#ss: gatherer 1

[slugcatsafari]

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[heroesrest64]

Haunting Heroes

Other parts: 1 2

Chapter 3: The Witching Hour

Chapter summary: The heroes have a small request they’d like to ask of you, and discuss how to go about asking. Everything goes to plan… for the most part.

Warning: Derealization towards the end :P

You can read the chapter here on ao3

Chapter under the cut :)

A list of nicknames for this chapter:

Botw Link/ Wild- Spice

WW Link/ Wind- Puddles

SS Link/ Sky- Dreamer

TP Link/ Twilight- Jimmy

FS Link/ Four- Winter

ALttP Link/ Legend- Whisper

The witching hour is the one time a day all of the old Heroes of Hyrule can move freely and do what they want. They gather in the office space, lounging around or browsing the titles of some of the books on display. Four points to one, and Wild pulls it down, where it lands on the door with a muffled thump.

“Hey! No reading. We need to talk while we still have the chance!” Legend snaps, attempting to kick the book away, only for his foot to go through it.

“Idiot. Only Wild can interact with objects.” Warriors rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well you don’t count as an object, so why don’t I kick you.” Legend hisses, already winding his foot back, only to pause when Time quietly floats into the room with Twilight trailing behind.

“Good. Everybody’s here. I’d like for us to start this meeting while the witching hour is still young.” Time hums, standing in the middle of the room while everyone else scrambles to attention.

“As we all know, there’s a new resident in the house. In the past, residents could only barely interact with us, and even then, only one or two of us would be noticed. But this new resident is different. They can and already have interacted with all of us, and they’re actively trying to communicate with us now.“

“What do you think it means?” Hyrule asks, leaning forward until his feet come off the floor.

“I’m unsure. One thing I do know, is that they are not a threat, they’re not here to harm, nor do they come searching for fame or fortune. I think, if anyone, we can trust them.” Time looks at each of the boys gathered, all tired, and trapped in this place with no way to escape. Even during the witching hour they can‘t go any further than the edge of the front yard. But perhaps this new person can be of assistance.

“That's nice and all, but we can barely talk with them. How are we supposed to ask for help like this?” Legend scowls and gestures to his transparent body. Time smiles, a knowing glint in his eye.

“You will talk to them. Tomorrow is the start of their weekend. We will do whatever it takes to keep them awake until the hour strikes, then you will converse. Tell them about our anchors. At the very least, if the anchors can all be gathered in the same place, we’ll all be able to go the same distance. Wild won’t be trapped in the kitchen anymore, Sky will be able to leave their room, and Twilight will be able to enter the house again.“

Legend looks rightfully irritated at the new job, but doesn’t argue, instead crossing his arms over his chest.

“Fine, fine. Shouldn’t be too hard, I guess… as long as the others can lead them to their anchors easily enough.” Legend quirks a brow at the three usually trapped spirits, who all give their affirmations one way or another.

“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow we make our move.” Warriors decides, before seeming to realize something, “oh and could you maybe tell them our actual nicknames? Vanity just feels a little… on the nose.”

“I will tell them everyone’s real names besides yours.” Legend taunts, and the two begin tussling on the floor.

“My money’s on Leg!” Wind shouts, laughing as they simply roll through him then into the kitchen with their playfighting.

~~

“Movie night with some ghosts… Never thought those would be words that come out of my mouth.” You hum as you wait for your microwave popcorn to finish. “Do you guys even eat? And wait- you can’t even leave the kitchen, how are you gonna watch the movie in the living room?” You ask, quirking your brow at your spice rack. What has your life come to, that you talk to a spice rack like it’s an actual human being.

The cayenne pepper lifts up from its place on the rack and floats through the kitchen until it reaches the doorway leading into the living room. Ah. So that’s how Spice will get a view of the living room tv.

“Cool. I’ll adjust the screen so you can get a better look. As for my first question… I guess I’ve never seen the rest of you eat, but I started doing some research, and it looks like ghosts can at least kind of… observe? Food? Specifically, it looks like some ghosts like smelling food, even if you can’t eat it.” The microwave beeps, and you pull out the finished bag of popcorn before dumping it in a bowl.

“So I was thinking of separating this into bowls so everyone can have their own.” You shake the popcorn bowl and smile in the direction of your spice rack, where Spice moves your sugar bowl forward, as if to say ‘That’s sweet of you’. You grin, grabbing a bunch of mismatched bowls and pouring some popcorn into the different containers.

“I know a few of you are kind of stuck, so could you get Puddles to guide me on where to set all of these up?” You ask, and while Spice doesn’t respond for a little bit, you do eventually feel some water drip down your arm.

“Puddles! Ready to help me?” You greet, already following the water trail he leaves behind as he guides you to your room. Dreamer must actually be trapped here, given you haven’t experienced your strange dreams when not sleeping in your room. “Hey roomie. Dunno if you’ve heard about movie night, but we’ve got some popcorn for ya and I brought my phone to stream some shows. How does Avatar The Last Airbender sound?” You suggest, waving your phone with the show already pulled up. One drop of water hits your hand, and you happily drop off the bowl of popcorn and set up your phone so the ghost can watch it while laying in bed.

Next up is Spice, who wants his bowl set up on a little table sitting between your living room and kitchen, and lastly, Jimmy. Puddles insists he wants the bowl sat on the windowsill just outside the living room, and you oblige despite your misgivings about bugs and other pests coming in. Rightly so, it seems, as Jimmy comes fluttering to your windowsill in seconds and begins chowing down on your offered popcorn.

With everyone all set up, and the rest of the bowls set out on the coffee table in the middle of your living room, you finally flop down on your couch, only to feel pins and needles crawl up your spine and through your ass.

“Winter! Oh my godesses I didn’t know you were there. I'm so sorry!” You shout as you roll away from the invading cold. The vague feeling of a chilling hand ghosts your shoulder, gripping it in what you think is supposed to be reassurance but only feels like literal death has set its hands on you.

The moment passes, and you awkwardly clear your throat before clicking your TV on. At first you thought you’d put on some horror movies, but that felt a little too on the nose, so you settled for some good old fashioned Great British Bake Off. Spice seemed absolutely ecstatic if the sound of your kitchen drawers opening and closing was anything to go by.

All in all, it was a great way to end the first day of your weekend, and you could feel yourself slowly drifting off to sleep amongst the heavy British accents and the smell of buttered popcorn, only to shoot awake when a fucking icicle decided to prod at your stomach.

“What the fuck! Winter, the hell?!” You shout, shooting awake and wiping the drool that was definitely not forming at the corner of your mouth.

Of course, the ghost doesn’t reply, and you’re left to stare at where you assume he is in mild alarm and curiosity. Maybe he didn’t want you falling asleep on him by accident?

“Okay… Sorry for almost falling asleep on you? But don’t poke me like that in the future. It hurts.” You shake your head, turning your attention back to your tv. Looks like you missed a couple episodes.

This time, you really do try to stay awake a little longer. It’s nearly three when you feel yourself slipping again, but then you hear it. Your sister calling out from the hallway.

“Mm? Whossat?” You slur, sitting up and peeking over your couch at where the voice is coming from.

“Silly. It’s me.” Your sister's voice responds in broken, stilted tones, and you squint, trying to process just what the fresh heck is going on. That couldn’t possibly be your sister. Who else could talk to you, though? One of the ghosts-?

“Oh, Whisper. Did you need something? I can-“ you start, only to be interrupted

“No! Stay over there.” The voice fizzes and jolts, like it’s coming through a broken radio. It sounds like they’re trying to string together phrases with a minimal vocabulary. Still, the urgency in their voice sets off alarm bells in your head.

“Okay. I’m staying right here. Do you need help?” You try asking one more time, twisting around in your seat to get a better look at your hallway.

“Need help.” Your voice echoes back at you, and you shiver. This ghost can mimic you just as easily as anyone else. That’s… a concerning thought.

“Help with what? I can’t know unless you tell me.” You shrug, and begin shifting off of the couch. A stinging cold bites into your stomach, but all you can do is hiss and fight through it. You feel like you need to find the source of the voice. Obviously, they need help!

“Find… objects. Friends. Need help.” The voice is an odd mix mash of your own and your sister’s, you know that, but it feels like there’s a fog in your head gently coaxing you further into your house. The lights begin to flicker, but your gaze is steadily fixated on your darkened hallway.

Cold water splashes onto your face, but you barely notice. You need to get to them. You need to help them. The doorway leading to your office is right there, and you know they’re inside. You just need to open it up.

“Don’t.” The voice commands, but it only seems to draw you deeper. Your hand makes contact with the door, but as soon as you open it, the world goes black and you feel your body collapsing.

[retropopcult]

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a 1976 song written, composed and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot to memorialize the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Lightfoot considered this song to be his finest work.

The ballad chronicles the final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald as it succumbed to a massive late-season storm and sank in Lake Superior with the loss of all 29 crewmen. Lightfoot drew inspiration from news reports he gathered in the immediate aftermath, particularly "The Cruelest Month", published in Newsweek magazine's November 24, 1975, issue. Lightfoot's passion for sailing on the Great Lakes informs his verses throughout.

The single hit number 1 in his native Canada on November 20, 1976, barely a year after the disaster. In the United States, it reached number 1 on Cashbox 's ranking and number 2 for two weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN14 SS (Satoru Yamaguchi's blog)

Series: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Story Title: The Foundation Anniversary Party ~Geordo ~ Source: Satoru Yamaguchi’s Blog Synopsis: Geordo's POV of the party in Chapter 1. Translation: maboroshi-no

The Foundation Anniversary Party ~Geordo~

Katarina: Prince Geordo, Happy 9th birthday!

With a whole-face smile, my fiancée Katarina Claes handed me a present.

It had always been the servants who told me "Happy Birthday" and gave me presents from my family, so it was the first time someone had happily handed me a present with such a whole-face smile.

I was bewildered by that strange tingling feeling I had never experienced before and could not respond immediately. In front of me, Katarina happily started speaking.

Katarina: This is a cake from that recently popular confectionary shop, and this is…

Looking at her explaining the presents that she apparently couldn't narrow down to one, I could tell she put all her thoughts into each of them.

Katarina gave me delicious recommended dishes as presents, which was very much like her who liked eating. In front of her many presents, I said…

Geordo: Thank you very much.

After I had sorted my feelings and replied this,

Katarina: Since there are a lot of them, I think you will surely find something you like.

Katarina made a fist and said this with a smile.

Then, just as she said, I found something that I apparently liked, and before long, Katarina would frequently bring it to me.

After having this very nostalgic and happy dream, I woke up.

Today, the Sorcier Foundation Anniversary Party would be held at the castle. Many visitors from inside and outside the country were scheduled to come.

Without any time to bask in that dream, I got ready and perfectly conducted myself as a member of the royal family.

There were many foreign visitors, so the greeting queue was considerably longer than usual. Even so, I put on a smile, looked sideways at my younger twin brother Alan showing a tired face, and interacted with people the same way as always.

After the long greetings ended and my family split up and moved separately, I was immediately surrounded by ladies.

The foreign visiting noble ladies were more assertive than the Sorcier ones, and they really didn't know when to give up.

I wanted to go to my fiancée quickly and was gradually getting more and more irritated even if I didn't show it in my attitude. But then, I saw coming towards me the figure I had eagerly been waiting for. 

I ignored the ladies surrounding me and immediately started walking towards her.

Geordo: Katarina

Now that I had called her, I would smoothly escort her.

Geordo: Since my fiancée has arrived, I shall end our conversation here. 

Taking advantage of the situation, I showed a fabricated smile to the ladies gathered around me.

The usual Sorcier ladies would have pulled back here, but today, there was a tenacious one.

Foreign Lady: Even if she is your fiancée, it is just a political engagement, right? In my country, it is now commonplace to love outside of political marriage and marry after finding true love.

The lady uttered this of all things and stepped forward. While I felt like snickering, I put on the usual smile and told her,

Geordo: Is that so? While there may be some political aspects, I truly love Katarina here from the bottom of my heart, so there should be no problem, right?

When I declared this, as could be expected, no one raised further objection.

Despite declaring so many times that I loved Katarina, many people to this day still uttered such foolish things. I wished those foolish people would understand a little after this statement, but this might be too much to ask of them. 

For some reason, women of this kind only believed whatever suited them. This was how they were, I guess. I could not hold the faintest interest in them.

Geordo: Well then, ladies, I will now excuse myself.

I declared this with a smile and started escorting Katarina away.

Since I had been yearning to see her, escorting Katarina like this would have normally put me in an elated mood, but that was not the case right now.

Because a scene I had seen earlier while greeting the foreign visitors crossed my mind.

At today's party, as a royal, I entered the venue separately from the other nobles and thus moved separately from Katarina.

But despite the large venue, I had an idea where Katarina could be.

Katarina loved to eat, so she was probably heading to the buffet.

When I cast my eyes there, I really spotted her figure relishing food at the buffet and I naturally let out a smile at her delighted face. 

But right after, Katarina was called out by Prince Cezar of Ethenell and I witnessed the two of them talking.

Prince Cezar of Ethenell was most likely interested in Katarina. But as always, Katarina did not notice this sort of thing at all.

I had many rivals to this day because of this charmer Katarina, but Prince Cezar of Ethenell… His composed attitude and political skills gave me the feeling that if he ever became serious, I might be no match for him. 

Just recently, because I was deceived by Jeffrey, my jealousy made me lose control and I kissed Katarina (what's more, passionately) right in front of Prince Cezar, then threatened him.

After that, I came to my senses and felt embarrassed by my mistake. I was feeling awkward during today's greetings but unlike me, Prince Cezar greeted me with no sign of anything dwelling on his mind.

His composure flustered me again.

When we arrived at a room serving as a resting room, I turned to Katarina and immediately started speaking.

Geordo: Earlier, what were you talking about with the Ethenell prince?

Katarina did not answer immediately as she seemed to be thinking of something. While it was not such a long pause, I felt impatient and…

Geordo: Katarina.

