much fear to speak. "Wait don't go Y/N stop!" You ran out the room to the front door yelping because a police officer surprised you. "Rico help me!" You knew the officer because he was your cousins' brother. "It's okay we got this. Lets go!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ow fuck!" They arrested Riri as she winced from the force. "Do you wish to give up the right to remain silent?" Rico asked before leading her to the sheriff. "I didn't do anything. tell them Y/N! Sheriff call these guys off" The sheriff shook his head no signaling the other officers to put her in the car. "Wait! At least call my mom for me" They put her in the car as you just sat and watched. "Y/N please! Y/N" The officer drove off with her still calling your name.

Rico approached You after sending Riri to the station. "Hey, you alright? You might have to come to the station to answer some questions" You nodded as a response. Your cousin approached the house in her car. You chuckled a bit when she went under the tape with no hesitation. "Oh my gosh Y/N are you okay?" She asked. "Other than almost getting stabbed to death, I'm good" You joke trying to calm your nerves but that only did so much.

"D you can't be here. This is officially a crime scene" She scoffs at her brother. "Nigga please. She's staying with us for the night" Her brother rolls his eyes at her antics. "C'mon let's get you to the station"

[arialityy]

Honkai pt.2 first impressions (as of completing pt.2 ch.1 phase 1) (don't come at me)

I'm gonna be focusing mostly on the characters in this post, but I'll briefly go over the ui and open world

So... I really miss the old ui already lmao. Even if it did look old and outdated, I think it was pretty unique for a sci-fi game and personally easier on my eyes (I think I just need to get used to it, but everything looks to similar in the new ui and I can't focus as easily on it 😭 That's probably just me though) I also think it looks kind of out of place if you go back to play older chapters, but it's not horrible. Personally, I feel like I'll always prefer the old ui. However, it looks great in the new open world chapter! Usually, I don't really like the ow chapters, but this one actually runs well, and I've been enjoying it quite a lot, even the side missions. (Also, it's just really nice to look at) It definitely reminds me of hsr and apho, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As for the new gameplay, it's... ok. The new battlesuits don't feel much funner or nicer than the old battlesuits. If anything, I like them less. With Helia and Coralie, the effects are fine since they're A-ranks, and the gameplay is also nice for an A-rank. Senadina's actual gameplay is fine. But her animations are so boring 😭 I like that it lights up the area around her but that's about it. I get that sometimes the animations could get too flashy, but Senadina's are just boring for what's presumably meant to be the fancy new S-rank. I'll cut her some slack, though, since it's still the beginning of pt.2.

Finally, I'll be talking about the characters themselves! Remember, these opinions are very subject to change, as it's only the beginning of pt.2's story. (I'll ommit my opinions on the designs for today)

Starting with the Dreamseeker!

I really appreciate how they didn't make them just another self insert who barely talks. Though I don't see why they didn't fully commit and give them a name. They could even keep the genderswapping thing by giving them an androgynous name. (Speaking of that, I didn't think I'd like that, but y'know what, it's cool that it's actual genderfluid rep!) However, the DS's personality so far has been kind of boring in my opinion. I think they're a very intriguing character. I mean, they were born out of the Sea of Quanta and hilariously chill over dreaming about dancing with a goddess who tells them they're gonna save the world, waking up in the SoQ with an amnesiac version of that goddess, and being thrust into a whole new bubble universe. I know they want to get home, but damn, I feel like I would freak out more. I really hope we get to learn more about them, and their personality shines through more!

Senadina- Ok. I'm pretty sure this is a controversial opinion already, but I don't really like Senadina. I want to because her selective memories and connection to a goddess are interesting, and she has cute moments, but she kind of just... annoys me. I mean, we've seen this kind of amnesiac but bubbly character before (*cough cough* March 7th *cough cough*), and something about her personality just annoys me. I can't pinpoint what it is about her, but like... I just don't really like her. She starts growing on me, and then she'll say something that annoys me. Right now, she feels like a character just designed to sell toys to me. I'm sure that will change, as she's one of the main main characters, but right now, she just isn't it for me. I hope she gets more interesting, and I grow to like her more.

Coralie- She's very much the Bronya of the group, but she's not just a Bronya clone, and I can appreciate her for that. I don't think I like her as much as I liked Bronya right off the bat, but of the main four, she has the most personality to me so far. She's also just kind of weird, which I like lmao. I have less to say about her and Helia, so just know that while I do like her, she's far from being an instant favorite.

Helia- She exists. That's almost all I have to say. Her bridge voicelines did make me like her a bit more, though. I think she's kind of cute, but nothing about her interests me. I also don't really like that she's yet another Durandal fan. I get that we only have like - 2 Dudu fans other than her, but it's not really an original character trait. Why couldn't she have been a Kiana fan or something? Even a Theresa fan would be cool. Teri needs more fans. I think she's fine, but boring.

Songque- She's definitely my favorite so far! There's definitely enough intrigue surrounding her for me to want to know more about her. What was that "dream" sequence with the DS before they actually met about? She's a shu, but what does she really know? I also like her personality. It's not like my favorite personality or anything, but she definitely has one, and it adds to the intrigue surrounding her. I hope she doesn't just go away after this story arc is finished.

So, that's most of my opinions about pt.2 so far! I left out some stuff, but this is really all you need to know about how I feel about the characters, gameplay, and ui so far.