After I called her name,

Katarina: Umm, we talked a little about things like how I was feeling. Then, Prince Cezar immediately left to call Keith for me.

…She replied that.

For now, I was relieved by her answer.

Geordo: …I see. I thought he approached her again.

Because I had inadvertently muttered this,

Katarina: Could it be because you were worried about it that you looked different from usual during the greetings?

Katarina asked me this.

I was surprised. I should have been doing it perfectly like always.

Geordo: I… looked different?

Katarina: Yes. Like, you were tired, or not feeling well.

Geordo: I see… I thought I was doing it the same way as always, though.

Katarina: It's okay. The other people didn't seem to have noticed. I could only tell because I have been with you for a long time. I think it is the same with our childhood friends.

Despite what Katarina said, I had been able to put on such a good act that my family, and even my servants since childhood, could not tell when I was unwell. And yet, Katarina, only Katarina always could.

Geordo: I think only you can tell so well.

Katarina: No, that's not…

As Katarina was about to deny it, I raised my index in front of her mouth.

Geordo: Yes, it is. Whenever I am weakened, you always tell me the words I need and come to my side. It is because you are here that I can do my best. That’s why I want you to stay by my side forever, Katarina.　

After I had said this, a blush tinted Katarina's cheeks. This fact made me so happy that I felt like jumping with joy.

While she was my fiancée and I kept telling her my feelings, for some reason, the person herself would not notice them (take them seriously). After spending long years in this strange situation, my feelings had finally reached her, but… she was still barely conscious of me and there were times when she thought she did not have enough charm.

But after reaching so far, she had finally come to blush at my words like this. I felt like my long one-sided love was rewarded just a little.

And that was why I would not…No, could not be satisfied with this. I wanted to have you.

I softly extended my hand to her red-colored cheeks and approached my face.

As I set my aim on her full red lips and moved closer, Katarina seemed to hit upon a realization and put her palm on my forehead. Then,

Katarina: It's hot?! Wait, Prince Geordo, you are extremely hot. You definitely have a fever!

She said this in a loud voice.

Crap. She found out about my fever… And I thought this time for sure, I could fool her into believing it was just a little fatigue. I got careless because Katarina was too cute.

Yes. It was true that I had a fever since morning. But I had been able to do everything with willpower.

I was confident I could get through it without anyone noticing, like always.

Geordo: It is fine.

After I had said this, Katarina…

Katarina: No, this fever is not “fine” at all! You've been like this since the greetings, haven't you? You knew it and you still pushed yourself!

…She pressed me.

Anyhow, I could not deceive her anymore since she had figured so much, so…

Geordo: I was out of sorts a little while ago but I had been like this since I woke up this morning. Still, if it is only this much, I can manage without anyone noticing, so there is no problem.

I said this, but immediately after…

Katarina: There is a problem.

She said it like that. There, I too became just a little bit pissed.

Geordo: I will not cause trouble, so it is fine.

Katarina: No, it is not.

Geordo: I can properly do my work.

I prided myself on having been able to properly do my work until now, and when I asserted this, Katarina's eyebrows shot up.

Katarina: Geez, this is not about work! You're pushing yourself while you're in such a bad state and I can’t help worrying about you!

Katarina's unexpected words left me stunned and speechless.

Katarina: Now, please wait here a little, Prince Geordo. I will contact a suitable party.

Still dumbfounded, I obediently sat on the furnished sofa just as Katarina pressed me to, and then she left the room.

Now left alone, my head finally started to work.

I knew Katarina was worried about me, but after seeing it so clearly on her face and hearing her say it to me like that, I felt a somewhat tingling feeling.

"I would take care of myself by myself." Even though, I had followed this thought and led my life so no one would notice it whenever I was out of sorts… I really had completely changed because of Katarina.

While I was overwhelmed by this tingling feeling, Katarina came back, bringing Jeffrey with her.

Jeffrey: I heard the situation from Lady Katarina. Please don't overwork yourself so much. You have dependable brothers, so you can depend on us as much as you like.、

Because Jeffrey had said this with the face of an older brother, the tingling feelings swelled even more, and…

Geordo: I am not that sick.

When I shortly replied this, Katarina quickly came towards me and touched my forehead again.

Katarina: It is still hot. It is not “fine” at all. You will stop this tough act right now.

Having said this, Katarina now extended her hand to my head.

Katarina: Prince Geordo, your job is now to rest. I will not accept any objection. You must stop being unreasonable and rest properly.

While saying this, she lightly tapped my head.

Geordo: …"unreasonable"…

This was something no one had ever said to me… Somehow, her older person act made me feel complicated feelings.

Jeffrey: That’s right, you will stop being unreasonable and rest like a good boy.

Riding on Katarina's words, Jeffrey said this and grabbed my shoulders.

Jeffrey: Alright, your room is ready so let's go.

Then he dragged me along.

If it were like always, I would absolutely resist but the will to resist didn't rise in me, maybe because of my poor condition, or maybe because of that very indescribable tingling feeling swirling in my chest.

While dragged by Jeffrey, I saw Katarina watching me worriedly, so…

Geordo: Thank you very much.

…I muttered in a low voice.

Because of this complicated feeling where I was somewhat embarrassed and yet happy, I felt my already hot face getting even hotter. 

Katarina: Please have plenty of rest and get well soon!

I could hear from behind Katarina's voice saying this.

Somehow, my face became even hotter.

[lalune9x]

SCTIR Translation - Chapter 400: Sunset (4)

"Your other self said the world would be better off if Sung Hyunje disappeared. What do you think about that?" "What do you think, Han Yoojin-gun?"

Chapter translation under the cut.

Story context: Yoojin met the dungeon version of Sung Hyunje in the preceding chapters and received a prophecy from the Star-Counting Bird about Sung Hyunje's fate.

---

[1:04:55 until sunset]

Three more attacks occurred within about twenty minutes. Almost all the nearby hunters had gathered, but there was still no sign of Noah or Song Taewon. I was starting to get worried. Both of them were experienced S-rank hunters, but there were also SS-rank hunters and monsters here. Although they couldn’t leave their designated areas, making escape easier, there was still a chance that something could have gone wrong.

However, with so little time left before sunset, I couldn’t afford to go searching for them.

"Leave it to us," Yerim insisted.

"Yeah, yeah! We’re really good at running away!" Yoon Yoon chimed in. The Newbie had mentioned in a message that those with teleportation or spatial movement abilities should be fine after sunset, but still...

"Make sure you’re back before sunset. If you’re not, I’ll come looking for you."

"You, Ajussi? That’s too dangerous!" Yerim protested.

"That’s why you need to come back on time. Promise me. Don’t go too far, and stick together. Don’t hesitate to use long-range teleportation if necessary."

The only reason I could send them off was because they had the benefit of long-range teleportation. I’m counting on you, Yoon Yoon.

"I promise. You should go back to the hotel and rest, Ajussi. Make sure you eat something for dinner too," Yerim urged.

"We’ll be back, Captain Kim! Little Kim, let’s check if there are any hamburgers left."

"They’re probably cold by now," Yerim commented as she and Yoon Yoon disappeared into thin air. The two of them seemed to get along quite well. Surely the "great person" Yerim mentioned earlier wasn’t Yoon Yoon from the future, right? Although Yoon Yoon did save countless people, I couldn’t picture him advising Yerim to study hard.

In case Noah or Song Taewon showed up late, I decided to leave a note at the Gangnam Station Exit 1. Of course, it wasn’t going to be in Korean.

"Do you know how to write in French, Sung Hyunje-ssi? I think we should leave a note for Noah in French."

How many hunters out there even knew French? Just writing down the hotel name and some directions should be enough.

"As for Song Taewon, well..."

"There’s a code we use," Sung Hyunje said.

"You have a code?"

Did that mean Sung Hyunje had dragged Director Song through enough trouble that they needed one? Anyway, we left notes in places both of them could find.

"Alright, let’s head to the hotel..." I said.

But the roads were in terrible condition. The motorcycle wasn’t an option.

"Yoohyun, you carry that guy," I said.

"I have two arms," Yoohyun argued.

"I know, but it’d be inconvenient for you. There might still be some hunters lurking around."

Reluctantly, Yoohyun picked up my pre-regression self. My other self, not used to being carried, awkwardly lowered his head in embarrassment. Seeing that made me feel a twinge of self-consciousness. I had gotten way too comfortable with being carried around. Maybe I should start feeling a little embarrassed too.

Although my other self had higher stats, he didn’t have any damage-nullifying items, so Yoohyun took the lead in front of us. Even an S-rank hunter was more vulnerable to attacks from behind. It also helped that Sung Hyunje had combat foresight.

But I wondered, would Grace recognize my other self as a contractor too? It seemed to recognize Yoohyun and Sung Hyunje as the same people.

"Unfortunately, I don’t have many answers," Sung Hyunje, who was holding me, spoke as he picked up on my thoughts.

"It’s been a while since we entered the dungeon. What have you been doing in that time? Where did you end up?"

"As I assumed," Sung Hyunje said with a hint of displeasure. "It seems I was unconscious for quite a while."

"What? But why...?" I began, then stopped as a thought struck me. The dungeon version of Sung Hyunje... That version of him was likely linked to this Sung Hyunje, just like how me and my other self were strongly connected. However, unlike me, the pre-regression Sung Hyunje wasn’t in a normal state.

Bound by the chains of the Crescent Moon, possessing a power so overwhelming that even Young Chaos had been taken aback. Could the current Sung Hyunje have lost consciousness under the weight of that other self? If two identical people existed, and one was vastly stronger... could one end up absorbing or merging with the other?

"Does my partner know something?" Sung Hyunje asked.

"Well, uh… kind of."

"I saw Song Taewon’s grave.”

So, he was there. Sung Hyunje leaped gracefully over a collapsed building. Moving as if gravity didn’t apply to him, he weaved us effortlessly through the rubble.

"The guild building was a wreck, too," he remarked.

"...Did you go inside?" I asked.

"The area was sealed off, wasn’t it?" he replied, his golden eyes looking down at me. The way he looked at me made it clear he already had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

"You must’ve met me there," he said.

"You were pretty insufferable."

Sung Hyunje laughed. "Should I apologize?"

"Your hospitality was terrible, but I’ll let it slide this time."

"To make up for it, I’ll extend you an invitation. You’ll be my first guest, Han Yoojin-gun."

"At your new house? Did the move go well? Not that you had much to bring over."

Since everything had been destroyed… poor fish.

"You probably already figured it out, but this is what I wanted to tell you. All of this," I said.

"I don’t know what you mean," Sung Hyunje replied shamelessly. "As I’m still waiting."

As if he didn’t already know. But maybe this was his way of being considerate. 

I called out to Yoohyun, who was up ahead. "We’ll stop by the supermarket! You go ahead and make sure it’s safe at the hotel!"

"But, hyung..."

"Anything else you need besides ingredients for the seaweed soup?"

My other self in Yoohyun’s arms shook his head, still looking embarrassed. He kept acting like that, so now I was starting to feel embarrassed too. This situation would probably look hilarious to anyone watching.

With Yoohyun and my past self heading to the hotel first, I entered the nearest supermarket with Sung Hyunje. We smashed the locked glass door and stepped into the empty store.

"You’ve never pushed a shopping cart before, have you? Careful, you might get information overload again."

"You think I’ve never bought groceries before?"

Sung Hyunje took the shopping cart I pulled out and pushed it forward. He looked out of place yet somehow also like he was filming a commercial.

"If you’ve ever done groceries, it was probably at a department store, with a VVIP attendant pushing the cart. I can imagine that."

"This might be my first time," he admitted.

"In any world," I added.

He didn’t even have friends or a lover... I should probably be a bit nicer to him. Honestly, who wouldn’t develop a bad personality after being dragged around like that? Even a saint would have their limits.

"Seaweed soup is best with beef. I also like the kind with rice cakes. There was a lady who ran a side dish shop that made amazing beef and rice cake seaweed soup. Do you think she might be the same one who works at the Breaker Guild?"

I grabbed an umbrella to use as a walking stick and headed for the butcher section first. The lights were out, so I was worried the meat might’ve spoiled, but the chill was still seeping out from the coolers. After all, this dungeon hadn’t formed that long ago. Even without power, the fridge would stay cold for a while as long as the door hadn’t been opened.

I picked out the best Korean beef for soup, since it was all free. Maybe I should grab some for grilling too.

"Since it’s all free, even Director Song will eat it, right? Though raw beef might be pushing it."

With so many mouths to feed, all with big appetites, I loaded up the cart with top-grade beef cuts. I wondered if the gas and electricity were still working at the hotel. With Yoohyun and Sung Hyunje there, cooking it shouldn’t be a problem. I also grabbed some lettuce for wraps, garlic since Yerim likes it, mushrooms, and… is there no kimchi here? Also cola—actually no, every hotel room has drinks. While they’re usually not free, right now they would be.

I also grabbed a small bag of rice. Red bean rice would be nice, but it takes too long to soak the beans. At least seaweed soaks quickly. I picked the most expensive one and grabbed some seasonings, just in case the hotel didn’t have any.

"The seafood tank’s still working. Putting abalone in beef soup might be overkill, though. Should I grill it instead? How about a lobster? Director Song likes sashimi, right? But slicing fish for sashimi might be too hard."

"I can easily handle the sashimi."

"Seriously, is there anything you can’t do? Anyway, it’s all free!"

When else would I have the chance to feed Director Song such expensive food? I took out a fresh lobster, then another one. Yerim liked things like this too, though she preferred meat. Noah also liked sashimi, surprisingly. I grabbed some abalone, shrimp, and fish—wait, never mind the fish. I took some vinegar, soy sauce, and wasabi too.

The hotel probably had plenty of fruit for dessert. They likely had meat too, but you never knew the quality. Might as well feed them the best Korean beef while I had the chance. Do they label it properly here?

There was a sudden shout. 

"Thieves in the supermarket! Wait, Han Yoojin? Have you resorted to theft now—"

Bang! A bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing the head of a babbling hunter. Not because I missed, but because he dodged well. Guess he’s of a higher rank.

"You little—"

The hunter who had been cursing stopped in his tracks when he saw the man pushing the shopping cart. The guild leader of Sesung casually pulled a pair of kitchen scissors from a display rack and tossed it at the hunter. Thunk. Thud. Correction, must be a low-rank hunter. Even if an S-Rank throws it, those are still just kitchen scissors.

"My reputation was pretty bad," I said, rifling through the snack aisle. "As you probably guessed, I regressed to the past. I used to be thirty years old!"

"So it’s true," he mused.

"What do you mean, ‘so it’s true’? And you, Sung Hyunje-ssi, you disappeared before the regression. Claimed you were raising sheep in the Alps."

"And Song Taewon-ssi died."

"Yes. You said you saw his grave? It was something you forced into place."

"Was it because of me?" he asked.

"No idea. There must be a connection, but your other self wouldn’t tell me the details. And as for you, you were apparently just waiting for the day the Crescent Moon would take you."

"I see," he said, as if we were talking about someone else entirely. I tossed a snack bag into the cart and looked at him.

"Your other self said the world would be better off if Sung Hyunje disappeared. What do you think about that?"

"What do you think, Han Yoojin-gun?"

"Well..."

No matter who asked, my answer would always be the same. Whether it was Sung Hyunje or anyone else.

"I’m tired of losing people, and I’m not the type to give up easily. ‘Oh, I guess I can’t help it. Let’s part ways here. See you in the afterlife~?’ I don’t think I can say that."

"Even if I say I’m giving up?"

"Then I’d curse at you. What about your S-Rank dignity? Even an F-Rank is fighting hard, so who do you think you are, giving up? If you’re going to do that, hand over your rank to me. Now that I think about it, I’m getting angry. If I collapse first, then you can give up!"

If you’re living well, bragging about being high-rank, then live up to it. I can't stand to see you giving up before I do, if only because it pisses me off.

"Besides, you made me a promise. That you would stay as you are. Your pre-regression self didn’t promise me that, so whatever. But you did. Since we’ve already gotten to this point, you have to see it through with me to the end."

"I wouldn’t dare throw the first stone, out of fear of Han Yoojin-gun."

What stones—oh, does he mean Baduk? The more I looked at his relaxed smile, the more I was reminded of the Sung Hyunje in the collapsed building. I really didn’t want to see him like that again. Tangled up like he’d been caught in a spiderweb… It didn’t suit him at all.

But how could we stop the Crescent Moon? It made sense why the pre-regression Seong Hyunje had lost hope after losing Song Taewon. Was there any escape other than death?

"Was my situation really that pitiful?" Sung Hyunje asked.

"The only person who can kill Sung Hyunje is Director Song Taewon," I replied. I didn’t bring up what had been said about me. It was too vague a prophecy, and I honestly couldn’t see how I could play a part in it. "That’s why you once said you would treat him well. An older version of you from some other world."

"I am treating him well," he said.

Sure you are. We pushed the cart through the checkout without bothering to bag anything. There was too much stuff, so we just wheeled the cart out of the market. The sound of the wheels rolling was oddly cheerful.

"Stop trying to mess around with me. I’ve already been hurt enough," I said.

I gave Sung Hyunje a filtered version of what had happened before the regression.

"I was sincere, you know," he said.

"And I said I don’t need it."

"Even so, it’s not good for the two of you to stay close."

Chains clinked as they lashed out, skewering a hunter who had been sneaking up on us. I thought we’d wiped out most of them, but there were still a few trickling in. I guess it would take a while for mid-rank hunters to reach us on foot.

"Aren’t you already pushing your pre-regression self away, insisting that he’s different from you?" he continued.

"What? No, I’m not."

"It’s instinctual. If you’re the same person, you feel like your place is being threatened. There’s only room for one Han Yoojin."

Two can’t fit in the same spot. If they try, they’ll have to split that spot—either evenly or unevenly. That’s what Sung Hyunje meant.

"To protect Han Yoojin, you need to create a completely new place for one of you. Even if you can live on your own, it’s better to keep your places separate."

"…You’re not just making excuses to take me away, are you? Actually, earlier, you seemed awfully eager to take the other me with you. Are you saying one is enough for you, no matter which it is? You might end up with another business partner."

"I only have one partner," he said.

You sure talk smoothly.

"But I’ll admit, I do want to nurture him. It’s no longer possible with my current partner, so I confess I’m a little excited."

He really does have a hobby of raising people, doesn’t he? Considering Sung Hyunje’s personality, my pre-regression self would definitely spark his curiosity. It’s not every day you get the chance to nurture the same person in a completely different way. Especially someone who already rejected him. Though my other self had turned him down too.

"Oh, the lights are on at the hotel," I observed.

In the increasingly dark street, I could see the lights shining through the lobby’s glass doors. Maybe the Newbie had managed to get the power on. If the others returned safely, it looked like we could spend the night comfortably.

[goodvibes24hrs]

Headcanons I shared on twt that I’d like to share here ☺️ (from 2023 to now):

Margo’s a 3D digital artist, Miles is more traditional, & Hobie likes to tailor his own clothes. They have days where they all occupied a single room and work silently together with music/a movie in the background.

Broke: Jefferson doesn’t like Hobie cuz his laces/punk, Woke: Jefferson likes Hobie cause he reminds him of Aaron.

Jefferson knows what it’s like to live in a tough environment. Does he approve of the things Aaron & Hobie’s done? No. Does he understand it? Yes! And he’ll be damned if he lets Hobie handled it on his own now that he knows about him 😤

And if I said Rio AND Jeff ask about Hobie all the time to Miles?? And if I said they’d tell him to invite him to the rooftop cookouts hM?? And if I said Rio & Jeff were the type of parents to always including any form of family gatherings with Hobie in mind, HMM?!

If Aaron was still alive, he would have loved Hobie.

Manifests in your mind Karl throwing Hobie over his shoulders and spinning him around really fast as they laugh.

Hobie’s the type to hold up & play music from a boombox outside Miles window to serenade him at 3 am. Jefferson from his window telling him to go home, Hobie cranks the boombox louder.

CyberPunkFlower hc: Margo & Hobie both being nervous to meet Miles parents and get surprised when Rio & Jefferson hug them at the front door (Especially from Jefferson who held both of them tightly in his hug) Miles had talked so fondly about his partners to his parents. He even explained how they both helped him escape the SS. Rio & Jefferson loved them before they even walked through their door.

CyberPunkFlower thought: Margo & Hobie being overwhelmed with how opening loving & supporting Miles’ parents are to them. They’ve both had a one to one moment with Rio/Jefferson that solidified that feeling of “You’re always welcomed in our home”. Margo being quick to accept their affection/attention vs Hobie being standoffish cuz he’s not used to this kind of positive adult/parental presents. Over time & some patience he’ll be accepting/used to it.

My singing voice hc for Hobie is Bakar (listen to his song Dracula 🎤👀)

PunkFlower/Morales Family thought: Hobie, bruised/roughed up from a battle, hoppin’ in to Miles universes to relax with him only to realize: 1. He’s not home & 2. Rio’s the only one home. Cut to Rio hovering over to Hobie & being worried about his injuries. Rio tends to his wounds (even after Hobie explains his quick healing). As Rio’s wrapping him up she talks about how much her son speaks so fondly about Hobie. Tell him embarrassing stories about her boy. Fun little conversations that will come back and haunt Miles lol.

GoldenPunkFlowerByte thoughts: Pavitr trying to help Rio in the kitchen, Miles preventing Hobie from stealing bites out of the pots, Margo talking with Jefferson and playing with Billie.

Hobie’s spiderband are the type to give each other tattoos. They give each other a heart tattoo 💙🩷💜💚💛❤️

Hobie’s the type to bring flowers for Rio & Jefferson when he’s taking Miles out on a date.

GoldenPunkFlowerByte: Pavitr, despite his size, is always the big spoon (He will jump if he has to hold Miles & Hobie) My guy loves to bury his face in his partners shoulders. He loves playing with the loose strands of Margo’s hair while she’s coding.

I really like the idea of not only Miles’ family meeting Hobie but also the Morales meeting Hobie’s SpiderBand cuz that’s his family. He grew up homeless & his band means the world to him. Rio & Jefferson would love this goofy bunch of misfits.

Hobie making Rio a dimensional phone cuz she “wanted to call and check up on you & your friends, Flaquito!”

To end it off: Before anyone comes here and says “Hobie’s an adult” pleases read these =

Tho Hobie does not have a confirmed age, he's been described most times as a teenager from 16-17 year old (I see him as 16)

[pinkerthings]

the importance of mike and will simply getting each other (pt 2):

part one here !

I’ve covered the significance of Mileven simply not understanding each other, & now it’s time to talk about their counterpart !

(specifying that nothing in these posts is new or groundbreaking, I’m just covering multiple topics and gathering info in one place !)

season 1:

Episode one begins with the party playing a d&d campaign:

When Mike goes upstairs to talk to his mom, Will discovers he’d rolled a seven, meaning the monster got him in the game. Dustin and Lucas say “Did Mike see it?” to which Will shakes his head no. “Then it doesn’t count!” Lucas replies as they scramble to leave the house.

Dustin and Lucas leave and Mike stands next to Will in the garage. After a moment of quiet, Will tells Mike,

“It was a seven. The roll. It was a seven. The demogorgon, it got me.”

To which Mike responds with:

nothing.

This scene is the first scene we get with Mine and Will alone in the whole show. This scene sets up the entirety of their relationship, telling the audience right off the bat,

“Hey! These two boys are best friends, and they don’t lie to each other!”

First impressions are always important in media, and next we get El and Mike’s first scenes together.

Remember, Mike only found El because he was out with Dustin and Lucas looking for Will.

Now, Mike is sweet to El that first night and next day. But keep in mind that the only reason El spent that first night in Mike’s basement was because Mike didn’t want to get in trouble by his mom, because he had been out looking for Will, something he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

Dustin says, “I think we should tell your mom,” and Lucas agrees. Mike responds with, “Who’s crazy now?”

Lucas: “How is that crazy?”

Mike: “Because we weren’t supposed to be out tonight, remember?”

Mike makes the plan to have El sleep there for the night, then go around to the front door in the morning so Karen will know what to do with her. Mike wants her to leave in the morning so they can go back to looking for Will.

Remember, the only reason she stayed the night was so the boys didn’t get in trouble for looking for Will.

Mike keeps Eleven around 1. because “bad men” are after her, and Mike does care for her and her safety, and 2. Mike has a feeling Will is alive and El knows how to find him.

They don’t have many interactions in season 1 due to Will being in the upside down, but they reunite at the end of the season and everything is (seemingly) back to normal.

season 2:

Everyone knows season two is byler’s season ! El is living with Hopper, unbeknownst to the boys, and Mike and Will are as close as ever.

Episode 1: The party goes to Palace Arcade and plays Dig Dug. In the midst of this, Will gets a weird feeling and suddenly sees the upside down.

He walks outside slowly and sees the Mind Flayer, followed by one person and one person only: his best friend.

(can’t ss netflix but mike comes out and asks will if he’s okay)

Mike is the only one out of the other three to notice Will is gone and follow him out. He puts his arm around Will and walks him back inside to play Dig Dug.

Later on in episode one, Joyce picks Will up early from school for his appointment with Dr. Owens,

and the camera zooms into Mike and Mike only, saying,

All three boys notice something is off, but Mike is the first to say something about it.

This whole season is meant to showcase the special friendship Mike and Will have. They know each other the best and even the rest of the party knows that.

Episode 2: This episode is an important one. Max joins the party while trick-or-treating and Mike is not on board with the idea.

(sorry for the terrible grimy photos im taking these pics from another screen)

I've noticed when the party split off into groups, it's almost always Mike & Will, Dustin & Lucas, or Lucas & Max. Mike and Will are glued to each other's hip most of the time.

(these photos are so bad im cryin im sorry)

Mike is upset that Will allowed for Max to join them while trick-or-treating, and when Mike hurries ahead of Will, Will almost seems disappointed in himself for disappointing Mike, staring after him like Mike caught him committing atrocities and he feels guilty. lmao poor will, he just wants to make mike happy !

A moment later we have bullies push Will to the ground, resulting in him seeing the upside down & Mind Flayer again, calling for Mike and running to safety.

When Mike finally reaches Will, he exclaims, "Will! I couldn't find you, are you hurt?" indicating that the moment Mike turned around and didn't see Will behind him, he sensed something was off and went looking for him, just like at Palace Arcade.

While the others chase down the stairs, either cussing or verbally confused, Mike is the only one at Will's side asking him if he's okay.

He helps Will up and puts an arm around him again, just like at palace Arcade, and takes him ho--- oh, you thought I was gonna say home? To Will's house? Nope! Mike says he's going to take Will home, and takes him to the Wheeler's basement.

Ladies and gentlemen, how could I make a byler post without including the infamous crazy together scene !?

We have Mike and Will sitting on the couch in the Wheeler's basement, and Will is telling him all about these "visions" he's been having.

He begins describing,

but stops, not knowing how to finish his sentence. But no worries, Mike finishes it for him!

Will then begs Mike to keep it a secret.

Why won't the others understand? Did the other party member not already see a demogorgon? Do they not already know what the upside down is? Will just wants to have something special--a secret only he and Mike know. He knows the others would understand, but doesn't think they'd be of any help. Unlike Mike, whom he trusts completely.

anyways that's all the photos i can fit here so I will cover the rest of s2, 3, & 4 in my next post. byeeee!!!

part 3 here !

[slugcatsafari]

next cycle (2)

[kerizaret]

H...hey Keri.... Scuffles feet.... How do you draw clothes... Like what is your process for it... You art is always so intricate and smooth and I like it a lot so i figured I'd ask....

Mmmfhjj I'm notnsure if I have a process exactly, but i do always draw the body first (even if very lightly & conceptually) and then the clothes on top of it, and only then i erase the body from underneath to leave just the outfit. I need to get the proportions right and also to see where the body bends and how it's positioned to see where the clothes will fold or where they'll be pulled down

It can be kinda more seen on wips n messy doodles, but I don't post those a lot nor do i take many pics of them either so it's not that visible

You can see either just the body with little elements of clothes for later reference what outfit they have, or you can see the body lineart from under the clothes lineart where it hasn't been erased yet

The whole cloth folds thing is a bit of a "random bullshit go",,, I think I mostly focus on the ends of the sleeves, thr elbow area & the chest when it comes to shirts, and where the legs meet, knees & the very bottom for pants. So the points where the material folds (bc of a bent hand for example), falls down (on the chest & at the bottom of thr material / piece of clothing)

I do try to think about the material too. Is it heavy or light, does it flow down or is it a puffier element? Does it stick to the body or is it loose? All this will produce a little different result. For example here's some of what at least i call a "puffier" sleeve (img 1 emu, img 2 rui) which I make more rounded where it gets "gathered" back up at the end, while a normal sleeve just falls down Naturally (I mean mb they are not the best examples out of my art butbwhateverr as long ss u get The Point /silly)

Other than that just remember to not overdo it with the folds. I do have a more simplistic style so I only focus on the most important ones I think, but still its better less than too many

Also, well, I generally either draw some super random casual clothes (or look up an outfit online), or the outfits the characters have on some cards, official art etc, so it's also looking at the reference / how it looks in the game on the model and all that. Also helps out

That's it really,,, you do always add on your own artstyle spins and it doesn't have to he super extra amazingly accurate,, at some point you just go with whatever feels right at the moment

Hope it helped somehow at least!

[jokertrap-ran]

[Kuroshitsuji Collab] 6★ William T. Spears (MOON) Translation 最終話 生活リズムは乱れなく Final Chapter: Circadian Rhythm, Unaffected

"Whilst unable to find any clues for a way to return home…"

CV: 杉山 紀彰 (Sugiyama Noriaki)

*Yume100 Masterlist *Requested by A. Carina Spears~ *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Name will remain as my normal ( ラン )

Moon Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Final Chapter / Secret Story Normal / Sun + SS

The light of the setting sun paints the brick-paved streets of the city with a tastefully orange hue.

Our inquiries had borne no fruit. Hence, we were now walking the streets in an effort to find a new way to search for clues to return William home.

Man on the Street 1: Oh, hey! If it isn't the reaper guy!

The two men we passed by stopped to strike up a conversation with William.

Man on the Street 2: Did you manage to find any leads on how to get back to your original world?

William: No, not yet. Please do inform me if you have any information whatsoever. It will be of great help.

William: I have to hurry back, for there is a long list of souls waiting to be collected.

Man on the Street 1: Oooh, what funny jokes you tell!

The man roared with laughter, smacking William on the back in jest.

(He seems to have gained popularity while I was away…)

A small chuckle left my lips as I watched him quickly straighten out his slightly rumpled suit.

He instantly glared in my direction.

Ran: I'm glad to see that the investigation's progressing!

I tried to laugh it off, but that didn't seem to help his mood as he still looked as displeased as ever…

William: What little information we've managed to obtain pertains to this country's population, climate, terrain, water quality, the statistics of ore mined…

William: The number of tailors and optical stores, the local gathering place for strays, and… the easy-going personality of the locals here. That about sums it all up.

(Personally, I think that finding out all of that information in such a short time is quite an amazing feat…)

However, the lenses of William’s glasses glinted like the sharp edge of a blade as if contravening my thoughts.

William: That being said, none of the above can be considered as a step in the right direction. Understand?

I hurriedly straightened up in response.

Ran: Yes! I’ve also requested an audience with the king in hopes of broadening the scope of our search.

William fixed me with an appraising look.

Ran: We will surely be able to cover more ground if we manage to enlist the king;’s aid.

William: …Very well.

Although he still looked as stoic as ever, I could tell that the revelation left him slightly stunned.

I smiled, happy that we were still partners.

━━━━━━━∘◦ ✰ ◦∘━━━━━━━  

That night…

The King’s messenger had approached me, informing me that we’d been granted an audience with the King.

(Looks like the king wanted us to know about this as soon as possible…)

Overjoyed to finally be of help to William, I quickly dashed off to inform him.

Ran: William-san?

Knocking on his door, a moment of silence followed before a muffled voice sounded from the other side of the door.

William: …Come in.

I slowly opened the door. And then…

━━━━━━━∘◦ ✰ ◦∘━━━━━━━  

(Wha-?)

William: What brings you here at this hour of the night?

William was already lying in bed.

He had changed into a clean set of pajamas and his hair was no longer styled back. He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, and for some reason, it made my heart race.

Ran: S-Sorry! I didn't know that you were about to turn in for the day.

I quickly turned away, ready to close the door, but William continued speaking as if merely striking up a conversation.

William: Reapers require sleep. Were I to be disturbed, it would no doubt affect my work performance tomorrow.

Ran: Sorry… I just wanted to let you know that our request for an audience with the king got approved as soon as I could.

William: I see. Though, you could have just told me about this tomorrow.

Ran: Right…

I shrunk back at his admonishment.

William: It’s important to get off work on time and get the appropriate amount of sleep required to ensure maximum work efficiency.

William: This is a principle that I strictly adhere to, and under no cost will it be broken.

Ran: I… see?

William: You should get some rest as well. It would be an issue if you were to turn up late again.

I instantly straightened up. His words had hit a sore spot.

Still…

Ran: I won’t be late again, promise!

My answer rang loud and clear — a promise to him, and an oath to myself.

William: But of course. I look forward to working with you, partner.

Ran: …!

━━━━━━━∘◦ ✰ ◦∘━━━━━━━  

Having said so, he closed his eyes.

Ran: …Good night.

I bid him a quiet good night before closing the door behind me on the way out.

(He called me his partner…)

His words warmed my heart.

(I’ll give it my best tomorrow too!)

For some reason, this dreary-looking corridor now looked akin to a bright path to tomorrow despite how dimly-lit it was…

The END

[jinhua-shu]

OVERTHINKING, Scaramouche/Wanderer x GN!Reader

PART 1: OVERTHINKING

PART 2: HIS POINT OF VIEW

PART 3: HELPLESS

PART 4: THE AFTER-EFFECT

PART 5: I LOVE YOU DUMMY

It’ll all go down hill if the other party decides that he is not interested in pursuing something further with you. it will all lead to something sad. like you for example, aren’t you overthinking, assuming, being overly anxious of what has happened between the connection with the person whom you’re talking to? Let’s all calmly and sadly face the truth, that not everyone wants to be with us and etc. because, no one bothers to stay even when we’re at our lowest, there would always be that one person whom will just glance and look away at you.  there would always be that one person who will simply, just stop to see what’s happening and walk away. there would be someone who will not care less of what you’re feeling, and simply intentionally ignore you. Leading to whatever feeling you’re feeling.

*  *

It has all begun, when you had enough courage to talk to your crush to show him that you’re interested in him, only for it to backfire.

Scara isn’t really a person who you can keep conversations with, he’d simply brush you away or ignore you, but suddenly he started replying to your messages.

which gave you a bit of hope. but you had also hoped that you did not fall for that stupid shit. Being in the same Group Chats as him made you delusional, whenever he chats you’re there swooning at his cold replies towards your group of friends.

you’d hit the reply button the instant he texts something in the GC, only to be ignored completely, which made you even more determined to gather his attention.

you’ll always go and complain to your friends on why you’re such a cupioromantic or why you’re such a hopeless romantic, in which made them become fed up with your delusions.

“ He has only seen my message! is he that speechless? “ ‘ Yeah, girl he is. ‘ ‘ No doubt he’s trying to think of ways to confess ‘

‘ He’s ignoring you for being a nuisance. ‘ “ ... “ that’s how everyday conversations with your friends go. two are feeding you DELULU and one is fed up and wants you to focus on yourself.

* *

Scara is seen walking down the halls cellular phone on hand, he seems to not be paying attention to where he’s going, ending up him stumbling backwards because he just bumped onto you.

grumpily regaining his footing he glared at the person.

“ Watch where you’re going. “ he spat out continuing to scroll down through his phone, you stood still trying to comprehend the fact that he just talked to you.. before squealing. Scara looked back at you in confusion and waved it off, walking fast paced towards the exit, Scara hummed to himself continuing scrolling through his phone, before stopping at the message notification, he grumbled. it’s you again, that one annoying pest that doesn’t even know how to get the hint. he sighed as he started typing a response, he seems to have an idea in mind.

completely getting carried away, he found that talking to you is quite refreshing. he found solace in your company. he would never admit it but he seemed to have quite a huge interest on you. 

2 weeks has passed, and you’re feeling over the clouds, who would never know? that the SCARAMOUCHE has been talking to you for 2 WEEKS! amazing!

you giggled as you sat on your bed, hugging a penguin plush tightly before sending scara a screenshot of a lyric from a song.

[ Maghihintay ako Hanggang mapasayo ]

[ (translation) I will wait until I’m yours ]

scaramouche scoffs as he simply reacted at the ss you sent and typed a response

“ I need some time to think. “ and sent it to you. you smiled as you stare at his response for more than 2 minutes before sending another message. 

“ Take your time “ 

you smiled happily without knowing the confusion and discomfort that will settle down in your heart the next day.

-------

( Y/N POV )

I woke up feeling giddy, I sat down on my couch as i opened messenger, to check whether he has replied nor seen it.. turns out he hasn’t read it so I spent all of my time, distracting myself by doing my homework and watching movies on Netflix.

bored. i opened my phone to see him online, i checked the conversation whether he has seen it, i shrugged as i find out he still hasn’t read my message.

couple of hours has passed. i am now staring at his icon with a green dot, below his profile. he’s online and he won’t reply? is he that busy?

i gnawed on my nails as i laid down on my bed. i shouldn’t worry too much, he must be doing something and left the tab open.

i sleepily closed my eyes as i fell into a deep slumber. It is the start. of my feelings downfall.

----

waking up completely out of void, feeling like something bad is happening or coming, i sighed as I checked once more, before becoming disappointed. Feeling empty and confused, i am left with my over bearing thoughts that is eating me alive. ‘ Why did he show that he’s interested in me? ‘, ‘ why did he show that he cares for me..? why? only to leave me in the dust. ‘ i shook those thoughts away as i calmed myself down. ‘It’s going to be fine, it has only been 2 days since then, it won’t impact you that much.’ oh how i was completely wrong.

i stayed in my room wondering what could’ve happened if I didn’t fully show him my feelings towards him, if i didn’t really let him know of what i was feeling. 

a bunch of “what if’s” a bunch of “Why’s” but never “ I shouldn’t have. “ 

i sobbed on my pillow feeling distressed, the gnawing pain that’s on my heart, the confusion that’s lingering on my brain. the exasperated breathing that i am doing to inhale oxygen. 

He must be talking to his friends. He must be having fun or playing.. but in all honesty, why should I care, why should i have to endure all of this emotions, all of these feelings, when he’s not even mine.

i shouldn’t have messaged him, i should’ve just admired him from afar and let time make me move on slowly.

why does it have to hurt this bad? you’re not even mine..

why do i have to overthink?.. when you’re not even mine.

[hae-yeon]

533.U.S.-bound (2)

미국 갑니다 (2)

While waiting for our departure at the airport, I perused the news articles that had come out on Chatterbox. After the initial appearance he’d made for the first broadcast, Chatterbox had been conspicuously absent, only sending out the Prophets who acted as his delegates. It had succeeded in drawing immense curiosity from the public regarding the mastermind himself, as a matter of course. Among several circulating theories, the one that had proved to be most popular centered around a certain influential French figure.

‘They’re calling him the ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ huh.’

Though he’d never showcased any singing, of course. But the Ghost in the novel I’d looked up did seem to share a fair amount of similarities with Chatterbox, when it came down to it. After all–little did the people who had come up with the comparison know, but that Chatterbox bastard was also embarking on this insane crusade of his due to an one-sided obsession, too.

‘‘The Youngest, Incomplete Maze(1),’ was it.’

It was an insidious-sounding Title that conjured a penchant for constructing underground labyrinths. To help put things into perspective, I supposed that I would likely be Raoul in this scenario–with the mad Phantom bent on forcing Raoul into becoming a proxy for his dead Christine, it seemed. A bit abhorrent, no. Had it been someone else’s problem, I might have been able to marvel ‘woah, how melodramatic,’ as I indulged in some popcorn but–well, the cross was mine to bear, unfortunately.

In any case, there was a lot of speculation about how ‘Chatterbox was filthy rich, and dangling all of the SS-rank weapons and Items he’d amassed over time as bait, to gather all of the S-rank Hunters from the world over.’ It was common enough practice for wealthy individuals to buyup  high-rank Items, despite being un-Awakened themselves, after all. The purpose varied; sometimes it was viewed as an investment, or the acquisition of a showcase piece, or–since Items would still work for un-Awakened as well–a means of self-protection. 

This was especially true in the U.S., where enough high-profile celebrities had gone down that route for it to have even resulted in official government sanctions. Not that such measures had been effective, anyway. I wasn’t too informed on the details, but  involvement of weapons dealers in Item trades had apparently rendered it a more volatile situation than they could feasibly handle. And then the mafia, terrorist groups, and et cetera, as well as other armed factions had made an entrance……. Ah, plus, Big Oil. Since it was ludicrous to think that they’d simply sit still, when magic stones started to become an alternative energy source to oil, naturally.

In short, it was a clusterfuck.

“Are there really a lot of organizations that hate S-rank Hunters in the United States, sir?”

Yermie asked, bringing over a plate laden with food.

“There are very few people like that in Korea, after all, sir. And particularly not to the point of organizing.”

“It’s not just the U.S., but that general region. All the way to the Middle East, basically. There’s even a joke about how ‘when a Hunter dies, you know that it’s OPEC that killed him.’”

One fine day, A-rank Hunter Thomas-ssi was discovered dead. The police identified Thomas-ssi’s teammates, his lover, his neighbor, and his favorite Item as being the most likely suspects. Who, then, was the culprit? The answer: the OPEC, from overseas.

“‘The OPEC,’ sir?”

“The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The entity that despises Hunters and Dungeons the most in the world, you could say.”

“Ah, oil!”

Yerimie nodded emphatically, apparently enlightened. On the flip side, Gyeolie quizzically tilted his head from his perch on my shoulder. He may have been well-learned for having been born not too long ago, but he was still behind when it came to basic knowledge like this, after all.

“Not to mention their disdain for the American shale industry, too. If Hunters and Dungeons disappeared overnight, causing the supply of magic stones to dry up, that lot would probably throw a party that would stretch on for a hundred days.”

Of course, there were still many things that still utilized petroleum. Just because a new energy source had popped up in the form of magic stones, didn’t mean that all of the cars and assorted machinery in the world could be switched over to run on them instead in short order. And it had various uses aside from simply being used as fuel, too. But if things continued on in the same trajectory, once magic stones became a commonplace alternative, the collapse of the oil industry seemed to be a foregone conclusion. The presence of petroleum might remain ubiquitous, but the biggest factor for its export was for its function as fuel, after all. 

“Because Korea doesn’t have a native source of fossil fuels, things were relatively peaceful for us. Making the switch over to magic stones as a primary energy source has been going fairly smoothly, too. But the Hunters in other regions have had to wage battles with conglomerates. And while Awakened might be a formidable force, the ones they’re running up against are well-established entities that have already amassed a hoard of wealth and power.”

No matter how powerful a Hunter might be, they were all ultimately members of a society, in the end. Unless they were prepared to live out the rest of their lives in complete isolation, it was inevitable that they would be beholden to the machinations of society. Moreover, organizations such as ‘Guilds’ or other unifying groups hadn’t even existed at the start.

“They had a finger in everything–beginning from politics and the press, they’d also poured a staggering amount of money into infiltrating religious, medical, and environmental organizations as well, just to name a few. And once the Dungeons appeared, even before everything with magic stones had come to pass, they’d invested a fair bit into establishing a foothold into the Hunter world as well, due to the calamitous situations that were unfolding–and that influence still remains to this day.”

“How peculiar, sir. After all, it isn’t as though money and such would matter, if the situation with Dungeons really blew up.”

“With the Dungeons being an immovable factor, rather than endeavor to get rid of Hunters altogether, they likely intended to bring them to heel while they could, and possibly monopolize the distribution of magic stones too, while they were at it. Though being rid of Dungeons and Hunters both would’ve been the most appealing outcome for them, when it was all said and done.”

“But aren’t magic stones supposed to be more environmentally friendly too, sir. Did all of those environmental protection agencies still bend the knee to them, even then?”

“There was an incredible amount of misleading reports released back then about how the energy byproducts generated by magic stones had harmful effects, I’m pretty sure? Though I’m admittedly murky on the details.”

“It even swayed Korea for a bit too, earlier on. But we moved past it quickly enough.”

Yoohyunie commented, setting down a plateful of fruits on the table in front of me.

“Meanwhile, overseas, there were various testimonials coming from individuals claiming they’d been afflicted by an illness due to the use of magic stones. And Hunter Guilds were inundated by assorted lawsuits as well. In Korea, Hunters weren’t assigned responsibility for the collateral damage incurred while hunting monsters spawned from a Dungeon break, but that wasn’t the case for the U.S.”

Yoohyunie explained that there had been early Hunter Guilds that were forced to close down over that sort of litigation. What in the world. They would even entice ordinary, well-intentioned citizens into ‘taking advantage of their rights’ with the promise of legal aid, allowing them to simultaneously boost their own public image. ‘Two birds with one stone,’ huh. 

“Maybe I’ll just stay put, sir, and give up sightseeing or whatever.”

Yerimie mumbled, a slightly dejected look coming over her face.

 “If I happen to break a building or suchlike on accident, it’d probably result in a ten billion won plus lawsuit, huh, sir?”

“It’d probably be closer to a hundred billion won, if it’s something in New York. There are buildings valued at approximately the same amount in Seoul too, right. Then, if you consider the associated compensation costs for damages suits… It might even come out to be in the ballpark of a trillion won or so. But you shouldn’t go around breaking buildings no matter the country, to begin with.”

“Apparently it's a far trickier matter overseas, sir. Team Leader Kim-nim kept pleading with me to please make sure that I avoid being caught at all costs, if I do happen to cause a spot of trouble while I’m in the U.S.”

Since in Korea, S-rank Hunters typically tended to get a pass on most things, but that wasn’t the case in other countries. And they’d be far more opposed to letting a foreign Hunter off the hook, at that. If anything, it’d probably be closer to dropping a lump of fresh meat in front of a pack of starving wolves. From that standpoint, Sung Hyunjae sure had been incredibly cocky, going around causing incident after incident the way he had.

“Though we engaged in subterfuge in the case of China, since we’re going to the U.S. on official invitation, we’ll have to be particularly mindful.”

Regardless of Dungeons and Awakened becoming new players, the world remained a place driven by capitalism, first and foremost. The reason high-ranked Hunters had gained such prominence was because magic stones and Items could be turned into money and profit, after all.

“Well, I suppose I’m the one that needs to be exercising the most amount of caution, though.”

For a number of reasons. It would’ve been nice to have things be a bit more simplified, where all I had to worry about was Chatterbox and those Filiality Addicts, and that was that. But in reality, things like ‘my side’ and ‘your side’ weren’t so cleanly defined. 

- Don’t worry too much, appa.

Gyeolie piped up, having slipped down to the table to fidget with a tangerine.

- Gyeolie has a great idea for how to take care of things if people try to blame appa, and say that appa did something bad, for some reason.

“Appa’s okay, y’know.”

There wasn’t much a young child like him could do, in any case. But the fairy dragon’s eyes gleamed with a determined light.

- It’s an absolutely fool-proof plan.

“Gyeol-ah, children shouldn’t–”

“Hear him out, at least.”

Yoohyunie said, cutting in. Yerimie was wearing an intrigued expression as well. 탁, assertively slapping a forepaw down on the tangerine, Gyeolie continued with his speech.

- Scandals are best covered up by an even bigger scandal!

…should I have given him a cellphone without internet surfing capabilities, after all.

- All Gyeolie would need to do is give an interview, as a little human kid. He’ll tell them that the Seseung Guild Leader heartlessly abandoned his mommy, and pretended that his bastard kid didn’t exist. That’s sure to kick up a huge hubbub, and then they’ll completely forget about appa’s stuff!”

…had this kid been watching soap operas.

“Gyeol-ah, you–if you keep watching strange content, I’m going to have to confiscate your cellphone.”

- Hnnnnghh.

Gyeolie shook his head furiously. His ears flip-flapped with the motion.

“Besides, they’d find out you were lying about being related to him once they ran a genetics test on you. And the results would probably show up that you’re not human, too.”

- We can forge the results!

“That’s it–no cellphone, young man.”

- Appaaa!

“A parent choosing to shun their biological offspring should hardly merit such significant outrage regardless, I’d assume.”

Yoohyunie spoke up levelly.

“That sort of thing is commonplace, isn’t it.”

“No, it isn’t. Of course, it tends to get glossed over quickly enough when the people involved aren’t very well-known, but…….”

I turned to look at my dongsaeng, a pang shooting through my heart. The expression on Yoohyunie’s face was one of complete indifference.

“...it’s only proper that parents should look after their children. They were in the wrong, our parents. Yoohyun-ah, I. I just needed to pretend as though everything was fine, back then.”

I may have been young, but I’d been dimly aware, still. That if the state of our family wasn’t ‘acceptable,’ then–that both I, and particularly my dongsaeng, would end up being abandoned.

“I had to act as if everything was normal. Because being an ‘ordinary, well-adjusted family’ was the only way to have things stay the same. If mom and dad hadn’t been able to endure it any more and gave up, and separated–it would’ve meant that we’d end up being separated, too.”

That had been my biggest fear. After all–such an outcome might have resulted in Yoohyunie becoming abandoned outright. Because neither side would’ve been willing to take him on. And it was likely that I would have been rejected by my mother and father too, as a consequence. Since my existence would’ve been a constant reminder of how they’d chosen to desert their secondborn.

Therefore, it had been paramount that I maintain the pretense of everything being alright, of being peaceful. I’d tried to convince myself it was true, too. And everyone else had thought us to be a ‘normal’ family as well, all told. It wasn’t as though we’d argued or been physically abused, and we’d had our basic needs met, when it came down to it.

“Hyung. I really was okay, back then.”

Gazing at me, Yoohyunie spoke calmly.

“Even if those circumstances had been ‘strange’ or ‘unnatural,’ I wasn’t affected by such things. So, what I’m trying to say is… At minimum, hyung created as ideal a family setting for me as possible. For hyung, it may have amounted to an inescapable situation, but as far as I was concerned, I really did feel fine, and even happy.”

“...yeah.”

Stretching out a hand, I stroked my dongsaeng’s head. Belatedly, Yoohyunie tacked on that ‘I know it was difficult for hyung, though,’ placatory.

“Mhn. But more than that, it makes me glad to hear that you were fine.”

Truly, from the bottom of my heart. It had been impossible to avoid gossip around our home situation, pre-Regression. That it was because I’d done such a terrible job of looking after my dongsaeng, that he had chosen to shun me as he had; I’d heard enough of those kinds of words to make my ears ache. Since I’d been young back then too, of course I’d been lacking. Even if I’d tried my best–and that kind of guilt still remained embedded in my heart. 

And so, my dongsaeng’s words acted as a soothing balm.

“...I know it’s rude to speak badly about another person’s family, sir–but your parents were most definitely in the wrong, mister. Even if Han Yoohyun isn’t anything like a human, he was still a kid back then.”

“They were just ordinary people, after all. So I can understand why, at least.”

“Just because you can understand their reasoning, sir, doesn’t make their wrongs any less wrong.”

That… was true. At the very least, it wasn’t something I should have had to shoulder the burden for. And Yoohyunie hadn’t asked to be born the way he’d been, either.

“In any case–we’re doing well enough now, aren’t we, sir. Not that we’re a ‘normal’ family still, but… no. As long as we’re getting by well together, that’s ‘ordinary’ enough anyway, isn’t that right, sir. It’s no-one’s business but ours.”

“You’re right–what we have is plenty enough.”

Who was to say that a family had to comprise a parent-offspring configuration in order to be considered a ‘proper’ family, after all. As long as the ones living together were pleased with the arrangement, wasn’t that what mattered. Even if other onlookers were to view it as being strange, so what–on what basis were they deeming it to be ‘strange,’ anyway. If you weren’t causing others any harm and were happy together, that should be sufficient grounds to consider it ‘acceptable,’ no.

“We’re still family, whether or not some of us are completely different species altogether.”

- Mhn, appa!

And from my lap, Peace purred loudly, as though he’d understood what I’d said, too. A smile on my face, I held a hand out towards Gyeolie.

“Cellphone.”

- Hnnnhng.

“But hyung–I don’t think what he’s proposed is such a bad plan. We’ll say that he abandoned his child, and covered up the fact that he’d murdered his wife by arranging it to look like an accident. The genetic testing results showing that he’s not a human might actually work out in our favor, too. It can be explained as a result of the experimentation Seseung’s done on him.”

“...hey, are you planning on sending the Seseung Guild Leader to prison.”

It would ensure that any of my own grievances would be buried, true, but Sung Hyunjae would be buried alongside them as well. Of course, I expected that the bastard would manage to dig his way out of it well enough in the end, but it’d definitely weigh too heavily on my conscience for it to be a feasible option.

“Besides, even before the Seseung Guild Leader, it’d end up harming Gyeolie first and foremost. That’s absolutely not allowed. And the same goes for you two, too. Mark my words–if any of you put yourself at risk to try and protect me, I’ll go out on an even bigger limb in response. Just you watch.”

“That’s a bit frightening, sir.”

“...I won’t, hyung.”

- …Gyeolie will be good, too.

All three of them shook their heads furiously in unison. No matter the sort of problem they might stir up, I was confident that I could still manage to outdo all them. 

“It has been relayed that Breaker Guild’s private aircraft should be landing in New York in three hours’ time.”

As we conducted a last round of surveyance on American Hunters while polishing off some tea snacks, Song Taewon entered the room.

“It’s really quite a flight, huh, sir. Considering that Noah-ssi left last night.”

Noah was affiliated with Dodam Rearing Facility, but had left to travel with his teammate Moon Hyuna in this instance. The Hunters who had embarked on Breaker Guild’s private plane the day prior included Moon Hyuna and Noah, Liette, and Kang Soyoung. Soyoung-ssi was one of Seseung’s Hunters, too, but had joined that party because of Liette’s S-rank status. And in order to establish a long-distance Gate, Yoon-Yoon had accompanied them as well. 

“Apparently, it takes over ten hours to reach America by plane, sir.”

It was no joke, huh. But at least an airplane would get you there within a day; had we been going by boat, we probably would’ve ended up having to celebrate Yoohyunie’s birthday while still at sea. I wondered how long it would take a ship. A month, maybe?

“Mister Government Official, sir–you’re good at English, right?”

Yerimie prodded, staring expectantly at Song Taewon with glittering eyes. Shishio may have given her a translation Item, but it wouldn’t work on transcription, after all. 

“...my reading speed is rather slow, miss.”

“But you can still read it just fine, sir! And since you’re a government official, you’re well-versed on laws and stuff, right, sir? I could definitely count on you, right, sir?”

“.......”

A panic-stricken expression crossed Section Chief Song-nim’s face. He seemed to be at a loss for how to respond. Yerimie was a completely different type from Sung Hyunjae, after all. And even though she was an S-rank, she was still young, too. Do your best, Section Chief Song-nim.

“...as it may end up being a matter of national concern, please take care to conduct yourself in a cautious, orderly manner, miss.”

“Yessir! But would it be alright for me to pop by Hollywood, maybe? Just for a teensy bit, if I flew.”

“It takes upwards of five hours to reach Los Angeles from New York by aircraft, miss.”

“...wow.”

Yerimie’s jaw dropped. I was a bit surprised to hear the number, too. I’d known that the U.S. was incredibly vast, but it was still a single nation when it came down to it, right. But that sort of distance was equivalent to several-fold the distance between Korea and Japan, wasn’t it.

As the time for takeoff drew close, Sung Hyunjae and Evelyn arrived with minutes to spare, and we all boarded the plane that would that would be taking us to the U.S.

- - - - -

(1) 끊어진 미로의 막내 → ‘broken/fragmented/incomplete/marooned’ + ‘maze/labyrinth’ + 의 + ‘maknae’

when yoojin says 'our parents,' there's no 'our' in kr, it's just '(the) parents'

+(Q&A)

Q) if han yoojin’s kids who were born from magic stones underwent genetic testing enabled by modern science&technology, would the results show yoojinie as a biological relative? A) as the species are different, straightforward genetic testing results would be difficult to obtain ^^ as han yoojin’s blood is mixed in, if you were able to separate only the human portion out and test that, then they would in fact appear as his children. for han seol’s case, the results would indicate that he takes after han yoohyun as well. yet, as the human portion is a mere fraction of the whole, at present, it would take very careful and thorough testing to show a distant relation between [han yoojin and the children].

+(Q&A)

Q) what were some of the things that you thought were important, when writing an entity that’s far from being human? A) (about han yoohyun) only, as han yoohyun isn’t ‘a lifeform concerned about continued survival(self-preservation),’ he’s an outlier even among the non-human entities ^^ in polar opposite to the ones mentioned above, his natural disposition is to completely disregard the surrounding environment. the sole exception for that flame was han yoojin, and accordingly, han yoohyun only experiences change through han yoojin. no other environmental factors or beings are capable of influencing him.

+(Q&A)

Q) then, did the parents take care of yoohyunie too, instead of ostracizing him? or did they only provide yoojinie with food to eat and clothes to wear, and it was yoojinie who made sure that yoohyunie got to eat and was properly dressed? A) they didn’t go out of their way to prepare meals for him or the like, but made sure there was plenty of food available^^ because han yoojin was too young back then to take care of himself, much less his dongsaeng, if the parents had completely forsaken them, it would have been difficult for either of them to survive. the brothers’ parents didn’t harbor ill intent towards their children. to be precise, they simply wished to divorce themselves from any meaningful connection with the two. as their desire to avoid reality was so great, rather than attempt to either abandon or kill han yoohyun, they opted to maintain the status quo instead. with rice left in the rice cooker and side dishes stockpiled high in the refrigerator, the parents would either stay out of the house or go about their life as though the brothers didn’t exist. because it would draw scrutiny if they wore misfitting clothes, han yoojin was bought clothes of an appropriate size and han yoohyun would typically wear his hand-me-downs. starting from the time han yoojin was in middle school, rather than having his things bought for him, he was instead given a generous allowance that would allow him to acquire necessities such as clothes, shoes, school supplies, etc.; han yoojin used that money to buy his dongsaeng clothes as well. as the parents had been unsparing with money spent on clothes when han yoojin was younger, until about seven or so, there was no issue with han yoohyun only receiving his hand-me-downs. if only to assuage their feelings of guilt, they made sure to take good care of their basic necessities, and han yoojin would console himself through rationales such as ‘mom and dad love each other too much, and that’s why there’s no room left for me and yoohyunie’

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: Epilogue - 1

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: HiMERU, Tatsumi

Proofreading: Remi (JP) & honeyspades (ENG)

Translation: Peace

HiMERU: (I believed every one without question, priding myself in having such a wonderful little brother — in Kaname — without a second thought.)

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Time: Present day.

Location: On the stage for the filming of COMP's promotional video performance

HiMERU: ( — My warning came too late.)

(We vastly underestimated the resentment of the Non-Special Students, who had been persecuted at the time.)

HiMERU: (I wish I could rationalize why, say that I wasn't able to read the air as well as I should've been able to due to being unable to do much from my base abroad...)

(But if I had truly wished to protect my brother, protect Kaname, then I would have been there for him.)

(He is my family — I should have dropped everything to be at his side. Sooner, before everything came to an end.)

(I will always regret not doing so.)

HiMERU: (I believed every word of my brother's reports, even though we hadn't interacted before then.)

(I vainly assumed that, because he was my brother, that he would be just as brilliant as myself.)

(However, Kaname was the opposite. Every step was a misstep and, not wanting to be scolded, he covered each one well.)

(Everything he said to me was nonsense, merely dressed up to appear otherwise.)

HiMERU: ("This job was a huge success!" "I'm flawless, without parallel." "Nothing's wrong." — He'd repeat these claims over and over again, but every one was a lie.)

(A lie a desperate child might make so that his guardian wouldn't abandon him.)

(I couldn't see through those lies. I believed every one without question, priding myself in having such a wonderful little brother — in Kaname — without a second thought.)

(I will always regret not doing so.)

(I was an idiot.)

Tatsumi: In thinking over the memories we're to speak on for COMP once more—

There's hardly anything we can record, isn't there?

HiMERU: You knew that from the start, Tatsumi.

An unbelievably cruel social disparity. Rampant discrimination, bullying rife with violence — a thriving cult-like group who called the catacombs home.

And at the end of everything, a riotous fight broke out.

There is not a single thing in those memories we could boast about to society. No, not a single person would want to enroll in Reimei Academy if they heard of it.

Tatsumi: There were happy, fun moments as well, as few as they were.

Certainly, those days were my youth.

HiMERU: Prettying it up with cathartic words like "youth" won't change the fact it was Hell.

Additionally, that incident that ended your youth — it absolutely can't be publicized.

It has already been dismissed as a simple scandal, a story long forgotten.

There is no one who'd like to dig it up now.

Tatsumi: You know, I always wondered about what happened at the end. I still don't quite understand it to this day.

— "Do you remember that Akehoshi?"

The day that HiMERU-san and I formed our unit, a video with that mysterious line began to play in the auditorium.

HiMERU: It reminds HiMERU of the past SS. No, perhaps they used that video once more as it proved successful in destroying your rebellion.

Even in death, “that Akehoshi” keeps on causing problems for the industry. No wonder he’s a taboo subject.

Tatsumi: You mustn't speak ill of the dead. There are no religious connections to that, it's simply human decency.

Tatsumi: In any case, once that video began to play, the Non-Special Students who had gathered climbed the stage in a frenzy.

Then, before we could stop them, they cursed HiMERU-san and began to assault him.

The teachers turned a blind eye. The Special Students, who were obliged to HiMERU-san and held him high as their representative, didn't help him either.

I thought such violence was wrong, and I went to stop them—

But I failed, and before I knew it they had struck me off the stage.

HiMERU: Mm. And the Special Students, who had thought you such an eyesore, took advantage of the situation and assaulted you as well.

It truly was a nightmare. A scene straight out of Hell.

Tatsumi: Yes. Naturally, I don’t like to recall what happened back then.

You and I were hospitalized, seemingly without any hope of recovery... It's a miracle we are able to stand here as we do today.

You especially, HiMERU-san, as I got off quite lightly compared to you.

HiMERU: Hmph. HiMERU is resilient, that's all.

HiMERU: (What a joke. Truthfully, the damage that was done to Kaname cannot be undone — he's still in the hospital to this day.)

(He remains in a near-comatose state, waking only to scream incoherently.)

HiMERU: (My little brother was destroyed, torn to shreds by hatred and brute force.)

(Trampled by idiots, he's still suffering in agony at rock bottom.)

(Even though he hadn't done anything wrong.)

[ ☆ ]

✦✦✦✦✦

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[twilightmalachite]

VS★PRINCESS - Battle Royale 1

Characters: Mao, Subaru

Translator: Mika Enstars

JP Proofreader: 310mc

EN Proofreader: Asia Blossoms

"I know about audition programs~! I’ve never been on one, but I’ve seen those sorts of shows, you know!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Dome Pathway

The next day. On a road near the 4piece venue…

Mao: Ohh, I can see it!

Or well, more like it’s the thing we’ve been looking at for a while now.

The venue’s ridiculously huge, isn’t it? The biggest one we’ve ever been to was the one for the SS, but…

The size of this could probably fit four entire SS venues, huh?

It’s huge to the point you can’t really grasp just how big it is up close. There doesn’t seem to be any windows or anything either, so there’s no way to know what’s going on inside.

…Subaru? Are you listening? At least give me a reply, it feels lonely, you know~?

Subaru: … …

Mao: Are you still sulking? Come on, if I could, I would also have loved to go wild with everyone from Trickstar too.

But y’know, 4piece is a competition between individuals. That’s what the rules say, so we gotta stick to them.

So I’ll be your rival here, just this once.

I’ll get you swiftly eliminated if you let yourself get distracted, so you better prepare yourself, got it~? ♪

Subaru: … …

…Oh, sorry, Sally~! Did you say something? I wasn’t listening!

Mao: Hey, hey, are you seriously alright…? What’s wrong? I remember something about you going to visit your father’s grave yesterday—

Subaru: Yeah. I also met a rather strange kid there, too.

I ended up staying up late talkin’ to him, so I’m a bit sleep deprived… Yaaawn♪

It’s true, your daily rhythm and such gets all out of whack once you’re no longer home, huh?

When I’m at home I gotta do housework for my mom too, so it’d force me to live somewhat of a typical life…

But more importantly. How come it’s only you here? Not tryna say you’re not enough, Sally~, but I wish we could have everyone all together!

Mao: You don’t understand the situation here at all, do you…?

Subaru: If I’m not interested, then I don’t know ‘bout it! Ahahahaha! ☆

Mao: You should try to at least be a little more interested, okay? Apparently this 4piece thing—It’s an unprecedentedly large-scale audition program!

It’s called 4piece—Its official name being THUNDERBOLT CHALLENGE 4piece.

Subaru: Thun-der-boul… Uh, what? I didn’t catch that at all!

Mao: You might have a good ear, but my English pronunciation is kinda…

Anyway, that’s also why everyone calls it 4piece for short, since it’s so long.

Well, at this point in time, I still don’t know exactly what it is, either.

Subaru: I know about audition programs~! I’ve never been on one, but I’ve seen those sorts of shows, you know!

Mao: Oh, so you’re dedicated to your study enough to watch programs that have nothing to do with you?

Subaru: No, nothing like that. Dad first started out on an audition program, so it’s mostly ‘cause of him.

It’s something like a program that gathers up aspiring idols, fledgling idols with no experience being idols at all, and have them compete in things like singing and dancing.

The person who did the best in the competition, in other words, the champion, will get to officially debut as an idol, or something like that?

I guess you could call it a program where they made a bunch of amateurs compete with “their debut as a reward!” I suppose?

But, we’ve already had our debut, haven't we? So what’ll be our reward then? There’s no reason for us to compete against each other, is there?

Mao: It seems like there’s a special prize of some sort. Whatever it is, though, is shrouded in mystery; they’re as secretive as ever with it…

Subaru: 4piece sure is strict about their spoilers, huh.

Mao: Well, people would be able to come up with countermeasures if they preemptively released information about the competition, which wouldn’t be fair.

So I guess they’ve really got no other choice but to approach it like that.

Subaru: That’s true. I don’t really care about whatever the reward is, but I’m sure the people who want it would prepare and train in advance and such.

Mao: People might even try pulling things behind the scenes. Then it’d be even less fair of a competition.

I mean, if that sort of skeevy interference was allowed, then it’d be impossible to win against Tenshouin-senpai or Sakuma-senpai. Doesn’t seem like either of them are participating this time, though.

But, since the disclosing of spoilers like that are thoroughly forbidden, 4piece will probably be purely a competition of one’s abilities as an idol.

Subaru: Ahaha, even with that I doubt I’d be able to win against Tenshouin-senpai or Sakuma-senpai, though~. ♪

If you can’t win against them, then nobody can.

Mao: Well, seeing that’s how it is—

I can’t really say anything for sure, given how shrouded in mystery this whole thing is, but… There’s actually a pretty huge benefit to us participating in 4piece, actually.

Subaru: Huh? What’s that?

[ ☆ ]

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[sturthepotofmadness]

I got a random idea for a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 au I want to throw out into the world, since I'm not too sure if I'm going to write it or not. There's technically two, but one is more of a Xenoblade 3 au and even then it's even more canon diverge-y than this one, so only the xc2 au for now.

The divergence point is a bit weird, since it would take place before Rex gets pulled into the mission to find Pyra and I'm assuming story salvager ranks works differently compared to gameplay salvager ranks (mainly that story salvager ranks go from E-D-C-B-A-S-SS in order from lowest to highest and the weird extra titles don't exist, just rank letters). Other than that, the only spoilers are the events of chapter 1, the very beginning of chapter 2, and a boss and group from chapter 3. You've been warned if you care about early game spoilers.

Anyways, time to actually talk about the au idea. Also cut after the second paragraph cuz this is long.

So let's say Rex is 14, maybe a few months out from 15 here, he's known within the Argentum salvager community, and being salvager rank C is impressive for someone so young. He's having trouble reaching a higher rank, if only because his only way to protect himself is an old sword he scraped together and getting higher ranks means salvaging at risker points, which means dealing with stronger monsters and needing a better weapon, but he doesn't want to spend what money he has on getting a better weapon.

For some reason, Vandham's Merc Group has an influx of kids that don't want to become mercenaries, so they send a group out to gather people to explain jobs to this group of kids they're taking care of. One of the groups was led by Yew since the Argentum Trade Guild can be a hot mess if you talk to the wrong person by accident and Yew is good at sorting through people. Yew sees the salvager community here and is impressed by how supportive they are of each other.

When Yew talks to one of the salvagers there and he brings up the idea of teaching some kids about salvaging. The salvager asks, "We talking Rex's age, or we talking younger?" Yew asks who Rex is and that just so happens to be the time when Rex pulls into the docks and the salvager points him out. Yew (and the mercs with him) have to process that as the salvager comments that Rex is really damn good to salvaging and probably would have a higher rank if would use his gold on getting a better weapon instead of sending it back to his home town or repairing damage to his hut on Azurda.

Yew's crew decides to speak to Rex once he's free and before he leaves, so continue talking around Argentum. They're... really unimpressed with 97% of the Nopon, with the only ones they aren't unimpressed by being Zuzu (makes those noodles all by himself) and Falala (is a chef wanting to be something greater). However, they can't really ask either of them if they want to speak to said kids because Zuzu can't leave his job due to the popularity and Falala has a full time job.

They see Rex finishing up with the stuff he wanted to do at Argentum and Yew goes over to him. Rex sees him and asks what he's up to and Yew explains he's looking for people to explain to some kids about some jobs they could do and how unimpressed he's been with everyone from Argentum except the salvager and exactly two Nopon too attached to their job. Rex comments "yea that's Nopon for you" and asks if they found what they're looking for. Yew says that one of the other salvagers suggested Rex because Rex is closer to the kid's age and might have their attention more than some random adult. Rex thinks about it, then says that he's willing to do it, but only if it's fine if he brings Gramps along. Yew doesn't know who Gramps is, assumes it's someone important to Rex, and asks if he can speak to this Gramps. Rex drags him off to Azurda, who is Gramps, which Yew has to accept that of course the kid calls this titan something else.

Gramps and Yew talk for a bit before Gramps gives his go ahead and they head off to Uraya.

One travel later and all the merc groups have the people they managed to convince to speak to the kids and meet at Uraya's capital before they all start heading down to Garfont Village. There's 6 people (including Rex) they convinced, but it's better than nothing.

Once they get close to Garfont village, Rex notices a massive spider thing with a golden glow further up the cliff, with the road splitting off there to up there and to Garfont Village. Rex asks about the giant spider thing, some of the mercs look over and promptly go "why the hell is there a giant Elder Arachno with a blade". They get to Garfont Village, throw the volunteers at the kids, then tell Vandham about the spider Rex spotted (and also admitting that they wouldn't have gave a second glance at it if Rex didn't mention it).

Vandham takes some mercs to go demolish the Elder Arachno while the six visitors talk to the kids, though they're clearly only interested in the talks given by Rex and some Driver from either Mor Ardian or Gormott.

Vandham and who he took with him return with the meat, shell, and drops of the Elder Arachno as the last lecture ends. It took so long to kill the spider since it called friends and they wanted all of that meat for rations. The visitors are free to stay for the night before heading back home or just head back now without any help from the mercs. They all decide to stick around and Vandham asks one of the mercs to pull aside who pointed out the spider.

Yew grabs Rex, mentioning the boss wants to speak to him since Rex was the one to point out the spider. Rex is confused but follows as they go over to Vandham. Vandham makes sure Rex is the one who pointed out the spider and Rex is like "yea, i saw something glowing in the distance and i saw it was coming from some sort of spider". Vandham pats his shoulder, thanks Rex for pointing it out before it could become a problem, and drops the Beastly Core Crystal in Rex's hand. Rex is confused but Vandham explained the glow was from a Blade and that's the crystal the Blade went back into and Rex is free to keep it. Rex does decide to hold onto it and Vandham shooes him off after telling him to "awaken it when it glows or do smth with it".

One night and travel time later, Rex is back in Argentum and one of the salvagers ask how the trip was. Rex says all he had to do was explain the basics of salvaging to a group of 6-10 year old kids and he got a core crystal because he pointed out some spider that ended up being dangerous kinda close to the village. The salvager is surprised Rex got gifted a core crystal and asks what he'll do it with. After a moment, Rex says he's going to hold onto it until "it glows", since the village leader mentioned awakening it once it starts glowing. The salvager says that if it does start glowing to do it in Argentum so the other salvagers can see. Rex agrees and they head their ways.

About a week or two later, the core crystal starts glowing again after Rex had to smack some crabs back into the Cloud Sea. He goes back to Argentum to turn in his haul for payment (and paying the dock person) before going over to where the salvagers are meeting up. The salvagers greet Rex and ask if anything interesting happened. He takes out the now glowing core crystal and someone asks if he's gonna try and awaken a blade. Rex thinks for a moment, then says yea. Some Nopon nearby hear that and ask to see Rexrex attempt to awaken blade. Azurda moves to get a better look at the happenings as a group starts forming to watch.

Rex holds the Beastly Core Crystal out and begins to focus on it and attempting to resonate with it. They watch as the crystal begins to glow and, after a burst of light, Rex is holding a special Megalance and Wulfric has appeared in front of him. The crowd is silent as Rex says hi to his blade and Wulfric introduces himself, causing a few members of the crowd to recoil.

Congrats, Rex, you're now a salvager driver before the main plot begins. Rex starts bonding with Wulfric so they can be stronger together and learning how to use the Megalance. He finds it come weirdly naturally to him, but whoever he's sparring with just says that weapons created by a Blade you trust feels more natural than some random wepaon. Wulfric also learns to be "softer" for the lack of a better term so he can calm people if they find him scary. Rex also starts salvaging in more dangerous locations once he feels ready with Wulfric's weapon and he begins getting higher ranks, managing to get to rank A before the main plot finally shows itself.

The only real ideas of how the main story would go once it gets kicked started are:

-the Torna crew being surprised by Wulfric not returning to his core crystal and promptly rampaging on them because Pyra yoinked Rex before he could die,

-Malos and Jin failing miserably to stop Wulfric from wrecking the shipwreck while Nia, Dromarch and Sever try and make sure none of the other people on the shipwreck aren't harmed and get off the wreck,

-Rex and Pyra have a bit of an easier time against Malos thanks to Wulfric wrecking shit but still needing to be saved by Nia and Azurda,

-and Pyra not being able to wake Rex up herself after they crash on Gormott because Wulfric is very protective of his driver that nearly died but is somehow alive thanks to this new blade that randomly decided Rex is now her driver.

Not too sure how much else the story would change, other than they would probably have to come up with something to hide both pieces of green core crystal on Rex and Pyra when they have to disguise Pyra since their original excuse in canon wouldn't work because of Wulfric (... and also Rex being more well known because of the whole salvager driver thing with a high rank).

[underratedandoverit]

You Wanna Wish Away Your Sins (3/3)

After losing to Best Friends at Arcade Anarchy, Kip undergoes shoulder surgery. One person reaching out to him afterwards sends Kip spiraling, turning all the pain and suffering in him into… Flowers? Flowers growing in his lungs?

Kip Sabian/Chuck Taylor. Hanahaki disease. Angst. Hurt/comfort. Emotional hurt/comfort. One-sided attraction. Also tagged this from now on with manipulative Kip.

Marked Mature on AO3 for general content. Warnings for mentions of hospitals, surgery, medical stuff. Described feelings for choking and vomiting.

Other characters on-screen include Penelope Ford, Orange Cassidy. Rest of Best Friends are mentioned. Background ship of Penelope/Kris is heavily implied, but never specifically shown.

part 1 || part 2

On AO3

Finishing this took way longer than I intended. Oops. Mental illness and whatever be damned yada yada. But it's over now. And I am content. It's a whole fic and ended just as I wanted and had planned, surprisingly no surprises during writing lol. I hope it makes sense, there's a little bit there that doesn't get explained, but I have convinced myself that people can put the pieces together considering the mental state Kip is in and how the hanahaki disease works so. Yeah.

If you have read this far, thank you so much, I really appreciate you and your patience if you have waited for this to finish since I originally posted in early September. I see all the kudos and subs attached, they mean the world to me. Would love to hear your thoughts of this now that it's over, as there was a lot of time (obviously lol) and love put into this, so it would mean a lot ;; But I appreciate you all so much either way, thank you for sticking by and reading!! 💜💜

@midnightpretenders0 @stormbornpirate @ss-trashboat

----------------------

Kip tried to keep his eyes on the television, but he wasn’t registering anything he saw on the screen. Even if he was technically interested in watching the game that was being played, Kip would have much rather been looking at something else. Or someone else. That someone being the man sitting on the couch next to him, being much more into the activity of playing a video game that he was partaking in that Kip was.

While he was glad that Chuck was coming over far more often these days, at the same time it did grind Kip’s mind that they had fallen into this false routine of a casual friendship. Chuck would appear on his doorstep, bring a movie or a game with him for them to busy themselves with that day, maybe some snacks and energy drinks, and the rest of the day they would just hang out, consume the media of the day, and that would be it.

Same talking points every single day. Sitting in the silently designated spots on the couch just far enough from one another that even by accident their hands wouldn’t brush against each other unless they were passing the food and drinks around. Eye contact was brief, almost uncomfortably so if it managed to exist in the first place, and only when one got up from the couch and asked if the other needed something or something similarly surprising happened. Maybe a laugh could gather a quick glance, maybe a sneeze, a cough. And even then it was more often Chuck doing that to Kip, while Kip was trying to steal looks into his direction any chance he could, hoping Chuck would catch a hint.

It had been days, weeks even, maybe. How many, Kip had lost a count somewhere after the first few days, partially because of the pain he was going through, partially because he still found the whole situation so absurd. But the thing he knew for sure, was that it had been too many for comfort.

Every time Kip watched Chuck walk out the door of his house again at the end of the day, his breathing became a little bit tighter, the stabbing pain in his chest more prominent, the sleep during that following night a little shorter.

He was so tired of it all, and with every day that passed him by, it was pushing Kip closer to the realization that he finally had to do something about things. Before the pain was too paralyzing, before the thoughts became too much. Before he just couldn’t do anything about it anymore, before it was all too late.

“…Hey? Kip?”

The Brit blinked blankly a few times, finally registering the voice calling out to him after the words had been repeated a few times. His eyes slowly dragged away from the television screen, facing the brunet sitting on the couch next to him, Chuck looking at him with worry and concern. It was almost adorable to Kip how his brows furrowed and eyes darted around his facial features in clear worry. Almost.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

Chuck sighed, Kip trying to offer him an apologetic smile as he watched Chuck running a hand through his hair, eyes turning away from the other man again as he shook his head a little. Kip had been too deep in his own head, with his own thoughts to notice Chuck had even tried to talk to him, the guilt almost immediately gnawing on him at the mere thought. He was supposed to try to pay attention to him, to try to make Chuck realize the situation, how close they were, to understand his feelings, to close the gap, to --

“I just wanted to know if you were hungry. We could order something in, maybe. If you’d like.”

For once Kip was thankful that Chuck wasn’t looking straight at him, his cheeks flushing red for a brief moment as he registered the words. Ordering food? Together? At his place, like this, out of the blue? For the first time?

It almost sounded like a date night proposal in Kip’s ears.

He quickly shook the thought from his head, turning away from Chuck to make sure he didn’t even by accident catch a glimpse of the blush decorating his face, desperately trying to not have the words caught in his throat, only partially succeeding.

“Ye-yeah that would be great.”

Chuck was so sincere about this question, just like he always was about everything, he was probably just hungry himself, and Kip was overthinking it all. Once again. But also, what if…

“Great. What would you like to eat?” Chuck’s words cut Kip’s thought process off again, his eyes slowly returning to the other man, watching Chuck pull his phone out of his pocket, eyes landing onto it, seemingly to avoid eye contact with Kip, who just shrugged a little. “I don’t know. Whatever sounds good.”

Chuck’s brows furrowed, suddenly looking back at Kip, making the Brit jump a little. This wasn’t the kind of reaction Kip had expected to his words, swallowing a little surprise lump in his throat as all of a sudden he was very unsure again where this was going. He hated nothing more than the unpredictable nature of their relationship, not being able to read Chuck at moments like this, mostly due to his own emotions and thoughts clouding his judgment and understanding of what the situation called for from him.

“…Okay, I’m going to be fully honest with you.”

The suddenly rather serious tone of Chuck’s voice made Kip’s eyes widen a little, he could feel his whole body tensing up at the sudden shift. Chuck offered him a small smile, most likely in hopes of trying to calm down Kip’s very obviously surprised demeanor, but seeing that smile just made Kip’s whole mind skip another beat instead.

“I’ve been worried about you recently. I actually talked with Penelope yesterday after I left, and she feels much the same way as I do.”

Chuck? Worried? About him? Chuck? Kip’s head was spinning, but he just nodded his head, not even acknowledging the fact that Chuck was also talking about Penelope being involved in this. All Kip cared about was that Chuck was thinking about him, outside of this room, outside of this couch, when he wasn’t around.

Chuck was thinking, and talking, about him.

“You’ve been… Seemingly getting worse each day I see you. You lack sleep, you lack food, you lack energy. I understand you are in a lot of pain with the shoulder and all, but you need to take care of yourself, Kip. Mine and Penelope’s help will only get you so far.”

Kip just looked at him quietly, trying to process the statement in his head, but all his thoughts retracted back to the overall realization that Chuck was worried about him. Thinking about him. That Chuck at least seemed to care more than he led on directly to him, at least before this very moment at hand.

“If there’s something wrong that you need help with, other than what we have been providing so far, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask, you know?”

Kip felt his head nodding itself, despite not approving of the movement in his mind. He was running on a practiced autopilot, still afraid that one casual movement might fuck all this up for him, not being the kind of response that Chuck wanted. This seemed to be enough for the brunet for now though as Chuck nodded back at him, eyes slowly returning to the phone in his hand. Right, he was ordering food. Right.

“So, again: what do you want to eat today? You can get anything you want, as long as it makes you eat. We just want to make sure you take care of yourself.”

At the same time it was endearing that Chuck was doing this for him, but Kip also knew he had to put a stop to this, all of it. While yes his current and constantly worsening condition was making him neglect his own basic needs, both which directly as a result affected his appetite and energy levels, Kip knew that trying to eat some proper food one day wasn’t the answer to his problems. Above all else, his condition was making it not only difficult to breathe, but the pain in his chest and particularly in his lungs made eating at this point a near impossible task.

As the silence from the Brit continued, Chuck glanced towards him, spotting Kip just looking back at him. Whether he was deep in thought or just staring, Chuck wasn’t quite sure.

“Kip?”

“I’m not hungry.”

At least it wasn’t a lie in a sense. Chuck raised a brow at him, slowly lowering the hand holding his phone onto his lap, eyes narrowing a little. Chuck’s eyes lingered on him just a little bit too long, forcing Kip to look away, back towards the television with the frozen game pause screen on it.

“You need to eat something.”

“Food can’t fix this.”

Kip could feel the confusion radiating from Chuck’s face, probably his entire being at this point, but he just couldn’t look back at him. It was so much easier for Kip to process his thoughts if he wasn’t looking at what he was sure was a very worried expression on the brunet sitting on the couch a few feet away from him.

He heard Chuck sigh. Not a very good sign.

“If you eat something, you get energy. You feel better. I shouldn’t need to explain all this to you. Kip, please --”

“This isn’t about food.”

Chuck fell silent as Kip cut him off, probably a bit more aggressively than necessary, but he was tired of this. All of this. Both his inability to do anything about the situation even though he desperately, so very desperately needed it, and the way they both seemed to just dance around the topic and the issues at hand. To Kip, Chuck offering to order him food was nothing but a detour that he couldn’t afford to wait to take to where he eventually needed to be. Kip had suffered long enough, mostly due to his own faults, yes, but Chuck jumping in to push his buttons like this, while a step in the right direction, wasn’t a fast enough track to where they needed to be.

Where Kip needed to be if he wanted to make it through all of this, it seemed like.

“…Are you mad at me?”

Kip’s eyes narrowed a little, but he still didn’t turn to look towards Chuck. All he heard was another quiet sigh.

“I don’t know how many times I can apologize for what happened. You know it was an accident. I’m sorry --”

“I don’t want you to apologize. I don’t care about that.”

If something, it was supposed to be Kip who apologized for everything, and he knew that painfully well.

“Then what is it?”

Kip swallowed thickly, being absolutely certain that Chuck could not only see it but also hear him do it. Kip’s eyes slowly dragged back to him, watching the confusion all over the brunet’s face. If the situation wasn’t so dire and heavy, Kip would have found the look on him endearing. Right now though, seeing Chuck not put the pieces together so easily, filled him with dread instead, along with the knowledge that Kip knew exactly what he needed to do next and the can of worms that he needed to open if he ever wanted to have a shot at things getting better again.

“I need…” Kip stopped, the confusion on Chuck’s face slowly melting into a more expecting look. Both of them were still clearly hesitant, Chuck not knowing what to expect out of him and Kip not being so sure how he was going to phrase this so it made even some sort of sense.

Just say it.

“I… I need you to kiss me.”

The silence that fell into the room felt like it was knocking all the remaining air out of Kip. The longer he looked at Chuck and the unreadable look lingering on his face after the words slipped out of Kip’s mouth, the worse he felt about everything. For once he was being honest about this entire situation and what he wanted out of it, and yet it felt like a worse mistake than anything he had lied to Chuck about so far.

He wanted this. He needed this. This was the trigger Kip had been so afraid to pull for so long now, but he knew that if he didn’t finally say those words, no matter the reaction, it would have terrible consequences for him. He was already suffering, the roots of his problem crawling deeper into his lungs every single day he put it off without even trying to make anything out of it. Kip was tired of it, he was suffering immensely because of it, he just needed to do something. Anything.

After what felt like forever of Chuck just staring at him, Kip was snapped out of his thoughts as Chuck took in a sharp breath, the only way Kip was able to describe his expression being polite confusion.

“You, uh… You what?”

Not sure if Chuck was just making sure or if he really hadn’t understood the statement, Kip bit his lower lip as he turned away from the other man. He inhaled slowly, preparing himself to say those words again. Kip did it once, he could do it again. It was a necessary step forward.

“I-I need. To kiss you. You to kiss me. So-something like that.”

As Chuck didn’t reply for a while, Kip stole a quick glance towards him, trying to gather an overview of the situation. Much to his surprise, Chuck looked like he was in deep thought for a second, as if he was pondering over the request. At least he wasn’t outright denying it from Kip, which in turn as he realized it, made his heart jump back into his throat.

The burning as Kip nervously waited for an answer was worse than the thorns poking inside of his lungs at the moment.

“Would that help? Make you feel better?”

Kip nodded almost instantly, the motion almost frantic, something he couldn’t control. Still clearly in his thoughts, Chuck nodded as well.

“I mean,” he muttered, a hand slowly reaching closer to Kip, the Brit’s focus turning on it with slightly widening eyes, “If… If it helps. I guess.”

Kip watched his hand stopping to hover close to him, slowly his own hand reaching for it. He could feel Chuck’s fingers gently wrapping around his hand, giving it a little tuck, an invitation to come closer. Kip followed suit, shifting over on the couch to slowly make his way to sit down right next to Chuck. For the first time since they had started doing this, for the first time since Chuck had started to spend the days over to keep him company. There had always been a cold, untouched gap between the two of them on the couch, but this was the first time it had been broken, filled, fixed.

And all it took was a small request that Kip should have been able to do in the first place, but it took him weeks and actual concern from Chuck to get to this point.

But there he was now, Chuck still gently holding his hand, running this thumb over his knuckles. A soft, still kind of unsure smile crossing his lips as he was looking Kip straight in the eyes. Chuck clearly wasn’t budging back on this, honestly much to Kip’s surprise, as his free hand slowly crept up to the Brit’s face, palm pressing against his cheek. Chuck’s hand was surprisingly cold against his flushed skin.

“…You sure?”

It was almost as if Chuck was asking that from himself more than Kip, but he pushed the thought aside, just nodding his head again. Without another word, Chuck leaned closer, finally closing the gap that had been antagonizing Kip these past few weeks without remorse, locking their lips together.

The kiss was awkward and hesitant at first, but slowly it felt more natural as they both seemed to relax into it. Soft and homey, but Kip could taste his own desperation in it despite all of it. He knew how badly he not only wanted, but needed this. While he could have joked that it was the matter of life and death, to him it was actually no joke, but merely the cruel reality he barely understood himself at all. Feeling Chuck’s lips finally against his, after the excruciatingly long amount of time of craving and needing nothing more than to taste him so desperately he was suffering from the withdrawals more and more every day, Kip’s mind went blank. He could feel Chuck close, hear his breathing, slowly allowing himself to enjoy it, running a thumb over Kip’s cheek.

Kip had been waiting for this moment for so long, craving for this so badly, that he needed more now that he finally had it, pushing the boundaries first as he found himself without a single coherent thought giving a small bite on Chuck’s lower lip, a silent, desperate request for a deeper kiss. A deeper meaning.

A request that was granted to him, but was also almost immediately and far too fast ripped away from him as Chuck suddenly jolted away, as if he had suddenly in the midst of all of this realized what he was doing and thought better of it.

Eyes opening as Kip felt the hand disappear from his face, he leaned slightly back, watching in emotions swimming in disappointment and confusion as Chuck’s eyes were suddenly on his phone again, the piece of tech buzzing on his lap, suddenly demanding his attention. Almost as if it was mocking Kip and how close he had finally gotten.

“So-sorry, I have to take this.”

Kip just nodded, feeling the body heat of the other man disappearing from around him as Chuck’s hand left his, grabbing a hold of the phone before he stood up, answering the sudden call. He could still salvage this, it wasn’t all lost. Chuck hadn’t denied him this, by the way he was acting it was obvious to Kip that this wasn’t just all in his head. Maybe the kiss had been brief, but there was compassion behind it, he was very gentle about it, there --

“What do you mean that was today?”

Kip’s eyes slowly traveled up to Chuck, watching the brunet run a hand over his face as he sighed. “Yeah I know, I know you need me there for that, just… I was kinda in the middle of something…”

The silence that followed that statement and the way Chuck couldn’t look back at Kip made a familiar lump climb its way back in his throat. Kip tried to cough it out quietly, not to attract attention to himself, just watching as Chuck stepped a little bit further away from him.

“I can be there in twenty minutes, I guess. …Alright, I’ll see you then.”

As he hung up the call, Chuck didn’t even need to say anything. He was sure Kip had heard most of it, and the apologetic eyes and the small smile he offered to him as he finally turned back towards the Brit really didn’t help the case.

“Sorry, I completely forgot we had a photoshoot to do today, I… I gotta go.”

Kip nodded his head, but remained silent as he stood up from the couch. At least this was a start, they were going somewhere. He had put at least part of his desires out there, for Chuck to reach out and react to, if nothing else. This was a beginning, hopefully for the better. Kip wasn’t sure how fast he was supposed to be feeling the effects of his love and affections being returned to him, but so far he was blaming the sick feeling in his throat on the sudden change of pace in the room rather than Chuck not returning his feelings like before.

Maybe he had read all of this wrong. Maybe the sickness had caught up with him just because he didn’t know this was mutual. That had to be it, right?

Kip walked him to the door, Chuck turning back to him again as he rested his hand on the door handle.

“Look, I’m really sorry I have to go, I just completely forgot about this. You know, with having to worry about you and all.”

Kip could feel a smile tucking the corner of his lips, allowing at least a part of it to show. As sad as he was having to watch Chuck walk away yet again without a resolution to this whole problem, at least there was hope. Chuck smiled back at him, leaning closer to press a quick little peck on Kip’s lips, catching the Brit off guard, leaving him looking back at him with wide eyes as Chuck opened the door, stepping outside.

“I’ll see you again tomorrow, alright?”

Kip could only nod before Chuck closed the door, leaving him standing there, heart racing and beating loudly between his ears. Kip leaned against the closed door, inhaling deeply before he sighed, the content smile on his lips only wiped away as he coughed softly, eyes shooting open to witness the handful of purple tinted rose petals he let out of his mouth.

No.

Chuck Taylor still didn’t love him.

----------------------------------------

“…Are you sure it’s him?”

Cassidy shrugged his shoulders a little. “I mean, who else could it be? Besides, he has photos of himself that he signs and hands out and a big board on the table with the name ‘Kip Sabian’ on it, so…”

Chuck sighed, running a hand over his face before rolling his eyes. “You could have led with that information, you know.”

Cassidy didn’t reply back to him, just observed the brunet on the couch through his sunglasses. “I thought you would have known. Aren’t you two friends or something?”

Chuck avoided looking directly back at him, trying to make it seem like the question didn’t sting. He hadn’t seen Kip since that day, he never opened the door when Chuck came over the following day or answered any of his calls or texts since. He had been living in complete darkness over what had actually happened with Kip, even Penelope refused to tell him anything apart from a general ‘he’s fine’ every time Chuck asked her something.

“I told you, that was months ago.”

Cassidy just nodded, stopping to observe Chuck as the other man just tried to focus back on lacing his boots. After a long, lingering silence the blond broke it as he spoke up again.

“Do you want to go see him?”

Chuck stopped, eyes slowly dragging up to Cassidy again. He seemed sincere in that question, and if Chuck was being honest, that had been the first thought in his mind since Cassidy had waltzed into the locker room with the news that Kip had been sighted inside the building. The premise seemed rather odd to him, but at the same time, he wouldn’t have put something like that past Kip. A silent man with a suit and a cardboard box on his head, doing a signing that hadn’t been advertised for anyone beforehand. Sounded like it was just down Kip’s alley, in some really weird way, to him.

“Is he still there?”

“Probably,” Cassidy shrugged again. “He seemed to be just setting up when we went into the cafeteria like twenty minutes ago. I doubt he has left yet.”

While he wasn’t quite sure how to take any of it, let alone how Kip was going to take it if he showed up, Chuck nodded a little, still a bit hesitant. Cassidy mirrored the movement, before nodding his head towards the locker room door, asking Chuck to follow him. Not that he didn’t know where the cafeteria was in the building, they had walked past it when they had entered earlier, but maybe his hesitance was on the surface enough that Cassidy thought taking the lead was going to make him regret this less. Make it easier for him.

Chuck followed Cassidy outside, tracking through the hallways for a moment before they arrived at their destination. It was extremely easy to spot the individual not belonging into the group of people in the big, bright, well-lit room, the man standing in the middle of it all by a large table messed up with multiple scattered photos around it, hands behind his suited back as he was observing the room through the eye holes poked on a box over his head.

Chuck swallowed thickly. It didn’t matter if he didn’t see his face, all that was enough for him to recognize him immediately, no matter how many months it had been since or how much things had changed between now and then.

He was so focused on reading the words on the front of the box that Chuck didn’t notice the eyes inside of it land on him. The distance made it a bit harder, sure, but the lights were bright enough and the dark circles surrounding the eyes made them pop for Cassidy to notice the stare at first, even if it wasn’t directed at him.

“Hey,” he muttered, carefully elbowing Chuck to the side to get his attention. “He sees you. I think you should at least go say hello.”

Blinking himself back to the situation, Chuck glanced at Cassidy on his side, the blond just shrugging at him a little. Maybe Chuck’s nervousness was obvious, maybe Cassidy quickly put two and two together from what Chuck had told him before about how their last meeting had ended, but he only sighed, once again leading the way towards the man in a suit and the box, Kip’s eyes never leaving Chuck as they approached. Chuck on the other hand tried to look at everything except him, until he was stopped to stand right in front of the other man he hadn’t seen in months until now.

Through the eye holes of the box Chuck could see his vacant stare just blankly staring back at him, saying it all without saying anything at the same time. Kip looked at him briefly, before providing a photo from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, pulling a marker seemingly out of nowhere along with it. He scribbled something quickly on the photo, handing it to Cassidy, and walked away without looking back or acknowledging either of them further.

Cassidy looked at the photo for a moment before handing it over to Chuck. It was an old promo picture of Kip, in his Superbad gear, with his face crossed over with a red marker and some messy text scribbled next to him.

‘Time changes us all. Embrace the change.’